The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

Moreover, Guanzhong is currently occupied by the Mongol Yuan dynasty, and especially considering that the Xiangyang area is not peaceful at present, the four Chu Lu people chose to first go north to Huainan, take the route through Guandong, and then go west into Guanzhong.

With Aobai wielding power in the Qing court, the Three Feudatories causing internal strife in the provinces, and the Mongol Yuan dynasty pressing aggressively in Hebei, the young emperor likely has no desire to launch a southern expedition. Otherwise, the movement of the Eight Banners army would simply hand over military power to Aobai!

Today, Wu Sangui, the Prince of Pingxi of the Qing Dynasty, is stationed in the western part of the Qing Dynasty—that is, the Luoyang area, with Tongguan, which was occupied by the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, to the west.

It is said that this major traitor was also having an ambiguous relationship with the Mongol Yuan dynasty at this time, so there was little fighting in the Tongguan area.

Moreover, once you head north, the roads are flat, and since you'll eventually need to ride a horse anyway, it's much more convenient.

Although it involved the shaving order, it wasn't a big problem.

Before planning the trip, Chu Luren had studied the Qing court's shaving order, which was equivalent to the time when the Southern Ming Dynasty had fallen, meaning that officials and soldiers had to shave their heads.

Historically, the Southern Ming Dynasty fell faster than anyone could have imagined. The surrendered generals, led by Wu Sangui, were "brave and skilled in battle," and the surrendered officials, including the Donglin Party, were "loyal and devoted," giving the Qing court the confidence to issue a mandatory shaving order for the entire population.

The shaving at this time was in the style of the early Qing Dynasty, completely different from the long braids seen in TV dramas in the middle and later periods. It was just a single strand of hair, no larger than a coin, left on the top of the head and hung down as a braid. In comparison, the long braids in the middle and later periods were the result of the gradual relaxation of the shaving policy and the gradual restoration of the old appearance.

Of course, in reality, the number of people shaving their heads at this time was far more than just officials and soldiers. Chu Luren had inquired beforehand and found out that it was best for people from the Jianghu (江湖, the martial arts world) to avoid entering the city when traveling in Qing territory—because the ratio of people shaving their heads was basically "80% in the city and 20% in the countryside."

Most of the high-ranking officials and nobles in the city who actively approached the Qing court, as well as the merchants who wanted to live in peace, shaved their heads voluntarily. On the contrary, only a minority kept their hair long. Especially in some cities where the Qing court had strong control, keeping hair long might lead to difficulties.

after all……

Although the Jurchens were few in number, their county magistrates and prefects had already shaved their heads, so they naturally found the "troublemakers" with long hair an eyesore.

Especially five years ago, during the first imperial examination of the Qing Dynasty, many scholars from the north, longing for their homeland, did not participate. This led to a large number of shameless scholars taking the exam and almost all of them passing and being granted official positions, which greatly stimulated the enthusiasm of scholars in the countryside to take the exam. Naturally, these people shaved their heads voluntarily.

Of course, the second imperial examination two years ago became an extremely competitive process, with thousands of candidates vying for a single spot...

Nowadays, truly principled scholars who despise the Qing Dynasty either stay at home reciting poetry and books or have already abandoned their families and careers in their ancestral homeland of Nantou.

Outside the city, ordinary people generally ignored the shaving order, unless they were government officials, local thugs who took the opportunity to run rampant in the countryside, scholars who hoped to serve the Qing court, or... servants and tenants of high-ranking officials from their hometowns.

Unless they completely submit to the Qing government, people from the martial arts world generally do not shave their heads.

In some important cities, those who grow their hair long and carry knives and swords will definitely be targeted, and may even be wanted in the capital. However, in ordinary small towns, the government does not dare to interfere much. After all, martial arts figures, especially wandering knights, are different from ordinary people and small merchants who are easy to bully. If you anger them, they will kill you and leave. Where can you go to seek justice?

The family of Wang Yuanba, the Golden Saber, were extremely wealthy and powerful in Luoyang, yet they never shaved their heads. Firstly, they couldn't bear the shame and preferred to maintain appearances even if it meant going through official trouble. Secondly, Luoyang was Wu Sangui's territory, and the old dog was now diverting his attention from the Qing court and trying to win over people in the martial arts world, so he naturally wouldn't cause too much trouble.

……

On this day, the fourth day of the ninth month, Chu Luren and his party arrived near Xuzhou Prefecture. From the woods beside the official road, Chu Luren and Li Mochou faintly heard sounds of fighting and cursing.

With a simple discernment, one can tell that the people fighting are at least skilled martial artists, and it sounds like there are more than one or two of them.

If it were just Li Mochou and her disciples, they would rarely join in such a lively gathering. However, upon hearing this, Chu Luren quickly called Li Mochou to dismount and enter the forest together. As for Hong Lingbo and Wang Yuyan... it would be best for them to follow behind at a slower pace.

Chu Luren used his lightness skill and covered more than half a mile in the forest in two breaths. Li Mochou was a disciple of the Ancient Tomb Sect and her movements were also very graceful. However, in just two breaths, the sounds of fighting had already subsided.

However, the location they had identified earlier was still there, and soon Chu Luren and Li Mochou arrived. They saw three people harassing a little beggar. Behind the little beggar was a seriously injured old man. This man had a ruddy complexion and a white beard that reached his chest. He looked extremely healthy and was clearly a master of external martial arts. If his beard were black, he could really play Guan Yu.

Unfortunately, his complexion was already extremely poor at this point, and the bloodstains revealed that he had suffered a penetrating wound to his chest!

As for the other three, Chu Luren took a closer look and realized that there was one he recognized. One of them, who looked very thin, was none other than Mi Hengye of the Chang Le Gang, whom he had met once before at Tingxiang Fragrance Pavilion.

At this moment, Mi Hengye was also in a sorry state. His usual single-edged sword had been broken and thrown by the roadside, so he had no choice but to use an awkward longsword, which he used as a knife to slash at the little beggar's head.

If you look closely, you can tell that he was holding back. However, Chu Luren was still twenty or thirty feet away and could only see him from a distance. He immediately shouted, "Stop!"

Three against one doesn't necessarily mean bullying the weak or that it's unreasonable. Chu Luren isn't that sensitive or pedantic, but... what good things can the Chang Le Gang do?

Moreover, the little beggar was thin and frail, probably only twelve or thirteen years old...

As Chu Luren spoke, he also used his finger strength to flick a small pebble he had picked up earlier.

The sound of air being cut was even faster than Chu Luren's "Stop!" With a crisp sound, Mi Hengye's longsword was shattered and almost slipped from his grasp!

Mi Hengye quickly turned his head and saw that he did not recognize Li Mochou, who had been active in the north for a long time, but he recognized Chu Luren, whom he had met in Suzhou just over two months ago...

Upon witnessing Chu Luren flicking the pebble with his finger, a soft exclamation rippled through the nearby woods...

Chapter 111 The Little Beggar

The Finger Flicking Skill, Huang Yaoshi's signature technique, is not called "Flicking" for nothing. Compared to "One Finger Divine Skill," it places more emphasis on explosive power.

When exerting force, the middle finger is placed under the thumb. When circulating internal force, it is accumulated at the Zhongchong acupoint at the tip of the middle finger and resisted by the Shaoshang acupoint on the thumb. When the two collide to the extreme, it is then explosively released!

It can unleash explosive finger force, and because of its explosive power comparable to a mechanism, it can be used as a carrier for some small hidden weapons.

Because it was a finger-strength kung fu, Chu Luren didn't hesitate for long after obtaining it. One night, while staying at an inn in the city, he combined it with "Dancing the Universe"!

"Dancing the Universe" incorporates many martial arts techniques, with finger techniques being the main focus, and the quality of these techniques is generally high. However, in terms of performance, "explosive power" has always been a weakness.

After incorporating the "Finger Flicking Divine Skill" this time, not only has this finger technique, which is characterized by its ever-changing nature, gained an additional "explosive" variation, but also... subtly because it has made up for its shortcomings, it has also brought out some characteristics that were previously covered up during the melting process.

This also made the Chu Lu people wonder once again about the principle of "fusion"!

The newly created badge is called "Seven Illusionary Rainbow Finger," a pure "technique" that emphasizes versatility.

Compared to "Dancing Universe Finger", it not only has more explosive power, but also reveals some of the hidden properties of "White Rainbow Illusion Palm" and "Six Meridian Divine Sword" that were previously used as materials.

It seems to be developing into a more comprehensive martial art like the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms...

Thus, Chu Luren also understood that sometimes the parts that are covered up during the fusion do not completely disappear, and may be re-activated in the future... but the principle is still unclear.

In order to stop Mi Hengye from acting recklessly, Chu Luren flicked a small stone from twenty or thirty feet away, fully unleashing the "explosive" aspect of the Seven Illusions Finger Technique.

With Chu Luren's current internal strength, the ranged energy from the Six Meridians Divine Sword alone would be difficult to knock down the weapon of a martial arts expert from twenty or thirty feet away. However, it wouldn't be difficult to reduce the range to a dozen feet.

However, with explosive force, a pebble was launched directly, and it still maintained extremely strong force even when it was twenty or thirty feet away!

The longsword in Mi Hengye's hand was shattered by the impact. At the same time, the pebble that Chu Luren flicked out, which was not made of hard stone, also shattered. The fine sand and gravel left some barely visible bloodstains on Mi Hengye's face.

He himself almost lost his grip on the sword hilt...

Turning his head, he saw Chu Luren, whom he had met before, and Mi Hengye felt even more uneasy.

Judging from the skill Chu Luren displayed when we met at Tingxiang Pavilion, he was no less skilled than the old man Dabei. And judging from this pebble, his martial arts have probably improved even further!

“Old man Da Bei, our Chief Situ kindly invited you to join the gang, but you cursed the chief… Mr. Bei even found out that you were also involved in the matter of our chief being killed by Murong Fu. How can we, the brothers of Chang Le Gang, tolerate you?” Mi Hengye hurriedly explained his reasons.

The little beggar, who had just nearly lost his life to Mi Hengye's sword, was terrified but stubborn by nature. He retorted defiantly, "You're a bad person! You clearly said before that you were going to kill this old man because he refused to join your evil gang!"

Mi Hengye's face darkened upon hearing this. This little beggar had suddenly appeared earlier and even tried to stop them from killing.

Mi Hengye vaguely guessed that there was probably a powerful figure protecting the little beggar in the dark, which was why he didn't kill him directly but wanted to take the opportunity to test the person behind him.

That sword strike just now actually used a clever technique; even if Chu Luren hadn't appeared, it would have at most just sliced ​​off a patch of his hair close to his scalp.

"Heh, your gang's former leader, Situ Heng, truly dedicated himself to the cause until his dying breath... Is the Chang Le Gang planning to use the death of its former leader as a convenient excuse from now on? If Bei Haishi were here today, would I also be held responsible for the crime of murdering former leader Situ, and be settled with him today?" Chu Luren also mocked.

Upon hearing this, Mi Hengye was initially angered, but he quickly concealed it and chuckled, saying, "Not at all, how could we not trust the character of Hero Chu? It's just... it's said that Hero Chu is on friendly terms with the former leader of the Beggars' Sect, the famous Qiao Feng of the North. Back in Jining Prefecture, I heard that the entire Shan family was wiped out!"

There were also some rumors circulating, saying that someone in the area had seen someone resembling Qiao Feng… Hahaha, just rumors, don't take them seriously!

The distance from Xuzhou Prefecture to Jining Prefecture is only six or seven hundred li. Mi Hengye's news will likely be verified soon, so what he said should be true.

Upon hearing this, Chu Luren's face immediately darkened, and after Mi Hengye's sarcastic remarks, he was also afraid that Chu Luren would make a move, so he secretly gestured to the other two.

"Since Hero Chu has stepped forward, my Chang Le Gang will naturally give him face. Old man Da Bei... you'd better watch yourself!" Mi Hengye said a few polite words, then dared not turn around directly and retreated step by step into the depths of the bushes.

After all, he was also afraid that Chu Luren would strike him from behind...

Chu Luren, having heard about the events at Mount Tai, was troubled and had no intention of keeping them there.

Li Mochou wanted to say something, but in the end she couldn't bring herself to say it, so she glared at the disciple beside her.

Hong Lingbo initially felt wronged, but after thinking for a while, she realized and said, "Master, should we go to Jining first? It doesn't seem that far..."

"I'm not in a hurry," Li Mochou said, feigning indifference.

However, Chu Luren shook his head, saying, "No, Brother Qiao is definitely not in the area anymore. We don't know where he's going next, so it's difficult for us to meet up. Besides... if we run into other unsolved cases in the martial arts world, Brother Qiao won't be around, and it will implicate us."

Thanks to his father's terrible influence, Qiao Feng has now transformed into Conan, the kind who only "hinders people" and doesn't care about solving cases.

Moreover, the world of martial arts is different from the original work. In the original work, after the massacre of the entire family at Mount Tai, Qiao Feng returned to Shaolin. However, the Shaolin where Qiao Feng is now apprenticed and raised is Putian Shaolin, not Songshan Shaolin, which is far away from Mount Tai...

From a convenient perspective, it seems we should first go find other people in the north who know the situation.

Therefore, Chu Luren couldn't be sure of Qiao Feng's whereabouts. If he rashly intercepted him, he would be wrongly accused of being an "accomplice" in the crime, especially since Qiao Feng was not present!

At the same time, the old man of great sorrow was also making his final arrangements to the little beggar—saying it was to give Chu Luren face, but in fact the old man of great sorrow had already suffered a fatal injury!

Although Chu Luren had also made a move, in the eyes of the Great Compassion Elder, this little beggar who jumped out without knowing any martial arts was undoubtedly more pure...

At this moment, the little beggar hurriedly called out the man in blue who was hiding nearby, wanting him to treat him. However, it was too late. The man in blue had hoped that the little beggar would ask him for something, but what use was it for a dead man to ask him for help? It was naturally useless!

And the man in blue was somewhat embarrassed when he was pulled out...

But this person was dressed in blue, with a thin face. Chu Luren felt that he looked familiar with both his figure and temperament, and his clothes were exactly the same as Huang Yaoshi's!

As for the facial features...

It felt a little unfamiliar, after all, Chu Luren had never seen Huang Yaoshi's features before, and this person was not wearing a mask, but his face had a very distinctive blue light and shadow.

"Huang Qian..."

"I, Xie Yanke, am from Motian Cliff!" The man in blue directly interrupted Chu Luren's greeting.

Chu Luren: ...

Hey! That's going too far. Compared to a few days ago, you haven't even changed your clothes, have you?

Chapter 112 Establishing a Persona is Fun for a Moment

Xie Yanke, the hermit of the towering city in "Ode to Gallantry", and Huang Yaoshi, the Eastern Heretic in "The Legend of the Condor Heroes", do indeed have many similarities.

For example, both of them mostly wore blue robes, had short beards, and had "refined and thin faces"...

The difference between the two in appearance is that Huang Yaoshi always wears a perfunctory mask when meeting outsiders, while Xie Yanke's face has a bluish tinge due to his internal energy!

Both of them were morally ambiguous in their actions, making it difficult to describe them as simply good or bad.

In particular, the two have one major similarity—both can perform the "finger flicking magic".

If the era of "Ode to Gallantry" weren't so vague and its connection to other works by Jin Yong weren't so small, we might be able to find some connection.

However, before today, Chu Luren had never imagined that these "two" would be the same person...

But once this topic was brought up, Chu Luren remembered many things. For example, in the original work, Xie Yanke was unwilling to take on disciples because he had been "harmed" by his disciples. However, the book did not reveal who his disciples were or what grudges had occurred between them; there was only that psychological description.

Although Huang Yaoshi had caused great harm to several innocent disciples, he had also been betrayed by them. Mei Chaofeng and Chen Xuanfeng stole half of the Nine Yin Manual and eloped, an incident that Huang Yaoshi held a grudge against, and he even took his anger out on several other obedient disciples because of it.

Chu Luren thought about it more deeply. Regardless of the original version, Huang Yaoshi had some feelings for Mei Chaofeng that he couldn't tell outsiders. That's why he broke the legs of all his other disciples in anger because Mei Chaofeng eloped with Chen Xuanfeng. However, he did not harm Mei Chaofeng herself and even saved her life!