Chapter 173: 174

Chapter 174 - Kicking Down the Door

The Imperatorial Provincial Capital.

The Pot of Freshness was a time-honored, long-established restaurant, and its signature dishes were roasted butterfish and whole roasted lamb.

Combined, the character for fish, “鱼”, and the character for sheep, “羊” formed the word fresh, or “鲜”. 

This was the source of the origin of the Pot of Freshness’ name.

By the time Cha Jin left the restaurant, the sky was already starting to get dark. Two servants trailed after her, one carrying a towering stack of boxed food, the other carrying a jar of wine.

“I wonder if he’s starving by now….?” Cha Jin had hired a carriage, and she took the two servants with her. Before long, they arrived at the street the House of Waveswept Rocks was built on.

But as soon as Cha Jin stepped outside the carriage, a handsome youth in crimson robes walked up to greet her. “Junior Apprentice Sister, you’re finally here. I’ve been waiting.”

His eyes shone with gratification and delight.

Cha Jin was stunned, but her heart tensed. Her gaze quickly swept around the area. “Senior Apprentice Brother, you… How did you find me?”

The young man in red was called Lu Hao, and he was the same person who’d once attempted to use the talisman sword to assassinate Su Yi. 

He was Cha Jin’s senior apprentice brother, too.

“This is no place to talk,” he said gently. “Come with me.”

As he spoke, he led the way ahead. Cha Jin hurriedly ordered the servants, “You wait here,” then followed him.

She’d encountered Senior Apprentice Brother Lu Hao out of nowhere in the Imperatorial Provincial Capital. She ought to have been delighted.

But for some unknown reason, she couldn’t bring herself to feel happy. She was only tense and nervous.

Before long, Lu Hao led Cha Jin to a noisy teahouse, and straight up to a table. Someone was sitting there, a respectable-looking young man in white.

Lu Hao clasped his fist. “Martial Uncle Liu, Junior Apprentice Sister is here.”

“Martial Uncle Liu, what are you doing here?” Cha Jin was now even more surprised than before.

Liu Hongqi.

He was an outer sect elder at the Wheel of the Moon Sect. Of the twenty outer-sect elders, he was the youngest, and he was extremely well known. 

He was only twenty-seven, but he was already a third-level Grandmaster!

It’s important to note that the Wheel of the Moon Sect was a faction of cultivators that transcended mundanity. Liu Hongqi might “only” be at the third level of the Inner Furnace Realm, but don’t be fooled: he far surpassed mundane cultivators of the same cultivation. 

“I heard from Martial Nephew Lu Hao that you were in danger. Your seniors are extremely worried about you. How could I remain detached?” Liu Hongqi smiled. “Or you could say that I came here specifically on account of that young man called ‘Su Yi.’” 

His clothes were white as snow, and he was well-mannered and reserved, but his mannerisms revealed his deep-rooted pride.

In truth, he had reason to be proud; as an outer sect elder of the Wheel of the Moon Sect, he could look down upon the vast majority of the world’s Martial Dao Grandmasters.

“You came for Su Yi….” Cha Jin’s heart was increasingly tense, and with no regard for anything else, she whispered, “Martial Uncle, might you hear me out first?”

Liu Hongqi was stunned for a moment, but then, he smiled gently. “There’s no need to be so polite. Don’t be so distant.”

When Liu Hao saw this, he felt rather uncomfortable. He’d always liked Cha Jin, and he naturally knew that Liu Hongqi had coveted her for a long time too. 

Otherwise, there was no way someone so arrogant would volunteer for this task and leave the sect the moment he received word of Cha Jin’s plight.

Cha Jin took a deep breath, then said, “Please, leave immediately. Don’t linger in the Great Zhou any longer.”

After a stunned pause, Liu Hongqi furrowed his bow. “Why?”

Cha Jin stabilized her emotions, then said, “Su Yi is extremely capable, with a deep and inscrutable cultivation. If you oppose him, I’m afraid you’ll encounter unknown…..”

Before she could finish, Liu Hongqi shook his head and laughed. “And here I thought it was something serious. So, it’s because of Su Yi.”

Lu Hao laughed too. “Junior Apprentice Sister Cha Jin, I’ve already told Martial Uncle Liu all about Su Yi. He’s come prepared; he’ll easily take that scumbag Su Yi’s head!”

“That’s right. For a Qi Accumulation cultivator like Su Yi to block a talisman sword truly is extraordinary. That’s why I came in person,” Liu Hongqi said leisurely, “Cha Jin, you have nothing to worry about.”

Cha Jin inwardly cried out in distress. She said frantically, “Martial Uncle, Su Yi’s strength is far more terrifying than you imagine. He….”

Lu Hao interrupted her; he seemed to find it rather funny. “Junior Apprentice Sister, I said it last time, but you’re just saying that because he scared you. Surely you’re not going to tell me that Martial Uncle Liu is unfit to be his opponent?”

He was downright eager for Liu Hongqi to take action; he wanted Su Yi dealt with as soon as possible.

Cha Jin instantly fell silent. A question like that was awkward and difficult to answer.

Liu Hongqi smiled, then raised his teacup to his lips and took a sip. “Enough; leave this matter to me.”

Lu Hao nodded coldly. “Junior Apprentice Sister, you probably don’t know this yet, but both Martial Uncle and I heard about how that scoundrel forced you to become his servant. He’s simply an irredeemable villain; he deserves death by a thousand cuts!”

“How did you find out about that?” Cha Jin asked in a daze.

“Before coming to the Imperatorial Provincial Capital, we visited the Cloudriver Prefectural Capital’s Sand-Scouring Waves. It was easy to investigate this matter; there was no way they could keep it under wraps.” Lu Hao’s eyes shone with pity, and his tone was gentle. “Please rest assured, Junior Apprentice Sister. Martial Uncle Liu and I understand that word of this incident could hurt your reputation, and we naturally won’t let anyone else in the sect find out.”

Cha Jin felt as if her heart were tied up in knots; shockingly, she didn’t quite know how to explain.

It was even more embarrassing to talk about the Soul-Binding Rope, but if she just let Liu Hongqi and Lu Hao seek out Su Yi, it’d be no different from sending them to their deaths.

What was she supposed to do?

“Come on. Let’s go find Su Yi.” Liu Hongqi rose. Between his pure white robes and peerlessly elegant bearing, he’d already attracted the attention of numerous other customers.

“No! You can’t go!” blurted Cha Jin.

Liu Hongqi was stunned. He sighed, “It seems that fiend, Su Yi, has really scared you out of your wits. The scoundrel’s forced you to act as his servant for days…. It’s been hard on you, hasn’t it?”

“That…” Cha Jin was stunned.

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“I, Liu Hongqi, hate nothing more than scumbags low enough to humiliate women. Lu Hao, lead the way. Let’s kill that bastard.” Liu Hongqi put his hands behind his back, and his eyes flashed with cold intent.

“Alright.” Lu Hao nodded, then led the way out of the teahouse.

“You know where he is?” exclaimed Cha Jin. She hurried after him.

“We found this place, didn’t we? Naturally, we know his current whereabouts too.” Liu Hongqi laughed with complete confidence, as if they already had this in the bag. “If we weren’t worried about you getting hurt in the heat of battle, we would have gone to the House of Waveswept Rocks and killed Su Yi a long time ago.”

Cha Jin’s expression shifted; only now did she realize that Lu Hao and Liu Hongqi had arrived in the provincial capital some time ago.

Otherwise, they couldn’t possibly know about the House of Waveswept Rocks.

Also, the provincial capital was vast, with a population in the millions, yet they’d found her almost right away. This was far too out of the ordinary.

“Martial Uncle Liu, just how did you find me?” Cha Jin couldn’t help but ask.

“When we left the sect, your master told me that by borrowing the power of the Cold Pith Netherjade, we could sense the ‘Twin Moon-Beckoning Blades’ you carry.”

Liu Hongqi casually told her this secret.

“So that’s it….” Cha Jin finally understood. The Twin Moon-Beckoning Blades were a gift from her master. It was actually rather reasonable that they could use such a method to locate her.

When she saw that Liu Hongqi and Lu Hao were already walking down the street and towards the House of Waveswept Rocks, Cha Jin was instantly frantic. She hurried after them without even pausing to think.

“Martial Uncle….”

Cha Jin was just about to try and stop them when Liu Hongqi gently cut her off. “Once we’ve killed Su Yi, we’ll take you back to the sect.”

As he spoke, they heard a massive bang; not far away, Lu Hao had already kicked open the doors to the House of Windswept Waves.

“Martial Uncle Liu, if you please!” Lu Hao then stepped aside.

Liu Hongqi nodded. “Protect Cha Jin. I alone will be plenty to deal with him.”

With that, he sauntered inside.

Cha Jin was so angry, she was practically going insane. 

She’d tried to warn them repeatedly, out of the goodness of her heart. Why was it that they simply refused to listen?

She was just about to charge after Liu Hongqi when Lu Hao stopped her. “Junior Apprentice Sister, if you go in, you’ll undoubtedly distract Martial Uncle Liu. Let’s just stay here and wait for the good news.”

His gaze was gentle, and his tone carried pity and doting. “Once Su Yi is dead, if you don’t want to go back to the sect, we can go somewhere else, just the two of us. Wherever you want to go, I’ll go with you.”

Cha Jin’s brow was so deeply furrowed, it was covered in dark lines. She was on the verge of losing control. Seriously? Now? What makes him think it’s the right time to say something like that?

……

The House of Waveswept Rocks, beside the pond.

“Brother Su, ten days from now, the curtain will open on Xiang Tianqiu’s Tea Party. The event shall be held on the peak of the mountain to the west of the city.

“The provincial government, the Redscale Army, and the heads of the city’s five peak-level clans will all be in attendance, alongside their subordinates. 

“Although we call it ‘the Tea Party’, it’s really a contest between my second brother and I to see who can seize the seat of provincial governor.”

Zhou Zhili continued at top speed, “Currently, my uncle and the Zheng Family have clearly stated their intent to support me. Family Head Xue has also agreed to lend me a hand….”

But Su Yi was already starting to lose patience. He waved to cut Zhou Zhili off. “Never mind all that. All I want to know is, will there be a fight?”

“That….” Zhou Zhili hesitated, “If we can’t reach a verbal agreement, we’ll have no choice but to determine victory and defeat through combat.”

Su Yi laughed dryly. “Rhetoric alone has always been powerless. If you ask me, it’ll inevitably end in a fight.”

But just as he said this—

Bang!

The sound of someone kicking down the door rang out. Zhou Zhili, Chang Guoke, and Zheng Tianhe were all stunned. What’s going on?

Su Yi’s brow furrowed slightly. I only just moved into the House of Waveswept Rocks today, and there are already people here looking for trouble?

Before long, a young man in robes whiter than snow walked inside, his hands behind his back.

He was tall and well-built, and he’d stand out from any crowd. A sheathed sword was strapped to his waist, and his long hair hung loose, giving him a casual elegance. 

“Liu Hongqi?” Chang Guoke shot to his feet, his eyes crackling with electricity.

The Great Zhou’s Hidden Dragon Sword Sect and the Great Wei’s Wheel of the Moon Sect were old enemies. With a grudge this deep, there was no way Chang Guoke wouldn’t recognize their unexpected guest!

Similarly, when he saw Chang Guoke, Liu Hongqi froze midstep, and his brow furrowed in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

Chang Guoke snorted, “First, I want to ask you who gave you the gall? How dare you sneak past our Great Zhou’s borders?”

“He just kicked down the door! Martial Uncle Chang, who is this guy?” Zhou Zhili couldn’t help but ask.

Chang Guoke didn’t even pause to think. “He’s the youngest outer sect elder of the Wheel of the Moon Sect, a third-level Grandmaster, Liu Hongqi. His master, the ‘Jadebright Daoist’ is the second grand elder of the Wheel of the Moon Sect.”

The Wheel of the Moon Sect!

Zhou Zhili and Zheng Tianhe’s expressions shifted, but Su Yi was vaguely starting to understand. 

Seth's Thoughts

Translated literally, the restaurant’s name is more like…. “Fresh Ding-cauldron/tripod”. It’s a “ding”, or a three-legged cooking vessel, a pretty common character in restaurant names. I wanted to translate it as “wok” because “Fresh Pot” sounds like a drug reference, but you don’t roast entire lambs in woks, so “Pot of Freshness” it is. I mean, I guess I wouldn't roast a lamb in a pot either. A roasting pan? A spit? The Roasting Pan of Freshness? The Fresh Spit?

....I don't know, man. It's just a restaurant. Let's just go with it.

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