Chapter 224: Born of the Same Root, Why Torture Each Other So Fiercely?
The murals were dark gold, and no dogs barked in the hall. Green moss had moistened for a thousand years, and jade water flowed for a single stretch.
The “old place” that Zhang Sanqiang mentioned to Zhou Yan at the “Drunken Immortal Pavilion” in Xiangyang was naturally White Water Temple, as described in the poem.
In the past, the Ming Cult Leader was besieged and killed by the Imperial City Guard’s swift runners from the Lin’an Court. The attackers calmly killed the enemy and escaped, and Zhou Yan went alone to this ancient temple.
Plum trees bloomed all over the mountain, their subtle fragrance filling the air.
Zhou Yan, Liang Xiaowu, and Yanbo Diaosou dismounted.
Without a word, he sat cross-legged, absorbing the gentle Qi of Jade Guanyin to heal his internal injuries.
Ouyang Feng unleashed the Toad Stance with all his might, forcing Hong Qigong and Huang Yaoshi to evade his sharp edge. Zhou Yan took the blow head-on and naturally suffered. However, compared to when he was severely injured and on the brink of death after taking a blow from Ouyang Feng’s Toad Stance at Huayan Temple in Datong Prefecture, his condition this time was vastly different.
His own profound internal force, aided by the gentle Qi of Jade Guanyin, was like the spring rain that “steals into the night with the wind, moistening things silently,” smoothing the wrinkled, damaged meridians that were like a dried riverbed, and then nourishing them to rapidly repair and recover.
An hour later, the white mist steaming above Zhou Yan’s head dissipated, and his complexion turned from ashen to ruddy.
“Hoo,” Zhou Yan exhaled and opened his eyes.
“This recovery is faster than last night,” Yanbo Diaosou said.
“Fortunately, you ambushed Ouyang Feng with a fishhook. His second Toad Stance was held back; if you had taken that palm strike, it wouldn’t have been like this,” Zhou Yan said, but in his heart he thought that Ouyang Feng’s cultivation had increased by about ten percent compared to when they were in Datong Prefecture. If this continued, in about a year, Hong Qigong might be at a disadvantage when facing Ouyang Feng.
Yanbo Diaosou recalled the scene at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion where the windows and walls were shattered, and he said with lingering fear, “If that’s the case, isn’t Ouyang Feng invincible?”
“Not necessarily. The Southern Emperor’s One Yang Finger can counter the Toad Stance,” Zhou Yan chuckled. “If Ouyang Feng doesn’t use the Toad Stance, I can actually fight him for a while. Also, when he uses this cultivation technique, he needs to build momentum. If you encounter him again, you’ll know how to guard against it.”
Yanbo Diaosou laughed heartily and said, “I’d rather not encounter Ouyang Feng in this lifetime. Dubbed the Western Venom, he must be a ruthless person. I even mockingly call him a ‘little old man.’ How could Ouyang Feng let this go?”
Zhou Yan couldn’t help but chuckle, “That’s true. Avoiding danger and seeking good fortune.”
“Who is that person? He’s so formidable, to be able to withstand Ouyang Feng.”
“The Demonic Cult Leader, Zhang Sanqiang.”
“Zhang the Demon!” Yanbo Diaosou exclaimed in surprise.
“Yes!”
“And why did he help you?”
“It’s a long story.” Zhou Yan briefly recounted meeting Zhang Sanqiang at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion in Xiangyang, the latter being apprehended by the Lin’an Court’s Imperial City Guard, and his own conversation with Zhang Sanqiang at White Water Temple.
“Cheng Hu from the Poyang Lake Water Village said the Demonic Cult and the Beggars’ Sect are in conflict. Although the Beggars’ Sect has its share of good and bad people, overall, it’s at least better than the Demonic Cult. Zhang the Demon acting like this and helping you, what do you think of him?”
“The Demonic Cult is eager to expand its influence, so it’s inevitable that it will be a mix of dragons and snakes. Zhang Sanqiang is quite straightforward and upright.”
“An outsider sees things more clearly. Why don’t you try to persuade him?”
“When you’re with someone like Zhang Sanqiang, you can only offer a gentle reminder. If you try to lecture him, you’ll end up being shown the door.”
“That’s true,” Yanbo Diaosou nodded.
As they were talking, Liang Xiaowu’s voice suddenly interjected.
“Head Escort, that person has arrived.”
Zhou Yan stood up and looked down the distant main road. A person on horseback was approaching; it was Zhang Sanqiang. As he drew closer, the man dismounted and advanced with his spear.
Zhang Sanqiang still had fierce eyes and a bristly beard, but Zhou Yan could immediately tell that his complexion was ashen, clearly indicating he had also suffered internal injuries.
Although Yanbo Diaosou had asked Zhou Yan many questions about Zhang Sanqiang, he still had a negative impression of the Demonic Cult. To him, the Demonic Cult and the White Lotus Sect were both places of corruption.
Before Zhang Sanqiang got too close, he went to the nearby stream to fish.
Zhou Yan stepped forward and cupped his fists, “Thank you, Cult Leader, for your assistance.”
“You know my identity?”
Zhou Yan smiled, “Cult Leader even gifted me the token, the Iron Spear Head. How could I not know?”
Zhang Sanqiang laughed heartily, “Indeed.”
His laughter aggravated his injuries, and he showed a pained expression. Zhou Yan quickly took out the Nine Flowers Jade Dew Pills. “This pill can replenish the spirit and strengthen the body.”
Zhang Sanqiang waved his hand, his expression proud. “Ouyang Feng’s martial arts are truly extraordinary, but he couldn’t possibly heavily injure me. There’s no need for pills.”
Zhou Yan didn’t try to persuade him further. He put away the pills, guessing that Zhang Sanqiang’s strength was likely inferior to Ouyang Feng’s but superior to Qiu Qianren’s. His confidence in escaping from the Drunken Immortal Pavilion was likely due to the Qiankun Great Shift, though he didn’t know which level he had cultivated to. The Legend of the Condor Heroes trilogy mentions that in the Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber world, for centuries, the Central Plains Ming Cult had only one Cult Leader Zhong who cultivated the Qiankun Great Shift to the fifth level. Zhang Sanqiang was most likely above Yang Xiao but below Cult Leader Zhong, at the third or fourth level.
“Cult Leader, why are you in Xiangyang?” Zhou Yan asked.
Zhang Sanqiang replied, “To see some people in Hebei Province and Shandong Province.”
“So that’s how it is,” Zhou Yan thought that Zhang Sanqiang’s trip was mainly to recruit soldiers and buy horses.
He changed the subject, “There’s a group of people from the Poyang Lake Water Village who have harmed escort personnel and merchants.”
“Are you going to say they are from my cult again?” Zhang Sanqiang asked.
“It’s the White Lotus Sect. Under interrogation, it was learned that the White Lotus Sect seems to be at odds with your cult. Furthermore, the White Lotus Sect Leader is a descendant of Yu Wupo, the former leader of the Manichaeism. When I went to Dragon and Tiger Mountain, I coincidentally encountered the White Lotus Sect’s Saint Son.”
“Wuse.”
Zhang Sanqiang said it casually, but Zhou Yan was stunned. Wuse? Could it be the Zen Master Wuse from the Divine Condor world, the Head of the Arhat Hall at Shaolin Temple at the beginning of The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber? Before Wuse joined Shaolin Temple, he was in the greenwood. Was this a coincidence, or were they the same person?
His thoughts quickly returned. “According to the testimony of Cheng Hu, the Hall Master of the Poyang Lake Water Village, the White Lotus Sect absorbed Manichaeism doctrines when it was founded. Why do the two sects have grudges now? Wouldn’t joining forces strengthen them?”
Zhou Yan offered his words in good faith, and Zhang Sanqiang didn’t hide anything, stating concisely, “For any hero, in their conduct and standing, there are only two paths: influence and strength.”
Influence refers to power, and strength refers to personal ability. Zhou Yan agreed.
Zhang Sanqiang continued, “The conflict between the White Lotus Sect and our cult is nothing more than this. Our cult has a sect-protecting cultivation method that must be managed and practiced by successive cult leaders. When Cult Leader Yu’s uprising failed and he died, Yu Huacheng was not long born, and the sect-protecting cultivation method was passed to the previous cult leader.”
Zhou Yan understood, “Yu Huacheng is older and felt that the previous cult leader and Cult Leader Zhang usurped the position of cult leader that should have been his, and they also wanted to seize the cultivation technique. This is why the two sects have conflicts.”
“That’s about it.”
“We are of the same origin,” Zhou Yan said.
“The world is chaotic. Do kings and generals have a predetermined fate? Who doesn’t want to use the momentum of Azure Clouds to achieve something? I can understand that.” Zhang Sanqiang spoke with genuine uprightness and heroism, without denigrating Yu Huacheng.
In the struggle for the world, the capable raise the banner, and the defeated become withered bones.
“It’s been a long time. I didn’t expect your martial arts to improve so much. Let me ask you again, are you willing to join our cult?” Zhang Sanqiang suddenly asked.
Zhou Yan smiled, “My path and yours are different.”
Zhang Sanqiang laughed, “Everyone has their own aspirations. Let’s not bring this up again, lest it seem like I’m repaying a favor with gossip. By the way, you said you met the White Lotus Sect’s Saint Son, Wuse, at Dragon and Tiger Mountain.”
“He claimed to be the Saint Son, around thirty years old.”
“Then it’s correct. Did you see Yu Huacheng? He’s an old man in his eighties.”
“No.”
Zhang Sanqiang nodded and asked no further questions. He stood up and said, “Thank you for telling me. I have important matters to attend to. We’ll meet again.”
“Take care on your journey.”
Zhou Yan’s first meeting with Zhang Sanqiang at White Water Temple was like the conversation between gentlemen, as clear as water. Two years later, it was still the same.
The plum blossoms were in full bloom, their fragrance filling the mountain. Zhang Sanqiang mounted his horse, spear in hand, and rode alone into the mountain forest.
After the Ming Cult Leader departed, Zhou Yan asked Liang Xiaowu to ride to the nearest market to buy two jars of Chrysanthemum Wine. He then shot a few mountain chickens with his bow in the forest.
Yanbo Diaosou caught a few fish.
The three of them drank and roasted their catch. After they were drunk and full, they rode their horses straight to Cuya Mountain in Caizhou.
…
The sunset is infinitely beautiful, but it is near dusk.
At the camp outside Snake Valley in the suburbs of Xiangyang, the atmosphere was a bit awkward.
Yang Kang was not in a good mood. Encountering Zhou Yan in Xiangyang city was supposed to be a clean and decisive kill. Who would have thought a big man wielding a spear with strange martial arts would suddenly appear? Zhou Yan killed the Hejian Three Heroes with his spear and severely wounded Ni Mo Xing before leaving. That big man fought Ouyang Feng for over a hundred moves before retreating.
Losing the wife and also the soldiers.
Attending the grand wedding banquet of the Iron Palm Sect and the Valley of Unfeeling was the immediate priority. Yang Kang led his men with gifts across the river to the predetermined campsite in the suburbs. However, he received news that the bride, Qiu Qianchi, and the Iron Palm Sect Leader, siblings, had fallen out and left the camp in anger.
He was becoming more astute in his dealings. After Qiu Qianren revealed the truth, he saw the dejected Gongsun Zhi and comforted him, saying, “Sect Leader Qiu and Valley Master Gongsun, please do not worry. I will send someone to deliver a message by carrier pigeon to help find her.”
“Thank you, Crown Prince,” Gongsun Zhi said, overjoyed.
After thanking him, Qiu Qianren said, “I will also cross the river to search.”
Yang Kang seized the opportunity and said, “Why don’t we go together?”
Qiu Qianren replied, “I promised the Crown Prince that after Qianchi’s marriage, I would come down the mountain to assist him. Although she has left, the important matter cannot be delayed. I will accompany the Crown Prince, searching for Qianchi while also doing what I can to help the Crown Prince.”
Yang Kang’s gloom, stemming from the incident at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, vanished. He bowed gratefully. He had come from Kaifeng Prefecture with over ten wooden boxes wrapped in red silk, containing jewelry, gold, stones, calligraphy, and paintings. These congratulatory gifts could not be taken back. Yang Kang presented them to Gongsun Zhi, smiling and saying that the wedding would proceed after the person was found, and he himself had come with nothing.
Gongsun Zhi could not refuse and accepted the gifts, arranging for Fan Yi Weng to transport them to the Valley of Unfeeling.
Qiu Qianren hosted them at the camp. During the feast, Yang Kang asked Qiu Qianren, “Actually, finding Miss Qiu is not difficult. Does Sect Leader Qiu know where she went after leaving the Valley of Unfeeling, or whom she sought?”
Qiu Qianren suddenly remembered something.
The first time Qiu Qianchi left Iron Palm Mountain was because of her useless elder brother, which led to their falling out. Perhaps she had gone to find him.
It was difficult to find his sister, but her elder brother, who often used her name to show off, was not hard to find.
Truly, “Mountains and rivers doubt there is a way, yet willows and flowers bloom, another village.”
