Have You Met My Brother?[Comprehensive Martial Arts + Sword Three] Chapter 6

Chapter 6 The Girl in Green Yan Bugui: There are truly many bad people in the jianghu.

Clang!

The lunging saber was blocked by a pair of raised swords. In that flash of lightning, the seemingly frail, elderly woman in green had timely flipped her hands and produced a pair of short swords tied with red ribbons. The crossed swords pushed away the lightning-fast saber light, and the old woman’s posture was as light as a drifting willow catkin. Borrowing the force, she glided back several zhang, and a clear, silver-bell-like female voice drifted over simultaneously:

“You are being unreasonable! Why did you attack without warning? Do you know someone among that group, and are you seeking revenge for them?”

Yan Bugui did not answer. When facing ill-intentioned enemies, he never wasted words. Furthermore, there was no need for him to tell the other party that he could sense whether her intentions were good or malicious. At most, he felt a slight longing for Bai Renyu (Little Yu), who always chattered a pile of nonsense in such situations. The current silence made him feel somewhat unaccustomed.

In the time it took for that single sentence, the saber wielder’s dark blue blade silently pursued the sword-wielding old woman in green, then crashed down with a roar! The latter was also no ordinary person; her movement technique was exceptionally agile. In an instant, she countered the attack with her own offense, leaving only afterimages scattered across the ground. Sword energy sliced through the thin mist, and rainbow-like sword lights flashed repeatedly. If one misstep were made, she would likely be shredded!

If anyone were observing the battle between the two at this moment, they would likely be dazzled. The saber sheath, adorned with several snow-white pom-poms, was in no way a “burden” in Yan Bugui’s hands. He executed the Wandering Wind Steps, easily keeping up with the old woman’s speed, even maintaining both offense and defense. Consequently, the old woman’s attacks could not harm him, while his saber energy had already left streaks of tears on her clothing!

“It seems the jianghu has never seen a saber wielder like you. What is your origin?” Yan Bugui remained expressionless, offering no reply. The old woman in green’s voice grew increasingly urgent and resentful, “Moreover, we have no enmity. Why pursue me so relentlessly?”

Yan Bugui still did not answer. He had nothing to say to those filled with malice. The short swords and the horizontal saber clashed repeatedly, the metallic sounds ringing incessantly. The saber wielder, who was not yet using his full strength, finally managed to gauge the approximate power of the old woman in green through these continuous probes.

Upon hearing the sound of the weapons connecting once more, Yan Bugui immediately changed his move. He gripped the saber with both hands, delivering a strike that resembled raging waves crashing against the shore. Accompanied by diffusing ink wash and falling snowflakes, the blow severed the pair of short swords, which already had small nicks from the previous attacks. The residual saber light carved a bloody wound, an inch deep, across the old woman’s chest!

“Ugh—” With her swords broken and suffering a saber wound, the woman, disguised as an old woman, immediately cried out in pain. A look of solemnity and confusion flashed in her eyes. The saber strike, delivered when the saber wielder suddenly closed the distance, truly caught her off guard.

Merely switching from a single-handed grip to a two-handed grip, though the movement amplitude seemed little different from before, the resulting strike felt as heavy as a thousand jun of force, and it carried a strange internal energy that completely tore through her own inner force, leaving her defenseless!

Just as she had said earlier, before meeting this saber wielder, she had never known there was such a young master of the saber in the jianghu. The horizontal saber was already rarely used by jianghu practitioners nowadays. To wield it with such apparent ease, combined with the clearly matching evasive movement technique, was even rarer. What secretly shocked her even more was that the opponent seemed to be holding back…

Not expecting to unexpectedly run into such a strange and formidable opponent, Gongsun Lan, whose face beneath the disguise was already pale, endured the tearing pain of the wound and the invading saber energy. Without hesitation, she squeezed out all her remaining strength, suddenly flying backward into the air, while resolutely throwing one of the half-broken short swords toward the pursuing saber wielder!

Gongsun Lan’s lightness skill was lightning fast. However, even though Yan Bugui was delayed by half a beat due to deflecting the broken sword, he still followed closely with his equally impressive lightness skill. Perhaps sensing that she couldn’t shake off the saber wielder—who seemed capable of borrowing force mid-air—by simply running straight, Gongsun Lan, whose physical condition was worsening, immediately turned into a dark alleyway, simultaneously throwing all sorts of debris onto the road behind her and into the air.

Yan Bugui’s speed did not falter. He sliced out with his saber, cutting through the strange discarded objects. However, in the brief moment his vision was obstructed, he lost track of the woman in green.

The saber wielder lightly landed on a rooftop, his gaze sweeping the surroundings. There was no excess blood to guide his direction, and the jumbled smells made it difficult for him to track her by scent. However, he could guess that she had likely entered a civilian residence, and he could roughly pinpoint an area, but he chose not to pursue her to the end.

After all, this jianghu was still too unfamiliar to him. He couldn’t determine how potent the poisons and traps here might be. Rashly approaching or entering an indoor location might lead to him being caught off guard and suffering a severe counterattack. Furthermore, he couldn’t just split open a civilian house from the outside.

Setting aside the risk of accidentally harming the innocent, since the imperial court here still maintained order and even had specialized “Divine Constables” targeting jianghu figures, he did not want to end up on the government’s wanted list. Although that was a quick way to gain fame in the jianghu, he lacked the Sect Master’s strength to defy the entire world, especially since he had to worry about whether Xie Donghai and Liu Yuan, who might or might not be nearby, would be implicated.

Noticing that the sky remained overcast, but it was almost time for the common people to wake up, and the number of pedestrians on the road was gradually increasing, Yan Bugui stopped lingering and returned to the inn.

The room was just as he had left it. From a few details, it was clear that no one else had entered through the open window after his departure. Although all his belongings were stored in the small pouch he carried close to his body, avoiding further trouble was always a good thing.

“I wonder how strong that person is in this Central Plains…” The saber wielder, who had warmed up slightly early in the morning, sat at the table and poured himself a cup of cold boiled water, muttering to himself.

He didn’t know who the “old woman” who was skilled in using poison was—although her use of twin swords reminded him of the disciples of the Seven Xiu Workshop. However, he had tested it; her sword dance was different from that of the Seven Xiu disciples. While both used swords as both dance and martial arts, the Seven Xiu disciples’ swordsmanship had a stronger sense of rhythm, whereas the woman in green’s swordsmanship carried an inappropriate degree of ruthlessness.

The saber wielder was unconcerned about failing to eliminate the person who bore him malice this time, or whether he would face retaliation later. He turned to look at the gloomy sky outside the window, a clear look of worry appearing on his face: “I wonder if I can still make it to the Beggar’s Sect’s Junshan Assembly if I set off after the rain stops…”

The place he started from was originally very far from Junshan. After confirming the direction, he rushed continuously, entering every town and village he encountered to ask if anyone had seen his two older brothers. So far, he had found nothing. More importantly—he seemed to be lost. Even though he corrected his direction every time he reached a new place, the distance between him and Junshan had not lessened at all!

Yan Bugui, who was always unwilling to admit he was directionally challenged, was very distressed. He had no map and could only rely on the sun and stars to determine the general direction. But after looking ahead clearly, he would fly along the ground only to discover he had taken the wrong path again… Alas, although Bai Renyu, that little parrot, was usually mischievous, it at least knew how to recognize the way better than he did. After a few days apart, he was starting to miss its good qualities.

Yan Bugui’s worries came and went quickly. After sitting cross-legged on the bed and practicing his internal cultivation for a while, he heard the rumbling thunder outside the window and opened his eyes. The heavy downpour began before noon. It took only a few breaths for the rain to transition from a light drizzle to a dense, needle-like downpour, and then to a torrential deluge, like a surging river breaking its banks or the Heavenly River pouring down.

Seeing this, the vendors setting up stalls outdoors quickly packed up and rushed home. Those who couldn’t make it in time hid under other eaves to shelter from the rain. Even if passersby opened oiled paper umbrellas, they were completely useless in such a fierce storm.

When Yan Bugui went down to the first floor of the inn, the area inside and outside the door was already filled with people. If he didn’t want to share a table, he would have to take his lunch back to his room. However, he had come down mainly to try his luck and listen for any news, so he didn’t mind eating with strangers.

At his table sat a girl dressed in light green clothes. She was elegant and beautiful, and her expression showed a touch of innocent charm. Yet, both the pearl necklace around her neck and the gold hairpin embedded with bright pearls in her hair were clearly priceless.

Yan Bugui already sensed that many people’s eyes lingered on the girl’s head and neck, but the girl seemed oblivious. She simply offered him a polite smile when the saber wielder sat down, then turned her attention back to another spot.

He naturally noticed where the girl was focused. There was an old storyteller there. Perhaps he had just come in to avoid the rain, or maybe the innkeeper had hired him, but he had already begun recounting thrilling jianghu tales. The protagonist of the story was none other than the “Condor Hero,” rumored to travel with a strange giant condor!

Stories of punishing corrupt officials, robbing the rich to help the poor, and speaking up for the common people—each short tale was told vividly, drawing continuous applause from the surrounding listeners. As Yan Bugui listened, he once again felt fortunate that Little Yu was not with him, lest the overly intelligent parrot concoct some new story afterward.

The saber wielder ate his meal somewhat distractedly, but the girl at his table ate a great deal without realizing it, her eyes sparkling brightly. When the storyteller finished another tale of the “Condor Hero’s” chivalry, she quickly called out loudly: “Old man, old man—since you know so many deeds of the ‘Condor Hero,’ do you know where he is now?”

The old storyteller, whose throat was dry, wanted to drink some tea and rest, and was reluctant to answer. However, seeing how clever and cute the girl was, he stroked his long beard and shook his head, replying, “Miss, these are all jianghu rumors. I’m just trying to make a living. How could I know the whereabouts of an expert like the ‘Condor Hero’?”

The disappointment and loss on the girl’s face were too obvious. Someone teased, asking, “Little girl, why are you looking for the ‘Condor Hero’? Do you want to ask him to uphold justice for you, or do you admire the great hero and want to apprentice under him?”

The girl replied, “I am just curious what such a great hero looks like.”

Another person said, “I heard that the ‘Condor Hero’ not only lost an arm but also doesn’t look very appealing. Little girl, you might be disappointed!”

The girl looked in the direction the voice came from, but couldn’t find who was speaking. She smiled and waved her hand, replying, “Hearing is not always believing. I still want to see him with my own eyes.”

At this moment, someone suddenly spoke up: “I know where the ‘Condor Hero’ will appear next. Do you want to come with me to meet him?”

Hearing this, Yan Bugui’s chopsticks paused, and his peripheral vision subtly swept over. The person who had just spoken was one of the individuals he had previously sensed harboring ill intentions toward the girl!