Chapter 178: Wumu’s Military Writings, Huang Rong Delivers the Spear
The Finger Peak of Iron Palm Mountain was the burial place of past Gang Leaders of the Iron Palm Sect. Zhou Yan felt it was normal to consider feng shui.
He looked at Huang Rong in silence.
“Let’s go.”
Zhou Yan was taken aback, “I go first?”
“What do you think?”
“What were you doing just now?”
“Orienting ourselves. The moon will be hidden soon. If we don’t reference the stars, what if we get lost on the way back?”
Zhou Yan glanced at the setting moon and scoffed inwardly, thinking she was overthinking it.
He stepped forward, with Huang Rong following behind. As they walked, the trees were dense, and occasionally the hoot of an owl could be heard. Huang Rong couldn’t help but quicken her pace, staying closer to Zhou Yan.
The two walked for about half a mile by moonlight. Their vision suddenly opened up. The trees ahead had been cleared, revealing bare ground.
“There are no trees to obscure the view here, it should be this place,” Huang Rong said.
Zhou Yan saw a dark cave about thirty feet ahead. He immediately channeled his Internal Force and leaped forward. Upon reaching it, he saw it was a mountain cave, with an entrance that looked like jade stone, built very neatly.
“Could it be inside?” Huang Rong, who had followed, asked.
“I’ll make a torch.”
“Okay.”
Zhou Yan turned back into the forest, used pine branches to make a torch, and returned. As he entered the mountain cave, he shook the tinder and lit the pine branches.
The two walked inward step by step. After turning twice, a spacious natural cave appeared before them. In the torchlight, they looked around and saw over ten skeletons inside, some sitting, some lying down, with different expressions. Some skeletons were scattered on the ground, while others were still in a complete human form. There were even some bone urns and spirit tablets. Beside each skeleton were weapons, hidden weapons, tools, treasures, and other items.
Huang Rong’s body trembled slightly, “This looks like a place to store skeletons.”
“Yes, it should be where the past Gang Leaders of the Iron Palm Sect were buried.”
Huang Rong looked at the skeletons, her heart trembling. She said, “If the Wumu’s Military Writings are in a stone cave, they would definitely be next to Shangguan Jiannan’s skeleton.”
This was a reasonable inference.
Among the past Gang Leaders of the Iron Palm Sect, Shangguan Jiannan was once a subordinate of Han Shizhong and had ties to the Yue Family Army. After Yue Fei was unjustly executed, Han Shizhong brought out his belongings and had Shangguan Jiannan preserve and guard them.
“I’ll look for it.”
Zhou Yan had actually already seen a wooden box on a skeleton on the east wall of the cave.
He walked eastward, his gaze sweeping over the skeletons sitting or lying on the ground, hoping to find an Iron Palm Sect cultivation technique manual.
“I think that spear suits you,” Huang Rong suddenly caught up, pointing to an iron spear not far from the skeleton on the east wall. She leaped and landed beside the spear.
Zhou Yan strode two steps and also arrived beside the spear.
The iron spear looked dark and unremarkable. Its tip was indeed completely submerged in the ground.
Zhou Yan held the spear with his right hand, twisted his wrist, and lifted.
He had a pair of iron arms, had consumed snake gallbladders, and cultivated the Yijin Forging Bone Chapter. His Internal Force surged, far exceeding a hundred jin.
With a “crack,” cracks like earthworms burrowing appeared on the stone surface. Zhou Yan pulled out the great spear.
“Huh?” he exclaimed in surprise.
“What’s wrong?”
“You try it.”
Zhou Yan handed the great spear to Huang Rong.
Huang Rong took the spear with one hand and immediately felt its extraordinary weight. She switched to holding it with both hands and said, “Compared to the fine steel spear you use, this spear is at least twenty jin heavier.”
“Indeed.”
When Zhou Yan held the iron spear, he felt it weighed over forty jin.
Huang Rong, with her sharp eyes, added, “This spear is dark, but its weight far exceeds that of ordinary iron spears. Its material seems to be a type of iron stone that Father once mentioned, called profound iron. Weapons forged from this iron stone are exceptionally sharp.”
Zhou Yan instantly thought of the Profound Iron Heavy Sword.
He took the spear back, handed the torch to Huang Rong, and thrust it forward with both hands in a Middle Flat stance.
With a “bang,” the spear edge, as wide as a palm, pierced into the stone wall.
The spearhead was completely submerged, not solely due to the sharpness of the tip, but also the spear’s own weight and Zhou Yan’s arm strength. However, he knew that with the same amount of strength, he absolutely could not have pierced the fine steel great spear into the stone wall so easily.
It was indeed a sharp weapon.
Huang Rong smiled, “When you escorted me to Taihu Lake, you used a steel-barreled bow. Now you use an ox horn giant bow. Your cultivation must have grown, which is why the bow feels lighter. Weapons are the same. This profound iron spear is perfect for you. Use this spear from now on.”
Zhou Yan scoffed. Li Mochou gifted him a bow, and Huang Rong gifted him a spear.
“It is indeed handy,” Zhou Yan said without pulling out the great spear, “Look over there, that skeleton has a wooden box in its embrace.”
Huang Rong followed Zhou Yan’s gaze and saw that a skeleton not far away indeed had one.
She walked over with the torch and said, “There seem to be words on the box.”
Huang Rong, having adapted to the stone cave environment, no longer trembled. She brought the torch closer to illuminate it. She saw the words “Po Jin Yao Jue” carved on the box.
Zhou Yan approached and said, “Could the Wumu’s Military Writings be inside?”
He said this, then reached out with his left hand and gently lifted the lid.
The torchlight illuminated two booklets, one thick and one thin.
Zhou Yan picked up the thin booklet and flipped it open. It turned out to be Yue Fei’s memorials, proclamations, inscriptions, letters, and poems from various years. He then opened the thick booklet, and a line of text written like a chisel striking sand met his and Huang Rong’s eyes.
“Search thoroughly, train diligently, reward and punish impartially, clarify orders, enforce discipline, share hardships.”
“It’s military strategy! This is the Wumu’s Military Writings,” Huang Rong suddenly mused. She looked at the great spear inserted into the stone wall and said, “The thin booklet contains poems, inscriptions, and other relics. The thick booklet is military strategy. This skeleton must be Elder Shangguan Jiannan, and the profound iron spear is by the Elder’s side. Therefore, this spear is very likely a relic of General Yue, his weapon.”
Zhou Yan listened to Huang Rong’s analysis and considered the weight of the profound iron spear. He felt it was plausible. Thinking this, he couldn’t help but feel emotional. He had cultivated the Yue Family Fist Manual and Yue Family Spear Technique from Zhang Wangyue, and now he had obtained the Wumu’s Military Writings and a great spear that was very likely used by General Yue. Yue Fei himself was a disciple of the original owner’s ancestor, Zhou Tong’s lineage. This fate was truly like a wondrous bridge.
Huang Rong had already quickly flipped through the military strategy. She spoke, “I originally thought there would be General Yue’s cultivation techniques, and I wanted to take them for Father. But it turns out to be purely military strategy. How about this: you take the military strategy, and I’ll give the memorials, proclamations, inscriptions, letters, and poems to my Father. He often says he wishes he were decades younger and could have met General Yue. He would surely like these.”
“I’ll make a copy and give it all to you.”
“Why?”
“For Island Lord Huang to keep. It will be absolutely safe.”
“That makes sense,” Huang Rong smiled.
Zhou Yan held the torch and searched the stone cave thoroughly. He did not find any cultivation technique manuals. He left the treasures and weapons in the cave untouched and said, “Our objective is achieved, shall we go back?”
“Okay!”
Huang Rong took the wooden box. He pulled out the spear and walked forward. Upon reaching the cave entrance, he extinguished the torch.
The two returned the way they came to the cliff edge and met up with Liang Xiaowu. Huang Rong descended first using a rope. In less than half an hour, the three of them landed safely.
Zhou Yan led the way, with Liang Xiaowu covering the rear. As they exited the valley, the moon had already set, and the brightly lit stone village and stone houses were clearly visible in their sight.
“It feels like the Iron Palm Sect is celebrating something,” Huang Rong said, catching up to Zhou Yan.
“Indeed,” Zhou Yan thought, but inwardly wondered if Qiu Qianchi had finally married Gongsun Zhi.
The thought passed, and he refocused on moving forward.
The night was dark and windy, making it easy to get lost in the dense forest. Huang Rong navigated by the stars, constantly correcting their course. Suddenly, a sharp cry rang out.
“Someone is trespassing!”
Then Zhou Yan heard the loud clang of bronze cymbals, like gongs being struck.
Suddenly, a conspicuous bright red kasaya rapidly approached.
“Monk Lingzhi? Could it be that Yang Kang has come to Iron Palm Peak? That’s why the stone village is so brightly lit. If Yang Kang is at the Iron Palm Sect, Ouyang Feng must be with him.”
Zhou Yan broke out in a cold sweat.
