Everyday I Get up to See the Villain Stealing the Show 98

When Han Changsheng returned to the post station, the crowd had dispersed, and An Yuan was waiting for him in silence. Han Changsheng walked up to him and said, “We haven’t bought a horse, either. We’d better rest in the city tonight and start off tomorrow.” 

An Yuan nodded and followed him towards the inn as he asked, “Did you catch up with the old man?” 

Han Changsheng felt guilty and shook his head. “No, his lightness skill was so good that I couldn’t catch up.” 

An Yuan hesitated and asked in a low voice, “Does he know you?” 

Han Changsheng immediately denied it, “I don’t know!” 

An Yuan was silent for a while, then said, “I thought you really were…”

Han Changsheng shook his head like a rattle. “How can that be?! Of course not! Impossible! You’re kidding!”  

An Yuan was stunned. 

Han Changsheng realized then that his reaction was too intense, so he laughed twice and shut up. 

The two went to the inn to find a room to stay in. Once there, An Yuan asked, “Since the old man is looking for trouble, will he find us again?” 

Han Changsheng licked his lips and explained dryly, “With the matter just now, many people are looking for him. He should be too busy to be looking for us again.” 

An Yuan still felt confused. He could see that Han Changsheng was hiding something from him, but Han Changsheng didn’t want to say it, and he couldn’t ask. He could only sigh. 

That night, Han Changsheng laid down to sleep. He slept very lightly. Suddenly, he heard something moving around him. He woke up in a flash and opened his eyes to see that the room was lit by a dim candle. An Yuan was sitting on his bed, watching him. 

Han Changsheng held back and didn’t move, pretending to sleep. He peeked at An Yuan through the small slit of his eyes, barely opened. Because of the low light, An Yuan didn’t realize that he was awake. 

Suddenly, An Yuan reached out with his hand to carefully probe behind Han Changsheng’s ear. It shocked Han Changsheng. When An Yuan was about to reach him, he pretended to snort in his sleep, then turned over and pressed his face into the bed. 

An Yuan’s hand stayed in the air for a moment before he withdrew it. 

Han Changsheng had his back turned to An Yuan. He couldn’t see his expression. He only heard a thumping sound, but couldn’t tell if it was An Yuan’s heartbeat or his own. His eardrums ached with pain. 

“What are you…” An Yuan whispered, “Who are you?” 

Han Changsheng resisted the urge to swallow and adjusted the frequency of his breathing to hide his panic. 

He didn’t know how long it took, but finally, Han Changsheng heard footsteps behind him——An Yuan had left. 

The next morning, there were two horses outside the inn. The innkeeper said the old man sent them to Han Changsheng and An Yuan. 

An Yuan looked at Han Changsheng in amazement and said, “The horses are from the old man? The old man from yesterday?” 

Han Changsheng looked at the sky and then down at his feet. “Haha, maybe the old man was feeling guilt about yesterday and sent us horses to make amends. Anyway, now that we have horses, let’s leave early.” 

People were arriving, and now they had horses. There was no reason to look back. The two packed up and traveled towards Jiuxian Valley on horseback. 

Jiuxian Valley wasn’t far away, and they arrived near it that afternoon. Han Changsheng originally thought that what Lu Honghua said at the Wulin Conference must have spread and that the valley would be extremely lively. Whether they were a real master or a three-legged cat, they would have to try their luck. Therefore, the Jiuxian Valley should be full of people and have a queue up to fight. However, that wasn’t the case. 

There were people near Jiuxian Valley, but few. When Han Changsheng and An Yuan arrived, they saw three people leaving dejectedly. Besides that, there were no more people around. 

“Huh.” Han Changsheng couldn’t help but wonder. Was it possible that it was hard to find Jiu Xian Feng Lai Ren? There weren’t many people who came to challenge him?

In fact, Han Changsheng and An Yuan didn’t know about this. Lu Honghua’s requirements seemed simple and like anyone could try to meet them, but it was not as simple as they thought. The requirements were more difficult than the selection of someone through their martial arts alone, not to mention how difficult it was to wipe out the evil forces in the nation. The old man Beihu and Huayuniang had piercing eyesight, but no matter how shrewd they were, Lu Honghua would take Feng Lai Ren as a benchmark because his martial arts were sufficiently strong. 

Feng Lai Ren was called Jiu Xian (T/N: Wine Immortal) because he was addicted to alcohol. He practiced a set of drunken swords. The drunker he was, the more peculiar and weird his swordsmanship. But when he was sober, his martial arts weren’t so advanced. But, no one knew when he was drunk or sober each day. In any case, he was one of the best in the world. A lot of common martial artists would not know how to fight against him, if their level was really not enough, they’d be defeated in only a moment. As soon as these people followed him, they knew they could not expect any more for many years and would obediently retreat. As for the masters, there weren’t many masters in the world. It was rare to have one in three or five days. Many masters were still struggling with evil things at the moment. Meanwhile, Han Changsheng and An Yuan had made cannon fodder of the Ying Yue Sect, so there was no way for them to catch up. 

Han Changsheng stopped his horse. After he saw this, An Yuan stopped as well. He looked at Jiuxian Valley and then at Han Changsheng. He had some speculation in his heart. “What, do you want to have a try?” 

Han Changsheng shook his head. “I will not do it, why don’t you try?” 

Indifferent, An Yuan said, “I don’t want to be the leader of the Wulin Alliance. Why should I try?” 

With a smile, Han Changsheng said, “I’ve heard what Hua Xiaosa said about your swordsmanship when you practiced with him, and you have obtained lessons from  Elder Lan Fang. Feng Lai Ren is also a swordsman. Don’t you want to know who is better?” 

An Yuan hesitated. Fen Lai Ren was well known in the arena. Who didn’t want to compete with him? There really wasn’t much opportunity to practice with others on his journey. The most taboo and lonesome thing for martial arts practitioners was to have no opponents. Now that he was in Jiuxian Valley, he was really itching to fight.  

Han Changsheng said, “Try it. If you really win, it’s not so easy to become the leader of the Wulin. Just consider it as practice.”

An Yuan thought for a while and said, “You are also a martial arts practitioner and a swordsman, so why don’t you want to practice?” 

Han Changsheng looked embarrassed. With a smile, he said, “I… I’d like to, but I don’t know what to do. I’d like to see you explore the way first, then I’ll decide after I know what level Feng Lai Ren is.”

An Yuan glanced at him and finally jumped off his horse to lead it into Jiuxian Valley. Han Changsheng quickly followed. 

Two children stood outside Jiuxian Valley. They stopped Han Changsheng and An Yuan, then said, “Sorry, only one person can enter the valley at a time.” 

Han Changsheng and An Yuan exchanged glances. This was probably to prevent latecomers from studying Feng Lai Ren’s martial arts in order to develop countermeasures to ensure fairness. Or, maybe they were afraid that whoever got Feng Lai Ren’s token would be hated by others and go into the valley one after the next. If no one knew what happened in the valley, this could be avoided. 

Han Changsheng said, “You go out first, then tell me the result when you get back.” 

An Yuan said nothing and handed his horse over to Han Changsheng. He walked in alone. 

Not long after entering the valley, An Yuan saw a man lying under a rockery. He was wearing a wide-open shirt and holding a jar of wine. His complexion was ruddy and his eyes were glazed over. The strong scent of wine spread into An Yuan’s nose despite tens of meters between them. If there was no mistake, this guy was Jiu Xian Feng Lai Ren. 

An Yuan arched his hand and saluted. “I am Huangfu Fengxuan Xichen. I’ve seen you before.” 

Feng Lai Ren cracked open his eyes and stretched out his waist. “Here is another?” He tilted his head and thought, “Are you the Huangfu Anyuan of the Yuehua Sect?” 

An Yuan said, “That’s me. Are you Jiu Xian?” 

Feng Lai Ren laughed. “I’m not worthy of Jiu Xian, but I am a drunkard. You are as good as the rumor. Why do you want to be the Wulin leader?” 

Quickly, An Yuan said, “I don’t dare. I’ve just admired you for a long time. I want to ask you for advice.” 

Feng Lai Ren rose, swaying on his feet. An Yuan was worried whether he could really compete with him in such a state, since he was so drunk he couldn’t walk steadily. 

Feng Lai Ren asked, “Has your elder martial brother Li Jiulong come?” 

An Yuan was stunned into silence for a moment. Then he shook his head very lightly. “I… don’t know.” 

“Oh.” Feng Lai Ren seemed to be disappointed. He drew his sword, and it wobbled in his shaking hand. It seemed that he couldn’t even hold the sword. He said, “Boy, make a move.” 

An Yuan hesitated to step forward. Feng Lai Ren was so drunk. Could he really fight with him? Even if he won, there was some level of incompetence…

Seeing An Yuan’s delay, Feng Lai Ren snorted. He hooked the empty wine jar with his foot and kicked it towards An Yuan. An Yuan hurriedly avoided it. The moment he turned his eyes away and back, a cold light flashed, and Feng Lai Ren’s sword already swung towards him. Fortunately, he reacted quickly enough and fell back to avoid the blade. Feng Lai Ren groaned from his nose and the sword’s edge turned and stabbed downwards. 

An Yuan didn’t have time to think at all. With the help of his feet, his body twisted. He flashed under Feng Lai Ren’s sword, rolled on the spot, and pushed a few feet away. 

With this move, An Yuan was scared into a cold sweat. The only thing to blame was that he underestimated his enemy. He didn’t expect Feng Lai Ren to attack so suddenly and he almost suffered a huge blow. 

“Good boy!” Feng Lai Ren said. As far as he was concerned, An Yuan was a bit pedantic and careless, but he responded quickly. He saw he was a master. 

Now that the game had started, An Yuan had nothing to be polite about. He adjusted himself in a short time and took the initiative to rush towards Feng Lai Ren. 

“Bang!” The two swords collided, sending sparks flying. 

After two or three moves, An Yuan found that Feng Lai Ren differed from any Swordsman he’d fought against. His technique really was the “Drunken Sword”. Feng Lai Ren’s sword was sometimes quick and accurate, sometimes creepy, sometimes slow and full of holes. If he were to drill his loopholes, his moves would suddenly change. He may become his caged bird. An Yuan couldn’t tell whether those seemingly drunken moves were tricks he deliberately gave his opponent or the result of his intoxication, but An Yuan knew his opponent could never be taken lightly. 

Suddenly, An Yuan stabbed Feng Lai Ren with his sword. Feng Lai Ren gave an exaggerated, drunken burp, the result of his drinking catching up with him. He leaned back and didn’t move his feet, with no intention of avoiding him. However, An Yuan was shocked, afraid of stabbing him, and hurriedly retracted his sword. At the last minute, Feng Lai Ren drew back to kick him in the chest, sending his sword flying. 

An Yuan covered his hand with pain. In a flash, Feng Lai Ren’s sword hit his nose. He stepped back and sighed, “Master, I’ve lost again.” 

Feng Lai Ren let out a brief “Un,” then walked back to the rockery and laid down with a new jug of wine. “You, your martial arts are okay, but your mind isn’t tough enough. You worry too much. In martial arts competitions, it’s up to the point. No matter how skillful the martial arts practitioners are, they can’t save your womanly temperament. Go, practice for a while, maybe you can come to me again.” 

An Yuan clasped his hands before him in shame. “Thank you, senior, for your advice. I will leave.” 

Feng Lai Ren waved his hand, then started drinking from the jar of wine again. 

Han Changsheng was pacing outside the valley when An Yuan came out and ran up to meet him. “How did it go?” He naturally hoped that An Yuan would win, as it would save him a lot of trouble.

An Yuan shook his head slightly.

In his heart, Han Changsheng was disappointed, but he didn’t show it on his face. “Ah, even you can’t beat him. It seems that Feng Lai Ren is really capable.” 

In fact, if the two really used their full strength, An Yuan may not lose, at least not so easily. It was because he had always been suspicious of a drunk opponent and had too many worries when making a move. That is to say, because he underestimated his enemy, he had his weapon thrown away. 

“Are you going in?” An Yuan asked. 

Han Changsheng nodded. “I’ll go in and meet him!”