Chapter 2: You'll Die Like This!

  Tian Boguang drew out the short knife from his waist and was about to make a move. Chen Xiao's heart was also racing with anxiety.

  Whether it's the original "The Smiling Proud Wanderer" or the TV series "New Smiling Proud Wanderer", at least one thing is universally acknowledged, that Tian Boguang's knife skills are extremely fast.

  He was a newcomer, with not even half a point of martial arts skills on his body. If he made a move, it would definitely be a disaster, and if he didn't die, it would be considered good luck. But if he didn't make a move, could he just watch as this kind-hearted Yilin sister was humiliated by him, and then be eliminated by the great martial arts system?

  Nowadays, Chen Xiao has no choice but to grit his teeth and go all in!

  Since that big martial arts system gave itself ten points of favorability, it shouldn't be the case that I'd get killed as soon as I arrived in this world, right?

  Chen Xiao sank his waist and sat on the horse, his left hand stretched out in front of him, slightly curved, while his right hand was raised at a 90-degree angle, with both palms open, forming a classic "Huang Feihong" pose. He said, "Let's see who's true skills are superior!"

  Tian Boguang looked at Chen Xiao's stance and couldn't help but laugh: "I'm saying, Brother Chen, what kind of martial arts route is this? I see that your lower body is empty and floating, you shouldn't have practiced martial arts before, right? Do you really want to intervene in Tian's trivial matters?"

  Chen Xiao hooked his left hand and said proudly: "When I see injustice, I draw my sword to help. Brother Tian says I have no martial arts skills, let's try again!"

  At this time, Yilin on the side also saw that Chen Xiao was really unstable and had no martial arts skills. Although his momentum was not bad, almost all of his moves were flaws, and he hastily said: "Young Master Chen, this villain is very powerful, you'd better not interfere with me!"

  At this time, she was still more concerned about Chen Xiao's safety.

  Yi Lin's words were met with a firm shake of Chen Xiao's head, who said solemnly: "Sister Yi Lin, your words are not right. Matters of the Jianghu are handled by its people. Even if I didn't have martial arts skills, today I'm willing to be a great hero, haha, it's just one death!"

  "What an extraordinary death! Tian certain will learn of Chen brother's ingenuity today!"

  Tian Boguang let out a loud shout, and with a ghostly movement, he charged forward. Instantly, the light from his knife flashed in the air, and Chen Xiao only saw occasional flashes of white light appearing in the sky, which was the reflection of sunlight on the blade. Before he could even react, his entire body was filled with intense pain, and incredibly, in the instant before he could even launch an attack, he had already been slashed by Tian Boguang's knife countless times.

  Blood-soaked.

  Deeply shocked.

  Tian Boguang jumped back to his original position, sheathed his sword and stood up, but was even more surprised than Chen Xiao. He said in surprise: "Brother Chen, you really don't know martial arts? Fortunately, Tian had some mercy just now, otherwise Brother Chen would have already died under Tian's sword!"

  He had previously taken action, with his swift and deadly knife, it would have been easy to kill Chen Xiao in just a few moves. However, he couldn't quite grasp Chen Xiao's true nature, but subconsciously felt that this person seemed somewhat pleasing to the eye, so he held back seven parts of his strength and didn't take things to the extreme.

  Hurting someone and killing them look like they differ by only one word, but the consequences are vastly different. Even with Tian Boguang's lightness skill, he didn't dare to truly kill Chen Xiao in one move. Otherwise, if Chen Xiao really had a powerful backer, it would be a dead end with no way out.

  But now Fang is making a move, Chen Xiao obviously doesn't have any martial arts skills. This time Tian Boguang was really surprised.

  He was surprised that Chen Xiao, an ordinary person, dared to intervene in his affairs and even showed no fear of death. He couldn't help but feel a little admiration for him, and immediately gave a thumbs up, saying: "Brother Chen has great courage! Most people in the jianghu would run away as soon as they see Tian Mou, but I didn't expect that Brother Chen, an ordinary person, would dare to say such brave words. Such courage is truly admirable. Why don't we just drop the matter here?"

  Although he is a flower thief, both the original and TV drama adaptations have surprisingly consistent evaluations of Tian Boguang.

  Fast knife, generous, pure men.

  He could say such things, Chen Xiao was not surprised at all, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, endured the pain and said: "Brother Tian, it's not that I don't want to be brothers with you, but since you've caught Yilin sister, if I let you leave as is, my heart won't be at peace. As the saying goes, one must have a conscience when doing things, having stumbled upon this, I'll have to lend a hand and rescue her, even if it means dying here."

  "Come on again!"

  Matsumoto no Yoshitsune charged straight ahead.

  Tian Boguang easily dodged Chen Xiao's several clumsy attacks, the swift blade in his hand flashed again, and "chi chi" sounds rang out. Chen Xiao was stabbed in the leg and fell to the ground with a thud.

  "Ha! Brother, you're a good man, but I, Tian Boguang, am the infamous Flower Thief. We're not on the same path, and Yilin sister is destined to be my wife. As for you, I won't kill you, just leave quickly, how about it?"

  Chen Xiao struggled to get up, his whole body in severe pain, but still said: "If you don't let Miss Yilin go today, if you want to leave, you'll have to step over my dead body!"

  His words were spoken with great righteousness, and in his mind, the system's prompt sounded again: "Acquired Yilin's favorability 20, recovery power +30%."

  As expected, along with the system's prompt, Chen Xiao's wounds all over his body actually started to itch a bit and didn't hurt as much as before.

  Feeling the change in his body, Chen Xiao was both delighted and worried. He was happy that he had indeed gained some benefits, but he was also worried because this great martial arts system seemed to be real, which meant that if he couldn't save Yilin, he might really be erased!

  At this time, Tian Boguang heard Chen Xiao's words and rushed forward without saying a word. Another flash of the knife, followed by a kick, sent Chen Xiao flying out with his entire body covered in blood.

  Cut down Chen Xiao, Tian Boguang held up the short knife in his hand and said: "You're really stubborn, do you know your mistake now? Stop struggling, can't we just go our separate ways? I'm not interested in men, so don't bother me!"

  He had just finished speaking and was about to turn around and take Yilin away, but he only heard Chen Xiao's slightly weak voice ringing out again: "When I see injustice on the road, I draw my sword to help. Letting you humiliate Sister Yilin right before my eyes is absolutely impossible!"

  Chen Xiao's words were as sharp as a knife, but Tian Boguang felt a chill run down his spine. He turned around and sized Chen Xiao up and down, sighing: "Brother Chen, if you keep going like this, you'll really die! Do you know Miss Yilin? You're just an ordinary person with no martial arts skills at all, why get involved in this muddy water? I, Tian, respect you as a man of honor, and don't want to kill you. Don't misunderstand my good intentions."

  He said this, Chen Xiao suddenly let out a breath of air, smiled freely and said: "Although we don't know each other, since we've met, if I were to pretend I didn't see you, my conscience would be uneasy for the rest of my life, and I wouldn't be able to sleep soundly at night. It's just a pity that I have no martial arts skills, otherwise, if I could fight with Brother Tian for 300 rounds, even if I died, it would be exhilarating!"

  The system voice sounded again: "Acquired Tian Boguang's favorability 20, Yilin's favorability 30, recovery power +60%."

  In an instant, more than a dozen knife wounds appeared on his body, and the pain seemed to ease a bit.

  As expected, Tian Boguang burst out laughing and gave a thumbs up again, saying: "Good fellow, that's satisfying!" He had been feeling that Chen Xiao was quite to his liking from the start, and now after hearing Chen Xiao's words, he felt even more that this little brother was quite in line with his tastes.

  At this time, Tian Boguang had already determined that there was no expert hiding in the simple thatched hut. Otherwise, he would have come out earlier. He went into the house and took out a somewhat dilapidated wooden stool, placed it in the small courtyard of the grass house, and pressed Chen Xiao to sit down, saying: "Brother Chen, you don't have any martial arts skills. If Tian certain were to fight with you again, that would be bullying the weak with strength. Although Tian is a notorious flower thief, he still wouldn't stoop to doing such a thing."

  Chen Xiao saw that Tian Boguang's attitude had changed, and he secretly rejoiced, smiling: "Brother Tian is indeed a man of his word. However, even if you say so, I still have to think of a way to rescue Yilin."

  Yi Lin, who was standing by, felt anxious in her heart. Chen Xiao was such a righteous person, and she thought that if Zhenyi wasn't careful and died at the hands of Tian Boguang, it would be extremely tragic. In a moment of urgency, she blurted out: "Big bad... Tian... Tian Boguang, you, don't make things difficult for Young Master Chen, I'll go with you."

  As he spoke, a line of tears slowly flowed down, his palms joined together, and he began to mutter softly: "Amitabha Buddha, the Buddha is above, the disciple can only break the precept of celibacy to save people now. May the Buddha bless me, I will rescue Chen Gongzi and then take my own life, never letting the Buddha be shamed."

  She had made up her mind, but Tian Boguang suddenly let out a loud shout and said, "Not so fast!"

  This loud shout was full of momentum, and Yilin, who was only a 16 or 17-year-old girl, was suddenly startled and quickly shut her mouth.

  Turning his head, he saw Tian Boguang staring at Chen Xiao's eyes and asked in a low voice: "Brother Chen, you have no martial arts skills, so I won't lay a hand on you. However, I now have two questions for you to answer."

  Chen Xiao looked straight at Tian Boguang without avoiding his gaze and smiled: "Please speak, Brother Tian."

  Tian Boguang asked in a serious tone, "Brother Chen, first question: if this Yilin young sister was an extremely ugly woman or even a man, and you encountered her, would you save her or not?"

  Yi Lin whispered on the side: "Others, others are not women with strange and ugly appearance, besides, if others were that kind of person, would you still chase them to here?"

  "Shut up!"

  Tian Boguang turned his head and shouted, and Yilin was so frightened that she didn't dare speak again.

  Chen Xiao stared at Tian Boguang's eyes and replied affirmatively, "There are two possibilities in this matter. First, if she had told me to escape first to avoid disaster, I would have saved her no matter what she looked like, whether male or female!"

  "After that, Chen Xiao continued: 'Secondly, if he intends to use me as a scapegoat, I won't say anything. I will find an opportunity to take matters into my own hands and kill him myself.' Is this answer satisfactory, Brother Tian?"

  Tian Boguang burst out laughing after hearing Chen Xiao's words, and patted Chen Xiao heavily on the shoulder, saying: "Repay kindness with kindness, repay hatred with hatred. I like brothers who are like that! Now, let's move on to the second question!"

  Tian Boguang solemnly asked, "If I weren't Miss Yilin's opponent now and she were the one chasing me instead, you encountered her too and knew that I'm just a flower thief, what would you do this time?"

  The question is quite sharp, Yilin is a good girl, saving her is reasonable.

  But what if the situation were reversed? What then?

  To put it bluntly, if Tian Boguang were on Earth in the 21st century, he would be a thief and a rapist, a double offender. Encountering such a person is an extremely difficult choice to make.

  This time Chen Xiao fell silent for a long time. Seeing Tian Boguang's face change slightly, he still gritted his teeth and said slowly: "I choose to stand by and watch."

  Forget it! I'll just bet on the good feeling the system said!

  There were already ten points, and twenty more were just added.

  Tian Boguang was originally not a bad person, and now with the addition of those thirty points of goodwill, he shouldn't be killed!

  Yi Lin beside her whispered another "Amitabha" and fell silent.

  As soon as these words came out, the atmosphere between several people suddenly became tense again.

  Goodbye.

  Tian Boguang suddenly burst out laughing, his laughter extremely pleasant and loud. "Most people in the world are insincere," he said. "But although Brother Chen has no martial arts skills, his chivalrous heart is truly admirable to me, Tian. I've been through a lot in my life, done many bad things, and seen many people, but someone as forthright as Brother Chen is really rare... Since that's the case..."

  Tian Boguang pointed at Yi Lin: "This sister Yi Lin, although born beautiful, with a face like a flower and a body like the moon, is indeed one of the few beauties I have seen in my life. However, as the saying goes, 'a beauty is meant for a hero', so why not give her to Brother Chen as his wife? As the saying goes, 'a friend's wife is not to be trifled with', but if Brother Chen agrees, I will absolutely never make a move on her again."

  Yi Lin, who was standing by, heard this and suddenly cried out "Ah!", hastily saying: "I am a nun, how can I marry?"

  Chen Xiao had a very good impression of Yi Lin, but she was still a little nun from the Hengshan Sect. If he really married her now, he would be scolded to death. Besides, even if he wanted to marry her, he should wait until she returned to secular life first!

  So Chen Xiao shook his head desperately and said, "Brother Tian, you can't. Women are not gifts. Besides, I'm doing this for justice, not just for this matter. Brother Tian, please don't misunderstand."

  Tian Boguang saw the situation between the two and suddenly became angry, saying: "Brother Chen, I respected you as a man, so I reluctantly gave up Yilin for you. But now you don't want her? Such a beautiful woman, do you really think I'll just let her go? Either she marries me or she marries you, there's no third option!"

  Tian Boguang's words were firm and unyielding, leaving no room for hesitation or retreat.

  The situation became urgent again, Chen Xiao was anxious and suddenly had an idea in his mind, but instead of answering him, he asked: "Brother Tian, do you know what 'free love' is?"