The Elixir is for You, The Poison is for Me

"There must be some misunderstanding here. My disciple and I are hardly experts," Zhang Sanfeng said, between laughter and tears.

"You know, I've been with the Green Bamboo Gang for so many years. Have I ever done anything significant? I'm just scraping by on the little reputation I built up back when I was traveling the martial world.

"I'm grateful for the old gang leader's care over the years, and I've been thinking about what I can do for the Green Bamboo Gang. So, when I heard about the gang's trouble, I swallowed my pride and asked a chief镖头 from that escort agency I used to have some connections with to see if he could do anything.

"He replied, saying he was willing to help, so I hurriedly left Wujiang City to meet him. But when I got to his place, I couldn't even get through the door. The gatekeeper told me he had an urgent matter and had gone on a long trip.

"I begged for a long time before I finally got the gatekeeper to tell me where he went, and then I rushed to chase after him. I chased him for five or six hundred miles, wore out my shoes, but when I got there and asked around, I found out he hadn't come at all.

"Hey, that's when I realized there was no urgent matter. The chief镖头 just didn't want to see me and get involved in the Green Bamboo Gang's affairs.

"So I could only come back with my tail between my legs," Zhang Sanfeng said with a wry smile. "You see, what can this old face of mine do, even if I really put it on the line?"

Niu Jiu was sweating anxiously. "But… but the eldest disciple of the Sword Washing Pavilion… he said himself that you are an expert."

"How could I possibly know such a big figure like the eldest disciple of the Sword Washing Pavilion? Besides, Wei Zixian is famously arrogant. Why would he praise an insignificant old man like me?"

"You don't know him, but Young Master Lu does. They were together a few days ago. Many people saw it. It can't be fake."

Zhang Sanfeng shook his head. "What Young Master Lu? Lu Jing is right here. Ask him yourself if he knows any eldest disciple of the Sword Washing Pavilion."

With that, Zhang Sanfeng looked at Lu Jing, only to see Lu Jing's face turn awkward.

Zhang Sanfeng was shocked. "You really know Wei Zixian?"

"Ah, it's a long story. I was just thinking about how to explain it to you," Lu Jing said.

"Is Wei Zixian a distant relative of yours?"

"No."

He took a deep breath and calmed down a little before continuing, "Then you and Wei Zixian…"

"It's like this. I saved a female disciple of the Sword Washing Pavilion named Xia Huai. Oh, it can't really be considered saving; we actually saved each other. Then she introduced me to her eldest brother, Wei Zixian… That's how I met Wei Zixian.

"To be honest, I didn't expect his casual remark to have such a big impact. He did praise you as a reclusive expert, but I don't know how it spread."

"You saved a female disciple of the Sword Washing Pavilion? How did you save her? Was she bitten by a snake?"

Before Lu Jing could answer, Zhang Sanfeng said again, "Let's put that aside for now. Tell me first, what's the deal with Zhao, the old master of the Tianma Escort Agency, saying that his biggest regret in life was not meeting me sooner?

"The Tianma Escort Agency is one of the four great escort agencies. The Golden镖 and Iron Courage, Old Master Zhao, is such a heroic figure, a pillar of the martial world. Even those Green Forest heroes would give him a thumbs up.

"Although I, Zhang Sanfeng, am also in this business, I've been obscure for half my life, just an insignificant镖师. The escort agency I was with before wasn't even as good as a branch of the Tianma Escort Agency. What virtue or ability do I have to deserve Old Hero Zhao's words?

"And how did you assist the government in catching the registrar who colluded with the demonic path?" Zhang Sanfeng asked.

"Oh, that's actually one thing. Disciple, I was attacked by an expert the night before last…"

"Expert? How high level?"

Zhang Sanfeng was skeptical. He remembered very clearly that when he left, this disciple hadn't even developed his Qi sensation. Now, only twenty-odd days had passed. Not to mention an expert, Lu Jing might not even be able to beat someone like Niu Jiu, who was a talented ordinary person.

Let alone when the other side launched a sneak attack.

"Probably at the peak of the Second-Rate Realm. Yan Ganban of the Imperial City Division said he was He Qing, the King of Hell Xiao, who was ranked sixty-ninth on the Earthly Fiend Ranking… apparently, he's a pretty powerful demon. The Imperial City Division has been trying to catch him for more than a decade.

"As for Registrar Song's collusion with him, it was actually discovered by the Imperial City Division. His nephew, Song Zhongwen, tried to harm me, afraid that I would retaliate against him, so he asked his uncle for help.

"As a result, his uncle went to find King of Hell Xiao, and then King of Hell Xiao was killed by me… so if you really want to say it, Registrar Song's exposure does have something to do with me."

After Lu Jing finished speaking, he found his master staring blankly at him.

After a moment, Zhang Sanfeng sighed, "When I was at my youngest and boldest, even after downing five pounds of yellow wine, I wasn't as good at bragging as you are."

"I told you a long time ago, Master, that it's a long story…" Lu Jing said with a wry smile.

"No matter how long the story is, I'm not any kind of expert," Zhang Sanfeng still shook his head. "Didn't you explain it clearly to them? This is too absurd."

"I did explain, but everyone is saying the same thing, that you are playing games in the mortal world, and it's not convenient for me, as your disciple, to explain too much…"

Zhang Sanfeng had a wealth of experience in the martial world, so he immediately understood Lu Jing's difficulty.

Indeed, only disciples say good things about their masters; no disciple would speak ill of their master behind their back.

But Zhang Sanfeng couldn't figure it out. How could Lu Jing, a person without any Qi sensation, stir up so much trouble in the short twenty-odd days that he was gone?

The Sword Washing Pavilion, the Imperial City Division, and even someone from the demonic path… just picking one of them out would be frightening to hear.

How did this kid survive?

And looking at him, he's living quite well. Wei Zixian is keeping him by his side, the prefect wants to petition for him, and even his master has inexplicably become a worldly expert.

No wonder he heard from his daughter-in-law as soon as he got back that a lot of martial artists had been coming to the door to give gifts recently, but because Zhang Sanfeng was not at home, no one in the family dared to accept them and basically declined them all.

Over there, Niu Jiu was also earnestly pleading, "Old Master Zhang… the prefect has spoken. Please acknowledge that you are an expert and stand up for us poor people. Otherwise, if the emperor blames us, you and the prefect will be guilty of deceiving the emperor."

"What is all this nonsense?" Zhang Sanfeng looked black-faced. "Are you even talking like a human? I've heard of forcing good people into prostitution and forcing soldiers to become bandits, but I've never heard of forcing people to be experts. Don't I know how much I weigh?

"I'm already this old. I don't want to dominate the martial world anymore. My only wish is to live out the rest of my life in peace. Besides, can you pretend like this for a while, or can you pretend like this for a lifetime?"

"Actually… it's not impossible," Lu Jing, who was standing to the side, was also actively helping his master come up with ideas.

Zhang Sanfeng glared at his disciple when he heard this. "You still have the nerve to say that? It's all the trouble you caused. I only took you in because I thought you were honest. If I had known you were so capable of causing trouble, I would have…"

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly heard a voice from outside the courtyard, saying loudly, "Huang Weisheng, the Golden Leopard of the Three Tigers Hall, is here to pay respects to Old Master Zhang…"