There’s No Such Thing as Love in a Swordsman’s Heart

Chapter 8 – Love Rival Alliance 1.0

Let him fight in my place!

Qi Du was thunderstruck. 

Wait, no, stand in for who?

No, Xiao Shishu!!! There are so many experts in the sword trials, I’ll place last!

Zhang Wenxue was a little surprised, but in swordsmanship, he believed Jiang Su’s eye. Since Jiang Su had said so, he naturally had to seriously consider it, and he nodded and said, “I will think about this matter.”

Qi Du panicked.

It was true that he wanted to go to the Wulin Assembly, but that was just an excuse to follow Xiao Shishu. He didn’t want to participate in the Sword Trials at all ah!

What were the Sword Trials? That was the place where all sects in the Jianghu sent their most outstanding disciples to compete for the first place in the Jianghu to publicize their own kung fu. The arena would be full of immortal gods fighting, while he was a little disciple who didn’t even rank in his sect. How could he be qualified to participate in the Sword Trials?

Qi Du could not express his fear.

Not even talking about whether or not he could rank, he felt that if he stood in for Xiao Shishu this year, he was afraid that he would cause the entire sect to lose face. 

Seeing that Jiang Su wanted to persuade Zhang Wenxue some more, Qi Du hurriedly opened his mouth before Jiang Su could speak and said to Zhang Wenxue, “Shifu! This disciple has a shallow foundation—”

Jiang Su: “Therefore, you need more training.”

Qi Du: “This disciple is still young.”

Jiang Su: “The waves behind the Yangtze River push the new waves ahead.”

Qi Du: “This disciple will cause the sect to lose face–”

Jiang Su: “It doesn’t matter. Losing or winning are all common occurrences, so losing for a year doesn’t matter.”

Qi Du: “QAQ”

Zhang Wenxue: “…”

Seeing with his own eyes that Qi Du was so worried that he was about to cry again, Zhang Wenxue interrupted the debate and coughed. “Shidi, every sect can send multiple people to participate in the Sword Trials. I can just ask the alliance leader for another spot. We don’t need to have Qi Du take your place.”

Jiang Su was not actually thinking about this matter right now. 

At the beginning, he glanced over the plot of the original book. Most of the contents were too disgusting, so he hadn’t read it closely, but he knew more or less about how the plot would develop. According to the original book, Sheng Hechen, the Wulin Alliance Leader, convened the Wulin Assembly early in order to convene his fellow Jianghu people to discuss how to open Lingxi Mountain’s “Invincible Heavens.”

“Invincible Heavens” had been made by Wen Qingting. It was said that he had used countless secret martial arts books as bait to lure the leader of the Demonic Sect Xie Wu to an appointment. Then, “Invincible Heavens” was closed, the seven keys to it were dispersed into the hands of people who Wen Qingting trusted, and he and Xie Wu were both trapped in “Invincible Heavens.” After the news was spread, the Demonic Sect wanted to rescue Xie Wu, and even managed to get two keys, but they never found the exact location of “Invincible Heavens.”

Now, nearly a hundred years had passed, but the Demonic Sect had never given up searching for the whereabouts of “Invincible Heavens.” The current leader of the Demonic Sect, Xie Zeli, was even more dedicated to this matter, and he had been searching for the whereabouts of “Invincible Heavens” everywhere all these years. If this matter was spread around, another bloody incident was sure to occur. 

If the Wulin Alliance wanted to open up “Invincible Heavens”, it naturally needed those two keys.

In the original book, the Wulin Alliance had discussed the situation and decided to send in an undercover agent to steal the keys. However, they hadn’t decided on who should be the agent; the master of the Demonic Sect, Xie Ze, was very suspicious. If the agent could not make up a reasonable excuse, he might not be able to win Xie Ze’s trust.

However, Jiang Su was different. Everyone in the Jianghu knew that Xie Zeli fiercely admired Jiang Su. If Jiang Su was willing to act as an undercover agent, it should be very easy for to get close to Xie Zeli after joining the Demonic Sect. Naturally, he then would have the opportunity to access the keys.

However, Xie Zeli was not a person who followed the righteous dao. His means were insidious, and even though he said he admired Jiang Su, he really just desired his beautiful body and thought that the world’s powerful people and beauties should be paired up. In the book, Jiang Su was forcibly dosed with aphrodisiacs soon after he became an undercover member of the Demonic Sect. From then on, he was unable to control himself, was completely disgraced, and fell into the abyss.

Jiang Su would certainly not let this happen again, nor would he give Xie Zeli such an opportunity.

Wen Qingting had taken the second volume of the Still Water Sword Technique into “Invincible Heavens.” Now the sect only had the first volume of the sword technique, which only recorded three skills. Only Jiang Su had practiced the Still Water Sword Technique to the third level.

In recent years, Jiang Su had gone into seclusion several times, but it was difficult for him to make a breakthrough. He thought that maybe he could improve his swordsmanship even more if he got the second volume of the sword manual. He would have to go undercover into the Demonic Sect, get the keys, and open up the “Invincible Heavens.” As for other things in the secret room, if the Wulin Alliance wanted them, then they could have them. 

This undercover operation would cost a lot of time, and in addition, there were five keys to collect, so he may have to leave the sect for several years. After he left, someone in the sect must have to take part in these strange Wulin activities for him.

Qi Du was fine; although the child’s martial arts were a little poor, success lies in serious effort. He copied the sword manual as soon as he told him to, so he could thoroughly cultivate him. 

He nodded and solemnly agreed with Zhang Wenxue, saying, “Alright, let him broaden his horizons this time, and let him fight instead of me next time.”

Qi Du: “…”

Zhang Wenxue: “…”

Jiang Su had already walked to the front carrying his sword. Mu Yichuan stood there with the Nameless Sword hanging at his waist, and he held the reins of a black horse in his hand and waited for Jiang Su in silence. In the course of one night, both of them seemed to have regarded each other as their best friend. Qi Du felt very jealous, but before he could react, Zhang Wenxue had already stepped forward, stood between them, and asked, “How is your wound, Sir Mu?”

Mu Yichuan covered the wound on his right shoulder and said, “Thank you for your concern, Sect Leader Zhang. Although it hasn’t healed completely yet, it is no longer serious.”

He was very moved.

The Still Water Sect was really filled with good people, always solicitous towards his health, completely not like the villains his father had described them as. 

However, even though Zhang Wenxue was smiling, his eyes didn’t carry a smile at all. He took Mu Yichuan’s hand and asked patiently, “Since you are injured, you should stay in the sect and have a good rest. During this rushed journey, what should we do if your wound opens up again?”

Mu Yichuan was stunned and instinctively looked back at Jiang Su. He hadn’t planned on going to the Wulin Assembly in the first place, but Jiang Su had to take him with him. He didn’t know how to answer. That was when Jiang Su frowned and said, “What ‘rushed journey,’ doesn’t it only take us half a day to reach the Wulin Assembly?”

Zhang Wenxue: “…It’s still hard to avoid accidents during half a day.”

Jiang Su: “He was even able to match swords with me yesterday. If he can even match swords with me, what problems could occur?”

Zhang Wenxue: “…”

Qi Du realized what was going on at this time. He had long known that Shifu liked Xiao Shihu, but judging from Shifu’s look now, he probably wanted to dissuade Mu Yichuan from going to the Wulin Assembly, so as to prevent him from further developing his relationship with Xiao Shishu.

Good job, Shifu! We definitely should nip these feelings in the bud! Otherwise, none of us will stand a chance!

Qi Du stepped forward and stood beside Zhang Wenxue.

In the past, he always thought that Shifu was his rival in love, but now it was different. Now there was a real love rival who had appeared! Today, he was going to go from being a love rival to a comrade in arms with Shifu, and together they would stop Mu Yichuan who had already blazed a path halfway forward. 

“Shifu is right!” Qi Du hurriedly agreed, “Since Sir Mu is injured, he should focus on recuperating. What if he accidentally causes his injury to turn into a lingering one!”

Mu Yichuan was even more moved.

All righteous path people were good people ah!

He had been injured countless times during training, and no one had cared about him so much besides Deputy Envoy He. On the other hand, everyone in the Still Water Sword Sect was worried about his injury. He was so moved!

Jiang Su frowned and thought that Qi Du seemed to have a point. As a swordsman, one’s body was very important, and he couldn’t let Mu Yichuan have a lingering wound. He hesitated and looked back at Mu Yichuan, who was deeply moved. He gripped Zhang Wenxue’s hand and said, “Don’t worry, I’m in good health. It’s fine!”

Zhang Wenxue: “…”

Qi Du: “…”

Qi Du felt as if he had been confronted by a formidable foe. 

This love rival! He really was something!

He must have seen through their plan, so he was fighting back, and even if he was beaten to death, he was going with them to the Wulin Assembly. 

No, he must break of his love rival’s plotting!

He cudgeled his brains and tried to find another excuse to stop Mu Yichuan

Zhang Wenxue looked the same as before, still smiling, and said gently, “Sir Mu, there’s no need for bravado. I asked Doctor Zhong just now, and he said that your injury should not be forced to endure bumps. Although it’s only a half day’s journey to the Wulin Assembly, you still have to ride a horse for half a day, and your body probably can’t take it.”

Qi Du kept agreeing, and he was about to stress that riding on a horse was bad for Mu Yichuan, but Jiang Su suddenly said something.

“You all are right.” Jiang Su nodded, “Then let’s prepare a carriage ba.”

Zhang Wenxue: “….”

Qi Du: “….Shishu, carriages are also bumpy!”

Mu Yichuan was as moved as before. “I’m really fine. It’s just a minor injury, and I’ve had them before. I’ll be fine on a horse, it’ll be alright.”

Jiang Su, however, consciously caught the key point there. He frowned and asked, “You’ve been so badly hurt before?”

Although it was dangerous to wander the Jianghu, it wasn’t like he was an assassin, so how could he have gotten so injured before?

Mu Yichuan froze and said, “My father…”

Jiang Su raised his hand and stopped Mu Yichuan from saying what he was going to say next.

He understood.

What kind of scum was Lin Fengnan? How could he let his own child do such dangerous things.

Zhang Wenxue on the other hand felt that he had grasped the key point

Lin Fengnan was the shifu of Sheng Hechen, the Wulin Alliance Leader. Many people in the Jianghu have heard about the old relationship between Lin Fengnan and the female sage of Meiyou Palace, and this was a scandal that neither Lin Fengnan or Shen Hechen would want publicized. Sheng Hechen obviously wouldn’t like Mu Yichuan appearing at the Wulin Assembly, and Jiang Su and Sheng Hechen also counted as old friends, so Jiang Su would have to consider Sheng Hechen’s face.

Zhang Wenxue coughed softly, pulled Jiang Su aside, and whispered, “Have you ever considered his identity?”

Jiang Su: “Identity?”

Zhang Wenxue said, “Alliance Leader Sheng will be unhappy.”

Jiang Su: “…”

Jiang Su felt that he understood.

No wonder Qi Du and Zhang Wenxue had tried every means to stop Mu Yichuan from going to the Wulin Assembly. In the end, it was just for the sake of saving Li Fengnan and Sheng Hechen some face. However, in the end, what did Mu Yichuan do wrong? Why wouldn’t they allow Mu Yichuan to appear at the Wulin Assembly?

It was easy for young heroes to become famous, and the Sword Trials was a good place for young people of the Jianghu to make their debut. Mu Yichuan had such high martial arts, but he was already 20 and had never participated in the Sword Trials before. This wouldn’t do, Jiang Su was too angry to just let this pass. He not only wanted to take Mu Yichuan to the Wulin Assembly, but also wanted to sign Mu Yichuan up to participate in the Sword Trails. Let Lin Fengnan and Sheng Hechen see then exactly how good and hard-working this kid is!

Zhang Wenxue was still trying to persuade him, saying, “I know you pity him, but for the sake of the Alliance Leader’s face—”

“What pity.” Jiang Su interrupted Zhang Wenxue. “I don’t pity him.”

Zhang Wenxue faintly felt something was wrong.

“I’m the one bring him in, and I don’t think Sheng-xiong will care about these things.” Jiang Su said, “Senior Lin should see clearly that his child is not his shame, but should be his pride.”

Zhang Wenxue: “…What are you going to do?”

“How’s this ba,” Jiang Su nodded. “this year, let Mu Yichuan fight in my place!”

—

Juurensha: Hahahaha, MYC is so moved!

Opal: Don’t be fooled MYC  your dad was right!