This Lady Is Trying to Kill Me

Chapter 423: Dumdum’s Personal Teaching (1)

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

After the strong wind passed, the riverside fell silent.

When the constables surrounding the carriage heard that the person who came was Sun Wuji, their eyes revealed surprise.

Dongfang Liren opened the carriage door and stood behind the small railing outside the door to take a closer look.

The reason for such a reaction was that Sun Wuji was different from Liu Qiansheng and Kuang Yazi. These two people were only peak martial artists in Jianghu, but Sun Wuji was a hero.

The Thousand Crane Villa was a famous sword school in the previous dynasty. After Sun Wuji became the Sword Saint, he was widely known for being righteous and benevolent. Even though the Thousand Crane Villa had long withered, and there was no one to support it now, the people of Jianghu still treated it as a famous sect. This was all due to the reputation that Sun Wuji had accumulated.

Back then, when the revolutionary army broke through Yun’an, Kuang Yazi and others had entered the palace to snatch the Roaring Dragon Chart, while Sun Wuji and a few Jianghu heroes had helped the revolutionary army deal with the loyalists of Great Yan outside the Hall of the Supreme Principle.

Afterward, Great Wei’s founding emperor rewarded everyone according to their merits. Only Sun Wuji directly said, “In the future, if the emperor of Wei is tyrannical, I will also carry my three-foot-long sword and cut him down.”

Then he left. The founding emperor often used Sun Wuji’s matter to teach his descendants what ‘those who advocate for justice will enjoy much support, while those who are unjust will have little’ meant.

Dongfang Liren had only heard this name from the late emperor. She originally thought that Sun Wuji had long died of old age. When she suddenly saw him in person, she really felt as though she had returned to the founding of the country in a dream. When she saw Ye Jingtang and Sun Wuji arrive in front of the carriage, she nodded and bowed. “So, it’s Senior Sun. 1 have long admired you.”

Sun Wuji held the old horse’s reins and looked very amiable. “Prince of Jing, you and the founding emperor look a bit alike. Back then, when the revolutionary army set up camp here to attack the city, the late emperor was only six years old. He often came to me to say that he wanted to learn swordsmanship. 1 didn’t expect that in the blink of an eye, sixty years have passed, and I’m still here, but my old friends have really become old friends.”

There was no technique in these words. They were all about seniority. Dongfang Liren didn’t know how to respond, so she raised her hand with a smile and said, “Senior Sun, please get in the carriage and have a chat. I know very little about the founding of the country and would like to ask you.”

Sun Wuji was a pure Jianghu person and didn’t want to interact too much with the Imperial Court. “Prince of Jing, you have important matters to attend to, so there’s no need to delay your schedule for me. Young Hero Ye and 1 will just chat a little at the back.”

Dongfang Liren was a martial artist, so she was quite interested in the elders who had reached the peak of Jianghu. When she heard this, she got off the carriage, let the convoy continue forward, and walked beside Ye Jingtang. “Senior Sun, you can just treat me as an ordinary junior. There’s no need to treat me as a prince.”

Sun Wuji didn’t say anything. He led his horse behind the team and stroked his beard while looking at the river scenery along the shore. “In the last years of the previous dynasty, there was no good scenery here. The people we saw on the way were all sallow and thin. The fat people were all officials, members of the gentry, and landowners. In just sixty years, it has become like this. The achievements of the three generations of Great Wei’s emperors are indispensable.”

Dongfang Liren replied with a smile, “Nowadays, life is getting better, but Jianghu isn’t doing well anymore. The Grandmasters and Martial Chiefs of Senior Sun’s generation used to be poor and could still think of raising their swords to quell the injustices in the world. Now, all of them have fallen into the quagmire of money, and there are not many people who still have the word ‘chivalry’ in their hearts…”

Sun Wuji shook his head. “You’re wrong. Young people who care about the world don’t care about fame and fortune, so why would they care about false reputations in Jianghu? They’re all living stable lives, and they’ll naturally come out of seclusion in troubled times. Those who roam Jianghu during peaceful times only want power, money, fame, and beauties. They don’t have many chances to serve the country and the people. The prosperity of the Imperial Court and the decline of Jianghu are the rules of the past dynasties. It’s not that this generation is inferior to the previous generations.”

When Dongfang Liren heard this, she felt that it made sense. Ye Jingtang didn’t care about power, money, and fame. If he were no longer lustful and didn’t have any desires after taking revenge, it was indeed time for him to return to his hometown and live in seclusion. Why would he continue to work in the capital?

In that case, there were benefits to Ye Jingtang being lustful…

Ye Jingtang clearly didn’t know that Dumdum’s thoughts could be so crooked. After hearing Sun Wuji say a few more words, he asked, “Senior Sun, did you come to the capital this time to inquire about your enemies?”

Sun Wuji slowly walked with his horse and shook his head. “My deceased grandson was extremely talented. It wasn’t impossible for him to become the Sword Saint at the age of thirty, but he was too anxious and didn’t listen to me. He came out of seclusion before he was thirty.

“There’s no other family in Jianghu who would kill him. Zhou Chiyang is a good person. He doesn’t care about fame and fortune and only pursues swordsmanship. He wouldn’t kill a junior who doesn’t have the qualifications to be his opponent. Without Zhou Chiyang, the Zhou family has nothing. Those who care about the family business will naturally have the intention to kill.

“When people walk around Jianghu, they hang their heads on their belts. My deceased grandson only saw the chivalry on the surface of Jianghu and didn’t see the sinister hearts of the people in the dark. I can only say that this is his fate. Since I’ve retreated, 1 won’t bother about Jianghu matters anymore. Moreover, Young Hero Ye, you have already helped me take revenge. 1 only came to the capital this time to return your favor.”

Ye Jingtang said, “It was only a little bit of effort. According to the law, stolen goods should be returned to their rightful owners.”

“That’s the law of the Imperial Court. Jianghu has its own rules.”

Sun Wuji placed one hand behind his back and looked at Ye Jingtang. “Young Hero Ye, what do you think of that sword strike just now?”

Ye Jingtang thought about it carefully and commented, “It’s so exquisite that it doesn’t make sense. It feels like ‘mystic enlightenment’.”

Sun Wuji said with a smile, “Before I was sixty, I hid a wisp of sword qi in my heart and thought that my sword was invincible in the world. Even when 1 faced Feng Guancheng, 1 thought I was on par with him in swordsmanship. But throughout my life, 1 didn’t last more than three moves under Feng Guancheng’s sword. At the time, I thought that he didn’t use swordsmanship but only won with strength.

“And after I turned sixty, 1 lost to Zhou Chiyang’s sword. I was disheartened and fishing by a river. I happened to meet a woodcutter using a wood-cutting ax to kill fish. Although his tool was wrong, his technique was rather skillful, and there was no problem killing fish.

“I thought about it for a long time and suddenly understood that Feng Guancheng was indeed using swordsmanship. I was the layman.

“Swordsmanship focuses on the word ‘method’. As long as you thoroughly understand the ‘method’, it doesn’t matter what weapon you have in your hand. There’s no need to be constrained by shape, weight, and length.

Swordsmanship is the same as the method of killing fish. Once you have the ‘method’ in your mind, changing to an ax is just a matter of adjusting your movements. The fish you kill won’t be any worse than one killed using a knife. If you can only use a knife to kill fish, it means that you haven’t mastered it..”