Borrowing a sword

Chapter 169 The Crown Prince Arrives, Old Niu Holds a Secret Talk
Dao City is a large city that is closest to [Mountain Beyond the Mountains].

It was named after its proximity to a Taoist temple.

Several days have passed since the East Continent Grand Competition ended.

The restaurants throughout Daocheng were bustling with activity.

The reason is simple: legends about the Chu Huai Preface began to circulate in the world.

Storytellers, one after another, told different versions of the story in different restaurants.

They raved about this ridiculously powerful leader of the Eastern Continent in the most exaggerated way possible!
With these people embellishing the story, no matter how talented the Sword Sect was or how prodigious the Wuyou Valley was, none of them were a match for Chu Huaixu.

Because he was skilled in body refinement and possessed the ability to be more powerful without a sword, he had too many gimmicks, which allowed storytellers to embellish his story in various artistic ways.

They haven't encountered such good material for many years.

"There's so much room for creativity here!" Everyone started to unleash their literary talents.

Of course, if the story is always a one-sided victory, it will eventually lose some of its brilliance.

Therefore, the final battle for the title was described as a back-and-forth fight that lasted a full three hundred rounds!
They wouldn't even consider a mere cultivator at the first level, whose spiritual power couldn't actually support using spells too many times; the outcome was often decided very quickly.

The storytellers were only concerned with artistic embellishment.

Besides, Han Shuangjiang probably never dreamed that she and Chu Huaixu really didn't have a particularly special relationship, but now, most of the Eastern Continent knows that she is Chu Huaixu's Daoist partner!
There's no way around it, love and romance are definitely necessary!

What's more, the two even fought in the semi-finals. Shouldn't they make the most of this material and depict their love-hate relationship to the fullest?

At this very moment, in the restaurant where Chu Huaixu had once spent an afternoon, a young man with an elegant and noble demeanor, dressed in a robe that exuded an air of wealth, was listening to a storyteller in a private seat.

A veiled young girl sat beside him, while two middle-aged men stood behind him.

The girl wasn't listening attentively to the book; instead, she kept eating fruit.

Because she was wearing a veil, it was quite inconvenient for her to eat, and her little mouth never stopped.

The young man, on the other hand, sat in a somewhat languid posture, leaning back in the large chair.

With his sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, he already exuded an air of authority despite his young age, making no attempt to conceal his superior demeanor.

"That's interesting." He listened to the storyteller's eloquent speech, a faint smile playing on his thin lips.

One of the two middle-aged men standing behind him said, “Young Master, these storytellers from the Eastern Continent are really good at making things up. Even the storytellers from our Western Continent don’t dare to exaggerate your performance like this.”

"What if it's true?" The young man raised an eyebrow slightly and chuckled in a nonchalant tone.

Another middle-aged man immediately said, "Your Highness, this is impossible. There is no such level of first realm in the world, let alone two of them."

This person spoke in a soft, feminine voice, and his face was completely clean-shaven, with not even a stubble on it; one could say he had a very strong castration-like appearance.

He said there were two because the storyteller was telling the story of the battle for the title of champion today.

Listening to what's inside, whether it's Chu Huaixu or Xu Ziqing, if you take away half the exaggeration from their abilities, they could both defeat His Highness the Crown Prince.

“Eunuch Li, that’s not necessarily true. I’ve heard that the place where the Taoist sect is located is called ‘Mountain Beyond Mountain’ because it means ‘there are mountains beyond mountains and people beyond people.’”

"Perhaps there really is someone who can surpass me; it's not impossible."

The man, who exuded an air of nobility, showed no change in expression.

After saying that, he glanced at the girl beside him who was still busy eating fruit, suddenly smiled, and said:

"However, arena matches are a different matter."

Upon hearing the prince's words, the two middle-aged men immediately understood his meaning.

They all knew just how special the Crown Prince and his future Crown Princess were.

In a one-on-one arena battle, no one could possibly defeat him.

Because you think you only have one opponent.

But in reality, you are fighting two against one.

The eloquent storyteller stopped: "To find out what happens next, please listen to the next episode!"

He deliberately timed it at the moment when Chu Huaixu borrowed a sword from Han Shuangjiang.

Prince Rui glanced at the storyteller indifferently, then raised his finger, tapped it lightly, and said only two words: "Listen to the end."

"Yes." The middle-aged man standing on the left immediately stepped forward to communicate and began throwing money at the woman.

Even in the Moon Kingdom, His Highness the Crown Prince never uses his power to oppress others.

In these situations, he would resort to the most primitive and brutal method—spending lavishly.

After listening to the entire story of the East Continent Leader Competition, he was the first to stand up.

Upon seeing this, the girl who was still peeling fruit immediately stood up as well.

She was petite, but her breasts were full and round.

The girl obediently followed behind the man.

But he never shared a single bite of the fruit he was peeling.

The group of four soon arrived at the foot of the Taoist mountain.

The taller attendant was a guest of Prince Rui's mansion named Qin Bo, a great cultivator of the sixth realm.

This Eunuch Li was sent by the palace; he possessed extremely high cultivation, reaching the peak of the seventh realm.

The two, carrying Prince Rui and the young girl, took to the air and arrived in front of the Taoist sect's protective array.

Qin Bo began knocking on the mountain gate, circulating his spiritual power, and loudly proclaimed, "I am Qin Bo, and I have come with His Highness the Crown Prince to pay my respects at the mountain."

The protective array around the mountain quickly opened a corner, and the gentle and graceful Elder Nangong arrived from the sky to greet everyone.

After a few simple pleasantries, she led them to land in an elegant courtyard.

Niu Yuanshan, who was in charge of handling internal affairs and trivial matters, had been waiting here for a long time. His hands, hidden inside his sleeves, were clenched into fists, with his nails digging into his flesh.

Upon seeing the figure descending from the sky, he immediately released his hands, his face showing no sign of excitement, just like any other Taoist deacon.

But a deafening voice already echoed in his ears—"Loyalty!"

Niu Yuanshan had been eagerly anticipating their arrival, and finally they came.

Nangong Yue raised her slightly fleshy finger and gently pointed at the old ox, saying, "This is Niu Yuanshan, a steward of my Daoist sect. If you have any needs, please feel free to ask him."

"Today, our Taoist sect is hosting a banquet to welcome you all and cleanse yourselves of the dust of the journey."

After chatting with them for a few more minutes, Nangong Yue left first.

Upon seeing this, Niu Yuanshan immediately went to meet him.

He acted like a normal Taoist steward, saying nothing more.

The conversation between Prince Rui and him also seemed perfectly normal.

This left the old ox somewhat disappointed.

"Could it be that the organization did not inform His Highness of my identity before he set off?" he wondered to himself.

If that were the case, he wouldn't expose himself.

Niu Yuanshan led the way, guiding the four into the elegant courtyard and showing them around.

He had been secretly observing the Prince Rui's son and thought that he truly lived up to his name, possessing a dignified and noble bearing, exuding the air of a nobleman!

His Highness glanced at the small courtyard briefly, then nodded casually and commented, "It is indeed elegant and quiet."

After saying that, he looked at Old Niu and asked, "Steward Niu, I am feeling a little tired. Why don't you take me to my bedroom?"

“Alright, Your Highness, please follow me.” Niu Yuanshan immediately led him inside.

After entering the bedroom, Qin Bo and Eunuch Li stood guard outside the door, not going in, in order to prevent others from probing them with their spiritual senses.

As for the veiled girl, she didn't go inside, but instead looked around with curiosity.

After Prince Rui entered the bedroom, he sat down directly on the wooden stool, and his entire demeanor instantly changed.

Or rather, the way he looked at Niu Yuanshan changed instantly.

It was no longer as amicable as before, but had become a situation where those in power looked down on those in power.

He lowered his eyelids slightly and glanced at the old ox.

Just one glance was enough to make this hardworking oxen have some suspicions and want to kneel down.

As expected, Prince Rui's heir quickly spoke up: "Wood, Bing, Nine."

This is Niu Yuanshan's name, or rather, code name, within the organization.

People like him all use "metal, wood, water, fire, earth" as their surname, followed by "Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu", and finally a number.

Upon hearing these three words, Niu Yuanshan immediately knelt on the ground, performed a deep bow, and then his face flushed with excessive excitement as he said in a deep voice, "This humble servant, Mu Bingjiu, greets Your Highness!"

"Get up," he said indifferently, without even glancing at the kneeling old ox.

Niu Yuanshan, with his thick eyebrows, large eyes, and square face, stood up respectfully, his hands trembling uncontrollably.

Before he knew it, he had no idea how many years had passed.

Only then did the Crown Prince of Rui look at him and say, "Before I left the capital, someone from your [organization] sent me a secret message, giving me your identity."

"I never imagined that you had served as a steward in the Taoist sect for so many years."

"Okay, very good. You've worked hard all these years," he said with a smile.

Such a simple sentence brought tears to Niu Yuanshan's eyes, and he almost burst into tears.

In the end, all the words I wanted to say boiled down to: "It's not hard work for me!"

Prince Rui sighed, looked at him with considerable admiration, then got up, walked over, and gently patted his shoulder.

He was slightly taller than the old ox, and looked down at him, saying, "You don't need to say such things. In fact, I know your difficulties and would like to hear about the hardships you've endured over the years and hear your story."

"Because I know that people like you have some things bottled up inside, and after all these years, you have nowhere to say them, right?"

"So, what I want to hear is not your 'This humble servant has not suffered,' do you understand?"

Old Niu couldn't hold back any longer, and tears began to stream down his old face.

"Understood, sir!"

But he didn't complain; he only said these four words.

For him, all the bitterness in his heart vanished at that moment.

A thousand words are left unsaid.

Prince Rui's heir did not press the matter further, but instead gently patted his shoulder to comfort him before returning to his seat.

After sitting down, he said, "Before I left the capital, your [organization] gave me two files, one of you and the other of [Huo Dingyi]."

"You previously reported that he had become a nominal disciple of the Daoist sect. But this person is strange; so far, he hasn't sent any information back to the [organization]. Could something have happened to him?"

Niu Yuanshan immediately began to take the blame for Chu Huaixu, saying, "Your Highness, this is my fault. Since he entered the Daoist sect, I have been so busy with affairs that I haven't had a chance to find a safe and suitable opportunity to send a message home."

"As for Huo Dingyi, he's not available," Lao Niu added.

"Oh? Is that so?" The prince smiled and said, "I can tell from today that you are highly regarded in the Daoist sect. I estimate that you will be very busy with this Eastern Continent Grand Competition alone. I can understand that."

At this point, he smiled and asked, "Now that Huo Dingyi has become a disciple of the Daoist sect, has he participated in this Eastern Continent Grand Competition?"

(P.S.: Second update, please vote with monthly tickets.)
(End of this chapter)