In the martial arts world, he threatens Yin Susu from the start.

Master Zhiguang was indeed a virtuous and eminent monk, far superior to that bald monk from Shaolin Temple.

He wasn't angry at all, and calmly asked:

"But is it Young Master Gu, the 'Heroic Swordsman,' in person?"

"It is indeed Mr. Gu."

"Young Master Gu is indeed a heroic young man, but I don't know what you mean by that."

"Since hearing the whole story, I have had a few questions. I would like to ask Master Zhiguang to enlighten me."

"Young Master Gu, please speak."

"Thirty years ago, the Liao Kingdom had just suffered a major attack from the Jin Kingdom, losing most of its territory. From then on, it was in decline and could barely protect itself, let alone invade the Song Kingdom. Back then, it must have been that leader who invited Master Zhiguang and others with his own prestige, right?"

"That's...that's true. It's just that the leader was highly respected, and everyone agreed when he invited them."

Master Zhiguang was not stupid; with a little prompting, he had already noticed the inconsistency.

"Alright, then let me tell you about the consequences of the Battle of Yanmen Pass. Xiao Yuanshan, whom you killed back then, was the chief instructor of the Liao army, deeply trusted by the Liao Empress Dowager, and had always been committed to the peace between Song and Liao. The Jin dynasty was powerful, and its pressure on Song and Liao gradually led to a trend of the two countries forming an alliance against the Jin. If the two countries were to form an alliance, they might not be able to advance further, but they would certainly be able to protect themselves, at least preventing the Mongol Yuan dynasty from advancing unimpeded and directly confronting Xiangyang. All of this was destroyed by the Battle of Yanmen Pass. The Liao Empress Dowager was furious and sent troops to the Song border, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Song people. If it weren't for the pressure from the Jin dynasty, the Song dynasty would have been severely weakened. The situation between the two countries became tense as a result, which also forced the Liao dynasty to side with the Mongol Yuan dynasty."

...... 0 .......

Gu Hanyuan glared at Master Zhiguang and the others, and roared:

"What have the hundreds of thousands of people on the Song-Liao border done wrong! What have the tens of thousands of soldiers who died defending their country done wrong! He is a scourge to the nation and its people, and yet you, Master Zhiguang, are trying to protect his reputation and status!"

Master Zhiguang was devastated, tears streaming down his face.

Although he had some regrets, his limited knowledge meant he had no idea that it would cause such serious consequences.

How can saving tens of thousands of people be compared to the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians and tens of thousands of soldiers who defend the country? This is far more serious than the originally thought, which was merely the accidental killing of a few dozen people.

"Then may I ask, Master, who benefits from the deterioration of relations between the Song and Liao dynasties and the resulting devastation? Is it the Jin, the Qing, or the Mongol Yuan? In any case, it certainly won't benefit the Song. Therefore, the conclusion is clear: this leader is either an ambitious schemer intending to overthrow the Song, or a traitor from a foreign race!"

Gu Hanyuan's voice and expression were both stern.

Chapter 119: The mastermind behind the scenes is too indecisive; let's eliminate a few first.

Gu Hanyuan's words left everyone in the room looking at each other in bewilderment. Most of them were people from the martial arts world and had not realized the serious consequences.

At this point, he was already furious with the leader and didn't care so much about Qiao Feng's Khitan identity.

Huang Rong, in particular, although she was resourceful, had a limited overall perspective and failed to realize that the Battle of Yanmen Pass would lead to such serious consequences.

It could even be said that her forced defense of Xiangyang with Guo Jing was all thanks to him.

Master Zhiguang's face turned pale, but considering the man's reputation, he still hesitated and said:

"After the great mistake was made back then, we went to investigate the truth and found that it came from the mouth of a delusional person. This person deliberately mocked the leader, and we don't know what his intentions were. When the leader learned the truth, he was furious. But unfortunately, this delusional person escaped and disappeared without a trace. It is said that he has long been dead."

"A delusional person? Does Master Zhiguang still want to protect the identity of the leader? Very well, then let me, Gu, deduce again who this leader really is."

Gu Hanyuan looked at Master Zhiguang, who still showed no remorse even when the matter was at its most urgent, and smiled contemptuously.

Seeing this, Qiao Feng bowed to Gu Hanyuan and pleaded:

"Please, Young Master Gu, clarify the truth for me, Qiao."

Gu Hanyuan helped Qiao Feng up and said:

"Chief Qiao, there's no need for this. I was merely asked to do this for someone else. I don't deserve such a generous gift from you."

Huang Rong naturally recognized who Gu Hanyuan was referring to, and her feelings immediately became complicated.

Gu Hanyuan ignored everyone's thoughts and continued:

"Thirty years ago, there were only two people in the Song Dynasty's martial arts world who had the prestige to command figures such as the leader of the Northern Beggars' Sect and Master Zhiguang. One was Wang Chongyang, and the other was Abbot Xuanci of the Southern Shaolin Temple."

Master Zhiguang and the others' expressions changed when they heard Gu Hanyuan mention Xuanci.

"Wang Chongyang dedicated his life to resisting the Jin dynasty and has never been known to have any conflict with the Liao dynasty. He would never be so foolish as to disrupt Song-Liao diplomacy and allow the Jin dynasty to benefit. Xuanci had just taken over as abbot of the Southern Shaolin Temple thirty years ago. Besides Xuanci, Fangzheng was also a potential abbot, so his position was not actually secure. The best way to secure his position as abbot of the Southern Shaolin Temple would be to do something that would shock the martial arts world, and that thing should be the Battle of Yanmen Pass, right? Am I right, Master Zhiguang?"

Gu Hanyuan revealed the truth, his imposing aura pressing down on Master Zhiguang.

Master Zhiguang realized that there was no point in hiding it any longer, given that things had come to this point.

"Young Master Gu is exceptionally intelligent; he deduced the truth from mere fragmented information. The leader is indeed Abbot Xuanci of the Southern Shaolin Temple."

As soon as this statement came out, the whole place was in an uproar.

Since becoming the abbot of the Southern Shaolin Temple, Xuan Ci has been very active and has earned the reputation of the Tiger-Taming Arhat in the martial arts world.

Everyone found it hard to believe.

Qiao Feng was so enraged that his hair stood on end, and he roared to the sky:

"Xuanci! I, Qiao Feng, swear that I will not be a human being if I do not kill you to avenge my parents."

"Chief Qiao, please wait."

Gu Hanyuan pressed down on Qiao Feng's shoulder, signaling him to calm down.

Qiao Feng couldn't afford to disrespect Gu Hanyuan, who had informed him of his enemy, so he respectfully said:

"Is there anything else you need, Young Master Gu?"

Seeing that even the heroic Qiao Feng bowed down to Gu Hanyuan, A Zhu immediately looked at him with admiration and transferred all her respect for Qiao Feng to Gu Hanyuan.

"I wouldn't say I'm giving orders. But things become clear only after investigation, and it's best to get to the bottom of some truths. What does Master Zhiguang think?"

"What do you mean by that, Young Master Gu?"

Master Zhiguang had a flash of inspiration, as if he understood his meaning.

"Xuanci was certainly wrong, and even after the Battle of Yanmen Pass, which caused extremely serious consequences, he remained silent, allowing the Song and Liao dynasties to go to war. He even had Master Zhiguang and others cover up the truth for him, clearly showing that he was nothing more than a fame-seeking opportunist. But that so-called 'delusional man' was even more vicious. I once said that those who caused all this were either ambitious schemers intending to overthrow the Song Dynasty or traitors from foreign tribes. If Xuanci acted on his own initiative at Yanmen Pass, he would naturally deserve to die a thousand deaths to atone for his sins. But since Master Zhiguang said that a 'delusional man' caused it, then the intentions of this 'delusional man' are worth pondering. Perhaps he is the mastermind behind it all? Even if he is said to be dead, Master Zhiguang should reveal his identity."

Gu Hanyuan's eyes were deep and unfathomable.

He had no intention of helping Murong Bo conceal his identity. Too many behind-the-scenes manipulators would be too complicated, so he would let him slowly expose them one by one.

As expected, Master Zhiguang did not mince words this time. Rather than having Xuanci take all the blame, it was better to shift the blame to Murong Bo.

"That person is Murong Bo..."

"How could that be! The master has been dead for almost thirty years."

When Abi said this, her voice faltered, and her words were almost tantamount to an admission of guilt.

Everyone looked at her.

Surprisingly, Gu Hanyuan stepped in front of Abi, blocking her fierce and questioning gaze.

"Heh, do you really intend to lay a hand on a little girl?"

The others felt a little awkward under his cold gaze.

It wasn't just because it would be beneath a group of grown men to confront a woman, but also because they were afraid of Gu Hanyuan's power.

Abi's heart raced as she watched Gu Hanyuan's handsome back.

Like A'Zhu, it's hard for a little maid not to be captivated by the protection of such a handsome and heroic young man as Gu Hanyuan.

Even Wang Yuyan couldn't help but glance at Gu Hanyuan a couple more times.

Of course, Guo Fu was definitely pouting and jealous at this moment.

Huang Rong rolled her eyes with her familiar charming smile, thinking: Sure enough, this little rascal is attracting innocent young girls again.

Master Zhiguang hesitated for a moment and said:

“But back then, Abbot Xuanci and I, along with others, attended Murong Bo’s funeral and confirmed his body.”

Gu Hanyuan, however, directly exposed the flaw in his words.

"At that time, you only confirmed that Murong Bo had stopped breathing, right? Although the art of feigning death is not common in the martial arts world, it does exist. I, Gu, can easily hold my breath for half an hour, let alone Murong Bo, who is rumored to know hundreds of martial arts styles. You didn't check again after Murong Bo's funeral, did you?"

Master Zhiguang nodded, put his hands together, and said:

"Death is a serious matter; how can we lightly open the coffin? We didn't check again after that."

In fact, by this point, Master Zhiguang had already guessed that Murong Bo might have only faked his death.

"So, as long as we check whether Murong Bo's body is normal, we can find out if he is the mastermind. If he did not fake his death, then after thirty years, only bones will remain. However, the bones of martial artists will retain a lot of information, which can also verify their identity."

Gu Hanyuan then suggested to Qiao Feng:

"Chief Qiao, the truth is now clear. Given the Southern Shaolin's standing in the martial world and Xuan Ci's current prestige, it won't be easy for you to cause him trouble. Why not first ascertain Murong Bo's fate?"

Chapter 120: Huang Rong is deeply trapped in PUA and cannot extricate herself.

“Young Master Gu is right. If Murong Bo really faked his death, then he is my greatest enemy.”

Qiao Feng agreed with Gu Hanyuan's words. After glancing at the members of the Northern Beggars' Clan, he said:

"Now that the truth has come to light, I, Qiao, shall be Xiao Feng from now on. It is indeed not appropriate for me to continue serving as the leader of the Northern Beggars' Clan."

As he spoke, he took out the Dog-Beating Stick, the token of the leader of the Northern Beggars' Gang.

Speaking of the Dog-Beating Stick, since there are two Beggars' Sects in the Ming and Song Kingdoms of this world, there are four Dog-Beating Sticks that serve as tokens of the sect leaders, and each one is different. For example, Huang Rong is currently carrying the Dog-Beating Stick of the Southern Beggars' Sect of the Song Kingdom.

Quan Guanqing's eyes burned with desire when he saw the Dog-Beating Stick; everything he had done was for the position of leader of the Northern Beggars' Gang.

The four elders of the Northern Beggars' Sect and Bai Shijing, the law enforcement elder, all tried to persuade him, but Xiao Feng's mind was made up and could not be changed.