Chapter 62: Encountering the Divine Beggar

  On this day, the two rode together to the banks of the Yangtze River. It was already dusk, with a vast expanse of misty haze. Ling Mu gazed out at the great river flowing eastward, its white waves surging and rolling, stretching endlessly in all directions. The upstream waters flowed continuously without cease, never stopping, and he felt his chest filled with heroic energy, as if his body had merged into one with the river water. Suddenly, a strong urge surged up within him to plunge into the midst of it all and indulge in unbridled revelry.

  After gazing for a long time, Ling Yun turned around and said to Huang Rong: "Rong'er, shall we cross the river and take a stroll?"

  Huang Rong's eyes lit up, and she clapped her hands, laughing: "Great, great! I've always swum in the sea before, but never in a river. Let's get in the water now!"

  "If we two were to go into the water, what would they do? My horse can swim, but your white camel is a desert boat, not a watercraft. It can't enter the water." Ling Yun said with a pat on his own cyan horse, and then glanced at Huang Rong's white camel.

  "I see there's still a ferry boat over there, let's hire it to take your horse and my white camel across the river, and we two can swim across, won't that do?" Huang Rong pointed to a moored ferry boat on the riverbank and suggested.

  Ling Mu Yun nodded and said, "Alright, let's do it this way."

  When the two of them arrived in front of the moored ferry, they told the boatman about this matter. The boatman looked at the two with a strange gaze, he had been rowing for so many years and had ferried countless people, including those who brought livestock on board, but it was the first time he had encountered someone like Ling Yun and Huang Rong who only wanted to ferry their livestock while they themselves swam across. However, since they were willing to do it this way, the boatman couldn't say anything, after all, whether it was people or livestock being ferried, it was all the same as long as he got paid, so he nodded in agreement.

  At this point, Ling Yun and Huang Rong drove the green horse and the big white camel onto the ferry, then shouted together and jumped into the Yangtze River, swimming towards the opposite bank with all their might. As for swimming skills, although Ling Yun was also born in the south since childhood and had not been short of water, his swimming skills were still not as good as Huang Rong's, who grew up on an island and played in the big waves since childhood. Fortunately, Ling Yun's internal strength was strong and his paddling power was great, so he barely swam with Huang Rong side by side.

  Ling Yun and Huang Rong swam side by side, their movements swift and free. They soon left the ferry boat far behind. As they reached the middle of the river, all that could be seen were the twinkling stars above, and apart from the waves in the river, there was no other sound. It seemed as if only the two of them existed between heaven and earth. After swimming for a while longer, dark clouds suddenly gathered, and the surface of the river became pitch black. Then came flashes of lightning and peals of thunder, each bolt seeming to strike right above their heads. Ling Yun shouted: "Rong, are you afraid?"

  Huang Rong smiled and said, "With you by my side, I'm not afraid."

  Summer rain, came quickly and left even faster. By the time they had swum to the other shore, the sky was already clear with a bright moon hanging in the air. After waiting for a while, the ferry arrived. Ling Dangyu led the green horse and white camel off the boat, paid the fare, and then left the riverbank with Huang Rong. They found some branches and started a bonfire. Huang Rong took out two sets of clothes from her bundle, they changed into them, and hung their wet clothes over the fire to dry.

  After drying their clothes, drowsiness crept in and the two of them leaned against each other under a tree and fell asleep. Although summer nights were not cold, they were still somewhat damp and chilly, but Linghu Chong and Huang Rong had both achieved internal mastery, so the slight moisture could not penetrate their bodies, and they didn't mind at all.

  She didn't know how long she had slept, but the sky was gradually whitening and a rooster in a small farmyard by the river was crowing loudly. Huang Rong yawned and woke up, saying: "Ah, I'm so hungry!"

  Ling Muyun also opened his eyes at this time, and upon hearing the words, he pointed to the farmhouse that made the chicken sounds and said: "Look, there's a house over there, let's go buy something to eat from them."

  Huang Rong smiled and said: "No need, I reckon an ordinary farming family can't make anything delicious. Brother Yun, please wait for a moment, I have my own way."

  After finishing, he got up and sprinted towards the farmhouse with his lightness skill. In an instant, he had already grabbed a big fat rooster from under his arm and brought it back. He patted the rooster's head and laughed, saying: "Let's go further away, don't let its owner see us."

  Ling Muyun was slightly taken aback and said: "What's wrong, didn't you buy this chicken?"

  "I did leave them money, I just didn't discuss it with the owner. Brother Yun, you don't know, people from farming families usually consider this rooster to be quite valuable, sometimes even if you offer them money they won't sell it, I've encountered such situations before, it's better to just leave the money and take it, less trouble."

  "Alright, let's get out of here." Ling Mu Yun hastily nodded in agreement. It turned out that the chicken was bought by force, so it's better to stay far away, lest they be discovered by the owner and mistaken for thieves who stole the chicken, how embarrassing would that be!

  Two people led the green horse and white camel eastward for a few miles, and only when they could no longer see the small courtyard of that farmhouse did they stop. Huang Rong used an Emei steel needle to cut open the belly of the rooster, washed and cleaned its internal organs, but didn't pluck its feathers. She wrapped the chicken in a ball of mud mixed with water, and roasted it over an open flame. After roasting for a while, a sweet fragrance wafted out from the mud. When the wet mud was dry, she removed it, and the chicken feathers fell off with the mud. The chicken meat was white and tender, with a rich aroma that filled the nostrils.

  Huang Rong was just about to tear open the chicken when someone suddenly said from behind her: "Tear it into three portions, and leave the chicken buttocks for me."

  Ling Muyun and Huang Rong were both shocked. How could someone approach from behind without them noticing? Huang Rong's martial arts skills were not yet deep, but Ling Muyun had already reached the level of Later Heaven Great Completion in his internal energy cultivation, with extraordinary sensitivity and awareness. Even a mouse sneaking within several feet couldn't escape his notice, yet now he was caught off guard by someone right behind him. How could he not be shocked and perplexed?

  Two men hastily turned around, only to see that the speaker was a beggar in his fifties. The man had an oblong face, a sparse beard on his chin, rough hands and feet, and his clothes were patched up with needle and thread all over, but they were spotlessly clean. He held a green bamboo stick in his hand, which shone like jade, and carried a large calabash painted red lacquer on his back. His face had an expression of drooling greed, and he looked anxious, as if he would snatch the chicken's buttocks away if they weren't given to him.

  As soon as he saw the figure in front of him, and thought about how he could sneak up behind himself with such terrifying skill, Ling Muyun had already guessed who this person was. Who else could it be but Bei Yaohong, the greediest of the Five Absolutes?

  Before Ling Yun and Huang Rong could respond, Hong Qigong had already sat down opposite them with a loud thud, took the gourd from his back, pulled out the stopper, and the fragrance of wine wafted out. He drank several mouthfuls with a "glug glug" sound, then handed the gourd to Ling Yun, saying: "Girlie, you drink."

  Ling Mu Yun thought that Hong Qi Gong's behavior was somewhat impolite, but since he had already guessed Hong Qi Gong's identity and knew that the leader of the Beggar Clan was not one to stand on ceremony, he didn't take offense. Besides, even if he wanted to be offended, he wasn't capable of it. Thinking that his mission had finally come to fruition, Ling Mu Yun couldn't help but feel a sense of joy, so he didn't bother with formalities and directly took the wine gourd from Hong Qi Gong's hand, taking two big gulps. He felt that the wine in the gourd was rich and full-bodied, not some ordinary drink. With a hearty laugh, he handed the gourd back to Hong Qi Gong and said, "Good wine! You treat us to drinks, we'll treat you to chicken - fair and square!"

  "Haha, I love hearing you say that, kiddo. Don't look at me like I'm some old beggar, but honestly, deep down, I don't really like eating for free." Hong Qigong chuckled and took the wine gourd handed to him by Ling Yunqiu, then turned to Huang Rong and asked: "Little girl, do you want a drink?"

  Huang Rong shook her head, and suddenly saw that his right hand holding the gourd only had four fingers, with one index finger missing at the palm. Her heart skipped a beat as she recalled what her father had told her about someone who was equally famous, thinking to herself: "Could it be that today's encounter is a coincidence, and I've really met the Nine-Fingered Beggar, equal in fame to Father? Let me probe him further before saying anything."

  He gazed at the plump chicken in his hand, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down as he swallowed hard. Huang Rong couldn't help but secretly smile to herself. She tore off half of it and handed it over to him, along with the chicken's buttocks.

  Hong Qigong was overjoyed, snatched it away with a smile, and devoured the Wind-Blown Clouds dish clean. As he ate, he couldn't help but praise: "Exquisite, exquisite! Even I, the ancestor of beggars, can't create such an extraordinary beggar's chicken!"

  Huang Rong's doubts had been dispelled by Hong Qigong's words. Who else but the leader of the Beggar Clan would dare to claim himself as the ancestor of beggars? She smiled slightly and handed him the remaining half chicken, saying: "Since you like it, why not enjoy this half chicken too?"

  "Hey, how can this be? You two little kids haven't eaten yet." Hong Qigong was polite with his words, but one of his hands reached out and took the half chicken back, and in an instant, he had eaten it all, leaving only a few chicken bones. After finishing eating, he patted his belly and exclaimed: "Belly, belly, such delicious chicken is rarely swallowed!"

  Huang Rong let out a snort of laughter and said, "This humble girl occasionally cooks a dish called 'Buddha's Chicken', which can enter the belly of the venerable ancestor of the Buddhas; it is truly an honor."