Chapter 118: The New Generation's King of Misery

Chapter 118: The New Generation King of Misery

Master Qiu Er possessed a sword style that was bizarre, sharp, and biting, with reaction speeds that were impossibly fast. Among the ten great swordsmen of Jiangnan, seven had already perished by his blade.

Ah Ji kept his head bowed, his heart a turbulent mix of emotions. He truly did not want to wield a sword ever again; the endless cycle of vengeance and the crushing weight of his legendary reputation made it nearly impossible to breathe. He had faked his own death and left the Xie family precisely to cast all of that aside, even if it meant he had to live out his days as a lowly servant in a brothel.

But what was he to do now? The words of that man from before had been hinting at something, whether intentionally or not, and now, Master Qiu Er had set his sights on him. What could he do?

"Qiu Er, what are you doing? Where is the Big Boss?" A figure slowly emerged from behind Qiu Er—it was Mao Da!

Master Mao Da, whose name was Mao Yiyun, was the only disciple from outside the Murong clan of Jiangnan. He and Qiu Er were like brothers. In the martial arts world, it was rumored that Master Qiu Er was the more formidable of the two, but only Qiu Er knew that Mao Da was far stronger than him.

Qiu Er did not turn his head as he replied, "The Big Boss is already dead. However, I have discovered someone much more interesting than him."

Mao Da did not speak. His eyes were fixed intently on Ah Ji, his gaze filled with a mixture of resentment and agony so complex that it was impossible to define.

Receiving no further response from Mao Da, Qiu Er turned around, curious, and immediately noticed that Mao Da’s gaze had bypassed him—he was staring at Ah Ji!

"You... how could you be here?" Mao Da’s voice trembled, and his body shook. He could never forget this face; no matter how much time passed, he would never forget it. It was him—the man who, on the very second day of their engagement, had taken away his fiancée, only to abandon her for no apparent reason half a month later. Even after discovering she was pregnant, Mao Da had harbored no regrets and held no grudges.

Ah Ji had never expected to encounter Mao Da here. His heart was filled with profound sorrow, and faced with that question, he did not know how to respond.

"It has been five years since we last met, hasn't it?" Mao Da sighed. "A short while ago, I heard you were dead. You have no idea how relieved I felt, yet after that relief came unbearable grief. To think that I would run into you here again."

Master Qiu Er was stunned. He did not quite understand, but he was certain of one thing: Mao Da and this man, Ah Ji, knew each other—and not only were they acquainted, but their relationship was deep and complicated.

Ah Ji slowly raised his head, only to see a man with hair as white as snow. In truth, Ah Ji was only thirty-two years old, and Mao Da was but three years his senior—thirty-five—yet he had withered into this state.

Ah Ji knew it was because of hatred. Mao Da hated him for stealing away the woman he loved, and hated him even more for discarding her after a mere fortnight. Seeing Murong Qiudi suffer for all these years had shattered Mao Da’s heart into a million pieces.

"It seems that even if I didn't expose your identity, you were bound to be recognized eventually..." Zheng Jian appeared on the rooftop, looking down at the three men in the courtyard with a complex expression in his eyes. He had already left the Han family building, but when he saw a group of people approaching from not far away, he had a change of heart and turned back, thus witnessing this scene.

Ah Ji looked up at Zheng Jian, asking curiously, "Do you really know me?"

Zheng Jian smiled and leaped down. "What do you think?"

Ah Ji remained silent.

Mao Da and Qiu Er glared at Zheng Jian. Mao Da leveled his sword. "You must be Zheng Jian, the one they call the 'Heaven-Reclaiming Swordsman,' right?"

Zheng Jian mused for a moment and said, "Never mind me; let’s talk about you. Master Mao Da, tsk tsk, you really ought to wear a hat—preferably a green one. It can shade you from the sun in the summer and keep the snow off in the winter."

Upon hearing this, Master Mao Da gripped his sword tightly, the veins on his forehead bulging!

[Resentment points from Mao Yiyun +999.]

"What... did... you... say!" Master Mao Da spat out each word. This was the eternal pain in his heart.

"I said, of course you should choose to forgive him..." Zheng Jian laughed. "If you don't forgive Xie Xiaofeng, you have no choice but to draw your sword against him. But you can't beat him, and if you draw your sword, you'll die. Tell me, isn't that the truth?"

In the original story, Xie Xiaodi was already fifteen years old at this time. By that calculation, he must have been conceived when Xie Xiaofeng was seventeen—which means Xie Xiaofeng had planted the seed at sixteen... Can you see how slick Xie Xiaofeng was? At sixteen, he had already conquered Murong Qiudi and successfully sown his seed!

Murong Qiudi gave birth to Xie Xiaodi alone and brought him back to the Murong clan. She waited seven years, and when Xie Xiaofeng failed to come to marry her, she prepared to wed Mao Yiyun. The day after their engagement, Xie Xiaofeng appeared and eloped with her, only to dump her half a month later. Dumped her... just like that.

Seeing this, does everyone understand why Murong Qiudi was desperate enough to gather everyone to kill Xie Xiaofeng? Because she had been played by that scumbag Xie Xiaofeng, and more than once...

And as the "rebound man" who got left holding the bag, Mao Yiyun was even more miserable. Just as he had mentally prepared himself to take on the role, he found that his joy had turned to tragedy once again... To want to take the blame but not even get the chance—isn't that even more pathetic?

But there was something even more miserable: in the original story, when he met Xie Xiaofeng again, he actually chose to beg for his forgiveness. Bizarre, isn't it? Then, he was killed by Xie Xiaodi...

This is the true King of Misery in the world of *The Third Master's Sword*; he is hardly any less tragic than Lin Pingzhi from *The Smiling, Proud Wanderer*.

The film version of *The Third Master's Sword* gave the character Bamboo Leaf Green a deep, unrequited love for Murong Qiudi, a trait lifted entirely from Mao Yiyun. However, come to think of it, Mao Yiyun wasn't technically "cuckolded," as he never actually possessed Murong Qiudi to begin with. If you never had her, how can you be cuckolded? Zheng Jian understood this, but he said it purely to farm some resentment points.

Ah Ji, who was Xie Xiaofeng, stared fixedly at Zheng Jian. "Why would you say that to him? Truth be told, I am the one who wronged him."

Zheng Jian pondered again, then said indifferently, "I said he lacked backbone; I didn't say anything about you, you scumbag. Why are you so worried?"

[Resentment points from Xie Xiaofeng +10.]

Although Xie Xiaofeng didn't know what "scumbag" meant, he could tell from Zheng Jian's expression that it wasn't a compliment.

Zheng Jian was taken aback, his inner thoughts roaring, "Damn, this guy is so stingy! Only +10..."

He was absolutely speechless.

In the film version, a forced excuse was created for Xie Xiaofeng being a scumbag to Murong Qiudi—that she didn't want to live a life of poverty with him in seclusion—but that wasn't the case in the original novel. On the contrary, in the book, Murong Qiudi loved Xie Xiaofeng deeply. On the eve of his duel with Yan Shisan, she even came specifically to offer herself to him, only to drift away afterward, never to be seen again. The organization she founded, Heaven's Majesty, was handed over to Xie Xiaodi and Li Zhenzhen. (How is that any different from living in seclusion?)

By the time of *The Crescent Moon Scimitar*, Murong Qiudi was already dead, buried in the Sword-Hiding Hut alongside Yan Shisan. By then, Xie Xiaofeng was acting as the grave-keeper for Murong Qiudi... The most miraculous part is that Xie Xiaofeng had another daughter, Xie Xiaoyu, and her mother wasn't even Murong Qiudi, but the Mistress of Heaven Beauty Palace...

Heh.