Chapter 45: Cai Fu: Look, now that is what you call synergy!

In the private room of the inn, Cai Fu sat majestically on the edge of the bed, resting his heavy ghost-head saber with both hands, a playful smirk curving the corners of his mouth.

"So you are saying you came here to buy horses?"

The dark-faced man and the purple-faced man nodded repeatedly.

The usually hot-tempered purple-faced man was not hot-tempered at all anymore. He stole a glance at Cai Fu, then stole a glance at Lu Junyi, the "Jade Kirin of Hebei," who stood attentively behind Cai Fu, and finally stole a glance at Shi Xiu, the "Courageous Third Brother," who was pouring tea and water for Cai Fu.

The purple-faced man's heart hammered wildly:

Where on earth did such a formidable band of powerful outsiders come from?

Cai Fu gave a subtle cue, and Shi Xiu led the purple-faced man out.

Cai Fu smiled and asked the dark-faced man, "What are your names?"

The dark-faced man replied, "My name is Shan Xiongxin, and my brother's name is Wei Zhongxin."

Cai Fu asked again, "Where are you from?"

The dark-faced man replied, "Lingzhou."

Cai Fu asked a second time, "When did you arrive?"

The dark-faced man replied, "Three days ago."

Cai Fu asked a third time, "What kind of horses do you want to buy?"

The dark-faced man replied, "Show horses."

Cai Fu asked a fourth time, "How much silver did you bring?"

The dark-faced man replied, "Fifty taels of silver."

Cai Fu asked a fifth time, "Why haven't you bought any yet?"

The dark-faced man replied, "We haven't seen any we liked..."

Cai Fu smiled slightly. "Very well, call your brother in."

A jolt of anxiety gripped the dark-faced man's heart, but he had no choice. He opened the door and called the purple-faced man back inside.

Although he desperately wanted to coordinate stories with the purple-faced man, Shi Xiu kept his eyes locked on them, leaving no opportunity whatsoever.

He could only place his hopes on the tacit understanding between the two brothers...

The purple-faced man entered the room, and Cai Fu deliberately asked him right in front of the dark-faced man:

"What are your names?"

The purple-faced man replied, "My name is Wei Zhongxin, and my elder brother is Shan Xiongxin."

The dark-faced man: (￣︶￣)

Cai Fu asked again, "Where are you from?"

The purple-faced man replied, "Lingzhou."

The dark-faced man: (￣▽￣)

Cai Fu asked a second time, "When did you arrive?"

The purple-faced man replied, "Yesterday."

The dark-faced man: (〇▽〇)

Cai Fu asked a third time, "What kind of horses do you want to buy?"

The purple-faced man replied, "Patsy horses."

The dark-faced man: (ಥ_ಥ)

Cai Fu asked a fourth time, "How much silver did you bring?"

The purple-faced man replied, "One thousand taels."

The dark-faced man: (╥﹏╥)

Cai Fu asked a fifth time, "You have a thousand taels of silver on you?"

The purple-faced man replied, "Jiaozi! I brought exchange certificates!"

"Boom!"

The dark-faced man erupted into action, slamming his shoulder against the door. He bolted out while shouting back to the purple-faced man, "Brother, run!"

No more acting?

The purple-faced man was momentarily stunned.

However, after many years of sworn brotherhood, he and the dark-faced man still shared a shred of tacit understanding.

Therefore, the purple-faced man also tried to rush out, but in his panic, he failed to notice that Shi Xiu had hooked his leg out to trip him.

"Thud!"

The purple-faced man crashed face-first onto the floor!

With a tiger-like leap, Shi Xiu straddled his back, grabbed a handful of his hair, and began to rain blows down upon him!

The purple-faced man was skilled on horseback, but pinned beneath Shi Xiu, no amount of struggling could help him get up.

Moreover, Shi Xiu's punches were heavy and brutal; after just two blows, the purple-faced man's head was ringing.

"Thud!"

The dark-faced man had left quickly and returned just as fast. With a flying dive, he hurled himself right in front of the purple-faced man.

Their heads bumped squarely against each other...

The purple-faced man raised his head, and the two brothers looked at each other and wept. The dark-faced man decisively shouted at the top of his lungs, "Don't strike! We are imperial soldiers!"

"Imperial soldiers?"

Cai Fu laughed. "We make a specialty of beating imperial soldiers!"

Huh?

The faces of the dark-faced man and the purple-faced man turned as pale as ash. Just then, Jiao Ting also walked in from outside.

It was precisely the dark-faced man who, charging toward the main entrance earlier, had crashed headlong and squarely into Jiao Ting's embrace.

Had he been on horseback with a spear in hand, Jiao Ting would have been mere child's play to the dark-faced man!

But without a horse or a spear, and having hurled himself straight into Jiao Ting's arms, it was now his turn to be child's play...

"Clang!"

Shi Xiu kept his left hand clutching the purple-faced man's hair while drawing his waist saber with his right. "Master, shall we kill them?"

At that moment, both the dark-faced man and the purple-faced man were dumbfounded.

Their eyes locked, and the brothers shared a single thought.

The dark-faced man cried out in a panic, "Heroes, spare our lives!"

The purple-faced man bellowed defiantly, "If you want to kill us, just do it!"

The dark-faced man and the purple-faced man:

∑(っ°Д°;)っΣ(｀д′*ノ)ノ

While there are green hills left, there's no need to worry about firewood!

The dark-faced man hurriedly pressed the purple-faced man down and shouted, "Heroes, spare our lives! We yield!"

A playful smirk curved the corners of Cai Fu's mouth. He raised a hand, and only then did Shi Xiu release the purple-faced man.

The dark-faced man and the purple-faced man scrambled to their feet, exchanged a glance, and obediently walked up to Cai Fu.

"I am Shan Tinggui. Out of kindness, my friends in the pugilistic world call me the 'Holy Water General.'

"This is my sworn younger brother, Wei Dingguo, known as the 'Divine Fire General.'"

Lowering his head submissively, the dark-faced man bowed deeply to Cai Fu. "May I ask the honorable names of the heroes?"

Shi Xiu proudly raised his thumb.

"My master is Cai Fu, known throughout the pugilistic world as 'Xuande the Matchless' and also as the 'Northern Saber King'!

"This second uncle of mine is Lu Junyi, known in the martial world as the 'Jade Kirin of Hebei'!"

"Hiss—"

Shan Tinggui, the dark-faced man, could not help drawing a sharp breath of cold air.

The purple-faced man, Wei Dingguo, blurted out:

"Earlier, tales were circulating in the pugilistic world about how 'Xuande the Matchless magnanimously spared the Jade Kirin, while Saber King Cai burned the Daming Prefecture'...

"And recently, word has spread that 'the Jade Kirin overwhelmingly defeated the Impetuous Vanguard, and Saber King Cai wreaked havoc twice in the Daming Prefecture'...

"Could you possibly be the ones they are talking about?"

They've even turned it into catchy rhymes?

Cai Fu had no idea who in the martial world possessed such creativity. He merely gave a calm, light smile.

"Most likely so."

"Ah!"

Shan Tinggui and Wei Dingguo exchanged a glance, wanting to drop to their knees and kowtow, but their status did not permit it...

Shan Tinggui heaved a long sigh. "To fall into the hands of you two heroes, we brothers have no cause for grievance!"

Wei Dingguo dropped to his knees and kowtowed. "Your humble younger brother Wei Dingguo pays respects to Saber King Cai and Master Lu!"

Shan Tinggui was utterly exasperated: Stop locking eyes with me, dammit! My mother told me not to play with fools!

Since Wei Dingguo had already kowtowed, Shan Tinggui had no choice but to drop to his knees as well. "Your humble younger brother Shan Tinggui pays respects to Saber King Cai and Master Lu!"

Regarding the tacit lack of coordination between this pair of brothers, Cai Fu smiled without a word:

One is water, one is fire; why force them together?

Their natures were completely opposed; one could only say that fate played cruel tricks, even making them sworn brothers.

Cai Fu did not help them up immediately. Instead, he furrowed his brows and asked a question to which he already knew the answer:

"Since the two of you are also heroes of the pugilistic world, why did you not speak with utter sincerity?

"Instead, your mouths were full of lies, trying to deceive our brotherhood?"

As he spoke, Cai Fu glanced at Lu Junyi. Catching his meaning, Lu Junyi let out a cold snort.

"Elder brother, I see not a single truthful word in their mouths. They don't look like honorable heroes bound by loyalty!

"Let's just kill them and be done with it!"

Look, now that is what you call tacit coordination!

A playful smirk tugged at the corners of Cai Fu's mouth, while Shan Tinggui and Wei Dingguo were frightened nearly out of their wits!

Shan Tinggui hastily confessed the whole truth:

"Heroes, my name truly is Shan Tinggui, and his truly is Wei Dingguo!

"We two brothers unworthily serve as the Garrison Commanders of Lingzhou, and we concealed our identities and disguised ourselves to sneak into the Zeng Family Fortress..."