Mountains and giant beasts, cabins in the woods

Liu Xingmo gripped the iron chain, swinging it around nonchalantly: "What do you want? Do you want me to prove my strength?"

"We sword cultivators distinguish ourselves by our swords!" Jiang Youcai calmly raised the long sword at his waist, placed his hand on the hilt, and slowly drew out a section of dazzling silver light.

Liu Xingmo stopped talking nonsense, twisted the iron chain in his hand, and wrapped it around his fingers to form a gauntlet.

He lunged forward, his right fist flying like a cannonball, sweeping past with a whistling sound.

With a crisp "clang!", sparks flew as the iron chain and silver sword rubbed together.

With a muffled thud, the fist and flesh shook the air.

Jiang Youcai was sent flying like a broken sandbag, crashing heavily against the wall before falling softly to the ground.

Liu Xingmo twisted his wrist and asked, "Are you alright?"

"Hahaha... Not bad, really not bad!" Jiang Youcai stubbornly raised his head, crimson blood seeping between his pearly white teeth. "Watch closely! I'm going to give it my all!"

The man leaned on the ground with his sword and stood up unsteadily.

He slipped, slammed his face into the ground, then convulsed, leaving a pool of blood on the wooden floor.

He spoke in a barely audible voice: "Since you have this kind of strength, I'll reluctantly acknowledge you..."

Liu Xingmo stared in disbelief: "My God! You're so weak, yet you still want to duel! Do you even have a brain?"

They quickly helped Jiang Youcai up, tore off two pieces of paper, rolled them into balls, and stuffed them into the man's bleeding nostrils.

Liu Xingmo asked cautiously, "Are you alright? Can you work? There's a lot of work to do today, so don't pretend you're dead!"

Jiang Youcai's face was pale. He struggled to open his eyes and see the person in front of him clearly: "Ah...you really are the storyteller? The one who wrote 'The Snow Mountain Swordsman'?"

"It's the real deal. My original manuscripts are still piled up in the storage room; you can go look for them."

Jiang Youcai muttered to himself in a trance-like manner: "You shouldn't be this kind of person... I thought... you would be more elegant, intelligent, chivalrous, and quick to avenge wrongs..."

"What nonsense are you spouting? You're rambling incoherently. You should get some rest, and come to my office as soon as you're done."

Liu Xingmo placed Jiang Youcai on the table, then looked at the giant macaque with a hint of helplessness.

"Director, how did Instructor Jiang Feiming raise such a junior?"

The giant macaque blinked helplessly: "This little kid went to study in the Yin Kingdom and came back. He practices swordsmanship. So, that's how he ended up."

"Why? Will practicing swordsmanship turn you into an idiot?"

"Everything was fine before, but in recent years, sword practitioners have become increasingly arrogant. Sigh—!" The curator sighed, then said with a wry smile, "Therefore, the King of Yin issued a decree to destroy a large number of novels and plays featuring swordsmen as protagonists, in order to eradicate this unhealthy trend in the country."

"Did I write any of those?"

"Yes! So you're a wanted criminal by the Yin Kingdom, understand?"

"Oh? I was just sitting at home when disaster struck from the sky."

Liu Xingmo chuckled dryly, suddenly feeling that the world was absurd and bizarre.

Just then, the library doors opened, and a young woman rushed in.

She was also dressed in a white silk robe, with a slender sword at her waist.

Upon seeing the blood-stained man on the table, she lunged at him, crying, "Youcai! What happened to you?!"

"There was a misunderstanding, but it's all over now, Yourong." The curator quickly explained when he saw her, and introduced, "Look over here, this is Liu Xingmo, the storyteller everyone talks about."

The woman turned her head and stared intently at Liu Xingmo: "You're the storyteller?"

"Hello?" Liu Xingmo greeted him somewhat awkwardly.

"Were you the one who broke the snowman and made the child cry?"

"Ah! This..." Liu Xingmo's eyes darted around, and he finally admitted, "I didn't mean to..."

The woman shook her head and sighed, "Alas—! You're so ordinary and plain... All my illusions have been shattered." She gritted her teeth, heartbroken, "How could you be so ordinary! So plain! This can't be!"

"What? You want me to prove my strength too?" Liu Xingmo was so angry he laughed. He shook his fist, which was wrapped in iron chains. "Your brother was killed by me with one punch, so come on, you!"

"Xiao Mo, stop fooling around!" the curator quickly shouted.

The woman, however, glared and drew her long sword, charging forward without a second thought.

Liu Xingmo deflected the longsword with one punch and slammed her against the wall with the other.

The woman slumped silently onto the wooden floor.

The large macaque took off its glasses and rubbed its rosy face with its furry paws: "Old baboon, old baboon! You good-for-nothing scavenger, what kind of animals have you raised? They're just causing me trouble!"

"Haha! Curator, I'm a bit busy today, I'll be going now. Please take care of these two!" Liu Xingmo quickly slipped away.

He fastened the chain around his waist, his mind replaying the visceral sensation of the punches he had just received. He had to admit, the feeling of defeating someone was quite exhilarating.

In fact, Jiang Youcai and Jiang Yourong, the two children of overseas returnees, are quite strong, around the fourth or fifth level of the first tier. Their swords are also magical weapons, and their moves are quite sophisticated.

However, relying on the offensive advantages of swordsmanship, they underestimated their opponents and immediately attacked with the fastest and most stable sword moves.

Liu Xingmo's cultivation level of the sixth stage of the first rank was far superior to the two of them; moreover, the "Xuanwu Hard and Soft Transformation" he used was just right to resist sword moves; coupled with the iron chain in his hand, he could naturally subdue the enemy quickly.

Liu Xingmo arrived at the office in a good mood; three employees were already there. He announced, "Today we're welcoming two new colleagues!"

"New companion, male or female? How old?" Liu Huimin asked quickly.

Liu Xingmo chuckled: "Huimin, why are you acting like an old lady, rushing to introduce people to potential partners?"

"No way!" Liu Huimin shouted.

"Oh wow! So you're looking for a partner?" Liu Xingmo walked towards his desk. "Well, girls grow up and leave home. Our newspaper's beautiful reporter has reached the age of spring fever."

"President! It's me!" Liu Huimin clenched her fist, but didn't know what to say.

She wanted to punch the grinning young man in the face, but at the same time, she was smug about his use of the term "beautiful reporter."

Liu Xingmo sat down: "I've already spoken with those two. They'll come after I hand them over to the curator. Everyone, keep an eye on them and teach the newcomers. We have a lot of tasks, so it's good to have someone help share the workload."

Xu Wenting confirmed, "President, are they the two young men from Jiang Feiming's family? They have a bad reputation; they're always causing trouble..."

Liu Zhili recognized the two: "Oh! Aren't they the siblings who started another newspaper and tried to steal our business?"

Liu Xingmo waved his hand magnanimously: "It's those two. But don't worry, I've already taken care of them. If they dare to cause any more trouble, I'll take them down with two punches each."