[T/n: note on chapter title]¹

Du Heng frowned and looked left and right. This corridor was some some distance away from the banquet venue, and it was located right next to a garden. Lu Chengfeng was only able to find this place because he had asked the two members of the Du family who had come with him.

The head of the Wei family was a very busy man, especially today, so he wouldn’t have waited around for so long even if he was passing by. Then Du Heng remembered that he and Lu Chengfeng had spoken for a long time after mentioning Mr. Ji and before the latter left.

But Du Heng was a little surprised when he heard Wei Wuwei say he knew Mr. Ji.

In truth, when the nine warriors had left Ning’an County, all nine of them were still in close contact. Of course, they all knew where Ji Yuan lived in Ning’an County, and all about the jujube tree in his yard. Wei Wuwei’s was speaking the truth.

“Patriarch Wei, when did you first meet Mr. Ji? After he left, Lu Chengfeng went back to look for Mr. Ji at the end of the year, but he said that the house was already empty by then.”

“Hehe, Lu Chengfeng is skilled in how to handle things—he went to look himself and only informed you afterward!”

Wei Wuwei chuckled, looking down the corridor back towards the hall, and sat down beside Du Heng.

“I, Wei Wuwei, naturally met Mr. Ji in Ning’an County. I had gone there to buy a tiger skin, but was later waylaid by some bandits, so I stayed in the county for a while. That’s how I got to know Mr. Ji, and I received a lot of valuable instruction from him!”

Du Heng was not from Desheng Prefecture, otherwise he would definitely have heard of the sensational incident of the Thirteen Thieves of Yan and the execution of the mastermind behind the scenes. That was the incident that made Wei Wuwei famous, and made exposed the fact that the head of the Wei family had been pretending not to know martial arts; not only did he practice martial arts, he was also quite skilled in it.

After that, Wei Wuwei’s nickname, “Smiling Tiger,” spread in the martial arts world.

Wei Wuwei sat down beside Du Heng with a smile and looked him up and down.

“Did Mr. Ji truly tell you that if you survived this disaster, your future would be limitless?”

“Well… He did say something to that effect when we were taking a rest halfway down the mountain, but it was just words of comfort. Now, I can only be considered half useless…”

“Has Mr. Ji ever said those words other people, such as the unrivaled Lu Chengfeng?”

Wei Wuwei asked again. Du Heng thought for a moment, and said hesitantly.

“It seems… he hasn’t.”

“Tsk tsk tsk tsk…”

Wei Wuwei was still constantly smiling, although he didn’t know how the nine young warriors had met Mr. Ji, whether it was before or after killing the tiger, or even how they had brought Mr. Ji to Ning’an County.

But just from a few words, Wei Wuwei confirmed that, even though the nine young warriors had known Mr. Ji for a long time, they still had no idea what kind of person the man was.

The scene of the Old Turtle lamenting on the banks of the Chunmu River outside of Chunhui Prefecture’s capital was a sight Wei Wuwei would never forget.

“I don’t think Lu Chengfeng is all that exceptional. On the contrary, you, young master Du…. hahaha… Since Mr. Ji has left such a message for you, don’t belittle yourself!”

Du Heng smiled helplessly.

“Thank you for your kind words, Patriarch Wei. I have become more open-minded over the past few years. When I first overcame the pain of losing my arm, I had great ambitions, but now… even the people in my family no longer have hope for me…”

“You say you’ve come to terms with it? Heh, I don’t think so!”

Wei Wuwei was very aware of Du Heng’s current reluctance. He had hidden to the side and eavesdropped on them for quite some time.

“Moreover, do you think you have yet survived the ‘calamity’ that Mr. Ji spoke of?”

Du Heng’s heart trembled slightly. He looked at Wei Wuwei’s constantly smiling face, and subconsciously reached out to touch the empty sleeve of his right arm.

Wei Wuwei quietly leaned close to Du Heng and whispered in his ear:

“I’ve also studied some ancient books on gods and immortals. For one such as Mr. Ji, the so-called calamity is not just physical pain. Do you really think that you cannot endure the pain of a broken or missing arm? A calamity, a calamity, hey… isn’t that more like what is happening now?”

Facing Wei Wuwei, Du Heng briefly felt goosebumps run down his spine.

Seeing this haggard young man in a daze, Wei Wuwei chose not to disturb him further for the time being. He waited until his expression cleared before continuing to speak.

“Okay, now you can tell me how you met Mr. Ji. Mr. Ji is my benefactor, and I also want to know more about him.”

Wei Wuwei tucked his hands in his sleeves. With his chubby, smiling appearance, he didn’t look like a dangerous man at all, but more like an old countryside gentleman. However, the sight made Du Heng recall the other party’s rarely mentioned martial arts nickname, the “Smiling Tiger.”

“Actually, the so-called tiger-fighting heroes in Ning’an County are unworthy of the title… If it weren’t for Mr. Ji…”

Du Heng didn’t hesitate any longer, and slowly shared the tale of what happened back then.

Nine young and excitable warriors had gone to the mountain to hunt a tiger. They met a strange man who warned them, but they didn’t take it seriously. As a result, they encountered a tiger spirit and almost died…

The story was more tortuous than Wei Wuwei imagined. He had not expected that the white tiger skin was something that the tiger monster had just spat out and given to the nine young warriors. He also didn’t expect that the gentle and elegant Mr. Ji could be so sloppy at times. However, on second thought, it shouldn’t be so surprising for a master to choose to present themselves in a variety of ways.

It was already a great fortune for the nine individuals to keep their lives, let alone their attempt to get rid of the man-eating tiger.

After listening to the whole story, from the beginning up until the nine young warriors had left Ning’an County, Wei Wuwei was finally certain that these nine individuals did not know much about Ji Yuan, even less than he himself knew.

Even when Du Heng mentioned their agreement with the tiger monster, his emotions didn’t fluctuate and his tone was steady. Based on Wei Wuwei’s experience in dealing with people, this group most likely thought that Mr. Ji had deliberately made up an excuse to deceive the tiger demon in order to save their lives.

“Since Lu Chengfeng went back to Ning’an County before this New Year, did he tell you about the story of the jujube tree that bore fruit as a gift to the gentleman?”

Hearing Wei Wuwei ask this again, Du Heng frowned.

“What story? I never heard about it.”

“Oh ha… Maybe Young Master Lu didn’t have the chance to hear it, so he didn’t tell you, hahaha…”

Wei Wuwei smiled and explained.

The noise in the hall was getting more lively. Presumably, ,the banquet was about to start.

“Let’s go, Young Master Du. Son’s full-month banquet is about to begin. As the father, I cannot be absent. You can’t miss it, either. Don’t get drunk here all alone!”

Wei Wuwei dusted himself off, stood up, and walked on ahead. His large belly seemed to bounce as he walked. After just a few steps, he suddenly turned his head to look back at Du Heng, who had just stood up.

“Young Master Du, I must remind you that this agreement with the tiger monster will most likely be fatal. You may have brushed it off after three years, but what about in thirty years? I felt an instant connection with you, so I couldn’t help but warn you. Please don’t take this lightly. Hahaha…”

After speaking, Wei Wuwei strode away. The instant he left the garden and arrived back at the yard in whcih the banquet was taking place, he was immediately surrounded by voices exclaiming their congratulations. He politely returned everyone’s greetings.

. . .

When Du Heng returned to his two family members, the banquet had already begun. The servants of the Wei family took turns serving the dishes. There were even three charcoal-heated copper hot pots were prepared for each table to add some warmth to the banquet.

For Ji Province, this style of food was very novel. All the guests praised the hotpot. Even Du Heng had changed from his previous decadence and didn’t drink much wine; instead, he just kept eating the meat with his chopsticks in his left hand.

“What happened to Brother Heng today?”

“I don’t know, but it’s been a long time since I’ve seen Brother Heng have an appetite!”

“We should eat too, or it’ll all be eaten by Brother Heng!”

“Yes, yes, yes! We’ll be delayed for so long on the journey back that we won’t be able to celebrate the New Year with a banquet. We have to eat here!”

The two were close cousins ​​of Du Heng’s, so after exchanging a few words, they hurriedly started eating.

After all, Du Heng was once a genius that the Du family had high hopes for. Even though his spirit was broken² now, there were still some elders in the family who cared about him, and had thought about letting him abandon his martial arts to take charge of some other family businesses. However, he was always unwilling and somewhat lost in worldly vices, which led to his current situation, unpopular both within and outside of the family.

Although Wei Wuwei’s words today didn’t exactly inspire Du Heng, however, they made him want to change his current habits of decadence. Since he had come to Desheng Prefecture once more, and wouldn’t make it back home for the New Year, he might as well go back to Ning’an County again!

T/n: (TINY SPOILER) another thing I love about this story: Du Heng lost his arm; he is (understandably) depressed, but his entire story arc is about working through the depression and becoming a badass with one arm, with the support of people he cares about. It’s just such a refreshing treatment of disability and mental health in NovelBins

1. 笑面虎 (xiàomiànhǔ): man with a big smile and evil intentions. Could also be translated as “smiling tiger”
2. Lit: “lost his wings,” as in freedom, aspirations, strength to “fly”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read