Chapter 141 Murder
When Wu Muyu saw that this Old Wu had lost his temper, she quickly went forward and held onto her father’s arm. She said in a coy voice, “Father, I’m not hiding anything from you. I know that Su Wen is engaged, and I don’t want to make things difficult for you. I just want to make friends with him, I don’t have any other intentions.”
Wu Lie gaped.
Was that the case?
When Old Wu heard Wu Muyu’s words, he started to ponder. If it was really as Wu Muyu said, she seemed to at least know her limits.
Even though he was still extremely displeased, the rage in Wu Kunhu’s heart had calmed down greatly.
“Hmph! What befriending him? He’s just a playboy!” Wu Kunhu harrumphed in dissatisfaction.
At that moment, Wu Lie, who was kneeling on the ground, could not help but interrupt. “Father, that Su Wen’s martial arts are excellent. He’s also quite loyal. He can be trusted at critical moments. He can be considered a friend!”
After all, he had fought side by side with Su Wen and both of them had risked their lives. Even at the most critical moment, Su Wen did not show any signs of retreating. This also made Wu Lie acknowledge Su Wen from the bottom of his heart.
Wu Kunhu was enraged when he heard this. He wanted to beat him up immediately, but after thinking about it, he realized that he had already beaten this son of his up quite a few times today. It wouldn’t be appropriate for him to beat him up again, so he resisted the urge to kick him.
He only disdainfully replied, “I don’t care who he is, but since he already has an engagement, Muyu, it’s not appropriate for you to get too close to him. As for Wu Lie, the matter of you selling your sister for 1,000 taels is considered over. Find a time to invite Su Wen to our house. After this meal, stay away from that brat. He doesn’t have any good intentions!”
Wu Muyu secretly curled her lips, taking the words at face value.
Su Wen and Zhao Wanrou had a meal and chatted for a while before Zhao Wanrou also bade farewell and left.
After leaving the Su Residence, a trace of disappointment flashed past her eyes.
She got into the carriage and looked out the window as the carriage drove on. She could not help but feel confused. She liked Su Wen, but she did not know if she and Su Wen had a future together.
Yan Luoying and Wu Muyu were both daughters of the military. Although in terms of status, it seemed that she, the princess, was superior; but she was clear that a princess like her did not hold a high position in the Zhou Emperor’s heart.
Especially now, as Su Wen’s engagement had not been annulled even after Emperor Zhou had spoken to Yan Luoying about it. This showed how important Yan Luoying was to Emperor Zhou.
Even if the engagement was annulled… there was still Wu Muyu.
The more she thought about it, the more helpless she felt. In the end, she could only sigh.
The next afternoon, Su Wen woke up to find that it was drizzling outside.
“Zhao Jin… prepare the carriage!”
Su Wen prepared to set off. However, when he reached the door, Su Wen suddenly realized that Chu He had disappeared.
“Where’s Chu He?”
Su Wen asked.
Zhao Jin said honestly, “Chu He issued a challenge to Meng Zhiping, the chief instructor of swordsmanship in the Capital City Province[1]. They agreed to fight in the northern suburbs today, so he went out early in the morning!”
Su Wen was furious, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Zhao Jin said with a bitter smile, “Young Master, it’s not that I don’t want to tell you. It’s just that Chu He said not to tell you. He said that the battle between him and Meng Zhiping will determine life and death. Young Master, you have a special status. If you go and watch the battle, Meng Zhiping will definitely have some scruples, and his sword will definitely be weaker by 30%. He would then consider himself to have won unfairly.”
Su Wen sneered. “Nonsense, even if he loses, I won’t let him kill my people!”
Zhao Jin looked at Su Wen and said seriously, “Young Master, Chu He is different from me. No matter how hard I work, no matter how much I do, I will only reach 9th Grade Earth Rank at most. However, Chu He has a chance of ascending to the Heaven Rank. Young Master, if you really want him to be good, you have to let him experience true hardship.”
Su Wen muttered to himself for a moment before saying, “Then all the more we have to follow along. What if someone plays dirty?”
At this moment, a figure appeared in the distance.
As he slowly walked in the rain, Su Wen focused his gaze. It was Chu He!
However, at this moment, he seemed to be in a sorry state.
There were dozens of wounds all over his body and they were all bleeding. It could be seen just how bitter this battle was.
After walking closer, Su Wen saw that there was also a sword wound on his throat. Although the wound was not deep, it was obvious that he had been on the brink of death.
“You won?” Su Wen asked.
“Won!”
“Where’s the opponent?”
“Dead!”
Su Wen looked at Chu He and said, “Go back and rest well.”
“Alright!” Chu He had clearly expended a lot of energy in this battle.
He seemed a little dispirited. However, his posture still remained ramrod straight.
Watching him enter, Zhao Jin was somewhat worried. “Chu He killed Meng Zhiping. Will there be any trouble?”
Su Wen said with a smile, “What trouble could there be? According to the laws of the Great Zhou, as long as both parties agree to a battle, life and death will be in their own hands. Meng Zhiping and Chu He fought a decisive battle and naturally he deserved to die. Didn’t Chu He issue a challenge openly?” Zhao Jin shook his head and said, “The letter of challenge was issued openly, but this Meng Zhiping is somewhat different. While he is based in the government, he has a wide network of friends and is quite loyal. Even in the martial world, his reputation is quite high. Although there is no grudge between life and death in a duel between martial artists, with Meng Zhiping dead, how can his family leave the matter at that? How can his old friends and brothers leave the matter as such?”
Su Wen frowned. There was truth in his words.
If anyone were to kill Su Changqing, Su Wen would definitely take revenge regardless of whether it was a fair duel or not.
“Go, pass down the order. Find someone to give Meng Zhiping’s family a hundred thousand taels of silver! Try to make it up to them!”
Actually, Su Wen also knew that sometimes, some matters were very nonsensical.
For example, this Meng Zhiping. He was living a good life, but when someone came up to challenge him, he agreed and was slaughtered as a result. He died an innocent death.
But this was the world.
Who asked you to agree to the duel in the first place?
No one could do anything if you died.
If he insisted on being a coward and didn’t accept the challenge, it would be impossible for Chu He to kill him.
But no matter what, to Meng Zhiping and his family, this was an extremely painful matter.
At Meng Zhiping’s house, he was lying in a coffin.
Compared to Chu He’s sorry state, Meng Zhiping was much better. There were no wounds on his body. Only his glabella had a spot of red. He had been killed by Chu He’s sword aura.
The coffin was placed in the hall, surrounded by family members.
“Father! Why did you die just like that!”
“Master! What should we do?”
“Wuwuwu-“
The entire hall was filled with sorrow.
At this moment, a middle-aged man rushed in.
“Big Brother! Big Brother!” he cried loudly.
Meng Zhiping’s son, Meng Wei, stood up and shouted, “Uncle Yao, you’re finally here! You have to avenge my father!” A fierce light flashed in Yao Gu’s eyes. “Who killed my Big Brother?!”
Meng Wei picked up Chu He’s challenge letter and handed it to Yao Gu. “It’s this person!”
Yao Gu received the challenge letter and saw the words written on it.
“I am Chu He, a junior who has been practicing the sword for many years. I heard that you are the Head of Swordsmanship in Capital City Province. Your swordsmanship is outstanding. Please fight with me. There shall be no victory or defeat in this battle, and we will only decide through life and death. I hope that you will pay attention to this. Chu He, signing off!”
The sword aura in this post was awe-inspiring. Clearly, Chu He was displaying his strength.
It was also precisely because of this that Meng Zhiping agreed to the duel.
(1) Jingji Province will be changed to Capital City Province to better fit in with the story
