Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 987: Chapter 31: Changing Fate (Part 1)

Mo Xiaofei and Zhuifeng exchanged a glance, a bit unsure about the intentions of these two strangers.

“Um… gentlemen, is there some misunderstanding?” Mo Xiaofei stood up and said, “We’re just passing through, we’re not any masters.”

Song Da, who called himself Song Qingshu, said seriously, “No need for you two young masters to hide. Just now, my brother and I witnessed your extraordinary agility techniques, truly impressive!”

Mo Xiaofei was momentarily stunned… He had tried his best to fly in places without people and mostly chose to travel at night. Today, because the road was mountainous, he decided to fly a bit during the day—and indeed, he was seen.

“To be honest, my brother and I are also martial artists.” Song Da, who claimed to be Song QingshuTwo, exhaled slowly and pressed his palm against a tree trunk nearby.

As soon as Song San’s hand left, there was a clear palm imprint on the tree trunk—about an inch or two deep.

“Wow, how did he do that…” Zhuifeng curiously walked up to the tree trunk and examined the palm print.

With the power of the demons, smashing the tree wouldn’t be difficult, but leaving such a mark with a gentle press was something he simply couldn’t do.

Song San looked pleased, chuckling as he said, “It’s merely some palm technique training, really nothing compared to the young master’s levitation skills.”

Martial arts experts?

Mo Xiaofei blinked—since this world allows the existence of beings like Zhuifeng, true dragons, and even himself as a super power user…plus the boss, the existence of martial arts experts doesn’t seem too strange.

Mo Xiaofei felt it would be best to keep his super powers hidden. Since these two thought it was so-called agility skill, that’s fine.

“May I ask from which master you gained your skills?” Song Da clasped his fists in courtesy.

Mo Xiaofei coughed lightly and said, “Um… sorry, I promised my teacher I wouldn’t reveal that casually…”

“I understand.” Song Da nodded, not seeming surprised, and immediately said, “I sincerely apologize for disturbing you, but my brother and I have trained hard since childhood, and have learned some skills. Although the lands of China are vast, nowadays it’s really hard to find true martial artists. We haven’t made progress in a long time, and I wonder if you could guide us a bit, young masters.”

Song Da had already spoken with great politeness.

It was precisely because they had witnessed these two airborne for such a long time that Song Da was so patient and addressed them as ‘young master’—otherwise, it seems they are just kids.

On the other hand, Mo Xiaofei felt a bit guilty refusing—after all, the excitement in the big man’s eyes was evident.

But I don’t know martial arts…

“Let me try!”

Unexpectedly, Zhuifeng excitedly said this and then struck a pose, closing his eyes as he stood in front of the tree trunk, imitating Song San’s actions, and pressed his palm against the trunk.

However, after pressing for a while, nothing happened.

Song Da and Song San exchanged a glance, with Song San shaking his head, then smiling slightly, “Young master, although this is not a top-notch technique, it still requires years of hard work to achieve…”

Suddenly, an overwhelming, wild aura erupted from Zhuifeng, and in an instant, it seemed as if a wave of murderous intent surged into the sky, covering dark clouds!

Under the impact of this terrifying aura, Song Da and Song San instantly had dry mouths and buzzing minds!

With a loud bang, both Song Da and Song San’s eyes widened, their eyeballs almost popping out.

For under Zhuifeng’s hand, the entire trunk of the tree just exploded like that, and the once thick trunk turned directly into wood chips…

Rumbling…

“This is really hard…” Zhuifeng shook his head, glanced at his palm, and pressed towards another tree, seemingly intent on trying again.

Mo Xiaofei, in shock, rushed to stand in front of Zhuifeng, knocking hard on his head, “Are you stupid? This is a scenic area, what if we have to pay for the damages?”

“Big brother, I did hold back my strength…” Zhuifeng slumped his shoulders.

He feared nothing but for some reason actually feared Mo Xiaofei’s scolding, and could only obediently bow his head.

Mo Xiaofei sighed, “I’ve only got a little pocket money left. Let’s find the person in charge, see if we need to pay, see if it’s enough. Also, you released too much monster’s aura, what if you’re discovered?”

“Sorry, I really tried to hold back, I didn’t release much…” Zhuifeng said, lowering his head.

Mo Xiaofei sighed again, casually ruffling Zhuifeng’s hair before turning around, “Right, gentlemen… hm, where did they go?”

Mo Xiaofei blinked, the strange gentlemen who suddenly appeared were gone without a trace.

Zhuifeng sniffed the air, then pointed in one direction, “Seems they went that way, should we chase?”

“Forget it, let’s figure out what to do about this tree first.” Mo Xiaofei shook his head.

Probably scared away by Zhuifeng’s aura… For Mo Xiaofei, this was a mere episode.

…

Outside the woods, under the electric pole, Song Da and Song San leaned, both soaked, catching their breath.

“That aura… was it really released by a person?” Song San took several deep breaths, “For a moment, I thought I was going to be killed…”

He tried to light a cigarette, but his trembling hands dropped it, unable to hold from the box.

Song Da mentally recited the cultivation technique Mr. Blind once wrote for him to calm down, finally taking a deep breath, “Back at the Shaolin Temple, the master always said, China has so many talented individuals, there’s always a mountain beyond the mountain, a person beyond the person. Mr. Blind also said, at his level, there are still many more skilled than him…”

Song Da gave a bitter smile, “All these years our trio lived abroad, not only have our martial arts stagnated, our insight probably has too… That young master’s palm, if pressed on me, I’m afraid even my iron body training wouldn’t withstand it.”

“Indeed, who would have thought these two, so young, would have such profound martial artist strength?” Song San also sighed, then added, “Perhaps… perhaps it’s not just martial artist strength.”

“You mean… these two young masters are like Mr. Blind?” Song Da was taken aback.

Song San said, “Ahda, truly, you and I are martial artists, trained hard for decades… do you think, with just martial arts strength, one can fly through the air? That’s just fantasy we’ve always had.”

Song Da said nothing, but in his heart, he’d somewhat agreed with Song San—this is, after all, Mountain Wudang. Perhaps to ordinary people, it’s just a famous scenic location, but Mount Wudang is known for hiding masters, which he’d heard from his master during his time at Shaolin Temple.

Although the words were like this, encountering two young men with extraordinary skills far beyond themselves, the brothers Song Da and Song San inevitably felt a bit disappointed, losing the mood to continue sightseeing, and headed directly towards the house within the bamboo forest.

Unexpectedly, on the way, they met the blind man walking out.

Mr. Blind saw the two and didn’t say much, directly saying, “I’ve finished dealing with Wudang’s matters; now we need to leave here.”

“So soon?” Song Da was startled.

Mr. Blind replied, “I’ve seen the message my senior brother from the sect left me. It contains our sect’s special way of deciphering. He’s already told me the destination of this journey… there’s no time to lose, let’s go now.”

“Alright.” Song Da nodded but suddenly recalled the encounter with the young masters in the forest, pondering this he said, “By the way, Blind Man, let me ask you something.”

“Speak.”

“On Mountain Wudang, is there anyone like you?” Song Da stared at Mr. Blind and asked.

Mr. Blind was silent for a moment, then slowly said, “There used to be.”

“And now…”

Mr. Blind didn’t answer, simply said, “It’s getting late, are you going or not? If not, I can go alone.”

Song Da and Song San exchanged glances and had no choice but to nod— they didn’t mention the encounter with those young masters because it was too embarrassing.

…

…

Mo Xiaofei and Zhuifeng circled around nearby but couldn’t find anything like a management office, helplessly Mo Xiaofei had to return to where they started, sort out the ‘corpse’ of the fallen ancient tree, then discussed with Zhuifeng to continue their journey.

Surprisingly, in the depths of the mountain forest, they could still encounter living people, seems like traveling during the day was indeed a bit dangerous, so Mo Xiaofei had no choice but to continue with his plan of night travel.

“Also, Zhuifeng, we were clearly heading to Mount Tai, why did we end up flying to Mountain Wudang? Your navigation is problematic!”

From their starting place, Mountain Wudang wasn’t on a straight line connected to Mount Tai,

“We traveled all mountain roads, they looked similar, and there’s no sign… it’s lucky we didn’t head to the sea, right?” Zhuifeng stuck out his tongue, then suddenly said, “Big brother, there’s light ahead, looks like someone lives there.”

It was light coming from deep within the bamboo forest, appearing to be a wooden house.

“How about we stay here overnight?” Zhuifeng suggested.

Mo Xiaofei thought for a while, the journey yesterday and tonight amounted to one night and one day, about fifteen hours flying time, indeed approaching his limit.

At this moment, he felt a headache, knowing he couldn’t continue to forcefully travel, he had no choice but to nod.

They quietly landed before this wooden house’s door… it turned out to be an exquisitely constructed house, unlike something randomly built.

“Is anyone there?”

Mo Xiaofei and Zhuifeng waited outside for a while, then footsteps were heard, followed by an elderly man with white hair and a weary expression opening the door.

“Hello, sir.” Mo Xiaofei spoke politely, “My brother and I were lost nearby, accidentally found this place, and our phone just ran out of battery… would you mind if we stayed here for the night?”

The old man looked at Mo Xiaofei and Zhuifeng for a while, uncertain what he was thinking.

His gaze was dark and intimidating, causing Mo Xiaofei and Zhuifeng to feel slightly uncomfortable— unexpectedly the old man suddenly showed a smile, kindly saying, “Come in, it’s cold outside. Rest a bit first, I’m cooking anyway, you can join if you don’t mind.”

“Thank you, sir!” Mo Xiaofei hurriedly expressed his thanks politely.

The old man led them into the wooden house, then went to the kitchen, leaving them in a small hall within the house.

The structure of the wooden house was older than any old house Mo Xiaofei had seen, yet it was spotlessly clean, indicating someone had been living here.

Zhuifeng laid down with his hands behind his head, saying, “Big brother, this old man seems weird, let’s be cautious… living alone in such a deep forest, who knows why.”

Mo Xiaofei nodded, that elderly man’s gaze was peculiar at first.

It seemed lifeless, but then suddenly brightened.

At this moment, Zhuifeng yawned, and lay on the table saying, “Big brother, I’m a bit sleepy, call me for dinner later.”

Mo Xiaofei shook his head, seeing Zhuifeng sleeping instantly, couldn’t help but feel amused.

Yet the depths of the bamboo forest were unusually quiet, under the sunset the silence was pervasive, only the candle flickered before his eyes, as he worked, Mo Xiaofei felt drowsy, slowly closing his eyes.

For someone like him, a power user, the best way to replenish spirit was rest and sleep.

At this moment, a night breeze blew through the window, instantly extinguishing the candle in the small hall.

Soon after, the wooden door outside the hall opened slowly, the old man from the kitchen carried some food into the hall. He didn’t intend to light the candle, relying on some light outside the hall to move around.

Afterwards, the old man quietly observed the sleeping Mo Xiaofei and Zhuifeng, calmly grabbed a bowl and started eating.

While eating, he spoke, “I used to have a life filled with delicacies, a life of luxury. I never thought this was bad nor felt bored, so sometimes I’d have a simple meal. The doctor said I should eat lighter, but I think life is short, why restrict oneself?”

Mo Xiaofei and Zhuifeng still hadn’t come back to their senses.

The old man continued talking to himself, “Haha, now I feel it’s fortunate to enjoy simple meals… yet unfortunately my life isn’t long. What do you say, if my life isn’t long, what should I do?”

The old man stared intensely at Mo Xiaofei and Zhuifeng, suddenly his face darkened, “You’re still so young, lots of days ahead… how about lending me some time?”

Geomancy, invert Yin and Yang, alter fate against heavens, naturally there are ways to borrow lifespan.

“Don’t blame me, you stumbled upon this yourselves…” The old man’s eyes suddenly opened wide, “I’ve helped others alter fate against heavens all my life, now it’s my turn…”