Unparalleled Double Harmony

Chapter 630 Zai Qianqiu

Late at night, in a small house, under a solitary lamp.

Zheng Dongxi arrived at the door, and before even pushing it open, he knew someone was waiting for him inside.

This person is named Zai Qianqiu.

Although this "senior Zai" has been mentioned by more than one person in the previous text, and he also made an appearance in the chapter about Jiang Shouzheng's suppressed laughter, this should be his official debut in our book.

Now, let's talk about Zai Qianqiu. His appearance and clothing are both ordinary. As long as he conceals his aura and hides his internal strength that can frighten others with just a slight hint, in most people's eyes, he is just an ordinary old man.

Conversely, in those moments when he makes no attempt to hide or restrain himself, such as right now... he is seen as a monster by other martial artists.

However, we must return to the point here.

Zheng Dongxi, also known as Gu Qiying, was also a "monster".

Whether you, Zai Qianqiu, are overtly domineering or not, in my eyes, you are at most a "relatively threatening opponent"; it's impossible for you to intimidate me... On the contrary, I must hide myself even more deeply than you, lest I accidentally intimidate you.

squeak--

A moment later, Gu Qiying pushed open the door and entered.

He glanced quickly into the room, then calmly closed the door. He stepped forward, bowed to Zai Qianqiu, and said, "I am Zheng Dongxi, paying my respects to you, senior. Forgive my poor eyesight... May I ask your esteemed name, senior?"

Although Gu Qiying had never met Zai Qianqiu before, based on the information he currently possessed, he was certain that he already knew the other party's identity.

However, since he was speaking as "Zheng Dongxi," and the Zhenxiatang members who brought him here did not tell him who was waiting for him inside, he still had to pretend.

"Of course." Facing a junior he was meeting for the first time, Zai Qianqiu still had to maintain a certain air of superiority. So he simply sat in his original position, gave a slight bow, and then leisurely replied, "I am... Zai Qianqiu, and I shall be considered the head of this True Hero Hall."

Here, we subtly reveal in the book that at this point in time, Zai Qianqiu actually holds two identities—he is not only the current head of the True Hero Hall, but also the last known leader of the martial arts alliance in the Great Ming Jianghu.

Seeing this, many people will surely think that with these two identities combined, wouldn't he be the overlord of the martial arts world, both openly and secretly?

actually not……

First of all, the title of "Master of Zhenxia Hall" may seem very impressive to outsiders, but those inside Zhenxia Hall understand that his power is not that great.

As we mentioned earlier, Zhenxia Hall is an organization with very chaotic and inefficient administration... because Zai Qianqiu always wanted to create an atmosphere of "equal treatment," "mutual respect and assistance," and "everything can be discussed," which led to many things in the hall, even "orders" that everyone had agreed on, becoming something that could be "discussed again" or "changed on the spot."

These two points can be gleaned from Lin Dong and Qing Feiyun's previous interactions with Di Bujuan, as well as from the operation that abducted Cui Youshan and Jiang Shouzhen...

To put it more bluntly—within the True Hero Hall, the Hall Master's words don't actually carry that much weight.

As for Zai Qianqiu's other identity, namely "Martial Arts Alliance Leader"... you should be able to guess from the words "known" and "last one" that it's an even bigger mess.

To clarify this matter, we need to go back to when Zai Qianqiu was a child.

That was a long, long time ago... Please note, it really was "a long, long time ago"... Back then, Zai Qianqiu wasn't called Zai Qianqiu, but "Zai Sanjiu".

Why is he called that? Because his adoptive father found him on the ninth day of the third lunar month, but his adoptive father never gave him a formal name. He just said, "Let's call this little brat Sanjiu." So when people asked him later, he said that his surname was Zai and his given name was Sanjiu.

From the time he could remember, Zai Sanjiu knew that his adoptive father and master was a complete beast.

This man, nicknamed "Purple-Faced Evil Star," was not only skilled in martial arts but also very intelligent, and he used all his talents for evil.

I won't go into details about their collusion with government officials, their tyranny in the countryside, their bullying of men and women, and their exploitation of the people.

Take the Purple-Faced Demon's act of taking in orphans and abandoned babies like Zai Sanjiu and raising them, for example. It was clearly not out of kindness, but rather an "investment."

Anyway, his tyrant family wasn't short of food, so raising these children was like a long-term investment in a group of "slaves" for him.

Over the past two decades, the children picked up by the Purple-Faced Demon have grown up to become his henchmen or servants, or his maids or playthings... He can sell, abandon, or kill these "slaves" at any time, as long as he is willing.

In order to ensure that his children (his own flesh and blood, of course) could continue to pass on his breeding system, he also went to great lengths to teach them martial arts.

The martial arts that the Purple-Faced Fiend taught his adopted sons and daughters were all third-rate martial arts that he had carefully selected.

Even if you practice this kind of martial art for ten years, you probably still can't beat some disciples who have trained in prestigious sects for one or two years. But once you've finished practicing, you'll be just good enough to be a bodyguard for a bully.

Zai Sanjiu grew up in this environment until he was ten years old, and then, his turning point came...

That year, the eldest son of the Purple-Faced Fiend family accidentally offended a group of prominent figures in the martial arts world while traveling in another place. Before long, the eldest son was beaten up by these "heroes".

At first, the heroes only intended to teach this spoiled brat a lesson and make him pay for his sins with some money, and then let the matter drop. But they didn't expect that... this kid was used to being arrogant in his hometown. After being beaten, he not only refused to back down, but also used his father's "prestige" to intimidate the other party.

Then he proudly boasted about the shady things his family had done, thinking that people would be so scared after hearing it that they would immediately kowtow to him.

And the result of what he did was... a few days later, the "heroes" fought their way to the small county town where his family lived.

At this point, the Purple-Faced Fiend was beyond saving, because he definitely couldn't beat that group in terms of strength. As for his connections with the government... to put it bluntly, he only had some "bribery dealings" with the local county magistrate. With that kind of connection, he could bully the common people, but when it came to matters of the martial world, no one would come to his rescue.

So, that night, the "heroes" took the Purple-Faced Demon's son, who had been beaten beyond recognition, hostage and stormed into his mansion to "eliminate the scourge for the people."

Zai Sanjiu originally thought that these chivalrous heroes were the embodiment of justice and chivalry. They were reasonable and righteous, and they would only punish the wicked and not kill the innocent. At least they wouldn't make things difficult for him, a child forced to work under the Purple-Faced Fiend...

But he was clearly wrong.

Those "heroes" claimed to uphold justice, eliminate evil for the people, and act on behalf of Heaven... but their actual actions were burning, killing, looting, and wantonly raping and kidnapping in the mansion of the Purple-Faced Demon.

Zai Sanjiu was lucky; he escaped through a dog hole during the chaos that night and narrowly escaped death. But from then on, he would never forget that the so-called "hero" can be real or fake.

In any case, that year, ten-year-old Zai Sanjiu broke free from the control of the Purple-Faced Demon and became a free man who knew a little martial arts and could read quite a few words.

This was the starting point of his long journey through the martial arts world.

Many years later, when Zai Sanjiu finally made a name for himself in the martial arts world, his name was no longer Zai Sanjiu, but Zai Qianqiu.

His childhood experiences are long forgotten, because... that happened more than fifty years ago.

By now, some of you may have realized just how long ago we said "a long, long time ago"... and, considering the age when he became famous, Zai Qianqiu's age seems a bit unusual.

Let's not keep you in suspense and just say it straight: Zai Qianqiu was born with one extraordinary quality—he ages slowly.

This abnormality did not manifest before he reached adulthood, but after he turned twenty, Zai Qianqiu entered a state where "one year old could be split into two years old," a state that continues to this day.

In other words, the old man who looks to be in his sixties standing in front of Gu Qiying is actually over a hundred years old.

Even Zai Qianqiu himself only realized this "extraordinary ability" when he was over fifty years old, because he was not completely ageless, but just aged more slowly... In addition, many people in this era started growing beards in their twenties and looked quite mature, so it was indeed difficult to notice.

However, he was naturally overjoyed upon discovering this, since it meant he had several decades more of peak life than others.

However, as the saying goes, you can't have your cake and eat it too. While Zai Qianqiu enjoys this "anti-aging" physique, there are some things that he is not as good as others, namely... his martial arts talent is quite ordinary.

If he had any talent at least above average, he should have become famous before the age of thirty. But in reality, he didn't make a name for himself in the martial arts world until he was sixty.

Of course, to outsiders, he looked to be about forty years old at the time... but even so, people said he was a "late bloomer".

As for why he "regained" his skills when he was over sixty years old?

It's very simple: quantitative change leads to qualitative change.

In those days, the average lifespan was much shorter than it is now. Even martial arts masters who had reached the pinnacle of their skills and successfully retired from the world, as well as high-ranking officials who lived in luxury every day, had an average lifespan of only sixty to seventy years.

Therefore, most martial arts practitioners have a plan to "become first-class before the age of thirty, surpass first-class before the age of forty, and only then will they have the opportunity to comprehend the ultimate level before the age of fifty." As for after the age of fifty, people's physical functions inevitably decline, and many people's lifespan is almost over, so they naturally no longer have the motivation to continue climbing.

In other words, in the eyes of ordinary people, the period of improvement in their martial arts skills, even if counted from the age of seven, is only forty-four years at most, and all their plans must be completed within these forty-four years.

But Zai Qianqiu is different. When he became famous, he had already been practicing for over fifty years and still had the physical capacity to continue climbing.

If I had to describe it, his "deadline" is much farther than others...

Therefore, only he successfully discovered that even an ordinary person can reach the pinnacle of cultivation as long as they cultivate for a long enough time to break through a certain threshold.

So, after a few more years, around the time after Master Yun "retired," Zai Qianqiu finally managed to "pile" his strength to the level of the number one in the world.

Furthermore, because he had consistently performed chivalrous deeds since he became famous, he was unwittingly thrust into the position of leader of the martial arts world during that particular era.

But that... was not what he wanted.

Zai Qianqiu believes that the leader of the martial arts alliance, who stands in the public eye and is aboveboard, has too many things to consider and too many restrictions to face. Carrying this title on one's actions would actually cause many inconveniences.

Rather than becoming the leader of the martial arts world, Zai Qianqiu would rather establish an organization that "truly upholds justice and chivalry." This organization doesn't need many members, but they must all be true heroes. These heroes don't need to show their faces for fame and fortune; they should remain hidden in the shadows, silently protecting the martial arts world. Only in this way can they resolve real crises in the martial arts world without restrictions.

Based on this concept, Zhenxiatang was born.

Zai Qianqiu, as he wished, began living a life of "seeing the dragon only once in a while" with the original group of Zhenxia Hall members.

After that, the position of "leader of the martial arts alliance" became a mere figurehead.

If you ask, yes, there is one, but where is the leader? Nobody knows…

So, does this mean that his fellow martial arts practitioners have no objections to what he's doing?
That's certainly true...

There was once a person who thought he could replace Zai Qianqiu, who was only interested in running a "secret organization".

Furthermore, he firmly believes that leading the righteous path of the martial arts world and safeguarding the order of the martial arts community does not require hiding one's true identity; it can be done openly and honestly.

This person's name is Gu Qizong.

Yes, it's Gu Qiying's older brother, Gu Qizong, the leader of the Tianqi Gang.

Back then, he was only one "victory" away from becoming the leader of the martial arts world.

If Gu Qizong had survived the attack on the Five Spirits Sect, he could have easily become the leader of the alliance with a single call to arms.

Unfortunately, he ultimately died in that great battle.

In hindsight, Gu Qizong was indeed somewhat impatient for quick success. If he had waited and delayed for another year or two, he might have become the leader of the alliance without having to fight this desperate expedition.

If a ruthless and ambitious figure like Di Bujuan were to handle this matter, he would most likely "reassure things over" and wait for the right moment. Then, he would find a crucial juncture, forcefully "earn merit" for himself, and then have some sects he has bribed or who are dependent on him elect him as the leader of the alliance. He himself would then make excuses and feign reluctance, finally saying "reluctantly" that "how about I be the 'acting leader' first?" In this way, he would achieve a "soft landing" in the position of leader.

However, Di Bujuan is Di Bujuan, and Gu Qizong is Gu Qizong.

It is precisely because Gu Qizong is incapable of doing these things that he is Gu Qizong.

But... Gu Qiying is capable of anything.

At this moment, facing the person his elder brother had once wanted to replace, Gu Qiying felt a strange surge of hatred.

It would have been fine if they hadn't met, but once they did, Gu Qiying immediately thought: If this old bastard hadn't been hogging the toilet all those years, his brother's fate might have been different... Hmm, so this guy is also responsible for his brother's death.

What? You're saying Old Gu's idea is a bit abstract? Well, why don't you recall... when he and Shen Youran were causing trouble together, his thoughts were even more twisted than this. Now that he's alone, he's actually much more peaceful than he was back then.

"So it's Senior Zai, I've heard so much about you." Back inside the house, Gu Qiying pondered for a few seconds before choosing to respond with the most common set of words.

Seeing that the other party was neither humble nor arrogant in his reply, and was not intimidated by his imposing manner, Zai Qianqiu secretly looked up to this "Zheng Dongxi" in his heart. Therefore, his next sentence was much more polite: "Brother Zheng, you are too kind. I am just a few years older and have been in the martial arts world for a long time, which is why I have accumulated some reputation... If we are talking about the heroes in the martial arts world recently, it has to be you, 'Hero Zheng'."

"Senior Zai..." Gu Qiying felt no joy at the flattery; in fact, he found it somewhat nauseating. So, he abruptly changed the subject, saying, "These polite words are enough... How about we get down to business instead?"