Chapter 638 Thirty-two Years Old
"So it's the famous Qiao Feng, Boss Qiao! Seeing him today, he is indeed even more famous than he was! How lucky we are to have such a hero like Boss Qiao here today! Come, Brother Qiao, there's plenty of wine and drinks today!"

Chai Xin picked up another jar of wine without changing his expression.

He did not pretend that he did not know who Qiao Feng was. After all, the name of Boss Qiao was well-known throughout the martial arts world. How many people in the martial arts world did not know him?

If he pretended not to know the name Qiao Feng, it would only make him seem too hypocritical and make the other party look down on him.

Qiao Feng smiled even more brightly upon hearing this, and said in a clear voice: "It is my great honor to meet Brother Murong today! Brother Murong is indeed as the rumors say, not only is his appearance as handsome as jade, but his demeanor is beyond comparison!"

Obviously, when Chai Xin appeared on the second floor of Songhe Tower, he recognized the wrong person and took him for Murong Fu.

As soon as Qiao Feng said this, everyone at Duan Yu's table was stunned, and then they all showed stunned expressions.

Chai Xin was also stunned for a moment, then he quickly waved his hand and said, "Brother Qiao, did you recognize the wrong person?"

This statement made Qiao Feng stunned. He widened his eyes and asked, "Brother, aren't you the legendary Nan Murong, Murong Fu?"

"Brother Qiao really recognized the wrong person...Haha, I am Chai Xin, just an ordinary person in the martial arts world. How can I be compared with Master Murong?"

Chai Xin laughed and denied it.

Little did they know that when Qiao Feng heard him introduce himself, his expression became even more astonished, and he immediately asked in surprise, "Could it be that Chai Xin, the great hero who forced the eunuch Cao Zhengchun to retreat with one palm outside Lin'an the other day?"

When he said this, Chai Xin was really surprised.

His fame spread so quickly that even Qiao Feng, who was far away in Luoyang, had heard of it?
You know, Luoyang is now under the rule of the Mongols and Liao, and has been occupied for decades.

The headquarters of the Northern Branch of the Beggars' Sect was near Luoyang. Its mission was to protect the Han people while quietly accumulating strength, waiting for the day when the Song court would march north to recover lost territory.

Speaking of which, Qiao Feng is the leader of the Northern Faction of the Beggars' Sect; and the leader of the Southern Faction of the Beggars' Sect is one of the Five Greatest Masters in the World, the Northern Beggar Hong Qigong.

In this world, the reason why Hong Qigong is called the "Beggar of the North" is only relative to the "Emperor of the South" Duan Zhixing, and he is not in the north.

However, the reason why the Beggars' Sect was divided into two factions, the north and the south, was not because of internal divisions.

But at that time, the Mongols and Liao jointly attacked the Song Dynasty, and the northern and southern branches of the Beggars' Gang were not conducive to coordinating operations in the war, so the decision was made jointly by the gang leader and elders at the time.

A deputy leader was selected to go south and lead some of the Beggars' Sect elites to gather the forces of the various branches of the Beggars' Sect in the south, and at the same time escort a large number of people fleeing the war to the south.

The deputy gang leader was elected by the gang leader and elders at that time, and he was the first gang leader of the Southern School.

All in all, Hong Qigong is the third leader of the Southern School, and his tenure time is much longer than that of Qiao Feng.

Even today, the northern and southern factions of the Beggars' Sect are still as close as a family, sharing what they have with each other and working together in their own ways for the Han people.

This time when Qiao Feng came south to keep the appointment, many southern elites came to support him.

Precisely because the northern and southern factions of the Beggars' Sect are still as united as one, the transmission of information is extremely fast.

The largest gang in the world is not just talk.

Even though people like Bao Bu Tong and Wang Yuyan who were in the south of the Yangtze River had not yet learned about the battle outside Lin'an City, the news of the Beggars' Sect had already spread to the north.

Qiao Feng's words instantly made the originally noisy restaurant quieter.

If we talk about the territory of the Song Dynasty, who has the most famous reputation?

It was not the emperor of the dynasty, nor any civil or military official, nor the leader of any faction in the martial arts world... It was Cao Zhengchun, the governor of the East Depot!

It is no exaggeration to say that Cao Zhengchun's reputation is even higher than that of the Iron-Hearted God King Zhao Wusi, who has been deliberately building up momentum for himself for many years!

Of course, Cao Zhengchun's reputation is purely bad. It is not an exaggeration to describe him as someone who can stop children from crying at night.

Whether it was court officials, peddlers, or people in the underworld, they all secretly called Cao Zhengchun a "castrated dog."

Almost all the people in the Song Dynasty hated the name Cao Zhengchun so much that they wished they could sleep on his skin, eat his flesh, and drink his blood!

Of course, no one dared to mention the word "castrated dog" in public on weekdays, let alone make up stories to denounce Cao Zhengchun's crimes.

After all, everyone knows that the East Factory and the Embroidered Uniform Guard have no other abilities. They cannot defeat the Mongols or the Jin and Qing dynasties, but their ability to collect all kinds of rumors from the people as evidence of crimes for their masters and to fabricate the people in Song territory is unprecedentedly high!
If anyone dared to say a bad word about Cao Zhengchun in public, those lackeys would immediately come sniffing the scent and put the person in jail at an unimaginable speed.

Although Qiao Feng's name was extremely famous, the fact that he dared to call Cao Zhengchun a "castrated dog" in public in the restaurant still frightened many people in the room. The joy from their previous cheers froze on their faces.

Many people even lowered their heads and began to leave the restaurant quietly, fearing that the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard would send people over and they would be implicated.

The waiter who had been serving and watching the excitement happily said with a helpless smile: "Sir, please be careful with your words. We don't want our shop to be demolished soon..."

"Hahaha, you are lying with your eyes open, bullying me, an outsider. Everyone knows that Songhelou has been standing in Wuxi for nearly a hundred years. If it could be demolished because of a few words from a customer, how could it still be in business today?"

Qiao Feng took out a few pieces of silver from his pocket and threw them into the hands of the waiter.

"This is a reward for your service in serving wine. Stop talking nonsense!"

When the waiter saw the silver, the helplessness on his face disappeared immediately and was replaced by a look of joy.

Obviously, what Qiao Feng said was absolutely right. The background of this restaurant, which seemed to have very old decoration, was not as simple as it seemed.

"Please feel free to do as you please, gentlemen. I won't disturb your interest here. If you need anything, please feel free to ask me."

Having said that, the waiter led the other waiters away.

In just a few words, there were only a few guests left in the restaurant. Or to be more precise, there were only Duan Yu's table, and Chai Xin and Qiao Feng's table left.

Songhe Tower went from being bustling and noisy to being silent and still at an incredibly fast speed.

Looking at the waiter's back as he walked down the stairs, Duan Yu and the others finally came back to their senses from the shock they had just felt after hearing what Qiao Feng had said.

Even Duan Yu, the prince of Dali Zhennan King, had heard of Cao Zhengchun's notoriety long ago. He also learned from his father and uncle that the other party was an extremely powerful master.

Emperor Baoding Duan Zhengming even told Duan Yu that he was no match for Cao Zhengchun.

In the whole of Dali, perhaps only Master Yideng, who has become a monk and is Duan Yu's uncle Duan Zhixing, can rival Cao Zhengchun.

Duan Zhixing was Duan Zhengming's cousin and the previous emperor. However, he was only emperor for five years, and for some unknown reason he became a monk at Tianlong Temple.

Duan Zhixing had no children, so he passed the throne to his closest and most stable cousin Duan Zhengming.

(This paragraph is purely fictional and is completely inconsistent with actual history.)
Interestingly, Duan Zhengming has no children yet, and within a few years, he will pass the throne to his cousin.

It is for this reason that Duan Zhengchun is the "Crown Prince" of Dali, and Duan Yu is regarded as the future successor of the Dali royal family.

Moreover, Duan Zhengming also told Duan Yu that even when comparing Master Yideng with Duan Zhengchun, it is hard to say who has better martial arts skills, and the difference should be roughly equal.

In other words, Cao Zhengchun's response is that of a true top master who is no weaker than the Five Greatest Masters of Jianghu!
But from what Qiao Feng said just now, his elder brother actually forced back such a notorious and top master with just one palm a few days ago?

It was not until this moment that Duan Yu realized that he had underestimated his elder brother!

As for the three girls next to them, Wang Yuyan, A'zhu, and A'Bi, they were so shocked that their eyes widened, their tender red lips slightly parted, and their expressions were surprisingly consistent.

As for Yang Guo, his face was filled with pride and admiration.

Of course, the one who looked the most shocked was Bao Bu Tong.

Bao Bu Tong never imagined that this young man, whom he previously regarded as a "gigolo" and a "charlatan", would actually be so powerful!
Duan Yu had previously injured him with a single finger strike, and although this had made him admit that the other party's strength was not inferior to his, he did not truly believe that he was far superior to him.

After all, he was really careless at that time and did not take Duan Yu and Chai Xin seriously. Naturally, he did not use his full strength when he attacked.

Caught off guard, he was injured in just one move.

He thought to himself that if he put all his strength into a fight to the death with Duan Yu, he would have at least a 60% chance of winning - Duan Yu's lack of experience in the martial arts world was written all over his face and anyone could see it clearly.

In the martial arts world, martial arts skills are of course of paramount importance, but if the practical experience is too poor, it is not unimaginable that the strong will be defeated by the weak.

In Bao Bu Tong's opinion, even if Chai Xin's martial arts skills were very high, they would not be much higher than Duan Yu's, after all, he was older.

But now I know that the other party actually defeated Cao Zhengchun with one palm...

Thinking back to his previous arrogance and conceit, Bao Bu Tong wished he could find a hole in the ground to crawl into!
If what Qiao Feng said was true, then not only him, but even his own young master - even if he didn't want to admit it - would never be a match for Chai Xin.

In fact, even if Murong Fu and his four retainers joined forces, they would be proud enough to be able to protect themselves from a top master like Cao Zhengchun!
"Cao Zhengchun... It is said that he has been practicing the Tiangang Tongzi Kung Fu since he was young, and his skills have been more than fifty years... Brother Chai, you can actually repel him with one palm? It's incredible!"

It took Wang Yuyan a long time to come back to her senses, and her tone was still full of shock.

Ah Zhu also said, "I think what Gang Leader Qiao said should not be false. After all, the Beggars' Sect is the largest gang in the world, with members all over the world. They even have members in Mongolia, Liao, and Jin. They are very well-informed."

Ah Bi's face showed joy, and she said happily: "In that case, with Brother Chai's help, the young master will be fine."

Hearing her say this, Wang Yuyan and A-Bi immediately became happy.

But after hearing these words, Bao Bu Tong looked a little depressed, thinking to himself: "I hope that after hearing this, Master will not be discouraged... After all, who can remain calm in front of such a monstrous person?"

He simply couldn't imagine how a young man who looked no more than twenty years old could have cultivated such a high level of martial arts.

"I never thought that my name would be known to Gang Leader Qiao. I am truly honored. The Beggars' Clan is really well-informed. Brother Qiao, who is far away in Luoyang, also knew about my battle in Lin'an half a month ago."

Chai Xin smiled.

Seeing that he was calm and composed, without any sign of complacency or conceit, Qiao Feng could not help but admire him even more.

"Brother Chai may not know that your heroic name has already spread throughout the martial arts world! Many of my Beggars' Sect disciples respect you like a god and dream of meeting you! Brother Chai is so righteous that he rescued the Bai brothers from Xiankong Island from Cao Yangou's men. They both praise your name everywhere."

When Qiao Feng said this, the look of admiration on his face grew stronger.

"Speaking of which, Qiao had long wanted to kill that eunuch, but unfortunately, firstly, we are too far away, and secondly, I know I may not be his opponent, so I have not taken action yet. Brother Chai has crushed the old villain's arrogance this time, and it can vent the anger of the people of the world."

Chai Xin smiled and said nothing when he heard this. He thought to himself: I wonder how you would feel if you knew that I intentionally let Cao Zhengchun go.

After a moment, he changed the subject and said, "I don't know... why did Brother Qiao mistake me for Mr. Murong just now?"

Hearing him ask this, Wang Yuyan and the others couldn't help but listen attentively, and they were obviously very curious.

"I have always heard of the great name of Gusu Murong. This time I came south for him. I heard that Murong Fu is elegant and handsome, about 28 or 29 years old, which means he should look several years older than Brother Chai."

When Qiao Feng reached this point, he couldn't help but feel ashamed.

"But I didn't expect that in addition to Murong Fu, there is another young man with great martial arts skills and handsome appearance in Jiangnan. I recognized the wrong person and I am so ashamed."

"Hahaha! I see. However, Brother Qiao got one thing wrong..." Chai Xin laughed.

Qiao Feng immediately raised his eyebrows and said in surprise, "Brother Chai, please speak frankly. If I am really wrong, I will apologize."

"Brother Qiao, what you said is serious. It's just a trivial matter...that's my age." Chai Xin said with a smile.

He was too lazy to remember his real age, so he naturally wouldn't tell it out now. Besides, even if he did, no one would believe it.

"Oh? May I know how old you are, Brother Chai?" Qiao Feng was a little curious.

But he was just thinking, could it be that Chai Xin was younger than he thought?
Chai Xin said without hesitation: "I am already thirty-two years old this year."

"What! Brother Chai, don't joke around! With your appearance, even if you say you are seventeen or eighteen years old, I would believe you. But if you say you are thirty years old, that is absolutely impossible!"

Qiao Fengwan looked unconvinced.

Not to mention him, even Duan Yu and the others nearly spit out the wine they had just drunk when they heard it. It was even more shocking than when they heard Chai Xin force Cao Zhengchun to retreat with one palm.

"Every word I said is true. As for my appearance... maybe it's just natural. It hasn't changed much since I was seventeen or eighteen."

Chai Xin spread his hands.

What he said was actually true.

(End of this chapter)