Chapter 118

After the group sat down inside, Shi Qing ordered his servants to bring out tea and fruit. He then began to recount how he and his wife had tried to send Shi Zhongyu to the Snow Mountain Sect, but had encountered Nie Yun on the way.

Bai Zizai, who had been stroking his beard and listening with great interest, even offering a few words of advice with a smile when Shi Qing complained about Shi Zhongyu’s unruly behavior, suddenly darkened his face when he heard that Nie Yun had persuaded Shi Qing and his wife to give up their plans and had taken Shi Zhongyu, who was originally going to become a disciple of the Snow Mountain Sect, into the Huashan Sect. He snorted heavily through his nose and glared at Nie Yun, saying, “A mere brat dares to interrupt my beard! How dare he!”

Shi Qing quickly stood up and said to Bai Zizai, “Grandpa Bai, this is all because my wife dotes on our young son and can’t bear to leave him, so…”

Before he could finish speaking, Bai Zizai waved his hand to interrupt him, saying with displeasure, “If you had said from the beginning that you were going to send him to the Huashan Sect, I naturally wouldn’t have interfered. But this kid knew that you were going to send your son to the Xueshan Sect, yet he still dared to take him in first. He clearly looks down on my Xueshan Sect!”

Nie Yun picked up his teacup and took a small sip, his heart filled with disdain.

His beloved granddaughter was almost raped within the sect, and in the end, she jumped off a cliff to commit suicide.

He was driven mad by a few lies, and his wife practiced internal energy cultivation to the point of paralysis. They were simply a pair of utterly useless good-for-nothings.

As for the disciples below, not one of them amounted to anything.

Anyone who thinks highly of such a sect is a fool.

It’s only because the Snow Mountain Sect is located in the Western Regions, where the roads are treacherous and no one pays attention to them that they feel so good about themselves. Bai Zizai even calls himself the greatest hero, great hero, great knight, and grandmaster of all time, with the greatest swordsmanship, the greatest fist and footwork, the greatest internal strength, and the greatest hidden weapon. It’s absolutely laughable.

Bai Zizai, who was the undisputed ruler of Lingxiao City, could make his disciples tremble at the slightest frown. Today, seeing that Nie Yun not only did not take the initiative to apologize but also acted as if it were none of her business, the female disciple was furious. She slammed her hand on the table and shouted, “Boy, did you hear me?”

Shi Xiaocui frowned. She had never liked her husband’s arrogance and conceit, and the couple often argued about it. Seeing him still so arrogant after coming down the mountain, she couldn’t help but feel angry and shouted, “Bai Zizai, what’s wrong with you now? He’s his own son, he can send him wherever he wants, it’s none of your business!”

Bai Zizai was a little embarrassed to be scolded by his wife in front of outsiders. He glared at his wife and said, “When a man is talking, you woman, don’t interrupt!”

Shi Xiaocui frowned, slammed her hand on the table, and shouted, “Bai Zizai, I can’t be bothered with you when you’re bullying others in Lingxiao City, but now you’re making such a fool of yourself in front of outsiders. You’re over sixty years old and you don’t even know shame!”

“You…” Bai Zi was completely enraged. Although the couple argued constantly every day, they always shut themselves in their room.

What man could bear to be so humiliated in front of outsiders today?

In a moment of anger, he reached out and slapped his wife across the face.

As soon as his hand moved, Bai Zizai came to his senses. However, he had been acting out of anger, and now it was too late to stop.

Shi Xiaocui never expected her husband to dare to lay a hand on her. Caught off guard, she froze and could only watch helplessly as the slap came toward her face.

“Old Master Bai!”

“grandfather!”

Everyone was taken aback, but then their vision blurred, and they saw a figure standing in front of Bai Zizai, and his slap did not land on Shi Xiaocui’s face.

“Yun’er!” Min Rou exclaimed, bringing everyone back to their senses. They saw that the person holding Bai Zizai’s wrist with his right hand and his left hand behind his back was none other than Nie Yun, who had just been sitting at the lower end of the table.

“Sect Leader Bai, your wife has borne you children and taken care of the household chores, growing old together from black hair to white. Now, she’s only said a few angry words, and you’re already trying to hit her? Your temper is way too much!”

Nie Yun said calmly.

Bai Zizai was regretting his recklessness, but upon hearing Nie Yun’s words, his anger flared up again. He forcefully shook off Nie Yun’s hand and said defiantly, “I haven’t even settled the score with you for what happened earlier, and you still dare to meddle in my business! She’s my own wife, I can hit her whenever I want!”

Shi Xiaocui was so angry that she trembled all over. She pulled Bai Axiu up and walked out.

Shi Qing and Min Rou rushed forward to persuade him, and Shi Zhongjian also ran to Bai Axiu’s side, wanting to say something but not knowing how to start, his face turning red with embarrassment.

Suddenly, a cracking sound was heard. Everyone turned to look and saw that Bai Zizai and Nie Yun had started fighting. The sound was from Bai Zizai’s palm strike, which Nie Yun dodged, causing Bai Zizai to hit the chair.

Nie Yun frowned and said, “I only give you some leeway because I respect you as a senior in the martial arts world. Don’t push your luck!”

Bai Zizai glared angrily and shouted, “Who asked you to give way? Today I’m going to teach you a lesson!” With that, he lunged forward again. Nie Yun shook his head and, in a flash, was outside the house.

Bai Zizai narrowed his eyes, not expecting his lightness skill to be so impressive. Shi Xiaocui also looked at Nie Yun in surprise, seemingly astonished by his ghostly speed.

“Sect Leader Bai, you’re being far too domineering!” Nie Yun’s voice already carried a hint of dissatisfaction. “Is this the typical unreasonable behavior of your Snow Mountain Sect?”

“asshole!”

When Bai Zizai heard Nie Yun insult his proud Snow Mountain Sect, the wariness he had felt because of Nie Yun’s display of lightness skill vanished instantly. Now, all he wanted to do was teach this arrogant brat a lesson.

He drew his sword and thrust it straight at Nie Yun’s right shoulder. Before he could even finish his move, the chilling sword energy had already ruffled Nie Yun’s sleeve.

Nie Yun shook his head, lightly touched the ground with his feet, and leaped upwards in a vertical motion. Then, with a light turn in the air, he landed to the side.

“Sect Leader Bai, I have already given you three moves. If you continue to be aggressive, don’t blame me for being rude!” Nie Yun’s face was ashen, and his right hand was already gripping the sword sheath tightly.

Bai Zizai became the head of the Snow Mountain Sect at the age of thirty. For decades, he was unrivaled in the Western Regions, so he would never take Nie Yun’s warning seriously.

He sneered, “A toad yawning, what a big mouth you have! Today I’ll see how rude you really are!” With that, he launched another attack, “Horse Crossing the Mountains,” at Nie Yun.

“Overestimating yourself!” Nie Yun said disdainfully, but his body remained motionless.

“Please have mercy, sir!”

“Yun’er, be careful!”

Shi Qing and Min Rou shouted at the same time, but Shi Xiaocui secretly shook her head. In her opinion, Nie Yun was so arrogant at such a young age, and he was obviously the same kind of person as Bai Zizai. It would be good for him to be taught a lesson.

Bai Axiu, being kind-hearted, couldn’t help but shout, “Get out of the way!” Nie Yun turned around and smiled at her, instantly making the girl blush and lower her head, her heart pounding like a deer.

“How can he have such a handsome smile?!”

Bai Axiu clutched her chest, her mind filled with Nie Yun’s radiant smile.

The young girl, who had never tasted love in over a decade, had no idea what this fluttering feeling meant.

A deafening metallic clang rang out. Bai Axiu quickly looked up and saw Bai Zi flying backward, while Nie Yun stood upright like a pine tree, holding his sword in one hand.

Although Shi Xiaocui had argued with her husband for half her life, she still loved him deeply in her heart. When she saw her husband being knocked away, she disregarded the argument and rushed over to help Bai Zizai.

She hadn’t expected Bai Zizai to exert such great force, which caused her to stumble back several steps before regaining her balance.

“Clang!” Nie Yun raised his longsword and flicked it lightly, saying casually, “I only used less than forty percent of my strength just now, sorry for the inconvenience.”

Bai Zizai and Shi Xiaocui exchanged a glance, both utterly shocked. Bai Zizai’s hand gripping the sword trembled uncontrollably; he felt that all his usual words and actions had been a complete joke.

Nie Yun casually used the sword move that Bai Zizai had just used, and it was exactly the same. Moreover, a leaping silver light flashed on the tip of the sword, which was a realm that many sword practitioners never reached in their entire lives—the sword light.

“That was the sword move you just used, wasn’t it? It was indeed exquisite, but it’s not unbreakable.”

Nie Yun shifted his body to the right, unleashing five sword strikes in quick succession. “If I counterattack like this when you attack, what do you think?”

Bai Zizai’s face turned pale instantly. He kept thinking, but finally realized that if Nie Yun countered in this way, he would either have to throw away his sword and retreat to dodge, or he would have to put his vital points on the tip of Nie Yun’s sword.

With a clang, Bai Zizai’s sword fell to the ground. He shook his head in disappointment and said, “I never imagined that just one Huashan Sect Leader would be so powerful. How many heroes and great men are there in the world? I’ve lived this whole life in vain, only to become a frog in a well. How laughable!”

He possesses profound internal strength, coupled with his daily martial arts practice and high aspirations, so although he is over sixty years old, he still looks majestic and shows no signs of aging.

Now, having been defeated by Nie Yun in one move, he seems to have aged ten years in an instant.

Seeing her husband like this, Shi Xiaocui felt both heartache and relief. She held her husband’s hand, turned to look at Nie Yun, and her eyes were filled with complex emotions.

Nie Yun nodded to her, sheathed his sword, turned around and went to Shi Qing and his wife, saying gently, “Father, Mother, it’s all because Yun’er was ignorant and made you feel troubled!”

Shi Qing opened his mouth, unsure whether to praise or criticize, and for a moment he didn’t know what to say.

Min Rou looked at Nie Yun with pride and admiration on her face. Compared to Shi Qing’s respectful and polite demeanor just now, Nie Yun’s behavior, though somewhat reckless, fully demonstrated his strength.

Women are naturally inclined to admire the strong.

Bai Axiu stared blankly at Nie Yun, her mouth agape, hardly believing her eyes.

Her grandfather, who had been undefeated in the Northwest for decades, was defeated by Nie Yun in a single move, which shocked her and made her even more curious about Nie Yun.

“So…so he’s really that amazing, not just good-looking.”

A ripple of emotion stirred within the young girl. “He looks to be only in his early twenties. How could he have mastered such extraordinary skills?”

Bai Axiu was lost in thought when she saw Nie Yun turn to her and smile slightly, saying, “Thank you for reminding me earlier, Miss.”

The radiant smile made the girl blush again. She lowered her head and whispered, “No… no need to be so polite.”

Those few words seemed to have exhausted all her strength. Bai Axiu unconsciously took a step back and reached out to hold onto the table.

Knowing the principle that too much of a good thing can be bad, Nie Yun didn’t continue the conversation. Bai Axiu breathed a sigh of relief when she saw him turn away and quickly ran to her grandfather’s side.

When Bai Zizai saw his beloved granddaughter, he reached out and touched her head, and said with a wry smile, “Axiu, Grandpa is really getting old!” His tone was full of desolation.

Seeing this, Nie Yun said, “Grandpa, you don’t need to be sad. I was born with a photographic memory, and I can learn all martial arts at a glance. Moreover, there are very few people in the world who can withstand my full-force attack.”

Although he didn’t use a boastful tone, everyone rolled their eyes, especially Bai Zizai, who was extremely frustrated.

No sooner had he finished speaking than a burst of laughter came from outside: “Heh… kid, you’ve got quite the nerve. I wonder what your real skills are?”

Immediately afterwards, two figures walked in.

One of them said, “Kid, since you’re so arrogant, come and pick me up…”

Before he could finish speaking, Nie Yun turned around, and the man was immediately rendered speechless, as if someone had grabbed him by the neck.

Nie Yun chuckled and said, “Oh, it’s you guys! What a coincidence!”

The two men, one fat and one thin, were quite tall and were the Good and Evil Envoys from Xia Ke Island who had been defeated by Nie Yun a few days earlier.

The person who had just spoken was the fat man. At this moment, his face turned pale and then red, and he secretly groaned in his heart.

Nie Yun didn’t make things difficult for the two of them, and asked, “What brings you here today?”

The fat man said, “We went to the Lingxiao City branch of the Snow Mountain Sect to issue a decree to reward good and punish evil. The disciples in the city said that the sect leader came to Xuansu Manor in Suzhou to visit an old friend, so we came here to look for him.”

Bai Zizai and Shi Xiaocui were both startled upon hearing this. Bai Zizai stepped forward and said, “I am Bai Zizai. You said you have been to the Snow Mountain Sect. Did you harm any of the sect’s disciples?”

The fat man turned to look at Nie Yun, who smiled and said, “I am from the Huashan Sect, not the Xueshan Sect. I won’t meddle in other people’s business.”

The fat man breathed a sigh of relief and said to Bai Zizai, “I taught a few hot-tempered guys a lesson, but none of them are in any danger.”

“You bastard!”

Bai Zizai was furious and was about to make a move when the fat man flicked his sleeve, and two yellowish objects flew out from his sleeve and shot towards him.

Judging from the sound of the wind, the force of the impact was extremely fierce.

Bai Zida shouted and stretched out both hands to grab the two yellow objects.

As soon as one person touched him, he felt a dull pain in his arms and a tingling numbness in his shoulders. While he was surprised by the strength of his opponent, he also smiled bitterly to himself, realizing that he had really underestimated everyone.

He looked down and saw that he was holding the two deadly bronze plaques that symbolized reward and punishment.

The fat man chuckled and said, “The rule of Xia Ke Island is that once you accept the bronze token we hand over, it means you’ve agreed to attend the Xia Ke Island banquet, and you can’t refuse anymore.”

Shi Xiaocui raised her eyebrows and cursed, “Nonsense! We’re not going, what can you do about it?”

The skinny man who hadn’t spoken until now said coldly, “We didn’t ask you to go. We invited the leader of the Snow Mountain Sect.”

Shi Xiaocui was so angry that she trembled all over. She was about to rush up and attack, but Bai Zizai held her back tightly.

She turned her head in surprise, only to see Bai Zizai gently shaking his head at her.

Having been married to him for many years, Shi Xiaocui naturally understood the seriousness in his eyes.

Bai Zizai said in a deep voice, “If I resolutely refuse to go, what will you do then?”

The fat man laughed and said, “Since Sect Leader Nie is here today, we naturally won’t fight with the old man. However, you know the rules of Xia Ke Island, and I don’t think you want to see Lingxiao City drenched in blood, do you?”

Bai Zizai gasped. He already knew from that last move that these two were far more skilled than him.

If I were to refuse today, even if they let me go, the Snow Mountain Sect would likely never have a peaceful day again.

Recalling the various rumors about Xia Ke Island in the martial arts world, he knew that the fat man’s words were not meant to scare him.

Of course, he could see that the two were wary of Nie Yun, but although he was no longer arrogant enough to think that he was invincible, he was also unwilling to bow his head and beg for Nie Yun’s help.

Seeing her husband’s constantly changing expression, Shi Xiaocui naturally knew his concerns, so she reached out and took the token, saying loudly, “I’ll go.”

“Nonsense!” Bai Zizai was shocked. He quickly snatched the token and, before Shi Xiaocui could react, said to the fat man, “I, Bai Zizai, will definitely be there on time.”

“Very well, Sect Leader Bai is indeed straightforward. In that case, farewell.” The fat and thin men bowed slightly to the crowd and turned to leave.

“Wait a moment, you two,” Nie Yun suddenly called out to them.

“I wonder if Sect Leader Nie has anything else to say?” The two turned around. The fat man was still smiling, but there was a clear hint of nervousness in his eyes.

Nie Yun said, “I will board the ship with Sect Leader Bai. I think you two should be able to make the arrangements properly, right?”

The two exchanged a glance, and the fat man laughed, “It’s just a matter of a word, Sect Leader Nie, don’t worry.”

After the two left, Bai Zizai asked in confusion, “Young brother, what’s going on here…?”

Nie Yun didn’t speak, but just smiled and took out two bronze plaques from his pocket.

Bai Zizai was first taken aback, then gave a bitter laugh.

He had just been forced to accept the token, while Nie Yun had made the other party extremely nervous. This disparity in strength dealt him another heavy blow.

“Heroes emerge from among the young!” Bai Zizai shook his head and sighed, for the first time considering stepping down and giving way to a more capable person.

The next day, Nie Yun and Bai Zizai were to keep their appointment on Xia Ke Island, and Shi Xiaocui, Bai Axiu, and Shi Qing’s family of three also went with them.

Bai Zizai originally wanted his wife to return to Lingxiao City, but Shi Xiaocui could not bear to let her husband go alone, so she insisted on coming.

Bai Axiu insisted on going along, saying she wanted to take good care of her grandparents. In the end, she cried her eyes out and refused to stay.

Bai Zizai felt sorry for his granddaughter and had no choice but to agree.

Shi Qing and Min Rou, as Nie Yun’s parents, had wanted to go with him before, but Nie Yun refused. Now, seeing this situation, they insisted on accompanying Nie Yun.

They hadn’t originally planned to bring Shi Zhongjian along, but the silly boy, like Bai Axiu, insisted on coming along.

Shi Qing was a little puzzled, but the observant Min Rou guessed what was on her son’s mind.

Although she was very disappointed in the father and son, her gentle nature and maternal instincts made her still feel sorry for Shi Zhongjian, her only biological son.

Now that she saw that he finally had someone he loved, Min Rou was relieved but also hoped that he could get what he wanted, so she persuaded Shi Qing from the side.

In the end, the group of seven set off together, heading straight for Fujian.

Along the way, Bai Zizai kept pulling Nie Yun aside to discuss martial arts.

Now that Nie Yun has been tempered by the Shaolin Temple’s Scripture Pavilion, his martial arts knowledge and cultivation far surpass Bai Zizai, who has always stayed in the Snow Mountain Sect. So their discussion quickly turned into Bai Zizai asking questions and Nie Yun answering them. In the end, it was more like a master teaching a disciple.

Shi Xiaocui watched with envy and couldn’t help but join in.

Bai Zizai only then learned that his wife had secretly created a technique called “Golden Crow Saber Technique” to counter the “Snow Mountain Sword Technique.” He was both amused and exasperated, and secretly regretted his usual competitiveness.

The couple poured out their long-buried thoughts, which resolved many old misunderstandings, and their relationship became even sweeter.

Although they all had white hair, their stickiness was even more exaggerated than that of many young people.

However, compared to the couple’s happy retirement, Shi Zhongjian was filled with depression.