I can only beat noobs.

Chapter 180: Dumb Loss

"So he is the seventh young master of the Jiang family. No wonder he hates Chen Ming to the bone."

Fang'er overheard the man's conversation at the next table and sensed the gossip. Intrigued, she quickly asked, "Brother, does this Jiang Shihua have a grudge against Chen Ming?"

"It's more than just hatred! It's the hatred of being forced to marry..."

The man was overjoyed at being called "Big Brother" and began to recount their long-standing feud.

At this moment, a beautiful maid walked in from outside and approached Zhuang Xiaotian. "How are Young Master Zhuang's injuries? Are you alright?"

Zhuang Xiaotian was helped up by several of his men. Hearing this, he broke free from their grasp and said, "I'm fine. That guy surnamed Jiang wouldn't dare to really hurt me."

Jiang Shihua spoke harshly, but in reality, he was very measured in his actions. His main goal was to embarrass him; he wouldn't actually injure him seriously. That would be difficult to handle.

Of course, he was truly enraged with that final sword strike, and he aimed for the kill. If it weren't for the intervention of those outside, Zhuang Xiaotian would have been severely injured, if not killed.

The maid said, "That's good. My young master is outside and it's inconvenient for him to come in right now."

"Brother Chen, you've really come?"

Zhuang Xiaotian said with a look of surprise, "It sounded like Chen Ming's voice, but I wasn't quite sure."

The maidservant replied, "Yes."

Zhuang Xiaotian dusted himself off and walked outside.

"Brother Chen, is it really you?" At this moment, Jiang Yingxue saw that Jiang Shihua was unharmed, so she left him and ran out the door.

Jiang Shihua was not seriously injured, but upon seeing this scene, he was so angry that he spat out a mouthful of blood and fainted on the spot.

……

The people in the inn immediately began to whisper among themselves.

"How is this possible? From ninth rank to fifth rank in just four years?"

Fang'er was halfway through hearing this when she suddenly exclaimed in surprise, expressing serious doubt.

The man laughed and said, "It's normal for the young lady not to believe it; I didn't believe it at first either. Whether it's true or not, he certainly outshone everyone else in the Qingyun Ranking competition and secured sixth place. There's no doubt about that."

Fang'er stopped dwelling on that matter and exclaimed, "That Miss Zhao truly has a discerning eye. She took a liking to Chen Erlang before he rose to prominence. In the end, she proved her judgment."

I must say, her perspective is truly unique.

The man sighed, "It's a pity that Miss Zhao's master separated the lovers and confined her to her home. It's all because he offended the Qin family."

"The Qin family?"

Fang'er's eyes sharpened. Her knowledge of Jiangzhou was limited to only a few families, such as the Qin family and Jin Yutang.

The man said, "Yes, that Qin Changyuan is truly despicable. Just because Chen Ming gained the favor of the most beautiful courtesan at Tianxiang Pavilion, he became jealous and spread rumors that he would make things difficult for Chen Ming. To put it bluntly, isn't it because he has no affiliation and is easy to bully?"

Fang'er began to have some doubts. "Could this Chen Ming be a womanizer who's always chasing after women?"

The man laughed and said, "I've heard that Chen Ming is incredibly handsome. It's no wonder that women always flock to someone like him."

Fang'er scoffed at this and refused to say anything more to him.

……

After leaving the inn, Zhuang Xiaotian saw a luxurious carriage.

Then Chen Ming's voice came from inside the carriage, "Brother Zhuang, please get in the carriage and let's talk."

The beautiful maid opened the carriage door.

Zhuang Xiaotian was somewhat puzzled. The Chen Ming he knew had always been approachable and never put on airs. But when he got into the carriage and saw the scene inside, he was taken aback.

Chen Ming was sitting in the middle of the carriage, one hand resting against the back of a woman. Both women were wearing veils, so their faces were not visible.

"Brother Chen, what's going on here—"

Zhuang Xiaotian was somewhat bewildered.

"It's a long story."

Chen Ming shook his head, not going into details, only saying, "It seems you've been promoted. Congratulations."

Seeing that he was unwilling to say more, Zhuang Xiaotian naturally did not ask any further questions, and said, "It's all thanks to you. Right after you made it onto the list of successful candidates, Lord Du summoned me and asked me some casual questions. The next day, I was promoted to a seventh-rank inspector."

"That's only because your cultivation level is high enough. If you hadn't broken through to the seventh rank, even if Lord Du wanted to help you, it wouldn't have been possible."

Seeing his sincere expression, Zhuang Xiaotian felt extremely comforted.

Even though he was the one who helped, he never took credit. He was unlike any of the important figures he had met, like the officials of the Six Doors. Forget about promoting him, just saying a word to him was like a great favor.

He said, "I haven't even congratulated you yet on winning sixth place on the Qingyun Ranking. You have no idea how much of a sensation it caused in the city when the news came. My elder brother was so excited he almost fainted, and he kept saying he was waiting for you to come back so he could renovate the ancestral graves."

Chen Ming smiled upon hearing this. This was truly his elder brother's style. This time, he had brought honor to the family, and the first thing he thought of was repairing the ancestral tomb.

He asked, "How is everything at home while I was away for the past few months?"

"Everything is fine. By the way, my elder brother bought a new mansion, ten times bigger than the previous one, near the governor's mansion."

"That's good."

"The Admiral even visited your home in person and presented you with a plaque inscribed with the words 'Soaring to Great Heights.' It was written by the Admiral himself. With this plaque, no one will dare to offend your family anymore."

Chen Ming nodded and said, "My brother also mentioned this in his letter to me."

He then inquired about the current situation of some acquaintances, such as Zhang Mingyu and others.

Finally, Zhuang Xiaotian suddenly lowered his voice, "Have you heard that rumor?"

"The Tomb of Immortality?" Zhuang Xiaotian said with a solemn expression when he saw that he knew. "In recent days, a large number of martial artists from all over the country have poured into Qingfeng City. There are two experts of the third rank or above. If this continues, I'm afraid something big is going to happen."

Chen Ming nodded. He had anticipated this situation, which was why he was in such a hurry to return to Qingfeng City.

"Why are you here?"

This place is about fifty miles away from Qingfeng City.

Zhuang Xiaotian said, "I was sent here to investigate a murder case."

Chen Mingqi said, "At a time like this, even if a murder occurs, it's just a gangland feud. Is it really necessary to send so many people over?"

"Those who died were officials."

"Who is it?"

Have you ever heard of Princess Mingyu?

……

When Jiang Shihua woke up, he found himself in a carriage, with his sister Jiang Yinghua sitting next to him, looking sullen. His face twitched, and he angrily demanded, "Uncle Fu, why didn't you intervene earlier?"

After a while, Uncle Fu's voice came, "The other party has a first-rank official."

what?
Jiang Shihua found it hard to believe, "How could he have a first-grade expert by his side?"

"So this old man is not mistaken, that is Yang the Old Ghost of the Cangyue Sect. I did not expect him to still be alive..."

Cangyue Gate?
How did that bastard get involved with the Cangyue Sect?
Jiang Shihua has been away from Jiangzhou City for some time, and news about Chen Ming and Yu Haitang has not yet reached here.

He knew perfectly well that he had to swallow this bitter pill.

"You wait for me!"

He was furious.

……

"Your friend has ulterior motives."

After Zhuang Xiaotian left, Yu Haitang suddenly said, "Just now, he was so passionate in front of Jiang Shihua, wanting to get justice for you, because he knew that Jiang Shihua would never kill him."

The more prestigious and powerful a family or sect is, the less likely they are to lay a hand on someone from the Six Doors. Even crippling someone, let alone killing them, would be a huge liability for the Six Doors.

Chen Ming said, "That's just human nature."

"Aren't you afraid that keeping someone like this around will become a menace?"

“I admire your methods of managing your subordinates. However, I am different from you. I have always been a loner and do not need any loyal subordinates or brothers who would die for me. If we get along, we can be friends. If our relationship ends one day, there is nothing we can do about it.”

Yu Haitang was silent for a moment before saying, "Judging from your voice, you don't sound like a young person. You sound more like someone in their seventies or eighties, full of lifelessness."

Chen Ming laughed and said, "I'll just take it as a compliment from the young lady."

Yu Haitang teased, "And what about you and this girl? You were willing to die rather than abandon her, wanting to be a pair of lovebirds sharing the same fate."

This was the first time she had mentioned Su Zhining.

All along, she acted as if Su Zhining didn't exist, ignoring her completely.

Su Zhining was the same; she hadn't said a word since she arrived.

Chen Ming frankly said, "Because I know I can't escape on my own. I originally wanted to say something more righteous and awe-inspiring, hoping to move Old Master Sun's heart, but I didn't expect him to remain unmoved."

Yu Haitang said softly, "How do you know he won't be moved?"

"What do you mean, girl?"

"Who do you think told my aunt that you could save me?"

Chen Ming was taken aback.

In other words, it was Elder Sun who guided Madam Yu here, and she just happened to save herself.

He asked in a low voice, "Just who is Old Master Sun? Why do you value him so much?"

"Why should I tell you?"

"Tell me about it."

"Unless you tell me why your internal energy is so powerful?"

This is the fifth day since we left Jiangzhou City.

Chen Ming alone protected both her and the female disciple of the Heavenly Dao Alliance's heart meridians, his protective energy seemingly inexhaustible. It was truly unbelievable.

Chen Ming said, "Of course, it's because of the Jade Dragon Pill that Madam Yu sent."

Yu Haitang snorted coldly, "Fine, don't say if you don't want to."

She knew the effects of the Jade Dragon Pill all too well; it was absolutely impossible for it to achieve such a level of efficacy.

Therefore, he must have a secret.

One day, we will uncover all the secrets about him.

Chen Ming changed the subject, "By the way, what's the background of that Princess Mingyu?"

At this moment, Qiu Xiang, who was standing nearby, said, "Young Master, after the mysterious death of the Prince of Zhenhai, his wife and children were all killed. In order to prevent the lineage of the Prince of Zhenhai from dying out, the late Emperor adopted a son and a daughter from the royal family to him to continue his family line. These are the current Prince of Zhenhai and Princess Mingyu. However, they have always been in the capital and have never been to Jiangzhou."

Chen Ming was surprised, "Could her coming to Jiangzhou be related to that longevity tomb?"

(End of this chapter)