Chapter 393: Chapter 180: Senior Brother

But Steward Sun ate with great relish, his eyebrows twitching in enjoyment. The rigid lines of his face softened considerably, and even the look he gave Chen Cheng held a new warmth.

Chen Cheng paid him no more mind and stepped back to the doorway. He broke the wax seal on the bamboo tube and shook out a small, rolled-up piece of letter paper.

After unrolling the letter paper and briefly scanning its contents, Chen Cheng’s brow furrowed slightly.

Steward Sun noticed Chen Cheng’s change in expression and asked casually,

"What’s wrong?"

"...A friend’s caravan was ambushed by a gang of vicious bandits on Grass Vulture Mountain."

Chen Cheng said,

"The letter says coming to me would be more useful than going to the authorities... They want me to go and negotiate as a disciple of the Mountain and Sea Sect, to see if we can pay a ransom to get the goods back."

"Grass Vulture Mountain?"

Steward Sun’s eyes filled with disdain as he said,

"Just a bunch of pushovers. You can go. Take your Inner Sect token with you, and they won’t dare say no."

As he spoke, Steward Sun picked up the bowl with both hands. Not minding the heat, he downed the rest of the soup and meat in one go.

He didn’t even seem to chew, just swallowing it whole.

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he let out a series of satisfied grunts, like a man who’d been starving for days and had finally eaten his fill.

"So good..."

Finally, he let out a long breath, raised a hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, and said in a deep voice,

"Before you leave, come find me at the entrance to the General Affairs Hall. I don’t take favors without returning them."

He was surprisingly considerate. Before leaving, he scooped some water from the basin himself, washed the bowl and chopsticks, and put them away neatly.

...

「A short while later.」

Chen Cheng arrived at the entrance of the General Affairs Hall as requested.

He was dressed in the light blue martial attire of the Fishing Pavilion, with a black leather belt cinched at his waist. A few small leather pouches hung from the belt, knocking together softly with a dull THUD-THUD as he walked.

Slung across his back was a long, flat wooden box that looked extremely heavy, yet he showed no sign of strain.

"Senior Brother Chen."

Seeing Chen Cheng approach, a disciple from the General Affairs Hall immediately came forward to inform him,

"Steward Sun stepped out, but he’ll be back soon. He asked you to wait for a moment."

Chen Cheng nodded and waited at the entrance.

Before long, a rapid patter of hoofbeats sounded, growing closer and closer, as dense as a drumroll.

Chen Cheng looked toward the sound and saw five or six disciples in martial attire galloping toward him on tall, magnificent horses.

The mounts were all carefully selected, high-grade warhorses—sturdy and well-muscled. Their hooves flew across the ground, and their manes streamed in the morning wind.

The rider in the lead was none other than Dong Chuo. He was already a burly figure, and mounted on a powerful, pure black stallion, his presence was even more overwhelming, like a mountain bearing down on them.

He wore a pair of Profound Iron Hand Armor, with spikes like animal fangs protruding from the knuckles. A single punch looked like it could easily shatter an iron plate the thickness of a man’s palm.

Four others followed him, all of them superb riders.

To his left was Yin Xi, a longbow slung across his back. His plain face was mostly expressionless, but a peculiar glint flashed in his eyes when he saw Chen Cheng.

Ning Chong was on the other side, also wearing a pair of Profound Iron Hand Armor. However, judging by the quality and forging details, his pair was far inferior to Dong Chuo’s.

Chen Cheng didn’t recognize the other two, but from their attire and bearing, they were either elites of the Outer Sect or even Core Disciples. One carried a saber and the other a bow. Both had powerful auras, far surpassing that of ordinary disciples.

Reaching Chen Cheng, Dong Chuo was the first to rein in his horse. He did not dismount, instead looking down on Chen Cheng and asking casually,

"Master Che—... Junior Brother Chen, have you changed your mind? Decided you want to join us on the hunt at Feidang Mountain after all?"

As he spoke, the others also reined in their warhorses before Chen Cheng.

"Too bad we don’t have a spare horse for you. I guess you’ll just have to wait until next time, and we’ll take you along then."

Dong Chuo looked at Chen Cheng with a smirk.

Before Chen Cheng could respond, Yin Xi chimed in with a jeer,

"Junior Brother Chen, Senior Brother Dong doesn’t just invite anyone. That was a precious opportunity you didn’t appreciate. It’s too late for regrets now."

The other two also sneered.

The young man named Li Gang said bluntly,

"Junior Brother Chen, this is our first time meeting, but I have to say... your reputation seems a bit overblown."

Beside him, the young man named Guan Tong took on a lecturing tone.

"If you regretted your decision and wanted to join the hunt, you should have prepared your own warhorse. How could you just stand there expectantly, waiting for Senior Brother Dong to provide one for you?"

He paused, then deliberately raised his voice.

"Junior Brother Chen, I’m not trying to criticize you, but really! You take things far too much for granted..."

Seeing how they were treating Chen Cheng, Ning Chong’s brows had knitted together tightly. But it seemed they had some kind of leverage over him, as he didn’t dare to speak a word in Chen Cheng’s defense.

"Insolent!"

Just then, a low shout echoed from a side alley next to the General Affairs Hall.

Accompanying the shout was the deep, heavy, low roar of a fierce tiger.

The sound wasn’t loud, but it was so resonant it felt like muffled thunder rolling beneath the ground.

The people present didn’t seem to feel much, but the warhorses were terrified, their hooves stamping wildly as their bodies trembled.

Chen Cheng looked toward the sound and saw Steward Sun walking slowly out of the alley. He was holding a rein much thicker than any ordinary one, and at the end of that rein was a massive tiger.

The tiger was enormous, its shoulders nearly reaching Steward Sun’s chest. Its entire body was a pattern of black and yellow stripes that gleamed with an oily sheen in the morning light.

Muscles rippled beneath its hide as it walked. Each step was steady and powerful, its paws landing silently on the ground, yet it exuded a chilling pressure that sent a shiver down the spine.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.