The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

Putting everything else aside, Princess Yunluo alone was enough to make Murong Jiu drool...

As for Nongyue's background, Chu Luren felt that keeping it completely a secret would only make Xiaoyuer more concerned, and he wasn't confident that he could keep it completely hidden, so he revealed a little bit.

Now Xiaoyuer also knows that this suddenly appearing Nongyue girl came from Yihua Palace, but she was forced out of Yihua Palace by Yaoyue because of emotional reasons. Because "Yihua Palace cannot be disgraced", her identity cannot be revealed!

Not a single word of it was a lie.

However, anyone who heard this would only think that Nongyue was an ordinary palace maid in Yihua Palace.

While Xiaoyuer is indeed clever, Nongyue's experiences remind him of his own mother, making him feel particularly close to her and thus somewhat neglectful.

Aside from the occasional feeling that Nongyue's temperament didn't seem like that of Hua Wuque's two infatuated maids, Xiaoyuer didn't notice anything amiss.

Moreover, in Xiaoyuer's opinion, since she dared to "disobey" Yaoyue, even if she didn't directly steal Yaoyue's beloved like her own mother, she must be a very principled palace maid. It's normal that she's different from the stupid Hua Wuque's maid!

Most importantly, Lianxing is indeed imagining Huayuenü now—unlike the more confident and domineering Yaoyue, Lianxing actually envies and even admires Huayuenü deep down.

Therefore, Lianxing also appeared "weak" in her words, especially when facing Chu Luren, she would even take the initiative to pour wine, coupled with her appearance that looked younger than Chu Luren - all of this made Xiaoyuer never think that this person was actually the second palace master of Yihua Palace.

Lianxing's usual aloofness and domineering aura were originally imitations of her older sister, but after imitating for so long, they have become so close to her own nature that she occasionally reveals some different qualities.

Although Xiaoyuer hated Yihua Palace, he felt that Nongyue's experience was similar to that of his mother, so he helped her keep her secret. Jiang Yulang also did not know about Nongyue's background.

Tie Xinlan was also unaware that she had met up with Xiaoyuer in Jiading. After Xiaoyuer fell into the valley, she had been searching for a way to get to the bottom of the valley, but she had not found one.

During this time, Hua Wuque also tried to find her, but Hua Wuque would not lay a hand on a woman. Even if he knew that she was Xiaoyuer's companion, as long as Tie Xinlan refused to say anything, Hua Wuque would have no way to deal with her.

Fortunately, Hua Wuque wasn't there when Chu Luren met up with Tie Xinlan, otherwise... Chu Luren was afraid he would kneel down and call him Second Master.

……

At this time, the Chu Lu people had already entered the Yangtze River from the Jialing River and were continuing to go downstream.

Just in time for the opportunity to eat fresh fish and crab, Chu Luren sat at the bow of the boat, set up a small table and chairs, and was peeling crabs. Lianxing endured the discomfort of the fishy smell and, although she did not eat, she kept him company. Chu Luren’s cup was refilled whenever it was empty.

Little Fish glanced at it twice, becoming even less suspicious.

The Yihua Palace does not eat meat. The Mingyu Gong requires a calm mind, and a long-term abstinence from meat can affect the mind and make it easier to calm down.

Since Yaoyue herself doesn't eat meat, she naturally wouldn't let others eat it either. Therefore, the entire Yihua Palace is completely free of any meat, making it even cleaner than the kitchen and dining hall of Shaolin Temple. If a little monk steals a bit of meat, he'll at most be locked up for a few days and beaten a few times. But if a palace maid in Yihua Palace dares to steal meat, the lightest punishment is having her martial arts crippled and being kicked out!

Now, the effects of meat on Yaoyue and Lianxing, who are already at the eighth level, are negligible. However, they have developed a habit of not liking meat and fish.

"Young Master Chu, what birthday gift do you intend to give to the Empress Dowager?" Xiao Yu'er asked curiously. He hadn't noticed along the way that Chu Luren was preparing a birthday gift.

"For an elderly person, it's best to send some tonics!" Chu Luren said matter-of-factly.

Upon hearing this, Xiaoyuer's expression turned strange as he said, "There will probably be quite a few people sending tonics at that time. Envoys from other countries should also be like this. Not to mention the distant ones, the Shaolin Sect will definitely send a lot of Great Rejuvenation Pills and Small Rejuvenation Pills. Young Master Chu... are you very confident?"

If you don't have some basic knowledge, it's better to send a "thoughtful gift". I didn't expect that Chu Luren, a lone wolf, would actually send a tonic.

"The Great Rejuvenation Pill is good, but my pills are not bad either!" Chu Luren said, taking out a few small bottles.

"The Jade Maiden Heart-Pure Pill from the Ancient Tomb Sect, the Nine-Flower Jade Dew Pill refined by the Peach Blossom Island Master, the Four Symbols Heaven-Mending Pill from the Sun Moon Divine Sect, the Nine-Turn Bear-Snake Pill from the Carefree Sect... and this one is even more amazing, the Goddess Enlightenment Pill from the Flower-Shifting Palace! Is this gift enough?" Chu Luren proudly introduced.

Among them, the Four Symbols Heaven-Mending Pill of the Sun Moon Sect was recently obtained by Chu Luren from Ren Yingying through the Qunyu Academy along the way. In any case, they would not come to offer birthday wishes, so he was not afraid of duplicate birthday gifts.

For example, the Duan family of Dali would send envoys themselves, so the Chu Lu people didn't ask for anything...

Chu Luren initially wanted Yunluo to help him retrieve some from the royal treasury, but after thinking about it, he realized it wasn't quite right and gave up.

When Xiaoyuer heard the name of Yihua Palace, his eyes changed slightly, but he did not question or think too much about it. He just had a higher expectation of Nongyue's previous status in Yihua Palace.

Jiang Yulang, who had no idea of ​​Nongyue's identity, couldn't help but speculate, while Tie Xinlan looked extremely nervous...

Chapter 528 Collision

On this day, Chu Luren was boating on the river, practicing playing a short piece called "Xiao Kaimen" – a gift to celebrate a birthday. Because he was somewhat unfamiliar with music, he did not use his inner strength.

Little Red and the suona played in unison, the sunset blending seamlessly with the golden hue...

What a wonderful image of a refined gentleman in a turbid world!

However, at that very moment, some foolish fellows drove their large boat recklessly across the river, and upon approaching, they even banged a gong, intending to warn passing ships to give way.

"The Giant Whale Gang is on a mission! All irrelevant people, row the boat away!" Several rude men shouted from the boat.

So they're from the Giant Whale Gang. No wonder their ship is so big—it's rare to see such a large ship on the river. Chu Luren suspects they're sailing a sea vessel!

Judging from his powerful voice, he has indeed mastered internal martial arts.

However, Lianxing, who had been admiring Chu Luren playing the suona, suddenly had a murderous glint in her eyes...

"Chu Lang, I'm going to sink them." Lianxing said in the same delicate tone as Hua Yuenü, and then got up to leave.

Chu Luren: ...

"Wait! I'll go see what the Giant Whale Gang is up to." Chu Luren quickly stopped Lianxing.

By this time, they had reached the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and were almost at Xuanzhou, not far from Wuxi. This was not some remote place where "the emperor was far away." Sinking such a large ship as the Giant Whale Gang here would likely cause a stir in the capital. With the Empress Dowager's birthday approaching, the Song court was even more nervous.

It wasn't just the fear that someone might take the opportunity to cause trouble and embarrass the royal family; it was also because there were so many people sending birthday gifts that the bandits within the Song court's borders were already working non-stop...

On the one hand, they didn't want to make it too conspicuous to sink the Giant Whale Gang's ship directly; on the other hand, Chu Luren was indeed somewhat interested in the Giant Whale Gang!

On the surface, the Giant Whale Gang is a large gang that fights against pirates, protects caravans, and upholds justice along the coast.

However, beneath the surface, this is a Jianghu organization that had already pledged allegiance to Shenhou and partially submitted to the imperial court more than a decade ago, making it incompatible with other Jianghu gangs.

Peeling back another layer, it turns out that this is a case of collusion with Japan, and that they were suspected of involvement in the previous kidnapping of the Empress Dowager. Cao Zhengchun discovered their secrets and is using them to make things difficult for the Marquis's rebellious gang.

Peel back another layer, and you'll find that within the gang, the gang leader Li Zhengkai is obsessed with calligraphy and painting, while Elder Li Tianhao colludes with Japanese pirates, keeping it a secret from Li Zhengkai and plotting to cause chaos within the gang.

However, upon closer examination, it becomes clear that everything was part of Iron-Blooded Marquis's scheme. The Japanese were also part of Iron-Blooded Marquis's plan, a pawn deliberately thrown out to attract Cao Zhengchun's attention...

The real "Chief Supervisor Cao thought it was on the third floor, the imperial spies thought it was on the fourth floor, but it was actually on the fifth floor!"

The Giant Whale Gang's ship was trying to shoo Chu Luren's small boat away from the side, and indeed their large ship was finding it difficult to even get close.

But just then, they suddenly saw the small boat ahead turn around and turn back.

At first, the people on the ship were surprised and angry at the same time—how could a civilian ship dare to ram the Giant Whale Gang?

However, people gradually discovered...

"No one... no one is rowing the boat?"

"That...that person has a suona!"

"Oh no! It's that man..."

The Chu Lu people had been going downstream all along, so they didn't show much unusual behavior and there weren't many "legends" along the way. Otherwise, if it were a time when rumors were circulating that there were ghostly soldiers going upstream on the river, the Giant Whale Gang really wouldn't have dared to be so arrogant!

After turning the boat around, Chu Luren stood directly at the bow of the small boat, confronting the giant whale gang's large ship head-on.

At this moment, the Giant Whale Gang was sailing downstream and it was impossible for them to stop suddenly. When they saw that Chu Tai Sui was indeed as legendary as he was, able to send his ghostly soldiers against the current, they were so shocked that they didn't have time to react much.

Seeing this small boat "crash" into us was unbelievable, but in terms of size, it was like an ant trying to shake a tree.

For a moment, everyone was unsure whether they should hope for a quick stop, or... hope for a final, powerful strike that would shatter Chu Taisui into pieces!

Spending most of their time at sea, battling pirates, the members of the Giant Whale Gang have a much higher confidence in and expectation of their ships than in their martial arts skills.

However, instead of the expected scene of smashing the small boats with unstoppable force, the giant whale ship of the Giant Whale Gang violently lurched, as if it had crashed into a reef... no, as if it had crashed into a rock wall, and the people on board were instantly thrown to the ground like tumbling gourds.

At the same time, a curtain of water could be seen bursting up from the point where the two boats of vastly different sizes collided!

The highest point of the splash was even higher than the mast of a giant whale ship...

The several Whale Gang experts who had rolled to the bow of the boat quickly looked down and saw Chu Taisui standing at the bow of the small boat, with one hand on the keel of his own large ship!

It was an extremely illogical scene. Not to mention that the Chu Lu people were not broken, it also made no sense that if they could stand on a small boat, they could hold up a large ship.

Only those with keen insight could see that Chu Tai Sui was not simply pushing with his palms, but was also using extremely skillful force-dissipating techniques to redirect the momentum of the large ship to the sides of the river – which is why the water splashed up almost across the entire river!

At this moment, Chu Luren not only used his internal strength to steer his small boat, but also pushed the giant whale-shaped ship back towards the left bank of the river.

The people on deck were immediately panicked—if they pushed it up like that, it might run aground, and their own big ship was a seagoing vessel with a pointed bottom, which could be completely scrapped in shallow water!

"Please calm down, Your Majesty! We are from the Giant Whale Gang..."

"The gifts on the ship are for the Empress Dowager's birthday; please show mercy, Tai Sui."

"I am Li Tiande, an elder of the Giant Whale Gang. Please, Grand Duke Chu, or Hero Chu, come aboard the ship for a chat!"

Amidst the panicked shouts, Chu Luren left himself some leeway, pushing the ship to the point of slight aground, not to the point of complete anchorage. Then, with a gentle lift of his foot, he soared up and landed on the deck of the large ship.

The members of the Giant Whale Gang finally calmed down a bit from their panic, but they didn't notice that the white-clad woman, who was half a step behind Chu Luren, seemed to have a lightness skill that was not much weaker than Chu Luren's.

It's no longer surprising that Chu Tai Sui is accompanied by beautiful women.

Li Tiande, who was in charge on the ship, quickly stepped forward and bowed, saying, "I was ordered by the gang leader and Elder Hao to escort the birthday tribute to the capital, but I did not expect to offend Lord Chu. My apologies..."

Although it was clearly the Chu Lu people who charged at him, and with considerable force, Li Tiande dared not make a sound.

Li Detian then glanced at the woman in white and politely asked, "I wonder if you are the Crimson Serpent Fairy in person?"

Lianxing's face darkened; Li Tiande could already sense the killing intent...

Chapter 529 Generous

"Birthday tribute? What are you going to give as a gift?" Chu Luren asked casually as soon as they met.

Li Tiande, who had just been provoked by Lianxing's murderous aura, immediately replied, "Our leader is benevolent. Since last year, we have collected a batch of cotton and made 300,000 sets of winter clothes, which were sent to Master Guo in Xiangyang. What we are bringing back now are the thin winter clothes that the Xiangyang garrison has replaced."

Upon hearing this, Chu Luren glanced at him in surprise—even though Chu Luren wasn't very knowledgeable in this area, he could sense that the Giant Whale Gang was overstepping its bounds in doing so…

Putting aside the fact that "receiving the troops without an imperial edict" was intended to win people's hearts, moreover... bringing back "thin winter clothes" shows your dissatisfaction with the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue.

Li Tiande noticed Chu Luren's surprise and quickly explained, "Master Chu may not know, but recently the Ministry of Revenue has issued an order to encourage wealthy people to support the army. Moreover, these thin winter clothes were only distributed last year when the court was short of funds. The Emperor and the Empress Dowager were very worried about this matter. Even the Emperor himself vowed not to wear thick cotton clothes for the winter last year."

Chu Luren: ...

Chu Luren suspected that this was another scheme orchestrated by Shenhou—eager to use the 13,000 taels of family wealth for a greater purpose.

That explains why the Giant Whale Gang's ship passed through here.

Chu Luren was initially puzzled, thinking that the birthday gift from the Giant Whale Gang should be rare items from overseas, so why would it have come down the Yangtze River?

So it turns out they went to Xiangyang to reward the troops, and the so-called birthday gift was to "solve the problem of wintering for the troops stationed in Xiangyang"!

"I heard you colluded with Japanese pirates and even tried to assassinate the Emperor and Empress Dowager. But it seems the Giant Whale Gang is generous and has no such intentions!" Chu Luren acted as if these were just rumors from the martial arts world and were not to be taken seriously.

Li Tiande was startled—wasn't this a secret investigation by the Imperial Guards? How did it get to the point where it was "heard about" even in the martial arts world?