Chapter 480: Troubles Are Self-Inflicted
Chapter 480: Troubles Are Self-Inflicted
On the carriage leaving Maple Inn, only Tie Kaicheng and Sun Xingyu remained, with Rong Zhengjie driving outside.
After a meal and drinks with Yan Shisan, Tie Kaicheng bid farewell.
Yan Shisan was going into seclusion for a while, and Li Zhenzhen had left to attend to matters concerning the alliance of the seven factions.
Tie Kaicheng lay comfortably in the carriage, his feet resting on Sun Xingyu's soft lap as she gently kneaded them. In his hands were several small notes.
These messages had been delivered by carrier pigeon to the nearest branch office of the Red Flag Escort Agency and then swiftly delivered by horse to Rong Zhengjie, ending up in Tie Kaicheng's possession.
The notes were written by Li Cheng, one of the escorts who had been sent by Tie Kaicheng to Dong City to gather information a few days earlier.
"The Big Boss is not affiliated with the Heavenly Venerable, and he has had several conflicts with him."
"The Big Boss has three henchmen: Tie Hu, Tie Tou, and Tie Quan. He also has a strategist named Zhu Yeqing and a confidant called Xiao Di."
"Xue Ke'er entered Dong City and became Tie Hu's lover. However, as Tie Hu is often away, she has also won over several people from the jianghu, secretly hiding them in Dong City."
"A Ji, that useless fellow, showed up and worked for a few days at Han Da-grandma's brothel. After being stabbed seven or eight times, he left and is now following an old man named Lao Miaozi, doing sewage work."
Tie Kaicheng nodded. Although Li Cheng was often easily shocked, he was indeed an old hand in the jianghu.
It was only natural that the Big Boss wasn't a follower of the Heavenly Venerable. He had thought that by holding Dong City, he could rival the Heavenly Venerable. After all, his three henchmen were exceptionally skilled fighters.
However, the Heavenly Venerable had long coveted the wealth of Dong City and had already infiltrated the Big Boss's inner circle with Zhu Yeqing and Xiao Di.
In truth, the Big Boss was wary of everyone, including Zhu Yeqing and Xiao Di, whom he didn't fully trust. If it hadn't been for Xie Xiaofeng, he might have been able to hold his ground against the Heavenly Venerable with his three formidable henchmen.
But he offended Xie Xiaofeng, who directly took out his three henchmen, forcing the Big Boss to panic and invite the Heavenly Venerable's experts into his home, ultimately sealing his fate.
Tie Kaicheng was surprised that Xue Ke'er had resorted to her old tricks and become Tie Hu's lover again. It seemed she couldn't escape her comfort zone.
However, her choice was excellent. Tie Hu's real identity wasn't that of the Cloud Kong Vajra, Cui Jifeng, but rather the Thunder Tiger, Lei Zhentian, from Liaodong Fengyun. He was undoubtedly a top-notch expert, and few in the world could match him if it weren't for Xie Xiaofeng.
Yet, she still failed to recognize Xie Xiaofeng, or perhaps Xie Xiaofeng had hidden himself too deeply. If they hadn't crossed paths, Xue Ke'er wouldn't have known that this "useless A Ji," who was now scooping sewage while nursing his stab wounds, was the same person as the graceful and talented third young master of the Xie family from a decade ago.
"Xie Xiaofeng..." Tie Kaicheng shook his head.
Xie Xiaofeng wasn't a bad person, but it was difficult to call him a good one either. Compared to the compassionate Li Xihuan, the chivalrous Yan Nantian, and the kind-hearted Lu Xiaofeng, Xie Xiaofeng was more conflicted, tangled, and ruthless.
Xie Xiaofeng was not a romantic, but a dispassionate man.
In the original novel, when he took a knife for the brothel or willingly did sewage work, it seemed more like self-torture. His appreciation for the Old Miao man's family and his subsequent protection of them felt like an attempt at self-redemption.
If he had any heart, he wouldn't have stayed away from home for eight years, wouldn't have let the old lady be beaten to death, and wouldn't have neglected the child in the later stages.
Towards Murong Qiudi, his junior martial brother, the Old Miao man's family, and even the Xie family, he failed to shoulder his responsibilities.
On one hand, he was weary of the bloodshed and strife in the jianghu and no longer wished to be a part of it, so he fled far away from the Xie family, feeling distressed and even hating his past. This was why he immersed himself among the lowest dregs of society, torturing himself.
However, at the same time, he maintained a sense of superiority and constantly acted differently, unable to blend in with the lower strata. This ultimately led to the Old Miao man's family meeting with disaster, and even during their plight, he remained conflicted, only taking action after helplessly watching the old lady get beaten to death.
In Tie Kaicheng's opinion, Xie Xiaofeng was like a child who had been spoiled from a young age due to his exceptional talent, running away from home in pursuit of freedom after growing bored with his situation during his adolescence.
His moral values were still shaped by the ideas of his aristocratic family, the Xies, and gradually conflicted with what he had seen and heard over the past eight years, eventually leading to a compromise between the two. Finally, during his duel with Yan Shisan, he attained enlightenment about life and death, severing his own thumbs.
But everything from before... there was no going back to that.
This was unavoidable, as after all, the story of "The Sword of the Third Young Master" was, on the surface, about Xie Xiaofeng's search for self and his inner growth.
As for whether or not Xie Xiaofeng had truly grown by the end...
Tie Kaicheng: ╮(╯▽╰)
╭
"What about Xie Xiaofeng?" Sun Xingyu asked as she kneaded Tie Kaicheng's feet.
Tie Kaicheng lifted his head and glanced at Sun Xingyu, who was attending to him. He thought to himself that there was yet another stunning beauty who would later be harmed by Xie Xiaofeng.
"Xie Xiaofeng is going to be in trouble," Tie Kaicheng said leisurely.
Sun Xingyu's eyes flickered. "If his martial arts are comparable to Yan the Hero, who in the world could possibly trouble him?"
"Many want to cause him trouble, but none are sufficient to do so. His troubles are all self-inflicted," Tie Kaicheng replied.
Sun Xingyu didn't quite understand.
Tie Kaicheng glanced at her and said indifferently, "Many people's troubles are self-inflicted."
Sun Xingyu was startled.
"My troubles are certainly not self-inflicted," Sun Xingyu said pitifully.
"So that expert who followed us along the way was actually sent by the Demon Sect's leader to find you and take you back to the Demon Sect?" Tie Kaicheng asked with a half-smile.
Sun Xingyu's eyes flickered as she hadn't expected Tie Kaicheng to discover this.
"Be careful!"
Outside the carriage, Rong Zhengjie's startled cry rang out, followed by the loud whinnies of two horses. Immediately after, the moving carriage came to a sudden halt, yet there wasn't the slightest jolt.
"This subordinate greets the princess and Iron Head Escort!"
The next moment, a hearty voice resounded in front of the carriage. Tie Kaicheng lifted the curtain and saw a middle-aged burly man in silver clothing. He had single-handedly stopped the carriage while still holding the horse's reins.
Tie Kaicheng looked at Silver Dragon, his eyes filled with curiosity.
The middle-aged burly man also looked at Tie Kaicheng, his gaze assessing.
"Silver Dragon of the Demon Sect?" Tie Kaicheng asked.
A hint of displeasure flashed in Silver Dragon's eyes, but he calmly replied, "Holy Dragon of the Holy Sect!"
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
