Wuxia: Starting Off With 60 Years of Inner Strength

Inside the main hall, people were gathering.

The post house, after all, was fraught with unpredictable dangers. Though the immediate threat had been dealt with, there was no telling when new troubles might arise. It was always wise to have a group in the main hall, ready to respond.

Dao Wuming was among them. He was about to speak when he saw Tang Huayi and Ruan Yuqing coming down the stairs, but he stopped short when he noticed their troubled expressions.

”What’s wrong, you two?”

Tang Huayi waved her hand.

”It’s nothing.”

Ruan Yuqing, however, looked as if she wanted to say something but held back, finally forcing a smile.

”Thank you for your concern. There’s no problem, it’s just...”

As she spoke, Tang Huayi shot her a look, silencing her with just a glance.

Only then did Ruan Yuqing swallow the rest of her words.

Dao Wuming’s expression changed subtly.

”Could it be... did something happen to Jiang Ran?”

At his words, the expressions of everyone present shifted.

Cheng Tianyang quickly asked:

”What happened to Young Hero Jiang? Was he injured down in the tunnels?”

”Sigh...”

Ruan Yuqing finally let out a sigh and said to Tang Huayi,

”Everyone here has been through thick and thin with us.”

”We can’t hide what happened to Young Hero Jiang from them forever. We might as well just tell them.”

”...Fine.”

Tang Huayi turned her head away, agreeing with clear reluctance.

Only then did Ruan Yuqing speak.

”To be honest, you all took a different tunnel. The one Young Hero Jiang and I took was riddled with traps.”

”Young Hero Jiang protected me the entire way.”

”His martial arts are unparalleled, worlds beyond my own. If he were fighting a person, no opponent could possibly defeat him.”

”But he was facing the underground Mechanical Technique.”

”Young Hero Jiang was severely injured along the way trying to save me.”

”What’s more, he’s now afflicted with a deadly poison... If... if anything happens to Young Hero Jiang, I’ll never be able to forgive myself.”

As she said this, Ruan Yuqing’s eyes grew red, and tears welled up, threatening to spill over.

Tang Huayi stole a glance at Ruan Yuqing. ’Are her words sincere, or is this all an act?’ she wondered.

’Looking at those tears... the situation might be fake, but perhaps the emotions are real.’

The thought made Tang Huayi grit her teeth in frustration at Jiang Ran.

’That man has no self-control,’ she thought, ’flirting with everyone he meets. One day he’ll learn that playing with fire will only get him burned!’

The others, of course, had no idea what Tang Huayi was thinking.

They were all shocked by Ruan Yuqing’s words, their faces paling.

”How could this be?”

”No wonder... No wonder he wanted to schedule the duel with Xuanyuan One Slash for three days from now.”

”Damn it! That Xuanyuan One Slash refused to give him that much time.”

”Young Hero Jiang has profound Inner Energy and unparalleled martial arts, but he is young... And although Xuanyuan One Slash is also injured, he’s a hardened veteran. His combat experience is so vast you might not find his equal even if you traveled the entire martial world.”

”In tomorrow’s battle, could it be that... Young Hero Jiang’s chances are slim?”

”What should we do?”

A flurry of discussion erupted among the group.

Scholar Jingtan, however, secretly glanced at Tang Huayi and Ruan Yuqing. He had a nagging feeling that something about the two of them was off.

Dao Wuming stood up.

”I’ll go check on Jiang Ran. I have quite a few antidotes with me; perhaps they can be of use.”

Ruan Yuqing nodded.

”That would be wonderful... but please, now that everyone knows, don’t mention it to him. He’s already anxious about tomorrow’s duel. I’m afraid that talking about it more will only weigh on his mind.”

Everyone nodded in agreement and decided to let Dao Wuming go see Jiang Ran on their behalf.

About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea later, Dao Wuming came back downstairs, his expression grave. He sighed.

”In his current state, he can’t possibly fight tomorrow.”

At his words, the faces of the crowd fell once more.

Jiang Ran’s injuries were even more severe than they had anticipated.

”Then what do we do?”

Someone immediately suggested, ”Why don’t we... get Young Hero Jiang out of this dangerous place before Xuanyuan One Slash returns tomorrow?”

Dao Wuming shook his head.

”I just tried to persuade him. He said that a man’s word is his bond.”

”He would never run from a fight.”

”I have made my decision. If Xuanyuan One Slash truly tries to kill him tomorrow, I will ensure Jiang Ran’s life is spared.”

The others all nodded in agreement.

Someone else said fiercely,

”If worse comes to worst, we should just go after Xuanyuan One Slash ourselves.”

”Are all of us supposed to be afraid of one man? We could just kill him and be done with it.”

This suggestion was naturally dismissed. The group remained gathered, discussing how they could protect Jiang Ran and survive the crisis of the coming day.

Just then, a figure quietly slipped away from the crowd.

The person backed away lightly until they reached an empty corner, then turned and departed.

Once outside the post house, he pursed his lips and whistled. A moment later, a Black carrier pigeon came flapping down and landed on his arm.

He took a slip of paper and a charcoal stick from his robes and wrote two words on it: Critically Injured!

He attached it to the pigeon’s leg, and with a flick of his wrist, sent the bird flying.

Watching the bird disappear into the sky, the man finally let out a breath of relief. He silently returned to the main hall, blending back into the crowd and joining their indignant clamor.

Unbeknownst to him, while Tang Huayi, Ruan Yuqing, and Dao Wuming never stopped talking, their eyes were constantly scanning the very people in that room.