Chapter 44: Jianghu Hotspot, Ji Qing Pursues The Culprit A Thousand Miles!
In the tea house of Qingyang Town, it wasn’t even noon yet, but the tea house was already packed.
Many among them were people of Jianghu.
So many people gathered in the tea house only because there was a storyteller inside.
This storyteller traveled far and wide, compiling recent Jianghu news into books and telling them in the form of “storytelling.”
Wherever he went, the storyteller was extremely popular.
At this moment, the storyteller was speaking eloquently, recounting the hottest topic in Jianghu recently: Astonishing Swan Saber chasing the killer for a thousand li, forcing the Poison Demon to flee in embarrassment.
“Black clothes, conical hat, long saber—Ji Qing was dressed like an ordinary Jianghu martial artist. But just as he spoke, it was already too late—Ji Qing drew sword, and with a flash of blade light, it was like an astonishing swan.”
“People of Jianghu all say ‘when Astonishing Swan Saber appears, heads fall’—it truly lives up to its reputation. That bandit leader ‘Old Kite’ didn’t even react before his head was severed by a saber slash…”
“Good!”
As the storyteller eloquently told an exciting story, the tea house erupted in enthusiastic applause, followed by a shower of copper coins thrown as tips to the storyteller.
At a table by the window, Ji Qing’s eyes flashed with a hint of unusual color.
He was now truly famous throughout Jianghu!
The hype was at its peak every day!
No matter where he went, he could hear discussions about “Astonishing Swan Saber chasing the killer for a thousand li.”
Although he still ranked fifth on the Villain Ranking, between “Astonishing Swan Saber” and “Poison Demon,” public opinion in Jianghu clearly favored him.
The reason wasn’t that people of Jianghu particularly liked Ji Qing.
It was that almost everyone in Jianghu despised the Poison Demon.
Ouyang Bo’s poisoning techniques were divine and elusive, making him impossible to guard against.
Before, people could only seethe with anger but dared not speak.
Now that someone had stepped up to deal with the Poison Demon, everyone was naturally delighted.
“Brother, mind if I sit here?”
Suddenly, a martial artist approached Ji Qing’s table.
Ji Qing looked up and was slightly stunned.
Black clothes, conical hat, long saber.
This outfit was exactly the same as his!
The martial artist across from him seemed accustomed to it, smiling as he said, “Looks like brother is also a fan of ‘Astonishing Swan Saber’ Ji Qing? Lately, too many people in Jianghu are dressing like this.”
“Please sit, brother.”
Ji Qing knew that seats were tense in the tea house now, and “sharing tables” was common.
The martial artist before him was very young, probably not even twenty.
“How should brother be addressed?”
“Surname Li.”
“Brother Li, I’m Du Jing.”
Ji Qing looked at Du Jing and curiously asked, “Brother Du, is this outfit of yours imitating ‘Astonishing Swan Saber’ Ji Qing? But as far as I know, ‘Astonishing Swan Saber’ Ji Qing is a demon ranked fifth on the Villain Ranking.”
“Demon? Haven’t you heard the rumor lately? The ‘Lei Family Fort Massacre’ actually has nothing to do with Ji Qing. There’s a heroine from Lei Family Fort in Jianghu who reportedly went through the Lei Family Fort Massacre with Ji Qing. The villagers of Lei Family Fort had long been killed by demons—it was Chasing Wind Blade Du Chen who framed Ji Qing to claim merit for capturing him.”
Hearing this, Ji Qing roughly knew who “Heroine Lei” was.
Most likely Big Sister Lei Yu!
“There’s also a rumor in Jianghu that the Ji Residence massacre in Liang City actually had hidden details, said to be related to demons as well. ‘Astonishing Swan Saber’ Ji Qing exorcises demons, not patricide or matricide.”
“Although it’s just Jianghu rumor, I think there’s no smoke without fire—the matters surrounding ‘Astonishing Swan Saber’ Ji Qing probably really have hidden truths…”
Watching Du Jing speak so convincingly, it was clear he believed the Jianghu rumors.
Ji Qing remained noncommittal.
The matters on him couldn’t be cleared so easily just by some Jianghu rumors.
And who was behind pushing these Jianghu rumors—Ji Qing could roughly guess.
Lei Yu!
Besides Big Sister Lei Yu, there wouldn’t be anyone else.
The Chen Luo brother and sister might be possible, but as members of an exorcist prominent family, they didn’t meddle in Jianghu affairs, and it would be hard for them to spread Jianghu rumors.
Only the seasoned Jianghu person Lei Yu could do it.
Taking advantage of the unrelenting hype around “Astonishing Swan Saber chasing the killer for a thousand li,” with public opinion in Jianghu leaning toward Ji Qing, releasing these rumors could have some effect, more or less.
“Brother Li, where do you think ‘Astonishing Swan Saber’ Ji Qing has chased the Poison Demon to now? It’s been two months since Ji Qing last severed half of the Poison Demon’s palm, and there’s been no news at all…”
Du Jing was still chattering about “Astonishing Swan Saber great war with Poison Demon.”
“Farewell, Brother Du—see you if fate allows!”
Ji Qing stood up and left.
“Brother Li, where are you going? This is my first time traveling Jianghu, and I have no destination—why not go together?”
Du Jing shouted from behind.
Unfortunately, Ji Qing ignored him and strode out of the tea house.
……
It wasn’t even May yet, but the southern nights already carried a hint of sultriness.
In a room of an inn in Qingyang Town, Ji Qing sat cross-legged on the floor.
At this moment, his cultivation had reached a critical juncture.
“Break!”
Ji Qing let out a low roar.
His pure internal energy throughout his body surged fully toward the Yang Wei Meridian.
This was one of the extraordinary meridians.
“Boom.”
The Yang Wei Meridian was instantly breached, and Ji Qing’s internal energy circulated one full cycle along it.
Each cycle made his internal energy surge.
It continued steadily for an hour before gradually calming.
“Swish.”
Ji Qing opened his eyes.
From the first day of chasing Ouyang Bo until now, three months had passed.
Ji Qing had even opened his third extraordinary meridian, yet there was still no trace of Ouyang Bo.
After Ouyang Bo lost half his palm last time, it was as if he had vanished from the mortal world.
Ji Qing had chased all the way from the north to the south.
He could only follow scattered clues to near Qingyang Town.
Ouyang Bo had likely stayed in Qingyang Town at some point.
Whether he was still lingering near Qingyang Town or had left long ago, Ji Qing didn’t know.
“Ouyang Bo…”
Ji Qing had to admit that Ouyang Bo was indeed very difficult to deal with.
But this time, he was also fully prepared.
Cloth strips, water, quicklime, and so on—even several conical hats were bought and carried on his back, all to counter Ouyang Bo’s “poison.”
Unfortunately, Ouyang Bo had fled without a trace, and even Listen to the Wind Tower didn’t know where Ouyang Bo was.
As night fell, Ji Qing pushed open his room and went to the inn hall to eat.
“Waiter, any upper rooms left? Three upper rooms!”
“Right, prepare some food too—we’ll eat first then rest.”
Suddenly, five martial artists walked in from outside the inn.
One of them ordered food and upper rooms.
This voice was very familiar.
Ji Qing looked up and sure enough, it was Du Jing, whom he had briefly met in the tea house.
This Du Jing seemed to have quite the knack with women—the four martial artists with him included two beautiful women.
However, Du Jing was inexperienced on his first Jianghu journey, and women who traveled Jianghu were not to be trifled with!
Especially beautiful women—they were even harder to handle.
“Eh?”
“Isn’t this Brother Li? Why is Brother Li here too?”
Du Jing had sharp eyes and spotted Ji Qing sitting alone.
So, Du Jing very familiarly sat beside Ji Qing and called to the four behind him: “Sister Cai, Sister Lin, come over quick—Brother Three Tigers, Brother Two Tigers, sit down. Let me introduce—this is Brother Li, a great hero I just met today!”
Du Jing also briefly introduced the four to Ji Qing.
Then the group sat down together, and Du Jing ordered a large table of food.
At the dinner table, Du Jing’s gaze never left the two women, occasionally telling jokes that made them chuckle.
Ji Qing didn’t say much.
He just silently drank his wine.
Perhaps in Du Jing’s imagination, traveling Jianghu meant strong liquor, heroes, beauties, and a freewheeling Jianghu life.
“Whoosh.”
Suddenly, more than ten martial artists surged into the inn.
Each carried a long saber like Du Jing’s.
Leading them was an elder with extraordinary bearing and great dignity.
“Four Fierce Wolves, we’ve finally chased you down!”
“Swish.”
The more than ten martial artists behind the elder instantly drew sword, staring murderously at Two Tigers, Three Tigers, and the other two.
“Yo, isn’t this Golden Saber Sect Sect Leader Du?”
“Sect Leader Du is truly vigorous in old age, chasing us brother and sister for months.”
“But Sect Leader Du, take a look at who this is?”
Du Xiong looked closely, and his expression changed drastically.
“Jing’er, why are you here?”
“Dad…”
Du Jing was a bit dazed, not knowing what was happening.
How had his dad suddenly chased him here out of nowhere?
He remembered sneaking down the mountain alone without telling his dad.
Du Jing tried to stand, but “Sister Lin” grabbed his neck.
“Brother Du, didn’t you want to chat with sister? Come, sit closer—sister will chat properly with you.”
“Sister Lin” still smiled sweetly, but Du Jing now felt a chill.
“Right, Brother Li had better not act rashly either…”
The Cai-surnamed woman also drew a dagger, saying meaningfully.
Ji Qing glanced at the Cai-surnamed woman, then at the panicked Du Jing.
He said nothing, continuing to drink his wine as if the matter had nothing to do with him.
