THE SMILING PROUD WANDERER by Jin Yong

Gaining Blood Part 4

Right at that moment, sounds of laughter floated in from outside as a man with all smiles walked in the door. The man was dressed in a long pongee robe. The top of his head was already half bald, but the beard under his chin did not have a sprinkle of grey. His clothes looking costly and luxurious, his face glowing with health, the man looked like a merchant prince. Holding an emerald snuff bottle in his left hand and a one-foot long folding fan in his right hand, the chubby man had an affable expression on his face.
After spotting the many people upon entering the restaurant, he was taken by surprise, and his smiles shrank back a little, but only seconds later, he was all smiles, once again.

"How fortunate! How fortunate! I had not expected that all the heroes of the present time have gathered here today. I must consider myself very fortunate, indeed!" he cupped his hands in greeting, his face beaming. "Now, which good breeze has brought the Master Yu of the Qingcheng Sword School here to the Henan Province?" he said to Yu Canghai. "I've long heard that the 'Pine-Wind Sword Art' of the Qingcheng Sword School is a unique and superb Kung Fu style of the Martial World. It looks like we are finally going to have the chance to broaden our horizons today."

But Yu Canghai still focused on loading his inner energy and paid no attention to him.

Turning toward the one-eyed man and the one-eyed woman, the man cupped his hands with a big grin. "I have not seen the 'Tung Cypress Whiz Duo' wandering about the Martial World for a good while. Looks like you've made a good fortune in the last few years."

"You flatter us. It's nothing compare to what Mr. You makes," the one-eyed man answered with a slight smile.

The man uttered three laughs at those words. "I've only gotten a facade. Whatever I earn with one hand, I spend with the other. Just from my nickname, people can tell that I only look good on the surface, but very hollow inside."

"What is your nickname?" Branch Fairy couldn't help but ask.

The man cast a glance toward Branch Fairy and soon found six strange looking fellows all staring at him curiously, but he had no clue as to who these six were and where they had come from.

"I have a very ugly nickname called 'Slippery and Hard to Grip'," he chortled as he spoke. "People say that I love to make friends, and for the sake of friendship, I never stint money and have no problem spending them. Hence, although I make good money, they don't stay in my hands long, because I don't have a good grip of them."

"Doesn't this friend You Xun, here, have another nickname?" the one-eyed man cut in.

"Really? How come I've never heard of it?" You Xun grinned.

"Loach Soaked in Oil, Slippery and Hard to Grip!" a cold voice suddenly spoke. The voice sounded indistinct, then, of course, it was the voice of the woman, who had lost over half of her teeth.

"Holy cow!" Flower Fairy yelled out. "A loach, itself, is extremely slippery, already. Now when it's soaked in oil, who can ever get a good grip onto that?"

"That's only because friends in the Martial World were flattering me, praising about my Qing-Gong skills, saying that I am as quick as a loach. But it is really embarrassing. This little Kung Fu of mine is really not worth mentioning. Madam Zhang, you are looking extremely good these days!" You Xun beamed at the woman and then bowed down deeply.

"What a glib tongue you have there. Stay away from me," the old woman Madam Zhang turned the whites of eye up and yelled.

The man named You Xun must have had a very good temper. Hearing those harsh words, he didn't show a slight sign of annoyance, and turned to the beggar, instead.