Chapter 8: An Unexpected Encounter with Two Paths, Resentment Reaches the Sky

  On this day, Ling Muyun was tired from practicing his skills and decided to leave the thatched hut to head down the mountain to a small town at the foot of the mountain to drink at a wine shop and satisfy his cravings.

  During the several months of living at the foot of Mount Zhongnan, Ling Muyun, in order to save time, usually bought rice, flour, oil and salt and cooked in his thatched hut. However, he really had no talent for cooking, and the dishes he made were only barely edible, absolutely not delicious. So every now and then, Ling Muyun would go to a restaurant in the town at the foot of the mountain to have a good meal.

  All the way to the foot of the mountain, Ling Mu Yun went straight to a bustling tavern in the town center. As a frequent visitor, Ling Mu Yun had already tried all the taverns in the town and knew that this one was an old shop with several decades of history, and the head chef's cooking skills were quite good. So, except for the first month when he didn't know the situation, every time Ling Mu Yun came down from the mountain to improve, he would come to this tavern.

  Because of frequent visits, the tavern's owner and staff had long recognized the generous Ling Mu Yun. As soon as they saw him arrive, the staff hurriedly welcomed him with a smile and led him to a familiar seat by the window on the second floor. This was because Ling Mu Yun liked to eat and drink while enjoying the view from the window, and every time he came, he basically chose a seat with a good view. The store staff were already familiar with his habits. Of course, this was also due to Ling Mu Yun's generosity and wealth, as ordinary customers would not have received such a warm welcome even if they were regulars.

  Ling Mu Yun ordered a table of good wine and dishes, and then he started eating and drinking on his own while watching the street scene. This was also because the ancient environment was good. If it were to be replaced by Ling Mu Yun's modern city before crossing over, the air would be filled with industrial waste gas and car exhaust, and more than half of the 365 days in a year would be overcast weather, Ling Mu Yun wouldn't even have time to hide, let alone watch the scenery by the window.

  At that moment, two young Taoist priests with their hair tied up in a bun and wearing Taoist robes appeared on the street, each with a long sword hanging from their waist. Their steps were light and agile, clearly practitioners of martial arts. Judging by their attire, they should be disciples of the Quanzhen Sect. The town where Ling Yunyun was located was an important transportation hub for entering and exiting Zhongnan Mountain, and it was common to see Quanzhen disciples passing through. In the past few months, Ling Yunyun had already seen many of them, so he didn't pay much attention to it and continued to eat and drink on his own.

  At this time, the enthusiastic call of the wine shopkeeper sounded from downstairs, and then a "dang dang" footstep was heard at the stairs. Ling Mu Yun turned his head to look, and it was those two young Taoist priests. It turned out that these two had also come to this wine shop for dinner.

  This time they were closer, and Ling Mu Yun took a clear look at the two young Taoists. One of them was slightly taller, looking around 18 or 19 years old, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, high cheekbones, and a somewhat heroic air. The other one had a moderate build, looking a bit younger, about 17 or 18 years old, with long eyebrows and handsome eyes, his face as white as jade, quite elegant. Although they were not very old, both of them had spirited eyes, their temples slightly bulging, clearly having some foundation in martial arts.

  Ling Muyun's eyes involuntarily lit up slightly, as he had seen many Quanzhen disciples during his stay at the foot of Zhongnan Mountain over the past few months. However, it was the first time he saw two young and outstanding ones like them. But after a moment's thought, Ling Muyun let it go, as Quanzhen Sect was the largest orthodox sect in the martial arts world today. Although the current leader of the sect, the Seven True Men of Quanzhen, were far inferior to their master Wang Chongyang, they were still top-notch masters on the Jianghu and had opened up the mountain gate to widely recruit disciples, so it wasn't unusual for some outstanding disciples to emerge. He then withdrew his gaze and refocused his attention on the wine and dishes in front of him.

  The two young Taoists came up to the building, scanning around them in all directions. When their eyes passed over Ling Mu Yun, they suddenly paused for a moment on the precious sword at his waist, then took another look at Ling Mu Yun, seemingly seeing that he didn't show any unusual behavior, and withdrew their gaze. Following the shopkeeper's guidance, they sat down at a table several meters away from Ling Mu Yun.

  After the two sat down, they heard the slightly older Taoist say to the wine shopkeeper: "Shopkeeper, my junior brother has just returned from a long journey. I came here today to entertain him and wash away his dust, so bring out whatever good wine and dishes you have, don't worry about saving money for me!"

  The slightly younger Taoist hastily spoke out to dissuade him, saying: "Brother Zhao, we'll just eat a little casually, how can we let you spend so much?"

  That Daoist surnamed Zhao waved his hand and said, "Yin Shidi, you're being too polite, aren't you? Although we two are not from the same master, our relationship is as close as brothers. You've traveled tens of thousands of miles to and from the desert on Master Qiu's orders, and now that you're back, I'm just trying to show some hospitality as your senior brother. If you decline again, it would be like looking down on me."

  Ling Muyun, who was eating and drinking on the side, had been resting his Nine Yin True Classics for nearly half a year and had made some progress in his internal skills. His hearing had also become much more sensitive. Although they were not very close, and the tavern was noisy, he still overheard their conversation. Ling Muyun's heart couldn't help but stir slightly: "Yin Shidi? Qiu Shibo? Could that Taoist be the notorious Yin Zhiping, the number one lecher of the Divine Eagle?"

  At this thought, Ling Muyun suddenly came to his senses and didn't care about eating or drinking anymore. He busied himself gathering his strength, cocking his ear to listen carefully.

  At this time, a Taoist priest with the surname Yin said: "Since Brother Zhao is so enthusiastic, I'd better obey humbly."

  "Good, this is my good junior brother." The Taoist priest surnamed Zhao laughed and turned to the wine shop attendant, instructing him: "Attendant, hurry up and prepare according to what I said. As long as we two brothers eat to our satisfaction, Master Dao will not skimp on your reward money."

  "Alright, you two gentlemen please wait a moment, I'll be right back."

  The fellow smiled and assented, and hastily went downstairs. Before long, a table of wine and dishes was brought up, and the two Taoists immediately began to eat and drink while chatting.

  The Taoist with the surname Zhao said, "Yin Shidi, tell me, did you meet the Jiangnan Seven Freaks and their disciples when you went to the Great Desert of Sebei this time?"

  "It's indeed seen, but the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan are now reduced to six, so it can only be said that there are six freaks left. One of them is said to have encountered an enemy and has fallen in the Great Desert of Sai Bei." The Daoist surnamed Yin replied.

  Ling Yun heard this and had no more doubts. The Taoist priest who was sent to the northwest desert to meet Jiangnan Six Freaks and their apprentices must be Yin Zhi Ping, the number one villain of the Condor Hero Trilogy. And this Taoist priest surnamed Zhao, who came with him to drink wine, was called Shixiong by Yin Zhi Ping, but they were not from the same school, and his martial arts skills seemed to be no weaker than Yin Zhi Ping's, possibly making him another major villain in the Condor Hero Trilogy, Zhao Zhi Jing.

  After guessing the identities of the two, Ling Mu Yun suddenly felt a surge of resentment in his heart, and no matter how he looked at them, they didn't look pleasing to him. However, this can't be blamed on Ling Mu Yun. If you ask any martial arts fan who has read "The Return of the Condor Hero" who is the most hated character, Yin Zhi Ping and Zhao Zhi Jing would definitely be among the top three. The degree of hatred that readers have for these two people is even higher than that of Jin Lun Fa Wang, the first great villain in the book.

  Let's talk about Zhao Zhi Jing first. He is narrow-minded, sinister and despicable. In the original work, he was defeated by Guo Jing when Yang Guo went to Mount Wudang to pay respects to his master, so he harbored a grudge against Yang Guo, who had just joined his sect, and made things difficult for him in every way, forcing Yang Guo to betray his master and escape to join the Ancient Tomb Sect. Because he was humiliated by the Ancient Tomb Sect, he hated both Little Dragon Girl and Yang Guo even more, opposing them at every turn. Later, he colluded with the Mongolians to plot against the leader of the Quanzhen Sect, using the affair of Yin Zhi Ping's molestation of Little Dragon Girl to blackmail him into relinquishing his position as leader. He was truly a master of evil deeds, and in the end, he was killed by Zhou Botong's jade bee.

  As for Yin Zhi Ping, in fact, this Yin Zhi Ping is not a bad person by nature. In the situation where most of the third-generation disciples of Quanzhen Sect are not talented, he can be considered one of the few outstanding ones. Except for being unable to control his lust and defiling Little Dragon Girl, he has not done anything else that lacks virtue. From the perspective of character, he is much better than Zhao Zhi Jing. However, it's strange that he is really good at choosing the wrong targets, and he actually defiled the pure and innocent Little Dragon Girl. This one thing alone is enough to make readers want to flay him alive, eat his flesh, and cut him into pieces, which is not enough to vent their anger, becoming the biggest resentment in the heart of every Condor Hero reader.

  As soon as he thought of the two men's evil deeds, especially thinking that the pure and noble Little Dragon Girl would be defiled by Yin Zhi Ping this lecher many years later, Ling Mu Yun couldn't help but surge up a wave of uncontrollable anger in his heart, wishing to immediately draw his sword and castrate the stinky Taoist.

  Just as Ling Yun was pondering in his mind, he heard Zhao Zhi Jing continue to ask: "Brother Yin, did you try to test the martial arts of the Jiangnan Six Freaks' disciple this time? How does his martial arts compare to Yang Kang's?"

  Yin Zhi Ping said, "I did try to test him out, and the disciple of Jiangnan Seven Freaks' martial arts is quite good, able to last for dozens of moves under my hands. However, wanting to win against my senior brother Yang Kang, his skills are still not enough. Although I have never seen my senior brother's martial arts with my own eyes, but often heard our master mention it, that senior brother of mine has exceptional talent and comprehension, his martial arts is even better than mine. The disciple of Jiangnan Seven Freaks can't even beat me, let alone win against my senior brother."

  "I told you, Master Qiu is the number one master in our Quanzhen Sect. What are those Jiangnan Seven Freaks? Their skills can't compare to his. I think they're just being obstinate, they should just admit defeat and bow their heads to Master Qiu. But instead, they want to make a bet and compete with him, it's really a case of overestimating one's abilities!" Zhao Zhi Jing said with a proud smile.

  Yin Zhiping shook his head and said with a tone of discontent, "Zhao Shixiong, you're wrong about this. The Six Freaks of Jiangnan are also well-known masters in the martial arts world, and their skills are still quite formidable. Compared to my master and several other seniors, they may not be on the same level, but they can still easily bully us younger ones."

  "What's wrong, Young Master Yin? From your words, could it be that the Six Freaks of Jiangnan have made a move against you?" Zhao Zhi Jing asked, having detected a hidden meaning in Yin Zhi Ping's words.

  Yin Zhiping indignantly said: "Elder Zhao, you guessed it right. Because I tried to test them by knocking their disciple down, they have been holding a grudge against me. Not only did they not give me a good face, but also their leader, Flying Bat Ke Zhen'e, personally took action to avenge his disciple and knocked me down as well, causing my body to ache for several days."

  "These seven freaks of Jiangnan are not even worthy opponents for Master Qiu, yet they dare to bully his younger brother with their numerical superiority. How despicable and shameless! They're simply a group of heretics who can't even show their faces in public." Zhao Zhi Jing said disdainfully.

  Just then, a clear voice suddenly entered the ears of Yin and Zhao: "You Quanzhen disciples are talking behind people's backs and speaking ill of others, but you haven't reached a high level of nobility, it's just fifty paces laughing at a hundred paces."