The sky over the rivers and lakes is very clear

Chapter 14

The boy eagerly said, "So, I'll definitely tell you everything I know! Every wrong has its perpetrator, and every debt its debtor. You're a great hero, of course you wouldn't make things difficult for an unlucky kid like me, right?"

Feng Xuese smiled faintly: "That depends on how much truth you tell!"

"I swear, every word is true!" the young man immediately raised his hand to swear, speaking in a refined manner, "This is the great hero Rong Lin!"

Feng Xuese frowned slightly, resisting the urge to correct him that the word was actually "容禀" (róng bǐng).

"Tonight, Hua Hua and I were resting peacefully in that dilapidated tower when two fat...fat old men suddenly arrived, one of whom is your friend. As soon as these two fat old men sat down, those two headless corpses hanging in the tree over there—" He pointed to the two blue-robed boys hanging in the tree, "their heads were still there, so they brought over two very large baskets, full of delicious food, including braised pork hock from Old Ma's family, vegetarian chicken from Baiyun Temple, roasted lamb leg from Ruyi Zhai, pine branch yellow rabbit, honey-glazed crispy fish from Meirenfang..." His memory was exceptionally good; he recited the names of the food in perfect order.

Maple-colored eyebrows furrowed: "Get to the point!"

"Yes, yes! Then I'll just focus on the important points." The boy was very cooperative.

"These two fat lads were eating and drinking heartily, bragging that they were the number one people in Qingyang City, even more powerful than the emperor. Suddenly, the fat man in the gray shirt rushed out the door, and the fat man in the blue shirt, for some unknown reason, smashed open the wooden window with his palm and squeezed out. But somehow, a large axe suddenly appeared outside the window, and he almost ran into it. To avoid the axe, he jumped to the side, but without seeing clearly, his head hit a large hammer. With a 'crack,' his head shattered, and then the axe sliced open his stomach. As for the fat man in the gray shirt—oh, I mean, my friend—I didn't see what happened."

Feng Xuese waited a moment, then asked, "Is that all?"

"That's all, that's all I saw." The boy was quite quick-witted. "Oh, and this fire, it has nothing to do with me! It was... it was that fat man in the blue robe who, when he went out the window, picked up some firewood, which ignited the straw, and that's how the fire started. Actually, I even tried to put out the fire, but it was too big, and I almost burned to death. I barely managed to escape through a tunnel. Before anything even happened, I was unlucky enough to run into you!"

The Sky Over the Martial World is Clear - Part One: The Sky Over the Martial World is Clear - Chapter Four (6)

Feng Xuese gave him a cold look.

"No, no, no, I mean... meeting you, sir, is my greatest honor. I've never met a real hero in my life, and today I'm lucky to have caught one! Truly, heroes have emerged from among the young since ancient times. Just by looking at your aura, you are more than ten thousand times stronger than a small-time hoodlum like me! Without even saying a word, just looking at your white clothes, seven of my eight extraordinary meridians are opened, and six of my seven orifices are opened. You are truly a man of great talent, vast knowledge, both literary and martial, and far-sighted..."

The boy was glib and flattering, using several idioms in a row without making a single mistake.

Feng Xuese felt a wave of nausea and couldn't stand it any longer. She said coldly, "Shut up!"

"Yes!" the boy replied respectfully. "I'll go to the Guanyin Temple in Qingyang City in a little while and raise money to erect a longevity tablet for you. We'll burn incense morning and evening and make offerings every day, it's a must!"

Feng Xuese glanced at him with annoyance.

The boy finally wisely shut his mouth: "...Okay, I won't say anything more."

Feng Xuese thought to herself: Those men in black have mysterious origins and are likely involved in a major upheaval in the martial arts world. This matter is of great importance. This rogue is impetuous and boastful, and much of what he says is untrue. I must interrogate him thoroughly; I'm not afraid he won't tell the truth...

Seeing that he had been staring at Zhang Buchi's corpse for a long time without saying a word, the young man felt uneasy, fearing that the man would take his anger out on him and cut off his own head to be buried with the fat man. He immediately forced a smile and said insincerely, "It's a pity that my skills are really not good enough. Otherwise, even if I risked my old life, I would have rushed up and fought those assassins to the death! At most, they would have chopped off my head with one stroke, and I would be a hero again in twenty years!"

Just as he was desperately trying to pat himself on the back, Feng Xuese gave him a cold, sidelong glance, and he immediately shut his mouth in annoyance, thinking to himself: This old man with the sword is not easy to deal with. My head is always hanging in the balance. I'd better think about escaping as soon as possible.

Just as he was racking his brains for ideas, he suddenly heard rustling footsteps in the bushes around him. He was startled, and then saw more than a dozen burly men in black appear at the other end of the path.

He was terrified of the dark, and with a "whoosh," he darted into the bushes, rolled a few times, and hid behind a rock. Before he could even settle down, the spotted pig also crawled over.

Feng Xuese ignored him, but seeing the insignia of Jietianshui Island on the newcomers' clothes, she made two hand gestures at them.

The burly men in black suddenly stopped and bowed to him in unison.

The boy huddled in the grass, watching from afar as the burly men in black began their search. He saw them carry away two obese corpses, their faces contorted with grief and indignation, covering them with tarpaulins. He saw them carefully untie the bodies of the two boys in blue robes tied to the tree. He saw them kick aside several more corpses in black. He saw them, wearing gloves, cautiously remove the body lying across a branch, and then burn the tree down…

He didn't know where these people came from, but his instincts told him that they were people he couldn't afford to offend. So, while the old man with the sword was too busy to deal with this, he should stay as far away from them as possible.

He reached out and hugged the spotted pig, then slowly crawled away through the grass, backing up little by little until he had crawled forty or fifty feet. When he felt that those people could no longer see him, he immediately stood up and ran away as fast as he could.

In the darkness, unable to discern directions, he ran frantically for over ten miles. If he had run empty-handed, it wouldn't have been so bad, but he had to carry that pig. That spotted pig weighed at least a hundred pounds, and even with his youth and strength, he couldn't bear it. Finally, unable to hold on any longer, he saw a grove of trees by the roadside, rushed in, tossed the pig into the grass, and then crawled into a dense clump of grass, lying on the ground, panting heavily.

The spotted pig wiggled its rear end and nudged him forcefully.

The boy waved his hand impatiently and said, "Go away! Go away! I'm telling you, you're getting fatter and fatter. I'm about to throw up from carrying you!"

"Hmph!" The spotted pig continued to nudge him forcefully.

The boy lifted the pig's ear with two fingers: "I'm telling you, if you behave, you won't understand?"

The Sky Over the Martial World is Clear - Part One: The Sky Over the Martial World is Clear - Chapter Four (7)

"Hmph, hmph!"

"If you understand, then get the hell away from me!" The boy threw the flower pig aside and muttered curses, "Damn it, what did I do to deserve this bad luck! Flower, this godforsaken place is not our kind. Let's rest for a while and get out of this mess as soon as possible."

The spotted pig made unintelligible "mmm" sounds.

The boy stretched and fell backward, but before his back even touched the grass, he suddenly jumped up, his eyes wide open like lanterns, staring at a patch of white on the tall tree above him.

The moon was about to set, and the world was shrouded in a deep darkness. Feng Xuese stood on a horizontal branch of a tree, leisurely gazing at the distant sky with her hands behind her back. Her white clothes were as smooth as water, and her demeanor was elegant and graceful, like a fairy.

"Damn it..." The boy habitually blurted out the three-character curse.

Halfway through his sentence, Feng Xuese's gaze, sharp as lightning, swept over the young man's face. The boy suddenly realized his mistake, forcing a fawning smile and bowing obsequiously, "I meant, great hero…you…your legs are so fast…faster than…faster than a horse, I wasn't insulting you…"

Maple Snow looked down at him from above, as if he were not a person standing in the grass at all.

"What a damn good actor!" the boy cursed inwardly, but his face was all smiles. "Great hero, aren't you tired of staying up in the tree?"

"..."

"Great hero, you've been busy all night. Why don't you step down and let me give you a leg massage?"

Feng Xuese looked at him coldly, remaining silent.

The boy's facial muscles ached from smiling so much. He tilted his head back and said all the nice things he could, but the other person didn't react at all. He felt a little uneasy and forced himself to say, "Great hero, if you have nothing else to say, I'll take my leave now!" He tried to take a few steps forward.

No response.

He continued talking to himself, "Great hero, then this humble one shall truly depart!"

Still no response.