Trouble
Trouble
Mu Yu cut in front of Ku Mu to confront the man sporting a raincoat and conical cat hiding his face. Mu Yu ignored the brown sword aimed at him and brushed his hand across the man’s right hand, revealing the latter’s crest. The white crest read, “Eighty-seven.”
“Who are you?” Mu Yu questioned, uninterested in fighting.
“Han Jiangxue, rank eighty-seven on Ultimate Immortals Ranking.” His voice was as cold as the “han” character for “cold” in his name.
“Wait, he’s Lone Fisherman with the Conical Hat, the guy with the name and alias inspired from River Scene in Snow poem?”
“That’s him, the disciple of Hedong’s swordsman, Liu Zongyuan, wielder of the unbeaten sword technique ‘Birds Vanish from the Surrounding Hills. Footprints Fade from the Winding Trails’.”
“Who’s rank eighty-two?”
“Who else? Mu Yu!”
Lanky man: Thank god I didn’t push my luck.
“You are True God’s disciple, Mu Yu?” Han Jiangxue raised his head to engage in a staring contest with Mu Yu.
Mu Yu rationalised there was no point denying it if they already know. “And if I am?”
“I’m taking your place!”
“You want my place? Have it.” Mu Yu generously stretched his right hand out. “So… how do I transfer it to you?”
Knees buckled.
In terms of fame, Mu Yu already did it. Therefore, it could justify him not coveting the ranking.
Han Jiangxue aggressed, “That is a spiritual tattoo from Third Heaven Palace. You can’t just pass it around. It contains your will and can only be transferred if you defeat an opponent.”
“That being the case, go challenge rank eighty-one. I don’t want to fight.”
“Sword Shadow Dust Gale’s disciple declines? Are you admitting all the rumours about you are but rumours?”
“Did you leave your brain at home? If everyone wants to fight me, I’ll be fighting from dawn till the moon comes out and then the next dawn. Are you going to camp the loo if I need to answer nature’s call?”
“As one of the immortals, you must be ready to accept challenges at any time. Else, how will you lead humanity to conquer the elemental demons? We are beholden to fight them as cultivators. Men should go to war and fight. As one of humanity’s elites, you ought to be vigilant at all times. How can a soldier fight if he isn’t vigilant?!”
Mu Yu didn’t appreciate Third Heaven Palace’s meddling or support the selection method they advocated. After all, why kill your own potential soldiers just to find leaders? Some of them wouldn’t even become leaders; talk about dying for fifteen minutes of fame. Nevertheless, Mu Yu had no verbal answer.
“As you wish.” Mu Yu drew Shadow Splitter Sword.
“Is it raining outside? Why is he wearing a raincoat and conical hat?” Xiaoshuai climbed up to Mu Yu’s shoulder and whispered.
“Haha, I don’t know, myself.” Xiaoshuai’s query killed Mu Yu’s serious mood.
“May I humbly ask you two to take it outside?” pleaded the proprietor of the inn.
“There won’t be a need for that. I don’t think I’ll damage anything.”
Mu Yu moved so quickly people saw him in two places at once. Mu Yu was back in the same place in the blink of an eye. Han Jiangxue’s cone hat and raincoat were already on the ground in fragments.
“Let’s go, Gramps.” Mu Yu stowed away his sword and strutted off to the staircase.
Han Jiangxue couldn’t suppress his quavering as a bead of sweat coursed down the side of his face.
“Sword Shadow Dust Gale’s disciple Mu Yu has not let expectations down.” She had her face hidden behind a veil. She never took her eyes off Mu Yu until he turned the corner and couldn’t be seen.
What happened next in the inn and city was self-explanatory.
“Can’t you keep attention off yourself?” Ku Mu sat down in the chair in their room.
“How? Do you wear on a mask before you enter cities?” Mu Yu sprawled out on the bed and yawned.
“Why would I wear a mask?”
Xiaoshuai raised his paw. “I know. I know. You used to have green hair. Whenever people saw you, they’d cry, ‘Run, it’s the evil poison king! Anyone infected will develop piles!’ How would you maintain a low profile if you didn’t wear a mask?” Xiaoshuai joked, finishing with a gasp and pretending to be terrified.
Mu Yu and the dragon vine: “Hahahaha!”
“Hmph! Cover the crest on your hand to avoid this journey spiralling into a fight fest for rankings. Everyone wants to defeat you for glory. We can’t be tarrying when we have more important business.”
“I’ll hide it with a nice leaf, then.”
Xiaoshuai returned to the top of Mu Yu’s stomach and lied down. “What was the Ultimate thingamajig they mentioned? How did they know Mu Yu was rank eighty-two?”
“Ultimate Immortals Tablet is a stone tablet Third Heaven Palace uses to verify the rankings located at the centre of the continent. It’s not too far from here. All ranked individuals names are carved on the tablet. As everyone’s spiritual tattoo is linked up to it, the rankings on the tablet will update in real time whenever someone takes a spot. It’s been over a century since it was last used. I surmise Third Heaven Palace activated it again,” Ku Mu informed.
“Does someone go there to record the tablet’s activity?”
“People with nothing better to do watch it to report back to cities. I should say every city has one of them. That’s how the changes in rankings are public knowledge within two hours. It also serves as valuable information for businessmen.”
The next morning, there were no spare seats in the inn. Eyes were plastered on Mu Yu and Ku Mu the entire time. Mu Yu had turned his image from humanity’s traitor to that of an idol.
“G-good morning?” Mu Yu’s shy response surprised him.
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