Chapter 4: Willow Catkins in the Breeze
Hearing this, Bu Yue was both angry and amused. She was angry because Huiyingmen had been getting worse over the years and any rat could come and kick it. She was amused because her master and mistress had suffered in silence and could not fight back openly. This was really hilarious.
Jiao Ran waited for him to stop laughing and said, "If you want to come back, isn't this a good opportunity?"
He snorted, full of disdain. "Why would I go back to Huiyingmen, who can't even handle a small minions from the Tracking Sect?"
"So are you here to stay in the inn?" Jiaoran asked unhappily.
"Who says it's not?" he said.
Jiaoran was so angry that he didn't want to talk.
Zhuxing saw that Suixing and Shunguang might not be defeated either, so he quickly coaxed him, "You came all the way back, isn't it just to go home? You made a contribution last time, and Master and his wife let go of the past and asked you to come back. If you bring honor to the sect again this time, Master will definitely look at you with more respect. The sect is short of manpower now, and hasn't accepted new disciples in several years. This is a good time."
Bu Yue ignored him, feeling angry.
He raised his head and said to Jiaoran, "Kneel down and kowtow to me three times, and I will go and save your parents."
Jiao Ran was unmoved. "It's not like we can't do without you. Daddy's kung fu is enough to wipe out the Zongxun sect. It's just that my fellow disciples are not here right now. If you can help, Daddy will be happy and will naturally keep you. Forget about how you almost broke my hand earlier. If you don't want to help, just stay for a while and leave tomorrow. We don't need you anyway."
She sat on the small stool again and tried to turn the fish over, but unfortunately it was not cooked enough and was burnt black.
After hearing this, Bu Yue said that he was sharp-tongued and got on his horse.
"drive!"
Several fellow disciples followed behind, their horses' hooves raising a cloud of dust.
Zhuxing brought another horse and was about to mount when he remembered that it would snow again. He took off his warm scarf and tied it on Jiaoran. "It's cold outside. Don't stay too long. Light a fire in the house and wait for us to come back."
After saying that, he rubbed her hair and asked her to come into the house.
Of these children, Jiaoran's constitution was the weakest. He was neither good at literature nor martial arts, as if his Ren and Du meridians were sealed, leaving him an ordinary person. Zhuxing knew the little girl was deeply concerned, just like now, knowing she couldn't help at all and must be terribly anxious, but she kept silent, a feeling of resentment welling up in her chest.
When we got to the mountain, it was already night.
The mountain road was difficult to walk on, and because of the snow, the snow and mud were mixed together, making the horses' hooves slippery and unable to stand. A few people could only hand the horses to Shun Guang and ask him to find a place to tie the horses and watch over them while the others continued to climb.
The one who arrived later was Zhuxing.
"I appreciate your advice. Thank you all for letting me." The man was very arrogant.
If it weren't for his seniority and age, Yi Bingfeng would have taught him a lesson.
None of the nine disciples could beat him one by one, which made Yi Bingfeng so angry that he was fuming and glaring, feeling very annoyed.
Madam Yi suppressed her anger and tried to persuade him, stepping forward and saying, "Excuse me. Huiying Sect has been lax in discipline over the past few years, causing the disciples to not study hard enough and their fighting skills to be unfamiliar."
A disciple of the Zongxun sect said, "I heard that the Huiying Escort Agency was also famous ten years ago. When my master was still alive, he often praised the senior for his ability to identify countless people and for having countless talented disciples. Even children as young as seven or eight years old had mastered martial arts. It seems that things are different now, and the glory of the past is gone."
Yi Bingfeng has always been very concerned about his reputation, and he was so angry that his face turned red and he couldn't speak.
Suixing said angrily, "My master saw that you were a guest here, so he didn't neglect you and found a few young disciples to play with you. Since you want to see real kung fu, you naturally need to find someone of similar age. Let me fight with you."
After one round, Suixing was seriously injured and fell three or four times, enduring the pain.
The visitor was a direct descendant of the Zongxun Sect, named Lan Mo. When the old Sect Master was still around, the Zongxun Sect would always send gifts for Yi Bingfeng's birthday every year. Since the Sect Master's passing three years ago, and the sect's second disciple, Fenghuang Chu, taking over, the Zongxun Sect severed ties with the Huiying Sect.
Today, this guy named Lan Mo came to cause trouble. For the sake of his old friend, Yi Bingfeng tolerated it again and again.
Lan Mo looked around and thought, it's no use. None of the disciples of the same age can be used. It seems that the master guessed right. At this time, the Yingmen is obsessed with wealth and has inserted his disciples into the high-ranking staff of the court one by one. He no longer cares about the ups and downs of the world.
Say goodbye.
Bu Yue yawned. He was very tired after the journey. He took off his robe and threw it to Zhuxing.
"I'm asking for your advice."
A young man with dark skin walked in.
Seeing that he was too thin to withstand the heavy blow, Lan Mo laughed at him in his heart.
Yi Bingfeng was already furious, and now seeing his expelled disciple come back, he was even more furious. He cursed him, "Evil disciple, get out of here right now! Are you looking for death?"
Madam Yi rolled up her sleeves and sat down in the hall, calming herself down.
Yi Bingfeng was afraid that he would lose face. He didn't know his details in the years since he left Huiyingmen, and he couldn't find out his kung fu skills. He was afraid that he would be beaten and lose face for Huiyingmen.
Before he could stop them, Lan Mo and Bu Yue had already joined in.
After just a few moves, Yi Bingfeng was shocked and thought, "Where did this kid learn these skills when he went out to try his luck?"
Madam Yi watched their fight calmly. She knew that Bu Yue was not an ordinary person. If he had not attacked Jiao Ran repeatedly, why would the sect be afraid of his violence and think of exiling him? He could do whatever he wanted. After wandering for a few years, he came back and was really a hot potato.
After just five rounds, Bu Yue seized the opportunity, raised his leg, and kicked Lan Mo away. The latter flew into the air, fell three or four steps away, and fell to the ground, his shoulders trembling slightly, but he couldn't get up.
Yi Bingfeng smiled secretly and winked at Zhuxing to go over and help. Before he could reach him, Zhuxing was stopped by Bu Yue. Suixing went to help, but when he saw Lanmo's leg, he found that it had been broken by his senior brother's kick.
Lan Mo was in so much pain he couldn't speak. Madam Yi ordered someone to treat his wounds. "You came here intentionally to cause trouble for Huiying Sect. If so, we should thank you for teaching the young disciples of Huiying Sect a lesson. Once your injuries are healed, please leave Huiying Sect as soon as possible. From now on, Zongxun Sect and Huiying Sect will have nothing to do with each other."
Lan Mo was lying in the guest room of Huiying Inn, listening to Madam Yi say this.
In the courtyard outside the door, Yi Bingfeng was talking to Bu Yue.
He asked him how he had mastered such good kung fu. Bu Yue was still blaming the couple for driving him out of the house and causing him to suffer so much. Thinking that he had been brought up by his master's wife, who was like his biological mother, he was reluctant to leave the world, so no matter how far he left, he would always come back.
Lan Mo propped himself up with the pillow and sat up, "Your apprentice is quite good at martial arts."
Mrs. Yi had no good words to say, "She's just competitive."
Only then did Lan Mo take out the letter and hand it to his wife.
Mrs. Yi took it, read a few lines, and then threw it into the fire.
When Lan Mo came, the master expected that if it came to this, Madam Yi would no longer be kind to him.
So they started talking about old times.
"Before Madam married the Sect Master, she was the daughter of the Qingfeng Sect. Not bad, isn't she?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the lady's face suddenly turned pale.
Fortunately, there was no one else in the room and his voice was low.
She feigned composure, "The Qingfeng Sect was wiped out decades ago. Everyone in the sect was slaughtered overnight. Not a single one survived. A few years ago, who in the martial arts world didn't know about this?"
Lan Mo smiled and said, "It seems that what my master said was right. Madam is Zhou Zhi, the Willow Catkin Sword of the Qingfeng Sect."
Before he could finish his words, the lady had already grabbed his throat and asked, "Who are you and how can you know everything about me?"
His face flushed. "This time, I didn't come here to provoke Huiyingmen, but to pay my respects to Senior Zhou."
This is funny. The most famous person in Huiying Sect has always been Sect Master Yi Bingfeng. He is the first one to come and visit Madam Yi.
"Your master is Fenghuang Chu. Did I underestimate him? He has only been the head for a few days, and he wants to stir up disputes in the martial arts world?"
She loosened her grip, not intending to strangle him immediately.
Lan Mo continued, "Master asked me to come and talk to Madam."
"I don't know him at all, so there's nothing to talk about."
"If you're not curious about my master, then what I'm about to say will certainly interest you. Many years ago, your father, Zhou Mian, inherited the Qingfeng Sect. He possessed exceptional martial arts skills and mastered a wide range of weaponry. He even emerged victorious at the Wulin Conference, earning the title of Martial Arts Master. Rumors circulated at the time that Master Yulong, before disappearing, had passed on half of the "Gao Shan Shou" to the new Martial Arts Master.
Since then, your father has become even more famous among the green forests in the north. He is so popular that even the local dignitaries try their best to get to know him.
The then-incompetent governor of Ganzhou, the late emperor's nephew, was incompetent and incompetent. The people of Ganzhou suffered terribly, and that year, a locust plague had devastated the land, leaving the dead stricken. The Qingfeng faction, recruiting prominent individuals, transformed themselves into bandits, stealing jewels presented to officials. They then found the sellers in the south and used the proceeds to distribute porridge. The guards responsible for transporting the treasury were no match for the Qingfeng faction and therefore avoided them.
When the governor heard about this, he thought it was a joke that the imperial court couldn't defeat a gangster. So he consulted with his staff and discussed a way to deal with him.
Therefore, they spread the news and put the blame of Gao Shanshou's whereabouts on the Qingfeng faction.
Your father's martial arts skills are extremely high, and he is also extremely smart and alert.
But the human heart is like a ghost, and once greed is ignited, it is difficult to extinguish. News of "Gao Shan Shou" attracted covetousness from all sides. Each sect wanted to kill Master Zhou and seize this martial arts secret manual. So they attacked the Shang sect again and again. The disciples were well-trained, so how could they be easily defeated?
I failed again and again.
Until the Governor sent out Imperial experts to unite with the other sects, some hiding among the refugees while others spread word of Master Zhou's death to the Qingfeng Sect. Master Zhou, a man of integrity and beloved by the people, could never have imagined he would be besieged by refugees. Hundreds of experts battled him for two days and one night. Bao Xihui, Master Zhou's close friend, unexpectedly joined forces with the Governor to block the Qingfeng disciples' arrival for support.
Poor Master Zhou fought alone, but was defeated by hundreds of masters. Even his body was lost before he died. When the Qingfeng Sect heard of their master's death, morale collapsed and they were no match for the siege of the other sects. They were wiped out overnight. The people of the martial arts world searched for the half-copy of "High Mountain Longevity" that Master Yulong had passed down before his death, but they searched for years without success.
She sneered, "If it can't be found, then it doesn't exist. How can someone lie when they're dead?"
"Is that secret manual that is said to be able to shake up the martial arts world and help people achieve immortality really just a figment of the imagination?" he asked.
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