Chapter 4, The Righteous Hero

The old fisherman, with his murky eyes, suddenly brightened; his lips trembled a few times, but no sound came forth. Soon, the faint glimmer in his eyes gradually dimmed, and the hand gripping Zhou Zishu became powerless, drooping softly. His mouth continued to babble on about something.

"Purple" he did not finish speaking, and then rolled his eyes to meet the King of Hell

The man in black and the girl in purple quickly engaged in combat, while Zhou Zishu observed with clarity. The styles of martial arts employed by the two were quite different, yet their ruthlessness and lack of virtue were comparable, unlike those typically seen among the so-called righteous sects.

Her words were quite cheap and ingratiating, but considering she was a beautiful girl, Zhou Zishu decided not to hold it against her. He smiled and walked over to squat beside the old fisherman, saying, "Brother, call me."

Zhou Zishu slowly pressed his ear to his mouth, only to hear him intermittently say: "You must... you must not be able to... you must... I... even if I go down... I must... your ancestors for eighteen generations..."

Gu Xiang frowned beautifully, although her skills were high, she was still relatively young and inherently had a bit of a mischievous air. How could she endure this young man’s repeated unjust blame? She raised her hand to strike him, but unexpectedly, she was caught by Zhou Zishu, who was beside her, gripping her wrist.

The young man still held a grudge against her for her recent indiscreet remarks, letting out a soft snort and shooting her a glare. At that moment, with his pent-up anger having no outlet, and faced with such an unpredictable and troublesome girl, he couldn't help but secretly vent his frustration on her, as if she were the one responsible for his plight

Zhou Zishu let out a quiet sigh; in the world of martial arts, isn't it all about repaying kindness with kindness and avenging enmity with enmity? What does it matter whether one leaves a name or not?

These words struck Zhou Zishu's heart like a bolt of lightning, causing the pain from the seven orifices and three autumn nails on his chest to flare up again, as if they were about to burrow into his flesh—there is still a next life, after all. In this life, having committed so many sins... even if he were to die three years later, it would be an end to everything, yet... there is still a next life.

The old fisherman, whether it was a moment of clarity or not, gripped his hand with increasing strength, his breath shallow as if lingering in his throat, speaking with a wheezing tone, trembling: "Just consider it as accumulating virtue, accumulating virtue! There are still descendants... Even if there are no children... no grandchildren, there will still be future generations... in the next life."

The young man responded softly, and Zhou Zishu helped him find a spot behind the dilapidated temple to bury the old fisherman. Gu Xiang had been watching from the side, and in the end, perhaps feeling something, ran out to fetch a piece of wood. Drawing a dagger from his waist, he quickly carved a simple tombstone and then asked, "What is this person's name?"

The young girl's kung fu was quite impressive, seemingly surpassing that of the man in black. However, she did not anticipate his cunning move, which startled her. By the time she thought to evade, it was already too late. The small stone that Zhou Zishu had been holding in his palm was finally launched, narrowly grazing her temple as it struck the arrowhead.

The old fisherman interrupted him, saying: "A drop of water... ... in gratitude... ... should be repaid with a fountain... ..."

Zhou Zishu, feeling helpless, was about to offer some words of comfort when unexpectedly, the young man paused for a moment upon hearing this. Suddenly, he turned around, forcefully wiped away his tears, knelt on the ground, and with a sound of "bang bang," bowed his head twice to Gu Xiang, softly saying: "This young lady is right, I apologize for my offense."

She quickly changed her mind, sensing the opportunity with great acuity. Aware of her own capabilities, she readily withdrew her hand, pursed her lips, and said to Zhou Zishu: "I will just give you this favor."

Gu Xiang lowered her head and carefully carved the five characters "Hero Li Dabo" onto the small wooden plaque, examining it after she finished. She felt quite satisfied and then showed it to Zhou Zishu, saying: "Take a look, is it good?"

Gu Xiang only felt a cold hand gently gripping her wrist, and she did not feel pain, nor did she sense how much strength the person used. However, the hand that was raised could not be put down, nor could it be shaken off. She could not help but glance in surprise at this emaciated man, who looked like a consumptive, and thought to herself: "Such a person, the master holds him in high regard, indeed possesses some skill. It is hard to discern his depth; if he truly makes a move, I fear I will not gain any advantage."

After a while, Zhou Zishu sighed, gently discarded the broken silver, then caught it again, and slowly tucked it into his bosom

Then she turned to the young man and scolded, "You little brat, look clearly, I am just passing by, and I happened to help you out of pity. Don't act as if I am going to kill your entire family. If you had any sense at all, you would go seek revenge on your enemies. Look at you, with that pathetic appearance, besides holding a dead person and whining, you only bully me because I have a good temper and tolerate you. How impressive!"

The old fisherman seemed to still have a breath left, struggling to reach out and grasp the sleeve of the young man. The youth hurriedly and carefully lifted him up, holding him in his arms. Upon seeing this, the girl in purple also approached, reached out to flip the old fisherman's eyelids, frowned, and bluntly said: "It is the Three Midnight Heartbreak Powder, and with so much blood lost, I believe he is beyond saving. You should mourn his loss."

This girl is clever, but her way of speaking is truly unpleasant

The old woman on one side was so frightened by the beautiful girl’s ruthless actions that she fell silent

It was that young boy, looking rather simple and honest, who reacted first. He rushed to the old fisherman’s side and anxiously asked, "Uncle Li, how are you? You..."

Zhou Zishu took a look and found that the character "伯" was missing a stroke at the top. He felt a sense of melancholy, mixed with a touch of absurdity, so he used his finger to fill in that stroke, adding it to this exceedingly simple desolate grave.

The young man pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said: "He only mentioned that his surname is Li, that he had received my father's kindness, and that he risked his life to save us. I called him Uncle Li... yet I cannot even recall his full name."

The young man knelt down, bowed three times with a loud thud, made a concerted effort to hold back his tears, and then straightened his back and stood up

The old woman, resembling a housekeeper, was also indecisive, following along and wiping her tears in a daze. Zhou Zishu automatically stood beside the girl in purple. The girl in purple, with her large eyes rolling around, softly asked: "My master says you are formidable, but I haven't seen it yet. Which school do you belong to? What is your name?"

The girl in the purple dress frowned, a murderous intent flickering across her handsome face. As if recalling something, she endured it, forcefully suppressing the killing intent. Standing up with her arms crossed over her chest, she coldly sneered, "Ungrateful little wretch."

She had never heard of anyone in the martial world with the surname Zhou and the given name Xu. Moreover, given their brief encounter, she understood that there was no need to take everything at face value, so she did not take it seriously and did not mind. She took a couple of steps forward, patted the young man's shoulder, and said: "I say, since the person is dead, you might as well have buried him. Is anyone still pursuing you?"

Zhou Zishu had not finished listening to what he was supposed to do for him when he found it both amusing and absurd. He shook his head and was about to stand up, but unexpectedly, the old fisherman reached out and firmly grasped his wrist: "Help me... take this child to Zhao's Village by Taihu Lake..."

Everyone turned their gaze towards Zhou Zishu. The young girl exclaimed, "Oh! I thought it was some expert who helped me, but it turns out to be you. I will treat you to a drink, and you can fight for me. That way, neither of us owes anything to the other."

He clenched his jaw tightly, causing the young man's face to take on a somewhat sharp line. Gu Xiang was taken aback, stepping back half a step, blinking her large, apricot-shaped eyes: "I... I didn't say you should bow to me. You, you should get up quickly."

This person is not a beautiful girl, so Zhou Zishu sighed and said: "I say, this brother..."

Zhou Zishu bit his cheek and said in a refined manner: "I am Zhou... Zhou Xu, a person without a school or sect, merely a lonely ghost wandering the rivers and lakes. May I ask how to address the young lady?"

Zhou Zishu slightly bent down, gently lifted, and somehow the young man was raised up by him. Zhou Zishu said: "First, let us bury this brother Li... Since I have accepted his request, I will accompany you for a while. If you are not in a hurry to continue your journey, we can stay here for the night and you can tell me what happened."

The old fisherman, with great effort, reached into his bosom, while the other four people present, with eight eyes, eagerly awaited to see what he would pull out. After a long pause, the old fisherman extended his fist, presenting it to Zhou Zishu, struggling to look at him. Zhou Zishu hesitated for a moment before reaching out to receive it, only to see a flash of light as a piece of broken silver lay in the palm of his hand

The young man pushed her hand away and glared at her, exclaiming, "What nonsense are you talking about?"

Zhou Zishu raised his eyes, gazing melancholically at the desolate wilderness outside the gate of the library, shrouded in the surrounding night. He pondered whether he should change his face, questioning if this current visage, with its pallor and emaciation, resembled that of a fool too closely

The girl, having faced such risks, did not exhibit the typical fear of an ordinary person. Instead, she became enraged and, without a moment's hesitation, transformed her downward strike into a claw, seizing the leg bone of the man in black. With a twist and a snap, the man let out a horrific scream as she forcefully broke his leg. Yet she was not finished; her delicate hand, resembling a young shoot, extended outwards, emanating a blue light, and struck fiercely against the man's chest. He was sent flying backward, one leg twisted in a contorted position, his face rapidly turning a shade of purplish-gray. With eyes wide in disbelief, he pointed at the girl and exclaimed: "You are Zi... Zi..."

After only about fourteen or fifteen moves, the man in black suddenly feigned backward with a swift motion in response to the girl's palm strike. He then kicked towards her vital point. The girl sidestepped to avoid the attack, letting out a light reprimand, and raised her hand to strike downwards, clearly intending to cripple his kneecap on the spot. Unexpectedly, something on the man's pants made a sound, and a spring mechanism on his calf activated, launching a broken arrow directly at the girl's chin

The old fisherman cast a murky gaze upon her for a moment, then swept past, making a full circle, ultimately landing on the comically disheveled figure of Zhou Zishu, who had two strands of straw stuck in his hair, at the foot of the Buddha statue, and opened his mouth in his direction

The old fisherman began to speak: "I... I will return the silver to you, allowing you to ride the boat for free, you will help me... help me..."

The young girl scrutinized him from head to toe and shook her head, saying: "If it weren't for that face of yours resembling a consumptive, the manner in which you speak would indeed seem quite impressive. My name is Gu Xiang"

Zhou Zishu straightened his back, utterly speechless. Then, the old fisherman tilted his head and breathed his last. The young man began to wail mournfully, shaking the heavens and the earth.