Volume 1: Wild Beasts, Changes Begin Chapter 9: Beggars' Funeral Hall
Six days later, it was almost noon on Junshan Island in Dongting Lake.
The scorching sun shone through the lush green forests of Junshan Mountain, causing a thin mist to rise.
On a rock where one can overlook the waves of Dongting Lake for hundreds of miles in the distance and the headquarters of the Beggars' Sect nearby, an old monk with white beard and eyebrows and a Taoist priest carrying the ancient Songwen sword on his back stand side by side.
The rock was covered with moss, and the top was round like a ball, so even birds would find it difficult to perch on it. However, the old Taoist and the monk stood on it, just like two ancient pines rooted in the cracks of the rock, whose leaves would not fall even if the wind blew.
The two of them are the Shaolin Zen Master Fakong and the Wudang Taoist Master Qingyun, who are both well-known in the martial arts world.
In six days, the news of the major events that happened in the Beggar Gang had spread throughout the martial arts world. The Five Mountains Sword Sect, Emei, Kunlun, Kongtong and other major sects all sent their middle and high-level backbones, including the Sect Master, to rush to the Junshan headquarters to pay tribute.
As for other small sects such as the Wuliang Sword Sect, the Five Tigers Breaking Gate Sword, the Funiu Sect, the Shura Sword Qin Family Village, etc., they also arrived one after another and gradually gathered thousands of people at the headquarters of the Beggar Gang.
The people from Shaolin and Wudang had arrived six days ago and had paid their respects first. Because there were so many people, the two old men let them sit here first.
"Bone-melting Palm, Tantric Great Handprint, Qi-melting Great Method, Mysterious Nether Palm, Ice Soul Silver Needle." Taoist Qingyun enumerated the marks found on the corpses of Beggar Gang masters at that time and sighed, "Among these martial arts, there are many that we can recognize that have disappeared from the martial arts world for decades. If I hadn't seen the scars and compared them with the records in the sect's classics, I would have thought that these martial arts had been lost."
What kind of people and what kind of organization can recruit so many masters who have mastered various unique skills?
Taoist Qingyun did not say the last sentence, but Zen Master Fakong naturally knew what he meant.
"Lu Kuanglan, the deputy leader of Kongtong Sect, and Prince Duan Wangsun of Nanling have come to pay their respects..."
Hundreds of meters away, voices from the Beggars' Sect's mourning hall could be heard faintly.
Zen Master Fakong heard this and shook his head: "No matter how grand this memorial ceremony is, it can never make up for the foundation of the Beggars' Sect. The Beggars' Sect has been passed down for hundreds of years, but after this battle, I'm afraid it will decline."
"That may not be the case. The Beggars' Sect also encountered great disasters during the transition period between the Northern Song Dynasty and the Southern Song Dynasty, and at the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty. The sect's unique skills were lost, masters were killed or injured, and many disciples had ulterior motives. However, they still managed to recover and continue to this day."
Taoist Qingyun took a young leaf that had fallen from his shoulder. "Although the new leader is not the best in martial arts, he is determined. Judging from his age, he is talented. If he can work hard, he should be able to recover in a few decades."
"I hope so." When Zen Master Fakong said this, he suddenly discovered that there seemed to be some commotion in the Beggar Gang's mourning hall.
He exchanged a glance with Taoist Qingyun, and then he glided like a wild goose, floating down from the huge rock. After seven or eight rises and falls, he had arrived at the door of the Beggars' Sect's mourning hall.
"…This is Elder Fengma Niu's last wish, so I will set off soon to deliver this treasure map to Lord Yang Shiqi's residence in the capital. I would like to ask you to accompany me and escort this treasure together if you have time."
Zen Master Fakong and Taoist Master Qingyun just happened to hear the end of Zhao Dapeng's words. They paused and immediately understood the cause of the commotion.
After he finished speaking, the mourning hall, which had been noisy just now, suddenly became silent again.
The heads and elders of each sect had different expressions, but it was impossible to tell whether they were happy or angry. Some of the accompanying disciples were even worse, with obvious dissatisfaction on their faces. Some seemed to think that it was stupid for Zhao Dapeng to say this in public, and looked at him with disdain.
However, a hint of admiration appeared on the faces of Zen Master Fakong and Taoist Master Qingyun almost at the same time.
The Beggars' Sect absolutely cannot keep the treasure map now, but if they hand it over and join forces with the righteous sects to explore together, it will not work either.
If the treasure cannot be found, the various factions will inevitably be dissatisfied with the Beggars' Sect for wasting manpower and resources.
If the treasure is really found, how to distribute it will also be a big problem. The Beggars' Sect today no longer has the authority and confidence to lead this matter. If conflicts arise among the various factions and there are casualties, the Beggars' Sect will be blamed to some extent afterwards. There may even be some conspiracy theories pinned on the Beggars' Sect, which is a thankless task.
But if you choose to hand it over to the court, the meaning will be different.
Ordinary people in the underworld, because of their young and hot-blooded nature, are unwilling to be bound by the etiquette and laws of the court. They always feel that the underworld and the court should be relatively independent, and they disdain to have much dealings with the government. They even feel that if any party in the underworld takes the initiative to contact the court, it would be breaking some rules.
But in fact, these righteous sects dominate one side, so how could it be possible that they have no connection with the local government?
Moreover, the Ming Dynasty is now in its heyday and is the orthodoxy of the court and the country. If it is not mentioned at ordinary times and the treasure is divided among the people, it will be fine. However, if the treasure is mentioned in public and presented to the court, it will be a righteous act.
As for inviting masters from various factions to participate in this matter, it seems to be a request for help.
But in fact, every leader has been thinking deeply recently. This group of unidentified mysterious people, once they took action, directly destroyed almost all the high-level members of the Beggars' Sect. If one day, they want to launch a surprise attack on other righteous sects, will the attacked sect be able to resist? What heavy price will they have to pay?
Will the next one to be attacked be our own family?
Therefore, they could not tolerate the continued existence of such a group of mysterious people.
Therefore, the essence of this request for help is that the Beggars' Gang takes the initiative to owe favors to other factions for something that each faction must do in the first place, allowing the other factions to gain the advantage in the favor. If the news spreads, it can also gain moral praise and a higher reputation.
Sure enough, after a few breaths of silence, the top leaders of various factions, led by Shaolin and Wudang, expressed their support for the Beggars' Gang's decision, and stated that they would send all their backbones to participate in the task of escorting the treasure map.
Then everyone began to study the route, the specific date of departure, etc. After the major sects had discussed it, it was already dusk. The disciples of the Yueyang branch led the various sects to stay in the Yueyang City Inn.
Zen Master Fakong and Taoist Master Qingyun stayed for a while longer and found Zhao Dapeng, expressing their praise for his decision today.
Zhao Dapeng is now the new leader of the Beggars' Sect. The dog-beating stick that had fallen among the corpses at the Junshan headquarters is now tucked behind his waist. With the reflection of this object of authority that has been passed down for dozens of generations of leaders, his demeanor has changed a lot.
However, after hearing the meaning behind the words of Zen Master Fakong and Taoist Master Qingyun, Zhao Dapeng smiled bitterly and said, "This matter was actually made possible thanks to the advice of a good friend."
Zhao Dapeng turned around and led the way, and the two martial arts masters saw the young man in black sitting cross-legged on the bluestone behind the mourning hall.
The original clothes of the prince of Changluo were too luxurious in the eyes of someone who knew the subject. They were in stark contrast to the image of the "famous detective" that Fang Yunhan wanted to create.
So Fang Yunhan's current black clothes are extremely simple. The only noble thing about them is the black headband with silver patterns, which suppresses some of his boyish immaturity and makes him look more mature and capable.
"It was him."
When the leaders of various sects arrived one after another, the people from the Beggar Gang had already introduced Fang Yunhan to them, and they also knew a little about what Fang Yunhan had done during this period.
At this moment, when the big monk and the old Taoist saw the young man sitting alone in the mist of the forest, the impression they had on him became several times deeper.
