Chapter 702 - 382: Encounter with the Man in Gray Again (Part 2)

Chapter 702: Chapter 382: Encounter with the Man in Gray Again (Part 2)

He had long possessed the qualifications to stand shoulder to shoulder with the top masters of the world.

Calling him a legend of the martial world might seem somewhat premature.

But now, Chu Qing could indeed be called a legend.

Chu Qing was amused and helpless, reaching out to tap her forehead:

"Don’t engage in personal worship."

"Huh?"

Wu Qianhuan didn’t understand this old joke, looking puzzled:

"Engage in personal worship? How do you engage in personal worship? Who to worship?"

"It’s not important, just rambling."

They were now not far from Immortal Cloud Mountain.

Whenever anything happened in the martial world, it would cause a storm.

And many unknown figures of the martial world would swarm to it, following the storm.

Moreover, nowadays, the Celestial Sound Mansion was truly making a big move, joining hands with Liaoyuan Mansion, causing a commotion larger than any other.

Therefore, at this point, Chu Qing and his group could see many Jianghu people heading to Immortal Cloud Mountain along the way.

Some were traveling in groups of two or three, some were solitary with only a sword, or using Lightweight Technique to run swiftly, kicking up dust.

Some appeared to be walking leisurely, but were actually moving swiftly.

However, these were still scattered soldiers of the martial world, and none of the sects from the Three Mansions, three schools, and three sects had been seen yet.

At noon, beside the desolate mountain path, there were no tea stalls or taverns, only a pavilion silently standing for who knows how long, providing shade from the increasingly strong sunlight lately.

Chu Qing’s group stopped their journey and tied up their horses.

He picked up Jiang Qianliu and tossed him to the side of the pavilion, then threw a coarse bun on the ground.

Jiang Qianliu wasn’t picky; he had only one meal a day, and the coarse bun was enough for him to survive.

Struggling with his weak hands, he picked up the bun and put it in his mouth, chewing one bite at a time, eating with satisfaction as if it were some gourmet delicacy.

Then Chu Qing led the other three into the pavilion and sat down, taking roasted chicken, clear water, and white steamed buns from their bundles and placed them on the pavilion’s table for casual use.

It was a brief rest, letting the horses rest, before continuing the journey.

While eating and drinking, they heard footsteps approaching in the distance, and soon two people appeared in sight.

A middle-aged man and a young man.

The two were dressed similarly, appearing to be a master-disciple pair.

The middle-aged man looked vigilant, while the young man glanced curiously at the people in the pavilion, his gaze lingering on Wu Qianhuan and Gentle before quickly withdrawing, not daring to look any longer.

Finally, he looked at Jiang Qianliu eating the bun on the ground, eyes filled with pity.

The middle-aged man clasped his fists and said:

"Greetings, fellow practitioners. May we interrupt briefly at this pavilion?"

The young man heard this, secretly pursed his lips behind him, murmuring softly.

Whether the middle-aged man heard, Chu Qing did not know, but Chu Qing heard clearly... the young man was mumbling:

"Greet this person, greet that person... this pavilion isn’t theirs, asking this? If they say no, should we just turn around and leave?

"When we’re on the mountain, people speak highly of our Cyan Cloud Sect, but off the mountain, everyone suppresses us..."

Chu Qing found it somewhat amusing.

Yet he did not say no as the young man expected... just smiled and said:

"This place is ownerless, feel free, you two."

The middle-aged man immediately thanked him with clasped fists.

Then, he led the young man toward the pavilion, glancing more at Jiang Qianliu as they passed him, but was quickly pulled away by the middle-aged man:

"Don’t look too much, beware of bringing trouble upon yourself."

"I just glanced twice... is it necessary?"

The young man felt speechless, thinking his master was too cautious.

Just looking, would anyone really start a fight over it?

But his dissatisfaction was quickly suppressed after receiving a warning look from the middle-aged man.

Watching his master take food from his bundle, he picked up a piece of braised meat, thought for a moment, then suddenly dashed over to Jiang Qianliu.

Reaching out, he handed the braised meat over.

The middle-aged man wanted to stop him but had no time, in shock, he quickly looked at Chu Qing.

He saw Chu Qing indifferent, seemingly not caring, and then slightly relaxed.

Receiving the braised meat, Jiang Qianliu treated it like a treasure, quickly chewing it up, although he didn’t throw away the coarse bun, carefully hiding it in his chest, fearing he wouldn’t have food for the next meal.

The young man saw this, his eyes filled with even more pity.

Seeing Chu Qing had no objections, he squatted down and asked:

"Are you a beggar?"

Hearing this, Jiang Qianliu glanced at him, suddenly reached out and smeared a handful on his face.

The young man, caught off guard, was smeared black all over his face, sitting down on the ground in shock.

Hurriedly he returned to the middle-aged man’s side, finally at ease when he confirmed Jiang Qianliu wasn’t coming to kill him, but anger rose in his heart:

"You... how could you do this? I sympathize with you, give you meat to eat, yet you treat me like this?"

Jiang Qianliu chuckled, knowing there was no chance of escaping from Chu Qing’s grasp, having long abandoned that thought, simply eating meat while saying:

"Seeing your kind heart, giving me meat, I’ll teach you a lesson."

"What?"

The young man, second in command, suddenly felt a burning sensation on his face, wiping it with his hand, noticing swelling lines where Jiang Qianliu’s fingers had just smeared.

"Zheng-er!!"

The middle-aged man saw this, both angry and anxious:

"You, you’re poisoned.

"How absurd, we have no past grievances, no present animosities, why poison us?"

"Because I want to, what can you do about it?"

Jiang Qianliu snorted, eating the meat with relish, seemingly enjoying it.

The middle-aged man saw Chu Qing did not stop until now, thinking Jiang Qianliu was not related to them, promptly drawing his sword with a clang:

"Hand over the antidote, otherwise, be careful of your life."

The young man already in too much pain to speak, feeling his face swollen, no longer resembling his own.

"If you have the guts, kill me. I won’t dodge, see if you can stab me to death."

Jiang Qianliu did not bother raising his eyelids, humming in a half-dead tone.

"You... you truly seek death!!!"

The middle-aged man was really furious, lifting his sword to kill.

Jiang Qianliu indeed did not dodge, letting the sword edge approach.

But at that moment, the sword edge paused, caught between two fingers.

The middle-aged man looked up sharply, expecting Chu Qing’s group to make a move, but looked up to see an elder in a gray robe standing before him.

He was very old, with sparse white hair, looking decrepit, yet his fingers were like iron pincers, firmly pinching the sword, making it impossible to move even with the middle-aged man’s Inner Strength.

The middle-aged man was instantly horrified, wondering where this expert came from?

Could the man on the ground be related to the elder?

Thinking about it, he heard the elder speak to those in the pavilion:

"We meet again."

"Senior seems to appear wherever there is excitement?"

Chu Qing smiled:

"And constantly meddling in other people’s business."

"Doing good and accumulating virtue."

The elder smiled slightly:

"I just don’t understand, this matter happened right in front of you, why do you ignore it?"

"Since senior is nearby, why should I act?"

Chu Qing smiled:

"Moreover, if he wishes to die, taking him along only adds extra burden, why not let him truly die here?"

Listening to these two speak, the middle-aged man’s heart kept sinking.

These two knew each other... and the poisoner on the ground was indeed captured by this young man.

But why did he say the person on the ground was seeking death?

His heart filled with confusion, suddenly hearing hurried footsteps, looking towards the sound, seeing a blood-covered man frantically running towards them.

Upon seeing people, the man’s eyes lit up with hope, urgently shouting:

"Help me!!"