Once I enter the pass, great Confucian scholars will surely debate the classics for me.

Qiu Chengde was speechless. Looking at his younger brother's frantic and furious state, he was helpless and could only reach out to comfort him: "Chenghu, that's all in the past. Come home with me, and we'll find a place to have a good talk. There's no grudge that brothers can't resolve. Five hundred years have passed. I know I didn't do the right thing back then, but I had no choice. If I hadn't done it that way, you would have died. I'm saving your life."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Chenghu remained unmoved, forcefully shoved Qiu Chengde aside, and angrily said, "Easy for you to say. Five hundred years! Do you know how those five hundred years have passed?"

Qiu Chengde breathed a sigh of relief and tried to keep his tone calm as he said, "I don't know, but I want to know. Come home with me, and we'll sit down and talk it over. Stop making a fuss. Things are different now. I'm second only to the leader in the Sword Tower. I can arrange for you to return to the Sword Tower with a new identity. Whatever you want, I can give you. I will make it up to you properly."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Chenghu grabbed Qiu Chengde by the collar with one hand, pointed at Qiu Chengde's nose with the other, and stared intently at Qiu Chengde with his one eye. The two men's breaths almost touched.

Then, Qiu Chenghu gritted his teeth, furious: "Compensation? What compensation are you going to offer? You've ruined me, and now you're coming out to talk to me about compensation? Too late! Let me tell you, Qiu Chengde, as long as I live, I will get back at you, I will kill you. Not only will I kill you, I will also kill your apprentices, destroy everything you care about, I will make you lose everything, that is the best compensation for me."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Chengde remained calm and composed, showing no anger. He said frankly, "I believe I have done nothing wrong. I take responsibility for my actions. If you wish to take revenge, you are welcome to come to me anytime. However, please do not harm my disciples or target the Sword Tower."

"Good, good, good..." Qiu Chenghu clapped with a smile, took a few steps back, and sneered repeatedly: "What a loyal lackey, what a role model, what a scapegoat."

Qiu Chengde ignored the sarcasm and simply said, "If you agree, I'll make the decision and let you go."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Chenghu nodded with a mixture of dissatisfaction and resentment, saying defiantly, "Fine, fine, you're awesome. The number one lackey of the Sword Tower City Lord, how awesome is that? Who can be more awesome than you? Now you can even be in charge. I can't beat you, but I'll beat you eventually. You just wait and see. Life is long, I'll play with you slowly. Just don't die, because there will be a time when you bow your head and admit your mistakes to me."

Helpless, Qiu Chengde patted Qiu Chenghu's arm and said, "Let's go. Stop bragging. I'll give you another five hundred years to practice some more. Take care of your health and remember to eat on time."

Qiu Chenghu felt deeply humiliated, as if he had been hit by a ton of explosives. He almost vomited blood. He snorted coldly, turned around, and strode away: "Let's go!"

A large group of his men followed Qiu Chenghu as he prepared to leave.

Zhou Qingfeng quickly stepped forward, clasped his hands in a salute, and said, "Wait, Master, I have something to ask you."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Chengde beckoned with his hand: "Come back!"

Qiu Chenghu returned with his men, fuming, and said, "What are you doing? Are you out of your mind? You just let me go, and now you're calling me back. Do you have nothing better to do than walk the dog?"

Qiu Chengde clicked his tongue: "Chenghu, don't be so hot-tempered. You're hundreds of years old, why are you so angry? My apprentice has something to ask you."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Chenghu held the hilt of his sword, planted it on the ground, and stood in front of him: "Speak, what do you want to ask?"

Zhou Qingfeng hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward, clasped his hands and smiled: "Uncle-Master Chenghu, who ordered you to ambush me? And where is the Daoist who was with you?"

Qiu Chenghu: "Hehehe... Ouch~~~ Ouch~~~ Qiu Chengde, your disciple changes his face faster than flipping through a book. Just now he wanted to kill me, but in the blink of an eye he can be humble and call me 'Uncle-Master'. He can bend and stretch, impressive, impressive. Such a temperament is truly remarkable. No wonder you can take him as your disciple. It's a pity that I can't be your Uncle-Master. I don't have that honor. If you don't give me face, just call me Qiu Chenghu. If you give me face, call me Senior."

Zhou Qingfeng said, "Alright, Senior Qiu, please answer my question."

Qiu Chenghu nodded and said bluntly, "I came here to take revenge on your master, but that Wen Daoren is different. He said he was sent by the Sword Tower and that he has someone behind him, but he won't tell me who it is, so I have no way of knowing. Anyway, someone in the Sword Tower wants you dead. Think about who you've offended. I'm just hitching a ride. After the repeated failed attempts to ambush him, Wen Daoren and I have parted ways. I don't know where he went."

"But I can tell you that there are far more people who want you dead than you can imagine. It's not necessarily someone in the Sword Tower who wants you dead. We don't even know if the person behind that Wendao Ren is from the Sword Tower. That's what he told me, and there's no way to verify it."

Zhou Qingfeng clasped his hands and said, "Thank you for your frank advice, Senior Qiu."

"Let's go." Qiu Chenghu didn't waste any more words and turned to leave with his men.

Seeing this, Qiu Chengde patted Zhou Qingfeng on the shoulder: "Let's go back to the Sword Tower."

Zhou Qingfeng nodded slightly: "Yes, Master."

The group set off again, and the ten-mile journey was not far. They soon returned to the Sword Tower.

Zhou Qingfeng ordered Jin Wei to take the others back to the Zhou residence for temporary accommodation. Then, he went with his master to the city lord's mansion to pay his respects to his mother and report on the gains of the trip.

As they entered the city lord's mansion, Qiu Chengde led the way with his hands behind his back, while Zhou Qingfeng followed half a step behind. The servants they encountered all stepped aside and bowed.

Qiu Chengde said calmly, "Disciple, do you blame your master for not standing up for you?"

“My master has been incredibly kind to me. Without his guidance, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I have absolutely no regrets.” Zhou Qingfeng’s words were true, because once he recognized Qiu Chengde as his master, they were bound together by a relationship of mutual benefit and shared loss.

Those who fawned over Qiu Chengde's wife, the number one lackey, naturally had to give Qiu Chengde face and dared not offend Zhou Qingfeng.

But Qiu Chengde's enemies, if they can't kill the old ones, they can't kill the young ones either.

Since you've enjoyed the benefits of being an apprentice, you must also bear the corresponding costs.

Every advantage has its disadvantages; in this world, there's no such thing as eating meat without getting beaten.

Qiu Chengde strode forward and said calmly, "Actually, it's not wrong. This matter started because of Master, and it has implicated you."

Zhou Qingfeng obediently said, "Master, please don't blame yourself. It was I who caused you trouble."

Qiu Chengde paused, turned to look at Zhou Qingfeng, and said with a look of relief, "Si Lang, the greatest blessing for your master is to take you as my disciple. I hope you won't hold a grudge against Cheng Hu. I have already told him that he will not cause you any more trouble."

Zhou Qingfeng hummed twice and nodded repeatedly: "Master, how come I've never heard of you having a younger brother?"

Qiu Chengde said, "It's a long story, all from five hundred years ago. Do you want to hear it?"