The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

During this time, Zhang Zhaozhong took two punches from Gui Xinshu, and his internal injuries were quite severe. Moreover, the sense of crisis in his heart had not subsided, and the feeling of being suddenly hit hard in the back of his knee made him feel uneasy.

However, she immediately stepped forward to apologize to the Empress Dowager—the Empress Dowager's sedan chair was right behind the Consort's.

"Your Majesty, I am late in coming to your aid. Your Majesty has been frightened!" Zhang Zhaozhong said, kneeling before the sedan chair.

"Yes." A dignified reply came from inside the sedan chair.

Zhang Zhaozhong felt even more uncertain, not understanding what the Empress Dowager meant...

Just then, the Empress Dowager spoke through the curtain: "Don't worry, the sedan chair in front doesn't carry the Imperial Concubine, but two criminals and fugitives from the Divine Dragon Sect who have kidnapped me. Go and check if they are truly dead." The Empress Dowager's tone was calm.

Zhang Zhaozhong was stunned upon hearing this, then a surge of joy welled up inside him—was there an assassin in the sedan chair as well? Not the Empress Dowager?

Zhang Zhaozhong hurriedly went to the front, used his sword to lift the curtain, and looked into the broken sedan chair...

The sedan chair is completely destroyed. What will happen to the people inside?

All that could be seen was one dressed as a eunuch and the other as a prisoner, both of them mangled and bloodied. Only the eunuch could be vaguely seen embracing the prisoner.

This minor incident did not frighten Zhang Zhaozhong, and he hurriedly went back to report: "Reporting to the Empress Dowager, both traitors have already lost their lives."

"Go and burn the sedan chair on the spot. I don't want to see it again," the Empress Dowager commanded sternly and without room for argument.

"Yes! Rest assured, Your Majesty, leave it to me!" Zhang Zhaozhong said, and directly used his internal energy to start a fire and set the sedan chair on fire.

"Yes, well done. I will speak well of you before the Emperor. Go and heal your wounds." The Empress Dowager's voice remained unchanged, but Zhang Zhaozhong could hear the joy in it.

Of course, Zhang Zhaozhong felt even happier. He never expected that this bad thing would turn into a good thing. It must be that the people from the Divine Dragon Sect went to rescue the fake Empress Dowager in the dungeon, and then kidnapped the real Empress Dowager in an attempt to escape, but they were caught by him and the real assassin!

Zhang Zhaozhong was present during the capture of the Empress Dowager Zhen, so he knew about this matter.

"Yes!" Zhang Zhaozhong replied and then turned to leave.

However, as he passed by the burning sedan chair, Zhang Zhaozhong suddenly thought—something's not right! If it was two criminals who had taken the Empress Dowager hostage…how could they be so heartless as to sit in the same sedan chair while the real Empress Dowager sat in the back?

What if the Empress Dowager were to cry for help? Wouldn't that be...?

Zhang Zhaozhong immediately broke out in a cold sweat. He turned his head and glanced at the Empress Dowager's sedan chair. Even though there was a curtain between them, he felt as if the people inside were watching him...

Chapter 1028 Gathering All

Zhang Zhaozhong didn't dare to seek medical treatment; instead, he went to the Emperor to apologize...

Although the dead were criminals from the Divine Dragon Cult, it was indeed due to my own dereliction of duty that I allowed the assassins to commit murder in the palace!

Those who died must be criminals from the Divine Dragon Cult!

Moreover, the perpetrator had sealed the Empress Dowager's acupoints, and Zhang Zhaozhong released the acupoints before paying his respects...

Upon receiving the report, Emperor Kangxi hurriedly went to Cining Palace to pay his respects to the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager was indeed frightened, but afterwards, as promised, she spoke a few kind words to Zhang Zhaozhong...

He said that if it weren't for this accident, he would have been harmed by a villain.

Emperor Kangxi berated Zhang Zhaozhong severely in front of the Empress Dowager, but in the end he did promise her that he would not pursue the matter.

Afterwards, Kangxi was moved and spoke at length with the Empress Dowager about his father, Shunzhi. During this conversation, the Empress Dowager sighed repeatedly before Kangxi finally left.

However, Kangxi was unaware that after he left, another man appeared in the Cining Palace...

"Congratulations! Your status is now officially confirmed," Chu Luren said with a smile to the Empress Dowager.

"Ah, thank you for your kind words, benefactor. That child has been cunning since he was little, so I suppose he wasn't entirely without suspicion," Mao Dongzhu said with emotion.

That's right, the one left is Mao Dongzhu!

She was previously imprisoned in the palace dungeon, but was rescued by her lover from the Divine Dragon Cult, who disguised himself as a eunuch and infiltrated the palace—when she impersonated the Empress Dowager, she had sent many people into the palace.

The two originally intended to take the Empress Dowager away by force. Mao Dongzhu first forced the Empress Dowager to change clothes with her. Then, her accomplice controlled the Empress Dowager in the sedan chair of the Imperial Concubine in front, while Mao Dongzhu impersonated the Empress Dowager in the back!

This was all planned from the beginning; they even dressed the Empress Dowager in a mask made of Mao Dongzhu.

His accomplice was also innocent—while he wasn't a match for Gui Xinshu, he wasn't that incompetent either, it's just…

When he heard the commotion, he assumed that the Qing court had discovered that the Empress Dowager had been kidnapped, so he grabbed her and was about to threaten her.

Unexpectedly, he didn't even have a chance. Gui Xingshu unleashed a full-force punch, instantly killing the two of them inside the sedan chair!

Mao Dongzhu was also dumbfounded. She originally thought she was going to die, until Zhang Zhaozhong came to "apologize" to her.

Only then did it dawn on me—I am the Empress Dowager, what do I have to be afraid of?

"So what if you're preoccupied? In the end... you're the Empress Dowager." Chu Luren sighed.

His divine senses keenly perceived that when Mao Dongzhu dealt with Kangxi just now... it couldn't be described as merely "dealing with"! Seven-tenths of it was genuine emotion!

To be honest, the lovers she arranged in the palace might not have been as deep as her feelings for Emperor Shunzhi.

Otherwise, how could a fake empress dowager have killed Consort Dong?

This is only harmful and not beneficial to her "undercover" mission, and it is clearly a manifestation of her genuine jealousy.

If Emperor Shunzhi had been more decisive, he would have killed her as well, instead of hiding away and becoming a monk...

“My benefactor has saved me once again. I have no way to repay his kindness. I also obtained the scriptures of the Bordered Red Banner, which I will now offer to my benefactor.”

Without further ado, Mao Dongzhu attributed this "life-saving grace" to Chu Luren.

Then she took out a small bag from her bosom—claiming it was a "scripture," but since Mao Dongzhu already knew the secret within, it was naturally...

It must have been hidden in the palace originally, and was taken out when they were rescued from the dungeon and the Empress Dowager was kidnapped.

"Well, your daughter married my grand-disciple. The Holy Maiden of the Divine Dragon Sect killed Hong Antong, who had coerced you, and has now submitted to me. So we're not strangers, no need to be so polite."

As Chu Luren spoke, he accepted the scripture without ceremony, and he had already noticed that there was something else inside the cover—indeed, this was the original!

Hearing Chu Luren mention his daughter, Mao Dongzhu breathed a sigh of relief. She had already anticipated that although her daughter was very likely Shunzhi's son, she couldn't be sure, but she would definitely be persecuted by that fake empress dowager...

When she was rescued, she heard that Princess Jianning had married into the Prince of Pingxi's mansion. Mao Dongzhu was still a little worried, but obviously she couldn't tell Kangxi about it.

Now that he heard Chu Luren say this, Mao Dongzhu felt much relieved. Even if the Prince of Pingxi went to war with the court, he wouldn't make things difficult for Jianning because of this relationship, right?

……

Chu Luren never expected that after watching a good show, he would "pick up" the Forty-Two Chapters Sutra with the Red Banner.

I currently have five fragments in my possession, and I'm just waiting for Murong Jiu to arrive so I can piece together the fragments from the eight books!

Chu Luren had not expected that Murong Jiu would arrive in Manjing on May 12th—the original appointment of May 15th was the day Chu Luren had anticipated, and Murong Jiu would arrive at full speed after receiving the news.

Looking at the travel-worn Murong Jiu, Chu Luren couldn't help but sigh, "Human potential is indeed limitless..."

"Have you found any clues about the one with the red flag?" Murong Jiu asked about the scriptures as soon as he met Chu Luren.

"There are no clues, but I have found the sheepskin fragments," Chu Luren said truthfully.

"Why are there still no clues... What? You found one?" Murong Jiu's face lit up with joy upon hearing this, and she quickly asked Chu Luren to bring it out so she could start piecing it together.

Chu Luren first handed the fragments to her, and then Murong Jiu pieced them together while Chu Luren asked, "If... I mean if, you obtained the Northeast Dragon Vein, what could you do with it? After the Manchus entered the pass, the overall situation shifted from outside the pass to inside. The people outside the pass didn't hide, and almost all of them were Manchus. They wouldn't buy into the Xianbei's ways."

"We'll talk about it later," Murong Jiu replied bluntly without even looking up.

"Ahem, actually I have a good idea," Chu Luren said in a tempting tone.

"What's the plan?" Murong Jiu replied absentmindedly, paused for a moment, and then said, "Don't touch my leg, I'm working on it!" After saying that, she lowered her head and continued working on it.

"If we succeed in slaying the dragon, my elder brother can absorb it!" Chu Luren's tone was very constructive.

"Oh." Murong Jiu hadn't been paying attention at first, then suddenly paused: "What?"

"After much thought, I believe that if we can truly obtain the Dragon Vein True Essence, then it should be given to my elder brother, as that would be the most effective way to utilize it... Even if someone else obtains the Dragon Vein True Essence, they cannot be invincible—human strength has its limits. If the Manchus are not convinced, even a warrior capable of defeating ten thousand men cannot dominate beyond the Great Wall."

“You’ve gone too far… Back in the Southern Shaolin Temple, you sided with your elder brother, and now you still… No way!” Murong Jiu objected firmly.

"I haven't finished yet. We'll definitely bring back the treasures from the other dragon veins ourselves, and once our elder brother is in charge of Manchuria... Actually, I have another idea."

As expected, Murong Jiu was the hardest to persuade. If Chu Luren had said he wanted to absorb it himself, Murong Jiu might have just been a little upset, but she couldn't accept giving it to an outsider.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 1029 Reunion

On May 13th, Dongfang Bubai, Yaoyue, and Lianxing also arrived.

As expected, Dongfang Bubai was busy with something. Otherwise, if she were nearby and had traveled from Blackwood Cliff to Manjing, she shouldn't have arrived with Yaoyue and Lianxing.

"So... what have you all been doing these past few days?" Yaoyue frowned as she looked at the sheepskin puzzle, which didn't even have a clear outline.

"This thing is more of a headache than I imagined," Chu Luren said earnestly and with great distress.

Chu Luren hasn't been idle these past few days; it's just that... it's very difficult to work hard!

Did Nurhaci not consider the possibility that his descendants might not be able to replicate it?

"Hmph." Murong Jiu snorted from the side.

Inviting the Moon: ? ? ?

Is this guy "humphing" at me?

Before Yaoyue could react, Murong Jiu's expression quickly "melted," and her eyes became adorable: "Master!"

Yaoyue's expression softened slightly, but before she could deny taking on a disciple, Xiao Jiujiu complained, "Master! Silly Jiujiu and Brother Chu didn't do the puzzle; they fight in bed every day!"

Chu Luren: ...

Inviting the Moon: !!!

"Little Jiu Jiu, don't talk nonsense!" Chu Luren quickly stopped Little Jiu Jiu's sudden tattling.

However, a chill emanated from behind him. Chu Luren turned around and said with a serious expression, "Children don't know any better..."

"Heh, you really enjoy fighting?" Yaoyue sneered.

At this moment, Dongfang Bubai rolled his eyes and instead of trying to stop the fight, he focused his attention on the jigsaw puzzle on the table.

Chu Luren wasn't entirely lying—these scraps of sheepskin, almost all the same size, style, and with scribbled patterns, were impossible to piece together without any clue!

"You bunch of worthless men, you're all useless at everything. Leave it to me," Dongfang Bubai said, gathering up all the pieces of sheepskin.

Fortunately, it's Xiao Jiujiu outside right now, otherwise Murong Jiu would definitely have followed her out of concern, and might have even gotten a lesson from Dongfang Bubai...

"Why don't we talk about it when we get to Fengtian?" Chu Luren was afraid that Dongfang Bubai wouldn't be able to finish in a short time.

The two White Banners are now guarding their ancestral lands, with their main garrison located in Fengtian Prefecture, which was the capital of the Manchu Qing Dynasty before it entered the Central Plains and is now the secondary capital.