Chapter Three: A Clash at the Tavern

After wandering down from Mount Huanggang and spending two days on the road, he had arrived in Fuzhou Prefecture of Fujian.

The breeze along the road had brushed the willows, and the flowers by the roadside were intoxicatingly fragrant. It was the season of warm spring and blossoms in the southern land, and everything around him was so full of spring vitality and vibrant life.

He wore a blue robe, silver hair flowing over his shoulders, both hands clasped behind his back. His stride was unusually light and airy, giving him an air of swaggering boldness, almost like some dissolute young rogue. Yet by his own account, this was the gait of a free spirit.

With his handsome features and that head of silver hair, he drew every eye. Those who noticed him all felt he was not someone to be trifled with. Up ahead by the roadside hung a tavern sign, and after a glance he stepped inside.

The tavern was plain enough, neither luxurious nor dilapidated. Inside, all was quiet. Beside the wine stove stood a young maid in green, her hair bound in two buns and pinned with two thornwood hairpins. She seemed to be tending the liquor and was facing inward, not looking out.

He flicked his sleeve to sweep the dust from a stool and sat down at ease.

From the inner hall came a fit of coughing, followed by the sound of footsteps. An old man emerged from behind a long blue curtain. His black hair had turned almost entirely white, with only a trace of dark strands remaining.

The old man looked at him with a startled expression, then forced a somewhat stiff smile and asked, "Are you here for wine, honored customer?"

He replied indifferently, "A jin of Bamboo Leaf Green, and three cold dishes."

Just as the old man retreated toward the back, voices rose outside.

"Young Escort Master, why not have a drink here? We just bagged some game, rabbit and pheasant, perfect for having Old Cai cook up and go with the wine."

"Hahaha, you fellows only claimed to go hunting with me, but I suspect the real aim was drinking. If I don't treat you well enough, will you refuse to come out with me tomorrow?"

"Young Escort Master, that's hardly fair. How could we dare? But your archery is truly divine. You brought down so much game today; all of us together still couldn't match you."

While they spoke, five people entered the tavern. Leading them was a youth in fine clothes, around eighteen or nineteen years old, with a jeweled sword at his waist and a long bow on his back. His features were slightly delicate, refined and handsome.

The four men behind him were all in their thirties or forties, dressed in tight riding clothes. As they came in, every one of them held himself straight, exuding a bold, martial air, though there was also a trace of arrogance.

As soon as the five entered, they saw the conspicuous figure of Ren Yi.

The young man in fine clothes was delighted at once. "Brother Ren, so you were here too."

He strode over with his men, and Ren Yi glanced at him with a smile. "Young Lin, sit."

The youth did not stand on ceremony and sat with two of his attendants at Ren Yi's table, while the other two took the nearby table. After seeing Ren Yi, the four men also toned down their earlier arrogance and put on flattering smiles.

The newcomer was none other than Lin Pingzhi, the young escort master of the Fuwei Escort Agency. The other four were escort agents from the agency. Ren Yi remembered that those seated with him were the two escort masters, Shi and Zheng, while the two at the neighboring table were the runners Bai Er and Chen Qi.

Over the past six years, in search of a cure for his early aging illness, he had roamed everywhere, crossing south and north, traversing all the great mountains. He had naturally met many people. Through once treating the difficult illness of Wang Furen, daughter of Wang Yuanba of the Golden Saber Sect in Luoyang and wife of Lin Zhennan, he had become acquainted with them.

He did not mind this connection with the Fuwei Escort Agency in the least, and in ordinary times he often asked them to bring him all manner of strange herbs and rare medicines.

He was only eighteen, yet to outsiders, apart from a slightly youthful face, there was nothing at all of a young man's innocence about him. Added to that cascade of three thousand silver strands, no one could tell his true age, which was why even Lin Pingzhi addressed him as Brother Ren.

"Brother Ren, why didn't you let me know earlier that you were coming to Fuzhou? I could have brought more men to welcome you."

Ren Yi shook his head. "No need for that. Has your father returned to the estate yet?"

"My parents and I only returned to Fuzhou the day before yesterday. Oh, right!" Lin Pingzhi answered with a smile, then turned and instructed, "Bai Er, Chen Qi, you two go back to the estate at once and inform my father that Brother Ren is here."

Though the two were reluctant, they still stood and acknowledged the order before turning and heading for the door.

Seeing them leave, Lin Pingzhi said with a smile, "Brother Ren, stay in Fuzhou for a few more days this time. I'll take you around to see the sights and do my duty as host."

No sooner had he finished than Bai Er and Chen Qi, who had just gone out the door, were suddenly hurled back inside. A harsh curse came from outside: "Damn it, you two blind bastards have no eyes?"

Seeing them smashed in so badly, the two escort masters, Shi and Zheng, hurried forward to help them up. In the meantime, two burly men strode in.

Both newcomers had white cloth wrapped around their heads. They wore green robes and looked somewhat like scholarly gentlemen, yet their legs were bare, and they had on hemp shoes with no backs, making them appear neither fish nor fowl.

The old proprietor had just brought out the wine when he was frightened back into the inner hall at once. The younger man glanced at Lin Pingzhi and the others and sat down brazenly, while the older one, upon seeing Ren Yi drinking, could not help but freeze for a moment.

"Second Brother Jia, what are you staring at? Sit down and let's drink."

Clearly, Jia the Second had recognized Ren Yi, but after being called out like that, and since Ren Yi still did not turn around, he too sat down.

Bai Er and Chen Qi had already risen to their feet. At first Lin Pingzhi had wanted to let it pass, but when he saw the bruising on their chests, purple and swollen, his anger surged. He immediately barked, "Don't you think you went too far?"

If it had been any other time, Jia the Second might have shouted back, but with that person there, he remained silent.

Instead, the other man laughed loudly at the sight of Bai Er and Chen Qi still struggling to breathe. "You two eyeless bastards, being alive already counts as my mercy. You pretty little sissy there, do you want a kick too?"

Insulted like this, how could Lin Pingzhi bear it any longer? He threw a heavy right-handed punch straight at the man's face.

The younger man dodged, then seized him with a grappling move and instantly subdued him.

"You pretty little thing, and you think you can fight like the rest of us?"

Seeing the young escort master pinned down, the two escort masters Shi and Zheng hurried to intervene, and in the blink of an eye the men were all locked in combat.

Only then did Ren Yi finally turn around to look at them. Their martial skills were mediocre. Though they were far better than common street thugs, compared with proper figures of the jianghu they were crude indeed.

After more than a hundred exchanges among the five of them, Shi and Zheng, though two against Jia the Second, still could not prevail. Blood streamed from the corners of their mouths and noses, staining their collars a vivid red.

As for Lin Pingzhi, his pride had been badly wounded. He unleashed every technique of his family art, yet could not do a thing to the opponent. At that moment, his right arm was already locked, and he was forced down to his knees, pressed flat to the ground.

"You little bastard, hurry up and kowtow to your old man three times, then call me dear father, and I'll let you go!"

The two escort masters Shi and Zheng wanted to help but had no spare hand.

Lin Pingzhi saw Ren Yi watching him, and shame burned through him. He clenched his teeth and said nothing, nor did he ask for help.

"You little miss, still trying to act tough in front of your grandpa? Hurry up and say it!"

His arm bone was nearly twisted apart, yet Lin Pingzhi remained silent. Seeing this, Ren Yi rose at the proper moment.

As soon as he stood, Jia the Second and the three men from Shi and Zheng all stepped back at once. When the younger man saw Ren Yi approaching, he laughed and said, "And where did this old fool come from..."

Jia the Second tried to stop him, but it was already too late. Perhaps because Ren Yi's move was simply too fast, before the younger man had even finished speaking, Ren Yi had already struck.

He had not drawn a blade, and in truth he carried no weapon. How then could he strike with a blade, how could he draw one?

With his palm as a saber.

This was originally the Wudang sect's Eighty-One Forms of Mystical Blade Technique, but seven years earlier Ren Yi had reduced it from complexity to simplicity, turning illusion into substance. Of the eighty-one strikes, only eighteen remained. Those eighteen saber blows were as swift as thunder. Simplicity was victory; every strike covered the shortest distance with the plainest movement, relying on speed rather than elaborate technique.

He raised his hand, and the blade was formed. It cut through empty air, its force splitting the wind, its power crossing the void. The hand-saber extended in a horizontal thrust, with no trace of profundity or strange brilliance, only one thing: speed.

So fast that before the younger man could even react, the hand-saber had already driven out and cut into his chest.

Only a sharp crack was heard, followed by the sound of breaking bone. The man was instantly sent stumbling backward, then collapsed.

"Brother Yu! Brother Yu!"

Jia the Second supported the man, and after coughing up a mouthful of blood, the man fainted.

Seeing this, Jia the Second lifted his eyes and said solemnly, "Doesn't Young Hero Ren think he has gone too far?"

Ren Yi smiled. "They just asked the same thing of you two. What did you answer them?"

Jia the Second was left speechless.

Lin Pingzhi and the others, hearing this, looked much relieved and felt greatly vindicated.

Ren Yi still smiled. "If I hadn't held back, I could have split him in two on the spot. Better hurry and save his life. And yet you still have time to quarrel with me? Aren't you afraid he'll truly die in a moment?"

Jia the Second was startled. Seeing that the man surnamed Yu had almost no breath left, he hurriedly lifted him and ran out.