Chapter 46: Challenge Letter Delivered By Ouyang Bo!
“Whoosh”.
A figure suddenly flew in from outside the inn.
It was clear that his lightness skill was very good.
His toes lightly touched down and he landed beside Ji Qing.
Dressed in black with his face covered, no one could see his appearance.
“Great Hero Ji, I am Feng San from Listen to the Wind Tower in Jiang City. Listen to the Wind Tower just received a challenge letter, which is of great importance, so they sent me to deliver it to you right away.”
“Challenge letter?”
Ji Qing glanced at Feng San’s Listen to the Wind Token. There was no issue with the man’s identity; he was indeed from Listen to the Wind Tower.
So, Ji Qing took the challenge letter.
“Fifth of the first month, Green Peak Mountain Summit, battle to the death, grudges cleared.”
The challenge letter consisted of just sixteen short characters, clearly stating the time and location.
Below was the name of the sender.
“Boom”.
Ji Qing’s mind roared. He widened his eyes and stared fixedly at the sender’s name.
Just three characters: Ouyang Bo!
Wasn’t this the Poison Demon Ouyang Bo whom he had been relentlessly pursuing for three months?
And he dared to send a challenge letter?
“Who delivered the challenge letter?”
Ji Qing asked.
“Great Hero Ji, the one who delivered the challenge letter was just an ordinary beggar. We couldn’t find any useful information.”
“How certain are you that the person who wrote this challenge letter is Ouyang Bo?”
“Ouyang Bo has left some letters in the jianghu before. We compared the handwriting on those letters, and we are basically certain that the handwriting on the challenge letter is Ouyang Bo’s!”
Ji Qing understood.
Ouyang Bo had finally shown himself.
As for why he sent the challenge letter?
There were only two possible reasons.
First, Ouyang Bo was fed up with being constantly pursued by Ji Qing, which was definitely not a pleasant experience.
Second, Ouyang Bo had some confidence or reliance, believing he had a high chance of winning this decisive battle, so he sent the challenge letter in hopes of settling Ji Qing once and for all.
There might be other reasons, but these two were probably the main ones.
Feng San did not urge him but waited quietly.
Ji Qing did not rush to reply either.
His mind raced through various possibilities.
If he agreed, it would actually be very disadvantageous.
Because Ouyang Bo could use poison, and especially at a location specified by Ouyang Bo, he could set up a “poison formation” in advance. If Ji Qing went as agreed, he would definitely be poisoned.
Therefore, it would not be a decisive battle, but a suicide mission.
Ji Qing did want to kill Ouyang Bo, but he was not arrogant enough to think he was immune to all poisons.
“Publicly reply to Ouyang Bo! A decisive battle is fine, but I choose the location.”
“Fifth of the first month, Listen to the Wind Tower in Jiang City, battle to the death, grudges cleared!”
Ji Qing gave his reply.
He could not possibly go to a battlefield preset by Ouyang Bo.
That would be suicide!
When facing the Poison Demon, one could never be too cautious.
If Ouyang Bo refused, then Ji Qing would continue pursuing him!
The reason for choosing Listen to the Wind Tower was also because of its reputation for neutrality in the jianghu.
Even if this time, in terms of intelligence, Listen to the Wind Tower sided with Ji Qing, it was because Ji Qing had offered them a heavy bounty.
Whoever offered Listen to the Wind Tower a heavy bounty, they would do the same.
But for publicly issuing challenge letters and martial duels to the death, Listen to the Wind Tower remained very neutral.
“Great Hero Ji, I will go back to report.”
Feng San turned and left, vanishing in an instant.
Everyone in the inn had heard the earlier conversation.
They had not expected to witness such an important piece of news firsthand.
It was enough to cause a huge uproar in the jianghu!
“Brother Du, go back and practice martial arts well. Traveling the jianghu is not as wonderful as you imagine.”
After Ji Qing spoke, he ignored the crowd and went directly back to his room upstairs.
Ji Qing then left the inn.
He needed to head to Listen to the Wind Tower in Jiang City as quickly as possible and wait there until the fifth of the first month.
As for whether Ouyang Bo would come?
Ji Qing did not know.
But he would wait patiently!
With Ji Qing’s departure, everyone in the inn finally breathed a sigh of relief, followed by immense excitement.
“That person just now should be the Astonishing Swan Saber Ji Qing, right? The rumor ‘Astonishing Swan Saber appears, heads roll’ is truly well-deserved. With one saber strike, the Four Fierce Wolves died.”
“That was truly the fastest saber strike I have ever seen in my life…”
“I didn’t even see when he drew sword…”
“But did you all hear the news just delivered by Listen to the Wind Tower? That was a challenge letter from the Poison Demon Ouyang Bo. Fifth of the first month, decisive battle at Listen to the Wind Tower in Jiang City—just thinking about it is exciting.”
“Are we going to Jiang City?”
“We definitely have to go see it. This is a major event in the jianghu. A decisive battle between the Poison Demon Ouyang Bo and the Astonishing Swan Saber Ji Qing—both are second-rate top experts in the jianghu, ranked high on the Villain Ranking. Such a matchup might not happen once in decades.”
“Then let’s go together…”
Some martial artists in the inn could no longer hold back. They hurriedly packed their belongings and prepared to head straight to Jiang City.
Du Jing lowered his head and went before his father to admit his mistake.
“Dad, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have sneaked down the mountain, causing such a disaster…”
Du Jing had experienced the perils of the jianghu on his very first trip.
His mood now was very complicated.
Du Xiong had originally wanted to sternly reprimand him, but seeing Du Jing’s state—he had already suffered a huge blow and looked utterly dejected—he could not bear to scold him further. Instead, he sighed and said, “Jing’er, you were indeed wrong this time and nearly caused a disaster! But fortunately, Mister Ji stepped in to save you. How do you know Mister Ji?”
Du Xiong’s stance was somewhat special.
Golden Saber Sect prided itself as a righteous sect, while Ji Qing was infamous throughout the land, fifth on the Villain Ranking as a great demon.
Naturally, he would not call Ji Qing “Great Hero.” After some thought, he could only address him as “Mister.”
After all, Ji Qing had once been a xiucai scholar.
This form of address as “Mister” was not wrong.
“Dad, I met him in the tea house…”
As Du Jing recounted the events in detail, Du Xiong gradually understood what had happened.
But he was somewhat surprised.
Ji Qing’s temperament did not seem like that of a “great demon” at all.
Du Jing and Ji Qing had only met once.
They could not even be said to have had a pleasant conversation.
If there was any connection, it was that Du Jing rather “admired” Ji Qing and had even spoken some good words on his behalf.
But those good words had just saved Du Jing’s life.
“Dad, I want to go to Jiang City! Brother Ji’s decisive battle with the Poison Demon Ouyang Bo—Ouyang Bo is full of tricks and excels at poison. If Brother Ji is not careful, he might fall victim…”
Du Jing said in a low voice.
Uncharacteristically, Du Xiong did not reprimand his son.
What distinction between righteous and demonic? As an old jianghu veteran, he knew there was no true divide between righteous and demonic in the jianghu.
Du Jing knew gratitude and repayment, which made Du Xiong very pleased.
“Good, Jing’er, you still know gratitude and repayment! Mister Ji not only saved you, but also saved decades of Golden Saber Sect’s reputation in the jianghu. Naturally, Golden Saber Sect will not stand idly by!”
“We will set off for Jiang City immediately! For Mister Ji’s public decisive battle with Ouyang Bo, if he wins, we will serve as witnesses. If Mister Ji loses, Golden Saber Sect will not talk to the Poison Demon about any jianghu ethics—we must save Mister Ji.”
Du Jing widened his eyes.
He had never imagined his father saying such words.
Hadn’t his father always spoken of jianghu ethics, righteous sects, and upright conduct?
He had thought his father would sternly reprimand him for his association with Ji Qing.
After all, Ji Qing was a “great demon.”
“Jing’er, this is the jianghu! You still have much to learn… Let’s go.”
Thus, the group from Golden Saber Sect also quickly left the inn and headed to Jiang City.
