The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

Today's preparations were not in vain; the monks carried out the vegetarian food in baskets and distributed it to everyone—the dining hall certainly couldn't accommodate so many people.

Those who feel they are fast on their feet and don't want to eat vegetarian food can go down the mountain. Apart from a group of extraordinary righteous people, no one would squat outside the Shaolin Temple gate eating roast chicken...

As for the Chu Lu people, that's a different story.

Although he had just had a verbal conflict with Xuan Nan, he acted as if nothing had happened and followed him all the way to the dining hall, even pulling Qiao Feng along with him!

"Is there anything else, Benefactor Chu? The back courtyard is not receiving guests today," Xuan Nan said curtly.

"My elder brother and I would like to ask about Master Xuanku," Chu Luren said.

Xuan Nan looked at him, then at Qiao Feng. He still had doubts in his heart, but he was no longer as certain as before that it was Qiao Feng. However, he said, "Brother Xuan Ku's Buddhist teachings are far superior to ours. I suppose he doesn't want any more trouble. After Shaolin closes its mountain for ten years, he won't think about these things anymore. You two don't need to come along!"

"Abbot Xuannan, are you holding a grudge?"

Xuan Nan ignored him.

"Sigh, I've already let it go, but I didn't expect Abbot Xuannan to be unable to let go."

Xuan Nan: !!!

Xuan Nan really wanted to put down the vegetarian meal—upside down—on his head when they got to the dining hall!

Qiao Feng stepped forward, blocking Xuan Nan and the others' path. Xuan Nan, seeing this, demanded, "Qiao Feng, what are you doing...?"

Before he could finish speaking, Qiao Feng knelt down with great force, saying, "Abbot, you are a highly respected monk and can disregard the cause and effect of this matter. However, I am but a common man, and I cannot let the hatred of killing my master go unavenged! I hope Abbot will tell me the whole story!"

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 809 I Solved the Case

Xuan Nan was entangled by Chu Luren and Qiao Feng, and had no other choice but to invite the two to a meditation room next door—the abbot's courtyard had suffered a major collapse yesterday and had not yet been repaired.

This was the first time Qiao Feng had heard someone recount in detail the events surrounding Master Xuanku's death...

Unfortunately, Shaolin didn't actually have any clues either; they just judged from the motive that "it must have been the work of the evil Qiao Feng."

"The temple was calm and peaceful for the first half of the night, just like usual. But in the second half of the night, there was a commotion in Brother Xuanku's meditation room. When the abbot and I arrived, Brother Xuanku had already been injured by a powerful palm strike and was on the verge of death."

When my senior brother asked about clues about our enemies, Senior Brother Xuanku, being a highly accomplished monk, was unwilling to continue watching us fight each other and remained silent. Only the Jiang family, including the renowned Jiang Biehe and his son who were staying at the temple at the time, said they had seen a burly figure in black depart from the direction of Senior Brother Xuanku's meditation room, and they were too late to give chase.

Upon hearing this, Qiao Feng sighed – indeed, there were no clues at all.

Chu Luren exclaimed in surprise, "Isn't it obvious? It must be Jiang Biehe!"

Xuan Nan completely ignored him, and Qiao Feng didn't take it to heart either, assuming that Chu Luren just couldn't stand the heroes of Jiangnan, so he was making things difficult for him.

"With only Jiang Biehe and his son, these two outsiders, in the temple, who else would we suspect if not them?" Chu Luren said matter-of-factly.

Seeing that Xuan Nan still ignored him, Chu Luren said, "Abbot, don't worry, I understand what you mean. After all, it's not appropriate for you to directly accuse Jiang Biehe of killing Master Xuanku!"

Xuan Nan: ? ? ?

Seeing that if he didn't say anything, Chu Luren would go out and spread the word that "Abbot Xuannan told me in private that Jiang Biehe killed Xuanku," Xuannan had no choice but to explain: "Starting ten years ago, every year on the anniversary of his mother's death, Master Jiang would come to Shaolin Temple for a few days to transcribe Buddhist scriptures on her behalf."

In other words, it was perfectly normal for Jiang Biehe to be at Shaolin Temple at the time, and given his reputation, no one in Shaolin would suspect him.

However, Chu Luren suspects that the "deceased mother" is not real at all, but a persona created to conceal his identity!

Chu Luren also thought about it for a moment—first of all, the murderer can be assumed to be Jiang Biehe. Putting aside the evidence, the more important thing is... what is the motive?

Good people don't need a reason to do good deeds, but bad people always need a reason to do bad deeds!

Even the excuse that "doing evil makes me feel good" is one reason, but Jiang Biehe is definitely not that kind of person. He would carefully weigh whether it would benefit him or be worthwhile before doing evil...

In this situation, what benefit would Jiang Biehe gain from Xuan Ku's death?

At least for now, Chu Luren has not found any benefit for him.

Just like Zhao Tiedan—the people of Chulu couldn't understand why Zhao Tiedan would frame Guo Juxia or why he would travel thousands of miles to kill Ao Bai…

Regardless of whether there is evidence or motive, in Chu Luren's opinion, Xuan Ku was killed by Jiang Biehe!

"Unfortunately, Jiang Biehe is guilty of something he shouldn't have. Judging from Master Xuannan's appearance, he must have been invited, but he didn't dare to come to Shaolin to confront us." Chu Luren already seemed convinced of this.

Xuan Nan said helplessly, "Master Jiang was invited to Sanxiang. It seems there was some dispute there, and he went to mediate. It's not that he felt guilty!"

Did Jiang Biehe also go to Hunan?

Chu Luren's heart stirred, and he decided to go down the mountain later to inquire about what had happened in Sanxiang recently.

Hua Wuque must have gone to Sanxiang, otherwise he would have stood up earlier than Zhang Wuji yesterday. Moreover, Lao Tie did not come to Nan Shaolin either, so there must be something really big happening in Sanxiang.

Seeing that Xuan Nan didn't know any more, Chu Luren said directly, "Brother, you and Xuan Nan talk first. I'm going to Qunyu Academy and will be back before the Butcher's Knife Assembly this afternoon."

Xuan Nan: ? ? ?

"Amitabha!" Xuan Nan chanted the Buddhist prayer in a rather irritable tone.

Is this guy really that addicted?

It's only noon...

And do you really have to make this so explicit in a temple?

……

Chu Luren hurriedly left Shaolin Temple and headed straight for Qunyu Academy in Xinghua Prefecture. He used all his lightness skills to travel, which aroused suspicion among the people in the martial arts world who saw him—what did Chu Taisui talk to the abbot about? Why couldn't he hold back in the middle of the day?

Of course, Chu Luren was very proper in Qunyu Courtyard; he was only there to gather information!

Something has indeed happened in Hunan. It's not a huge incident, but it's not insignificant either. It can't compare to the Lion Slaying Assembly, but if not handled properly, it could become a major tragedy in the martial arts world...

The incident began when Duan Hefei, the richest man in Huainan, wanted to protect a large number of important guards. As mentioned before, Wan Sanqian was the richest man in Jiangnan and most likely the richest man in the Song Dynasty. However, the richest man in Huainan was Duan Hefei, whose business spanned both the Song and Qing Dynasties, connecting the north and south.

Duan Hefei's shipment was no smaller than the shipment Shen Qinghong had escorted years ago, so many major escort alliances took it very seriously. In the end, the shipment was originally guaranteed by the alliance of the Seventeen Escort Agencies of Lianghe—their chief escort, Chu Luren, still remembered him as Zhao Quanhai, whom he had met at Mount Emei. His martial arts skills... were just so-so.

But then things went wrong; the shipment was intercepted by the Sanxiang Escort Alliance.

From a business perspective, Duan Hefei hadn't yet paid for the escort service; he only had the intention. It was perfectly normal for him to switch escort agencies. However, from the perspective of江湖道义 (jianghu daoyi, a code of honor among江湖义 ...

Zhao Quan Hai led his men directly to the Hunan region to cause trouble.

After Tie Wushuang learned of this, he rushed to bring the two parties together, wanting to mediate the matter—this matter actually had nothing to do with Tie Wushuang, but isn't this what the old masters of the martial arts world do?

Tie Wushuang criticized the Sanxiang Escort Alliance for intercepting the goods, and told them to return the goods to the Lianghe Escort Alliance, since the Sanxiang martial arts community was a younger generation, their own.

However, some members of the Sanxiang Escort Alliance were not convinced. Although they admired Tie Wushuang and dared not accept anything on the surface, they couldn't help but feel that Tie Lao was using one of his own people as a scapegoat.

However, Tie Wushuang then took out a tea plantation from his own property and offered it to the Sanxiang Escort Alliance as compensation, admonishing them to remember the rules of the martial arts world and the bonds of brotherhood in their future actions, and not to disgrace the heroes of Sanxiang...

Li Feng, the chief镖头 (chief镖头, meaning head镖师, of the Sanxiang镖联 (Sanxiang镖联, a type of镖师), and Zhao Quan Hai, the chief镖头 (chief镖头, meaning head镖师, of the Lianghe镖联 (Lianghe镖联, a type of镖师), were moved by Tie Wushuang's actions and did not want his tea plantation. Instead, they agreed to a joint镖局 (镖局, meaning镖局, meaning镖师, a type of镖师, a type of镖师, a type

It wasn't a happy ending for everyone!

Tie Wushuang tried his best to mediate, but all three parties ended up being poisoned at the banquet!

Although they were saved by the help of a benefactor, all three families were severely weakened, and the shipment ended up in the hands of the Double Lion Escort Agency.

My friend volunteered to take charge of this, but ended up making a complete mess of it...

And this wasn't the end of it. Later, the Double Lion Escort Agency was tasked with escorting the goods, but they failed, and all the priceless cargo was lost!

Even more bizarrely, the Double Lion Escort Agency had no idea who did it; the goods simply vanished overnight, and they had no idea what had happened.

However, recent news has brought a dramatic turn of events. After Jiang Biehe and his son went to Hunan, they retrieved the goods. But rumors are circulating in the martial arts world that the loss of the shipment was due to Tie Wushuang's dissatisfaction with being schemed against, and that he secretly targeted the Shuangshi Escort Agency...

Chapter 810 A Familiar Feeling

When Chu Luren came out of Qunyu Courtyard, he had already learned about the situation in Sanxiang.

As for the Shuangshi Escort Agency losing its shipment, there's no need to even think about it—since Jiang Biehe is there, he's bound to be involved in all sorts of bad things!

Moreover, unlike Xuan Ku's affair, Jiang Biehe's actions in Hunan were driven by very clear motives.

Extending his influence to Hunan Province was something Jiang Biehe had always wanted to do, and the fact that the shipment has been recovered doesn't mean it won't be lost again...

From fame to fortune, Jiang Biehe has much to make of his career!

As for Hua Wuque, he was also in Sanxiang, so there was no need to worry too much—when Yaoyue was watching over him, Hua Wuque would chase after Xiaoyuer, and when Yaoyue wasn't watching over him, he would immediately start slacking off...

The two brothers' innate affinity made Hua Wuque unwilling to kill Xiaoyuer.

When slacking off, Hua Wuque often went with Jiang Biehe, and this older young man always trusted Jiang Biehe.

Firstly, Jiang Biehe is a good actor, and he can fool the whole world when he puts on a sanctimonious act. Secondly, Jiang Biehe had secretly joined Yihua Palace before, since Yaoyue and Lianxing knew that he was "Jiang Qin" and Jiang Biehe had done a lot of dirty work for Yihua Palace.

Therefore, Yaoyue had already entrusted Hua Wuque with the task of "taking care" of him, and Yaoyue's attitude inadvertently fostered this trust.

However, judging from all that has happened before, Jiang Biehe has more than one master in Yihua Palace; he also has secret connections with Tiedan Shenhou...

Chu Luren and Yaoyue and Lianxing had mentioned this matter, but Lianxing didn't have any say in the matter at Yihua Palace, and Yaoyue... didn't care at all.

In her view, Jiang Biehe could choose whoever he wanted to be his master, and if anyone dared to disobey her, she would just kill him.

There was something else that Chu Luren found strange—the Xiangxi Escort Alliance hadn't responded at all.

It was one thing that the Xiangxi Escort Alliance was not well-known before, but the current Xiangxi Escort Alliance was formed by Shen Qinghong after her return to the martial arts world, and it is backed by Murong Manor!

Logically, Murong Jiu shouldn't have let such an opportunity pass, but here at Qunyu Courtyard, there's no news of Shen Qinghong going to compete with Shuangshi Escort Agency.

Chu Luren planned to ask Murong Jiu about it later. If the Dragon Guard Manor was involved, then it could be basically concluded that the Iron-Blooded Marquis was behind the Sanxiang incident!

Just like when Shangguan Haitang wanted to interfere in the affairs of Hengshan City, the Iron-Blooded Marquis "just happened" to recall her.

When Chu Luren returned to Shaolin, it was almost 11 PM—the time when the Butcher's Ceremony was about to begin.

At this time, there were far fewer people participating in the "Butcher's Knife Assembly" than in the morning's "Lion Butcher's Assembly." The area in front of the main hall was still packed, but there was no one outside the mountain gate—so everyone could squeeze into the temple.

After all, Guihai Yidao doesn't have many enemies, and many of them are either imposters or framed.

It's true that Guihai Yidao went mad and went berserk, but how long has it been?

Moreover, Guihai Yidao did not kill aimlessly. When he was not insane, he was looking for people suspected of having a "murderous feud" with a specific goal.

These people were mostly suicides or died willingly at Guihai Yidao's hands, so he should stop investigating—now Guihai Yidao also knows the truth: the one who killed his father was not someone else, but his mother!

Back then, his father went mad with demonic possession. Kong Zhi, Qilinzi, and Jian Jingfeng planned to forcefully persuade Guihai Bailian to give up his demonic sword skills. If they couldn't persuade him, they would even take action to cripple him.

Gui Hai Bailian was no longer able to control his emotions and was completely influenced by "The Three Blades of Avici". He wanted to kill his three friends who came to persuade him. At this moment, his wife Lu Huanong stabbed him to death from behind.

Because Lu Huanong was not skilled in martial arts, Guihai Bailian was caught off guard and, with just a dagger that could cut through iron like mud, took the life of this peerless master.

After learning the truth, Guihai Yidao naturally wouldn't seek revenge on his mother. Instead, he blamed himself for driving Kongzhi and the others to their deaths, which is why he cooperated with the Sweeper Monk's "treatment".