The ponds were full, the rain had stopped, and only a scattered few customers sat inside a two story tavern in Yongchang City.

In the southeast corner of the first floor sat two young men. One of them, around twenty five or twenty six years old, was dynamic and dignified, with piercing, intelligent eyes and a commanding presence. He wore a grey long robe tied with a brocade blue silk belt at his waist, from which a dark green jade piece hung. On his head sat a silver crown, and his long hair swayed with the wind, presenting the very picture of a heroic martial artist. He held up an empty wine cup with his left hand and pressed his sheathed sword onto a purple lacquered square table with his right. His gaze was fixed straight on the carved wooden door of the tavern, his mouth slightly open, letting out a faint, mellow aroma of fine wine.

After a short moment, the man slowly lowered his wine cup and looked at the man sitting opposite him.

The man across from him, about twenty three or twenty four years old, had regular features, neat clothing, and a sturdy build. He was leaning his head to look outside the door, completely unaware that the man opposite was staring at him.

At this moment, an old man stood outside the carved wooden door. His clothes were worn but remarkably clean, looking as though they had not caught a single speck of dust. His slouched back bent like a snake’s neck coiled and ready to strike, yet his appearance was not venomous like a snake’s. On the contrary, he looked incredibly kind and approachable.

He raised his hands slightly in a pitiful gesture, looking exactly like a beggar begging a five year old child for food. Leaning against the carved wooden door, the child was licking a duck leg, and seeing the old man begging him, he looked over toward his parents.

His parents sat right beside the wooden door, with three dishes placed on their table, one of which was the most famous braised duck in Yongchang City. The leg of this half duck happened to be in the child’s hand. Even though the square table was so large, this couple chose to squeeze together on a single bench, looking happy and sweet like a pair of young lovers. Resting against both sides of the bench were their weapons, showing at a glance that they were people of the martial arts world.

Seeing that the old man was truly pitiful, the woman felt a surge of kindness and picked up a piece of braised duck meat with her chopsticks, offering it to the old man.

The old man shook his head and pointed at the duck leg, seemingly uninterested in the other pieces and only wanting the duck leg in the child’s hand.

The couple glanced at each other in confusion. Before his parents could answer, the child felt a great wave of generosity and handed the duck leg over.

“Grandpa, you can only take one bite.” The child’s innocent voice echoed through the tavern, drawing everyone’s attention.

The old man nodded and indeed took a bite. But once this bite was finished, the child immediately burst into tears. It turned out the old man had bitten off more than half of the entire duck leg in one go. If the child had not been holding onto a tiny portion of it, the entire duck leg probably would have been eaten completely.

“Hey, you old rascal! We kindly let you have a bite, and you act like you want to bite off my child’s fingers too, don’t you?” The hot tempered father had already grabbed his weapon and stood up.

The mother, however, was calmer. She pulled the child into her arms first, then turned to her husband and said, “Yuan Song, something is wrong! How can this old man’s teeth crunch through bone like that?”

The old man ignored their words completely, simply chewing the duck leg in his mouth, making a sound of crushing bones, and then swallowed it down with a gulp. He did not even spit out any bone fragments, possessing a mouth of iron teeth that was actually more formidable than a young man’s.

The child’s father was entirely stunned. After a moment, he said to his wife, “Yi Xue, could this old man be him?”

“You think it’s him too? Then it’s almost certainly correct.” The woman named Yi Xue quickly picked up the child and retreated behind her husband.

The old man smiled faintly at them but did not speak, walking straight into the tavern. Everyone inside had witnessed the situation and looked at the old man as if he were a monster.

Yet the old man seemed not to notice the people around him. He found an empty seat at random, sat down, and waved at the stunned waiter.

The waiter walked over on tiptoe and asked very politely, “Old man, what would you like to eat?”

The old man pointed at the teapot in the waiter’s hand and then held up a single finger. The waiter asked hesitantly, “Old man, do you want a cup of tea?”

The old man shook his head, indicating no.

The waiter was puzzled and looked toward the shopkeeper with a completely blank expression. Just then, the dynamic man in the southeast corner said, “He wants a pot of tea.”

The old man smiled and quickly gave a thumbs up to the man in the southeast corner.

The waiter hurriedly put down the teapot. The old man made a gesture for him to leave, and then he began to lift the scalding hot tea and pour it directly into his mouth, making everyone watch in absolute shock and break out in a cold sweat.

After finishing the tea, the old man pulled half a steamed bun from his shirt. Without ordering a single dish, he left in a hurry after eating, leaving no money behind either. However, the waiter could not go and demand payment, since the old man had only drunk tea and had not ordered any food.

The shopkeeper also looked completely helpless; it was the first time he had ever encountered a customer who entered a tavern and asked only for tea.

At this moment, the man in the southeast corner who had been staring at the old man suddenly lowered his voice and asked the dynamic man respectfully, “My Prince, what is the background of this old man?”

As it turned out, the dynamic man was none other than Prince Dingshan, Yang Ran, the eldest son of Su Lianyun. The person sitting opposite him was his subordinate, Di Qingshan.

“If I am not mistaken, he must be the miser Chai Mantang, who is notorious in the martial arts world for plucking feathers from a passing bird.” Yang Ran framed it as a guess, yet his tone sounded exceptionally certain.

Di Qingshan said in confusion, “Chai Mantang? A name like that sounds like he should be very rich, but his appearance…”

Yang Ran said, “His appearance is very poor, right? Normally, no matter how poor a hoarder is, they wouldn’t end up this destitute. But this Chai Mantang is the absolute exception. Not only is he poor, but he is also dirt poor, so much so that even the mice and cockroaches in his house refuse to stay.”

Di Qingshan asked, “Then why is he so poor?”

Yang Ran said, “No one knows. When everyone first met him, he was already this poor. Back then, he didn’t go by this name. Later, because he wanted to be rich, he changed his name to this himself. In fact, his last name isn’t even Chai.”

Di Qingshan said, “Ah, how can there be such a person? He must be crazy for money!”

Yang Ran said, “What’s so strange about that? There is another person in the martial arts world who clearly knows nothing, yet insists on changing his name to Dong Dedu, meaning Knows Much.”

“Even though I know nothing, I happen to know that you are Prince Dingshan, Yang Ran, the adoptive son of the current Emperor, Yang Shao.” A man at the neighboring table suddenly spoke up. He was the very Dong Dedu that Yang Ran had just mentioned.

Yang Ran cupped his hands and smiled, saying, “Brother Dong, please don’t take offense. I was just joking just now. Under heaven, who could possibly know more than you?”

“Brother Yang, I disguised myself like this and you still found me out. If there really is someone who knows more than me, it has to be you.” Dong Dedu had already walked over and sat down.

“My Prince, you used Chai Mantang’s name to make your point because you were purposely provoking him to come out.” Di Qingshan finally understood Yang Ran’s intention and spoke his mind freely.

The name of this chapter is simply to commemorate the Legend of the Divine Hunter of the Martial Arts World. Through five years of sweeping changes, the dream of the martial arts world lives on, the divine hunter reappears to ignite the flames of conflict, and establishes this legendary fame.

Translation Notes

• Five years of sweeping changes (五载岁月的沧海桑田 – Wu zai sui yue de cang hai sang tian): The idiom “cang hai sang tian” literally means the blue seas turning into mulberry fields. It is used to describe massive, profound changes that occur over a long period of time.