Chapter 53: The Art of Disguise

  "Is Wu Ming unmatched in the world?"

  When Yao Bo said this, the crowd on the scene was stunned. Although Wu Ming gave them a feeling of being unfathomable, after all, Wu Ming had no reputation and had not achieved anything in Jianghu before, so it was impossible for them to believe this statement.

  However, no one expected that Yao Bo's casual remark of "killing with praise" would soon become a legendary story in the Jianghu about Wu Ming.

  That's another story, let's not mention it for now.

  Wu Ming couldn't help but laugh awkwardly when he heard Yao Bo's excessive praise, thinking to himself that although his martial arts skills had reached the level of a top-notch master, comparable to Qiao Feng and Murong Fu, he still lagged behind Murong Bo and Qiao Feng's father. And if compared to Shaolin Temple's Sweeping Monk, the gap was even more enormous. The idea of being "unparalleled in the world" was simply ridiculous, which made him think of a modern phrase: "overpraising to the point of killing".

  Wu Ming said in a low voice, "Yao Zhai's praise is misplaced. As for being the best under heaven, I'm ashamed and dare not accept it. Let's not mention that. Since you've lost, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and take your men away!"

  When speaking, Wu Ming's eyes turned cold and swept towards Yao Bo, with a strong intention of not leaving immediately and taking action again.

  Yao Boda felt a chill in his heart and hastily said, "Thank you, Wu Gongzi, for sparing my life. I, Yao Boda, will leave with my men now. We'll meet again someday."

  After finishing speaking, Yao Bo did not dare to stay any longer, and let his subordinates support each other, leaving "Listening Fragrance Pavilion" in a dejected manner.

  Wu Ming walked up to Wang Yu Yan's side, smiling as he handed over the jade hairpin: "Miss Wang, fortunately it wasn't a failure, thank you for your jade hairpin, now it's returned intact."

  "Wu Gongzi was being polite." Wang Yu smiled and took the jade hairpin, but her jade finger was accidentally brushed by Wu Ming.

  Both were shocked, Wang Yu Yan's face turned red, and she glared at Wu Ming with a hint of anger, while Wu Ming could only shrug and smile innocently, but his heart was slightly stirred.

  As expected, she is indeed the fairy sister in Tian Long Ba Bu that Duan Yu likes the most. Just by touching her fingers, there's an indescribably wonderful feeling.

  Of course, this idea was only a momentary thing, and soon Wu Ming heard Ah Zhu laughing and saying: "Thank you, Mr. Wu, for helping me drive away the wicked guest."

  Wu Ming smiled and said: "A Zhu sister, don't be in a hurry to thank me, this wicked guest has only been driven away half now, wait until I drive the remaining half away, you can thank me later."

  After the people from Yunzhou Qin's village left, the group of strange guests from Sichuan were still standing on the scene, and they didn't leave. This made Wu Ming feel annoyed in his heart. He turned his head and suddenly shouted at them in a low voice: "You also quickly leave Tingxiang Shui Ge, otherwise don't blame me Wu Ming for being ruthless."

  As Yao Bo saw this group of northerners being defeated by the young man and leaving in disarray, the various guests from Sichuan also felt a sense of fear in their hearts.

  But this time they came for revenge, if they just left like that, it would seem unacceptable on the face of it.

  "Don't be too arrogant, we can't even get past a single word. We came here to meet Murong Gongzi and ask about one thing clearly. It's said that guests are welcome, but since we haven't caused any trouble, why do you want to drive us away?"

  The speaker was a man in his thirties, dressed in white robes, who seemed to be the leader of this group of Sichuan guests. He was being so polite because he was intimidated by Wu Ming's unfathomable kung fu skills; otherwise, he would have already drawn his sword and attacked.

  Wu Ming sneered inwardly and was about to retort when Ah Zhu asked, "Who are you people, where did you come from, and what business do you have with the young master?"

  The man in white robes shook his head and said: "This matter is of great importance, we must see the young master before we can inform him."

  Wang Yu Yan coldly smiled and said: "If you can't talk about the matter, then you should at least be able to say something about your identities. Actually, even if you don't say anything, as soon as you make a move against Wu Gongzi later, I'll be able to guess where you're from."

  Inside the Tianlong, Wang Yuyan may not know any martial arts, but her familiarity with various schools and styles of martial arts is unmatched by anyone. Wu Ming had some expectations for her next move, so he stood aside smiling, without making a sound to stop her.

  The man in white naturally didn't believe it and said coldly: "Miss, if what you say is true, then what if I guess incorrectly?"

  Wang Yu Yan smiled and said, "If you can't guess it, then I'll take the liberty of acting on behalf of the master of this house and have you stay here for a night." After finishing speaking, she immediately asked Ah Zhu, "Ah Zhu, is that alright?"

  "A Zhu smiled and replied: 'The young lady has spoken, how dare I have any objections?'"

  The man in white robes asked in surprise: "Could it be that you are a young lady of the Murong family?"

  Wang Yu Yan shook her head and said: "Don't make wild guesses, I am not the young lady of the Murong family. Old Master Murong is my uncle-in-law."

  The man in white said, "So that's how it is. Well, I'll just exchange a few moves with Wu Gongzi then. Miss, you watch closely, if you can really guess my origin, I'll leave immediately." He had previously watched the battle between Wu Ming and Yao Bo, and he knew the gap was too great, so this was just an excuse to give himself a way out.

  "Very well, then let's begin."

  As Wang Yu Yan's voice fell, the white-robed man suddenly inserted his left hand into the right sleeve of his robe and his right hand into the left sleeve, just like warming his hands on a winter day. Soon, both hands each pulled out a strange-shaped blade.

  In his left hand was a six or seven inch long iron awl, the tip of which was curved in two places. In his right hand was an octagonal small hammer, with a handle only one foot long and a head that was not as big as a normal person's fist. The two weapons were small and exquisite, like children's toys, and seemed to be of no use at all when facing the enemy.

  Wu Ming had long forgotten many of the plot points about Tian Long, and this white-robed man wasn't an important character anyway, so it was natural that he couldn't remember him. At this time, seeing the sword in his hand, he just thought it looked interesting, but still couldn't recall his sect or identity.

  At this time, Wang Yuyan suddenly said: "This is 'Lei Gong Hong', you must be good at lightness and hidden weapons. The book says that 'Lei Gong Hong' is a unique sword of the Qingcheng School in Qingcheng Mountain, Sichuan Province. The word 'Qing' has nine beats, the word 'Cheng' has eighteen breaks, it's strange and unpredictable. Are you a descendant of the Qingcheng family, with the surname Sima?"

  The man in white robes was shocked, his face changed drastically, and he exchanged glances with several fellow disciples beside him. After a while, he exclaimed: "Miss is amazing! The reputation of the Su Mu family is indeed well-deserved. I am Sima Lin, dare to ask Miss, are there really nine strokes of the character 'qing'? Are there really eighteen breaks in the character 'cheng'?"

  Wang Yu Yan said, "Your question is well asked. I think the word 'qing' should be called ten dozen, which is more suitable. Although Tie Bu Ti and Tie Lian Zi have similar shapes, their uses are vastly different, so they can't be lumped together. As for the eighteen breaks of the character 'cheng', the three moves of breaking armor, breaking shields, and breaking plaques don't have any special features, it seems like there's a suspicion that they were intentionally added to make up the number eighteen. In my opinion, they could be cancelled or merged, called fifteen breaks or sixteen breaks, which would be more concise."

  When he heard this, Wu Ming suddenly remembered that he had seen the Qingcheng Sect's martial arts secrets "Qingzi Nine Strikes" and "Chengzi Eighteen Breaks" in the "Liangxuan Jade Cave", but at that time, he only took a casual glance. How could Wang Yuyan remember it so clearly? He couldn't help but greatly admire her, indeed a clever and wise girl.

  Sim Lin was shocked after hearing it, and it was hard to believe that his own proud ultimate skill was not as clear as the other party's. He couldn't help but smile bitterly: "Miss is indeed a divine person, thank you for your guidance, this time I, Sima Lin, lost, and now I will leave with my men."

  In fact, Sima Lin's sudden departure was due to Wu Ming by his side. He knew he wasn't a match for him, and even if he forced himself to take action, it would be humiliating, so it was better to take this opportunity to leave.

  Wang Yu Yan smiled and said: "Very well, you can leave for now. If it's really important, wait until my brother comes back and then come to see him again."

  Sim Lin nodded his hand and said: "Thank you, miss. We'll meet again." Then he turned to the crowd of fellow students and waved his hand, saying: "Let's go."

  Wu Ming was never one to be overly aggressive or confrontational, so when the other party chose to leave of their own accord, he naturally wouldn't speak out against it. He simply smiled and stepped aside, not making things difficult for these people.

  The Qingcheng Sect's group of over twenty people quickly left Tingxiang Shuiwei.

  "Ding Dong!"

  "Congratulations on completing the Book Spirit System task [Drive Away the Unwelcome Guest], and receiving the reward of Easy Disguise Technique."

  As the prompt sound came into his mind, Wu Ming suddenly felt that there was some knowledge about disguise techniques in his memory, including how to dress up, how to change his voice, and the descriptions were very detailed. What's even more amazing is that Wu Ming seemed to have completely grasped the essence of it all at once, and he just needed to verify it by trying it out himself later.

  Hehe, this is really great now. With this magical disguise technique, it will be much more convenient for me to go in and out of many places in the future.

  Wu Ming's mind suddenly became a jumble of thoughts and fancies.

  Two batches of wicked guests left one after another, which made Azhu very happy. She looked at Wu Ming with a different eye and smiled: "Wu Gongzi, fortunately you took action this time, otherwise I don't know what kind of mess these wicked guests would have made here."

  Wu Ming came back to himself, smiled slightly and said: "A Zhu sister, you're being so polite that it's getting awkward. If you want to thank me, just have the kitchen cook some good dishes. My stomach seems to be growling with hunger."

  "Azhu smiled and said: 'Don't worry, I won't starve you. Let me have Old Guo prepare a table of dishes for us.'"