Narration System for the Journey of Martial Arts

Lu Xiaofeng, however, didn't take it seriously and sighed, "Since Lu Xiaofeng is talking nonsense, could the big boss tell me what's going on? To be honest, I'm very confused right now."

Yan Tieshan's face was ashen, his eyes wide, and he took a few deep breaths before saying bitterly, "That's right, I am Yan Liben, and he is naturally the little prince of the Great Golden Roc Dynasty. We..."

Before he could finish speaking, a sword light suddenly flashed on the roof of the waterside pavilion, stabbing towards Yan Tieshan's back.

Sensing the threat behind him, Yan Tieshan's plump figure flashed past the table and arrived at the waterside pavilion. His lightness skill was no less than that of any top-notch martial arts master.

"Who is it?" As soon as Jian Guangpu appeared, Huo Tianqing stood up abruptly, but perhaps he was too slow to react, or perhaps his mind was elsewhere, and he was ultimately a step too late in making his move.

However, Huo Tianqing was slow, but someone was faster than him. Two fingers appeared silently at the tip of the sword, and with a gentle pinch, the longsword immediately stopped moving.

With a swift turn, he swept across the lake and disappeared into the distance. A trace of sorrow flashed in Lu Xiaofeng's eyes, but he did not give chase.

At the same time, Yan Tieshan, who had already leaped out, landed again. He looked at Hua Manlou, who was sitting quietly there, with a strange expression in his eyes: "I didn't expect that the seven children of the Hua family are even better than your brothers. I'm afraid that even the elders of Wudang are not as good as you in the Wudang Flowing Cloud Flying Sleeves technique."

With just one move of Flowing Clouds and Flying Sleeves, Hua Manlou forced Yan Tieshan back to his original position and said softly, "As long as Boss Yan doesn't leave here, we can guarantee your safety. It's dark and windy outside, which is even more dangerous."

………………

Yan Tieshan did not answer; he remained silent.

After a moment of silence, he turned to look at Lu Xiaofeng and said, "Who is that woman? I don't believe that Lu Xiaofeng's Spiritual Finger can't win over a woman."

Hua Manlou also turned to look at Lu Xiaofeng. Lu Xiaofeng raised a cup of wine, a trace of sadness flashing in his eyes, and said, "It is Shangguan Danfeng."

Lu Xiaofeng was a wandering swordsman, and also a passionate one. He fell in love with this woman who needed him to seek justice for her.

Even though Lu Xiaofeng had realized he had been deceived, he still wanted to give her a chance. Unfortunately, Shangguan Danfeng's resolute departure only confirmed Lu Xiaofeng's suspicions.

The end of a relationship cannot bind a passionate wanderer.

Su Yuchen shook his head. He had always thought women were a nuisance. Life is short; there's barely enough time to pursue what you want, so why waste it on unnecessary relationships?

Hua Manlou sighed and picked up the wine pot to refill Lu Xiaofeng's cup.

"The compound surname is Shangguan?" Yan Tieshan revealed a hint of realization. Clearly, he had also guessed who the woman was.

………………

"And what about you? Why did you kill me?"

Yan Tieshan then looked at Huo Tianqing beside him.

His eyes showed sadness, and he said with confusion, "You should know that if I die, everything in the Pearl Pavilion will be yours. And you should also know that I am the one who least wants anything to happen to you."

"I know." Huo Tianqing nodded.

Yan Tieshan asked, puzzled, "Then why did you do that?"

Huo Tianqing looked at the garden full of lotus flowers and suddenly chuckled softly...

"Because I don't need it."

“I don’t need to inherit from anyone; I am just myself. I want to prove that even without all of this, I am still unique.”

Upon hearing this, Yan Tieshan seemed to have all his energy drained away. He slumped weakly against the table and shouted sharply, "Go away. Even if you want to kill me, I will never lay a hand on you."

Without uttering a word, Huo Tianqing leaped into the air like a roc spreading its wings, soaring three feet into the sky. His toes touched the lotus leaves, and in two leaps, he disappeared into the night.

Yan Tieshan suddenly picked up the wine pot and started drinking. He drank so fast and so fiercely that the wine choked him so badly that tears and snot streamed down his face.

Lu Xiaofeng was stunned, and Hua Manlou lost his smile.

Huo Tianqing is a Dugu. From birth, he bore the responsibility of inheriting the Heavenly Bird Sect and upholding the prestige of the "Heavenly Bird Elder."

Huo Tianqing was proud. He was born with a very high seniority, an excellent background, and superb martial arts skills. Yan Tieshan also gave him inexhaustible wealth and jewels, but it could not make up for the loneliness in his heart.

He needed to prove that he didn't need the legacy of the Heavenly Bird Elder or Yan Tieshan's protection to be a person who could still roam the world freely.

Unfortunately, this proud and lonely young man was too well protected, thus becoming a pawn in someone else's game.

P.S.: Just a side note.

Starting from the 2nd of this month, I don't know why, but every day I get thirty or forty people giving me two-star reviews and then cursing me in the comments.

This is just a hobby novel I'm writing. If it offends anyone, just say so. There's no need to resort to such petty tricks.

Chapter 417 The Truth from the Victim's Perspective

The waterside pavilion had been silent for a long time, and Yan Tieshan was visibly aging. This man in his sixties or seventies seemed to have lost all his energy in an instant.

After a long while, he spoke in his unique, high-pitched voice...

"Years ago, when I first arrived in Shanxi, I encountered a group of bandits."

"Although I am skilled in martial arts and have excellent lightness skills, I have always been working in the palace and have little experience in actual combat. In addition, I am a eunuch, so my physical strength is inevitably weaker."

"So, when facing a bandit leader of dozens or even hundreds of men, they might have the upper hand at first, but as time went on, they would inevitably fall behind. What's more, these bandits who fought to the death also had... hunting bows."

"At that time, I thought I was going to die."

"Unexpectedly, I was not destined to die. Just when I was in the most desperate moment, I met 'Tian Song Yun He and the two elders of Shang Shan,' who were on their way to visit their master, Elder Tian Qin. So they saved me."

"Later I learned about the status of Elder Tianqin in the Guanzhong martial arts world. It was also at that time that I learned that the reason why the two elders of Shangshan went there was that Elder Tianqin, who was over seventy years old, had a child in his old age."

"That's right, that child is Huo Tianqing."

"As soon as we met, Elder Tianqin and Elder Shangshan saw through my true nature. Perhaps they didn't care, or perhaps they really didn't lie. For the first time, I didn't feel inferior."

"Later, I stayed in Shanxi to start a business. Because I was very high-profile from the beginning, it naturally attracted a lot of people's dislike. But after Elder Tianqin spoke up, these troubles were no longer troubles."

Lu Xiaofeng sighed and said, "So, the reason your business has grown so big and so fast is absolutely due to the support and connections of Elder Tianqin and Elder Shangshan. That's why your goods were able to be sold in the Imperial Palace. So you are truly grateful to Elder Tianqin, even though he doesn't need it."

Yan Tieshan nodded.

Lu Xiaofeng sighed again, "The Heavenly Bird Elder was once a powerful figure in the world. Since he doesn't need it, you should repay Huo Tianqing. Keep him by your side and train him to be your successor."

Yan Tieshan smiled...

"Lu Xiaofeng truly lives up to his name."

"That's right. At that time, Elder Tianqin was getting old and his energy was declining day by day. Although Elders Shangshan were highly skilled in martial arts and of high seniority, they would never take care of a baby."

"It just so happens that I grew up in the palace and have taken care of several young masters. The previous Golden Roc King was raised by me. So, although he grew up with Elder Tianqin, he was actually raised by me."

Hua Manlou said softly, "But your teaching methods seem to have a problem."

Yan Tieshan said with a wry smile, "If I didn't understand before, I've figured it out now!"

Hua Manlou said with an inscrutable expression, "You have only served princes and nobles."

Yan Tieshan nodded and said, "So I used the same methods I used to educate princes to educate him, which inevitably made him develop royal arrogance."

Hua Manlou sighed, "But the Central Plains is not the remote and small Golden Roc Dynasty. Even though the Heavenly Bird Elder is renowned throughout the world, he is still just a senior in the martial arts world."

Yan Tieshan smiled bitterly: "So later, the Heavenly Bird Elder personally took him to travel the world. He probably understood by then, but he didn't say anything. I, Old Yan, meant well, but I still did something bad."

Hua Manlou said softly, "That's why Huo Tianqing's temperament is so strange. He has the pride of a superior person, but also endless loneliness. It must be related to his two different experiences."

At this point, Lu Xiaofeng and Yan Tieshan understood perfectly well that the proud and solitary young man was ultimately proud. He may not have learned anything else, but he did learn the betrayal of the royal family.

That's why he was a step too slow in taking action, and that's why he had to cooperate with others.

"Is the person Huo Tianqing is collaborating with the young prince of the Golden Roc Dynasty?" Lu Xiaofeng asked.

Yan Tieshan smiled dismissively and said, "Absolutely impossible."

Lu Xiaofeng couldn't help but ask, "What is it that makes you so sure?"

Yan Tieshan said with a livid face, "If he wanted this wealth, he wouldn't have hidden from us. He should know that this wealth originally belonged to him. After arriving in the Central Plains, he quietly left. We searched for him everywhere, but he..."

Hua Manlou said with a strange expression, "But he avoids you instead. Does he not want to restore the country? So it's not that you owe him money, but that he doesn't want this wealth."

Yan Tieshan nodded and said, "Without this wealth, he could have broken his promise to the late king with a clear conscience. Without this wealth, he wouldn't have to think about how to restore the country, and he wouldn't have to suffer."

"Don't you know what he's thinking?" Lu Xiaofeng asked.

Yan Tieshan sighed:

“If we didn’t understand at first, but after he kept avoiding us, how could we not understand?”

"Actually, I should have thought of this earlier. He was smart from a young age and could learn anything quickly. However, he was not interested in imperial power, but rather resembled Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty in the Central Plains."

Hua Manlou sighed, "An emperor of a country, who doesn't love power, only calligraphy and painting."

Yan Tieshan said with a wry smile, "So once he arrived in the Central Plains, his heart was like a wild horse that had broken free of its reins, and he could no longer control it."

Lu Xiaofeng sighed, "But he is very poor now, so poor that he can only use syrup to impersonate fine wine when entertaining guests."

Yan Tieshan stared in disbelief and exclaimed, "This is absolutely impossible!"

Lu Xiaofeng was surprised again and asked, "Why?"

Yan Tieshan said angrily, "When he secretly left back then, he took half of the wealth we brought to the Central Plains with him. That money, not to mention for him alone, would be enough to support a whole family for three generations without worrying about food and drink."

Lu Xiaofeng said, puzzled, "But what we see is absolutely certain. Could it be that he deliberately pretended to be poor, and now he wants his wealth back?"

Hua Manlou laughed and said, "He couldn't endure hardship when he was young, so how could he suddenly want to endure hardship now that he's old? To get this wealth back, he has to take on the responsibility of restoring the country, and at sixty years old, he can no longer bear that responsibility."

Yan Tieshan nodded.

"Does he have a son?" Yan Tieshan suddenly asked.

Lu Xiaofeng shook his head and said with certainty, "No, I can confirm that he only has one daughter and two granddaughters."

"That's strange!" Yan Tieshan muttered to himself.

………………

Silence fell over the waterside pavilion for a long time.

Lu Xiaofeng muttered to himself, "Is the Golden Roc King really the Golden Roc King? Is he real or fake? And who is Huo Tianqing cooperating with? Besides Huo Tianqing, who else wants to swallow this astonishing fortune?"

Su Yuchen smiled and said, "I once said that although Shangguan Danfeng is like a princess, she is not very familiar with etiquette."

Before the others could figure it out, Hua Manlou had already understood: "Like? You mean, she's not Shangguan Danfeng! She...she's Shangguan Feiyan."

"You've figured it out," Su Yuchen said with a smile.

Hua Manlou shook his head, looking dejected, and said, "I should have figured it out a long time ago."

At that time, he thought Su Yuchen was being sarcastic when he said that. He also thought that Su Yuchen, who came from a prominent family in Suzhou, was mocking Shangguan Danfeng for her grand entourage but full of mistakes, which only made her a laughingstock.

Now I understand, it had a deeper meaning.

Su Yuchen smiled:

“You are, after all, blind, and a gentleman who observes propriety. Although you can hear and smell, you cannot see.”

"She used different pollen to cover her scent during the first and second meetings. When she disguised herself as Shangguan Danfeng the second time, she even wore a human skin mask. But such a little thing cannot change a person's aura."

Chapter 418 The Golden Roc's Secret

"It's actually quite simple to find out if she's not a fake."

Just as Lu Xiaofeng was still trying to figure it out, a voice drifted out from outside the waterside pavilion.

Lu Xiaofeng turned his head and saw a weathered Taoist priest. The priest stood there with his back straight, exuding both arrogance and sorrow. A large longsword was at his waist, and the Bagua pattern engraved on the scabbard confirmed his identity.

“Dugu Yihe, or rather, Ping Duhe,” Lu Xiaofeng said.

Dugu Yihe nodded but did not answer. As the head of the Emei Sect, he certainly did not need to flatter Lu Xiaofeng. Therefore, he only looked at the two people.

“I can’t see through you. You’re dangerous,” Dugu Yihe said, looking at Su Yuchen.

He sighed, as if reminiscing about the past, his eyes filled with a hint of sorrow and nostalgia, and continued, "The person I couldn't understand in the first half of my life was the late king. He always hid himself in the darkness and didn't allow his ministers to guess his thoughts. The second person is you. I can feel that you are like the answer to a riddle, and the last layer can never be revealed."

The intuition gained from past battles has given Dugu Yihe an exceptionally keen sense of intuition; it's an instinct.

Su Yuchen nodded and said, "I didn't expect that Sect Leader Dugu still retains the intuition from his past battles."

Dugu Yihe said, "This is a skill I'm very proud of; it has saved me many times. That's why I trust it."

………………

Then he looked at Yan Tieshan, smiled, and said with a sense of relief, "Steward Yan, when we parted years ago, we were both already very old."

He was referring to Chief Steward Yan, the former Grand Steward Yan Liben of the Great Golden Roc Dynasty, not Yan Tieshan, the jewelry merchant from Guanzhong.

“If I had a choice, I would prefer that we never meet again,” Yan Tieshan said.

He did not respond to Dugu Yihe's address, clearly indicating that he really did not want to see his former friend who had come to the Central Plains with him again.

Dugu Yihe nodded and said, "Indeed, if it were me, I probably wouldn't want to see you again either. It always reminds me of many things from the past. When you get old, what you fear most is the memory."