Why do I have so many masters?

Jing Feng City really couldn't be considered small, especially during the last three years when inexplicably many large families had sent people here to establish their foundations, making the city much more prosperous.

The cart that hauled their goods continued to carry the few people until reaching the largest and finest inn in Jing Feng City.

After receiving the tip, the cart driver hurriedly walked out.

Thinking to himself, if he was fast enough, he might still be able to retrieve some of the goods thrown to the sides of the official road, and possibly earn some more silver coins.

Yuchi Jie looked at the five-story tall inn, curled his lips slightly, seemingly unsatisfied, but a better place to stay wasn't immediately available, so he had to reluctantly accept. Turning around, he said,

"Let's all go in. We should rest well today."

"My legs are still a bit shaky."

Lv Baiping glanced at him and, with a face full of disdain, snorted coldly before walking inside with Lin Qiaofu.

Gong Yu turned his head last to look at Wang Anfeng and Hong Luoyu before following the two Qingfeng Edge disciples with his sword in tow.

Yuchi Jie touched his nose and said with a wry smile,

"It seems that Miss Lv holds some deep grudges against me, yet I haven't really done anything, have I?"

"It's truly... a disaster without cause."

"Don't you agree, Elder Lu?"

He turned his head to look at his servant nearby.

Servant Elder Lu followed behind, eyes on his nose, nose on his heart, acting as if he was a log, and did not respond upon hearing the words.

Tai Shu Jian grinned, slowed his steps, and thought to himself that this young noble of the prominent clan really didn't know how to learn his lesson. Previously, he'd been babbling nonsense outside the Qingfeng Edge Sword Formation and ended up taking a nasty fall. Now, healed of his scars, he had forgotten the pain and was up to his old ways again.

Wang Anfeng and Hong Luoyu lingered at the back of the group.

Hong Luoyu, having been cooped up in the Shaolin Temple for the past few years, had no intention of returning to the temple that evening. He clearly declared that he wanted a separate room and not to be squeezed in with Wang Anfeng.

Wang Anfeng, feeling helpless and unable to convince him otherwise, treated the insistence not to share a room as a mere breeze past his ears; he knew better than to take it seriously.

Not to mention that the large room in such an inn was definitely spacious enough. Knowing Hong Luoyu as he did, even if he thought with his toes, he knew that his third master would definitely not just stay in the room and rest at night.

Jing Feng City was simply not enough for his wanderings.

The attendant in the inn, seeing so many people entering at once and noting the extraordinary clothes of the leading few, was moved by the thought of serving distinguished guests. He prepared to step forward to greet them, but was stopped by the shopkeeper, who found him another job to dispatch him.

The shopkeeper was a man in his early thirties, his face displaying shrewdness. After sending the attendant away, he adjusted his clothes and then stepped forward to greet the guests personally.

Son Yuchi, very generous, waved his big hand and directly booked the best several rooms in the inn for themselves. He even had the idea to call a few singers to perform songs, planning to pull the shopkeeper aside to ask where the most graceful ladies in the city could be found.

However, he ended up retreating helplessly under Lv Baiping's disdainful gaze, muttering to himself and pulling his servant Elder Lu aside to grumble considerably.

Wang Anfeng changed out of his outer garments once he was in his room.

The blue robe he originally wore had already been torn during his encounter with the Sword Master of Jue Que. These clothes were bought by Yuchi Jie's servant on the way to the inn.

The tailor used a dark blue fabric with a subtle pattern, and cut the lines sharp and clean, perfectly accentuating the martial artist's physique without restricting movement. The color and style were both modest and very fitting.

Behind him, Hong Luoyu sat on the table with one leg crossed over the other.

With no outsiders around, he reverted to his carefree nature, fiddling with a white porcelain teacup in his hand and said indifferently,

"Just off Qingfeng Edge, we were surrounded and attacked, figuring that your guard would be down not far from Qingfeng Edge, ready to deal with you all at once. I guess they even planned to pin the blame on Qingfeng Edge or that what's-his-name Jiu Zizai."

He seemed disdainful as he snorted and said,

"Huh, Zizai?"

"It seems one can only find ease in liquor, no wonder he is called Jiu Zizai; aside from liquor, everything else seems uneasy."

Wang Anfeng shook his head and said,

"Such an obvious frame-up, not many people would believe it."

Hong Luoyu chuckled, with a know-it-all expression, replied,

"Whether they believe it or not doesn't matter."

"With the number one of the Hidden Sect plus an unaffiliated reclusive grandmaster from Jianghu, it's enough to stir the waters here. By erasing any potential traces and marks during this time, they'll manage to escape unscathed."

"But to send out four top-notch experts in one go, although the territory of Great Qin is vast, a Fourth Rank expert is no common cabbage, some assault forcefully, others assassinate in the shadows, and besides these two, there are two others not inferior to them."

"These four, troublesome to start with, if they also know how to form a sword array, ordinary grandmasters might also suffer a huge loss here. If by mischance, that grandmaster happens to be countered, dying here isn't impossible."

He tossed the teacup on the table; the cup spun twice before settling firmly.

The cup was painted with pine and cranes symbolizing longevity.

Hong Luoyu raised his eyes to Wang Anfeng and said,

"If I'm not mistaken, this person planned to take care of everyone behind you in one go. Heh, it seems like a permanent solution, little lunatic. Who exactly have you offended?"

"...No, who have you offended again?"

Hong Luoyu's voice paused on the word 'again,' accentuating the emphasis.

Wang Anfeng, feeling helpless, gently flicked the rim of his cup and said:

"I'm not sure."

"Among us, there are Gong Yu and the Misses Lin and Lv. The possibility of Qingfeng Edge taking action is very low. I've considered whether it was White Tiger Hall or Four Symbols Pavilion because they have the biggest grievances with the disciple."

Hong Luoyu nodded, signaling Wang Anfeng to continue.

Wang Anfeng pursed his lips and said:

"But upon entering the city, I thought that although White Tiger Hall and Four Symbols Pavilion have the motive and reason to act against me, if it were them, there surely wouldn't be just these four men."

"There would be at least one Grandmaster among them."

"Or rather, a first-rate expert wielding a Shattered Divine Weapon, capable of contending with a Grandmaster Martial Artist for a short time, and not merely four Fourth Rank Martial Artists wielding famous swords."

Hong Luoyu laughed out loud, pointing continuously at Wang Anfeng:

"Just these guys nearly finished you off, and you're still thinking about a Grandmaster, a Divine Weapon?"

"I didn't realize, little lunatic, that you had such a big appetite!"

Wang Anfeng's expression stiffened slightly as he looked at his third Master, who was completely unserious and delighted in his misfortune. He felt a throbbing pain in his temples and after a pause, he gritted his teeth and said:

"It's not that the disciple has a big appetite."

"It's that they need to have such a good appetite to swallow the disciple; otherwise, they might just shatter all their teeth."

"Both White Tiger Hall and Four Symbols Pavilion were involved in the Pharmacist Valley incident three years ago. If they sent such a force to hunt down the disciple, it likely means they know of my connection to the destruction of their branch."

"But knowing of my Grandmaster's mighty powers, sending these men would be nothing but a suicide mission. Fourth Rank Martial Artists and renowned swords aren't cabbages; they certainly wouldn't act this way."

Hong Luoyu clapped his hands and smiled:

"Well said!"

"Do you have any clues then?"

Wang Anfeng hesitated for a moment, his thoughts inadvertently drifted to his father who seemed to harbor some secrets. He hesitated slightly, then dismissed the thought, feeling it was not likely, and shook his head, saying:

"The disciple doesn't know..."

Hong Luoyu raised an eyebrow, raised his hand to interrupt Wang Anfeng, and gestured towards the door, saying, "Uncle Tai is here."

"Uncle Tai?"

Wang Anfeng was stunned for a moment.

Hong Luoyu jumped down from the table and straightened his clothing, saying:

"I invited him over, or rather, I'm quite interested in that Jue Que Sword."

Understanding dawned on Wang Anfeng, he nodded and was about to go open the door when he suddenly remembered something and turned back to ask:

"Third Master, the Fish Intestine Sword you shattered today was fake, right?"

Hong Luoyu raised an eyebrow and smiled:

"You noticed?"

Wang Anfeng nodded. His martial arts included skills from Hong Luoyu, and considering the latter's reputation as the world's number one thief, it wasn't hard to guess what had actually happened then.

Moreover, another reason was that he, once known as the "Guardian of Books," had read many books in the Wind Character Tower of Fufeng Academy and knew the standard of famous swords. Shattering with a single flick one of the ten legendary swords from a previous generation, even by a Grandmaster, seemed too far-fetched.

Hong Luoyu nodded and smiled:

"Indeed, it was fake. The sword had its uses, so I swapped it on the fly."

Wang Anfeng nodded in understanding and turned to open the door.

Behind him, Hong Luoyu said leisurely:

"Besides, the real Fish Intestine Sword is made of a material not inferior to ordinary Divine Weapons, how could it be shattered with a single flick?"

"It would take at least two."

Wang Anfeng's footsteps paused slightly.

PS: First update for today…

Well, we just passed a small plot point, so the update is a bit late today. Please forgive the delay (bows).