Have You Met My Brother?[Comprehensive Martial Arts + Sword Three] Chapter 8

Chapter 8 Miss Guo the Second Yan Bugui: Running away from home is bad, don’t learn…

Yan Bugui ultimately failed to leave alone, because the young girl caught up to him—in fact, with the green-clad girl’s current level of lightness skill, she couldn’t possibly keep up with the swordsman who could fly far away with a single tap of his toes. Yet, she persistently trailed behind, repeatedly shouting, “Wait for me!”

The swordsman originally had no intention of stopping, even considering speeding up to completely shake her off. But then he suddenly heard the girl chasing him cry out “Ouch,” followed by silence. After a moment of hesitation, he landed mid-stride and went back to look for her. Before long, he saw the girl sitting far off on the muddy ground covered in fallen leaves, her legs bent, massaging her ankle.

Mindful of the propriety between men and women, Yan Bugui did not approach too closely, stopping ten feet away to ask, “Are you alright?”

Hearing this, the girl immediately looked up, her eyes brightening. However, she quickly scratched her cheek with her index finger and replied somewhat sheepishly, “I’m fine, I just accidentally got a stitch and fell. It doesn’t hurt anymore!” After speaking, she stood up and hopped in place, indicating she was unharmed.

Yan Bugui observed that she didn’t seem to be lying or forcing herself, so he held his horizontal saber across his chest and asked, “Why did you call out to me? If it’s to thank me, there’s no need to say more; if it’s for anything else, I have even less reason to listen.”

The swordsman’s “unfeeling” demeanor did not diminish the girl’s enthusiasm in the slightest. She replied with a smile, “You are the first person I’ve met since leaving home—ahem, since venturing into the martial world—who is only a few years older than me but whose martial arts are far superior. So I just wanted to ask how to address you, properly thank you for your help, and then make friends with you!”

You meant to say “running away from home,” didn’t you… Yan Bugui watched the girl, who looked no older than fifteen, his eye twitching slightly. When he had secretly boarded the Wandering Saber Master’s ship to travel to the Central Plains, hiding it from Xie Donghai, he was at least eighteen, and had practiced the saber at the Saber Sect for several years, defeating all his peers. Only then did he entertain the idea of finding opponents in the Central Plains.

But this girl’s martial arts… Based on his observation, she must have been taught by a famous master since childhood, and her techniques were indeed impressive. However, in terms of actual combat, she was probably slightly inferior even to his twelve or thirteen-year-old junior disciples—especially the batch around the beginning of the Qianyuan era. She would lose within a few moves!

The swordsman sighed silently and replied flatly, “I only look young; I should be much older than you. Never mind that, where is your home? I will escort you back first.”

The girl gasped, her gaze shifting as she changed the subject, “My home, my home… that’s not urgent. I’ll go back later. Ahem, are you really much older than me? I’m almost sixteen! How old are you?”

“I am twenty-nine, and will turn thirty next year.” Yan Bugui answered casually, refusing to be distracted by the girl’s change of topic. However, he also had no interest in lecturing a strange young girl. Since she didn’t plan to go home, he simply asked, “Where are you staying tonight? That inn from before?”

The girl’s eyes darted around, and she replied, “Yes, are you too? If so, why don’t we walk back together? Oh, speaking of which, you’re not even as old as my older sister! Right, my surname is Guo, and I’m the second child in my family. You can call me ‘Guo Er’!”

The girl, whose real name was Guo Xiang, subtly observed the person before her. There was hardly any light in the forest at night, making it difficult for her to see many details, but she had paid close attention to this young hero when they shared a table at noon.

He truly didn’t look close to thirty; nineteen seemed more believable. His attire was novel and pleasing to the eye, and the weapon he carried looked quite extraordinary.

Although she liked the few fluffy, snowball-like pom-poms on his saber, she didn’t feel they made the rare weapon any less sharp. Instead, they added a sense of calm and composure, solid as a mountain—just like her father.

Her main goal in running away from home this time was to meet more heroes. She had grown up hearing many tales of the martial world, and her parents and maternal grandfather were often central figures in them. Thus, she yearned for that heroic life of roaming the mountains and rivers, traveling the world, making two or three close friends, and drinking and eating heartily.

But her parents and sister had always restricted her and her younger brother, forbidding them from going out alone. She had finally found an opportunity, while her parents were away, to sneak out alone, hiding it from her sister and brother.

She wasn’t completely reckless; before leaving, she prepared some small change and silver, and packed a few changes of clothes. She figured that as long as she was careful, with her martial arts skills, there shouldn’t be any major problems.

The reason she wanted to find the Condor Hero was because the first heroic story she heard upon leaving home was about the Condor Hero. She felt a connection, but unfortunately, the Condor Hero’s whereabouts were uncertain, and they never managed to meet.

This was the first time she had encountered a malicious person like Chen San, who deliberately tried to deceive her. She was feeling wronged that she was so easily fooled, regretful that her expectation was dashed again, and uncertain about whether she could easily resolve the matter herself. Unexpectedly, she encountered a true wandering hero.

Although a thought flashed through her mind that perhaps Chen San and the others didn’t deserve death, she was clear-headed enough not to mention it to Yan Bugui. Instead, she began trying to see if she could travel with him and make him her first friend in the martial world.

Yan Bugui was unaware of the little schemes brewing in the girl’s mind. Hearing the casual and openly fake name “Guo Er,” he knew that this “Guo Er’s” background was likely quite noteworthy. Since he wasn’t from this place, even knowing her surname was “Guo,” that she was the second child, and had a sister who was at least thirty, he didn’t make too many connections.

He hadn’t even intended to interact much with the girl—he had simply done what he wanted to do. The thoughts of other strangers were outside his consideration.

However, he was unfamiliar with this place and needed to find Xie Donghai and Liu Yuan’s whereabouts. Relying solely on himself would take an unknown amount of time and effort. If he could enlist the help of a “local expert,” it might be easier. Thus, the swordsman, who had initially not wanted to reveal his name, changed his attitude and replied:

“My name is Yan Bugui. I come from overseas, and my main purpose on this trip is to find someone. I heard that the Beggar’s Gang will hold a grand assembly in Junshan soon, and I thought my two missing brothers might be interested in joining the excitement. So I planned to try my luck in Dongting—unfortunately, the weather was unpredictable, and I left a bit late. I don’t know if I can arrive before it ends, but I am not heading the same way as Miss Guo Er.”

“Yan Bugui… Can I call you Brother Yan?” Guo Xiang thought for a moment, unable to recall anyone by that name in the martial world. Hearing him claim to be from “overseas,” she believed him nine-tenths of the way. When she heard he was going to Junshan to search for someone, her expression froze slightly—

The reason her sister brought her and her brother on this trip was because her mother believed Chief Ren’s sudden death was suspicious. As soon as they received the news, her mother and father left Peach Blossom Island together, heading to the Central Plains first to secretly investigate the cause. At the same time, they had her sister bring her and her brother along, ostensibly to represent them in offering condolences.

The three siblings left after completing the task assigned by their mother. She found an opportunity to slip away alone midway. She hadn’t expected that after only a few days, she would meet a hero who was very pleasing to her eye, only for him to be heading to Junshan. Knowing that her parents were either at Junshan or nearby, and that many uncles in the Beggar’s Gang recognized her, her first reaction was that she would be “walking into a trap.”

However… she secretly glanced at Yan Bugui, then patted her chest like the heroic figures in storybooks. “I know Junshan very well! Brother Yan, do you need a guide? Take me along, and I guarantee you won’t regret it!”

“As you wish.” Yan Bugui didn’t mind what others called him. Hearing the girl guarantee her familiarity with Junshan, he was immediately tempted. “Do you… truly know the way to Junshan?”

Guo Xiang nodded without hesitation. “I even stayed with the Beggar’s Gang for a few days when I was little. I know many uncles there!”

The girl’s tone was so confident that Yan Bugui figured even if she was unreliable, she would be much better than him, an outsider, wandering blindly. He secretly breathed a sigh of relief. The words “Then let’s go” were on the tip of his tongue, but he changed them to: “In that case, I’ll trouble Miss Guo Er—we’ll rest for the night and set off tomorrow morning, how about that?”

Guo Xiang was slightly surprised. “Huh? Aren’t we leaving now?” She had understood from his previous words that he intended to travel through the night.

Yan Bugui replied without changing his expression, “Do you see me carrying any luggage? Do I look like I’m ready to travel?”

Guo Xiang, who had left her change of clothes at the inn and almost forgot she needed to go back for her luggage and deposit, blinked. Looking at the swordsman’s clean appearance, she replied, “Brother Yan is right.”

In any case, they returned to the inn together. Fortunately, the inn still had empty rooms, so Yan Bugui, who had paid in advance, had a place to rest.

The next morning, Yan Bugui woke up early, practiced his saber outside the city for a while, returned to the inn for breakfast, and then packed a small bundle with items selected from his small pouch. Only then did he knock on “Guo Er’s” door. After dealing with minor matters like washing and eating, he followed Guo Xiang’s lead, tracing her route back, and headed toward Junshan.

.

Feixian Island, South Sea.

Splash, splash. Waves, like snow and foam, surged onto the golden beach. Gusts of wind lifted Ye Gucheng’s robes—he habitually practiced his sword by the coast and on the reefs, and today was no exception. However… the Lord of White Cloud City frowned slightly and looked up at the sky—a massive white sea eagle was circling continuously in one spot.

Sea eagles are naturally large birds, but this one was two or three times the size of a typical sea eagle. Before today, he had never seen such a huge sea eagle on or off the island. After a brief thought, Ye Gucheng walked slowly with his sword toward the area where the sea eagle was soaring. Then he saw a person—

The person seemed to have been washed ashore by the waves, lying peacefully with closed eyes. Besides their astonishingly beautiful appearance, their clothes were quite remarkable. Even though the person was clearly soaked in seawater, there was not a single trace of dampness visible!

Beside this person was a parrot with brilliant feathers. Perhaps sensing his approach, the parrot suddenly shouted, “Help! Help! My master is still breathing! Quick, a good person save him! If we delay any longer, he won’t survive!”