Volume 1: Kyoto Storm Chapter 31: Punishing the Bully, Encounter with Tong Yuan

  Looking at the arrogant young man in Chinese attire, Liu Zhang couldn't help but smile and say: "I don't know who you are, yet you seem to know who I am?"

  "Mind your own business!" The young man in fancy clothes shouted loudly: "Guards! Take these two people down for me!"

  "Huh? A gust of wind blew by, but the young man's loud shout did not bring out his guards. Shi Ah shook her head, hugging her sword: "Those trash were already taken care of by me, what are you shouting for?"

  "You... I..." The young man finally panicked. He had brought five guards with him when he went out, two of whom were blocking the alley entrance, while the other three were hiding in secret. Yet, those three hidden experts were still taken down. This could only mean that this sword-wielding man was an expert among experts.

  "Oh no!" Looking at Liu Zhang and Shi Abao's kind smiles, the young man's mouth actually let out a cry more mournful than the girl he had bullied!

  "Go ahead and shout! Shout!" Liu Zhang said with an evil tone, mimicking the young man's intonation: "You can shout until your throat is hoarse, but no one will come to save you!"

  "Pfft!" Not only did Shi Ah laugh, but also the young girl who was just bullied by the youth laughed too. However, that youth couldn't laugh.

  Suddenly, a black shadow pounced on Shi Ah, tightly hugging his waist and shouting in his mouth: "Young master, hurry up and go find the old master for help!" It turned out to be the guard of the young man in Huafu who was knocked unconscious by Shi Ah, possibly because he had used too much force, and unexpectedly woke up.

  Crack! A crisp sound, Shi Ah's treasured sword smashed onto the guard's head, and that guard's eyes rolled back as he fainted. Meanwhile, the young man in fancy clothes took advantage of the opportunity to dash to the alley entrance.

  "Want to run?" Liu Zhang coldly hummed: "Sha Ah, break his legs!"

  "Yes! Young master!" Shi Ah saw a fist-sized stone on the ground, and with a swift kick, like kicking a football, he kicked it out. It hit the young man in elegant clothes right on the knee joint. A crisp cracking sound was heard, and the young man fell to the ground with a thud. However, he rushed out of the alley!

  Liu Zhang walked up to the young man, without distinguishing between right and wrong, and gave him a good beating. The young man, who was originally dignified and elegantly dressed, was instantly beaten into looking like a beggar.

  "Little brother, if you keep fighting, someone will end up dead!" A voice came from the crowd, landing clearly in Liu Zhang's ears.

  "This kind of scum, dying is not worth pitying!" Liu Zhang didn't even turn his head back, continuing to punch and kick. Fortunately, Liu Zhang was still young, otherwise this young man in fancy clothes would have been beaten to death long ago.

  Suddenly a cold light flashed by, Shi A's long sword came out of its scabbard, and a stone that was thrown at Liu Zhang fell to the ground.

  Shi Ah's eyes turned cold, scanning the crowd as he said, "What kind of hero stabs people in the back? If you have the guts, come out and fight me!"

  "I didn't want to hurt anyone!" A man in his 40s, holding a child slightly older than Liu Zhang, walked out of the crowd and said: "No matter who you are, killing someone on the street will be punished. I hope you two will think thrice!"

  Shi Ah just wanted to speak, but Liu Zhang stood out and said: "Sir, you don't know the situation. This person is a son of a wealthy and powerful family. Today I passed by and found him leading people in an alley trying to take advantage of a young girl! How could I let him off!"

  "Insulting women, ruining someone's reputation? He deserves to die!" The big Han's eyes flashed with a cold light: "But if the young master kills him, it may cause trouble! It's better to hand him over to the authorities..."

  "Make way! Make way!" The big man hadn't finished speaking when a team of soldiers parted the crowd and walked in.

  The young man in Chinese clothes saw the soldier and shouted loudly: "Save me!"

  It turned out that the soldiers were the reinforcements brought by the guards of Huafeng Youth, and the leader was just a Qu Zhang. Qu Zhang saw Huafeng Youth lying on the ground without human form and said: "Who are you?"

  "Liu Qu Chang, I am Li Xue Wei's son, Li Xiong!" The young man in the fancy clothes finally revealed his father's official position, and the big Han who stopped Liu Zhang from killing him also flashed a hint of sharpness in his eyes.

  "Ah! It's really Brother Li!" Liu Qu Chang seemed to have recognized the young man and couldn't help but ask, "Brother Li, how did you end up like this?"

  "Never mind! My maid escaped, I led people to chase her, but who knew that those two thugs beat me up. And now I'm asking Liu Qu Chang to help me uphold justice!" Li Xiong distorted the truth, while Liu Qu Chang seemed to be sizing up Liu Zhang with ill intentions.

  Liu Zhang and Shi Ah went out for a stroll, wearing ordinary people's clothes to disguise their identities. Although they were not as luxurious as before, they were still not something that a small household could afford. However, Youzhou had just been invaded by the Wuhuan, and it was a time when officials and bandits were indistinguishable. Some soldiers were actually local rascals who took advantage of the situation. If it weren't for the fact that no one was using them at the moment, Liu Yan would have gotten rid of these rascals long ago. This Liu Quzhang had quite an eye for people, and he could tell that Liu Zhang was not ordinary, so he asked: "May I ask the young master's name?"

  "Don't ask, take advantage of the young master not being angry yet, hurry up and roll!" Shi Ah was a disciple of Yanshan Daxia, and he had always looked down on those who oppressed the common people. Now this Liu Qu Chang obviously had a connection with the youth in fancy clothes, so naturally he didn't have a good temper. But Shi Ah's words made Liu Qu Chang come up with a bit of anger. The most important thing for a local tyrant is face, and Shi Ah's words were undoubtedly hitting Liu Qu Chang's face!

  "Since there's no one in charge, then let's have you and I return to the government office for now!" Liu Qu stretched out his hand behind him and gestured for the soldiers to rush forward.

  What kind of person is Shi Ah? Although he can't be compared to Wang Yue, it's still easy for him to take down a hundred or so rascals. Before long, all the men brought by Liu Qu were knocked down, and Li Xiong, who was watching from the side, was already frightened stiff!

  "Huh? Isn't this Wang's swordsmanship?" The big Han who just stepped out to stop Liu Zhang from killing someone thought to himself: "This young master has a disciple of Wang protecting him, could he be the emperor's son?"

  "Come on!" Liu Qu Chang saw that he had so many men under him, but still couldn't take down Shi Ah. He glared at Liu Zhang and pounced towards him with a fierce smile. Although he didn't know Liu Zhang's identity, Da Han couldn't let him get hurt after all, as Liu Zhang's chivalrous heart was something he greatly admired. Suddenly, Da Han stood in front of Liu Zhang and captured Liu Qu Chang with just one move!

  "Thank you, sir!" Liu Zhang bowed to the Great Han and said: "There is a wine tower across from us, please move your steps, let me slightly fulfill my intentions, may I?" The Great Han was not pretentious either. He followed Liu Zhang into the wine tower, while Li Xiong and Liu Qu Chang also entered the wine tower under Shi Ah's escort, and were thrown to one corner of the hall. The two men shrank together like weak women who had just been bullied, trembling with fear!

  The owner of the wine shop looked at Liu Zhang and the big man beating the son of the city gate school lieutenant like a dog, and was very worried in his heart. However, Liu Zhang's power made him dare not neglect to serve. In fact, Liu Zhang had the intention to deal with the evil forces in the city, otherwise he would not have let those people from Liuqu go to report the news. Moreover, when Liu Zhang saw the big man's skills, he had the idea of recruiting him.

  After the wine and dishes were served, Liu Zhang raised his cup and said, "Thank you, sir, for your kindness in helping me!"

  "You don't have to be polite, even if I weren't here, I believe you wouldn't just surrender, would you?" As the saying goes: an insider looks at the gate, while an outsider watches the excitement. Just now, when the big man saw Qu Chang attack the child, he didn't think twice and blocked Liu Zhang's way. But upon closer inspection, Liu Zhang's physical fitness is not inferior to that of Liu Chang, clearly also a long-time martial artist.

  Liu Zhang smiled and said: "In any case, I must thank you, sir. Otherwise, even if I could capture Qu Chang, it would be a lot of trouble! I respect you, sir!"

  The big Han drained the wine in his cup and said, "Actually, I helped you also for a reason. I saw that your guard's swordsmanship seems to have the shadow of an old friend of mine, so..."

  "May I ask the name of your old friend, sir?"

  "King of Yanshan, Yue!"

  "King Yue?!" Liu Zhang asked with a strange expression: "May I ask your surname and name, sir?"

  "Old Man Tongyuan!"

  "But what about Master Tongyuan?!" Liu Zhang jumped up. Ah, Tongyuan! He was the master of Zhao Yun and Zhang Ren, Zhang Xiu, one of the three great masters at the end of the Han dynasty.

  "Does little friend know old man?"

  "I've heard of your great name for a long time, but I never expected to meet you!" Liu Zhang smiled and said: "In terms of marksmanship, Mr. Tong is considered the best in the world. Now that I have the good fortune to see you, it's really a blessing for a junior like me..."

  "It doesn't have to be like that!" Tong Yuan laughed and said: "I think you have a strong sense of chivalry, although you can be a bit overbearing at times, but you're very measured. And with the appearance of my old friend's swordsmanship..."

  "Master!" Shi Ah walked in from outside, interrupting Tong Yuan's words. He looked strange and said: "That Li Xiong is actually the son of an acquaintance of ours!"

  "Oh?" Liu Zhang was taken aback and said: "Never mind him! Shi Ah, quickly pay your respects to Tong Yuan, Senior!"

  "Are you Tong Yuan?" Shi Ah looked at the big man in surprise and asked: "Could it be Xiangyang Tongyuan, also known as Xiongfu?"

  "It's really me!"

  "Ah! Disciple Wang Yue's first student Shi A sees his uncle!"

  "As expected, you're a disciple of Wang Yue! I knew it as soon as I saw your swordsmanship!" Tong Yuan smiled and said: "How's your master doing?"

  "Reporting back to Uncle Shi, my master is serving as the emperor's bodyguard in the palace, it's a great honor!" Shi Ah smiled and said: "I often think of you, Uncle Shi!"

  "That official is blind! He wants to cross swords with me!"

  "Master Shifu, now there are too few people who can be a worthy opponent for you!"

  "Go ahead and praise him!" Tong Yuan asked: "Who is this young master, why do I feel that his basic skills are very solid, but he seems to be unable to use martial arts?"

  "Reporting to Uncle Shi, the young master has made up his mind to become the Huo Qubing of this dynasty and should learn the art of killing enemies on horseback. You also know that although my master's martial arts skills are not bad, he is slightly lacking in horsemanship, so he only taught the young master basic skills! However, the young master has never given up and practices diligently every day!"

  "Oh? The young man has a good ambition! I wonder which family's son he is?"

  Liu Zhang stood up and said: "I am Liu Zhang, the son of Liu Yan, the governor of Youzhou. I wonder if you would be willing to give me some advice?"

  "Liu Yan? Are you a relative of the imperial family of Han?"

  "It is indeed!" Liu Zhang bowed and said: "If Master does not despise me, I am willing to bow to Master as my teacher, to learn the art of killing enemies on the battlefield, in order to protect the Great Han!"

  "Hmm!" Tong Yuan seemed to have just recognized Liu Zhang, sizing him up and down without saying a word. Suddenly, Tong Yuan's eyes lit up and he said: "The sword at your waist is the Snake-Slaying Sword?"

  "That's right! In the Liu family, there is still..." Before Liu Zhang could finish speaking, the door to the room was kicked open and a general wearing a helmet and armor stood in the doorway, glaring angrily.