Chapter 64: Peerless And Unmatched, Startled Swan Spear Part 2
“Sigh! The Golden Saber Sect is finished!”
“Hm? Brother Miao, this news of yours is way too outdated. Old Master Wang the ‘Golden Saber’ passed his seventh day ceremony days ago, and you’re only finding out now? The ‘Raging River Dragon’ Zhu Gui died alongside him at the time…”
“What I mean is, the Golden Saber Sect was wiped out yesterday, and that Young Master of the Wang family was hacked to death with random blades outside the Gambling House…”
“Tsk! What a killing god he is!”
Linjiang Prefecture, Yan Quan County, was named for the numerous salt wells within its borders.
The county also prospered due to the salt industry, with hundreds of large and small salt ships gathering at the wharf every day, their masts like a forest.
Salt merchants filled the city, not only from Mingzhou merchants, but also merchant guilds from northern and southern state governments flocking in, setting up guild halls throughout the city.
Those in the county who depended on the salt industry for a living spanned all trades: salt workers, stove households, peddlers and porters, escort masters, accountants, menial laborers, and even gang members, totaling over a hundred thousand.
The massive amounts of silver brought by the salt industry also caused taverns, brothels, gambling houses, tea houses, and pawnshops to spring up like mushrooms after rain in the city.
In recent days, numerous Jianghu guests had surged in from all directions, checking into the city’s major inns and restaurants, and from time to time getting into fierce fights over verbal disputes or old grudges, blades clashing.
Every day, there were always several brawls breaking out, with some martial artists killed or wounded.
Jinshi Market, on the second floor of a restaurant.
The building was already packed with guests, many martial artists carrying sabers and swords, the noisy clamor rising and falling.
At the window seat, five or six martial artists in brocade robes with rhinoceros belts and impressive bearing looked down, watching several Jianghu guests on the street draw blades and fight for some reason, blood soon appearing. The losing side abandoned two corpses and slunk away.
The victors strutted off arrogantly and smugly into the inn across the street.
Yamen runners waiting on the street only moved unhurriedly to drag away the corpses after both sides had dispersed.
“Who would’ve thought this small county town would gather so many Jianghu people. In the few days I’ve been wandering around, I’ve already recognized over a dozen famous figures, and who knows how many masters are hidden in the shadows… The Linjiang martial world hasn’t been this lively in ages!”
Among the several brocade-robed martial artists at this table, a delicate youth with a youthful face smacked his lips in amazement.
“Because everyone isn’t stupid… We all thought that with such a bounty on him, even if he wasn’t quickly beheaded for the reward, he’d at least hide east and west, biding his time to escape Linjiang Prefecture.”
“Who knew Jianghu people wanted his head for riches and glory, but he treated them all as prey. After killing the Raging River Dragon and Old Master Wang, there were ‘Shadowless Escort’ Liu Sansi, Vice Chief of the Town East Escort Agency Qian Yanian, ‘Crack Stele Sect’ Sect Leader Lei Xing, Eight-Arm Human Demon, ‘Jiao in the Waves’ He Cang—these renowned figures all fell to him. No need to mention the lesser-known ones.”
“That person never intended to flee at all. From the route he’s taken killing his way here, it’s clearly against the flow, heading straight for…”
At this window table, the one responding to the delicate youth was a man in his thirties with a grave expression and a narrow face.
But before he finished speaking, someone at a table in the middle of the main hall slammed the table and stood up. “That ‘Flying Sky Yaksha’ is heading straight for the Grain Transport Gang headquarters.”
“The Grain Transport Gang headquarters is located thirty li upstream at Twin Dragon Gorge. To get to Twin Dragon Gorge, Yan Quan County is a must-pass route.”
“Ha! A true hero outshining the world—what a man should be! Come, drink to this heroic figure’s victory!”
“How laughable—now anyone can be called a hero? He’s just a bloodthirsty butcher. That ‘Yaksha’ name is truly well-deserved.”
“What Yaksha? That’s old news. Any Jianghu person with ears now calls him the ‘Divine Spear’—’Unmatched and peerless, Startled Swan Spear.’ Haven’t you heard?”
“They say it was Old Master Wen of ‘Thunderbolt Palm’ who first shouted it. Later, as that person killed his way along, quite a few veteran Jianghu notables who’d seen him in action also praised his spear technique as exquisitely wondrous, no longer inferior to the Mingzhou Number One Spear, Spear King Han Ding Tian, from back in the day…”
The brocade-robed delicate youth listened with blood boiling and heart surging. He took a sip of wine to barely suppress his restless emotions and sighed, “I’ve heard that Hong Yuan is about my age, yet he’s already made such a huge name. If I could have even two or three days of such glory, it’d be worth dying on the spot.”
The narrow-faced man glanced sideways at him. “You really think that?”
The brocade-robed delicate youth was taken aback. “Martial Uncle, I’m just saying it. Who wants to die if they can live? Besides, I don’t have that kind of ability anyway.”
The narrow-faced man sneered coldly. “Why do you think these people are hyping up Hong Yuan’s name? One ‘Divine Spear,’ one ‘Spear King’—two unrelated people, yet they insist on crowning Hong Yuan ‘unmatched and peerless.’ Isn’t that slapping Spear King Han Ding Tian in the face?”
The delicate youth realized. “This is praise-killing?”
The narrow-faced man snorted coldly. “Hong Yuan has killed too viciously and ruthlessly. Linjiang Prefecture hasn’t seen such a ferocious god in decades—who wouldn’t fear him? But they can’t deal with him, so they stoke Spear King Han Ding Tian to make a move.”
“Don’t listen to these people flattering him as a hero or notable. If they truly admired that person, why are they here?”
“They’re just afraid of Hong Yuan but still harbor hopes of picking up a bargain just in case.”
The delicate youth sighed after hearing this. “The Jianghu is truly full of treacherous hearts. But Spear King Han Ding Tian has been famous for years. Leaving aside whether he’ll take the bait, he’s probably over sixty now—can he still fight?”
The narrow-faced man glared at him and said irritably, “You think the Mingzhou Number One Spear is an empty reputation? For a Microscopic Level Grandmaster, force is like drawing silk, greatly slowing the decline of qi and blood. Even if his strength is slightly less than in his prime, his experience is even more seasoned, and his combat power won’t fall short of his peak.”
Another Jianghu guest in the restaurant hall shouted, “Whether Spear King will make a move and have a spear duel with that ‘Divine Spear,’ I don’t know. I just want to know what the Grain Transport Gang is thinking now?”
“The Grain Transport Gang’s top master is ‘Surging Waves Hand’ Lei Meng, also a renowned grandmaster who’s been famous for years. They say he had the hottest temper in his youth, but he hasn’t appeared in the last decade. Few of the younger generation have even heard of him—wonder if he’s still…?”
Someone said, shaking their head.
The implication was unspoken but clear.
This was suspecting that Lei Meng might already be dead. Otherwise, with his temperament, hearing someone killed one of the gang’s heads and not only didn’t flee but dared charge straight for the headquarters—he’d surely have flown into a rage and mobilized already.
“I think I saw Grain Transport Gang River Patrol Flag Flag Master Chen Jiulang enter the city.”
“Hm? Chen Jiulang?! I’ve heard this youth has extraordinary talent, the most outstanding after Lei Meng. Where is he?”
“Dingsheng Tower!”
