Es gibt einen Xiao Chan im Jianghu

Kapitel 28

The main hall was quite spacious. Yun Ran and Sima Liuyun took their seats at the west end, surrounded by martial arts practitioners who had come to watch the excitement. Among them were many people from various sects who were familiar with Sima Liuyun. However, Sima Liuyun had already changed his appearance with Yun Ran and sat with her in an inconspicuous corner, so no one recognized him.

The hall gradually filled with guests. Yun Ran looked around and saw three men at the head table. One was in his thirties, dashing and smiling, constantly nodding and greeting the guests. Another man was about the same age, but with an arrogant expression, sitting with his eyes down, seemingly lost in thought. The youngest man at the end of the table was a fair-skinned young man with a reserved posture, occasionally glancing around furtively, as if he still retained the immaturity of a youth.

Yun Ran knew that these three were He Chun's disciples Zhu Tianhe, Chu Yan, and Liu Bicheng. If Huo Qingfeng did not participate in the struggle for the leadership, one of these three would succeed him as the leader of the Jade Sword Sect today. Just as she was about to concentrate on watching, she suddenly heard footsteps at the entrance of the hall. She turned her eyes and couldn't help but frown slightly, her anger barely contained.

Sima Liuyun was peeling peanuts for Xiaodouzi one by one when he suddenly noticed Yunran's expression change slightly and her fists clenched tightly. Following her gaze toward the entrance of the hall, he couldn't help but feel a jolt in his heart.

A disciple of the Jade Sword Sect led several people into the hall. The one in the lead, dressed in brocade robes and with a handsome face, wore an arrogant smile; he was none other than Su Rang, the leader of the Kongtong Sect. A slight smile played on his lips as he led a young woman by the hand towards a seat on the east side. The woman was beautiful and graceful, her eyes lowered and her eyelashes drooping as she followed him, her demeanor very obedient; she was none other than Wanwan.

Yun Ran and Sima Liuyun exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with shock and anger. She had left without saying goodbye that evening, and although they hadn't spoken of it, they had always been worried about her. They never expected to meet her again here today. She had been missing for many days, and it was completely unexpected that she had fallen into Su Rang's hands.

The two watched from afar, and saw Su Rang with an ambiguous expression, whispering something in Wanwan's ear. Wanwan's expression was blank, but a hint of fear and hatred flickered in her eyes. Su Rang sneered, and suddenly reached out to press down on her arm. Wanwan's face changed, her body trembled slightly, and she nodded with difficulty. Su Rang smiled and then withdrew his hand.

Seeing Wanwan biting her lip and holding back tears, her face filled with despair, Sima Liuyun felt he could no longer bear it and was about to get up and go forward when Yunran reached out and grabbed him. He heard her whisper, "Bear with it for now. We can deal with that brat surnamed Su after we finish our business."

Sima Liuyun was slightly taken aback. Remembering the purpose of his visit today, he realized that he had acted impulsively and almost ruined everything. He nodded apologetically to Yun Ran and sat down again.

Just then, a stir arose among the people in the hall, and someone nearby whispered, "It's Huo Qingfeng! The Lord of Twilight Shadow Pavilion has actually come!"

☆、44 Latest Chapter

Amidst murmurs, Huo Qingfeng, dressed in a blue robe, with a calm expression, slowly followed the welcoming disciple into the hall. Behind him, a dozen or so men in blue robes followed in single file, their eyes lowered and faces solemn.

Seeing that the men in blue robes all had sharp eyes and steady steps, the crowd nodded in approval and felt excited: all the elites of the Twilight Shadow Pavilion had come, it seemed that Huo Qingfeng was probably interested in vying for the position of sect leader, and today was sure to be a very exciting day.

When He Chun's three disciples saw Huo Qingfeng arrive, they all rose from their seats to greet him.

The three men had different expressions. Liu Bicheng called out "Uncle-Master" and hurriedly stepped forward to bow. Zhu Tianhe bowed respectfully and said, "I sent someone to deliver a letter to Muying Tower earlier. I was worried that Uncle-Master would be too busy to come. Now that Uncle-Master can come in person to take charge of the situation, it is the best possible thing."

Huo Qingfeng gave a faint "hmm" without saying a word, his gaze falling on Chu Yan.

Chu Yan did not step forward to pay his respects, but stood to the side and coldly stared at Huo Qingfeng. At this moment, he showed a sarcastic expression and said softly, "My master has been murdered for more than a month. It is really a bit late for Uncle Huo to show up today."

Upon hearing this, the onlookers were all shocked. Chu Yan's words implied that Huo Qingfeng had turned a blind eye to He Chun's death but was now coveting the position of sect leader. This inevitably brought to mind the various rumors circulating in the martial arts world recently about the Twilight Shadow Pavilion Master secretly hiring someone to assassinate He Chun.

Of Chu Yan and He Chun's three disciples, Zhu Tianhe was smooth and shrewd, Liu Bicheng was young and inexperienced, and usually followed his master and senior brother's lead without much of his own opinion. Only Chu Yan was aloof and arrogant, but his temperament was prone to extremes. Today, as expected, he was the first to lose his temper and immediately questioned Huo Qingfeng upon meeting him.

For a moment, the hall fell silent, with hundreds of eyes fixed on Huo Qingfeng's face, waiting to see how he would respond.

Huo Qingfeng remained calm and simply said, "I've been preoccupied with trivial matters lately, so I am indeed a bit late."

Zhu Tianhe coughed lightly and said from the side, "Junior Brother Chu is heartbroken over Master's passing and spoke inappropriately for a moment. Please do not take it to heart, Uncle." He then advised Chu Yan, "Junior Brother Chu knows that Uncle Huo is devoted to martial arts and has never liked to meddle in the mundane affairs of our sect. How could he... You must not be influenced by those rumors in the martial world and misunderstand Uncle Huo."

Chu Yan said indignantly, "Uncle Huo, with all this fuss today, isn't it all for the position of sect leader?"

Yun Ran sneered inwardly upon hearing this: This Zhu Tianhe was indeed a formidable character; his words were a mix of offense and defense, concealing hidden meanings. If Huo Qingfeng still intended to participate in the sect leader competition, he would inevitably give others ammunition, increasing suspicion that he was behind the harming of He Chun. His statement, however, did not directly offend Huo Qingfeng, but instead provoked Chu Yan to step forward and play the villain.

Huo Qingfeng calmly said, "Several years ago, I was ordered by my master to establish the Twilight Shadow Pavilion outside. I made it clear that I had no intention of taking over the position of sect leader. Didn't you three junior disciples hear your master mention this?"

This was completely unexpected. Everyone thought: So it turns out that Twilight Shadow Tower was founded by Huo Qingfeng on the orders of Long Yanzi. It seems that Long Yanzi had intended to pass the leadership to him several years ago, but he refused. If that's the case, Huo Qingfeng has no reason to kill He Chun. Then who hired someone to kill He Chun?

Upon hearing Huo Qingfeng recount this matter in front of everyone, Zhu Tianhe felt reassured and hurriedly said, "Yes, please take a seat, Uncle-Master, and preside over the selection of a sect leader."

Huo Qingfeng said, "You preside over the ceremony; I'll just observe from the sidelines."

Although Huo Qingfeng was younger than Zhu Tianhe and Chu Yan, he was the most senior member of the Jade Sword Sect after the deaths of Long Yanzi and He Chun. Zhu Tianhe dared not be negligent and led him to the main seat before walking to the center of the hall and saying loudly, "Friends, you have gone to great lengths to come from afar for the establishment of a new sect leader for our Jade Sword Sect. I thank you in advance." He then bowed to everyone in the hall.

Everyone was busy returning the greetings. They all knew that most of the people who came here were just there to watch the excitement of the Jade Sword Sect's leadership contest, and probably didn't have any good intentions. But in Zhu Tianhe's words, it became a gesture of kindness and generosity. They couldn't help but admire his tactful speech and excellent interpersonal skills.

Zhu Tianhe continued, “Our sect leader passed away from illness a month ago, and my master was unfortunately assassinated. The position of sect leader has been vacant ever since. With all of you heroes here as witnesses, today our Jade Sword Sect intends to select someone to assume the important responsibility of sect leader and lead all the disciples to avenge my master.”

Su Rang raised his eyebrows and smiled from the head of the East Pavilion: "Brother Zhu, there is no need to be so polite. Since Master Huo has made it clear that he will not take on the position of sect leader, according to the order of seniority, the position of sect leader should naturally be taken over by Brother Zhu."

Zhu Tianhe smiled slightly, but before he could reply, another person spoke up: "But our sect leader has always chosen the most capable person, and besides, to avenge Uncle He, the sect leader's martial arts skills are also of utmost importance."

Zhu Tianhe saw that the speaker was Li Jin, the eldest disciple of his sect's Uncle Jing Ping. Jing Ping had passed away eight years ago, and his disciples were few and far between. Li Jin's skills were far inferior to his own. So he smiled and said, "Could it be that Junior Brother Li intends to take over the position of sect leader and avenge my master?"

Li Jin blushed and said, "Li Jin's skills are meager, how dare I take on such an important task? I just feel that the strongest among our disciples should be chosen to serve as the sect leader, so that the disciples will be more convinced of its importance."

Zhu Tianhe glanced at him and thought to himself: So he's a member of Junior Brother Chu's faction.

Within the Jade Sword Sect, Zhu Tianhe, Chu Yan, and Liu Bicheng had all received He Chun's true teachings, and their martial arts far surpassed those of the other disciples. Chu Yan, in particular, excelled in swordsmanship, surpassing both Zhu and Liu. Li Jin's proposal clearly indicated his support for Chu Yan.

Thinking of this, Zhu Tianhe sneered inwardly, but said aloud, "Junior Brother Li's words are not without reason..."

Su Rang interjected, "In that case, which member of your sect is willing to take on this important task? We can compare them on the spot. With Master Huo and all of us here as witnesses, we can finally choose the one with the strongest martial arts to become the sect leader. Wouldn't that be fair?"

Li Jin nodded, offering no further objections.

Su Rang then laughed and said, "If we're talking about martial arts, Brother Zhu and Brother Chu are both outstanding in your sect. There's no need for you two to be modest; just come down and have a contest to see who wins."

Chu Yan hesitated for a moment, then slowly got up and walked into the hall.

Zhu Tianhe looked at him and smiled, "Junior Brother Chu, avenging Master is the priority. We brothers need not hold back, let's do our best. Whoever takes on the position of sect leader, it will be a good thing."

Chu Yan's expression shifted. He reached out and drew his longsword, stood at the lower end, and said in a low voice, "Senior Brother, please."

Zhu Tianhe laughed and drew his sword, and the two instantly clashed. After dozens of moves, everyone in the arena could see that although Chu Yan's swordsmanship was superb, he was losing due to insufficient strength. He was now barely holding on and would surely be defeated in a few more moves. Those who knew the details of the two men's martial arts couldn't help but marvel, wondering why Chu Yan was so weak.

Su Rang gently held Wanwan's jade hand, a half-smile on his face. Last night, he sneaked into Chu Yan's residence and successfully attacked him with the Great Slamming Stone. He then fought with Chu Yan for more than half an hour. Chu Yan was now seriously injured and exhausted. How could he be a match for Zhu Tianhe?

Sure enough, a loud clang was heard on the field, and Chu Yan's longsword was knocked away. Zhu Tianhe seemed unable to stop his momentum, and his longsword continued to thrust sharply towards Chu Yan's shoulder blade.

With a flash of green, Huo Qingfeng, who had been sitting quietly observing from afar, appeared in front of the two in an instant. Zhu Tianhe hadn't even seen his movements clearly when his hand suddenly felt light as his longsword was snatched away. Startled, he felt something suddenly appear in his hand; it was Huo Qingfeng who had shoved the longsword back into his hand.

These few swift movements were so quick that most of the people in the hall did not even realize that Huo Qingfeng had snatched and returned the sword, but they were all impressed by his lightning-fast movements and cheered loudly.

Chu Yan paused for a moment, picked up the longsword, walked to Huo Qingfeng's side, and said in a low voice, "Thank you for saving me, Uncle-Master." Huo Qingfeng nodded, glanced at Zhu Tianhe indifferently, and then turned back to his seat.

Zhu Tianhe felt a chill run down his spine as he saw the man's sharp gaze, which seemed to carry a warning. He broke out in a cold sweat.

Su Rang hurriedly said, "The outcome is decided. Congratulations, Brother Zhu, on assuming the position of sect leader of the Jade Sword Sect."

Suddenly, someone called out, "Wait!" The speaker was none other than Li Jin.

Zhu Tianhe frowned and asked, "Junior Brother Li, do you intend to step in and offer your guidance?"

Li Jin smiled and said, "I wouldn't dare. Although Senior Brother Zhu has defeated Senior Brother Chu, Junior Brother Liu has not yet competed. Headmaster Su's words of congratulations are a bit premature."

Su Rang's expression darkened slightly, and he snorted, but he didn't dare to refute him.

Zhu Tianhe looked at Liu Bicheng and saw that his face was pale, as if he was a little nervous. He had always been close to Liu Bicheng and thought to himself: It's ridiculous that Li Jin is trying to drag Junior Brother Liu down with him after Chu Yan's defeat.

He then asked, "Junior Brother Liu, are you also going to participate in the competition?"

He knew that this junior brother had always respected and admired him, and obeyed his every word, so why would he compete with him? This question was just for show to shut others up. But Liu Bicheng replied blankly, "Oh, senior brother." With that, he picked up his sword and walked into the arena.

Zhu Tianhe was both amused and annoyed. Knowing that his silly junior brother had taken his question as an order, he whispered, "Just pretend to exchange a dozen or so moves. I won't really hurt you, don't be afraid."

Liu Bicheng did not answer. He held his sword horizontally across his chest, assumed a starting stance, and said softly, "Senior Brother, please give me your guidance."

Zhu Tianhe slashed with his sword, but a flash of cold light appeared before his eyes. Liu Bicheng had already swiftly attacked, unleashing a deadly move from their sect. Startled and enraged, Zhu Tianhe immediately focused all his attention on countering. Liu Bicheng had joined the sect more than ten years later than him, and his martial arts were considerably inferior. In Zhu Tianhe's mind, he had never considered this junior brother a worthy opponent. But after exchanging a few blows, he realized that his opponent's attacks were ruthless and precise, his swordsmanship exquisite, definitely no less than Chu Yan's.

Zhu Tianhe grew increasingly apprehensive as the fight progressed: Could it be that Junior Brother Liu had been concealing his strength and deliberately feigning weakness? If so, then this man's cunning was truly profound...

A sly smile appeared on Liu Bicheng's fair and youthful face. She stepped forward and whispered, "Senior brother, be careful." As she spoke, the sword in her hand spun around. Zhu Tianhe felt that this move was strange. It seemed to be the sword style of his sect, but the move was something he had never seen before. Before he could react, Liu Bicheng's long sword was already at his neck.

This sudden turn of events left everyone in the hall stunned, even Su Rang forgot to utter a sound.

Liu Bicheng looked terrified and quickly sheathed her sword, saying urgently, "Senior Brother, I didn't mean it..."

Zhu Tianhe's face turned ashen, and he said sadly, "That's it!" Without looking back, he leaped out of the hall and vanished in the blink of an eye.

Li Jin's eyes flashed, and he stepped forward, took Liu Bicheng's hand, and said with a smile, "Junior Brother Liu, I didn't expect your skill to improve so quickly in the past two years. It seems that the position of sect leader is rightfully yours."

He turned and glanced at Huo Qingfeng, seeing him with his eyes lowered, seemingly deep in thought, but without showing any intention to stop him. He was secretly pleased when he heard a woman's cold voice say, "I'm afraid that's not necessarily true."

Author's Note: To be continued tomorrow.

☆、45 Latest Chapter

Everyone looked toward the source of the voice and saw a beautiful young woman in a yellow dress step out from the crowd. With a few leaps, she arrived in the center of the arena, stood in front of Liu Bicheng and Li Jin, and asked Li Jin, "Are all disciples of our sect eligible to compete for the position of sect leader?"

Seeing her light and agile movements, Li Jin could vaguely discern that she was using the lightness skill of their sect, but her face was completely unfamiliar. His Jade Sword Sect had lenient rules, and its disciples were scattered across various places; he might not have seen all his fellow disciples, so he wasn't particularly surprised. Hearing her question, he replied, "Yes, but..."

The woman replied calmly, "Alright, then I'll have a match with Liu Bicheng." She then extended her hand and lightly pressed it towards Li Jin's chest. Li Jin hurriedly dodged, but the woman changed her move mid-flight, swiftly drawing the steel sword from his waist. She casually twirled the sword, its tip pointing diagonally at Liu Bicheng, awaiting his attack.

Seeing the woman's attack, Liu Bicheng knew she was a formidable opponent. He thrust out his longsword, making several feints towards her chest, waist, abdomen, and face, intending to test her strength. But seeing that she didn't dodge, his sword aimed at her lower abdomen turned from a feint into a real strike, swift as the wind. The woman snorted, and her longsword suddenly flicked out, arriving before Liu Bicheng's, aiming straight for her throat.

Seeing that the swordplay used was indeed from their own school, but the direction of the strike was extremely tricky, Liu Bicheng was alarmed. She quickly parried with her own sword, clashing with the woman's. The woman's sword slashed down smoothly, and Liu Bicheng drew her sword and leaped back, flicking her sword towards the woman's eyes. The woman followed like a shadow, leaping forward and unleashing a series of sword moves that had already enveloped Liu Bicheng in a circle of sword strikes.

Knowing he had encountered a master of his own sect, Liu Bicheng gritted his teeth and unleashed three swift sword strikes. The disciples of the Jade Sword Sect, who were watching from the side, were amazed to see his exquisite moves and sword style that subtly matched their sect's sword techniques, yet none of them recognized it.

The woman smiled coldly, and her swordplay changed, employing the same bizarre sword technique as Liu Bicheng. Liu Bicheng's expression changed drastically upon seeing this. The two were already quite different in skill, and his mind went blank. He immediately revealed an opening, and felt a sharp pain in his wrist as he was stabbed. His long sword clattered to the ground.

The woman stepped forward and sealed Liu Bicheng's acupoints on her chest. Looking up, she saw Li Jin slowly moving towards the hall entrance. She snorted, and her longsword flew from her hand, the hilt striking Li Jin's Weizhong acupoint in the back of his knee. Li Jin's legs immediately gave way, and he knelt on the ground, unable to straighten up.

One of Jing Ping's disciples angrily spoke up: "You woman won your duel with Junior Brother Liu, so why did you then launch a sneak attack and knock my Senior Brother Li to the ground? This is outrageous!"

The woman in yellow was Yun Ran. She subdued Liu Bicheng and Li Jin, and seeing Huo Qingfeng nod slightly, she said loudly, "If your senior brother betrayed the sect, acted insubordination, and participated in the poisonous plot to harm your Uncle He, then what I'm doing isn't going too far, is it?"

These words startled everyone present. Filled with doubt, they eagerly awaited her explanation. Suddenly, a whooshing sound was heard, and several streaks of dark light shot out from the crowd, accompanied by a fierce gust of wind, hurtling straight towards the center of the arena.

Seeing that Liu Bicheng's acupoints were sealed and he was lying face down on the ground, unable to move, with several hidden weapons flying towards him, Yun Ran frowned slightly. She quickly rushed to his side, intending to pick him up and leap to dodge. But a flash of cold light appeared, and Liu Bicheng had already picked up the long sword beside him and thrust it towards her lower abdomen.

The change happened suddenly, and the two were so close that Yun Ran was caught off guard. The tip of the long sword was already in front of her. Fortunately, she reacted quickly and suddenly stretched out two fingers to hold the sword tip that was stabbing towards her lower abdomen between her fingers, blocking the sword's momentum. For a moment, she was in a stalemate with Liu Bicheng.

With a series of soft hissing sounds, dozens of hidden weapons were launched simultaneously from all corners of the hall, several times faster than before, all aimed at Yun Ran.

Seeing that all her escape routes were blocked and she was struggling to dodge Liu Bicheng's sword, unable to avoid the hidden weapon, a person suddenly appeared beside her, grabbed Liu Bicheng's collar from behind, and threw her towards the direction the hidden weapon came from. He then rolled on the ground with Yun Ran in his arms, pressing her down to protect her.

Amidst screams of agony, Liu Bicheng was struck by several hidden weapons mid-air, yet most of them continued their trajectory, flying towards the two men.

Then a series of rapid, chaotic sounds rang out as hidden weapons rained down.

As Yun Ran was pulled into the man's arms, she knew without a doubt that it was Qi Mo. Now, with him pressing her tightly against her, she felt her heart pounding wildly and asked in a trembling voice, "How are you?"

She waited for a moment, but received no response from Qi Mo. Her panic intensified, her hands and feet grew cold, and she felt weak all over, completely forgetting everything else.

Suddenly, she heard Qi Mo chuckle softly at the side of her neck, "I'm fine, as fine as can be." As he spoke, he gently kissed her earlobe.

Yun Ran's face flushed red instantly. She was both angry and annoyed, but she also secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She hurriedly pushed Qi Mo away and jumped up.

The situation on the field suddenly changed. Huo Qingfeng was engaged in a fierce battle with someone in the hall. Yun Ran recognized the person and was stunned for a moment. She muttered to herself, "So it's him." The man was dressed in light robes and had a handsome and refined appearance. The soft sword in his hand shone with a faint purple light. He was none other than Wen Huaifeng, the man who had killed her father and brother and had taught her the martial arts of the Jade Sword Sect.

Sima Liuyun, carrying Xiaodouzi, rushed to the two of them and asked in a deep voice, "Ranmei, are you alright?"