Chapter 29 - A Challenge At The Datong Teahouse

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

An Jing sneered and asked, “You are planning to go to the imperial examinations to redeem a singer?”

Other people go to the imperial examinations for the sake of promotion and wealth, for the sake of a bright future, for the sake of fame, Zhou Xianming actually went to the examination for a female singer?

“Why not?”

Zhou Xianming’s eyes carried a hint of hope. “You don’t understand Miss Li Yue’s naivety at all. The day before, when I went to the pleasure boat, she told me not to go again. It must be because I have gone every day to support her, making her feel uneasy and ashamed…”

“That’s because you’re a poor man.”

An Jing said bluntly, “She can’t get any money from you and you’re annoying her every day like a fly.”

“Darling, how can you say that?” Zhao Qingmei stopped An Jing.

“You’re just a commoner.”

Zhou Xianmin shot An Jing a disdainful glance before turning to look at Zhao Qingmei. He smiled apologetically and said, “I’ve made up my mind to take the exam this time and I will definitely obtain the first place. May I borrow some money from you, Madam An? When the time comes, I’ll definitely repay you tenfold or even a hundredfold.”

An Jing was a crafty, evil schemer. Zhou Xianmin decided to approach the gentle, virtuous and kind Mrs An instead.

“Since you have your heart set on studying, I’d definitely support you.”

Zhao Qingmei took out her purse and handed it to Zhou Xianming. “Here are ten taels of silver. If it’s not enough, you can ask me for more.”

Ten taels of silver!

Zhou Xianming’s eyes lit up when he saw the silver, and he could not help but cry out inwardly.

“Darling, that’s ten taels of silver.”

An Jing licked his lips. He had almost forgotten that his wife used to be a scholar. She seemed to have more money than him.

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll take it as doing a great deed.”

Zhao Qingmei smiled.

“Many thanks, Madam An,” said Zhou Xianming, excitedly accepting the money. “I will never forget your kindness. In the future, I will definitely repay you with gold and silver.”

“Old Zhou, Madam and I are inseparable. It’s the same if you repay me.”

An Jing patted Zhou Xianming’s shoulder and smiled.

Zhou Xianming took a look at An Jing and quietly removed his hand. Then, he flicked the dust on his shoulder with disdain.

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

Just then, footsteps came from outside the door.

“Who is that! I don’t know…”

Someone looked in the direction of the voice and immediately kept quiet when he saw who it was.

Dozens of men in linen clothes walked in. All of them were burly and looked fierce. The leader was an old man in green.

Only the members of Cao Gang would wear linen clothes, and among Cao Gang’s experts, those who did not wear linen clothes had even more terrifying statuses.

The old man’s expression was calm, his skin was rosy and his eyes were bright and lively.

This old man was none other than Tie Yunshan.

An expert!

When An Jing saw who it was, his expression did not change, but he thought to himself.

This person’s aura was extremely powerful. If one were to carefully sense it, they would feel as though a mountain was crashing down on them. It was obvious that his inner force had reached the upper-third tier.

Zhao Qingmei frowned and grabbed An Jing’s arm without batting an eyelid. She would immediately protect him if there was any danger.

“Don’t be afraid, I’m here.”

An Jing thought that Zhao Qingmei was afraid, so he patted her hand and comforted her.

“My lord…”

The shopkeeper quickly ran down and bowed his head to Tie Yunshan.

“You are the shopkeeper?” A Cao Gang expert beside Tie Yunshan shouted.

This person’s name was Zhu Hou, and he was the new head of Yuzhou City.

“I am.” The shopkeeper smiled apologetically.

“What about storytellers? It’s impossible for a teahouse to not have storytellers, right?”

“Right there, but Zhou Xianming is not doing storytelling today.”

“Not doing storytelling?”

A cold smile appeared on Zhu Hou’s lips as he scanned his surroundings, as though he was looking for the storyteller called Zhou Xianming.

“I’ll speak, I’ll speak.”

Zhou Xianming’s legs turned to jelly.

Tie Yunshan nodded slightly and scanned his surroundings before walking slowly towards An Jing and Zhao Qingmei.

“Ignorant fool! Are you not going to move!?” Zhu Hou’s brows furrowed as he barked coldly.

“Darling, let’s go.”

Zhao Qingmei glanced at Zhu Hou before grabbing An Jing’s hand and walking away.

An Jing did not say anything as he memorized Zhu Hou’s face.

Tie Yunshan sat down and looked at Zhao Qingmei’s back as he muttered to himself, “This little girl looks pretty good.”

“Elder, then…?”

Zhu Hou’s lips curled up as his eyes narrowed slightly.

Cao Gang was a gang that belonged to the martial world. On the surface, they had business, but behind their backs, they were loan sharks. It was common for them to engage in human trafficking and it was naturally not difficult for them to snatch women from commoners.

Tie Yunshan leaned on his walking stick with one hand and said indifferently, “I want to listen to books. Let’s talk about the history of the Nine Kingdoms.”

“Did you hear that? History of the Nine Kingdoms,” Zhu Hou shouted to Zhou Xianming.

“Yes, yes.”

Zhou Xianming swallowed his saliva and walked towards the stage. After organizing his thoughts, he began to speak.

“After the Zhou Dynasty fell apart, the Nine Kingdoms became chaotic…”

The so-called history of the Nine Kingdoms was the era before the State of Yan. After the Great Zhou fell apart, the entire world was occupied by nine powerful vassal states. The State of Yan was one of them. At that time, there was an extremely serious internal turmoil in the State of Zhao and it was unable to send troops to unify the country.

The world was in chaos, outstanding heroes rising up one after another. All sides fought endlessly, mountains of corpses and seas of blood everywhere, the people living in poverty. This was a chaotic and terrifying history.

The founding ancestor of the Great Yan Country had slaughtered his way out of the nine kingdoms and established the unified Yan Dynasty, which had been passed down until now.

Many people in the martial world liked the history of the Nine Kingdoms. Back then, the martial world was even more chaotic and dangerous than the current martial world. It was even easier to become famous.

Leaping horse, swinging spear, dominating the world.

Tie Yunshan closed his eyes as if he had fallen asleep. It was as if his thoughts had already entered the chaotic Nine Kingdom.

Zhou Xianming’s voice was trembling.

No one dared to leave without Tie Yunshan’s order.

An Jing, on the other hand, felt that the history of the Nine Kingdom was rather interesting. Unknowingly, he also listened to it.

Zhao Qingmei glanced at An Jing, who remained still, and her heart grew colder and colder. The Cao Gang was such a show-off! They had scared her husband silly.

After an unknown period of time, Tie Yunshan slowly opened his eyes. “Let’s stop here for today.”

Hearing Tie Yunshan’s words, the shopkeeper and Zhou Xianming both let out heavy sighs of relief.

Tie Yunshan took a step forward with his walking stick. “I heard that this Datong Teahouse is the place where news spreads the fastest in the entire Yuzhou City. Help me pass a message. Tell them that I, Tie Yunshan, am holding down the fort at the Yuzhou City’s headquarters. I welcome the swordsmen who rescued Jiang Sanjia to come and visit.”

“I want to see if his sword is faster or my saber is faster.”

As he spoke, Tie Yunshan slowly walked out of the tea house.

Whoosh!

A stone would cause a thousand ripples!

Everyone looked at each other. So Tie Yunshan had come to the teahouse to issue a challenge to that peerless swordsman.

Soon, Tie Yunshan’s challenge to the peerless swordsman spread throughout the entire Yuzhou City and even to the entire Jiangnan Dao.

Everyone was discussing whether this peerless swordsman would attend the appointment or not. Who would win this battle of swords and sabers?

“Tie Yunshan’s provocation is too childish.”

“That swordsman might not be Tie Yunshan’s match. After all, Tie Yunshan’s battle achievements are splendid and he has countless victories. That swordsman could only hack open the dungeon.”

“The key is the Yuzhou City headquarters. Who dares to go?”

“With thousands of gang members gathered, even a superior Rank Three expert would find it difficult to escape unscathed.”

…