The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

Afterwards, the deputy gang leader, Li Zhenghao, was elected as the gang leader...

Compared to Li Zhengkai, who was obsessed with calligraphy and painting, Li Zhenghao was actually more skilled in martial arts, more shrewd and capable, and did not get involved in Li Tianhao's previous conspiracy to collude with Japan.

Especially after being elected as the gang leader, many people discovered that Li Zhenghao's martial arts skills were even higher than they had imagined.

It seems that he had been hiding his true abilities to avoid being harmed by Li Tianhao?

At this time, Li Zhenghao, as the leader of the Giant Whale Gang, also arrived in Xiangyang, bringing with him a number of simple warships...

Upon hearing Li Zhenghao bring up the matter, many people in the martial arts world joined in the commotion, mostly cursing the Golden Wheel Monk for being shameless. However, at this moment, Guo Juxia's expression was strange.

“Brother Li, where did you hear that? Absolutely not. My daughter did encounter some danger while traveling, and my son has just returned. However… it’s a trivial matter, nothing to be compared to the Mongol Yuan dynasty.” Guo Juxia acted as if he were putting others before himself.

Upon hearing this, Guo Jing and Yang Guo became even more puzzled—Master/Uncle Guo had kept quiet at first to reassure everyone, but Li Zhenghao had already exposed it, so why was he still hiding it?

Madam Guo had already arrived at the scene and was looking at her husband with the same puzzlement.

Yang Guo then recalled the "strange" manner in which Uncle Guo spoke at the beginning, as well as some of the instructions Uncle Guo had given him before. His brows furrowed even more, and he forced himself to ask his aunt, with whom he had not always gotten along well, "Aunt Guo, has Uncle Guo been acting strangely lately? What did he say about Sister Fu and Sister Xiang's disappearance?"

Madam Guo's expression grew increasingly uneasy as she said, "Your uncle has been in seclusion these past few days, and I haven't had much contact with him..."

Upon hearing this, Li Zhenghao wore a regretful and sorrowful expression and said, "Alas! I originally thought there might be a misunderstanding, but I never expected... Master Guo! Do you know this person?"

Just then, several members of the Giant Whale Gang escorted an old man forward...

Madam Guo's expression immediately hardened. "Old Feng? What does Chief Li mean by this?"

"What are you, Giant Whale Gang, trying to do by capturing Master Guo's old gatekeeper?"

"Could it be that he harbors malicious intentions?"

"Xiangyang is not a place for you bastards to run wild!"

Among the surrounding Xiangyang heroes, quite a few recognized "Old Feng" and began to curse Li Zhenghao and the Giant Whale Gang.

Some of the hot-tempered men were already about to make a move, but Li Zhenghao quickly stepped forward, bowing to everyone and saying, "Gentlemen, gentlemen, please hear me out! I certainly didn't seize this old servant from Guo Juxia's residence..."

The shouts and curses continued, but some people noticed that Guo Juxia's expression was not quite right.

At this moment, Li Zhenghao said in a shocking statement: "I found this person acting suspiciously outside the Yuan army camp! At first, I thought he was an old man who had gotten lost, so I quickly went up to stop him. Then I noticed that he looked nervous, so I searched him... and found this!"

As she spoke, she took out a piece of silk from her bosom and unfolded it...

Among the outsiders, the shouts and curses subsided somewhat, but the chivalrous men of Xiangyang cursed even more vehemently—"You, Li Zhenghao, are you out to get your hands dirty? Do you suspect that Guo Juxia is colluding with the enemy?"

"What is this?" Lu Youjiao of the Northern Beggars' Gang asked, his eyes wide as copper bells, as he stepped forward and stretched out his hand.

“This item… we’d better have the Commander examine it.” Li Zhenghao withdrew his hand, walked around him, and looked at a group of people in another corner.

Although the Song court did not officially recognize the chivalrous figures of Xiangyang as having official status, the defense of Xiangyang has always been inseparable from the assistance of these martial arts figures.

Therefore, while the Heroes' Gathering was being held here, Commander Lü Wende was also observing from the sidelines, but he tried to keep his presence to a minimum so as not to offend the outlaws of the martial arts world.

However, at this moment, everyone's attention was focused on this.

Lu Wende dared not be careless and quickly stepped forward to take the silk. He then exclaimed in surprise, "This...this is the defense map of Xiangyang!"

"what?"

"how is this possible?"

"Could it be that a member of the Guo family has defected to the enemy...?"

"No way! How could a mere gatekeeper know the deployment map?"

"What...what do you want to say?"

The martial arts practitioners present immediately began to discuss the matter, and at the same time, they remembered that Li Zhenghao had initially mentioned the kidnapping of the Guo family's two daughters. Could it be...?

Was Guo Juxia so eager to save his daughter?

"Old Feng! I've always treated you well... You... Didn't you say you were going to seek refuge with relatives and friends? Who exactly instructed you to do this? Or did Li Zhenghao frame you?" Guo Juxia pointed angrily at the old man.

The old man, however, simply lowered his head in a panic, appearing hesitant to say anything more.

“Master Guo, is it because of your daughter that you…” Li Zhenghao’s face was full of “You are such a beautiful woman, why did you become a thief?”

"Nonsense..."

"Nonsense!"

A voice, even more powerful than Guo Juxia's, rang out from the direction of the door, causing everyone to turn around. Guo Juxia also looked over in confusion.

Then, Chu Luren strode in, accompanied by Guo Fu and Guo Xiang...

"That's right! What kind of bastard are you, Li Zhenghao? How dare you question Master Guo?"

"I think they've conspired to frame Guo Juxia!"

"Lu Wende... a despicable man who licks the assholes of eunuchs and accepts bribes from the Tartars! I bet this is a defense map, and you're the one who sent it there!"

"What's the point of setting up defenses! Once Guo Jing and the heroes of Xiangyang have retreated, what's the point of setting up defenses?"

……

Upon seeing that it was the Alliance Leader, the members of the Righteous Alliance immediately felt reassured!

Originally, because the incident was so sudden, they didn't know how to handle it, so they remained inactive. But now...

Even the leader of the alliance said it was nonsense, how dare Li Zhenghao say that he didn't harbor malicious intentions!

Chapter 922 Authenticity

"father!"

"mom!"

Guo Fu and Guo Xiang rushed forward excitedly when they saw their father and mother. Although they had calmed down by now, they had been quite frightened when Huo Du and the Beggar Clan elders kidnapped them.

However, few people noticed that the first thing that flashed across Guo Juxia's face seemed to be... solemnity? It was only afterward that a look of surprise appeared.

Even Madam Guo's attention was entirely focused on her daughter, and she didn't notice anything else. Only Yang Guo seemed to have noticed something.

"Heaven and earth possess righteous energy, which manifests in various forms..."

"Below are rivers and mountains, above are the sun and stars..."

"In man, it is called the vast and righteous spirit, which fills the boundless sky..."

"Alliance Leader Chu is invincible!"

"Any difficulties will vanish in an instant with just one move from our leader."

"Who knew that our Chu Alliance Leader was as compassionate and benevolent as Meng Chang, helping those in distress and need..."

"Pah! What 'comparable to Mengchang'? If anyone's Mengchang Jun, he should be called 'Little Tai Sui'..."

"That's right, the alliance leader didn't come earlier because he was doing something more important!"

"Exactly, unlike those gossipy good-for-nothings who come here early to freeload and then talk behind people's backs..."

……

With the arrival of Chu Luren, the righteous warriors of the Righteous Alliance were even more eager to prove themselves, and they all criticized those who had previously gossiped.

Of course, while saying these things, they completely forgot that most of the Righteous Alliance members arrived half a month in advance. Every day, besides eating and drinking, they cursed the Dragon Guard Manor and spread rumors that Iron-Blooded Marquis wanted to harm Guo Juxia.

Duan Tianya and Shangguan Haitang exchanged a grave glance—they had initially been relieved that Li Zhenghao had discovered the old servant and prevented any trouble, but now…

Did Chu Taisui really save the young ladies of the Guo family, or did they have some kind of deal with the Mongol Yuan dynasty?

After all, they were from the Righteous Alliance, and they spread rumors that the Dragon Guard Manor was making things difficult for Guo Juxia. Duan Tianya and Shangguan Haitang were both very wary of Chu Luren.

Chu Luren pressed his hands together lightly, and the surrounding noise gradually subsided. Chu Luren then stared silently at Li Zhenghao, putting psychological pressure on him.

Li Zhenghao was indeed somewhat uneasy under Chu Luren's gaze. Just as he was unconsciously swallowing, Chu Luren spoke up: "What were you all talking about earlier? What happened to Master Guo for his daughter?"

"Well... it's good that Alliance Leader Chu has rescued the two young ladies. Before, my Giant Whale Gang was outside the city..." Li Zhenghao recounted what had happened.

Throughout the story, the author uses various rhetorical devices to imply that Guo Juxia is unaware that Chu Luren has already rescued the two young ladies—meaning that Guo Juxia might still betray his country for his daughter's sake!

"...With Alliance Leader Chu here, it's truly a blessing!" Li Zhenghao said, looking as if he was relieved that nothing had happened.

Chu Luren, however, was unconvinced and retorted sarcastically, "When did I ever say that I rescued the two daughters of the Guo family from the military camp?"

"Oh? That's..." Li Zhenghao feigned innocence—"I don't know where he is. Did I say he was in the military camp?"

"After the Golden Wheel Monk intercepted the people, he went to a secluded valley north of Xiangyang and never went to the Mongol army camp. Could it be that you are saying that Guo Juxia didn't even know where his daughter was, yet he hurriedly sent the defense map of Xiangyang City?" Chu Luren stepped forward and pressed Li Zhenghao closely.

Li Zhenghao's cultivation of the "Giant Whale Dragon Roar Qi Gong" emphasizes momentum. However, when Chu Luren took a step forward, he felt as if he were on a small boat facing a raging sea, and he couldn't help but take a step back, his momentum shattered...

"It was indeed my oversight." Lee Jung-ho rallied his spirits, appearing apologetic yet upright.

"Brother Chu, there's no need to pursue this matter any further," Guo Juxia immediately interrupted.

On the contrary, it makes people feel a little impatient...

Just then, a pair of people wearing black and white straw hats stepped out from the crowd. The woman in white, whose face was not visible, said, "Master Guo! You shouldn't have forgotten who we are, should you?"

"Please tell us, Master Guo, who we are..." the man in black said with some concern.

While others didn't recognize the two, Chu Luren did – they were the husband-and-wife team from Zhongnan Mountain, Wang and Lin, who wished to remain anonymous.

Although Wang's injuries had not fully healed, he still rushed to Xiangyang to warn Guo Juxia.

At this point, the two men began to suspect that the Guo Juxia in front of them was an imposter...

If that's the case, then it's undoubtedly the worst possible outcome!

Guo Juxia paused upon hearing this, and at that moment, some of the heroes from Xiangyang started to jeer, saying, "Who do you think you are? I don't know you either, so why should Guo Juxia know you?"

“Someone here has their eyes on Master Guo’s life. My wife and I visited Master Guo a few days ago. If you are truly Master Guo…” At this moment, Wang stared intently at Master Guo.

Chu Luren also spoke up: "That's right, there are extremely powerful and difficult-to-defend individuals secretly targeting Master Guo. These two also discussed this with me and came here to warn Master Guo!"

Hearing Chu Luren say the same thing, everyone understood why they had asked Guo Juxia, "Who are we, husband and wife?"—and a flurry of discussion ensued. Seeing Guo Juxia remain silent, the atmosphere grew even quieter.

However, Guo Juxia broke the silence with a laugh: "Hahaha, Master Wang is joking. I am extremely grateful to Brother Chongyang and the heroine and her husband Lin for their help. How could I forget them?"

Wang Chongyang and Lin Chaoying: ? ? ?

The surrounding martial arts practitioners were immediately abuzz with excitement—few people associated the so-called "Heroine Lin," but...Master Wang? Brother Chongyang? Could it be referring to...?

Qiu Chuji, who was standing to the side, was completely dumbfounded!

Moreover, he was able to make associations with "Lady Lin"...