The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun.

Page 143

Chapter 172: Do You Want to Learn Swordsmanship?

"Master has already said that those people will be arriving at Mount Hua soon. Senior brother, let's go back quickly."

Lu Dayou looked somewhat anxious.

Linghu Chong frowned as he listened, but after hearing Lu Dayou's words, he nodded and said, "Okay, wait for me a moment, I'll pack my things and we'll go down the mountain together."

Seeing this, Lu Dayou was about to go in and help.

"Let me help you, senior brother."

Linghu Chong waved his hand: "It's nothing, it'll be ready soon. Just wait for me here."

After saying that, Linghu Chong went back into the cave and started packing his bags.

"What? You want to come down the mountain again before you've mastered your kung fu?"

At that moment, a voice rang out from inside the cave.

The sudden sound startled Linghu Chong, who then relaxed and turned to look. He saw that Feng Qingyang had appeared in the cave at some point.

This was Feng Qingyang's first appearance before Linghu Chong in two months.

"Grand Uncle, we have no choice but to go down the mountain this time."

Linghu Chong, with a serious expression, told Feng Qingyang what Lu Dayou had just said to him.

Feng Qingyang remained calm, his face expressionless.

Linghu Chong looked at him, then suddenly remembered something, his eyes lit up, and he said, "Grandmaster Uncle, you are also a member of the Huashan Sect. Now that the Huashan Sect is in trouble, could you please come down the mountain to help us?"

Although we don't know Feng Qingyang's skill level, Linghu Chong was beaten so badly by him that he must be very skilled. If we could invite Feng Qingyang down the mountain, it would be a huge help to the Huashan Sect.

Feng Qingyang chuckled softly and shook his head: "I have been living in seclusion for many years and no longer participate in these fights and killings."

Upon hearing this, Linghu Chong became anxious: "Grandmaster Uncle, this concerns the life and death of our Huashan Sect. You are also a member of the Huashan Sect. How can you stand idly by?"

Upon hearing Linghu Chong's words, Feng Qingyang's usually calm and collected expression changed, and he turned his head away, refusing to look at Linghu Chong.

"The Huashan Sect? They haven't considered me a member of the Huashan Sect for over twenty years."

Where Linghu Chong couldn't see, Feng Qingyang's face showed a hint of anger, and his eyes also revealed a trace of pain, as if Linghu Chong's words had touched on a painful memory.

He wasn't angry that the Qi Sect had set him up to get married in Jiangnan; he was angry that the Qi Sect and the Sword Sect had conspired to deceive him, keep it from him, and not treat him like family, preferring to send him away rather than fight each other.

After learning that the incident in Jiangnan was a hoax, Feng Qingyang had been rushing to Mount Hua to try to stop the infighting between the two sects, but when he returned, he found that he was too late.

All the senior and junior disciples were dead, and some outstanding Huashan disciples were also dead. Only Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze, two juniors, remained in the entire Huashan sect.

Jade Maiden Peak was stained red with blood, and the stench of blood filled the air. Even after he returned, the smell lingered. Feng Qingyang's grief was beyond measure, and even after so many years, he could not let go of it.

"When they abandoned me, did they consider me a member of the Huashan Sect?"

Feng Qingyang uttered these words, but his voice was very soft, as if he were talking to himself. Linghu Chong did not hear him and thought that Feng Qingyang was a member of the Sword Sect and was unwilling to take action because the Qi Sect was now in control of the Huashan Sect. So Linghu Chong tried to persuade him.

“Grand Uncle, now that the Qi Sect and Sword Sect of the Huashan Sect have merged, and Uncle Feng and Uncle Cheng have also returned, the Huashan Sect no longer has the Sword Sect and Qi Sect. Of course you are a member of the Huashan Sect.”

Still immersed in the pain of the past, Feng Qingyang turned around abruptly upon hearing these words, his eyes filled with shock.

"What did you say?"

Upon hearing this, Linghu Chong recounted how Feng Buping and Cheng Buyou were subdued by Yue Buqun after the Songshan Sect led Feng Buping up the mountain to force Yue Buqun to abdicate.

"They merged, they merged..."

Feng Qingyang stood there stunned, muttering those three words to himself.

After a while.

"hehe."

Feng Qingyang laughed, his expression tinged with a desolate sadness that he could not conceal, and he spoke in a low voice.

"Back then, you split into sects and killed each other because of sword energy, but decades later, your descendants have reunited. What does that mean?"

"Grand Uncle? Grand Uncle?"

Seeing his expression, Linghu Chong looked puzzled and called out to him a couple of times.

Feng Qingyang snapped out of his daze and was about to say something when Lu Dayou's shout rang out from outside.

"Senior brother? Are you not done yet? Let me come in and help you."

Linghu Chong quickly replied, "Almost there, Junior Brother Lu. Wait for me outside, it'll be ready soon."

"okay."

Lu Dayou responded.

Linghu Chong turned back to Feng Qingyang, his expression earnest: "Grandmaster Uncle, please come down the mountain with me. The Huashan Sect needs your help."

Feng Qingyang shook his head and smiled faintly: "My Huashan Sect... is no more."

Feng Qingyang's eyes were unfocused, as if he had returned to decades ago.

The faces of his fellow disciples and senior uncles reappeared before him.

Seeing him like this, Linghu Chong knew he couldn't persuade him, so he sighed, stood up, and then finished packing his things.

"Since that's the case, I won't try to persuade you any further, Grandmaster Uncle. I'm going down the mountain now. Take care, Grandmaster Uncle."

After saying that, Linghu Chong prepared to leave.

Feng Qingyang looked at him and asked, "Don't you resent your junior brother?"

Linghu Chong was taken aback: "Why should I complain?"

Feng Qingyang looked at him and said, "The current situation of the Huashan Sect is all because your junior brother provoked the demoness of the Demonic Sect. Don't you resent him?"

Linghu Chong looked at him strangely: "Isn't my Huashan Sect a righteous sect that eliminates demons and protects the righteous path? His pursuit of the Holy Maiden of the Demonic Sect is an act of eliminating demons and protecting the righteous path, so why should I resent him?"

Linghu Chong still remembered the content of the first lesson Jiang Ning gave to his junior brothers last year.

"This world is not satisfactory; it is filled with too much evil. Junior Brother Jiang Ning wanted to eliminate this evil. He said it, and he did it. Master also teaches me that Huashan disciples should help the weak and punish the strong, and uphold justice. Why should I resent my junior brother?"

Feng Qingyang raised an eyebrow: "But the consequence of his actions is that people from all directions are now coming to Huashan for revenge. The Huashan Sect may be destroyed because of this, and your junior brothers and your junior sister will die because of him. If you go down the mountain, you may also die. Aren't you afraid? Didn't you come here because he wanted to escape?"

Linghu Chong remained silent.

After a while.

“My master told me that some things cannot be avoided.”

“My junior brother also said that there are different choices at each stage of life. I will gain a lot and lose a lot in the process of making choices. If I run away now, I may lose my master and mistress, my junior brothers and sisters. I don’t want to lose them.”

After saying this, Linghu Chong turned around.

Feng Qingyang watched his departing figure, his eyes filled with unreadable thoughts.

"Would you like to learn swordsmanship from me?"

Chapter 173: Blazing

"Swordsmanship?"

Linghu Chong was surprised.

What time is it? Why are you still learning swordsmanship?

"Thank you for your kindness, Grandmaster Uncle. I'll come back to learn again when I have time next time."

After Linghu Chong finished speaking, he was about to leave.

Feng Qingyang looked at him: "How's your memory?"

Linghu Chong paused for a moment, wondering what Feng Qingyang was up to, but still replied, "It's alright."

“Gui Mei…”

Feng Qingyang began to mutter some kind of incantation.

Linghu Chong was very puzzled by his seemingly delirious appearance.

"Grand Uncle, what are you doing?"

Feng Qingyang ignored him and kept muttering for a while before finally stopping and asking, "How much of what I just said did you remember?"

"what?"

Linghu Chong was bewildered; he hadn't been paying attention at all.

Seeing his expression, Feng Qingyang said directly, "Repeat everything I just said."

Linghu Chong frowned. He wanted to leave quickly, but Feng Qingyang was his grand-uncle, so he couldn't be too impolite. He could only recite what he had just heard. However, because he hadn't listened carefully, his recitation was incomplete and somewhat stumbling, but he could still remember most of it.

Upon hearing this, Feng Qingyang's expression changed. He had just recited a part of the general outline of the Dugu Nine Swords, some parts of which were obscure and difficult to pronounce, but Linghu Chong could still remember most of it after listening to it once. This made Feng Qingyang look at Linghu Chong with new respect.

"Although the time was a bit rushed, one night was enough to memorize it by rote."

Feng Qingyang whispered.

"Grand Uncle?"

Seeing his eccentric behavior, Linghu Chong felt increasingly strange.

"Senior Brother, let me come in and help you."

Lu Dayou, who had been waiting outside for a long time, thought that Linghu Chong hadn't finished getting ready yet and planned to come in to help.

Just as he reached the cave entrance, a dark shadow flashed by, and before Lu Dayou could see it clearly, he collapsed to the ground.

"Junior Brother Lu!"

Linghu Chong was shocked: "Grandmaster Uncle, what are you doing?"

Feng Qingyang withdrew his hand and turned to look at Linghu Chong: "Your junior brother has fallen unconscious, but he will wake up the next day."

Linghu Chong was utterly puzzled: "Grandmaster Uncle, what exactly are you trying to do?"

Feng Qingyang remained calm.