Chapter 17: Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

  Xiao Shi Tou was taken aback and asked, "What's the point of finding Zhao Da... Sword King?"

  "Alas! This has to start from when Jian Bing, the newly appointed leader of Mount Hua Sect's Spring Water Divine Sword, was full of vigor and ambition. At that time, he was unmatched in his prime, with a reputation that shone brightly as one of the Three Great Divine Swords. What glory!" Xiaoshi heard this and felt somewhat perplexed, asking "What does this have to do with Zhao Jianwang?"

  Qingxu said, "Originally, it didn't matter, but at that time, it was widely rumored that the Chunshui Shenjian Jianbing Sword Technique was no stronger than Zhao Wujin's Chiyan Sword, the carefree sword king!"

  Xiao Shi Tou let out an "ah" and somewhat understood. Qing Xu continued, "You think Jian Bing is arrogant and wants to compare with Zhao Jian Wang. At that time, Zhao Jian Wang was already a well-known senior, not to mention his demeanor and temperament were not comparable to others. After hearing this, he just smiled and ignored it. But the disciples of Huashan Sect started talking nonsense..."

  "What nonsense are they talking about?" Xiaoshi heard this and his impression of Huashan Sect had already reached the worst, Zhao Wujin's position in his heart was no different from that of Zheng Lao, he was one of the people closest to him, and he would not allow anyone to harm or slander them.

  Qingxu didn't know the relationship between Xiaoshi and Zhao Wujin, so he said, "What else can be said? It's all just nonsense!" Qingxu also had some opinions about Huashan Sect. "This time someone got angry and rushed up to Huashan in a fit of rage!"

  The little stone heard this tone and seemed not to be Zhao Wuji on Mount Hua, asked "Isn't it Zhao Jianwang?"

  Qing Xū shook his head and said, "No, at that time Zhao Jian Wang was said to be a guest at the Dàguāngmíng Temple in Western Kunlun. It's on Mount Huashan that Master Gu Shu is!"

  Xiao Shi Tou suddenly realized that Gu Chang Feng and Zhao Wu Ji were both good friends and renowned masters, so it was strange that Gu Chang Feng didn't go to Mount Hua Sect after hearing them slander Zhao Wu Ji.

  Here is the translation:

  "Then, Master Qing continued, 'When Master Gu arrived at Mount Hua, he didn't waste any time and directly attacked from the foot of the mountain to the top of Chaoyang Peak. He truly treated the experts of the Mount Hua Sect and their various array formations as nothing, and in one breath, he reached the Longsheng Temple, which is the stronghold of the Mount Hua Sect and where their ancestors have been worshipped for generations.' When Master Qing said this, Xiao Shi Tou's eyes widened with excitement, thinking about how Master Gu had defeated the Mount Hua Sect. He eagerly asked, 'Big Brother, what happened next? Tell me quickly!' Master Qing looked at Xiao Shi Tou's excited face and regretted telling him this story, which was a great shame for the Mount Hua Sect. But since he had already said so much, he continued, 'When Master Gu arrived at Longsheng Temple, Jian Bing had no choice but to come out and stop him. Master Gu directly challenged Jian Bing, saying "You're not afraid of Zhao Wuji, are you? Since he's not willing to come, I'll try your Spring Water Sword!" Jian Bing saw that things had reached this point and knew that there was nothing he could say. Originally, some things were not his to say, but his disciples had been talking nonsense about him being the most powerful. Now that Master Gu had arrived at the Mount Hua Sect's headquarters, if they didn't take action, the Mount Hua Sect would lose its reputation as one of the top sects in the world. Jian Bing had no choice but to fight Master Gu, and a great battle was about to begin. Just then, Zhao Sword King descended from the sky and persuaded Master Gu to leave with him.' Master Qing stopped speaking here. Xiao Shi Tou listened to the end and looked disbelieving, asking Master Qing, 'That's it? They didn't even fight in the end?' Master Qing was made to feel guilty by Xiao Shi Tou's gaze, but his expression remained unchanged, and he calmly replied, 'It's over. Zhao Sword King was wise and persuaded Master Gu to stop. Since they both backed down, Jian Bing also didn't want to stir up trouble again, so nothing happened! These past few days, people have been saying that Zhao Sword King has been struck by the Nine Heavens Thunderbolt and has become a mortal. I suppose Luo Ming saw the Red Flame Sword aura and came to see if it was really Zhao Sword King.' Xiao Shi Tou thought for a long time and still felt that something wasn't right, but Master Qing's words didn't have any flaws. He shook his head and didn't say anything else. Master Qing secretly let out a sigh of relief, thinking that this little stone was too difficult to deal with. But he didn't know that Xiao Shi Tou was going to verify what he had said with Zhao Wuji."

  "Big brother, is what this senior brother said correct? Was it you who persuaded Master Gu to leave?"

  Zhao Wuji has been lost in thought since he split the black cloud with his sword. When Xiaoshi asked him, he said, "Ah! What he said is right, I was the one who persuaded Gu Changfeng to leave!"

  Xiao Shi Tou was distracted by what he said and had some doubts in his heart. But Zhao Wu Jin had never deceived him, so he believed Qing Xu's words.

  The two of them had been busy for a whole night, and by the time the sky was already bright, people had come to fetch water from the spring. The nearby residents all used the spring water from Wusong Mountain as their source of water for cooking and washing clothes. Xiaoshi looked around and saw that there were even two monks pushing large buckets to fetch water. He asked Qingxu, "Master, since the temple on the mountain is so close to the spring, why do you need to use such a big bucket to fetch water?"

  Qingxu took a look at the attire of those two monks and said, "They are from Biquan Temple at the foot of the mountain. Although they are dressed as monks, they are actually laymen, not real monks."

  "Biqiuan Temple!" Xiaoshi thought of the Biqiuan wine that his old man liked to drink, which was brewed by Biqiuan Temple. He said, "Big Brother, aren't monks not allowed to drink? Why are they still brewing wine?"

  Qingxu laughed and said, "So you also know about Bi Quan wine. This Bi Quan Temple is not a real temple, but a winery! Because its boss is a bald man named Jia, people call him the fake monk. At first, he was very angry, but later he thought it over and changed his winery's name to Bi Quan Temple. As soon as he did, many people came to drink wine, and since his wine was indeed good, from then on Bi Quan wine became famous everywhere! The partners of this Bi Quan Temple are all dressed up like monks, but look at them, they're bald but haven't taken vows!"

  The little stone didn't expect that the Bi Quan Temple actually had such an origin. Looking at those two monks, they were indeed fake monks. He couldn't help but laugh and say, "So that's how it is! When I was in Chi Jin Town, I wondered why monks would brew wine!" Saying this, he glanced at the two fake monks again.

  Qingxu thought it was a bit strange that Xiaoshi hadn't slept all night, but he still looked energetic and didn't seem tired. He had been practicing for years, so going without sleep for ten days or half a month wasn't a big deal for him. But considering Xiaoshi's age, if he went one night without sleep, he should have been yawning nonstop by now. Yet looking at his current vigorous state was truly strange! Qingxu thought to himself "He's really an oddball!" and then asked Xiaoshi, "Little brother, are you tired?" Xiaoshi also found it a bit strange that he hadn't felt tired after going one whole night without sleep. He replied, "I'm not tired, big brother. I don't know why I didn't feel sleepy at all last night." Qingxu thought to himself "How would I know!" but said out loud, "Maybe you're just too excited. Since you're not tired, let's get going early and hurry along. We're not far from Mount Kongtong now!" Xiaoshi got even more excited when he thought about finally meeting his master, whom he had never seen before. He exclaimed, "Okay!" but then his stomach started growling. Although he wasn't tired, his stomach was definitely hungry!

  Qing Xū listened clearly and laughed, "Don't rush to leave, eating a full meal is important!" Xiao Shí Tóu naturally didn't object.

  The two of them got off the mountain and had breakfast at a small restaurant nearby. However, this restaurant was also just opening and nothing was prepared. The boss, an old man in his sixties, seeing that customers had arrived, couldn't say there was no food, so he said: "Two guests, if you're not in a hurry, please wait for a moment. I'll get my wife to cook some noodles for you, how's that?" Qing Xu knew that at this time the restaurants and teahouses in the city were also not open, so he said: "Then we'll trouble you, old man! We're not in a hurry!"

  The old man laughed and said, "No trouble! No trouble! What's a shop owner afraid of? Please sit down, you two. It'll be ready right away!" After he finished speaking, he yelled at the people inside to bring out two bowls of noodles. The people inside responded with a shout, and then there were sounds of movement coming from inside.

  The little stone looked at the old man with a kind face and white hair, somewhat resembling Old Zheng. Looking around, the store was not very big, only about seven or eight tables could be placed outside, and inside should be the kitchen. He asked, "Old man, how's business here?"

  The old man smiled and said, "You're too polite, sir. Don't look at my small shop, but business is still good. Usually not many people come, but on the first and fifteenth of every month when people come to burn incense and make wishes on this mountain, my little shop can't hold them all!" The old man seemed quite talkative too.

  Qingxu paid more attention to the old man, sizing him up from the side. The plain blue robe was very simple, and his tall and slender figure looked neat and tidy. He thought to himself, "I didn't expect to run into a fellow practitioner here, it's really a gathering of hidden dragons and crouching tigers! Looking at his demeanor, he seemed naturally composed, with his vital energy contained within, not revealing anything. If I hadn't been particularly attentive, he would have fooled me. This person's skills are very deep! I wonder which family he belongs to?" He asked, "Old sir, you're not from around here, are you?"

  The old man laughed and said, "Master Dao has figured it out, my hometown is in Shandong!" Qingxu also smiled and said, "I said that the old gentleman's tone had a bit of Lu accent, indeed correct!"

  The old man sighed and said "It's hard to change one's native accent!" After finishing speaking, he seemed to recall some past events and let out another soft sigh.

  Qingxu was about to say something, but just then a voice from inside the house called out, "Old man, stop chatting with the guests and come help!" It was an old woman's voice. The old man responded with a "yes" and said to Qingxu, "I'll go help, you two wait for a moment!" Then he went into the house to lend a hand.

  Qingxu smiled slightly as he watched the old man's back, thinking to himself "Indeed a Shandong native!" Xiaoshi didn't notice anything unusual, but felt that this old man was more spirited than Old Zheng.

  Qing Xū and Xiao Shí Tóu hadn't waited for long when the old man brought out two big bowls of steaming hot noodles, saying "You two take your time, there's more if it's not enough" before putting down the noodles and going back inside. It seemed like the old woman was annoyed that he talked too much and didn't want him outside.

  Qing Xū didn't say another word, and Xiao Shi Tóu had already lowered his head to eat noodles. Just as the two of them were lowering their heads to eat noodles, a blue shadow flashed at the entrance, and someone walked in.

  Qing Xū raised his head and took a look, secretly sighing in his heart. The newcomer had a large ear and was tall and imposing, wearing a blue robe. It wasn't someone else, but rather Luo Ming, the Luò Yǐng Jiàn of Huashan School!