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

Page 42

Holding three incense sticks, Yue Buqun respectfully addressed the memorial tablet on the table:

"Disciple Yue Buqun leads the Huashan Sect and Huaming Village to establish this covenant today. As long as the Huashan Sect exists, it will protect the people of Huaming Village, and Huaming Village will support the Huashan Sect. If the Huashan Sect can no longer protect the people of Huaming Village, or if the people of Huaming Village are unwilling to support the Huashan Sect, then this covenant will be null and void. If the Huashan Sect breaches this covenant, may it be punished by both heaven and man!"

After speaking, Yue Buqun held three incense sticks and bowed repeatedly, which delighted the people behind him.

After the ceremony was completed, Yue Buqun stood up and looked at the crowd of people. Seeing their excited expressions, Yue Buqun paused and said, "Today you have made this pact with my Huashan Sect. From now on, my Huashan Sect will protect you from being bullied again. However, you must be diligent and honest in the future and not bully others. Otherwise, the Huashan Sect will no longer provide protection."

"Please rest assured, Immortal Master, we understand."

"We won't bully others."

The people chatted amongst themselves.

Upon hearing the title "Immortal Master," Yue Buqun was both amused and exasperated, and quickly corrected him, "Don't call me that. I'm not an Immortal Master."

The people didn't know how to address Yue Buqun, but they saw that he had an otherworldly appearance, and his every move was like that of an immortal. He also did things like an immortal, willing to save them and protect them, so they called him that.

"Yes, Immortal Master."

"We understand, Immortal Master."

Yue Buqun's expression was slightly helpless, but at this moment he was very happy.

The Huashan Sect is about to flourish.

Jiang Ning smiled silently on the edge.

The disciples of Mount Hua were also very happy; today felt like a New Year celebration.

Only a few people looked worried.

"Junior brother, do you think we'll get into trouble doing this?"

Just then, a voice came from the side. Jiang Ning turned around and saw that Du Lanyin had come to his side at some point.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ning asked, "Why do you say that, Senior Sister?"

Du Lanyin looked somewhat worried.

"If the authorities find out what's going on here, will they come after us?"

Although the Huashan Sect has only made an agreement with Huaming Village and Huaming Village only has a small number of people, what they are doing is already considered a provocation against the authority of the government.

This would be intolerable for a normal dynasty. Although people in the martial arts world looked down on the imperial court, it was still a dynasty after all.

Jiang Ning laughed upon hearing this: "Senior Sister, there's no need to worry."

During his year of travel, Jiang Ning gradually came to understand the current dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty in this Swordsman Online is not the historical Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty in this world has too weak a control over the country. The buying and selling of official positions is rampant in the current court. I once saw a wealthy merchant in Jiangning spend tens of thousands of taels of silver to get a fourth-rank official position from the government, and the procedures were all in order.

If the government could really control this area, then he would have been wanted by the imperial court long ago for massacring an official's residence in Xi'an, causing such a big incident in Xiangyang, and later wiping out eighteen unscrupulous merchants in Shanxi.

However, apart from the Xi'an Prefecture government issuing a few bounty notices at the beginning, there was no further action taken. The bounty notices did not even include Jiang Ning's appearance.

Jiang Ning later heard Yue Buqun talk about the commotion in Xiangyang Prefecture. The Xiangyang government had approached Yue Buqun, but not to interrogate him. They went to express their gratitude, saying they were thanking him for ridding Xiangyang City of a scourge.

The Huashan Sect made such a big move in Xiangyang City, yet the government not only didn't blame them, but even came to thank them. The reason for this is puzzling.

When Yue Buqun recalled the incident, the official who came was a confidant of the prefect of Xiangyang. During his conversation with Yue Buqun, the official kept trying to elicit information from him, asking if the Huashan Sect had made any discoveries in the Iron Palm Sect's residence, and finally asking if the Huashan Sect had any intention of settling in Xiangyang.

Yue Buqun knew about the government's unusual reaction. Among the letters Jiang Ning had given him, one was particularly special—it was about the prefect of Xiangyang, and it contained incriminating evidence against him.

The position of Prefect of Xiangyang was also bought through bribery, but Hu Anyu seized on this and used it to threaten him. This explains why Hu Anyu said that the Prefect sent him tribute tea.

With their weakness in someone else's hands, the Prefect of Xiangyang wanted Hu Anyu dead at all times. When he learned that the Huashan Sect and the Iron Palm Sect had clashed, the Prefect of Xiangyang did nothing but send a few officials to check the situation, intending to wait and see how it would end. Only after the conflict was over did the Prefect of Xiangyang send people to the Huashan Sect to try and extract information. Later, he also sent people to search the Iron Palm Sect, but by then Jiang Ning and his group had already left, and they found nothing.

Yue Buqun pretended to know nothing. He then put away the letter that contained information about the prefect of Xiangyang and handed over some of the information related to the Demonic Sect to the government officials.

The prefect of Xiangyang finally breathed a sigh of relief after learning that the Huashan Sect had not found any incriminating evidence against him, but he was still troubled when he saw these letters.

He never expected that Hu Anyu would actually collude with the Sun Moon Cult.

The Sun Moon Sect not only stirred up trouble in the martial arts world, carrying out assassinations and robberies everywhere, but it was also a malignant tumor for the government.

After discussions, the Xiangyang government announced that the Huashan Sect's actions were a joint operation between the government and the Huashan Sect. They claimed to have evidence of the Iron Palm Sect's crimes and that the night in question was an operation to purge the criminal forces in Xiangyang.

In addition to this, the Xiangyang government also stated that it would return the illegal assets that the Iron Palm Sect had amassed over the years to the victims after an investigation.

With the cooperation of the government, the silver and land deeds in Yue Buqun's possession were soon investigated and returned to the people who had been wronged by the illegal acquisition of property. In the end, there was still a lot of silver left. The government also gave a large sum of money to thank the Huashan Sect. Yue Buqun did not stand on ceremony. Thus, the operation in Xiangyang City came to an end.

Hearing Jiang Ning say this, Du Lanyin finally felt relieved and a smile appeared on her face. Looking at the lively scene, she laughed and said, "Junior Sister loves liveliness the most. If she were here now, she would definitely be very happy."

The junior sister she mentioned is Yue Lingshan. When Yue Buqun sent Lao Denuo to Fujian, Yue Lingshan found out and insisted on going. Yue Buqun also needed someone to keep an eye on Lao Denuo to prevent him from doing anything he didn't know about, so he agreed. They haven't returned yet.

Jiang Ning smiled but remained silent.

……

A month passed by in a hurry.

The grand ceremony for Liu Zhengfeng of the Hengshan Sect to "wash his hands of his life" is scheduled to begin in mid-June. It is already May 24th, and Yue Buqun must set off as soon as possible, or he might miss the banquet.

Yue Buqun did not bring all his disciples with him on this trip, as he needed to leave people to look after the disciples at Huashan and the foot of the mountain. Yue Buqun only brought Jiang Ning, Linghu Chong, Liang Fa, Lu Dayou, and Ying Bailuo.

After all, they're just going to eat at the banquet, not to fight, so there's no need to bring too many people.

Moreover, Liu Zhengfeng suddenly wants to retire from the martial arts world, and we don't know what's going on with him. There's no need for the entire Huashan Sect to mobilize for his Golden Basin Gathering. Liu Zhengfeng doesn't have that kind of face. He can just bring a few disciples to show up and make a gesture.

"Huh? Where's Senior Brother?"

Lu Dayou looked around curiously, turning his head back and forth.

"Chong'er passed away a few days ago."

Yue Buqun said calmly.

During this period, Linghu Chong did indeed start to work hard again. Without Yue Buqun's punishment, he went to the Cliff of Contemplation and faced the wall to calm down and practice his skills. Until a few days ago, Linghu Chong found him and said that he wanted to go down the mountain alone to gain experience. They would meet at Hengshan then. Yue Buqun thought about it and let him go.

“You don’t need to come with me this time. Just stay put on Mount Hua and don’t run around. Otherwise, if you get caught and made into donkey meat sandwiches, I won’t be able to save you. You’ll just have to eat two big bowls with tears in your eyes.”

Jiang Ning stroked Maodou's head and spoke softly to it.

Maodou rolled its eyes at him. If Jiang Ning hadn't been holding its head firmly to prevent it from turning around, it would have really wanted to kick Jiang Ning twice.

"hehe."

Du Lanyin covered her mouth and chuckled to herself. She noticed that Jiang Ning only showed his interesting side when he was talking to Maodou.

Du Lanyin said to Jiang Ning, "Junior Brother, don't worry, I will take good care of Maodou."

Jiang Ning nodded: "Then I'll have to trouble you, Senior Sister."

"Alright, we should get going. The carriages down the mountain are already waiting for us."

Yue Buqun then spoke.

Upon hearing Yue Buqun speak, Jiang Ning released Maodou's head, patted its head to indicate goodbye, and Maodou turned and ran away.

Jiang Ning shook his head as he watched Maodou disappear in a flash, then turned and followed Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze down the mountain.

"Ning'er, how much of my Huashan Sword Technique have you mastered in the past month?"

On the way, Yue Buqun asked Jiang Ning.

Jiang Ning said, "I've learned almost everything."

For the past month, besides cultivating the Innate Skill, he has been practicing swordsmanship. He has now mastered them all. However, some sword techniques are quite exquisite and require a high level of internal energy, so they are sometimes stiff and disjointed when used. But he is gradually becoming more proficient. Given more time, he will be able to integrate these sword techniques into his own fighting style.

"Ah."

Yue Buqun nodded. He trusted Jiang Ning, but he still advised, "If some sword techniques are too difficult, don't force yourself. Proceed step by step and don't be impatient."

"The disciple understands."

Jiang Ning nodded.

Chapter 70: Hengshan City

Hengshan.

At the foot of Mount Heng, there is a very prosperous city. It is said that this city was built with funds from Liu Zhengfeng and is directly called Hengshan City. However, Liu Zhengfeng himself neither confirmed nor denied this, and people in the martial arts world do not know whether it is true or not.

After the city was built, it attracted many people to settle down, making Hengshan City's economy very prosperous and also driving the development of the Hengshan School.

However, there are not many ordinary people in this city now; those coming and going are mostly people from the martial arts world.

"Generally speaking, there are many reasons why martial arts practitioners retire from the martial arts world."

As they were about to enter Hengshan City, Yue Buqun began to explain the rules of washing one's hands of the imperial harem to his disciples.

"Some notorious thieves who have committed evil deeds for a lifetime suddenly turn over a new leaf and choose to stop doing evil. Others chivalrous knights who have been fighting for justice for many years choose to retire from the martial arts world. At this time, they will make a choice, which is to hold a ceremony to wash their hands of their past and invite martial arts practitioners from all over the world to participate. The purpose of this is to tell the world that they will no longer participate in any affairs of the martial arts world and that all past grievances will be wiped clean."

"Do you think these people's enemies will just watch them retire from crime and never seek revenge?"

Lu Da looked puzzled.

Yue Buqun laughed and said, "Of course not. That's why accidents are most likely to happen when masters from both the righteous and the underworld hold a ceremony to wash their hands of their past. Their enemies will definitely come to seek revenge on that day. If they still haven't succeeded in taking revenge by then, they won't have another chance."

"why?"

Liang Fa asked curiously.

Yue Buqun said, "Because once someone holds a Golden Basin Washing Hands Conference, it means that he is retiring from the martial world. From then on, the martial world will treat him as if he never existed. He can no longer participate in anything in the martial world. This is a tacit rule in the martial world. If his enemies still fail to get revenge on the day of the Golden Basin Washing Hands Conference, then they can no longer look for him. Otherwise, no matter how right you are, you will lose your morality. Neither the righteous nor the evil world will agree to it. At that time, someone may come to cause you trouble."

Lu Dayou, Liang Fa, and other disciples looked like they had learned something new.

Jiang Ning let out a cold laugh.

Yue Buqun looked at him: "Ning'er, is there something wrong?"

Jiang Ning said, "This disciple just feels that once you've stepped into the martial world, how easy is it to withdraw and leave? Let's not talk about those true heroes who want to retire from the martial world, but as for those with a lot of evil deeds, how can you wash the blood off their hands if they want to wash their hands clean?"

Yue Buqun sighed and said, "That's right, it's not that easy. That's why the Golden Basin Washing Hands Ceremony is often the most prone to accidents. Many masters who want to retire from the martial world die on the spot. Very few can truly wash their hands of the martial world and escape unscathed from this vortex."

Jiang Ning remained silent.

He didn't care what the rule of "washing one's hands of the martial arts world" was, or whether it was a tacitly accepted rule in the martial arts world. He didn't care whether these people had retired from the martial arts world or not. As long as they deserved to die, he wouldn't let them go.

After entering the city, Lu Dayou grabbed a martial arts man and asked him about the residence of Liu Zhengfeng of the Hengshan Sect. Then he headed north of the city, passing through three streets. At the end of the streets stood a grand and luxurious mansion. More than a dozen people were standing at the gate of the mansion to welcome guests. Many martial arts figures were entering the mansion from the two streets on the left and right.

"Wow, this is quite lively."

Seeing this, Lu Dayou clicked his tongue in amazement.

"This place is much more lively than Huayin County at the foot of Mount Hua."

Ning Zhongze also said the same thing.

"Let's go, the Golden Basin Gathering should be starting soon."

Yue Buqun held a folding fan in his hand and spoke with an elegant air.

They had timed their departure perfectly; today was the day of Liu Zhengfeng's Golden Basin Gathering, and they had just arrived in Hengyang City.

"Please come in, please come in."

The people at the door greeted Yue Buqun and Jiang Ning's group with smiles.

They didn't recognize Yue Buqun, but judging from the extraordinary demeanor of the other party's group, they must be from some major sect.

Upon entering the mansion, one finds a very spacious courtyard, large enough to accommodate over a thousand people, demonstrating just how wealthy Liu Zhengfeng was.

The courtyard was filled with tables of wine, each occupied by a group of people from the martial arts world. Some were quietly sipping tea, while others were chatting with their tablemates.

However, Yue Buqun did not intend to sit outside. As the leader of the Huashan Sect of the Five Mountains Sword Sect, this was not his place.

Yue Buqun led Jiang Ning and his group straight toward the hall, passing many tables along the way, and some martial arts figures couldn't help but glance at them.

Jiang Ning followed behind, also looking around. As he approached the hall, he suddenly noticed a girl in a green dress, about thirteen or fourteen years old, standing in a corner. The girl looked at the martial arts practitioners coming and going with curiosity. When she noticed Jiang Ning's gaze, she stuck out her tongue and made a face at him, looking mischievous. Then she ran into the backyard in a flash.

They must be Liu Zhengfeng's family members.

Jiang Ning withdrew his gaze and walked into the hall.

The hall was also very spacious, with nearly two hundred people sitting in various places. Jiang Ning did not recognize any of these people, nor did he know which sect they belonged to, except for one sect that was easy to identify.

A group of nuns sat in a corner on the left side of the hall, each carrying a sword, their gazes indifferent.

It seems this is the Hengshan Sect.

Jiang Ning thought to himself.

At this moment, a middle-aged man hurriedly walked towards Jiang Ning and the others.