Chapter 67

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A series of rhythmic knocks sounded at the door!

"Come in!"

A servant quietly opened the door and stepped in. At this moment, Su Yi was holding a writing brush, sketching and writing on a sheet of white rice paper. This was his latest method of cultivating swordsmanship, emulating the legendary Dugu Qiubai by infusing sword intent into his brushstrokes. The various sword techniques leaped off the paper as he drew them, which was already a highly advanced theory of swordsmanship.

On the rice paper under his hand, dozens of large characters had already been written, but they were all crooked and uneven, with inconsistent spacing. At first glance, they looked quite ugly, barely better than a child's first attempts at writing... However, between the lines, a sharp and piercing intent could be felt, as if it were about to break through the paper at any moment.

If someone who understood calligraphy saw these characters, they would surely scold Su Yi for disgracing the art, tainting the fine and expensive brush and the exquisite rice paper... But if someone who understood swords saw them, they would probably exclaim that it was truly a masterpiece of calligraphy!

"Did you find the person I was looking for?"

Su Yi did not look up, his hand continuing to move as he asked calmly.

"Reporting to Young Master, we have found them."

His hand suddenly stopped, and Su Yi lifted his head, his face full of surprise and amazement as he looked at the servant, asking in disbelief, "Really found them? So easily?"

"Really found them..." The servant scratched his head, somewhat troubled, and said, "Following Young Master's instructions, we searched the entire capital, Beijing. We found a total of 147 teenage beggars who match Young Master's description—ragged clothes and dirty faces. We have roughly marked their locations. Which one would Young Master like to see first?"

What? 147 Huang Rongs? Su Yi felt utterly incredulous and asked, "Where did so many beggars come from?"

The servant smiled bitterly and replied, "Young Master, these are all Song people. The Song army has just suffered a defeat, and countless people have become orphans. Begging children are not uncommon. In the capital, there are already this many, but in other places, there could be over a thousand."

"..."

"Alright, I understand. You may leave now." Su Yi waved his hand, saying helplessly.

"Then, Young Master, are we not looking for the beggar children anymore?"

Su Yi rolled his eyes, his tone tinged with dissatisfaction, "How can we find them? With over a hundred beggar children, it would take more than a month to confirm each one. By then, the opportunity will have passed. Forget it, we won't look anymore."

"Yes, Young Master."

The door closed again, leaving Su Yi with a bitter smile on his face.

Really, he had hoped to find Huang Rong's location in advance... But this girl was like a dragon, visible at the head but not the tail. As a beggar, she was like a fish in the sea. Unless she revealed herself, where could he possibly find her?

Shaking his head, Su Yi muttered a few words, mostly about how the protagonist always had good luck and how all the beautiful women fell for him, while the supporting characters had no chance... Then he lowered his head again and continued to write and draw on the paper.

He didn't really take this matter too seriously. With his current status and position, what kind of beautiful woman couldn't he have? Moreover, in the future, he could use the power of the God to traverse countless dimensions, giving him even more choices... He was no longer the kind of person who would lick his lips and fantasize about a woman he saw.

Moreover, Su Yi's mind was mostly focused on martial arts, and he had little interest in romance. Finding Huang Rong was just a casual order. If he found her, Su Yi wouldn't mind doing what Guo Jing did in the original story, but if he didn't find her, there would be no regret. They were simply not meant to be.

On the contrary, the matter of the martial arts contest for marriage was more important. It had been half a year since Qiu Chuji left the mansion to find Yang Tiexin. With Qiu Chuji's abilities, half a year was enough to travel all over the country, even to swim across the Yellow River several times. Yet, he couldn't find anyone holding a martial arts contest for marriage, which was such a prominent event.

Qiu Chuji was also quite frustrated. Sometimes he heard about a martial arts contest for marriage, but when he rushed over, the people had already left without a trace. No matter how he searched, he always came up empty-handed. Once, they even stayed at the same inn, but he didn't see them until he asked the innkeeper, who told him that a father and daughter were holding a martial arts contest for marriage in the next room...

Qiu Chuji and Yang Tiexin, this pair of close friends, were unknowingly reenacting an ancient version of "Left Turn, Right Turn"!

Knowing that Qiu Chuji had been unsuccessful, Su Yi no longer worried about it. He realized that if a supporting character was trying to find someone who would affect the main plot, it would always be a futile effort... Perhaps only he, an outsider, could be unaffected by the world's consciousness, but he was too lazy to search. Su Yi was certain that Yang Tiexin would eventually hold a martial arts contest for marriage in the capital, Beijing, where he would meet Guo Jing. This was the main plot, and it would definitely happen.

However, he didn't know the exact start time of the plot, so he had to send people to keep an eye on it. If he stayed at home all the time like Wanyan Kang in the original story, who always went out to flirt and ended up missing Yang Tiexin, it would be quite funny.

Therefore, Su Yi put a lot of effort into finding Yang Tiexin and his daughter. He announced in the mansion that whoever could find the father and daughter holding the martial arts contest for marriage would be rewarded with a thousand taels of silver! This was almost equivalent to offering a million dollars to find someone who would definitely appear in the capital, Beijing! It was like putting the money right in front of you, waiting for you to take it.

Thus, the servants in the mansion went crazy, running around the capital every day. A thousand taels! With this reward, they wouldn't need to be servants anymore; they could go back home and live like lords. This was a golden opportunity, and they were determined to seize it.

With so many determined subordinates working on this, Su Yi was ten thousand percent confident. If you don't show up, that's fine, but once you do, you won't escape my grasp...

"Hmph, if I can't find you elsewhere, I'll just wait for you to come to me..."

Su Yi fiercely wrote the character "Yang" on the paper, then channeled his inner energy to tear the paper into pieces. He then went out to find Bao Xiruo.

Su Yi had been living in the mansion for nearly a year, and his relationship with Bao Xiruo was as close as that of real mother and son. Apart from practicing martial arts and swordsmanship, he spent most of his time chatting and joking with Bao Xiruo, and their bond grew stronger and deeper.

Bao Xiruo only felt that her son had suddenly become filial and understanding, knowing how to spend time with his parents. She was extremely pleased and often attributed Su Yi's change to Qiu Chuji, thanking him in her heart for taking Su Yi to the Quanzhen Sect. In just over a year, Qiu Chuji had taught him to be so understanding.

However, she didn't know that Qiu Chuji had visited the mansion several times in the past year, almost as many times as he had in the past. But each time, he didn't dare to see her, only finding Su Yi directly.

She often felt regretful that Qiu Chuji hadn't come to see her in person, so she couldn't thank him face to face...