Chapter 10

Editor: Byff

Proofreader: T

Psycho seems to have returned to normal and has returned back to his loved ones. Although I have long known that his identity was not simple, I did not expect it to be this not simple.

Black Hawk Castle’s reputation was something I heard about when I was still in the demon sect. They cannot be said to be natives of Jianghu, and could only count as half. Their paddocks reared the best cavalry horses, they domesticated the most obedient goshawks, and they have been inextricably linked with the court since the time of their ancestors. Because most of their family members are officials, few people in Jianghu dared to provoke them. After all, no matter how powerful one’s martial arts are, they are still just poor people. This is exactly the reasoning behind the saying, people don’t fight against officials¹The saying “People don’t fight against officials” equals to poor people don’t fight against rich people.

Hidden Sword Gate and Black Hawk Castle stay in the same inn, so although the treatment is very different and the former could only look up at the latter, it is inevitable for both to cross paths. When those moments happen, I could only sincerely sigh—power and money is really a good thing, no wonder so many people like it! At the sight of Black Hawk Castle, Hidden Sword Gate could not help but go up to recognize the other as a father with their dog legs and flattering. However, the people of Black Hawk Castle have strict discipline; everyone’s eyes would not wander when they walk²preserve a correct attitude, and most of the time, Hidden Sword Gate would just stick their hot faces on the other’s cold butts.

At night, I was not allowed to stay inside. There is only one room, which was already crowded with more than a dozen people inside. If they still let me – a stinky prisoner – stay inside, no one would easily be able to sleep. So I sleep in the courtyard, guarded by two disciples of Hidden Sword Gate.

In fact, sleeping in the yard is also very good, very spacious. When you have nothing to do, you could look up at the stars; it gives great aesthetic pleasure. Just… it’s a bit cold.

It didn’t even cross the minds of the Hidden Sword Gate disciples to add a piece of clothing for me. I was still wearing the one I put on in autumn. After more than a month of friction and eluding, I couldn’t see the original color anymore, and it was now so thin, making me shiver.

I couldn’t bear it any longer, so with a thickened face, I said, “The two gentlemen, can you…give me a quilt? This location is so cold that I can’t sleep.”

Originally, I didn’t want to ask because my guards for tonight are none other than the two old sons of bitches, but this night was just too cold and my nose is almost frozen into an icicle. If I don’t open my mouth until tomorrow, who knows if there will still be someone like me in this world?

“Want a quilt?” The two are wearing thick clothes, sitting by the side and holding tangpozi³a hand warmer while chatting. After my words, they both glanced at each other and then spontaneously showed a strange smile.

I groaned in my heart because I knew I was going to suffer.

Sure enough, one of the sons of bitches walked towards me and stopped in front, he squatted down and asked, “Cold?”

I nodded my head, “Too cold.”

The other party took out the tangpozi from his arms and showed it off in front of me, “Do you want it?”

I nodded my head again.

The son of a bitch laughed. I don’t know what he was laughing at.

But then I saw him stretch out a foot, “Lick the shoe clean for grandpa.”

I was stunned. I slowly raised my head, seeing that the other person was smiling like a villain; I had this urge to pierce him with a sword.

At any rate, I was still a former demon sect master, having to suffer such humiliation under a nameless disciple of some sect in Jianghu is just really, really… outrageous!

“Oh, you’re unwilling?” There was a sudden pain on my face. The disciple might have seen my defiant eyes and kicked me to the ground in anger. “Ungrateful!”

My hands and feet were tied. I couldn’t move and also couldn’t get up. I can only lay on the ground in shame and eat a mouthful of mud.

I closed my eyes, “Cease your anger gentleman; this little one is not unwilling. This little one… will lick.”

One who endures humiliation is a true man. Han Qingyan, you were even pregnant before, can just licking a shoe kill you?

Kill me? Of course, it won’t kill me. I understand this fact, but this mouth still can’t go down!

I thought that my dignity had already reached the limit of how low it can be during my time at the cave, but now it seems that Psycho was still too gentle with me.

My fingers were squeezed deep into my palms, my body trembles so slightly. I didn’t understand why I got here.

I didn’t want to enter the demon sect, and I didn’t want to be the sect master, so why should everyone treat me like a monkey trainer⁴To deceive and play people like how a monkey trainer would deceive and play a monkey?!

I can’t do anything about my fate, and the Heavens also doesn’t help me.

Sure enough, only Psycho is sincere to me.

Fortunately, he’s back to normal. He should be able to live a good life in the future and marry a beautiful wife who would actually give him a big fat boy after a year or two. As for my demon self, dust returns to the dust of the earth, where my feet lead me I will go, my life and death have nothing to do with him.

This is also very good, very good…

“Hey! Senior brother look at this, the youngster actually cried! Hahahaha what a soft egg!” The disciple kicked me to the side again, “Disgusting to death, don’t you touch my shoes.”

I lay on the ground, looking at the starry sky with my eyes wet, it seems like I really cried.

I’m a big man; why would I cry? I never cried during my bitter days at the demon sect, and I didn’t cry when I was injured after I fell off the cliff, so why would I cry now…

Forget it, holding back is too stifling. No one here knows who I am anyway, so I’ll cry, just cry.

I lay down for a while, but suddenly, a pot of ice water was thrown on me that had me shooting up from the ground. My ears were filled with the two sons of bitches’ laughter as I saw that my front was dripping with water and the ground underneath me was now mushier. I suddenly felt like a bald dog, ridiculous and pitiful.

“What are you laughing at?” It was the other son of a bitch, the senior brother. The senior brother son of a bitch finally came over and looked at me while frowning.

I smiled at him. “Righteous cultivators are just like that; they make something up and play dirty tricks on you. Every single one of you…

…are all sons of bitches!” I said, laughing brazenly and unrestrainedly.

The two men probably never thought that they would be humiliated by me like this. After all, I was pretending to be an obedient grandson along the way here. Their faces changed as soon as they heard this, and that junior brother son of a bitch stepped forward and grabbed my collar.

“What did you say? I dare you to say that again!”

I knew that if I said it again, they would certainly hit me. Since I was just waiting for it to happen, I immediately spit a mouthful of saliva on his face instead.

The result is conceivable. I was beaten fiercely by the opponent in a rage. I was slapped a dozen times on my face until there was a bloody taste coming from my mouth.

“Brother!” I don’t know why, but that senior brother son of a bitch suddenly stopped his junior brother.

I was violently slammed on the ground, causing the jade pendant on my chest to slip out. I was afraid the two sons of bitches would be greedy and covet this thing, so I struggled to stuff it back into my clothes.

“Castle Master Xiao, Second Castle Master Xiao.” I see the two laugh slightly. “We are disciples of Hidden Sword Gate. This is the little thief we caught on the way. He ridiculed us just now, and us two brothers just wanted to give him a small little lesson…”

The son of a bitch has bent his body in a bow at this time. Wait, Castle Master Xiao isn’t that…

“It turned out to be a high disciple of Hidden Sword Gate. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you, I… Ah, Ge wait, don’t go so fast!”

I froze stiffly right then. I heard the far sound of footsteps coming nearer, step by step, each sound was like stepping directly on my heart.

The man walked past me at a steady pace. His black sleeves brought with it a breeze, like a net being thrown at me, covering my eyes with darkness.

My hair was still dripping, and the clothes on my upper body were soaking wet. I was shaking, but I couldn’t even tell whether it was because of the cold or because of Psycho.

No, I should be calling him “Castle Master Xiao” now.

Like they heard my heartfelt wishes, the footsteps that had been moving forward suddenly stopped, and stopped right in front of me.

Before I could react, I heard a deep male voice asking me, “Where did your jade pendant come from?”

Of course… you gave it ah.

I grabbed the jade pendant on my chest in reflex, not knowing how to answer him for a time. I raised my head and met a pair of familiar yet strange eyes.

The icy coldness in those eyes looks like it wanted to pierce me.

I knew at that instant that he no longer remembers me.

“I…”

Before I could speak, Second Castle Master Xiao had already caught up. He stared at me for a while and exclaimed, “Ge, isn’t this your Black Hawk jade pendant? You said you forgot where you dropped it, how come it’s… on this person?”

The expression in his eyes made me feel very uncomfortable. It’s almost the same look people at Hidden Sword Gate use to look at me.

“You stole this, didn’t you?” Although he was asking me, I knew that he had already settled with his guess.

I hurried to defend myself, “No, I picked it up! I picked it up on a cliff a few years ago!”

Xiao Mobei paused and looked at Xiao Zhongnan. “Ge?”

The other party did not respond to him. He was still looking at me, as if mentally confirming the authenticity of my words.

I didn’t look away, and also kept looking at him until he couldn’t help opening his mouth. He said, “Since you picked it up, I don’t want you to give it back for nothing. You can let me do one thing in exchange.”

I blinked, when I digested what he said, it suddenly made me laugh.

It seems the Heavens didn’t completely abandon me. I slept, and somehow they managed to send me a present through a broken stone.

I gave Xiao Zhongnan a deep bow that almost knocked my head to the ground. The surface of his shoe was very clean, much cleaner than that son of bitch’s, it won’t be necessary for me to lick it.

“Begging Castle Master… to save me.”

• 1
  The saying “People don’t fight against officials” equals to poor people don’t fight against rich people
• 2
  preserve a correct attitude
• 3
  a hand warmer
• 4
  To deceive and play people like how a monkey trainer would deceive and play a monkey