In Chapter 1, was the story of Yang Cheng's one-night stand true or false?
Late autumn. A troop of horses galloped past west of Liyang City, their hooves kicking up a cloud of withered yellow leaves. The swift hooves crushed the fallen leaves, and they vanished in the blink of an eye.
Ever since Zhou Ziheng received the letter of request for battle from Liyang Valley, he rushed to Liyang City without stopping.
Liyang Valley is located west of Liyang City, relying on the Suijin Mountain Range, and is quite famous in the martial arts world.
It is said that the challenge in Liyang was not as simple as it seemed on the surface.
But so what?
Zhou Ziheng arrived quickly and checked into the inn early. These past few days, observing the comings and goings of martial arts practitioners, he came to a frivolous conclusion:
None of these people are any good fighters.
He was convinced that he was the undisputed winner of this conference, until today when he saw a strange beggar in the lobby of the inn.
"Where did this beggar come from? Go away, get out of the way." The waiter, busy serving food and drinks to the customers, kicked the beggar a few times and said with disgust.
To everyone's surprise, the beggar, who looked thin and slovenly, seemed to be quite robust. The waiter kicked him a few times but couldn't move him; instead, he himself was in pain and grimaced.
Zhou Ziheng sat in the lobby, sipping fine wine and eating peanuts, squinting at the beggar.
With a stable lower body, strong arms, and calluses on his hands, he is a skilled archer.
Just as Zhou Ziheng was observing the beggar, the other person seemed to notice him and cast a glance at him as well.
The two looked at each other, and the beggar seemed to smile before walking straight toward Zhou Ziheng.
"I see that you are drinking Liyang's specialty, Drunken Flower Wine. I'm a little tempted. Would you mind if I had a drink?"
Zhou Ziheng downed the wine in the bowl in one gulp, smashed the bowl down with a clatter, picked up his sword, and turned to leave.
"I have no money."
-
Zhou Ziheng returned to his room on the second floor, leaned against the window, and looked down at the bustling street below.
"I'm selling invitations to the Liyang Valley Grand Tournament. Not nine taels of silver, not six taels, just three taels!"
"Are you out of your mind? You actually dare to ask for three taels of silver?"
"Young hero, I see you have excellent physique and are sure to be a martial arts prodigy. Why not buy this invitation and try your luck in Liyang Valley?"
"What kind of opportunity could a spectator's invitation offer? It's not like a challenge invitation! Legend has it that the winner of this tournament will become the adopted son of Liyang Valley and learn the Liyang Sword Technique. If you can really win first place, that would be a truly tremendous opportunity!"
Indeed, everyone in the martial arts world knows that this conference in Liyang Valley is no ordinary event.
In recent years, the population of Liyang Valley has dwindled, the valley master is old, and he has only one good-for-nothing son who has no talent whatsoever and is not capable of taking on great responsibilities.
If it weren't for the rumors that the Valley Master wouldn't live past this winter, he probably wouldn't have been in such a hurry to convene the conference.
Just as the two were talking, the beggar swayed and interrupted, "I'm willing to pay one or two taels of silver for your spectator pass. How about it? Are you selling it or not?"
The peddler's face turned red with anger: "Are you crazy?! You're cutting three ounces down to one ounce!"
The beggar tidied his unkempt hair, revealing a pair of bright eyes, and smiled, "So, did you sell it for three taels of silver?"
The vendor was speechless with rage: "You!"
What Zhou Ziheng then witnessed was nothing short of a "magical transformation":
The beggar quickly tidied himself up, combed his messy hair, and pulled out a cloak from somewhere to cover his tattered clothes, revealing only his fairly handsome and young face.
"As you can see, I'm just a beggar; I don't have any extra silver." The beggar said nonchalantly, "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"
Zhou Ziheng then witnessed how the other party tricked the small merchant into selling him the spectator's pass. Unfortunately, the price of one tael of silver was simply outrageous, and no matter how much the beggar pleaded, the merchant remained unmoved.
"Hey." Zhou Ziheng leaned against the window with his sword in his arms, took out the spectator card attached to the challenge letter, and threw it forcefully at the beggar. "Here you go."
The beggar looked up, steadily accepted the invitation to the duel, held it between his index and middle fingers, and smiled, "Thank you for your generosity, young hero. My name is Huo Qin. May I ask your name, young hero?"
Zhou Ziheng narrowed his eyes, realizing that Huo Qin was not only a skilled archer, but also probably quite adept at close combat.
“Zhou is not a boat, Heng is not a boat; at the deserted ferry crossing, the boat lies adrift. I, the young master, will not change my name or surname, I am Zhou Ziheng.”
After that, Zhou Ziheng never saw Huo Qin again.
Three days before the Liyang Conference, Zhou Ziheng came to Liyang Valley for a short stay, based on his letter of request to join the battle.
Liyang Valley is located in the most beautiful part of the Suijin Mountain Range, surrounded by mountains and shrouded in clouds and mist, like a fairyland on earth.
The valley has four distinct seasons: wildflowers bloom in spring, waterfalls cascade in summer, forests are ablaze with color in autumn, and the landscape is covered in silver in winter. Among them, the most beautiful spot is the "Flying Terrace Waterfall" in Liyang Valley.
Feitai Waterfall, as the name suggests, is a waterfall.
Deep in the mountain stream, a silver ribbon cascaded down from the cliff, crashing against the jagged rocks and shattering into countless pearls.
Above the waterfall is a training platform.
Zhou Ziheng accompanied the owner of Liyang Valley to visit Feitai Danpu Waterfall, but he only saw the magnificent natural scenery and did not see anyone practicing martial arts on the platform.
He immediately launched into a sarcastic remark: "Valley Master, your waterfall is indeed beautiful, as if woven by immortals with a celestial shuttle—but I'd rather see your son's swordsmanship."
Behind him were other martial arts practitioners who had volunteered for the fight, some supporting and some belittling. Although their words differed, they all revealed curiosity.
Zhou Ziheng, a young man, started the conversation, and they disregarded the expression on Valley Master Li Jin's face, chattering about Li Zhiheng.
How could Li Jin allow his good-for-nothing son to embarrass himself? He quickly changed the subject with a laugh: "I am not talented, and my son is even more unruly. Let's talk about our ancestors."
"We are hosting a banquet tonight at Feitai Danpu. We hope you will all grace us with your presence."
Seeing that Zhou Ziheng, the one who had spoken out, did not voice any objections, the others simply went along with it and left Feitai Danpu with Li Jin.
The water plunges into the deep pool, its sound like thunder.
Zhou Ziheng was at the back of the group. He looked down and the sunlight shone through the water, making the patterns on the pebbles on the bottom of the water clear.
But in the pool beneath the waterfall, something seemed to be sparkling.
Li Jin arranged for everyone to rest in guest rooms, while he himself went to see his good-for-nothing son without stopping.
He looked distressed and called out to Fu Chenyu, who was practicing swordsmanship in the waterside pavilion: "Chenyu, where is that little beast?"
Fu Chenyu is Li Jin's adopted son. Although he is not very talented, he practices swordsmanship diligently and is much better than Li Zhiheng, who is a rebellious son who has no talent and does not work hard.
Upon seeing Li Jin, Fu Chenyu bowed respectfully and sheathed his sword, saying, "Young Master did not go out today and has been staying in his room."
Although he was an adopted son, he was not entitled to call Li Zhiheng his elder brother.
Li Jin nodded, casually praised him a few times for his hard work, and then hurriedly went to find Li Zhiheng.
Fu Chenyu watched Li Jin's retreating figure, lowered her eyes slightly, and focused her gaze on her own mottled iron sword.
...
Li Jin kicked open his son's bedroom door and saw Li Zhiheng fast asleep on the bed.
Beside the bed, a slender, emerald-green sword gleamed, a divine weapon, yet carelessly discarded by its owner.
Seeing the Liyang Sword treated this way, Li Jin was furious, his old face turning red with anger.
"Li Zhiheng!! You brat, the sun's high in the sky and you're still sleeping!"
Li Jin grabbed Li Zhiheng by the ear, pulled him up, and angrily said, "The Liyang Sword is our family heirloom, our Zhengu Sword! Look at your attitude!"
Li Zhiheng had just woken up and was still a little groggy.
He was spoiled rotten by Li Jin and didn't care about the Liyang Sword at all. Hearing this, he just impatiently waved Li Jin's hand away and said indifferently, "It's just a sword, why are you so agitated?"
Li Jin was so angry at his words that he almost vomited blood.
"The Liyang Conference is about to begin. Can't you be a little more aware of the potential crisis?"
"Why should I feel a sense of crisis? I am incompetent and cannot master the Liyang Sword. The capable should take over. They have the ability to carry on the sword technique, and you will have a successor. It's a win-win situation... no, a win-win-win situation. Isn't that wonderful?"
Li Jin paced back and forth angrily: "Do you think I want to hand over my years of heritage to someone else? It's all because you're useless!"
Li Zhiheng yawned: "Fu Chenyu is quite promising, but I haven't seen you teach him the Liyang sword technique."
"What do you know..."
"In the end, it all comes down to Fu Chenyu not being surnamed Li. And you even called me a little brat, but I think you're the old-fashioned one..."
...
The father and son's voices gradually faded away. Fu Chenyu listened silently outside the house, his expression calm and without any fluctuation.
He'd heard those words so many times over the years that he was sick of them.
However, he didn't expect that there was someone even more "sleazy" than him—
At least he was just eavesdropping in the shadows, while Zhou Ziheng was practically crawling onto someone's roof!
Fu Chenyu and Zhou Ziheng exchanged a glance. Under the clear blue sky, the other party remained calm and showed no embarrassment at being discovered.
"Hi." Zhou Ziheng greeted Fu Chenyu and jumped down from the roof.
It landed silently, like a feather falling.
Fu Chenyu lowered his eyes: "Young hero, who are you?"
Zhou Ziheng introduced himself as "just an ordinary volunteer."
Fu Chenyu cupped his hands in greeting and was about to leave, but Zhou Ziheng didn't give him the chance and quickly called out, "Why don't you introduce yourself? It's really impolite, Brother Chenyu."
Fu Chenyu stopped in his tracks: "Since you already know my name, why do you need me to tell you?"
He was a little annoyed. The other person was really putting on an act. He clearly knew his name, but he still had to ask again.
Harboring ulterior motives.
Zhou Ziheng put his arm around his shoulder and laughed, "I know, but telling yourself is a different matter."
"Let's go, Brother Chenyu, show me around Liyang Valley?"
Liyang Valley truly lives up to its reputation as a prestigious martial arts community; even its pavilions, waterside terraces, rockeries, and flowing water exude an extraordinary charm.
The two passed by a rockery with flowing water; the stream split as it met the rocks, its surface clear as a mirror.
However, Fu Chenyu did not stop and led Zhou Ziheng to the Feitai Waterfall.
Zhou Ziheng yawned: "Brother Chenyu, your godfather brought us here a while ago."
On the training platform, Fu Chenyu held an iron sword and looked down at the waterfall: "That was my godfather's wish, now it is mine."
How did you know my name?
"Everyone in the martial arts world knows that Li Jin has a favored biological son and an unfavored adopted son."
Fu Chenyu gave a self-deprecating smile and silently gazed at the magnificent waterfall.
Zhou Ziheng continued, "I also know a secret that I would like to verify with Brother Chenyu."
Before Fu Chenyu could respond, Zhou Ziheng shook his head and said, "To be honest, this is quite a melodramatic story."
"It is rumored that Brother Chenyu's mother had a one-night stand with the Valley Master of Liyang, became pregnant for ten months, and gave birth to a child after a difficult pregnancy. However, she was deceived by Li Jin and died in the bitter wind and rain."
"I wonder if it's true or false?"
Fu Chenyu remained calm, retaliating in kind by calling out the other's name, and chuckled, "Brother Ziheng, you should probably read less of those fictional stories. The Valley Master's character is beyond reproach; how could he possibly do such a despicable thing?"
A note from the author:
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Please recommend this young author's pre-order! [Poor thing]
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