Free Web NovelChapter 213: Chapter 188: Old Friends and Contacting the Organization
## Step 1: Contextual Analysis
Literary genre: Chinese cultivation/martial arts novel (wuxia/xianxia)
Language style: Semi-formal narrative with dialogue, typical of web novels
Tone: Serious, action-oriented with elements of heroism and personal relationships
Plot keywords: martial arts, rescue, bandits, illness, marketplace, recognition
Characters:
- Wu Liangchen (武良辰): Male protagonist, a powerful martial artist who used to be a cart puller but has risen to prominence
- Sister Hu (胡姐): Female, a shopkeeper at the marketplace who is currently ill, the aunt of a young servant
- Small servant/attendant (小厮): Male, nephew of Sister Hu, was captured by bandits
- Chen surname leader (陈姓头目): Male, leader of a group of bandits, now deceased
- Bandits/henchmen (喽啰): Group of male attackers who were killed by Wu Liangchen
## Step 2: Translation and Polishing
I’ll now translate the text following all the rules specified:
The Chapter describes a scene in the South City marketplace where a servant boy is captured by bandits who are looking for someone. Wu Liangchen passes by and quickly dispatches the bandits with some kind of projectile (white light), saving the servant. The servant recognizes Wu as someone famous who used to be a cart puller but is now a renowned martial artist. Wu recognizes the servant as someone he knew when he used to make deliveries to Sister Hu’s store, where he also learned the Four-Step Fist technique. The servant explains that his aunt (Sister Hu) is gravely ill and he was trying to find a doctor when he was captured by the bandits.
I’ll now proceed with the full translation:
South City marketplace.
Once, this was the most bustling and lively place in South City. Even wealthy families from North City would place orders here due to the affordable prices.
But with the changing times, its decline became inevitable.
At this moment, a group of thugs were escorting a young servant into the marketplace.
The place was deserted, without a trace of human activity.
"Where’s this place you mentioned?" The leader surnamed Chen grabbed the servant’s hair, yanking him up, and growled menacingly.
The servant looked around in confusion, and his brief hesitation earned him several more slaps.
"Won’t talk, eh? Fine. There aren’t many shops here anyway. We’ll search them one by one until we find your home!" Chen sneered.
His men immediately began prying open doors.
Seeing this, the servant’s face showed utter despair.
He had only brought these men here because he couldn’t endure the torture any longer.
But now he regretted it, because once these bandits discovered what they were looking for, his aunt would surely meet a terrible fate.
It was too late for words now.
He could only watch helplessly as the gang forced open door after door. In his heart, he silently prayed that the gods would protect his aunt from this calamity.
Perhaps his prayers worked, or perhaps there was some other reason.
Just as the thugs were rampaging through the marketplace, a white light suddenly flashed at incredible speed, and the head of the man walking in front exploded.
This sudden scene shocked all the thugs following behind.
"What’s happening?"
"Take cover!"
Amid the shouts, the gang scattered in all directions.
But no matter where they fled, they couldn’t escape the pursuit of these streaks of white light.
WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH!
Accompanied by sharp whistling sounds, the white lights traced multiple arcs through the air, directly striking the thugs.
"No!" The leader Chen let out a terrified cry, but in the next instant, his shout was cut short as a white light shattered his head.
The servant stared at the scene in a daze, not even noticing when blood splattered across his face.
The sight was simply too shocking.
The thugs who had been torturing him moments ago were all eliminated in the blink of an eye by these heaven-sent white lights. If this wasn’t a miracle, the servant could hardly believe it himself.
Could the gods truly have answered his prayers?
Just as this thought crossed his mind, a shadow flashed, and an extraordinarily heroic young man appeared on the scene...
Wu Liangchen scanned the area, confirming that all the thugs were dead, before turning to look at the dumbfounded servant with a slight smile.
He had been passing by when he noticed the servant, which prompted him to intervene and rescue him.
Besides weakening the forces of Cyan Cloud Mountain, Wu Liangchen had acted because he recognized the servant.
When Wu Liangchen was just recovering from his illness and beginning to pull carts, he had spent some time hauling goods at the South City marketplace.
That was when he had met this servant.
And not just him—Wu Liangchen remembered the servant had an aunt who was a shopkeeper at a grain and oil store in the marketplace. Her name was Sister Hu, and she had been particularly kind to him.
It was while delivering goods to the Long Wind Martial Arts Hall for Sister Hu that he had secretly learned the Four-Step Fist.
Despite the passage of time, Wu Liangchen’s memory was extraordinary, so he immediately recognized the servant and rescued him.
The servant had now also recognized Wu Liangchen.
There was no mystery to it—Wu Liangchen’s appearance was simply too striking. Anyone who had seen him even once would find it difficult to forget.
This was precisely why the servant was so shocked.
"M-Master Wu?" the servant finally stammered out after much hesitation.
Wu Liangchen had long since become a legend in Dinghai City.
After all, rising from a mere cart puller to become a top-tier Martial Artist in just over a year—such a story naturally became the talk of the town.
Especially for this servant, who had more than once boasted about having interacted with Wu Liangchen.
But boasting was all it was. He knew the gap between himself and Wu Liangchen had become immeasurable, so he never dared hope to see him again.
Yet surprisingly, at this life-or-death moment, it was Wu Liangchen who had saved him.
"What happened here?" Wu Liangchen asked while untying the ropes binding the servant.
The servant stood up with a limp and smiled bitterly. "Master Wu, my aunt suddenly fell gravely ill, which is why we couldn’t escape before these bandits entered the city."
"We thought we could wait it out for a few days until the bandits left, but my aunt’s condition kept worsening. I had no choice but to risk going outside to find a doctor, and that’s when I ran into these men. If you hadn’t saved me, I would have been dead by now."
"Oh? Your aunt is sick?" Wu Liangchen asked.
He vaguely remembered the servant’s aunt, Sister Hu, as a robust woman. How could she have fallen ill so suddenly?
"Yes, my aunt has had a chronic condition that flares up during the hottest part of summer. In previous years, she managed with medication, but this year, with everything that’s happened, we couldn’t even buy her regular medicine. That’s why she’s bedridden now."
"Where is your home? I’ll take a look!" Wu Liangchen said.
