White-Robed Chief

"Senior Sisters, rest well so that your injuries heal. I'll go after Zheng Yanwu!" Chu Li proclaimed.

"Don't go!" Li Ruolan cried. "Although he's wounded, you're no match for him!"

Chu Li grinned. "The Single Slice of mine works in a similar manner as the White Tiger Soul Devouring Technique. His injuries will only grow worse and he won't recover that quickly!"

"His inner energy is much more refined than yours. He can render the effects of the Single Slice useless!" Li Ruolan warned.

If the White Tiger Soul Devouring Technique could be rendered useless by highly-refined inner energy, the same thing could happen to Zhao Dahe's Single Slice too.

Chu Li spoke, "It won't be that easy! ...It's dangerous if he stays here. We are lucky enough to have injured him this time. What about next time? Don't tell me you intend to stay here forever, Senior Sisters?"

Li Ruolan's elegant eyebrows twitched. "Staying here is out of the question for both of us anyway. The Holy Church is understaffed and we need to be on call at all times."

Lu Zhen chuckled. "We are busy bees, but not as busy as you!"

Chu Li snorted. "I'm willing to travel around and do my job, but the Saint disagrees with this!"

"Alright!" Li Ruolan interrupted his rambling. It would be bad for him if the Saint got wind of his remarks.

"Enough talk, I gotta go!" Chu Li waved his arm and strode out, ignoring Li Ruolan's words.

He exited Gale Branch and headed northeast. 

Zheng Yanwu could feel his inner energy seeping from his wound. He was losing it faster than he was losing blood.

In spite of his shock, he remained calm for he knew his life was at stake. He had to search for a place to treat his wound before getting revenge on Zhao Dahe.

As he used his Light-body Technique, the loss of his inner energy intensified. By the time he left Gale City, half of his inner energy had been lost. Judging by this speed, he would not have any inner energy left soon. Once that occurred, he would not be able to heal himself and his condition would only worsen.

Zheng Yanwu pondered for a moment and thought that the most dangerous place might be the safest. The Holy Church of Light was not as well-established in Gale City as the White Tiger Sect. Thus, he took a detour and returned to Gale City, turned into an alley and entered a regular residence.

There was an elderly man in the residence. He was feeble and his hair and beard were completely white. The man was a widower and lived alone.

The elderly man was lying on an old rocking chair in the courtyard and enjoying the warm caress of the sun. He was carefree and hummed a tune to amuse himself.

"Elder Song!" Zheng Yanwu stepped into his courtyard and called out in a low voice.

The elderly man got up quickly. When he saw Zheng Yanwu, he was stunned and gave a fist salute in surprise. "Master!"

Zheng Yanwu pressed one hand onto his wound and waved his other hand. "I'm hurt and I need treatment. Don't let anyone find us!"

"Don't worry, Master! This place is very discreet!" Elder Song nodded and asked in a concerned manner, "Is it serious?"

"I will live!" Zheng Yanwu assured.

Elder Song asked, "What should I prepare?"

"Find a hidden area. I need to heal in isolation!" Zheng Yanwu replied.

"Come with me, Master!" Elder Song led him to a gazebo in the backyard. He activated a switch in the gazebo and the staircase heading up into gazebo retracted with a loud boom to reveal a dark hole. 

Zheng Yanwu followed Elder Song into the underground chamber. It was a spacious room made of stone and had a steady supply of food and water, so one did not have to restock the supplies every day.

The stone chamber was well-ventilated and the air was fresh. The air vent was located in the ground of a flowerbed, hence there was a fragrant aroma in the air.

"Make yourself at home and treat your wound here, Master. Do you need me to send a letter?" Elder Song asked.

Zheng Yanwu shook his head. "Don't do anything in case you raise suspicion. I'll have my revenge once I've fully recovered!"

"Yes." Elder Song nodded.

Pressing onto his wound, Zheng Yanwu looked at the elderly man. "So many years have passed, you've aged a lot!"

Elder Song smiled. "While you look younger each day, Master!"

"I may look young, but I'm old at heart. This time, I have lost my son and I want to avenge his death, but I didn't expect the enemy to be so vicious!" Zheng Yanwu shook his head and sighed. "You may leave!"

"Yes." Elder Song gave a fist salute, ascended the stairs and stepped into the gazebo.

"Boom." The staircase extended to cover the hole, returning to its normal appearance. Outsiders would never know an underground chamber existed underneath the gazebo.

Elder Song continued to lie down on the chair and bathed in the sunlight, reminiscing about his past.

Back in the day, he accompanied the Master all the time during their adventures in the martial arts world. One day, during a violent battle, Elder Song's martial arts abilities got crippled. In the end, he settled down in Gale City, became a millionaire and lived his life peacefully over the years.

Fifty years have passed since they last saw each other. The Master looked like his past self, but Elder Song had aged so much.

He had always been a contented person and believed that a simple life was good enough. After experiencing so much bloodshed, being alive was a lucky thing.

Yet, when Elder Song met the Master again, he felt envious without warning.

Was he really condemned to such a plain and normal life? Would he end up as a pile of soil one day after living the rest of his life in vain?

The valiant heart that was once present and the fighting spirit that had been extinguished by the crippling of his martial arts abilities began to rear their heads at this very moment. Elder Song attempted to circulate the heart techniques which had not been cultivated for decades, but there was no force left in his dried-up meridians.

He sighed dejectedly.

Feeling frustrated, Elder Song opened the door of the courtyard and went out. Slowly, he arrived at Nine Star Tower. 

As soon as he entered Nine Star Tower, he heard about the battle at Gale Branch.

"What an amazing fellow! Zheng Yanwu is undoubtedly a hidden master. All of the masters of Gale Branch pounced on him yet he sent all of them flying with just one blow. After that, Zheng Yanwu injured two female disciples of the Holy Church of Light. They were beauties, I tell you! This incident forced Zhao Dahe to show himself, or else Zheng Yanwu would have killed those beauties!"

"The Gale Branch disciples didn't even care about their own lives and threw themselves onto Zheng Yanwu to protect these two beauties. Just as they did so, there was a flash of bright light as Zhao Dahe finally attacked and pierced Zheng Yanwu with his Light Blade!"

"Is Zhao Dahe's Light Blade really as powerful as they say?"

"My brother-in-law is a Gale Branch disciple. Currently, he's treating his wounds at home and I visited him just now. I heard all of this from him. He witnessed everything with his own eyes!"

"His account might be a bit far-fetched."

"It isn't far-fetched, there was only a single slice! …Plus, Zheng Yanwu was powerful indeed. He suppressed thirty or so masters from the Gale Branch with a single move!"

Elder Song sat down at a nearby table and listened to the discussion without altering his expression.

After a moment, he understood what really happened and sighed. The martial arts world was certainly dangerous and there were always individuals who were mightier than the rest. He never expected a formidable man like the Master to succumb to the youthful Zhao Dahe!

Nevertheless, it was exhilarating to immerse oneself in a martial arts world like this.

Unfortunately, he was nearing the end of his life. If he could restore his abilities, he could live on for another hundred years or even two hundred years. The closer he was to death, the more he feared it and wanted to live!

He would give anything to restore his martial arts prowess and live for another hundred years!

Elder Song drank a few cups of liquor, but he hardly tasted anything. He descended Nine Star Tower slowly and walked towards his residence pensively.

As soon as he stepped into the alley, an ugly young man was standing in the middle of the narrow alleyway. He was dressed in a green outfit and staring at Elder Song.

Elder Song was alert, but he looked nonchalant as he approached the young man.

The two men got closer and they finally walked past each other. Elder Song heaved a quiet sigh of relief and maintained his speed, shuffling away from the young man.

"Want to recover your martial arts abilities?" The ugly young man uttered a sentence as if he was addressing the air.

Elder Song stopped momentarily, then continued walking.

The ugly young man added, "I have a Miracle Cure Pill from the Holy Church of Light!"

Once his words fell, he continued walking forward to leave.