The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun

Page 269

After saying that, the martial arts expert left.

"What's wrong with the Huashan Sect? Is it any of their business if I don't pay for my meal?"

The burly man muttered something to himself.

"If the Huashan Sect is here, it means that King Ning is here too."

Seeing him like this, other passersby couldn't help but offer a word of advice.

Upon hearing those three words, the burly man's expression froze.

For some reason, after hearing the name Ning Yanwang, he suddenly felt a chill down his spine, as if he were being watched.

"Here you go, here you go."

Suddenly, the burly man pulled out a handful of copper coins from his pocket and threw them to the vendor, then hurriedly left.

"Sir, that's too much, you don't need so much."

The vendor was somewhat taken aback and called out, but the burly man walked away quickly, as if he hadn't heard him at all.

"..."

Jiang Ning, who had witnessed this scene from a short distance, turned and left.

When Jiang Ning returned to the inn, he found that most of the Huashan disciples were already waiting outside, along with disciples from the Hengshan and Taishan sects.

"Junior brother, you're back. Master was just about to send us out to look for you."

At this moment, Lu Dayou saw Jiang Ning returning and quickly went up to her and said something.

"What's wrong, senior brother? Why are you all outside?"

Jiang Ning asked with some surprise, "Has the Hengshan Sect arrived already?"

Lu Da nodded: "A junior sister from the Hengshan Sect has arrived. She said they would be late and asked us to set off first, so Master is preparing to go up Mount Song first."

"Late?"

Jiang Ning frowned.

Nothing will happen, right?

Jiang Ning couldn't help but feel puzzled.

Just as Jiang Ning was wondering what was going on, Yue Buqun came out of the inn, accompanied by Ning Zhongze and Tianmen Daoist and others.

"You're back?"

Yue Buqun also saw Jiang Ning and asked.

"Master and Mistress..."

Jiang Ning bowed to each person, and only after finishing did he ask, "Did Uncle-Master Dingyi and the others experience any delays on their journey?"

"Ah."

Yue Buqun nodded: "I don't know the specifics either, but it shouldn't be too long, so Abbess Dingxian told us to go up Mount Song first."

Seeing that Yue Buqun said this, and that he didn't think there would be any problems with the Hengshan Sect, Jiang Ning felt a little relieved.

"Now that you're back, let's set off."

Yue Buqun said.

"Yes, Master."

Jiang Ning nodded.

After a while, once all the disciples had been gathered, the four sects of Huashan, Taishan, Hengshan, and Emei set off, forming a grand procession of over a thousand people.

Among the various factions that came this time, Jiangning's own sect only had a few dozen people, Taishan Sect had more than 300 people, Hengshan Sect had more than 100 people, and Emei Sect had more than 500 people, which was more than the number of people who came to support Huashan Sect last time.

This shows how much they valued this trip to Mount Song.

It's probably not just about visiting the Five Mountains Sword Sects to change their leader.

Jiang Ning thought of it.

It was already afternoon. The county town was not far from Mount Song, but it was still a bit of a distance. By the time Jiang Ning, Yue Buqun, and the others arrived at the foot of Mount Song, a rosy glow had already appeared on the horizon.

Songshan.

It is located in the center of the Four Sacred Mountains.

Jiang Ning had never been to Mount Song before; this was his first time.

Mount Song is majestic and precipitous, with overlapping peaks. The feeling of grandeur and magnificence when viewed from below is different from that of Mount Hua and Mount Tai.

Without lingering, Jiang Ning and his group did not stop at the foot of Mount Song and chose to continue up the mountain. The journey was very quiet, and they did not encounter many people until they saw a few Mount Song disciples waiting above the mountain path when they were halfway up the mountain.

At this moment, the disciples of Mount Song were somewhat bored, but when they saw so many people coming from the foot of the mountain, they were startled and quickly perked up to observe carefully.

"It's the Huashan Sect and the Taishan Sect who have arrived."

One of the Songshan disciples called out, and several people hurriedly went down the mountain to greet them. They stopped when they arrived in front of Yue Buqun and the others, and bowed deeply in respect.

"Disciples of Songshan respectfully welcome Headmaster Yue of Huashan Sect, Headmaster Tianmen of Taishan Sect, Headmaster Moda of Hengshan Sect, and Headmaster Qingzhu of Emei Sect."

The disciples from Mount Song bowed respectfully, their tone extremely deferential, showing no sign of disrespect.

"Yes, thank you for waiting here."

Yue Buqun smiled slightly and nodded.

"No, no, Sect Leader Yue is too kind to us."

The disciples from Mount Song repeatedly said they dared not.

Compared to Yue Buqun's response, Tianmen Daoist stood by and treated the Songshan disciples with cold indifference, while Master Mo squinted his eyes as if he were about to fall asleep.

Master Qingzhu, however, seemed somewhat surprised.

These people didn't send a message to the Songshan Sect before coming up the mountain. It's understandable that these Songshan disciples recognized the various sects of Huashan, but they even recognized her.

This is somewhat unexpected.

At this moment, the disciples of Songshan said again: "Our sect's left leader has been waiting on the mountain for a long time. Leader Yue, Leader Tianmen, Leader Mo Da, and Leader Qingzhu, please come with us."

After saying that, the disciples from Mount Song led the way.

Yue Buqun had no objection, even though he had been to Mount Song before.

Led by these disciples from Mount Song, the group followed the mountain path uphill. The path was spotlessly clean, and banners hung along the sides with slogans such as "The Five Mountains Sword Sects are of one mind," "The Five Mountains are one family," and "A century-long alliance, let's move forward hand in hand."

"Tch, it's actually quite well written."

People from the three schools of Huashan, Taishan, and Hengshan would occasionally sneer when they saw these banners.

The road to Mount Song is not short, but every two or three miles there are some disciples of Mount Song waiting, and they have prepared wine and snacks to welcome guests, which is quite thoughtful.

However, these snacks were not enough for Jiang Ning and his group.

"Is there any more? Give me some more. I'm so tired and thirsty after walking for so long. How come your Songshan Mountain is even harder to climb than our Huashan Mountain?"

Lu Dayou had a pastry in his mouth and a bag tucked under his arm. He kept reaching out to the Songshan disciples stationed there.

"Pack me some more to eat on the way."

"It's gone, it's all gone."

The faces of the few Songshan disciples waiting there were somewhat ashen.

By this time, the pastries they had brought to welcome their guests had already been looted.

"What do you mean it's gone? It's still there, isn't it?"

Lu Dayou, with his sharp eyes, noticed that one of the Songshan disciples seemed to be hiding something behind his back. Tao Jun, Shu Qi, and the others rushed over upon seeing this and, sure enough, found some pastries and drinks. They immediately began to snatch them.

"Leave some, you guys leave some!"

Seeing this, the disciples of Mount Song panicked and quickly called out.

"You're so anxious about eating my food. You're so stingy. We've come all the way to Songshan, and you won't even give us something to eat. Are all the people in the Songshan Sect this stingy?"

Lu Dayou shouted.

"you!"

Several disciples from Mount Song were furious.

Chapter 358: I'll make you hold in a huge lump

The path to Mount Song was not difficult to climb. Before long, Jiang Ning and the others arrived at a waterfall, led by several disciples of Mount Song.

"This is Shengguan Peak."

One of the disciples from Mount Song explained.

The Songshan School is located on Shengguan Peak.

Looking up from Jiangning, one can see two jade pillars cascading down the cliff, with the sound of rushing water echoing loudly—a truly beautiful sight.

"The scenery is quite nice."

Linghu Chong, who had been silent the whole way, finally spoke up.

Upon hearing this, a disciple from Mount Song standing beside him laughed and said, "Mount Song is located in the center of the world. During the Han and Tang dynasties, it was the foremost of all mountains in the world. Back then, Empress Wu Zetian of the Tang Dynasty performed the Fengshan ceremony on Mount Song."

Linghu Chong smiled but didn't say anything.

These disciples from Mount Song led the group around the waterfall and began their ascent to the summit.

The mountain path to Shengguan Peak is extremely dangerous, much more treacherous than the previous route. The Songshan disciples leading the way pointed out and introduced the scenery on the peak along the way.

At this time, Jiang Ning and his group arrived at a place called Tieliang Gorge.

"Everyone be careful, there's a sheer cliff to the left."

A disciple from Mount Song reminded him, and then picked up a pebble to demonstrate.

After the stone fell into the cliff, it remained silent for a long time. Seeing this, the disciples from the various sects became even more careful as they walked.

Jiang Ning walked along the mountain path for an unknown amount of time. By then, the sky had completely darkened, and it was pitch black all around. Fortunately, his eyesight was excellent, so it didn't have much of an impact.

After walking for a while, we saw that the twin peaks abruptly ended, revealing a natural gateway.

"This is Chaotianmen."

Yue Buqun said to Jiang Ning.

He had been to Mount Song before and knew these places.

They also knew that once they passed Chaotianmen, they would soon reach the Songshan Sect.

Yue Buqun was reminding Jiang Ning to be careful.

Jiang Ning nodded slightly, without saying anything more.

The group continued up the mountain, and after climbing for a while, they were finally close to the summit.

It was already night, but the summit was brightly lit by fire, and the sounds of people talking could be heard from below, making it very noisy and indicating that there were a large number of people.

Meanwhile, the disciples from Songshan who were leading the way quickened their pace and went up the peak ahead of time to report the news. Before long, the sound of drums and music rang out from the summit, and Zuo Lengchan was the first to come down.

"Ha ha ha ha."

Before anyone arrives, the sound comes first.

Zuo Lengchan's previously stiff expression was now filled with a smile.

"Brother Yue, how have you been lately? You've finally arrived. I've been looking forward to seeing you for so long."

Zuo Lengchan grabbed Yue Buqun's hand, his expression quite excited.

"I heard a few days ago that Brother Yue and several sect leaders had arrived at the foot of Mount Song. I missed Brother Yue and everyone else. Now that we are finally reunited, I am overjoyed."

Yue Buqun smiled slightly, subtly withdrawing his hand, and said with a smile, "Thank you for your concern, Alliance Leader Zuo. I am doing well."

The moment Tianmen Daoist saw Zuo Lengchan, his eyes turned bloodshot and his expression became somewhat ferocious, but he quickly calmed down and stared coldly at Zuo Lengchan without saying a word.

Zuo Lengchan seemed not to see Tianmen Daoist at all. After exchanging pleasantries with Yue Buqun, Zuo Lengchan looked at Master Mo Da.

"Brother Mo looks great."