The Affairs of the Martial World - Vol 3: Chapter 3

A swordsman from the East China Sea (1) wearing a conical hat stood on a large ship with his arms crossed.

Since his small boat was capsized by the sea wind, it had been four or five days before he was rescued. If it hadn’t been for the fishing ship that found him, he would surely have perished at sea.

But this fishing ship brought him to the Mainland.

He begged the people on the ship to take him back to the East China Sea, but the shipowner scolded him for his nonsense, saying that this place was a hundred or even a thousand miles away from Fusang (2) and how could a single fishing ship cross this vast ocean?

This swordsman from the East China Sea was Liu Hehongtang.

He was originally a proud disciple of the Yiliu Sect in Fusang. If nothing unexpected happened, he would take over from his master and assume the heavy responsibility of leading the Sect.

But he fell in love with a woman he shouldn’t have loved, Xingzi. She was the youngest daughter of his master.

The two had grown up together, innocent and carefree. Over the years, their feelings for each other had naturally developed. Although they had never spoken of it, he knew that she only had him in her heart, and he only had her in his. However, his master, in order to collude with the Wunian Sect and establish a major faction to resist the pressures from other sects, had agreed to marry Xingzi to the eldest son of the Wunian Sect’s leader.

Although Liu Hehongtang was unwilling, he did not dare to defy his master. The eldest son of the Wunian Sect was naturally of much higher status than him.

But no one expected that Xingzi, to show that this was not her wish, would take her own life as a declaration. By the time everyone discovered Xingzi’s self-inflicted death, she had already passed away.

In a fit of anger, Liu Hehongtang directed his resentment toward the Wunian Sect.

One night, he infiltrated the territory of the Wunian Sect and assassinated the eldest son of the sect leader.

Having caused such a great disaster, Liu Hehongtang was naturally hunted down by the Wunian Sect members. Even his master blamed him for his daughter’s death, leading everyone in the Sect to see him as an enemy.

Therefore, although the homeland was vast, there was no place for Liu Hehongtang to stay, so he could only take a boat out to sea, fleeing his hometown.

His heart was filled with hatred, and he intended to find a deserted island to practice martial arts diligently. Once his skills were perfected, he planned to return and kill, one by one, all those who had obstructed his relationship with Xingzi.

Unfortunately, fate did not align with his wishes; the sea wind blew his ship off course. By the time he realized he was lost at sea, he had already reached a desperate situation.

On the small boat, lacking water and food, he survived only through immense willpower and the belief in avenging his grievances, but he was already on the brink of death. If he hadn’t been discovered by the fishing ship from the Mainland, he would surely have died silently at the sea.

If he really had died, then what meaning would there be in the deep affection shared with Xingzi in the past or the blood feud of that day? His hometown no longer had Xingzi, and the entire world was devoid of her. No matter what he did, Xingzi could never come back to life.

Having come this far, he finally abandoned the thought of going back.

After the fishing ship docked, the fishermen helped him ashore. Liu Hehongtang wanted to give them some reward, but he couldn’t find the few gold coins he had left in his pocket. He didn’t know if they had been lost at sea, so he could only thank them and leave.

With his exceptional martial skills, he quickly found a way to make a living in the Mainland.

He worked for wealthy families, did odd jobs at restaurants, and apprenticed with carpenters, not only supporting himself but also becoming more fluent in the local language.

Although he had always belonged to the working class, the prosperity of the Mainland quickly made him forget his past and gradually sparked the idea of making a name for himself here.

To achieve fame, all he relied on was his exceptional swordsmanship.

He was a swordsman, but he wielded a knife, a samurai sword. In his hometown, swordsmen all used knives. He has heard that only by defeating the leaders of various factions could his name be remembered and known by others.

Liu Hehongtang kept inquiring about various sword-fighting sects, but the people he knew had no idea where the truly powerful sects were. He could only continue to ask around. Thus, while Liu Hehongtang struggled to earn just enough silver to survive, he secretly paid attention to the information about the various sects around him.

When the noise of the day had passed and the night was quiet, he couldn’t help but think back to the sweet memories of spring days spent with Xingzi under the cherry blossom trees. Those memories feel so real; in the darkness, with his eyes closed, it seemed as if Xingzi was right in front of him, just an arm’s length away.

But when his eyes opened and the dawn arrived, all he saw were unfamiliar faces of the Central Plains.

After a few months, Liu Hehongtang realized that there were indeed cherry blossoms in the Central Plains, but the cherry trees were sparse, unlike his hometown, where they grew in clusters and forests. As the gentle breeze of late spring blew, countless cherry blossom petals fell like rain, reminding him of the endless memories he shared with Xingzi.

He wore a conical hat and held the hilt of a sword, burying these memories deep in his heart, then slowly opened his eyes. Before him stood Wu Xiaolin, the sect leader of the Five Tiger Breaking Gate Blade.

Wu Xiaolin said, “Your distinguished self has come to challenge me; I wonder if it’s to make friends through martial arts or to kick down the door?”

Two people stood in the training ground of the Five Tiger Breaking Gate Blade.

The Five Tiger Breaking Gate Blade was a family martial art of Wu Xiaolin. People often say that the poor excel in literature while the rich excel in martial arts, but the Wu family has neither officials nor wealthy merchants. Therefore, for several generations, they made a living by performing; leading a tough life.

Wu Xiaolin made it this far by renting this courtyard, gathering many disciples, and surprisingly earning quite a bit of silver. From then on, the Five Tiger Breaking Gate Blade became a school of its own, though no one knew its original intention was merely to make a living.

Liu Hehongtang shook his head and said, “We only determine victory or defeat, not life or death. Make your move!”

Wu Xiaolin took the initiative to strike first. Liu Hehongtang came as a guest, and usually, the host should have let the guest go first. However, Wu Xiaolin had no confidence in this duel, so he acted quickly to seize the advantage.

Both men wielded knives, but the Five Tiger Breaking Gate Blade was a thick-backed broadsword adorned with five copper rings on the back. As the broadsword swung, the copper rings jingled, creating a formidable presence that commanded attention.

In contrast, the knife in Liu Hehongtang’s hand was a refined samurai sword. The samurai sword evolved from the Tang sword, with a slender and straight blade that danced gracefully in Liu Hehongtang’s hands, appearing light and agile.

Liu Hehongtang blocked Wu Xiaolin’s fierce strike with his knife, then swiftly turned and moved to Wu Xiaolin’s left side, slashing down with his blade. Wu Xiaolin did not expect his footwork to be so strange and swift, unlike the martial arts of various sects in the Central Plains. For a moment, he could not counterattack Liu Hehongtang’s quick strikes and could only raise his knife to defend.

After Liu Hehongtang’s strike with the knife failed, he immediately turned his body and moved to Wu Xiaolin’s right side. The knife followed his movement, using the force of his turn to deliver another chopping attack, which Wu Xiaolin could only block again.

In this way, using this peculiar footwork that kept spinning around, Liu Hehongtang slashed left and right, forcing Wu Xiaolin to block back and forth, unable to find an opening to counterattack.

Finally, Wu Xiaolin was flustered as he tried to block, and a small gap appeared in the middle door. Liu Hehongtang seized this opportunity, swinging his knife through the opening. Wu Xiaolin felt a chill at his brow, and suddenly, his mind went blank, thinking he was about to die like this. Countless feelings of unwillingness surged within him, and memories of the past flashed before his eyes.

But in the blink of an eye, Liu Hehongtang’s knife suddenly withdrew, blood flowing down from the center of his brow, dripping along the sides of his nose. Liu Hehongtang showed mercy and did not kill him.

Wu Xiaolin was momentarily stunned, and having narrowly escaped death, he no longer had the desire to compete.

He watched as Liu Hehongtang put the knife back into its sheath, and in his ears, he heard Liu Hehongtang say, “We only determine victory or defeat, not life or death. I won.”

Wu Xiaolin nodded and watched him leave. His disciples looked at their injured master, filled with shock and anger, but none dared to step forward to stop him.

Next was the sect leader of the Plum Blossom Sword, Ji Fanxing, followed by Cai Yuanchao of the Cai Family Sword. Over a month down the line, Liu Hehongtang challenged seven sects, each led by their respective leaders, yet all were defeated under his blade.

Although these sects did not hold much prominence in the Central Plains, the reputation of the swordsman from the East China Sea gradually spread.

Since every defeated opponent bore an indelible scar on their forehead left by Liu Hehongtang, others were unwilling to challenge him unless they were completely certain of victory.

The humiliated sect disciples all thought of one person, Murong Hanshan. If he intervened, he could easily deal with this foreigner.

However, Murong Hanshan rarely drew his sword; would he be willing to help them eliminate this calamity?

Murong Hanshan initially did not want to intervene for their sake.

But if he didn’t get rid of this troublesome fellow, he wouldn’t be able to find any peace.

So Murong picked up his sword.

February 20th, Qingming Festival.

The spring rain fell continuously, and the distant mountains became hazy.

Liu Hehongtang sat in the carriage, which was moving along the muddy country path that wounded through the misty rain of Jiangnan.

On both sides of the road were mulberry groves. In this season, everything came back to life; the mulberry leaves were a fresh green, and the spring silkworms began to hatch.

Murong Hanshan stood in the middle of the path through the mulberry forest, not knowing how he came to think of these concerns of the silkworm farmers.

The carriage that Liu Hehongatang was riding in gradually approached.

The coachman let out a sigh, and the horse-drawn carriage gradually came to a stop. Just as he was about to scold, he suddenly caught sight of Murong Hanshan’s icy gaze, and the words he was about to say were swallowed back down.

Murong Hanshan said, “Liu Hehongtang, come out!”

However, no one came out of the carriage.

When the coachman arrived at the carriage and took a look inside, he immediately shouted in terror.

Murong Hanshan jumped over to take a look and saw that Liu Hehongtang, sitting in the carriage, was already dead.

Liu Hehongtang’s mouth corner was dripping with bright red blood, and he lay softly on the chair, no longer breathing.

Murong Hanshan stood at the scene, and his heart was ablaze with anger.

However, he soon discovered that Liu Hehongtang was also struck in the throat.

(1) East China Sea — also known as Japan

(2) Fusang — A mythical island of Chinese ancient literature, often interpreted as Japan.