"Stop, all of you!"
Liu He, his face dark and veins bulging on his forehead, stared at the two groups of people before him. He turned to the young guard behind him and said, "Little Seventeen, you tell me!"
The young guard stepped forward, glanced at both sides, and then spoke with a worried expression:
"The situation is this, these three Dao friends said they wanted to stay in the Sword Pavilion and paid the price for a disciple courtyard, so I brought them to this last courtyard to settle in."
"Unexpectedly, at this moment, the twelve people living in the adjacent courtyard suddenly rushed out, saying that their original rooms were leaking and they wanted to switch rooms, insisting on moving into this new courtyard."
"Yes, our roofs are about to collapse!" shouted the burly man.
Liu He frowned upon hearing this and said, "If the disciple courtyard rooms are indeed leaking, it is only right to give you a replacement. You absolutely have no right to bully others into swapping courtyards with you."
"However, the Sword Pavilion is currently overcrowded and there are no extra courtyards for you to switch to. So, if you cannot accept your previous accommodations, then you may leave. We will refund your money."
Sun Tong and the other two's faces lit up with joy upon hearing this.
The group of men on the right, however, were furious. The muscular man in the lead, as robust as an ape, glared forward, took a step, and bellowed, "This courtyard is clearly empty. These three haven't even moved in yet, so why can't we swap!"
Sun Tong's expression immediately turned unpleasant. He tightened his grip on the scabbard at his waist and stepped forward, saying, "Although we three haven't moved in yet, the money has been paid, so this is ours!"
The burly man roared, "It's not up to you to decide whether we swap or not. I'm moving in now, and let's see who dares to stop me!"
"Hold it!"
Liu He raised his long spear, blocking the path of the group of men.
Seeing this, the man's face, full of flesh, contorted. He looked at Liu He and said, "These three are just from obscure small sects, but we are from the second-rate sect of Great Zhou, the people of Snow Wolf Grotto. Are you sure you want to give this courtyard to them?"
Sun Tong's face paled slightly upon hearing this.
Snow Wolf Grotto was a renowned sect in the martial world of Great Zhou, far more powerful than their own sect. The man's action was undoubtedly a blatant threat, or rather, a show of force against the Sword Pavilion guard.
"Snow Wolf Grotto, is it the Snow Wolf Grotto not far from the Ancient God Sect?!" Liu He's eyes flickered with surprise. He too remembered this power.
"That's right, all twelve of us brothers are inner disciples of the Snow Wolf Grotto," the leading man said proudly, glancing disdainfully at Sun Tong and the other two. "Kid, now you know how formidable we are, don't you!"
Sun Tong's face was grim. He wanted to say something, unwilling to give up the courtyard so easily, but he also worried about bringing disaster upon his sect, so he could only remain silent.
The twelve people from Snow Wolf Grotto let out mocking laughter. Sun Tong and his companions could only stand awkwardly, their faces flushed red.
Xu Mu watched all of this from afar, without a hint of emotion. The martial world was like this: the strong preyed on the weak, and the powerful bullied others. There were many like Sun Tong in the martial world; they had some strength but no backing, so it was normal for them to be oppressed.
"Forget it, we are magnanimous and will overlook your transgression this time," the man said, staring at Sun Tong and continuing to mock. "Hurry up and move your broken luggage away from the entrance, don't delay me from going in to sleep!"
As the man spoke, he stepped forward to kick away the cloth bags piled at the courtyard entrance by Sun Tong and his companions. However, before he could take another step, he felt something hard block his chest.
The man blinked and looked down. What blocked him was precisely Liu He's long spear.
Liu He did not lower his spear.
Seeing this, the man frowned and asked, "Why are you being so unreasonable? Don't you even give face to the Snow Wolf Grotto?"
Liu He shook his head, lowered his spear, and then said to the man with a serious expression, "It's not that I'm not giving you face, but this courtyard is already occupied."
"Who?" The man was stunned, then laughed angrily, pointing at Sun Tong and the other two, "Don't tell me it's these three."
Liu He shook his head, stepped aside, and looked at Xu Mu and Zuo Mingqiu, who were standing under the shade of the trees dozens of meters away, saying, "It's these two adults."
"Oh?"
Upon hearing Liu He refer to Xu Mu as "adult," the man's eyebrows rose slightly. He looked at the two young cultivators in the shade, their faces covered with black scarves, and then narrowed his eyes, asking, "Who are they?"
Liu He shook his head and truthfully replied, "I only know that these two have the token for a Heaven-grade guest room. However, there are no other guest rooms available at the Sword Pavilion right now, so we can only arrange for these two to stay in a separate disciple courtyard."
"Separate?" The man from Snow Wolf Grotto heard this and frowned, asking Liu He, "You mean, these two are going to stay in an entire quadrangle courtyard?"
Liu He nodded. "That's right."
Upon hearing this, the man stared at Xu Mu and Zuo Mingqiu for a long time. A damp spiritual sense probed outward. After a while, the gloom on his brows disappeared, replaced by confidence and calmness.
"I don't sense any powerful presence."
The man snorted coldly, flipped his sleeve, and took out a dark gray wooden token, saying,
"Our room was originally an Elder's room."
"Although it's only Earth-grade, it doesn't mean our Snow Wolf Grotto doesn't have the ability to open a Heaven-grade, we just don't need to!"
The man looked disdainfully at Xu Mu and Zuo Mingqiu, then said to Liu He, "Even if they have some background, it's at most comparable to our Snow Wolf Grotto, and we are reasonable people."
"This courtyard is indeed too damaged by the rain to live in. If a choice must be made between us and them for the remaining one, it should be us because we arrived first!"
Sun Tong withdrew his slightly astonished gaze from Xu Mu and Zuo Mingqiu, then said with a grim expression, "If we're talking about who came first, we were the first ones here!"
The man looked disdainfully at Sun Tong and said, "Compared to our Snow Wolf Grotto, do you even qualify?"
"You!" Sun Tong gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.
The man, showing no fear, shifted his gaze disdainfully to Liu He and said, "Three days from now, our Snow Wolf Grotto elders will arrive at the Sword Pavilion."
"You decide who gets this courtyard!"
"This..." Liu He's face showed difficulty.
What the man said was indeed somewhat reasonable. There were not a few martial forces in their Sword Pavilion that could afford Heaven-grade guest rooms. The Snow Wolf Grotto undoubtedly had the capability.
But on the other hand, Xu Mu and Zuo Mingqiu also held Heaven-grade guest room tokens. Now there was only one courtyard left, who should he give it to?
"Since you can't afford to offend either side, why not let them settle it themselves," the young attendant nearby whispered subtly.
Liu He's eyes suddenly lit up. He then coughed twice, turned to Xu Mu and the two others, and asked,
"Two esteemed guests, I believe you have understood the situation. Regarding the request of this Dao friend from Snow Wolf Grotto, what do you think..."
"Request? What request has he made?"
Xu Mu stood under the shade of the trees, looking calmly at Liu He and said, "I only see a group of people blocking the entrance to my courtyard. Please quickly drive them away."
Liu He's expression stiffened immediately.
"Well said!" Sun Tong secretly clenched his fists, his eyes shining as he looked at Xu Mu. He was right; Xu Mu and Zuo Mingqiu were indeed extraordinary people who were not afraid of the Snow Wolf Grotto!
The man from Snow Wolf Grotto frowned upon hearing this and asked Xu Mu, "Which sect's disciple are you?"
Xu Mu said indifferently, "What business is it of yours."
Upon hearing this, the man could no longer hold back and said angrily, "Since that's the case, then don't blame me for being impolite."
"The Sword Pavilion assigned us a courtyard that cannot be lived in. This is their mistake, so now I want to move into this one. It is reasonable, and I want to see who dares to stop me today!"
As the man spoke, he walked past Liu He, kicked away the luggage of Sun Tong and the others, pushed open the door, and was about to storm in angrily.
But at this moment, the light in front of him suddenly dimmed, and an icy chill that pierced to the bone enveloped his entire body.
"Who's there!"
The man was startled, retracted his foot, and then cautiously raised his head. He saw a young cultivator wearing a black cloth mask standing on the courtyard wall to his side. The bone-chilling cold emanated from him.
"So cold!"
Sun Tong and the others also looked up, and then instinctively circulated their inner energy to protect themselves against the chilling aura emanating from Zuo Mingqiu.
"When did this kid get up there!" The man glanced back at Xu Mu, who was standing alone in the shade, his face somewhat grim. He looked up at Zuo Mingqiu and asked, "What do you mean by this?"
A trace of gray water ripples appeared on the man's body, and the same was true for the other eleven disciples of Snow Wolf Grotto. The twelve of them stood together, exuding an even more fierce chill, making the leading man more confident. He looked at Zuo Mingqiu and shouted, "Standing on the courtyard wall, do you think this courtyard belongs to you!"
Zuo Mingqiu calmly said,
"In the martial world, one must be reasonable."
"You just said that because of the Sword Pavilion's mistake, you were assigned a room with a roof damaged by rain, so you should be given a replacement room. This is very reasonable."
"But I would like to ask, why is it that among so many rooms around here, none of them were damaged by rain, but only this one courtyard, all four disciple rooms, have this problem?"
Upon hearing this, a flicker of panic flashed in the man's eyes, but it quickly turned into anger. He pointed at Zuo Mingqiu and shouted, "What do you mean by that!"
"How would we know about the Sword Pavilion's houses!"
Zuo Mingqiu looked at everyone calmly and raised a finger. Hovering at the tip of his finger was a dark gray water droplet.
Seeing this water droplet, the man's expression changed drastically.
Zuo Mingqiu said faintly,
"This water elemental droplet, condensed from Yin frost, was just drawn by me from the roofs of the four houses in the adjacent courtyard."
"The result is very obvious. The roofs of those four houses were not corroded by rain, but by you."
Sun Tong's eyes widened. He immediately understood and looked at the man, saying, "So that's how it is!"
"You were cultivating inside the rooms and accidentally damaged the roof. To avoid responsibility, you even lied to us that it was due to rain corrosion and then wanted to move into the new disciple courtyard. How malicious!"
Liu He, listening from the side, also looked grimly at the man and said, "If that's the case, then I will report this to the manager here."
"Twelve disciples of Snow Wolf Grotto, please return to your original courtyard temporarily. A decision will be made after everything is clarified."
"That's utter nonsense!"
The leading man stood rooted to the spot, his neck and face turning red. He shouted indignantly at Sun Tong and Liu He, then glared fiercely at Zuo Mingqiu, who was standing on the courtyard wall, and roared, "I don't care who you are, but you dare to slander our Snow Wolf Grotto disciples today, I will make you pay a heavy price!!"
"Snow Wolf Sky Charge!"
The man let out a low roar, and a powerful aura erupted from his physical body. Heavy Yin water element condensed on his fist. As he leaped into the air, it instantly transformed into a wolf-like shape, entirely gray and black, with its massive jaws opening to tear at Zuo Mingqiu.
Liu He's eyes widened in alarm and he shouted,
"No fighting within the disciple courtyards!"
"Die!"
The man instantly rushed in front of Zuo Mingqiu. The snow wolf and his fist arrived simultaneously, about to engulf Zuo Mingqiu's body.
"Boom!"
The next second, his body flew backward, crashing to the ground like a meteor.
Zuo Mingqiu, with a blank expression, delivered a lightning-infused kick, meeting the snow wolf's fangs with the man's fist. At the moment of impact, a horrifying sound of shattering bones echoed. The snow wolf's phantom instantly shattered, and the man's arm and shoulder were annihilated by the terrifying force and lightning in an instant, turning into powder.
"Thump!"
This terrifying kick sent the man crashing into the ground, creating a large pit. Three or four Snow Wolf Grotto cultivators who hadn't managed to dodge in time were in the pit. They were used as a cushion for the man, and as he was kicked down, they instinctively tried to catch him, only to be pinned to the bottom of the pit along with him by this single kick.
Sun Tong and the other two were shocked.
Liu He, as a Sword Pavilion guard, also froze in place, swallowing with wide eyes in disbelief.
He could fully sense the terror of Zuo Mingqiu's kick from his proximity. His blood surged like that of a demonic beast, and the lightning was as fearsome as heavenly lightning from the Daoist sect.
With this kick, the snow wolf was destroyed with overwhelming force, the man's fist was no match, and even his fellow disciples were kicked into the pit by this single blow, unable to resist!
Liu He's face turned pale. If Zuo Mingqiu was so powerful, and a distinguished guest with a Heaven-grade room, then how strong must their background be?
And he, just now, had not insisted on Xu Mu and Zuo Mingqiu's occupancy, but instead told them to discuss it with the people from Snow Wolf Grotto. When the man from Snow Wolf Grotto attacked, he had only shouted a token protest and had not intervened.
Thinking of this, Liu He felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. If Zuo Mingqiu were to hold him accountable for his behavior, with his strength and background, it would be effortless to deal with a mere guard commander like him. He might even be killed on the spot, and the Sword Pavilion elders would not say a word!
He had to do something to salvage the situation!
With this thought, Liu He's eyes widened. He roared at the stunned disciples of Snow Wolf Grotto:
"Don't move, put your hands up and squat on the ground!"
"You disciples of Snow Wolf Grotto, dare to damage my Sword Pavilion's buildings and engage in unauthorized combat within the disciple courtyard. You are truly ignorant of the consequences! I will report this to the elders and have you severely punished!"
"This... Senior Brother!"
The disciples of Snow Wolf Grotto, at a loss, squatted on the ground, hands clasped behind their heads, and looked mournfully at the bloodied man in the pit.
They couldn't understand why things had suddenly turned out this way. Who was the person standing on the courtyard wall?
"Masked, two young cultivators, could it be..." One of the Snow Wolf Grotto disciples, suppressing his fear, looked up at Zuo Mingqiu standing on the courtyard wall, his pupils constricting sharply.
He knew. He knew who these two were. They were the two people in black cloaks who had recently killed the seven princes' five guards in public and injured two Xuan-ranked disciples of Plum Blossom Valley!
"The Seven Prince's personal four-realm guards charged forward to pursue these two in front of everyone. Now these two have appeared here completely unharmed, and they are so high-profile..." The man from Snow Wolf Grotto's body went limp, and he couldn't help but tremble all over.
Even the imperial family and Plum Blossom Valley couldn't deal with them, and they had offended them. Wasn't this courting death? The man was certain that even if they were all killed here, the Snow Wolf Grotto would not dare to hold these two even half responsible, because they dared not!
"Alright, stop scaring them."
Xu Mu walked over from the shade of the trees, cast a faint glance at the man in the pit, and then looked at Liu He:
"Get someone to clean this up. Deal with the rest as appropriate, but don't be too ostentatious."
Liu He nodded like a pecking chicken. At the same time, he did not forget to step forward first and open the courtyard gate for Xu Mu.
"Esteemed guests, please."
"As for you..." Liu He looked at Sun Tong and the other three, who were standing there cluelessly, and smacked his lips. "If you can accept the leaky roof next door, then stay there. If you can't, I'll refund your money and you can go down the mountain to find lodging elsewhere."
Sun Tong gave a wry smile. Going down the mountain to find lodging elsewhere would waste so much time! Bai Yu would probably be snatched away by someone else!
At the thought, Sun Tong sighed. "Never mind, no need to refund the money, we'll stay in their courtyard..."
"You stay here."
Xu Mu's voice drifted from inside the courtyard. Sun Tong and the others were stunned and quickly turned their heads. They saw that Xu Mu had turned his head at some point and was smiling at them.
"There are four rooms here, I'll share one with him."
Sun Tong was dumbfounded upon hearing this, and then his eyes began to water.
Perhaps it was due to the drastic change in roles. The people who had traveled together on the boat suddenly became prodigies from powerful sects, yet they still remembered the fleeting friendship from their chance encounter on the boat. Compared to the previous arrogance of power, this was the martial world in his heart!
Sun Tong cupped his hands in a bow, his voice trembling,
"Sun Tong of the Nanwu Sect, and my two junior brothers and sister."
"Thank you two Dao friends for your generosity!"