The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

Old Qian's original idea was good—although Wu Sangui was hateful, he wanted to become a monk to guard the late emperor's cenotaph and ask his son to raise an army to overthrow the Qing Dynasty. This... regardless of whether he could be trusted, at least it was morally acceptable, and he could even stop making things difficult for Wu Sangui.

Qian Laoben specifically emphasized the words "Lord" to remind Wei Xiaobao that he was not only a "Lord" of the Qing Dynasty, but also the leader of the Heaven and Earth Society.

Since Wu Sangui has become a monk to repent, it is not unreasonable to temporarily forgive his descendants. Nominally, the Shanhaiguan Army is also an anti-Qing force—we are all “one of us,” so why fight to the death?

The members of the Heaven and Earth Society are always risking their lives. They are not afraid of death, but... it would be too unjust for them to die as loyal subjects of the Manchus!

Upon hearing this, Wei Xiaobao's face darkened. No matter how unwilling he was, he understood that this was a good strategy—a wise man doesn't fight a losing battle. If he could gain Wu Kang's trust first, he would eventually have a chance to annihilate the entire Shanhai Army...

"Wei Xiaobao, bring the princess out here to talk!" Wu Kang shouted from outside.

Knowing that hiding here would only lead to his death, Wei Xiaobao tossed his braid and strode out with a proud and arrogant air.

"Wu Kang! Do you have anything else to say?" Wei Xiaobao's tone was very loud, and anyone who didn't know the situation would think that he had driven Wu Kang to a dead end.

"Heh, Wei Xiaobao, I can give you a chance... Release the princess, and then you'll come with us. As for the others, whether they're lackeys of the Qing court or accomplices of some unknown force, they can all go back and report to their masters!" Wu Kang didn't say it outright, but he hinted at it.

Wu Kang didn't need his grandmaster to remind him about the Heaven and Earth Society; he already knew about it...

After all, during the "Turtle Killing Tournament," Wu Kang impersonated a small gang and personally attended the event!

Upon hearing this, Guan Anji realized that Wu Kang seemed to know their identities. Then…

"What does Your Highness intend to do by taking the 'Fragrance Master' with you?" Guan Anji's pronunciation of the term "Fragrance Master" was extremely vague, and it was impossible to pinpoint where the accent came from.

It's basically a matter of "those who know, know; those who don't, won't understand anyway."

"Your Master Wei has done a lot of good deeds behind your backs. It wouldn't be a shame to throw him into the oil cauldron or cut him into a thousand pieces!" Wu Kang said disdainfully.

He didn't specifically keep it a secret for Wei Xiaobao, but he also didn't specifically expose anything. At this time, Wei Xiaobao was only accompanied by Guan Anji and a group of Qingmu Hall members of the Heaven and Earth Society. The other guards of the Xiaoji Camp were in the room, and they were all in a state of panic, but they weren't afraid of being exposed.

"You! Can we come along?" Guan Anji asked righteously.

In his view, if Wu Kang really wanted to rebel against the Qing Dynasty, then Master Wei would definitely be the pillar of the anti-Qing camp, and there was no reason to make things difficult for him.

If Wu Kang is like his father, incorrigible and secretly harms Master Wei... then he will definitely expose him, even if it means death!

Wu Kang paused for a moment after hearing this, then nodded and said, "Very well, let me show you that even Chen Jinnan can make mistakes."

Hearing Wu Kang address Chief Chen by his full name, Guan Anji and the others felt a surge of dissatisfaction, but they also breathed a sigh of relief—Wu Kang's intention seemed to be to reason with them.

"Then use the princess to exchange for your little lover!" Wu Kang said, pointing at Shuang'er, who was frozen in place.

"Hmph...Change the player!" Wei Xiaobao waved his hand and said.

After Princess Jianning was escorted out, she was about to speak when Wu Kang shouted, "Shut up! You have no right to speak!"

He then ordered his personal guards to take the princess away first. The people around continued to surround her. Wei Xiaobao, along with Guan Anji, Xuanzhen Daoist, Qian Laoben, Xu Tianchuan, and Feng Jizhong from the Green Wood Hall, as well as Shuang'er who had volunteered to follow and refused to stay, left with Wu Kang.

During this time, Wu Kang actually asked Ouyang Feng to keep order at the princess's residence, while he himself seemed to have no experts around him, only ordinary guards with a few people.

Even the hot-tempered Taoist Master Xuanzhen felt a strong urge to join in...

Wu Kang walked with composure, and even when they noticed his unusual behavior, they only glanced at him, which made them dare not make any rash moves.

Guan Anji, who was always mature, steady, and the most thoughtful, and could be said to be the acting leader of the incense shop during Wei Xiaobao's "undercover" period, couldn't help but sigh when he saw this scene. It was rumored in the martial arts world that the Prince of Pingxi's son was just a playboy, but judging from his current demeanor... he was probably more than a step above the young master Mu and the son of his own Prince Zheng's mansion!

Just as he was feeling sentimental, the group was led to the headquarters of the Divine Dragon Sect. Wei Xiaobao couldn't help but think, "I'm going to die, I'd rather go to the Prince of Pingxi's mansion," while his mind raced for ideas to survive.

Upon arriving at the main hall, he saw that someone was already seated in the head seat, but it was not the Divine Dragon Saintess, but rather... someone Wei Xiaobao was even less willing to see!

The Divine Dragon Saintess was now seated on the left-hand side...

After seeing Chu Luren, Wei Xiaobao, though unaware of what had happened, understood why things had turned out so unexpectedly—wherever Chu Luren was, he seemed to be hindered.

"Chu Tai... Alliance Leader?" Guan Anji and the others exclaimed in surprise upon seeing this.

"Grandmaster Uncle." After performing the disciple's greeting, Wu Kang sat down in the second seat on the right.

The members of the Heaven and Earth Society automatically interpreted this as—the changes in the Pingxi Prince's Mansion were inextricably linked to Chu Tai Sui. Rather than saying that Wu Kang inherited the Pingxi Prince's Mansion, it was more accurate to say that... the Pingxi Prince's Mansion had also been taken over by the Righteous Alliance!

Chu Tai Sui was indeed cunning and scheming. While everyone else was still thinking about "killing the turtles," he had already planned to "raise turtles" and "tame turtles."

Absolutely terrifying...

"So it's Hero Chu here! No wonder, no wonder, I thought it was really that old turtle who had a change of heart! Hero Chu is indeed invincible!" Wei Xiaobao immediately beamed and flattered him, as if he had no memory of the previous grudge at the foot of Shaoshi Mountain, nor had he guessed that his "big problem" was related to Chu Luren.

Of course, while flattering Chu Taisui, he also didn't forget to sow discord between Chu Taisui and Wu Kang.

"Wei Xiaobao, do you still hold a grudge against me for stopping you from forcibly taking a woman and for injuring your brother who works in the palace?" Chu Luren asked calmly.

"This is a huge misunderstanding! Alliance Leader Chu, my usual public identity is that of someone working in the palace, so naturally I have to mingle with the Qing people. That day, actually..."

Wei Xiaobao wanted to argue further, but the Holy Maiden of the Divine Dragon Sect said, "It was indeed his idea to frame you for the matter of the young princess of the Mu family."

Upon hearing what the Holy Maiden of the Divine Dragon Sect said, Wei Xiaobao's veins throbbed, partly from the tension of the urgent situation and partly from anger.

"Holy Maiden! It was clearly you who coerced me with poison and captured the young princess of the Mu family. I did this for..." Wei Xiaobao's anger was genuine.

No matter what, this guy is the main culprit, and I was just going along with it, right?

Why are you teaming up with him to criticize me?

“That’s right, I did capture the person. I’ve already spoken to Alliance Leader Chu.” Long’er rolled her eyes at him after saying that and continued drinking her tea. As for the matter of Ake being drugged, it wasn’t appropriate to talk about it now.

just now……

Chu Luren's plan was to expose Wei Xiaobao in front of the Heaven and Earth Society members and make him suffer a crushing defeat first.

Yes, the person who drugged him should be killed first...

Chapter 1023 Exposing

"Alliance Leader Chu, there might be some misunderstanding between you and Master Wei... I only just heard about this so-called 'framing' incident, but... the young princess of the Mu family shouldn't have been captured by Master Wei, right?" Guan Anji explained with maturity and composure.

"Hahaha, it's not surprising that the fools of the Mu family would believe Lord Wei. After all, in their hearts, Lord Wei is the savior of many of them..."

Chu Luren's pointed tone sent a shiver down Wei Xiaobao's spine. However, Guan Anji and the others proudly declared, "That's right, Master Wei, while serving the Qing court, has rescued many anti-Qing righteous men! Although the Mu family has some disagreements with our Heaven and Earth Society... how could Master Wei stand by and watch them suffer at the hands of the Qing court?"

"Then, Lord Wei, could you explain how you rescued the people from the Mu family without arousing suspicion?" Chu Luren asked leisurely.

Wei Xiaobao showed no sign of guilt, calmly reiterating his usual story of "poisoning and incapacitating the guards present, then secretly releasing them"...

"Oh? So, all the guards fainted at the time, the prisoner escaped afterwards, and Lord Wei, who led the men out of the palace, wasn't suspected at all?" Chu Luren made sure to confirm it again.

"Alliance Leader Chu, you are unaware of this. I have always been well-connected in the palace, and many of the palace guards have benefited from my influence, so they have no way of investigating me!" Wei Xiaobao said in a self-righteous manner.

"So, back at Mount Wutai, when you risked your life to block Master Jiunan's assassination attempt on Emperor Kangxi with your own body clad in precious robes, it must have been for the sake of the Heaven and Earth Society?" Chu Luren looked as if he had just realized something.

Wei Xiaobao was sweating profusely. A'ke was right here, and Jiu'nan couldn't be far away, perhaps even waiting in the shadows for him to lie...

At that time, Kangxi's situation was indeed better than in the original work—although he did not trust Qiao Feng and was transferred away by Kangxi before leaving the capital, Zhang Zhaozhong's martial arts skills were only slightly weaker than Jiu Nan's.

Jiu Nan suddenly appeared, but after Wei Xiaobao blocked her killing move, she was forced back by Zhang Zhaozhong and other imperial guards, and was even unable to capture Wei Xiaobao!

"That's right! It really happened! Alliance Leader Chu doesn't know that the Empress Dowager was extremely vicious. In that situation, if the dog emperor had died, it would definitely have been because of the Empress Dowager's interference in politics... That old hag usually said that she was too lenient towards the Han people and that she should have killed ten or a hundred times more. Naturally, no Heaven and Earth Society or Mu Wang Mansion would have dared to stand up!"

Wei Xiaobao immediately began to explain, and Guan Anji and the others listened with righteous indignation.

"Really? So you looked down on that old hag back then? Well, recently that old hag has turned over a new leaf and even agreed to marry her daughter to Wu Kang. You've had a great time as the wedding envoy," Chu Luren continued.

Because Mao Dongzhu betrayed the Divine Dragon Cult after Chu Luren cured her of the poison, Wei Xiaobao didn't know from the beginning that the fake Empress Dowager was a member of the Divine Dragon Cult!

Before Wei Xiaobao could answer, Chu Luren slammed his fist on the table and said, "That's because the previous Empress Dowager was an inside agent planted in the Qing court by the Divine Dragon Sect! You dog thief, you helped Kangxi rescue the real Empress Dowager and killed the fake one who was lurking in the shadows! Tell me, why did Mao Wenlong's descendants, who were impersonating the Empress Dowager, kill ten or a hundred times more Han people!"

Chu Luren also uses the technique of subtle writing to describe Mao Dongzhu's impersonation of the Empress Dowager. There was no nationalistic righteousness involved; it was just that Chu Luren portrayed her as some kind of righteous woman throughout the ages...

"I...I have no idea about the real or fake Empress Dowager..." Wei Xiaobao tried to argue.

When Chu Luren roared, he had already secretly used a mental guidance technique, which didn't have much effect on Wei Xiaobao, but it did manage to silence another person present.

At this moment, Chu Luren looked at Feng Jizhong with eyes like lightning and said, "And you, Ao Bai's traitor, after you reconnected with the dog emperor, what hot shit did you eat? Confess now!"

Feng Jizhong felt that all his schemes had been exposed, and Chen Jinnan and the others were attacking him... A layer of fine sweat instantly broke out on his head!

Startled by Chu Taisui's shout, he felt a chill run from head to toe and knelt down with a thud.

"Spare me! I haven't harmed anyone!" Feng Jizhong shouted.

By the time he realized what was happening, it was already too late...

In fact, as a spy for the Qing court, Chu Luren had no evidence against Feng Jizhong. Now, Guan Anji and others had also realized that Chu Luren had just used sound techniques and mental guidance. However... judging from Feng Jizhong's reaction, this did not seem like something out of nothing!

Not to mention Guan Anji and the others, even Wei Xiaobao was dumbfounded—was Feng Jizhong, that son of a bitch, an internal traitor?

Then, wouldn't that little Xuanzi already be...?

“Brother Feng, Feng Jizhong! You…” Guan Anji and the others were filled with astonishment, followed by indignation.

“Feng Jizhong, you should know how Lord Wei rescued the people from the Mu family, right?” Chu Luren asked with a smile.

"Yes, it was His Majesty... No! It was the dog emperor! The dog emperor wanted to use them as bait to verify their identities and find the main force of the Mu Prince's Mansion, so he deliberately let them go," Feng Jizhong hurriedly replied.

At that time, Feng Jizhong was unaware of these things because Ao Bai had already died and had lost contact with the Qing court.

However, he understood these tactics, and... how could he not understand what Chu Taisui wanted him to say?

Although Wei Xiaobao was someone he didn't want to offend, whether from the perspective of the Qing court or the Heaven and Earth Society, his life was now in Chu Luren's hands!

After his identity was revealed, even if Chu Luren wanted to execute him by slow slicing in front of the city wall, Chen Jinnan would still have to come and thank him.

"The people from the Mu family were indeed hunted down by Qing Dynasty experts for a while after that..." Qian Laoben looked at Wei Xiaobao thoughtfully.

Chu Luren glanced at Boss Qian, but said nothing.

In the original work, after Feng Jizhong died, the Qingmu Hall produced a second traitor, and even Wei Xiaobao didn't know who he was in the end. All of these people were suspects except for Guan Anji—Guan Anji died at the hands of Feng Xifan in the original work.

Among them, Qian Laoben should be considered the most logically probable candidate, because his apparent identity is that of a butcher who has dealings with the Imperial Household Department...

Once Feng Jizhong made direct contact with Kangxi, no one else could escape, but Qian Laoben would. The fact that Qian Laoben was unharmed afterwards is itself very suspicious.

However, Chu Luren had no interest in helping the Heaven and Earth Society catch traitors, and it's not necessarily just about these things.

"Thank goodness! He only harmed the Mu family once, protected Kangxi a few times, and protected Shunzhi once... As for your Heaven and Earth Society, you don't have anything important to do. Killing Wu Sangui or anything like that is in line with the interests of the Qing court, so it doesn't matter if it's leaked to Kangxi."

It's just a pity about the fake Empress Dowager of the Divine Dragon Cult, and Master Jiunan's assassination attempt on the King!

Chu Luren's words were rather sarcastic—"Fortunately" the Heaven and Earth Society didn't have any important business to begin with, so it didn't matter if there were traitors within!

His words made Guan Anji and the others blush...

"Master Wei! Say something!" the hot-tempered Xuanzhen Daoist pressed.

"I...I, Wei Xiaobao, have never done anything to betray my brothers!" Wei Xiaobao emphasized.

"Was the matter at the Mu Prince's Mansion a false accusation against you? Or was the assassination attempt by Abbess Jiunan a false accusation against you?" Chu Luren interjected from the side.