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

Page 591

No one, whether in the imperial court or the inner palace, could criticize Zhu Houzhao anymore.

He was already an emperor with great power.

But Zhu Houzhao was not satisfied with this. After gaining power, the first thing he did was to reform, and he wanted to truly realize the things that he and Jiang Ning had discussed back then.

Zhu Houzhao's first move was to change the tax system, which can be said to have directly cut into the vital arteries of those people, provoking them to resist fiercely, and even affecting the martial arts world.

Zhu Houzhao himself was assassinated several times in the palace in the following period, but he was able to escape danger with the protection of experts from various factions.

Zhu Houzhao sent letters to Mount Hua one after another, all praising Feng Buping and Cheng Buyou.

After he was assassinated, the two stayed by his side without leaving him for a moment, making it impossible for the assassin to make a move. In particular, Feng Buping was also skilled in medicine and could identify poisons, which also prevented those who wanted to poison him from doing so.

After reading Zhu Houzhao's letter, Jiang Ning didn't bother with it. Since everything was under control, there was no need for him to intervene.

As for the Huashan Sect, it's simple. The sect operates smoothly internally and develops rapidly externally. The Huashan Sect has established an intelligence network, and Yue Lingshan is pregnant.

Three years into their marriage, Yue Lingshan finally became pregnant, which made Yue Buqun extremely happy.

In that same year, Liu Zhao also returned.

"Master, your disciple wishes to become a monk and live a solitary life on the mountain, accompanying you by your side. I beg you to grant my request!"

Liu Zhao finally returned, but the first thing he did upon returning to Mount Hua was to kneel down in front of Jiang Ning, his face covered in tears, looking as if he had suffered a broken heart.

Chapter 802 Liu Zhao's Pain

Jiang Ning calmly looked at Liu Zhao kneeling in front of him.

"What happened?"

Liu Zhao shook his head.

"I have nothing to do, Master. Please grant my request."

Jiang Ning didn't say much upon seeing this, but instead said, "You've just returned, go and rest first. We can talk about becoming a monk later."

Liu Zhao was about to speak again when Jiang Ning waved his hand, and Liu Zhao had no choice but to retreat.

After Liu Zhao left, Jiang Ning had someone bring him the travel records that Liu Zhao had submitted.

"..."

Jiang Ning glanced at Liu Zhao's travels since he came down the mountain and quickly noticed the problem.

Liu Zhao and Ye Ying concealed their identities and traveled together to many places. While doing good deeds, they also made many friends and met a woman named Chi Yao.

Liu Zhaoye Ying traveled with this woman and several of her friends, and nothing seemed amiss. However, Liu Zhaoye Ying later discovered that this woman named Chi Yao had been a member of a demonic sect and had committed many evil deeds, even secretly killing several of her friends. In the end, she was exposed and killed by Liu Zhaoye Ying.

After that, Liu Zhao and Ye Ying returned to Mount Hua, and then there was the scene where Liu Zhao knelt in front of him, wanting to become a monk.

After reading the records submitted by Liu Zhao, Jiang Ning frowned slightly.

He knew things weren't that simple, and the reason Liu Zhao was like this might be because of that woman, Chi Yao.

Upon seeing Liu Zhao's heartbroken appearance, Jiang Ning summoned Ye Ying.

Not long after, a handsome young man arrived.

"Master Brother."

Ye Ying bowed to Jiang Ning.

Jiang Ning sized up Ye Ying.

Ye Ying was the first disciple he recruited when he was in charge of recruiting disciples for Mount Hua. When he found Ye Ying, who was wandering, she was taking care of her younger brother, so he brought the two brothers back to Mount Hua.

Ye Ying has great talent. He is about the same age as Liu Zhao, around eighteen or nineteen years old. His martial arts skills have already reached the second-rate level, and he is not far from the first-rate level.

The same goes for Liu Zhao. It can be said that Ye Ying and Liu Zhao have stood out among their peers. Currently, among the disciples of Mount Hua, only the two of them have this level of strength at their age.

Yue Buqun was very pleased with such talent. Although it was not as outstanding as Jiang Ning's achievement of first-rate status before he was even seventeen, it was still quite remarkable.

With proper training, the two will surely become top-notch masters in time.

Yue Buqun was already preparing to pass on the Zixia Divine Skill to the two of them.

As Jiang Ning looked Ye Ying up and down, Ye Ying felt a surge of excitement.

Back then, Jiang Ning personally brought him and his younger brother Ye Jian up the mountain. Now, his younger brother has also entered the sect and has begun practicing martial arts.

It can be said that Jiang Ning changed their fate. Ye Ying was very grateful to Jiang Ning and always took Jiang Ning as her role model.

"Yes, Not Bad."

Jiang Ning nodded and said, "It's quite impressive to have such martial arts skills at this age. If you encounter any difficulties in your training, you can come to me."

Ye Ying quickly replied, "Thank you for your concern, Senior Brother Sect Leader."

Jiang Ning nodded and said, "I called you here today because I have something to ask you."

Jiang Ning then inquired about Liu Zhao.

Upon hearing about this, Ye Ying's expression also turned sad.

"My nephew..."

Ye Ying did not hide anything and quickly told the whole story.

Jiang Ning's expression remained calm, but his eyebrows twitched slightly.

Sure enough, what Ye Ying told them was not so simple.

Chi Yao was indeed a member of the Demonic Sect. Liu Zhao and Ye Ying were unaware of this at first. During their travels with Chi Yao and other friends, Liu Zhao and Chi Yao developed feelings for each other.

Hearing this, Jiang Ning shook his head.

Ye Ying's expression became even more sorrowful.

At that time, he also thought that his junior apprentice Liu Zhao and Chi Yao were a perfect match, and he thought that after the trip, Liu Zhao would take Chi Yao back to Mount Hua to get married.

It wasn't until Chi Yao's identity was exposed by a friend named Xu Ge that Chi Yao killed him in order to hide her identity. Later, as Liu Zhao, Ye Ying, and the others tried to find out the cause of Xu Ge's death, the others also discovered the trick and were killed by Chi Yao one after another. Finally, Chi Yao's identity was exposed by one of them before he died.

Liu Zhao finally discovered that Chi Yao was a member of the Demonic Sect.

In the final confrontation, Chi Yao confessed that she was indeed a member of the Demonic Sect. She had been brought to the Demonic Sect from a young age and trained as an assassin. Over the years, she had killed countless people and her heart had long been cold and ruthless. Later, after Jiang Ning led the righteous path to wipe out the Demonic Sect, she took the opportunity to escape. She originally wanted to live out the rest of her life in anonymity, but she encountered Liu Zhao and Ye Ying.

During their time together, she developed feelings for Liu Zhao, and Liu Zhao felt the same way.

If things continued this way, the two would get married and have children. However, she overheard a conversation between Liu Zhao and Ye Ying and learned that they were disciples of the Huashan Sect, especially Liu Zhao, who was also a disciple of Jiang Ning.

The fear that Jiang Ning brought to the demonic path was unimaginable. After discovering this, Chi Yao was absent-minded all day long, not knowing whether to stay or leave. Until she revealed a flaw and was discovered by Xu Ge first. Then, as mentioned earlier, Chi Yao, fearing that her identity would be exposed, secretly poisoned and killed Xu Ge and several others until her identity was exposed.

Liu Zhao was in great pain after discovering Chi Yao's true identity, especially since Chi Yao did not harm Liu Zhao and Ye Ying after being discovered, but chose to surrender and even said something to Liu Zhao at the end.

“I was trained as a killing machine from a young age. I thought that I would have a new life after leaving the evil cult, but fate arranged for me to meet you. Perhaps this is God’s punishment for me.”

In the end, Liu Zhao killed her with his own hands.

"I see."

Jiang Ning shook his head after listening and remained silent.

Ye Ying took her leave.

Jiang Ning got up and found Liu Zhao, who was standing on the edge of a cliff, lost in thought.

Liu Zhao stared blankly into the distance, lost in thought.

Jiang Ning approached Liu Zhao from a short distance away, but Liu Zhao did not notice.

"Do you regret it?"

When Jiang Ning spoke, Liu Zhao suddenly came to his senses, turned around and saw Jiang Ning, and quickly bowed.

"Master."

Jiang Ning looked at him calmly.

"Do you regret it?"

Jiang Ning asked the same question again.

Liu Zhao's expression showed a hint of pain, but it quickly hardened.

"This disciple has no regrets."

"Don't you regret killing her?"

Jiang Ning asked.

Liu Zhao said in a deep voice, "She comes from the Demonic Sect and has the lives of many innocent people on her hands. Even Xu Ge and the others were killed by her. She deserved to die. I do not regret killing her, but I regret not discovering her identity sooner, which led to the deaths of Xu Ge, Brother Li, and Brother Yu."

"If I release her, I will be letting down the innocent people she killed, as well as Brother Yu and the others."

Liu Zhao said this, but Jiang Ning knew it was impossible for him not to feel any pain in his heart.

Despite the pain, Liu Zhao never regretted it.

If you do something wrong, you must pay the price.

Chapter 803: Blood Letter

"Master, I wish to enter the Daoist path. Please grant my request."

Liu Zhao knelt down and said in a deep voice.

Jiang Ning shook his head.

"You are too far from the right path now."

Upon hearing this, Liu Zhao looked up at Jiang Ning.

"Master, what is the Tao?"

Jiang Ning lowered his eyes for a moment before speaking.

"The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name."

Liu Zhao looked puzzled.

He doesn't understand.

Jiang Ning remained silent.

Jiang Ning had never understood why some people spoke in a ambiguous way, as if they had said something but hadn't. But the more Taoist scriptures he read and the more experiences he had, the more he understood that the true "Tao" could not be clearly expressed in words.

If you understand, you understand; if you don't understand, you don't understand. Some people understand without being told, while others don't understand even after being told.

Everything depends on one word.

Enlightenment.

"There are some truths that you won't understand even if I tell you them. Just understand that the Way is always there."

Jiang Ning said calmly.

"Only when you enter the Tao not to escape it will you understand what the Tao is, and only then will you have truly entered the Tao."

Previously, Liu Zhao wanted to enter the Daoist path simply because he was young and influenced by him. Now, Liu Zhao is entering the Daoist path because he is in too much pain and wants to escape. Regardless of the reason, Liu Zhao is not suitable to enter the Daoist path.

Liu Zhao was taken back to Mount Hua by him. He read many books and understood many principles, but he still had too little experience. Confusion made him unable to see himself clearly, so he subconsciously chose to escape and enter the Dao, wanting to reduce his suffering through quiet cultivation.

But this will only suppress the pain, not reduce it. Once it erupts in the future, it will completely engulf Liu Zhao.

"The Way is ever-present..."

Liu Zhao stared blankly into space, muttering to himself.

Seeing this, Jiang Ning said nothing more and turned to leave.

Several months passed in the blink of an eye. Since that day, Liu Zhao had never mentioned his desire to join the Dao to Jiang Ning again. Instead, he spent his days muttering to himself, muttering the three words Jiang Ning had told him that day: "The Dao is ever-present."

Ye Ying, who was worried about him, also approached Jiang Ning and mentioned Liu Zhao's current condition. Jiang Ning went to see Liu Zhao once in the middle of the trip and then told Ye Ying not to worry about him.

Since Jiang Ning had said so, Ye Ying, though worried, was relieved.

Two more years have passed in a flash.

That year, Jiangning was twenty-nine years old.