TGCFNM -Chapter 248 Outer Disciples

The next day.

After tidying up, Chu Ling and the others boarded the carriage and left Yuchuan County.

At the city gate, Zhang Dong let out a sigh, tapped on the carriage, and called out, “My lord, Madam Song has come to see you off.”

Chu Ling lifted the curtain, jumped down from the carriage, and looked at Song Yujie with a smile. “Sister Song, how do you have time to come see me off?”

Song Yujie smiled lightly and handed over a lunch box. “I made it myself. Don’t be picky.”

Chu Ling quickly took it. “Of course I won’t be picky.” She then lifted his gaze and noticed the hairpin slanting in Song Yujie’s bun.

The pin seemed to have been repaired by fusing the broken parts with copper wire, joining the three snapped sections back together.

Noticing Chu Ling’s gaze, Song Yujie gently brushed the pin and smiled. “It’s fixed. Perfect for putting back in the bun.”

Chu Ling nodded and carefully asked, “So… Xu, he…”

Song Yujie couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s not what you think. I have nothing to do with him. The reason I married there was that my mother-in-law was worried I’d have no support in later life. He treated her very well, like a true son, but her heart couldn’t bear the suffering and she didn’t make it through.”

Chu Ling suddenly understood: it seemed Xu Wangshui’s guilt that day wasn’t because he cared for Song Yujie, but because he had received care from Madam Cheng and craved that rare familial love.

“After Cheng Dian was buried, I moved out and bought a small house with a little courtyard. I thought it was nice. So I also advised him—if he could marry and have children, he should. It’s good to leave a legacy. But he refused,” Song Yujie said with a faint sense of regret. “Actually, Cheng Dian had forgiven him, and so had I.”

Chu Ling smiled faintly and shook his head. “Everyone has their own choices.”

Song Yujie sighed. “Yes, everyone has their own choices. So I thought, his mansion is so empty—it wouldn’t be a problem to take in a few homeless children. Once they’re grown, they can also see him off at the end.”

Chu Ling laughed heartily. “Sister Song, you always think so wisely.”

Song Yujie seemed completely at peace. She looked at Chu Ling sincerely. “My lord, have a safe journey.”

Chu Ling nodded, handed the lunch box to Wan Sanjin to carry inside, then stepped onto the carriage. After waving at Song Yujie, she got in.

Zhang Dong cracked the whip and drove the carriage out of the city.

Chu Ling lifted the curtain to look outside and saw Xu Wangshui watching them leave, vigorously waving her hand.

Xu Wangshui suddenly raised his arm and waved back energetically—an unspoken farewell.

Returning to her seat, Chu Ling sighed as she looked at the group. “Let’s go. Our next destination is Tianjian City.”

Su He shook his head while holding the map. “There are still a few places where we’ll need to stay the night briefly, but yes, it will be quicker.”

Leaning against the carriage, Wan Sanjin said, “My elder brother said he already went ahead to arrange the inns. Otherwise, if we went now, there would be no available rooms.”

Thinking of the book’s content, Chu Ling nodded decisively. “Seems like it’ll be quite lively—a big gathering.”

“Probably a lot of people will come. This will also be our first contact with people from the Jianghu. Everyone be careful,” Su He earnestly advised.

Chu Ling nodded lightly. “They say Jianghu matters stay in the Jianghu. When it really happens, it won’t be resolved by reporting to the authorities, but by direct confrontation—fight to the death if necessary. So everyone must act cautiously and avoid being separated.”

Wan Sanjin snorted lightly. “So what about that Divine Water, are we still going to snatch it?”

Chu Ling nodded seriously. “We still have to. We’re so poor—do we want to starve? Are we supposed to live off your brother forever?”

Wan Sanjin said, “My Wan family is wealthy. Supporting a few people isn’t a problem. Besides, my elder brother earns more and more. If he doesn’t give it to us, it’ll go to someone else.”

Xiao Hua cupped her face. “Then let him give it to us.”

Chu Ling agreed. “Yes, give it to us—after all, we are his people.”

Wan Sanjin slapped his thigh. “Alright, then it’s settled. We’ll still snatch the Divine Water, but safety first. And that Jianghu informant who only sold our information for twenty taels—we must catch him.”

He had to ask—why were the five of them worth only twenty taels?

Chu Ling said angrily, “Right, then we’ll make him return the twenty taels to us!”

Su He was startled: “Return them to us?” Using “return” doesn’t sound quite right.

Chu Ling and Wan Sanjin both looked at him seriously: “Either return it, or we take it by force!”

In short, they weren’t going to be at a loss.

Su He: “…Fine.” He decided to continue looking at the map.

Tianjian City sat at the foot of Tianjian Mountain. It had originally been a small village of fewer than twenty households, but one day someone ascended the mountain to establish a sect, and gradually the population of Tianjian City began to grow. Step by step, it developed from a small village into a major city with a prominent position in the martial world.

Tianjian City existed because of Tianjian Mountain. Moreover, Tianjian Mountain was a sword sect that all martial artists aspired to, so everyone in Tianjian City, regardless of age or gender, could perform some martial arts. It was truly a city of martial arts.

Perhaps because of Tianjian City’s uniqueness, its flow of people was very large and it was extremely prosperous—so much so that it was even more stable than the imperial capital under the court’s rule.

It could be said that even if one day Great Yuan actually invaded and conquered Dazhou, Tianjian City would remain as it had always been.

Thus, the martial world of Dazhou was completely separate from the Dazhou court. They were almost autonomous and had no intention of defending Dazhou. They especially despised the style and arrogance of the imperial and noble families.

Before arriving, Chu Ling had thought about whether she needed to carefully conceal her identity as a court official, but then she decided it was unnecessary. Just from the Guo family fort incident alone, many martial artists already knew her. There was no need for her to hide anything.

After all, she had an invitation and was coming openly and properly.

With Zhang Dong stopping Zhuifeng, Chu Ling and the others lifted the curtains one by one and walked out. They saw two young men in blue robes and handed over their invitations.

The blue-robed men didn’t take them, instead looking at Chu Ling: “Only Tianjian Sect needs to check invitations. We are merely outer disciples of Tianjian City conducting routine questioning. If there’s no issue, we’ll let you in.”

Chu Ling acknowledged this and withdrew her invitation.

One of the blue-robed disciples asked, “So, what are your names, where are you from, and what do you do?”

Chu Ling pointed at herself and introduced: “I’m Chu Ling, from Sishui County. I am the county magistrate.”

Wan Sanjin stepped forward: “I’m the secretary.”

Su He put on a deadpan expression: “I’m a coroner.”

Zhang Dong and Xiao Hua said, “We handle miscellaneous tasks.”

Zhuifeng neighed loudly and shook its rump, overly lively, looking at the two outer disciples.

Zhang Dong had no choice but to explain: “This is Zhuifeng, a fine horse.”

The two blue-robed outer disciples: “……”

Finally, one of them spoke: “Alright, you may go in. The Tianjian Sect will hold its sect-opening ceremony in three days. Inner disciples will come to receive you; just follow the others in.”

Chu Ling cupped her hands in thanks and led the others back to the carriage. Zhang Dong continued driving further inside.

After they left, one outer disciple asked curiously, “Even court officials know our sect is opening?”

The other shook his head: “You don’t understand. We are deeply feared by the court.”

The first disciple nodded in understanding: “I see. But we are straightforward and fearless, so let him be.”

The other disciple also nodded generously and continued questioning the next group.