Having studied for a hundred years, why do you call me the Martial Saint?

The stall owner looked Gu Shuxian up and down again, and said:

"I think the young man is quite handsome. If he were to read the 'Heroes Who Shoot the Halberd' and win over the young master of the Liu family, he could become a pageboy. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

"And coincidentally, I happen to have one copy left..."

The stall owner gave him a knowing look.

Gu Shuxian fell into thought.

The Liu family? A book club?

Does this mean that many enthusiasts will go?

Maybe I can find out some news about the sequel?

Gu Shuxian became interested in this book club.

Where will this book club be held?

"The Liu residence is right on that main street in the east of the city. Anyone can find it by asking anyone. Don't play dumb and ask about common knowledge that everyone in the city knows. It's pointless!"

The stall owner complained, then quickly changed the subject, "Ahem, I might not have explained clearly earlier, but I also have a copy of 'The Legend of the Swordsman' here..."

The east side of the city? It shouldn't be too far from here. I'll go check it out on the way later.

Gu Shuxian stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, and then asked:

When will this book club event be held?

"Three days later, at noon."

The stall owner replied, then sighed, "Tsk tsk tsk, time is a bit tight. I need to hurry and study it carefully. Finding a book takes time too. And wouldn't you know it, what a coincidence! I have one here..."

Okay, okay, I'll talk to you for now.

"How much is this book worth?" Gu Shuxian asked.

The stall owner smiled and held up one hand: "Five taels!"

Goodbye.

"Hey, don't go! The price is negotiable!"

Gu Shuxian turned and left without hesitation, disappearing into the crowd without looking back.

……

The next day, morning.

Suishan Old Forest.

Qian Le picked up twigs from the ground and rambled on about his grand plan to make money.

Deng Shifan remained silent and took on the role of a taciturn lumberjack.

Gu Shuxian chopped the dead branches beside him with an axe, straightened up, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and glanced at them.

I need to tell Qian Le and the others later that he won't be participating in today's mountain produce market.

He had to go to the library and return the Disciple's Code of Conduct.

It's been many days since I last went there.

Although I can borrow books from Chen Wenyan now, it's always better to have more friends and more options.

Besides, Chen Wenyan's place only had two rows of bookshelves, far less than Huang Ziyi's place, which had a whole building.

I wonder if Huang Ziyi will care about the slight differences between this returned copy of the Disciple's Code of Conduct and the one he borrowed before?

I hope he doesn't care...

Gu Shuxian could only pray about this.

Suddenly, Gu Shuxian heard footsteps coming this way, probably two people.

He frowned and reminded him:

"Brother Qian, it seems someone is coming."

Upon hearing this, Qian Le immediately shut his mouth; their business of selling mountain products was not something to be discussed with outsiders.

The group stared in the direction Gu Shuxian was pointing.

Two figures slowly emerged from the dense forest ahead.

One of them was Zhao Kui, and I didn't recognize the other.

Qian Le's face immediately turned pale.

Zhao Kui and his group were not holding wooden sticks.

It was a hand axe!

"escape!"

Qian Le roared, and the three of them turned around almost simultaneously and ran wildly into the woods.

The unhurried voice of the person next to Zhao Kui came from behind: "Chase."

The three of them ran wildly through the woods, the branches whipping their faces painfully, but none of them dared to stop.

Qian Le ran ahead, panting heavily, his face filled with fear.

He knew Luo Lie, who, like Zhao Kui, was at the Bone Forging Realm.

It's said they've killed people before, and today they've brought hand axes; it's probably not as simple as just breaking their legs.

Qian Le regretted it deeply. He shouldn't have been so eager to go into the mountains. He should have waited for Zhao Kui to enter the outer sect!

hateful!

Today is different from the past few days. They are too far from the firewood field, and their cultivation level is not as high as Zhao Kui's and the others. They will definitely be caught up!

What should I do?

Qian Le's face showed despair.

"Run separately, and whoever can finish is one less!"

Gu Shuxian suddenly spoke, his voice steady and powerful.

Qian Le hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and nodded: "Okay! We'll split up and meet at the firewood field!"

Deng Shifan hurriedly responded.

The three immediately split into three directions: Qian Le went east, Deng Shifan went west, and Gu Shuxian did not immediately head north, but deliberately lagged behind a few steps.

The footsteps behind me grew closer.

Zhao Kui and his companion caught up!

The two clearly didn't take the three menial servants at the Body Refining Realm seriously, showing no sign of impatience.

"Take care of this one first, then split up to chase the other two," Luo Lie said calmly.

Zhao Kui nodded in agreement.

Luo Lie caught up to Gu Shuxian from behind, then suddenly reached out with his left hand and grabbed the back of his neck!

Then Gu Shuxian suddenly stumbled and fell forward!

That's exactly how you avoid being grabbed!

Luo Lie missed with his claw, frowning slightly, assuming the kid was just lucky.

He pushed off with his feet again, taking two more steps closer, and this time he swung his right-hand axe horizontally!

Ruthless!

But Gu Shuxian happened to step on a loose stone, and he slid forward half a step.

The axe swept past his heel, striking nothing.

Did you dodge it again?

Luo Lie's eyes narrowed.

Zhao Kui chased after him, trying several times to intercept him, but Gu Shuxian's hurried and chaotic movements always swayed his rhythm, which infuriated him.

In this chase, the three of them had unknowingly run quite a distance.

Qian Le and Deng Shifan's movements had long since disappeared into the depths of the dense forest.

Luo Lie's face darkened.

His original plan was to first dismiss these three servants, and then deal with them slowly.

Unexpectedly, this man surnamed Gu was extremely lucky, managing to evade his capture several times and dragging things out for so long.

It's too late to pursue the other two now.

The good thing is that this guy surnamed Gu's luck has finally run out.

Luo Lie and Zhao Kui blocked Gu Shuxian's escape route from the front and back.

Gu Shuxian leaned against an old pine tree, his chest heaving violently, his face filled with terror.

"Damn it, you're going to run again?" Zhao Kui panted heavily, glaring at him fiercely.

Luo Lie watched coldly and slowly spoke:

"I originally planned to take care of all three at once, but I only managed to catch one."

"Alright, let's not waste this opportunity. Zhao Kui, today I'll show your senior brother your guts!"

Luo Lie pointed at Gu Shuxian with his chin and said expressionlessly.

"Kill him."

"Senior Brother Luo, this..."

Zhao Kui gripped the axe tightly and swallowed hard.

"What's wrong? You're chickening out now that things are coming to a head?" Luo Lie frowned.

"No, it's not..."

Contrary to his words, Zhao Kui was filled with hesitation.

Murder and breaking someone's leg are ultimately two different things.

Gu Shuxian leaned against the tree trunk, and said in horror:

"Kill me, kill me... You want to kill me?! Aren't you afraid of being investigated by the sect? Killing a fellow disciple is a capital offense!"

"Death penalty?" Luo Lie scoffed, as if he were listening to the biggest joke ever!

"Who would know? Who would care?"

"In the eyes of the sect, you peasants who only know how to train are like weeds; you can just cut them off without a second thought."

"Besides, if I kill you, throw you off a cliff, and then report you missing in a couple of days, saying you were carried off by a tiger, who would be able to find out?"

"Don't some handymen get carried off by wild animals every year?"

Luo Lie spoke with disdain.

"I see, that's a solution."

Gu Shuxian nodded.