Chapter 168: A Letter from Jin Manjue

After all, the primary parties involved were still right there. The sensory abilities of transcendent experts were beyond his imagination; perhaps what he thought was whispering to Yun Huizhou was no different from speaking directly into the ears of those three who had entered a combat state.

Lian Li watched for a good while, only to find that all three were obscured by the water screen. Seeing nothing, he could only turn back to speak with Yun Huizhou. “I can’t see them at all, though this water screen is truly spectacular.”

Yun Huizhou looked up at the sun and said, “The fight is almost over. In a moment, you should…”

At this point, Yun Huizhou closed his mouth, seemingly afraid to speak further for fear that the three combatants might hear him.

Lian Li was puzzled, but then he saw Yun Huizhou point to his own face—specifically around the eyes—and give him a “you know what I mean” look. “Just keep your eyes peeled in a moment,” he said.

Lian Li raised an eyebrow as a thought occurred to him.

Another interval of time passed, and the water screen over there finally vanished. He was just preparing to stare at the faces of those three when he saw the South Island Master and North Island Master wave their hands. They directly released their internal energy, surrounding themselves with incredibly bright special-effect lights. Even in broad daylight, they shone brilliantly like massive spheres of light as they streaked across the sky.

Lian Li: “…Eh?”

He turned to look at Yun Huizhou. “I can’t see anything.”

Yun Huizhou: “…You can use your imagination.”

He pointed to several spots on his own face, especially around the two eye sockets. “You get it.”

Lian Li’s eyes showed a hint of regret. “What a pity. As soon as they finished fighting, they just sparked with ‘bling-bling’ lights and ran off.”

Yun Huizhou chuckled twice and said, “There will always be a chance to see it. Now that Senior Martial Uncle is back, they’ll fight again sooner or later.”

He patted himself down to confirm he had his money, then took hold of Lian Li. “Let’s go. To Jianggao City.”

Because the South and North Island Masters were overly cautious, Lian Li didn’t get to see what they looked like after being thrashed by the East Island Master, but he wasn’t too disappointed.

After all, the highlight of today was spending two days in Jianggao City with Yun Huizhou.

After the two of them led their horses onto the boat and left Drunken Dream Island, they rode all the way to Jianggao City.

Jianggao City was as bustling as ever. The two first returned to Yun Huizhou’s residence in the city to inform Uncle Zhang that they would be staying for the night, then headed straight for the restaurant the West Island Master had taken them to before.

Once they were in a private room, Lian Li said with great magnanimity, “Bring out all your signature dishes! Especially that roast duck—bring two portions!”

The waiter immediately beamed with joy, nodding repeatedly in agreement before scurrying off.

A short while later, the dishes arrived.

Although they had simply said to bring all the signature dishes without specifying a limit, the waiter didn’t just pile everything on. Aside from the two roast ducks Lian Li specifically requested, everything else was served as a single portion. The total amount was estimated for two people; they didn’t treat them like suckers by mindlessly serving an excessive amount of food.

The two were eating happily when the waiter knocked on the private room door again. “Honored guests, someone claiming to be a family servant has come to report something to you.”

Lian Li was confused. “A family servant?”

“It’s Uncle Zhang. He always refers to himself as a servant.” After clearing up Lian Li’s confusion, Yun Huizhou spoke to the waiter outside the door. “Let him in.”

The door opened, and it was indeed Uncle Zhang. He stepped forward holding a letter. “Great Hero Yun, Young Hero Lian, shortly after you left, someone from the Martial Arts Alliance delivered a letter. They said the sender insisted it be placed in your hands as soon as possible.”

Yun Huizhou set down his chopsticks and took the letter from Uncle Zhang. As he opened it, he said, “Uncle Zhang, have a seat first. I’ll look at the letter. Waiter, bring another set of bowls and chopsticks.”

The waiter quickly brought another set and placed them beside Uncle Zhang. However, Uncle Zhang sat there without moving his chopsticks, waiting for Yun Huizhou to read the letter.

Lian Li glanced at Uncle Zhang, remembering that Yun Huizhou had once mentioned being brought back as an infant by the South Island Master to be taken as a disciple.

But the South Island Master didn’t look like the type who knew how to care for a baby. Therefore, from the time he was three and began to remember things, it was Uncle Zhang who had personally looked after his daily life.

The South Island Master had also explicitly told him that Uncle Zhang was the one who had raised him through every mess since he was a babe in swaddling clothes.

After he turned three and began to form memories, the South Island Master started his enlightenment, laying the foundation for him to begin practicing martial arts at age four.

During that time, Uncle Zhang didn’t leave either; he stayed to look after him. It wasn’t until Yun Huizhou was nearly ten and his martial arts had reached the second-class level—after the South Island Master gave him this residence in Jianggao City and some small businesses—that Uncle Zhang stopped following him closely. Instead, he came to Jianggao City to help manage the residence and the small properties.

Seeing Uncle Zhang sitting still while Yun Huizhou was clearly occupied with the letter, Lian Li thought for a moment, then picked up some food with his chopsticks and placed it in the bowl in front of Uncle Zhang. “Uncle Zhang, don’t just sit there. Have something to eat. We ordered quite a lot; we were planning to pack some up to take back anyway.”

Uncle Zhang looked at Lian Li, his face breaking into his usual stiff smile, and then he picked up his chopsticks to eat the food Lian Li had given him.

Speaking of which, Yun Huizhou himself was actually quite wealthy.

It was just that he often acted like a pauper, even though a closer look at the fabric of his clothes would reveal they were of excellent quality.

Lian Li currently had nothing to his name. For one, although he had some money now, he hadn’t gone out to buy a residence or set up any businesses.

After all, he didn’t have any capable people by his side to help him manage things; he had to wait for his Master to gift him some staff.

And that involved another issue: he hadn’t reached the second-class level yet, so he hadn’t met the criteria for the rewards set by his Master.

The residence, the businesses, and the people to manage them—he couldn’t get a single one of them yet…

Soon, Yun Huizhou finished reading the letter.

Lian Li saw his mouth twitch noticeably, as if he were speechless at the contents.

“Why that expression? Who is the letter from?” Lian Li asked.

Uncle Zhang also stopped eating and looked over. Seeing that Yun Huizhou’s expression wasn’t great, a hint of concern appeared in his eyes.

“It’s nothing,” Yun Huizhou said. “It’s a letter from Jin Manjue.”

“Jin Manjue? What is he writing for?” Lian Li asked.

Hearing it was Jin Manjue, Uncle Zhang’s expression relaxed. He paid more attention to miscellaneous affairs than Yun Huizhou and Lian Li did, so he knew who Jin Manjue was. He also knew that letters from that man rarely involved anything troublesome or serious.

Before Yun Huizhou could reply, Lian Li suddenly remembered what they had asked Jin Manjue to do at the Jinzui Tower in Linjiu City and the message they had left. Thus, he spoke again.

“Is someone coming to challenge the ranking?”

“Yes,” Yun Huizhou said. “He says the youngest disciple of the Maple Leaf Valley Master has taken a fancy to the eleventh spot on the Beauty Ranking. So, he wrote to tell us that if we don’t want to give up the eleventh rank, we must arrive in Linjiu City within half a month to duel the opponent. The winner will be the eleventh rank for the next issue.”