Notes on Longevity

Chapter 223 Plain clothes can change the color of heaven and earth; a single slash can turn a human into a demon.

"Miss!"

After learning the whole story, Zhao Yunchu bypassed the waiter and went straight downstairs. Seeing this, Lihua and Wandou hurriedly followed.

It turned out that just fifteen minutes earlier, the waiter had gone upstairs to invite the other guards of the Zhao family as instructed by Zhao Yunchu when the accident occurred.

Outside the Ya Xiang Lou restaurant, the guards of the Zhao family, some squatting and some standing, were watching the diners coming and going, seemingly casually. One of them spoke up, "With so many martial arts practitioners, do you think Miss will encounter any trouble inside?"

The other guards turned to stare at the person who had spoken and said, "I think it's unlikely."

"What do you mean 'should'? It's definitely not going to happen."

"These江湖人 (jianghu people) may not know Miss, but don't they know the innkeeper and waiters here?"

"They'll definitely protect Miss. Besides, isn't Brother Bei inside?"

"That's right. After all, he learned from Young Master Lu. Even if he encounters trouble, Brother Bei can handle it."

"In that case, how about a few of us go buy some food?"

"why?"

"I'm afraid Miss might suddenly forget about us."

Everyone nodded, agreeing that it made a lot of sense. So, just as they all stood up to decide who would go buy the items, the shopkeeper rushed out in a flurry.

He stood at the doorway, looking around before finally fixing his gaze on them. "Are you gentlemen the guards of Miss Zhao's family?"

"What's up?"

A hint of unease flashed through their eyes as they stared at the waiter. Their slightly furrowed brows startled the waiter, who quickly explained, "Miss Zhao asked me to invite you upstairs. A private room has been prepared for you, and the food is already served."

Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions relaxed immediately, and one of the guards smiled and said to the waiter, "Then please lead the way."

"Please follow me, everyone."

Guided by the waiter, the group entered Ya Xiang Lou. Although the building was not as grand as the Zhao residence, the overwhelming sense of heroism that greeted them upon entering was rare, especially given the presence of many martial arts enthusiasts. This heroism was tinged with a righteous yet sinister aura.

Perhaps it's because the martial arts practitioners here rarely escape unscathed when roaming the martial world; they possess both chivalrous courage and righteous spirit, as well as vicious and ruthless madmen.

They walked in the hall, silent, but their gaze swept over the people, who were armed with all kinds of weapons, including swords, spears, halberds, and the black rattan armor that provided protection.

Looking at these people, the guards always felt uneasy, as if something was about to happen, especially when they saw those martial arts practitioners who were wearing rattan armor. They knew that possessing armor privately was a serious crime. Although martial arts practitioners didn't have such taboos, they should still know what it meant to hide one's skills.

Now that everyone is openly wearing armor and armed, what are they planning to do? Rebellion or murder?
Amidst the clinking of glasses and laughter of the江湖客 (jianghu ke, a term referring to people from the martial arts world), someone inadvertently glanced in their direction, their eyes met, and a wine glass fell to the ground.
After leaving the Zhao residence, Yang Chenghan headed straight for Yaxianglou in the East City. He was worried that something might have happened to Zhao Yunchu. When he arrived, the building was in chaos, crowded with people, and the sight of swords flashing in their hands told him that the matter was very serious.

Without the slightest hesitation, he barged in and shouted, "Get out of the way!"

During this time, he seized the opportunity when someone was tiptoeing to look into the innermost part of the crowd and was not paying attention, snatching the man's knife. As he pushed through the crowd and was about to reach the front, he saw a young girl spreading her arms to protect a group of injured black-clad guards lying haphazardly on the ground behind her. On either side of her were a woman and a girl who looked like a little girl.

They also spread their arms.

The girl at the head of the group was Zhao Wuyong's only daughter, the only young lady in the Zhao family.

Although Yang Chenghan had never met him before, the reason he came here was because Zhao Yunchu had been bullied. Even though he didn't know him, it was obvious who Zhao Yunchu was in the current situation.

Zhao Yunchu glared menacingly at the martial arts practitioners blocking their way and said, "Let me tell you, I am the eldest daughter of the Zhao family, and they are my family's guards. If you don't give me a reasonable explanation today, I will not let you go."

The man at the head of the group, dressed in white and holding a silver folding fan, looked like a scholar. When he heard Zhao Yunchu's words, he couldn't help but laugh. He said, "I say, Miss Zhao, even if you want to protect your own guards, you should at least see the situation clearly, okay? There are so many of us. Are you sure it's us who should be spared, not you?"

"Hmph!" Zhao Yunchu snorted coldly at the scholar's teasing. "You're all so glib. I can't be bothered with you. You'd better explain to me now why you attacked my guards. Otherwise, once the guards arrive with their men, you won't even have a chance to explain."

The scholar exclaimed, "Oh! I didn't realize that. So, your guards are quite capable? Then why were they beaten up by us just now? Do you have some kind of private army?"

Zhao Yunchu was speechless for a moment, but the scholar continued to press on: "It seems so."

“Miss Zhao, I don’t know your family’s situation, but you should know that keeping an army privately is a capital offense, and may even result in the extermination of your entire family.”

"no!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yunchu immediately explained, "If Father hadn't told me not to say it, you would have wet your pants long ago."

"Oh, oh, oh, then tell me, what kind of person could make me wet my pants?"

"Damn it! Why are you, a bookworm, spouting all this nonsense with a woman? If you ask me, hand her over to me, and I'll handle it!"

As soon as the scholar finished speaking, the burly man beside him could no longer contain himself. He stood tall and strong, his face greasy, and with a wicked grin, he rubbed his hands together as he approached Zhao Yunchu.

"What do you want to do?"

Upon seeing this, Lihua panicked and stood in front of Zhao Yunchu, shouting, "You scoundrel, stay away from my young lady!"

"Oh, this young lady is quite something." When he saw Pear Blossom standing proudly in front of him with her arms outstretched and chest puffed out, he shoved the scholar beside him aside and said, "You scholar, all you do is spout nonsense. Let me handle it!"

After saying that, his disgusting laughter echoed throughout Ya Xiang Lou. Just as the man was about to make his move, Yang Chenghan finally squeezed in.

When he saw the man's movements clearly, his brows furrowed, his hand holding the knife began to tremble uncontrollably, and then he rushed forward in one stride!
"Get out of my way!"

In an instant, Yang Chenghan arrived beside the man and swung his knife at his outstretched arm.

Amidst the interplay of light and shadow, a chilling glint fell upon the man's eyes. In an instant, the man withdrew his hand, took two steps back, and turned to look in the direction from which the sound came.

The knife missed its target and landed heavily on the wooden planks of Yaxianglou.

The blade pierced deep into the wood, its aftershocks still lingering. Though it missed its mark, Yang Chenghan felt as if a raging fire was burning fiercely within his body, threatening to engulf him completely at any moment. With a steady, trembling body, he raised the blade. Through the slight twitching at the corner of his mouth and the fierceness in his eyes, he stood before Lihua, shielding everyone behind him.

Pear Blossom was stunned by the scene before her, unable to recover for a long time. Finally, she was pulled back to Zhao Yunchu's side by her after she had recovered from her shock.

"Miss, when did our family get such a capable guard?"

Pear Blossom stared in astonishment at Yang Chenghan's back as he stood alone, his robes fluttering, carrying a sword, and asked.

Zhao Yunchu shook her head and whispered, "I don't know either."

But she felt that the figure in front of her seemed somewhat familiar, as if she had heard it somewhere before.
A month ago, while Huang Zichao was busy redecorating the house, Zhao Yunchu sat in the main hall with her hands supporting her chin, looking at her father Zhao Wuyong. She asked with curiosity in her eyes, "Father, what kind of person is Brother Chenghan? Is he worth you renovating the house so elaborately?"

Zhao Wuyong sipped his tea, looked at the servants and maids busy outside the hall, and smiled, "Do you still remember the stories I told you when you were little?"

Zhao Yunchu tilted her head and pursed her lips, recalling the thought in her mind, and said, "Is it that great demon?"

"Hmm!" Zhao Wuyong nearly choked on his tea upon hearing this. He coughed a few times, wiped his mouth, and said, "How can you talk like that, child? What great demon? That's your uncle!"

“But that’s what people outside call him.” Zhao Yunchu didn’t understand and continued talking to herself.

“That’s just what they say. They don’t know the reasons behind it, so they speak recklessly. But we’re different. Your mother and I know the truth, so we can understand his predicament.”

“But Father, I don’t know!” Zhao Yunchu spread her hands, abandoning her usual fierce demeanor, and pretended to be obedient, saying, “If I knew the reason, I wouldn’t have been swayed by what others said.”

Zhao Wuyong shook his head helplessly, then raised his hand and tapped her on the head. "Don't think your father doesn't know what you're up to. Let bygones be bygones. You need to remember that before he retired, he was the number one person in this martial arts world, the undisputed number one in the world. His martial arts were so high that only immortals could defeat him."

"Then why did he retire?" Zhao Yunchu asked with a frown. "Logically speaking, someone with such unparalleled martial arts skills should be able to kill so many people, and no one should be able to touch him."

"You don't understand. The martial world is the martial world, and the world is the world. Even if he is the best in the world in martial arts, he can't withstand the iron hooves of the royal family."

"That battle alarmed the imperial court, so the emperor ordered troops to be dispatched to quell the rebellion."

"No matter how skilled you are in martial arts, when you face an army of thousands, you will only face death."

Zhao Yunchu seemed to understand: "So, he chose to retire from the martial world?"

"Yes. I haven't seen him since then, until recently when he sent someone to deliver a letter saying that he wanted to temporarily entrust his son, your brother Chenghan, to me."

Zhao Wuyong sighed, “It’s such a pity. If it weren’t for that incident, perhaps there would be more than just my daughter and me sitting here today. Maybe you and him could have gotten married.”

"marriage?!"

At this point, Zhao Yunchu suddenly stood up, looking at her father in shock and asking, "Father, you're not joking, are you?"

"That's natural."

"Why, Father?" Zhao Yunchu looked unusually pitiful as she pleaded, "He didn't come here just because of this, did he?"

“No, it’s said that your brother Chenghan is obsessed with business and came here to learn business from me.” Zhao Wuyong suddenly hesitated for a moment, then changed the subject and said, “However, it’s not wrong for you to think that way, since we’re all family anyway.”

"Father, I haven't even met him yet."

"Him?" Zhao Wuyong couldn't help but laugh. He stroked his beard and said, "Just now you were calling him Brother Chenghan, how come he suddenly calls you 'him' as soon as you hear about arranging a marriage for you?"

"Ugh!" Zhao Yunchu suddenly stood up, looking at Zhao Wuyong with displeasure, and said, "Father is so annoying, I'm not going to talk to you anymore, I'm going to go ask Steward Huang."

After saying that, Zhao Yunchu turned and left.

Zhao Wuyong watched Zhao Yunchu's departing figure with great joy and laughed, "If you two can really get married, I would be willing to die for it."

"Bystanders clapp and laugh at our unbridled arrogance. What's wrong with being unbridled? What's wrong with being wild?"

"Brother Yang, in the blink of an eye, your child has grown up so much."

After leaving the main hall, Zhao Yunchu searched everywhere for Huang Zichao and finally found him in a small courtyard. He then asked about Yang Tianqian's past, but Huang Zichao never gave a direct answer: "In that battle, Master Yang, dressed in white, fought so fiercely that the heavens and earth changed color and the sun and moon lost their light; he fought so fiercely that rivers of blood flowed and corpses littered the fields. He was truly a demon among men."

"However, I don't know about Young Master Yang. After all, I've never met him."

"However, when Master Yang was young, he was handsome and skilled in martial arts; Madam Yang was charming and bright as spring sunshine. I imagine that Young Master Yang must be just as good-looking and skilled in martial arts."

Zhao Yunchu was finally convinced. She slumped onto the stone table, staring blankly at Huang Zichu, who was pruning flowers and trees, and said, "Butler Huang, I was asking about Uncle Yang, not Yang Chenghan."

"Why do people who know about this always speak in such roundabout ways? Is there some hidden story behind it?"

"Just now, I heard my father say that the people who call Uncle Yang a devil are all unaware of the truth."

Huang Zichao stopped what he was doing, scratched his head and said, "Young Master Yang is here to learn about business. Yes, I need to go and set up a study for him and buy some more books."

Having said that, Huang Zichao disappeared in a flash.

Zhao Yunchu looked at the empty courtyard and sneered. But then he thought, everyone says Yang Chenghan is good-looking and skilled in martial arts. Why not take a look first? What if he falls in love at first sight like in a novel? He'd be too embarrassed to admit it then.

In her imagination, Yang Chenghan should be a swordsman, dressed in coarse hemp clothing, with a sword held horizontally in front of him, capable of killing enemies and breaking through enemy lines even if there are thousands of troops in front of him.

However, she quickly put that image in her mind. Even someone like Uncle Yang had to be defeated by the iron hooves, let alone Yang Chenghan. Moreover, he was now obsessed with the way of business, so who knew if he was good at martial arts?
However, right here in this elegant brothel, the image of Yang Chenghan, whom she had killed, reappeared at this moment, his clothes fluttering, standing with a sword in hand, like a celestial being.

Although there weren't thousands of troops ahead, they were all martial arts practitioners with unique skills.

At that moment, he seemed to be able to feel the words Huang Zichao uttered: "Clad in white, he slaughtered so fiercely that the heavens and earth changed color, the sun and moon lost their light; he slaughtered so fiercely that rivers of blood flowed and corpses littered the fields, truly a demon among men."

(End of this chapter)