Chapter 48 – Controlling the Power of Fire, the Divine Clan
“Oh…” Everyone, including Du Shi Qing, sighed. They seemed to understand everything and looked at Chu Yang with sympathetic eyes.
This using the sword (TLN: force) to win in love was just all too common. What was worse was it happened between martial brothers. There were really no words for that.
In addition to that, Chu Yang showed a miserable face of a person who was in a lot of pain. He held his head with his hands and curled himself up. His ten fingers grabbed his hair and even managed to pull out some… With just a glance, one could tell that he was in indescribable pain…
“Well…” Du Shi Qing sighed and said with great emphasis, “This story, no one is allowed to bring it up again.”
The eight guards concurred.
Even the carriage driver softened his gaze on Chu Yang after this… No wonder this youth appeared to be hopeless and even tried to cover up his martial arts training the other day.
“Thank you.” Chu Yang took a deep bow and said with a hoarse and painful tone, “I only need to fulfill my late father’s dying wish to repay senior Du’s great kindness, then I will immediately disappear from this world… haha, from then on, I will live in solitary in the wilderness.”
“A man of honor, there’s no worry about finding a wife.” Du Shi Qing patted his shoulder and consoled him, “You shouldn’t think too much of it.”
Chu Yang nodded with great burden. He then sighed and stopped talking… As if there was an affliction in his heart that was difficult to solve.
After this, everyone’s attitude toward Chu Yang was much kinder. They seemed to even become more intimate. Loving, grateful, filial, humble… Such personality was rare in a youth…
Chu Yang’s performance had won over these people completely. Even he did not know that a few acts could have instantly gained him that much advantage.
The leader of the guards even sighed and patted Chu Yang on the shoulder, “Junior martial brother, you should not be like this anymore. You need to let loose a little. You’re a man… you need to widen your horizon… You only need money; there are plenty of pretty girls in the brothels.”
Chu Yang ‘sadly’ nodded. He looked up and let out a ‘forced’ smile that was even worse to look at than his crying face…
Even though the others did not say anything, their gaze on Chu Yang had softened much. A victim of injustice… no matter in what time period, always got people’s sympathy.
The carriage driver did not bother to hang out with everyone else and just sat with the horses. Then with a deep sigh, he nonchalantly go up on his feet and tapped his tobacco pipe knocking the ashes to the ground. The eyes that could see through everything so clearly seemed to be lost in thought.
Meanwhile Chu Yang was sighing on the outside, he knew that he has passed this Du Shi Qing hurdle.
Now the only thing left to worry about was how to proceed once he arrived at Iron Cloud Nation.
A bunch of old foxes already well-seasoned with politics at Iron Cloud Nation would not be as easy to fool as Du Shi Qing.
Du Shi Qing lived his whole life as a miracle doctor. It was said any type of illness would have to retreat under his healing hands. However, he was still just a doctor with extraordinary medical skill. People might have respect for him for that… as for social interactions, he was probably not that great.
And Chu Yang also knew that a few years from now, Du Shi Qing’s reputation would be ruined because of this trip to Iron Cloud Nation. At that time, for some unknown reasons, the illness of Iron Cloud Nation’s king was discovered to be caused by Du Shi Qing’s poisoning a few years back.
This caused an uproar over the entire Lower Three Heavens.
Because of this discovery Du Shi Qing was criticized by heroes from all over. After admitting it was done by him, he felt ashamed and committed suicide! A whole life of healing and helping others turned to dust just like that.
Perhaps it was a one-time mistake, or perhaps there was some hidden reasons… but what’s done is done.
Chu Yang did not have any special feelings for Du Shi Qing so he did not have any regrets in deceiving and using him. He did not feel any guilt either… But in the past few days Chu Yang did come to realize that this doctor was especially talented and was truly not a bad person.
Perhaps when the two countries come into conflicts, each person will have their own master.
After all, he was a citizen of Great Zhao. In the end, his skills was only used as a sacrifice, a tool for Diwu Qing Rou to appease the people after he conquered Iron Cloud Nation…
As for the eight guards, after careful observations, Chu Yang was finally sure that none of them belonged to the Golden Horse Rider Department!
From the look of it, these eight were essentially Martial Warriors without any sort of deep cultivation. Additionally, their cultivation was really not all that high. All of them were probably only grade five or six Martial Warriors.
Such guards were more than enough if they were to encounter small time robbers, but they would not do if they were to encounter martial masters. It seemed that they were only for show. The only real master was the carriage driver.
Maybe Du Shi Qing was also a martial expert… but, in both the previous life and this, Chu Yang had never heard anyone talk of this divine doctor’s martial skills.
“Chu Yang, how old are you?” While Chu Yang was quietly contemplating, the mysterious carriage driver still holding the tobacco pipe came over next to him and asked.
“Sixteen.” Chu Yang was currently afraid to talk about his life because that suffering was all an act. If he talked too much, something might be revealed. What would he do then?
“Ah, sixteen… It seems that you learned about love very early.” The old man revealed a vile smile, showing two rows of yellow teeth that glistened under the light of the fire. There was a sudden flash in his gaze that made Chu Yang immediately sensed that this man was not coming over for a friendly chat with him.
“Well, this kind of thing cannot really be clearly explained. Even for myself it still seems hazy right now.” Chu Yang sighed and said sadly, “In life, there are many things that always seem ordinary, but when they are lost, they become engraved in your heart… hahaha.” (TLN: Thanks to Trent for coming up with ordinary. Basically something that is really calm and tranquil that is ever present and something you take for granted).
“Well said.” After hearing these words the old man became quiet for a long time. Then with a faint smile, he said, “Always seeming really ordinary is how they get engraved in your heart. It’s not early anymore… you should go to sleep.”
After the man finished these words, he sat down by the fire and started to poke at the flame without saying another word. The fire danced and shined on his dull eyes, and, every now and then, those eyes shined hypnotically.
Chu Yang was a little surprised. This was supposed to be the old man’s final test for him. Chu Yang was sure of it… but he only said one sentence like that. Why did the old man just let it go?
After careful contemplation, Chu Yang sighed. The phrase “always staying really quiet is how they get engraved in your heart” was not something he said casually.
In his previous life, he and Mo Qing Wu went faced many things that would scare the heavens and shock the earth, but it was not until after Mo Qing Wu died that the faint memories started to surround him. What still stayed with him were the warm and ordinary things, the quiet memories…
None of those… extraordinary things!
People, who doesn’t have a youth?
“People, who doesn’t have a youth…” Chu Yang was just thinking of this when he suddenly heard the voice of the old man echoed his thought. He could not believe that they were thinking about the same thing… Surprise, he looked over to find the old man looking at him. Their gazes showed a little empathy for each other.
“Manager Gao, you should stop dreaming about your youth. You have already reached your winter a long time ago (TLN: old).” The leader of the guards took a wine skin as he laughed loudly. Then he raised and poured wine into his mouth.
The seven other guards suddenly burst into laughter.
Manager Gao man snorted. Suddenly, the tobacco pipe flared up and a tiny spark flew out. It went straight for the wineskin that was just left the guard’s mouth.
There was still more than half of the wineskin left, but that little faint spark fell in to it and a half meter tall flame burst up. The leader of the guard was caught by surprise and lost more than half of his facial hair. A burnt smell momentarily filled the surroundings.
The guard could not control himself and roared, “Manager Gao, you’re serious?”
Manager Gao snorted, and slowly walked away with his tobacco pipe.
The leader of the guard spat on the ground and angrily watched the manager but did not dare say anything else.
Chu Yang’s gaze suddenly shrunk. He watched the outline of the manager Gao’s stooped back as walked away. A sense of fear rose up inside him.
His move seemed simple at first glance, but Chu Yang knew that it was extremely difficult. The wine skin must have been 3-4 jins (TL: jin = a pound~ish). Even if it were thrown at a torch, the torch would have been extinguished, let alone a little weak spark. (TLN: Today, I learned that wine is not flammable. It is almost like water.)
This move required gaze power, precise timing, and power to support it all… But these were not what Chu Yang was most concerned with. What he was most concerned about was: there was clearly fire control power behind it! Without the power to control fire then it simply cannot be done! However, the power to control fire… This belonged to the divine clan!
Could he be from that divine clan?