The world of martial arts, the immortal swordsman in the mortal realm.

Chapter 93, 108: Returning to the Legend of the Condor Heroes [Seeking monthly votes!]

While it's the height of summer in The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, it's already mid-autumn in The Legend of the Condor Heroes.

In the outskirts of Lin'an Prefecture, in a secluded mountain forest, a man and a woman suddenly appeared out of thin air.

The man was dressed in a black robe, tall and imposing, while the girl wore a pure white embroidered lotus-patterned shirt and a black and white ink-wash horse-face skirt. Her hair was tied up with a gold ring, and she had a graceful figure, snow-white skin, and an incomparably beautiful appearance.

It was Lu Chen and Huang Rong.

Since unlocking "JX3", "Zhu Xian Sword Intent" has a higher degree of freedom to travel through time and space.

No longer needing the main world as a transit point, one can travel directly between different worlds.

Furthermore, the maximum amount of supplies that can be carried has been doubled, increasing to eight percent of one's own body weight.

However, there weren't many good things to bring from the world of The Smiling, Proud Wanderer to the world of The Legend of the Condor Heroes. Lu Chen and his companion only brought a small jar of "Five-Flower Treasure Honey Wine" and a few copied martial arts manuals.

On Blackwood Cliff, Lu Chen did not use his first or second sword strike, and only managed to fight Dongfang Bubai to a draw.

But perhaps because Huang Rong asked Yang Lianting for the "Holy Son" waist token, Dongfang Bubai still allowed Lu Chen and Huang Rong to enter the Demonic Sect's armory and look at martial arts manuals for three days.

Lu Chen found Zhang Sanfeng's handwritten "Tai Chi Classics" and has been studying it for three days, absorbing the essence of Tai Chi Yin and Yang and integrating it into "Old Man's Fist". He has also raised the upper limit of "changing the root bone" in Old Man's Fist by a whole level.

While Lu Chen was studying the Tai Chi classics, Huang Rong was also busy. She read through some martial arts manuals and copied down several unique martial arts techniques to give to her father as gifts.

When the two came out of the armory and bid farewell to Dongfang Bubai, Dongfang Bubai did not make things difficult for them. Instead, he gave Huang Rong a small jar of Five Treasures Honey Wine.

After a smooth journey away from Blackwood Cliff, the two used their lightness skills to travel for half a day, found a deserted valley, and then activated the Zhuxian Sword Intent teleportation to return to the Legend of the Condor Heroes world.

After the slight dizziness and disorientation of time travel.

Huang Rong stretched lazily with her arms raised, just like a passenger who had just taken a long-distance bus ride.

As she stretched out, her beautiful curves, which had changed considerably since she left the world of Legend of the Condor Heroes, drew Lu Chen's sidelong glances for quite some time.

"After being away for more than half a year... I'm finally back!"

Huang Rong sighed, then turned her head and smiled brightly at Lu Chen:
"Brother Lu Chen, are we going straight back to Peach Blossom Island?"

Lu Chen laughed:

"Let's go to Niujia Village outside Lin'an City first and see how Yang Tiexin's family is doing?"

He picked up the wine jar again:
"While you're at it, go to Lin'an City and find a Beggar Clan disciple to pass on a message to Master Qi, asking him for a bowl of Five Treasures Honey Wine."

This Five Treasures Honey Wine is only effective after the first bowl; any more won't help. This small jar of wine is about the amount for two bowls, enough for Master Huang to have one bowl, and for Uncle Qi to have one bowl as well.

Huang Rong had no objection to Lu Chen's suggestion.

The two left the mountains and went to the outskirts of Lin'an City. They searched and inquired, and after much effort, they finally learned the location of Niujia Village from an old man. More than ten years ago, Niujia Village was attacked by government troops. Some villagers died, and others fled. Now, only a few elderly people still remember that there was once a place called Niujia Village.

Following the old man's directions, Lu Chen and Huang Rong found the small village located by the Qiantang River. Everywhere they looked, there were broken walls and ruins, indicating that it had been abandoned for many years.

However, amidst the dilapidated buildings, there was a well-repaired house with a small vegetable patch in front and a chicken coop next to it.

A young girl dressed in simple cloth clothes and with her head wrapped in a cloth was feeding chickens by the chicken coop, holding a winnowing basket.

Hearing footsteps approaching, the girl looked around warily, and upon seeing Lu Chen and Huang Rong, her face lit up with surprise and delight.

"Young Master Lu, Miss Huang!"

This young woman was none other than Mu Nianci.

Huang Rong waved to Mu Nianci with a smile:
"Sister Mu, it's nice to see you again! How are Uncle Yang and Aunt Bao doing?"

"My godparents are both doing well."

Mu Nianci responded, quickly put down the winnowing basket, and came over to invite Huang Rong and Lu Chen into the house for tea.

The two had originally planned to just take a look and leave, but they couldn't resist Mu Nianci's enthusiasm and followed her into the main house.

Mu Nianci made tea for the two of them, and then went into the inner room to call Bao Xiruo—Yang Tiexin was in the fields at the moment, and Mu Nianci stayed at home to take care of Bao Xiruo.

As for why she needed care, it wasn't just because Bao Xiruo was too weak.

When Bao Xiruo came out of the inner room, looking at her figure and posture, Lu Chen couldn't help but smile slightly and said:

"Congratulations."

That's right, Bao Xiruo is pregnant.

Judging from the size of her protruding belly, it's very likely that it was caused by her and Yang Tiexin having sex on the boat when they traveled back to Lin'an along the canal with Lu Chen and Huang Rong.

Huang Rong smiled and congratulated them, while Bao Xiruo smiled gently and bowed to the two of them to express her gratitude.

After chatting with Bao Xiruo and Mu Nianci for a few minutes and finishing a cup of tea, confirming that their family was all well, Lu Chen took his leave.

Bao Xiruo and Mu Nianci, unable to persuade them to stay, had no choice but to get up and see them out.

Once outside the gate, Bao Xiruo was persuaded to stay, while Mu Nianci accompanied them all the way out of the village.

On the way, Huang Rong asked:

"Sister Mu, have you seen Seventh Master these days?"

Mu Nianci shook her head:

"No. Master Qi is like a dragon, appearing and disappearing without a trace. I haven't seen him in a long time."

Huang Rong was somewhat disappointed, so she had to think of another way to find Master Qi.

At this moment, Lu Chen looked at a tattered wine banner at the east end of the village and asked:

"There's a hotel in this village?"

Mu Nianci said:

"My godfather said that it was Qu San's small inn. Back then, my godfather and Uncle Guo were persecuted by the government soldiers. Uncle Guo died, and my godfather was lucky to survive. He had no choice but to wander the world and lost all news of his hometown for many years. When our family returned, the village was already dilapidated, and Qu San was nowhere to be found. There was only a silly girl in the inn."

"Seeing that she was all alone and pitiful because she was simple-minded, her adoptive parents took her in. But a month or so later, that Miss Mei came back, tried out the simple-minded girl's fists and feet a few times, said that the simple-minded girl was her niece, and then took her away."

When Yang Tiexin's family left Zhongdu of Jin Kingdom with Lu Chen and Huang Rong, Mei Chaofeng also returned to Peach Blossom Island. They had been traveling together for so long that they naturally knew each other long ago.

Although Mei Chaofeng was not young, she did not like to be called "Auntie", so Mu Nianci addressed her as "Miss Mei".

Upon hearing her words, Huang Rong said with some surprise:
“Qu San? This silly girl is Mei Chaofeng’s niece again. Could Qu San be Qu Lingfeng? I seem to remember my father saying that Senior Brother Qu’s hometown is somewhere in Lin’an Prefecture… Hmm, Senior Brother Qu’s hometown, could it be this Niujia Village?” “It should be.” Lu Chen nodded: “I didn’t expect Mei Chaofeng to actually find Qu Lingfeng’s daughter on her own.”

Huang Rong laughed, "Mei Chaofeng has been a fellow disciple of Brother Qu for many years, so she should know where his hometown is. Although she's blind, she can still ask for directions, so it's not surprising that she found Niujia Village. Hmm, she should have taken Brother Qu's daughter to Peach Blossom Island..."

At this point, she suddenly remembered Mu Nianci saying that the girl was a "foolish girl," and her brows furrowed. She thought to herself, "Is the curse of 'Heavenly Cripples and Earthly Imperfections' on my Peach Blossom Island disciples really that evil?"

Even if that silly girl isn't physically disabled, if she's mentally challenged, then she's still considered disabled.

So this curse actually affected the third generation?
With this thought in mind, she secretly rejoiced that Lu Chen was not a disciple of Peach Blossom Island, so she was not afraid of the curse.

As for the nominal disciple Qu Feiyan...

Well, Qu Feiyan is only a disciple in name only for now. Besides, she lost her parents when she was young, which is already tragic enough. And she is from another world. This curse shouldn't spread that far, right?

Just as he was pondering this, he heard Lu Chen say:

"Since this is your senior brother Qu's shop, Rong'er, let's go and take a look. There might be a surprise inside."

Upon hearing this, Huang Rong, who knew he could "foresee" many secrets, immediately perked up. The two of them headed straight for the dilapidated little hotel, and Mu Nianci followed.

Upon arriving at the shop, they searched around and found the mechanism in the cabinet. When they opened it, the two sides of the cabinet's interior walls separated, revealing an entrance. A sudden burst of foul air rushed out, suffocating Lu Chen and Huang Rong.

Lu Chen swept away the turbid air with a wave of his sleeve and looked inside. He saw a small secret room with an iron box and two skeletons inside.

After the turbid air dissipated, Lu Chen and Huang Rong entered the secret chamber to examine it. From the belongings beside the two skeletons, they learned that one was Shi Yanming, a military officer and defense commissioner of the Song Dynasty, who was quite a high-ranking military official. The other, naturally, was Qu Lingfeng.

"I never imagined that Senior Brother Qu would fight to the death with the Song Dynasty military officer in the secret room. No wonder he disappeared without a trace, leaving behind an orphan girl."

Huang Rong sighed.

“Look at what’s in this box.”

Lu Chen opened the box and saw that it was full of pearls and jewels. Huang Rong looked through it and found that the treasures in the box were even more precious than Huang Yaoshi's collection.

The box had more than one layer. Opening a hidden compartment revealed many bronze artifacts, all of which were extremely precious and rare antiques, many of which even Huang Rong could not identify.

Opening the last compartment reveals many more paintings and calligraphies by famous artists, including works by Wu Daozi, Li Yu (the last ruler of the Southern Tang Dynasty), and Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty.

Huang Rong exclaimed in surprise:
"Did Senior Brother Qu plunder the Lin'an Imperial Palace? How could there be so many priceless treasures, even invaluable ones?"

Lu Chen nodded and said:
"They must have gone to the palace to loot treasures. The reason they perished together with this defense commissioner is probably for that reason."

After a pause, he said again:

"Your Senior Brother Qu risked his life to sneak into the palace and loot treasures, presumably to present them to your father-in-law so that he would take him back into the sect. We must take this intention of your Senior Brother Qu back to your father-in-law and explain the whole story to him."

Huang Rong nodded:
"That's how it should be."

The two still needed to go to Lin'an City to find a Beggars' Sect disciple to send a message to Hong Qigong, so they didn't immediately take the box of treasures with them. After leaving the secret room and closing the mechanism, they entrusted a few words to Mu Nianci, who was waiting outside.

Just as I was about to leave Niujia Village, I suddenly heard a commotion coming from the village entrance. The voices sounded somewhat familiar.

The three followed the sound and found a group of familiar faces.

The leader was a middle-aged man with a dignified appearance, dressed as a scholar.

To his left was a bald lama whose left arm was severed at the shoulder, leaving only his right arm, and whose face and neck were covered with Sanskrit tattoos.

On the right was a middle-aged man who was slightly shorter, with sharp eyes, and a judge's pen tucked into his waistband.

There was also a middle-aged bald man with bulging eyes and a strange appearance, carrying an iron paddle, and a thin, blue-faced man with three fleshy growths on his head and carrying a three-pronged steel fork, each carrying a person on their backs and accompanying them.

The bald man holding the iron paddle carried a handsome young man on his back, dressed in a plain cotton robe and carrying two canes.

The thin, blue-faced man carrying a three-pronged steel fork was carrying an old man with a white beard and white hair on his back.

The one making the noise was the skinny, blue-faced man with the fleshy growths; he was still yelling when Lu Chen and the others arrived.
“Old Liang, why did you insist on coming along? You only have one hand that's intact, you can barely feed yourself, you can't do anything else, and you still have to make a fuss… If it weren't for me, Old Hou, taking care of you all this way, you'd be pooping in your pants every day, and you'd still complain about me talking too much. Am I talking too much? I'm just being talkative! It shows that I, Old Hou, am smart!”

Just then, upon seeing Lu Chen and his two companions approaching, the thin, blue-faced man's eyes widened, and he shouted:
"Little Sword Demon Lu Chen! Protect the Prince!"

With a quick backward leap, he decisively shielded the middle-aged scholar in front of him.

As he jumped back, he also tugged at the bald man holding the iron paddle, signaling him to hurry up and get moving.

Seeing the guy's agile movements, Huang Rong couldn't help but chuckle.

Lu Chen smiled slightly and said to the group of people opposite him, whose faces were ashen:

"It's true what they say, life is full of unexpected encounters. How have you been, Prince Zhao?"

That's right, the group opposite them was none other than Wanyan Honglie and his Jin Kingdom elite force.

The middle-aged Confucian scholar was none other than Wanyan Honglie.

The one-armed lama whose face, bald head, and neck were covered with Sanskrit tattoos was none other than Venerable Lingzhi.

The short man with a judge's pen tucked into his waistband was none other than Peng Lianhu, the "Thousand-Handed Butcher."

The bald man carrying an iron oar is none other than Sha Tongtian, the Dragon King of the Ghost Gate, while the thin, blue-faced man wielding a three-pronged steel fork is none other than Hou Tonghai, the Three-Headed Dragon.

The handsome young man carried on Sha Tongtian's back was undoubtedly Wanyan Kang. The white-bearded old man carried on Hou Tonghai's back was none other than Liang Ziweng, a man with a disability but a strong will.

At this moment.

Seeing Lu Chen and Huang Rong, who were not only confident and fearless throughout their lives, but also covered in sutra tattoos, with the image and spell of Fudo Myoo tattooed on their chest and back, and who thought they could not subdue any demons they encountered, the others were all shocked.

However, it was because Lu Chen's deeds of killing Ouyang Feng and his nephew Ouyang Ke had spread throughout the martial arts world over the past six months. Back then, Ouyang Feng led a large group of people to Peach Blossom Island. After the battle, Huang Yaoshi did not make things difficult for those people and sent them to take Ouyang Feng and his nephew back to White Camel Mountain for burial.

The journey from Lin'an back to the Western Regions was truly a long and arduous one.

The White Camel Mountain team was large and diverse, and with such a long journey, so many people, and the loss of their master causing widespread panic, news of the battle at Peach Blossom Island was bound to spread.

After more than half a year, those in the martial arts world who were well-informed all knew that "Western Poison" Ouyang Feng was dead, and Wanyan Honglie naturally knew as well.

The Zhao Prince's incomplete group, apart from the mysteriously confident Lingzhi Shangren, all knew what "Western Poison" represented.

Therefore, upon seeing the Little Sword Demon who could slay the Western Poison in a fair duel, even the straightforward Hou Tonghai decisively protected Wanyan Honglie in front of him.

Of course, Hou Tonghai remained loyal. Although he protected Prince Zhao, he still mustered his courage and said to Lu Chen:
"Brother Lu, do you still remember when I, Old Hou, spoke up for you in the Prince Zhao's mansion? Could you give me some face and spare Prince Zhao's life? Even if it's like what the young prince did, I'd rather break his legs and spare his life!"

[This chapter has 4K words, please vote with monthly tickets!]

(End of this chapter)