The ship owner, having been struck, was originally furious, but he held his cheek and endured, ultimately not saying a word.
The Cao Gang wasn’t exactly scared of the Wang Family, but they probably didn’t want to truly clash over such a trivial matter of their underlings brawling, likely ending up as a pointless fight.
The man’s gaze swept over the bow of the boat, and the first person he saw was Xuan Chong, who had stood up: "Daoist Xuan Chong is indeed here."
Xuan Chong was taken aback, "With that tone, you are actually here to find me?"
"Indeed, we went to Taishan a few days ago, your revered teacher said you have been traveling in the south for a long time, so we had to look for you in the south. Fortunately, we heard that Daoist was seen on the Cao Gang boat’s bow and specially came to meet you."
Xuan Chong frowned slightly, "What’s so urgent that you had to find me?"
The man produced something that looked like an invitation: "Our young master’s birthday is coming up, and he has specially invited his peers on the Hidden Dragon List to the feast. Our group just happens to have the task of inviting ten to twenty people. It cannot be left undone."
"Just for this? You stopped the boat, boarded by force, and even hit someone?"
"Some mere boatman dared to disobey the will of our Wang Family; if we hit him, we hit him. What of it?"
Xuan Chong’s expression was very unpleasant; because of himself, his friend’s subordinate had been struck, which made him extremely annoyed.
However, as his Taiyi Sect and the Wang Family were in the same province, not very close but still within mutual sight, getting into a fight would bring trouble to his sect, so he also refrained from making a move, simply sweeping his sleeve and saying, "I have no intention of interacting with the young master of the Wangs. I will not attend the banquet. You may leave."
Yet the man sneered coldly, "Not everyone on the Hidden Dragon List is truly eligible to attend my master’s banquet. You should know the Hidden Dragon List values potential rather than strength. But what good is potential if it doesn’t turn into strength before one dies? What’s the point? The young master’s view is if it’s just a falsely reputed potential, then it’s fine not to invite them."
Even a clay figurine would be enraged by such words, and Xuan Chong finally burst out in fury, "So, your intention is to test my ability first?"
The man proudly said, "Exactly. If you can defeat me, then even if you are not on the Hidden Dragon List, you have the qualifications to attend the banquet. If you cannot defeat me, it’s not a matter of whether you accept the invitation or not. It means you have... no... qualifications!"
Xuan Chong had no interest in accepting the invitation but was provoked by these words and couldn’t help but "sha" draw his sword, sneering, "Then, I shall take the invitation and tear it up."
Before his words fell, the big man who had been hunching over and sitting next to the chessboard suddenly stood up, sweeping his foot across, directly aiming a kick at the man’s crotch.
The man was shocked and twisted his body to dodge, but saw that the swift kick naturally transformed into stepping over the waves. The seemingly powerful and clumsy big man agilely moved to his side, his palm as large as a fan crashing down towards his cheek.
The man urgently dodged again.
The palm turned into a blur, its fingers blossoming like flowers, grazing over the vital points in front of his chest.
The man’s body went numb, suddenly unable to muster any strength.
The big man leisurely grabbed him by the collar with his left hand, his right hand "pi li pa la" delivering a round of slaps to his ear, knocking out one of his teeth.
The big man sneered, "I thought you were something special, daring to measure the heroes of the world with just this, what rubbish!"
The next instant the man felt as if riding the clouds and mist, flying up, and with a "bang," he was thrown into the river.
The big man clapped his hands, spat a loogie into the river, "The barbarians knock at Yanmen, if your young master is so amazing why doesn’t he go measure up against Chi Li? You fucking tell your young master to save his wine banquet for his mother, asshole!"
The man floundered in the water, shouting loudly, "Who are you to dare provoke our Wang Family? Have the courage to leave your name?"
Xuan Chong finally let out a laugh, "You are responsible for inviting ten to twenty people, right? He hasn’t offended you; you were going to size him up anyway, it’s just a bit earlier, that’s all."
The horsemen on the shore were stunned as they looked at the big man’s face, suddenly recalling someone.
"Bloodthirsty Asura Zhao Changhe..."
A man’s name, a tree’s shadow.
Characters on the Hidden Dragon List, in fact, most of them really don’t have many martial achievements. A lot of them were recognized by the Chaotic World Book and made the list in their earlier years due to some outstanding feat, but afterward, impressive deeds became scarce. Wan Dongliu and Tang Buqi are very typical examples—with one keeping a low profile and the other truly stagnating. What the young master Wang assessed wasn’t entirely wrong in a certain sense, Xuan Chong hasn’t shown up for so long, it’s said he was once extremely humiliated by Chi Li, maybe he’s just all bark and no bite?
As for Zhao Changhe, he’s been slashing his way through on horseback for more than half a year now, truly mowing down people like grass. Just a few days ago, he beheaded a general in front of their camp and withdrew unscathed. In such an environment, not to mention taking out a sixth-level Mystical Gate, even chopping a watermelon would be enough to boast about for a year. If they had known he was here, these people might not have dared to "weigh him up." His hefty track record doesn’t need weighing.
But how could the guy not have his signature Big Broadsword on him? His moves were still elegant; who would recognize him?
The one thrown into the river after getting slapped didn’t make a sound, obediently rescued by his companions. Only when they got to the shore he honestly said, "Had we known Son Zhao was here, we would never have dared ’weigh him up’... Our young master has instructed us to ask you must attend the banquet, no invitation needed."
"Crap." Xuan Chong was so annoyed he laughed, shaking his head as he sat back down at the chessboard, too lazy to even speak.
Zhao Changhe laughed as well: "I still prefer your unruly demeanor just now. Anyways, in my eyes, your young master’s handling of this affair is like that of an imbecile, I fear it’s contagious, so I won’t go."
The man, rubbing his cheek feeling his mission going south, frantically brainstormed for a solution. Suddenly, a flash of Spiritual Light, "There will be some old acquaintances present at the banquet, really not going to see them?"
Zhao Changhe said, "Yue Hongling isn’t even on the Hidden Dragon List anymore, not to mention I doubt she’s interested in this crappy event. Xia Chichi, I suspect you can’t even find her, and even if you do, she’d be too lazy to come. Who else is an old acquaintance? Cui Yuanyong or Han Wubing?"
The man forced a smile, "Actually, Cui Yuanyong won’t be coming; he’s got an engagement with our young mistress, so it’s proper not to meet before the wedding. However, Miss Yuan Yang from the Cui Family will be there."
... Zhao Changhe hadn’t expected Cui Yuanyang to get permission to leave home so soon; he hadn’t even thought about her. He was taken aback, only managing to wave his hand after a long pause, "We’ll see."
His expression had wandered far away, and he couldn’t help revealing a trace of an indulgent smile.
Indeed, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen her, I wonder if she’s still as adorable as before.
The onlookers thought in their hearts: We too liked your rebellious demeanor just now...
Thus the farce concluded, the remaining knights helped the one with teeth knocked out onto a horse, and the party left dejectedly.
The ship owner stepped forward to thank them, "Thank you both for helping me get some air."
Xuan Chong waved it off, "It’s embarrassing, I couldn’t get into a fight with them, only unsheathed my sword after getting really upset at the end. Nowhere near as majestic as Brother Zhao, not leaving a shred of face for the Wang Family."
"I just couldn’t be bothered waiting for them to come up to me with their nonsense about ’weighing me up,’ what nonsense?" Zhao Changhe said, "Since Brother Dao understands the Wang Family, do you know what this banquet invitation is really about? It’s just a simple invitation? That would be too idiotic, right?"
Xuan Chong gave a "heh" of a laugh, "The likelihood that they’re inviting us as sparring partners for sword practice is higher. After all, it’s quite inconvenient to go out alone for martial practice, so why not invite all the Hidden Dragons to spar? There have been similar incidents before; they’ve even mistakenly killed someone. In some sense, this invitation could be called Yama’s invitation..."
Zhao Changhe was astonished, "This is way too outrageous, do they want to offend everyone under heaven?"
"Normally, receiving an invitation from the Wang Family is an honor; it’s just a tryout, doesn’t mean someone will be killed by mistake. If you can forge a good relationship, it’s beneficial for the future," Xuan Chong sighed, "Not everyone is like you, sir, who had connections with the Cui Family right from the start and no longer look up to these top families. Normally people are more inclined to fear and fawn over them."
"That’s too arrogant, looks like the Cui Family has slightly better upbringing."
Xuan Chong thought to himself that might not necessarily be the case; Cui Yuanyong and Cui Yuanyang might be okay, but what about the others?
How individuals act can never represent a whole class. In the eyes of others, there is no difference between the Cui and Wang Families, and the Wang Family’s actions are not taken seriously by the Cuis—are they not still arranging marriages?
Besides... the Empress’s family is the Wang Family, that is, the dead Crown Prince’s own mother.
The truth behind the Crown Prince’s death is still unclear, with at least a hundred theories, and no one has got it figured out. Tang Wanju never mentioned it to Zhao Changhe, perhaps even she is not clear on it. Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs NoveIＦire.net
Seeing Zhao Changhe deep in thought, Xuan Chong then said, "Of course, whether this is the purpose of the event, I cannot say; I’m just guessing, it might not be the case. Do you mean to say, Brother Zhao, you might actually go?"
Zhao Changhe snapped back to reality and grinned, "It’d be best if it’s true, I want to see just how imposing they can be as King Yan!"
PS: No updates tonight, taking a break.