Playing with fantasy beasts in the martial arts world

Chapter 144 The Old Bug and the Old Swordsman

"My name is Cha Nan!" Cha Nan simply introduced himself, without adding titles such as Guo Jing's disciple, Huang Yaoshi's grandson-in-law, or the successor of the Water Mother Yin Ji.

He didn't want to be too high-profile or make himself seem special.

"I've never heard of anyone named Cha Nan in the martial arts world!"

"So it's just a nobody!" Jiao Lin's foul mouth seemed to confirm even more that his martial arts skills were not bad in the past. After all, for such a foul-mouthed assassin to have lived to this age, he must have some skills.

“I may be an unknown person, but what about someone like you who once had a name but has been forgotten?” Cha Nan asked calmly.

The changes in the ancient-style martial arts world are much faster than those in the gold-style martial arts world.

In the world of the gold industry, people live in different generations over several decades. Even figures from a hundred years ago might be remembered by some people in the industry who are knowledgeable in archaeology.

However, in ancient times, the generational change often occurs every ten years. A prominent figure from ten years ago may become an unknown relic ten years later.

Those who can maintain their dominance and glory in the martial arts world for decades are undoubtedly grandmasters.

Chu Liuxiang has a great reputation and has done many great things, but in fact, it has been less than ten years since he became famous.

High walls, stone houses, large courtyards.

Chu Liuxiang led Jiao Lin and Cha Nan to a side gate in the back courtyard and told them, "Wait for me here, and don't leave."

The two nodded and agreed at the same time, but neither of them spoke after Chu Liuxiang left.

Cha Nan didn't try to find out Chu Liuxiang's secrets from Jiao Lin, because he knew very well that someone like Jiao Lin, whose martial arts skills were almost gone, hadn't been killed yet because he was very tight-lipped.

Moreover, Jiao Lin still has a role to play, and he won't admit that he knows Chu Liuxiang until this role is over.

You won't hear a single word from him about things he shouldn't say.

Before long, the side gate opened, and two very cute little boys with their hair in tufts of hair carried lanterns and greeted the guests with smiles.

The two followed them inside.

The courtyard is deep and secluded; in the dim light of the lanterns, one can only vaguely discern some picturesque flowers, trees, rocks, lakeside pavilions, and towers.

Chu Liuxiang was already waiting for them outside the gate of a small courtyard with five pavilions and bright halls. His face was beaming with a smile, the lights inside were bright, and wine was already laid out on the table. Everything about him was enough to warm the heart of a wandering swordsman.

Jiao Lin wasn't a talkative person, but at this point, he couldn't help but ask.

"where is this place?"

“It’s a place where you can stay for a month,” Chu Liuxiang replied with a smile.

“Actually, you can stay longer if you want, but I know you won’t stay for more than a month no matter where you are. Because no one will expect you to stay here, and no one will bother you. After a month, things will have changed, and probably no one will be in a hurry to find you.”

As Chu Liuxiang spoke, he emphasized, "Everyone only has one life. Those who have no life will not have wine to drink."

Jiao Lin started drinking, and the cold blood seeped into the warm blood. The wine warmed him up, and his blood became even hotter.

He seemed to have a lot to say, but when it came to his lips, he only felt his throat was dry and needed more wine to moisten it.

At this moment, Cha Nan also kept quiet and looked around, occasionally glancing at Chu Liuxiang, trying to discern more of his emotions from his face and eyes.

Unfortunately, he seemed to have arrived a little 'late'. By this time, Chu Liuxiang had already seen it all, and there were very few people who could see his true emotions and thoughts from his eyes and expressions.

Cha Nan did not immediately release the three grandmasters to gang up on Chu Liuxiang, beat him up, and force him to hand over the three-masted ship.

After all, the most famous thing about this master thief is his superb lightness skill, and then his underwater combat ability.

Even three grandmasters might not be able to keep Chu Xiangshuai from leaving.

Moreover, before encountering real danger, Cha Nan wanted to try it out and see what level of risk he could face alone without relying on his magical beasts and Palu.

This isn't being pretentious; it's about figuring out your limits as much as possible when everything is still under control.

We can't wait until one day, due to some unexpected event, we can no longer rely on the mythical beasts and Palus before we start thinking about how to deal with everything independently; by then, it will be too late.

“I’m just a desperate wanderer, my hands are unsteady, and my spirits have died. If it weren’t for you today, I would probably be dead by someone else’s sword.” Jiao Lin said sadly, “I can say that I’m finished. Why are you doing this to me?”

"I don't know why!"

"I usually don't have any particularly good reasons for doing things." Chu Liuxiang poured himself a drink, as if he was afraid that Cha Nan would pester him and want to play some truth-or-dare game with him, so he wanted to drink his fill of wine first.

"Do you know who the couple who sell the wine are? Do you know why they brought us here tonight?" Jiao Lin's tone shifted, becoming more pointed.

"I don't know and I don't want to know."

"why?"

"Because I already have enough trouble," Chu Liuxiang said with a wry smile, touching his nose.

Cha Nan almost followed suit when she saw him touching his nose... Luckily, she restrained herself.

After all, Chu Liuxiang can do this move without any problem, since it's his signature move. But if others try to imitate it, and too many people do it, it's inevitable that some will end up looking like a poor imitation.

"I can guarantee that even if you go and find dozens of people and add all their troubles together, they won't amount to half of what I have." Chu Liuxiang seemed to be sighing, not boasting at all, but he was still smiling.

It seems that no matter how difficult the world becomes, the smile on his face will never completely fade away.

Cha Nan is beginning to understand where Chu Liuxiang's charm comes from!

Just like one of the seven weapons, which actually refers to 'smile'.

Chu Liuxiang used this weapon very well.

"But you've gotten yourself into trouble again."

"Oh?"

"The people who were eating noodles at that stall just now are so quick to kill and so expensive that there aren't many people in the martial arts world who can match them, and there aren't many people who can afford their prices either."

"I should be able to guess that what they're doing must be something extremely secretive and important." "I can always guess at least a little bit."

"Anyone who can think of this will probably not be let go."

“They wouldn’t care if they killed one more person,” Jiao Lin said in one breath, then took a big gulp of wine.

Cha Nan, listening from the side, wanted to sneer rudely: "Keep pretending! You old codger! You're just pretending... you only know a little about this? No... you know far too much!"

Chu Liuxiang smiled.

"I've thought of that too, but they might be a little more polite to me and give me some face."

"why?"

"Because one of them seemed to recognize me."

Jiao Lin had been keeping his head down, staring at the wine in his glass, when he suddenly looked up upon hearing those words.

"Now I understand why they let me go."

A light suddenly shone in his haggard, lifeless eyes: "Long black bamboo poles, no one survives under their swords, yet even he didn't touch me."

Jiao Lin raised his glass and drank it all in one gulp, then laughed loudly: "Now I understand who they are afraid of. I, Jiao Lin, have fallen on hard times, yet I never thought I would be so fortunate as to meet you."

He downed the cup in one gulp, the effects of the alcohol rising within him.

“I really wanted that job. I knew the price they offered wouldn’t be low, at least enough for me to live comfortably for a year or two. I also knew who they were going to kill, and that person deserved to die.”

Jiao Lin said, "Although my hands are stained with blood, I have never taken ill-gotten gains. I wanted that job simply because I didn't want to starve to death."

Jiao Lin laughed again and said, "But I can see the famous Chu Xiangshuai today, and I have no regrets even if I die today."

"You're not going to die."

Chu Liuxiang's eyes were clear, and even though he had seen too many unjust people, they had not been tainted by the turbidity of the world: "A person who should not die will not die easily even if he wants to."

This is clearly a tug-of-war between two seasoned veterans.

If Cha Nan hadn't known the direction and plot beforehand, he would definitely have been completely confused.

In short, Jiao Lin had a big, dangerous matter to ask Chu Liuxiang to handle, but he had no reward to offer, only his worthless old life.

Chu Liuxiang hesitated, not wanting to agree, only wanting to save Jiao Lin's life, which would be considered as him not leaving him to die.

The possibility that someone would appear in a very secluded place and happen to save someone is extremely low!

Chu Liuxiang suddenly started touching his nose again: "I have a friend who just can't die. Everyone thinks he's going to die, but he just can't die."

Mentioning this friend, Chu Liuxiang seemed to want to touch his nose, and couldn't help but sigh: "I haven't seen him for several years, and I didn't expect to suddenly hear about him again."

"What news?" Jiao Lin couldn't help but ask.

"You want me to find him? Go find him in a tree."

"You mean a tree?" Jiao Lin tried his best to hide his surprise.

"A tree with branches and leaves?"

"It's that kind of tree."

"Is your friend waiting for you to come find him in a tree?"

"He's probably been waiting there for a long time."

Chu Liuxiang said, "I'm afraid we've been waiting for twenty days already."

"You've been waiting in the tree the whole time?"

"It's probably always been there."

"I don't understand, I really don't understand."

Jiao Lin smiled wryly: "Sometimes I like to sit on a tree, bring a gourd of wine, and pick some fruit to eat. But no matter who I'm waiting for, I won't wait on a tree for this long."

"Perhaps it's just because the wine you brought wasn't good enough, the food you ate was just sour wild fruit, and you didn't have a beautiful woman by your side."

“If you had all of these… then you would be willing to stay in the tree for twenty days!” Cha Nan finally interjected.

He knew very well that after Chu Liuxiang refused Jiao Lin's request for help, he gave him a reason why he couldn't agree to help.

Of course, this reason wasn't made up by Chu Liuxiang, because there really was such a person who was trapped in a tree.

Even if Chu Liuxiang finds this person, he will still go back to the starting point and do what Jiao Lin wants him to do. However, Cha Nan is a little impatient. He is not here to listen to stories, nor is he here to experience and see stories firsthand.

It was already very polite of them to wait until they had said all that.

"Chu Liuxiang! I am here on my master's orders to make things difficult for you and to settle this with you."

"Now that Lao Jiao needs your help, and you don't want to agree, why don't you let me do it? I'll do what Lao Jiao wants to do but doesn't have the ability to do... Once I've finished it and done it well... then give me your ship, how about that?" Cha Nan couldn't possibly search the whole world for a ship like looking for a needle in a haystack. Chu Liuxiang's three-masted ship didn't have any obvious markings or names. If he hadn't personally led the way, Cha Nan would never have been able to find it.

The reason why Jellyfish Yin Ji set this task was actually to prevent Cha Nan from slacking off and to force him to confront Chu Liuxiang.

However, Cha Nan still decided to take a shortcut and use Jiao Lin's desire to achieve his goal of defeating Chu Liuxiang.

In fact, this incident did indeed greatly benefit Cha Nan's performance.

Because throughout the entire story of 'Legend of the New Moon', Chu Liuxiang himself is like a spectator; he only participates but does not actually change anything or the outcome.

　My wife will be discharged from the hospital tomorrow, and I'll resume the usual three updates a day. Then I'll see if I can make up for any extra updates!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)