Jin Tianwang drank his tea at The Warlord’s Tavern absent-mindedly, his thoughts drifting until another man walked in and joined his table without waiting for an invitation.

  A sudden, delighted smile lit up Jin Tianwang’s face; this man could be no one else but The Drunken Scholar, Ou Xiatian. This was a man who had been an important friend in his life, rumored to have mysteriously vanished. Yet, a certain feeling told Jin Tianwang that today, this friend had changed. Even though Ou Xiatian sat beside him drinking wine in silence just as before, and although truth be told, the two should have had many words to exchange, neither spoke. Everything proceeded in this manner until an hour later, when two other outstanding men entered the tavern. These two remarkable figures were The Absolute Jade, Di Yuning, and Mute Sword, Yang Songwei.

  Although Jin Tianwang had never met these two young men, he could guess they were The Absolute Jade and Mute Sword, two young experts currently renowned in the martial world. Jin Tianwang paid particular attention to Di Yuning, knowing him to be the fellow disciple of The Frostflower Maiden, Han Yuexin. The young man's beautiful appearance forced Jin Tianwang to compare him with A-Luo, the young friend who had sailed to the southern lands with him. A-Luo was also a handsome man; yet when compared to Di Yuning, Jin Tianwang still felt that A-Luo appeared much stronger and more elegant than this handsome youth.

  Di Yuning did not know Jin Tianwang’s inner thoughts, though he had noticed the man staring at him from the start. He introduced himself, “This lowly one, Di Yuning, and Mute Sword, Yang Songwei, pay respects to Brother Jin.”

  Jin Tianwang hurriedly raised his hands to return the respect, but Ou Xiatian continued drinking his wine, sparing no thought or attention for the two young experts. The two young experts then sat at the table with Jin Tianwang without waiting for an invitation.

  “Brother Jin, for what reason have you rushed to travel to this Chang'an City?”

  “Whatever reason, it is entirely unrelated to little children like you,” Ou Xiatian, who had been silent all along, spoke on Jin Tianwang’s behalf.

  “We received orders from Chief Han to invite Brother Jin to visit our Virtue Association once,” Di Yuning said, still pretending not to mind or pay attention to Ou Xiatian in any way.

  “You two little children intend to come arrest Jin Tianwang? Do you not know that I, The Drunken Scholar Ou Xiatian, am the beloved friend of Merry Meanderer Jin Tianwang? Any matter related to Jin Tianwang naturally cannot be without Ou Xiatian.”

  Jin Tianwang could only smile at the two young men, his eyes darting back and forth as if to suppress Ou Xiatian’s impulsive temper, while saying, “Brother Ou seems to be drunk already; please do not hold it against him.”

  “This matter is unrelated to Brother Ou, I ask that Brother...” Di Yuning had not yet finished his sentence when Ou Xiatian suddenly shouted out.

  “The entire martial world knows well that in the past, Jin Tianwang stormed into the Mystic Valley and brought the Shadow Bat to clear my name for me. In my life, I owe him a debt of gratitude to this extent; I am naturally willing to die for him at any time.”

  Jin Tianwang seemed to wear a worried and sad expression, “Brother Ou...”

  Ou Xiatian rolled up his left sleeve, revealing a folding fan, and pointed it towards Di Yuning. Although Yang Songwei had not spoken a word, he had been ready to act for a long time.

  Seeing the folding fan in Ou Xiatian’s hand point out, he drew his sword and slashed.

  Ou Xiatian feigned an attack on Di Yuning but in truth intended to attack Yang Songwei from the start. He suddenly turned the fan in his hand to block the incoming slash, while pointing his right hand towards Yang Songwei’s chest. At such close quarters, Yang Songwei was clearly at a disadvantage. Nonetheless, Yang Songwei had the reputation of an expert. Facing both a block and an attack simultaneously, he did not panic into error, but suddenly struck out his left palm to clash with the fingertips aiming for his chest.

  Ou Xiatian did not hold back in the slightest, channeling internal energy into both arms simultaneously. The folding fan struck the slashing sword, deflecting it, while the fingertips stabbing into Yang Songwei’s palm sent the young swordsman’s body bouncing away, almost falling backward to crash onto the floor.

  But Yang Songwei did not lose face as a renowned young swordsman; he suddenly flicked his sword to prop up his body once and returned to clash with Ou Xiatian again, stabbing the sword out with extreme speed and force. However, before the sword entered striking range of Ou Xiatian, his body was struck, causing him to fall backward and roll away clumsily.

  It was Jin Tianwang who had struck out a palm. Di Yuning could no longer stand by idly; he pointed a finger towards Jin Tianwang’s throat, but before it could reach near the body, he also fell backward. Jin Tianwang swept his leg to kick the chair Di Yuning was sitting on, causing Di Yuning to lose his balance and fall. Then, Jin Tianwang used both hands to touch the dining table, flipping and spinning it strangely. The table floated up, spinning like a top in mid-air, perfectly blocking the sword attack of Yang Songwei who leaped in again.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  When the table spun down to touch the floor once more, a folding fan suddenly appeared, striking Yang Songwei’s chest and sending him flying far away.

  Although Di Yuning had heard much of the reputation and skills of Jin Tianwang and Ou Xiatian, he had assumed both possessed skills inferior to himself and Yang Songwei. Upon actually encountering them, he found that whether it was Ou Xiatian or Jin Tianwang, both possessed martial arts far superior to what they had anticipated. He suddenly broke into a cold sweat. Thinking of the seamless coordination of the two, acting continuously without gaps as if they knew each other’s minds perfectly, while he and Yang Songwei could not coordinate their actions systematically, Di Yuning decided he had to retreat.

  However, Yang Songwei was not Di Yuning who knew how to weigh the situation and retreat when necessary. With the heart of a fighter, this young boy, even knowing well that his skills were not superior to his opponents, still believed in risking his life. His right hand still held the sword, and his two feet still stepped towards Jin Tianwang and Ou Xiatian who remained sitting in the same place.

  “Little child, hurry and get lost. Just now we both held back for you once already. If you stubbornly continue to act, I fear there will be no next time,” it was still Ou Xiatian speaking. How could Yang Songwei agree to listen to Ou Xiatian’s words? He leaped in while stabbing his sword at Jin Tianwang.

  Before the sword reached the body, Jin Tianwang punched out, striking Yang Songwei’s body and sending it flying again. The body flew over the table; it was Jin Tianwang’s fist power striking Yang Songwei’s torso, sending him drifting away like a kite with a cut string.

  Di Yuning, who was standing still watching the situation, hurriedly soared to catch Yang Songwei’s body in mid-air, while touching his foot on a table to use as a foothold, carrying his friend’s body and fleeing rapidly.

  “It was you who feared that I would act to kill that little child,” Ou Xiatian said with a displeased tone.

  “The little child does not know high from low; I merely thought to teach him a lesson to remember,” Jin Tianwang replied rapidly.

  “Your fist intentionally sent the little child’s body flying to the front of his friend clearly.”

  “Brother Ou is worrying about the matter too much.”

  “It is I who worry too much.” Finishing his words, Ou Xiatian grabbed the wine to drink another large gulp.

  “Brother Ou, today you are drinking too heavily.”

  “I, The Drunken Scholar, have never drunk too heavily. Every night and day involves drinking wine; there is no too much, no too little. Especially today meeting an old friend like you, why not drink even more?” Ou Xiatian tried to emphasize the words ‘old friend’.

  Hearing the words “old friend”, Jin Tianwang felt pain in his heart. Friends—how can there be old friends? Does old friend mean formerly a friend, currently not a friend? But he remained silent without showing any expression.

  “In truth, we should not be friends. You should not have helped me capture the Shadow Bat to the Virtue Association. You should have let me die at The Virtue Association.”

  Jin Tianwang remained silent, not arguing with his beloved friend.

  “I should not be friends with you. I should not owe a debt of gratitude to you.”

  Jin Tianwang smiled bitterly, “I do not think you owe any debt of gratitude whatsoever.”

  “You are not a foolish person. You should know well who killed and beheaded Qi Yiling.” “It was you.”

  “Correct. Only we knew that she came to hide in this Chang'an City, because it was I who disguised as an official to help search and move her body along with you. Moreover, it was I who told you where to stab her body to create only a trail of blood without harming internal organs. Besides you, I fear only I knew that Qi Yiling, the smiling courtesan at the East Pier City, and Qi Yiling, the cook in Chang'an City, were the same person.”

  “Even now, I do not understand why you wanted to kill her,” Jin Tianwang sighed while speaking these words.

  “You are not a foolish person. You should know who wanted to kill Qi Yiling,” Ou Xiatian asked back concisely.

  “You killed Qi Yiling for the sake of Yuexin,” Jin Tianwang said as if he had no strength left.

  “You can like Han Yuexin, can I not? In truth, it was I who met her before you.” “I never knew before,” Jin Tianwang spoke these words with a shaking feeling.

  “Laughable. If I did not like her, would I have agreed to be confined at the Virtue Association? Or with my skills, would I not know how to escape on my own?” Ou Xiatian revealed his past inner feelings.

  Jin Tianwang thought back to the past according to Ou Xiatian’s words and saw it was true. With Ou Xiatian’s skills, there was no need for anyone to help. It was his own satisfaction to stay at the Virtue Association like that. But after he helped Ou Xiatian that day, not only did he gain a beloved friend, but it also led him to become close with Han Yuexin.

  “You, in truth, should be my enemy, not my beloved friend.” Ou Xiatian drank the wine until the jar was empty before throwing the jar away while shouting with a furious voice, “We will not be friends anymore. Next time we meet again, the martial world will know whether it is you, Jin Tianwang, or I, Ou Xiatian, who is superior.”

  “There will never be such a day,” Jin Tianwang said while walking out to a table where a jar of wine was set, then grabbed that wine jar to drink.

  Jin Tianwang drank until the jar was empty, then put it down, smiled at Ou Xiatian once, and bowed his head in respect. Then he turned and stepped out of The Warlord’s Tavern, famous for its spicy food.

  Why is life like this? The Drunken Scholar Ou Xiatian should be the beloved friend of Jin Tianwang, but came to fall in love with The Frostflower Maiden Han Yuexin, the woman who was his lover.

  Why was The Drunken Scholar Ou Xiatian the killer of Three Smiles Brew, Qi Yiling?

  Why has The Drunken Scholar Ou Xiatian, who was a beloved friend, now become an enemy who swore to conquer him?

  Jin Tianwang was not a foolish person. He naturally knew the answer very well. What was all this because of? It was all because of a single flower, a flower as cold as ice. It was all because The Frostflower Maiden Han Yuexin was a beautiful woman whom anyone seeing would fall in love with.

  Jin Tianwang was extremely heartbroken, but his face remained without tears. However, a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, a smile more bitter than tears.

  Jin Tianwang knew only how to smile; he did not know how to shed tears.