Chapter 430: Not Many Good People, Too many Bad People

Chapter 430: Not Many Good People, Too many Bad People

After descending the mountain and returning to the small town, Chen Chao traveled without incident. He did not flaunt the snowy white deer antlers he had obtained, so the cultivators on the mountain would not know that the young martial artist in front of them was the one who killed the demon king and seized the demon antlers. They might not even be aware that the demon king was already dead, continuing to search the mountains for the demon antlers.

In fact, the deer antlers in Chen Chao's possession could have been given to Xu Bai and his wife. This trip to Sword Qi Mountain, what he wanted to ask them to do was a huge request. Having an extra pair of deer antlers was actually just adding flowers to embroidery; unlikely to truly move Sword Qi Mountain. However, even when visiting relatives, it was customary to bring a small gift. What Chen Chao wanted to request was significant, so the pair of snowy white deer antlers served as a meeting gift.

However, Xu Bai's flying sword had become scrap iron after clashing with his broken saber. But presumably, Xu Bai should not mind it, as long as he saved his wife. Especially since the flying sword was not a valuable item. Otherwise, Jiang Ying would not have been so eager to replace the flying sword for her husband.

Thinking of Jiang Ying, Chen Chao's thoughts were complex. That woman could not be considered a good person, but neither was she evil. Her deep feelings led her to act this way. However, if not for Xu Bai, Chen Chao might have had to kill this woman with all his might. Although the young girl Xie Ying had somewhat changed his mindset, he was determined not to become a soft-hearted person. He would not hesitate to kill those who should be killed.

When he returned to the town, it was already early next morning. Chen Chao stood before the small courtyard. Instead of barging in, he patiently knocked on the door.

After a while, the young man, Erhu asked softly from inside, "Is it Sir Chen?"

Chen Chao replied with an affirmative sound, and he opened the courtyard gate, saying with joy, "I thought Sir Chen would be on the mountain for many days. Why did you come back so early?"

Chen Chao chuckled half-seriously, "The demon king was killed by someone, so there's no show to watch anymore. Why wouldn't I come back?"

The young man was taken aback for a moment before asking, "Who killed it? Was it South Mountain Maitreya or the sword cultivator Xu Bai?"

Chen Chao asked with some curiosity, "You seem to know quite a bit."

The young man scratched his head sheepishly. He was quite clever and always kept his wits about him. After Chen Chao left earlier, he went to the inn to inquire. With South Mountain Maitreya those people being somewhat famous figures in Yellow Dragon Prefecture, it was natural for him to have heard of them.

Chen Chao walked into the courtyard, smiled, and said, "Guess."

The young man followed behind Chen Chao and asked probingly, "It must be that sword cultivator Xu Bai, right? I heard his sword cultivation is quite renowned in Yellow Dragon Prefecture."

Chen Chao shook his head, pointed to himself, and smiled, "I killed it."

The young man was stunned for a moment, then exclaimed, "Sir Chen is truly skilled!"

Chen Chao waved his hand and said with a laugh, "I'm just teasing you. How could I have the ability?"

The young man shook his head and said, "Sir Chen killed that scruffy daoist in an instant. Killing a demon king should be possible too, right?"

As they spoke, a young girl had already brought a basin of clean water and a cloth towel. Arriving in front of Chen Chao, she said somewhat timidly, "Benefactor, please wash your face."

Chen Chao took the cloth towel, washed his face, before saying, "Don't call me benefactor, just call me sir. As for that demon king, it's much stronger than that scruffy daoist. You didn't see it, the demonic qi filled the sky. It's not something the average person can handle."

After washing his face, Chen Chao found a chair to sit under the eaves and said, "Hurry up and tidy up. How about we set off today?"

Before the young man could speak, the young girl asked timidly, "So early?"

Chen Chao glanced at the young girl, but before he spoke, the young man on the side already said with some embarrassment, "We were planning to pay respects to our deceased parents today. After that, we might not be able to come back for many years."

Chen Chao glanced with his peripheral vision and sure enough, he saw a bag of yellow paper and some incense candles in the corner of the room.

Seeing Chen Chao's silence, the young girl hurriedly said, "If Sir thinks it's not convenient, we'll pack up immediately."

Chen Chao was expressionless as they passed by those few people.

At this moment, Chen Chao was glad he made the right decision. If he had let the siblings leave alone, their corpses might have been abandoned in the wilderness not long after they left the town.

On the way to the commandery city, Chen Chao and the others followed the official road. However, this section of the road was far from smooth. Even a horse carriage would have to stop frequently too. Chen Chao had not thought of hiring a carriage because of this. Instead, he slowed his pace, deliberately waiting for the siblings who had never ventured far from home.

The girl was weak to begin with, and after walking for a while, she began to struggle. However, she bravely did not say a word, just toughing it out. Chen Chao saw through her stubbornness and suggested taking a short rest.

But the boy said worriedly, "Sir, spending the night outside..."

Chen Chao chuckled, "Do you think we can walk to the county city in just one day with our legs alone?"

The young man smiled awkwardly, almost forgetting about that.

Sitting on a large bluestone, the girl brought a water pouch to Chen Chao. He took it but did not lift his head up. Water rose from the pouch and flowed into his mouth.

The girl widened her eyes, never having seen such a sight before.

After showing off a bit of skill, Chen Chao handed the water pouch back to the girl, and said in a serious tone, "You're pretty. When you get to the Divine Capital, you need to be careful. There are plenty of lecherous individuals in the Divine Capital who would covet your beauty too."

The girl nodded silently. Over the years, she had hardly ever left the small courtyard, it was because she was born with pretty good looks. Beauty might be a blessing for girls born into influential families, but for minor characters like them, it might not bring good fortune, but disaster instead.

The girl suddenly gathered courage and asked, "Sir, where will you be staying in the Divine Capital? So that in the future, when you return to the Divine Capital, my brother and I can thank you?"

Chen Chao remained silent, just gazing into the distance.

As dusk fell, three figures appeared on the road ahead.

It was precisely the three brothers who had stayed at the inn before, all itinerant cultivators.

Chen Chao did not get up, just smiling and asking, "Fellow Daoists, what's this? Are you not killing the demon king anymore? Switched to robbery?"

The three of them remained expressionless, and one of them said calmly, "Hand over the demon antlers and we can spare your life."

Chen Chao pretended to be surprised, "Demon antler? What demon antler?"

Without mincing words, the man said bluntly, "I've seen the body of the deer demon and South Mountain Maitreya. It's not from sword wounds, but saber wounds."

Chen Chao gave an "oh", realizing his oversight. He did not think of this.

He jumped off the large bluestone, gesturing to the siblings not to be afraid, and took a step forward. Then, he smiled and said, "Have you ever thought about why Xu Bai didn't make a move to snatch the demon antler?"

"That Xu Bai that goody-two-shoes, he's clearly crawling in the mud himself, yet still believes in some sort of chivalrous spirit of the martial world. What a waste of his Sword Dao cultivation."

One of them said coldly, "But we are not Xu Bai."

Chen Chao said emotionally, "Yeah, that's why as long as he's alive, and you lot deserve to die."