Chapter 34 Five Mountains Sword Sect
Li Xunhuan's carriage gradually disappeared in the wind and snow. Qiao Feng and his companions stood in the snow and watched the carriage go away. They could only silently bless in their hearts. Everyone made different choices. Some chose to face the difficulties, while others chose to retreat bravely and return to a peaceful life. Obviously, Li Xunhuan chose the latter.
"Before in the Song Dynasty, sometimes, I also thought about quitting the martial arts world and no longer caring about the troubles in the martial arts world. I really envy Li Xunhuan. People like him may be the ones who live transparently." Qiao Feng said with deep emotion.
"The martial arts world, the world, this is not something you can just say to retreat, not to mention that we are now people of the Jade Emperor Pavilion. Are you willing to leave the emperor?" Lu Xiaofeng said.
"Haha, that's right. Since you can't retreat unscathed, then go forward bravely. Qiao also wants to follow the emperor to appreciate the scenery at the peak of martial arts." Qiao Feng said heroically.
Su Yu gave the blood bodhi in his hand to everyone, and everyone got one. Except for Qiao Feng, Jiang Yuyan, and Ah Qing, Ximen Chuxue, Lu Xiaofeng, Hua Manlou, and Ah Fei followed Su Yu's advice and took the blood bodhi, and retreated to break through the master realm.
In the beginning of spring, the ice and snow gradually melted, and the earth warmed up, but the rivers and lakes were in a bloody storm again.
"So, Dongfang Bai is being hunted by both the black and white worlds at this time?" Su Yu asked.
"Yes, Emperor, the news from Yanjing City is like this. It is said that the cause was that Dongfang Bubai went to Hengshan in person and was ready to take her sister away, but this matter was leaked for some reason. Songshan joined forces with several other Five Mountains Sword Sects and many righteous sects to rush to Hengshan, and finally a big battle broke out. Nearly ten masters joined forces to attack and injured Dongfang Bubai." Qiao Feng responded.
Su Yu listened and closed his eyes to think.
"I'm afraid this matter is not that simple. There must be someone behind it." Su Yu said, and then thought of the Ming Shaolin. This group of restless monks is probably using the same old tricks again, wanting to fight the good and the evil to consume the power of both sides, so as to consolidate their transcendent status in the martial arts world.
"In the martial arts world, even martial artists cannot forget greed. With Dongfang Bubai's character, he will definitely not ask the court for help. Qiao Feng, take Ah Qing out. Rescue the two sisters." Su Yu said.
"Yes, Emperor." Qiao Feng agreed quickly. Although he and Dongfang Bubai had met once that night, he admired this woman very much in his heart. Now that she was being hunted by the martial arts world, he couldn't help but think of his situation when he was in the Song Dynasty.
"Remember, you are from the Jade Emperor Pavilion. Going out means representing the face of the Jade Emperor Pavilion, and those people are enemies. I don't want you to be soft-hearted in the face of the enemy. No matter who is the enemy of the Jade Emperor Pavilion, there is only one end, and that is destruction. Can you do it?" Su Yu said, staring at Qiao Feng with burning eyes.
"Qiao Feng obeys your order. This trip will not bring down the reputation of the Jade Emperor Pavilion." Qiao Feng said in a deep voice. Now he is no longer the same person as before. He has seen so many dangers in the martial arts world, the betrayal of his long-time friends, and the abuse and contempt of countless people. He will never be indecisive again.
"Very good, although Ah Qing is strong, she is young, you can make the decision yourself." Su Yu instructed.
"Go... Go..." The two horses galloped on the road one after the other.
"Woo... Brother Qiao, I don't want to ride a horse anymore. It's so uncomfortable. I'll fly with Qinggong." A girl's voice came from a horse.
The knight in front slowed down a little.
"Ah Qing, wouldn't it be easy to be exposed if you do that? The emperor asked us to rescue people. It's best not to alert the enemy before we rescue them."
These two people are Qiao Feng and Ah Qing who left Yanjing City.
Along the way, Ah Qing was always impatient to ride a horse. First, she disliked the slowness of the horse, and then she felt uncomfortable. Qiao Feng suddenly had a headache and could only comfort him in a low voice.
"Hold on a little longer, look, there is Hengshan City ahead." Qiao Feng pointed to the city wall that could be vaguely seen in the distance and said.
"Oh, then I'm going to have a good meal." Ah Qing immediately regained his smile and said.
"Hahaha, let's go."
Hengshan City, as the name suggests, is the territory of Hengshan Sect. Even the people guarding the city gate are Hengshan disciples. The court has wanted to rectify these martial arts sects in recent years, but there are foreign races outside who are eyeing them covetously, so they can only let the lower level do it. Fortunately, the martial arts and the court have been at peace in recent years.
Yan Gui Lou, this is the largest restaurant in Hengshan. At this time, in a private room on the third floor of the restaurant, Qiao Feng and Ah Qing are feasting. They are exhausted from the continuous journey.
"Gugu... good wine." Qiao Feng said comfortably after drinking a large bowl of wine.
At this time, the waiter brought the dishes up, Qiao Feng grabbed him, and then took out some silver from his arms.
"Brother, let me ask you something." Qiao Feng said.
The waiter saw the silver and smiled immediately, and said hurriedly.
"Sir, if you have anything to say, there is nothing I don't know about Hengshan City." The waiter immediately patted his chest and said.
"Has Hengshan City had any major events recently? Well, it's related to the Jianghu people." Qiao Feng handed the silver to the waiter and asked.
"Oh, sir, you asked a good question. There is indeed a master. It is said that the elder of our Hengshan Sect, Elder Liu Zhengfeng, will retire on the 15th of this month."
"Yes, there are many Jianghu heroes coming to this street early. I heard that even other people from the Five Mountains Sword Sect will come. This is the boss's face." The waiter raised his head and said. He pointed out the window.
After sending the waiter away, Qiao Feng fell into deep thought.
At this time, it was unknown where Dongfang Bubai was hiding, but with her character, she would not give up until her sister was rescued.
"Retire from the underworld? Humph..." Qiao Feng sneered.
After dinner, the two found two guest rooms to stay in. There were still a few days before retiring from the underworld, so Qiao Feng took Ah Qing to stroll around Hengshan City and inquired about the Five Mountains Sword Sect and the Sun and Moon Sect.
"Brother Qiao, I want to eat this." Ah Qing pointed to a place selling candy figures and said.
"Okay, I'll buy it for you." Qiao Feng said dotingly.
Ah Qing was cute and lively. Qiao Feng had already treated her as his own sister and would agree to anything she asked for along the way.
Just then, Qiao Feng was bumped by someone.
It was a beggar with a shabby body and a hunchback.
"Sorry, sorry, sir, I didn't notice." The beggar lowered his head and apologized quickly.
"Huh?" Qiao Feng saw the clue. The man's hands were white and clean, and he didn't look like a beggar at all. But his steps were weak, and he looked like he hadn't eaten for a long time and was hungry.
"Disguise? Such a poor disguise." Qiao Feng immediately saw through the man's dress.
"Oh, it's okay. Be more careful next time." Qiao Feng said.
"Yes, thank you, sir." The beggar said, and turned to leave.
"Wait a minute." Qiao Feng shouted.
The beggar trembled all over and stopped tremblingly.
"Sir." The beggar looked up at Qiao Feng with a trace of timidity in his eyes.
Qiao Feng also saw the man clearly. Although his face was deliberately smeared, his eyes were clear. He should be a young man. Qiao Feng has been in the martial arts world for many years, so he still has this kind of vision.
"Here, take it to buy some food." Qiao Feng handed over a silver ingot, then took Ah Qing and turned away.
The little beggar held the silver in his hand, and his eyes were first incredible and then filled with tears. He didn't expect that there would be such a kind person.
"Brother Qiao, the man just now was pretending." Ah Qing whispered.
"Well, I know that everyone has their own difficulties. When they encounter difficulties, I don't think he is a bad person." Qiao Feng nodded and said.
The two of them walked around for a day, but they didn't collect much information. It was basically the same as what the waiter said, all about Liu Zhengfeng's retirement from the underworld in Hengshan. Qiao Feng was not in a position to ask about Dongfang Bubai directly.
Outside Hengshan City, there is a bamboo forest. In the bamboo forest, there is a small courtyard built entirely of bamboo.
"Ding ding dong dong..." The elegant sound of the zither sounded, accompanied by the sound of the bamboo sea swaying in the wind, which was very beautiful.
The person playing the zither was a young woman in white clothes with a veil on her face. There was also a middle-aged man standing respectfully beside her.
"Is there any news about her?" the woman asked.
"Saint Aunt, there has been no news of her since that day. I wonder if..." the man said.
"Impossible, Dongfang Bubai will not die so easily. Uncle Xiang, you continue to inquire, and you must not relax. Before we confirm the news of her death, we can't alert the enemy. We must wait to rescue my father first." The woman said.
These two people are Ren Yingying, the saint of the Sun and Moon Sect, and Xiang Wentian, the left envoy of the Sect.
"Yes, Xiang knows." Xiang asked.
The two were very afraid of Dongfang Bubai, so even though there were rumors that Dongfang Bubai was killed by the masters of the Five Mountains Sword Sect, they still didn't believe it.
"By the way, Saint Aunt, the person you asked me to find out last time has been found out. He is the eldest disciple of Huashan Sect, Linghu Chong." Xiang asked.
"Oh, Huashan Sect?" Ren Yingying said. I couldn't help but think of that free and easy figure in my mind. A few days ago, Linghu Chong mistakenly entered the bamboo forest, and the two had a simple exchange.
"Humph, Huashan Sect is getting worse year by year. Now only Yue Buqun, the master, is barely supporting it. Zuo Lengchan is ambitious. I guess the Five Mountains Sword Sect will definitely have internal strife in the future." Xiang asked.
"Shaolin, humph, a group of hypocritical bald donkeys. Songshan Sect is actually just a puppet they pushed out." Ren Yingying snorted coldly.
The sound of the piano continued, but this time it was accompanied by a hint of murderous aura.
At the gate of Hengshan City, the little beggar that Qiao Feng had met before came here every day these days, as if he was waiting for someone.
Finally, one day, a group of people appeared, which made the little beggar react. This group of people dressed differently from the people in the Central Plains, wearing bamboo hats and linen clothes, each holding a weapon in his hand, and speaking with an accent from the southwest frontier.
The little beggar's eyes gradually became angry, and he stared at the leader with his fists tightly. He saw that this person was different from the others, and was dressed like a Taoist priest.
"Qingcheng Sect, Yu Canghai." After this group of people entered the city, the little beggar looked at their backs and said with hatred.