The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

In fact, if Yue Buqun really wanted to ask, Lin Pingzhi would most likely have given it to him. However, asking for a disciple's family's martial arts technique is not in line with the image of a "gentleman swordsman." This can be seen from the fact that Yue Buqun immediately turned hostile when Mu Gaofeng slightly questioned his desire for the "Evil-Repelling Sword Technique."

Although it was merely "easier said than done," and not exactly a heinous crime, it was still a serious matter to Yue Buqun...

If you want to obtain the "Evil-Repelling Sword Technique" and the reputation of "Gentleman's Sword," and handle the beginning and end cleanly, you can naturally achieve both. So why ruin your character?

Chu Luren will likely have to part ways with Lin Pingzhi along the way, since he is carrying the coffin southward, from Guanzhong to Henan, then to Huainan, Jiangnan, and Fujian. If he can reach the destination in a year, he will be considered to be moving quickly!

Six months later, Chu Luren will return to Zhongnan Mountain to hold a martial arts contest to find a husband... no, to drive away the hordes of suitors who came to the contest believing the rumors.

The main reason was that when they went to Luoyang, which is in Henan province, the Chu Lu people were worried that the Songshan Sect might do something underhanded, so they sent Lin Pingzhi away first and then dealt with him after he left the Songshan Sect's territory.

Lin Pingzhi understood what Chu Luren meant and was deeply moved. His chivalrous heart, which had gradually cooled down in the original work because he thought there were no good people in the world, had now been warmed up by Chu Luren.

As for Mu Wanqing... she said she didn't want to go with Chu Luren, but when Qin Hongmian left, she didn't go with her. Chu Luren suspected that the mother and daughter might have had a small argument, because when he saw Qin Hongmian off on the third day, this Aunt Qin was still giving him a hard look—it must be displaced anger!

Chapter 161 Sense of Participation

Chu Luren and Mu Wanqing, who had nothing else to do and decided to go with him, waited for Lin Pingzhi for several days in Huayin County, where they had agreed to meet.

After Lin Pingzhi arrived, Chu Luren discovered that in addition to Yue Lingshan and Lao Denuo, who had been mentioned before, Linghu Chong and Lu Dayou were also there.

However, Linghu Chong was clearly in a bad mood, and an awkward atmosphere hung between Lin Pingzhi and Yue Lingshan. Lao Denuo looked like he was "too old to understand," while Lu Dayou looked worried but didn't have a chance to say anything...

"Huh? Brother Linghu has also come down the mountain? Are you heading south together?" Chu Luren asked in surprise.

“No, Junior Brother Lu and I were ordered by our master to deliver a message to the Hengshan Sect. We were traveling with... Junior Brother Lin to Luoyang, and then we parted ways.” Although Linghu Chong seemed to be in a bad mood, he still forced himself to answer when Chu Luren asked him.

Indeed, whether heading north to Hengshan or south to Fuzhou, the journey is smoother after passing through the pass.

Seeing Linghu Chong's unlucky state, Chu Luren naturally didn't ask any further questions. However, he could guess that Linghu Chong must be jealous because he knew that Yue Lingshan had taken the initiative to go south with Lin Pingzhi back to their hometown.

This man usually appears to be an upright and honest man, but when it comes to matters of the heart, he becomes quite dramatic, which in some ways is strangely similar to Feng Qingyang.

This outburst of jealousy is bound to cause a lot of unpleasantness.

In particular, Yue Lingshan's dependence on Linghu Chong was like that of an older brother.

Even without Lin Pingzhi, Linghu Chong's only chance was to wait until Yue Lingshan was of marriageable age, after which his master and mistress would arrange a marriage for them in a feudal way—however, the "marriageable age" for people in the martial arts world is usually quite late!

Now Yue Lingshan has some feelings for Lin Pingzhi, but Linghu Chong's "acting up" makes it hard for him to maintain his "brother" persona, so arguments are inevitable.

However, judging from Lin Pingzhi's slightly embarrassed but still able to pretend to be confused appearance, Chu Luren estimated that it probably hadn't escalated to the point of a three-way "battle," but rather that Linghu Chong and Yue Lingshan had a quarrel.

Chu Luren didn't ask any further questions. Soon after, Lin Pingzhi arranged a banquet at the inn and asked everyone to rest for a while. Lin Pingzhi and his group had been traveling for two days and one night from Mount Hua to Huayin.

Besides the people from the Huashan Sect, there was actually a head镖师 (bodyguard), three镖师 (bodyguards), and a dozen镖子手 (bodyguards), all of whom were from the "Zhenyuan镖局" (Zhenyuan Escort Agency).

Unlike the original story, Lin Pingzhi's return to Fuzhou this time was not with the entire Huashan Sect, so he specially hired a security escort agency to help transport the coffin.

The Huashan Sect has indeed declined; if they don't all come out, they don't have any spare manpower to help them.

In the original work, let alone the Songshan Sect, even the Hengshan Sect had hundreds of female disciples when Linghu Chong took office as the sect leader.

Moreover, the nunneries affiliated with Hengshan Mountain were scattered throughout the north and south of the country. In the original work, when Dingyi used pigeons to deliver messages, the message would pass through two nunneries and be relayed by three waves of pigeons...

The external forces of the Huashan Sect are still in the long process of gradual repair, and Lin Pingzhi cannot enjoy any conveniences, so he hired a security escort agency himself.

Ordinary escort agencies might be afraid of bad luck, but Wang Weiyang, the chief escort of Zhenyuan Escort Agency, is a cousin of Wang Yuanba, who is no more than three generations removed. He is also Lin Pingzhi's elder, so he readily accepted the escort mission and had the head of the Guanzhong branch escort agency carry it out.

The rooms for Chu Luren and Mu Wanqing, as well as this banquet, were all booked by Lin Pingzhi beforehand; he couldn't just offer a "hero's set meal"...

During the banquet, Lin Pingzhi also toasted several镖头 (bodyguards) and镖师 (bodyguards), and did not forget to warmly greet his senior brother who was throwing a tantrum. Although the character of "senior brother with a tantrum" is not cute at all, Lin Pingzhi would not forget that Linghu Chong, whom he had not yet met, risked his life to trick Mu Gaofeng and try to save his parents just because he heard that "the parents of the new junior brother are in trouble".

However, when Lin Pingzhi mentioned that he would definitely treat everyone well when they arrived in Luoyang, Linghu Chong didn't quite get it and awkwardly said, "Actually... it's not that Liu Hou'er and I insist on going to Luoyang!"

But when Linghu Chong looked at Lin Pingzhi, especially after noticing that his junior sister looked at him more often, he suddenly felt... this kid seems to be more handsome than me, and unlike me, a penniless pauper with nothing but a sword and a pot of wine, his family is rich!

For a moment, he didn't want Lin Pingzhi to entertain him...

"Huh? Senior Brother, aren't you and Sixth Senior Brother also going to Luoyang? Wouldn't it be more dangerous to go directly through eastern Shaanxi?" Lin Pingzhi quickly said.

"I..." Linghu Chong also felt that his behavior was not good, but he couldn't control himself when he started to "act up".

Just then, Yue Lingshan got annoyed: "Senior Brother! If you and Liu Hou'er have something to do, then leave first! I'm tired. Xiao Linzi, you make the arrangements... I'll teach you the 'Spirit-Piercing Sword Technique' tonight!"

With that, Yue Lingshan left her seat and headed upstairs to a private room.

Lu Dayou was so anxious that his face turned red, but he couldn't get a word in edgewise—he wasn't that hostile to Lin Pingzhi anymore, after all, given his previous performance, firstly, he didn't dare to, and secondly... Lin Pingzhi had saved him from the clutches of those six strange old men!

Emotionally, however, he leaned more towards his senior brother.

"Chongling Sword Technique? Junior Sister, you..." Linghu Chong had a "my heart aches so much" expression.

Lin Pingzhi glanced at Linghu Chong and, seeing that he didn't seem to be following, apologized to everyone, saying, "Please forgive me, I'm going to check on my senior sister. She seems to be feeling unwell."

Before going upstairs, he gave the waiter a few instructions, presumably to prepare another light meal to send up.

“Chongling Sword Technique… sigh…” Linghu Chong’s face was bitter.

This sword technique isn't particularly sophisticated, but it's significant – as the name suggests, it was created by Linghu Chong and Yue Lingshan during a playful competition, hence the name "Chongling Sword Technique".

Chu Luren couldn't stand it anymore, so he raised his cup and clinked it against Linghu Chong's cup, saying comfortingly, "Alright! Maybe it's just to make you feel more involved!"

Linghu Chong: ? ? ?

After being persuaded by Chu Luren, Linghu Chong's eyes reddened. If Mu Wanqing hadn't pulled Chu Luren, who was about to continue nagging, away from the table, Linghu Chong might have been in danger of committing suicide with his sword...

"If you can't speak properly, can you please just shut up? That Linghu Chong guy is obviously a troublesome fellow!" Mu Wanqing said with obvious disgust.

It's unclear whether Chu Luren disliked Linghu Chong or not, but Chu Luren assumed she disliked Linghu Chong.

"Actually, when it's not about his 'junior sister,' he's quite normal," Chu Luren said fairly.

Upon hearing this, Mu Wanqing couldn't help but gossip, "What's going on with them? Does Miss Yue like that Lin Pingzhi? I also think that guy is handsome... but he looks too thin."

Seeing that there was no one else around, Chu Luren enthusiastically pulled her into his room—it's never good to be overheard when gossiping about others!

“Actually, I feel that it may not necessarily be ‘liking’. Yue Lingshan’s feelings for Brother Lin are probably not as deep as her feelings for Linghu Chong, her childhood sweetheart. However… in nature, her feelings for Brother Lin are closer to romantic love!” Chu Luren said, putting on the face of an emotional expert.

"You seem to know quite a bit?" Mu Wanqing pursed her lips upon hearing this.

"Then take a look!" Chu Luren said smugly, unaware of Mu Wanqing's eye roll.

Chapter 162 Beggar in a Dilapidated Temple

Meanwhile, Chu Luren and his party had left Huayin County less than ten days before they had already crossed Tongguan Pass, officially leaving the Mongol Yuan Dynasty and entering the territory of the Qing Dynasty, or rather, the Prince of Pingxi.

I estimate that we'll be able to enter Luoyang in less than ten days...

Officially, there's not much to worry about. After all, the Yuan and Qing dynasties were at their border, especially west of Luoyang, where the imperial court's power was limited. Even in Luoyang, Wu Sangui was not entirely aligned with the Qing court and had no intention of forcefully suppressing the Jianghu (江湖, the martial arts world).

Moreover, the Zhenyuan Escort Agency mainly operated in the north, with the Guandong and Henan regions controlled by the Qing government as its main operating areas, so it was naturally familiar with the officials.

Linghu Chong and Lu Dayou were still there at this time. They said they would go north separately after passing through Sanmenxia. After a few days of getting to know each other, the awkward atmosphere had eased a bit.

In the intercalary twelfth month of the fourth year of the Tiansheng era, as the twelfth month passed and the twelfth month arrived again, the Zhenyuan Escort Agency group encountered snowfall on their journey...

“Young Master Lin, judging from the sky, the snow might get heavier and heavier. There’s a dilapidated temple not far ahead; we can go there to take shelter first,” Wu the镖头 suggested.

After all, they were escorting a coffin, and traveling in the snow would be inconvenient.

"I'll listen to Brother Wu," Lin Pingzhi readily agreed.

Wu, the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort), then arranged for his men to go ahead and check if anyone was already inside the dilapidated temple—this was the main escort route for the Zhenyuan镖局 (bodyguard/escort agency), so they were naturally quite familiar with it.

Although it wouldn't matter if there were other people around, since everyone was just sheltering from the snow and sharing a roof, they probably wouldn't complain. However, Zhenyuan Escort Agency has its own rules. Even though no one would rob the coffin this time, being in a dilapidated temple with strangers would definitely require extra caution and more people to keep watch at night.

Unfortunately, there were already people in the temple, but thankfully there was only one, and he was a thin little beggar...

"Young brother, please don't be offended. We are from Zhenyuan Escort Agency, and we're just looking out for shelter here," said Wu, the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort), bowing respectfully.

When escorting goods, one must avoid arrogance and disregard for rules. No escort agency is built on bloody battles; they rely more on reputation and adherence to regulations.

Even if someone is just a beggar, there's no reason to turn them away if they arrive at the temple first.

"You can stay if you want, the temple isn't mine," the little beggar said without fear or manners.

Upon hearing this, Wu, the镖头 (bodyguard), simply smiled and told everyone to move away from the corner where the little beggar was and rest in the surrounding area.

However, the little beggar was quite bold. Not only did he not react to the many martial arts figures carrying knives and swords, but he also did not seem to mind when he saw two coffins being carried in.

By the time everyone took shelter in the dilapidated temple, the snow had already become quite heavy, and by nightfall, it was snowing heavily.

"Thanks to Brother Wu's extensive experience," Lin Pingzhi said humbly and politely.

While Wu, the镖头 (bodyguard/escort), was quite pleased, he also remained polite to Lin Pingzhi...

But just then, a sudden commotion of horses' neighing erupted outside—this temple, though small, had a small, dilapidated outbuilding besides the main hall, where the caravan had driven their horses.

The little beggar cried out and rushed out first, followed by several bodyguards. Then a quarrel broke out, and Wu, the head镖师 (bodyguard), couldn't sit still any longer and went over.

Chu Luren also got up to see what was going on. He saw that in the temporary stables, a small red horse had startled the caravan's horses, and some horses had even been kicked and bitten, which led to the argument.

"This is my horse!"

"What kind of horse do you have, you little beggar? You're clearly a thief! I knew something was off about the fur coat you were wearing..."

"Can't it be a gift from my friend?"

"Nonsense! Chief镖头, this horse..."

Chu Luren also realized that it was the people from Zhenyuan Escort Agency who discovered that this little red horse was indeed a fine steed, otherwise it wouldn't have been able to kick and bite their mounts "one against many".

Moreover... it's indeed illogical for a beggar to own such a fine horse.

Therefore, some greedy bodyguards and escorts wanted to take the opportunity to cause trouble.

Seeing this, Wu, the镖头 (bodyguard), hesitated and frowned, but Lin Pingzhi spoke up, "Young brother, could you restrain Ma Xian?"

Upon hearing this, the little beggar stepped forward, hugged the horse's head, whispered a few words of comfort in its ear, and moved the little red horse to a corner near the door. Several porters also noticed the little beggar's intention and subtly blocked its path.

However, Chu Luren then spoke up, "Well, such a spirited horse will definitely only listen to its master."

Lin Pingzhi nodded and said, "That's exactly right."

Several escorts who had initially had reservations felt embarrassed upon hearing this, realizing that Lin Pingzhi's words were meant to verify the matter. If they accepted that the little beggar was the horse owner, they could no longer "uphold justice," since they were a security escort agency, not a bandit stronghold, and had to abide by the rules.

"Hehe, this good horse is very intelligent. When my good friend gave it to me, he told it to listen to me!" the little beggar said proudly.

That chuckle made him look like a little lump of coal, revealing a row of small, white teeth that didn't quite match his appearance...

Mu Wanqing frowned as she watched, feeling that the little beggar was strange and awkward, but she didn't say anything.

With the matter resolved, the group returned to the main hall of the dilapidated temple. Under the command of Wu the镖头 (bodyguard), several porters lit several more bonfires, while the little beggar dug a clod of mud out of his own bonfire.