The Smiling, Proud Wanderer - LightNovelsOnl.com
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Linghu Chong quickly re-entered the tunnel and ran back to the temple. When he arrived at the Da Mo hall, he heard the sound of people talking from the front hall. It was the orthodox schools' people carefully and slowly searching for traps. Linghu Chong gathered his power into both of his arms and pushed the statue of Da Mo back into its place. After putting the statue back, he considered, "Where can I go to eavesdrop on the gathering of the orthodox schools' leaders to find out the whereabouts of Yingying? Shaolin temple has more than a thousand rooms and I don't even know which room they're going to use."
He remembered that day when Great Master Fangsheng led him to see the Abbot. Great Master Fangsheng took him to the Abbot's mediation room, which he could still vaguely remember the direction to. He quickly went out of the Da Mo Hall and went on the path towards the back. But Shaolin temple had so many rooms that after going for a while, he was still unable to find the Abbot's meditation room.
He was in a sitting room at the side of a hall when he heard footsteps approaching. Linghu Chong quickly took a look around the hall and saw that there was nowhere for him to hide. But there was a wooden signage suspended on top of the hall with the gold letter writing of "Refres.h.i.+ng Realm". So he leapt up and hid behind the wooden signage. The footsteps gradually got nearer; and seven to eight people entered the hall.
One person said, "Those demons' skills are not bad. We surrounded them from all directions like an iron pail but they still escaped down the hill."
"It seems that there's a secret tunnel from the top of the mountain going all the way to the bottom. Otherwise, how could they have managed to escape?" Another person replied.
"I don't think there's any tunnel here. I've been in this temple for more than twenty years already, but I've never heard of any secret tunnel going down to the bottom of the mountain," another person added.
"It's called a secret. Of course not many people know about it," one of the earlier person said.
"I may have not known about it, but wouldn't our Abbot know? If there were a secret tunnel in this temple, my humble temple's Abbot would have ordered one of the schools to guard it. Why would we allow those demons to escape?" that Shaolin monk said.
All of a sudden, Linghu Chong heard one of the person shouted, "Who's there? Come out!"
Linghu Chong was greatly startled. "Did he discover my footprints?" Just as he was about to jump down, he suddenly heard the sound of laughter from behind a wooden signage on the east side of the hall. "Old man breathed too deeply and blew some dust down, and you guys actually saw it. Hey, you have very good vision." The voice was clear and loud. It was Xiang Wentian's voice.
Linghu Chong was surprised and happy at the same time. "So it's big brother Xiang hiding here. He held his breath really well. I've been here for so long but I didn't hear anything. If it wasn't for the dust falling down, that person wouldn't have perceived…"
Just then, his thoughts were interrupted by two "ta, ta" sounds. Two people had jumped down from the sides of that east signage at the same time. This was followed by three people crying out, "What…" "You…" "Who…" These three people only managed to utter one word before they were muted. Linghu Chong couldn't stand it anymore. He poked his head out to take a look. He saw two dark shadows flying around in the big hall, one person was Xiang Wentian, and the other person had a big and tall stature. He was Ren Woxing. These two people noiselessly struck out with their palms. With every palm strike, a person fell down on the floor. In a short time, eight people had fallen on the hall's floor. Among them, five people were facing the ground while the other three were facing up. Their eyes were wide open and they looked terrified. Their faces twitched once before they became motionless. It was obvious that they had died violently under the hands of these two people, Ren and Xiang.
Ren Woxing wiped his hands on the side of his body. "Ying'er, come down!"
A person floated down from behind the eastern wooden signage appearing graceful and elegant. It was really Yingying, the person whom he had not seen for many days. She was wearing a coa.r.s.e gown and her face was looking feeble. Linghu Chong felt giddy looking at her. He really wanted to leap down and meet her but Ren Woxing waved his hands a few times towards his hiding place.
Linghu Chong thought, "They arrived here first. So they naturally know that I'm hiding behind this wooden signage. Mr. Ren is telling me not to come out, what's his idea?"
But in an instant later, he understood Ren Woxing's idea. He saw a few people rus.h.i.+ng through the door to come into the hall. With a glance, he saw his Master and Master-Wife along with the Shaolin Abbot Fangzheng and many other people. He didn't dare to look anymore and quickly pulled his head back behind the wooden signage. His heart skipped a beat as he thought, "Yingying and the rest of them had been surrounded. I… even if my body were grounded to dust and my bones broken to pieces, I have to help them escape from danger." He heard Great Master Fangzheng said, "Amituofo! You, three honourables, have very fierce palms. The female honourable had already departed Shaolin, why did you come back again? These two people must be Dark Wood Cliff's masters. Forgive old monk for not recognising."
"This person is Divine Sun Moon Sect's Chief Ren. I'm Xiang Wentian," Xiang Wentian introduced. The two of them had very high reputations. When Xiang Wentian mentioned their two names, many people in the hall exclaimed their surprise.
"So it's Chief Ren and Left Protector Xiang. I've been looking up to your names for a long time already. What lessons do you have to teach me by coming here?" Fangzheng said.
"Old man hadn't paid attention to worldly matters for a long time so I don't recognise many of the promising youths in Jianghu of this generation. I don't know who these little friends are," Ren Woxing said.
"Let old monk introduces them to you. This Taoist is Wudang School's headmaster, his name is Chongxu," Fangzheng said.
An elder spoke out, "Poor Taoist is perhaps a few years older than Mr. Ren. But when I took over the leaders.h.i.+p of Wudang School, Mr. Ren had already retreated in secret from Wulin. Youth is youth but this word 'promising', you're flattering me, hehe."
When Linghu Chong heard this elder's voice, he thought, "The voice of this Wudang School's leader sounds familiar." Another thought quickly followed. "Ayo! I met three people at the foot of Mount Wudang. One was carrying firewood, one was carrying vegetable, and the other one was an old man riding a donkey who possesses a wonderful sword art. So he's actually the headmaster of Wudang School." Suddenly, a good feeling rushed forth in his heart and his hands started to sweat. Wudang School and Shaolin School had been famous for several hundred years. One had soft movements and the other had hard movements, but each had their own specialties. Priest Chongxu's sword art was wonderful and esteemed. He was delighted when he suddenly learned that he had unexpectedly defeated Priest Chongxu.
He then heard Ren Woxing said, "This big leader Zuo, we've met before. Master Zuo, these last few years, your 'Great Songyang Divine Palm' must've improved by a lot, right?"
Linghu Chong was again startled. "So Songshan School's leader, martial uncle Zuo, is also here." He then heard a person said coldly, "I heard Mr. Ren was imprisoned by your own subordinate and was in hibernation for many years. Congratulations on coming out again. I haven't used this 'Great Songyang Divine Palm' for many years now. I'm afraid I've probably forgotten half of it."
Ren Woxing laughed. "How can Jianghu be that lonely? When old man was hidden away, there's no one else who can trade palms with brother Zuo. What a pity, what a pity."
"In Jianghu, there are many people with martial art equal to Mr. Ren, such as Great Master Fangzheng and Priest Chongxu. But we can't just go around asking for a lesson without any reason at all," Zuo Lengchan said.
"Very well. If there's some free time, let me try out your new moves."
"I'll certainly accompany you."
Hearing these two people speaking to each other, it was obvious that they had fought before. But who won or lost, they could not tell from just hearing what these two people were saying. Great Master Fangzheng continued with his introduction. "This person is Taishan School's headmaster, Priest Tianmen. This person is Huashan School's headmaster, Mr. Yue. This person is Madam Yue, back then she was known as Heroine Ning. Mr. Ren must have heard of her."
"I already know of Huashan School's Heroine Ning. But this Mr. Yue whatever, I've never heard of him before."
Linghu Chong was displeased. "My Master's name was known before Master-Wife's. If he said that he doesn't know them both then that's fine. But there's no one who only knows Heroine Ning but doesn't know Mr. Yue. He was imprisoned under the West Lake for close to ten years. Before that time, my master's name was already known throughout the realm. It's obvious that he's doing this on purpose to provoke my Master."
Yue Buqun indifferently replied, "Junior's name is lowly. It would insult Mr. Ren's ears to hear my name."
"Mr. Yue, I'd like to ask you about a person. I don't know if you know of his whereabouts. I heard that he was formerly under your Huashan School," Ren Woxing said.
"Who's Mr. Ren asking for?"
"This person's martial art is extremely high. His conduct is also very rare in this world. My heart was blind before and was actually jealous of him so I kicked him out. But he actually felt like an old friend to me when I first met him. Now, I wholeheartedly want to betroth my darling daughter to him…"
When Linghu Chong heard him saying this, his heart started to thump loudly. He felt that something big was going to happen soon. He heard Ren Woxing continued, "This youth has pa.s.sion and righteousness. When he heard that my darling daughter was being imprisoned in Shaolin temple, he led a few thousand heroes to come to Shaolin to greet his wife. But I don't know his whereabouts now and it's making me very anxious. It's for this reason that I'm asking you about it."
Yue Buqun looked towards the sky and laughed. "Mr. Ren is very resourceful. How come you've lost your own son-in-law? This youth Mr. Ren is talking about, is he that little thief Linghu Chong who was expelled from my humble school?"
Ren Woxing laughed. "I clearly saw a piece of jade but you saw gravels. Old brother, your vision has become really poor. This youth I'm talking about really is Linghu Chong. Haha, you scolded him as little thief, doesn't this mean that you're scolding me as an old thief?"
Yue Buqun sternly replied, "This little thief's conduct is very inappropriate and he has a weakness for women. Just because of one woman, he roused groups of unorthodox sects, foxes and dogs, and come to Shaolin temple causing a lot of disturbance. If it weren't for Songshan's martial brother Zuo's arrangements, this thousand year old temple would've been burned to the ground. This would've been a big sin that even a thousand deaths wouldn't have been able to atone. This little thief was indeed part of my Huashan School before, but unfortunately, I didn't teach him enough manners. Now, he's shaming everyone."
Xiang Wentian hastily replied, "Mr. Yue is wrong! Brother Linghu came to Shaolin just to meet lady Ren and not to absurdly cause a disturbance. You go and have a look. So many friends were in Shaolin temple for one day and one night, but did they burn a single piece of gra.s.s or tree? They didn't even eat a single grain of rice and they also didn't even drink a mouthful of water."
Suddenly someone interrupted, "Shaolin temple has instead gained many items when these swine and dog friends came here."
Linghu Chong heard the sharp voice of this person and recognised him to be the Qingcheng School's headmaster Yu Canghai. He thought, "So this person has also come."
"May I ask Priest Yu, what has Shaolin temple gained?" Xiang Wentian asked.
"Cow s.h.i.+t, horse p.i.s.s. Everywhere on the ground is full of yellow stuff." Yu Canghai answered. A few people laughed hearing this but Linghu Chong felt apologetic. "I only restricted those brothers not to damage anything but I didn't ask them not to urinate on the ground. Those crude people just pulled their pants down and pee everywhere and soiled the clean ground of the temple."
Great Master Fangzheng said, "When Master Linghu led so many people to come to Shaolin, old monk was really worried that this temple would be burned down. But when those friends were in Shaolin, not a single thing was damaged. This must be because of Master Linghu's merciful heart restricting these people. Everyone from the temple is really appreciative towards him. When I meet Master Linghu in the future, I will thank him wholeheartedly. Mr. Xiang, never mind about what Priest Yu said."
Xiang Wentian praised, "So there's actually an eminent monk here who is very open minded and very different from other people. Compared to hypocrites and really small-minded people, he's completely different."
Fangzheng continued, "Old monk doesn't understand one matter here. How did Heng-Shan School's two s.h.i.+ Tai die in my humble temple?"
"Ah!" Yingying exclaimed in surprise. Her voice trembled as she asked, "What… what? Dingxian, Dingyi s.h.i.+ Tai… died?"
"That is so. We found their bodies inside the temple. Their time of deaths is around the time that those many Jianghu friends entered the temple. Could it be that Master Linghu didn't restrict his subordinates and the two s.h.i.+ Tai were outnumbered and lost their lives here? Amituofo, amituofo," Fangzheng let out a long sigh after saying this.
"This… this is really strange. That day I met with the two s.h.i.+ Tai in the hall behind the temple. Because of Abbot's merciful heart and the two s.h.i.+ Tai, you agreed to release me." Yingying said.
Linghu Chong's heart swelled with grat.i.tude towards the two s.h.i.+ Tai but he also felt sad at the same time. "The two s.h.i.+ Tai pleaded for Abbot's mercy and Abbot actually released Yingying out of the temple. But the two of them lost their lives because of this. They've died because of Yingying and me. But who are their murderers? I must seek revenge for them." He heard Yingying said, "These last few days, many friends from Jianghu had come here to rescue me and make some disturbance at Shaolin temple. But more than a hundred of them were captured by the Shaolin temple. Great Master Abbot is merciful and talked to them about the ten heavenly ways, hoping that they would turn from their violent ways before they were released. But I was already imprisoned for a long time so I was allowed to go earlier."
"This Great Master Fangzheng is really a good person but he's slightly pedantic. How can Yingying's subordinates turn from their violent ways after just hearing you talk to them about the ten heavenly ways?" Linghu Chong thought.
He heard Yingying continued, "I have so much grat.i.tude towards the two s.h.i.+ Tai. After thanking Great Master Abbot, I accompanied them down Mount Shaos.h.i.+. On the third day, I heard Linghu… Master Linghu was leading friends from Jianghu to come to Shaolin temple to meet me. Dingxian s.h.i.+ Tai said: "We must travel at twice the speed to intercept those people in order to avoid disturbing the eminent monks in Shaolin temple." That night, we met a friend from Jianghu. He said that people were coming from all directions and have decided to gather at Shaolin on the fifteenth of the twelfth month. The two s.h.i.+ Tai discussed this and said that Jianghu's good and bad warriors of outstanding abilities are mixing together. Furthermore, they were all coming from all directions. So it might happen that not everyone would listen to Master Linghu's order. So Dingxian s.h.i.+ Tai instructed me to go catch up and meet with him… Master Linghu, and ask everyone to disperse while the two s.h.i.+ Tai would go back to Shaolin to lend their help to Great Master Abbot."
She said all this clearly and elegantly. When she was speaking of the two s.h.i.+ Tai, there was a hint of sadness in her voice. When she was speaking of 'Master Linghu', she couldn't cover up her bashfulness. Linghu Chong's heart was thumping hearing all these from behind the wooden signage.
"Amituofo! Old monk appreciates the two s.h.i.+ Tai's good intention. When news of the difficulty facing the Shaolin temple spread, all the orthodox schools, whether they knew what the difficulty was or not, came to help. My humble school doesn't know how to repay them for all their efforts. Luckily, we didn't fight and avoided a bloodbath. Ai, the two s.h.i.+ Tai understood the Buddhist teachings very well. They were kind and merciful. We've now lost two eminent people of our Buddhist faith. What a pity, what a pity," Fangzheng said.
Yingying continued, "After I parted ways with the two s.h.i.+ Tai, I was overwhelmed by sheer number and was captured by Mr. Zuo's Songshan School on that same night. I was then imprisoned for a few days before daddy and uncle Xiang came and rescued me. By then, those friends from Jianghu have already entered the Shaolin temple, so the three of us went to Shaolin temple to find them. We've been here for around an hour but didn't know where everyone had gone to. We also didn't know that the two s.h.i.+ Tai had died."
"If that's the case, then the two s.h.i.+ Tai were not harmed by Mr. Ren or Left Protector Xiang," Fangzheng said.
"I'm indebted to the two s.h.i.+ Tai for rescuing me and I only have grat.i.tude towards them. If my daddy and uncle Xiang had met with the two s.h.i.+ Tai and had a disagreement, I would have definitely mediated between them. There's no way that I would just stand by and do nothing," Yingying said.
"Well said," Fangzheng complimented.
Suddenly Yu Canghai interrupted, "Devil Sect's people's conducts are usually opposite to that of other people. Common people returns kindness with kindness. But the disciples of those demons repay kindness with enmity."
"That's strange, very strange! When did Priest Yu join the Divine Sun Moon Sect?" Xiang Wentian asked.
"What? Who said I joined the Devil Sect?" Yu Canghai replied indignantly.
"You said my divine sect's people repay kindness with enmity. Escort leader Lin from Fujian's Fortune Prestige Escort House a.s.sisted with the lives of your household. Every year they sent ten thousand silver taels to you. But your Qingcheng School repaid them by killing escort leader Lin. Priest Yu's reputation for repaying kindness with enmity is well known throughout the world. No one in the world doesn't know about this. So given your conduct, Headmaster Yu must be a member of my sect then. Very good, very good, welcome to the sect," Xiang Wentian remarked.
"Nonsense, don't fart here!" Yu Canghai was livid.
"I was sincere in my welcome but Priest Yu is scolding me of farting. If this is not repaying kindness with enmity, then what is it called? So, it's clear that rivers and mountains can be easily changed but character is hard to change. When one person repays kindness with enmity for his whole life, then his speech and action clearly shows this," Xiang Wentian said.
Fangzheng was afraid that they would get into a fight over this senseless dispute. He said, "We should ask Master Linghu who killed the two s.h.i.+ Tai. This will make things come to light. But the three of you have come to Shaolin temple and killed eight disciples of the orthodox schools. Why did you do this for?"
"Old man has always wandered Jianghu by myself and no one has dared to be rude towards me. These eight people shouted at old man here telling me to come out from my hiding place. Don't they deserve to be killed for this?" Ren Woxing asked.
"Amituofo, so it was only because they shouted at you that you violently killed them. Isn't that too much?" Fangzheng said.
Ren Woxing laughed before answering, "Great Master Abbot said that it's too much then it's too much. You didn't give my daughter any more trouble so old man has received your compa.s.sion in that regard. At first I came here to thank you so I don't want debate with you this time. So there's no need to say thanks anymore now, let's just call it even between us."
"Since Mr. Ren already said that we're even, then we're even. But the three of you have come to my humble temple and killed eight people. What should we do about this matter?"
"What's there to decide? My Sun Moon Sect has a lot of disciples and you have skills. Just kill eight of them."
"Amituofo. Killing people carelessly is a very big sin. Headmaster Zuo, from these eight people who were killed, two of them were from your respectable school. What do you think we should do?"
Zuo Lengchan had not said anything when Ren Woxing hurriedly said, "I killed those people. Why did you have to ask other people what to do and not ask me? Listening to your tone, it sounds as if you're relying on the superiority in numbers to kill the three of us. Isn't this right?"
"How would I dare to do that? It's just that Mr. Ren has come out again and this will make Jianghu very eventful. I'm afraid countless number of people will lose their lives under Mr. Ren's hands. Old monk has this thought to keep the three of you in my humble temple to read Buddhist scriptures so there would be peace in Jianghu. What do the three of you think of this?"
Ren Woxing looked up towards the sky and laughed loudly. "Wonderful, wonderful, this idea is brilliant."
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"When your daughter resided at the back of my humble temple, everyone in this temple treated her with respect and she didn't lack for anything. Old monk kept your daughter here but not because I wanted to avenge the disciples of my school who were killed. Ai, revenge breeds revenge, you'll get entangled endlessly. How can a Buddhist disciple act like that? The few disciples of Shaolin School who were killed by your daughter's hands; maybe this was revenge from the previous life. But… but she's very vicious and kills people easily. If she can stay in my humble temple to cultivate her mind and grow her soul, then that would be to the benefit of everyone."
Ren Woxing laughed and said, "In that case, Great Master Abbot's intention was good then."
"That is so. But old monk didn't antic.i.p.ate that this matter would unexpectedly lead to a great disturbance in Jianghu. Also, that day your daughter carried young hero Linghu on her back to the temple to seek help. She said that if old monk agrees to save young hero Linghu's life then she would be willing to repay the killing of the temple disciples with her own life. Old monk told her that there was no need for her to repay with her life, but she must stay in seclusion on top of Mount Shaos.h.i.+, and she can't leave the mountain without old monk's permission. She immediately agreed to this. Miss Ren, is what I said true?" Fangzheng said.
Yingying answered quietly, "It's true."
Linghu Chong's heart swelled with grat.i.tude when he heard the story of that day told from the Great Master Abbot's own mouth. Even though he had heard this story from other people before, it was very different hearing it directly from Great Master Fangzheng's own mouth. Also, hearing how Yingying undertook this matter by herself, he couldn't help his eyes becoming moist from tears.
Yu Canghai laughed coldly. "So it was all because of love. But it's a pity this Linghu Chong's conduct is very lacking. During that time in Hengshan, I saw it with my own eyes how he went to the brothel to sleep with prost.i.tutes. Ai, he has really let down young lady Ren's affection."
Xiang Wentian laughingly asked, "So Priest Yu was inside the brothel observing all this and can't possibly be wrong?"
"Of course, how can I be wrong?"
Xiang Wentian lowered his voice and said, "Priest Yu, so you often visit brothels just like I do. Who's your favourite in that brothel? Is she pretty?"
Yu Canghai was furious. "Bulls.h.i.+t, bulls.h.i.+t!"
"It stinks, it stinks!" Xiang Wentian smiled.
"Mr. Ren, if the three of you agree to stay secluded on Mount Shaos.h.i.+ then everyone here will turn from enemies into friends. So long as the three of you do not go down the mountain, old monk will guarantee that no one will bother the three of you. From this time onwards, you will enjoy complete happiness. Wouldn't this be a great happiness for everyone?" Fangzheng said.
Linghu Chong heard utmost sincerity in Great Master Fangzheng's speech. He thought, "This eminent monk doesn't understand worldly matters at all and he's also being very unrealistic. These three people kill people without even blinking and you want them to voluntarily be restrained on Mount Shaos.h.i.+? You must be dreaming."
Ren Woxing smiled slightly and said, "Abbot's idea is very good and you have also thought of this from all aspects. The right way is for me to follow this idea."
Fangzheng was happy to hear this. "Then 's.h.i.+ zhu' is willing to stay on Mount Shaos.h.i.+?"
(Translator's note: s.h.i.+ zhu is a term of address used by monks or nuns referring to a believer in Buddhism.)
"Right," Ren Woxing answered.
"Then old monk will prepare the rooms. From now on, the three of you are Shaolin Temple's honoured guests," Fangzheng said happily.
"But we can only stay here for six hours and no longer than that," Ren Woxing added.
Fangzheng was greatly disappointed to hear this. "Six hours? What's the use then?"
Ren Woxing laughed. "Originally, I wanted to stay here for many days and linger with all the friends here. But my name's not good and there's nothing I can do about that."
Fangzheng was stupefied as he asked, "Old monk doesn't understand. What's s.h.i.+ zhu's name got to do with it?"
Ren Woxing explained, "My surname isn't good. My given name is also not good. My surname is Ren and I'm called Woxing. If I've known about this earlier, then I would've been called Nixing and it would've been more convenient. But I'm already called Woxing, so I'm forced to do as I please. Wherever I want to go then that's where I'll be going to."
(Translator's note: Ren Woxing's name means "To do what I please". He's saying Nixing which means "To do what you want me to do")
Fangzheng angrily said, "So Mr. Ren was making fun of old monk."
"I don't dare, I don't dare. Within the world's highly skilled martial artists, there are only a few people that I admire. Counting the numbers, there are only three and a half. Great monk is one of them. Also there are three and a half people that old man doesn't admire," Ren Woxing said. He said all this heartily without a hint of ridicule in his voice.
"Amituofo, old monk doesn't deserve it."
Linghu Chong became really curious when he heard him say that within the world's highly skilled martial artists, there were three and a half that he admired and there were three and a half that he didn't admire. He wanted to know who Ren Woxing would point out. Besides Fangzheng, who are the rest of the people?
He heard a person with a loud booming voice asked, "Mr. Ren, who else do you admire?"
After Fangzheng introduced the Yue Buqun couple to Ren Woxing, both parties started to argue non-stop so there was no opportunity to introduce the rest of the people. Counting the breathings of the people underneath, Linghu Chong guessed that there were ten people altogether in Fangzheng's group. Besides Great Master Fangzheng, Master, Master-Wife, Priest Chongxu, Zuo Lengchan, Priest Tianmen, and Yu Canghai, there were still three other people. He didn't know whom this booming voice belonged to.
Ren Woxing laughed. "I'm really sorry but you're not in it Sir."
That person replied, "How would I dare to stand shoulder to shoulder with Great Master Fangzheng? Naturally, I'll be one of the people Mr. Ren doesn't admire."
"You're also not one of the three and a half people I don't admire. If you practise your martial art for thirty more years, then maybe you'll become one of the people I don't admire."
That person uttered a "hey" and stopped talking. Linghu Chong thought, "You want to be one of the people not admired, but it's not that easy."
"Mr. Ren's opinion is very novel," Fangzheng said.
"Great monk, do you want to know who I admire and who I don't admire?" Ren Woxing asked.
"I will listen to s.h.i.+ zhu's enlightening words."
"Great monk, your study in Tendon Altering Sutra is profound and your internal energy has also reached the top. But your heart is still kind and modest, unlike old man here clamouring around Jianghu. That's why I admire you," Ren Woxing explained.
"I don't deserve it," Fangzheng said.
"But among the people that I admire, great monk isn't number one. The number one person that I admire in Wulin is the person who usurped the chief position of my Divine Sun Moon Sect. This person is Dongfang Bubai."
Everyone uttered an "ah". Obviously this was beyond their expectation. Luckily, Linghu Chong managed to stop himself from uttering his "ah". But he was thinking in his heart why Ren Woxing would regard Dongfang Bubai as the top person he admired. Dongfang Bubai imprisoned him for many years so of course he must hate Dongfang Bubai to the bone. But who would have thought that he admired Dongfang Bubai?
"Old man's martial art is already very high, I also have a very keen mind, and it's known in the realm that I have no match in this world. But I was unexpectedly fooled by Dongfang Bubai's sweet talk and as a result was buried underneath a lake. Dongfang Bubai is such a fierce person, how could old man dare not to admire him?"
"So that's how it is," Fangzheng remarked.
"The third person that I admire is the top master of Huashan School at the moment," Ren Woxing said.
This was really beyond Linghu Chong's expectation. When Ren Woxing was talking to Yue Buqun before, he didn't even give him any face. Who would've thought that inside his heart, Ren Woxing would actually admire Yue Buqun?
Madam Yue said, "You don't need to say these false talks and ridicule people."
Ren Woxing laughed. "Haha, Madam Yue, you thought that the person I was referring to was your husband? He… he lacks by a lot. The person I admire has a G.o.dly sword art. He's Feng Qingyang. Mr. Feng's sword art is much higher compared to me and I wouldn't be able to reach that stage at all. I sincerely admire him."
"Mr. Yue, is Mr. Feng still alive?" Fangzheng asked.
"Martial uncle Feng went into… into seclusion for tens of years already and we've never heard news of him ever since. If he's still alive then that would be a big fortune for our school," Yue Buqun said.
Ren Woxing laughed coldly. "Mr. Feng is from the sword branch and you're from the qi branch. These two branches of sword and qi can't co-exist together in the Huashan School. If Mr. Feng is still alive, why would it be so fortunate for you?"
Yue Buqun just stayed silent after he was reprimanded by Ren Woxing.
Linghu Chong had guessed before that Feng Qingyang was from the sword branch. When he heard what Ren Woxing said and how his master didn't dispute it, he no longer doubted it. Ren Woxing laughed. "Don't worry. Mr. Feng is a highly skilled person outside of Wulin. Do you think he still needs your Huashan School's leaders.h.i.+p and would take over your throne?"
"I'm just a dumb person. If martial uncle Feng can give me some guidance then it would make me very happy. Mr. Ren, if you can point me to the direction where I can pay a visit to martial uncle Feng, then the Huashan School will appreciate your kindness," Yue Buqun said with apparent sincerity.
"One, I don't know where Mr. Feng is. Two, even if I know, I wouldn't tell you. A frontal attack is easily avoided but a stab in the back is hard to protect against. A real villain is easy to cope with but a hypocrite will give a lot of headache," Ren Woxing said.
Yue Buqun did not speak anymore.
Linghu Chong thought, "My master is a refined gentleman and doesn't want to speak vulgarly towards Mr. Ren."
Ren Woxing turned towards Wudang School's leader Priest Chongxu and said, "The fourth person that old man admire is this old ox-nosed priest. Your Wudang School's Taiji Sword is wonderful. You also exercise self control to protect yourself from immorality and stay away from many idle matters in Jianghu, but you don't know how to teach to your disciples. Wudang School has no one of potential and if you wait till you die then Taiji Sword Art would be lost forever. Also, even though your Taiji Sword Art is high, you might not win against old man. That's why I only admire you one half."
Priest Chongxu laughed. "I'm actually admired by Mr. Ren by one half, this is already giving me a lot of face. Many thanks!"
"No need to be so polite," Ren Woxing said. He then turned his head towards Zuo Lengchan. "Great leader Zuo, you don't need to keep that smile on your face when you're actually feeling angry. While you're not one of the people I admire, you're one of the three and half people that I don't admire. You're number one in this list."
Zuo Lengchan laughed. "I feel extremely flattered."
"Your martial art is sufficient and your scheming is very deep, very suitable to my taste. You want to annex the five mountains sword schools and to stand as an equal with Shaolin and Wudang. You have really high fantasy. But your movements are very suspicious and you planned all sort of conspiracies and deceits. This is not the behaviour of a hero. That's why I have absolutely no admiration for you," Ren Woxing explained.
Zuo Lengchan replied, "From the three and a half people that I don't admire in this world, you're only one half."
Ren Woxing continued, "All you can do is copy other people's ideas and have no thought of your own; so that's why no one admires you. Even though your study of Songshan School's martial art is profound, everything was pa.s.sed down by the people before you. If you have to depend on just your own ability, I'm afraid even after many years, we won't be able to see any new moves in the martial art."
Zuo Lengchan uttered an "Hng" before coldly laughing. "Sir, you're talking here and there. Are you just dragging along the time or are you actually waiting for help to arrive?"
Ren Woxing laughed coldly. "The way you said this; are you still relying on numbers to besiege the three of us?"
Zuo Lengchan said, "You've come to Shaolin and killed many people here. Today, if you think you can still retreat with your whole body intact, then you're looking down at everyone here. You said we're relying on numbers to win, that's alright. If you want to say that we're not following Wulin's customs, that's also alright. You've already killed some disciples of the Songshan School. Since Zuo Lengchan is here today, I want to see how good you really are."
Ren Woxing turned toward Fangzheng and asked, "Great Master Abbot, is this Shaolin temple or Songshan School's courtyard?"
"s.h.i.+ zhu is still asking even though you already know. Of course, it's Shaolin temple here," Fangzheng answered.
"Then, concerning this matter, is Shaolin's Abbot presiding over it or Songshan School's headmaster presiding over it?" Ren Woxing asked.
"Although old monk is presiding over this matter, if any of the friends here has any esteemed opinion then old monk will definitely listen to it," Fangzheng said.
Ren Woxing looked up the sky and laughed heartily. "Good, it's really an esteemed opinion to know that you'll lose if you fight alone so you have to gang up to fight us.
Zuo, you're blocking me here today. I don't need to fight you, I'll just cut my own throat to commit suicide in front of you."
Zuo Lengchan said coldly, "We have ten people here. We might not be able to stop you here but to kill your daughter won't be hard to do."
"Amituofo, you can't kill her," Fangzheng said.
Linghu Chong's heart started thumping wildly. He knew that Zuo Lengchan was saying the truth. Although he didn't know who the other three people were, he thought that their position must be similar to Fangzheng or Chongxu. Even if they were not a leader of a school, they would still be elite masters. Ren Woxing's martial art was powerful and at worst, he would escape injured. But it was hard to say whether Xiang Wentian would be able to escape with his life. As for Yingying, she would have no hope.
Ren Woxing calmly said, "That's wonderful. Headmaster Zuo has a son and I heard his martial art is poor so he should be easy to kill. Gentleman Yue has a daughter. Priest Yu, I think have a few lovely concubines and three sons. Priest Tianmen has no son or daughter but has a lot of beloved disciples. Mr. Mo Da still has his old father and mother. Kunlun School's Qiankun One Sword Zhenshan Zi has one grandson. There's still Beggar Clan's big clan leader Xie. Left protector Xiang, who does clan leader Xie have?"
Linghu Chong thought, "So martial uncle Mo is also here. Actually Mr. Ren doesn't need Great Master Fangzheng's introduction. He already knew the appearances of these ten people from the beginning. Not only that, he must have been familiar with each of their life's experiences."
Xiang Wentian said, "I heard that in Beggar Clan, there are these two people called Green Lotus Emissary and White Lotus Emissary. Although they don't have the Xie surname, they're both clan leader Xie's sons."
"You're not wrong about this? We don't want to wrongly kill a good person here," Ren Woxing said.
"I'm not wrong. Subordinate already asked clearly," Xiang Wentian rea.s.sured him.
Ren Woxing nodded his head. "If we kill wrongly then it can't be helped. But if we kill thirty-four people from Beggar Clan then we'll at least kill a few people correctly."
"Chief's opinion is esteemed!" Xiang Wentian praised.
Ren Woxing had mentioned each of their loved ones. Zuo Lengchan and clan leader Xie were s.h.i.+vering in fear. They knew that this person was not just saying some false threat. These people here would not be able to stop him from leaving. But if they kill his daughter then he would certainly avenge her death by violently killing each of their loved ones. They were afraid that it would be very difficult for their loved ones to escape his violent hands. Thinking of this made them trembled with fear. In that moment, everything was quiet and all their faces changed colour.
After some time, Fangzheng spoke out, "Revenge will always breed revenge. s.h.i.+ zhu Ren, we had decided not to harm young lady Ren, but we want you three honourables to stay on Mount Shaos.h.i.+ for ten years."
"We can't. My murderous nature has been aroused. I can't wait to kill Headmaster Zuo's son and Priest Yu's concubines and sons. Especially Mr. Yue's lovely daughter, I can't allow her to live in this world," Ren Woxing replied.
Linghu Chong was greatly alarmed. He didn't know whether this head of Devil Sect was just saying this to threaten them or he really wanted to kill them.
"Mr. Ren, why don't we gamble? What do you think of this?" Priest Chongxu asked.
"Old man's luck in gambling isn't good so I have no confidence in making a bet. But I have confidence in killing people. Killing master-hands, I don't have confidence. But killing master-hands' parents, children, big wives, or small wives, I have lots of confidence," Ren Woxing replied.
"Those people don't know martial art. Killing them isn't what heroes do."
"Even though it's not what heroes do, it would make my enemies grieve for their whole lifetime and make me really happy."
"If you don't have your daughter anymore, you also won't be happy. If you don't have your daughter then you wouldn't have your son-in-law anymore. Your son-in-law would become other people's son-in-law and you would lose your reputation."
"That can't be helped… that can't be helped. I'm forced to kill all of them. Who said that my son-in-law doesn't respect my daughter?"
"How about this? We won't rely on numbers to win and you won't carelessly kill people. We'll make it equal and let our martial arts decide the winner and loser. The three of you fight three of our people in three fights. The winner would be the one who won two fights out of three."
Fangzheng hastily said, "This is good, Brother Chongxu's esteemed opinion is really out of the ordinary. We'll just fight as necessary and there's no need to hurt anyone."
Ren Woxing asked, "If the three of us lose, then we have to stay on Mount Shaos.h.i.+ for ten years and aren't allowed to go down the mountain. Is this right?"
Priest Chongxu answered, "Right. If the three of you won two fights, then we have naturally lost the fight and you're free to go down the mountain. And we'll just regard that these eight disciples have died in vain."
"In my heart, I admire you ox-nosed by one half. I feel that these words you said is half right. So who are the three people fighting for your side? Can I choose the people?" Ren Woxing inquired.
