Abruptly, the parlour fell silent. Only the sounds of instruments continued to ring out.

  Perhaps a lot of people still did not know who “the king” was, but they did know who the old man was. He was a renowned figure of the martial arts community. Originally, they thought he had come down to teach this madman a lesson, so why did he pay respects to him instead?

  “You can forgo the formalities. You sure stick to your word!”


  Li Qingshan patted the old man’s shoulder in appreciation.

  “I have always been a man of my word!”


  The old man glanced at the large hand on his shoulder as the corner of his lips twitched. He did not want to stick to his word, but he was afraid that Li Qingshan would stick to his word a little too much and refuse to spare him.

  The parlour was filled with disciples and descendants of sects and clans. If he had not come down to mediate the situation, who knew how many people would die if they continued with their nonsense and actually angered Li Qingshan.

  “These kids are all short-sighted and careless when they talk. Please forgive them, my king.”


  “It’s a mere trifle, nothing worth mentioning. Oh right, I still don’t know your name.”


  “I am Tie Xiong. Because I wield a pair of judge’s brushes, my friends of the jianghu have given me the nickname of the Iron-faced Judge.”


  Note: The “tie” in Tie Xiong means iron or metal. Judges brushes are weapons that come in pairs:

  Tie Xong did not tell him the full story. Another reason he was known as the Iron-faced Judge was because he was upright and extremely staunch against evil, but he could no longer bring himself to mention that now.

  “So it’s old brother Tie. Even judges like to drink with women?” Li Qingshan joked with a smile.

  “That’s a funny joke, my king. I was just in a bad mood, so I had a few cups.”


  Normally, Tie Xiong would never come to a place like this, but he had been in a horrible mood today, so he came to have some fun and check out Hu Xian’er who was rumoured to be like a goddess. He never expected to run into Li Qingshan again after a single day. He was simply down on his luck.

  “Since you're known to be a judge, you should know how to discriminate between good and evil. If you just kill small, backgroundless crooks and turn a blind eye to a large crook like the Ma family, wouldn’t that make you unworthy of your name? Heh, if you’re still unwilling to accept this, then so what if I spare you another three times? Let’s have a hearty drink first tonight. I’ll deal with you tomorrow!”


  Li Qingshan pulled Tie Xiong upstairs. There were still a few ordinary folk downstairs, but everyone upstairs belonged to the martial arts community, mainly young people but with a fair number of middle-aged people too, except none of them had reached the innate realm. All of the martial arts practitioners that amounted to something in the city were all attending the martial arts gathering.

  Right now, everyone upstairs gazed at them in a dumbfounded manner. Some of them already gained an inkling about Li Qingshan’s identity, so they dared not move at all. The people that had yelled at him earlier had all paled in fright by now.

  Tie Xiong had the best seat, which allowed him to see the platform right below. He dismissed the singers and dancers, inviting Li Qingshan into the seat before asking, “May I ask how brother Xue of the Snow Mountain sect is doing?”


  “He’s now master Xue of the Snow Mountain hall.” Li Qingshan tossed the leader of the Five Poisons cult by his feet. He did not let out a peep of sound.

  “Sigh, that’s good to hear. Congratulations on gaining another powerful ally, my king.”


  Tie Xiong felt slightly better inside. Whether it was martial arts, renown, or authority, Xue Hanfeng surpassed him drastically in all aspects, yet he was no different now, also having surrendered to the World’s society.

  He asked, “May I ask if the king has come today for the martial arts gathering?”


  “The martial arts gathering?”


  “Isn’t that the reason why you came here?”


  “It’s not. What’s the martial arts gathering for? Are they competing with their martial arts?”


  Tie Xiong basically wanted to slap himself across his face right now. He never expected Li Qingshan to even be ignorant about such a great event. If he told him what it was, would that not make him a traitorous bastard who sold out friends and stabbed them in the back?

  “If you don’t want to tell me, that’s fine. There’s bound to be someone who knows here!”


  Li Qingshan glanced around, and the young heroes and young masters all shivered.

  “Sigh, I’ll tell you. Alliance leader Zhang has gathered all the heroes across the world to discuss matters within the inner city.”


  “Alliance leader? Didn’t he step down already?”


  Li Qingshan flicked the jade tablet of the alliance leader that hung from the hilt of the blade on his back.

  “About that… alliance leader Zhang wanted to step down, but everyone objected.”


  “I see. You don’t need to say anything more. What a shameless bunch. What else can they be discussing? It’s obviously about how they can deal with me. I’ll pay them a visit when I have the time.”


  Li Qingshan rubbed his chin and smiled in an evil manner.

  “My king, if you remain here, it might lead to some trouble. Why don’t we go elsewhere, just in case it destroys the drinking mood.” Tie Xiong tried desperately to save the situation.

  Li Qingshan smiled. “Trouble? Even if they possess my courage, they won’t be bold enough to come. They should be absolutely grateful that I’m not making any trouble for them.”


  Tie Xiong did agree with that inside. “Yes, yes, yes. Let’s drink.” He filled Li Qingshan’s cup to the brim, hoping that he would have a good time and forget about this matter.

  Li Qingshan drank several bowls of alcohol all at once before eating a few pieces of beef, alleviating his hunger. Then he asked, “Where’s Hu Xian’er? Why isn’t she out yet?”


  Compared to some martial arts gathering, this was the important stuff.

  ……


  Behind the Myriad Flower parlour was a series of buildings. At the top of a small, exquisite building.

  Hu Xian’er was currently grooming herself in front of a mirror. Sure enough, her face was extremely gorgeous. She had a pointy chin and a pair of large eyes, filled with craftiness and intelligence. A white gown covered her delicate body, which could send someone into a reverie of fantasies.

  “Big sister, you’re becoming more and more beautiful, but if you continue at such a slow pace, the young heroes and young masters outside will probably run out of patience,” the young maidservant in green behind her said. She was a little skinny and scrawny, but she was definitely a beauty in the making. She bore some resemblance to Hu Xian’er.

  “Let them wait. It’s the last night anyway. If they can properly enjoy themselves before their deaths, at least they can’t say I’ve betrayed their love for me.”


  “There are quite a few lecherous men among them, but the ones like young master Lu and young hero Wang are serious about you, big sister. Sigh, I feel reluctant about this just from the thought of it.”


  “Hmph, serious? They’re merely lusting after my beauty. If I were to show them my true form, would they still be serious? Don’t forget about how mother died!”


  Hu Xian’er gazed into the mirror. The maidservant in green immediately lowered her head and fell silent, fiddling around with the hem of her clothes.

  Hu Xian’er looked away. “If they want to get a piece of me, they can go and butcher that Li Qingshan in the northern region first!”


  “But is it really a good idea to provoke that Li Qingshan? I heard his martial arts is unfathomable, and no one in the world can withstand a single swing of his blade.”


  “I’m saying this exactly because of his exceptional martial arts. I don’t care who ends up dying to him. It’ll only add to my reputation!”


  “But what if he comes for you? What do we do then?”


  “How are you so cowardly? This is Xuanwu city. Speaking of which, he’s just a stinky man. Am I supposed to be afraid that he won’t submit to my beauty. By then, I can kill whoever I want to kill. I can avenge mother too. Speaking of which, what’s that poisonous old thing doing? Why isn’t he here yet?”


  “I’ll go out and take a look.” The maidservant in green immediately made her way out.

  Hu Xian’er let out a sigh. When their mother died, she had been far too young after all. She did not understand the depth of this grievance, but she was unable to forget about it, such that she would even go as far as to work with the dangerous leader of the Five Poisons cult.

  A while later, the maidservant rushed back, gasping for air. She said frantically, “Bad news, big sister! Li Qingshan has come, and he’s demanding to see you!”


  “What!” Hu Xian’er was alarmed and leapt to her feet. Why tonight of all nights?

  “Let’s flee! If we wait any longer, it’ll be too late!”


  The maidservant in green gathered the jewellery and valuables in a hurry. When she bent over, a red fox tail poked out.

  “What’re you panicking for? Hide your tail. Once I finish my makeup, I’ll go out and check him out!”


  Hu Xian’er sat back down and continued to apply her cosmetics in front of the mirror.

  “Big sister, your tail is also…”


  “Shut up!”