Misty Rain of the Old Times

After Yang Yi left, Xu Yun did not stay on the arena but returned to Xuan Qing and the others.

"Master Uncle, I have not failed in my mission. This is what Yang Yi gave me before he left. I wonder what his intention was?" Xu Yun presented the manual with both hands and reported.

Xuan Qing glanced at the manual in Xu Yun's hand, a strange light flashing in the depths of his eyes. The cover was inscribed with the four characters "Golden Crow Saber Technique" in bold, elegant strokes.

As a veteran master of innate level, Xuan Qing was certainly knowledgeable. With just one glance, the four characters on the cover of the manual seemed to burst forth with endless flames and transform into a golden crow soaring through the sky, a magnificent and invincible sun!
This is undoubtedly handwritten by a grandmaster, who devoted his heart and soul to it. It contains the spirit and will of a grandmaster. If one's mind and will are in harmony with it, it is as if a grandmaster is constantly instructing and explaining the essence of this secret manual. For martial arts practitioners, its value is even greater than that of divine weapons. It is a priceless treasure that money cannot buy.

It's easy to imagine that Yang Yi went to great lengths to bring this out in order to suffer a defeat.

Perhaps it was because this was a sword technique, while Yang Yi practiced swordsmanship, that he was so generous.

After a glance, Xuan Qing waved his hand gently and said, "Xu Yun, you may not know this, but this is what Yang Yi promised beforehand: whoever defeats him can keep the spoils."

Xu Yun remained unmoved, unaware of its value and indifferent. He shook his head and said, "This disciple's cultivation is shallow, and there is still much room for improvement in my own learning. I cannot be greedy and will not master anything. I have no time to spare, nor do I need it. I will leave it to the sect to handle."

Although he couldn't see the brilliance of this manual, he knew from the name that it was about swordsmanship, but he had no intention of starting to practice swordsmanship from scratch.

Seeing this, Xuanqing nodded and said, "In that case, your senior uncle will keep it for you for now. You can take it whenever you want. If you want to present it to the sect, you can also exchange it for something of equal value when you return."

"Thank you, Senior Uncle," Xu Yun said, bowing with his hands clasped.

"Yes, keep it down and don't be arrogant. Continue to maintain this attitude in the future," Xuan Qing nodded and put away the sword technique manual amidst the envious glances of many people around him.

Immediately afterwards, a group of people surrounded him, showering him with flattery. Many wanted to befriend Xu Yun, but he was clearly lacking in social skills and didn't want to refuse, so he was a bit flustered for a moment.

Regardless, Xu Yun became famous overnight, defeating the sword god from Rongguo in one move. Once the news spread, he was clearly a rising star among the younger generation.

That said, the Tai Xuan Sect holds a prestigious position in the martial arts world, being one of the leading forces in the righteous path of Jing Kingdom. Moreover, it has maintained a continuous line of grandmaster-level experts for hundreds of years. As a disciple of the Tai Xuan Sect, it seems only natural that Xu Yun defeated Yang Yi. This incident would at most be icing on the cake for the Tai Xuan Sect...

After Xu Yun and his group's match, there was a commotion around the arena. Other people went up on stage afterward, but with their outstanding performances, even though the match ended very quickly, the subsequent interactions on the arena seemed rather ordinary and uninteresting.

The sun was beginning to set. After watching for so long, the little princess, who had initially been excited, gradually lost interest. She turned around and said, "The martial arts arena is quite interesting, but it gets a bit boring with all the repetitive routines. It's getting late, Brother Chen, let's go."

"Now we're brothers again, huh?" Chen Xuan chuckled. "Let's go. Are you hungry? Want to get something to eat?"

"To be honest, I am a little hungry," the little princess said with a blink. Even though she was dressed as a boy, she did not do anything as unseemly as touching her tummy in front of everyone.

Chen Xuan shrugged and spread his hands, saying, "You old man, you stole all our money. We're not going to eat now. If we don't get back to the ship, we don't even know where we'll stay tonight."

"So what if we have to sleep on the streets?" the little princess said nonchalantly, seemingly eager to try it out, as if she had never experienced it before.

At this moment, Su Roujia said from the side, "Master, Madam, I still have some money, which I kept separately, three taels and five mace plus twelve copper coins."

It was clearly her secret stash of money. The young girl had been poor in the past and, like many others, she always kept a way out for herself.

"Keep Roujia safe, your little bit of money won't be enough," Chen Xuan waved his hand and said. He wasn't going to use a little girl's money, was he? Then he laughed and said, "Don't worry, it's no big deal. At most, it'll be half a street. I can easily handle this predicament."

In short, how could I possibly make my wife suffer?

The little princess asked with great interest, "Brother Chen, do you have a way to make money? It's not through swindling, cheating, or extortion, is it?"

"What, does Young Master Zhou perhaps want to do evil with me?" Chen Xuan joked.

Upon hearing this, the little princess said with feigned seriousness, "A woman follows her husband wherever he goes... Oh no, aren't we brothers in misfortune now? If Brother Chen steals, I'll guard the door for you; if he robs, I'll cover your retreat. In short, we'll share both good times and bad."

"Thank you so much! You truly are my wife, we've gone through thick and thin together." Chen Xuan chuckled, "Forget it, how much money can we make from this little bit of work? We don't care. Just watch, not only will we have enough for food and lodging, but we'll easily cover all our expenses along the way."

"Brother Chen, you're so confident. Don't talk big too soon. Where can you easily get a lot of money through legitimate channels?" the little princess said skeptically. If making money were so easy, would there be any poor people in the world?

Chen Xuan said confidently, "We'll see. How about we set a time limit of two quarters of an hour? If I can't get more than a thousand taels of silver, Young Master Zhou won't let me sleep in the room tonight."

Rolling her eyes at Chen Xuan, the little princess gave him a light kick and huffed, "Fine, I'd like to see what kind of skill Brother Chen has in getting a thousand taels of silver in two quarters of an hour. But even if you can't, we'll have to change the conditions. How about I do your makeup as punishment? Brother Chen is clearly a handsome man rarely seen in the world, yet he doesn't bother to dress himself up properly."

Chen Xuan immediately put one hand on his hip and said, "Alright, as you wish."

Having slept in the same bed for so long, the little princess couldn't possibly be unaware of his little schemes. She asked suspiciously, "Is my husband starting to get tired of me?"

"How could that be? I wish I could hold my wife in the palm of my hand every moment. How could you say such cold words? It hurts me so much," Chen Xuan said, his expression instantly turning hurt.

The little princess covered her mouth and laughed, "Then why are you clutching your kidneys, my husband?"

"I'm just trying to appear confident..."

After spending a lot of time together, the little princess naturally learned that she could say whatever she wanted when she was with Chen Xuan, and that no one else could hear what she shouldn't. She got used to it and it became natural.

They chatted and laughed as they moved away from the ring, as if they had never been there. Even the fact that Chen Xuan had been tricked into going on stage by Lao Deng was subconsciously ignored by the crowd. After leaving the crowded area, Chen Xuan was also thinking about how to make a lot of money in a short time. After all, he had already made the promise, and he couldn't very well slink back to the ship and have his wife dress him up as a handsome man.

Scamming, deceiving, and robbing are out of the question. There's too little time; there's no time to concoct a magic pill on the spot. If all else fails, how about revealing his identity and announcing in public that Chen Xuan is here and needs help urgently? Surely some people would buy into that, quite a few, but that would mean owing favors. So it's better to just steal from someone else.

Just as he was racking his brains, he suddenly spotted a familiar figure. His eyes lit up, and he turned to the little princess, saying, "Young Master Zhou, come with me. If all goes well, the thousand taels of silver will be secured soon."

"I'd like to see what tricks you're going to pull," the little princess said with great interest.

About ten feet ahead of them, a young man in a blue robe was following a woman in black with several followers. However, the young man in the blue robe was not harassing a respectable woman in the street. On the contrary, he was obviously smiling and behaving very humbly, clearly asking for a favor.

Chen Xuan strode forward, and before the blue-robed youth's attendant could stop him, he reached the other man's side, gently patted his shoulder, and smiled, "Brother Zhang, it's been many years, do you still recognize me?"

The young man in blue robes was quite tactful, as his words were akin to a long-awaited reunion. Given Chen Xuan's distinguished attire, he temporarily abandoned his plan to reprimand and expel him, deciding to wait and see how his young master would react.

The young man in blue robes, who was focused on talking to the woman in black, was interrupted by Chen Xuan. He turned around and glanced at Chen Xuan, not recognizing him at all. He frowned and said unhappily, "Who are you? Do I know you...?" As he spoke, he noticed Chen Xuan's clothes and the little princess and her entourage who had followed him. They were clearly from wealthy and noble families, so his expression softened and he said, "Does this young master know me?"

Chen Xuan laughed and said, "Brother Zhang, it's me, Chen Xuan. You don't remember me after seven or eight years? Oh, right, I was young back then. I must have changed quite a bit over the years. It's normal that you didn't recognize me at first. I was the one who was being presumptuous."

This is none other than Zhang Ao, the one who tried to take over Gao Jingming's dormitory when Xiao Gao first enrolled at Liuyu Academy, under the instigation of Wei Ziyan and others. He served as their lackey for a while, but then suddenly realized the situation and decisively ran away. Before running away, he even kindly reminded Chen Xuan and the others to be careful of Wei Ziyan and his group.

Chen Xuan vividly remembered what happened back then, and even gave Xiao Gao a suggestion to turn the tables on him, almost embarrassing him. He never expected to meet him here again after seven or eight years.

Zhang Ao is almost thirty years old, and he has matured considerably.

In the past, apart from those who were specially admitted with real talent like Ning Guiliang, there were hardly any students from poor families who could study at Liuyu Academy. Zhang Ao's family was naturally well-off, so since they had met him, it would be easy to get him to generously help alleviate his immediate crisis.

It's not that Chen Xuan holds a grudge. Not only is that childish trick from back then long gone, but even the Wei family behind Wei Ziyan, whom Zhang Ao couldn't even curry favor with, has fallen apart. Why would he still care about those past events?

Upon seeing him, Chen Xuan quickly devised a plan that would make him willingly part with his money and even thank him. After all, Chen Xuan had solved Zhang Ao's immediate problem, and Zhang Ao wouldn't suffer any loss.

As for the specifics, whether it's the pill formulas and prescriptions in Chen Xuan's head or some trinkets from his previous life, it's more than enough to let a little slip through his fingers. Chen Xuan is too lazy to operate the things inside his head, so he might as well take them out for a win-win situation.

It's fortunate that Zhang Ao realized his mistake early and his kind reminder before running away won Chen Xuan's favor. Otherwise, let alone the potentially win-win situation they have now encountered, their fates are uncertain.

Upon hearing Chen Xuan's self-introduction, Zhang Ao's mind raced, but he couldn't immediately make sense of the person. His family was merely wealthy in a small town, far inferior to even the once-powerful Gao family; the difference in their social standing was too great. He couldn't immediately connect the Chen Xuan before him with the one he had met before, so he politely cupped his hands and said, "I apologize, but I am truly sorry for my poor eyesight. I don't recall knowing Young Master Chen. I have other matters to attend to, so please excuse me for now. If I have been impolite, I will punish myself with three cups of wine another day."

He nodded and turned to leave. He had something really important to do, so he didn't have time to waste with Chen Xuan. That's why he didn't think too much about connecting the Chen Xuan in front of him with the Chen Xuan from back then.

I don't know if Zhang Ao is just unlucky. He didn't make a name for himself at Liuyu Academy back then, and now that the opportunity is right in front of him, he can't seize it. Who can he blame?

The little princess was trying her best not to laugh out loud. She thought her husband was up to some clever way to make money, but it turned out he was just after an old friend, who didn't even want to see her.

Shrugging, Chen Xuan chuckled to himself, "Laugh if you want. I didn't expect it to turn out this way either. But it's not a big problem. It's not time yet. We'll think of another way. A mere thousand taels of silver can't possibly stump me."

"...Aren't you annoying? I've already said I'm busy, but if you keep this up, I won't be polite!"

At this moment, an unpleasant shout came from ahead. The black-clad woman, who had been trying to ingratiate herself with Zhang Ao, was clearly impatient. Under the warning, his fawning expression froze on his face.

Before Zhang Ao could apologize or say anything nice, the woman in black turned around and walked directly towards Chen Xuan. Her annoyed expression turned into a surprised smile as she asked, "Young Master Chen, Madam Chen, what are you doing here?"

Seeing that Zhang Ao and Chen Xuan were only focused on figuring out how to achieve a win-win situation and were in a state of immediate crisis, they noticed that the woman in black was also an acquaintance and immediately greeted her with a smile: "Miss Zhang, it's you! I saw you a little while ago, but you disappeared in the blink of an eye. What a coincidence! No wonder I vaguely felt that your big butt looked familiar..."

“Young Master Chen, even if I am a member of the martial arts world, I am still a girl, okay? Aren’t you going a bit too far? People who know you know you have no bad intentions, but those who don’t might think you’re flirting with a girl, especially in front of Madam Chen. Aren’t you afraid of getting a beating when you get back?” Zhang Yu quickly interrupted, laughing and crying at the same time. It seemed that bad memories had been stirred up, and she subconsciously wanted to touch his buttocks, but she managed to hold back in time.

Back then, when someone in the capital was performing the "Ten Thousand Swords Return to One" technique, she went to join the fun. When she saw that Chen Xuan had taken the best seats, she tried to grab them, but ended up getting a spanking from Chen Xuan. She was still not satisfied and tried every means to go to his door to get revenge, but Chen Xuan threw her down on her bottom a few more times in front of the little princess. Thinking about it now still makes her ache.

Chen Xuan smoothly changed the subject with a smile: "You people of the martial world aren't known for being so informal, so this joke is a bit... well, don't take it to heart. Anyway, I saw you were pretty busy?"

“Even if you’re busy, Mr. Chen, you should at least give me a heads-up. Oh dear, Sister Zheng is waiting for me. See you later,” Zhang Yu said, slapping his forehead as he hurriedly prepared to leave. He then stopped and turned back, saying, “By the way, Young Master Chen, we’ve been staying at the Si Luoyang Villa, about three miles south of Yinlong County these past few days. We would be honored to have the honor of visiting sometime. Where are you headed? No time now, I’ll find you later. Sister Zheng must be so happy to hear you’re here she won’t be able to sleep.”

"...I lost the money, and I'm trying to figure out how to get it back...Never mind, see you later," Chen Xuan replied, but seeing her turn and leave, he could only shrug helplessly, thinking to himself that his younger sister had never changed, always so carefree. Wasn't she hanging out with that rich woman Zheng Wanqian? He wondered what she was busy with.

After walking a few steps, Zhang Yu turned back, strode over to Chen Xuan, pulled a handful of silver notes from her sleeve, and stuffed them into his hand. She then waved her hand and said, "Young Master Chen, you can lose money? That's rare. I don't have much on me, take this to tide you over. If you need more, just let me know at the Si Luoyang Villa. Sister Zheng may not have much else, but she has plenty of money. Goodbye!"

Watching her leave in a hurry, Chen Xuan was stunned. Looking at the stack of silver notes in his arms, he thought, "I haven't even said anything yet, and she's already stuffing money into my hands."

The little princess, laughing, teased from the side, "So this is how you make money, Brother Chen? Looks like you've hooked up with a rich woman!"

At times like this, Chen Xuan would subconsciously scratch his butt, and simply spit out his tongue, "Just tell me if you got the money or not, don't worry about where it came from, and make sure it's within the allotted time."

Zhang Ao, who was standing to the side, had already realized what was happening. He was sweating profusely, his knees buckled, and he was about to kneel down. He was on the verge of tears, thinking to himself, "Brother, no, sir, if you mention Chen Xuan from Liuyu Academy even once, how could I dare to neglect you? Especially since you're with Her Highness the Princess!"

If I don't pay my respects with full respect right away, don't mess with me, is my Zhang family doomed?
What's this? You can run away from the first day of the month, but you can't hide from the fifteenth.
...(End of chapter)