Cueillir des fleurs et sourire

Chapitre 45

He didn't even notice that Li Shuangli had turned pale with fright again while he was speaking. Wan Yuyuedan pulled him aside, interrupted him, and smiled, "Miss Li, please have something to eat first. We'll put the bill on your tab."

"Hey! Why should I treat her to a meal if she doesn't thank me?" Sheng Xiang punched Wan Yuyuedan. "You're quite good at using my money to do favors!"

Wan Yuyuedan still smiled, "The blade on my elbow will pop out and cut your wrist..." Before he could finish his sentence, Shengxiang had already withdrawn her hand faster than a punch, and glared at him unhappily, "You're ruthless! One day I will strip you naked and remove all the mechanisms on your body, and then let's see if you can still be so arrogant!"

"Ah... then let's talk about it when I take a shower," Wan Yuyue replied patiently.

"Fine! Next time you're taking a shower, I'll set fire to the bathroom door! No, I'll tear down the bathroom and let everyone see!"

"Hahaha..." The banter between the two made the half-drunk and half-awake crowd burst into laughter. Some choked on their laughter and coughed desperately, while others were still chugging their drinks. Drinking free alcohol was really—awesome!

Li Shuangli timidly ordered two small dishes, secretly observing the gossiping crowd upstairs with curiosity. She had never seen such江湖人 (jianghu people) before. She had seen dashing men, charming men, and even men like Ling Yan who easily won over women, but not the man upstairs who spouted nonsense like a spoiled brat, or that strange man who appeared gentle and polite yet was constantly at odds with the young master next to him… She had followed Bi Qiuhan for over a year. Qiuhan was exceptionally serious and persistent, meticulously observing etiquette and rarely smiling. She admired his chivalrous spirit, his upright character, and even his bravery and courage in the face of difficulties, but… Qiuhan was the kind of fool who didn't understand people's hearts and couldn't be considerate. Suddenly, a wave of loneliness and bewilderment washed over her. She stared blankly at the table of dishes, unable to eat, lost in thought, not even knowing what she was thinking.

“Hey, A-Wan, you’re in big trouble.” Sheng Xiang looked at Li Shuangli with amusement. “This girl seems to have a thing for you. I’m warning you, Xiao Bi is a fool, don’t bully him and steal his sweetheart. This girl is so young, she doesn’t understand how terrible people can be… She’s at most your age, only eighteen, right? Don’t you dare deceive a young girl’s feelings, or I’ll tell everyone you have Zhang Guo Lao’s treasure map and you’ll be hunted down to death.”

Wan Yuyue's gentle wrinkles at the corners of her eyes relaxed slightly. "I've told you before, I've already liked other girls."

"You've liked someone before... that means you can like someone again." Shengxiang whispered mysteriously in Wanyu Yuedan's ear, "Don't tell me you're a Casanova who only likes one person in your life, or I'll throw up everything I ate tonight."

“Uh…” Wan Yuyue blinked, “Go ahead and throw up.”

This time, it was Shengxiang who was taken aback. "What do you mean?"

"I'm a Casanova who only loves one person in my entire life," Wan Yuyuedan said fearlessly, with a sly smile.

Sheng Xiang then pulled out a folding fan from his sleeve and tapped it towards Wan Yuyuedan's head. "How dare you talk about something like this so loudly? It's shameful for a man not to be a womanizer." He stopped just before the fan struck Wan Yuyuedan's head with a soft "ding," as something on her shoulder was aroused, narrowly missing Sheng Xiang's fan. Sheng Xiang smugly snapped the fan open. "This fan of mine is worth thirty taels of silver. You've broken it, so you'll have to pay me back with an identical one. Besides, this is someone else's territory. You littered and damaged the walls. If the owner comes looking for trouble later, you'll be left to wash the dishes. I won't be responsible."

Wan Yuyue smiled gently and said, "I will deny it."

Shengxiang stared at him with wide, surprised eyes. After a while, he burst into laughter, "Cough cough... What a ruthless move! Awan, you're getting more and more like my disciple."

The two boys were bickering endlessly upstairs. Sheng Xiang clearly had the upper hand, but Wan Yuyue was equally impressive. The others continued drinking, paying little attention to what the two teenagers were rambling about. Downstairs, Li Shuangli sat quietly, listening intently to the argument. Her pretty face flushed slightly, and she smiled occasionally. She probably had never imagined that anyone would argue about such topics.

Just then, there was a "click" at the hotel entrance, and another guest arrived.

The man entered as if caught in a blizzard in May, the doors on both sides opening and closing with a "click." He appeared to be around forty years old, a long robe swaying on his thin shoulders, as if the robe were the only garment draped over his broad shoulders.

The moment he entered, everyone turned to look; such an imposing presence was rarely seen even by those who had spent years roaming the martial world. Shengxiang exclaimed, "Ah! Those eyebrows are so handsome!"

Those who stared intently could see that this man's eyebrows were truly like swords, thick, dark, and extremely sharp; there was no more fitting description for "sword eyebrows." Sheng Xiang's eyebrows were delicate, lovely, and clear, while Wan Yu Yue Dan's eyebrows were lighter, as if lightly swept with a brush. Only this man's sword eyebrows exuded a domineering and arrogant aura, making anyone who saw them feel as if they were three feet shorter beneath his eyes.

As soon as he entered, he found a place to sit. Although there were many people in the store and a beauty like Li Shuangli, he glanced at her and thought it was just like seeing mountains and white water, and he was not surprised at all.

"Handsome and cool!" Shengxiang thought to herself. If it were Rongrong, although he wouldn't pay any attention to this crowd, he would definitely put on an air of "I saw you, but since you're all so boring, I won't bother with you." This man, though older, possessed a dignified indifference that wasn't just for show; it was genuinely cool. And although he looked to be from the older generation, he exuded authority without showing any signs of age. "This—Brother," Shengxiang initially wanted to call him "Uncle," but changed her mind at the last minute, "May I ask your name?"

The visitor took a sip of wine and replied, "I can count on my fingers."

As soon as those three words were uttered, the entire audience gasped in surprise, and many people stood up. "Qu Zhiliang, the 'Iron Horse of Chu,' is a force to be reckoned with; one man can take on ten thousand!"

"Who is he?" Amidst the horrified voices, only Young Master Shengxiang asked innocently, then nudged Wan Yuyuedan, "Introduce him."

"Qu Zhiliang, the 'Iron Horse of Chu'," Wan Yuyuedan said with some excitement. "The 'Iron Horse of Chu,' who rivals the current Martial Emperor and is known as invincible, was about my age when he became famous. He has been missing for about twenty or thirty years. People in the martial arts world thought he was dead or had retired to seclusion, but I never expected to see him here."

“Hey, since this person has been retired for a long time, how do you know if he’s real or fake?” Shengxiang looked at Quzhiliang curiously. “And he’s still so famous after all these decades, so there must be a lot of advantages to impersonating him.”

“Qu Zhiliang has strong shoulders and a tall stature, but he is different from the people of the Western Regions, so he is not easy to impersonate.” Wan Yuyue smiled slightly. “You can tell what he looks like just by hearing his name ‘Iron Horse of Chu’. Although I have never seen him, I know that I am probably right.”

Qu Zhiliang sat by the wall far away, drinking. He only ordered a pot of light wine and sipped it slowly with the dried radish from the shop.

Judging from his appearance, he seems to be unhappy despite his worldwide fame.

Not long after, a person wearing a veil entered the hotel and sat down in front of Qu Zhiliang.

It turned out that Qu Zhiliang was waiting for someone at this small shop.

The masked man appeared to be quite young. After sitting down, he didn't eat anything, but seemed to be talking to Qu Zhiliang about something.

Li Shuangli lowered her head. She was a very sensitive person, and for some reason, the two people sitting there gave her a chilling feeling. Although it was May, it truly felt as if snowflakes were rolling around there.

“‘Rolling Snow Divine Skill’,” Fu Guan upstairs suddenly whispered.

Those who heard it were immediately horrified. The so-called "Rolling Snow" was an inscription by Cao Cao during the Three Kingdoms period on a large river stone, meaning that the river was like "rolling snow." The three dots were omitted to indicate that there was already enough water, so there was no need to add more. Later generations used the phrase "Rolling Snow Divine Skill" to describe the unstoppable rolling of the great river, signifying that once this skill was mastered, it would be unstoppable in the world. It was ranked alongside the "Bone-Melting Divine Skill," which used "Autumn Water as God and Jade as Bone," as one of the two legendary extraordinary skills. Now, someone had actually mastered it; wasn't that astonishing? No wonder he could sit at the same table as Qu Zhiliang.

“To cultivate the ‘Rolling Snow Divine Skill,’ one must spend two years in an ice cellar, during which time one must not eat any hot food, stay away from any fire source, or step outside the ice cellar. One must draw the cold air into the body and transform it into one’s own essence to cultivate a fiery skill. Ordinary people would freeze and starve to death within three months of entering the cellar.” Fu Guan muttered to himself, “Legend has it that once these two extraordinary skills are unleashed, they will manifest as ‘heavenly demons,’ bringing great calamity to the world.”

"What are these two incredibly skilled martial artists discussing at the foot of Wudang Mountain?" Shengxiang stared at the masked man's back with surprise. "And they're acting so mysteriously."

“This person only put on a mask and hat at the hotel entrance.” Wan Yuyue smiled slightly. “I heard that.”

"Why don't we take off his veil and see who's inside!" Shengxiang said without hesitation. Before she finished speaking, she had already flashed to Qu Zhiliang's table and snatched the veil from his head with lightning speed.

With a crisp "clang," Shengxiang's fingers barely touched the masked man's veil. With a flick of her wrist, an ancient-looking longsword was already pointed at Shengxiang's brow.

That was a quick move!

Sheng Xiang's sudden pounce was incredibly fast. Qu Zhiliang had to see him coming first, judge that the attack wasn't directed at him, and then instantly decide to expose his back and left ribs to strike with his sword. Moreover, this strike was completely without any sense of haste, as if he had practiced it a thousand times, and it was exactly what he was going to do to point his finger at Sheng Xiang's brow.

His sword was not drawn, but with a slight push of his fingers, the spring on the blade was already activated. With the strength in his hand, he could pierce through Sheng Xiang's head without even using the blade.

In reality, he had no intention of showing mercy.

However, his sword sheath did not touch Shengxiang's forehead directly, but rather through a thin piece of paper.

The piece of paper was an open folding fan.

In that instant, the incense fan opened from its sleeve and shielded its head, saving its life.

"Impressive skill," Qu Zhiliang suddenly said coldly, then flicked his wrist to sheathe his sword.