Chapter 517 (4): The Scholar, the Martial Artist, and the Beauty

Given that Cao Fu was present, the old man with him was most likely Xiao Shuye.

The young girl raised her head and grabbed onto her aunt's arm in elation as she exclaimed, "Is this the Uncle Cao Fu that Wenfa is always bringing up?"

As for Sui Wenfa, he already had tears swimming in his eyes. The stories of Cao Fu's feats had made him a figure of idolization in Sui Wenfa's eyes, but he could never be certain if this was the same Cao Fu that had almost become his aunt's husband. However, he hoped with all his heart that this was the case, and to receive confirmation of this was like having a long-standing wish fulfilled.

After standing up straight again, Cao Fu hurried over to Hu Xinfeng to help him to his feet.

A wry smile appeared on Hu Xinfeng's face as he said, "Thank heavens you're here, Young Master Cao. If you hadn't arrived when you did, I wouldn't have been able to protect Brother Sui even if I had sacrificed my own life. Of course, my life is cheap, but it would've been an utter travesty had Brother Sui lost his life here."

Cao Fu hurriedly took a step back, then extended another respectful bow as he said, "You are a heroic and admirable man, Hero Hu."

"Don't be fooled by his smooth talk, Cao Fu!" Sui Xinyu harrumphed coldly. "Just now, Hu Xinfeng almost put an end to my life with his own two hands!"

Cao Fu looked up with a dumbstruck expression.

"You're too kind and trusting for your own good," Sui Xinyu sighed. "You don't know just how treacherous the world is. Forget it. It's only in times of crisis when people show their true colors. It appears that I was blind to have regarded Hero Hu as a friend of mine. You can go now, Hu Xinfeng. Let this be the end of your ties with our Sui Clan."

Hu Xinfeng spat out a mouthful of blood onto the ground, then lowered his head and cupped his fist in a salute as he said, "I'll be sure to visit your residence in the future to deliver a formal apology, and you can punish me as you see fit then, Brother Sui."

He then limped away with a hand clasped over his chest, cutting a pitiable and lonesome figure.

Yang Yuan was standing at the entrance of the pergola with a dark expression as he said in a grim voice, "Cao Fu, don't think that you can do whatever you please just because you have a powerful master! This is the Five Mountain Nation, not the Orchid Residence Nation or the Green Shrine Nation!"

"Those words sound very familiar to me," Sui Xinyu chuckled as he stroked his beard.

Yang Yuan's expression stiffened slightly, and there was a furious look in his eyes, but he didn't dare to do anything. The look of pent-up rage in his eyes only served to fuel Sui Xinyu's glee and schadenfreude. Fate truly was a fickle mistress, providing twists and turns that constantly kept one on their toes.

Sui Wenyi was snuggled up in her aunt's arms, clasping a hand over her own mouth to conceal her wide smile. She was gazing upon Cao Fu with a hint of entrancement in her eyes, but her face then fell slightly at the realization that he only had eyes for her aunt and not for her.

Meanwhile, Sui Wenfa was staring intently at Cao Fu, taking full advantage of this opportunity to take a good look at, what was in his eyes, a legendary figure that had walked straight out of one of his beloved novels. It was just a pity that he wasn't carrying a sword or a saber. Otherwise, the image would truly be perfect.

Cao Fu stood on the path with one hand clasped behind his back and his other clenched into a loose fist held in front of his abdomen. Sui Xinyu couldn't help but give an internal nod of approval at the sight of the dashing young man. As expected of the marriage partner that he had chosen for his daughter.

Cao Fu first took a glance at the woman in the veiled hat, his eyes brimming with warmth and longing. He then turned his gaze to Yang Yuan, sliding one foot back to lower his center of gravity as he entered a shallow squat, then extended a hand forward with a smile as he said, "I've been searching for you for many years, Yang Yuan. Now that we've finally been brought together by fate, how about we have a little spar?"

"I have no interest in sparring with children," Yang Yuan sneered. "I'll get my disciple, Fu Zhen, to spar with you. Neither of you will get your masters or seniors involved, and there will be no retribution sought out if either of you die. What do you say?"

Fu Zhen's eyelids twitched slightly upon hearing this.

Before Cao Fu had a chance to reply, Yang Yuan turned to Fu Zhen and said, "Regardless of the outcome, unleash only three sword strikes and leave it at that."

Fu Zhen heaved an internal sigh of relief. Thankfully, his master hadn't condemned him to a fate of certain death.

Fu Zhen took a deep breath, then smiled as he said, "Alright, in that case, please enlighten me, Exalted Immortal Cao."

With that, he sprang forward in a lithe and agile manner while thrusting his sword directly forward.

It seemed that he was striking to kill, but in reality, he was holding back much of his power.

His plan was to satisfy Cao Fu by subjecting himself to a beating at his hands, and hopefully, that would be enough for Cao Fu to spare him.

However, he was quickly left ruing his foolish decision.

Cao Fu took a step forward with his head cocked to the side, and right as Fu Zhen was hesitating about whether he should slash his sword at his opponent's neck just for show, Cao Fu had already arrived directly before him.

He pressed a hand against Fu Zhen's face, then smiled as he chanted, "Five lightning true seal, heed my call!"

A loud thump rang out as a burst of lightning exploded right in Fu Zhen's face.

He was instantly killed on the spot, with blood flowing out of all of his orifices, and he was sent flying back with such tremendous force that he crashed straight through the wall of the pergola opposite the entrance, vanishing out of sight in the blink of an eye.

His sword had slipped out of his grasp, and it was caught by Cao Fu before being casually hurled through the air, ultimately piercing itself into a large tree.

𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Sui Wenfa had never felt so excited and emotional in his life, and he wiped a hand across his face as tears began to involuntarily flow down his cheeks. This man was not just his idol, he was his future uncle-in-law! He was determined to have Cao Fu teach him an immortal technique or two. That way, if he went out traveling on his own in the future, he wouldn't be like that weak and inept scholar from earlier.

He was clearly the victim, yet he had to apologize profusely, and even after being shoved into the mud, he didn't dare to retaliate at all. In the end, all he could do was scurry away with that large bamboo bookcase on his back, looking just as comical as he did pathetic.

Yang Yuan and the others were already fleeing the scene, and Cao Fu turned to Sui Xinyu with a smile as he asked, "Should we stop them, Uncle Sui?"

Sui Xinyu thought about it for a moment, then decided that it was best to end the conflict here, so he shook his head as he smiled and replied, "It's fine, just let them go. They've already been taught a lesson. Let's get out of here. There's still a dead body behind the pergola, after all."

As for whether Yang Yuan and his clique were going to go after other innocent people, neither Sui Xinyu nor Cao Fu seemed to care.

After some catching up, Sui Xinyu learned that Cao Fu had just arrived in the Five Mountain Nation after traveling through the Orchid Residence Nation, the Green Shrine Nation, and the Golden Gate Nation. He had already paid a visit to the Sui Clan's residence, only to learn that Sui Xinyu had already departed for the Great Seal Script Empire.

From there, he traveled tirelessly while asking passersby for the route that Sui Xinyu had taken, and they had finally run into one another on this secluded path. Cao Fu apologized profusely for coming too late, while Sui Xinyu cohorted with glee and told him that he had nothing to apologize for.

He took a glance at his daughter, but she remained completely silent, and it was unclear what expression she wore beneath her veiled hat. Sui Xinyu's smile widened even further upon seeing this. In his eyes, his daughter was most likely feeling shy in the presence of the man of her dreams. Missing out on a son-in-law as exceptional as Cao Fu once was already nothing short of a tragedy.

Thankfully, Cao Fu remained faithful to the marriage arrangement all those years ago. Essentially, fate had given them a second chance, and Sui Xinyu was determined to grab this change with both hands. In comparison, attending the Go tournament was a completely trivial matter. He had to ensure that this marriage was set in stone, even if it were at the cost of missing the Go tournament.

Cao Fu offered to accompany Sui Xinyu to the capital of the Great Seal Script Empire, but at this point, Sui Xinyu was no longer interested in attending the Go tournament. He proclaimed that the journey was too far for an old man like him, so he wanted to turn around and return home instead.

Cao Fu was happy to go along with this change of plans, stating that it was a good idea not to travel to the capital of the Great Seal Script Empire at this juncture, given that the flood dragon was still rumored to be wreaking havoc.

The group made their way out of the pergola, then mounted their respective steeds as they traveled down the mountain along the secluded path, setting off for the prefectural city of the Five Mountain Nation that was home to the Sui Clan's residence.

It was not going to be a short journey, and they had to pass through the outskirts of the capital along the way, but that suited Sui Xinyu just fine as he could take this opportunity to visit a few old friends of his that were living in the capital city.

As the woman in the veiled hat mounted her steed, she took a thoughtful glance at the end of the small path out of her peripheral vision.

Hu Xinfeng was also traveling along the path down the mountain. As soon as he was out of sight of everyone at the pergola, he had immediately begun rushing away like the wind. Before long, he spotted Chen Ping'an, and the mere sight of him had Hu Xinfeng feeling incensed. He felt like Chen Ping'an was the source of all of the misfortune that had befallen him on this day.

If he hadn't delayed everyone's departure from the pergola by playing that game of Go against Sui Xinyu, then they would've avoided Yang Yuan's clique altogether. That way, he would still have a cordial relationship with the Sui Clan, and perhaps he could've even used his connection to the Sui Clan to pander to Cao Fu.

However, given the way that things had turned out, not only had he completely soured his relationship with Sui Xinyu, any opportunity that he had of acquainting himself with Cao Fu had completely evaporated. Once Cao Fu married Sui Xinyu's daughter, perhaps she would condemn Hu Xinfeng and convince Cao Fu to seek him out in retribution.

If that were to happen, Hu Xinfeng's entire clan and sect could be inexplicably wiped out someday, just because he had tried to kill Sui Xinyu to save himself!

With that in mind, Hu Xinfeng lashed out in frustration, kicking Chen Ping'an in the back of the head to send him tumbling down into the forest outside of the mountain path.

He was feeling a lot better after taking out his rage on Chen Ping'an, and he turned to spit out a globule of blood-infused saliva. The punch to the chest he had received from Yang Yuan appeared to have been quite a heavy blow, but in reality, the injuries inflicted weren't very severe at all.

After walking for about half a kilometer, Hu Xinfeng's eyes widened in shock as he spotted Chen Ping'an once again!

Are my eyes playing tricks on me?

He carefully picked up a rock, then gently tossed it at the back of Chen Ping'an's head.

The rock struck its target, and Chen Ping'an immediately clasped a hand over the back of his head as he turned around with an infuriated expression and yelled, "Leave me alone!"

Hu Xinfeng was struck by a pang of amusement, but he didn't dare to laugh.

All of a sudden, his entire body tensed up, and the mountain path had suddenly gained a very eerie complexion in his eyes. Chen Ping'an rose to his feet and began making his way directly toward him, while Hu Xinfeng could only look on with a blank stare, paralyzed with fear.

Chen Ping'an adjusted his conical bamboo hat, then grinned, "Why are you not taking the main path? Aren't you afraid of running into ghosts on a secluded path like this one?"

Hu Xinfeng gulped nervously, then nodded as he replied, "You're right, I should take the main path."

The two of them began walking along together.

Hu Xinfeng noticed that Chen Ping'an's footsteps were rather unsteady, and not only was his complexion slightly pale, he was also sweating profusely. After a brief hesitation, he lashed out without any warning, delivering a swift and powerful punch to Chen Ping'an's temple.

A loud thump rang out as he was sent flying off the path once again.

Hu Xinfeng had punched him with such force that he had been left with a sore fist, and he was certain that the accursed scholar had to be dead this time.

However, after walking for another half-kilometer, Chen Ping'an appeared in his field of view once again.

This time, it was Hu Xinfeng's turn to sweat profusely, and chills were running incessantly down his spine.

Once again, Chen Ping'an made his way directly toward him, then walked along beside him as they made their way down the mountain together.

All the while, Hu Xinfeng continued to sweat as if he were in a sauna.

All of a sudden, the sound of pounding horse hooves rang out behind them.

Hu Xinfeng abruptly sprang back as he yelled, "Brother Sui! Young Master Cao! This man is Yang Yuan's accomplice!"

However, the horses merely sped right past him, with no one even bothering to spare him a glance.

Hu Xinfeng was rooted to the spot, looking on in shock and disbelief.

"Well, that's rather awkward, isn't it?" Chen Ping'an chuckled.

However, his brows then suddenly furrowed slightly.

The woman in the veiled hat had just communicated urgently with him through her mind's lake, imploring, "Save me, Young Master Chen!"

Chen Ping'an pretended not to have heard her, intentionally slowing down a little, and Hu Xinfeng did the same.

However, the woman refused to give up, tugging on the reins of her horse to send it galloping directly toward Chen Ping'an as if she had suddenly gone insane.

Even Chen Ping'an was a little flabbergasted by this turn of events. He had seen many shameless people in the past, but never one on her level.

The woman in the veiled hat jumped down from her steed, then hid behind him, using him like a shield as she said, "Save me, Young Master Chen. I know you're a cultivator."

"Why should I save you? Am I your father or your grandfather?" Chen Ping'an asked.

The woman abruptly removed her veiled hat, revealing her stunning features, and there was a look of resolve in her eyes as he declared, "If you save me, then I will be forever indebted to you. Even if you ask for my body in return, I..."

To her surprise, she was abruptly cut off as Chen Ping'an slapped her across the face, sending her tumbling to the ground with a dazed and stunned expression.

"All of you have been pissing me off for a very long time now!" Chen Ping'an harrumphed.

However, he then heaved a faint sigh as he turned to the stunned woman with a smile and said, "My apologies, that was a little unchivalrous of me."