Narration System for the Journey of Martial Arts

Page 49

In her agitation, Shi Xiaocui suffered a qi deviation while practicing her internal energy, resulting in hemiplegia. The grandmother and granddaughter encountered Ding Busi on the Yangtze River and were about to be imprisoned.

【You ruined Dog Bro's romance, kid. Are you going to stand by and watch him die, or will you try to salvage the situation?】

Su Yuchen paced back and forth, pondering for a moment. Considering what was described in the original work, it seemed that only this little girl had goodwill towards Brother Gou, making her arguably the only good person in the original story.

Moreover, given Ding Busi's 'mentally unstable' and devilish nature, without Dog Brother's intervention, who knows what would have happened to this grandfather and grandson?

"Go and give the order to prepare a large ship to dock near Yangzhou. I need to go to Yangzhou," Su Yuchen said to Bei Haishi, who was standing to the side.

As he spoke, he glanced at Bei Haishi, whose face was filled with worry, and said with a half-smile, "You know my whereabouts. If the two envoys of reward and punishment come to my door, you can tell them to come find me."

"Ah, yes." Slightly embarrassed that his thoughts had been exposed, Bei Haishi agreed and then hurriedly left.

………………

Ancient Yangzhou was renowned for its prosperity, wealth, and flourishing culture, and was said to be "two-thirds of the moonlit night in the world is spent in Yangzhou, a city known for its roguish charm."

This place was not only an important economic and trade center, but also a gathering place for literati and poets, who left behind many verses describing its magnificent scenery.

Every spring, in this water town of Jiangnan, on the shores of the Slender West Lake, willows are green and peach blossoms are red, painted boats sway gently, and the reflections of pavilions and towers on both banks are mirrored in the rippling blue waves.

The streets and alleys were bustling with merchants, and the market was filled with a dazzling array of silks, brocades, jewelry and jade, showcasing a prosperous scene.

Scholars and literati would drink and sing under the cover of night, composing poems and songs, expressing the romantic sentiment of "On the night of the bright moon over the Twenty-Four Bridges, where is the jade maiden teaching the flute?"

As night fell, Yangzhou was ablaze with lights and filled with the sounds of music and revelry. The entire city seemed to be enveloped in a golden halo, a breathtakingly prosperous scene.

As the ancients praised: "A ten-mile-long street connects with bustling markets, and on the moonlit bridge, one can see immortals. One should die in Yangzhou, where the scenery of Chanzhi Mountain makes for a fine burial ground."

On the river outside Yangzhou, a four-story-high ship lay across the middle of the river, surrounded by gang members carrying knives.

Since the giant ship stopped on the Yangzhou River a day ago, no one has disembarked, and no other ships are allowed to linger nearby. If anyone tries to probe, they will be met with a fierce counterattack.

Even the largest shipping guild on the waterways intervened, but they couldn't get the giant ship to leave. Instead, they helped drive away the people lingering nearby.

As night fell, the Yangzhou wharf was already bustling with activity, filled with singing and dancing, and teeming with people. Even the giant ships that lay across the river were adorned with rows of large red lanterns, illuminating the surrounding area.

Suddenly, two sharp, piercing whistles came from upstream. The sound was as shrill and arrogant as a night owl, and the whistles continued for a long time under the cover of night.

Then a burst of loud laughter rang out, the voice carrying from afar: "Xiao Cui, I've been looking for you for ages! I've been waiting here for a whole day and night, why did it take you so long?"

After saying that, he let out another series of eerie 'caw' laughs, which sounded sinister and terrifying in the night.

Su Yuchen, who was meditating with his eyes closed in the cabin, was suddenly moved and silently floated down onto the deck.

Mi and Yun, who had been startled by the whistling sound, immediately bowed and greeted him upon his appearance.

After watching the river for a moment, a small, covered boat, fully loaded with straw, was seen drifting downstream and heading straight for the giant ship.

Behind the small boat with its awning, a fishing boat followed closely behind. On the dilapidated bow stood an old man dressed in a patchwork robe, with messy hair, who looked like a half-madman, shouting loudly.

Knowing that the person he was waiting for had arrived, Su Yuchen immediately leaped into the air and landed on the small awning boat as if riding on clouds. In mid-air, he only said, "You can wait here for Xie Yanke and then return to the main headquarters. You don't need to wait for me."

Mi and Yun only had time to shout "Chief!" before they saw the small awning boat had already turned past the giant ship and gone downstream.

Helpless, the two could only sigh and discuss going to the Iron Buddha Temple outside Yangzhou to find Xie Yanke.

Chapter 96 Boat sailing on the river

Su Yuchen landed lightly on the bow of the small awning boat.

All that could be heard was an old man on the fishing boat behind them yelling and cursing, telling Su Yuchen to get lost: "That little bastard, where did you come from? You little brat who was raised by a mother but not taught by one, get lost right now. Xiao Cui, Xiao Cui, wait for me, I'll kill that kid to avenge you."

In a few words, the old man used his inner energy to propel the fishing boat at breakneck speed, crashing into the small boat with its awning. The fisherman at the stern shouted, "The boat is capsizing! The boat is going to capsize! You madman, what have you done?"

As he spoke, the fisherman looked up and saw that the two boats were only thirty or forty feet apart. He immediately shouted, "Stop! Stop! We're going to collide! We're going to collide!"

………………

At this moment, Su Yuchen landed at the bow of the boat, ignoring Ding Busi who was shouting and yelling behind him. He looked at an old woman sitting at the cabin entrance.

In the pitch-black night, Su Yuchen was backlit by the moonlight, making it impossible to see his face.

The old woman was stiff and motionless. She had gone into a state of demonic possession, and most of her acupoints were sealed by her internal energy. If no one came to her rescue, even with her abilities, she would eventually end up half-crippled.

Su Yuchen sighed. The old woman glared at Su Yuchen's blurry face with dead fish eyes and cursed...

"Who are you, brat, so reckless? The one on the fishing boat behind is the ruthless old devil of the Ding family."

"Quickly throw your old woman and granddaughter into the river, and you jump in to escape for your life!"

Su Yuchen smiled slightly, but did not answer. He walked into the cabin and saw a bedding set up on a pile of straw. A beautiful young girl, with only her long black hair showing, was lying on her side in the bedding.

Su Yuchen walked over and placed his hand on the girl's wrist. The girl couldn't move and, overwhelmed with shame and indignation, cried out, "Ah!"

"Ah Xiu, Ah Xiu, what's wrong with you? You bastard, you son of a bitch, what did you do to Ah Xiu?" The old woman was unable to move and was facing outwards, unable to see the scene inside the cabin.

In his anxiety, he shouted and cursed incoherently.

"Grandma, it's...it's nothing. This young master seems...it seems like he's taking my pulse." Although Ah Xiu couldn't see, she understood a bit when she saw that Su Yuchen didn't make any other movements, but just held her pulse.

The old woman was Shi Xiaocui. She was stunned when she heard this, and then she cursed and said, "What's the use of taking a pulse now? If Ding Laosi catches up, none of us will survive. We'd better jump into the river as soon as possible."

"Heh..." Su Yuchen scoffed, asking expressionlessly, "Did you practice your grandmother's internal energy techniques?"

"Hmm." The woman, Ah Xiu, hummed softly, barely a whisper, clearly afraid the old woman would hear.

Su Yuchen muttered something unorthodox and looked at the young girl...

"You dare to practice such unorthodox and unscientific internal skills that require quick results? I bet even your grandmother herself didn't understand them before teaching them to you!"

"It doesn't matter if she becomes disabled, but it would be such a pity if a beautiful young girl like you also became paralyzed from the waist down!"

As he continued taking her pulse, Su Yuchen said to the old woman, "I advise you not to haphazardly open your meridians. Most of your acupoints are already sealed. Trying to open the Hand Shaoyang Gallbladder Meridian will only make your meridians more complicated and chaotic, beyond saving."

"Ah!" the girl Ah Xiu exclaimed, and involuntarily said, "Grandma...Grandma, you should listen to...this brother and not use your inner energy."

Seeing that he knew her condition perfectly and could even pinpoint the location of her internal energy, the old woman was horrified and couldn't help but curse...

"Shut up! We, grandfather and grandson, must not fall into the hands of that old devil and be humiliated."

"Once I've opened up the Shaoyang Gallbladder Meridian in my hand, I'll drag you into the river with me, so that old devil won't get anything."

"This kid...this kid is asking for it. We're all in trouble, we can't help him!"

As they were talking, a loud "thud" was heard outside, and an anchor crashed onto the deck, creating a large hole. With a clattering sound, Ding Busi came running over on his chains: "Xiao Cui, Xiao Cui, I'm here."

Su Yuchen gently placed her wrist back under the covers, tucked her in, and chuckled, "Lie down for a while, I'll go and deal with that idiot and then I'll be back."

The girl chuckled softly when she heard him call her a "fool," but quickly suppressed her laughter.

The old woman snorted coldly, as if mocking Su Yuchen for overestimating his abilities.

At this moment, the old man was still shouting, "Xiao Cui, Xiao Cui, why aren't you paying attention to me? Hey? What are you doing sitting there?"

Ding Busi was acting erratically, completely oblivious to the fishing boat that was about to crash into him.

The fisherman shouted loudly and stood aside, ready to jump into the river to save himself.

Ding Busi finally lost his patience and kicked the anchor on the deck. The anchor, under the force, flew up and smashed hard towards the fishing boat behind.

With a loud thud, the anchor pierced through the cabin and smashed onto the deck of the fishing boat, creating a leaky hole. The fishing boat lost its traction and slowly drifted away, leaving the fisherman cursing and shouting all the way.

………………

"Xiao Cui, why are you ignoring me? If you don't talk to me, I'm going inside!"

Ignoring the shouts and curses from the fishing boats behind him, Ding Busi rubbed his hands together and moved closer to the cabin.

Shi Xiaocui was furious. She felt her blood churning and her vision blurred. She cursed inwardly: It's all that brat's fault for wasting time. Now it's too late for me to kill myself.

Overwhelmed with grief and indignation...

Just then, Su Yuchen bent down and walked out of the cabin. Ding Busi stopped in his tracks: "Hey, it's you, you little bastard."

“Speaking so rudely deserves a slap,” Su Yuchen said.

Ding Busi raised an eyebrow, chuckled, and looked at the composed Su Yuchen. For a moment, he couldn't help but wonder, "Is this little bastard some kind of expert?"

"Who are you? What is your name? Please tell us your name."

Ding Busi looked at Su Yuchen, and the more he looked, the more uncertain he felt. He couldn't help but have a thought, and secretly decided that if Su Yuchen was someone he couldn't afford to offend, he would pretend to retreat first, and then quietly follow him.

He was already convinced that this kid was definitely there for the girl in the cabin, and might just be some lecherous scoundrel.

Ding Busi believes you are a lecherous scoundrel; you two are of the same ilk.

He wasn't sure about your background, so he decided to let you have your way first. He planned to find out about you after he took Shi Xiaocui away, so he could use this opportunity to do Shi Xiaocui a favor.

Su Yuchen's eyes turned cold, and an aura instantly enveloped the small boat. Ding Busi felt a chill run down his spine from Su Yuchen's cold gaze, as if he were about to shiver.

"I was going to spare you, but now there's no need."

Su Yuchen was too lazy to argue with him anymore, so he casually slapped Ding Busi across the face.

Seeing that Su Yuchen's palm strike was light and effortless, Ding Busi was filled with shame and anger: "Good lad, so you're just a pretty face with no substance."

As he spoke, Ding Busi swayed his feet, covered three feet, and attacked Su Yuchen's palm with his right hand.

"This palm strike will surely break your arm. Once I subdue you, I'll deal with you properly," Ding Busi thought to himself.

With a "bang," their palms clashed, and Ding Busi felt a sweet taste in his throat. He felt an immense force surging through his arms, like an endless wave.

With a scream, Ding Busi let out a miserable cry as his entire right arm cracked and popped, revealing that the bones inside had broken inch by inch.

He lightly touched the ground with his feet and quickly darted backward; Su Yuchen would not let him have his way. With a flick of his right hand, he pulled and yanked Ding Busi's soft, boneless right arm, and the powerful force instantly dragged him forward.

With that pull and tug, Ding Busi's backward force clashed with Su Yuchen's forward force, and he could no longer hold back the mouthful of blood, spitting it out to the sky.

Chapter 97 Ding Busi dies, Shi Xiaocui faints in terror

Faced with the spray of blood, Su Yuchen frowned, took a step back, and casually flicked his sleeve, his true energy surging. With the rise and fall of his sleeve, he actually blocked the oncoming blood spray from his face.

With a flick of his sleeve, the blood foam, like swallows returning to their nests, shrank into a small blood ball and fell into the river. Swirled away by the water, it quickly dissolved and disappeared.

Only at this moment did Ding Busi fall face-first onto the deck with a thud.

His head slammed hard against the deck with a thud, then bounced backward. Shi Xiaocui, sitting at the cabin door, looked at his face, which was covered in blood like a soy sauce shop had been ransacked, and couldn't help but twitch at the corner of her mouth.

"Who is this young man? Is he good or bad? Perhaps he has just escaped one danger only to fall into another."

Shi Xiaocui looked at Su Yuchen's back as he stood with his hands behind his back on the deck and couldn't help but think to herself.

Unfortunately, at this point, she was at the mercy of others, like a fish on a chopping board, and had no way to vent her thoughts. Shi Xiaocui grew angrier the more she thought about it, and she was even more furious with Bai Zizai, who was far away in Lingxiao City in the Great Snow Mountain.

Her meridians were already blocked, and her blood and qi were not flowing smoothly. With such emotional turmoil, the scattered true qi in her body went berserk and rampaged through her body. With a "whoosh," Shi Xiaocui spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Grandma? Grandma, what's wrong? Big brother, look at my grandma, is my grandma..." The little girl in the cabin heard the commotion and hurriedly asked.

Su Yuchen glanced back at Shi Xiaocui, whose eyes had rolled back, and said coldly, "It's nothing, she's just experiencing a surge of qi and blood."

Just as he turned around, Ding Busi, who was lying on the deck, slapped the deck with his left hand, his body sprang into the air, and with a push of his feet, like a cannonball, he slapped Su Yuchen's forehead with his left palm. The palm force was black, and it was obviously containing a deadly poison.

"You brat, go to hell."

A gust of wind swept through the air, carrying a sweet fragrance. Su Yuchen remained motionless, as if he were in a daze.

Ding Busi grinned maliciously, unable to suppress a surge of joy in his heart: This fool is incredibly strong, but his kung fu is only average, and his reaction in the face of an enemy is even worse. Could it be that I was careless just now?

He thought that if he were to lose an arm for no reason, wouldn't he be ridiculed to death by the heroes of the martial arts world?

However, after glancing at Shi Xiaocui, he couldn't bring himself to kill her.

In that instant, Shi Xiaocui, having calmed down, saw Su Yuchen standing motionless and assumed he was stunned by fear. She couldn't help but scold him, "You good-for-nothing brat, what are you doing meddling in? You're going to kill us, grandmother and grandson!"

As they were talking, Ding Busi slapped him on the forehead. With a "ding," Su Yuchen seemed unaffected, but Ding Busi felt as if he had struck a red-hot iron.

With a loud "Ouch...", Ding Busi jumped three feet high, and when he landed, he grimaced and cried out in pain. It was because he had hit Su Yuchen's left hand, which was swollen like a dough ball, red and big.

"You..." Shi Xiaocui looked at this scene and couldn't help but think to herself: Is this person's head made of iron? Even if it were a stone, it would be crushed into tofu blocks after being hit by Ding Busi's palm.

………………

Facing the expressionless Su Yuchen, Ding Busi slumped his right arm, his left hand protectively covering his chest, and slowly backed away, looking at Su Yuchen with suspicion and uncertainty, asking, "Who are you?"

Shi Xiaocui watched Ding Busi retreat, feeling a mix of surprise and doubt. She wondered if Ding Busi was up to something, or if the boy's internal strength was truly unfathomable.

Upon hearing Ding Busi's question, Su Yuchen looked up at the sky. It was already getting light, and he had lost interest in drifting downstream for who knows how far.

"I'll unleash my final strike. Dodge it and you live; don't, and you die."

After saying that, Su Yuchen didn't give him a chance at all. He raised his hand and clapped his hands. As he waved his hand, a palm print the size of a palm appeared in mid-air and went towards Ding Busi.

As soon as the palm print appeared, Ding Busi let out a terrified scream, like a frightened jackal, and kicked his feet to retreat rapidly.