Have You Met My Brother?[Comprehensive Martial Arts + Sword Three] Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Different Gains

The stars and moon shone brightly together, and the shimmering light on the sea surface seemed momentarily more dazzling than the lamps.

On the long, narrow ship, where the light of the sky mixed with the light of the fire, Chu Liuxiang, who was already half-convinced that Yan Bugui might be unrelated to the other five corpses, was weighing his next words. However, he heard the young swordsman ask first: “Brother Chu and the three ladies seem to possess extraordinary skills, but I have lived overseas for a long time and am not very familiar with the various factions of the Central Plains martial arts world. May I ask where you all hail from?”

Chu Liuxiang immediately chuckled and replied, “We are merely unattached wanderers of the jianghu, without sect or school. We are certainly not as fortunate as Young Hero Yan, who has a master and sect to rely on.”

Listening to Chu Liuxiang’s answer, which was not only flawless but also subtly probing his own origins, Yan Bugui squeezed the pompom on his scabbard. He suddenly thought of Little Yu—Bai Renyu, that little fellow, had learned bad habits from somewhere, always loved to talk nonsense, and would fabricate all sorts of false stories. But sometimes, its “shocking pronouncements” were actually quite useful.

The swordsman, who was constantly alert to his surroundings, suddenly tilted his head slightly. However, he did not let the unexpected discovery disrupt his rhythm. When he heard “Brother Chu” ask about his two older brothers, he continued as planned, briefly describing their appearances, looking at Chu Liuxiang with some expectation: “…One of them is an Elder of Penglai, and the other is from the Badao Manor. Have you seen them, Brother Chu?”

Penglai? Badao Manor? Following “Dao Sect,” two more unfamiliar faction names were added, and the expressions of Chu Liuxiang and the others grew even stranger. This was especially true for Li Hongxiu, who prided herself on being knowledgeable and knowing everything under heaven. She couldn’t help but wonder whether the swordsman was constantly lying and deceiving them, or if there truly were “hidden sects” she had never heard of.

“…It seems Brother Chu, you haven’t seen them.” Chu Liuxiang and the others didn’t need to speak; the expressions on their faces were the most direct answer. Yan Bugui felt a little regretful, but not overly so—after all, if Xie Donghai and Liu Yuan had truly met Chu Liuxiang and the others, he believed they would definitely have mentioned him, and “Brother Chu” and his companions wouldn’t have looked completely clueless from beginning to end.

By this point, Chu Liuxiang was gradually starting to believe that this “Young Hero Yan” was unrelated to the five corpses and had been separated from his two “brothers” due to an accident—if not, and such genuine emotion was merely a performance capable of deceiving him, he would simply have to accept his fate. However, he still harbored a curiosity: “Young Hero Yan, when did you realize that my conversation with you was, in fact, completely nonsensical?”

That’s right, their previous exchange of questions and answers had, in fact, been about completely different things, yet they had subtly aligned, causing the misunderstanding to deepen… The swordsman was the first to realize it; Chu Liuxiang only later realized that all his initial assumptions were wrong.

Yan Bugui was silent for a moment, tightening his grip on his saber, before replying with a sigh: “When I claimed to be a Dao Sect disciple and you all remained so calm, I began to harbor doubts about everything that followed.”

He doubted not only Chu Liuxiang’s purpose in trying to trick information out of him, but also their identities and where exactly this place was—especially now that he knew they were unfamiliar with even Penglai and Badao Manor, this suspicion had reached its peak.

Song Tian’er, who was peeking out from behind Chu Liuxiang, finally couldn’t help but ask, “Is there a problem with you being a Dao Sect disciple? What kind of reaction should we have?”

Hearing this, Yan Bugui took a few seconds to understand. The girl in the goose-yellow robe was asking what was wrong with him being a Dao Sect disciple and what kind of reaction they should have given—if he hadn’t previously communicated with disciples of the Ten Thousand Spirits Sect, he probably wouldn’t have understood what the girl, who had just been speaking in Mandarin, was saying now.

The swordsman lightly coughed, shrugged, and replied, “Although the situation has improved now, many people in the jianghu still rarely give us a kind look when mentioning the Dao Sect.”

Hmm, it sounds like there’s something problematic about the “Dao Sect”… Chu Liuxiang didn’t press for details, as the swordsman clearly didn’t want to talk about it. So, he didn’t let Song Tian’er continue asking, but instead said, “Tian’er, it’s dark and windy. Help Rongrong back to the inner cabin to rest; she hasn’t fully recovered yet.”

The quiet Su Rongrong also took Song Tian’er’s arm and softly replied, “Then I shall take my leave first. Young Hero Yan just came aboard from the sea; you shouldn’t stay on the deck in the wind for too long either.”

Yan Bugui instinctively returned the courtesy to Su Rongrong and the others. As he watched the two women heading toward the cabin, he hesitated, looking at their retreating figures, and then looked at Chu Liuxiang and Li Hongxiu, who remained on the deck.

The swordsman’s movements and change in expression were so obvious that Chu Liuxiang naturally asked, “What is it?”

Unexpectedly, Yan Bugui asked, “Brother Chu, besides these three ladies, is there another young woman who permanently resides on your ship?”

Yan Bugui’s words caused Chu Liuxiang’s expression to change instantly, and he vanished in the blink of an eye. Yan Bugui himself did not follow, but merely looked at the spot where the other man had disappeared with admiration. If he weren’t still concerned about the whereabouts of his two older brothers, he would definitely have actively proposed a sparring match—such movement technique made it hard not to entertain the thought of testing whose saber was faster, his or the opponent’s.

The swordsman regretfully withdrew his gaze and turned his attention to the composed Li Hongxiu, asking softly, “Did the lady intentionally stay to accompany me?”

“My surname is Li.” Li Hongxiu only gave her surname, omitting her given name. She vaguely sensed the swordsman’s unspoken question, so she replied, “I trust he can handle everything. Moreover, Young Hero Yan is our guest. If we all ran off and abandoned our guest, it would truly make us seem impolite.”

Yan Bugui had not asked earlier if she was staying behind to monitor his every move, and he wouldn’t ask now if she wasn’t worried that he might harm her… He simply turned to look at the corpses and asked in a low voice, “What are the origins of these people?”

The “exchange of glances” between Chu Liuxiang and Li Hongxiu might not be noticed by ordinary people, but the Dao Sect was skilled at catching details. The swordsman could guess that this “Miss Li” should be quite knowledgeable about jianghu affairs, which was why “Brother Chu” would communicate with her whenever he brought up matters related to his own origins—

And even if he guessed wrong, it didn’t matter. Since “Brother Chu” had previously been able to state that these deceased individuals were all “masters of their respective regions,” he must not be unfamiliar with their identities. As someone living on the same ship and having a very close relationship, “Miss Li” should have heard about them from “Brother Chu.”

Sure enough, he soon learned from her account that these individuals were Zuo Youzheng of the Celestial Star Gang, Ximen Qian of the Cinnabar Gate, Lingjiuzi of the Hainan Sword Sect, Zhamuhe, the King of the Desert, and a female disciple of the Divine Water Palace—from Southern Anhui to Hainan and the Western Regions desert, they truly came from all corners of the world! The problem was—why had he never heard of any of them?

The more Yan Bugui listened, the more solemn his expression became. According to “Miss Li,” these deceased individuals had extraordinary backgrounds and did not come from obscure minor sects. A normal jianghu person, even if they hadn’t met them, should have heard of them, yet he hadn’t heard of a single one!

Even though his time traveling in the Central Plains was short, he didn’t think he was so ignorant. Especially since the situation in the Central Plains had been so chaotic in recent years, yet the state of “Brother Chu” and his companions was more like that of jianghu people before the war broke out, comfortable and relaxed—he had initially thought they were jianghu people who had come to drift on the sea to avoid the conflict, but now it seemed that was not the case at all!

The swordsman, confused about the situation, pursed his lips and couldn’t help but ask, “Miss Li, where is this sea area roughly located? Have you truly never heard of the Dao Sect, Penglai, and Badao Manor? Then what about sects and factions like the Chunyang Palace, the Wanhua Valley, the Five Poisons Sect, and the Hidden Sword Villa?”

“This area is considered the East Sea region.” Li Hongxiu looked surprised and shook her head. “I have only heard that the Five Poisons Sect seems to be hidden deep in the mountains of the Southwest, and Penglai is one of the three mythical immortal mountains overseas. The rest are truly unheard of.”

Yan Bugui fell silent. In fact, a rough outline was beginning to form in his mind, but he was still somewhat confused and couldn’t pinpoint the exact problem.

He was about to continue asking about jianghu matters when he heard someone step out of the cabin. He turned his gaze and saw Chu Liuxiang pulling an unfamiliar woman toward him. Knowing their destination must be the corpses, the swordsman immediately stepped aside, retreating further away.

Unfortunately, no matter how intently he listened, what they said about the “Divine Water Palace” and the “Heavenly One Divine Water” still left him completely bewildered—at most, he had just learned from Li Hongxiu that all disciples of the Divine Water Palace were women.

Listening to these unfamiliar terms, he couldn’t help but wonder if the Divine Water Palace here was a faction similar to the Qixiu Workshop; how their Palace Mistress’s martial arts compared to the incomplete scroll of the Supreme Water Canon stolen by Fang Gong; and whether the Wanhua Valley and the Northern Heaven Medicine Sect could cure a terrifying poison like the Heavenly One Divine Water…

After the woman from the Divine Water Palace left in a small boat, Yan Bugui suddenly cupped his hands toward Chu Liuxiang and said, “Thank you, Brother Chu, for not mentioning me in front of that Divine Water Palace woman.”

Chu Liuxiang was about to comment on Gong Nanyan’s smile as she left, but upon hearing Yan Bugui’s thanks, he rubbed his nose and smiled, replying, “Since Young Hero Yan is unrelated to this matter, why would I deliberately bring you up and drag you into this trouble? By the way, does Young Hero Yan plan to stay at sea or return to the Central Plains afterward?”

Gong Nanyan was naturally curious and suspicious about the extra man on Chu Liuxiang’s ship, but Chu Liuxiang had controlled the conversation the whole time, preventing her from straying too far. Regardless of Chu Liuxiang’s motives, Yan Bugui, who had also been fished out by this “Brother Chu” and then kept out of the trouble, naturally acknowledged the kindness.

Yan Bugui pondered for a moment, then resolutely said, “Either staying at sea or returning to the Central Plains is fine. Given Brother Chu’s kindness, if there is any way I can be of use in this matter, please command me.”

Chu Liuxiang replied, “Young Hero Yan need not be so formal. Since you are separated from your brothers, your priority now is to find your kin first. If you truly wish to thank me, perhaps we can find a place to have a good round of drinks when we meet again in the future.”

Hearing this, Yan Bugui did not spoil the mood by saying he hadn’t drunk alcohol since joining the Dao Sect. He simply responded with a serious and earnest “Good.”

Thus, the swordsman followed Chu Liuxiang’s ship until it anchored in Shandong. After landing, he bid farewell to this “Brother Chu,” whom he had met by chance, and stepped alone into this unfamiliar jianghu.

.

On the same day the swordsman stepped onto the Central Plains, a heavy human figure was pushed onto the beach by the waves. The crashing waves soaked the expensive fox fur, and the originally snow-white pelt was stained with sand and debris.

As the scorching sunlight turned into the faint moonlight, the unconscious Liu Yuan suddenly opened his eyes. Although he wasn’t a germaphobe, the disciple of the Badao Manor frowned upon realizing his clothes were dirty. However, after checking that his Ao Frost Saber was still on his back and undamaged, his expression softened again.

Standing up and looking around at the unfamiliar beach, he couldn’t help but frown again—in his memory, his younger brother Liu Ze and the one surnamed Xie seemed to have been sucked into that vortex along with him. Since he was washed up on this beach, where were Yan Bugui and the others?