Chapter 41 Hey, I've Got an Idea

Just before dawn, over the Jiangnan Canal.

"Splash~"

Su Xinghe stepped on a thin wooden board, occasionally tapping the water's surface with his toe, propelling himself forward with incredible speed over a great distance. Most of the others did much the same.

"Whoo-hoo~"

He glanced not far away at Zhang Chengyi, who was stepping on a plank and drifting wildly across the river while letting out strange howls, a helpless expression inevitably crossing his face.

After engaging in that elaborate and thrilling boat-drifting escapade late last night, their group of eight had been making their way forward across the water with their luggage ever since.

Truth be told, it was quite fast. They reckoned they would reach Wuxi by noon today. The only mystery was why Grandad Zhang, despite their destination clearly being Lake Tai, was so insistent on heading to Wuxi city first.

As for who invented this method of travel...

Su Xinghe glanced once more at the howling Zhang Chengyi.

Life in the company of this eccentric elder was truly full of surprises; one never knew when he might suddenly hatch an idea and act on it without a second thought.

Like tormenting Yao Bodang, impulsively abducting Xu Chongxiao, or being woken up in the middle of the night to drag-race boats.

[Actually, it's quite fun.] Su Xinghe sighed inwardly, though his expression relaxed, and before he knew it, a smile crept onto his face.

Perhaps this was the essence of true detachment and ease?

Living freely and unfettered, enjoying happiness to the fullest.

"Old Qiao, hurry up, hurry up!" Zhang Chengyi shouted loudly as he sped along on his plank, "Let's have a race!"

Qiao Feng acted as if he hadn't heard a thing, continuing to ponder the development of his Body-Tempering Technique in his mind. He knew that if he engaged this man, it would inevitably turn into an endless game of cat-and-mouse, so he was better off focusing on how to further unlock the potential of the body-tempering method.

Only now did he discover that once internal energy reached a certain level, it was entirely possible to cross rivers on a single reed. By casually stepping on any floating object and circulating the inner Qi within one's body, the true Qi would become so abundant that the practitioner's body would feel as light as a feather. With just a tiny push against the water's surface, one could glide a tremendous distance.

This gave him his first clear realization of the limits of what a human being could achieve once their internal energy reached its peak.

As for the manic figure darting around ahead of him?

That wasn't human.

Literally speaking, with no derogatory intent intended.

"No fun."

Zhang Chengyi played around for a bit longer, but seeing that no one wanted to join in his madness, he muttered under his breath. Then he wondered: if the others held hands and towed him along, and he exerted his internal energy to the maximum, could he fly directly to Wuxi city?

That would surely feel amazing.

His eyes lit up. He slowed down, drifted in front of the others, executed a stylish turn, and said, "Hey, I've got an idea..."

"Grandad Zhang," Xue Muhua pleaded with a pitiful expression.

"Uh..." Zhang Chengyi thought about it and decided against it. Judging by the way this fellow had been wailing and screaming the night before, if they really flew for a stretch, the man would probably pass out cold from fright.

The problem, however, was that if he tried to fly there by himself, he didn't know the way, and his endurance was indeed a bit troublesome.

It wasn't that his internal energy was insufficient; he was just worried his meridians couldn't take the strain. Exerting full power could indeed launch one into the sky via recoil, but such a crude and brutal application of force possessed the aesthetic of swinging a nuclear missile launcher like a brick. Theoretically, with his massive reserves of true Qi, the floating sensation after circulating his energy meant that if he just had a matching lightness skill, flying really wouldn't be a dream.

Having been interrupted by Xue Muhua, his common sense gradually reclaimed the high ground.

"Decided, then."

Zhang Chengyi raised his head and declared, "Once body-tempering is done, I'll develop how to fly!"

Let's skip it for today; making a fool of oneself would be too gross. Better to play it safe.

"Very well, Grandad Zhang," Su Xinghe acknowledged, pretending not to see his disciple Xue Muhua's terrified expression.

If worst came to worst, he could just have Old Five fly a little lower during the technique tests later.

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At noon, Wuxi City, Songhe Tower.

"Waiter, ten catties of sorghum wine!" Zhang Chengyi announced the moment he stepped through the doors.

The waiter standing at the entrance broke out in a sweat, adopting an extremely deferential posture as he forced a smile and said, "Esteemed guest, I am truly sorry, but our house is completely full."

The food and wine at Songhe Tower were quite famous in Wuxi City. Being right at the peak of the noon meal hour, the place had filled up early. Dealing with a group of tall, heavily built pugilists walking in now was no easy task.

Qiao Feng initially thought Zhang Chengyi would forcibly seize a spot, but to his surprise, the man merely looked left and right before saying, "Then taking it to-go should be fine, right?"

"Also, give me one portion of every signature dish you have, all to-go."

Although Su Xinghe didn't understand why they had to come to Songhe Tower, he pulled out his money pouch with the practiced air of a lackey and led the waiter to the side for a private negotiation.

Even if they were packing it to-go, there wasn't a single place left in the tavern to sit down and rest their feet. The ground floor alone was packed with martial artists brandishing weapons, clinking cups and exchanging toasts.

Zhang Chengyi stood at the entrance, looking around with wide-eyed curiosity. Some patrons found him rather displeasing to the eye, but no one had any desire to step forward and argue or voice complaints.

"Damn their maternal grandmothers! Those running dogs of the Xixia Yipin Tang are bullying people too much!"

A bare-chested, shirtless brute suddenly shouted out, "The more I think about it, the more aggrieved I feel. If I'd known better, we brothers should have just swarmed them together and wiped them out!"

"Gusu Murong acts like a bunch of cowards, and what do Xixia's running dogs have to do with us?" A bearded man nearby downed a bowl of sorghum wine in one gulp, then spoke with a thoroughly disgruntled expression: "What northern Qiao Feng and southern Murong—one's a Khitan hound, the other a hiding tortoise."

"Shut your damn trap and say a little less. The Xixia warriors just captured a top expert from the Qingcheng Sect yesterday, and leveled a branch of the Beggar's Gang the day before! Do you think you're a dog or a tortoise yourself?!"

Another brawny man sitting nearby chimed in with sarcastic undertones.

Hearing this, Qiao Feng's expression shifted. It wasn't because others were calling him a Khitan hound, but rather because he heard that a branch of the Beggar's Gang had been uprooted. Deeply concerned, his figure flashed as he moved closer, asking in a deep voice, "A few brothers here, is it true or false that the Beggar's Gang branch near Wuxi City was destroyed by the Xixia people?"

"Who the hell do you think you—" The shirtless man who had spoken first suddenly cut himself off, his eyes widening. "Ah, who could it be? So it's Qiao Feng, Hero Qiao."

The single sentence stirred up a thousand ripples.

"Clang!" Someone suddenly drew a saber, leaping down from the second floor with a sharp clatter.

"What? Xixia people are causing trouble for Han people, and a Khitan is going to stick his nose into it as well?"

The single-saber-wielding man planted his feet firmly and spoke in a ringing voice. Immediately afterward, the martial artists from the second floor swarmed down like a hive of bees. However, before they could surround the 'Khitan hound', a small half of them turned pale with terror and instinctively retreated back against the walls.

"Yo."

Zhang Chengyi raised a hand, smiling warmly as he greeted the retreating acquaintances. These people backing away were the very ones who had previously played the mob-clearing mowing game with him at Jingfu Temple.

"The Knight-Errant of Jinshan!"

Someone uttered in a low, terrified voice, causing a massive uproar among the crowd.

The man who had drawn his saber wore a silk outer garment adorned with various trinkets, looking every bit like a wealthy lord. Maintaining a calm expression, he scoffed, "Hmph! Others might be afraid of you, Zhang Chengyi, but I, Xiang Dongwang Hai, am no pushover."

Confident in his formidable martial arts, he had been occupied with matters and unable to attend the Hero Assembly at Jingfu Temple, and upon hearing later tales of how terrifying the Knight-Errant of Jinshan supposedly was, he had naturally remained entirely skeptical.

Wuglin folk always required seeing is believing—it took exchanging a few blows with one's own hands to tell true from false.