Eternal Life: I Have the Favor System-Chapter 60: Tragedy

After all, Liu Quan and his two companions were of the younger generation.

When a disciple made a mistake, their master was there to clean up the mess.

The three were detained by the Big Saber Gang for a night and only suffered minor scrapes. But Tie Zhennan, who had rushed over through the night, was ambushed by six of the Big Saber Gang’s Hall Masters.

Afterward, Gao Qingxiong personally stepped in to "experience" Tie Zhennan’s techniques, repelling him with a single Cloud-Flipping Palm. Only then did the matter come to a close.

Guo Wei received the news in the middle of the night and couldn’t help but worry for Big Saber Hong. Gao Qingxiong was one of Young Master Yan’s men. The gang meeting had been nothing more than a ploy to lure out Big Saber Hong.

If he had attended the meeting...

...he would have been treated as a guest of honor. Gao Qingxiong would have treated him with utmost courtesy and given him plenty of face. Conversely, Tie Zhennan would have been obstructed at every turn. This was the only way to deceive Big Saber Hong.

It was all to make Big Saber Hong believe that the Big Saber Gang was still run by his old comrades.

That was why he had feigned illness and sent Hei Hu and Chu Lingguang in his stead, telling them to leave as soon as they found an opportunity.

Unfortunately, even though he wasn’t there, Gao Qingxiong still used Liu Quan to escalate the situation, provoking Tie Zhennan into coming all the way from Qinghe County overnight. Now, everyone on Wine Street knew that the Big Saber Gang and Tie Zhennan were at odds.

Of course, it was also possible Tie Zhennan knew Gao Qingxiong’s identity and had just come over to play along with the act. In any case, if Big Saber Hong was still active in the area after killing Lord Wang’s family, he would likely seek out Gao Qingxiong upon hearing the news, given his temperament.

Guo Wei was in a bind, wondering if he should find a way to warn Big Saber Hong.

He and Big Saber Hong were kindred spirits. In their youth, they had taken the Provincial Examination together. Big Saber Hong’s skills were superior, but he had missed the top spot only because of the examiner’s corruption.

He admired Big Saber Hong’s strength and had spoken up for him out of a sense of justice.

Big Saber Hong, having been treated unfairly, flew into a rage and killed the influential figure who had bribed the examiner on the spot. He then cut down two examiners before fleeing the examination grounds.

As for Guo Wei, he was implicated as an accomplice and thrown in jail just for speaking a single sentence in Big Saber Hong’s defense. Though he was later exonerated, his title of Martial Arts Scholar was stripped from him.

From then on, he gained the title of "Half a Scholar."

For all these years, he had run a Martial Arts Hall in Baiyang County, training disciple after disciple into Martial Scholars and even producing talents like Yang Shaorong. He did all this simply to prove to everyone that he, Guo Wei, was a true and worthy Martial Arts Scholar.

Guo Wei still held regrets about that examination from so long ago. But after all these years, he no longer blamed Big Saber Hong for implicating him. Still, Big Saber Hong acted without regard for the consequences, killing Court officials on a whim. The thought made Guo Wei feel a sense of powerlessness.

He thought about how Chu Lingguang and Hei Hu would be taking the Daoist Examination in a few months. He also considered the letter from Wang Chao, which had explicitly identified Gao Qingxiong as one of Young Master Yan’s men. He knew in his heart that Wang Chao didn’t have the means to investigate Young Master Yan; Yang Shaorong must have helped him.

’His disciple did this for no other reason than to keep his master from getting involved in this mess.’

With this in mind, Guo Wei, unable to sleep, went to the kitchen. He grabbed a handful of peanuts, took out a small dish of pickled vegetables, and returned to his room to drink his troubles away.

The next morning, Chu Lingguang and Hei Hu arrived at the Martial Arts Hall to continue their training.

Guo Wei, feeling unwell, instructed Chu Lingguang and Hei Hu for the morning before returning to his room to rest. In the afternoon, Guo Fang brewed some herbal medicine for him. Once it was ready, she had Chu Lingguang and Hei Hu bring it to Guo Wei.

In front of the two, Guo Wei drank both bowls of medicine. Then he said to them, "Things on Wine Street have been tense lately. Without my permission, you two are not to go there. Stay in the Martial Arts Hall. Understand?"

"Understood, Master."

Chu Lingguang and Hei Hu both nodded.

That evening, as they were leaving the Martial Arts Hall after dinner, Hei Hu walked ahead, muttering, "Master definitely knows something is about to happen on Wine Street."

"What do you think will happen, Senior Brother?"

Chu Lingguang wanted to hear Hei Hu’s opinion.

"Tie Zhennan is a famous figure in Qinghe County. The Big Saber Gang detained his three disciples, and he took a palm strike from Gao Qingxiong. If that were you, could you let it go?" Hei Hu prompted.

"Yes."

Chu Lingguang nodded.

"How could you let that go?" Hei Hu was incredulous.

"A mighty dragon can’t crush a local snake. No matter how strong Tie Zhennan’s Martial Arts are, he can’t do anything to Gao Qingxiong in Baiyang County on short notice. Besides, the Daoist Examination is in half a year. If I were Tie Zhennan, I’d at least wait until my disciples pass the exam before settling the score with Gao Qingxiong," Chu Lingguang explained. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

He hadn’t read many books and his writing was poor, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t weigh the pros and cons.

"Th-that’s just what you think! A real man doesn’t let a grudge last overnight. I don’t believe Tie Zhennan can stand for it. Otherwise, why would Master forbid us from going to Wine Street?" Hei Hu said, unconvinced.

"Perhaps Master has other reasons," Chu Lingguang said thoughtfully.

"You should just go home and figure out how to use Skillful Force!"

Hei Hu rolled his eyes and turned to walk home.

Chu Lingguang was speechless. He’d been practicing for a month but still couldn’t grasp that flow of Qi Blood. This wasn’t the first time Hei Hu had mocked him for it.

On the way back, he still felt things weren’t as simple as Hei Hu had described. His suspicion had a basis. Given Guo Wei’s temperament, he wouldn’t feign illness and skip the Big Saber Gang’s meeting just because of Tie Zhennan, nor would he have told him and Hei Hu to flee at the first opportunity.

Guo Wei’s reactions were more like he was trying to avoid some kind of disaster and keep himself out of it.

Chu Lingguang hadn’t read the letter Wang Chao sent back, but he could roughly guess that what was about to happen on Wine Street wasn’t just a conflict between the Big Saber Gang and Tie Zhennan.

If it were really a large-scale conflict, Tie Zhennan should have arrived from Qinghe County last night with a group of disciples. As Hei Hu said, revenge shouldn’t wait overnight.

But in the end, Tie Zhennan had only come to take Liu Quan and his two companions away.

Deciding not to dwell on what he couldn’t figure out, Chu Lingguang put his suspicions to the back of his mind when he got back to Liu Family Gully. He just firmly remembered Guo Wei’s warning: stay away from Wine Street for the time being.

The days passed one by one. Every day, Chu Lingguang repeatedly practiced Skillful Force, trying to grasp that sense of Qi Sensitivity.

「Seven days later.」

A massacre occurred on Wine Street.

Countless disciples of the Big Saber Gang were killed or wounded. Gao Qingxiong had joined forces with the new County Magistrate, Lord Xu, to ambush the wanted criminal Big Saber Hong. Relying on his superb Saber Technique, Big Saber Hong fought his way out of Wine Street. By the next morning, government constables and Gao Qingxiong’s men were searching the villages near Liu Family Gully.

On his way to the Martial Arts Hall, Chu Lingguang saw a troop of unfamiliar Government Office men galloping across the wheat fields. When he arrived at the hall, he saw that Guo Wei’s internal injury had healed. He was guiding Hei Hu in achieving the Form Realm with his Spear Technique.

"Master Guo!"

At 3:15 PM, Gao Qingxiong arrived at the Martial Arts Hall with his men.

Chu Lingguang saw that the men behind Gao Qingxiong were the same group from the Government Office he had seen on his way to the Martial Arts Hall that morning.

Gao Qingxiong was carrying a wooden box. When Guo Wei saw it, his heart trembled.