47: Chapter 47 brought him great fame and caused a sensation.

The sun was high in the sky. Chen Xuan stood on the long street outside the Imperial City Drill Grounds, the thunderous cheers from earlier still echoing in his ears.

The jade crown on his head wasn't heavy, yet it felt as if it were pressing down on him until he could barely breathe.

Commoners surrounded him in layer upon layer; some stood on their tiptoes, others clung to walls, and even the railings on the second floor of the teahouses were nearly smashed from people pounding on them.

"Champion! Champion, please wait!"

A child in split-seat pants squeezed out from a gap in the crowd, brandishing a wooden stick as he gestured toward him. "Teach me that palm strike! The move that sent that big guy flying!"

Chen Xuan looked down at the kid, his brow twitching. He thought to himself, wasn't this exactly how he looked as a child, swinging nunchucks in front of an arcade?

He grinned and casually patted the child's head. "Go home and practice your horse stance for three years first, then come find me."

Before his voice could fade, a storyteller's head popped out from a window of a nearby restaurant, and a gavel struck with a sharp thwack:

"Listen well, honored guests! Yesterday, a bloody battle of seventy-three in a ruined manor; today, a single palm repels the First Sword of the North on the arena!

This man is surnamed Chen, named Xuan. He is twenty-two years of age, of unknown origin and mysterious background. It is rumored that an Immortal taught him arts in a dream; another theory says he is a Star Descending from the Heavens, born through Reincarnation..."

Someone from below shouted, "Nonsense! He clearly rose to power by relying on women!"

"Bullshit!"

Zhao Hongling's voice rang out like a clap of thunder. She squeezed to the front of the crowd, her face flushed with anger. "If anyone says another word, I'll tear their mouth apart!"

Her family servants quickly grabbed her by the belt, advising her in low voices, "Young Miss, you are now a person close to a celebrity; don't resort to violence."

"A person close to a celebrity?" Zhao Hongling rolled her eyes. "I've long been his person!"

As soon as these words were spoken, a wave of laughter erupted from the surroundings. Chen Xuan heard it clearly; his mouth twitched, and he quickened his pace, pretending he hadn't heard a thing.

He didn't want to cause trouble, nor did he want to show off his power, and he certainly didn't want to be put on display like an actor on a stage. But the heat of the entire city was rushing toward him, and there was no way to avoid it.

Leng Shuang stood on the eaves of a restaurant across the street, her white robes fluttering loudly in the wind.

She watched the man below as he waded through the sea of people step by step, his back straight and his steps steady. He didn't look like a madman who had just defeated the world's best, but rather like an ordinary fellow afraid of missing a stall because he was late for the market.

Her eyes flickered slightly, and her fingertips unconsciously brushed the hilt of her sword. Then, she leaped down from the roof ridge, her figure vanishing into the entrance of an alley in a flash.

Zhao Hongling couldn't rush over and was forcibly dragged away by her family's carriage. Before leaving, she stuffed a stick of candied haws into the hands of a child by the roadside. "Give this to him for me! Tell him he can eat it or not!"

The child took it blankly and immediately took a bite as soon as he turned around.

Dugu Xue sat by the window of the courier station, the wine cup in her hand unmoved. She gazed at the receding figure at the end of the long street and said softly:

"One palm repelled Tuoba Lie, footwork hiding the Nine Variations, and internal energy already flowing through the Eight Extraordinary Meridians...

This lad is truly unpredictable."

After she spoke, she slowly poured the wine from her cup onto the ground, as if performing a sacrifice for a contest that had yet to begin.

Liu Ruyan's pleasure boat was currently sailing through the moat. The boatwoman lifted the curtain and asked, "Miss, now that Master Chen's name has moved the capital, should we take this opportunity to go on stage and perform a dance, singing a rendition of 'Hero's Return'?"

She fanned herself and smiled. "No rush. The good show has only just begun. Why should I rush to steal the spotlight?"

Meanwhile, Chen Xuan finally arrived at the front of his residence.

The copper bell hanging on the lintel was still swaying, chiming twice just as it had yesterday morning. He reached out to push the door open, only to find a letter stuffed into the door crack.

He pulled it out to look; it was black ink on yellow paper with no signature, only saying: "Three days from now at noon, at the West City Arena, I shall come to learn from the champion's true skills."

He glanced at it twice, then casually rolled it up and stuffed it into his sleeve, neither opening nor throwing it away.

On the wall of the martial arts hall across the street, an identical notice was nailed up. Several idle men gathered around to watch the excitement.

"Oh, who has such nerve? To dare challenge Chen Xuan, who just won the Husband Selection Ceremony?"

"Heh, don't you know? I heard a group of Martial Artists came from the north, specifically picking famous figures to target. If they win, they gain fame; if they lose, they don't lose face."

"And what if he doesn't show up?"

"Not show up? Look, the whole city is talking about him. Where could he possibly hide?"

In a teahouse, two men from out of town were drinking tea.

"Did he really repel Tuoba Lie with one palm? I don't believe it. The Northern Mountain-Shaking Steps can shake even an iron tower. How could an unknown nobody like him withstand it while standing still?"

"Let's go see for ourselves. If he's truly strong, we'll acknowledge him as our big brother; if he's a fraud, we'll strip him of his skin as soon as possible."

Inside a gambling den, the dealer was collecting chips. "Place your bets, place your bets! Three days from now at the West City Arena, odds for Chen Xuan's victory are one-to-one, odds for his defeat are one-to-five! All bets are final!"

Children were chasing and playing in the alleys. What they shouted was no longer 'soldiers catching bandits,' but 'I am Chen Xuan! You are Tuoba Lie!'"

A thin, small kid imitated Chen Xuan's gesture of wiping the tip of his nose and let out a great shout, "Burning Heaven Palm!" Then he lunged at his companion, and the two rolled into a ball, laughing and scolding incessantly.

A weapon shop owner was hanging a new sign at his door that read: "This shop is the exclusive agent for the champion's same-style wooden sword. Every purchase comes with a free autographed picture (imitation)."

The assistant asked, "Boss, who signed them?"

"I signed them! As long as the handwriting is flamboyant, it'll do. No one can read it anyway!"

Chen Xuan stood at the entrance of his courtyard and looked up at the sky. The sun was at its zenith, making the bluestone slabs hot to the touch. He took a deep breath and pushed the door open to enter.

The courtyard was very quiet. The footprints left from yesterday's sword practice were still on the ground, and that wooden sword was leaning against the corner, exactly as it was before he left. He walked over, picked up the wooden sword, weighed it in his hand, and set it down again.

He didn't change his clothes or drink water; he simply sat cross-legged in the middle of the courtyard, closing his eyes to regulate his breathing.

His palms felt a faint heat; it was the lingering resonance from the circulation of the Nine Yang True Qi last night.

Using this flow of heat, he slowly guided it back to his Dantian, letting it settle bit by bit.

The sound of footsteps outside was constant. There were those shouting to become his disciples, those begging for a meeting, and even scholars holding poem manuscripts asking for his inscription.

A man who looked like a butler stood guard at the door, turning them all away one by one. "My master is in seclusion and is not receiving guests. He will see no one."

In truth, he wasn't in seclusion, nor had he set up any defenses. He just sat there like a stone, letting the wind and waves batter outside.

Leng Shuang stopped her pace at the end of the alley.

She had originally planned to take a detour back to her residence, but she saw several Jianghu people crouching opposite Chen Xuan's residence, spying on him and recording something with paper and brush.

Her gaze turned cold, and she turned to walk into the shadows. A moment later, all the papers in those people's hands were gone, and they had been struck at their acupoints, slumped in the corner groaning.

Zhao Hongling returned home, her anger still not dissipated.

She threw off her cloak, sat at the table, and took a fierce bite of a pastry. "What do they mean by 'too many eyes and ears'? I think they're just afraid of trouble! Tomorrow, I'll bring ten carts of candied haws to block his door!"

A maid asked in a small voice, "Young Miss, what if the challengers hurt him?"

"Hurt him?" Zhao Hongling sneered. "Whoever hurts him, I'll destroy their entire family."

Dugu Xue finished her last cup of wine and stood up to put on her outer robe. She said to her attendant, "Prepare a horse. I want to go to the west of the city to see what that arena looks like."

The attendant asked, "Is the Princess going to take action?"

"No. I just want to see how many fools are stupid enough to think they can become famous in a single battle."

Liu Ruyan's pleasure boat turned into a waterway, the willows on both banks swaying gently.

She sat leaning by the window, her circular fan swaying lightly as she looked toward the distant Imperial City and whispered, "In this game of chess, the first stone has only just been placed."

Meanwhile, in the streets and alleys of the capital, the heated discussions continued unabated.

Someone had composed a rhythmic clapper talk: "Chen Xuan's single palm settles the world, the Empress herself bestows the jade crown. Four beauties surround him in a display of splendor, and all the world's heroes bow their heads!"

Someone wrote a doggerel and pasted it on a wall: "Unknown yesterday, a god today; a leap to the heavens by relying on women? Do not mock him for relying on beauties' aid; if you had beauties, you wouldn't lose either!"

Even more children used tree branches to draw a circle on the ground, calling it the West City Arena. They took turns playing Chen Xuan and the challengers; every time they reached the scene of the repelling palm, someone would inevitably fall to the ground exaggeratedly, drawing a burst of laughter.

Chen Xuan remained sitting in the courtyard.

The sunlight moved from the top of his head to his shoulder, then to his feet. He opened his eyes and felt the anonymous letter in his sleeve, still unopened.

He stood up, walked to the wall, picked up a broom, and slowly began to sweep the fallen leaves on the ground. His movements were very light, as if he were afraid of disturbing this rare moment of peace.

At the third sweep, a dull thud came from outside the door.

He looked up.

A stick of candied haws had been thrown over the wall by someone unknown and happened to land on the stone table in the courtyard. The bright red hawthorn skewers shone brilliantly in the sunlight.

He stared at that stick of candied haws for a full five breaths.

Then he lowered his head and continued sweeping the ground.