Chapter 610: The World's No. Guard
"Let's not waste our time on gossip. Who asked you to investigate me? Shangguan Haitang? Or Zhao Wusi?"

Shiba Xin asked with a smile.

Zhang Jinjiu paused for a moment when he heard this. He had not expected this young man to speak so directly.

But he soon recovered as usual and said with a smile: "Who asked me to check on you? This question is not important. I just have some questions that I need you to answer."

"What if I say I don't want to answer? Zhang Jinjiu, your way of investigating people and cases is too simple and crude, isn't it? You rush to me so directly and ask me directly?"

Chai Xin still smiled, but his tone seemed a little indifferent.

"Where do you get the confidence to think that I will tell you the truth?"

In fact, when he intervened in the battle between Duan Tianya and Wuhuan, he had already anticipated that someone would come to investigate him.

So when he realized someone was following him just now, he didn't feel surprised.

It wasn't even hard for him to guess that the person who came to investigate him was Zhang Jinjiu. What surprised him was that Zhang Jinjiu's investigation method was so sloppy.

"There are many ways to investigate a case, some are complex and some are simple, and it's hard to say which is better. Ultimately, getting a result is the most important thing."

Zhang Jinjiu raised the wine gourd and took a sip, wiped the wine stains from the corners of his mouth, and continued to speak slowly.

"As for my confidence... if I came here alone, I wouldn't have this confidence."

He said this naturally and sincerely, as if he was not trying to force the truth but simply stating a fact.

They will not feel guilty about their own lack of strength, nor will they feel ashamed for relying on the help of others.

"It seems that this person who came with you has really given you a lot of confidence. Since you have been prepared, why not let him show himself? Otherwise, if you delay for a while, you may not be able to ask for the truth."

Chai Xin smiled faintly and turned his head, looking towards a patch of grass in the southwest corner.

In fact, long before Zhang Jinjiu showed up, he had already noticed that there were two people following him.

Zhang Jinjiu looked in the direction his gaze was directed, and for the first time a look of surprise finally appeared on his face.

He didn't expect that even with the skills of the best guard in the world, he could be easily detected by the young man in front of him.

Suddenly, he felt that his behavior this time might be a bit rash.

"Mr. Zhang, my mission on this trip is only to ensure your safety. I am not responsible for verifying the case for you, nor am I responsible for taking the initiative to help you."

Just as Chai Xin's eyes fell on the bushes, a thin figure in blue clothes floated out from it.

The man in blue was actually a young man, even more childish than Chai Xin, and looked no more than seventeen or eighteen years old.

He held a broadsword in his arms. The scabbard was plain and looked quite heavy.

He is very handsome and full of heroic spirit. Although he looks young, he has an aura of majesty in his every move.

The look he gave Zhang Jinjiu was not too friendly, but there was no hostility either. Although his words were meant to remind the other party, his tone was sincere and humble, and did not make people feel uncomfortable at all.

"Zhan, I didn't say you had to help me investigate the case. But if someone is planning to attack me, you can't just stand by and watch, right? If that happens, your reputation as the best guard in the world will be ruined."

Zhang Jinjiu was smiling, with a hint of undisguised drunkenness in his eyes, and he seemed to take the blue-clothed young man's reminder completely unto heart.

When Chai Xin heard the key words "Zhan boy" and "the best guard in the world", he raised his eyebrows and felt a little surprised.

He was absolutely certain that such a person had never appeared in the original plot of the TV series.

But this is not a pure "Number One in the World" world after all, but a "world of heroes".

Obviously, this is a very common situation in "Zongwu" type fan fiction - original characters, or magically modified characters.

Chai Xin only read a very small number of chapters of "Heroes of the Heroes" and had no idea about many of the subsequent plots and characters.

This "number one guard in the world" was the first martial arts master beyond his understanding that he encountered after he came to the world of heroes.

Although the opponent did not attack, one could tell from his momentum and the few steps he took out of the bushes just now that he was very powerful.

At the very least, it should be above Karasuma!

As for how much higher it can be, Chai Xin cannot say for sure before they officially fight.

"Mr. Zhang, the title of the world's best guard is just a misunderstanding among fellow martial artists, not a self-proclaimed title by Zhan. To be honest, I don't care about it."

The young man in blue had a smile on his face, a gentle tone, and a very humble temperament. Even when he was denying what others said, he still made people feel warm and at ease.

"Zhan joined the No. 1 Manor in the world only to express his gratitude to the owner of the manor, Shangguan, for helping me a lot. And before joining the manor, I made it clear that I would not do anything that was against the principles of chivalry. At the same time, I would only do three things for the owner of the manor.

"And this one today is already the third one."

"After I finish this, I will leave the No. 1 Manor in the World and continue to wander around the world. I don't want to get too involved in the affairs of the court."

The young man spoke in a calm manner, but his words seemed to indicate his dissatisfaction with the Song Dynasty court.

"Oh, you just need to protect me. As for the agreement between you and the owner, Zhang doesn't want to ask about it."

Zhang Jinjiu waved his hand and his gaze fell on Chai Xin again.

"If you are unwilling to cooperate with the investigation, then I will have to offend you. Please forgive me."

"You are a person who behaves in a very impolite manner, but you speak as if you are a polite person... It's really uncomfortable. There is no need to offend further. Your words and actions have already made me quite uncomfortable."

The moment Chai Xin finished speaking, the figure had already moved.

There was a distance of more than ten feet between him and Zhang Jinjiu, but he had already reached the other person in just a few steps.

His right palm had already been raised, and the moment it approached Zhang Jinjiu, it was already covered with a layer of clear and bright light.

Zhang Jinjiu’s martial arts skills are certainly not bad. Although not as good as Duan Tianya, they are probably not much inferior to Shangguan Haitang.

Without such strength, it would be a pipe dream to want to become the "world's best detective" alone in a world full of experts.

The moment Chai Xin moved, he had already anticipated it, and kicked the ground with both feet at the same time, trying to retreat away.

It’s a pity that even though he was prepared, the gap in strength between him and Chai Xin was quite large.

After retreating less than ten feet, he saw Chai Xin's palm right in front of him.

"Zhan boy!"

While he was shocked by Chai Xin's strength, he was also a little shocked and shouted loudly.

"choke!"

There was a crisp sound of metallic collision not far away, and then a ray of white light flashed across the void, crossing a distance of several feet in an instant, and arrived before Zhang Jinjiu's face.

"Bang!" With just a hair's breadth of difference, Chai Xin's right palm failed to hit Zhang Jinjiu's face, but instead hit a sword that was shining with cold light.

The long sword contained a deep internal force, and it actually withstood Chai Xin's palm strike. The sword body trembled slightly, making bursts of soft hums.

"Snapped!"

Even so, the sword was still knocked back half an inch and hit Zhang Jinjiu's forehead heavily.

Zhang Jinjiu felt as if he was hit on the head with an iron rod, and he felt a little dizzy. Fortunately, he was strong enough and retreated in time to relieve some of the force, so he was not knocked to the ground and made a fool of himself on the spot.

"What a profound inner strength!"

At this moment, the three people present had the same feeling in their hearts.

The reason why Chai Xin felt so emotional was naturally because of the young man named Zhan.

It was really rare that he could block his palm by throwing a long sword from a distance and he was still so young.

The shock of the young man named Zhan and Zhang Jinjiu both came from Chai Xin.

"If it weren't for this sword that neutralized more than 70% of the force, I'm afraid this palm alone would have cost me my life!"

Even a casual and relaxed person like Zhang Jinjiu couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat at this moment. He was almost sober from the drunkenness that he had been unable to sober up for years.

The young man surnamed Zhan did not expect that, despite Chai Xin's age, he was able to repel the sword he had just thrown, and still caused some damage to Zhang Jinjiu.

"Since I debuted, I have only met five people with such internal strength. And the youngest among them is already nearly 40 years old. He is the first one as young as him!"

The expression of the young man named Zhan remained calm, but in his eyes as bright as stars, there burst out an unconcealable brilliance.

His thoughts seemed to be a bit conceited, as if he had no rivals among his peers.

But this is also a fact. Even if you look at the entire martial arts world, including the Song Dynasty, the Yuan Dynasty, the Jin Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty, there are indeed very few people who can have the same skills as him at the age of seventeen or eighteen.

If the scope is narrowed to the Song Dynasty, there will be even fewer such people. At least the young man surnamed Zhan has not encountered one yet.

The figure of the young man named Zhan was illusory. He was already close as he spoke, and before the sword hit the ground, he calmly grasped the hilt.

"Brother, you are so young, yet you have such profound skills. This is something that Zhan Zhao has never seen before. Nice to meet you!"

He sheathed his sword and saluted Chai Xin with his fists clasped. Both his words and actions were sincere.

Although what he said may sound a bit self-important, no matter who hears it, it will not be offensive at all.

"Zhan Zhao?!"

When he heard the other party introduce himself, even with Chai Xin's temperament, he couldn't help but be greatly surprised.

Of course, he was familiar with this name.

However, he did not expect that this young man with extraordinary strength, who was almost as powerful as himself now, was actually the legendary Zhan Zhao!

"Which version of Zhan Zhao is this, whose strength is so outrageous?"

Chai Xin looked at Zhan Zhao carefully for a moment and felt that in terms of appearance alone, he did have many similarities with the "Imperial Cat" described in many literary works.

But no matter which work he remembered, Zhan Zhao should not have such strong strength.

But this is the "world of heroes" after all. It is quite reasonable and not surprising for anyone to be modified and strengthened.

With such strength at the age of seventeen or eighteen, if Zhan Zhao could practice for another twenty or thirty years, wouldn't he be able to dominate the martial arts world and catch up with the level of Zhang Sanfeng, the Sweeping Monk and others?
However, Chai Xin changed his mind and realized that there might be many changes in this world.

Legendary martial arts masters such as Zhang Sanfeng are probably even more powerful than those portrayed in many film, television and literary works.

Perhaps, even a genius like Zhan Zhao would need fifty or sixty years to be on par with him.

However, despite this, Zhan Zhao's talent in martial arts is already incredible enough and can be compared with Zhang Sanfeng and others.

"My name is Chai Xin. It's an honor to meet Brother Zhan." Chai Xin also clasped his fists in return, his tone equally sincere.

With his experience, he could naturally feel that everything Zhan Zhao said and did came from his heart, without the slightest affectation or disguise.

The two of them were in such a harmonious state that they didn't seem like rivals who had fought before, but more like a pair of friends who met too late.

"Brother Chai is such a great man, yet he is unknown in the martial arts world. This shows that most of those so-called 'number one in the world' titles are probably unworthy of the title."

Zhan Zhao praised quietly, not hiding the admiration on his face at all.

"It's a pity that I have to protect Mr. Zhang today. Otherwise, I will definitely drink and chat with Brother Chai."

"Haha, Brother Zhan is really a man of character! But why do we need to drink to meet friends? For people like you and me, it is a good thing to make friends through martial arts."

Chai Xin laughed loudly and also admired Zhan Zhao very much.

He not only admired Zhan Zhao's talent in martial arts, but also his sincere and frank personality.

"Well, if Brother Chai can defeat me, I will take the initiative to withdraw and apologize to Master Shangguan, and do another job for him. However, I have another unwelcome request."

Zhan Zhao clasped his fists and bowed again, bowing deeply to Chai Xin.

"If you win, please spare Mr. Zhang's life. Although he is addicted to alcohol, he is not a wicked person. On the contrary, he has done many good deeds..."

Zhang Jinjiu listened to the conversation between the two and felt more and more confused. Finally, he fell into a state of speechlessness.

What’s going on? After fighting each other, they actually became friends?

Zhan Zhao, you are my bodyguard on this trip. How come you became friends with your opponent? Do you have any idea what’s going on?

"Originally, although I am not a bloodthirsty person, I will never tolerate those who take the initiative to provoke a fight... Well, it's because Brother Zhan and I hit it off right away. Since this is your first request to me, I naturally cannot refuse."

Chai Xin tilted his head to look at Zhang Jinjiu, who had a red mark on his forehead, with a smile on his face.

"I promise you, I won't hurt him today. If it happens again, you can't blame me for being so cruel."

"Thank you, Brother Chai is truly a kind and righteous man!"

As he spoke, Zhan Zhao turned around and glanced at Zhang Jinjiu, with the gentle expression on his face remaining the same.

"Mr. Zhang, a man of Brother Chai's temperament would not do anything evil. I think you can see it clearly. After I fight with Brother Chai, no matter what the result is, you should leave first."

"I……"

Zhang Jinjiu couldn't utter another word for a long time.

(End of this chapter)