Chapter 431. Side Stories (2)

Gold Will Merchants.

After the

murim's

resounding victory over the Dark Heavens Association, many martial artists sang their praises.

Even the Merchant King, who was often criticized for selling his soul for money, was hailed as a Hero of the Murim.

"The best merchant company under the heavens? Of course, it's the Gold Will Merchants!"

"From what I've heard, they’ve been secretly working with Great Hero Zhou Xuchuan to disrupt the Dark Heavens Association for a long time."

"They're different from those greedy, pig-like merchants. They're great men who sacrifice themselves for a greater cause."

"And what about the Gold Will Sword Sect? Led by their current Sect Master, Yang Yi, and their Vice Sect Master, Chu Lian, although they may be inferior in skill, they had fought for the peace of the

murim

. Rumor has it that they specifically formed a new sect

to

confront the Dark Heavens Association."

"Long live the Gold Will Merchants! Long live Li Yicai!"

The Gold Will Merchants, the Gold Will Sword Sect, and even Li Yicai's name grew increasingly famous.

"Woohoo!"

Li Yicai relished his growing fame.

Fame brought wealth. There was no need for him to expend effort or money to gain their trust. Even if he simply sat still, the so-called big shots would come and ask for business.

He had no rival merchants.

Anyone who dared to bad-mouth the Gold Will Merchants would be criticized with words like, "how dare you say such things to the merchant who saved the

murim

?!"

Without even doing anything, the Gold Will Merchants reached the pinnacle of the Central Plains.

"Isn't investment about standing tall and withstanding the times? I had been keeping an eye on Great Hero Zhou Xuchuan and Young Master Zhuge Shengji since they were children."

Li Yicai lied with a straight face.

Still, it wasn't entirely untrue.

"Oh, great Merchant King, we truly admire you."

"Hahaha! It's nothing. I was just doing what was right to save the

murim

."

"Is it true that the reason you diligently hoarded money was actually to help many people?"

"Of course. Saying I sold my soul for money was just conspiracies spread by jealous rival merchants."

"As expected! It's true that you donated most of your assets! You're truly amazing!"

"Y-yes? A donation?"

"We were worried about what to do because our merchant company is small... but it was a needless worry. We will also do our best to help the victims and injured of the war, both materially and spiritually."

"No, there's no need to go that far..."

"Long live the Gold Will Merchants! Long live the Merchant King! Long live Li Yicai!"

Later, it was revealed that Merchant King donated more than eighty percent of his assets to disaster relief efforts.

Following his lead, other merchants also joined in, contributing collectively, and enabling faster recovery.

"Did you hear? Lately, the Merchant King has been wailing loudly every night. Did the donations seem too much?"

"Hey, how dare you! Even if it's you, you still shouldn't insult him. According to my brother-in-law's friend's younger sister's in-laws, the Merchant King cries every night to commemorate the victims. Isn't that touching?"

"I'm sorry... I didn't know that."

Mechanism Dragon, Zhuge Shengji.

There was no one in the current

murim

who didn't know his name.

"Kyaaaa!!! Young Master!"

"Young Master, let us just see your face once!"

"I heard the Mechanism Dragon is still single! Please just look at my daughter's face just once!"

"Master! Please accept me as your disciple!"

"Please teach me!"

Many people, both martial artists and ordinary people, sought to meet Zhuge Shengji. Hundreds of people visited every day.

Zhuge Shengji was overwhelmed.

It was only natural.

Not only were Zhuge Shengji's connections and background impressive, but his personal abilities were also extraordinary.

Just looking at his reputation alone, he was on par with the Heavenly Strategist and the Tactician Phoenix. Considering his achievements in the war, it wasn't surprising.

"I-insane!"

Zhuge Shengji, who could barely name ten people he considered friends, was mortified.

Zhuge Shengji locked himself away in the residence and workshop provided by the Jinan Branch of the Gold Will Merchants in Shandong.

"Whew... to think even the Family sent someone to try to handle this... what do they want from me?"

Zhuge Shengji, the Hero of the Murim, sighed deeply.

"Young Master, come quick. Do you think you could help me with a few things? I'm designing a new device." Wu Zhenhua greeted him with a soft smile.

“A new device? Of course!”

Zhuge Shengji’s eyes sparkled with interest as he joined her.

Wu Zhenhua, with a hidden smile on her lips, leaned into Zhuge Shengji’s embrace.

"Is this what you needed? By the way, what kind of device is this?”

“Yes, yes. When you approach the training wooden man, its body opens to trap the enemy inside.”

Wu Zhenhua rubbed her cheek against his body, a happy smile spreading across her face.

"What a fox, really, a fox..."

Chu Lian exclaimed at the sight.

"Oho, I see..."

Zhuge Shengji was about to think of several things.

“Z-Zhenhua...?”

“Agk, Father.”

Wu Zhenhua, still in Zhuge Shengji's embrace, tilted her head to the side, smiled brightly, and even waved to greet Wu Qu.

"Huh?"

Zhuge Shengji turned his head to look at Wu Qu.

"Oh, Elder. Welcome..."

Zhuge Shengji began to greet him, then closed his mouth.

Wu Qu's expression turned demonic, and horn-like things sprouted from his forehead, transforming him into a dragon.

His hands were empty, but clenched tightly as if gripping an invisible sword.

"Instructor, please calm down."

Chu Lian blocked his path, sweat dripping down her face.

Wu Qu often taught martial arts as the Instructor of the Gold Will Sword Sect. She knew how monstrous Wu Qu was.

"I'll kill you!"

Wu Qu unleashed his Manifestation of One's Path.

Shaanxi, Huashan.

"He refused?"

Zhang Xuen raised her voice.

Luo Xiaoyue nodded with a wry smile.

"Zhou Xuchuan! You brat I'm going to—!!!"

Zhang Xuen rolled up her sleeves, her voice cracking.

There were few people in the

murim

who could react like this when faced with one of the Six Empyrean Overlords, no, the Five Empyrean Overlords, the greatest in the world.

"Drink as much as you want today. I grant you permission."

Tan Xiang, the Plum Blossom Swordsman whom she had been working with for a long time, handed over a bottle of liquor and patted Luo Xiaoyue on the back.

"Don't worry about it. If you think about it, it was impossible from the start. Plum Blossom Swordsmen can't marry."

Just because one was a Daoist didn't mean that one couldn't date or marry.

Let alone dating, one could even have children.

However, that only applied to ordinary disciples. The elders of Mount Hua and those in other high-ranking positions were restricted from marrying for fear of leaking their techniques, and the sect losing their foundation.

The Plum Blossom Swordsmen, of whom there were only twenty-four, were also bound by this restriction.

Zhou Xuchuan, despite being a great martial artist and the Number One Under the Heavens, was actually just another ordinary Fourth Generation Disciple within Mount Hua.

Luo Xiaoyue emptied the glass of liquor Tan Xiang had poured, a slight curve forming at the corners of her lips.

“What are you talking about? It starts now.”

“...Huh?”

"According to Mount Hua's regulations, if a disciple knows the true arts of the sect, like the Twenty-Four Sword Forms of the Plum Blossom, one cannot have children. Marriage is also severely restricted. For Senior Brother, not only does he know the Twenty-Four Sword Forms of the Plum Blossom, but he also knows the Violet Haze Divine Art, our Number One Divine Art, right? So, things would change."

"W-wait... you, you're not..."

"The Violet Haze Divine Art being passed on to the Five High Elders of Mount Hua was unavoidable due to the situation, but beyond that, it needs to be protected."

Wasn't that true? Luo Xiaoyue's eyes lit up.

"Even if Senior Brother's case is special, it would be even more difficult to allow such a union if the person he would be taking as a wife was of high status. For example, if they were of the Direct Branch of one of the Five Great Ancient Families. Since the secret arts of both forces could be leaked, wouldn't that be even more problematic?"

"J-Junior Sister. Please calm down. Even if what you said is true, then that would also pertain to you, a Plum Blossom Swordsman..."

"Ah, it’s already gotten late. I’ve got somewhere to be, so I’ll take my leave."

Luo Xiaoyue’s eyes burned with ambition.

***

Yin and yang intertwined.

The dim sunlight slowly brightened, stretching across the vast sky. Tang Hui crossed her arms and tapped her fingers on them, expressing her displeasure as she saw Zhou Xuchuan off.

“What’s wrong?”

“..."

Tang Hui bit her lip at Zhou Xuchuan’s question.

Just as he was about to ask again, Tang Hui turned her characteristically venomous gaze to the side and muttered softly.

“...I want to stay with you a little longer.”

𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

“Ha...”

Zhou Xuchuan gave her a look that seemed to ask if she was serious. He couldn’t believe the sweet words that came out of Tang Hui’s mouth.

It was surprising, but it was also unexpectedly cute, making his heart pound.

“Do you want to die?”

A venomous aura exuded from Tang Hui’s fingers.

“Just kidding, just kidding.”

“Hahaha.” Zhou Xuchuan laughed.

“I have something to ask you.”

“What is it?”

“Do you... love me?”

Tang Hui couldn’t bring herself to look at him as she asked.

It wasn't because she was embarrassed. She was just worried she wouldn't get the answer she wanted.

"Yes."

It was such a refreshing answer that her worries seemed foolish.

"..."

Tang Hui rested her head on Zhou Xuchuan's chest.

"What about me?"

They said that flowers had thorns, but the Tang Family's flowers were poisonous. Touching them wouldn't just hurt, they could kill.

Tang Hui was well aware of the world's perception of her. Honestly, she didn't think that she was a very good person either.

Even if she was beautiful, she had a terrible personality.

Was it that day?

There was one time, when the poison of the flower had subsided.

The day he had learned the truth about the Tang Family. It was when Tang Hui had knelt, bowed politely, and confessed her family's lies.

There was no trace of her usual venomous demeanor. Far from being strong, she seemed fragile, as if she could break at the slightest touch. That sight had been so pitiful and sorrowful.

"I don't want to... lose to my Orabeoni."

That day, he had been able to see Tang Hui's true self, not her facade.

She had chased and chased after someone's silhouette.

Then, when she had said that one day, she wanted to not only chase after him, but walk alongside him, and overcome him, a smile had naturally formed on Zhou Xuchuan's lips.

The beauty illuminated by the moonlight, the familiarity that yet was unfamiliar, the sight he had never seen before, nourished his aging heart.

The image of her clutching his sleeve, barely able to let go, and pleading for help still lingered in his mind.

"Ahem. Well, various things."

Zhou Xuchuan tried to muffle his words with a cough.

“Zhou...”

Zhou Xuchuan, do you want to die?

He already expected Tang Hui’s next words.

However, what she said next was completely unexpected.

"Z-Z... Zhou Gege (哥哥)... Please. Tell me.”

Zhou Xuchuan couldn't breathe for a moment. He froze, as if he'd been struck by a Frigid Pale Divine Palm.

If the Tang Family's retainers had seen this, they would have shouted, "Hand over the Matriarch immediately! You fake bitch!"

Clang!

"Huh?"

Zhou Xuchuan was debating whether or not to embrace Tang Hui when a sharp sound rang out behind him, followed by a crack.

Startled, both he and Tang Hui broke apart and turned to find the source of the sound.

"Young Lady Zhuge?"

It was Zhuge Xiuluan, a peerless beauty renowned as the Tactician Phoenix in the Martial Alliance. Fragments of a jar were scattered at her feet.

Judging by the medicinal scent, it must have been medicine for the unconscious Zhou Xuchuan.

"Oh, you must be from the Martial Alliance... H-huh? Young Lady Zhuge?"

Zhou Xuchuan was speechless, lost in thought. Zhuge Xiuluan stood there with a blank expression, then suddenly began to shed tears.

“Sob, sob...”

She didn’t seem to understand the situation herself. Her reasoning couldn't keep up.

“

Sob, sob...

I-I'm okay. Don't... worry about me.”

She didn't seem okay at all.

"Because... because it was enough that Young Master Zhou needed me... that alone... was enough for me.”

“Huh?”

Zhou Xuchuan couldn't believe his ears.

"I'm... sorry... even though I told myself I wouldn't cry... I remembered when you said no one could replace me again...

sob, sob

!"

The air froze.

"I-I never thought that you were lying. It's clear. It's clear that my shortcomings caused Young Master Zhou to change his mind....”

Zhuge Xiuluan broke down in tears, unable to continue.

"What's that supposed to—ah!"

Zhou Xuchuan let out a gasp as if remembering something.

"There seems to be some kind of misunderstanding... agh!"

Zhou Xuchuan jumped back in surprise.

Hiss!!!

The spot where he’d been standing moments ago hissed and sizzled as venom began to eat through the floor.

"Tang-Tang Hui?"

"Shut up, you pervert."[1]

Tang Hui shot him a venomous glare, her right hand clutching the Tang Family’s poison needle while her left emanated a suffocating venom.

The embarrassment she had felt when she had called him

Gege

just a moment ago seemed as though it had been an illusion.

"You were so confident last night that you were saying it was your first time too, but what? Who did you need?"

"W-Wait a second. Calm down... wait, that's not Formless Poison, is it?"

Zhou Xuchuan trembled, his face pale.

"Die!"

Tang Hui hurled a poison palm at Zhou Xuchuan.

"Hmm."

The Divine Physician, drawn in by the scent of the medicine, scratched his chin.

The Divine Physician's gaze followed the medicine soaking into the ground, moving upward. He caught a glimpse of the medicine-soaked sleeve, and the expression of Tactician Phoenix hidden behind it.

"Oho..." he exclaimed.

"So she's a Tactician."

1. Literally, Demon of Lust. ☜