Everyday I Get up to See the Villain Stealing the Show 32

Han Changsheng left Yuehua Mountain with An Yuan on his back .  

Looking up at the mountain, An Yuan asked, “Why don’t you take me up the mountain?”

Han Changsheng chose a remote path entirely out of the way for fear of running into people . He was worried the people of the sect would have already discovered them missing . And now, the Dog Lord lost his memory . He couldn’t possibly take him back to the Yuehua Sect without his ident.i.ty being exposed .

“There is no reason to go up the mountain?” He said, “Your friends and relatives aren’t on the hill . I’ll take you to look for them now . ”

An Yuan sneered, thinking Han Changsheng’s fib was pitiful . He was observant enough to know Han Changsheng was afraid of meeting the people on the mountain . They wore the same clothes, showing they were disciples of a sect . They were behind a mountain, and he was suggesting the people on the mountain had nothing to do with them . Even a seven-year-old wouldn’t believe it . However, An Yuan didn’t want to expose Han Changsheng’s lies just yet . He wanted to see what tricks the guy would play .  

Han Changsheng didn’t care if An Yuan could see through his lies . The most important thing was quickly pa.s.sing the hot potato, the Dog Lord, to the old man .  

Han Changsheng arrived at the pavilion at the foot of the Yuehua Mountain with An Yuan on his back . It was the same place where Han Changsheng met the strange old man and fought the Yunxiao Sect disciples . To his surprise, when they arrived, he saw a white-haired old man meditating, just like that day .  

The strange old man meditated in the pavilion every day? Was there something special about this place?

Han Changsheng took An Yuan inside, where a few people lingered . He wanted to put An Yuan in the pavilion, then buy two veiled hats and new clothes . Although he hated to admit it, An Yuan’s face was eye-catching . It wouldn’t be easy to handle his affairs in the disciples’ clothes . He had to change garb before he could take An Yuan away .

Stepping inside, Han Changsheng hoped the old man would keep to himself . He didn’t plan to have anything to do with him . As he approached, though, the old man opened his eyes and looked straight at him and An Yuan . Seeing the sword on his hip, his face changed .  

He was fierce, power was written into the lines of his face . Han Changsheng hesitated, then sat An Yuan down in a lotus position style . Pretending to be modest, he said, “This one greets this predecessor . We are disturbing the senior’s rest . I’m sorry, we will leave here soon . ”

The old man stared at him and said nothing .  

Thinking for a moment, Han Changsheng asked, “Does our predecessor know the whereabouts of the Old Man Xuanji?” He didn’t know where to look for this mysterious old man . He intended to inquire about the news along the way . Now that he met the old man, though, he spoke outright . He had lived for such a long time, he might know the whereabouts of the old man Xuanji .

The old man glared . “Did he tell you to come find me?”

It shocked Han Changsheng .  

Who is he? Wait! Find “me”? Could this be the old man?

Before he had time to question further, the old man made a move, attacking Han Changsheng with an eagle’s claw . Stunned, Han Changsheng dodged at the last minute and asked, “What are you doing?”

The old man didn’t speak . He aimed another claw at the black iron sword on Han Changsheng’s hip . Seeing that he wanted the sword, Han Changsheng pulled it from his waist and grasped it in his hand .  

Pressing forward, the old man attacked again and again . Han Changsheng had to struggle to counter him . He was so fierce that the cult leader had to fight back even if he didn’t want to . After two moves, he drew his sword out of its sheath and tried to repel him .  

Once the old man saw the sword, his offensive moves grew more and more fierce . It took every bit of Han Changsheng’s effort and concentration to fight back . The old man eyed his fighting style, growing more and more excited as they fought . His eyes shone .   

An Yuan, covered in injuries, sat off to the side, unable to intervene . He watched them dubiously . It was all he could do .  

Finally, the old man stepped back, ceasing the battle . “Good, good!”

Knowing he wasn’t his opponent, Han Changsheng dared not take advantage of the old man’s retreat . He frowned then stepped back . “What are you doing?”

The strange old man smiled but didn’t explain . He shot a dart Han Changsheng was too late to guard against . It hit right in his acupuncture point . Han Changsheng’s face s.h.i.+fted . He didn’t have time to ask again . The old man grabbed his collar and flew out . Han Changsheng saw only An Yuan’s face contorted in surprise, slipping further and further away from him . At last, he was out of sight .  

The two arrived at deserted woods, and the old man finally put Han Changsheng down and released his acupuncture points .  

The old man grabbed Han Changshen by his collar and dragged him up . Unable to breathe, he asked, “What are you doing?”

Smiling, the old man said, “How did you change your face from the previous time I saw you? I’ve seen you before, but it wasn’t this face . This visage is much better . ”

Han Changsheng was rightly shocked . He didn’t expect the old man to be so powerful, he could see his ease in a glance . He didn’t know that the man had become specialized in internal strength for several decades, nor that he had been trained to recognize their internal abilities . No matter what Han Changsheng was capable of, as long as he could see his breath, the old man could beat him .  

Seeing Han Changsheng’s look of surprise, the old man didn’t engage the topic . Instead, he asked, “What is your relations.h.i.+p with Lan Fang?”

At the man’s mention of Lan Fang, Han Changsheng stared blankly . He remembered how the old man stared at the saber at his waist and was frightened to realize it was the sword the elder Lan Fang gave him . After thinking about it, he replied honestly, “I am a disciple of Elder Lan Fang . ”

Startled, the old man said, “Sure enough . I only intended to test you and your swordsmans.h.i.+p . As expected, you have his style . I didn’t foresee him to accept a direct disciple, and he even pa.s.sed the Chanting Dragon sword to you . It seems he’s also getting old . ”

Han Changsheng looked on in amazement . Who was the old man? He was familiar with Elder Lan Fang . Was he the disciple brother who withdrew from the Yuehua Sect?

“After a blink of an eye, I’ve been fighting with him for a lifetime,” The old man ridiculed himself, “I was young and frivolous, I wanted to fight for the best in the world . I wanted nothing . I only knew how to train;  I almost went into Qi deviation . Deranged for decades .  

Nowadays, there are many talents in the world of martial arts, and few people remember how stubborn we are . I know the limit is near, and someday, I will reach it . I will fight for it . After a lifetime, it is just like this . There’s not a caring person around me . If I could have cherished the surrounding people, maybe I wouldn’t have so many regrets today . . . ”

Listening to him talking to himself, it confused Han Changsheng . “Are you looking for Elder Lan Fang?”

Sighing, the old man said, “I want to see him, but I don’t have the face to see him . ”

Han Changsheng’s mouth twitched . Why was this old fart being so awkward now?

Once, he shaved all the fur off one of Gu Mingxiao’s favorite cat’s b.u.t.ts . Gu Ming was so furious, he didn’t say a word to him for a month . He thickened his face and followed behind Gu Ming’s back, trying to earn back his favor by amusing him and slowly coaxed him out in this manner . What was having no face? His old face could still be worth a few coins .

Looking Han Changsheng up and down, the old man smiled, “It’s a great comfort to see his apprentice so prosperous . Look at you, look at your breath! You are only about twenty years old this year, yes? At that age, you are a hundred times more accomplished than we were . ”

Han Changsheng licked his lips . “That, you can’t . . . Are you the old man, Xuanji?”

Just as he heard the name, the old man took a seat, his time was limited . Was it true that . . . ?

The strange old man smiled and stroked his beard . “Isn’t the old man already answering you? I am an old man . ” 

Frowning, Han Changsheng was shocked .  f.u.c.k! He wasted so much effort, searched high and up everywhere! This old man was The mysterious old man?! He was Elder Lan Fang’s s.h.i.+di?! Han Changsheng thought he’d be harder to find, but that wasn’t the case . He just came down the mountain and found him immediately! Sometimes, the stinky G.o.ds weren’t reliable at all!

“You don’t look like you’re about to die!” Han Changsheng blurted out . The old man was full of spirit and internal strength . He thought the mysterious old man he was looking for would be weak, lying in wait for his end . How could this old man be almost dead ?!

The old man Xuanji shook his head . “If you know how to look at the breath, you will know I have little time left . When I was young, I was eager for quick success, and I strayed from the path . Now, my internal organs are already rotted . If not for this infuriating struggle, I would have kicked the bucket three or four days ago . ”

Han Changsheng unfathomably sized the old man up and down .

The mysterious old man went on . “When I face death, I looked back at the past and knew my mistake was outrageous . I care about it . I want that man to take a glimpse at my life . I had to beat him, I wasted my life . For those who care, who bother to fight one last breath, to accompany him, to be good to him, only these are true . Unfortunately, I only understood this just a little time before it was too late . ”

Cautiously, Han Changsheng said, “Then you came here . Do you want to see the Elder Lan Fang again?”

The old man Xuanji smiled and said, “I’ve thought about it, but then I got here . I didn’t want him to see me like this, and I didn’t want to incite any sentimentality . There is however; another reason . I have been practicing for decades, and I have a skill, but I do not have a disciple . I want to benefit future generations, but I don’t want to live my life . Since I had a relations.h.i.+p with the Yuehua Sect, I wanted to come back to pick a spiritual, intelligent disciple and pa.s.s on my internal strength . ”

Han Changsheng took a deep breath . From the beginning, he knew something was wrong, and finally realized it . This guy was the mysterious old man . According to the fate written for Xianjun, the mysterious old man will pa.s.s all his internal force to An Yuan before he died . This was a turning point in An Yuan’s life! However, the old man had not given  An Yuan even a glance! It was as if he didn’t know him! What was going on?!

Old man Xuanji looked at Han Changsheng, his gaze fixed . “I stayed here for a few days, under the Yuehua Sect . I met a few of the disciples and went down the mountain . I’ve seen almost all the young disciples . Among your generation, only you and the child with you today are superior in talent and have won my heart . On that day, when both of you were far away . I prefer more on the child . He is more stable than you, but when you stepped out for this old man and taught those few brats who don’t know how to behave a lesson . This old man feels that he appreciates your hot-bloodedness . ”

Han Changsheng’s jaw hit the ground .  

No, this is too big of a misunderstanding! I didn’t try to save you . Can you not be so pa.s.sionate?!

“Today, I know that you’re a direct disciple of Lan Fang,” the old man said, “I am more convinced that I have not read the wrong person . I always had a regret in this life, that I should not have argued with Lan Fang . Now, you have him . The foreign swordsmans.h.i.+p method . I will tell you that my internal force is pa.s.sed on to you, and I can make up for this regret . ” 

Scared and retreated, Han Changsheng said, “I don’t . . . wait . . . ”

Without waiting for Han Changsheng to finish the refusal, old man Xuanji pressed his shoulders and pointed his fingers along with several of his acupuncture points . Han Changsheng’s legs went soft, he fell to the ground . The mysterious old man pulled his shoulders together, adjusted his posture, and sat down behind him .  

The warm, internal force was slowly introduced into Han Changsheng’s body .  

Ten thousand words all poured into Han Changsheng’s mind at the same time . He didn’t know how to tuck himself away from all the sentences . However, the constant influx of internal forces made his limbs grow more comfortable, and slowly, he relaxed .