Why do I have so many masters?-Chapter 585 - 212 Inviting Someone for a Game (1/2)

Yuchi Jie, coming from the Baiyang Sword Sect's location, strode forward, paying attention only to the path ahead.

Old Lu followed behind Yuchi.

In his heart, he held immense admiration for this usually frivolous young master, feeling truly worthy of being a junior highly regarded by the old Family Head. Leaving other things aside, the courage displayed just now was certainly superior to that of other young masters and misses.

Yet, why had he previously pretended to be otherwise?

His heart was filled with emotions ranging from admiration to reflection.

Suddenly, Yuchi Jie halted his steps ahead.

Old Lu ceased walking as well, and asked in a deep voice,

"Young Master, is there something else that needs arranging?"

At that moment, having just killed someone, the broken sword under the Jue Que Sword had pierced through that woman's neck, and with a raise of his hand, her head was cleanly severed, her blood soaking his armor, filled with a solemn and murderous aura from the Military Family.

Standing with clenched fists and an upright posture, he seemed like a grand banner in formation, his eyebrows revealing an astonishing murderous intent.

His heart surged with boldness.

Yuchi Jie lifted his lips and chuckled dryly,

"That, uh, help me out a bit..."

"My legs are weak."

Old Lu's expression stiffened.

Pausing for a moment, he instinctively reached out his hand.

Yuchi Jie grabbed hold of Old Lu, exhaled deeply, and with Old Lu supporting much of his weight, his face turned somewhat pale as he grimaced and said: "That damn old man Liu Qizheng had such a strong presence, I almost couldn't hold out."

"Thank goodness that girl was pretty enough to keep my eyes on; it helped me not to show any cowardice."

"Scared me to death."

Muttering sighs of relief followed.

He then lamented that the female disciple from the Baiyang Sword Sect was indeed a beautiful lady with a waist more supple than that of the Oiran who danced daily on the pleasure boat; touching her was truly ecstasy, just a pity he couldn't take it further.

Such a pity, indeed.

Old Lu's face remained expressionless.

The veins on his forehead twitched slightly.

In less than three Hours, the calamity at the Jade Ruin Temple had dissipated, Yue Hongzhe fled in disgrace, the Red Cliff Sect Elder was beheaded in thirty breaths on the spot, and his disciples naturally withdrew. Liu Qizheng from Baiyang Sword Sect, after a long contemplation, eventually took the severed head and led his disciples away from the Candle Dragon's lair.

Before leaving, he sent that female disciple to return the Jade Marrow that Yuchi Jie had sent earlier.

Yuan Cangyu only then realized the truth, as Yue Hongzhe, who had held the safety of the sect's disciples in his hands just a moment ago, was now forced to flee for his life. Even though his martial prowess was many times greater than that of Yuchi Jie, he was momentarily stunned.

But soon after, he burst into laughter and shrugged it off.

Being able to cooperate with the Jade Ruin Temple was, after all, something he had long desired, so he did not fuss about it, sending a part of his disciples back to bring the rest from the sect.

The remaining disciples went to the town under the mountain to find craftsmen, actually planning to directly rebuild the sect's station in a location under the Jade Ruin Temple; the previous guesthouse was now truly just a guesthouse.

As for himself, he was still laughing and drinking with the Keeper of Ruins' three disciples, one scholarly and one Taoist, in the bamboo pavilion in the woods.

After emptying a jug, he smashed it on the ground.

One took advantage of drunkenness to wildly play the zither, and the other accompanied with swordplay.

Yuchi Jie returned the wooden box containing the Jade Marrow to the Keeper of Ruins, hearing the faint zither music. The zither, a creation by saints to align the heart, govern affairs, harmonize energies, produced a messy tune that was hardly pleasant to the ears, yet carried a bold and unrestrained nature that made one enviously listen.

He refocused his mind, his expression as usual as he smiled and said,

"I had indeed said earlier to return the original items."

"Yan Bo, please inspect them."

The Keeper of Ruins praised, "Bruno, you really have good tactics."

"These slight tricks are not worthy of Yan Bo's praise."

The Keeper of Ruins shook his head and spoke earnestly,

"How can these be called slight tricks?"

"A strategy that resolved the siege on our Jade Ruin Temple, divided and allied, sowed discord among the Red Cliff, and strengthened us without loss of a single soldier; such tactics, your grandfather at your age might not have done better than you."

Qing Yun took over the wooden box, but muttered,

"It just let that Liu Qizheng off too easily."

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"He even dared to secretly tell those roving bandits to buy our brothers' lives for ten Patterned Silver."

By his side, Qing Yan began to console, "Anyway, brothers were only frightened, no lives were harmed."

"Just now, when the Baiyang Sword Sect withdrew, all were returned to the sect."

"But..."

Qing Yun, still somewhat dissatisfied, muttered again, but sensing trouble, Qing Yan quickly grabbed her sleeve and half-dragged her out of the grand hall.

Yuchi Jie raised his hand to drink tea, his gaze obscured, unclear.

At the highest ground of the rear hall of the Candle Dragon lair,

Wang Anfeng sat at one side of the temple roof, watching the clouds churning below the mountain, carefully holding a wooden box in his hand, already opened, containing the Seven Phoenix Hairpin.

His expression was serene.

Zither music reached his ears.

Had his parents also played the zither here against each other in years past?

He gently caressed the wooden box in his arms, his expression becoming extremely gentle.

Luoyu, with his hands behind him, stood on the upturned beast head at the roof's corner, his clothes slightly fluttering, watching below as Qing Yan pulled Qing Yun out of the grand hall, and chuckled softly,

"That fellow named Yuchi really is somewhat interesting."

Wang Anfeng came back to his senses and nodded, saying,

"I underestimated him earlier."

Luoyu clicked his tongue and laughed stealthily,

"It was more than underestimating."

"Divide and conquer, stir people's hearts, such tactics are exceptional at this age. Although his martial arts are slightly deficient, this person's abilities are definitely not lacking."

Wang Anfeng nodded again, thought for a moment, and quietly said,

"But he revealed a mistake."

"A mistake?"

Hong Luoyu raised an eyebrow.

Wang Anfeng hummed softly, gazing at the swirling clouds without turning back, and said, "Yuchi's strategy was to divide and disperse, stirring people's hearts to oppose each other, making it easy to break their unity, which had already proven its martial power."

"After breaking the game, it's about stabilizing the situation once more, making the Red Cliff Sect and the Baiyang Sword Sect oppose each other, thereby allowing the Jade Ruin Temple to extricate itself and stay out of the turmoil. But there's also a highly critical issue."

"An issue? What?"

Wang Anfeng spoke softly:

"Whether Red Cliff Sect will truly oppose the Baiyang Sword Sect."

"Regardless of who died this time, ultimately, it was only one Sixth Rank Martial Artist. Managing to repel a vice Gang Leader is already the limit. The Sect Leader of Red Cliff has extraordinary breadth of spirit and tactics. If the Sect Leader of the Baiyang Sword Sect could sacrifice a limb to survive, a reconciliation with the Red Cliff Sect isn't impossible."

"Whether the two sides will tear each other's faces, and directly confront each other, this is just a matter of time."

"However, doing so allows, in a short time, all the blame and attention Yuchi's plan stirred up to be directed toward the Jade Ruin Temple. The Baiyang Sword Sect could get a much-needed breather, and Red Cliff Sect could also directly seek revenge and remedy its grievances."

"We are ultimately outsiders, and we will eventually leave."

"In the short term, Red Cliff Sect and Baiyang Sword Sect won't act rashly, but once we leave Guangwu County, the Jade Ruin Temple will likely not escape destruction."

Hong Luoyu's frown deepened and after a brief moment, he sorted out his thoughts and said:

"Indeed..."

"This way, it has backfired instead, Yuchi the youngster was just half-baked after all..."

Wang Anfeng shook his head and said:

"Not exactly."

Hong Luoyu was stunned.

Not it?! His mind became a tangled mess, increasingly confused and finding himself somewhat out of depth. He decided not to think further, flicked his sleeve in frustration, and with a grimace, he gritted his teeth and said:

"Spit it out if you have something to say, and fart if you need to."

"Really, what the hell has Ying taught you over these years?!"

"Speaking in circles, hurry up and speak plainly!"

Wang Anfeng, having no choice, eventually said bluntly:

"He probably wants to play another round with me."

"Another round with you? Playing chess?"

Hong Luoyu was skeptical.

Wang Anfeng nodded and spoke softly:

"Using the Jianghu of Guangwu, with the union of three sects as the setting, and the heads and elders of these sects as pieces, he wants to play another game of chess. He has already made his move, successfully disrupting the game. Next, it's my turn to move, to stabilize the situation and reestablish the order."

The chess pieces of Jianghu.

Hong Luoyu couldn't help but inhale sharply and said:

"That's bold."

"But this gambit involves the old man, how dare he take such a risk?"

Wang Anfeng shook his head with a smile and said:

"This is not a risk at all."

"Third Master, if I fail, he certainly has a contingency plan to solve the issue perfectly. For now, he is just pausing to sip some tea and rest, watching to see if I can handle this step well, or even if I can notice this detail."

Hong Luoyu, the more he listened, the more irritated he felt, couldn't help saying, "Why are all of you like this, scheming and complicating simple matters."

"Did that kid tell you this?"

Wang Anfeng shook his head and said:

"Not at all."

"But for some reason, since Yan Bo talked about my father's affairs yesterday, I've felt him a bit off, always watching me, eager to challenge, as if he wants to compete with me."

"But how could he possibly defeat me?"

Wang Anfeng laughed out loud then continued:

"From what he and Yan Bo said, I can roughly guess some things."

"His grandfather must have known my father. It seems, back then, my father faced off against his grandfather and won."

"He probably isn't convinced."

"So, guessing my father's identity, he wants to win back that old game through me."

At this statement, Hong Luoyu finally understood, his expression turned strange as he looked at Wang Anfeng from head to toe, laughed heartily, and said:

"I've only heard of 'cheating fathers', but never thought I'd see someone today dares not spare his son, strong, truly formidable."

Then, with regret, he sighed:

"It's interesting, too bad Yuchi picked the wrong person this time."

"You're not the kind to compete with others."

Wang Anfeng suddenly laughed and said:

"You guessed wrong again, Third Master."

Hong Luoyu was momentarily startled.

Wang Anfeng gazed at the churning sea of clouds, spoke softly:

"This game of victory and defeat, I still intend to fight for it."

"If my father could suppress his grandfather back then, I must not tarnish my father's reputation."

"If he is unconvinced..."

Wang Anfeng gazed at the sea of clouds, his right hand gently tightening around the wooden box holding the Seven Phoenix Hairpin.

"Then let him continue being unconvinced."

PS: First update of today is here ...

This storyline should conclude within the next one or two chapters, that's all ...