Chapter Ninety: Incredible

Jiang Xiaotian had not expected Master Lin to be so rude, and for a moment the hand he had extended remained awkwardly suspended in the air, leaving him at a loss.

Wang Xuening, caught in the middle, found it hard to please either side. After weighing her options, she still chose to stand with Master Lin, and turned to Jiang Xiaotian. “Jiang Dali, you should apologize to Master Lin as well. Everyone has their own bottom line, and we can’t go around offending people.”

Was this man trying to make a fool of him?

Jiang Xiaotian nearly laughed aloud. What kind of thing was this Master Lin supposed to be? Although Wang Xuening had softened her tone considerably, he was still annoyed.

Especially when he saw Master Lin’s arrogant bearing, Jiang Xiaotian could only shake his head inwardly.

“Small skills, big temper,” he said with a snort, then turned and left. There was nothing worth saying to such a person.

“You! Young and impetuous! Wang Xuening, what kind of people have you brought here? I will not protect a useless piece of trash like this!” Master Lin was furious, his beard bristling and his eyes bulging. To think he had been insulted by some brat in the early external-force stage!

With a sweep of his sleeve, he walked off in the opposite direction. Wang Xuening grew even more anxious, terrified of offending this great figure, and hurried after him with soothing words. At the same time, she felt some dislike toward Jiang Xiaotian as well. He was only in the early external-force stage, so how could he be so cocky?

Jiang Xiaotian had no time to waste pretending to be impressive with them, so he went straight back to the living room to rest. There, by sheer coincidence, he ran into Wang Zhen, who was still wearing an exceedingly warm and friendly expression.

He had seen what had just happened as well, and told Jiang Xiaotian not to take it to heart. It was perfectly normal for those with real ability to have a temper.

Jiang Xiaotian did not argue, though he could not help thinking: an external-force practitioner in the mid stage counted as having real ability? Moreover, he was already that old and still only at this level. His future achievements might not even compare with those young members of the Wang family.

Forget it. Keep a low profile. Better not make more trouble.

That evening, Wang Xuening first took everyone to their lodgings. Jiang Xiaotian glanced at the map and saw that the place was still quite far from the city park. But that was normal. The hotels closer in had almost all been taken over by the major families, and for the Wang family to secure these few rooms was already very lucky.

As more and more people gathered here, rumors grew increasingly rampant. Worried that ordinary citizens might get dragged into it, the authorities even issued a news explanation, saying that some kind of celebratory event was about to be held here.

Ordinary people had little interest in that sort of thing, and with the area packed to the brim, they mostly stopped joining the excitement.

In Jiang Xiaotian’s eyes, that was the first good thing the authorities had done.

While skimming through all kinds of miscellaneous news, he also looked over the rooms.

Wang Xuening was actually a decent girl. She arranged the rooms first and let everyone choose for themselves, though the best one had naturally been taken by Master Lin.

Jiang Xiaotian was self-aware enough to pick the smallest room. He was only staying for two days, and he was alone, so there was no need to fight over anything.

Seeing his choice, Wang Xuening gave a light snort and felt that he was at least sensible.

At dinner, Wang Xuening generously treated everyone to a meal. By the time Jiang Xiaotian arrived, almost everyone else was already there. Master Lin was still seated beside Wang Xuening, chin raised high, looking impossibly haughty.

When he saw Jiang Xiaotian approach, Master Lin let out another sigh, as if he had no wish to eat at the same table as him. Jiang Xiaotian, however, paid him no mind. He found a seat and sat down heavily. Eat if you want to eat; if you don’t, then get lost. Such pretentiousness.

Although Master Lin was irritating, the spread of rich dishes still lifted Jiang Xiaotian’s mood. After all, it had truly been a long time since he had eaten a proper meal.

The Wang family’s younger generation all knew one another, so they chatted nonstop. The outsiders, by contrast, felt a little out of place and hardly touched their chopsticks. Only Master Lin and Jiang Xiaotian ate without a care for anyone else, and this made Master Lin even more displeased. He simply set down his chopsticks and stopped eating.

Wang Xuening, quick-eyed as ever, feared the two would clash again, and hurried to change the subject. “By the way, Master Lin, there are still a few days left. If you have the time, would you mind giving guidance to us younger ones?”

Upon hearing this, Master Lin shook his head with a blank expression. “That will not do. My Lin Family Fist is a secret art that cannot be passed on. Even for Miss Wang, I cannot break that rule.”

Jiang Xiaotian nearly laughed again. What nonsense was this Lin Family Fist? No matter how formidable it sounded, wasn’t he still just a mid-stage external-force practitioner?

Seeing the disappointed looks on everyone’s faces, Master Lin suddenly changed direction. “Still, I have been in the mid stage for many years. I can give you some advice. Tomorrow, each of you can spar with me in turn, and I will point out your strengths and weaknesses. How about that?”

Everyone’s eyes lit up at once.

Master Lin was willing to teach them!

They all stood up at once and thanked him. “Many thanks, Master Lin!”

Master Lin nodded in satisfaction. Then, turning his head, he could not help frowning. Even Wang Xuening was thanking him, yet that brat named Jiang Dali was still eating as if he were a starving ghost reborn.

Wang Zhen also kept bumping Jiang Xiaotian with his elbow, reminding him to stand and thank Master Lin as well. But he, Jiang Xiaotian, was a genuine outsider. He might not be exceptionally strong, but did that mean he had to bow and scrape to some external-force practitioner?

So he simply acted as though he saw nothing and heard nothing, continuing to eat at his own pace.

Wang Xuening glared at him, thinking he at least had some self-awareness. She had not expected him to be so lacking in manners.

“Jiang Dali! Can you stop for a moment? Master Lin is willing to lower himself to teach us, and that is our honor! We should be grateful!” Wang Xuening tried to suppress her anger and coax him in as calm a tone as she could manage.

This left Jiang Xiaotian both exasperated and amused. “I never asked him to teach me. Why should I thank him?”

Wang Xuening stamped her foot in anger and was just about to say something when Master Lin suddenly burst into loud laughter.

“Interesting, interesting. To think I, Master Lin, would be insulted by a whelp with such miserable strength. How very interesting indeed! Jiang Dali, do you know why I, though only at the mid-stage external-force level, am treated with such respect?”

“Not interested,” Jiang Xiaotian said, rolling his eyes.

But Master Lin completely ignored him and went on. “Because I once defeated two external-force practitioners at the same level all by myself!”

As soon as those words were spoken, everyone was stunned.

They knew that the gap between martial artists at the same level was not especially large. Under normal circumstances, if two fought one, the two would almost certainly win. Yet Master Lin had instead turned defeat into victory. How could anyone not be shocked?

At once, some people began to defend Master Lin.

“Master Lin is so strong. What achievements do you have, Jiang Dali?”

“Exactly! And you’ve been rude to Master Lin from the start. From your name, I thought you were some kind of seller of roasted chestnuts!”

“Look at how unstable his internal force is. Even if he’s also in the early external-force stage, his real strength may be weaker than ours! Where on earth does he get his confidence?”

For a time, all sorts of voices filled the air. Seeing that everyone was taking his side, Master Lin smiled smugly, then pressed the advantage.

“I entered the early external-force stage at twenty and reached the mid stage at thirty, helping the Lin Family Fist flourish. I have never once been defeated against anyone of my level. I was even favored by Zhao Zheng, though regrettably, I am already old and do not wish to be dragged back into these disputes.”

The young men and women listening were all filled with admiration. Even the Zhao family had taken notice of him! And he himself had refused, because he did not want to go! What an enormous honor that was!

“So I would like to ask you, Jiang Dali: what exactly gives you the confidence or qualification to be so arrogant toward me?”

In an instant, every gaze fell upon Jiang Xiaotian, and their eyes were full of hostility.

Even Wang Zhen, who had brought him here, was extremely embarrassed. Yet there was no room for him to intervene now, and he could only stand aside, anxious and glaring helplessly.

Jiang Xiaotian looked up at them and was truly speechless. He cleared his throat twice.

“Why? Because I’m useless. Because I’m the kind of person who won’t die from scalding water. Satisfied? Can we eat in peace now?”

The moment he spoke, he stunned everyone.

No one had expected Jiang Dali to be so shameless!

They were all utterly conquered by Jiang Xiaotian’s thick skin. As the saying goes, if a man has no shame, he is invincible.

After that meal, no one bothered with Jiang Xiaotian again, not even Wang Zhen, whose expression toward him had turned somewhat strange.

But Jiang Xiaotian thought that was fine. At least no one was pestering him now. He simply could not understand why, when he was trying so hard to keep a low profile, people still came looking for trouble.

On the way back, those who had already become acquainted walked shoulder to shoulder, while Jiang Xiaotian alone trailed behind them. He did not mind it at all; in fact, he found it rather leisurely.

But as he had complained before, trouble always found a way.

Sure enough, the pace of three men ahead of him slowed, and before long they had fallen into step beside Jiang Xiaotian.

One of them draped an arm over Jiang Xiaotian’s shoulder and smiled. “Brother Dali, why are you walking alone?”

Jiang Xiaotian sized him up. This fellow seemed to be a member of the Wang family, named Wang Lei. What was he looking for him for?