Chapter 219: Every Drink and Bite, Is It Not Predestined

Chapter 219: A Sip and a Bite, Is It Not All Foreordained?

Upon the canal, Tang Wanzhuang sat inside the cabin reading, when she suddenly raised her head to look at the golden characters in the sky. Her serene expression involuntarily turned a bit melancholy, then shifted into something complex.

Her so-called reading was merely a letter spread across the pages—the very report of the Langya Sword Discourse her subordinate had spoken of yesterday.

The report was far more complete and detailed than the spoken words of her subordinate, containing the details of Xia Chichi and Cui Yuanyang’s battles, accompanied by an analysis: "Suspected to be vying for treasures on behalf of Zhao Changhe," "Suspected jealousy and rivalry," as well as an evaluation: "Both possess talents rarely seen in a century, no less inferior to Yue Hongling."

Nor did it omit Zhao Changhe's line: "If it means a certain someone can cough a few less times, then it is worth it."

Naturally, no one was reckless enough to attach any analysis or evaluation to this particular line.

Tang Wanzhuang's face flushed slightly as she curled her lips, yet her gaze remained fixed on those words, unable to pull away for a long time.

He had done it... just to let a certain someone cough a few less times, he defied princes and nobles, and clove through the Human Rankings with his saber. He whose pressure to survive had eased and whose pace had slowed, had offended two super factions of the north and south overnight; trouble would surely follow in succession, making his every step more harrowing than when he had first emerged from Beimang.

Yet Tang Wanzhuang knew he did not care; instead, he might well be drinking deeply and singing aloud, his heart filled with pure exhilaration.

She knew even better that whether it was the upheaval in Yangzhou, the chessboard of Gusu, the slaying of Fasheng before the stockade, or the execution of Faqing at the Wang family, to say that an organization as immense as the Maitreya Sect was thrown into utter chaos almost entirely by Zhao Changhe acting as a lone advancing pawn might be slightly exaggerated, but it was not without reason.

Faqing was a top-tier combatant—how many figures on the Human Rankings could the Maitreya Sect even possess? Losing this single one was a devastating blow to their vitality. In truth, this was still a minor matter; Yangzhou was the bridgehead north of the river, Gusu was a vital stronghold for the Tang family, and Fasheng was a general well-versed in military strategy. The importance of each could rise to a strategic level, yet all were gone.

Originally, the Maitreya uprising closely resembled the Yellow Turbans recorded in historical annals. If they swept through Jiangnan while the imperial court remained powerless, it would inevitably force a reliance on local gentry families to spontaneously suppress the bandits—much like the Tang family's current situation. Had it developed further, various heroes would have seized the momentum to rise, each commanding their own armies.

If the Maitreya Sect was merely fated to be the harbinger paving the way for a future king, then Zhao Changhe's actions had brought about their downfall far, far ahead of schedule. Before regional military forces could even use the opportunity to rise, the Maitreya Sect would likely be quelled in advance, meaning the chaos of the late Han Dynasty might never materialize.

He claimed he had no ambition for the world, yet everything he did was marching precisely in that direction.

Whether it was for the common people, or for... her, Tang Wanzhuang.

"Someone come," she suddenly spoke.

Baoqin, holding her zither, stood timidly by her side: "Miss, I am right here."

"Dispatch my secret order across all major provinces and commanderies: wherever Zhao Changhe passes, all shall follow his deployment, and protect his safety at all costs."

"This..."

"What? Do you think he would like it?" Tang Wanzhuang suddenly let out a soft laugh. "I suspect he prefers the current thrill and tension, riding a horse through yellow sands, commanding the edges of the earth, perhaps even accompanied by beauties... why would he want us getting in his way?"

Baoqin muttered, "Then why are we still offering unrequited devotion? Especially regarding those so-called beauties, Miss, you..."

"This is not for him, but for the world. Go."

Baoqin curled her lips, took her orders, and left the cabin to transmit the command. Tang Wanzhuang stood up, walked to the window, and watched the river flow silently, remaining speechless for a long while.

Look upon the ferry where the sands are washed away; how many souls of the mortal world has it carried across?

......

"Swoosh!" A flash of sword-light rose from the roadside, thrusting forward like a flying arrow.

Less than ten li after leaving the Wang family, the assassination attempt had already arrived.

One look at the style revealed it to be their old friend, the Listening Snow Tower.

This proved that the Wang family had already contacted the Listening Snow Tower two or three days ago, originally planning an ambush for the moment Zhao Changhe departed; now, it had just happened to coincide perfectly.

Even Cui Yuanyang had known to tell Zhao Changhe to travel with her caravan upon leaving, yet with the sudden turn of events, he could only ride out of the city like this, making his whereabouts impossible to conceal, and destining his path to be strewn with thorns.

But far from being alarmed, Zhao Changhe was delighted, bursting into hearty laughter: "For some reason, I actually missed you guys a little."

The swordsman: "..."

"Clang!" Longque left its scabbard, hacking against the sword-light and deflecting the momentum slightly.

The swordsman brushed past him, dragged off course by the immense force to roll across the ground, suddenly breaking into a cold sweat.

The Chronicle of the Chaotic World had stated things vaguely, mentioning sieges and sneak attacks, so they hadn't truly taken "slaying a Human Rankings expert" as proof of Zhao Changhe's own strength. After all, according to the information provided by the Wang family, Zhao Changhe was merely at the fifth tier of the Mysterious Pass...

Fifth tier my foot!

This was clearly the sixth tier of external cultivation and the fifth tier of internal cultivation! Moreover, even this internal fifth tier felt as though it was on the verge of the sixth, once again matching the intensity of his dual internal-external cultivation from before. Given Zhao Changhe's combat prowess and understanding of martial arts, as long as he did not encounter an equal genius from the Hidden Dragon Rankings, fighting across tiers against an ordinary seventh-tier opponent posed no great problem, and he might even dare to test himself against an eighth-tier.

No wonder he could slay someone on the Human Rankings; to put it bluntly, those at the tail end of the Human Rankings were merely at the ninth tier of the Mysterious Pass, possessing no absolute, instant-kill dominance.

This fellow was wandering right under your Wang family's nose for so long, yet you still gave us outdated information!

"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!" Seven or eight men clad in black closed in from both sides of the road, blocking Zhao Changhe's path with solemn expressions.

Zhao Changhe did not dismount. Shaking his head with a chuckle, he said, "Just as I expected. Thinking I was at the fifth tier, you sent a pack of sixth and seventh-tiers. That's why I missed you guys; you never catch up to the current version. What excellent punching bags—it would be a pity if you were gone. Go back and tell your Tower Master to send an eighth-tier next time to have some fun, hahahaha..."

The assassins remained expressionless. What nonsense—whose missions weren't assigned this way? Was one supposed to dispatch a Human Rankings expert to kill someone at the third or fourth tier of the Mysterious Pass? What would be the use of other personnel then, and why would Human Rankings masters have nothing better to do? Every time, they selected targets one or two tiers lower, deployed multiple people, and used every trick in the book from disguises to coordinated hunting. Under normal circumstances, the success rate was basically a hundred percent. How many freaks like you could there possibly be!

Zhao Changhe smiled and said, "Hey, speaking of which, I actually wanted to chat with you. Your previous assassination attempts on me failed, and you lost quite a few hands. As an assassin organization, how do you calculate this kind of thing? Will you avenge them? Or do you just take the loss and drop it?"

The leading assassin fell silent for a moment before saying slowly, "When a mission fails, no grudges are harbored. If an assassin organization entangles itself in endless vengeance, it becomes corrupted, and it may even lead to the collapse of the organization."

"No wonder," Zhao Changhe clicked his tongue twice. "But you shouldn't have told me that. What if I feel no pressure killing you now?"

A touch of anger appeared on the leader's face as he said coldly, "Speak only when you can truly kill us."

"Of course, I only have the confidence to break through. I certainly can't kill you all by myself, but then again, I am not alone either."

Before his voice could fade, a flash of golden light emerged from behind as Yuanxing came rushing forward: "Young Hero Zhao, please stay your steps."

The assassin leader: "..."

Zhao Changhe looked back and smiled, "Shouldn't Great Master be drinking tea at the Wang family residence?"

Yuanxing shook his head, "The conduct of the Wang family... is not of our kind. Young Hero Zhao has shown great kindness to our Huayan Temple this time, so I have come specifically to express my gratitude and to escort you."

The assassin leader was straightforward: "Withdraw."

A crowd of black-clad assassins vanished without a trace in an instant.

Who would be crazy enough to clash with a figure at the ninth tier of the Mysterious Pass? They were assassins, not a suicide squad.

It would be better to report back to the Tower Master and see if they truly needed to dispatch a gold-tier assassin... missions regarding this man surnamed Zhao really seemed impossible for ordinary folk to take on.

Zhao Changhe shaded his eyes with his hand and looked into the distance: "Their lightness skills are quite good. If I hadn't already learned Tread Water, Leap Waves, I'd actually want to learn from them."

Saying so, he stopped putting on airs on horseback, dismounted, and bowed: "Thank you for your assistance, Great Master."

"I see that Benefactor does not fear them in the slightest; rather, it seems this old monk has merely been meddlesome."

"Not at all, not at all, I was exactly waiting for you, Great Master." Zhao Changhe thought to himself, 'Who I was actually waiting for was Zhuque... though the fact that you ignored the Wang family and chased after me has made me look at you in a better light. It seems the normal Buddhist sects of this world are decent enough?'

"Before this old monk came out, I spoke briefly with Benefactor Situ. He mentioned that Young Hero Zhao wishes to find a body-tempering technique, or a method to project a qi wall?"

Zhao Changhe's eyes lit up: "Yes, yes. Great Master's Golden Bell Shield..."

"The Golden Bell Shield cannot be taught to outsiders, but this old monk happens to have some information that Young Hero Zhao desires."

"Oh?"

"Young Hero Zhao's body should have recently been applied with some kind of treasure, as its aura has not yet entirely dissipated. This old monk once encountered a similar aura; at the time, I wished to explore it, but abandoned the endeavor due to other reasons."

Zhao Changhe was stunned for a moment, then grew overjoyed.

This meant that the sea mud indeed existed somewhere on land as well! Perhaps he could even find something more core?

Regardless of whether it could continue to benefit his meridians, body tempering was definitely the right path!

As expected, doing good deeds always brings rewards. Zhao Changhe cupped his fists and bowed, "To not hide it from Great Master, I, Zhao, desperately need this item. Please, Great Master, guide me to its source."

Yuanxing sighed, "It would have been easy to say in the past, but now it is somewhat troublesome. It lies within a certain peak among the continuous snow-capped mountains north of the steppe, which this old monk discovered by chance during my travels years ago. However, as war is currently raging, Young Hero must not be impatient; you may wait until the armistice before going."

Saying so, he handed over a fragment of his monastic robe's hem: "This is the map of markers I kept for myself back then; I shall gift it to Young Hero now."

Zhao Changhe bowed once more: "Thank you, Master."

Yuanxing returned the greeting with palms together: "Benefactor possesses great compassion, truly a living Buddha. In the future, you may linger at Huayan Temple and draw near often."

Having spoken, he beckoned the monks behind him, said no more, and strode away.

Zhao Changhe watched the monks depart, then suddenly said: "If Master Yuanxing had not arrived in time just now, would the Venerable have intervened?"

All around was silent, with no response from Zhuque.

Zhao Changhe was somewhat puzzled—was Zhuque no longer following?

Little did he know that in a forest less than three li away, Wang Daozhong was retreating at top speed with bumps all over his head: "Venerable Zhuque, our two factions have already formed an alliance. The past should be turned over, so why do you still strike me?"

Zhuque said lazily: "Seeing you reminds me of the demon who once called me vindictive and told me to wait. I can't help but feel an itch in my hands... This is a personal grudge between us; it shouldn't affect our alliance, should it?"

Wang Daozhong nearly spat out a mouthful of blood and swore never to reason with a woman again.

No need to question or praise; in my view, this is a fine tale that could enter the annals of web literature. Is this not also the setting sun's red plumes reflecting on the evening clouds, the afterglow of the jianghu right here?