Blood sedge

Chapter 1162 Wudang Dilemma (I)

May 25th, Yunxi, Yandang Mountain.

At noon, a team consisting of twenty or thirty carriages and hundreds of people crossed the Yandang Valley from northwest to southeast.

In the sparse team, everyone was in mourning, with a look of sorrow on their faces. Twenty to thirty horse-drawn carriages with soul-guiding banners, soul-calling bells, and umbrellas for the dead were lined up in a long line in the narrow valley. There were hundreds of people in the procession, stretching for two or three miles from front to back. They all looked dejected, without saying a word, and walked slowly with heavy steps.

The most eye-catching thing in the team was a large eight-wheeled carriage moving in the middle. There was no one in the carriage, and the four coachmen were all walking, leading the horses. On the huge carriage was only a vermilion gilded nanmu coffin, with Tai Chi Bagua Yin and Yang symbols engraved on the front and back, and dragon and phoenix totems painted in green, yellow and gold on the left and right.

A pair of long banners were hung in front of the coffin, with the words "Depart in the clear wind" written on the top and "The fairyland presents holy wisdom" written on the bottom.

Following the eight-wheeled carriage was a four-wheeled carriage, which also carried a coffin. Unlike the former, it was a black lacquered pinewood coffin with paintings of "Northern geese returning south" and "Colorful auspicious clouds" on it, and two long white silk ribbons hung in front of it, with the words "The cuckoo cries for five nights in the cold wind" and "The crane cries at three o'clock in the morning in the bitter rain and cold" written on the top.

In terms of specifications, the latter is far inferior to the former, because the two deceased persons were very different in terms of status, reputation and prestige.

The owner of the front coffin was Qingfeng, the leader of the Wudang Sect, one of the two major martial arts sects in the Central Plains. The owner of the back coffin was Yan Bugui, one of the seven heroes of the Xianwang Mansion in the past and the famous "Thousand Miles Lone Sword" in the martial arts world.

This large team was mostly made up of Wudang disciples headed by Gu Ri and Gu Yue. The other ten or twelve were a few Xian Wangfu disciples headed by Ling Xiaoxiao. These people were not the old members of Xian Wangfu, but new recruits during Ling Xiaoxiao's reign.

After Qingfeng's death, Ling Xiaoxiao lost his power and most of his new disciples fled for fear of being implicated. Only a very small number of loyal fans were willing to continue to follow Ling Xiaoxiao, such as the brothers Liu Zhong and Liu Yi.

Although the Liu brothers were once Wudang's outer sect disciples, they were not valued in Wudang, which was full of talents. However, since they were arranged by Qingfeng to the Xianwang Mansion, they have become like dragons entering the sea and tigers returning to the mountains. They have been deeply appreciated by Ling Xiaoxiao and often entrusted with important tasks. Liu Zhong and Liu Yi, who have met their mentor, are naturally grateful to Ling Xiaoxiao and obey her orders.

After a while, the Liu brothers became Ling Xiaoxiao's confidants. When Ling Xiaoxiao was recruiting new people for the Xianwang Mansion, many of them were recommended by Liu Zhong and Liu Yi.

To this day, the Liu brothers still stick with Ling Xiaoxiao. For the loyal and brave brother Liu Zhong, he is willing to return the favor. But for the cunning brother Liu Yi, it is more of a choice made after weighing the pros and cons.

Twenty or thirty carriages were filled to the brim. Apart from two coffins and a small amount of daily necessities, most of the rest were Ling Xiaoxiao's "personal belongings" that she brought out from Prince Xian's Palace.

After all, for Ling Xiaoxiao, who had lived in Prince Xian's Mansion for most of her life, leaving Luoyang City this time was tantamount to moving her entire family. She might never have the chance to return in this life, so naturally she needed to take a lot of things with her.

Although Xie Xuan repeatedly warned people to be on high alert against Ling Xiaoxiao, most of the Xianwang Mansion disciples, led by Lin Fangda, were unable and unwilling to interfere too much, not to mention dared to stop them, due to Ling Xiaoxiao and Luo Ningyu's special identities and past friendship.

Faced with Ling Xiaoxiao's "house-raiding" moving things around, they could only turn a blind eye.

In fact, Ling Xiaoxiao, Gu Ri and Gu Yue were very worried about the long night and many troubles, so they left Luoyang City in a hurry as early as the eighth day of May, and did not even make it to the "first seven days" of Qingfeng and Yan Bugui. However, perhaps because of the many things to do, or because they were carrying two coffins, they went south very slowly, traveling only thirty to fifty miles a day.

Not only that, when they reached the border of Dengzhou, they suddenly heard that Sui Zuo and his 5,000 soldiers were slaughtered by Jin Fu Yu. They also learned that both Song and Mongolia had become panic-stricken because of this and deployed heavy troops at the border between the north and the south. The situation was very tense. Ling Xiaoxiao and others were worried that continuing to move south would lead to inexplicable changes and unknown dangers, so they temporarily changed their route to the west, and after safely passing the border, they turned east and returned to Wudang from Yunxi.

Not only did the round trip add hundreds of miles to the journey, but it also wasted several days of time, so that more than half a month had passed and they still hadn't reached Wudang Mountain.

It is worth mentioning that the hundreds of people were unusually quiet along the way, and few spoke. Especially regarding the meeting to kill traitors, everyone kept silent and avoided talking about it.

"My two uncles, how far are we from Wudang?" "After crossing Yandang Mountain, we can reach Phoenix City in half a day." In a carriage in front, facing Ling Xiaoxiao's question, Gu Ri was the first to answer: "Once we enter Phoenix City, it is equivalent to reaching Wudang Mountain, and everything will be over."

"That's right!" Gu Yue couldn't help but sigh at Ling Xiaoxiao, whose eyes were lifeless and face was haggard. "Xiaoxiao, returning to Wudang is like going home. Although the headmaster... But don't worry, as long as we are here, we will never let you suffer any grievances."

Since Qingfeng's death, Ling Xiaoxiao was forced to hand over the power of the Xianwang Mansion, and Gu Ri and Gu Yue gradually changed the way they addressed her. Before, they either called her "Miss" or "Mrs. Luo", but now they call her "Xiaoxiao".

Although it sounds more intimate and shows more concern from elders for younger ones, it also seems to be slightly less respectful.

"I don't care about other things. I just want Dad and Bugui to be buried in peace as soon as possible." Ling Xiaoxiao responded expressionlessly, and then gently placed her skinny hand on Luo Ningyu's shoulder and said sadly, "I also want my two poor children to settle down as soon as possible and not have to worry anymore."

However, in the face of Ling Xiaoxiao's concern, the tortured, pale and thin Luo Ningyu sat quietly beside her like a sculpture, motionless. Her thin body swayed slightly with the bumps of the carriage. Her tired and empty eyes stared blankly into the distance through the window, not knowing what she was thinking.

"Although we are temporarily at a disadvantage this time, Wudang's foundation is still there, and its reputation in the martial arts world is still there." Gu Ri comforted him, "As the saying goes, 'a lean camel is bigger than a horse'. Even if the leader unfortunately passed away, no one in the world would dare to easily provoke Wudang."

Gu Yue echoed: "We have not concealed our identities along the way, but we have never encountered any trouble. This shows that Wudang's deterrent power in the martial arts world is still as strong as it was in the past."

"But we cannot rely on the past glory to deal with the current complex situation. To be honest, I have been feeling mixed emotions these days and have been unable to sleep or eat. I think that Wudang is leaderless now. Although its reputation is still there, it will not last long. The most urgent task is to elect a wise and capable person to preside over Wudang as soon as possible." Gu Ri seemed to be far less optimistic than Gu Yue, and said in a deep tone, "Wudang is in a critical moment of survival. Someone must stand up to save the situation and support the collapsing building, otherwise it will be difficult to reverse the adverse trend."

"According to Wudang's rules, the successor to the head should be appointed by the previous head, but now... there is no such opportunity. So in my opinion, the only one who is qualified to take on this important task is you, Brother Gu Ri!" Gu Yue pondered, "In terms of martial arts, character, seniority, qualifications, and prestige... I want to ask, who in Wudang can be compared with you, Brother?"

Having said this, Gu Yue cast a meaningful look at the silent Ling Xiaoxiao, and said earnestly: "Xiaoxiao, the master's body is still warm, we really shouldn't discuss these things. But the Central Plains martial arts world is in turmoil now, and we will fall into the abyss if we are not careful. Wudang's century-old foundation... must not have the slightest mistake in our hands. I believe that the master's spirit in heaven also hopes that we will not be discouraged by defeat and revive Wudang as soon as possible."

Although Gu Yue's words were high-sounding, Ling Xiaoxiao was fully aware of her current situation and the deep meaning of Gu Yue's words, so she suppressed her anger and boredom and reluctantly replied: "Uncle Gu Yue is right. Now only Uncle Gu Ri can lead Wudang out of the predicament."

"No!"

Facing the flattery from Gu Yue and Ling Xiaoxiao, Gu Ri shook his head slowly and said, "I am too old to take on this important task. Moreover, the martial arts world today is dominated by young people. Those who can compete with Liu Xunyi, Jin Fuyu, Lu Tingxiang, Qin Ku and others in the future must be young people with heroic spirit and lofty ambitions, or at least those who have looked down upon the ancient and modern times, and definitely not old guys like us who have not much time left. If Wudang cannot follow the trend, it will only become old and weak, and will eventually decline."

"This..." Gu Ri's determination surprised Gu Yue, who was expecting something, and Ling Xiaoxiao, who was speaking insincerely, and they were both speechless.

"Alas! In fact, it is precisely the young generation of Wudang that makes me most troubled." Gu Ri sighed, "Looking at all the young disciples, there are many who have great ambitions, but there are very few who live up to their reputation. If we compare them with Luo Tianjin back then, the difference is even greater. Now the situation is urgent. We can neither completely deny them nor blindly recommend them. It is really a dilemma."

"I don't know what Senior Brother means..."

"There is no other way at the moment. We can only select a relatively outstanding person from among them, stabilize the overall situation first, and then slowly train them."

"This..." Gu Yue frowned, as if he had a different opinion on this matter. "Among the many young disciples, the only one who can show off is Zheng Songren. However... although this boy is diligent, his talent is mediocre, and he may not be able to achieve much in the future. What's more, he is far from having the ability to 'turn the tide and support the collapsing building' as senior brother just said. Other disciples are not as good as Zheng Songren, let alone. In my opinion, the position of the head is not trivial. Instead of taking the risk of recommending young people, it is better for you, senior brother, to take the position of the head and personally cultivate this group of younger generations. It will not be too late to give up the position after three to five years. If senior brother is worried that he is too old and has limited energy to take care of other things, then it is also possible..."

Having said that, Gu Yue cautiously glanced at Gu Ri's reaction, then coughed twice and said seriously, "We can also let Gu Xing and Gu Chen take the honored position temporarily. They are both in their sixties. Although their qualifications and prestige are slightly inferior to those of my senior brother, they are at least among the 'Four Elephants of Wudang'. Their moral character and martial arts are far superior to those of the young disciples. They will surely make steady progress and achieve great things."

……