Swallow Flash Technique and the Return of the 'Road-Questioner'
That shout was loud enough to echo through the whole inn, bouncing off the walls and rolling around. Doors on all three floors swung open. The lobby went straight up to the ceiling, and the corridors wrapped around in a circle, so everyone could get a full 360-degree view of whatever drama was unfolding below. Rachel Luo and Fiona Fang heard the commotion and came running too, but they’d just switched up their disguises, so they looked nothing like usual. Jack Young calmly waved them over, and they joined him, settling in for some good old-fashioned people-watching.
“Zhang Wei!” Several burly men ignored the two women from the Autumn Room, shouting in unison, “Zhang Wei from the Spring Room on the third floor, get out here and face the music!”
From the Spring Room came the sound of an unexpected conversation—clearly a woman’s voice. Then came a frantic noise, as if someone was hurriedly packing up. Hearing that, the big guys were even more convinced their target was inside—if you weren’t guilty, why act so panicked? Obviously trying to make a run for it!
So a dozen or so burly men thundered up the stairs, shouting, “If you don’t come out, we’re kicking the door in!” The leader even lifted his foot, ready to boot the door open.
The big boss didn’t even look up and said, “A door costs thirty taels. Think twice before you kick.” His voice was laced with inner power, showing off thirty-five years of martial arts cultivation. The guy about to kick the door broke out in a cold sweat and froze. No one expected the little innkeeper to be such a powerhouse—talk about a plot twist.
Just as everyone was stuck in a dilemma, a voice drifted in: “Why so impatient? Every time you’re all jumpy and rowdy, disturbing our fellow martial artists—isn’t that a crime?”
Everyone turned toward the voice, and saw a young man in a brocade robe stroll into the lobby, surrounded by an entourage. He was skinny, decent-looking, dressed sharp enough, but those shifty eyes made you want to poke them out. And his whole vibe was weird—like a guy who’s been a goofball his whole life suddenly trying to act cool. The awkwardness was off the charts.
Both were playing the young master angle, but even though Golden Fan Young Master was a bit of a clown, his style was way better than this guy’s—at least he actually looked the part.
“Innkeeper, fellow martial artists, greetings.” The guy said “greetings,” but aside from showing a little respect to the chubby innkeeper, he didn’t act humble at all toward the crowd. Then came a bunch of pointless small talk and mutual flattery, all because some folks had heard of his name.
“Is this guy really famous?” Fiona Fang looked puzzled. Jack Young was curious too—judging by his skills, this guy only had about twenty years of cultivation, not even as good as Iron Tyrant. What’s the big deal?
The chubby boss on the side immediately explained, “It’s not that he’s famous, it’s his dad—Sam Lee, the boss of the Flying Swallow Gang. Lee’s Swallow Flash Technique is top-notch, and his internal energy is impressive too. Rumor has it he used to be a notorious thief in the Flower Kingdom. Later he went straight, recruited some folks, and started a security escort business—so, you could say he turned over a new leaf.”
“Swallow Flash Technique?” Jack Young nodded thoughtfully. That name sounded familiar—anyone who’s played Lone Star knows this skill. It’s a super useful lightness technique, and if you max it out, it’s seriously effective. Is this Swallow Flash Technique the same as that one?
“Still, the kid’s got some skills. With those shifty eyes and quick hands—and his lightness technique—he’s hard to pin down at equal cultivation. So he’s got a bit of a reputation. Of course, that’s nothing compared to you, sir.” The boss was definitely putting on airs—ever since Jack Young exposed his true skills, the boss treated him like a top-tier master.
When martial artists meet, the stronger one can see through the weaker’s cultivation. If you get totally read while you can’t see through the other guy at all, you’re way outclassed. From the boss’s perspective, he couldn’t even sense Jack Young’s strength. No matter how hard he looked, Jack just seemed like he had less than ten years of cultivation. Clearly, Jack’s skills were off the charts, so the boss was super respectful.
“Zhang Wei, you attacked my Flying Swallow Gang members for no reason and stole a ton of our assets. That’s unforgivable!” The young gang leader shouted toward the Spring Room, “Out of respect for the innkeeper, we won’t barge in. But if you’re a real man, come out and confess!” His crew all shouted in support, really laying on the drama.
At that moment, the frantic packing noises from the Spring Room finally stopped. With a loud bang, the door swung open and three people walked out.
“Oh…”
“Hmm…”
“Uh…”
Those three sounds actually came from Rachel Luo, Fiona Fang, and Jack Young. Seeing the trio who walked out, Jack realized the blame was probably going to stick to them for a while—because they totally fit the bill. One guy and two girls, none of them showing much internal energy. Especially the second clue: the guy was a pretty boy, and the girls were beauties.
The girls were pretty enough—both sweet and fresh-faced types. Not quite on Fiona Fang’s level, who’s just three years away from causing national chaos with her looks, and definitely not as classy as Rachel Luo, who’s got that early-stage mature lady vibe. But they’d score a solid 6 out of 10. If they didn’t have such obvious maid energy, they might even push it to a 7.
But ‘pretty boy’ was the perfect label for the guy in the middle. Big eyes, straight nose, thin lips, healthy complexion, and well-balanced features—rare for a guy to be this good-looking. Of course, nobody here is stupid. Nine out of ten would think, ‘Is this a girl dressed as a guy?’ But the thing is, this pretty boy, while handsome, didn’t look fully feminine.
His features were naturally sharp yet soft, clearly not the result of a disguise. Plus, there was a genuine, unusual toughness in his expression—something you almost never see on a woman. So the jury was still out on his real gender. Odds were: seventy percent guy, thirty percent girl.
Zhang Wei—let’s just call him that for now—walked down the stairs to face the young gang leader, frowning and radiating a tough vibe. “Who are you, and why are you spouting nonsense?” The voice was neutral—not squeaky like a eunuch, but somewhere between tomboy and macho. Not too high, not too low, with a solid edge—a whole different kind of good voice.
“Spouting nonsense? Ha! Justice is in the hearts of the people!” The young gang leader sat three tables away, sizing up the two six-point girls while trading barbs with the pretty boy. Honestly, he didn’t care what the pretty boy was saying—or even what he himself was saying. It was all just standard martial arts banter, you could run it on autopilot.
Right now, his only real concern was this: those two chicks were cute, but not nearly as jaw-dropping as Wang Wei had described. They were in that gray area between ‘tempted to go for it’ and ‘not worth the trouble.’ Maybe those whiny losers just hadn’t seen a woman in ages and were talking nonsense?
As his autopilot banter hit peak trash talk, he heard someone whispering nearby. “Young Master, Young Master!” He turned around—it was Wang Wei sneaking over, face miserable, whispering, “Young Master, that’s not the guy.”
The young master’s autopilot glitched for a second, then he said, “I’ll give you one incense stick’s time to reflect. Don’t keep denying it and drag everyone down!” Then he whipped around, grabbed Wang Wei by the collar, and slammed him to the ground. “What did you just say?” All those righteous words he’d just spouted—now you say you’ve got the wrong guy?
“Seriously, Young Master, it’s not him—the one who robbed us is that guy!” Poor Wang Wei tried to set the record straight, pointing toward Jack Young’s group. Both looked up and saw Jack Young and his crew meeting their gaze, Jack even giving them a friendly nod. Talk about polite and harmonious.
But after the young master glanced at Rachel Luo and Fiona Fang’s faces, he instantly smacked Wang Wei on the head. “You damn fool, are you blind? No way—it’s these guys who are the real deal!”
“But…” Wang Wei was super frustrated, wanting to say more, but his young master waved for his men to drag him off.
The young master’s thinking was simple: Who cares which one’s real? There’s no proof either way. Besides, the real one seemed to have some connection with the inn’s master, and his two women weren’t as pretty as the fake ones. So who wants the real thing anyway?!
If I say you are, then you are—even if you’re not. If I say you aren’t, then you aren’t—even if you are.
Smack! The young master slapped the table, his voice sharp: “Zhang Wei, hurry up and confess!” Compared to the real ones, the fake ones were way more interesting, instantly crossing the line into must-have territory. “You stole my money and beat up my brothers—outrageous crimes! Debts must be paid, so cough up the three hundred taels you stole, kneel down for a beating, and I’ll let you go today. Otherwise—hmph!”
“Three hundred taels?” Rachel Luo couldn’t help but snicker. Jumping to three hundred overnight—Shanghai’s stock index isn’t even that wild.
“You!” Zhang Wei wasn’t much of a talker. After a few retorts, his face turned red and he couldn’t come up with a comeback. In the end, he could only shout, “I don’t care if I don’t have three hundred taels—even if I did, I wouldn’t give it to a scoundrel like you!”
Jack Young immediately curled his lip. Zhang Wei, you’re way too green—you fell right into a verbal trap. Sure enough—
“Look, everyone, look! He’s got the nerve to steal money and then act innocent. Blows it all, then claps his hands and tries to play dumb!” The young master hyped up the crowd, and his crew joined in the ruckus.
Fiona Fang couldn’t help but curl her lip. “That’s how all the rich boys in Zhongtu are—just one layer of fancy clothes above a thug. Total ‘silk-robed punk.’”
Big Joe immediately jumped in to defend the honor of Central Lands folks. “He’s no rich boy—the Flying Swallow Gang never had any real status, and Sam Lee started out as a thief. He’s exactly a ‘silk-robed punk.’ If you want real rich boys, the Three Great Young Masters are the real deal—worlds apart from this guy.”
“Three Great Young Masters?” Jack Young heard another intimidating new term and was about to ask, but the situation changed again.
The young master, sensing the mood was just right, raised his hand to quiet the crowd and announced, “But I’m not unreasonable. If you really don’t have the money, I won’t force you to your death. Our Flying Swallow Gang is big and generous—we’ll give you a few days’ grace.” Then, with a wicked grin that revealed his true goal, he added, “Let these two ladies come with me. I’ll take good care of them. Whenever you come up with three hundred taels, I’ll let them go.”
Using some fancy, unassailable logic to keep the women close and kick the man out—doesn’t this seem familiar? That’s right, like master, like minion. The Flying Swallow Gang’s young master was ‘asking for directions’ too. But unlike his men, he got both the beauty and the money, so he was clearly more skillful.
Most people struggle with this kind of ‘asking for directions.’ You can imagine plenty of ways to talk back, but a master trash-talker can always flip it back on you. Unless you’ve got college debate team skills, it’s tough to win. And Zhang Wei clearly wasn’t good with words—the Flying Swallow Gang goons closed in, and he could only clench his fists and tremble with rage, unable to say a thing.
“Sigh.” You can’t just sit and watch a good guy get bullied. Jack Young sighed and was about to stand up—when suddenly, with a whoosh, a man screamed and flew over everyone’s heads, landing hard on the street outside the inn.
This chapter isn’t over yet~.~ Click next page to keep reading the exciting story!