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

Page 472

"Ah."

Yue Buqun nodded and asked, "How is the disaster relief work going in Xi'an Prefecture this time?"

Jiang Ning replied, "There were some twists and turns, but nothing too serious, and it went relatively smoothly."

The two talked as they climbed the mountain.

"With you here to help with disaster relief in Xi'an, I feel at ease."

As Yue Buqun was speaking, he suddenly asked, "But how come you got the nickname 'Jiang the Immortal' in Xi'an Prefecture?"

"what?"

Jiang Ning was stunned.

Jiang Shenxian is what the people of Lantian County call him; how did the name spread to Xi'an Prefecture?

"It seems someone is secretly pulling the strings."

After listening to Jiang Ning's words, Yue Buqun pondered for a moment.

Jiang Ning also realized that something was wrong.

The way the people of Lantian County called him spread to everyone in Xi'an Prefecture in a short time after he left, so it's impossible that no one was manipulating things behind the scenes.

What Jiang Ning couldn't understand was what the people in the shadows were up to, nor who was manipulating these opinions.

"Did you encounter any unusual people or events when you were in Xi'an Prefecture?"

Yue Buqun asked.

Jiang Ning shook his head.

"No."

Jiang Ning knew what Yue Buqun meant; Yue Buqun was asking if he had ever seen anyone from the Beggars' Sect, Shaolin Temple, or the Demonic Sect.

"It seems the person hiding in the shadows is very well concealed."

Yue Buqun said.

"The floods that have occurred in Shaanxi this time have certainly attracted the attention of others, including perhaps enemies of the Huashan Sect. I'm afraid someone might be secretly manipulating public opinion, which could ultimately do you harm. You need to be more careful."

"The disciple understands."

Jiang Ning nodded.

Yue Buqun didn't bring up the matter again, and asked, "Have your Uncle Feng and the others returned?"

"not yet."

Jiang Ning said, "Senior Brother, Senior Uncle Mo, and Senior Uncle Feng have not returned yet. Currently, only I have returned from the mountain."

"It seems the situation in the other prefectures is not optimistic either."

Yue Buqun couldn't help but shake his head.

"Yes, Master."

Jiang Ning then said, "My master's wife received a letter some time ago, sent by the Hengshan Sect. The letter said that Ren Woxing attacked a branch of the Beggars' Sect, and many branches have fallen into Ren Woxing's hands. The Beggars' Sect is currently fighting against the Demonic Sect."

In the past few months, besides the Huashan Sect being busy with disaster relief, the martial arts world outside has also been far from peaceful.

Several months ago, when Jie Feng organized experts from various branches of the Beggars' Sect to gather at Mount Hua, Ren Woxing took advantage of the Beggars' Sect's weakened strength to launch an attack. The first branch of the Beggars' Sect to be attacked was located in Liuzhou Prefecture. Now that branch has fallen into Ren Woxing's hands after being attacked.

After attacking that branch, Ren Woxing continued to attack other branches of the Beggars' Sect, and so far many branches have fallen.

"Oh?"

Yue Buqun was surprised, not expecting that Ren Woxing, who had been hiding, would choose to target the Beggars' Clan.

"It is said that Xie Feng was furious after learning about this and immediately led the Beggars' Clan to fight Ren Woxing, but they were no match for him. They then went to Shaolin Temple for help. Shaolin sent many masters to help the Beggars' Clan, and Xie Feng led them to fight Ren Woxing. Although they repelled Ren Woxing, they also suffered considerable losses."

This is an interesting story. After Ren Woxing took over those branch strongholds, he did not back down when Xie Feng came knocking on his door. Instead, he chose to go to war with the Beggars' Sect.

After the battle began, Ren Woxing's side had the upper hand, but after Shaolin joined in, Ren Woxing stopped fighting head-on and started playing a cat-and-mouse game. Instead of seizing those branch strongholds, he looted them and left them in ruins. By the time Jie Feng and the others arrived, the place was deserted.

Ren Woxing repeatedly thwarted Xie Feng and his men's plans, and this story had already spread throughout the martial arts world, with many people laughing at the Beggars' Sect.

After Xie Feng led the entire Beggars' Clan to Mount Hua, he not only failed to do anything to the Mount Hua Sect, but his home was also robbed by Ren Woxing. Now the Beggars' Clan has a terrible reputation.

"Besides that, I heard that problems have also arisen within the Beggars' Sect."

Jiang Ning said, "I heard that many people within the Beggars' Sect believe that the sect suffered such heavy losses this time because Xie Feng took away people from each branch, resulting in a shortage of manpower in each branch, which allowed Ren Woxing to take advantage of the situation and cause resentment towards Xie Feng himself."

Upon hearing this, Yue Buqun couldn't help but shake his head.

"And one more thing."

Jiang Ning added, "Some time ago, there were rumors that my Huashan Sect colluded with the Demonic Sect to deal with the Beggar Clan, which caused the Beggar Clan to suffer heavy losses this time."

This rumor is rather absurd. It claims that the Huashan Sect colluded with the Demonic Sect, and that the massacre of a branch of the Beggars' Sect in Jiangning angered the Beggars' Sect, causing them to gather forces at Huashan. The Demonic Sect then took the opportunity to raid Huashan. This rumor is quite convincing and has spread widely.

At this point, a smile appeared on Jiang Ning's face.

Yue Buqun couldn't help but laugh.

Who in the martial arts world doesn't know that the Five Mountains Sword Sect and the Demonic Sect are mortal enemies? Even though the Five Mountains Sword Sect has disintegrated, the hatred between the Huashan Sect and the Demonic Sect has not diminished at all; on the contrary, it has reached the point of irreconcilable enmity. Jiang Ning has killed countless members of the Demonic Sect and ruined Ren Woxing's plans countless times. Ren Woxing's side has long hated him to the bone. To say that the Huashan Sect colluded with Ren Woxing is like telling a dog; even a dog wouldn't believe it.

"But this rumor was debunked not long after it was spread, and the Hengshan Sect found out that the rumor was secretly spread by Jie Feng."

Jiang Ning said.

Yue Buqun didn't know how to evaluate Xie Feng anymore, so he could only shake his head.

The fact that he could throw such mud at them shows that Xie Feng was indeed so angry that he lost his mind, and it also shows how much this series of events had affected him.

Chapter 642: The Grand Birthday

"In any case, it's a good thing that the Beggars' Sect and Ren Woxing are entangled."

Yue Buqun said.

Needless to say, the Demonic Sect has always been their mortal enemy, and the Beggars' Sect is now at odds with the Huashan Sect. The fact that these two sides are fighting is indeed a good thing for the Huashan Sect.

"You shouldn't go down the mountain for the time being."

Yue Buqun continued.

Jiang Ning had previously said he would go down the mountain to the Beggars' Sect's branches, the meaning of which was self-evident. Now that this unexpected event has occurred, Jiang Ning doesn't need to rush down the mountain; he should let the Beggars' Sect and Ren Woxing fight first.

"Yes, Master."

Jiang Ning nodded.

Yue Buqun spoke with Jiang Ning for a while, mainly about Jiang Ning's innate skill. After exchanging some ideas, they went up the mountain. Yue Buqun wanted to go back to his room first, since he hadn't seen Ning Zhongze for several months.

Watching Yue Buqun's departing figure, Jiang Ning's eyes showed deep thought.

……

A few days later, Linghu Chong returned.

"Oh, Junior Brother is back so early? I thought you were still in Xi'an Prefecture."

Linghu Chong was surprised to see that it was Jiang Ning who came to pick them up and asked.

"How did things go this time, Senior Brother and all the other senior brothers and sisters?"

Jiang Ning smiled.

"Don't mention it."

When it comes to this disaster relief effort, Linghu Chong has endless complaints.

"Those merchants are really cunning. On the surface, they agree to do their best to provide disaster relief, but behind the scenes, they hoard grain, raise grain prices, and collude to suppress other grain merchants. As for those officials, the tens of thousands of taels of silver that my master donated hadn't even been used to buy grain for disaster relief before half of it went into the pocket of that so-called prefect, and the other half was divided up by his subordinates. When I went to their door the next day, they asked where the tens of thousands of taels came from and tried to kick me out, saying they would arrest me and throw me in jail if I didn't leave."

Linghu Chong grew angrier and angrier as he spoke, recounting a whole host of upsetting things.

Jiang Ning listened quietly and then laughed, asking a question.

"How did the eldest brother handle it later?"

Linghu Chong said, "How was it handled? I couldn't stand it. I turned the government office upside down and made the prefect beg for mercy, vowing to do his best to provide disaster relief."

Linghu Chong only said a few words briefly, but one can imagine how busy he has been lately.

"Alright, that's enough. Where's Master? I need to go report back right away."

After learning from Jiang Ning that Yue Buqun was in the main hall, Linghu Chong said nothing more and went to the main hall to find Yue Buqun.

A few more days passed, and Feng Buping, Cheng Buyou, and Master Mo still hadn't returned. However, the three of them did send back letters, and the contents of the letters were all similar. The disaster situation in the various prefectures they had visited was quite serious, and they would be delayed for quite some time before they could return. The preliminary estimate was that it would take about two months.

Yue Buqun replied to each letter, all of them expressing concern. He instructed Feng Buping, Cheng Buyou, and Master Mo to be careful and pay attention to their safety, and that he would send disciples to provide support if needed.

Three more days passed, and it was October 20th.

It's quite lively on Mount Hua.

"Congratulations on your 60th birthday, Master! May you enjoy boundless happiness and longevity."

The disciples stood in neat rows in the main hall and congratulated Yue Buqun.

Jiang Ning, Linghu Chong, and the other disciples stood on either side, while a dozen or so newly initiated children dressed in bright red clothes stood in the middle, bowing to Yue Buqun.

The main hall was already full of disciples, and there were many more disciples standing outside, but most of them were children.

"Alright, get up, everyone."

Yue Buqun said with a smile on his face.

After all the disciples stood up, Linghu Chong stepped forward with a box in both hands.

"Congratulations on your 60th birthday, Master. This is my heartfelt wish."

Yue Buqun took it, opened it, and found it was a longevity peach.

Linghu Chong said embarrassedly, "I originally wanted to give you something more valuable, but unfortunately I am short of money. Please forgive me, Master."

"The most important thing about a gift is the sentiment behind it. The value of the gift itself is not important. No matter how good it is, it is still just an external thing. On the contrary, I would not like it if you gave me something very expensive."

Yue Buqun smiled and said, "To me, the most valuable thing is your character."

Linghu Chong quickly replied, "This disciple will remember."

Yue Buqun looked at Linghu Chong, at the disciple he had raised himself. Linghu Chong was his first disciple, and the feelings between them were always different.

“Chong’er, you used to be lazy and incapable of taking on important responsibilities, but I have seen the changes in you over the past few years and I am very pleased. I only hope that you will continue to be like this in the future and not go astray.”

Yue Buqun said to Linghu Chong.

"Disciples, please remember Master's teachings."

Linghu Chong quickly said, and then prepared to kneel down, but was stopped by Yue Buqun.

"This is just my advice to you; just keep it in mind."

Yue Buqun said.

After Linghu Chong left, Liang Fa followed.

The order in which the disciples offered their congratulations was based on their ranking. Originally, after Linghu Chong was Lao Denuo, but Lao Denuo's grave was already several meters high with grass growing on it, so he couldn't come. After Lao Denuo was Liang Fa, who was the third disciple.

"Congratulations on your birthday, Master."

The birthday gift Liang sent was a couplet. Although the couplet itself didn't look particularly good, it was Liang's own idea, which was quite commendable.

Yue Buqun accepted it with a smile on his face.

"Liang Fa, you..."

Next came Yue Buqun's words to Liang Fa, followed by Shi Daizi, and so on, until Jiang Ning finally stepped forward.

Jiang Ning also gave a similar birthday greeting to the senior brothers before him, and held a birthday gift in a box in both hands.

When Yue Buqun opened it, he found that it contained a pair of wooden carvings.

"This is a wood carving made by your disciple. It depicts Master and Mistress. I wish Master a long life and wish Master and Mistress a long and happy life together, sharing joys and sorrows, and supporting each other through thick and thin."

Yue Buqun picked up a pair of wooden carvings, one of which was carved in his likeness, and the other was carved in the likeness of Ning Zhongze.

Ning Zhongze also took the wooden carving in her own likeness with a look of surprise.

Yue Buqun looked at his wooden carving. The carving was exquisite, depicting him standing with his hands behind his back, his expression calm, his clothes slightly fluttering. Every detail was lifelike, and even though it was just a wooden carving, one could feel a gentle and refined temperament.