Chapter 1
Chapter 1
“Aiya!”
“How dare you bite the hand that feeds me!” Another clear, ringing exclamation pierced the air. The few patrons resting in the small teahouse looked up in unison toward the door.
Zhanglin Village lay nestled among mountains, sparsely populated. Strangers were rare, aside from a few travelling merchants seeking shelter. This sudden commotion shattered not only the village’s usual tranquility, but also the teahouse keeper’s hard-earned stroke of business luck.
The Innkeeper, over seventy years old, hurriedly apologized with a smile, draped the just-used dishcloth over his shoulder, and stepped outside to investigate. The teahouse door opened and closed, but the noise outside barely lessened—now somewhat muffled yet still rising and falling as if more people gathered. More voices joined the original young woman’s, suggesting a growing crowd.
The racket persisted, and the Innkeeper did not return. The few patrons inside grew restless. Some stood up; others grumbled. Only one man remained quietly in the corner, sipping the coarse village tea sip by sip, as if it were the finest delicacy in the world.
Soon, someone could resist no longer and went out to join the commotion. The door swung open again, but this time, no one closed it. The clamor outside surged in like a flood.
“How could this young girl learn to boast at such a tender age? Whose family does she belong to?”
“Probably a wild child! I heard the next village had a mad one days ago…”
“Don’t dismiss her yet; the girl’s dressed neatly. Her clothes look just like those of the little Daoist priest in that dilapidated temple east of the village.”
Amid the chatter blended the distinct voice first heard in the teahouse—a clear, crisp sound that pierced the din, unmistakably belonging to a girl of sixteen or seventeen.
“My words are truth! I could swear it on my sword!” she proclaimed. “I truly came here searching for my sword!”
The crowd outside burst into peals of laughter.
Swear on a sword? A sword she claimed was lost? Even without knowing the squabble’s origin, the sheer incoherence of her statements made it impossible not to laugh.
The girl, it seemed, grasped nothing of their mirth. Only growing more flustered, her attempts to protest were quickly drowned in the boisterous laughter of the ever-swelling crowd—further words lost in the noise.
The clamoring sounds, footsteps, and increasingly unruly discussions were chaotic and disorderly, growing ever more boisterous.
Even the few guests in the teahouse who had initially been uninterested mostly squeezed toward the door, probably harboring the thought that since they couldn’t savor the tea anyway, they might as well watch a free show, and they curiously peered into the crowd.
Soon, another loud scolding voice emerged from the noisy cacophony, but this male voice clearly didn’t originate from the young girl; instead, it came from the other party in the quarrel.
“I’ve said all along, everyone, this little yellow-haired girl might be suffering from hysteria; her mind isn’t working right, she keeps babbling nonsense, so don’t take her words seriously!”
As soon as the voice fell, the last merchant in the small teahouse finally couldn’t bear it any longer; he furrowed his brow, tossed a few copper coins onto the table, and angrily departed. Originally, if not packed to the brim, the teahouse had at least been somewhat lively, but now it was completely empty except for the gray-robed man in the corner. He remained sitting upright, seemingly indifferent to the commotion outside.
But upon closer inspection, one could see that the teacup in his hand was long empty; what he repeatedly savored was only an old, dried cup that bore nothing but water stains. While he appeared calm, his face still showed some involuntary emotions from time to time as the noise from outside grew louder.
It didn’t take long before the racket outside became utterly overwhelming and incomprehensible, making the scorching afternoon sun seem even hotter; even the few bystanders standing by the door began talking among themselves.
Finally, at one point, the man abruptly stood up, moving so quickly that he dragged his rattan chair with a scraping sound, causing the people at the door to look back.
“The tea only costs a few coins; you can just leave it on the table for the shopkeeper.” Seeing he was unfamiliar, one of the passersby kindly remarked, “After all, this is someone causing trouble—it’s not the old shopkeeper’s fault…”
Before the man could finish speaking, he noticed that the gray-robed man had already left a fingernail-sized piece of silver shard, wrapped in a dusty long robe, and stepped up to the doorway.
Though this man was dressed in tattered clothes without any adornments, slender in build and not resembling a martial artist, his few strides exuded an uncommon aura of power, bearing a mysterious composure that silenced the speaker at the door for a moment.
“Please excuse me and step aside,” the gray-robed man said with a smile directed at the few people by the door. “It’s not appropriate to cause a scene in front of the teahouse; I’d like to mediate a bit.”
“Mediate?” the person asked in surprise. “With all this noise, and us being outside the crowd without knowing the whole story, how do you plan to mediate?”
The man’s smile didn’t fade.
“I have some skill and overheard most of it while drinking tea; regardless of other matters, I can discern the origins.”
—”I am Chen Shu, a disciple of Tianyu Mountain; my senior brother is Chen Yuan, the senior disciple of Tianyu Mountain; my master is Chen Miao, the eighth-generation leader of Tianyu Sword Sect, the renowned Ganjun Sword. I hail from a prestigious orthodox faction and have never done anything dishonest—how could I deliberately harass you? Clearly, it’s you—”
“Miss, your little story spins along quite smoothly, and you rattle it off with flair, but as those righteous fellows have said, isn’t it true? In today’s martial world, there are the six major sects and the nine smaller sects, not a dozen or so factions like you’re claiming—no such place as Tianyu Mountain or whatnot!” Before Chen Shu could finish her sentence, the middle-aged stallholder cut her off, not addressing her directly but speaking to the crowd. “You should know I was just honestly setting up my stall and selling my wares, unexpectedly caught up in this mess. Not only is my business ruined, but this girl also keeps causing trouble, insisting that I took her things. Everyone, I’m the one who’s suffering in silence!”
As he spoke, several people in the encircling crowd were nodding against their will. One elderly lady at the front even earnestly advised Chen Shu,
“Young lady, you seem like a cultivator, and at your youth, how have you learned those tricks of a con artist—cheating, deceiving, all crooked sorcery? It won’t get you far; just don’t trouble this stallholder anymore.”
Chen Shu’s face flushed with anger. “I truly didn’t make up lies; every word I said is true!”
“What do you mean, not lies?” the stallholder immediately countered. “Forget about your earlier spiel; you say your sword flew away. Ask everyone: a metal sword flying? Isn’t that exactly the kind of lie used to fool a three-year-old?”
This was the scene that the gray-robed man encountered as he pushed into the crowd.
Chen Shu, not skilled in debate, stood in the center of the group with a red face and crossed arms, her round eyes wide in anger, almost welling with tears. For a long while, she was so incensed she couldn’t speak. Meanwhile, the stallholder had smugly started thanking the spectators, uttering phrases like “thank you all for speaking out for justice.” Suddenly, someone contradicted him.
“Why shouldn’t it be heard?” the gray-robed man said.
The stallholder was taken aback, instinctively asking, “Why sh… Who are you?”
“My name or identity has no bearing on this matter,” the gray-robed man replied with a smile. “Similarly, it has nothing to do with whether this girl has hysteria or has spun other tales. Since you claim you’ve nothing to hide, why not let the miss finish what she was saying earlier?”
“Finish saying what? Isn’t it just the same old tiresome lie she’s been repeating all along?” The stallholder sneered. “Who are you to her? Looks like you’re pressing hard to accuse me of swindling?”
“Not at all. I have no relation or connection to this girl; we certainly haven’t colluded to extort you.” The gray-robed man still wore his smile and spoke unhurriedly. “As for her words, even if they are repeated lines, since the two of you have been arguing nonstop, and those watching can’t hear clearly, since you’re asking for judgment, why not explain the whole story from start to finish?”
As he spoke, an invisible pressure seemed to quiet the crowd. Only a few troublemakers on the outskirts, likely driven by curiosity, echoed him and urged the stallholder to recount the entire course of events.
“You lot, why stir up unnecessary trouble!” The stallholder’s expression soured as he began to lament tearfully. “This crazy girl took a fancy to my goods. I was peacefully running my stall, but she rushed over weeping and shrieking, claiming they belonged to her—she just wants to throw a tantrum and take them!
“Who’s throwing a tantrum!” Chen Shu retorted angrily. “These are clearly my things; you tricked me first—”
“Listeners who’ve been here the whole time know it,” the stallholder cut her off again. “This lunatic girl barged in demanding things from the start—how could I have her possessions?”
Among the onlookers, there were indeed one or two who had been watching from the very start, nodding in agreement once they heard.
“I, I was looking for you—”
The gray-robed man patted Chen Shu’s shoulder. She was so furious she was at a loss for words, so she swallowed her grievance and fell quiet, listening as the gray-robed man said:
“Whether he deceived you or took your property can’t be determined just by watching the two of you quarrel here. Instead of wasting effort on arguments, sir, why not produce what this girl supposedly ‘took a fancy to’? Show everyone so they can see whether it’s a trinket from your stall or a lady’s accessory. Then the truth will be plain for all, won’t it?”
The stallholder flung his arm dismissively, showing no gratitude, and instead seemed to shield his stall more protectively. “Why should I?” he retorted. “I’m just running my honest business—hey, hey! You crazy girl, don’t snatch things! Under broad daylight, is there no law and order left?”
“This is my jade pendant!” Chen Shu held up the small piece of jade she had just snatched from the stallholder, her neck stretched defiantly. “It was you who fooled me into believing you’d seen my sword. Out of kindness, I offered this precious jade, passed down through my master’s sect, as a token of thanks. Who knew that not only would you lie through your teeth, but after tricking me out of my jade, you’d actually dare to bite back and accuse me of being mad!”
“You claim it’s yours, so it must be yours?” the stallholder hissed through clenched teeth. “Everyone knows well enough whether you’re mad or not. I think the two of you are in cahoots, dead-set on robbing me of my jade—ow! You little brat! Say what you will, but have some sense! This jade can’t be shaken like that!”
Naturally, Chen Shu ignored him. Not only ignored him, but stretched out her arm and turned in a circle, showing the jade pendant clearly to everyone gathered around. The pendant truly was a rare treasure: a small piece that, under the light, seemed to glow with a dream-like, translucent sheen, clearly priceless. The stallholder gazed at it, dumbstruck, a mix of greed and shock on his face, as though his own precious daughter were being paraded for show. He muttered things like “There now!” and “How could this fine jade belong to a crazy girl like her?”, then snatched it back from Chen Shu’s hand to pocket it.
“Not so fast,” the gray-robed man intervened. With a smile, he said, “Look closely, everyone.”
Held up to the light, the jade’s feathery internal veins seemed to faintly coalesce into tiny characters. Oblivious, the stallholder stared at the gray-robed man in confusion, the jade grasped tightly in his hand. Unexpectedly, the kind-hearted old lady from earlier stepped forward, pointing at the jade in astonishment:
“Those words… they truly look like ‘Tian Yu’!”