M49S Vol 1 Chapter 55. Advance Or Retreat

“Bang!”

In a flash, Meng Qiqi kicked Jiang Xie hard in the chest, sending him flying straight toward Wang Changlin. At that moment, Jiang Xie was like a scalding hot coal. Wang Changlin instinctively stepped aside, but halfway through the motion, forced himself to stop.

He reached out and caught Jiang Xie, helping him back up. Then he looked at Meng Qiqi with a hint of reproach in his eyes.

“Brother Meng, what is the meaning of this? He’s just a junior. Wasn’t that too much?”

“A junior?” Meng Qiqi let out a sharp laugh. “Why don’t you check what he’s hiding up his sleeve before talking to me about juniors?”

His sleeve?

Everyone turned their eyes toward Jiang Xie’s arm. Even Jiang Xie, through the pain, looked down, and see the tip of a small black dagger peeking from his sleeve. As he moved, it slid out completely and fell to the ground with a crisp clatter.

Tu Youqiong shouted, “You were trying to hurt my Little Martial Uncle!”

In an instant, the disciples of Gushan Sword stepped forward together, forming a wall in front of Meng Qiqi. Countless eyes landed on Jiang Xie, cold and sharp as blades.

Jiang Xie was stunned. Then he panicked.

“No, that’s not mine!”

Wang Changlin was equally stunned. Why would Jiang Xie be carrying a dagger like that? If Meng Qiqi hadn’t kicked him away just now, would that blade already be buried in Meng Qiqi’s body?

No, something was wrong.

Wang Changlin steadied himself. The shock on Jiang Xie’s face didn’t look like an act.
It had to be Meng Qiqi. It had to be a setup. He had planted it.

Wang Changlin’s thoughts moved quickly. In the blink of an eye, he pieced it all together. Meng Qiqi must have sensed the strand of vital force he had sent into Jiang Xie, so he struck first to seize control of the situation.

This boy was frightening. His mind was sharp, and his reflexes were terrifyingly fast.

Now, if Wang Changlin tried to raise the matter of that vital force thread in Jiang Xie’s body, no one would believe him.

Under the crushing weight of the Gushan disciples’ accusations, Jiang Xie was so overcome with rage that he spat a mouthful of blood all over Wang Changlin’s robes.

Yu Yao’s fury surged. “Meng Qiqi, enough with your slander!”

But Meng Qiqi had no interest in arguing. His voice rang out clearly across the terrace.

“Everyone here saw what happened. I trust you already know who was right and who was wrong. Good thing I, Meng Xiu, am not the merciful sort. If I had died here today, Elder Yu would have simply said it served me right.”

Yu Yao knew he had lost the upper hand, but still forced the words out.

“Meng Qiqi, my disciple is gravely injured. Are you saying this has nothing to do with you? If you can prove you had nothing to do with it, I will apologize right here and now.”

“No need for that. I, Meng Xiu, take full responsibility. That kick just now came from me. If you didn’t get a good look, I can do it again.”
Meng Qiqi’s gaze was ice cold.

Yu Yao nearly followed in Jiang Xie’s footsteps, trembling with rage until even his fingers shook. Wang Changlin quickly tried to calm the situation.

“Brother Meng, let it go. Show some mercy where it’s due.”

Meng Qiqi shot him a glance, then let his eyes sweep over the group of disciples. His gaze finally settled on Tu Youqiong.

“Youqiong, be a good Little Martial Nephew and tell everyone what just happened.”

Tu Youqiong straightened up, proud to be entrusted with such an important task, but quickly remembered the occasion and put on a look of righteous fury. He pointed directly at Jiang Xie and the Beidou disciples.

“They were the ones who started all this. After my senior brother beat them, they refused to accept the loss. Then someone from the Wang clan suddenly came over and said they were going to kick my senior brother out of the competition. If Little Martial Uncle hadn’t shown up, who knows how badly they would’ve bullied us!”

The more he spoke, the angrier he became.

“Jiang Xie was clearly the one who provoked us. And you wouldn’t even let him apologize to my Little Martial Uncle. Now he just tried to stab him in front of everyone, and you’re telling my Little Martial Uncle to let it go? You call yourselves righteous sects? How can you even do something like this? Don’t you feel the slightest shame? In Gushan, we expel people from the sect for this kind of thing!”

The words landed like thunder.

Everyone had already sensed that something was off today, but rarely did anyone in the cultivation world speak so plainly. And never like this, tearing straight through the surface without leaving even a shred of face.

Tu Youqiong truly had guts. With someone backing him up, there was nothing he wouldn’t say. He had learned that whole “a gentleman knows what to do and what not to do” philosophy from his senior brother on Gushan, but why did these people act like it meant nothing at all?

Even a fart smelled better than the things they were saying.

Tu Youqiong got his fill of cursing, and the disciples of Gushan Sword felt completely refreshed. But aside from them, more than half the people present were deeply uncomfortable. Some were shaken, some looked visibly ashamed, some were simply furious. A few couldn’t help glancing over at Jiang Xie. And when they did—

He had fainted.

He really looked like he had passed out from sheer rage.

Tu Youqiong stared, mouth agape. He never knew he was capable of something like that. A flicker of worry rose in him, afraid that his senior brother might scold him. But when he turned to look, Chen Boyan remained completely unmoved.

He was still holding that cup of tea.

No matter how the wind stirred around him, no matter how the situation shifted again and again, the only thing he seemed to care about was that cup in his hand.

Tu Youqiong suddenly found this version of his senior brother a little unfamiliar.

But before he could dwell on it, Meng Qiqi’s voice pulled his attention away.

“Everyone here heard what Martial Nephew Youqiong just said. I, Meng Xiu, have only one thing to add. Whether we participate or not is up to us. You don’t get to decide someone’s fate behind closed doors in that tower.”

Meng Qiqi’s gaze swept coldly across Wang Changlin, Yu Yao, and everyone present. It finally landed on the seven-story tower.

His voice rang out, clear and resolute.

“This world belongs to all cultivators. Heaven’s light does not shine on one man alone. At Gushan Sword, our disciples are treated the same, regardless of their birth or their talent. If you insist on forcing my senior nephew out of the competition, fine. Then from this day forward, Gushan Sword will no longer take part in this so-called grand event. We’ll leave it to you.”

The crowd of watching cultivators was stunned by the wave after wave of bold declarations.

On the seventh floor, everyone had gathered at the railing, their faces filled with shock. Even the bamboo-hatted elder of Tianlao Mountain hadn’t expected things to escalate this far. He could no longer remain silent.

He turned to Tang Li. “Brother Tang, can your junior’s words be taken as representing all of Gushan Sword?”

All eyes turned toward him.

Tang Li’s palms were drenched in sweat. It was over. Completely over. They had caused a disaster, and no amount of smoothing over could fix it now.

Little junior, oh little junior, he thought. Your senior is still up here. Can’t you just look at me first?

He forced down a lump in his throat and clasped his hands behind his back to hide his nerves.

“Of course they can. Our Little Junior may be blunt, but he knows exactly where the line is.”

So be it. At worst, they would go back to Gushan and take turns keeping watch at the Sword Mound. Two or three years would pass quickly enough.

Tang Li forced himself to stand behind Meng Qiqi, and because of that, a subtle shift stirred in the hearts of the others. Gushan Sword had always been a sect that meant what it said. If they truly withdrew from the Knock upon the Immortal Gate, the competition’s reputation would be finished.

At that point, forcing Chen Boyan to withdraw would gain little and lose much.

The white-bearded elder was the most anxious. Seeing the others begin to waver, he couldn’t help turning his gaze toward Chen Wujie. If this failed, all the promises Wang Changlin had made to him would vanish. How could he build up his sect’s power then? How could he rise above the rest?

But Chen Wujie had only been watching Meng Qiqi the whole time, seemingly indifferent to everything else. Just as the white-bearded elder was spitting words with a red face, Chen Wujie suddenly turned his head and asked, out of nowhere, “Don’t you think he looks familiar?”

The white-bearded elder froze, completely confused.

Chen Wujie turned back to continue studying Meng Qiqi. He hadn’t been asking anyone else. He had been asking himself.

Didn’t he look familiar?

There was something about him… as if they had met before.

At that same moment, Wang Changlin had already made his choice faster than anyone else. He could, of course, go along with the situation and push Gushan Sword out of the Knock upon the Immortal Gate. But this was the first time he had overseen the event since coming to power, and he could not afford any mistakes.

He could not allow his own reputation to sink into the mud along with Gushan’s. Better to let them go for now and take his time dealing with them later.

Yu Yao, however, was not as cautious. What Meng Qiqi had said played right into his hands.

“Fine. You said it yourself. Don’t go back on your word.”

Meng Qiqi gave a faint smile.

“Elder Yu, your beloved disciple has been lying there since just now. Shouldn’t you take him down for treatment? If he dies, what then? Don’t turn around and blame it on me. That’s not a burden I can afford.”

As soon as he said it, Yin Wuhua chuckled.

Yu Yao opened his mouth to reply, but Wang Changlin raised a hand to stop him.

“Brother Yu, don’t.”

Master Kongming also stepped forward to advise restraint. He had only come down because he feared Gushan would be taken advantage of. Naturally, he did not want them to withdraw now.

Yu Yao, standing alone, suddenly found himself powerless to act. The balance had shifted.

Just when everyone thought the matter had ended in a clean victory for Gushan’s Little Martial Uncle, the long-silent Chen Boyan finally stepped forward.

“If I may, would everyone be willing to hear a few words from me?”

Wang Changlin’s gaze was gentle.

“Go ahead, Nephew. Speak freely.”

Chen Boyan turned to Meng Qiqi.

“Little Martial Uncle, I have a request.”

“What is it?” Meng Qiqi asked.

“I wish to withdraw from the competition,” Chen Boyan said.

His words hit like a stone thrown into still water, stirring up waves once more.

Meng Qiqi did not know what he was planning. He frowned slightly. “Why?”

Chen Boyan replied, “A moment ago, I found myself in a difficult position. I am grateful that you stepped in to protect me. But that only resolved one part of the matter.”

“There’s more?” Meng Qiqi asked, brows rising. Zhong Wu and the others were just as curious.

“If you still have concerns, you can speak freely to me,” Wang Changlin said. “Whatever it is, I will help you resolve it.”

Chen Boyan shook his head.

“Earlier, you all told me to withdraw. I refused, because I bear the name of Gushan Sword’s senior disciple. I could not retreat. Now you are asking me to return, but I no longer wish to. This is for myself. I am not someone to be summoned and dismissed at will.”

His voice was calm, but every word landed with unmistakable weight. There was no room for argument.

His quiet resolve stood in complete contrast to Meng Qiqi’s fiery defiance, yet it pressed down on the room like a mountain. No one could step past it.

“Do you understand, Little Martial Uncle?” Chen Boyan asked. There was something in his voice, something even he had not realized himself. A trace of hope.

Meng Qiqi shook his head with a sigh, though a faint smile crept onto his lips.

Chen Boyan was always like this. If it had been Meng Qiqi, he would have taken the chance to raise hell, especially against the Wang clan and Beidou. He would have beaten every last one of them senseless. If they didn’t kneel and call him father by the end, he wouldn’t call himself Mad Dog.

But Chen Boyan was different. He was like a cloud at the edge of the sky, a golden bodhisattva on the altar.

“Fine. I’ll agree to your request.” Meng Qiqi raised an eyebrow as he looked him over. “But you’ll have to make a deal with me. If Gushan loses to Beidou in this competition, you will report to the punishment hall and take responsibility yourself.”

“Thank you, Little Martial Uncle.” Chen Boyan inclined his head.

With just a few words between uncle and nephew, the matter was settled. Neither of them showed the slightest attachment to the competition. They walked away from, stomping all over the face that Wang Changlin and the others had tried to preserve. The rest of the onlookers were still lost in the fog, unable to process what had just happened.

“Senior Brother, you can’t!” Tu Youqiong cried out, jolting everyone back to attention.

“That’s right, Senior Brother, we—” Even Song Ru, who was always calm and composed, found it hard to accept.

Chen Boyan asked in return, “If I’m not here, will you forget how to swing a sword?”

Song Ru was taken aback. Then she shook her head.

Chen Boyan went on, “I will not be by your side forever. One day, you will have to face difficulties on your own. If you cannot even get through a challenge like this competition, then you may as well stay on Gushan your whole life, sweeping snow and drying scrolls.”

Song Ru stood frozen for a moment, then nodded with sudden clarity.

“I understand.”

Chen Boyan gave a nod. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Tu Youqiong still looking utterly miserable.

“Youqiong,” he said.

“Senior Brother?” Tu Youqiong looked up.

Chen Boyan asked, “If one day, someone bullies Xiao Yu’er, what will you do?”

Tu Youqiong didn’t hesitate. “Of course I’ll stand up for him! I’m his senior brother!”

“But do you have the strength to do that?” Chen Boyan asked in return.

It was like a heavy blow to the head.

Tu Youqiong turned and met Xiao Yu’er’s wide, blinking eyes. A sudden fear rose in his heart. Today they had Little Martial Uncle. They had Senior Brother. But what about tomorrow? What about the day after?

Meng Qiqi, watching from the side, could not take it any longer. He walked over and gently patted Tu Youqiong on the shoulder.

“Are you a man or not?”

“Yes!” Tu Youqiong had to be.

“Do you still remember who was speaking ill of your senior brother just now?”

“I remember!”

“If you’re bullied, what should you do?”

“Hit them back!”

“Then go. Pick anyone you like. If you win, Little Martial Uncle will treat you to a drink.”

“Alright!” Tu Youqiong, fired up with righteous fury, agreed to this unspoken pact between men and charged off with boundless enthusiasm.

Meng Qiqi stepped back and stood beside Chen Boyan, smiling as he asked, “How many matches do you think he can win?”

Chen Boyan gave a helpless look. “No idea.”

Meng Qiqi sighed. “You really are no fun, Senior Nephew. Alright, how about this, when the time comes, I’ll share a drink with you. You just pay for it.”

“Alright.” Chen Boyan nodded.