The Life of a Necromancer as a Swashbuckler

Chapter 18: Nameless, the Xiaoyao Hero

At that moment, Nameless was at his wits’ end. He sat emotionlessly atop his fine steed, watching the residents of Suiyang County lining the road cheer for him as if he were a hero, yet inside he felt an embarrassment as if ten thousand ants were crawling over him. For his meritorious service in assisting the Divine Constable Zhui Feng with his investigation—and for successfully rescuing the three missing young ladies of Suiyang County—Nameless had been honored by the county as a hero of the case. He was now parading through the city on horseback, basking in the cheers of the crowd. In addition, upon seeing their daughters return safe and sound, the heads of the Li and Wang families, along with the wealthy gentleman of the Zhang family, all generously expressed their gratitude, each presenting Nameless with a silver note worth 10,000 taels. Upon learning that Nameless was a martial artist, the head of the Li family insisted on providing him with a copy of his family’s ancestral martial arts manual, *Lingxi Yizhi* (The Spirit-Resonating Finger). Mr. Wang, in turn, presented him with the ancestral “Snow-Drinking Mad Sword” as a token of gratitude, while Mr. Zhang, the wealthy landowner, gifted him a night pearl as large as a fist. At the same time, the Magistrate of Suiyang County reported Nameless’s exploits to the imperial court. As a result, within a few days, an imperial edict was issued, officially designating Nameless as the “Xiaoyao Hero” to commend martial artists for their contributions to the court—rooting out evil and bringing peace to the people—and to encourage members of the Martial Arts World to take Nameless as their role model. Sitting on his horse, Nameless glanced at the “Xiaoyao Hero” medal hanging from his waist and felt the three-ten-thousand-tael silver note in his embrace, and suddenly felt a pang of guilt. For he knew full well that all of this had actually been arranged by the Divine Constable Zhui Feng. Upon learning the full story, the Divine Constable Zhui Feng immediately devised a foolproof plan; after all, having served in government offices for many years, he was well-versed in their inner workings and tricks of the trade. Specifically, the Divine Constable Zhui Feng pretended to be investigating a case. With the assistance of Nameless, a disciple of the Xiaoyao Sect, he located the hideout of “Piao,” the Flower-Stealing Bandit and one of the Four Evils of the Underworld. After a fierce battle, the two worked together to safely rescue the three young ladies. However, Piao’s martial arts were too formidable, and he eluded capture; instead, Nameless was seriously injured in the process. The young ladies were then escorted home, but having been held hostage by the “Flower Thief,” they were deemed ineligible to participate in the imperial selection—even though they had suffered no physical harm. Nameless assisted the Divine Constable in successfully solving the case and was wounded in the line of duty; he was therefore rightfully commended, which led to the reward mentioned at the beginning. Although the Divine Constable Zhui Feng did not capture Piao, he did resolve the case itself and thus considered his mission successfully completed. As for the charges against the “Flower Thief,” they were pinned on Piao, who was completely unaware of the situation. As for Yingyue and Xiao Yan, whose backgrounds and identities remain unknown, they are not discussed further. After the incident, Divine Constable Zhui Feng concluded his investigation and returned to the capital to report. The three young ladies settled back into their lives; Yingyue and Xiao Yan, whose injuries had not yet healed, remained in the valley to recuperate, while Nameless still had an unfinished mission: he had to continue escorting Shi Jingyu back to Tiezhang Peak. Over the past few days, Shi Jingyu had been completely bewildered. What had happened? Who was she? Where was she? How was it that, after just one night’s sleep, this Nameless hero had transformed into a legendary Xiaoyao hero? First, a triumphant parade through the streets on horseback; then, a royal commendation from the imperial court. What on earth was going on? She’d heard that Nameless had captured the “Flower Thief” and rescued the missing young ladies, but Shi Jingyu still found it hard to believe. She knew Nameless’s martial arts skills all too well—he couldn’t even beat her—so how could he possibly have caught the “Flower Thief”? She’d wanted to ask Nameless about it, but he was simply too busy; she couldn’t even get a word in edgewise, so she had no choice but to let it go. Should the escort mission continue? Shi Jingyu was also unsure. She’d originally planned to just go back on her own, but Nameless insisted on continuing the escort—which actually warmed her heart a little. So escorting her was that important to him, after all. In truth, Nameless’s plan was to use escorting Shi Jingyu as the best excuse to extricate himself from the situation; he simply couldn’t bear the pangs of conscience if he were to stay in this place any longer. By the time the case was closed and all rewards had been distributed, it was already the fifth day since Nameless and Shi Jingyu had arrived in Suiyang County. Over the past few days, local dignitaries from all over had taken turns paying their respects to express their gratitude, and invitations to various banquets had come pouring in. Wuming was overwhelmed until the imperial token arrived, marking the end of the three-day horseback procession through the streets—only then did the entire affair finally come to a close. Only after they had traveled a great distance away from Suiyang County did Nameless’s heart, which had been in his throat, slowly settle back into his chest. Now, when he looked at Shi Jingyu, she was still just as adorable as ever, but his urge to tease her had diminished considerably; instead, he had grown increasingly quiet. Shi Jingyu, on the other hand, was overjoyed. The man by her side had transformed into a great hero, and she couldn’t help but let her girlish imagination run a little wild. Sometimes she found Nameless’s smooth-talking rather annoying, but now that he’d become a great hero and grown much more reserved, she found him much more steady and reliable—which pleased her even more. “Brother Wu, how did you subdue the Flower Thief? Will you tell me about it?” Shi Jingyu had already asked Nameless this question many times along the way. “Do you want to be ‘plucked’?” Nameless replied each time in a tone that was both roguish and off-putting—but it worked like a charm. Whenever he said that, Shi Jingyu would puff out her rosy cheeks and fall silent, quickly bringing the topic to a close. With no further conversation along the way, a few days later, the two arrived at the foot of Tiezhang Peak within the territory of Zhili Prefecture. True to its name, Tiezhang Peak looked from afar as if a palm had grown out of the mountains. Rugged and bizarre, its peaks were steep and perilous; not a bird flew over its thousand mountains, nor a soul tread its ten thousand paths—it was a place where few people ventured. The Iron Palm Sect was situated on Mogan Peak, the highest peak of Tiezhang Peak. Even for most people, climbing it was extremely difficult, which spoke to the sect’s strict requirements for its disciples’ martial arts skills. Having escorted her to the foot of the peak, Nameless was about to bid farewell to Shi Jingyu. For one thing, Nameless had too much on his mind and wanted to hurry back to Xiaoyao Valley to train in martial arts; for another, he was currently unable to climb up—his martial arts were too weak, and Mogan Peak was simply too high. “Very well, Miss Shi. Even if one accompanies a friend a thousand li, parting is inevitable. I have finally brought you here and fulfilled my mission, so it is time to say goodbye.” Nameless felt a bit reluctant to part ways; he had always harbored a special affection for Shi Jingyu in his heart. “All right, Brother Wu, thank you for escorting me all this way,” Shi Jingyu said, her own heart secretly stirred by her feelings for him. “Then, farewell.” The two stood facing each other in silence. They’d exchanged farewells, but neither made a move to part, as if they had a thousand words to say yet didn’t know where to begin. “How about it, Brother Wu? Why don’t you come with me to the Iron Palm Sect? Maybe Father would like to meet you.” Shi Jingyu, as if suddenly remembering something, said with a charming smile. Nameless looked up at Mogan Peak and pondered for a moment. “I can’t go up there,” he said, finally revealing the truth after holding it in for so long—as if his composure had crumbled in an instant. Shi Jingyu couldn’t help but laugh. Though Wuming’s martial arts were nameless, he was certainly honest. “All right, then I’ll wait for Brother Wu to return from studying martial arts at the Xiaoyao Sect before we come back to Mogan Peak,” Shi Jingyu said with a smile, her face flushing slightly. “Mm, okay,” Nameless replied, having made up his mind. He was becoming increasingly aware that in this world, with such meager martial arts skills, he wouldn’t get very far. “Goodbye then, Brother Wu.” Girls were a bit more carefree after all; it wasn’t quite appropriate to be chatting with a young man for so long right outside her own front door. “Mm-hmm, okay. Goodbye.” Nameless was a sensible man; he smiled and slowly turned to leave. Just as the two were lingering, they suddenly heard shouts coming from far behind them: “Hero Nameless of the Xiaoyao Sect, please wait! The Grandmaster of the Iron Palm Sect requests your presence. Young Miss, please hold Hero Nameless back—don’t let him leave!” A group of people was approaching from the distance.