Why do I have so many masters?-Chapter 527 - 171 So, What’s the Price? (2/2)

"Senior?"

Wang Anfeng's face showed no change, but he was truly shocked at heart.

However, he soon noticed that the woman's gaze was falling to one side of him, which brought him some peace of mind.

He knew that the "senior" Zhu Ling mentioned could definitely not be that strange Taoist from the Shaolin Temple with white hair at a young age, much less the scholar in green who never spoke kindly.

The problem must lie with him.

Wang Anfeng was now dressed in an ordinary green robe, with a jade hairpin in his hair and a sword on his back.

Master Jiang Shouyi had once said that a gentleman should be as mild as jade; hence, fittingly, he wore a piece of fine jade on one side of his belt, shaped like a crescent moon. The jade pendant was intricately carved with the design of a flying dragon coiled around it.

This jade pendant had come from Ren Changge three years ago, after he had returned to the Academy from the Qingfeng Edge celebration of longevity. He had obtained it from Ren Changge, who had confined himself in the Wind Character Tower, and had since then always worn it on his waist. Now, Zhu Ling's gaze was intermittently fixed on this jade pendant, and her expression seemed somewhat complex.

With a settled heart, Wang Anfeng guessed who this "senior" must be. He looked up at Zhu Ling and said evenly,

"Last time I went to the Academy, Master Ren's demeanor was as usual, with nothing amiss."

"That should be good."

Zhu Ling withdrew her gaze and smiled,

"Is the senior still downstairs reading books, without taking a single step outside?"

The woman's smile hinted at mischief, and her tone was even more intimate, as if, although she was thousands of miles away in the Qingfeng Sect, she was still quite familiar with the old man sitting cross-legged beneath the hundred-zhang-tall tower in Fufeng County City.

Wang Anfeng was slightly startled upon hearing this, his expression didn't change much, but subconsciously, he recalled from his last visit to the Wind Character Tower the hints that Ren Changge might be confining himself voluntarily.

Three years ago, he had thought Master Ren stayed underneath the Wind Character Tower because he was engrossed in learning. After his visit to the Qingfeng Edge, he had wondered if Master Ren had been coerced or trapped into such a state by circumstances he couldn't discuss with others.

Even when visiting old friends to celebrate their birthdays, he couldn't take half a step out of the Academy.

It was only recently, when his cultivation reached the Sixth Rank and he could interact with Heaven and Earth, that he managed to vaguely perceive something unusual—half sensing, half speculating—that the Bagua Formation Map beneath the old man was actually the manifestation of his own intent shaking Heaven and Earth.

Surrounded by classical texts from various sects, it looked like a prison.

Only by reading through these texts could the old man possibly step out of the Academy.

However, no matter how many texts the old man read every day, the number of scrolls on the desk never seemed to decrease. For every book finished, another would appear.

It was as if they were endless.

At that time, he had realized that it was not that anyone wanted to confine Ren Changge there; it was that he did not want to let himself go. It wasn't that he was imprisoned, but rather, it was self-imposed.

Pausing for a moment and facing a sect leader in front, Wang Anfeng didn't share his discovery. Instead, he pursed his lips, lowered his gaze by an inch, and spoke calmly,

"Master Ren is indeed still reading."

Zhu Ling, hearing this, didn't say anything but continued to watch Wang Anfeng with playful eyes. As she gazed, she suddenly laughed out loud and said,

"You seem quite obedient; I didn't expect you to be one for some mischief as well..."

The woman's eyes twinkled with mirth as she continued,

"But then again."

"You are known in Jianghu as the 'Keeper of Fufeng's Texts', and you do share some kindred spirit with both Fufeng Academy and Elder Ren. It is only natural for you to conceal things for him."

"It just never occurred to me that Ren Changge, who once roamed freely with his sword, would become the Confucian Master he once despised the most—spending all day every day reading books. Over these decades, he hasn't even raised the courage to step out of the Academy."

"What a pity."

"Have you ever thought that you might become the very person you despised the most in your youth?"

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Zhu Ling chuckled casually.

Her lips spoke of the self-confined Confucian beneath the Wind Character Tower, the aged master who didn't dare to leave the Academy for decades.

But on her mind was the image of the defiant scholar in green, the swordsman who could stir the heavens and earth with his fury, the unmatched madman who would leave behind a wave of force hundreds of miles wide with a single sword strike.

And yet, the discussions always circled back to the present, where a Confucian scholar with a full head of white hair and a broken sword lay discarded at the cliff's edge.

The Ren Changge of that era stood out far more than the current Keeper of the Texts: a longsword that could sweep through all his contemporaries, unmatched in his prime, and now, what has led to this state?

She laughed, but there wasn't the slightest bit of humor in her laughter.

Wang Anfeng did not respond, quiet as if seated on a bluestone, like a grandmaster.

Zhu Ling opened her mouth to speak, but with nobody to take up the cue, the conversation dwindled to boredom. She rubbed her brow and reined in her emotions, as if all that regret had nothing to do with her. Now her demeanor was as serene as an Immortal residing in the Jade Void.

But in an instant, this Immortal fell back to mundane affairs. Zhu Ling muttered a few words, shook her head at Wang Anfeng, and teased with a smile,

"Let's not talk about these trifling matters."

"If he chooses to hide and not come out, so be it. We cannot intervene in the matters of our elders. As for you..."

"Keeper of the Texts, you stirred up quite a commotion in Fufeng County at the beginning of the year. Now, suddenly visiting my Qingfeng Sect, what brings you here? Could it be that you've taken a fancy to a girl within our sect and, with your heart set on her, have come asking for her hand in marriage?"

"Given your origin from the Wind Character Tower and the deep relationship between me and Qingfeng Edge, at this time, it is indeed not bad."

The woman spoke somewhat hurriedly, and her words bore a hint of closeness, starkly different from the majestic air she held the last time he visited Qingfeng Edge.

It seemed that the jade pendant at Wang Anfeng's waist had shifted his position from 'a martial artist with connections to Qingfeng Edge' to 'a close younger generation one could jest with.'

Wang Anfeng gave a clasped fist salute and, contrary to Zhu Ling's expectation, he did not reveal an embarrassed expression. Rather, he spoke calmly and unnervingly, which somewhat surprised her, as she heard the young man down below say in a deep voice:

"Senior jests."

"I have come here today to seek the whereabouts of Senior Jiu Zizai. Three years ago, Senior Jiu Zizai and I made a promise. It is time to honor that promise, but I am at a loss to find Senior Jiu Zizai's whereabouts. With no choice left, I can only disturb the senior here at Qingfeng Edge. I hope you will not take offense."

"Senior Jiu Zizai..."

Zhu Ling murmured to herself, seemingly not surprised, but nodded slightly.

She had been somewhat indolently sitting in the chair at the head of the room, like a cat that had basked in the spring sun, devoid of any threat. Yet, now she sat up straight, her eyes and brows slightly furrowed, her demeanor turning somewhat cold, shedding the closeness she showed during her earlier jest.

Her fingers, accustomed to holding a longsword, were slender and pale as she lightly tapped on the table, saying indifferently:

"I indeed know the whereabouts of Senior Jiu Zizai, and I can indeed tell you."

"But this is, after all, the whereabouts of a contemporary grandmaster."

"It may be an opportunity, or perhaps a legacy. If I tell you today, and if everyone comes to seek me out in the future, would I not be troubled day by day, endlessly? Would this act not be seeking trouble for myself?"

Zhu Ling's eyes looked towards Wang Anfeng, and she lightly laughed:

"So, you tell me, why should I inform you of this news?"

Although she was smiling, there was a certain distance, and the atmosphere in the room suddenly became a bit oppressive. It was nothing like the relaxed closeness before, making one feel as if there were a dark cloud pressing down on their heart, unbearably uncomfortable.

Wang Anfeng looked up at Zhu Ling.

Her dignified and slightly chilly demeanor was indeed that of a great sect leader.

Even without a sword in hand, her heart bore a sword. With the realm of understanding that all the world's trees, bamboo, rocks, and myriad swords are within her gaze, he absolutely refused to believe that such an exceptional expert, one who suppressed a corner of Jianghu, had not stepped into that realm.

Facing such a grand master alone, especially one with a cold face like hers, would make anyone's heart tremble, unable to even force a smile.

Yet, Wang Anfeng looked even more at ease than before. Having an elder at home who often kept a stern face, this sort of act was too familiar to him. So, he lightly chuckled and said:

"Does senior have some tasks for this junior to perform?"

"If it is within my power, naturally, I shall not hesitate."

Zhu Ling looked at him and said:

"Oh?"

"If I order you to draw your sword and kill an entire family of commoners, how would that be?"

Wang Anfeng spread his hands and laughingly said:

"Then, it would be beyond my power."

"Why?"

"Because I am unwilling, so I cannot draw the sword. Even if I did draw the sword, it would likely be as ineffective as a Daoist drawing talismans at the roadside. I might even get chased out with a broom. And if I tarnish the reputation of Qingfeng Edge in the process, how is that not beyond my power?"

Zhu Ling looked at the confident young man in the green swordsmen's outfit below her and was slightly stunned. In the end, she sighed with a hint of helplessness and said:

"You really are slippery."

"You're not at all as honest as you appear on the surface..."

"Still, that's fine. If you were sincerely straightforward, I would not be so reassured in giving you this task."

Wang Anfeng smiled and said:

"Now, can senior please tell me, how may I learn of Senior Jiu Zizai's whereabouts?"

Zhu Ling looked at Wang Anfeng, who was calm and composed below, paused for a moment, then nodded and said:

"Of course."

"In fact, this matter also holds benefits for you. Since you have already pledged your heart and are not swayed by love, and furthermore, you have a significant connection with the Wind Character Tower, for my Qingfeng Edge, it is indeed you who are most suitable for this matter."

"Whether you are willing or not afterwards, I will inform you of Senior Jiu Zizai's whereabouts."

Wang Anfeng gave a fist-and-palm salute to the woman at the head seat, saying:

"In that case, I thank the senior."

"Don't rush to thank me yet."

Zhu Ling waived her hand as if weighing her thoughts and then, after a pause, she continued:

"Wang Anfeng, let me ask you, what do you think of my disciple Gong Yu?"

PS: Today's second update presented......