Narration System for the Journey of Martial Arts

Page 65

"I didn't expect Master Zhu to be so skilled in martial arts, he even has this trick up his sleeve."

Zhu Changling cupped his hands and said, "Without any means to protect our family, Zhu Wu Lianhuan Manor wouldn't have survived until now. Please wait a moment, sir, while I send someone to inquire."

After saying that, he waved his hand, and the old steward immediately turned and left to interrogate the guards who had returned with him.

The guards naturally tried to pin the blame on the dead. The old steward questioned the three people who returned, and they all said that Wei Bi had ordered them killed and sent them to the underworld. He remembered that it was Wei Bi from Kunlun who killed them.

………………

When the old steward returned and told him, Zhu Changling's face was as black as the bottom of a pot, but now was not the time to lash out. He looked at Ji Rige and said...

“This matter was decided on his own by the brat of the Wei family, and you have already killed the person.”

"We, Zhu Wu Lianhuan Manor, have absolutely no idea what Habusa Hasatu wants. Please, just say it directly!"

Jirig knew that Habusa Hasatu just wanted to extort money and had no intention of actually infiltrating the area. He rolled his eyes, held up two fingers, and said, "Two hundred thousand taels, and we'll call it quits. But those who participated in the killing of our brothers must be handed over to us."

Zhu Changling's face darkened. He was convinced that the Wei family was involved in this matter. Last month, the Zhu and Wu families had just delivered a batch of red goods to the Central Plains merchants, which amounted to 200,000 taels of silver. Wei Bi knew about this.

He placed his hands on the table and said, "Two hundred thousand taels is too much. I need to talk to the Wu family and raise the money."

Ji Rige nodded indifferently and said, "Then you'd better hurry. The leader only gave us two quarters of an hour. If we don't see the money after two quarters of an hour, then your Zhu Wu Lianhuan Manor has no reason to exist!"

Chapter 127 A New Journey: Entering the Central Plains

When Master Wu received Zhu Changling's letter, his expression shifted from surprise to joy, feeling that this ordeal was finally over.

He then showed disdain. Although he didn't think Wei Bi was capable of doing this, since someone else was taking the blame, he didn't want to get involved.

However, he still wrote back, stating frankly that he only had 60,000 taels of silver, and the rest had already been used for other purposes, telling Zhu Changling to find another way. He also had the silver taken out of the treasury and taken away along with the letter.

After seeing the visitors off, Master Wu, lost in thought, shook his head and said to the steward…

"This ordeal is over, but we can't relax yet. We'll wait until they've retreated before making any moves."

"As soon as they leave, immediately arrange for someone to bring Qingying back. I need to know what exactly happened."

"Hey, my Wu family, a noble family... has actually fallen to this state! What a disgrace!"

Seeing Master Wu's dejected expression, the old steward gave a bitter smile and quietly withdrew.

Habusa Hasatu was taken aback when he saw the 200,000 taels of silver that 'Jirig' had brought back, and he exclaimed that this was a talented person.

"It's a pity that such a talented person, who knows how to make money and win people's hearts, is not loyal!" Habusa Hasatu thought to himself.

………………

As for the few Zhu family guards who returned alive, Habusa Hasatu waved his hand and ordered them to be beheaded right at the entrance of Zhuwu Lianhuan Manor.

Then, amidst a series of strange cries, the bandits rode away, and the siege of Zhu Wu's Lianhuan Village was lifted without any rescue.

Unfortunately, the curses uttered by those men before they died naturally terrified the guards and servants of the Zhu and Wu families. From then on, they lost their spirit and dared not easily bully the people in the surrounding towns and villages.

After this incident, Zhu Jiuzhen suffered from recurring nightmares, waking up countless times from scenes of murder. She became much more timid and dared not leave the house for several years.

Just as Zhu Changling was about to deal with Zhu Weishi, he received news that Weijiaji had been completely massacred by bandits and the entire Wei family had been wiped out.

After a moment of confusion, Zhu Changling's intelligence kicked in. He thought of the Wei family, whose entire clan had been wiped out, his daughter who had been so frightened that she almost went insane, and the crazy Wu Qingying next door.

Only then did Zhu Changling realize that he had overlooked his son, who was like a transparent person.

When he rushed to the backyard, he found it deserted. A sense of loss washed over him, and he gave a bitter laugh.

………………

On the road from Qinghai into Sichuan, a carriage followed a caravan returning to the Central Plains.

Inside the carriage, Zhu Yuchen meditated peacefully, diligently practicing his cultivation. A Niu handled all the affairs. A Niu drove the carriage, chatting casually with the porters at the back of the caravan.

According to Ah Niu, their young master's ancestral home is in Hubei. This time, he has no relatives left outside the Great Wall, so he returned to his hometown to see if he could find his old relatives again.

The caravan owner and the head of the guards, seeing that there was only one young man and one young boy, accepted fifty taels of silver and let them follow behind the caravan.

This was the sixteenth day since they left Zhu Wu Lianhuan Manor. In the carriage, Zhu Yuchen ate the dinner brought by A Niu, silently reading the system's narration in his mind…

As the north wind rises, Zhang Cuishan, along with his wife Yin Susu and son Zhang Wuji, returns to the Central Plains from Icefire Island, and the story begins.

[On the centenary of the founder of Wudang, all the major sects gathered at Wudang Mountain, threatening Wudang and demanding information about the Dragon-Slaying Saber and Xie Xun's whereabouts.]

Zhang Cuishan sacrificed his life to protect his sect, and Yin Susu committed suicide. Zhang Sanfeng was caught off guard and tragically lost his beloved disciple.

The curtain has risen; where will you go from here?

Zhu Yuchen was helpless. He just wanted to sit and watch; what did these trivial matters have to do with him? The only thing that interested him was the Taoist Grandmaster Zhang Zhenren.

The matter of Zhu Wu's Lianhuan Manor had been dealt with, and he believed Zhu Changling would eventually come to his senses. To avoid embarrassment, and also to avoid the possibility of accidentally slapping him to death, Zhu Yuchen decided it was best to leave first.

Zhang Sanfeng's 100th birthday was a good reason to convince themselves, so the master and servant headed east, intending to pass through Sichuan, take the route through Chongqing, and enter Wudang.

The journey through Qinghai was extremely smooth. Apart from occasionally passing through checkpoints and being charged taxes by the Yuan court, there was nothing else along the way, and not a single bandit was seen.

Even the caravan owners lamented that bandits these days are more reasonable than the government; as long as you pay protection money, they'll ensure your safe journey.

When passing through the territory of a notorious bandit, after paying silver, you will receive a small flag embroidered with your name, which you can hang on the head of your caravan. The bandits along the way will then pretend they don't see you.

Every time this matter was brought up, everyone in the caravan talked about it with great interest; after all, no one likes a caravan without any danger. Ah Niu simply listened with a smile, but he was extremely content.

After entering Sichuan, the situation worsened. In addition to the Tusi (local chieftains), the Yuan court, there were also rebel forces and other intertwined forces, creating a complex and chaotic situation.

Today you attack, tomorrow I attack; the chaos is like banditry. It is truly a case of: Before the world is in chaos, Shu is already in chaos; after the world is at peace, Shu is still not at peace.

Once they arrived here, the caravan's guards proved their worth, repelling several waves of probing attacks along the way. Many of the caravan members were unharmed outside the pass, but were injured upon reaching the Central Plains, leaving them with no recourse.

The situation only improved after they entered Chengdu Prefecture. The caravan settled down there to exchange goods, rest, and see if there were any other goods to take out of Sichuan.

So early that morning, Ah Niu bid farewell to the caravan and drove his carriage straight to Jianmen Pass.

Unfortunately, the area was in constant turmoil, the people were impoverished, and there were ubiquitous rebel armies fighting against the Yuan court. Both of them had not been to the Central Plains for a long time. After protecting a group of refugees from the Yuan army, when they reconfirmed their location, they had already arrived near Hankou.

Once A Niu learned that they had arrived at Fuchikou, which was within Hubei province, Zhu Yuchen was too lazy to take the carriage. The two decided to abandon the carriage and take a boat, thinking that there wouldn't be so many soldiers on the river!

The night was bright and the breeze was gentle. Zhu Yuchen and A Niu sat at the bow of the boat, looking at the scenery on the shore, and couldn't help but say...

"Ah Niu, what do you say? Do you still insist on not wanting to be emperor? Nowadays, people's lives are difficult and chaos has emerged in the world. If we can end this chaos as soon as possible, it will be a blessing for all the people."

“These rebels are disorganized and I don’t think they’ll amount to anything. You, on the other hand, have the best chance.”

Ah Niu shook his head, but before he could speak, he heard a sneer from the fishing boat next to him.

Ah Niu glared angrily and saw two men and a woman with a child on the fishing boat over there.

The woman's face was initially mocking, but when she looked at Zhu Yuchen, her eyes were cold and ruthless, causing her to shiver and feel an icy chill in her heart, rendering her speechless.

The child noticed his mother's change and instinctively tightened his grip on her hand. The woman, in turn, gripped his hand and lowered her head, not daring to say another word.

The two men didn't notice the woman's change in expression. They looked extremely embarrassed, and one of them was particularly displeased, clearly looking down on the woman who had made the sarcastic remark.

The man with the displeased expression looked at Ah Niu with extreme politeness, repeatedly bowing and apologizing, "Please forgive me, my sister-in-law acted without restraint and has offended you. Please forgive her."

Zhu Yuchen didn't even glance at them. He flicked his sleeve, turned, and went back to the cabin, his voice cold and clear...

"Yu Erxia is quite polite. I will let it go this time for Zhang Sanfeng's sake."

"Yin Susu, loose lips sink ships. Now that you're married, you should think more about your husband. If you dare to bark like that again, even Zhang Sanfeng can't protect you."

"Ah Niu, give the order to set sail!"

Ah Niu snorted coldly and then ordered the boatman to set sail and leave.

Chapter 128 Zhu Yuchen's Spiritual Transmission Poisons Yin Susu

With a cold snort from A Niu, Yu Lianzhou and Zhang Cuishan groaned, feeling as if bells and drums were ringing in their ears. After finally managing to suppress their surging blood and qi, they couldn't help but exchange a horrified glance.

"Such powerful internal energy! Who is this person? Judging from his attire, he's just a servant," Yu Lianzhou said, watching the departing fishing boat.

Zhang Cuishan gave a wry smile and said, "I have been away from the Central Plains for many years. If you, my senior brother, don't even know which family he belongs to, then I, your junior brother, would know even less."

Yu Lianzhou nodded, then said with some surprise, "Fifth Brother, you've just returned, and various sects have already come to your door for Xie Xun's sake. But this person knows me, yet he's not here for your family. It's really strange."

The two brothers were undecided and began to speculate when they heard Zhang Wuji behind them exclaim, "Mother, what's wrong?"

The two hurriedly turned around and saw that Yin Susu's eyes were rolled back, her face was pale, and she was shivering with her arms wrapped around herself, as if she were in the dead of winter.

"Susu..." Zhang Cuishan exclaimed in surprise, rushing forward. As soon as he touched her hand, he instinctively pulled it back. He said in surprise, "Why is it so cold!"

Yin Susu forced a smile and said, "It's so cold, my body is freezing!"

Zhang Cuishan held his wife in his arms and felt that her body temperature was extremely low, and there was even frost on her eyebrows. He was stunned and didn't know what to do.

At this moment, Yu Lianzhou disregarded everything else, apologized, reached out and grasped her wrist, transferring a stream of true energy to her.

Among the Seven Heroes of Wudang, Yu Lianzhou was a man of few words and not fond of talking, but his martial arts skills were the best. At this moment, he used his pure Yang Wuji True Qi to nourish himself, and Yin Susu felt the coldness recede very quickly.

After a long while, Yu Lianzhou was sweating profusely, and white mist was rising faintly from his head. Only then did Yin Susu feel the coldness in her body disappear and she came back to life.

After Yu Lianzhou finished recuperating, Yin Susu was already fine. She said fiercely, "That boy must be the boy from earlier."

Yu Lianzhou and Zhang Cuishan frowned and exchanged a glance. Zhang Cuishan said, "Susu, do you know how you were ambushed?"

Yin Susu trembled, hesitated for a moment, shook her head, and said with a bitter smile, "I don't know either. I just glanced into his eyes and felt a chill run through me. After a while, I felt like I was in a frozen wasteland, my blood was about to freeze!"

Yu Lianzhou frowned further and asked, "Just one glance?"

Yin Susu thought for a moment and nodded to indicate that it was indeed true.

"What...what kind of martial art is this?" Zhang Cuishan asked in confusion.

Yu Lianzhou shook his head and said, "I don't know either. Perhaps Master knows. We'll ask Master when we get back to the mountain."

He looked at Yin Susu with displeasure and said, "Sister-in-law, you still need to be careful with your words and actions. When you're out in the world, you must know that there are always people more capable than you, and there's always something beyond your understanding. If it weren't for that person's consideration for our master, you would already be dead!"

Yin Susu was furious and embarrassed. Thinking of Yu Lianzhou's life-saving grace, and considering her husband's reputation, as well as the man's words before leaving, her face turned pale. She could only smile sadly and pulled Zhang Wuji into the cabin.

Zhang Cuishan gave a wry smile and said, "Second Senior Brother, I'm truly sorry..."

"Hey!"

Yu Lianzhou sighed and waved his hand to interrupt...

"We are brothers, there's no need for this."

"We don't know if running into that master and servant pair is a good thing or a bad thing. Let's set off now and get back to Wudang as soon as possible."

After saying this, he instructed the boatman to set sail for Wudang Mountain.

Zhang Cuishan smiled bitterly, knowing that his second senior brother had to avoid trouble for the sake of his family. In the end, it was his family who had caused it. He glanced at the cabin and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

………………

Zhu Yuchen sat in the cabin, thinking for a while, nodding and shaking his head, pondering to himself...

“Yin Susu is a practitioner of unorthodox methods and lacks the foundation of Taoist internal energy. I tested my skills and my martial arts acumen has reached a certain level, which can be considered a small punishment to warn her.”

"Now it seems that it is feasible to use the light of the heart to imprint the heart and transmit the poison of the heart of ice and fire into the opponent's body through the divine sense, so that her body will spontaneously combust or freeze."

"Ultimately, it's more like a form of hypnosis, making the subconscious and the body's cellular consciousness feel the illusion of being burned by raging fire or frozen to death in freezing snow, thereby triggering natural changes in the body!"

"But this move might have limited use against someone as fundamentally sound as Yu Lianzhou. Against Zhang Sanfeng, it might be completely useless."

Zhu Yuchen felt no remorse for using Yin Susu as a test subject. Such unorthodox people, to put it nicely, are individualistic; to put it bluntly, they are selfish and self-serving.

She had no idea what kind of negative impact her actions would have on Wudang, nor would she reflect on her mistakes; all she did was spout nonsense.

If it weren't for the close bond between the Seven Heroes of Wudang, if they were in the Emei Sect, the old nun Miejue would have already ripped their heads off.

The night was enchanting, and Zhu Yuchen was not sleepy. He didn't want to rush, nor did he want the boatman to travel at night. So he asked the boatman to slow down, got up and sat at the bow of the boat, gazing at the bright moon in the water, lost in thought.

………………

Yu Lianzhou called the boatman and paid him a silver ingot. The boatman was overjoyed and set sail that very night, immediately weighing anchor and setting sail.

Because it was close to Zhang Sanfeng's 100th birthday and Zhang Cuishan's return, Wudang was celebrating two happy occasions. So Yu Lianzhou was depressed for a moment before picking himself up.

After all, in his view, as long as his master was there, everything would be fine.

After Zhang Wuji fell into a deep sleep, Yin Susu brought out a wine pot and accompanied her husband and Yu Lianzhou to enjoy the moon and chat.

Although Yu Lianzhou disliked her character, his fifth brother had already married her and had such a grown child with her. No matter how much he disliked her, he would have to face it in the future.

He had no choice but to pull himself together and tell some amusing stories about the Seven Heroes of Wudang in the past, hoping that this vixen would restrain her sinister thoughts and live with his fifth brother.

………………

Although Yu Lianzhou and his companions traveled against the wind, they remained safe and sound.