Martial Arts Crossover: My master tricked Huang Rong into becoming my wife!

The family of three were extremely grateful, truly regarding Chen Yanzhou as a living bodhisattva.

The man carefully hid the loose silver coins Chen Yanzhou had given him, then gave the starving child some water, not daring to linger any longer.

In these chaotic times, everyone understands the saying "possessing a treasure is a crime." With life-saving money in hand, one's feet feel like they're flying.

"Great hero, young lady, your kindness is boundless! We will repay you in our next life, even as your slaves!"

The man, holding his wife and child, kowtowed to the two of them again before helping each other along, looking back every few steps, and hurried towards Xiangyang City in the direction Chen Yanzhou pointed out.

The riverbank returned to tranquility only after those hunched figures disappeared at the edge of the reeds.

Only the river flowed gurglingly, and occasionally a few unknown birds chirped.

Chen Yanzhou lay back down on the large blue stone. The foxtail grass in his mouth had long since lost its flavor. He then casually took a bite of the cold, hard steamed bun, which was as hard as a rock and made his teeth ache.

"Feed".

A clear, crisp voice called out from the side.

Chen Yanzhou didn't open his eyes, and lazily hummed, "What? Want more steamed buns? There aren't any left, I gave the last two to that kid."

"Who cares about your shabby steamed bun?"

Huang Rong sat cross-legged on the grass, holding a steamed bun in her hand, lost in thought.

"The teahouses and inns we encountered along the way, which had banners with the character 'righteousness' on them, all provided porridge to the refugees and guided them into the mountains to stay."

Huang Rong paused, tilted her head to look at Chen Yanzhou, "But judging from your reaction, this sale of the 'righteousness' flag...could it be that your Beggars' Sect is behind it?"

"Well, you've got a good head on your sleeve." Chen Yanzhou sat up. "I thought all you ever thought about was eating and figuring out how to renege on your debts."

"You're the one who's trying to renege on your debt!"

Huang Rong proudly raised her chin and said, "I am extremely clever. How could such a little trick fool me? It's only because those refugees are honest that they were scared away by your seemingly shady inn's scheme."

"A rip-off shop?"

Chen Yanzhou chuckled, tossing the half-eaten hard bun in his hand. "In this world, doing good deeds turns you into a black market operation. There's really no way to reason with them."

He took a bite of the steamed bun, his cheeks bulging, and made no attempt to hide it.

"You guessed right, those teahouses and inns with the character 'righteousness' on them are indeed the property of the Beggars' Sect."

Chen Yanzhou swallowed the dry food in his mouth, turned his gaze to the distant, undulating mountains, and spoke in a calm tone.

"In earlier years, when the Jin army marched south, the court was weak, and there were battles everywhere. There were refugees everywhere, and the government only cared about collecting taxes and didn't care about life or death. More people starved to death than died in battle."

"Although the Beggars' Sect disciples are scattered throughout the world, they are still beggars after all. They have no surplus food, and relying solely on begging, how many people can they save?"

Chen Yanzhou chuckled, a hint of mockery in his voice, "We can't expect the gang members to cut off their own thighs to feed others, can we?"

Huang Rong listened intently, and subconsciously asked, "So you opened those shops?"

"Opening the shop was just the beginning."

Chen Yanzhou pointed to the distant mountains, "The real way to survive is in the mountains."

"We set up checkpoints along the official roads to screen out those truly desperate refugees and lead them to the deep mountains. There, the Beggars' Sect has long helped them reclaim wasteland, build villages, and then give them seeds and farming tools so that they can grow their own land and support themselves."

At this point, Chen Yanzhou smiled and a smile appeared on his lips.

"This is called 'teaching a man to fish'. Rather than giving them a bowl of porridge and then letting them starve to death, it's better to give them a piece of land."

Once they've grown their crops, besides what they need for themselves, they can sell the surplus to the Beggars' Guild or use it to offset the cost of the seeds. In this way, the refugees will have homes, the Beggars' Guild will have food, and they won't have to kowtow to those wealthy lords and beg for food every day. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

Upon hearing this, Huang Rong couldn't help but feel a surge of admiration.

After all, she grew up on Peach Blossom Island. Although she had heard many rumors about the martial arts world, she also knew that the Beggars' Sect was the number one sect in the world, and that they were chivalrous and righteous.

But in her mind, the Beggars' Sect was nothing more than a group of beggars gathered together, and apart from the Dog-Beating Stick Technique and the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms, they were just powerful because of their numbers.

But Chen Yanzhou's words completely overturned her understanding.

In this chaotic world, all the major sects are trying to protect themselves.

The Quanzhen Sect secluded themselves on Zhongnan Mountain to cultivate immortality and seek the Dao, while the Iron Palm Clan, led by Qiu Qianren, ran rampant and tyrannical. As for her father, Huang Yaoshi, he was completely oblivious to the world around him, enjoying himself on Peach Blossom Island.

Who would care about the lives of those ordinary people?

Only the Beggars' Sect had secretly laid out such a grand scheme.

Not only did they save lives, they also turned this life-saving business into a thriving business, creating a cycle.

Such skill, such magnanimity...

Huang Rong couldn't help but look at Chen Yanzhou, and suddenly felt that this guy... wasn't so bad after all.

In fact, it's quite admirable.

"What's wrong? Are you dumbfounded?"

Seeing that she remained silent for a long time and stared straight at him, Chen Yanzhou couldn't help but wave his hand in front of her eyes.

His face suddenly loomed closer, a smug, infuriating grin on his lips.

"Did you suddenly realize that I'm not only handsome and dashing, but also have the heart of a bodhisattva? Are you so moved you want to cry? Don't you admire me so much that you wish you could repay me with your life?"

"..."

The slight admiration that Huang Rong had just felt was instantly shattered by these words.

She rolled her eyes and shoved the half-eaten steamed bun into his mouth, saying irritably.

"Dream on!"

Huang Rong turned her head away, shifting her position to the side with a look of disgust. "Who admires you? I was just thinking, you're quite the schemer, luring refugees into the mountains to be your tenants—isn't that all for making money? You shrewd businessman!"

"Hey, you little brat, how dare you talk like that?"

Chen Yanzhou wasn't annoyed. He quickly stuffed the remaining steamed bun into his mouth, dusted off the crumbs on his hands, and began to speak.

"What's wrong with making money? Making money isn't shameful. If I don't make money, where will I get the money to support those old, weak, sick, and disabled people? If I don't make money, how will you use my name to swindle and cheat?"

Mentioning this, Huang Rong's imposing manner instantly diminished.

She touched her still throbbing left eye and muttered softly, "Okay, okay, let's hurry up and go, it'll be dark soon if we don't leave now."

"Let's go!"

Chen Yanzhou whistled.

Upon hearing the whistle, Wangcai, who was chasing butterflies in the distance, immediately turned around, stuck out its tongue, and trotted back.

Above them, the divine eagle let out a clear cry and circled up.

The two people, the dog, and the eagle set off once again.

Huang Rong walked behind Chen Yanzhou, looking at his back with a complex expression in her eyes.

What kind of person is this?

Despite appearing to be a greedy and lustful scoundrel, he acts more like a chivalrous hero than anyone else.

Huang Rong shook her head, not thinking about it anymore, and quickly followed.

"Hey, Chen Yanzhou."

"What's wrong now?"

"What if you get to Shaolin Temple and those monks refuse to lend you their scriptures? I've heard those bald monks are incredibly stubborn, treasuring their scriptures more than their own lives."

"Not lending it?"

Chen Yanzhou chuckled, patted the Xuan Tie Heavy Sword on his back, and pointed to the Divine Eagle in the sky.

"I went to borrow books, not to rob them. This is a pure Buddhist sanctuary, where fate and destiny are paramount. With the Divine Eagle clearing the way and the Heavy Sword explaining the principles, this destiny... will naturally come."

Huang Rong: "...Isn't this just robbery?"