The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun

Page 413

Jiang Ning, filled with suspicion, watched as Liu Zhengfeng and the others entered the Golden Saber Sect, and then the gate closed tightly.

Jiang Ning frowned slightly, looked at the mansion, went to a secluded spot on the side, leaped over the wall, and entered the Golden Saber Sect.

The Golden Saber Sect had a very large interior and many members. As soon as Liu Zhengfeng and his group entered the gate, a middle-aged man came to greet them. Jiang Ning recognized the man as Wang Bofen, whom Yue Buqun had met when he came to Luoyang last time. Wang Bofen was also Lin Pingzhi's uncle.

Seeing Wang Bofen usher Liu Zhengfeng and the others inside, Jiang Ning frowned slightly. He didn't know what was going on, but he immediately slipped inside and hid in the shadows, secretly following the group into the depths of the Golden Saber Sect and arriving at the main hall.

"Brother Liu, I have long admired your name."

A voice rang out in the hall, and a tall, elderly man walked out, cupping his hands in greeting to Liu Zhengfeng with a smile.

"Sect Leader Wang."

Liu Zhengfeng smiled slightly and returned the greeting with a cupped hand.

Wang Yuanba?

Jiang Ning looked at the old man, and although he had never seen him before, he knew from the man's appearance and what Liu Zhengfeng said that this man was Wang Yuanba, the leader of the Golden Saber Sect, and also Lin Pingzhi's maternal grandfather.

Wang Yuanba himself was nearly eighty years old, but he still had a ruddy complexion, a flowing white beard under his chin, and held two golden galls the size of goose eggs in one hand. He was dressed in silk and satin, and one glance at him exuded an air of nobility.

"Come in, come in."

Wang Yuanba laughed loudly, his voice booming like a bell, and invited Liu Zhengfeng and the others into the main hall.

As the group entered the lobby, Jiang Ning's eyes narrowed slightly, but in the end, he did not choose to approach and quietly left.

Jiang Ning left the Golden Saber Sect quietly, but didn't go far. He waited outside the sect until almost dark. Then the tightly closed gate opened, and Wang Yuanba personally escorted Liu Zhengfeng and the others out.

Jiang Ning watched from a distance as the group greeted each other, and then Liu Zhengfeng left, with Jiang Ning following after him.

It is now dark, but the streets of Luoyang are still bustling and brightly lit.

The streets were even more crowded than during the day, with people coming and going. Jiang Ning, who was wearing a straw hat at some point, brushed past Liu Zhengfeng and his group.

bang~

Jiang Ning and Liu Zhengfeng bumped into each other.

"Excuse me."

Before Liu Zhengfeng could speak after being bumped, he heard the person opposite him speak first. The voice was very familiar. Liu Zhengfeng turned his head and saw that the mask under the bamboo hat was lifted, revealing a face.

Liu Zhengfeng's eyes widened slightly, then returned to normal. He said nothing and continued to leave, and the people traveling with him did not notice anything unusual.

After walking a distance, Liu Zhengfeng suddenly stopped.

"Elder Liu, what's wrong?"

One of his companions noticed him stop and asked.

Liu Zhengfeng looked at a small stall displaying musical instruments by the roadside: "I want to buy something."

Hearing his words, the group hesitated, but seeing that Liu Zhengfeng was already selecting items at the stall, they felt helpless and could only wait on the side.

"Grandpa has a good eye; the craftsmanship of this bamboo flute is quite exquisite..."

The vendor enthusiastically introduced the items to Liu Zhengfeng, who nodded and looked them over, then put one down and picked up another to examine it.

"Elder Liu, I think we should go back first and buy it next time."

One of them, having waited for a long time, finally spoke up.

Liu Zhengfeng glanced at them casually and said, "If you're too lazy to wait, you can go back first."

The man and the others exchanged glances, then said, "Elder Liu, I think we should just pick one at random; they don't look that different."

Liu Zhengfeng didn't even turn his head, saying, "Choosing a musical instrument is like choosing a suitable weapon; how can you just pick one randomly?"

As he spoke, Liu Zhengfeng picked up a bamboo flute and tried playing it a few times, then shook his head: "The sound is too mixed, not good."

Watching Liu Zhengfeng pick and choose, the group felt helpless but could only wait. However, the wait seemed endless. Liu Zhengfeng looked at this stall and then that stall, and after a long time, he still hadn't found anything he liked. The group got bored and hungry, and seeing that Liu Zhengfeng was still picking things out, they left to buy food from other stalls.

Liu Zhengfeng glanced at the crowd out of the corner of his eye and saw that they had all walked a little further away and could no longer see him. He turned around and left, disappearing into the crowd in the next second.

……

After leaving the crowded area, Liu Zhengfeng stopped in a quiet spot and asked, "When did you arrive?"

"today."

A voice suddenly rang out from the previously empty place, and a figure emerged from the shadows, removing his straw hat.

"Uncle Liu."

Upon seeing Jiang Ning, Liu Zhengfeng finally smiled.

"I've been waiting for you for a long time."

Jiang Ning explained, "I visited Master Dingxian and the others at Hengshan, and then spent a few more days in the capital, so I arrived a little late."

Liu Zhengfeng asked, "When did you see me today?"

Jiang Ning said, "I followed the marks left by Uncle Liu to find that alley, watched Uncle Liu leave the alley and arrive at the Golden Saber Sect, and then followed Uncle Liu here."

Liu Zhengfeng nodded in realization.

Jiang Ning then asked, "Uncle Liu, what business do you have at the Golden Saber Sect today?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Zhengfeng said seriously, "Recruit the Golden Saber Sect."

Chapter 557: Ren Woxing's Plan

Recruiting members of the Golden Saber Sect?

Jiang Ning narrowed his eyes.

really.

Just as Ren Woxing and Abbess Dingxian had predicted, they had begun to expand their power.

Liu Zhengfeng said, "After Ren Woxing left Pingding Prefecture, he instructed us to start recruiting some forces in the martial arts world. Today, I am in charge of recruiting the Golden Saber Sect."

Ren Woxing has been expanding his power for some time now, but he hasn't made much of a splash. He's been recruiting third-rate gangs, which he used to disregard. But now he's taking them all indiscriminately, and his power is growing. According to Liu Zhengfeng, quite a few third-rate gangs have already joined his ranks.

"Many of these forces have already pledged allegiance to Ren Woxing, and even those who refused were wiped out by Ren Woxing."

Liu Zhengfeng said.

Ren Woxing's methods were extremely bloody. Any force that refused to submit to him would be massacred, and even those who had already submitted would be forced to take the Three Corpse Brain God Pill, leaving them with no control over their own lives.

Upon hearing Liu Zhengfeng's words, Jiang Ning frowned and asked, "Uncle-Master Liu, what were Wang Yuanba's thoughts when you went to recruit members of the Golden Saber Sect today?"

Liu Zhengfeng shook his head: "Wang Yuanba neither refused nor agreed, saying he needed to consider it."

Jiang Ning frowned slightly.

Wang Yuanba is Lin Pingzhi's maternal grandfather. If he agrees to join the Demonic Sect, he will become an enemy of Mount Hua. But if he refuses, the Golden Saber Sect will likely be bloodily purged by Ren Woxing.

Jiang Ning thought for a moment and asked, "Is Ren Woxing in Luoyang now?"

Liu Zhengfeng nodded: "Yes."

Jiang Ning asked again, "How many of Ren Woxing's men are in Luoyang now?"

Liu Zhengfeng said, "A lot."

After Ren Woxing left Pingding Prefecture last time, the gangs that came from all over the country left one after another, but there were still quite a few who followed Ren Woxing. There were a lot of them, about one or two thousand people in total, scattered in various parts of Luoyang. Their main base was in Green Bamboo Lane, the alley that Jiangning had seen before.

"Oh, right."

Liu Zhengfeng seemed to remember something and said, "That vixen Ren Yingying is not in Luoyang now. She went to Yunnan, and Lan Fenghuang from the Five Poisons Sect went with her."

Did you go to Yunnan?

Jiang Ning frowned and asked, "What is she going to Yunnan for?"

Liu Zhengfeng said, "She is going to the Five Poisons Sect and will lead all the Miao people of the Five Poisons Sect into the Central Plains."

Did they bring the Five Poisons Sect into the Central Plains?

Jiang Ning frowned; he sensed an impending storm.

"Oh, right, there are two more things I need to tell you."

Liu Zhengfeng continued, "I heard that you massacred a branch of the Beggars' Sect last year, is that true?"

Jiang Ning nodded.

Liu Zhengfeng looked worried and said, "Those people from the Beggars' Sect have already gone to Mount Hua to cause trouble for Sect Leader Yue."

Jiang Ning already knew about this and nodded, but Liu Zhengfeng continued, "Ren Woxing also knows about this. He plans to send people to ambush people near Mount Hua soon so he can take advantage of the situation. Once Mount Hua and the Beggars' Sect fight and both are weakened, he will take advantage of the situation to attack Mount Hua. You must be careful."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ning finally showed a serious expression and nodded to indicate that he understood.

"And one more thing."

Liu Zhengfeng continued, "Is the Zhenwu Sword of Zhang Zhenren, the founder of the Wudang School, in your possession?"

Liu Zhengfeng's expression was very serious.

Jiang Ning asked in surprise, "That's right, Uncle Liu already knows?"

Liu Zhengfeng was shocked: "It's actually true?"

Ren Woxing recently told them that the Sun Moon Sect had stolen the Zhenwu Sword from Wudang Mountain many years ago, and that Xiang Wentian had now given the sword to Jiangning.

Liu Zhengfeng initially didn't believe it, because the Zhenwu Sword was known throughout the martial arts world as the treasure of the Wudang Sect. Over the years, the Wudang Sect had never declared that their Zhenwu Sword had been stolen. But now, Jiang Ning's personal admission proved that what Ren Woxing had said before was true, which left Liu Zhengfeng speechless.

Seeing Liu Zhengfeng's surprised expression, Jiang Ning had already figured something out and asked, "Is Ren Woxing planning to use this as an excuse?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Zhengfeng's expression turned serious. He nodded and said, "Ren Woxing plans to spread this matter throughout the martial arts world soon, so that the Huashan Sect and the Wudang Sect will be at odds in the future."

Ren Woxing planned to shift the blame eastward by publicizing that Jiang Ning had obtained the Zhenwu Sword, so that the Wudang Sect would also know that their Zhenwu Sword was now in Jiang Ning's hands.

At that time, the Wudang Sect wanted to take back the Zhenwu Sword from Jiang Ning, but the Huashan Sect refused, and the two sects became enemies. If Ren Woxing took the opportunity to attack one of the sects, the other sect might be reluctant to support him, which would give Ren Woxing the opportunity to defeat them one by one.

"Ren Woxing said that if the Wudang Sect really made enemies with the Huashan Sect because of this incident, and the Beggars' Sect also had a grudge against the Huashan Sect, then he would lead his men to attack Huashan."

Liu Zhengfeng revealed Ren Woxing's plan: Ren Woxing intended to use these two incidents to incite infighting within the righteous sects and isolate the Huashan Sect.

"Thank you for informing me, Uncle Liu. I understand."

Jiang Ning nodded and said.

He wasn't in a hurry about this matter. Yue Buqun had acted faster than Ren Woxing and had already obtained the information from Chongxu that the Zhenwu Sword was still in Wudang. If the Wudang Sect brought up this matter with them in the future, Yue Buqun could use Chongxu's words to shut them up.

As for whether the Wudang Sect will incur enmity with the Huashan Sect because they cannot retrieve the Zhenwu Sword...

If Chongxu were mentally sound, he wouldn't do that. Firstly, the Huashan Sect's strength is not what it used to be. Although it is not as powerful as Wudang in terms of influence, it is stronger than Wudang in terms of top experts.

The Wudang Sect is currently only holding on with Chongxu, while the Huashan Sect has Jiang Ning and Yue Buqun, plus Linghu Chong who has increased his internal strength by twenty years after taking the Great Rejuvenation Pill. The Huashan Sect has three top masters, which the Wudang Sect cannot compare to.

It can be said that as long as Jiang Ning and Yue Buqun are alive, Chongxu will definitely not have a falling out with the Huashan Sect because of this incident.

Secondly, the Zhenwu Sword is far superior to the one in the hands of the Huashan Sect than to the Demonic Sect. Even if Chongxu cannot obtain the Zhenwu Sword immediately, there will be plenty of time to negotiate in the future. After all, both sides are righteous sects, which makes things easier and more palatable, and they will have an excuse to use later.

Regardless of either of these two points, Chongxu would never be at odds with the Huashan Sect. Moreover, Yue Buqun had previously managed to extract information from him, and if Yue Buqun were to reveal it, Chongxu would lose all face.

"Uncle Liu, rest assured, Ren Woxing's plan will not succeed."

Jiang Ning comforted Liu Zhengfeng, and Liu Zhengfeng finally felt relieved.

Jiang Ning then asked, "Uncle Liu, how did you deal with the Golden Saber Sect?"

Upon hearing the mention of the Golden Saber Sect, Liu Zhengfeng frowned: "Ren Woxing said that if the Golden Saber Sect refused to join his cause, he would massacre them."

Chapter 558: Seeking Rescue

"The Huashan Sect is in trouble now. I think you should go back to Huashan as soon as possible to help Sect Leader Yue."

Liu Zhengfeng said to Jiang Ning.

Jiang Ning shook his head: "I have to stay here now."

Liu Zhengfeng asked in surprise, "What are you staying for?"

"Save the Golden Saber Sect."

Jiang Ning said.