It had scared him to death. He had thought that Zhao Rong—the Alliance Leader of the Martial Arts Alliance, the champion of the righteous path, a man in his forties with a son and a daughter and a harmonious marriage—had been caught up in some scandalous affair.
Yun Huizhou glanced at Lian Li, clearly not understanding why Lian Li would think it was Zhao Rong. However, he didn’t intend to question Lian Li in front of the waiter.
After giving the waiter another dozen or so copper coins, Yun Huizhou asked for the specific location of the duel between Zhao Honglan and Female Warrior Xin before leading Lian Li away.
“Why did you think it was Alliance Leader Zhao just now?” Yun Huizhou asked Lian Li once they had left the inn.
Lian Li scratched his head and said, “Last year, everyone called Zhao Honglan ‘Young Master Zhao.’ Today, hearing the waiter call him ‘Great Hero Zhao,’ I couldn’t make the connection for a moment, so I thought he was referring to the Alliance Leader. I didn’t expect Senior Brother Zhao to have leveled up—from a Young Master to a Great Hero.”
Hearing him use the term “leveled up,” Yun Huizhou found it quite interesting. “Brother Zhao and Senior Sister Qu have been traveling the world for the past year, doing many things, helping many people, and saving many lives. It’s only right that he leveled up. Brother Zhao went from Young Master to Great Hero, and Senior Sister Qu went from Miss Qu to Female Warrior Qu.”
Lian Li tilted his head to look at Yun Huizhou and said, “The titles people use for you are quite a mix. Some call you Young Master, others call you Great Hero.”
As for Lian Li himself, he currently looked like a youth. People’s first instinct upon seeing him was to call him “Young Master.” Furthermore, while he wasn’t exactly a nobody, his fame was somewhat inflated and wasn’t exactly a “proper” heroic reputation.
“I don’t have any particular obsession with it. Besides, ‘Young Master’ sounds much younger. ‘Great Hero’ always makes me feel like I’ve reached a great age,” Yun Huizhou said.
“If those people in their thirties who are still being called ‘Brother So-and-so’ or ‘this fellow’ heard you say that, they’d want to beat you to death.” Lian Li was already used to this man’s humblebragging.
The two of them bought some portable snacks and headed toward the West Gate.
The West Gate area was quite far from the bustling districts, but today it was more crowded than usual, filled with Jianghu people carrying weapons.
Because the news had only spread yesterday morning and the duel was set for this afternoon, those who could make it were basically Jianghu people who were already in Linjiu City or nearby villages and towns.
Anyone further away wouldn’t have been able to make it in time.
Therefore, the crowd didn’t look particularly large yet; they could see about a dozen people at the moment.
Lian Li and Yun Huizhou exchanged a look, understanding that eighty percent of these people were here for the duel between Zhao Honglan and Female Warrior Xin.
“Follow the crowd,” Yun Huizhou said. “It saves us the trouble of asking for the exact location.”
The two of them took the bamboo hats from their backs and put them on to hide their faces. People outside the martial arts world might not recognize them, but to those within the Jianghu, the two of them were quite famous.
Walking with this group of Jianghu people, they would easily be recognized if they didn’t cover their faces.
It wasn’t that they were afraid of being recognized, but once identified, enthusiastic people would inevitably come over to strike up a conversation. Although neither of them was the type to crave absolute silence and they both enjoyed watching a good spectacle, it didn’t mean they wanted to become the spectacle.
Their attire wasn’t unusual among a crowd of Jianghu people; a casual glance would reveal many others dressed similarly.
By the time they reached the spot, they realized they were actually quite late. There were more people than they had imagined—not quite a hundred, but certainly fifty.
Lian Li gently lifted the light veil of his bamboo hat and peered around. “Where is Zhao Honglan? I don’t see him.”
Yun Huizhou looked up at the sky and said, “There’s still nearly an hour before the appointed time. No rush.”
“I see.” Lian Li scanned the surroundings and said, “There are so many people. I feel like we spectators are more eager than the two duelists.”
“Female Warrior Xin is also quite eager,” Yun Huizhou said. After checking the surroundings to ensure no one was paying them any mind, he took off his bamboo hat, ducked under the veil of Lian Li’s hat, and whispered.
The bamboo hat was only so big. Once Yun Huizhou ducked inside, the two of them were practically face-to-face.
Lian Li was so startled by his movement that he didn’t even hear what he said.
He almost threw a palm strike to push him out, but then he saw Yun Huizhou raise a finger to his lips.
“What are you doing!” Lian Li asked in a very low voice.
Yun Huizhou whispered back, “I said, Female Warrior Xin is also quite eager.”
Lian Li shot him a glare and feigned anger. “If you have something to say, just say it properly. Why did you suddenly get so close!”
As he spoke, he tried to lean back, but stopped halfway when he realized Yun Huizhou was about to fall out of the hat’s coverage.
“Even though Female Warrior Xin might not care, I’m afraid others might be unhappy if they overhear, and I’d rather not offend people for no reason,” Yun Huizhou said, staying put and continuing to whisper.
“You’re afraid of offending people?” Lian Li made a face of disdain. “I thought you didn’t care about anyone else at all.”
“Well, most of the time I don’t,” Yun Huizhou said. “But there are dozens of people here. If I were alone and offended someone, I could just run away if I couldn’t win a group fight. I’m mainly afraid that you wouldn’t be able to escape.”
Lian Li looked at Yun Huizhou, holding back his temper again and again. Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore and pushed the man out with a palm.
This guy was truly asking for a beating.
After teasing Lian Li into pushing him out, Yun Huizhou decisively put his own bamboo hat back on. He looked around and noticed that Lian Li’s movement just now had attracted quite a bit of attention.
However, since he had put his hat on quickly, no one saw his face.
The two of them stood there. Yun Huizhou didn’t initiate any more conversation, and Lian Li was currently sulking and refusing to speak.
But waiting like this was inevitably boring. Eventually, Lian Li couldn’t hold it in anymore and tugged on Yun Huizhou’s sleeve.
“What is it?” Yun Huizhou asked, turning his head.
“Um, where is Female Warrior Xin?” Lian Li asked.
Yun Huizhou looked up toward the top of a tree. “On that tree over there, the one in white clothes.”
Lian Li followed his gaze and indeed saw a white figure among the branches. However, because of the foliage, he couldn’t see her face clearly.
Just as he was about to speak, he heard Yun Huizhou speak again: “Brother Zhao is here.”
There was a stir in the crowd as everyone looked in the same direction. Lian Li followed suit and saw that it was indeed Zhao Honglan.
At this moment, he was treading across the branches, still dressed in green robes and holding a longsword. However, compared to their last meeting, he seemed much more exhausted.
Lian Li lifted his veil and stared at Zhao Honglan, realizing that the Male Lead didn’t just feel exhausted—the fatigue was visible to the naked eye.
He had dark circles under his eyes identical to Yun Huizhou’s from staying up all night, and there was unshaven stubble on his chin. He looked rather unkempt.
If he weren’t the Male Lead with a handsome face to carry it off, one could even call this look slovenly.
