Wuxia: Starting Off With 60 Years of Inner Strength

”That sword... it belongs to a disciple from the Shuiyue Sword Sect.”

Jiang Ran pondered for a moment and said, ”If I remember correctly, her name is Cheng Yixin.”

Luo Qingyi looked even more confused.

Li Tianxin’s eyes, however, were first filled with astonishment, which then quickly turned to rage.

”You... So what’s in your bowl isn’t enough? You have to eye what’s in the pot, too?

”The Shuiyue Sword Sect is made up entirely of young women, and you still managed to notice the sword one of them was using?

”And you even remember her name?

”What are you up to?”

”???”

Jiang Ran stared blankly. ”Is it my fault I have a photographic memory?”

”Who’s to say whether you have a photographic memory or you’re just secretly harboring lecherous thoughts?”

”Huh?”

Jiang Ran almost laughed in exasperation.

”This is absurd. Let’s not even talk about how I have nothing to hide. Even if I were interested, so what?

”An unmarried man and an unwed woman—isn’t that perfectly normal?

”What right do you have to be angry?”

”I...”

Li Tianxin was at a loss for words, then grew even more furious.

”See? You really are harboring lecherous thoughts!”

”Nonsense.”

Jiang Ran waved his hand dismissively and glanced at Li Tianxin again. ’Something about this reaction feels off,’ he thought, his mind connecting it to how dejectedly Zhang Zhihua had left earlier.

His brow furrowed, and he turned his head to study Li Tianxin.

’Why does he look so much like a woman when he’s angry?’

’But... he has that sallow, unattractive face. The constant cold expression is one thing, but this furious look makes him even more repulsive.’

’Why is he acting like this?’

”Li Tianxin... you’re not a woman, are you?”

Jiang Ran asked bluntly.

”Wha—”

Li Tianxin froze, then erupted in fury.

”Jiang... You’ve gone too far! Today, I...”

As he spoke, he gripped the hilt of his saber. Despite his towering rage, he managed not to say Jiang Ran’s full name.

Jiang Ran had claimed there was no one to overhear, but one could never be too careful...

But after keeping his hand on the hilt for a long moment, he finally just let out a vicious snort.

”I’ll deal with you later!”

”...You’re sick.”

After saying those two words, Jiang Ran carefully sized up Li Tianxin again.

’No piercings on his earlobes.’

’An Adam’s apple.’

’Completely flat-chested.’

’He doesn’t look like a woman at all...’

He shook his head, deciding to drop the matter for now.

Instead, he said:

”As you both know, everyone in the Shuiyue Sword Sect is a woman.

”So, Fang Li can’t possibly be from the Shuiyue Sword Sect.

”And he is most certainly not a woman...

”You can tell that at a glance.”

Luo Qingyi nodded in agreement.

”It’s true that many women in the martial world disguise themselves as men, but it’s hard to completely hide one’s feminine mannerisms.

”Only a rare few can pull it off without being discovered. Most of the time, you can spot the difference right away.”

As she spoke, she glanced over at Li Tianxin.

Jiang Ran nodded.

”Most importantly, that sword belongs to Cheng Yixin.

”How did it end up in Fang Li’s hands?”

Li Tianxin, who had calmed down considerably by now, frowned at Jiang Ran’s words.

”Something happened to the Shuiyue Sword Sect?”

”Most likely...”

Jiang Ran said quietly, ”When I first saw that sword, two possibilities came to mind.

”The first was that the Shuiyue Sword Sect is in trouble.

”The second was... that we are their target.

”They intended to use this sword to lure us out...

”But given the current situation, that doesn’t seem likely.

”First of all, not even Li Tianxin expected me to recognize Cheng Yixin’s sword.

”So there’s no way they could have known for sure.

”Second, they weren’t on high alert against us. Fang Li seemed to believe everything I said.”

”Then that means something happened to the Shuiyue Sword Sect,” Li Tianxin said.

”But if that’s the case, why didn’t you just ask Fang Li directly?”

”And what would happen after I asked?”

Jiang Ran raised an eyebrow.

”There are only two possible outcomes. One, he admits it...

”But we would still know nothing about the current state of the Shuiyue Sword Sect members.

”Are they alive or dead? Injured or captured?

”If they’re dead, then there’s nothing to be done. But what if they’re alive? What if they’re being held prisoner right here at the Three Rivers Gang’s headquarters?

”Once word of what happened at the Golden Goblet Tower gets out, our hands will be tied if we try to save them.

”Rather than risk that, it’s better to play along for now.

”Once we get to the Three Rivers Gang’s territory, we can go ask their Gang Leader directly.

”At that point, even if they deny it, they’ll have to give us a good explanation.”

”Exactly.”

Luo Qingyi nodded.

”You’ve really thought of everything, Sir.”

But Li Tianxin said, ”Could things really go as smoothly as you imagine?”

”I find it interesting too,” Jiang Ran said with a smile.

”But after thinking about it carefully, I realized something about today’s events was rather strange.

”Think carefully about that man, Chang Sheng...

”He flew into a rage because the storyteller wouldn’t change his story, and he even tried to throw the man out the window.

”Completely unreasonable behavior.

”But after his fight with Fang Li, when that assassin suddenly appeared, Chang Sheng completely ignored their prior conflict and took a fatal blow for him...

”To be capable of such an act, either Chang Sheng is an incredibly magnanimous hero, or... he’s a schemer with an ulterior motive.

”And based on how he treated the storyteller earlier, I’m afraid it’s the latter.”

”So, after Chang Sheng was injured, you immediately revealed yourself. You took the opportunity to help Chang Sheng. And if Chang Sheng’s goal was to infiltrate the Three Rivers Gang’s headquarters, then there was a good chance Fang Li would invite you along as well?”

Li Tianxin finally understood. Back in the tavern, he and Luo Qingyi had just been watching the show.

But from the moment Jiang Ran saw that ’young master’ appear, his mind had been spinning with countless calculations.

That level of shrewdness was truly beyond any ordinary person.