Chapter 236: The Foundation of the Eight Chiefs (2)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Ye Jingtang raised his official robe and sat down beside Qiu Tianhe. “Hero Qiu taught the Prince of Jing his saber technique. As long as the Prince of Jing is happy, no matter how great the crime is, it’s nothing more than a few words.”
Liu Qiansheng was experienced and understood what he meant. “Does the Imperial Court want my martial arts to give me a chance to live? I am over eighty years old and won’t live for more than a few years. When I go out, i will have to bear infamy. There’s no need to go through so much trouble.”
Qiu Tianhe said, “i squatted here for a year and know what it’s like. You don’t see the light of day or night, and you’re just waiting to be killed one day. Your life is worse than a wild dog’s outside.
“Elder Liu, it’s really not easy for people in Jianghu to live to your age. You have experienced decades of glory as one of the Eight Chiefs that the people in Jianghu have never experienced, and you have also endured decades of hardships that people in Jianghu have never suffered. When you were young, you defeated the Eight Chiefs. When you are old, you will teach the new Eight Chiefs.
“You still have a few years left to live. If you can have a three-room house and two acres of fertile land and find a final disciple to teach diligently, your life will be considered complete. Among the Eight Chiefs of the previous dynasties, not many will have a better ending than you. But you still can’t give up your life in Jianghu when you’re in your eighties. To be honest, as a junior, I really can’t understand.”
Qiu Tianhe’s words were very infectious. After all, Qiu Tianhe had experienced great ups and downs in his life. He understood what a top martial artist yearned for the most in Jianghu.
And Liu Qiansheng was indeed only one step away from a satisfactory life.
Liu Qiansheng’s deep eyes moved. After a moment of silence, he replied, “At your age, I was crippled by my disciple and lost half of my life’s accumulation. If this happened to you, would you accept it?”
Qiu Tianhe was in his fifties and was younger than Song Chi. He could be considered to be in his prime. Last year, he had been captured by the Imperial Court and locked in the dungeon. He had had no hope of escaping in this life and had indeed been unwilling to accept it.
Qiu Tianhe deliberated for a moment and asked, “There are many rumors in Jianghu about Elder Liu and Jiang Zhahu. What exactly happened back then?”
Liu Qiansheng was honest. “Back then, when I was traveling in Liang Province, i had a conflict with someone and killed him with a few punches. Not long after, the young Jiang Zhahu came to the Hong Mountain Gang to become a disciple.
“I saw that he was young and talented, so I took him in as a direct disciple. I treated him as my own and nurtured him vigorously. Later, I raised him as the gang’s young master and accidentally discovered that he was the son of an enemy. On account of our relationship for many years, 1 didn’t kill him. I only crippled his martial arts and expelled him from the gang.
“Then you know what happened. A few years later, Jiang Zhahu returned and beat me up until i was a stray dog. He took over the Hong Mountain Gang, took over my family business, and hunted me until now.”
Ye Jingtang deliberated for a moment. “It’s only right for a son to avenge his father… It sounds like neither side is in the right.”
Qiu Tianhe commented, “This is an ordinary vendetta in Jianghu. There’s no such thing as right and wrong, good and evil.”
Ye Jingtang wasn’t interested in who was right and who was wrong. He asked, “At your peak, you fought with Jiang Zhahu. Rumors in Jianghu say that he has the Golden Scale Picture. Is that true?”
Liu Qiansheng sneered at this. “At the age of twenty-five or twenty-six, he defeated one of the Eight Chiefs in his fifties and at his peak. Sir Ye, do you think you can do it with just the Golden Scale Picture?”
Ye Jingtang thought for a moment. “So, Jiang Zhahu is extremely talented, and he has the talent to become one of the Eight Chiefs before the age of thirty?”
Qiu Tianhe said, “The Fist Chief has always been at the bottom of the Eight Chiefs. After Jiang Zhahu inherited the title, he forcefully raised the Fist Chief to the sixth place of the Eight Chiefs, ranking below the Saber Chief because the Dragon Slaying Decree of Xuanyuan Chao could break Jiang Zhahu’s undefeated golden body.
“But Jiang Zhahu is the same age as me and at the peak. Xuanyuan Chao is seventy-five years old, which is only a few years younger than Elder Liu. If they really fought, I feel that it wouldn’t be difficult for Jiang Zhahu to kill Xuanyuan Chao.”
Liu Qiansheng hated Jiang Zhahu to the core, but it didn’t affect his affirmation of his strength. He continued, “It’s hard to say who will win if Jiang Zhahu fights Xuanyuan Chao with his bare hands, but Jiang Zhahu’s goal since he was young has been to be the number one in the world. After more than twenty years, I’m the first not to believe that he only practices unarmed martial arts.”
Ye Jingtang nodded thoughtfully. “Then, has Jiang Zhahu practiced the Golden Scale Picture before?”
Liu Qiansheng thought for a moment. “When unarmed martial arts Grandmasters fight, it’s easy to shatter the bones and organs, but it’s quite difficult to break the skin. I guess that he should have practiced it before. His skin is ridiculously hard. However, even if Jiang Zhahu didn’t have the Golden Scale Picture, 1 would have still lost that battle. I hit a total of three punches, but none of them hurt his vital points. He only punched once from the beginning to the end and directly shattered my spine. That feeling… is unforgettable.”
There was silence in the cell.
Qiu Tianhe deliberated for a moment before saying, “Elder Liu, you seem to understand that even if you recover from your internal injuries and return to your peak, you’re probably not Jiang Zhahu’s match. At least the world knows that you taught Jiang Zhahu. It’s better to live comfortably and achieve success and recognition in the last few years of your life than to be unable to let go for the rest of your life and die with hatred.”
Liu Qiansheng rubbed his fingers gently and thought for a long time.
After all, once he let go of the past and his anger, his life in Jianghu would be completely over.
Even if he were lucky enough to heal his injuries in the future, at his age, he no longer had the ambition to rise again.
After pondering for a long time, Liu Qiansheng looked at Ye Jingtang. “For the sake of Young Hero Qiu, I can confess… I can also hand over what I’ve learned throughout my life, but there are two conditions that the Imperial Court must satisfy for me.”
Ye Jingtang secretly heaved a sigh of relief. “Go ahead and say them. If they’re reasonable, the Imperial Court will consider it.”
Liu Qiansheng said, “I can live for at most two to three years. Just as Young Hero Qiu said, I’m just an old bag of bones. No matter how much I struggle, I won’t be able to make any waves. In the future, I’ll redeem myself and hide my identity to teach martial arts to the Imperial Court. The Imperial Court will let me die of old age and give me a proper burial after i die..”
Chapter 236: The Foundation of the Eight Chiefs (2)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Ye Jingtang raised his official robe and sat down beside Qiu Tianhe. “Hero Qiu taught the Prince of Jing his saber technique. As long as the Prince of Jing is happy, no matter how great the crime is, it’s nothing more than a few words.”
Liu Qiansheng was experienced and understood what he meant. “Does the Imperial Court want my martial arts to give me a chance to live? I am over eighty years old and won’t live for more than a few years. When I go out, i will have to bear infamy. There’s no need to go through so much trouble.”
Qiu Tianhe said, “i squatted here for a year and know what it’s like. You don’t see the light of day or night, and you’re just waiting to be killed one day. Your life is worse than a wild dog’s outside.
“Elder Liu, it’s really not easy for people in Jianghu to live to your age. You have experienced decades of glory as one of the Eight Chiefs that the people in Jianghu have never experienced, and you have also endured decades of hardships that people in Jianghu have never suffered. When you were young, you defeated the Eight Chiefs. When you are old, you will teach the new Eight Chiefs.
“You still have a few years left to live. If you can have a three-room house and two acres of fertile land and find a final disciple to teach diligently, your life will be considered complete. Among the Eight Chiefs of the previous dynasties, not many will have a better ending than you. But you still can’t give up your life in Jianghu when you’re in your eighties. To be honest, as a junior, I really can’t understand.”
Qiu Tianhe’s words were very infectious. After all, Qiu Tianhe had experienced great ups and downs in his life. He understood what a top martial artist yearned for the most in Jianghu.
And Liu Qiansheng was indeed only one step away from a satisfactory life.
Liu Qiansheng’s deep eyes moved. After a moment of silence, he replied, “At your age, I was crippled by my disciple and lost half of my life’s accumulation. If this happened to you, would you accept it?”
Qiu Tianhe was in his fifties and was younger than Song Chi. He could be considered to be in his prime. Last year, he had been captured by the Imperial Court and locked in the dungeon. He had had no hope of escaping in this life and had indeed been unwilling to accept it.
Qiu Tianhe deliberated for a moment and asked, “There are many rumors in Jianghu about Elder Liu and Jiang Zhahu. What exactly happened back then?”
Liu Qiansheng was honest. “Back then, when I was traveling in Liang Province, i had a conflict with someone and killed him with a few punches. Not long after, the young Jiang Zhahu came to the Hong Mountain Gang to become a disciple.
“I saw that he was young and talented, so I took him in as a direct disciple. I treated him as my own and nurtured him vigorously. Later, I raised him as the gang’s young master and accidentally discovered that he was the son of an enemy. On account of our relationship for many years, 1 didn’t kill him. I only crippled his martial arts and expelled him from the gang.
“Then you know what happened. A few years later, Jiang Zhahu returned and beat me up until i was a stray dog. He took over the Hong Mountain Gang, took over my family business, and hunted me until now.”
Ye Jingtang deliberated for a moment. “It’s only right for a son to avenge his father… It sounds like neither side is in the right.”
Qiu Tianhe commented, “This is an ordinary vendetta in Jianghu. There’s no such thing as right and wrong, good and evil.”
Ye Jingtang wasn’t interested in who was right and who was wrong. He asked, “At your peak, you fought with Jiang Zhahu. Rumors in Jianghu say that he has the Golden Scale Picture. Is that true?”
Liu Qiansheng sneered at this. “At the age of twenty-five or twenty-six, he defeated one of the Eight Chiefs in his fifties and at his peak. Sir Ye, do you think you can do it with just the Golden Scale Picture?”
Ye Jingtang thought for a moment. “So, Jiang Zhahu is extremely talented, and he has the talent to become one of the Eight Chiefs before the age of thirty?”
Qiu Tianhe said, “The Fist Chief has always been at the bottom of the Eight Chiefs. After Jiang Zhahu inherited the title, he forcefully raised the Fist Chief to the sixth place of the Eight Chiefs, ranking below the Saber Chief because the Dragon Slaying Decree of Xuanyuan Chao could break Jiang Zhahu’s undefeated golden body.
“But Jiang Zhahu is the same age as me and at the peak. Xuanyuan Chao is seventy-five years old, which is only a few years younger than Elder Liu. If they really fought, I feel that it wouldn’t be difficult for Jiang Zhahu to kill Xuanyuan Chao.”
Liu Qiansheng hated Jiang Zhahu to the core, but it didn’t affect his affirmation of his strength. He continued, “It’s hard to say who will win if Jiang Zhahu fights Xuanyuan Chao with his bare hands, but Jiang Zhahu’s goal since he was young has been to be the number one in the world. After more than twenty years, I’m the first not to believe that he only practices unarmed martial arts.”
Ye Jingtang nodded thoughtfully. “Then, has Jiang Zhahu practiced the Golden Scale Picture before?”
Liu Qiansheng thought for a moment. “When unarmed martial arts Grandmasters fight, it’s easy to shatter the bones and organs, but it’s quite difficult to break the skin. I guess that he should have practiced it before. His skin is ridiculously hard. However, even if Jiang Zhahu didn’t have the Golden Scale Picture, 1 would have still lost that battle. I hit a total of three punches, but none of them hurt his vital points. He only punched once from the beginning to the end and directly shattered my spine. That feeling… is unforgettable.”
There was silence in the cell.
Qiu Tianhe deliberated for a moment before saying, “Elder Liu, you seem to understand that even if you recover from your internal injuries and return to your peak, you’re probably not Jiang Zhahu’s match. At least the world knows that you taught Jiang Zhahu. It’s better to live comfortably and achieve success and recognition in the last few years of your life than to be unable to let go for the rest of your life and die with hatred.”
Liu Qiansheng rubbed his fingers gently and thought for a long time.
After all, once he let go of the past and his anger, his life in Jianghu would be completely over.
Even if he were lucky enough to heal his injuries in the future, at his age, he no longer had the ambition to rise again.
After pondering for a long time, Liu Qiansheng looked at Ye Jingtang. “For the sake of Young Hero Qiu, I can confess… I can also hand over what I’ve learned throughout my life, but there are two conditions that the Imperial Court must satisfy for me.”
Ye Jingtang secretly heaved a sigh of relief. “Go ahead and say them. If they’re reasonable, the Imperial Court will consider it.”
Liu Qiansheng said, “I can live for at most two to three years. Just as Young Hero Qiu said, I’m just an old bag of bones. No matter how much I struggle, I won’t be able to make any waves. In the future, I’ll redeem myself and hide my identity to teach martial arts to the Imperial Court. The Imperial Court will let me die of old age and give me a proper burial after i die..”
