The Reticent Blade

Chapter 55 - The Qihuang Society

"The Qihuang Society?"

Xue Qiming raised his eyebrows and asked, "What's that?"

The innkeeper set down the porridge and glanced suspiciously at Xue Qiming.

"Hey, are you a merchant from the Ruen Dynasty? You should know that we Northern Qiang people all know about the Qihuang Society."

Xue Qiming chuckled and ignored him, picking up his chopsticks to stir the contents of his bowl.

The innkeeper started ranting, "You people from the Ruen Dynasty call us Northern Qiang barbarians, but how are you any different? You are just weak scholars who can't even truss a chicken. Ha! You pampered Ruen Dynasty folks have no idea about the fierceness of our warriors raised on horseback!"

Xue Qiming interrupted his national pride with a dismissive gesture and said, "Get on with it, tell me about this Qihuang Society."

"Fine, since you want to know, I’ll tell you," the innkeeper said. He draped his rag over his shoulder and sat down opposite Xue Qiming.

Xue Qiming spread his hands, showing that he was all ears.

"The Qihuang Society is the most mysterious force under King Yelü Jie’s command. It represents the most powerful group in our Northern Qiang, with countless experts—"

"Ha," Xue Qiming laughed and said, "So mysterious that even a small innkeeper like you knows so much about it. It doesn’t seem that mysterious to me."

The innkeeper glared at him, "Are you going to listen or not!"

"Alright, alright." Xue Qiming waved his hand. "Go on."

Ahem—

The innkeeper cleared his throat and continued, "The Qihuang Society only follows the orders of King Yelü Jie. It can be said to be the sharpest sword in the King’s hand, invincible in every direction—"

"Hey, it’s just like the Eastern Depot and the Imperial Guardians—"

"Forget it, forget it!" The innkeeper got up and glared at Xue Qiming angrily. "You really don’t know how to listen! I'm leaving!"

"Hey, hey, there's no need for that," Xue Qiming hurriedly stopped him. "It's my bad, you can continue. I promise I won't interrupt you."

The innkeeper sat down angrily.

"Hmph! You’re ignorant. The Imperial Guardians of your Ruen Dynasty are mixed in quality, but the Qihuang Society has nothing but experts! There’s simply no comparison—"

"Oh? How strong are they?" Xue Qiming couldn’t help but interject.

The innkeeper wasn’t angry this time but proudly replied, "How strong? Stronger than you can imagine! Do you know why the Qihuang Society is called the Qihuang Society?"

"No, Why?"

"The name Qihuang Society is derived from the founder of medicine, Qi Bo and the first Emperor, Huang Di. Taken together, the name represents a society that is dedicated to saving the world and governing the people," the innkeeper explained with an earnest nod of his head.

"Anyone who joins the Qihuang Society must abandon their previous name and take the name of a medicinal herb. The experts within the society are separated into four ranks based on their martial skills, from lowest to highest, they are Mingmu, Anshen, Tongluo, and Xuming. However..."

"However, what?"

"However, I’ve heard that there are a few people who are even more formidable, and they have a rank independent of these four titles."

The innkeeper unconsciously lowered his voice, his eyes wide as if revealing a great secret. "They are called... Huitian."

Pffft!

Xue Qiming couldn’t help but snort, "Isn’t that just—"

"What are you laughing at!" The innkeeper’s eyebrows furrowed deeply.

"Haha... it's nothing."

Xue Qiming realized that this so-called Qihuang Society was quite similar to the Ghostbane Association, except that the Qihuang Society was a national institution, while the Ghostbane Association was an assassin organization. Or rather, the Qihuang Society was similar to a combination of the Ghostbane Association and the Imperial Guardians.

"Forget it, you wouldn’t understand anyway!" The innkeeper angrily turned and went back into the hut. It was evident that the Qihuang Society held a significant place in the hearts of the citizens of Northern Qiang.

"What are you laughing at?" Xue Niang asked Xue Qiming between bites of food.

"Heh..." Xue Qiming ruffled her hair and continued, "Nothing. I'm just laughing at how some people sound so foolish when they brag."

Xue Niang nodded noncommittally.

"Let’s eat. Once we’re full, we’ll continue our journey." Xue Qiming picked up his bowl and smiled at Xue Niang, saying, "We’ll go find out how strong these Northern Qiang experts really are."

"Hmph, keep boasting in front of the child!" The innkeeper, who had suddenly reappeared, placed a plate of pickled vegetables on the table.

"Hey, why are you, some innkeeper, arguing with me?" Xue Qiming looked at him in confusion and asked, "It doesn't affect your business!"

"I’m just speaking the truth!" The innkeeper slammed the plate of pickled vegetables on the table and continued, "With someone like you, even a mere Mingmu expert from the Qihuang Society could knock you down and have you rolling on the ground—"

"Heh! I have been able to lift this heavy gourd since I was fourteen... "

Xue Qiming stood up abruptly, grabbed the grayish gourd from his waist, and dropped it on the table.

"In the eight years since, and no one has dared say something as ridiculous as that!"

Bang!

The wooden table could not bear the weight of the ugly gourd and splintered loudly. The dishes and chopsticks scattered everywhere.

The gourd sunk into the ground without bouncing, directly creating a large pit.

"You, you!"

The innkeeper was horrified. He stumbled a few steps back and pointed at Xue Qiming, unable to speak properly.

Xue Qiming looked at the innkeeper with an impish smile.

"What’s the matter?"

Xue Qiming felt someone tugging at him and looked down to see Xue Niang tugging at his clothes and staring up at him.

Xue Niang glanced at the mess on the ground, then back at him, and said, "I haven’t finished eating yet."

"Uh... sorry..."

Xue Qiming and Xue Niang stared at each other for a moment. Xue Qiming hesitantly suggested, "How about... we eat when we get to the next town?"

"...Okay."

"Then it’s settled." Xue Qiming nodded, motioned to the girl. Xue Niang fished a stack of banknotes from her clothes, carefully counted a few, and handed them to Xue Qiming.

Xue Qiming took the banknotes and threw them into the innkeeper’s arms. He then selected a healthy horse from the station and mounted it with Xue Niang in his arms. He rode off into the distance and called out to the still-dazed innkeeper, "That money is for the table and the horse!"

On the horse, Xue Niang turned her head to look at Xue Qiming and said, "That’s for the meal... it’s not enough for the table or the horse."

"Shh! I know... otherwise, why would we run so fast."

"Oh." Xue Niang glanced at the man holding her and just leaned back, feeling a bit warmer.

"By the way," Xue Niang suddenly said.

Xue Qiming looked down and asked, "Hmm? What?"

"When are you going to teach me martial arts?" Xue Niang looked up at him.

"Ah... whenever you want." Xue Qiming adjusted the scarf around the girl’s neck and continued, "But have you thought about why you want to learn martial arts?"

There was no answer. Xue Qiming saw that Xue Niang was looking at him with a somewhat complicated expression in her eyes.

"Ahh... Don’t worry, I will teach you," Xue Qiming said with a small smile.