Chapter 14

If Xu Fengnian had heard his father and teacher’s account, he would certainly have to properly educate Old Huang, telling him to put more thought into the names of his sword techniques. If three swords drawn are called three catties, then four swords would be four catties, right?

At that moment, what Xu Fengnian most wanted to ask Old Huang was how many compartments there were in the purple sandalwood sword case and how many swords it contained.

The battle ended quickly, unexpectedly, which made the Prince even more dissatisfied, thinking, "Old Kui, Old Huang, you two heroes, don’t worry about damaging the mansion’s buildings, just tear them down. You won’t have to pay for the damages, right?"

But life is often filled with disappointment, and Xu Fengnian couldn’t just cry and beg the two experts to continue their fight.

Weapons are blind, and one must take responsibility for one’s own life and death.

After the event, an expert explained to the Prince that in that battle, Old Huang ultimately used three swords and a total of six techniques.

It was far from what the storytellers in teahouses would say, that a battle between two great masters would last for days and nights, shaking the heavens and moving the spirits.

At that moment, Old Kui, the old man with the knives, sat in the dilapidated pavilion, his knives stuck in the ground, his face flushed, his white hair disheveled, and he shook his head, saying, "We won’t fight today."

The short and thin Old Huang, carrying the sword case, stood on the long embankment, rubbed his hands, and then tucked them into his sleeves. But in the minds of most of the onlookers, this old groom, who couldn’t even fart after being beaten, was truly a master who didn’t show his true self until it was necessary.

Xu Fengnian was undoubtedly the most shocked, for he had no idea that it was Old Huang who had once sent Old Kui to the bottom of the lake.

If not for this, would the Grand Marshal Xu Xiao have let his most beloved son travel six thousand miles, facing life and death each time but always surviving?

Old Kui, sitting on the ground, shouted to Xu Fengnian, "Boy, bring grandpa some wine and meat! After I’m full, I’ll fight Old Huang for five hundred rounds! The loser stays at the bottom of the lake!"

Xu Fengnian heard Old Kui’s bold voice from afar, hesitated for a long time, and finally ran to have the steward prepare a sumptuous meal, specifically a whole roasted suckling pig in a large food box, which he carried to the embankment.

His steps slowed more and more, and he gave a glance to Old Huang, who was rubbing his cheeks, indicating that it was fine. Xu Fengnian then mustered the courage to step forward and placed the food box on the ground in front of Old Kui.

The steward hadn’t forgotten to bring a few crisp cucumbers for the Prince. Old Kui, without any courtesy, tore off a pig’s leg and stuffed it into his mouth, his face greasy. Having eaten live carp for over ten years, the over ten-foot-tall Old Kui clearly enjoyed this well-cooked suckling pig.

Xu Fengnian squatted in front of him, slowly munching on a cucumber, thinking of a touching opening line. After all, they had known each other for over ten years, and he had to make good use of it.

In the past, when he went underwater to see Old Kui, it was like they were in the netherworld, but now they were in the mortal world, and he had to plan carefully. Otherwise, taking such a risk and causing such a commotion would be in vain, which didn’t match the Prince’s style of repaying a drop of kindness with a flood.

Before Xu Fengnian could finish his calculations, Old Kui straightforwardly said, "Back then, it was the Northern Liang King who devised the plan, and Old Huang who did the work, to make me live a life worse than death at the bottom of the lake. Today, you’ve saved me, so we’re even. I’ll also spar with Old Huang and reduce his five broken swords to four. As for the Northern Liang Mansion, grandpa will show some mercy and won’t tear it down. Boy, don’t expect grandpa to repay you for anything!"

Xu Fengnian, with wide eyes, thought, "Damn, I’ve met someone with a face as thick as mine," and cautiously asked, "Old sir, the mansion has wine and meat, and Old Huang to fight with. Why not stay?"

Old Kui sneered, "There are many experts in the world. After breaking Old Huang’s Nine Swords, grandpa will go to the Imperial City and defeat the second-best in the world. What else could grandpa be if not the best? A small mansion like this doesn’t interest grandpa."

Old Huang, sitting on the purple sandalwood sword case, put a blade of grass in his mouth, chewed it slowly, and rolled his eyes like the Prince.

Xu Fengnian, embarrassed, had no experience dealing with such a ruthless hero, and didn’t know how to start.

Old Kui snatched the last cucumber from Xu Fengnian, bit off half of it, spat a few times, and threw it into the lake. He then turned to Xu Fengnian, glaring, "This tasteless thing, boy, you eat it too?"

Xu Fengnian, splattered with saliva, wiped his face with his sleeve and tentatively asked, "Old sir, can you help me teach someone a lesson? It’s a senior master from Wudang Mountain, a great expert!"

Old Kui thought for a moment and nodded, "These years, you’ve been kind to me, and I’ve tasted some cooked food. But if you ask for more, grandpa will beat you into a pig’s head. However, if you want to fight, grandpa is willing. After I defeat Old Huang, we’ll set off immediately!"

Old Huang, unimpressed, twisted his mouth, holding the grass root with the chewed leaves, his old face full of ridicule.

Old Kui roared, "Old Huang, not convinced? If not, let’s fight again!"

Old Huang simply turned his back to Old Kui, out of sight and out of mind.

Xu Fengnian, covering his ears, felt a headache. If not for Old Kui’s promise to go to Wudang Mountain to teach the old Taoist a lesson, he would have let Old Huang send this ungrateful old man back to the bottom of the lake, where he would never see another living soul except for those who had thrown themselves into the lake.

Xu Fengnian softly exclaimed, "If Old Huang is so powerful, why not directly take him to Wudang Mountain? Why bother with Old Kui’s attitude and his roars?" Xu Fengnian weighed the pros and cons, his face uncertain.

Old Kui, with a rough appearance but a fine mind, finished the whole suckling pig, bones and all, patted his belly, and said with satisfaction, "Boy, as soon as I see your eyes darting, I know you’re up to no good. What, thinking of making Old Huang send me back to the bottom of the lake?"

He continued, "Let me tell you, it’s easy to invite a Buddha but hard to send one away. If not for Li Yuanying’s trick back then, even if I hadn’t beaten Old Huang, I could come and go as I pleased. The four iron balls at the bottom of the lake, each weighing four thousand catties, with my knives embedded in two of them, trapped me. Now that I have my knives back, the world is mine. Hahaha, boy, are you afraid?"

Xu Fengnian, squeezed by the roar and saliva, forced a smile and said, "How could I be? Fengnian’s admiration for old sir is like the Yangtze River flowing eastward, like stars shining over the vast fields."

Old Kui, half-smiling, half-grinning, said, "You’re different from that Xu Butcher, more to my liking. Arrange a comfortable room for grandpa and a table full of wine and meat."

Xu Fengnian stood up and said, "That’s a small matter."

Old Huang spat out the grass and said, "Not fighting?"

Old Kui said arrogantly, "What’s the rush? There will be plenty of time to fight later."

Old Huang picked up the sword case and said calmly, "If we’re not fighting, I’m going to the Imperial City to retrieve the ‘Yellow Hut’."

Old Kui was surprised, "Really?!"

Old Huang nodded.

Old Kui sighed, shaking his head and smiling bitterly, "Then we won’t fight, it would be a waste of grandpa’s energy."

Xu Fengnian was confused.

Arranging a courtyard for the giant Old Kui, who was even taller than nine feet, Xu Fengnian went to the stable. Old Huang, carrying the sword case, was talking to the chestnut horse, seemingly saying goodbye. Xu Fengnian was surprised, "Old Huang, what’s going on?"

The old groom softly said, "These years, I’ve been watching Chu Kuangnu at the bottom of the lake. Now that he’s been released by the young master, it’s no longer my concern. I lost to the old monster Wang Xianzhi once and left a ‘Yellow Hut’ sword in the Imperial City. I’ve always been unable to let it go, so I’m going to retrieve it."

Xu Fengnian said bitterly, "Is it the giant sword on the city wall of the Imperial City, the ‘Yellow Hut’ ranked fourth among the ten famous swords?"

Old Huang smiled and nodded.

The Imperial City is located on the eastern sea cliff, built to overlook the vast sea. Its master, Wang Xianzhi, is nearly a hundred years old but has been a renowned martial genius for eighty years. He became famous at a young age for not carrying any weapons, and in battles, he always used only one hand.

At the age of twenty-five, he became a world-class expert. At forty, he challenged the sword god Li Chonggang of that generation, breaking the iron-cutting “Wooden Ox and Horse” with his bare fingers, gaining fame across the four seas.

Wang Xianzhi, who had the qualifications to be the best in the world, called himself the second-best, which made the top ten martial experts in the world the eleventh, leaving the first place vacant for twenty years.

In the past fifty years, two sword experts have emerged, the new sword god Deng Tai’a, who carried a peach branch and sought defeat but never lost, and Wang Xianzhi, who fought him three times, neither winning nor losing, ranking third among the top experts.

The other one is like a dragon, seen but not fully revealed, known only to be from West Shu, a nameless swordsmith who, after thirty years of forging swords, realized the way of the sword and traveled alone, collecting famous swords into his sword case. He became famous after a single battle, though he lost and had a sword left on the city wall, but no one doubted that he was still honored, as he lost to the ever-strong City Master Wang Xianzhi.

Who could imagine that such a sword expert, who could move the forty states with a single sword, was a groom in the Northern Liang Mansion, talking to horses all day, and at most asking the Prince for a pot of yellow wine to satisfy his craving.

So when Old Kui heard that Old Huang was returning to the Imperial City to challenge Wang Xianzhi, he knew that he couldn’t beat Old Huang even after so many years.

Xu Fengnian, holding a cucumber, smiled bitterly, "Old Huang, tell me, how many swords are in the sword case? Everyone is guessing."

Old Huang, with a few horse hairs on his head from lying in the stable, scratched his head and said, "The sword case has three layers and six compartments. Originally, it contained six of the ten famous swords, but now there are only five."

Xu Fengnian was speechless.

Old Huang, you’re an expert, can you be even more of one?

Old Huang said innocently, "If the young master wants to play with swords, I can leave three or four."

Xu Fengnian shook his head, "No, I hope you carry