Chapter 59 - 57: Another Roadside Encounter

The Shopkeeper held up a gold ingot and said, "Young gentleman, this is far too much. We don’t have enough change. How about we just consider this meal on the house?"

Zhang Deming looked at the Shopkeeper, who was trembling uncontrollably, and shook his head, speechless. ’This must be hard on you,’ he thought.

"No need. Just keep the change as a tip."

The Shopkeeper gingerly held the gold ingot and said, "But... this is still too much."

Zhang Deming paid him no mind. Light Wings materialized at his heels, and with a slight tremble, he shot away in an instant.

A strong gust of wind kicked up, messing up the Shopkeeper’s hair.

"Hiss... This Qinggong... never mind anything else, just look at that speed! It’s reached the pinnacle of perfection, hasn’t it?"

Inside the inn, everyone who had been watching Zhang Deming gasped in unison, and a buzz of discussion instantly erupted.

Zhang Deming left the inn and began running at full speed.

After running for about ten minutes, Zhang Deming’s brow furrowed slightly.

’Another roadside robbery?’

Although Liuzhou was far from the Sect—a distance of hundreds, if not thousands of kilometers—that was enough to create significant isolation in this ancient-style world.

’But isn’t this a few too many robberies?’

’Doesn’t the Sect have Outer Sect senior brothers assigned to these areas for their retirement posts?’

Puzzled, he slowed his pace. In the distance ahead, he saw a group of assassins dressed head-to-toe in black with their faces covered, currently surrounding and attacking three people.

An old man, a woman, and a child—and to his surprise, Zhang Deming knew all of them.

The old man was the beggar from the inn, and the woman and child were the mother-daughter pair from yesterday who wanted to become his servants.

’How did they end up together?’

’It seems that old man didn’t learn his lesson from last night. Still sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong.’

Watching the mother and daughter being protected by the old man, he could see the three of them were in imminent danger.

Zhang Deming’s feet moved, and he walked over.

"Well now, wouldn’t you say this is fate?"

Zhang Deming’s sudden appearance brought the fight to an instant halt.

"Senior," the old beggar said respectfully.

Zhang Deming ignored the old man. His previous words had been directed at the mother and daughter.

"Immortal Master Lei! Nuannuan, quickly, kowtow to our benefactor!"

The mother exclaimed in pleasant surprise. Then, completely ignoring the four assassins around them, she set her daughter down and prepared to bow to Zhang Deming.

"Don’t bother. I’m not looking for a servant like you. And judging by those hands that have never seen a day of hard work, you wouldn’t be suited for it anyway."

"Also, I do intend to intervene. After all, I already saved you once. I can’t just watch yesterday’s effort go to waste. So you’d best drop those little schemes of yours in front of me."

"I don’t particularly dislike scheming people like you, and you’re not bad at it, but it’s not enough to work on me."

"Be careful. If your tricks don’t work, I might just ignore your daughter completely. Don’t come crying to me if she gets cut down," Zhang Deming said flatly.

The woman froze for a moment. Without arguing, she calmly knelt and said:

"I, Qian Shuangshuang, have made a fool of myself before you, benefactor. I was forced by circumstance, only wanting to do everything possible to ensure Nuannuan survives."

’Heh, this woman really is full of schemes.’

’After just two encounters and a few short exchanges, she’s already figured out my general personality and adopted the perfect way to respond.’

’She frankly admitted her intentions and laid them all out.’

’In a society like this, someone with her level of cunning probably doesn’t have a low status, right?’

"Ahem. When I’m talking, I don’t appreciate people making moves behind my back."

As Zhang Deming spoke, the weeds around the four assassins grew wildly in an instant. The blades of grass, acting like vines, wrapped the four assassins up until they looked like mummies.

The old beggar’s pupils contracted as he watched the assassins being subdued without any resistance. At the same time, he breathed a sigh of relief.

’This man may be unpredictable and have a strange personality, but at least he doesn’t seem to be a Demon.’

Zhang Deming turned his head to look at the old beggar. "You really don’t learn your lesson, do you? Still so fond of meddling. Or perhaps... you knew I would come this way? Was this to flesh out your character profile?"

The old beggar’s pupils shrank slightly. He lowered his head and said, "In response to Senior, I did ask before acting this time. I may be old and my eyes may be failing, but my memory still serves me. As for your last comment, Senior... I truly don’t know what you mean."

Zhang Deming gave the old beggar a serious look and replied, "Heh. So what you’re saying is, after just a few words, I’ve somehow gained a disciple?"

The old beggar quickly replied, "If Senior is willing, I would be overjoyed."

"Yeah, right. I can’t afford a disciple as old as you."

With that, he stopped chatting with the man. Since last night, Zhang Deming hadn’t wanted to get too involved with this person. When you’re away from home, a single point of suspicion is enough to keep your distance.

He turned his head to look at Qian Shuangshuang and said, "You’re certainly popular, aren’t you? Yesterday’s roadside ’accident’ didn’t work, so today they dropped all pretense and sent assassins to serve you."

"Has the household infighting in Liuzhou’s main city really evolved to this level?"

Having gone through their brief conversation yesterday, Qian Shuangshuang seemed to have grown accustomed to Zhang Deming’s somewhat witty manner of speaking.

With a bitter smile, she said, "You must find me laughable, benefactor. If this were just a struggle in the rear courtyard, I am confident I could handle it with ease. This time, however, I was betrayed by someone from the front courtyard, which is how I ended up in this situation."

"But as long as I can make it back alive, I can turn everything around. When that time comes, I will certainly not forget your grace in saving my life multiple times."

"Stop. I saved you yesterday purely because of the little girl in your arms. After all, she’s at that age where anything could be a death sentence."

"I saved you today because I didn’t want yesterday’s effort to be for nothing."

"Let’s part ways here. At my speed, we shouldn’t be seeing each other again."

"If you want to repay me, just be careful and stay alive. Don’t let the first time in years I’ve helped someone out of simple kindness go to waste."

"While you have a ’sucker’ risking his neck to help you, you should hurry up and find a way to get clear. From the looks of it, your every move has been completely predicted."

With that, Zhang Deming gave her no further chance to talk. The Light Wings at his heels trembled, and he shot away like a lightning bolt.

"Madam, do you know that Senior?" the old beggar asked, watching Zhang Deming’s disappearing figure.

Qian Shuangshuang shook her head. "No, I just happened to be saved by him once yesterday. That’s the only time we’ve met. Elder Ge, you called him Senior. Do you know him?"

The old beggar shook his head, looking down at his broken left hand. "I don’t. It’s just that because of my recklessness, another young Senior taught me a lesson."

"At first, I thought they were together. Only later did I realize they were just sharing a table, same as me."

Qian Shuangshuang looked at the old beggar’s broken arm, thought about Zhang Deming’s personality and their previous conversation, and came to a rough guess about what had happened.

"As a member of a Renowned Family in Liuzhou, Madam Qian, I wonder how much you know about Immortals?" the old beggar asked.

Qian Shuangshuang glanced at the old beggar. "Not a great deal. I only know that the three adjacent prefectures of Liuzhou, Tongzhou, and Yuanzhou are all under the administration of a single Four-Nine Upper Sect, the Celestial Spirit Sect."

"And the disciples of the Celestial Spirit Sect wear precisely these White Cloud Cyan Shirts."

"The Celestial Spirit Sect, you say? It seems that for all my years in the martial world, I’ve just been a frog in a well!" the old beggar lamented, his eyes glinting.