Chapter 207 - 195: The Great Show Begins

"Well, well, Chu Qingcheng. You really were hiding your cultivation! Despicable!" Long Fong grew cautious.

Although many considered Chu Qingcheng a genius, his cultivation was only around the Qi Martial Realm Eighth Heaven. Compared to Long Fong, the gap between them was still significant.

But from that last sword strike, Long Fong had suffered a subtle loss and was now clearly at a disadvantage.

"Look at you. This young master was kind enough to greet you, so the least you could do is respond with a few civil words to show some respect, no? Since when did hiding one’s cultivation become ’despicable’? On this spring day with its goose-feather snow, can’t you feel even a little warmth from my tone? Unzip your pants to greet the new day! It’s such a beautiful thing. One day, you’ll thank me for showing you the way."

"Damn it, what the hell are you even talking about?!" Long Fong had listened patiently for what felt like an eternity without understanding a single word, and he was absolutely furious.

Chu Qingcheng grinned and explained it to him in the simplest possible terms: "Get lost!"

"You... you... you..."

Long Fong was so enraged he was practically vibrating. He pointed a trembling finger at Chu Qingcheng, sputtering "You..." for a long time without managing to form a coherent sentence.

The moment Chu Qingcheng appeared, at least a third of the people on the street fled.

The moment he spoke, another third took off. Only the women of the Hidden Fragrance Pavilion remained, standing on the second floor, continuously winking and blowing kisses his way.

By the entrance of the Hidden Fragrance Pavilion, Xu Daolin coughed, signaling two members of the Xu Family to go help Yun Qing to his feet.

He took Yun Qing’s wrist to check his pulse, then said slowly, "Total body numbness, difficulty moving, obstructed Spiritual Power, green eyeballs, and a bluish complexion... Senior Brother Yun Qing must have been hit with Senluo Soul-Breaking Smoke."

Long Fong took a step forward, holding his right hand out to Lang Buqun. "The antidote. Hand it over!"

Lang Buqun timidly produced the small vial. Just as he was about to hand it over, his hand trembled. CRASH! The vial shattered on the ground.

"You... you can’t blame me! You’re just too scary! My poor little heart is going thump-thump-thump!" Lang Buqun exclaimed, ducking behind Chu Qingcheng.

Long Fong was so furious he was practically steaming, but he couldn’t think of what to say. He wanted to curse, but his refined upbringing hadn’t equipped him with a vocabulary of classic insults.

He wanted to throw a punch, but he wasn’t sure he could actually beat Chu Qingcheng.

He was caught between a rock and a hard place...

"Forget it, Senior Brother. Let’s go back," Xu Daolin said calmly. "Senluo Soul-Breaking Smoke isn’t particularly harmful. It just incapacitates an average Martial Artist for half an hour. Senior Brother Yun Qing will recover naturally after that."

With a crisp *thwack*, Chu Qingcheng snapped open his folding fan. He waved it twice, looking incredibly suave.

It was the dead of winter, and you could see the misty breath of most people in the air, yet he never let go of his fan... His ability to pose had truly reached a transcendent realm. Nearby, Yin Kuang and the others were in absolute awe of him.

"Let’s go!"

Long Fong barked coldly, then stormed off with Xu Daolin and the rest of his group.

Chu Qingcheng watched their retreating figures with an indifferent gaze, a cold smirk playing on his lips. ’Xiaolang was right. That Xu Daolin is no simple character. Heh, how interesting! It looks like things are about to start...’

A moment later, he frowned and glanced toward Shuangta Temple, muttering to himself, ’Xiaolang might be a master strategist, but he probably didn’t account for so many old monsters showing up in Celestial Phoenix City. And I haven’t even broken my second Seal yet. I’m afraid I won’t be of much help to him... Heh, it’s lonely at the top.’

"Brother Chu, what old monsters? What Seal? What are you talking about? You should have grabbed that scoundrel Long Fong and given him a good thrashing! Why’d you let them go?"

Zeng Zuimo sidled up and looped her arm through Chu Qingcheng’s.

"I wanted to beat him up too, but I wasn’t sure I could win. What can you do?" Chu Qingcheng subtly extricated his arm and started walking toward the other side of the street.

"Old Chu, where are you off to? How can we find you later?" Yin Kuang asked with a chuckle.

"If it’s not important, don’t look for me. If it *is* important, then *definitely* don’t look for me. I’m going to Xiaolang’s house. Moran has surely been waiting for me for a long time. I’m off to find my springtime romance..."

Chu Qingcheng said with a wave of his hand.

Yin Kuang and the others broke out in a cold sweat. "Shen Lang’s house is that way! Why are you heading in the opposite direction? Is your ’illness’ still not cured?"

"You’re the one who’s sick! Your whole family is sick!" Chu Qingcheng blinked, spun around suavely, and glanced casually at Deng Jianchen, who was being supported by Lang Buqun and Cai Ying. "See? This young man here is the one who’s really sick. A fine young lad like you, how could you be so careless? What kind of feud do you have with Yun Qing to get hit by two ’Blood Handprints’? Tsk, tsk. He roughs you up like that and doesn’t even give you One Hundred Gold Coins for your trouble. How rude of him!"

Everyone jumped in shock. "What? Jianchen was hit with a Blood Handprint? That bastard Yun Qing is that vicious!"

"Uh... Old Chu, I may be simple, but don’t try to scare me. It’s not that serious, is it? I don’t think it was a Blood Handprint... When Yun Qing attacked, I didn’t see any handprint or even a bloody aura," Deng Jianchen stammered.

Chu Qingcheng shoved an Elixir Pill into his mouth and then slapped him on the body several times, hitting him so hard he started crying for help. Only then did Chu Qingcheng speak again. "That’s just because that scoundrel Yun Qing hasn’t mastered the technique... Good for you that he hasn’t, or you’d be half-crippled by now."

"So how is he now? Is the problem gone?" Lang Buqun asked.

"The problem’s not so big now. He just needs to lie in bed for a month. Go catch a few Cold Glaze Beasts, stew them into a soup, and have him drink it for a month to disperse the residual blood qi. Then he’ll be able to get out of bed... Huh? Why’d he faint from excitement? Was he really that happy to hear the news?" Chu Qingcheng said with a puzzled look.