Chapter 339

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When he heard this, Chu Yunfei frowned even deeper. He had thought Zhang Xiaohua would grit his teeth in hatred, perhaps even erupt in fury—but Zhang Xiaohua’s reaction had far exceeded his expectations. Could it be that…

Chu Yunfei hesitated slightly.

In truth, even before Chu Yunfei began speaking, Zhang Xiaohua had already mentally prepared himself. And after listening for this long, he’d long since come to a decision in his heart. Moreover, having lived alone on a desolate island for four years, Zhang Xiaohua’s mind had already matured. If he were still that hot-blooded youth who charged ahead at the drop of a hat, now that would be strange indeed.

Since Chu Yunfei didn’t want to tell him where the current hiding place of the Piaomiao Sect was, and Zhang Xiaohua didn’t want others to know where his home was either, then of course he had to find another place.

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Xiaohua said: “Senior Brother Chu, you naturally wouldn’t go to Pingyang City. But look—there’s a town called Songning not far to the east by the sea. Do you know of it?”

Chu Yunfei frowned. It seemed this young man wanted him to make a trip to Songning Town. Although he didn’t know exactly where that was, could it possibly be a trap? But after a brief moment of thought, he relaxed. With this youth’s martial skill, if he wanted to capture him, it would be effortless. Why go to all the trouble of setting something up in a place like Songning Town?

Chu Yunfei cupped his fists and said: “Please speak freely, little brother. Though I don’t know exactly where this Songning Town is, if it’s not far to the east, it should be quite easy to find. Since you saved my life tonight, helping you look into something like this is the least I can do.”

Zhang Xiaohua replied: “Then I must thank you, Senior Brother Chu. If you can obtain the address of the Incense Spreading Sect from Elder Hu, please go to the southern part of Songning Town and look for a bald-headed boy. His family is quite poor and lives in humble conditions—it shouldn’t be hard to find. I can’t give you the exact location, but—ah, right—his name is Ji Xiaohua.”

“Ji Xiaohua?” Chu Yunfei was stunned. Another ‘Xiaohua’? Was this name particularly trendy this year?

Zhang Xiaohua chuckled and said: “Just a coincidence—same name as mine.”

“Oh…” What else could Chu Yunfei say?

“When you find him, just say you’re my senior brother and pass along the address of the Incense Spreading Sect. There’s no need to say much else. Would that be alright?”

Chu Yunfei pondered for a moment, then smiled. “Didn’t I already say it? A life-saving grace is not something Chu Yunfei could ever forget. This isn’t a matter of braving blades or walking through fire. How could I refuse? It’s just that I’ve only just come out on this journey, and I’ve already run into so much. I may not be able to leave again so easily after returning. But you needn’t worry—it’s only passing on a message. Anyone can do that. If I can’t go, I’ll have another fellow disciple take care of it.”

Zhang Xiaohua was overjoyed when he heard this and said: “Then I must thank you greatly, Senior Brother Chu.”

Chu Yunfei said he dared not.

Zhang Xiaohua glanced at the sky—it was already getting late. He cupped his hands and said: “Senior Brother Chu, the long night stretches ahead—it’s the perfect time for travel. I’m in a hurry to return home and cannot accompany you further. I hope you’ll understand.”

Chu Yunfei was actually of the same mind, and he smiled: “That suits me just fine. Then let us part here. This life-saving grace is something I, Chu Yunfei, shall never forget. If the chance arises in the future, I will surely repay you.”

Zhang Xiaohua smiled, turned around, and performed his qinggong to ascend the hillside. Looking back, he waved to Chu Yunfei, then leapt onto the Sibu Xiang and rode off into the distance.

Chu Yunfei, on the other hand, was in no rush. He watched Zhang Xiaohua leave, then slowly tidied himself up, carefully bandaging the wounds on his body. Afterward, he walked over to the three corpses from the Heaven’s Way Alliance, who had just been slain by Zhang Xiaohua. He lifted their stiffening heads one by one and carefully examined the sword wounds on their bodies. A look of shock surfaced on his face once more. He squatted down with his jaw clenched in thought for a long time, then finally stood with a grave expression and turned to leave. But after only a few steps, he hesitated, turned back, and bent down to search the three bodies, taking all the items they carried and stuffing them into his own robe.

Then, using his uninjured hand, he dragged the three corpses to a hidden place nearby, stripped off their outer garments, and with a sword he’d picked up, stabbed their heads and necks several times. Only then did he straighten up, employ his qinggong, and swiftly depart in another direction.

At that moment, inside the hollow of a thick, ancient tree some distance away, Zhang Xiaohua sat cross-legged. In the darkness, a faint smile appeared on his face—for within his divine sense, how could he not see everything with perfect clarity?

Within his divine sense, Zhang Xiaohua watched as Chu Yunfei ran for a while, then looked around, listened closely, and changed direction again, heading off a different way. Zhang Xiaohua smiled once more, withdrew his divine sense, pulled out a yuan stone from his robe, and closed his eyes to enter meditative cultivation.

As for Chu Yunfei, after traveling for some time, he once again glanced at the stars above to determine his direction, then, surprisingly, chose yet another route and headed straight off.

Fortunately, Zhang Xiaohua had no intention of tracking him. Otherwise, he might’ve been toyed with by this very Piaomiao Sect disciple he’d just saved.

The night passed without incident. At dawn, Zhang Xiaohua climbed out from the hollow of the tree, took a few breaths of fresh air, and began his morning training.

Naturally, it was the Big Dipper Divine Fist.

After completing all eighteen forms, nine flows of bone-tempering force surged and threaded through his entire skeleton. Zhang Xiaohua faintly sensed that his fist technique seemed to be on the verge of leveling up—something he had never experienced before while practicing the Big Dipper Divine Fist. He thought back—could it have had something to do with that insight he’d grasped at the teahouse a few days ago?

Unable to figure out the reason, he could only scratch his head. Still, wasn’t improvement a good thing? Grinning from ear to ear, Zhang Xiaohua lifted a leg and mounted the Sibu Xiang. Without needing a word from him, Huanhuan used all four limbs to charge forward at full speed.

“Hahaha!” Zhang Xiaohua laughed heartily, like a man encountering great fortune. His voice startled several birds already out early searching for worms.

In the following days, there wasn’t much worth mentioning. Traveling by day, camping by night, Zhang Xiaohua was thoroughly enjoying the journey. But there were still a few things that left him rather frustrated.

“You know, people are strange. I’m just traveling alone—no luggage, no fancy clothes—how is it that people still try to take advantage of me?”

Even though the route map given to him by Ji Xiaohua mostly followed the main roads, there were inevitably some secluded stretches. And secluded meant unsafe. In Zhang Xiaohua’s view, he was just an ordinary village lad… well, riding a mule—but still, what was there to envy?

Yet there were always a few brainless fools who just couldn’t keep their eyes open. Some even dared demand a toll, or worse, coveted Huanhuan, wanting to sell her for money or butcher her for meat. Zhang Xiaohua could only feel helpless amusement. If he struck them down with a single sword and turned them into a pile of meat paste, it just didn’t seem worth the effort. But if he let them go just like that, who knew if they’d go on to rob other innocent travelers like him? For that matter, who knew how many people they might’ve already robbed or even killed?

There was simply too much injustice in this world for Zhang Xiaohua to deal with it all, but when it landed right on his own doorstep, how could he let it slide? So whenever he ran into such trouble, Zhang Xiaohua’s first move was a slap to the left and a slap to the right, knocking out all the teeth from their mouths before anything else. Whether they had some pitiful backstory or not—what reason was that to rob people?

Then, after taking a careful look at the person’s face—if they looked passable, seemed like a decent sort—well then, “Brother,” Zhang Xiaohua would say, “hand over the silver and valuables in your robe, and this young master will spare your life. Swear a poisonous oath while you’re at it, one that sounds nice to the ears.” Then with a kick, he’d send the fellow rolling. “Don’t come out here messing around next time. If you must rob people, pick someone fat and rich, like a corrupt official or something.”

If the person dared to protest, saying those people had bodyguards?—well, that just proved they only dared bully the weak. And in that case, Zhang Xiaohua would give them another taste of discipline. “Let’s see if you still dare walk the crooked path again.”

But if the fellow already looked like a rotten apple and was vicious in action too, then Zhang Xiaohua had no patience. “Alright, brother. Hand over the silver and valuables in your robe. Want me to spare your life? No problem—kacha, kacha—first let me slice off your thumbs with my little sword. Let’s see how you plan to hold a blade again after that.”

Ahem, though people say you can’t judge by appearances, and someone who looks pleasing might still be a heartless criminal, well… this young master really doesn’t have the time to investigate, does he?

“Sorry, I can only judge by appearances,” Zhang Xiaohua could only comfort himself with that thought.

And speaking of judging by appearances, Zhang Xiaohua wasn’t the only one. Everyone else did it too. Why? All because of that wretched-looking mule under him!

Sure, people had seen mules used for carrying loads or pulling carts. But riding one? That was rare. Travelers usually rode horses, even shepherd boys rode oxen—but that was because they were shepherds, and they looked innocent and cute doing it. Made people smile.

But here was this countryside lad, not young anymore, riding an ugly mule down the road—swaggering as if he were mounted on a divine steed. Worse, he sometimes waved a stick around like it was a cane or something. Oh, and he held a small stone in his hand. Come on, aren’t you a little old to be playing with rocks?

That kind of look—how could people not stare and point?

At first, Zhang Xiaohua had felt awkward. After all, he could sense everything through his divine sense—on both sides of the road, aunties and uncles, kids, and servants were pointing at Huanhuan and snickering behind their hands. Just thinking about it made him want to cover his face and flee. But after a while, he got used to it. Fine, I’ll just withdraw my divine sense, alright?

Can’t I just sit here with eyes closed and channel energy into my body in peace?

Sure enough, just as he was drawing in the Yuan Qi from a yuan stone and refining it, he heard the clatter of hooves behind him and the shouts of a coachman scolding the horses. Without needing to release his divine sense, Zhang Xiaohua could already tell—another convoy of bodyguards escorting a carriage along the main road.

Very sensibly, Zhang Xiaohua patted Huanhuan. Though reluctant, Huanhuan obediently trotted over to the roadside. This Sibu Xiang was truly strange—in the mountains, fine, but on the open road, it insisted on walking right down the center. No wonder Zhang Xiaohua had gained a reputation for being “arrogant and showy.”

These horse-drawn carriages passed by Zhang Xiaohua constantly. He didn’t even bother reacting anymore. The guards, seeing that he sensibly made way, would cast a few curious glances at Huanhuan’s ugly mug before snapping their whips and riding on.

But just then, he heard a silvery peal of laughter from nearby: “Miss, miss, come quickly—look at this strange fellow! He’s riding a Sibu Xiang, and he’s even fallen asleep on its back!”

“Sibu Xiang?” Zhang Xiaohua’s heart stirred. He honestly didn’t know what Huanhuan was—just thought it looked like nothing in particular: not quite a cow, deer, horse, or donkey. So he casually called it “Sìbùxiàng” (literally, “Four Not-Alikes”). But now someone had actually recognized it—and wasn’t calling Huanhuan a mule. Unable to help himself, Zhang Xiaohua cracked one eye open.

PS: The Piaomiao Sorrow is over, everyone can breathe a sigh of relief.