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

A beggar seemed about to speak, but Jiang Ning interrupted him directly, saying, "If you don't leave this village within three breaths, I will kill you all."

Jiang Ning spoke expressionlessly, but to these beggars, it was the most serious threat.

Without the slightest hesitation, the beggars scrambled away, not daring to utter a single harsh word.

Linghu Chong had already drawn his sword, but they hadn't even flinched. Now, Jiang Ning had only said one sentence, and they were scrambling to their feet.

Because they could tell that Jiang Ning really intended to kill them.

"Junior brother, are we just going to let them leave like this?"

Seeing the beggars run away, Linghu Chong had a strong urge to rush up and kill them all.

It's strange, really. Linghu Chong seemed very angry about what the Beggars' Sect had done. If it weren't for that Huashan disciple stopping him, he would have already killed those beggars.

The reason Linghu Chong was so angry was that before he joined the Huashan Sect, he had been a beggar for a period of time after his parents died, making a living by begging. When he saw those children who had been tortured beyond recognition at the Yanping branch, he couldn't help but think of his past life, which made Linghu Chong furious and wish he could kill all these evil people.

Upon hearing Linghu Chong's words, Jiang Ning shook his head.

"These are just small fry. Killing them now won't do any good. Let them go back and report, and while they're at it, let's see where the Beggars' Sect members are hiding."

The high-ranking elders of the Beggars' Sect are definitely not out of Shaanxi yet; they must be hiding somewhere. Jiang Ning wants to see where they are hiding and whether they are doing anything in secret.

"Senior Brother, you go back to see Master first. I'll follow these people and see where they're going."

Jiang Ning was about to follow secretly after he finished speaking, but was stopped by the Huashan disciple.

“Junior Brother Jiang Ning, I’ll follow them. You and Senior Brother should go back to Mount Hua to see Master. You haven’t been back for so long, Master misses you.”

Hearing what the Huashan disciple said, Jiang Ning did not insist and nodded.

"Then thank you very much, Senior Brother."

Without further ado, the disciple quickly followed the group of beggars and secretly tracked them.

After this little incident, Jiang Ning and Linghu Chong continued their journey back to Mount Hua, while the villagers were overjoyed to see that the beggar who had troubled them for so many days had all run away.

Jiang Ning and Linghu Chong arrived at Thousand Feet Cliff and encountered the Huashan disciples on duty. Upon learning that Jiang Ning and Linghu Chong had returned, they hurried back to report the news.

"Senior Brother, Junior Brother Jiang Ning, Master is waiting for you in the main hall."

"Disciple greets Master."

Jiang Ning and Linghu Chong bowed to Yue Buqun.

Having not seen him for nearly a year, Yue Buqun had not changed much.

Upon seeing his two disciples finally return, Yue Buqun smiled.

"Get up, everyone."

After Jiang Ning and Linghu Chong stood up, Yue Buqun asked, "Did you encounter any dangers along the way? Were you injured?"

Jiang Ning said, "Thank you for your concern, Master. The journey has been relatively safe, and I have not been injured."

Linghu Chong quickly added, "That's right, disciple too."

"Ah."

Yue Buqun nodded without saying anything.

He was actually at ease knowing that Linghu Chong and Jiang Ning were going out together.

Yue Buqun then looked at Linghu Chong and said, "Chong'er, you haven't been back for so long, go and see Shan'er."

Linghu Chong was already missing Yue Lingshan, and upon hearing Yue Buqun's words, he replied, "Yes, disciple takes his leave."

After Linghu Chong left, only Yue Buqun and his disciple Jiang Ning remained in the hall.

At this moment, Jiang Ning said, "This disciple massacred a branch of the Beggars' Sect in Yanping Prefecture, causing trouble for the Huashan Sect. Please punish me, Master."

Yue Buqun was taken aback and remained silent.

After a while.

"Actually, if you look at it from the perspective of the righteous and the demonic paths, you shouldn't do this. The Beggars' Sect is the righteous path and is on good terms with Shaolin. The demonic sect has not been destroyed, and Shaolin is a potential enemy of Mount Hua. From the perspective of the overall situation, we should not be enemies with the Beggars' Sect."

Yue Buqun's face showed no emotion; he spoke softly, as if he were criticizing Jiang Ning for his inappropriate actions in this matter.

"but……"

Yue Buqun changed the subject.

“I saw the children that Pingzhi brought back.”

Yue Buqun remained calm and spoke softly.

"When I saw them, I thought to myself, if I were in their shoes, could I have turned a blind eye to their plight? Could I have ignored the Beggars' Sect's despicable acts for the sake of the greater good?"

Yue Buqun stopped speaking.

After a long while.

"I can not do it."

Chapter 581: Jade Maiden Peak

"So let's not talk about punishment. You did nothing wrong. As for your point about causing trouble for the Huashan Sect, do you think your master will resent you for making enemies for the Huashan Sect?"

Yue Buqun laughed.

Jiang Ning said, "This disciple had no such intention, but..."

Before Jiang Ning could finish speaking, Yue Buqun interrupted.

"I do value the Huashan Sect too much, but that doesn't mean we have to be timid and hesitant. We should do what needs to be done. What does it matter if we make enemies for the Huashan Sect? Our Huashan Sect is meant to be enemies of evil and heresy, so why should we fear another Beggar Clan?"

Jiang Ning cupped his hands in greeting: "Yes."

"Alright, tell me about your discoveries during your trip to the Southern Shaolin Temple."

Yue Buqun waved his hand, not saying anything more about the Beggars' Sect, and instead asked about the outcome of the trip to Southern Shaolin.

"I made no discovery at the Southern Shaolin Temple, but I unexpectedly made a gain at Hengshan."

Jiang Ning then recounted the entire incident at the Southern Shaolin Temple in detail.

After a long while.

Yue Buqun frowned and remained silent.

"In your opinion, is what Bu Jie said true or false?"

Yue Buqun asked.

Jiang Ning smiled and said, "Master already has the answer in his heart, doesn't he?"

Yue Buqun also laughed, then frowned and said, "It seems that the Southern Shaolin Temple did indeed participate in the sword qi dispute of my Huashan. Before the death of Zen Master Lingxuan, he probably already knew the purpose of your trip to the Southern Shaolin Temple. His giving you and your fellow disciple the Great Rejuvenation Pill was probably as compensation. As for the words of Bujie, they should not be false."

Jiang Ning asked, "What does Master intend to do?"

Yue Buqun thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Although the Southern Shaolin Temple was not entirely uninvolved back then, having used the Sunflower Manual to plot against Yue and Cai, it was ultimately because the two of them were not firm in their minds that they fell into the trap. There's nothing I can say about that."

"Furthermore, the Southern Shaolin Temple did not interfere with the Five Mountains Sword Sects. The increasingly serious sword qi dispute within our Huashan Sect was not caused by the Southern Shaolin Temple, but by the Songshan Shaolin Temple. Moreover, Zen Master Lingxuan did not die naturally; he committed suicide. Since all the people from that time are dead and have nothing to do with the current Southern Shaolin Temple, let's leave it at that."

Yue Buqun said.

It's difficult to determine who was right and who was wrong between the Southern Shaolin and the Huashan Sect. It's true that the Southern Shaolin set a trap for the Huashan Sect, but if it weren't for the greed of Yue Buqun and Cai, they wouldn't have fallen into the Southern Shaolin's trap. Yue Buqun also cannot unilaterally blame the Southern Shaolin without considering the actions of Yue Buqun and Cai.

However, Yue Buqun's attitude towards the Shaolin Temple on Mount Song was different.

From beginning to end, Shaolin has been secretly targeting the Five Mountains Sword Sects, sowing discord, infiltrating, and instigating internal conflicts within Mount Hua. All of this is inextricably linked to Shaolin.

Yue Buqun will not let this go.

Jiang Ning had no objections and, after letting the matter drop, recounted how Ren Woxing had stormed Blackwood Cliff and met Dongfang Bubai, as well as how Liu Zhengfeng had acted as an undercover agent beside Ren Woxing and the intelligence provided by Liu Zhengfeng.

Yue Buqun frowned, and after a moment he couldn't help but sigh.

"These are turbulent times."

After sighing, Yue Buqun looked at Jiang Ning and said, "Ren Woxing's attempt to use the Zhenwu Sword is manageable. I have already discussed this with Daoist Chongxu. Even if Wudang finds out that the Zhenwu Sword is in your possession, I have words to stop Chongxu if he comes to ask for it. This issue is not a big deal. As for Ren Woxing's attempt to take advantage of the fact that my Huashan Sect and the Beggar Clan are both weakened, you have already dealt him a heavy blow in Luoyang. I suppose he won't come now. However, we should still be vigilant."

Ren Woxing's two plans against Mount Hua were not bad, but since they were known in advance, as long as Yue Buqun paid attention and handled them properly, there was not much to worry about.

"As for Liu Zhengfeng, since you have made an agreement with him, I will not interfere. You will be responsible for the follow-up. I will tell Mr. Mo and Liu Qin about his matter."

Yue Buqun did not comment on Liu Zhengfeng's actions.

Regardless, Yue Buqun was happy that Liu Zhengfeng was returning to the right path.

"Yes."

Jiang Ning nodded.

"Oh, right."

Yue Buqun seemed to remember something else and asked, "After you returned from the Southern Shaolin Temple, you went north to the capital, saying you wanted to see a friend. Did you see him?"

Jiang Ning nodded: "I saw him."

Yue Buqun asked curiously, "Who is your friend?"

When Zhu Houzhao sent someone to invite Jiang Ning last year, Yue Buqun was curious about Zhu Houzhao's identity. However, Jiang Ning was unaware of it at the time. Now that Jiang Ning has returned, he must know.

"He is the emperor."

"what?"

The four short words "Jiangning" startled Yue Buqun.

Jiang Ning said, "Zhu Shou's real name is Zhu Houzhao, and he is the current emperor of the Ming Dynasty."

Yue Buqun still had the same expression as before, clearly not having reacted yet.

Seeing this, Jiang Ning didn't say anything more, letting Yue Buqun process the news.

After a short while, Yue Buqun finally reacted. He looked at Jiang Ning, unsure of what to say.

"You went there and actually got to know the emperor?"

Yue Buqun first asked a question, then continued, "I originally thought that the friends you made in the capital were some princes or noblemen, but I never expected them to be the emperor... This..."

Jiang Ning said, "It was only during this trip to the capital that I learned of Zhu Shou's true identity."