Raising Orphans, Not Assassins

“The Tower Master won’t see me.” Qin Yi sat on a long bench, speaking in a calm tone.

Huang San frowned deeply, muttering, “Why?”

“Why won’t the Tower Master see you?”

At this moment, Huang San couldn’t figure out what the Tower Master was thinking.

Nearby, Chen Er, who was shelling peanuts and eating them leisurely, said, “Don’t overthink it. The Tower Master must have his own plans. Since he called all the assassins back, he’ll probably inform us of the arrangements tomorrow or the day after. What’s the point of speculating? Might as well eat some peanuts. Here, Zhou Ba, try some.”

Chen Er handed a handful of peanuts to Zhou Ba, who was sitting beside him.

Zhou Ba, looking sulky, thought about it and decided Chen Er made sense.

He took the peanuts, started shelling them, and sighed, “We’re like eunuchs worrying more than the emperor. We’ll probably find out tomorrow or the day after.”

Hearing Zhou Ba agree, Chen Er grinned and clapped Zhou Ba heavily on the shoulder. “Finally, you’re on my side for once.”

“Cough, cough, cough…”

Zhou Ba’s face turned red as he choked, spitting out a peanut that spun in the air before falling to the ground.

Furious, he shouted, “Are you an idiot?! I’m eating peanuts here!”

Chen Er’s brows furrowed. “I may be wrong, but weren’t you at fault too? Why shout so loud?”

Zhou Ba retorted, “You—”

The two soon scuffled and ended up wrestling outside the house.

Qin Yi turned to the still-frowning Huang San and said calmly, “When I came out, Uncle Ya wrote a single character on my hand.”

Huang San’s eyes flashed with sharpness. “What character?”

“Leave.”

---

Chen Ye sat beside Tie Ying, glancing at the neatly seated Wan Jin Hall members.

They all looked at Chen Ye with admiration and respect.

To withstand a strike from the Tie Ying Hall Master without stepping back was an impressive feat for someone at the third rank!

Moreover, unlike them, Chen Ye didn’t have to sit upright in a chair.

This made the gang members, who had been sitting for over an hour, envious beyond measure.

Clad in yellow, with thick eyebrows and large eyes, Tie Ying reclined on his bed, looking at Chen Ye with a friendly tone. “Brother Hua, are you at the early or late stage of the third rank?”

“Early stage,” Chen Ye replied calmly.

Tie Ying nodded thoughtfully. “I thought as much. Iron-body training takes a long time. Specializing in it makes you impervious to blades and resistant to inner force, but it slows progress in other areas.”

Pointing at Chen Ye’s red mask with white markings, Tie Ying asked curiously, “Brother Hua, we’re all on the same side. Why wear a mask?”

“Are you trying to imitate that Gentleman Donghua?”

Tie Ying teased and reached out his large, calloused hand to remove Chen Ye’s mask.

Chen Ye stepped back slightly and said indifferently, “My face is ugly, unworthy of sight.”

Hearing this, Tie Ying stopped and nodded in understanding. “Ah, I see. I thought you were mimicking that Gentleman Donghua  who appeared when my brother-in-law took in disciples.”

“Young folks these days love wearing masks and imitating Donghua.”

Chen Ye’s interest piqued. “Your brother-in-law?”

“Oh, that’s Qing Xuzi, Zhang Zhiling.” Tie Ying feigned nonchalance, but his smug expression betrayed him.

Clearly, he had been waiting for Chen Ye to ask.

Tie Que, Tie Ying…

“So, Hall Master Tie is from the Tie Clan of Guandong. I’ve long heard of your reputation.”

Chen Ye pieced together the connections and politely cupped his hands.

“Ah, it’s nothing,” Tie Ying replied modestly, though his grin grew impossibly wide.

It was clear he took great pride in being part of the Tie Clan.

Suddenly, Chen Ye remembered Qing Xuzi.

On the fourth of July, he had only three days left to live.

Judging by the current date, Qing Xuzi should already be dead.

“Hall Master Tie, I haven’t kept up with the martial world for a while. If I recall, on July 4th, Qing Xuzi took in two disciples, right?”

Chen Ye seized the opportunity to probe further into the Qing Xuzi incident.

Tie Ying shook his head. “Brother Hua, you’re mistaken.”

“My brother-in-law only took one disciple, Xie Fei, a well-known swordsman from Guandong. On July 7th, before passing away, my brother-in-law transferred all his inner force to Xie Fei, raising him from a powerless man to the first rank.”

“Now, Xie Fei is a guest elder of Tieque Villa.”

Chen Ye blinked, then casually asked, “What about Donghua?”

At the mention of Donghua, Chen Ye noticed the ordinary gang members in the courtyard wore complicated expressions—jealousy, admiration, reverence, and awe.

This made Chen Ye even more curious about how his name had spread in the martial world after he left.

Tie Ying reclined on his bed, speaking with a tinge of awe, “That Gentleman Donghua … truly a remarkable figure!”

“On July 4th, two disciples were selected, but on the 5th, my brother-in-law only officially accepted Xie Fei.”

“After that…”

At this point, Tie Ying’s expression turned odd.

“My brother-in-law made a statement in the martial world.”

“What did he say?” Chen Ye asked instinctively.

“My brother-in-law said that he and Gentleman Donghua could only be considered equals and not master and disciple.”

The ordinary gang members in the courtyard collectively took a deep breath, their faces full of envy.

To be personally acknowledged by Qing Xuzi, the martial legend of two decades past, as an equal was an unparalleled honor!

To think that twenty years ago, Qing Xuzi was the number one person under the Grandmasters!

Upon hearing this, Chen Ye’s expression became strange.

If it weren’t for the mask, Tie Ying would have certainly noticed something odd about him.

Chen Ye knew that Zhang Zhiling was trying to flatter him.

With his name in the Jianghu for twenty years, he was trying to use Chen Ye as a stepping stone to show his goodwill.

A slight smile tugged at the corner of Chen Ye's mouth.

Now, Chen Ye understood why the gang members in the yard had that expression on their faces.

Tie Ying continued, “Since that day, young martial artists in the world have started wearing masks.”

Chen Ye blinked.

Got it. He had become a trendsetter.

“Though it’s not necessarily a good thing, the old master of Baihua Valley has heard that Donghua’s qinggong is unrivaled, and he’s decided to come out of retirement to meet Donghua.”

Tie Ying’s tone shifted to one of regret.

Chen Ye furrowed his brows slightly and casually asked, “The old master of Baihua Valley? What level of strength does he have?”

“A Grandmaster. One of the five Grandmasters of this generation, and the only one who hasn’t retired,” Tie Ying said, his expression turning curious. “Brother Hua, how could you not know this?”

Grandmaster?

A Grandmaster had their eye on him?

Chen Ye’s expression shifted subtly under the mask. He suppressed his emotions and replied calmly, “I am solely focused on martial training and know little of these matters of the Jianghu.”

Tie Ying burst into laughter upon hearing this, reaching out to pat Chen Ye on the shoulder.

Bang!

Clang!

The sound of metal clashing echoed as their contact produced a strong impact.

“Hahaha! I didn’t expect Brother Hua to be such a diligent person. If only your qinggong was better, I might have mistaken you for Donghua!”

Tie Ying laughed. “Brother Hua, you don’t know, that Gentleman Donghua came out of nowhere and knows very little about martial world traditions.”

“Hall Master Xu of the Yuhu Hall had the fortune of meeting him once and said that Donghua didn’t even know of the Wan Jin Hall. Truly a strange person.”

Tie Ying chuckled to himself, feeling quite proud.

Chen Ye’s eyelids twitched. He almost thought he had been exposed.

If Tie Ying really had figured it out…

There was nothing Chen Ye could do.

System, can you give me something useful, like an offensive skill or something?

Chen Ye sighed inwardly.

But...

Yu Hu, Hall Master Xu?

Could it be the Smiling cat, Xu Xiaolin?

He’s actually the Hall Master of the Yuhu Hall?

Chen Ye almost laughed out loud.

This is getting interesting.

Chen Ye didn’t notice the subtle change in Tie Ying’s tone when he mentioned the old master of Baihua Valley.

At this moment, there was a knock at the door.

“Hall Master Tie, dinner is ready.”

A voice called from outside the door.

Tie Ying sat up from the bed and waved his hand. “Alright, everyone stretch a bit. Get ready to eat. After the meal, we’ll adjust and then team up with the Tang Sect for the operation tonight.”

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I’ve been wanting to deal with those assassins from the Fengyu Tower for a long time!”

"Kill them all, leave not a single one alive, ahahaha!"

Hearing these words, Chen Ye's pupils suddenly contracted, his eyes narrowing.

As expected...

It's connected to Wan Jin Hall and the Tang Sect.