Chapter 29: Saving Chang Chun Spring

  "The Green Book."

  Just then, Song Qing heard a whooshing sound, as if it was right next to his ear, yet seemingly from afar.

  Song Qing knew that Zhang Sanfeng was the only one who recognized him here, so whoever called out to him must be Zhang Sanfeng.

  Song Qing raised his head and looked, indeed not far away from the small boat at the bow stood an old Taoist with crane hair and a childlike face, next to whom was tied up a ten-year-old or so little kid. If it wasn't Zhang Sanfeng and Zhang Wuji, who else could it be?

  "Great Master." Although he already knew it was Zhang Sanfeng, Song Qingchu still couldn't contain the excitement in his heart. He himself hadn't stayed on Wudang Mountain for long, but the original Song Qingchu had lived there since childhood and had an extraordinary feeling towards Wudang Mountain, especially towards Zhang Sanfeng.

  It's been almost two years since I left Wudang, and now that we've met again, it's only natural to feel excited.

  "It's really you, Qing Shu." Zhang Sanfeng said with excitement, but suddenly furrowed his brow again. "By the way, Qing Shu, how did you disappear for two years? Do you know that everyone was worried about you?"

  "Sorry, Master Taishifu has been worried about you?" Song Qing said apologetically.

  "Alright, alright." Zhang Sanfeng saw the regretful expression on Song Qing's face, shook his head and sighed, "We'll talk about your matter later, first let's dock the boat and move them ashore." Zhang Sanfeng pointed to the burly men with braided beards beside Song Qing.

  "Oh, right." Song Qing Shu slapped his forehead, almost forgetting that there were still people like Qiu Mao Da Han.

  "Ah!" Zhang Sanfeng shook his head, and with Zhang Wuji, leaped onto the boat, took out some medicine, fed it to the bearded man, then slapped the palm of his hand on the river, pushing the small boat to the shore.

  Song Qing also hurried to help the bearded big man ashore, but unexpectedly the big man was very strong, with one hand holding the boy's body and the other holding the girl, and with a light jump, he landed on the shore.

  Zhang Sanfeng nodded secretly, facing Song Qingchu and said: "This man is seriously injured, but still so loyal to the young master, he's indeed a good fellow. You did well this time."

  "Hehe, it's all thanks to Master Taishi's teachings. Qing Shu doesn't dare take credit for it." Song Qing Shu said with a smile.

  "You're too naughty, I should get your father to discipline you!" Zhang Sanfeng said with a smile, pointing at Song Qingxue, then lightly tapped his toe and brought Zhang Wuji ashore as well. Song Qingxue hastily followed suit.

  After landing ashore, they found an abandoned small village not far away, and Song Qingchu and others moved into a courtyard that was still habitable.

  Zhang Sanfeng and Song Qingchu helped the bearded big man into the house, removed the poisonous arrow from him, and applied a medicine that would counteract the poison and promote healing.

  Zhang Wuji stayed outside with the girl. The girl looked at her father's body drifting away on a small boat, and she just cried.

  That whiskered big Han said: "The government soldiers are so vicious, as soon as they came up, they shot and killed the boatman with arrows. If it weren't for the young hero's rescue, this little boat girl would probably not have survived either."

  The big man knelt down on the cabin floor and kowtowed, saying: "Young hero, you saved my life. Great kindness doesn't need to be thanked. Chang Yun-chun is here to kowtow to you."

  Song Qing Shu helped him up with a hand and waved his hand, saying: "It's just a small matter, it's just a matter of lifting one's hand, there's no need for such a big courtesy."

  His palm was touched, but he felt a chill in his hand, and he was slightly startled. "Is General Chang still injured?" he asked.

  Chang Yun-ch'un said, "The little man escorted the young master from Hsin-yang to the south, and on the way he fought four battles with the demonic claws sent by the Tartars. He was slapped twice in the chest and back by a fanatical monk."

  Song Qing touched his pulse, but felt a weak beat. When he opened his clothes to examine the wound, he was shocked to see that the palm of his hand had swollen up by an inch, and the injury was indeed not light. If it were someone else, they would have collapsed long ago. This person had traveled thousands of miles, fighting off strong enemies, truly a heroic feat.

  However, Song Qing knew his own abilities and with his skills, he was probably not inferior to him. He turned around and said to Zhang Sanfeng beside him, "Master..."

  Zhang Sanfeng saw Song Qingchu's appearance and knew what he meant. He nodded, "You go away, let me come."

  At this moment, Zhang Sanfeng couldn't speak to Chang Yuchun, so he used his hundred-year-old skill to slap Chang's back. Slowly, a faint white smoke rose from the top of their heads. After a while, Zhang Sanfeng withdrew his hand and let out a long sigh. He then pressed on Chang's sleep-acupoint, and Chang's face was no longer pale, with a hint of blood color returning.

  "What about Taishifu?" Although Song Qingchu trusted Zhang Sanfeng's abilities, he still asked anxiously. After all, due to his own reasons, the Han Shui campaign had become vastly different from its original plan. If Chang Yuchun were to die because of this, Song feared that his guilt would be too great.

  "It's all right now, just need to take good care of him." Zhang Sanfeng said, and sighed, "This man has a very hard life, if it were an ordinary person, he would have died long ago, but he managed to hold on until now. Alright, I've already pressed his sleep point, let him rest for a while, we'll go out, I still have many things to ask you."

  Song Qingchu looked at Chang Yuchun who had fallen asleep and nodded before following Zhang Sanfeng out.

  At this time, Zhang Wuji was quietly comforting the little girl, and Song Qingchu couldn't help but smile secretly, saying that the inertia of history is indeed great, and now Zhang Wuji has started chatting with Zhou Zhiruo.

  Seeing Zhou Zhiruo crying, a little girl who had just lost her father, Zhang Sanfeng, although he was used to the vicissitudes of life and the various appearances of human beings, couldn't help but feel sad at this moment. For a while, he forgot to ask Song Qingchu questions, but instead walked in front of Zhou Zhiruo.

  She carefully sized up the poor child, a girl of about ten years old, wearing tattered clothes and barefoot. Although she was a poor boat girl, her face was beautiful and she had all the makings of a stunning beauty. She sat there with tears streaming down her face.

  Zhang Sanfeng saw that she looked pitiful and asked: "Miss, what is your name?" The girl replied: "My surname is Zhou, and my name is Zhou Zhiruo."

  Zhang Sanfeng thought to himself, "The boatman's daughter has a nice name." In fact, not only Zhang Sanfeng but also Song Qing was puzzled and couldn't understand why an illiterate boatman would give his daughter such a beautiful name. It was truly a strange thing.

  Zhang Sanfeng asked again: "Where does your family live? Is there anyone else at home? We will ask the old captain to send you back home."

  Zhou Zhiruo shed tears and said: "I'll just live with Father on the boat, there won't be...there won't be anyone else."

  Zhang Sanfeng nodded and thought: "She's lost her family, this little girl, how can I take care of her?"

  Song Qingchu on the side saw Zhang Sanfeng's contemplative appearance and knew that Zhang Sanfeng was considering how to arrange Zhou Zhiruo's whereabouts.

  If following the original trajectory, Zhang Sanfeng would probably send Zhou Zhiruo to Emei Sect again.

  Song Qing Shu didn't want it to be that way, actually Zhou Zhiruo was also a pitiful person, although she became somewhat sinister later on, but it was also due to circumstances forcing her, so Song Qing Shu wanted to change Zhou Zhiruo's fate, first and foremost by stopping Zhou Zhiruo from joining the Emei Sect.