Legend of the Cultivation God

Chapter – 6

Savior

TN: Jianghu – the world of martial arts experts.

As Zhang Xiaohua’s tears fell onto the dusty ground, his thirteen year old innocence was baptized by the roughness and inequality of the world. Seeing the spectators who were standing idly by the side, he realized that there was no one to hold against but himself and his lack of power. He grasped onto the knowledge that power brings hope, as he desperately wished for that power to protect his family from scoundrels and from the blows that felt like hoes striking the earth. A seed was planted in his heart, and although he was still immature, his heart was no longer weak like before but steadfast and more determined.

The two village girls cried as they tried to shake off from the manservants, but in the end, they were still pulled back to the two young masters’ sides. The number of spectators has also increased, but no one dared to make a sound; the atmosphere was completely quiet apart from the sounds of the three men being hit, the ladies’ cries, and the young masters’ laughter. The sun in the sky also began to descend.

At this moment, a melodious female voice sounded from one top of the pillar where Zhang Xiaohua’s body was pinned against, “A pack of evil dogs. Senior, if you are still not taking any action, then these people are going to be bitten severely by these crazy dogs.”

A male voice followed, “Junior sister is so kindhearted as always. I will be going down then to beat up some dogs.”

As the voice finished speaking, a shadow descended from the tall pillar and landed lightly behind the malicious goons. By somehow, the man used both his hands and caught two of the manservants, and threw them casually onto the floor. Then, he flew up by kicking both legs, and with a “pa pa pa pa” sound, another group of manservants were kicked onto the ground, their bodies remained motionless as it was uncertain if they were still alive. The three Zhang men were finally freed; their bodies could be seen curled on the ground with fresh blood and mud on their faces as they groaned in pain.

Only then could everyone see clearly that the man who descended from the pillar was a twenty year old youth, whose appearance was as refined as a scholar, his robes pure white, and a precious sword held in his hands. As the scholar swept across Zhang Xiaohua, the two manservants who were pinnig him to the wall immediately stepped back into a corner, letting Zhang Xiaohua run towards his father and brothers, tearfully helping them sit up while examining their injuries. The two young masters who were teasing the village girls finally stopped, and when the two girls ran over to check Zhang Xiaolong’s injuries, they did not dare to obstruct them.

The bodyguard in black walked up to the front and stared the scholar from head to toe, sizing him up before cupping his fists in a polite greeting, “May I know which sect is fellow brother from? Fierce tiger sect’s Zhao Quansheng humbly greets and request for your name.”

However, the scholar simply ignored him, and instead, he looked up towards the tall pillar. At that moment, everyone realized that there was a lady in purple standing gracefully on the pillar. Her body was tall and shapely as the wind blew against her robes, but her face was covered by a veil so no one could discern her facial appearance. Nevertheless, she could still emit an intimidating, unapproachable aura. The lady in purple jumped and landed softly in front of the scholar in white, standing side by side without any deference, and her melodious voice sounded again,

“Fierce tiger sect, such a mighty name, is it used to bully commoners? What has Shitu been doing?”

When Zhao Quansheng from the Fierce tiger sect heard her biting remarks, his faced turned ugly and his grip on the blade tightened, but upon hearing the second line, his grip loosened as he saluted the lady politely, “This person here is a disciple of the Black tiger hall, our hallmaster instructed me to protect the young master of Lu town. Since this lady here is acquainted with our hallmaster, please forgive me if you were offended by any of my actions.”

“Acquainted with your hallmaster? Hehe, you sure know to follow where the wind blows. We have already observed your actions, and even though you did not step out of your boundaries to bully the commoners, but you have abetted the two young bullies behind you to coerce the people and tease the women. My eyes are already offended. If I do not give these two bullies a deserving punishment, who knows how much longer it will be before a life is lost under their tyranny?” The scholar in white smiled as he spoke.

Hearing his words, Zhao Quansheng wrinkled his brows and raised his voice righteously, “Even though the two of you are acquainted with my hallmaster, if you choose not to reveal your identity and continue to disrupt my mission, do not blame me for following my instructions.”

Hearing his words, the lady could not help but let out a laugh, “A dog like you still dares to be sly. I guess that you will not be satisfied until I show you my prowess.” She took a step forward as soon as she finished her sentence.

The scholar in white immediately stopped her, and said in a low voice, “Junior sister, today is the New Year, and we are here only to enjoy the festivities. Do not make any moves; it is inauspicious if blood is shed during this time of the year. Furthermore, our mission…”

“But look at these two detestable dogheads, and the pitiable plight of those courageous men who stood up against them. After being beaten so severely, if we stll do not collect justice for them, I would not be able to remain calm.” The lady in purple’s voice was as cold as steel.

After a moment of consideration, the scholar in white continued, “Junior sister, you know that there are many injustice in this world. Today, we may have taught these evildoers a lesson, and helped these village people, but we cannot stay here for long. Who knows that as soon as we leave, these evildoers will look for revenge on these villagers? Instead of helping these people, will we not be inviting more trouble to them?”

The lady in purple toughened the look in her almond shaped eyes, “I do not believe that these insignificant town bullies will have any influence. If not, I shall just inform my uncle to station some troops here!”

As her voice was quite loud, the bodyguard who overheard her immediately felt unease in his heart. He knew that these words were not said merely to threaten him, and if he did not handle this matter properly, something bad was going to befall on him. Thus, he took a step forward again, and said in a warm voice, “These two young heroes, today’s matter was indeed this Zhao person’s fault, I ask for your forgiveness again. I will monitor and persuade these two young masters to not seek revenge, so I hope the two of you can share the name of your sect, and we can bury the hatchet. After all we are fellow martial brothers in Jianghu.”

The lady in purple was already reflecting on her senior’s words, and after hearing Zhao Quansheng’s gentle words, without even bothering to look at the latter, she walked over to Zhang Cai’s side to study at his injuries. The scholar in white took out a plaque from his breast and passed it to Zhao Quansheng. Zhao Quansheng looked at it carefully upon receiving the plaque, and a jolt of electricity through his body. With an even more respectful demeanor, he returned the plaque to the scholar with both hands, before turning around and whispering into the two young masters’ ears. The two young masters’ faces turned a ghostly pale and even uglier after hearing what their bodyguard’s words. They hesitantly walked over to the scholar and bowed in apology. The scholar in white shook his head and smile, signaling them towards the lady in purple, so the two young masters had no choice but to walk again to the lady and apologize profusely. However, the lady in purple did not acknowledge them, and she obviously had no intention of relenting anytime soon.

The two short fat men were not stupid, and seeing that there was no possibility of receiving forgiveness, they turned towards the Zhang Cai and his family and the two village girls to beg for mercy. The farm people do not have experience in the interactions in the town, and after hearing a few sentences, their expressions eased up. Only Zhang Xiaohua had a wooden face and remained wordless. Seeing Zhang Cai’s acknowledgement, one of the village girl said towards the lady in purple “Young Miss, look…” The lady in purple interrupted “You do not have to bother about my current mood, and I will listen to whatever you say. As for these two fatties, they can be pardoned from a death sentence but I will not let them go unpunished. Get them to fork out two hundred silvers for your injuries. And you two dogheads, if you ever look for these people to settle the score, and if I get any wind of such a matter, then consider your lives forfeited.” On hearing her words, the two fat young masters were overjoyed, and agreed immediately, promising to not follow up on this matter. Then, they took out several checks from their breast, and without even counting the amount, stuffed them into Zhang Cai’s hands. Then, they meekly waited for the lady in purple’s permission to say, “Piss off” before they hurriedly left with their bodyguard.

Seeing that his junior had allowed the two young masters to return, the scholar in white walked around and gave the goons on the floor another kick without saying anything else. As these manservants picked themselves up, they silently rushed back to their young masters’ side. Seeing that the matter was settled, Zhao Quansheng did not dare to speak another word, and he both firsts cupped towards the two youths again before leading the group away.

After the group left, some of the spectators started to edge forward, but with a single glance from the scholar in white, they all halted in their steps and did not approach any closer. The scholar in white then walked over to Zhang Cai’s side and asked “Can you guys still walk?”

Zhang Cai replied “Yes benefactor, we can.”

The scholar in white continued, “Then it is best that we leave this place first. Keep the checks in your hands properly, and we will continue to talk outside the town.” Saying which, he and the lady in purple went ahead, leaving behind Zhang family and the village girls to support each other as they walked out of the town.

Zhang Cai and his group made an unusual sight, which drew the curiosity of several passerby. A couple dressed in elegant clothes, with the lady’s face covered with a veil, followed by a group of people who obviously came from the village, of which three had multiple bruises under their tattered clothes and some fresh blood on their faces, as well as a youth whose injuries were not as severe but his face swollen due to an obvious injury. Even though everyone was staring at their backs, but upon seeing the swords in the hands of the youths, they did not dare to obstruct or interrupt the group. Nobody also dared to follow this eccentric group.

On the east of Lu town was a small stream, where Zhang Cai and his group stopped at to rest. The couple walked over to the shade of a tree beside the stream, while Zhang Cai and the rest went to the stream to wash the blood and grime off their faces and bodies. Fortunately, the manservants did not go too far during the earlier scuffle. Even though their strikes were heavy, Zhang Cai and the rest did not incur any injury that was too severe; only Zhang Xialong had his arm stepped on several times which could probably lead to a fracture, but it was still uncertain whether any of them had sustained internal injuries.

After the Zhang family cleaned themselves up, they brought the two village girls to the shade of the same tree. Zhang Cai then greeted, “Benefactor, I have not asked for your name yet. You have saved the lives of our family so please accept a bow from us.” Saying which, he immediately lowered his head but the scholar in white hurriedly held on to Zhang Cai’s wrist and said, “I am too embarrassed. Please do not call us your benefactors. My name is Wen Wenhai, and your heroic behavior moved me to step in to help. Let us first look at your injuries.”

Then, Wen Wenhai checked the pulse of Zhang Cai and the other injured members wordlessly.