Why do I have so many masters?-Chapter 553 - 194 Wrong Blame? (2/2)

Hong Luoyu's finger technique seemed extremely simple, merely a straightforward overlay, yet due to its simplicity, it was also profoundly difficult.

Imitating the changes in movement technique was easy, but learning this finger technique was extremely hard, even for Wang Anfeng whose martial arts derived from the same lineage as Hong Luoyu's.

As difficult as reaching the heavens.

A staircase of three thousand steps to heaven, and he had only taken a few steps, still far from reaching the end.

The inn assistant's right hand opened, and the last of the dust fell, his face a blank stupor, completely at a loss.

On the table was a neatly stacked pile of copper coins, their edges seemingly worn smooth by long handling, but the assistant, in his disarray, completely overlooked them.

In the past, he might have been pleased with an extra bit of money for food and drink, but now, the shattered porcelain bowl's value was incomparable even if the copper coins were multiplied tenfold.

Good food is inferior to fine ware, and fine ware is inferior to a beautiful person.

The identities of these guests were all extraordinary, and it was near impossible to find anyone more beautiful in the city than Gong Yu, thus the shopkeeper used the finest tableware, each piece priced far beyond what an ordinary assistant could afford.

For instance, this shattered piece, although produced by a common kiln, coincidentally came from the year the new emperor ascended the throne, altering the design of the original porcelain kiln. This batch was considered the last leftover from the previous emperor's era, almost as valuable as the renowned Patterned Silver superior-rank Jade Ice Pot.

At least several dozen pieces of patterned silver.

The shopkeeper had obtained it by chance and had always cherished it greatly. To have it wrecked by his own hand, compensation was a minor issue; losing this job was the real disaster.

In the inn, an older head assistant managed the junior ones. Hearing the sound, he arrived from not far away, frowning and asking two questions before his expression darkened.

This head assistant was the shopkeeper's distant uncle by marriage, and his temper was known to be poor. Seeing his darkened face, the assistant grew even more anxious, turning to his colleague with a mournful expression and said,

"I, I just touched it lightly, and it broke into pieces like this."

"Don't blame me…"

No one dared to respond.

The older head assistant exhaled deeply, his expression returning to normal, but his silence made the atmosphere somewhat oppressive.

"Indeed, it's not your fault."

Just as the assistant's complexion turned increasingly pale, a gentle and smiling voice arose.

Relief washed over the assistant, like hearing the voice of an immortal, almost bursting into tears, he turned around and saw a Taoist who had appeared at the table at some unknown time.

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With a handsome appearance and dressed in a blue and white Taoist robe, he had completely white long hair, adding an transcendent air, as he looked at the dust on the ground.

Feeling everyone's gaze, the Taoist looked up and smiled, watching the assistant, he said,

"Little brother, you couldn't have caused this state of the cup by yourself."

His tone was gentle with a slight tease, but the assistant felt a great relief.

Seeing that this Taoist had an aura and manner unlike ordinary people, the head assistant's expression softened a bit, thought for a moment, made a bow, and said,

"May I ask how to address this Taoist elder..."

The Ancient Taoist smiled, did not reply, and leisurely said, "Today, Young Master Yuchi has reserved this private room, so naturally, the bill should be charged to Young Master Yuchi's account. Surely, you don't think Young Master Yuchi can't cover the cost of this little teacup, requiring you, an assistant, to compensate?"

"Or does this inn really operate like this, that even Young Master Yuchi can't smash a bowl for fun?"

"Is it too high an esteem for this tavern inn? Or is it a disdain for Young Master Yuchi Jie? Shopkeeper, for your own sake, it would be better not to act this way…"

The head assistant opened his mouth, recalling the behavior of those noble clan young masters, was stupefied for a moment, and grew more uneasy, looking at the Taoist, his face growing paler, he bowed and said,

"Thank you, Taoist elder, for pointing me in the right direction, otherwise, I nearly caused a disaster."

"This bill today…"

The Taoist stood with his hands behind his back, serenely smiling and said, "Charge it to Young Master Yuchi's account."

The head assistant gritted his teeth and said,

"Yes, charge it to Young Master Yuchi's account."

The Taoist nodded with a smile, withdrew his gaze, and the rest avoided the Taoist and quietly continued their work. The head assistant, although wanting to ask the Taoist further questions, for some reason, found himself unable to speak.

Only thinking about what the Taoist had said, the more he thought, the more he felt the danger he had been in earlier.

He had almost endangered himself severely.

The Ancient Taoist stood with his hands behind his back, and if one looked closely, the edges of his palms were faintly ethereal, like clouds moving across the sky, giving off an unreal sensation.

He had been intrigued by the last of Wang Anfeng's finger movements.

Bending down, his fingers lightly touched the slight dust of the shattered teacup on the ground, feeling a faint oppressively heavy aura, the Ancient Taoist's lips curved up, and he said,

"So that's how it is."

"It's not that he learned that thief's finger technique, but because he just understood sword momentum, he crushed the teacup into this state. Without using inner strength or external cultivation, he still achieved this effect."

"The Jue Que Sword Momentum is indeed domineeringly powerful."

"It's just that the little fellow inadvertently caused some trouble…"

His voice paused slightly, as if he thought of something, the Ancient Taoist glanced at the gradually dispersing dust, then shook his head, chuckled, and said,

"However, how should I put it…"

"Learning the sword is still better."

The head assistant returned downstairs. Hearing that the inn's treasured ware had been broken without anger, the shopkeeper merely mentioned recording it in the account, but his expression changed upon hearing about the ethereal white-haired Taoist, and he got up and walked upstairs.

The objects in the private room had been tidied up, leaving only the Taoist inside.

Both the shopkeeper and the assistant inquired at the door about whether anyone had come out since the head assistant went downstairs, and finding that no one had, the shopkeeper nodded faintly, gestured for the assistants to leave and remained alone there. In Great Qin, with the Taoist Sect as the state religion, many people throughout the region held great affection for Taoists who had attained transcendence.

The shopkeeper adjusted his attire outside the door before lightly knocking, but with no response from inside, he waited a moment. Growing suspicious, he could not resist pushing the door open, only to be slightly startled.

By the window, there was already no one.

Only the endless hustle and bustle outside the window, like a river of lamps, was visible.

In the room, Wang Anfeng's fingers faintly glowed with the aura of the Sword Gang as he flicked them twice lightly.

The technique he had just figured out, barely clinging to his fingertips, had already shattered and dissipated back into the vital energy, returning to Heaven and Earth, failing to combine the two methods as he had imagined.

Watching the disintegrated vital energy, he sighed and did not try again.

Turning his head towards the endless worldly dust outside the window, his eyes were as dark as the night, he sighed softly.

"Who are the owners of those swords..."

Early morning.

Before Wang Anfeng had risen, Taishu Jian was already waiting outside the guest room with the heavy Jue Que Sword on his back, as instructed by Hong Luoyu, to deliver the sword to Wang Anfeng before the designated hour each day.

Last night, he had perceived the Sword's momentum for an entire night, desperately seeking the truth that eluded him all his life, and was lucky to glimpse the profound momentum contained within the Jue Que Sword, an exquisite view never thought possible before, and now he felt invigorated instead of tired.

He bowed to Wang Anfeng and was about to unburden the Jue Que Sword from his back.

However, Wang Anfeng gestured for him to wait, saying there was no rush to examine the sword, and strode towards Hong Luoyu's guest room, leaving Taishu Jian puzzled and following closely behind with the sword still on his back.

Yuchi Jie, generous by nature, had rented out the best floor of the inn entirely, where all their rooms were located.

It was just dawn, and Lin Qiaofu, yawning with one hand and rubbing her eyes with the other, came out of her room, ready to go downstairs to see the morning scenes of the city.

Lv Baiping was still sound asleep in the room.

Gong Yu, much calmer now, just stepped out the door and saw two men in dark vigorous attire walking past in quick succession, one following the other.

One of them even nodded and gave a reluctant smile.

Gong Yu paused slightly.

Lin Qiaofu was stunned for a moment, then suddenly thought of something and quickly turned her head to look at Gong Yu, only to see that cold and exquisite beauty face growing solemn and falling silent.

"Uncle Master..."

Hong Luoyu's room was at the very end of this floor, with the door not fully closed. Wang Anfeng announced his visit to his master and pushed the door open, his eyes brightening as he scanned the room and then heaved a sigh of relief.

At a glance, only Hong Luoyu was in the room, with no particular items like renowned paintings, inscriptions, or jades.

Hong Luoyu, sitting at the table eating, saw Wang Anfeng come in and smiled:

"You're here?"

"Come here, I have some nuts, would you like some?"

Wang Anfeng walked over, feeling much relieved. He was truly afraid that his master, known as a divine thief, had taken advantage of the night to visit those noble clan's treasures, but now it seemed he had worried unnecessarily.

His third master would not act recklessly after all.

As Hong Luoyu passed over some dry fruits, he did not refuse, picking up a couple, putting them into his mouth. The nuts were somewhat similar to walnuts, yet upon closer tasting, they weren't quite the same, with a subtly sweet flavor and a lingering aftertaste.

Hong Luoyu asked:

"Tasty, aren't they?"

Wang Anfeng nodded, and Hong Luoyu passed some more to him. After Wang Anfeng finished them, Hong Luoyu spread his hands and laughed:

"That's all I got."

"Didn't expect to eat it; seems like a rare variety, and now it's gone."

Wang Anfeng looked at Hong Luoyu's casually laughing figure, a pang of guilt arising in his heart, feeling that it was indeed inappropriate of him to think ill of his master who had saved his life and treated him well. A look of apology appeared on his face.

Yet Hong Luoyu seemed not to care at all, waving his hand and chuckled:

"Let's not talk about this. You were to perceive the Jue Que Sword's momentum yesterday. Did you gain any insights?"

Wang Anfeng's expression grew solemn as he thought of his experiment from the previous night; he then shared his ideas with Hong Luoyu, occasionally demonstrating with his fingers.

Taishu Jian, carrying the sword, guarded the door, his expression stern.

Although Jing Feng City was just another city in the Great Qin, it was home to four major families standing side by side, thriving in commerce through generations—the Wu Family with a century-old legacy from Jianghu, renowned for their martial arts practice and the willingness to make friends; the remaining two were scholars.

Among them, the eldest head of Lu Family of Jing Feng had built a hundred-year enterprise, and had once served as a county official, achieving the post of a Fourth Rank officer.

In territories outside the Capital City, a Fourth Rank officer was considered prestigious, a significant honor for the local nobility of a state or city.

After retiring, the old master shifted away from his lifelong career in officialdom, embracing a more scholarly demeanor. Spending his days composing poetry, enjoying chrysanthemums, and brewing tea, he scorned the other scholar family and the two wealthy clans.

Yet, behind closed doors, his moves were extremely crafty, leaving no traces, truly a veteran of the bureaucratic ladder with skills refined to perfection, unmatched by the younger generation.

Rising early each morning, the old master would perform a sequence of punches in his courtyard, stretching his muscles and sinews, followed by a cup of Jade Ginseng Soup, then proceeding to his private garden to tend his flowers and occasionally play chess, seldom arguing or losing his temper.

But today, the old man, feared by surrounding scholar clans and secretly called an old fox, found himself in a state of shock.

Staring at the walnut shells on his table, his aged fingers trembled uncontrollably, nearly losing his breath entirely. After a moment, he repeatedly whispered to himself to remain calm in times of great events, but despite reciting this many times, he couldn't restrain himself and let out a shrill scream.

"My prized large blue-eyed blunt-nosed lion's mane that I've cultivated for twenty years!!"

"Who, who did this!"

"I swear, you won't live a life of peace!"

Fufeng County.

Within the premises of the Giant Whale Gang, the Jade Plaque shimmered with flowing light.

Gongsun Jing looked at the 'mission' in his hand requesting aid for three thousand impoverished people, then at the sudden pile of renowned paintings, jades, and inscriptions in front of him, falling into contemplation.

Did the Young Master loot a city's wealth?

Wang Anfeng stepped out of the guest room and closed the door, feeling guilty inside.

It seems he had indeed wronged his third master this time.

PS: Today's second update presented…