Ten Years Lantern on a Stormy Martial Arts World Night Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Wan Shui Qian Shan Peak

Cai Zhao sighed. This was why she didn’t want to be in the Jianghu. You often saw the weak being bullied. As a righteous person, she could not just pretend she didn’t hear it. She headed towards the sound. 

Turning around a dark green hill, there was indeed a group of young men dressed as disciples of the sect, laughing loudly. They forced a young man against the mountain wall, jeering at him. 

A beautiful girl in an apricot-colored dress stood in front and seemed to be the leader. She yelled, “If you’re sensible, then obey! We won’t kill you—just suffer a little!” 

Cai Zhao stopped, realizing, it wasn’t a helpless girl being bullied.  

A sharp faced young man chimed in. “That’s right! Chang Ning, you’re someone that was supposed to die. If shizun didn’t use all his efforts to save you, you would have died long ago!”  

Another disciple joined in. “You did survive, but you ate the Snow Lotus Pill that shizun was going to give shijie, reducing her cultivation. Ask your conscience, can you live with yourself?!” 

“Obediently let us take a bowl of your heart blood, and we’ll let you go… hehe, otherwise…” 

The tall and skinny disciple named Chang Ning retorted. “Who said that my heart blood has the same effect as the Snow Lotus Pill?” His clothes were faded and old, yet his manner of speech was slow and measured. Clearly, he was intelligent and well educated. But his voice was raspy and weak. Clearly he was injured. “You know that I didn’t just get injured, but also poisoned with a rare poison. The blood of a person whose poison isn’t cured; you really want it?” Chang Ning spun around, showing a face filled with poisonous pustules. A few places the pustules had hardened into dark scabs, but a few places the pus was still flowing. It was gross.  

A few disciples made expressions of disgust. 

“You aren’t really here for my heart blood. You just want to pick on me.” Chang Ning faced the group of people. His oozing face still had a pair of beautiful eyes, clear like the moon in the sky.  

“I will never submit.” Chang Ning said. “So if you have the ability, take my life. Otherwise, I will return it to you tenfold.” 

A few of the disciples looked like they wanted to back out now.  

“Er, this brat is the son of a good friend of the Sect Master. If the Sect Master finds out, then we…” 

“Why don’t we let it go. After all, we are outer sect disciples. What if the Sect Master gets mad and makes us leave?” 

“Shijie, what should we do if the Sect Master punishes us?” 

That beautiful girl bit her lips. “He delayed my cultivation. Even if I don’t take his heart blood, I’m not going to let him go easily. Well… let’s beat him up, and if my father asks, we’ll just all insist that it’s a friendly fight between brothers! We martial art practitioners should not complain after receiving a few blows. My father won’t punish us for this!”  

This plan obviously had much lower stakes. The young men quickly agreed and approached the young man with their fists raised. Suddenly from behind them, a lazy female voice came—“Have you guys fooled around enough?” 

Everyone jumped. 

They spun as one to look behind them. They saw only a single young girl with a billowing dress stand calmly. The girl had plum-colored cheeks and looked beautiful.  

“The day after tomorrow is the Ancestor’s rememberance ceremony, and almost all the reputable sects in the martial arts world are here. If you make such a fuss and let other sects see you, aren’t you bringing shame on the Qingque Sect?" 

Cai Zhao felt helpless. --originally she thought it was a bunch of people bullying a helpless girl, but it was actually a girl leading a bunch of people to bully a boy.  

The saying goes, when two beauties meet, jealousy rises spontaneously. The beautiful girl that led the crowd spat, "You little bitch, who are you? How the Qingque Sect handles its disciples has nothing to do with you!" She thought that Cai Zhao was someone who was not a member of the six Beichen sects. And even if she was, among them Qingque Sect was number one.  

“Of course it concerns me. Because in a few days, I will become a disciple of Sect Master Qi. I have a responsibility to protect the reputation of my sect. At that time, I will have to call young lady shijie.” Cai Zhao thought, in terms of brains, this girl was at the same level of Second Young Master Song. 

Qi Lingbo was startled. She said uncertainly, “You, are you… Luoying Valley’s… Cai Zhao?”  

“Correct.” Cai Zhao guessed that this girl was the daughter of Sect Leader Qi. 

Qi Lingbo thought about how enthusiastic her father was towards Luoying Valley, and began to have thoughts of retreating. But the young men around her were her usual followers. If she backed down so publicly after just a few sentences from Cai Zhao, how will she look to them? 

“This is the first time Cai shimei has come to Wanshui Qianshan Peak right?” Qi Lingbo smiled sweetly. “It’s almost lunch, so why don’t you go to the main hall where the guests are being served? You’re new here, so you don’t know the depths of certain things.”  

Cai Zhao raised an eyebrow. “What if I don’t leave?” 

Qi Lingbo smiled like a flower, but her tone contained a threat. "We are the only girls under my father’s tutelage. In the next few years, we should get along well. If you insist on being stubborn and ruining the friendship between us sisters, how will we learn martial arts together in the future?  

Cai Zhao thought about it seriously, and said, "It's fine. I don't like learning martial arts anyway. My parents never taught me martial arts. From now on, shijie can practice martial arts on her own. I will just read and enjoy the scenery." 

“If you don’t like marital arts, why are you even here?!” Qi Lingbo’s smile fell off her face. 

“I came to become the disciple of shifu, of course.”  

"If you don't want to learn martial arts, why would you take my father as your shifu?" Qi Lingbo couldn't think of anything else. The Qingque Sect's martial arts was the best in the world. Every year, countless people came to ask for guidance. 

“Shijie, that view is so narrow minded. Is it not also important to learn virtue and ethics? Sect Master Qi is a world-famous righteous martial artist and gentleman. If I can learn just a few percent of his virtue, I will benefit for the rest of my life.”  

“….my fellow disciples, why are you looking at me like that? Am I wrong?” 

When a businessman gives a speech at the opening of his business, would he say that he was here to make a lot of money? Lots and lots of money? No, naturally it was to benefit his neighbors and build good relationships.  

The group of disciples all awkwardly agreed, embarrassed.  

Qi Lingbo's face darkened: "You are so eloquent. I don't think our Qingque Sect can tolerate a great Buddha like you!" 

Cai Zhao laughed.  

"Shijie is threatening that I will be rejected by the Qingque Sect. However, is shijie the one who has the final say on whether I can become a disciple or not?"  

Poor Uncle Qi, such a kind and amiable person, yet he gave birth to a daughter with this much stupidity. 

Qi Lingbo choked. 

"If Sect Master Qi insists on accepting me as a disciple, but shijie is not willing, could it be that Sect Master Qi will listen to shijie and not accept me as a disciple?" 

Qi Lingbo heard bursts of silent laughter behind her.  

If Song Yuzhi were here, he would definitely tell Qi Lingbo not to quarrel with Cai Zhao, or else she would be angered to death. 

Qi Lingbo screamed, “This kid Chang Ning has offended me, so I’m going to get my revenge today. If you don’t get out of the way, today as your shijie, I will teach you the rules!” 

She had already made up her mind. Cai Zhao's martial arts skills were low anyway, so she planned to slap her a few times to vent her anger. If her father got mad, she would just say that it was the first time they met, and she just wanted to try Cai Zhao's martial arts. She didn’t know that Cai Zhao didn’t know martial arts and accidentally used too much strength. 

"Are you guys done?" Chang Ning glanced at Cai Zhao for a few times, pondered for a moment and then said, "You guys are such plodding ditherers. First you have to teach me a lesson, and now you have to teach others a lesson. If you want to take action, do it." 

Everyone turned to look at him angrily.  

Qi Lingbo smiled at Cai Zhao and said, “Look, this brat isn’t grateful at all. He’s always been like this, no respect at all, and he never listens to the words of his shixiongs...” 

"Besides being rude, does he have any other bad behavior?" Cai Zhao interrupted her, "If so, please tell me quickly. Otherwise, I will be stopping you.” 

"He's so rude, and you still want to protect him?!" Qi Lingbo was stunned. 

"As long as he is not a bad person and has never started trouble on his own, you shouldn’t bully him. As for whether he is polite or not, it has nothing to do with me." Her aunt used to say, doing chivalrous things and being a righteous person sometimes not only doesn’t result in rewards, but may not even lead to gratitude. 

Qi Lingbo had a pair of beautiful almond eyes, which were now wide open. She gritted her teeth and said, "I think you are asking for trouble. Just watch how I..." 

She raised her right arm, turned sideways, and used her right hand like a sword. She was about to strike Cai Zhao when a familiar exclamation came from not far away - "Lingbo, stop! What are you doing?!" 

Zeng Dalou and a few disciples scrambled towards them. 

Cai Zhao sighed in disappointment. Her aunt had also said that while you may want to slap someone, if the authorities came, you had to be respectful. 

"——Lingbo, you are becoming more and more disobedient! I told you not to bully Chang Ning. Remember how you agreed?! But you actually called more people! The Luoying Valley party just climbed the mountain today. You should be welcoming them as honored guests! But you want to bully others! I will report today’s incident, you, you! Why are you guys not leaving?!” 

It appeared like Zeng Daluo was giving a harsh scolding, but Cai Zhao could hear that he was actually protecting Qi Lingbo. 

Too bad his good intentions were not accepted. Qi Lingbo stomped her foot. “Don’t interfere in this matter. Afterwards, I’ll speak to daddy. No matter what, I have to teach this one… these two a lesson!” 

Cai Zhao laughed. “How are you going to do that?” 

Zeng Dalou took a step forward, placing Cai Zhao behind him. He whispered, “You say a bit less.”  

Zeng Dalou, we’ve known each other for less than two hours. Why don’t you ask Qi Lingbo to say less? 

"A person in the martial arts world will naturally show the truth with his fists!" Qi Lingbo declared. 

Cai Zhao poked her head out from behind Zeng Dalou and said with a smile: "I will only say a few more words. Firstly, I didn't take your Snow Lotus Pill, and secondly, I wasn't rude to you. You immediately put me the same as Chang Ning shidi. How did Qi Shijie decide this?" 

Qi Lingbo's eyes were red with anger: "You still dare to say that you are not rude to me?! If it weren't for you, how could I be scolded and punished by my father later? If it weren't for you, none of this would have happened... " 

"You are wrong." Chang Ning suddenly spoke, and everyone looked at him.  

Chang Ning looked at Cai Zhao:  

"I'm older than you, so I'm not your shidi."  

"You are being bullied, and I am here to rescue you. When I call you shidi, shouldn't you just listen? When you are travelling the Jianghu, you should be a grateful person.” 

Chang Ning looked at the sky and said: "If I have to let someone younger than me calls me shidi, I would rather be beaten by them. Anyway, their terrible martial arts don’t even hurt.” 

“You two…!” Qi Lingbo was about to die of anger. 

“Alright, you both stop saying a few words.” Zeng Dalou yelled. He pressed the throbbing blue veins on his forehead: "You three, please stop saying a few words! - Today, all the sects are gathered on Wan Shui Qian Shan Peak. Do you want outsiders to see a joke of the Beichen's lineage?! Lingbo, you come with me to receive the punishment, and everyone else disperse immediately!" 

Cai Zhao shrugged and had no intention of objecting. Qi Lingbo's eyes welled up with tears, and she scruffed her foot on the ground. 

At this moment, another figure rushed into the forest, brushed past Cai Zhao's side like the wind, stood between Zeng Dalou and Qi Lingbo, and spread his hands in a persuasive manner. 

Qi Lingbo's eyes lit up, and she took a small step forward. She cried pitifully, "...second shixiong.”  

Cai Zhao gave this expression full marks. Aggrieved with coquettishness, fear with a cry for help, it seemed that although this Miss Qi was not good at dealing with women: she was good at dealing with men.  

The young man first bowed in greeting to Cai Zhao. "Cai shimei just arrived today, yet the disciples did not show their hospitality. Instead they let you wander around on your own, and almost caused a misunderstanding. It is really a fault on our part. Cai shimei, I’ll apologize to you first.” 

The words "wandering on their own" and "misunderstanding" turned a blatant bullying incident into a different flavor in just a few words. 

“No, no, you are too polite.” Cai Zhao smiled. “Qi shijie and I do not have any conflict. As long as she doesn’t teach me a lesson, that’s good. What’s important is this Chang Ning shidi…” She looked around and found he was gone. 

At some point, the tall young man with the sores on his face had disappeared. 

Cai Zhao put on a fake smile. “Then there are no worries.”  

The young man begged Zeng Dalou. "It's very busy up front. Master is busy greeting all the leaders. There are many things waiting for you to do. Why don't you just leave shimei to me, and I will reprimand her?” 

Zeng Dalou was very helpless and waved his hand. Qi Lingbo hid a smile, pulled the young man's sleeve, and ran away. 

As soon as she left, the young accomplices shrank away. Zeng Dalou glared at them, and they fled like a bunch of rats. 

Even though she saved a white eyed wolf who seemed to have no good feelings, today was another day that she worked hard for righteousness. 

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White eyed wolf: a Chinese idiom meaning someone who is ungrateful.  

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