Volume 1: The Seventh Chapter of Wu's Taboo - The Mystery of One's Life

  Although Ling Xian was at a disadvantage, he still stared fiercely into Zhao Xian's eyes. Slowly, a hint of mocking smile appeared, and he gritted his teeth, saying: "The blacksmith dances with a big knife, but it's just a bit of brute force."

  "What's going on?" Hu Yidao cracked a melon seed, poking the half-grown kid next to him, his face full of confusion. The half-grown kid twitched his nose and shook his head, indicating he didn't understand either.

  Zhao Xian didn't kill Ling Xian, and Huang Tian let out a sigh of relief, wiping the fragrant sweat from his forehead, and sat down not far from Hu Yidao, explaining: "Scholars, it's normal for martial arts to be imperfect, if they can't win in combat, they'll naturally try to regain face through learning. That foolish Zhao Xian probably has no other choice."

  In this era, scholars wore swords, mostly as decorations and for self-cultivation. Only a few actually used them for battle. What made scholars proud was their intellectual superiority over others. It's normal for a scholar to lose in a fight against an ironworker, as long as his writing is good and doesn't bring shame when spoken of. Zhao Xian didn't have the elegance of a scholar, and he was also an ironworker. He was notorious for not taking his studies seriously since childhood, so Huang Tian had little faith in him.

  Indeed, Zhao Xian heard the words and loosened his grip slightly. He was being mocked by Chu Lingxian for only having brute strength, being a rough man with well-developed limbs but a simple mind. If he couldn't refute it, it meant that what was said was true. This refutation couldn't be countered with insults, 'The blacksmith dances with his large knife, but it's just a few points of brute force', which was clearly an upper verse with a teasing tone. He had to come up with a suitable lower verse in response.

  Ling Xian saw Zhao Xian not speaking for a long time, and couldn't help but feel triumphant in his eyes. The pain of being pressed down by the big knife also eased a bit. He gritted his teeth and smiled: "Zhao Da Chui, why aren't you speaking? If you can't make it up to me, just say so, and this young master won't bother with you..."

  Zhao Xian was both angry and amused, and at this point, he actually dared to be arrogant. He glanced at the broken sword in Ling Xian's hand and said casually: "A scholar uses a broken sword, only leaving a mouthful of words."

  As soon as Zhao Xian's words fell, Huang Tian Tian widened his apricot eyes, and his small face was full of incredulity. The excited but bewildered Hu Yi Dao beside him had no choice but to lean in front of Huang Tian Tian and ask: "Huang Lao Da, can you explain it for me?"

  Huang Tian suddenly reacted, sizing up Zhao Xian for a few moments before nodding in praise: "Ling Xian's 'Iron Smith Dance Big Knife' is just a few points of brute force. He's saying that Zhao Xian only has one trick up his sleeve, and that's to wildly slash with his knife like a roughneck. And Zhao Xian's 'Scholar Wields Broken Sword, Only Leaving One Mouthful', means that Ling Xian can't even keep his sword intact, he's just a smooth talker who can't back it up. Although neither of their lines are particularly impressive, at least Zhao Xian managed to come up with something, and in terms of meaning, he didn't fall behind at all. By the rules, he should be the winner! Does this guy have some skills after all?!

  Huang Tian blinked his eyes repeatedly, carefully sizing up Zhao Xian for a few moments, with an unexpected look in his eyes.

  "That's it!" Hu Yidao heard that Zhao Xian had won, and immediately patted his chest, holding up a big thumbs-up proudly: "Our Xian Ge is indeed a knowledgeable person. In the past, he sang 'Eighteen Touches' and made Xiao Mengying from the old Wang family outside the city feel spring-like... Ah! Don't hit me, I was wrong... Xian Ge save me..."

  Ling Xian was left speechless by Zhao Xian's "only leaving a mouthful", and his face turned red with anger. He had originally wanted to tease Zhao Xian, but instead he ended up hurting himself, and it was a very accurate hit. For a short while, he couldn't think of any excuses, and he couldn't help but stand there, frowning in thought.

  Zhao Xian was taken aback, not expecting this guy to be a bookworm. He had never seen anyone fight like this before. If it were someone without morals, they would have taken advantage of his distraction and beaten him half to death.

  "Everyone stop!!!"

  Just as Ling Xian was frowning and thinking, the gate of the Ling mansion suddenly opened, and a middle-aged man with a gentle face walked out from inside. This person's name was Ling Yixiang, commonly referred to as 'Old Master Ling' in Changzhou. Old Master Ling was over fifty years old but looked only around forty, showing that he took good care of himself. Behind him followed the cautious and careful Xiao Bai, as well as several other servants.

  "Long time no see, Master Ling!" Huang Tianba was still very respectful, and quickly released Hu Yidao's foot, bowing his head in a salute.

  Ling Lao nodded at Huang Tian's words, a hint of warmth in his eyes, although the little white fat behind him, Ling Yue, was full of fear.

  Ling Lao turned his head, clapped his hands and said with a smile: "Zhao Xian, young friend, is both civil and martial, I, the old man, deeply admire. Xian Er is young and ignorant, speaking out of turn, please don't mind."

  An elder intervened to mediate, and Zhao Xian naturally didn't want to continue arguing with Ling Xian. He withdrew his large knife and bowed to the old man, saying: "Ling is being too serious, friends just having a discussion, why take it so seriously?"

  The shipping business of the Ling family was all operated by Old Master Ling, so he had a lot of influence in Changzhou. No matter whether it was the underworld or the legitimate world, they would all give him some respect. The teacher at Hua Yu's private school had also been visited by Old Master Ling several times, and Zhao Xian knew him.

  "Good, good! You're indeed the younger brother of Mr. Hua, you'll definitely become a great talent in the future." Old Man Ling praised and ordered his servants to help Ling Xian up and send him back to the manor.

  After chatting with Zhao for a few more sentences, he bid farewell and led his men to withdraw from the Ling's mansion gate, returning alone to Guihua Lane.

  In the late afternoon, as it was winter, the sky had gradually darkened. Hua Yu hadn't returned yet, and Zhao Xian sat alone on a chaise longue under the flower trellis, drinking wine with a scowl on his face. The trellis above was bare, and occasionally snowflakes would fall onto Zhao Xian's body, but he didn't notice the accumulated snow due to his furrowed brow in thought.

  Although he won the fight today, Ling Xian's words pierced his heart. He had come to this world in a daze and spent over a decade in a similar haze. Until now, he had truly accomplished nothing.

  Zhao Xian used to think that because of his physical condition, he would never amount to anything, but this year 'he' is already seventeen, and he can't spend his whole life as a blacksmith. At the very least, he wants to give Huayu a good home, so she can live happily ever after.

  Huayu and Zhao Xian had been together for many years, with Huayu taking care of him meticulously. Zhao Xian didn't suspect a thing, thinking that as long as nothing unexpected happened, Huayu would silently take care of him for the rest of his life. This was just Zhao Xian's intuition, but he couldn't understand why Huayu would do this. After all, Huayu had been only 28 years old at the time, and she had used the most precious years of her life to raise a baby who had been abandoned in the wilderness.

  Huayu was indeed very kind, but sympathizing with the baby, she could have taken him back home. However, Huayu did not do so. She lived in seclusion in Changzhou, and Zhao Xian had never seen anyone looking for Huayu or her showing any affection towards men. She was just an ordinary woman, yet she made such a great sacrifice, what was it all for?

  Zhao Xian lay on the chair, watching the snowflakes slowly falling from the sky, just like when he first came to this world, opened his eyes, and saw the scene for the first time. The surroundings were quiet, accompanied only by the white snow and the wind. He took out a small cloth package from his pocket, opened it carefully, and looked inside. It was a small silver pendant, very beautiful. In the past, it was a longevity lock that he wore on his neck for over ten years. As the years passed, Zhao Xian understood some things.

  At that time, he was abandoned in the wilderness, and there were no households within a radius of several miles. It is impossible for a lonely woman who speaks flowers to 'coincidentally' appear by his side and rescue him, and then raise him up without any complaints in Changzhou. The only possibility is that 'he' has a special identity, the baby he possessed has a special identity, and Huayu knows everything about that baby...

  "What are you doing, Xiaoxian?"

  Suddenly, there were a few soft sounds from the courtyard gate. Hua Yu had returned, and Zhao Xian hastily put away the bundle of cloth and hid it in his bosom.

  Unfortunately, he was a bit slow, and Hua Yu had already pushed open the door and entered the courtyard. At first glance, she saw Zhao Xian hastily hiding something wrapped in red cloth in his arms.

  Thinking of Zhao Xian's behavior today, she couldn't help but shake her head and smile lightly. She put the basket in her hand on the stone table and sat down beside Zhao Xian, with a hint of reproach in her eyes, saying: "What are you hiding? You're not even that old yet, and you've already started being cautious around your sister. How will things work out in the future?" Perhaps because of Zhao Xian's caution towards her, Hua Yu's face showed some disappointment, with a hint of resentment in her eyes, paired with her curved eyelashes, looking like a small, wronged woman.

  "Ah..." Zhao Xian sat on the chaise longue, rubbing his hands and exhaling white mist, being stared at by Huayu's gaze made him feel a bit unnatural, due to the fact that he had just drunk wine, his face was flushed with a hint of red.

  "Alright!" The flower language saw Zhao Xian in a difficult situation, thinking he was shy and embarrassed, so she didn't ask further. She stood up, took out a tape measure from her small basket, and gestured to Zhao Xian to stand up with her eyes, lightly laughing: "I heard you bullied the young master of the Ling family again today. You're about to get married, but you still go out and cause trouble like a child all day long. Aren't you afraid that Huang's maid will laugh at you?"

  Zhao Xian's feat of pulling Ling Xian off his horse today has already spread throughout the city of Yuizhou by eyewitnesses. As the future Crown Prince's study companion, Ling Xian will have an audience with the current Emperor and is considered a noble figure. Zhao Xian, on the other hand, is just a blacksmith. Being defeated in martial arts by him is one thing, but being left speechless after being refuted is even more unbelievable to everyone.

  "It's just a fight, not bullying." Zhao Xian didn't notice the phrase "people who are going to get married" at all, thinking that Hua Yu was just scolding him for going out to fight, and he couldn't help but smile, without saying much. He opened his arms to let her measure his waist circumference, but when Hua Yu really approached him, he suddenly stiffened, not even daring to move a little bit.

  Softly falling snowflakes, in the quiet courtyard, only Zhao Xian and Hua Yu 'embracing' under the flower trellis, surrounded by dark and silent, a few strands of candlelight shining out from the room, the scene slightly ambiguous.