Chapter 14: All Bad News
And speaking of Qingyun Mountain.
Master Hui Chong was worried and depressed because he had no news of Yao Fenglan.
Xin Yuan and Geng Yuan searched around Qingyun Mountain in an area of several dozen miles, following the instructions of Master Hui Chong.
Xin Yuan ran along the narrow winding path overgrown with thorns, shouting out Yao Fenglan's name, hoping to catch a glimpse of her figure.
"Alas! Why was I so foolish back then? When Fenglan was fighting with that Feng Rensui, why didn't I go up and help her?! That scoundrel tore Fenglan's clothes, and she must have felt ashamed, refusing to come back and see me. Alas! I'm such a fool, I'm such a fool!" Xinyuan self-reproached, hating himself, muttering to himself nonstop, and even striking the tree trunks by the side of the road with his hand.
Suddenly, Xin Yuan heard a voice and hastily climbed up a big tree by the side of the road.
Two passersby walked and talked.
"What a close call! I almost couldn't get out of the city gate. Cough, today when I went out, I even checked the almanac, it said it was a very auspicious day! How could something like this happen?" An old man with a backpack and a white beard said.
"Those monks are really something, they killed a group of Japanese patrol soldiers, it's really a credit to us Chinese people." Another person was a young man, also carrying a backpack.
"What a monk! I heard they are all lay disciples of Biyuan Temple, the Eight Great Guardians. Hmm, each and every one of them is quite something, full of guts! What's a real man? That's what I call a real man! Kill the ghost child, it was done swiftly." The old man took over the conversation.
Xin Yuan, hiding in the big tree, heard it clearly. He thought to himself: "What? I hear that my senior brothers have made a big disturbance in Cangmen City? Didn't Master explicitly order them to return to their respective hometowns and wait for an opportunity to resist the enemy? How did they end up going to Cangmen City? No, I must investigate this clearly." As Xin Yuan thought this, a sparrow hawk suddenly appeared, falling from the tree and landing in the middle of the road, blocking the path of two passing travelers.
"Good kung fu, good kung fu! Haha, it must be the master of Biyuan Temple. Sorry, sorry." The old man chuckled and bowed to Xin Yuan.
Seeing the old man bowing to him, Xin Yuan dared not be slow and hastily returned the courtesy: "I don't dare, I don't dare. Two donors, lay disciple of Biyuan Temple Xin Yuan, has returned the courtesy. Old sir, I just heard your conversation mentioning that the eight Vajras of Biyuan Temple killed devils in Cangmen City, is it a rumor or true?"
"It's true, absolutely true! We saw it with our own eyes. The Golden Vajra of Biyuan Temple made a big stir in Cangmen City, killing a group of Japanese patrol soldiers. The whole city is talking about it, and it's really uplifting. Everyone is praising them as men who stand tall and proud, the pride of China. They come without a trace, leave without a shadow, and the Japanese can't do anything to them. Now Cangmen City has been sealed off, and the Japanese are searching the whole city. But they won't find them! Haha, little master, you're from Biyuan Temple, aren't you? You must be proud of them!" The old man laughed, his wrinkles spreading wide.
"What a great hero! They are all great heroes!" The scholar Xin Yuan, who was following behind the old man, cast admiring glances at him.
Xin Yuan heard that the devils were searching for his fellow disciples all over the city, and his heart sank. He stood there stupidly. Two passersby waved at Xin Yuan and continued on their way.
"No way, I have to go back and report to Master immediately, see if we can rescue the other masters." Xinyuan quickly used his lightness skill to jump and run swiftly, returning to the cave behind Qingyun Mountain.
Hui Chong stood anxiously at the entrance of the cave, looking around, while Xin Yuan ran back from one side of the mountain.
"Master, something's happened." Xinyuan said breathlessly.
"What's wrong? Xin Yuan, speak slowly." Master Hui Chong's heart sank, and his tone of voice changed.
"Master, Master's brothers didn't follow your orders to return to their hometowns. Instead, they went to Cangmen City. They killed a group of Japanese patrol soldiers in Cangmen City, and now the Japanese are searching for them throughout the city. The common people all know that it was our Biyuan Temple disciples who killed the Japanese devils, and that traitor, Commander Fēng Rénhuā of the Security Guard, must also know. Master, Master's brothers have gotten into trouble, quickly think of a way to rescue them!" Xīn Yuán said anxiously.
"Amitabha! Good, good! This year is indeed the great calamity year for our Biyuan Temple. 'Geng Yuan eighteen, disaster born', it seems that it will come true after all! Alas, I originally hoped to use the name of resisting Japan to send your six senior brothers back to their hometown, preserve their lives, and contribute a bit of strength to the resistance against Japan. Then, I would take you and Geng Yuan, leave Biyuan Temple, and head to Dunhuang in the northwest to find my senior brother. You and Geng Yuan might be able to escape this calamity. It seems that we are all unable to escape the calamity." Master Hui Chong sighed.
"Master, what did you mean by 'Gengyuan eighteen, disaster born'?" Xinyuan asked after hearing Master Huichong's words, somewhat puzzled.
Master Hui Chong faced Xin Yuan's question, but did not answer directly. Instead, he closed his eyes and shook his head repeatedly. Suddenly, Master Hui Chong pulled out a martial arts secret book from his bosom.
"Xin Yuan, you have a high level of comprehension, I won't be mistaken about this. You will definitely become a master of the martial arts world in the future. This is a secret manual left to me by my master, who is also your ancestor - 'The Floating Extreme Fist'. This set of fist techniques has 108 moves, and once mastered, you can defeat anyone in the world. I hope you study hard and don't disappoint my expectations for you. Xin Yuan, take it!" Master Hui Chong's words were solemn and made Xin Yuan feel as if they were parting ways forever.
Xin Yuan hastily took a step forward, knelt down on both knees, and reached out with both hands to receive the martial arts manual. This legendary martial arts manual, rumored to be the most supreme in the Jianghu, was actually passed down by Master Hui Chong to Xin Yuan. Suddenly, Xin Yuan felt an immense weight of responsibility on his shoulders, gazing at his master's solemn expression, he secretly made a vow: he must preserve this martial arts manual well and master this unparalleled martial art, not disappointing his master's trust and expectations.
"Master, thank you for your trust in me." Xin Yuan was so moved that his eyes were filled with hot tears, and he choked with emotion. "Master, I've been an orphan since childhood, it's you who raised me single-handedly, you're my second parents, more than my own flesh-and-blood parents! Master, your great kindness and virtue, I'll never be able to repay in this lifetime. I want to stay by your side, face everything together with you. Feng Ren will come knocking on our door sooner or later, Master, we must prepare early." Xin Yuan said, wiping away his tears.
"Yes, the disaster is getting closer and closer to us, and we can't hide from it. Xin Yuan, I have one more thing to entrust to you, you must find your junior sister Feng Lan and take good care of her." Master Hui Chong said.
"Master, don't worry, I will definitely find your daughter and reunite you two." Xinyuan said firmly.
Hui Chong Master stood up and reached out to help Xin Yuan up as well.
At this time, a monk hurriedly ran towards Master Hui Chong, holding a letter in his hand.
"Master, Master Gengyuan asked me to bring you a letter."
Master Hui Chong opened the letter and before he finished reading it, his face changed greatly, and in a fit of rage, Zhang fell to the ground on the mountain slope.
