741 A Hero (1/2)

Fan Yongda was still recovering from his injuries, and was thus currently lying in bed. He was greatly surprised by the Dragon King's question. ”Marshal Yang? Yes, I've heard of him before. Back then, he was a real celebrity in the martial arts world.”

Gu Shenwei had finally realized why Lu Mian's swordsmanship seemed so familiar. The fighting style of this Qingcheng Sect Leader bore a striking resemblance to that of Marshal Yang's; thus, to some extent, it was also reminiscent of the Gu Family's unique saber and spear skills.

Back when Marshal Yang had gone to Golden Roc Castle alone to issue a challenge, he was so old that it barely seemed like he could hold onto his saber. But when he made a move, he was as fast as a fleeing rabbit, killing an opponent with every other move.

At that time, like all the other spectators, Gu Shenwei had believed that the senility Marshal Yang showed was just a reflection of his natural age. But after seeing Lu Mian's swordsmanship, Gu Shenwei was beginning to suspect that the slowness he had seen from Lu Mian was just a mask to cover up his true moves.

Both Lu Mian's self-involved sword dance and his sudden sword strike reminded Gu Shenwei of that old man who had helped the Gu Family take its vengeance.

Dog Butcher was an elder of the Kongtong Sect, but he was seldom involved with Jianghu affairs. And so he knew very little about Marshal Yang, only able to say, ”He's very famous, as he used to be a burglar in the southern coastal areas. It's said that he had 100,000 men at his command, which was why he was called 'marshal' – that wasn't his real name. In recent years, I've been in closed-door cultivation without any contact to the outside world so I don't know what he's been doing after he broke away from his evil ways and returned to the orthodox path.”

Fan Yongda knew more about Marshal Yang, but in his recollection, Marshal Yang was a world-famous hero that had nothing to do with pirates. ”I don't know about Marshal Yang's family, but I witnessed his heroic deeds in Luo Village of He Dong with my own eyes.”

It was the first time that Fan Yongda had ever left the hill to run an errand with his master teacher. They were heading to Luo Village to attend the Sect Leader Convention which was held every three years. His memories of that grand occasion had become indistinct a long time ago, but his impression of Marshal Yang was as vivid as it was that day.

Many kung fu experts and ministers were from this family, so its status in the martial arts world was very high, and everyone was careful about their words when talking about this family, both publicly and privately. But there was a man of the junior generation of martial arts who made some impertinent remarks about the Luo Family, indicating that the Luo Family only had a fancy title which had been given to it by the dignitaries.

Originally it wasn't a big deal, and many people shared his opinion. But this junior had quite the bad luck. An admirer of Luo Village heard his words and there was a dispute between them which then turned into a fight.

The junior won, and the admirer lost. And this petty little incident gradually escalated into a storm in the martial arts world.

The admirer found helpers and started seeking vengeance. The junior also invited many of his relatives and friends to his home and prepared for any potential acts of retaliation. If, at this time, anybody of high prestige in the martial arts world had intervened, there would still be a chance of reconciliation. However, the two parties were both young and impulsive, and there were even some people who were fanning the flames. The two sides started fighting with barely any words being exchanged.

Both sides suffered casualties, especially the admirer's side. The Luo Family couldn't stand idly by any longer and sent a message to the junior that as long as he apologized and made appropriate compensation, they would let it go.

But the junior rejected without even thinking. He believed he had done nothing wrong and that the fighting was already a personal affair, so it was none of the Luo Village's business.

The Luo Family then made its move. First it publicly requested reconciliation between the two sides, which greatly pressured the junior. But he still believed that it wasn't his fault, and that the Luo Village was just pretending to be righteous while actually shielding the admirer. So he refused to reconcile with the admirer, which sowed a seed of future troubles.

A storm of bloodshed was imminent and at that point, Marshal Yang made his entrance. He had achieved some fame by that time, but was still far from eligible to intervene in the Luo Village's affairs. It was said that one of the close relatives of the junior came to Marshal Yang and sought his help. Marshal Yang owed him a favor, so he had no choice but to agree.

One of the kung fu experts of the Luo Family came to mount a challenge, and with a sword, he defeated more than ten people including the junior. He declared their guilt and was about to kill them all. At this moment, Marshal Yang showed up and defeated the kung fu expert.

Marshal Yang shot to fame overnight, but it wasn't fame that he was after. He was hoping that the trouble all be transferred to him, so that he would be eligible to mediate the dispute.

The Luo Family had numerous kung fu experts at its command. The situation was just about to escalate again when Marshal Yang came to the Luo Village with the junior for a compromise. At this time, his words mattered now.

Unfortunately, it was too late to apologize. Since the Luo Village had already sent out a kung fu expert, killing was inevitable, and Marshal Yang had to achieve an astounding feat if he wanted to stem the raging tide.

He did so during the Sect Leaders Convention, and as an attendant, Fan Yongda had witnessed that ”astounding feat” from a distance.

Marshal Yang talked in front of many sect leaders, his speech in essence saying that the junior had been reckless and ignorant, and that he hoped the Luo Village could be magnanimous and forgive him.

However, it was no longer the junior that the Luo Village cared about. Marshal Yang had defeated a kung fu expert of the family, and he was the real cause of their humiliation, so the patriarch of the Luo Family suggested that they competed through a kung fu competition.

A kung fu competition would be the start of another fight, so Marshal Yang declined. Fan Yongda still remember Marshal Yang saying, ”I'm merely a reckless kung fu practitioner of the martial arts world who came to Luo Village seeking reconciliation. I know clearly that my last victory was only due to my luck and that I'm no match for Luo Village. I would rather yield in advance than fight and humiliate myself. This kid made disrespectful comments and offended your noble family. I can neither take back what he had said nor challenge you, so there's only one solution. I will volunteer to be a servant of the Luo Family until our guilt is cleared. From now on, whatever treatment I received, I shall not complain.”

All the Sect Leaders were surprised. Even Fan Yongda believed that Marshal Yang had overacted. After all, Marshal Yang was a celebrity himself, so how would he be able to live in the martial arts world under the shameful name of a servant?

The patriarch of the Luo Family realized that he couldn't continue to act tough anymore, so he laughed and agreed to a reconciliation, but he refused to take Marshal Yang in as a servant.

But Marshal Yang wanted to fulfill his promise and insisted on it. Eventually, an agreement of three years of service was agreed upon.

Three years later, Marshal Yang left as the best friend of the Luo Village and his status in the martial arts world hadn't declined. On the contrary, it grew even larger.

”He mediated many disputes in the martial arts world,” Fan Yongda said as he sighed. ”It's a pity that I never got a chance to see him again. About ten years ago, Marshal Yang decided to quit the martial arts world and nobody's seen him since.”

”Marshal Yang went to the Western Regions and died to a Golden Roc Castle saber,” Gu Shenwei explained. He hadn't expected that news of Marshal Yang's death would not spread to the Central Plains.

Fan Yongda was surprised, ”Marshal Yang's kung fu was divine. He didn't become a hero purely because of his kind heart. I never expected… Is the Golden Roc Castle really that formidable?”