Unorthodox Wuxia: While Others Practice Martial Arts, I Cultivate Immortality - Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Recruitment

“Nightmare?” Yuan Zhao walked to the bed and sat down. Patting her back gently to comfort her.

“Mm~” Ah Qing nodded vigorously while hugging her sister.

“Don’t be afraid. I’m here,” Yuan Zhao comforted her gently.

“Sister… did I really kill someone?” Ah Qing asked hesitantly.

Her memory clearly recalled killing someone, but her consciousness didn’t feel it at all.

It was as if her mind had left her body and watched her own body commit the act.

Yuan Zhao said, “It’s nothing serious. Ah Qing, the person you killed was scum. You were doing a good deed.”

“Really?” Ah Qing asked.

“Really!” Yuan Zhao answered seriously.

“Mm~ everything Sister says is right. I’ll listen to Sister!” Ah Qing nodded firmly.

Yuan Zhao patted the back of her head. “Hungry? I’m cooking beef. I’ll make you a bowl of noodles too.”

“Mm~ I’m hungry,” Ah Qing said with a smile.

“Then go wash your face first. It’ll be ready soon,” Yuan Zhao said as she got up and walked out.

Under the warm light, her face looked soft and gentle—completely different from her decisive and ruthless demeanor during the day.

At that moment, Ah Qing silently made up her mind: no matter what, she would protect her sister.

When Yuan Zhao looked up, she saw Ah Qing staring at her in a daze. For a moment, she felt like Ah Qing had suddenly grown up.

“What are you daydreaming about? Come in, it’s ready to eat!”

Yuan Zhao quickly served Ah Qing a bowl of noodles and poured the beef soup on top.

Ah Qing took the beef noodles and saw her sister serving herself another bowl. Yuan Zhao smiled. “I’m hungry too. Let’s eat together.”

“Mm~”

Ah Qing nodded and followed her sister into the main room.

Of course, the two sisters didn’t forget the old wolf Wolf—they left him a big piece of beef too.

After they were full, the little family of three began their cultivation.

The night passed just like that.

The next morning, the sisters got up and started preparing as the Zhao family’s noodle stall was reopening today.

After some work, a few young men appeared outside their courtyard.

When they saw Yuan Zhao and Ah Qing, they looked away nervously and trembled. Seeing that the sisters weren’t going to do anything to them, they breathed a sigh of relief and got to work.

Once everything was ready, the noodle stall officially opened. The sisters busied themselves excitedly behind the stove, but after a long while, not a single customer arrived.

Ah Qing frowned. “Sister, why isn’t anyone coming? Could it be because Grandpa’s not here and they don’t trust our cooking?”

Yuan Zhao thought for a moment and shook her head. “That might be part of it, but not all.”

“Then what is it?” Ah Qing asked, confused.

Yuan Zhao replied, “I’m afraid it’s because of what happened yesterday.”

Which ordinary citizen would dare eat at the stall of a murderer?

Besides, the people of Tianmen Town had long suffered under martial artists, half of their annual deaths were due to duels between them or oppression by military soldiers from Great Liang and Great Xiao. So ordinary folk instinctively distrusted martial artists.

That’s also why the Luo brothers and Zhou Qing reacted so drastically after learning Yuan Zhao was a martial artist.

Yuan Zhao sighed in frustration.

Ah Qing grew increasingly anxious. “What do we do now?”

Without the noodle stall, how could the sisters survive in Tianmen Town?

Just as they were at a loss, a group of finely dressed people appeared in front of them.

There were men and women, each with an impressive presence and confident stride. Leading them was a tall, handsome middle-aged man.

What surprised them even more was that this group walked straight toward their stall.

Trouble?

Yuan Zhao watched them calmly, but before she could react, the group sat down casually, filling up every seat at the stall.

One of them waved to Yuan Zhao. “Miss, give each of us a bowl of beef noodles.” From his tone, he didn’t seem to be looking for trouble.

“Alright, coming right up!” Yuan Zhao replied and started preparing.

She made the noodles, and Ah Qing served them.

Naturally, the leader was the first to be served.

Though refined in appearance, he ate heartily, taking a big bite of noodles followed by a loud gulp of soup. Then he put the bowl down, licked his lips, and exclaimed, “Marvelous! This broth and noodles are both exquisite! I’ve wasted my years in Tianmen Town missing out on such a delicacy!”

He turned to Yuan Zhao and gave a respectful bow. “Miss Yuan, you have hands that turn the ordinary into divine!” Yuan Zhao was taken aback. “You know me, sir?”

The man stood up, smiling. “I am Han Long, the master of Xiaoyue Pavilion. My son offended you yesterday, so I’ve come to apologize.”

The resemblance in their features made it clear—of course she recognized him.

Yuan Zhao quickly returned the bow. “Ah, so you’re Master Han of Xiaoyue Pavilion, it’s a pleasure to meet you!”

Not that it really was, she hadn’t even known his name before.

Truthfully, her previous status wouldn’t have allowed her to know.

Han Long said, “My son has some talent in martial arts, but he’s dense when it comes to people. He tends to act rashly. Please forgive him.”

Yuan Zhao shook her head. “You’re too kind, Master Han. It was all a misunderstanding, no need for you to personally come.”

Han Long laughed heartily. “Nonsense! I had to. And besides, how else could I taste such fine food?”

Yuan Zhao smiled. “If you enjoy it, please come often.”

“Certainly, certainly!” Han Long bowed again and ordered a second bowl.

Watching Yuan Zhao knead dough, Han Long was stunned.

Such precise technique! Perhaps even better than his family’s secret methods. Who exactly was this girl?

Thinking of this, he asked, “I heard from my son that you defeated him in just two moves. May I ask where you trained?”

Yuan Zhao smiled and shook her head. “I have no sect or master, just a country girl.”

He frowned slightly. Then asked again, “With your skills, do you have any future plans?”

Without looking up, Yuan Zhao replied, “What else? I just want to run this noodle stall and live a good life.”

Han Long couldn’t understand. “With your ability, you could achieve so much more. Are you content doing something so small?”

His son was a third-grade martial artist, and this Miss Yuan had defeated him with ease, meaning she was at least second grade.

Han Long himself was barely a second-grade martial artist. But this young lady still had endless potential!

What Yuan Zhao didn’t know was that martial artist strength was ranked in tiers: from lowest to highest—unranked, third grade, second grade, first grade, and peerless masters.

Above peerless was the mythical “innate” realm, but that was considered legend. Only one such innate master had been recorded: the White-Clad Wanderer, the top Daoist 400 years ago.

He mysteriously vanished at his peak, and no one knows his whereabouts.

Hearing Han Long’s words, Yuan Zhao shook her head. “You flatter me, Master Han. My minor skills aren’t worth showing off.”

To Han Long, it sounded like humility. “Miss Yuan, I have a suggestion. You might as well listen to it.”

“Please, go ahead, Senior,” Yuan Zhao said with a puzzled look.

“How about this, young lady—why not join my Xiaoyue Pavilion? While we’re not a large organization like the other Wind Chasing Towers, we still hold a certain reputation and network in the martial world. If you’re willing to join, I’ll welcome you as an honored guest!”

So that was Han Long’s true intention for visiting today.

Organizations like the Wind Chasing Towers value fame and prestige above all. With a supreme martial artist backing them, even a small group could rise to fame overnight.

Yuan Zhao was stunned by his words, looking at Han Long in surprise. She hadn’t expected him to say that.

But seeing how earnest he looked, without a trace of deceit, she couldn’t help but wonder: Am I really that strong?

Truth be told, she still wasn’t quite sure where she stood in terms of martial power.

After thinking for a while, Yuan Zhao shook her head and politely declined.

“I’m sorry, Senior Han.”

A flicker of disappointment crossed Han Long’s face. But he wasn’t surprised—experts and geniuses always had their pride.

“Everyone has their own aspirations. Since Miss Yuan is unwilling, I won’t insist. But know that the doors of Xiaoyue Pavilion will always be open to you.”

“Thank you for your understanding, Senior,” Yuan Zhao replied with a smile.

After finishing his meal, Han Long stood up to take his leave. “Miss Yuan, I’ll be back tomorrow!”

He added, “If you ever need anything, feel free to come find me at Xiaoyue Pavilion.”

Just then, Yuan Zhao seemed to recall something. “There actually is something I’d like to trouble you with, Senior.”

Han Long brightened. “Please, go ahead.”

“It’s like this—I want to renovate the house next door into a noodle shop, but I haven’t been able to find the right help. If you know anyone suitable, I’d appreciate a recommendation.”

In truth, it wasn’t that she couldn’t find workers, it would just take some time. The real reason she was asking Han Long was to deliberately offer Xiaoyue Pavilion a chance to earn some goodwill.

Refusing to join didn’t mean they couldn’t form a friendly relationship. Once favors were exchanged, opportunities to interact would follow naturally. And it wasn’t exactly a major favor either.

The “house next door” naturally referred to the one that used to belong to Wu Dazhuang.

Since the house and land were hers now, she had to put them to good use.

Running a street stall couldn’t compare to operating an actual shop. A stall meant dealing with wind, rain, and limited space. A shop would be much more convenient, and even if they didn’t have many customers now, it was always good to have dreams.

“Oh, so that’s what it is.” Han Long nodded in understanding. “Rest assured, leave it to me!”

“Then I’ll be counting on you, Senior,” Yuan Zhao said gratefully.

After watching the Xiaoyue Pavilion crew depart, Ah Qing asked, “Sister, are we really going to turn Wu Dazhuang’s place into our noodle shop?”

Yuan Zhao nodded. “Yup. Why not?”

“We don’t need to worry about anything?”

“We’ll deal with it when the time comes. No need to overthink,” Yuan Zhao said casually.

“Oh~” Ah Qing nodded. Since her sister said not to worry, she wouldn’t.

Soon after, a few more customers started arriving at their stall. None were locals, they were martial artists and wanderers who traveled from place to place. Some had been to the Zhao family stall before, while others were first-timers.

They didn’t care whether Yuan Zhao and Ah Qing had killed anyone. In their world, where people lived and died by the sword, who didn’t have a few lives on their hands?

Just like that, the noodle stall grew a little more lively again. By the time evening approached, the sisters finally got a break.

Their courtyard gate had been repaired, though the workers had vanished without a trace. The new gate was large and sturdy, offering a strong sense of security.

“Didn’t expect them to do such a good job,” Ah Qing said happily.

The sisters cheerfully headed inside. Ah Qing fed the chickens while Yuan Zhao watered the vegetable patch.

Time passed quickly, and several days went by.

In the days that followed, Han Long came by almost every day to support their business.

It was clear that he genuinely liked Yuan Zhao’s cooking—he always finished two big bowls and sometimes even got takeout for his wife to try.

He also introduced a carpenter and a mason to help renovate the noodle shop.

Since they were only modifying the existing structure instead of rebuilding it, the cost was relatively low.

Yuan Zhao’s only requests were to widen the courtyard gate to allow easy access for customers, and to remodel the kitchen.

On a side note, Yuan Zhao discovered a stash of money in Wu Dazhuang’s house. As it turned out, the Wu family had been wealthier than most, likely thanks to his work as a butcher.

All in all, she found 83 taels of silver and 15 strings of copper coins—even more than what Old Zhao and Yuan Zhao’s “surprise funds” combined had amounted to!

Thanks to this unexpected windfall, Yuan Zhao had been in a great mood for days.

***

On this particular day, Yuan Zhao and Ah Qing were running their street stall as usual.

Because the head of Xiaoyue Pavilion regularly dined there, word of the noodle stall had spread far and wide, attracting many martial artists eager to try the food.

Business had been excellent in recent days.

Good business meant good moods.

The two sisters coordinated perfectly, one kneaded the dough, the other pulled the noodles.

But just then, a sudden commotion arose in the distance.

Next, Yuan Zhao and Ah Qing spotted a group of soldiers marching hurriedly toward them. Judging by their uniforms, their identity was clear:

Soldiers of the Great Xiao Empire?

Seeing them, Yuan Zhao immediately tensed.