Why do I have so many masters?

Chapter 1535: Extra Story 4

Fufeng County.

A few sturdy horses hurried over from the Southern Frontier, found an inn in the nearest State City, handed the reins to the smiling shop boy who came forward to greet them, and a group of people, dusty from travel, entered the inn. Leading them was a burly man with a shaven head and robust muscles, carrying a bronze rod as thick as a child's wrist on his back.

One end was still stained with mud, mixed with some red traces.

The big man raised his hand and tossed a small silver piece directly onto the counter of the inn, embedding it deeply into the wood.

With a loud voice, he ordered a few jars of strong liquor, baijiu, and also asked the shopkeeper to choose meats and dishes to accompany the drink. The shopkeeper agreed with deep bows, his forehead sweating cold, only relaxing after he heard them stomp up the stairs.

The shop boy swallowed his saliva, leaned closer to the shopkeeper, and saw the small silver piece casually tossed into the solid wooden counter, clicking his tongue and asking, "Uncle, who are these people?"

"Why so fierce?"

The shopkeeper raised his hand and slapped it on the boy's forehead, lowering his voice urgently:

"Keep your voice down, do you want to die?"

"Uncle?"

Seeing the shop boy still wanting to speak, the shopkeeper couldn't help but scold softly:

"Those people's accents are from the Southern Barbarian Villages."

That sentence, as if carrying the North wind of winter, immediately wilted the rebellious look on the shop boy's face like frosted eggplant, even the few remaining customers hastily finished their meals and left quickly.

The entire inn only had three people left by the window.

One was a woman dressed in white, with a hat draped with thin silk, exuding elegance.

The other was a woman in her twenties, dressed as a maid, but her demeanor and appearance were outstanding in the shopkeeper's eyes. From this, one could guess how remarkable the appearance of the woman with the hat would be.

And the reason these two attractive women could move freely outside was because at their table was an old man, his hair completely white, dressed in brown short attire, with brawny arms like knotted steel, lifting a bowl to drink with bold movements.

Beside him, there was a long rectangular package, giving off a vibe of a Jianghu ranger.

No one dared to provoke the two women; the shopkeeper, experienced as he was, knew they were probably young nobles traveling, and the old man would likely be the guard for these two women, his skills certainly formidable. With such a person in his inn, the shopkeeper felt a little more at ease.

Moreover, no matter how fierce the people from the Southern Barbarian Villages were, they wouldn't dare cause a major disturbance in the State City. In recent years, those from the Southern Barbarian Villages started to roam the Jianghu, their silent ferocity and heavy-handedness causing quite a stir.

A while ago, there was even a Jianghu ranger who was brutally killed on the main road by those from the Southern Barbarian Villages.

Although the culprits were eventually captured by nearby Taoists, the impact of this incident was not easily forgotten.

The shopkeeper painstakingly pried out the silver ingot, then personally went to the kitchen to prepare food for those people.

The burly man with robust muscles went upstairs in the inn, placed the bronze rod next to a table with a crisp clang, causing the table to sway twice, and then sat down on the chair.

Accompanying him were three others: a middle-aged man wielding twin swords, a young man using a saber, and a beautiful woman with a tail-biting snake silver bracelet on her wrist and a whip coiled around her arm.

With her movements, the whip slightly moved, revealing a scale-like structure.

Reflecting one by one cold light inside, this multi-section whip harbored a sinister intent with hidden blades. Just seeing the blue-green light on the blade, one could tell it was dipped in poison. An average person hit by it would lose several pounds of flesh, with the remaining poison flowing through their bloodstream into their heart and lungs.

The leading big man sat straight, his eyes coldly watching outside, and said:

"Was it here that the Sixth Brother encountered his disaster?"

"Indeed."

"Hmph, the Sixth Brother once acquired half of a secret manual from the Heavenly Dragon Institute. With his horizontal training kung fu, along with the Seventh Sister and them, as long as they were cautious, no one in an average state or county was their match. Just a Taoist? Hah, it must be an enemy masquerading under the Taoist's name."

The big man couldn't help but sneer.

The middle-aged man with the twin swords hesitated and said:

"But I heard that Taoist here indeed has some remarkable abilities."

"Although the Weiming Sect adds up to less than thirty people, it is said that ten years ago, the current senior disciple of the Weiming Sect went alone to the Border Pass. With one person and one sword, he blocked tens of thousands of Western Region troops for several hours, even the Celestial couldn't get past his sword Qi."

The big man laughed coldly:

"Utter nonsense."

"We both know about the Celestial incident back then; a single person blocking a military force is even more absurd."

"If you're afraid, Old Third, stay here; the three of us will go find that Taoist."

Hearing the big man's words filled with anger, the middle-aged man no longer spoke, and secretly thought to himself that the tales of one person and one sword stopping the Iron Cavalry and Celestial of the Western Regions were probably exaggerated, a case of rumors being mistaken for facts.

With that thought, he settled down, the shopkeeper brought up good wine and meat, toasted to the big man to apologize, and after they filled themselves with food and drink, they all rested.

The next day, after the sun passed noon's hottest point, they gathered their strength, each shouldered their weapons, mounted their horses, and rushed towards the Weiming Sect.

Inside the Weiming Sect.

The Sect Master, wearing a blue and white Taoist robe, personally saw a person out of the mountain gate. Before leaving, the woman with a gentle smile, whose eyes were clear and bright, put on her veil and looked at the ethereal and beautiful girl beside the Sect Master, suddenly smiled slightly and said:

"I suddenly remember, during my recent travels, I encountered something rather interesting."

The Sect Master chuckled and said:

"What kind of matter could it be that makes the lady remember for such a long time?"

The woman slightly smiled and said:

"It's nothing major, really, just somewhat peculiar, so it stayed in memory for a little longer."

"It's said that in Yongjiang County under Qinghe Peak, there was a farmer family ten years ago who had a child. He was usually the laziest, unwilling to do any farm work, yet always clamoring to see the swallows in Jiangnan, hear the wind and snow in the Northern Frontier, watch the whales in Penglai, and glimpse the silver bells on the southern trees."

"People thought he was talking nonsense and beat him quite a bit."

"But when asked why he wanted to see those things, he couldn't give a reason, just said blankly that he must see them in this lifetime. The elders in the village said it was a debt from a past life carried into this one."

"Such a heavy debt must be repaid."

Next to the Sect Master, the ethereal girl resembling the wind and snow suddenly froze.

The gentle woman turned her eyes to her, smiled, and said:

"It's an interesting story, isn't it?"

The girl seemed unaware, pursed her lips and said nothing, always gentle, yet at this moment forgot her manners and suddenly took a step, swiftly dashed out, and rushed down the Weiming Sect. From the mountain, several strong horses galloped, led by a burly man who saw the girl in a Taoist robe, with a trace of coldness in his eyes.

The familiar copper stick in his hand whipped up a strong wind, horizontally smashing down.

Several people behind him also exerted their methods, attacking the girl, Kun Dao, aggressively.

The momentum was fierce, but they didn't expect that the girl merely flicked her sleeve, and the wide sleeve danced like the waves of the East Sea, directly overturning four horses weighing over two thousand pounds, sending the four attacking Martial Artists flying, landing on the ground and only then realizing their qi veins were blocked by just one move, their hearts full of terror.

Weiming Sect Master looked at the Yin Yang Family's Young Master in front, lips trembling slightly, deeply inhaled and said: "Is it... is it Shanxue?"

The woman calmly smiled and said, "Who can say for sure?"

"Thanks to the Sect Master for lending the classics, I will take my leave now."

Weiming Sect Master watched the departing Chonghe's back, slightly bowed toward the woman, and said:

"Thanks for this time, Miss Tan."

An elderly man with sleeves rolled up drove the carriage, while the woman known as the Yin Yang Family's Young Master, Miss Tan, removed her veil, revealing clear eyes. The maid beside her grumbled and said:

"You've already read that book earlier, why come here?"

"Do you intend to tell the Kun Dao called Chonghe this news?"

"Whether it is or not, how can it be clear? Just follow your heart."

The maid snorted twice, lifted the curtain on one side of the carriage window, looked at the willow trees, the road, and the distant clouds, and said in a low voice, dissatisfied: "If it's just following your heart, then why didn't you attend that wedding feast seven years ago yourself, Miss?"

Behind came a voice with a laugh:

"Because I'm afraid."

"Afraid of what, afraid of seeing Young Master Wang?"

"No."

"I'm afraid I won't resist snatching the wedding from Miss Xue."

The maid's face showed a surprised expression, suddenly turned her head, seeing Miss almost unchanged from over ten years ago, looking down at an open book, and instinctively said:

"Miss, are you serious?"

Miss Tan didn't bother to lift her eyelids, speaking casually.

"False."

The maid breathed a sigh, relaxed her tense nerves, and whispered in frustration, saying Miss shouldn't always tease people like this. The elderly carriage driver chuckled silently, cracked the whip, and said: "Miss, where are we going next?"

The gentle, beautiful-looking Young Master of the Yin Yang Family brushed her black hair at the temples, thought for a moment, and said:

"Xiong City."

"Afterwards, we go to the Parthian Empire, then Loulan."

"Make a detour to the Northern Frontier, then head to the East Sea."

The elderly man was taken aback and said: "That would take quite some time."

"Then we'll take it slow."

The old man smacked his lips, laughed heartily, and said: "Alright, alright."

"Then we'll take it slow, the Jianghu road should be walked slowly!"

"Giddyup!"

The whip snapped down, the strong horses stepped, pulling the carriage away.

PS: There's just one more extra chapter left, which should be the wedding.