Chapter 73 Kunlun Thumb Ring

Chapter 73

"This is what Elder Zhu told me when Bai Cen and I went to see him just now." Although Wang Sumo is the owner of Bazhenlou, this matter has little to do with Bazhenlou. Whether or not to agree to Elder Zhu's request actually depends more on the old man and Brother Zhao.

“This matter is related to the Golden Gate, especially the Su Jin lineage. Should we go to the pass with Elder Zhu? Grandpa, Brother Zhao, we still need to hear your opinion on this matter.” Wang Sumo said softly, “There are many ways to find Bai Xiaotong. We don’t need to go through Elder Zhu’s route. Moreover, the fact that Bai Xiaosheng was able to tell Elder Zhu about the Eight Treasures Pavilion so clearly shows that Bai Xiaotong has been keeping an eye on the Eight Treasures Pavilion’s movements. He is not far from us.”

"The all-knowing master of the martial arts world, I've heard, is a grand-disciple of Bai Xiaosheng." The old man crossed his arms and said in a deep voice, "To save Fang Rushi, Bai Xiaosheng went alone into the enemy camp, but was shot through the heart by an arrow during his escape and died at the border. He only had one direct disciple, but there's almost no news about this disciple in the martial arts world. It's only in recent years that a master like Bai Xiaosheng has emerged, so he must be quite young."

"Could this all-knowing person be an imposter?" Bai Cen asked.

Since none of Bai Xiaosheng's disciples have ever appeared in the martial arts world, the only ones who can prove that Bai Xiaotong is Bai Xiaosheng's grand-disciple are Bai Xiaosheng's disciples themselves.

Impersonation is not a difficult thing.

Weng He shook his head: "No."

Old Master Weng had been in charge of Zhenhu Division for many years, and few in the martial arts world were more authoritative than him. When Old Master Weng uttered the words "I won't," it was as good as a done deal.

"Grandpa Weng, what did you say?" Bai Cen asked curiously.

Zhao Tong also looked at Old Master Weng.

He appears to be the leader of the Rakshasa Alliance, but in reality, he is a figurehead and has no understanding of the alliance's internal workings.

But he didn't originally want to be the leader of the alliance, so someone took advantage of the situation to sideline him, each getting what they wanted. That's why he had this free time to travel around after meeting Deyuan.

In the years prior, the Rakshasa Alliance had molded him into a weapon of slaughter within the alliance.

As long as he is there, the Rakshasa Alliance's infamous reputation will endure.

His martial arts and swordsmanship often caused him to fly into a rage and go into a state of demonic possession, which could only be suppressed by the antidote from the Rakshasa Alliance.

Until he met Deyuan.

As his blood boiled and his veins bulged, Deyuan's nagging and incessant chatter brought him back to being a human being, rather than a weapon...

It's so strange. It's only been a few days since I separated from Deyuan, but it feels like it's been a long time...

He has gradually adapted to life at Bazhenlou.

Just then, Weng He finished his drink and said leisurely, "Because, Bai Xiaotong is not a single person at all."

Everyone around: ? ? ?

Weng He continued: "The All-Knowing Ones is an organization, or rather, a group of people. This group of people are scattered throughout the martial arts world, forming a vast information network. The All-Knowing Ones you meet today may be A, the one you meet tomorrow may be B, the one you meet the day after tomorrow and the day after that may be C, D, or C... and so on."

Everyone was stunned.

Old Weng's words were completely unexpected.

The old man immediately started complaining: "You're just talking nonsense! See if you believe me or not?"

Everyone's gaze shifted from the old man to Old Man Weng.

In just the past two days, the two old men have been constantly arguing. Old Master He will give in to the old man, but Old Master Weng will not.

Moreover, Old Man Weng would deliberately make Old Man Qu angry!

Even the old man gets angry every time!

The two perfectly illustrate the truth that the older you get, the more you like to hold a grudge!

But the old man is right. If it weren't for the fact that the person who just said those words was Old Man Weng, it would be hard to believe.

The all-knowing man of the martial arts world died on his way to save Fang Rushi.

This has a source.

Everyone in the martial arts world knows this, but from what Old Man Weng said, one should know some inside information.

"Bai Xiaosheng was indeed a person, but after Bai Xiaosheng, he was no longer alone." Old Weng's tone was calm and firm: "Back then, it was because of Bai Xiaosheng's death that his disciples were deeply moved. It was difficult for their master alone to turn the tide."

"Old Weng, are you saying that Bai Xiaosheng is one person, but Bai Xiaotong is a group of people?" Wang Sumo asked.

“That’s right.” Weng He nodded. “That’s why after Bai Xiaosheng, his disciples have been completely unknown in the martial arts world, but his disciple Bai Xiaotong has risen to fame in recent years. These people are all disciples of Bai Xiaosheng’s last disciple, and they share the same identity—the martial arts expert Bai Xiaotong.”

So that's how it is!

Weng He was so certain, and he explained the whole story clearly, that even the old man had no choice but to believe him.

"Therefore, no one can impersonate the all-knowing martial arts master, because they are originally a group of people, and no one can impersonate them." Weng He picked up his wine cup again: "It's like a tight spider web. If someone suddenly appears in any link and tries to impersonate someone else, the source can be traced very quickly. Impersonating the all-knowing martial arts master is more difficult than impersonating the Cloud Piercer and Mountain Breaker."

The old man scoffed lightly and ignored him.

Weng He continued, "Old Qu, do you need to make a trip to deal with Old Zhu's matter?"

Although Grandpa Qu didn't want to talk to him, it was Su Mo who brought it up. Grandpa Qu glanced at Wang Su Mo and Bai Cen, knowing that if Wang Su Mo thought it was unnecessary, he definitely wouldn't tell him.

The old man said in a deep voice, "That depends on whether he knows what I'm looking for!"

At this point, Bai Cen took out a letter from his sleeve and handed it to the old man: "Old man, Mr. Zhu said it's all written here. It involves your private matters, and neither the employer nor I have opened it."

He pretended to be mysterious and took the old man's hand.

Then I quickly glanced at it, and when I saw the second column, my gaze suddenly stopped.

Everyone around could see it; they'd stepped on someone's tail!

This old man Zhu has something on him.

Although the old man didn't speak, he was already lost in thought.

Even without others saying a word, they pretty much knew.

"Brother Zhao, what about you?" Bai Cen asked softly because they were close by.

The fish-cleaning knife is gone. They came to Liu Village specifically for the knife, so it wasn't a wasted trip, but now things have taken an unexpected turn.

"I'll go," Zhao Tong said without hesitation.

This surprised everyone.

Old Liu's hands are ruined, so how can you be so sure that his son can forge a knife that is better than a fish-cleaning knife?

Zhao Tong calmly said, "If you can fight with a knife, then fight. I have something else I want to ask him."

Zhao Tong was originally rather cold and didn't talk much.

He spoke in a deep voice, concisely and to the point, as if there was an extra layer of unquestionable authority.

Bai Cen couldn't quite see through him.

Old Weng frowned slightly.

The old man was still thinking about what was on the letter and didn't notice Zhao Tong's words for a moment.

But Wang Sumo suddenly realized what Zhao Tong wanted to ask.

The former leader of the Rakshasa Alliance, who was also Zhao Tong's master, used an extremely special method to cleanse his marrow, forcibly transforming him from one person into another.

It also completely changed the trajectory of his life.

The news that there was a method of marrow cleansing in the tomb was directly related to how his master had forcibly changed his appearance and altered his bones using this method.

Zhao Tong held a grudge about this matter.

Although Zhu Weng did not go down into the tomb with them, he knew someone who did. Therefore, perhaps someone really knows the ins and outs of it.

It's practically impossible for him to undergo marrow cleansing again.

But he wanted to know the truth...

The fish-cleaning knife wasn't important; what mattered to him were all the twists and turns that had occurred.

Whether or not the old man wanted to go to the pass, he would go with Zhu Weng.

He had no reason to linger so close to the truth.

“Interesting~” Weng He exclaimed, then downed the small amount of wine in his cup in one gulp: “I will also go and see this elusive Golden Gate, and trace the lineage of the Golden Gate.”

After saying this, Old Weng handed the wine pot and wine cup in his hand to Bai Cen.

Bai Cen: ? ? ?

"Uncle Weng, aren't you going to drink anymore?" Bai Cen asked in surprise.

"I won't drink anymore. Three cups a day, not a drop more, not a drop less," Old Weng waved his hand.

Bai Cen shook the wine pot. Oh, it really was empty, not a drop more, not a drop less.

The old man has an extremely steady hand.

Bai Cen leaned closer to Wang Sumo and sighed softly, "Uncle Weng is going, Brother Zhao is leaving, it's all set. Whether the old man goes or not, he'll have to go with him to the border city."

"Can't I not go?" Wang Sumo looked at him.

Bai Cen was exasperated: "They've already recommended Bai Xiaotong to you, and even given you a rare copy of 'The Tale of Delicacies.' Uncle Weng and Brother Zhao are both going, wouldn't it be a shame if you didn't go?"

"I'll go with the old man. If he goes, I'll go too. If he doesn't go, I'll stay here with him and wait for you." Wang Sumo said, waving his hand and turning around.

Bai Cen watched her retreating figure and knew she wasn't lying.

In such a vast world, Wang Sumo might be the only boss with such an interesting background.

Bai Cen smiled.

The group dispersed one after another, leaving no one to disturb the old man, except for Bai Cen.

Bai Cen brought over some candied fruit and sat down beside him: "The master mentioned before that the old man loves candied fruit the most. Today in Liu Village, when the master was looking at the food boxes, I found some homemade candied fruit at a villager's house next door. It's really quite delicious. Here, old man, would you like to try one?"

Take the old man to see him.

Bai Cen first put one in the innermost part of the candied fruit, and then said leisurely, "If it were me, when I encounter something I'm hesitant about, I would eat a piece of candied fruit first. If I'm in a good mood, I'll be happy no matter what decision I make; otherwise, no matter what decision I make, I'll regret it later for not choosing another path. Actually, it's all the same, I'll regret it no matter which one I choose, so I might as well make myself happy."

The old man muttered, "You brat."

Bai Cen laughed: "Try one, it's delicious~ I carried it back for a long time."

The old man was both amused and exasperated: "If you came back in a carriage, how much weight could you carry?"

Bai Cen gave an awkward laugh.

But it's true, the old man's mood improved a lot.

"How about you tell me, Grandpa? I'll give you some advice. I love giving advice to people." Bai Cen said in one breath, and then got punched on the head by the old man.

Bai Cen was exasperated: "If you don't want to talk, then don't talk. Why did you hit me on the head?"

He had initially thought the old man would unleash his "Cloud-Piercing Mountain-Splitting Hand" attack on him as before, but the old man remained silent for a long time before finally speaking in a deep voice: "He said he knows where the Kunlun Sect's leader's thumb ring is..."

Kunlun Sect?

Bai Cen recalled that the old man had been the last disciple of the former leader of the Kunlun Sect, and there were even rumors that the former leader of the Kunlun Sect wanted to pass the leadership position to the old man.

Later, something happened that led to the death of the former sect leader, and the old man also left the Kunlun Sect. Moreover, he never used the Kunlun Sect's ultimate techniques again after that.

No one knew what had happened, and the old man never mentioned it to them.

In fact, the old man avoided anything related to the Kunlun Sect whenever possible.

Bai Cen was indeed surprised to see the Kunlun Sect leader's thumb ring.

It must be something heavy enough that it could cause someone as easygoing as Grandpa to fall into such a long silence.

Bai Cen didn't know what to say, so she could only sit beside him quietly, keeping him company until, after a long while, she took the old man's hand and said sadly, "The Kunlun Sect's leader's ring was lost in my hands, and I also caused my master's death. I am a sinner of the Kunlun Sect, what right do I have to inherit the Kunlun Sect..."

[Author's Note]

The story continues in the next chapter, without recalling the Kunlun thumb ring.