একাদশ অধ্যায়: দুটো সন্তান?

মutton soup was indeed unappetizing, but Zhang Ziling cared very little about it. The robust man sat on the roadside not far from him, waiting for Zhang Ziling to settle the bill. As Zhang Ziling got up, the man followed him.

"Are you too poor to afford a meal? Sing me a lianhualuo folk tune, and I will give you money!" Zhang Ziling produced a piece of silver and said. "If you cannot sing a lianhualuo, a few auspicious blessings will do."

"Zhang Ziling!" the man roared angrily.

"That doesn't count as one."

"Stay away from Bi Xiuxin! You are not people of the same world."

"Hahaha, my apologies, do continue..."

"She is the future of Cihang Jingzhai, while you are merely..."

Before the man could finish, three flying swords pierced straight toward him.

"Speak! Why have you stopped?" Zhang Ziling never waited for someone to finish cursing him before taking action.

The man raised his hands, channeling scorching internal energy to block, yet those three flying swords left dozens of wounds on his body in a matter of moments.

"Had you dared to finish your sentence just now, I would have cut out your tongue." Zhang Ziling said with a cold smile.

The man's boxing technique was quite commendable, prompting Zhang Ziling to recall the flying swords.

"Quite a decent fist technique you have." With those words, Zhang Ziling threw a punch of his own.

The two exchanged a blow, and fresh blood spurted once more from all over the man's body.

The man's boxing style was expansive and immensely powerful, yet it was completely suppressed and countered by Zhang Ziling. He could feel as though he were a mouse being toyed with by a cat before being devoured.

True to expectation, after thirty moves, Zhang Ziling drove a punch directly into the center of his chest.

The robust man was sent crashing straight into the wall.

"I shall sleep with whomever I please! Not even the Jade Emperor in heaven can interfere! Should anyone else come next time, I will make your holy maiden go about doing chivalrous deeds with a bulging belly!" Having said this, Zhang Ziling knocked the man unconscious with a single punch and turned to leave.

Song Meichan stood in the distance alongside another woman. "Junior Sister Song, why did you stop me from intervening?"

"Senior Sister Li, the helpers you found have all lost. It would be useless for you to go up yourself," Song Meichan said with a cold smile.

Right from the beginning, she had opposed handling the relationship between Zhang Ziling and Bi Xiuxin in this manner. Li浮媛 (Li Fuyuan) had been dispatched by the sect leader, and upon her arrival, she brought her sycophantic lackeys, eager to teach Zhang Ziling a lesson.

The outcome was self-evident.

"That Great Crimson Sun Palm Huang Ri is truly all show and no substance!" Li Fuyuan sneered. "You heard what that fellow said just now, why did you not join me in subduing him?"

"Putting aside whether we are even capable of subduing him, what would we do after capturing him?" Song Meichan asked.

"If he refuses to leave, what harm is there in killing him!" Li Fuyuan said coldly.

"How would we explain things to Xiuxin then? Xiuxin cultivates the Cihang Sword Canon; if her state of mind is damaged, how can she ever attain the realm of a flawless sword heart? If she fails to achieve a clear sword heart, you can simply die to atone for your crime," Song Meichan rebuked her sharply.

"Do you suppose he will not mention today's events to Xiuxin?" Li Fuyuan asked with a frown.

"A man of such character surely would not!" Clearly, Song Meichan had vastly overestimated the moral character of this king of players!

After knocking the man unconscious, Zhang Ziling returned straight to the inn. The sixth technique of the player's eighteen methods: the villain filing a complaint first!

Bang, bang, bang!

"Bi Xiuxin, come out!" Only he would dare to knock on Bi Xiuxin's door in such a manner. When there was no movement for a long time, Zhang Ziling knew she was inside.

"I... I have matters to attend to and cannot come out right now," Bi Xiuxin said weakly from within the room.

"Do you know a bulky, foolish fellow with a head of red hair?"

"That is Senior Uncle Li's close friend. Did he, did he make things difficult for you?" Bi Xiuxin flung the door open immediately, catching sight of Zhang Ziling covered from head to foot in blood—though the blood belonged entirely to Huang Ri.

"Are you unhurt? How could he do such a thing? Come inside quickly, let me examine you," she said anxiously, reaching out to check Zhang Ziling over.

"Didn't you say you were unwilling to see me?" Zhang Ziling said, looking at her.

"I... I had matters... Please, let me check you first."

"All of this is his blood."

"You killed him? His master, the Crimson Sun Ancestor, is notoriously fiercely protective of his own," Bi Xiuxin said worriedly.

"Not quite! He demanded that I never see you again. Though I longed to kill him, I feared he had an old friendship with you, so I spared his life."

"How dare he!" Bi Xiuxin's delicate white fingers rested gently on Zhang Ziling's arm, only growing completely at ease after confirming he was unharmed.

"Indeed, how dare he! Since you had no intention of seeing me anyway, why trouble him with this?" Zhang Ziling said with a cold smile.

"I had no such intention! I merely felt terribly distressed at the thought of our impending separation," Bi Xiuxin said with reddened eyes.

"There is no banquet in this world that never ends, yet surely parting ways does not mean pretending not to know one another," Zhang Ziling said, gazing at her.

"I... I did not. It's just that the thought of never seeing you again fills me with sorrow," Bi Xiuxin whispered, lowering her head.

"How could that be? Once you return from the Turkic grasslands, won't you be able to see me again?" Zhang Ziling pulled her into his embrace.

Bi Xiuxin offered no resistance, allowing Zhang Ziling to hold her. As he held her, Zhang Ziling raised two fingers toward the window, flashing a victory sign!

Song Meichan forcefully held Li Fuyuan back, even though she too deeply desired to go over and hack Zhang Ziling to death.

She understood that this was Zhang Ziling's warning to them.

This fellow truly refused to suffer even the slightest disadvantage.

Song Meichan dragged Li Fuyuan away until the two of them reached a secluded spot.

"What did he mean by that? Does he intend to have two?" Li Fuyuan recalled Zhang Ziling's words to Huang Ri about making the holy maiden of Cihang Jingzhai go about doing chivalrous deeds with a bulging belly.

"Perhaps he meant he could win Xiuxin over in two months."

The two women indulged in their own wild imaginations.

"This matter must be reported to the sect leader immediately!" Li Fuyuan said coldly.

"Very well," Song Meichan nodded. "I shall go and report to the sect leader."

When the two of them returned to the inn, Li Fuyuan wore a smile on her face.

"Senior Uncle Li! Brother Zhang is my friend! Choosing what kind of friends to make is my own freedom!" Bi Xiuxin declared to Li Fuyuan.

This was the first time they had ever seen Bi Xiuxin react this way, and Li Fuyuan hurriedly said, "Xiuxin, Senior Uncle Li was merely joking with him. Besides, he beat Huang Ri into a severe state."

"If Huang Ri dared to harm him, my Hui-character sword would have already taken a life!" Bi Xiuxin said with icy detachment.

Song Meichan and Li Fuyuan exchanged glances, both seeing astonishment in the other's eyes. Bi Xiuxin, who would ordinarily hesitate to crush even an ant, was actually willing to kill for that man. They had to separate them as quickly as possible.

"Xiuxin!" Song Meichan started to speak.

"Senior Uncle Song, I have arranged to go out for a stroll with Brother Zhang. You need not wait for me for dinner." Bi Xiuxin picked up her Hui-character sword and turned to leave.

As she stepped out the door, she took several deep breaths. This was the first time she had ever lost her temper.

"We cannot allow them to stay together any longer," Li Fuyuan said, gritting her teeth.

"I shall write a letter to the sect leader right now," Song Meichan also realized the gravity of the situation. However, no matter what, Bi Xiuxin had to remain in Luoyang until she participated in Song Que's challenge against Yue Shan.

This was Cihang Jingzhai's gesture of goodwill toward the Song clan; if Bi Xiuxin were to leave midway, it would turn into an insult.

Thus, they could only rack their brains to make Zhang Ziling leave Luoyang, or make him disappear from Luoyang entirely. To be fair, Song Meichan did not wish to resort to this latter method at all.

Li Fuyuan, on the other hand, was quite eager to use the final method, intending to seek out that useless Huang Ri once more—after all, he still possessed a formidable master.