Chapter 740: A Hero

Fan Yongda was still recovering from his injuries, and was thus currently lying in bed. He was greatly surprised by the Dragon King’s question. “Marshal Yang? Yes, I’ve heard of him before. Back then, he was a real celebrity in the martial arts world.”

Gu Shenwei had finally realized why Lu Mian’s swordsmanship seemed so familiar. The fighting style of this Qingcheng Sect Leader bore a striking resemblance to that of Marshal Yang’s; thus, to some extent, it was also reminiscent of the Gu Family’s unique saber and spear skills.

Back when Marshal Yang had gone to Golden Roc Castle alone to issue a challenge, he was so old that it barely seemed like he could hold onto his saber. But when he made a move, he was as fast as a fleeing rabbit, killing an opponent with every other move.

At that time, like all the other spectators, Gu Shenwei had believed that the senility Marshal Yang showed was just a reflection of his natural age. But after seeing Lu Mian’s swordsmanship, Gu Shenwei was beginning to suspect that the slowness he had seen from Lu Mian was just a mask to cover up his true moves.

Both Lu Mian’s self-involved sword dance and his sudden sword strike reminded Gu Shenwei of that old man who had helped the Gu Family take its vengeance.

Dog Butcher was an elder of the Kongtong Sect, but he was seldom involved with Jianghu affairs. And so he knew very little about Marshal Yang, only able to say, “He’s very famous, as he used to be a burglar in the southern coastal areas. It’s said that he had 100,000 men at his command, which was why he was called ‘marshal’ – that wasn’t his real name. In recent years, I’ve been in closed-door cultivation without any contact to the outside world so I don’t know what he’s been doing after he broke away from his evil ways and returned to the orthodox path.”

Fan Yongda knew more about Marshal Yang, but in his recollection, Marshal Yang was a world-famous hero that had nothing to do with pirates. “I don’t know about Marshal Yang’s family, but I witnessed his heroic deeds in Luo Village of He Dong with my own eyes.”

It was the first time that Fan Yongda had ever left the hill to run an errand with his master teacher. They were heading to Luo Village to attend the Sect Leader Convention which was held every three years. His memories of that grand occasion had become indistinct a long time ago, but his impression of Marshal Yang was as vivid as it was that day.

Many kung fu experts and ministers were from this family, so its status in the martial arts world was very high, and everyone was careful about their words when talking about this family, both publicly and privately. But there was a man of the junior generation of martial arts who made some impertinent remarks about the Luo Family, indicating that the Luo Family only had a fancy title which had been given to it by the dignitaries.

Originally it wasn’t a big deal, and many people shared his opinion. But this junior had quite the bad luck. An admirer of Luo Village heard his words and there was a dispute between them which then turned into a fight.

The junior won, and the admirer lost. And this petty little incident gradually escalated into a storm in the martial arts world.

The admirer found helpers and started seeking vengeance. The junior also invited many of his relatives and friends to his home and prepared for any potential acts of retaliation. If, at this time, anybody of high prestige in the martial arts world had intervened, there would still be a chance of reconciliation. However, the two parties were both young and impulsive, and there were even some people who were fanning the flames. The two sides started fighting with barely any words being exchanged.

Both sides suffered casualties, especially the admirer’s side. The Luo Family couldn’t stand idly by any longer and sent a message to the junior that as long as he apologized and made appropriate compensation, they would let it go.

But the junior rejected without even thinking. He believed he had done nothing wrong and that the fighting was already a personal affair, so it was none of the Luo Village’s business.

The Luo Family then made its move. First it publicly requested reconciliation between the two sides, which greatly pressured the junior. But he still believed that it wasn’t his fault, and that the Luo Village was just pretending to be righteous while actually shielding the admirer. So he refused to reconcile with the admirer, which sowed a seed of future troubles.

A storm of bloodshed was imminent and at that point, Marshal Yang made his entrance. He had achieved some fame by that time, but was still far from eligible to intervene in the Luo Village’s affairs. It was said that one of the close relatives of the junior came to Marshal Yang and sought his help. Marshal Yang owed him a favor, so he had no choice but to agree.

One of the kung fu experts of the Luo Family came to mount a challenge, and with a sword, he defeated more than ten people including the junior. He declared their guilt and was about to kill them all. At this moment, Marshal Yang showed up and defeated the kung fu expert.

Marshal Yang shot to fame overnight, but it wasn’t fame that he was after. He was hoping that the trouble all be transferred to him, so that he would be eligible to mediate the dispute.

The Luo Family had numerous kung fu experts at its command. The situation was just about to escalate again when Marshal Yang came to the Luo Village with the junior for a compromise. At this time, his words mattered now.

Unfortunately, it was too late to apologize. Since the Luo Village had already sent out a kung fu expert, killing was inevitable, and Marshal Yang had to achieve an astounding feat if he wanted to stem the raging tide.

He did so during the Sect Leaders Convention, and as an attendant, Fan Yongda had witnessed that “astounding feat” from a distance.

Marshal Yang talked in front of many sect leaders, his speech in essence saying that the junior had been reckless and ignorant, and that he hoped the Luo Village could be magnanimous and forgive him.

However, it was no longer the junior that the Luo Village cared about. Marshal Yang had defeated a kung fu expert of the family, and he was the real cause of their humiliation, so the patriarch of the Luo Family suggested that they competed through a kung fu competition.

A kung fu competition would be the start of another fight, so Marshal Yang declined. Fan Yongda still remember Marshal Yang saying, “I’m merely a reckless kung fu practitioner of the martial arts world who came to Luo Village seeking reconciliation. I know clearly that my last victory was only due to my luck and that I’m no match for Luo Village. I would rather yield in advance than fight and humiliate myself. This kid made disrespectful comments and offended your noble family. I can neither take back what he had said nor challenge you, so there’s only one solution. I will volunteer to be a servant of the Luo Family until our guilt is cleared. From now on, whatever treatment I received, I shall not complain.”

All the Sect Leaders were surprised. Even Fan Yongda believed that Marshal Yang had overacted. After all, Marshal Yang was a celebrity himself, so how would he be able to live in the martial arts world under the shameful name of a servant?

The patriarch of the Luo Family realized that he couldn’t continue to act tough anymore, so he laughed and agreed to a reconciliation, but he refused to take Marshal Yang in as a servant.

But Marshal Yang wanted to fulfill his promise and insisted on it. Eventually, an agreement of three years of service was agreed upon.

Three years later, Marshal Yang left as the best friend of the Luo Village and his status in the martial arts world hadn’t declined. On the contrary, it grew even larger.

“He mediated many disputes in the martial arts world,” Fan Yongda said as he sighed. “It’s a pity that I never got a chance to see him again. About ten years ago, Marshal Yang decided to quit the martial arts world and nobody’s seen him since.”

“Marshal Yang went to the Western Regions and died to a Golden Roc Castle saber,” Gu Shenwei explained. He hadn’t expected that news of Marshal Yang’s death would not spread to the Central Plains.

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Fan Yongda was surprised, “Marshal Yang’s kung fu was divine. He didn’t become a hero purely because of his kind heart. I never expected… Is the Golden Roc Castle really that formidable?”

“He was assassinated.”

Of course the Golden Roc Castle was not that formidable. Golden Roc Castle vividly remembered that Marshal Yang had fought several killers alone and won easily and cleanly. Even Gu Shenwei himself, with his present kung fu, couldn’t have accomplished that in a face-to-face fight.

With a dawning comprehension, Fan Yongda nodded and sighed repeatedly at Marshal Yang’s death.

Gu Shenwei had one more question left in his mind. Marshal Yang left the martial arts world ten years ago, and by that time, he was already ten years old. Since Marshal Yang’s younger brother had been a servant in the residence for many years, why had he never mentioned his world-famous elder brother?

“What’s the name of the junior who offended the Luo Village?”

“I don’t remember. I heard his name, but I’ve forgotten it long ago. Marshal Yang stole the thunder of the event, but it’s the only way to explain the Luo Village’s past grudges towards him.”

Dog Butcher had been quietly listening to his nephew-in-sect tell stories of the past when his thoughts finally came back to the present. “That’s quite a story. Why didn’t ever tell me this before?”

“Uh, you’ve been in a closed-door cultivation this whole time, Uncle Master…”

“Alas, my closed-door cultivation was a curse. I concentrated on kung fu cultivation but missed an opportunity to make friends with a true hero. However good my kung fu skills are, what good will they do to me?” Dog Butcher got angrier as he spoke, until he slammed his crutch onto the ground.

Fan Yongda was startled, yet he still tried comforting him. “Uncle Master, there’s no need to regret these things. Marshal Yang didn’t achieve his fame until he was in his sixties, so you still have a chance.”

Dog Butcher shook his head and sighed, “It’s not about whether I am celebrated as hero, but rather that I failed to make friends with decent people.”

Old Man Mu frowned as he sharply asked, “What are you implying? Are you saying that the Dragon King and I are not worthy of being your friends?”

“We’re not friends with each other. It’s merely a deal. I lost, and the Dragon King won. I surrendered, and the Dragon King accepted. That’s it.”

“The Dragon King spared you and yet you feel aggrieved, for God’s sake. From my perspective, that Marshal Yang…”

Gu Shenwei knew what the Old Man Mu was going to say, but he didn’t want to hear it. Marshal Yang had died for the Gu Family so he’d always retain a special status in his heart. He interrupted, “One more thing. When I was having a kung fu competition with the Kongtong Sect and the Qingcheng Sect, you all recognized the Gu Knife Form, and Deng Yuanlei also mentioned Marshal Yang. What’s the relation between the Gu family and the Yang Family?”

Confused by the Dragon King’s question, Fan Yongda scratched his head and didn’t seem to have an answer. Instead, Dog Butcher answered. “That happened even further back and Fan Yongda surely doesn’t know. Marshal Yang used to be a pirate, and I heard that – just heard – that it was General Gu who defeated and captured him. General Gu had amazing foresight and saw something special in him, taking him in as his apprentice. After that, Marshal Yang practiced the Gu Family’s kung fu.”

“General Gu? He shouldn’t gave been in the Central Plains at that time.”

“Who told you that? I never heard of General Gu even leaving the Central Plains,” Dog Butcher was very confident when talking about things that happened an extremely long time ago.

“This General Gu you were talking about is…” Gu Shenwei knew that there’d been a misunderstanding between the two.

“Iron Spear Gu. You may not have heard of him.”

Iron Spear Gu’s real name was Gu Kuan, Gu Shenwei’s grandfather, and he had died when Gu Shenwei was still very young.

Old Man Mu couldn’t help but say, “Of course the Dragon King has heard of Iron Spear Gu before. You two don’t know this, do you? The Dragon King’s surname is Yang, and his father was the Gu Family’s… best friend. Eek, Dragon King, is there any chance you and Marshal Yang are relatives?”

“Kind of.”

Dog Butcher and Fan Yongda nodded at the same time, with an expression of ‘pardon my former lack of respect.’

Old Man Mu asked another question, “Dragon King, how are you so relaxed? I mean, tomorrow’s the day of the competition. Why are you thinking of Marshal Yang instead of those Qingcheng Sect Leaders?”

“Lu Mian’s swordsmanship is similar to that of Marshal Yang’s, and he also seems to be related to the Gu family.”

Dog Butcher clapped loudly a single time as he lamented, “Alas, it’s a pity that my sister’s not here. She knows everything about all the sects in the Central Plains and must has some information about Lu Mian’s background.”

“Bring me to her,” Gu Shenwei stood up and said.

“Ah?” Dog Butcher regretted making that last remark. “The competition is to be held at noon tomorrow, and… it’s almost dark. We don’t even know where she is.”

“I know where the Kongtong Sect is,” Fan Yongda gladly offered his help, which only drew a cold glance from his unhappy Uncle Master.

Holding onto his sword hilt, Gu Shenwei was determined to uncover Lu Mian’s relations with Marshal Yang and the Gu Family. There was a significant vulnerability in this Sect Leader of the Qingcheng Sect, but he couldn’t see it clearly however hard he squinted.