“What are you afraid of? It’s not like Brother Ye is here to supervise you!”
Wen Shu said lazily, “Besides, no matter how much you train, you’ll never be stronger than me. Rather than training pointlessly, you should practice how to tell others that you’re best friends with the strongest swordsman in the entire world! You will become invincible by association then!”
Li Longxiang just ignored him and kept practicing.
Wen Shu sighed. “Foolish. So hopelessly foolish.”
The young man was about to sip his wine again when suddenly, he felt something smacking him on the back of his head.
“Ow! Who hit me?” Wen Shu cried out in pain and jumped to his feet. While clutching the back of his head with one hand and holding his wooden sword with the other, he assumed a stance he thought looked cool and declared, “Who dares to ambush the invincible hero, Wen Shu? Show yourself and fight me if you dare!”
A ridiculing chuckle came from the entrance. “It’s only been a while since I last saw you, and your temper seems to have grown considerably, ‘hero’ Wen. In that case, I shall happily oblige your request.”
“Senior uncle! You’re back!”
As soon as Li Longxiang saw the newcomer, he immediately stopped training and ran up to him excitedly.
Ye Qing gave Li Longxiang a pat on the shoulder. It had only been a few months since he left for the Death Sea, but the young man’s vigor was much greater than before. It was clear he hadn’t goofed off while he was gone.
On the other hand, Wen Shu had barely improved at all. It was clear that he hadn’t fixed his slothful behavior.
“Well? What are you waiting for, ‘hero’ Wen? I thought you wanted to fight me?” Ye Qing looked at Wen Shu tauntingly.
Wen Shu coughed and twirled his sword a bit. “You look travel weary, and I bet you haven’t had a good rest for the past couple months. I am a righteous hero, and it is not in me to fight those who are not at full strength. I shall fight you once you have fully recovered!”
Ye Qing smirked. “It’s okay. I’d rather fight you in a weakened state than miss the opportunity to cross blades with the famous ‘hero’ Wen, so please, don’t hesitate and teach me your ways.”
“Very well! If that is your wish, then I shall oblige!”
Wen Shu held his wooden sword and focused his concentration. A few breaths later, he abruptly opened his eyes and swung his wooden sword at random, all the while making weird cries and noises. After the “swordplay” was over, he put away his wooden sword and heaved out a sigh. “I had just shown you the invincible sword art I invented, and it is the greatest sword art in the entire world. With your talent, you should be able to learn half of it, and half is all you need to dominate everyone. No need to thank me.”
As he said this, he blinked at Ye Qing repeatedly as if trying to send him a signal: Let’s stop here, shall we? Otherwise, I’m really going to get angry!
“Hero Wen’s invincible sword art really is quite impressive. Please accept my wholehearted compliment,” Ye Qing clasped his fist and said seriously.
“It’s nothing. I’m just the world number three warrior.” Wen Shu nodded arrogantly like he was an actual champion.
The two men exchanged a glance with each other and burst out laughing after that.
Ye Qing stepped over and gave Wen Shu a pat on the head. Then, he went to his usual seat and sat down.
Wen Shu obediently poured a cup of wine for Ye Qing, and Ye Qing drained it all in one gulp. The fatigue he had accumulated throughout the journey was gone just like that.
After chatting with Li Longxiang and Wen Shu for a bit, Ye Qing noted that Yi Pin was nowhere to be seen. He asked curiously, “Where is your master, Longxiang?”
Li Longxiang answered, “He left on a journey with Master Yang.”
Master Yang was Wen Shu’s caretaker and the owner of the coffin shop opposite the Temple of Divination.
“Huh. That’s curious.” Ye Qing lifted an eyebrow. No wonder he didn’t sense Master Yang’s presence when he came back. “When did they leave, and where did they go?”
“Master and Master Yang left not long after you left, actually,” Li Longxiang answered. “Master didn’t tell me where he’s going though. He just asked me to watch over the temple.”
“My old man didn’t tell me anything either.” Wen Shu shrugged.
Ye Qing didn’t ask anything else. He knew that Yi Pin was always out doing heavens-know-what, and it was common for him to go missing for half a month or so. So, he tossed any concern he had for the old man to the back of his mind.
“Oh right! There’s a letter for you, senior uncle.”
It was at this moment Li Longxiang recalled something and grabbed a letter from the room. He handed it to Ye Qing.
Ye Qing frowned. He didn’t have any close acquaintances in Bei You. Who would write him a letter?
Xue? Realization struck Ye Qing when he checked the bottom of the letter and saw the word. It’s Xue Beikun.
Ye Qing opened the letter immediately. Some time ago, he ordered Chen Wuxin to retake control of the Chaos Heaven Brigand at Mount Qi and cooperate with Xue Beikun to further his control. Normally, it was Chen Wuxin who sent him reports of the current situation. Xue Beikun rarely contacted him unless it was a serious matter that required his attention, so he did not dare to treat it lightly.
After he finished reading the letter, Ye Qing frowned and fell into a long silence.
The letter’s content was short and succinct. It told him that Chen Wuxin had gone missing.
According to the letter, Chen Wuxin and Xue Beikun would communicate every once in a while. Xue Beikun would inform Chen Wuxin about the Qing Wu Garrison’s movements so that he wouldn’t be caught in their traps and excursions, and Chen Wuxin would inform Xue Beikun about the movements of some bandits and brigands so Xue Beikun could kill them and use them to increase his merit.
After a couple months of hard work, Xue Beikun was promoted to the position of a vice battalion commander, whereas Chen Wuxin had dodged countless close calls and successfully taken control of the Chaos Heaven Brigand. At the same time, he was also rapidly expanding his power and sphere of control.
Then, one month ago, Xue Beikun suddenly lost contact with Chen Wuxin. The warrior would not respond no matter how many times he tried to contact him. Not only that, he discovered later that the Chaos Heaven Brigand suddenly gained a new head, and Chen Wuxin was nowhere to be found.
Xue Beikun did everything he could to locate Chen Wuxin, but all of his attempts had ended in failure.
On top of that, a mysterious and powerful faction had appeared at Mount Qi several months ago. They were eagerly absorbing the stray bandits and surrounding factions into their midst. Xue Beikun suspected that Chen Wuxin’s disappearance had something to do with this faction.
Unfortunately, Xue Beikun was unable to identify the head of this mysterious faction.
“Longxiang, I’m goin to my room to catch some rest,” Ye Qing said while putting away the letter and heading toward his room.
After he was secure, Ye Qing pulled out the Annon Sutra and asked directly, “Is Chen Wuxin still alive?”
Several mouthfuls of blood later, the Annon Sutra answered:
Ye Qing sighed out in relief when he saw this. Then, he asked about Chen Wuxin’s whereabouts. This time, he had to throw up a dozen mouthfuls of blood before he was given an answer.
“The Celestial Cave.”
“The Celestial Cave? That’s Mount Qi.”
Ye Qing lifted a curious eyebrow. He once heard from Chen Wuxin that Celestial Cave was a location in Mount Qi. It was also the name of a bandit faction.
According to Chen Wuxin, Celestial Cave was a small but powerful faction that was completely made up of elites. They were a mysterious, low-profile bunch as well. That was why few people bothered them.
Did someone from the Celestial Cave capture Chen Wuxin? Ye Qing thought to himself.
One thing was certain. He needed to make a trip to Mount Qi.
After putting away the Annon Sutra, Ye Qing left his room and informed Li Longxiang and Wen Shu. “Watch the place. I need to head out for a bit.”
“You just came back. What’s the rush?” Wen Shu asked.
“Something urgent came up,” Ye Qing replied simply.
“How long are you going to be gone this time, senior uncle?” Li Longxiang asked.
“I can’t say. If I’m lucky, then maybe half a month or so. If not… who knows?” Ye Qing gave a vague answer before instructing, “Don’t stop practicing your fists even when I’m gone, Longxiang. Persistence is everything.”
“I will, senior uncle.” Li Longxiang nodded. “Take care.”
“Come home soon, Brother Ye!” Wen Shu also said.
“Don’t worry. I expect to return as soon as I’m done with my business.” Ye Qing smiled. “Take care of yourselves. See you both later.”
He left the temple immediately after that.