The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun

Page 50

Yue Buqun glanced at Lin Pingzhi and said.

Lin Pingzhi could no longer contain his desire to see his parents, and upon hearing this, he immediately followed Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze out of the Liu residence.

Seeing that everything was alright, the other martial arts practitioners also left.

Although the trip to Hengshan to attend the Golden Basin Washing Hands Ceremony did not end perfectly, they still got to eat a lot of gossip. One piece of gossip after another left them stuffed and completely satisfied.

This is truly eye-opening.

"In that case, the Hengshan Sect will take its leave."

Master Dingyi was about to leave with the Hengshan disciples, but before leaving, she glanced at Jiang Ning with undisguised amazement in her eyes.

Despite his young age, he possesses first-rate talent, speaks sharply, acts decisively, and employs clean and efficient methods.

Having only met him once today, Jiang Ning's qualities so far have amazed her; he is not a pretty face raised in a greenhouse.

And she also discovered something.

When Jiang Ning rescued Liu Qin and confronted Yu Canghai, the Huashan disciples remained silent. Yue Buqun was also silent. When Jiang Ning pointed his sword at Yu Canghai, they showed their support through their actions. All of this indicated that Jiang Ning held a very high position in the Huashan Sect, higher than his senior brothers, including Yue Lingshan. His position was likely on par with, or even surpassed, that of Linghu Chong, the eldest disciple of the Huashan Sect.

After all, Jiang Ning was a first-rate master, while Linghu Chong was just a second-rate scoundrel.

All along, Dingyi and the other leaders of the Five Mountains Sword Sects have believed that Linghu Chong is the next leader of the Huashan Sect. This is a consensus among them.

But from that moment on, their views began to change.

Perhaps the young man before us is the true successor to the leadership of the Huashan Sect.

From any perspective, Jiang Ning seems more like Yue Buqun's true disciple.

After realizing this, Abbess Dingyi was speechless at Yue Buqun.

Are you trying to play the secret succession game with me?

If you have such an outstanding disciple, you should have shown him sooner.

The Five Mountains Sword Sects are as close as family, we treat you as family, but you treat your family as outsiders.

If they had known that the Five Mountains Sword Sect had such an outstanding second-generation disciple, they would have already started grooming Jiang Ning, making him the leader of the Five Mountains Sword Sect's second-generation disciples, and letting him lead the Five Mountains Sword Sect disciples to fight against the Demonic Sect.

Their generation of masters was led by Zuo Lengchan, and the Five Mountains Sword Sect had a multitude of experts. Their benchmark was the left and right protectors of Xiang Wentian's group and the elders of the Demonic Sect. However, what they lacked was a second-generation disciple. They did not have a single benchmark figure, while the Demonic Sect had a Holy Maiden with a illustrious reputation.

Although Linghu Chong was more powerful than the second-generation disciples of the Five Mountains Sword Sect, his personality was too lazy and he seemed unreliable.

But Jiang Ning is different. From their observations, they have found that Jiang Ning's personality is completely opposite to Linghu Chong's. He is very steady and strong. The fact that the Huashan disciples all respect him shows that he also has strong leadership skills. He is the most suitable person to lead the second generation of disciples and be their soul.

Having figured this out, Abbess Dingyi quickened her pace, eager to return to Hengshan as soon as possible to tell Dingxian about what she had discovered and her thoughts.

Tianmen Daoist also left with the disciples of the Taishan Sect, carrying away Chi Baicheng's body and the injured Tiansong Daoist.

Interestingly, both the disciple who called Linghu Chong a lecher and the Taoist Tiansong who misunderstood Linghu Chong apologized to him.

After they all left, only the Hengshan Sect disciples and Jiang Ning and other Huashan disciples remained in the huge Liu Mansion. Those disciples who remained with Liu Zhengfeng until the very end had already chased after him after he left.

At this moment, the Hengshan Sect disciples had very complicated expressions; they hadn't expected things to develop this way.

At this moment, a melodious erhu sound rang out outside the Liu residence. This music was very easy to evoke emotions, and those who listened to it couldn't help but feel a sense of sorrow and burst into tears.

A thin old man wearing a straw hat held a huqin in his hand, and the huqin music just now came from his hand.

The old man was very thin, like a sickly ghost, with a hunched back, white hair and beard, and a face full of wrinkles, making one wonder if he would collapse at any moment.

"Master."

"Senior brother."

"Master Uncle."

Upon seeing the old man, the Hengshan Sect disciples and their elders were so astonished that they knelt down or bowed in respect.

This was the first time in many years that Master Mo Da, the head of the Hengshan School, had stepped into the gates of the Liu residence.

Without even glancing at them, Mr. Mo played the erhu and performed "Night Rain in Xiaoxiang" as he walked step by step toward Liu Qin. By the time he arrived, "Night Rain in Xiaoxiang" had finished playing.

The erhu music stopped.

Mr. Mo looked at Liu Qin and said, "From now on, you will follow me."

After saying that, he turned and left.

He only said one sentence from the moment he entered until he left, without looking at anyone else, and then he drifted away.

Chapter 82: How can one uphold righteousness without being more wicked and shameless than them?

Rumors in the martial arts world say that Master Mo is unpredictable and his temperament is hard to fathom, and now it seems that this is indeed the case.

Jiang Ning frowned and remained silent.

I don’t know if it was just my imagination, but when Mr. Mo approached Liu Qin just now, he felt a sharp sword intent emanating from that thin body, which made him feel cold. But it disappeared the next second, as if he were just an ordinary old man.

This is a top-tier expert.

Each of the Five Sacred Mountains Sword Sects has its own characteristics. The Huashan Sect's swordsmanship is known in the martial arts world for its strangeness and danger, while the Hengshan Sect's swordsmanship tends to be more unpredictable, especially the "Hundred Illusions and Thousand Changes Thirteen Swords of Clouds and Mist," which is so ethereal and unpredictable just from its name.

Jiang Ning had no objection to what Master Mo had said earlier. Although Liu Zhengfeng had befriended Qu Yang of the Demonic Sect and was now being hunted down by Ding Mian, Lu Bai and others from the Songshan Sect, he was still a member of the Hengshan Sect, and his son Liu Qin would naturally be under the care of the Hengshan Sect.

The once vast Liu mansion now belongs to only Liu Qin. Liu Zhengfeng is being hunted down by the Songshan Sect, and all the Liu family's property now belongs to Liu Qin alone. He is still young, and it is inevitable that some villains will covet the Liu family's property and try to seize it.

But thanks to Mr. Mo's words, even though Liu Qin was now the only one left in the Liu family, no disciple of the Hengshan Sect dared to bully him, and no one in Hengshan City dared to seize his property.

That's enough.

Now that Liu Qin had found a place to go, Jiang Ning no longer needed to worry about his next arrangements. Instead, he prepared to find a place to sit down and rest, recover his inner strength, and then leave Hengshan City to return to Huashan after Yue Buqun returned.

What is justice?

As soon as Jiang Ning sat down, he heard a voice asking him a question. He turned around and saw Liu Qin speaking.

Liu Zhengfeng's current predicament is certainly due to his association with Qu Yang of the Demonic Sect, but ultimately it comes down to the difference in their stances of good and evil. The actions of the Songshan Sect members just now, as well as the indifferent observation of the righteous sects around him, have filled him with confusion.

Jiang Ning looked at the child with a bewildered expression on his face. His eyes held deep doubt and world-weariness. If Jiang Ning's answer was not good, or if he did not answer him at all, the child would probably die soon.

Jiang Ning thought for a moment, then told Liu Qin everything he had said to his fellow disciples at Wuyou Pavilion.

"...Justice has a different definition in everyone's heart, but it is generally the same, which is to strive to do good."

Finally, Jiang Ning added this last sentence.

Liu Qin's expression remained bewildered, but the intense misanthropic mood he once exuded had dissipated considerably. He lowered his head, pondering Jiang Ning's words.

After a while.

Liu Qin looked up and stared intently at Jiang Ning.

"I want to follow you."

Liu Qin looked at Jiang Ning very seriously: "I want to stay by your side and see how you do things, and see what kind of justice you mean."

"hehe."

Jiang Ning laughed upon hearing this.

"Let's talk about it later."

Mr. Mo just said that Liu Qin should follow him, which is the best arrangement for Liu Qin at the moment, and Jiang Ning does not intend to cause any trouble.

But Liu Qin still looked at him earnestly: "I will come to find you later."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ning's expression also turned serious. He straightened his posture, looked at Liu Qin, and nodded.

"it is good."

Liu Qin then followed the other Hengshan Sect disciples to collect the corpses on the ground.

"I always feel that I have a different feeling every time I hear what my junior brother says."

Lu Dayou scratched his head and said.

He couldn't quite describe the feeling, but he was deeply moved; it was far more captivating than Yue Buqun's usual, almost mantra-like pronouncements.

The other Huashan disciples had nothing else to do, so they brought a few stools from the hall and sat on the open ground outside, waiting for Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze to return.

Linghu Chong was lying on a stretcher. His injuries were not serious, but he had lost a lot of blood and was somewhat anemic.

"Junior brother, how did you find Lin Pingzhi?"

Yue Lingshan's voice rang out beside him. Jiang Ning turned to look at her and said, "He's the one who contacted me."

"Ok."

Yue Lingshan nodded, then muttered to herself, "He came to Hengshan City with the Qingcheng Sect. We were with Yu Canghai, so how come we didn't find him?"

Ignoring her mutterings, Linghu Chong, lying on the stretcher, shifted his body slightly closer to Jiang Ning and said, "Junior Brother, I want to ask you a question."

Jiang Ning looked at him in surprise: "Senior Brother, please ask."

Linghu Chong thought for a moment, then, after organizing his thoughts, said, "When you were fighting Tian Boguang, wasn't it a bit...?"

As Linghu Chong spoke, he gestured, a conflicted expression on his face, as if he didn't know how to describe it.

Jiang Ning asked, "Senior Brother, are you trying to say something dishonorable?"

"No, no, that's not what I meant."

Linghu Chong quickly shook his head.

Jiang Ning saved his life, and he would never say that Jiang Ning's methods were dishonorable. No matter what, he could never think of Jiang Ning that way.

He just felt that this was different from what Yue Buqun usually taught.

When Yue Buqun was teaching them, he often said that one should be upright and honest, and never do despicable or base things.

Although Linghu Chong is usually unreliable, apart from his love of drinking and lack of enthusiasm for training, he still strictly follows Yue Buqun's instructions in doing things. Even when rescuing Yilin, he only used schemes and martial arts to try to get Yilin away, unlike Jiang Ning.

What puzzled him most was that Jiang Ning's personality was very similar to Yue Buqun's. Logically speaking, even he, Yue Buqun's most troublesome disciple, would not do such a thing, let alone Jiang Ning.

Hearing Linghu Chong's words, Jiang Ning smiled and asked, "Is it because Master usually teaches us disciples to act uprightly and honestly, but what I do doesn't match what Master says?"

"Uh-huh."

Linghu Chong nodded like a chick pecking at rice.

"hehe."

Jiang Ning laughed and said, "Senior Brother, Master is right. We righteous people should indeed act with integrity, but we must be selective about who we are dealing with."

"Dividing people?"

Linghu Chong looked somewhat puzzled.

Jiang Ning nodded and said, "If we are dealing with ordinary, kind people or righteous people, we should act with integrity and uprightness. But if we are dealing with evil and heretical people, we don't need to talk about being upright and honorable. We can use any means necessary to deal with them."

“Take Tian Boguang this time, for example. There’s no point in talking about chivalry with him. If you don’t kill him, he will continue to harm innocent women.”

"When dealing with these evil spirits and heretics, we always have only one attitude: to retaliate with thunder."

"We, the disciples of the righteous path, must distinguish between good and evil, treat good people with kindness, and deal with evil demons and heretics with evil."

"If evil demons and heretics are evil, we must be even more evil than them. If evil demons and heretics are shameless, we must be even more shameless than them. But the difference between us and evil demons and heretics is that they are evil to good people and shameless to those on the righteous path. We must be evil to them and shameless to them."

"Among the evil forces we will encounter in the future, there will be many treacherous and cunning individuals, and those who are utterly wicked. If you are hindered by their methods, you will inevitably be controlled by them."

"How can we uphold justice if we are not more wicked and more shameless than them?"

Linghu Chong listened, completely stunned.

After a while.

"Hahahaha!"

Linghu Chong burst into laughter, saying repeatedly.

"Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful."

Linghu Chong had always thought that Jiang Ning was a rigid and inflexible person, a replica of Yue Buqun.

Yue Buqun was his master, both a teacher and a father, so he naturally dared not say anything, but he really had nothing in common with Jiang Ning.

But at this moment he discovered that Jiang Ning was such an interesting person.

But the next second, Linghu Chong gasped and his expression twitched.

His movements were too large and aggravated his wound.