Chapter 17 Entering the City
In the early morning, the sun shone through the thin clouds, and a horse-drawn carriage galloped through the woods, bringing up a flock of startled birds.
After a long journey, both the driver and the horse were exhausted, but they could not stop. Fortunately, a city finally appeared in front of them half an hour later.
"Young Master, we're here." Abu said.
Ye Yunhao finally smiled when he heard this. He looked at the man beside him and said softly, "Brother Shuangbei, we are here. Your body..."
"Don't worry, I won't joke about my body." Seeing the worry in Ye Yunhao's eyes, Shuang Bei spoke soothingly.
Ever since he vomited blood and fell into a coma that day, when he woke up, Ye Yunhao and Abu treated him like a porcelain doll. No matter how Shuang Bei explained that he was fine, Ye Yunhao and Abu always looked worried.
Ye Yunhao could not forget Shuang Bei's sword. He had been practicing sword since he was young and had few rivals among his peers. Shuang Bei looked only a few years older than him, but Ye Yunhao was sure that he could not take the opponent's sword.
It is impossible not to feel lost. After all, he was praised for his natural talent when he was young. But now that he is in the martial arts world, Ye Yunhao deeply understands that there is always someone better. However, compared with loss, Ye Yunhao feels more of an excitement. He believes that one day he will wield such a sword.
This emotion was like a fire burning more and more fiercely in his heart, but when Shuang Bei fell down, Ye Yunhao finally understood what it meant that God was jealous of talented people, and thus his feelings towards Shuang Bei became more complicated.
Only after entering the city did Ye Yunhao completely relax. The chirping of birds and insects in the woods had been replaced by the shouting of vendors. All the shops of all sizes around were open for business, and occasionally the sounds of children playing could be heard.
There is a nine-story building in the city, named Jiuxiao Tower. When you climb to the highest floor and look out, it seems to be level with the floating clouds, and the mountains and waters in the distance are connected into one, so this city is called Tianshui.
The two major sects in Tianshui City are responsible for attracting so many people from the martial arts world. One is the Wanjian Sect, where all disciples learn swordsmanship. The sect's leader, Li Tingchuan, can slash through thousands of miles with one sword and is a well-deserved sword immortal. The other is the Wenxin Sword Pavilion, which is famous for its sword casting. Li Tingchuan's sword Wenxin was cast by the pavilion's leader Chu Kongying himself.
The one sect and one pavilion complement each other, which has led to the prosperous scene of Tianshui City today.
This sword trial competition is jointly organized by the Wanjian Sect and the Wenxin Sword Pavilion. There is only one condition for participation: age below 30 years old. Participants can win the famous sword based on their own skills. Those who are interested can also take this opportunity to join the Wanjian Sect. This will add new blood to the martial arts world and it is also a chance for young people to become famous. Therefore, young heroes from all walks of life will not miss this sword trial competition.
Abu drove the carriage straight to the Wanjian Sect. Passersby on both sides of the road were no longer surprised. It was obvious that they were not the first guests to come to Tianshui City to participate in the sword-testing competition.
As the carriage slowly stopped, Ye Yunhao and Shuang Bei got off the carriage. Abu had already handed the visiting card to the gatekeeper.
They didn't have to wait long before a tall middle-aged man appeared in front of them. His eyes were like cold stars, which made people feel awe.
"Nephew Ye Xian, long time no see. I didn't expect you have grown so tall now!" Li Tingchuan strode over and patted Ye Yunhao on the shoulder with his hand and sighed.
Ye Yunhao smiled and replied, "Uncle Li."
Li Tingchuan looked at the smile on Ye Yunhao's face and couldn't help but think of his mother. A trace of nostalgia welled up in his eyes. He sighed, noticed Shuang Bei standing beside him, and asked, "Who is this?"
"This is my friend, Shuang Bei." Ye Yunhao introduced, and then he paused, "We were attacked on the way. Thanks to Shuang Bei's help, otherwise it would be difficult for us to see Uncle Li today."
Li Tingchuan looked a little unhappy when he heard that Ye Yunhao had been attacked.
Ye Yunhao continued, "We also met people from the Seven Star Island on the road. There were seven of them, but only one survived. The surviving disciple from the Seven Star Island was in my carriage, but he was seriously injured and fell into a coma."
Li Tingchuan immediately sent someone to carry the disciple from Qixing Island to the guest room and asked a doctor to examine and treat him. At the same time, he sent people to the outside of the city to pick up other people who came to participate in the sword test competition.
Ye Yunhao seemed to understand something when he saw this, "Uncle Li, is there anyone else who has also suffered..."
Li Tingchuan nodded. "Not long ago, my disciples came across the disciples of Fenxiang Valley who were being hunted on their way back from training. That’s why we prevented those thieves from succeeding. Unfortunately, we didn’t find out the identities of those thieves. We originally thought they might be enemies of Fenxiang Valley, but we didn’t expect that Qixing Island and you were all attacked."
Ye Yunhao frowned, "Uncle Li, apart from Fenxiang Valley, are we the only ones who were attacked?"
Li Tingchuan shook his head. "I'm not sure. But people have been entering Tianshui City over the past few days, but I haven't heard of any sect being attacked."
Ye Yunhao was completely clueless after hearing this. He had no idea why he, the Seven Star Island, and the Fenxiang Valley were attacked.
Li Tingchuan's eyes flashed with a hint of coldness. "Although I don't know what the intentions of the person behind the scenes are, you were all attacked on the way to participate in the sword test competition. If the sword test competition really caused the young people from various sects to die, I'm afraid this sword test competition will become a joke."
It is said that the sword immortal's anger can shake mountains and rivers. Ye Yunhao and the others all felt Li Tingchuan's terrifying aura, but it only lasted for a moment before he was coldly scolded.
"If you want to practice swordplay, go outside and don't disturb me from treating the patient." said the woman who had just come over with a medicine box and was about to check on the Seven Star Island disciple.
Li Tingchuan lost his momentum instantly. He smiled ingratiatingly and said, "My lady, please don't be angry. Come in quickly."
Qin Hanmeng snorted at Li Tingchuan, then smiled gently when she saw Ye Yunhao. "I didn't expect Xiaoye has grown up so much. Back then, she said she wanted to get married. If I had given birth to a girl, I'm afraid Xiaoye would have come to propose marriage soon."
Ye Yunhao knew that Qin Hanmeng was teasing him, but the elders had decided on the child marriage while chatting casually. Unfortunately, Qin Hanmeng gave birth to a boy, so the matter was left unsolved.
However, after seeing the expressionless young man in white behind Qin Hanmeng, Ye Yunhao still felt a little embarrassed, after all, the real person was right next to him.
"Aunt Qin..." After feeling someone's cold gaze, Ye Yunhao shrank his neck unconsciously and tried to complain to Qin Hanmeng.
Qin Hanmeng understood something when she saw Ye Yunhao's expression. She looked at her son behind her, not understanding how he had grown from a little pink ball into this sword-crazy and cold man. But speaking of swords, it was all Li Tingchuan's fault. Thinking of this, she glared at him again.
Li Tingchuan, who didn't understand why he was being glared at, had lost his sword-sage demeanor and instead showed a silly smile.