After the five dealt with this encounter, they did not carry on to the center of the town but instead turned into one of the nearby alleys. They walked for a short distance and then found a random house, pushed the door open, and walked into it.
Even though Chang Lin Town was not big, it was at least a ’town’. It was not only several streets in size or else their fight earlier would have attracted other people’s attention. Due to years of abandonment, there were plenty of empty huts that had been left behind by the original residents. They were empty, and all the valuables had been carried off already. If one could stand the vermin and insects, they were not that bad a location to rest and spend the night in.
Based on the information provided by Meng Jiu earlier, other than the disciples and leaders of the orthodox schools who stayed at the inn right in the middle of the town, most of the nomadic martial artists and people from the unorthodox schools would find such abandoned huts around the inn and call it their resting place for the few nights. Of course, this was not a concern for Meng Jiu and the other elders from the Beggar Clan. After all, the beggars were used to sleeping on the street.
As players, Feng Bujue and his group did not have to worry about basic biological needs like hunger, sleepiness, and toilet needs. Their only concern was their Life Point and Stamina Points, and whether they would be able to maintain their focus.
Currently, there was still around one hour to sunrise. Feng Bujue’s plan was for them to stay in hiding for another two to three hours. When the sun came up at around 7 am, they would move to the inn at the middle of town. They would use this downtime to recover their missing Life Points and Stamina Points. Other than that, they could use this time to discuss their solution and plans after the sun came up.
Since this scenario granted a high degree of freedom, there was no limitation to the time, map, mission, and so on. Therefore, there was no worry of being deemed as having AFK-like behavior by the system. They could rest without any worry.
Of course, Feng Bujue was very efficient. In less than half an hour, he had already shared the details of the plan as needed. The remaining two hours were spent playing word games and a show of poor Xiao Tan being fed snacks.
While the players spent these two hours resting and hiding in the dark, Si Yanran and that square-faced man did not let their time go to waste. It did not take long for them to meet up and discuss the details of how to push the blame onto others. Obviously, the two knew each other. Si Yanran glanced at the man from afar, and she recognized very easily that the person who had gone to her rescue was the second-in-command at Thousand Dawn Spire, Gong Sun Li.
Even though this Gong Sun Li had the surname Gong Sun, he had no blood relation to Gong Sun Qian. They merely happened to share the same surname. Gong Sun Qian joined the school about ten years earlier than Gong Sun Li, and the former was about ten years older than the latter. Since they were young, they had treated each other as siblings. Furthermore, both of them had immense martial art talents, and they were the brightest stars among their batch of disciples. Therefore, years later, both of them were famed characters from Thousand Dawn Spire.
At Thousand Dawn Spire, in terms of pure martial expertise, Gong Sun Qian was the clear winner, but in terms of intellect and planning, this senior disciple was no match for Gong Sun Li. For example, in the issue with Si Yanran and Wang Ao, Gong Sun Qian was left in the dark, but Gong Sun Li knew everything from the very beginning. The cunningness of this person was that even though he knew everything, he did not say anything. In fact, he could pretend that he did not know anything.
He did not use this knowledge to treat other nor did he get involved in the whole progress. Gong Sun Li’s motto was taking stock of everything in the dark. Therefore, he was always prepared no matter the accident was. It was because of his careful planning that he would be able to turn the whole incident around that day.
This time, Gong Sun Li showed up to help Si Yanran not because he had interest in the woman or because he wanted something from her; he did this to protect Thousand Dawn Spire’s reputation, and he was forced to make a move. He knew very well that once the murder was exposed, the issue of the hidden affair would be brought to light. If this happened somewhere else, it might have been fine, but it had to happen there. They were currently in Chang Lin Town, and this place was more crowded with martial artists than during the Wu Lin Meeting. If the hidden affair of the wife to the master of Thousand Dawns Spire was exposed at this place… everywhere they went into the future, people would be pointing at them, whispering, “The wife of the master committed adultery with one of the disciples.”
How could the disciples of Thousand Dawn Spire expect to walk around the outside world in the future?
People might be praised for their sense of justice and openness in everyday life, but at this crucial moment, there were not many who would willingly choose to abandon their friend and family to side with justice. Gong Sun Li was not going to focus on the issue of truth or justice; he needed to push the blame onto Feng Bujue’s group. Furthermore, Feng Bujue’s group, based on their appearance, were only in their twenties, and Gong Sun Li could not recognize even one of them. Even if they knew some kung fu, they were at the age where they had just stepped into the outside world. With their reputation of the master’s wife and the second-in-command at Thousand Dawn Spire, framing those five should be as easy as pie, right?
That night, Gong Sun Li and Si Yanran left to find Gong Sun Qian after they had their discussion. The two brought up in casual conservation that they had accidentally seen Wang Ao sneaking out at night. They said that he seemed to be acting weird, so they had quietly followed him. But they did not know that the other person was trailing Wang Ao as well. However, after they followed his trail for some time, when they discovered Wang Ao again, the latter was already dead. Around him stood five people who had mastered strange kung fu. After some brief fighting, they discovered that the enemies were more powerful than they appeared. With the numerical disadvantage, Gong Sun Li and Si Yanran decided to retreat and rush back to find back up.
Even though Gong Sun Qian discovered several inconsistencies in their statement, due to the urgency of the moment, he did not question them. He immediately led about ten disciples out of the inn. They followed Si Yanran and Gong Sun Li to the crime scene, and as they promised, they found Wang Ao’s broken body there on the street. From the number of footprints and the darts that littered the ground, there had indeed been an intense battle there earlier.
But without any clues to go off, they had no idea where to find the five people. They decided to pack up the body, take it back to the inn, and then decide what to do next.
This large group of people left and returned to the inn. Naturally, this created a commotion large enough where people would have noticed it. Before the sun even came up, the news had already spread across the town. It was heard by almost all the larger schools and most of the people who had gathered at Chang Lin Town… Thousand Dawn Spire’s Wang Ao had been murdered, and the murderers appeared to be five mysterious experts that had not shown up in the martial world before.
…
The following day at Chang Lin Inn, the chefs and waiters at the inn were already busy before the sun even came up. They worked to make baskets of snow white buns and pots of steeped tea. These could be served whenever the customers asked for them.
When exactly this inn at Chang Lin Town opened for business, even the worker at the inn could not tell for sure. In any case, when it was still July and people rushed to this small town on the news that Xie San and Ye Cheng were about to battle, this inn was in operation.
The people from the martial world tried to get more information from the workers, but they did not get any satisfactory answers. This was because the workers there did not know kung fu and were not members of the martial world. They were all normal citizens from the nearby town. Someone had given them a lucrative amount of money and told them that they only needed to work at this place for a whole month. Once August 15th came, the inn would close, they would get paid, and they would be sent on their merry way.
The manager of the inn… did not show up often. It was a man around the age of forty. His face was white and pale no matter the time of day. He looked like a ghost even in broad daylight, but no one had seen him around at night. If people said that he was one of the ghosts who haunted this town, some people might actually believe it.
After discussing the staff of the inn, we the guests at the inn came next. In this wuxia-based scenario, the strongest of the world could be described with ’One Family, Two Spires, Three Factions, Four Sections’—ten groups in total.
’One Family’ referred to the Xi An Ye Family; two Spires were the Thousand Dawn Spire and Octagonal Spire; the three Factions were Shao Lin, Ren Wu, Xiao Yao; the four sections were respectively Kai Feng’s Wu Ji, Xi Yu’s Jing Gang, Luo Yang’s Zheng Yi, and Shu Zhong’s Tang Men.
Of these schools, the Ye family was the leader of the martial world. Its famed experts were acknowledged as the strongest of them all. Other than Ye Cheng, the famed Blade God, the family’s Six Flowery Blades were the experts as powerful as the other schools’ leaders. ’Falling Plum Sword’ Lu Qingning mentioned previously was one of these six. Of course, she had disappeared the previous night, too.
The two spires, Thousand Dawn Spire and Octagonal Spire, were currently the schools with the biggest reputation. Both spires had a text recording their spire’s best kung fu that was inherited through the generations. They were respectively Thousand Dawn Kung Fu and Octagonal Prime Mantra. Their leaders were experts just slightly weaker than people at Ye Cheng’s level. Of the entire the martial world, even if their kung fu was not the top ten, they would definitely get into the top twenty. These two spires had a lot of disciples, and some of them were already veritable experts.
The three factions—Shao Lin, Ren Wu, and Xiao Yao—each represented the teaching of Buddhism, Ruism, and Daoism. Other than martial arts, they were also philosophical schools. The spirit of these three factions were in altruism, so they also had the greatest number of disciples. They basically accepted everyone into their school regardless of their talent.
Thus, this created a situation where the standard of the disciples varied greatly. The weakest disciples studied the martial arts for health purposes, but of course, there were hidden experts among them as well. For example, Shao Lin’s Seventy-two Ultimate Forms. It was already impressive if one mastered even one form. In the history of mankind, there had been only one person who mastered all seventy-two forms, and that was the Shao Lin founder, Master Dharmic. But no one would compare themselves to a godlike existence.
The final four sections were the last of the great orthodox schools, but Wu Ji’s Wu Ji Technique, Jing Gang’s Book of Transcendent Wisdom, Zheng Yi’s Skylight Blade, and Tang Men’s mastery of poison carved out a space for themselves in the martial world. They had their own unique skills, and in certain unique circumstances, perhaps even experts of Thousand Dawn Spire or Octagonal Spire might not be their match.
For example, the Book of Transcendent Wisdom, to borrow its setting from the Legends of Condor Heroes, was ’Mizong’s highest level of defensive ability’. There were thirteen layers in total. The first layer was easy to learn and understand. Even for the least talented of individuals, with a good teacher, they would be able to master it in one or two years. The second layer was twice as difficult as the first layer. It took three to four years to learn. The third layer was twice as difficult as the second layer, and it took seven to eight years to learn. It progressed in such a manner. The higher the layer, the harder it was to learn. Once a person reached the fifth layer and wished to progress, they would need to work hard for at least thirty years.
Theoretically, even a person who had no talent in kung fu at all could still master it as long as they had patience and the right work ethic. Eventually, they would reach the thirteenth layer, but of course, the premise was that the person had to have a lifespan of about three hundred years old.
Realistically speaking… through the history of time, only High Priest Jing Lun, a rare genius, had been able to reach the tenth layer in his lifetime, but that was also after a whole lifetime of training and hard work. Based on the Book of Transcendent Wisdom, each palm strike would be as powerful as ten dragons and ten elephants.
Therefore, the exact strength and weakness of a kung fu technique was hard to delineate. Some kung fu required you to cut off a certain part of your body to achieve an impossible increase in power while other kung fu, even if you have trained for it your whole life, since you were limited by your natural talent, would leave you disappointed.
Such was the general situation among the first-class orthodox schools.
And the Beggar Clan… could only be called the leader of the second-class schools. Even at Meng Jiu’s age, even though he was a well-respected figure due to his experience, his kung fu… was probably as good as Ye He. He could not be compared to people like Ye Cheng or even the two spires’ leaders. Even facing against the leader of the three factions and four sections, Meng Jiu did not dare say that he would win. The elders and main disciples of Beggar Clan were actually still much weaker compared to the experts from the orthodox schools.
Perhaps someone might ask if Beggar Clan, the biggest clan in the world, was in possession of an ultimate skill like the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms. Indeed, Meng Jiu had studied the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms before, but not everyone could master the skill to the state of Xiao Feng. At the end of the day, it was the issue of talent. If Xiao Feng studied Pan Ruo Palm since he was young and lived until sixty, then he could probably disintegrate all the past leaders of Beggar Clan with one palm strike.
Among the second-class schools, these were Dian Cang, Er Mei, Hwa San, and so on… They had not produced any worthwhile characters recently and were starting to fade into the background.
The rest were third class schools and gangs that were not mainstreams like the Giant Whale Clan, Qing Hai Blade Section, and organization like XX Aide. One could say that they were members of the martial world or one could call them criminals for selling illegal salt or security companies. In terms of kung fu, their leaders could only be called average. But this Battle at Chang Lin was known all over the world. Naturally, these people would have to come to be a part of it. It was as if the standard of their organization would be given a boost simply because they participated in this thing. In the future, they could boast about it.
“Back then, when Ye Cheng and Xie San battled it out in Chang Lin Town, I was there… blah blah blah…”
This category of people was actually very small. Until now, those who had managed to get there through the small road numbered less than twenty. Those who took the big road were either from the orthodox schools, friends of the orthodox schools, or famed heroes on the martial world. Even so, their number did not go over forty.
On August 30th, the inn was already full with the leaders and disciples from the ten schools. There were only a handful of single travelers. Those who had arrived earlier, had standing in the martial world, and had powerful kung fu were given the rooms at the inn.
The people from the second- and third-rate schools and the other members who came in duos or trios had to settle with the abandoned huts near the inn. As long as there was a bamboo stick placed before the door, it meant that the place had been occupied. Other than that, anywhere could be used freely. After all, this small town was a lawless place, and a decision that was temporarily made became the rules.
That concluded the current situation at Chang Lin Town. But the main characters of the battle, Ye Cheng and Xie San, had not shown up at the town.
…
The autumnal day was frosted with dew, and the mist covered the distant mountains.
The autumnal morning in the small town gave people a very comfortable feeling.
Every morning, the leaders of various schools, including those who stayed outside the inn, would get their closest disciples and go to occupy a table at the inn for breakfast and tea. They would greet and chat with each other. On the surface, it looked like an innocent interaction, but in reality, they were feeling each other out.
The topic of the day was naturally the death of Thousand Dawn Spire’s disciple, Wang Ao…
“Master Gong Sun, you and your disciples have been bustling about before dawn. What is it about?” The one who spoke was a large monk with an oily face. Even though it was morning, he was already hugging a wine barrel. He did not take a seat at the table but leaned against the stairs that led to the second floor and parked himself there. His face was red from the alcohol. His robe was hanging open. A necklace of prayer beads hung before his chest, and each of them was about the size of a fist.
The monk’s name was Lu San, even though he followed the teaching of Buddha, he was obviously not aligned with Shao Lin. This monk who did not practice vegetarianism came from an unknown temple and had managed to master a powerful set of punches from god knew where. The Drunk Monk, that was the name that he had made for himself in the martial world. He had helped out on his journey for about ten years and could be considered a celebrated hero.
“Hmm… Monk Lu, you probably misheard in your drunken stupor.” Gong Sun Qian huffed coldly. He did not admit or deny anything.
Everyone knew that Lu San was best at playing dumb. He was the one who would go the distance to say things that other people refused to say. After all, with his constant state of drunkenness, he had an excuse. If the person was really offended, the monk could have easily explained that he was rambling due to the alcohol and apologized.
“Oh? Could it be that I was dreaming? That shouldn’t be… If I was in a dream, why is it that I sensed the smell of blood?” Lu San continued to fake a pretext while he slipped in a piercing question.
“Perhaps your nose was drunk from all the alcohol as well.” Si Yanran sat next to Gong Sun Qian. Hearing the monk, she turned around and retorted rather rudely.
“Master Gong Sun, I also heard this commotion.” A thin man in his fifties interrupted them with a smile. “Could it be that you led your disciple on a hunting expedition last night? Then… the wildlife that you caught surely has a pungent smell to it!”
The man was the leader of Octagonal Spire. He had some personal history with Gong Sun Qian, so his cutting words then were completely normal.
Gong Sun Qian indeed did not bury Wang Ao’s body but ordered his disciples to wrap it up in a bamboo mattress and take it back into the inn. Currently, the body was inside one of their rooms and was being watched by two disciples. And the smell… he had dealt with it using special medicine. The decaying smell would be held off for one day and one night.
“Hahaha… Master Ji’s nose sure is something else.” Gong Sun Qian did not show weakness and mocked the man. Gong Sun Li, Si Yanran, and two other disciples started to laugh like this was the funniest thing in the world.
“Humph!” Ji Tong slammed the table. “The other place has not been cleaned, so you use your mouth to release air?”
“What did you say‽”
“Hahaha…” This time it was Ji Tong who laughed. “Master Gong Sun, you didn’t bury your disciple because you haven’t found the killer, right? Haha… I, Ji Tong, have been around. How about you let me see the body? I might be able to pinpoint the murderer’s identity for you.”
“Humph… I thank you for you kindness, Master Ji.” Gong Sun Qian huffed coldly. “But this is not my first day in the martial world. There is no need for you to get involved!”
The two’s verbal fight continued. The other leaders and disciples were all quiet, listening to this drama.
Right then, the inn’s door opened wide, and a few figures appeared. It was Feng Bujue and his teammates. Just like that, they walked through the front door…