Eternal Life: I Can Control My Essence Qi-Chapter 38: Night Rain in the Jianghu (Part 1)

Chapter 38: Chapter 38: Night Rain in the Jianghu (Part 1)

In the teahouse on Xinhe Street.

Zhang Yao leisurely walked in, and was immediately recognized by the Tea Master as a regular customer.

"Ah, Doctor Zhang is here. Please, have a seat."

The Tea Master warmly greeted him with a broad smile, "The usual? A pot of Maojian tea?"

"Yes."

Zhang Yao nodded, waited at the table for a moment, and soon the Tea Master brought over a pot of tea.

He picked up the teacup and listened to the storyteller at one side of the teahouse hall, who was seated behind a desk, holding a folding fan, speaking non-stop:

"...That ’Zhui Feng Sword’ Chu Xingge truly is a top-notch expert, having already defeated several renowned figures from Jiangdu!"

"Let’s first talk about half a month ago, when he fought with the Chief of the Changling Escort Agency, the famous ’Du Long Spear’ Guan Sheng..."

As he narrated the details of the battle that day, he gestured continuously with the folding fan as if he had witnessed it firsthand.

His descriptions were cleverly worded, with varied tones, well adept at livening up the atmosphere and arousing excitement. Every time he reached a thrilling part, the crowd would cheer loudly.

"Zhui Feng Sword, Chu Xingge?"

As Zhang Yao enjoyed the performance, he casually thought:

"Perhaps just another character like that Lü Cang?"

In turbulent times, there is no shortage of people trying to make a name for themselves through martial strength.

Many martial artists, unwilling to guard houses for someone or serve as a tributor, choose to open martial arts schools or escort agencies.

Even if they want to do something else, to earn a living with martial arts, one must first establish a reputation, inevitably involving various challenges and duels.

In the past, Changping City often had such outsiders, and as the capital of Jiangzhou, Jiangdu had even more of such characters, like fish swimming across the river.

In the past three years, he had heard of many similar instances, but the outcomes for these people were often not good.

"...After that battle, the old master of the Feng Family personally invited him, and it’s said that during the banquet, he encountered someone in the Feng Mansion garden..."

After half an hour, the storyteller finished several epic battles and suddenly shifted his narrative to tell some gossip about the "Zhui Feng Sword."

The teahouse atmosphere, initially cold, suddenly surged with excitement. The audience’s expressions were filled with curiosity and eagerness as they listened intently to his narrations.

The clashes and struggles of martial artists were certainly intense and thrilling, but how could they compare to this?

"Well, well, the hype is real, now there’s gossip spreading too..."

Zhang Yao, who was about to leave, sat back down, ordered another pot of tea, and continued listening with great interest.

As the storyteller narrated these affairs, his word choice and tone were rather ambiguous, never clearly stating things, yet still leading listeners to imagine various things.

The audience below wore knowing smiles, urging the storyteller to tell more.

The most enthusiastic listeners shouted loudly while throwing copper coins, showing their interest with action.

For a moment, the sound of coins clinking filled the air as the storyteller grinned broadly and prepared to continue.

"Hmm?"

Zhang Yao’s brows furrowed slightly, but he hesitated and remained seated.

"Shing!"

A sword light flashed like white silk, like a silver bottle bursting forth water, instantly crossing several yards of distance!

"Ah!!"

The storyteller screamed in terror, the folding fan in his hand already cut in half, the sharp sword tip pointing at his throat, less than an inch away.

"..."

A deadly silence fell over the teahouse hall, where one could even hear a pin drop.

The audience stared blankly at this scene, never expecting such a turn of events.

"This, dear sir..."

The storyteller trembled, his forehead dripping with cold sweat. Just as he was about to speak, he was interrupted.

"Shut your damn mouth!"

The young swordsman holding the treasure sword had a handsome face full of frost, eyes burning with anger and disdain, he coldly said:

"Where did you hear these things from? Hmm?! Or are you making them up yourself?"

With those words, the audience in the teahouse suddenly realized—they’d encountered the real deal!

No one expected that the recently popular "Zhui Feng Sword" Chu Xingge, living nearby Xinhe Street, would coincidentally run into the storyteller making up stories about him.

Caught red-handed like this, there was no way to explain.

"Young Master Chu, I, I just needed to make a living..."

The storyteller was so frightened he replied tremblingly.

But such a response was clearly unsatisfactory to Chu Xingge, reducing the anger in his eyes only slightly.

After this exchange, the shopkeeper of the teahouse also hurried over, repeatedly apologizing and offering compensation, subtly hinting at the owner’s background, finally persuading Chu Xingge to sheath his sword.

"If I hear you babbling nonsense again, I’ll cut out your tongue!"

Rejecting the shopkeeper’s compensation, he left only a cold warning and walked away without looking back.

The storyteller, utterly frightened, turned pale and was clearly unable to assume the stage again. The shopkeeper repeatedly apologized, waiving everyone’s tea and snacks bill.

"Internal Martial Arts Perfection, and seems not even thirty, his talent is astonishing, more impressive than Qingzhuo."

Zhang Yao watched Chu Xingge’s departing figure, stroking his chin:

"Most importantly, he’s quite handsome..."

He finally understood why the "Zhui Feng Sword" had quickly gained fame in Jiangdu, accompanied by rumors.

Zhang Yao considered himself decently good-looking, but in comparison to "Zhui Feng Sword" Chu Xingge, he fell a little short.

"Let’s see what ends up happening with this person."

With a leisurely mindset to enjoy the drama, Zhang Yao sauntered away.

...

In the following half month, Zhang Yao kept hearing news about the "Zhui Feng Sword."

Jiangdu had three Grandmasters holding the fort, but absolute peak experts were still limited in number, their status revered, rarely taking the stage themselves.

Thanks to this, "Zhui Feng Sword" Chu Xingge consecutively defeated several renowned experts. Due to his age and appearance, his fame grew, and many factions proactively contacted him.

In Zhang Yao’s eyes:

With Chu Xingge’s Inner Family True Inheritance Perfection and beginning to practice External Martial Arts, even at the realm of Minor Achievement, his strength surpassed many Perfect Martial Artists; such achievements were not surprising.

Considering his age, even the prospect of becoming a Grandmaster in the future seemed promising, tempting various factions for sure.

Another ten days passed:

One evening, Zhang Yao was sitting under a large locust tree by the street, playing chess with a plump elderly man.

Others like them were also playing chess nearby, and not far away, some people were relaxing, casually chatting, once again bringing up the topic of the Zhui Feng Sword.

"...Really? He actually had a conflict with the government office?"

"Where did you hear this? I’ve never heard of it?"

"The news should be true, I just heard about it, not knowing the exact reason, but..."