System: I Can Open Martial Arts Chests

Chapter 270 - 166: Prince Mei? (2)

"Thank you, sir... for saving my life."

Lv Zhi barely managed to speak, his voice still a bit hoarse:

"May I know the name of my benefactor? So I might repay you in the future."

"A chance meeting, no need to repay."

Chu Qing glanced at him:

"Your wound is somewhat strange, how did it happen?"

Last night, he cried for help to no avail.

Chu Qing had once seen him in Divine Blade City, promising a fortune, and since then had been following Nianxin Nian’an, proving himself a good man.

Feeling reluctant to let him die like this, he decided to save him.

Upon examining the wound, he found it rather peculiar.

Unknown what weapon caused it, the wound resembled a petal, harboring a chilling inner strength.

The wound aside, it was this inner strength that was most troublesome, and Chu Qing expended considerable effort to dispel it.

Hearing this, Lv Zhi looked at Chu Qing warily, then glanced at another young gentleman sitting at the table, propping his chin, watching him.

After pondering for a moment, he said:

"Since you asked, Benefactor, I cannot conceal it.

"To be honest, I’m of the Green Forest Dao. My Big Master has a foe who calls himself Prince Mei."

Chu Qing wasn’t concerned initially, but the mention of Prince Mei made his heart skip a beat.

He couldn’t help but frown slightly:

"Who did you say?"

Lv Zhi was startled, not understanding why Chu Qing had such a strong reaction, and quickly reiterated:

"Prince Mei."

Chu Qing fell silent for a moment. The Celestial Evil Cult had Twelve Saint Kings, of which he knew only two, Prince Mu and Prince Xi.

This Prince Mei... his title seemed similar to these two.

Could he be a master of the Celestial Evil Cult as well?

"Was it him who caused your wound?"

Chu Qing asked again.

"No... it wasn’t."

Lv Zhi exhaled softly:

"My wound was caused by Young Master Mei..."

"What exactly happened, explain in detail."

This time, Chu Qing was genuinely intrigued.

The Prince Mei Lv Zhi spoke of was a foe of Nianxin Nian’an?

He remembered Pei Wuji’s reaction upon hearing ’Bodhi Temple’ back at the Divine Blade City inn.

Commoners might not know Bodhi Temple, but the Celestial Evil Cult members did.

Could there be an old grudge between them?

And now, as Iron Blood Hall and Blazing Hall clashed, a suspect from the Twelve Saint Kings was causing trouble.

All of these seemed somehow interconnected...

"So..."

Lv Zhi didn’t understand why his benefactor was so interested, but he nevertheless recounted the events honestly.

Chu Qing combined what he knew with Lv Zhi’s words to roughly piece together the events.

Since last Nianxin Nian’an attempted to subdue the Lianshan Seven Strongholds, only to be thwarted by Liu Yulai’s unexpected assault.

Nianxin Nian’an, along with a black-robed woman and the Cross-sword Five Tigers, fled.

When safe, they continued to strive for unifying the Green Forest.

Then, Nianxin Nian’an somehow got word of Prince Mei’s whereabouts.

Lv Zhi didn’t know who Prince Mei was, but he made Nianxin Nian’an momentarily set aside their grand unification plans to investigate.

What happened on the journey wasn’t much to speak of, but the incident occurred last night.

Nianxin Nian’an suddenly disappeared, leaving only the Cross-sword Five Tigers and the unnamed black-robed woman waiting quietly...

Instead of Nianxin Nian’an, a rosy-cheeked young gentleman appeared.

This young gentleman claimed to be surnamed Mei, and asked to be addressed as Young Master Mei.

He immediately demanded the Cross-sword Five Tigers and the black-robed woman to follow him... naturally, the Five Tigers refused, resulting in a conflict.

Young Master Mei was thin and small, and Lv Zhi assumed that even if powerful, he wouldn’t handle all five of them.

Unexpectedly, Young Master Mei effortlessly defeated them.

As for Martial Arts, Lv Zhi was rather clueless.

All he knew was that he received a strike to his chest, resulting in his current state.

Afterwards, Young Master Mei intended to capture them all, even preparing a cage cart.

Unexpectedly, at that moment, another black-clad person appeared and began fighting Young Master Mei.

Amidst the chaos, Lv Zhi found a chance and managed to escape with the help of others.

He intended to seek help and mount a rescue...

Unfortunately, he neither knew any powerful allies nor did his severe injuries allow it; he couldn’t find any help and nearly died at the inn’s doorstep.

"If it weren’t for you saving me...

"I might have lost my life last night."

Chu Qing listened quietly to the tale, his expression somewhat peculiar:

"So, you never actually saw Prince Mei?"

"Mm..."

Lv Zhi nodded.

Chu Qing rubbed his chin:

"Where were you originally headed?"

"We... only knew the general direction, always following Big Master and Second Master.

"Our two masters are somewhat special..."

Lv Zhi said with some embarrassment.

Chu Qing understood; those two were indeed quite special, so he asked again:

"Were your brothers captured, not killed?"

"Yes."

Lv Zhi nodded, looking at Chu Qing, curious about his detailed inquiry.

Chu Qing stroked his chin, pondered aloud:

"Now heavily wounded, it’s unlikely you’ll manage a rescue on your own.

"Do you know any powerful allies?"

"Not to mention not knowing any... even if I did, finding them would take time. By then, who knows my brothers’ fate."

His tone turned despondent.

Chu Qing suddenly smiled:

"Would you like to strike a deal?"

"Huh?"

Lv Zhi was a bit puzzled.

Chu Qing continued:

"I might be able to kill Young Master Mei and rescue your brothers."

"Really!?’

Lv Zhi struggled to sit up, looking at Chu Qing:

"May I ask, who is my benefactor truly?"

"I rank third, and they all call me... Third Young Master."

Chu Qing realized he needed to reveal his identity at this point.

If they were to make a deal, he had to show his credentials.

Hearing this, Lv Zhi gasped:

"You’re Mad Saber Third Young Master!?

"With your help, surely my brothers will be saved!"

But Chu Qing waved his hands:

"No rush, no rush, deals must discuss prices."

Lv Zhi was taken aback; he’d never heard Third Young Master was like this...

Still, he didn’t hesitate; in life-and-death deals, discussing prices was no issue.

He rummaged through his belongings, finally producing ten taels of silver, passing them to Chu Qing shamefully.

Chu Qing was somewhat shocked:

"Aren’t you from Green Forest Dao? Didn’t you ever rob anything? Just ten taels of silver?"

"You don’t understand... our two masters, despite aiming at Green Forest Dao.

"In fact, they don’t rob the young, elderly, and women, nor virtuous households, nor life-saving money..."

"So what do you rob?"

"We rob the ruthless and wicked!"

Lv Zhi spoke spiritedly.

"...So?"

"So we’re almost starving."

Lv Zhi said helplessly:

"After all, merchant caravans aren’t easily investigated for ruthlessness or wicked deeds?

"Moreover, before we could ascertain the local wealthy villains, the two masters’ interests waned, hastily taking us away...

"Till today, we’ve yet to make a single living."

Chu Qing was speechless; so they’re bandits and you’re virtue bandits, huh?

He immediately told him to keep the ten taels and stay there for now.

After all, food and lodging cost money.

[Triggered Commission: Assassinate Young Master Mei!]

[Accept Commission?]

Chu Qing hadn’t accepted yet; he spoke with Lv Zhi to trigger the commission.

Without having clarified Young Master Mei’s identity, there was no rush to accept the task...

He looked at Lv Zhi:

"Do you have any personal belongings of your brothers?"

While Lv Zhi didn’t understand, he rummaged for a while, finally producing a small knife:

"This... this is Third Brother’s knife from last night."

Chu Qing glanced gently at her, saw her nod, and then patted Lv Zhi on the shoulder:

"Stay here and rest, we’ll head out and see if we can find your four brothers."