134: Tang Wuming, I'm very disappointed

The wind and rain had lessened considerably.

Chu Qing grunted and dug a large pit by the roadside.

Corpse after corpse was thrown in.

Finally, he filled it with earth and smoothed it over.

The wind and rain swept through, leaving no trace.

Very good!

A few minutes ago:

He had asked the group of Jianghu people for news about the strange great tendon.

Result:

These people said that the news had already spread, and all the Jianghu people in their area knew about it.

To prevent his things from being stolen, Chu Qing simply killed them.

He buried the bodies.

He then gave the boss a handful of silver fragments, and braving the wind and rain, continued on his journey, heading straight for Eight Hundred Li Shui Po.

As he traveled.

The number of Jianghu people he encountered increased.

After a brief inquiry, he learned:

This group of Jianghu people were all going to Eight Hundred Li Shui Po to look for the strange great tendon.

As for who had the strange great tendon, none of these Jianghu people knew.

They just wanted to try their luck.

Chu Qing, being kind-hearted, feared that these people would be sad if they couldn't find the dragon tendon, so he casually killed them.

As one small group of Jianghu people after another was killed by him, gradually, some Jianghu people became afraid.

They gave up going to Eight Hundred Li Shui Po and turned back to their hometowns.

Chu Qing traveled day and night, killing along the way.

He didn't know how many Jianghu people he had killed.

On the second day after the wind and rain stopped, he finally arrived at Eight Hundred Li Shui Po, at one of Tang Wuming's strongholds—a fish stall.

The fish stall was very large, with dozens of strong men gutting fish, selling fish, and drying fish.

When they saw Chu Qing enter, they immediately became wary.

Whoosh!

Chu Qing pulled out a piece of paper and said with a smile:

“Here, I am Tang Wuming’s friend; he said he could be found here.”

A man carefully scrutinized him and said, “Sir, please wait a moment, I will go report.”

Chu Qing handed the paper to the man and said, “This is the token.”

The man was illiterate, but he carefully tucked away the token and ran off.

Chu Qing disliked the smell of the fish stall, so he went out for a walk.

He first went to the side of the Shui Po.

It was called a Shui Po, but it was actually a huge inland lake.

And this inland lake, it was said, was a full eight hundred li in circumference.

The lakeside was desolate, and Chu Qing saw many fishermen's children either going out to fish by boat or returning from fishing.

The water rippled, with a faint mist.

It was quite poetic and picturesque.

Ten minutes… half an hour… an hour… a commotion came from afar.

Chu Qing turned around and saw a young man, leading a woman, rushing towards him, surrounded by over a hundred strong men.

Seeing the young man and woman, Chu Qing smiled.

“Tang Wuming!”

“Xu Qing, Miss Xu!”

At this moment:

Tang Wuming also saw Chu Qing.

From a distance, he saw Chu Qing in brocade clothes, holding a greatsword with both hands, with long hair draped over his shoulders, and a heroic Aura on his face.

For a moment, Tang Wuming unconsciously slowed his steps.

He still remembered that when they first met, he was dressed in brocade.

Chu Qing was in coarse cloth and barefoot, knowing nothing.

Now:

The other party was in brocade clothes, a graceful young man, with even more Aura than he had back then.

Connecting this with the things Chu Qing had done recently, he suddenly realized:

It was the same as in the past: there was a huge chasm between him and Chu Qing.

It's just that:

Before, he was high and mighty, although down on his luck, he was still stronger than Chu Qing.

Now:

Chu Qing was high and mighty, with an extraordinary demeanor, and was a martial arts academy expert who could make Zheng Zhixiang suffer a setback.

He was a favored son of heaven.

And he himself had failed the imperial examination and become a rebel leader.

As he pondered, the two were no more than ten meters apart.

Chu Qing cupped his fists and said with a smile, “Tang Wuming, are you well?”

Tang Wuming sighed and cupped his fists, saying, “Qing Ge, it’s been months since we last met, your demeanor is even better than before!”

Chu Qing laughed heartily.

“You fellow, when did you learn to flatter?”

“In your letter, you repeatedly said you were very powerful.”

“With a high and mighty attitude.”

“Now this attitude… it’s not strong enough!”

Tang Wuming was stunned for a moment, then laughed heartily.

He knew that Chu Qing was teasing him to bridge the gap between them.

It was an implicit suggestion not to be reserved.

“Qing Ge, to be honest, although you suppressed the Fortified Manor, exterminated entire families, and killed thousands of rebels.”

“But, I still don’t think much of these achievements.”

Chu Qing smiled and said, “What? You’re even more powerful than me?”

Tang Wuming said smugly, “Of course!”

“No matter how powerful you are, you are just one person.”

“And I now have over ten thousand strong men under my command.”

“They can serve me at any time.”

Haha!

Chu Qing looked up and laughed heartily.

For a moment, the atmosphere became much more harmonious.

Miss Xu, who was beside them, occasionally stole glances at Chu Qing.

She still remembered the incident where she gave Chu Qing a luminous pearl.

Thinking of that incident, she felt ashamed and angry.

“Fortunately, Brother Tang doesn’t know!”

After some pleasantries, Chu Qing asked Tang Wuming:

“Where is that fisherman?”

“Has he found the strange great tendon?”

Tang Wuming said seriously, “The fisherman has been imprisoned by me.”

“But, the strange great tendon hasn’t been found!”

“That Peddler hasn’t been found either!”

“Now, many Jianghu people are coming over, all looking for the strange great tendon.”

“I feel as if someone is deliberately spreading the news.”

“By the way, is that strange great tendon very precious?”

Chu Qing thought for a moment and said, “Very precious!”

“Ten years ago, a great tendon appeared; at that time, three to five thousand Jianghu people with names and surnames died; dozens of inner Sect disciples died.”

“Even more unknown experts died.”

“You tell me, is this thing precious?”

Tang Wuming was horrified, then gave a bitter smile.

Initially, he thought the strange great tendon was something Chu Qing had casually made up, and didn't take it seriously.

It wasn't until the strange great tendon appeared, and then attracted many Jianghu people, that he realized this thing was indeed very precious.

But, he hadn't expected it to be so precious.

“According to what you said, for that great tendon, it’s possible that ten to eighteen thousand people could die in this place?”

Chu Qing smiled and said, “Precisely!”

“Tang Wuming, I must get my hands on that great tendon!”

“Whoever stands in my way, I will kill!”

Tang Wuming felt Chu Qing’s determination and nodded.

Half an hour later, Tang Wuming led Chu Qing to an island in the middle of the lake.

This island was very large, surrounded by mountains, with a large open space in the center.

Here, men tilled and women wove, like a paradise hidden from the world.

Chu Qing was not interested in these things; led by Tang Wuming, he quickly met the fisherman.

The fisherman’s mental state was quite good.

Upon seeing Tang Wuming, he immediately knelt down and kowtowed, saying:

“My lord, I truly don’t know where the Peddler went.”

“I was wrong, I shouldn’t have been greedy.”

Tang Wuming said nothing, looking at Chu Qing.

Chu Qing coughed and said with a smile, “Old man, I have a few questions, and I hope you can answer them truthfully!”

The fisherman nodded frantically.

Chu Qing said:

“First, in which kind of fish did you find the strange great tendon?”

The fisherman quickly said, “In a fish called a rainbow fish.”

Chu Qing looked at Tang Wuming.

Tang Wuming quickly said, “Don’t worry, I will have my subordinates focus on rainbow fish from now on.”

Chu Qing continued to ask:

The location of catching the fish, the time, and the time of gutting the fish.

His questions were quite detailed.

This made Tang Wuming, who was beside him, thoughtful.

Finally, Chu Qing smiled and said:

“Then, the last question: You knew Tang Wuming wanted the strange great tendon, so why did you sell it?”

The fisherman hesitated and said, “My lord, Master Tang offered ten taels of silver for the great tendon, which was already very expensive; but, the Peddler offered twenty taels at the time; so… I was possessed by greed and sold it!”

Chu Qing nodded, indicating understanding.

“Then, how did you know the Peddler was buying it for twenty taels?”

The fisherman hesitated, then fell silent.

Chu Qing smiled and said, “Old man, how many people do you think drown in Eight Hundred Li Shui Po every day?”

“If you also drowned… would your family, friends, descendants… find your bones when they go fishing?”

The fisherman broke down, crying and saying, “My son, my son saw the strange great tendon and secretly asked the Peddler about it.”

“Then…”

Chu Qing suddenly looked at Tang Wuming and growled, “Where is his son?”

Tang Wuming was stunned for a moment and said, “He’s at his house!”

Chu Qing shook his head and said, “Tang Wuming, you… you disappoint me greatly!”

Tang Wuming gritted his teeth and said, “Men, go bring his son here!”

“Yes, sir!”

A big man, carrying swords and spears, went to apprehend the fisherman’s son.

The fisherman pleaded, “Please, don’t hurt my son.”

“The thing is with the Peddler!”

Chu Qing sighed and said, “Old man, you shouldn’t have been greedy!”

“Tang Wuming, pull out all the great tendons from his body and see if there are any special ones!”

Tang Wuming… the fisherman…