Thriller Paradise Chapter 229: Cangling Debate of Swords (37) - Novel Cool

Chapter 229: Cangling Debate of Swords (37)

Chapter 229: Cangling Debate of Swords (37)

The flow of time within the Lingzhong Realm differed from the outside world. By the time Feng Bu Jue and Si Yu first set foot on the island, two full days had already passed in the outside world.

On this day, Cangling Town, already simmering with undercurrents of tension, experienced yet another wave of disturbance.

At noon, the Azure Spirit Inn's lobby buzzed with activity.

Except for a few rare exceptions, nearly every martial artist in the realm sought the answer to one burning question: Where had Xie San vanished to?

After an entire night and morning, even the most isolated sects had caught wind of the rumors. By dusk yesterday, the nameless swordsman Xie San had ridden the main road from Tongqiu toward Cangling. Yet by twilight, the horse Xie San rode had returned alone to Tongqiu.

In Cangling itself, no trace of Xie San had been found.

So... where had Xie San gone? How could a person simply vanish mid-journey?

The main road wasn't entirely deserted these days—though traffic was sparse, mostly messengers from various sects shuttling between Tongqiu and Cangling. Yet none of these travelers claimed to have seen Xie San along the way.

By all logic, it seemed Xie San had left the main road before reaching Cangling, diverting into the mountains.

But that made no sense! Could it be that the swordsman, after inquiring in Tongqiu, learned the Azure Spirit Inn had no vacancies and chose to camp in the wilderness rather than stay in abandoned houses?

Or... had Xie San been ambushed? That seemed unlikely too—who could possibly defeat him? Unless Ye Cheng himself was involved, even the combined force of the Huaying Six Swords couldn't overcome Xie San. The martial world worked this way: qualitative gaps couldn't always be bridged by sheer numbers. As a lone swordsman, Xie San's martial cultivation realm rivaled Ye Cheng himself, the supreme lord of the Ye Mansion. His strength was unquestionably tenfold that of ordinary cultivators.

Of course, if a thousand men surrounded him, trapping him somewhere he couldn't flee, they might eventually exhaust his inner energy and physical stamina.

But that scenario was even more implausible...

Which left one final, chilling possibility—the one-in-ten-thousand chance that... Xie San had encountered a ghost.

Jianghu martial artists, especially seasoned veterans, might not worship ghosts and spirits, but they certainly didn't dismiss them entirely. The legend of Cangling Town's haunted reputation had already spread among all factions during their time in Tongqiu.

These past few days, mysterious disappearances at night and corpses never found had indeed left the town in turmoil.

But this couldn't be entirely blamed on the mountain's ghost. She hadn't actively descended to the town to snatch people. Many who came to dispose of corpses after committing murder ended up losing their own lives in the mountains, never returning...

In truth, these people brought it upon themselves. If they buried corpses shallowly at the forest's edge before nightfall, they'd have nothing to fear.

But reality was different. Most entered the mountains deep into the night, carrying still-warm corpses, deliberately trekking far into the forest's heart before abandoning them. In such circumstances, even the Ling Demon's ghost wasn't the greatest threat—the corpses they carried themselves could turn into vengeful revenants.

The resentment energy and souls of those who died violently hadn't yet dissipated. When killers carried corpses into a forest already steeped in resentment energy and haunted by ghosts, it was no wonder the dead might rise to claim their lives...

From the omniscient perspective, we already knew Xie San had indeed been ambushed. But the Jianghu martial artists in Cangling had no such knowledge. They couldn't possibly guess Lin Chang's involvement, so they could only speculate wildly...

"Tell me, what exactly is the swordsman playing at? Even though the Nameless Sword always keeps a low profile, this situation feels... strange."

"What's strange about this town isn't rare! Last night, the Whale Gang and Sea Sand Sect lost several disciples—alive they vanished, dead their bodies disappeared."

"Hey, did you hear? The Plum-Blossom Sword Lu Qingning disappeared two nights ago. He hasn't shown his face since yesterday, and still nothing today."

"Pfft, I heard that this morning! I also heard the Broken Sword Tea House's five newcomers now have only one Golden Young Master left at the inn. The other four never returned last night."

"Speaking of which, did you know? I heard Tang Clan's Young Master suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of that Golden Young Master yesterday."

"What? Tang Shize, the 'Swift Hand, Plucking Flowers'? That kid's a formidable opponent!"

"Exactly! I heard he got thoroughly humiliated by that Golden Young Master and had no choice but to concede defeat."

"Wait, why would the Tang Clan's Young Master even fight this... Golden Young Master?"

"Heh, you really don't know? Over a woman, of course!" The speaker proceeded to explain Muyong Ying's entanglement with Tang Shize in detail.

"Oh, I see." A smirk of schadenfreude. "But... speaking of the Broken Sword Tea House, they're clearly no ordinary sect. No one knows their true origins."

"Didn't their leader already say? They established their own sect and created their own martial arts."

"Ha! You've been in the Jianghu for years and still believe that? A twenty-year-old creating original martial arts? You think he's a reincarnated immortal? In my opinion, that kid probably received secret cultivation techniques from some reclusive sage, which explains his shocking inner energy reserves."

"Enough chatter! We were talking about the swordsman here. Tell me, what's going on?"

"What do you mean 'what's going on'? To put it bluntly..." The speaker lowered his voice. "Tomorrow's duel is coming, and the Ye Mansion's leader still hasn't appeared. Who knows... maybe..."

With a loud thud, a large wine jar slammed onto the table.

Lushan's towering figure appeared beside the wooden table where the four men sat.

"Innkeeper", Lushan called out, "this inn lobby seems to have some flies." He counted aloud, "Let me see—One, two, three, four. Four flies buzzing around here, making quite the nuisance."

Though the four men bristled with anger, they dared not speak out. They quietly set down their teacups, left scattered silver coins on the table, and slunk out of the inn's main door.

In truth, these four were merely third-rate riffraff in the Jianghu world. Their martial skills and character alike would never amount to greatness. They spent their days gossiping about those more successful, spreading rumors and malicious speculation.

Lushan had simply been sitting nearby when their words reached his ears. Unable to stomach their nonsense any longer, he'd come to drive them out.

It was bad enough they gossiped about great martial artists—but then they started insinuating Ye Cheng himself had ambushed opponents before the duel! Who did they think they were? Ye Cheng's reputation as the Sword God was unassailable. If the martial world needed an alliance leader, Ye Cheng would be the immediate choice. How dare these insignificant insects slander his martial prowess and integrity? Even an outsider like Lushan felt his blood boil. If Ye Muhan himself heard such words, he might very well draw his sword and cut them down on the spot.

“Don’t get mad, Drunken Monk! Come, sit down and have a few drinks with me.” A slightly tipsy young man approached the table, inviting Lushan to join him. Who else could this be but Tang Shize?

Lushan glanced at the Tang Clan Young Master. The kid was reeling drunk in broad daylight, his expression slack and despondent.

“Hmph… Sure, why not? Drinking? The Drunken Monk’s always up for that,” Lushan replied brashly, plopping down with his signature boisterous grin.

Though nicknamed the Drunken Monk, Lushan rarely lost his senses to alcohol. Cultivators of their caliber knew their limits—how much they could handle, when to stop, and how to expel excess liquor through inner energy.

But Tang Shize before him? This was no act. He was genuinely intoxicated.

Cutting water with a blade only makes it flow again; drowning sorrow in wine deepens sorrow. The Young Master’s self-destructive drinking wouldn’t solve anything. Seeing this, Lushan felt compelled to intervene.

“Did you hear what they said?” Lushan asked.

“Hmph… I heard,” Tang Shize muttered weakly.

As they exchanged words, an innkeeper swiftly cleared the table, pocketed the silver left by previous patrons, and vanished.

“They’re not wrong,” Tang Shize continued, his face twisting in bitter resignation. “Jin Shaoxia’s martial prowess and virtue surpass mine. I’ve no choice but to admit it.”

Lushan knew his thoughts well. Shaking his head, he intoned, “Amitabha, worldly troubles are but wine, women, wealth, and pride. Tang Clan Young Master, your current woes are beyond even this monk’s counsel.”

“Hah! Who asked for your preaching? You, a monk who never parts with his wine cup—how dare you lecture me?” Tang Shize snapped. “I just wanted company for these lonely drinks. Spare me your sermons.”

“You’re mistaken, Tang Young Noble,” a woman’s voice chimed in.

Tang Shize recognized the voice instantly. His body stiffened as he slowly turned his head.

Muyong Ying had arrived, standing beside him.

To the Young Master, the Cloud-Walking Fairy was always graceful and enchanting. But now, standing beside her was another man—Jin Fuguì!

Is this bastard here to mock me? Tang Shize thought, downing another cup in one gulp.

“Master Lu is virtuous and compassionate. He only meant to ease your distress,” Muyong Ying explained as she sat at the table.

Ji Bu sat too, but deliberately moved to the opposite side rather than beside Muyong Ying.

Tang Shize glared at Ji Bu, whose smug smile now seemed outright mocking.

“What’s so funny?” the Young Master sneered.

“Oh, in my hometown, there’s also a ‘Master Lu.’ Hearing someone else called that amused me,” Ji Bu replied candidly.

Speechless, Tang Shize drowned another cup.

“Young Noble Tang, you seem to misunderstand Jin Shaoxia,” Muyong Ying interjected gently. “That’s why I asked him to come clarify things.”

“Misunderstand?” Tang Shize scoffed. “What misunderstanding? I don’t follow.”

Ji Bu cut in bluntly: “Muyong’s already told me everything between you two.” He shrugged. “I was puzzled about last night’s chaos, but now I get it.” Leaning forward, he added, “Young Noble Tang, my meeting Muyong was purely about jianghu etiquette—on the Outpost Leader’s orders. Nothing untoward happened. You’re making a mountain out of a molehill with this jealousy.”

Tang Shize’s face contorted as his heart raced. Before he could process, Muyong Ying spoke up: “Jin Shaoxia, there’s nothing between Tang Young Noble and me… Your ‘affair between you two’ just now was a misstatement.”

“Forget it, no need to explain,” Ji Bu interrupted, turning to Tang Shize. “Let me say this: If you’ve time to pick fights with me, why not ask her directly? Don’t you trust her? And if she truly disliked you, would she go out of her way to bring me here to clear the air?”

With that, Ji Bu rose and left. To a 21st-century thirty-something like him, these dramas seemed trivial. But in this ancient world, such blunt truths shouldn’t be spoken—especially not in public.

His words left the remaining three stunned. Lushan immediately chanted “Amitabha!” and scurried off, feigning indifference. Muyong Ying’s face burned crimson, her cheeks flushed to her ears, as she silently swept away.

Tang Shize sobered up in seconds, eyes wide as a cat’s, heart pounding with a mix of shock and elation. Soon, though, a hot flush crept up his spine—feeling every gaze in the inn’s lobby piercing him.

In truth, the room was noisy, and few had overheard. Those nearby pretended not to listen. Everyone here had decorum—or at least status. No one would openly jeer.

As for Tang Shize’s dazed exit from the inn? That’s a tale for another time. As for Ji Bu? He was preoccupied too. After waiting all night for his missing teammates, Muyong Ying had dragged him into this love spat.

Now walking back to his room, he pondered his next move when a system prompt echoed:

【Current task completed, main quest updated】

Opening his game menu, the quest 【Enter Lingzhong Realm, Locate Ling’er’s Soul】 bore a checkmark. A new task now appeared:

【Defeat the Ling Demon】

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end

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