Chapter 56: Beware of Ye Zhuying

Ye Zhuying brought Xie Peiling to stand before Grandmaster An Quan. This martial arts master wore a perpetual smile on his face, and every step he took seemed to merge seamlessly with nature, making him look as ordinary and unremarkable as any common folk.

Yet, it was precisely this extreme ordinariness that made people feel he was anything but ordinary.

He was followed by five disciples; the eldest looked to be around forty years old, while the youngest in appearance was Grandmaster An Quan himself.

Upon seeing Xie Peiling, An Quan smiled and said, "Young friend, you truly live up to your reputation as Daoist Xu's junior brother. So young, yet your foundation is so profound. In time, you will surely become one of the 'Nine Dao Immortals' of Yingtian Taoist Temple."

Xie Peiling was startled, not expecting the other man to recognize his identity.

Sensing his surprise, An Quan explained, "I was the guarantor for the auction hosted by young friend Bai back then, just in case any scoundrels tried to cause trouble."

"Yet I never expected that in the end, it would be resolved by you and Daoist friend Xu. It is truly shameful; I took many benefits from young friend Bai yet did not do a single thing."

Xie Peiling waved his hand and hurriedly said, "Senior An, you jest. Even if we had not intervened, there would still have been others who could not stand idly by. As for myself... to be able to become an inner sect disciple is already more than enough; how could I ever dare to aspire to the ranks of the 'Nine Dao Immortals'?"

An Quan smiled and said, "Who can say for sure?"

The disciples behind him exchanged glances, surprised to find that the person who had confronted the Kuo Town Sect back then was a disciple of Yingtian Taoist Temple.

As for the Daoist friend Xu mentioned by their master, it was undoubtedly Xu Yuanming, which also explained how those people from the Kuo Town Sect had instantly vanished without a trace afterward.

Given the strength of those from the Kuo Town Sect, even they themselves could have dealt with them, let alone Xu Yuanming, who now stood nearly shoulder-to-shoulder with the older generation.

At this thought, they felt a deep sense of desolation. Their eldest was even younger than Xu Yuanming, yet the gap in their cultivation realms was vast.

Unlike their master An Quan, they felt as though they were treading water in the same spot, finding it exceedingly difficult to take even a single step forward, whereas An Quan's cultivation realm never ceased to progress.

They always said a master took in disciples to pass down his legacy, but looking at it this way, they would all likely die before their own master did.

These people looked at one another, then glanced at Xie Peiling’s calm and composed demeanor, and could not help lowering their heads in discouragement.

An Quan naturally sensed the strange mood among his disciples, but paid it no mind as he spoke directly.

"Look at these disciples of mine. Though their cultivation and innate talent leave much to be desired, they are at least decent at trying to amuse others. But tell me, how is it that you ended up walking together with the young master of the Ye family?"

Before Xie Peiling could reply, Ye Zhuying answered first.

"Brother Xie and I hit it off the moment we met. You already know about what happened a few days ago, so I brought him here to stroll around and relax. However, I heard that an ancestor of the True Spirit Sect has arrived; I wonder when we might get to witness the true demeanor of an immortal."

An Quan smiled. "Could Brother Ye be unaware that Jiang Zhenguang is already dead? At the time, I even wanted to go over to his place to share a couple of cups of wine. After all, old folks from our era never know when we might drop dead, so seeing each other one more time is always better than one less. But I never imagined that before I could even tidy up, he would already be dead. How ironic."

Xie Peiling looked somewhat unnatural and said nothing.

Ye Zhuying wore a look of utter astonishment, as if he had just heard something incredible, and his voice stuttered slightly.

"Wh... what? Ancestor Jiang is a veritable immortal, ho... how could he possibly die? Who in Yuan'an Prefecture could kill him? Even if someone had the capability, who would dare to do such a thing? How could the True Spirit Sect let it go?"

An Quan gave Ye Zhuying a sideways glance, ignoring him entirely, and instead said to Xie Peiling.

"I wonder where you and your senior brother have settled down? When I have some free time, I will surely bring my disciples to pay a proper visit."

Ye Zhuying chuckled and said, "Senior An, I know where they are staying. Whenever you want to find them, just come directly to me, and we can go together."

An Quan completely ignored him.

Ye Zhuying's smile remained unchanged.

Xie Peiling told An Quan where he was staying, and the latter smiled, waved goodbye, and gave him a piece of parting advice just before leaving:

*‘Beware of Ye Zhuying.’*

Ye Zhuying took all of this in, yet did not utter a single word of complaint, maintaining his smiling demeanor throughout.

After they parted ways, Xie Peiling looked at Ye Zhuying and asked, "Senior An seems to really dislike you."

Ye Zhuying said with a puzzled expression, "Does he? Don't you think Senior An is a wonderful person?"

The longer Xie Peiling experienced the world, the more he felt that the person before him was not as simple as he appeared on the surface. His thoughts ran deep.

Up to now, Xie Peiling still had no idea why Ye Zhuying had brought him along.

He claimed it was to help him relax and sightsee, but what was truly on his mind, no one could tell.

At the same time, Xie Peiling was filled with deep puzzlement as to why his own senior brother trusted this person so much.

...

After departing, An Quan spoke with utmost solemnity and seriousness to his disciples.

"In the future, be careful around that young master of the Ye family. He is definitely not as simple as he looks on the surface."

The disciple who had previously accepted challenges on An Quan's behalf asked, "Isn't it common knowledge that the Ye family's young master is a cripple? He isn't even a martial artist; how could he possibly pose a threat to us?"

An Quan sneered. "Some people are not always what they appear to be. Take that young man who was by his side at the very beginning—would you ever have taken him for a disciple of Yingtian Taoist Temple? I still remember that person's aura; the genius of the Chu family who died by the long bridge in the city a few days ago was undoubtedly killed by him, while the rest were dispatched by Xu Yuanming."

The eldest disciple remained silent for a long time before finally asking, "Should we report this to the authorities?"

An Quan pointed beyond Hugming Prefecture toward the distant imperial capital and said, "He can barely protect himself; how could he possibly manage things here?"

"Besides, what makes you think our own lives are safe right now?"

As soon as he finished speaking, they suddenly felt a chill run down their spines, as if someone were watching them, as if a sword qi could materialize and execute them at any second.

"Ma... Master, what... what is this?"

An Quan smiled and said, "Will Daoist friend Xu not show himself?"

The group was momentarily stunned. Right beside them, a young man stepped out into view.

"You are still the same as ever, having no intention of interacting with people who harbor deep schemes. That Ye family young master only had to see you a few times to guess roughly who you are. As expected of a grandmaster of martial arts in a prefecture; truly different. Over all these years, you are the fifth person capable of seeing through it."

An Quan smiled and asked, "And who were the other four?"

"Do you think you are worthy of knowing?"

Xu Yuanming's voice was flat.

"Since nothing is the matter, I shall take my leave. After all, whatever scheming you are up to has nothing to do with us."