Chapter 436: Difficult Acupoint Solution

Zhang Xiaohua couldn’t help but find it funny when he heard this: “Not bad, I was just wondering how to decline, and yet these two have given me the perfect excuse without even knowing it.”

As for the people below the stage, who cared whether they were holding a marriage ceremony or not? In any case, they weren’t the ones getting married. Wasn’t one of life’s great sorrows precisely this: “Bridal chamber lit with candlelight, but it’s someone else inside”? 

So, they all laughed and called out: “Very well, Valley Master Nie! Tonight we’ll definitely impose on you at Spring Rebirth Valley. As for your Hundred Flowers Brew, you’d better prepare plenty—we’re not leaving until we’re drunk!”

Valley Master Nie clasped his hands in a circle and casually agreed with a smile.

At this moment, the two handsome men who had been sitting beside Nie Qianyu and the others earlier stepped forward to salute Zhang Xiaohua. Sure enough, they were the two “shoulder-bearers”, Qiang Sheng and Yue Zhonglin.

Yue Zhonglin smiled and said: “Hero Ren—ah no, we should now call you our dear brother-in-law. I’m Yue Zhonglin of the Luming Sect. My wife is Nie Qianrong, the eldest sister of Little Yu.”

Then, pointing at Qiang Sheng, he added: “This is your second brother-in-law, Qiang Sheng from the Giant Whale Gang.”

Zhang Xiaohua touched his own forehead and gave a wry smile: “So you two are already trying to tie family bonds with me?”

Yue Zhonglin replied: “Of course! No matter what, since you’ve won the duel on the stage, that makes you our brother-in-law. As for what happens in the future, well, we’ll deal with that then.”

Faced with Yue Zhonglin’s attitude, Zhang Xiaohua could only shrug helplessly: “Suit yourselves, but I’m not calling you anything, just so you know.”

Qiang Sheng nodded and said: “No need for all that talk, Hero Ren. Let’s head into the manor first.”

Zhang Xiaohua responded: “Just what I wanted.”

With that, he leapt down from the stage and walked toward the spot where his longsword had been stabbed into the ground. Yue Zhonglin smiled and said: “So courteous, little brother-in-law. Just let one of the men fetch it for you.”

As he spoke, he waved his hand. Sure enough, a man emerged from beside the longsword and reached out to pull it from the ground. But alas, first with one hand, then with both, he couldn’t make it budge, not even a tremble.

The man’s face turned beet red, his eyes full of disbelief.

Zhang Xiaohua walked up, raised his hand, and smoothly pulled the longsword from the ground. Smiling, he said: “My longsword recognizes its master. It doesn’t let just anyone pull it out.”

The man rubbed his hands together and laughed awkwardly, eyes brimming with admiration.

Just as Yue Zhonglin and Qiang Sheng came over and the three of them were about to head into the manor, someone suddenly called out from behind: “Young Hero Ren, please wait!”

Zhang Xiaohua paused in surprise and turned to look. It was a young man he didn’t recognize.

The young man approached, looking a bit awkward, and said: “Young Hero Ren, there’s still a small matter I’d like to ask your help with.”

Zhang Xiaohua asked curiously: “What sort of matter? Must it be me who helps you?”

The young man cupped his hands and said, “Just now on the stage, didn’t two of my fellow disciples from the sect have their acupoints sealed by you, Hero Ren? You’ve been busy dueling ever since, and a few of my senior brothers tried to unseal their points, but failed. Knowing you were occupied, they already went to the platform to seek help from Elder Yue. However, I thought, ‘Whoever ties the bell must untie it’, so I boldly came to ask if you could unseal my juniors’ acupoints yourself.”

“Aiyo!” Zhang Xiaohua slapped his forehead. That’s right—he had casually sealed those two’s acupoints earlier and had completely forgotten about them. He quickly said: “My apologies, that was a lapse on my part. I was using… ah, never mind. I’ll go unseal your junior brothers right away.”

Indeed, the [Bewildering Soul Finger] technique he had used was based on Immortal Dao true qi, not something martial cultivators could resolve with inner strength. If he didn’t step in personally, those two would never be able to unseal the acupoints on their own. And if it dragged on too long, it would obstruct their internal flow, inevitably affecting their cultivation.

The young man was overjoyed and said: “Then please, Young Hero Ren, come with me.”

Standing beside him, Qiang Sheng frowned and said rather unhappily, “Brother, didn’t you just say you’d already invited Elder Yue? He’s a master of acupoint techniques. Since he’s already gone, is there any need to bother Young Hero Ren again? Besides, wouldn’t it be inappropriate for him to go now?”

“That…” the young man hesitated. What Qiang Sheng said made sense—his senior brother had already gone to ask Elder Yue, and now he was asking Zhang Xiaohua as well. Wouldn’t that imply he didn’t trust Elder Yue? Didn’t believe he could undo the acupoints? If Elder Yue misunderstood and felt offended…

The more he thought about it, the more he felt he had overstepped—adding legs to a snake, making things worse instead of better.

Just as Zhang Xiaohua was about to speak, Yue Zhonglin laughed and said: “Second brother-in-law, that’s not quite right. This young man is thoughtful and meticulous—that’s a good thing. Besides, my father has always supported the younger generation and wouldn’t be angered by such a minor misunderstanding. No need for this little brother to worry over it.”

The young man’s expression finally relaxed a little after hearing that.

Only then did Zhang Xiaohua realize—so this Elder Yue was actually Master Nie’s relative! No wonder he had been the one to take Valley Master Nie’s place in overseeing the duels.

Yue Zhonglin smiled and asked Zhang Xiaohua: “Little brother-in-law, since my father is already on his way, do you still plan to go over, or will you just head back to the manor?”

Zhang Xiaohua replied without hesitation: “Brother Yue, this matter started because of me. Even though Elder Yue has gone already, it’s still right for me to go and apologize personally. Sealing their acupoints on stage wasn’t my fault, but forgetting to unseal them afterward was.”

Yue Zhonglin gave him a thumbs-up and said: “Truly a fine man, little brother-in-law! With that kind of magnanimity, you’re a perfect match for our Little Yu.”

Zhang Xiaohua cursed inwardly: “Big brother-in-law, can you stop calling me ‘little brother-in-law’ every other sentence? If there weren’t people around, I’d stop giving you any face at all! Wait—why did I just call him ‘big brother-in-law’ in my head? Doesn’t that mean I’ve already accepted the relationship? Ptui!”

Zhang Xiaohua couldn’t help but spit on the ground. Yue Zhonglin, seeing this, just laughed and said: “That’s a good spit, little brother-in-law—looks exactly like how Little Yu does it.”

Zhang Xiaohua was speechless and glanced toward the young man.

The young man, now knowing that Zhang Xiaohua was going regardless, could only smile bitterly and say: “Then please, Young Hero Ren, follow me.”

In his heart, though, he was still praying: “I hope Elder Yue won’t take offense…”

Since Zhang Xiaohua had a good impression of Yue Zhonglin, he naturally didn’t want his father to lose face either. So he kept urging the young man to hurry up a bit. But unfortunately, the young man had no idea what Zhang Xiaohua was thinking. Instead, he deliberately slowed down, hoping Elder Yue would get there first, resolve the situation, and leave before they arrived.

But the open space in front of the manor wasn’t all that large—how much time could he really stall for? On top of that, Elder Yue seemed to have been delayed by something as well. By the time Zhang Xiaohua arrived, Elder Yue had just gotten there too.

Surrounded by a ring of anxious-looking people, two young men lay quietly on the ground. Elder Yue was just about to step forward and unseal their acupoints when Zhang Xiaohua quickly called out: “Elder Yue!”

Elder Yue heard the call and looked up with a smile: “So it’s the groom-to-be! Haha, no need to call me Elder Yue from now on—‘Uncle’ will do just fine.”

The young man who had led Zhang Xiaohua over felt a wave of relief wash over him. So Elder Yue truly hadn’t taken offense.

But Zhang Xiaohua felt all kinds of awkward. If Elder Yue were just a senior, calling him Uncle wouldn’t be a big deal. But looking at that gleam in Elder Yue’s eyes, and thinking back to how Yue Zhonglin kept calling him “little brother-in-law” at every turn, Zhang Xiaohua really didn’t have it in him to say it aloud.

Elder Yue seemed to be aware of something as well. Seeing that Zhang Xiaohua didn’t respond, he chuckled and said: “Ah, this child is still thin-skinned. No need to force it—just wait a few days until you’ve settled in. But mind you, in the martial world, it’s those with thick skin who thrive. You’d best keep that in mind.”

Seeing Elder Yue so kindly advising him, Zhang Xiaohua could only cup his hands and say: “Thank you for your guidance.”

Everyone nearby burst into laughter. “This young fellow really is shy—he dropped the ‘Elder’ part altogether, but still can’t bring himself to say ‘Uncle’!”

Zhang Xiaohua ignored the teasing and continued: “These two gentlemen had their acupoints sealed by me during the duel. Just now I completely forgot about it—my apologies to everyone.”

As he spoke, he made a deep bow to those around him. The fellow disciples of the two on the ground quickly returned the courtesy and said: “It’s nothing—everyone knows the groom’s been busy.”

Zhang Xiaohua then turned to Elder Yue and said: “Elder Yue, please step aside. Since this was my doing, it’s only proper I handle the unsealing.”

Elder Yue laughed: “No need for that. Since I’m already here, let me lend a hand. Consider it a little wedding gift—so I won’t have to dig into my pockets later.”

Zhang Xiaohua was speechless. “I never even asked for a gift. Why does it feel like Elder Yue is stingier than me?”

Seeing Zhang Xiaohua’s expression, Elder Yue pointed to one of the men beside him and said: “I’ll handle this one. You go unseal the other.”

Zhang Xiaohua panicked: “Elder Yue, I should really be the one—”

He stepped forward, but Elder Yue burst into laughter: “You silly boy, you really thought I didn’t prepare a gift for you? Don’t worry, my good nephew. Once we return to the manor, you’ll be more than satisfied.”

As he spoke, he placed his fingers on the wrist of the man on the ground, checking for the sealed meridians.

Zhang Xiaohua rolled his eyes. “Alright, alright. You’d think I was the one desperate for that so-called gift. Take your time and unseal him, then.”

Zhang Xiaohua walked over to the other man lying on the ground. Since it was he who had sealed the man’s acupoints, he naturally knew exactly where they were and didn’t even need to probe with his true qi. Following the technique recorded in the [Bewildering Soul Finger], he tapped a few times—pa pa—channeling his true qi through the man’s meridians. Instantly, the acupoints were unsealed.

The man opened his eyes, glanced around, then stood up and cupped his fists: “Young Hero Ren’s martial skill is truly profound. I am in awe.”

Zhang Xiaohua continued to offer his apologies again and again.

At the same time, Elder Yue had already finished examining the sealed points on the other man’s body. He had tried several commonly used acupoint-releasing techniques, but none had any effect. When he saw that Zhang Xiaohua had already unsealed the other man with ease, a wave of anxiety swept over him.

In the martial world, reputation was everything.

When Elder Yue had stepped in earlier, it was partly to give face to Valley Master Nie, and partly to shield Zhang Xiaohua from any perceived impropriety. But now that he was unable to unseal the man himself, it wouldn’t just be a minor embarrassment—it would be a major loss of face. What if word got out that “on such and such a day, some young fellow sealed a pair of acupoints, and old Yue Yan, not knowing the limits of his ability, tried to unseal them but failed because his martial skills weren’t up to the task”? That would become a laughingstock in Jianghu circles.

Only now did Elder Yue realize why the young man and Zhang Xiaohua had both tried to stop him from interfering.

Alas—he regretted it, but it was already too late!