Volume 1: Wild Beasts, Changes Begin Chapter 3 Yueyang City
Junshan is surrounded by water and has beautiful scenery. There are many myths and stories about it. It is said that Emperor Shun's two concubines, Ehuang and Nvying, came here and became goddesses of Xiang River after their death. Qu Yuan called them "Xiang Jun", so later generations called this mountain "Junshan".
This is a quiet place located in Dongting Lake, which is both a mountain and an island. There are many legends about it, such as Emperor Qin sealing the mountain, Emperor Wu of Han shooting a dragon, and Liu Yi delivering a letter. In the martial arts world, when Junshan is mentioned, the first thing many people think of is naturally the other identity of this island - the headquarters of the world's largest gang, the Beggars' Gang.
"Beggars' Sect." Fang Yunhan tapped his forehead with a finger and said, "You should have a lot of people. Apart from those who have died here, are there any other people around here who can be used?"
"In Yueyang City near Dongting Lake, there is a Yueyang Branch. Because it is close to the main branch, the disciples there are more alert and there are more than 300 of them." Zhao Dapeng pointed at a corpse hanging in the bamboo forest and said, "That is Master Lin of the Yueyang Branch."
"Hmm?" Fang Yunhan looked at the corpses again, this time focusing on the number of pockets on their bodies, and said, "Are you saying that besides your gang leader and elders, there are also some helmsmen here, and these branch helmsmen usually live in Junshan?"
Zhao Dapeng shook his head. "I received a secret letter from the gang leader half a month ago, saying that he had summoned several powerful leaders from various branches and elders to discuss an important matter. The date was originally scheduled four days ago, but the ship I was on encountered robbers on the way, so it took a few more days."
At this point, the sturdy man's voice became a little hoarse again, "If I had come earlier..."
"Then there's one more body here." Fang Yunhan interrupted him unceremoniously, "Since you have people in Yueyang City, why don't you gather them together and look for any clues together?"
"Logically speaking, your gang leader would have issued some orders to nearby disciples if they were discussing important matters. They should have been more alert recently, and the chances of them having seen the murderer are very high."
As Fang Yunhan spoke, he walked over to the corpses and looked at the wounds on them. Some were bruised by blunt objects, some were broken bones by sharp blades, and some had strange injuries. The beards and skin of several old men had a strange green color, like frozen sick pork. "And judging by the injuries, it 's definitely not just one person who killed your leader and elders. Go ask those disciples who have seen suspicious people recently and summarize the situation."
Zhao Dapeng nodded, wiped the tears from his face, knelt down and kowtowed twice in front of the corpse.
Being able to become an eight-bag disciple of the Beggar Gang and even the leader of a branch at the age of thirty, Zhao Dapeng is naturally not a person who is slow and confused. He can even be called wise and courageous at ordinary times. It's just that the shock he suffered today was too great. The extreme grief and indignation made his thinking a little rigid, which made look stupid.
After being reminded by Fang Yunhan at this time, Zhao Dapeng naturally understood whether it was more important to collect the bodies or to track down clues.
After Zhao Dapeng stood up, he glanced at Fang Yunhan and opened his mouth to speak, but Fang Yunhan spoke first: "The Beggars' Sect is a great sect in the world, and its reputation is well-known. When I was a child, I admired heroes of the Beggars' Sect like Qiao Feng and Hong Qigong. Now that the Beggars' Sect has encountered such a tragedy, I also want to help."
Zhao Dapeng was really surprised this time, and said, "You actually know the taboos of the predecessors of the Beggars' Sect during the Song Dynasty. It has been more than a hundred years, and even the disciples of the Beggars' Sect don't know much."
"Okay!" The strong man clasped his fists and bowed. "No matter what the result is, I would like to thank you for this first."
In fact, for Zhao Dapeng, Fang Yunhan’s suspicion has not been cleared yet, and it is impossible to let him go just like that. This is something both parties know well.
And Fang Yunhan would not miss this major event that is very likely to promote progress, so he would express his position first to avoid embarrassment.
As for deliberately mentioning Qiao Feng and Hong Qigong, it was also to test the other party. If the other party had never heard of them, then just make up a random story to fool them. However, Zhao Dapeng's performance confirmed that this might really be the world corresponding to the Legend of the Condor Heroes trilogy, and it should be the Ming Dynasty.
The two left Junshan together, went ashore by boat, and then entered Yueyang City. Zhao Dapeng found a dilapidated temple with few visitors, went in to meet with the disciples of the Beggar Gang and gather information.
Fang Yunhan was waiting outside, chatting with a few street vendors and using indirect means to determine the current era.
This was during the Xuande period of the Ming Dynasty. The person sitting on the throne was the fifth emperor of the Ming Dynasty. It was a time when the country was thriving and all industries were flourishing.
Unlike the Ming Dynasty in Fang Yunhan's previous life, this world, even the street vendors and ordinary people know about the martial arts world and are familiar with all the major sects. Not to mention how many of them are just rumors. At least this allows Fang Yunhan to have some general understanding of the current martial arts world.
Shaolin and Wudang are the leading sects in the martial arts world, especially Wudang. Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, they have always been favored by the emperor. However, in recent years, these two sects have become increasingly low-key and seem to refrain from interfering in the affairs of the martial arts world.
On the contrary, the Huashan Sect, which was still mediocre in the late Yuan Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty, has become increasingly prestigious over the past few decades. It has also won over the four sword sects of Songshan, Hengshan, Hengshan, and Taishan to form the Five Mountains Alliance. Wherever the flag of the leader of the Five Mountains Alliance from Huashan goes, both the black and white worlds will try to please him.
Today, the Five Mountains Sword Sect is superior to other famous sects such as Emei, Kongtong, and Kunlun, and can compete with the Beggars' Sect.
As for the evil figures outside of these righteous sects , although there are many masters, they are scattered all over the place and difficult to unite. They are also almost all wanted by the government. Generally speaking, their power is far from comparable to that of the righteous sects.
It would be useful for Fang Yunhan to find out these things.
The power of the Beggars' Sect is still considered a behemoth in the martial arts world of this era. In order to wipe out all the top masters such as the Sect Leader and the elders, the person who does this must have a certain reputation.
After all, there are very few people who have mastered extraordinary skills without going through life-and-death battles or wandering in the martial arts world.
Ga!
Zhao Dapeng walked out of the dilapidated temple. The slightly broken door made a sound of being unable to bear the weight as he pushed it hard.
Fang Yunhan saw his anxious look and asked, "We have a clue."
"They didn't find any suspicious people, but this morning they saw the elder who teaches skills walking through the downtown area with an unusual demeanor. He was hiding and evasive, but he refused to interact with the Beggars' Sect disciples. He went out of the city and headed west."
Zhao Dapeng walked quickly, and each step was three or four meters away. His speed was almost the same as a track and field athlete running at full speed. However, Fang Yunhan, who was held by his wrist, was able to keep up easily.
The warm airflow that originally lingered between the chest and abdomen, under Fang Yunhan's conscious guidance, was infused into his legs, making him feel as if the soles of his feet were equipped with springs, and he could swing far away with a light step.
When the two of them were about to leave Yueyang City to the west, Zhao Dapeng seemed to have exerted too much effort and stopped to rest.
Suddenly, a different kind of noise came from the street behind me. It sounded chaotic at first, but after listening for a while, I felt that there was another lively rhythm in it, but it seemed to be mixed with some crying.
Fang Yunhan turned his head and saw that at the other end of the street, some beggars in tattered clothes, holding bamboo sticks and broken bowls, stood up from the corners and eaves, gathered in the crowd, singing unknown tunes, and went towards Dongting Lake.
People in the shops and restaurants on both sides of the street were surprised to see a group of beggars gathered together. They all looked out, pedestrians stopped to look, and those who were blocking the road quickly moved away.
There was a domineering nobleman who refused to give way to a group of beggars and stood still surrounded by a dozen strong servants.
The thin and dirty crowd walked by, and those bright and strong clothes and bodies were swallowed up in an instant.
After the beggars had gone away, the young master and many of his servants were left with their clothes torn and in despair. They fell to the ground and cried out in pain.
Fang Yunhan looked at the hundreds of people rowing the boats, singing sadly, and the numerous waves merged into the sound of waves. He felt that those disheveled people actually had a unique and majestic temperament.
"I have already told Deputy Captain Mi about what happened on the island. Some of them will contact various parties and continue the search, while the rest will go collect the remains and set up the mourning hall."
Zhao Dapeng's voice came from beside him. The strong man's eyes turned red, and he clenched his fists and said firmly, "Wait until I take the head of my enemy and come back to worship."
