The old man was barely breathing. When he saw Xuan Ci arrive, he couldn't even speak and could only slightly move the corners of his mouth.
Xuan Ci knows a little medicine, but only for sprains and bruises. When it comes to treating illnesses, he only knows one technique: transferring true qi.
However, this method is indeed very useful, but the true energy is limited, and it can only enhance the patient's constitution and vitality, but cannot remain in the patient's body for a long time. It is mostly used for emergency treatment and is not a long-term method.
As Xuanci continuously channeled his true energy into the patient, the patient's complexion improved significantly, and he even began to speak.
"Thank you, Master, for saving me."
“As a monk, I am compassionate and cannot stand by and watch someone die. However, my internal energy can only relieve the immediate crisis. I should find a doctor to take a look as soon as possible.” Xuan Ci wiped his sweat.
"Thank you for the reminder, Master. I'll see a doctor tomorrow. Girl, hurry and prepare the vegetarian meal, cough cough cough..."
“No need, I have to rush back to Shaolin Temple, so I won’t bother you any longer. Your current health is not suitable for talking too much, so I’ll take my leave.” Xuan Ci stood up.
"Since the master is in such a hurry to leave, I won't stop him. Girl, see him off."
"Um."
The two walked to the gate one after the other. Xuan Ci stopped and took out two pieces of silver from his pocket. "Take this money to pay for your father's medical treatment."
"That won't do, how could I possibly take the master's money?" The woman shook her head repeatedly.
“Although I don’t know much about medicine, I can tell that if we had seen a doctor sooner, your father wouldn’t be so ill. I see that you are so filial and not the kind of person who is reluctant to spend money on medical treatment, so naturally you just don’t have the money. But to save a life, please accept this money. As a monk, I won’t need the money once I return to the temple. Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda, so please grant my request.” Xuan Ci said, handing over the silver.
The woman wept again, her hand trembling as she reached out to accept the silver from Xuan Ci. Unexpectedly, she touched his warm hand. "Thank you, Master, but I have no way to repay your kindness..."
"Amitabha Buddha, as I just said, saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda, and the Buddha will surely grant me blessings. Young lady, please go find a doctor to treat your illness. I will take my leave now." After saying this, Xuan Ci used his lightness skill to quickly leave the place.
After this incident, Xuan Ci calmed down, mustered up his courage, returned to Shaolin, confessed everything to Abbot Lingmen, and voluntarily resigned from his position as acting abbot.
The abbot of Lingmen did not blame Xuanci; on the contrary, he was quite pleased. However, he still agreed to Xuanci's request, saying, "Xuanci, try to visit that child more often and make amends as much as you can."
"Disciple understands." Xuan Ci felt much lighter after the heavy burden was lifted. He had made a mistake, but he could do more good deeds to atone for it and find peace of mind.
From then on, Xuan Ci would visit Qiao Sanhuai's house every few days, bringing rice and flour, and then stop by to see the girl's sick father. He lived a very fulfilling life.
After a while, Xuan Ci also learned the girl's name, which was a bit rustic: Ye Er Ya.
Of course, Xuanci had been chanting Buddhist scriptures for many years, so it was impossible for him to fall in love so easily. He had not forgotten important things.
He immediately sent his disciple Huijing to find Murong Bo and ask him what the information about the Khitan warriors was all about.
A few days later, Huijing returned, having gained even more weight.
“Master, Murong Bo is not at home. His wife said he has been traveling and has not returned. Although I suspect that Murong Bo may be hiding in the mansion, I did not dare to sneak in to investigate.”
"I understand. If Patriarch Murong doesn't want to see you, even if you search the mansion, it will be useless. Go and call your Uncle Xuanbei over for me." Xuanci knew that although Huijing was greedy, he was quite cunning. If he had discovered that Murong Bo was hiding in the mansion, then that was most likely the case.
"Yes," Huijing replied, and then went out to find Xuanbei.
Xuan Ci frowned. Murong Bo was avoiding him, which must be strange. Was Murong Bo deceived in the Yanmen Pass incident, or was he the mastermind behind it? He couldn't leave the temple after making such a big mistake, so he had to ask his junior brother Xuan Bei to make the trip.
Meanwhile, at the Murong family in Gusu, Murong Bo looked at his unfamiliar reflection in the mirror and smiled slightly. "The disguise technique of the Xiaoyao Sect is indeed superb. If only I could obtain all the secret manuals in the blessed land."
"Does my husband really intend to go to Shaolin?" Madam Wang asked with a worried expression.
"Hehe, that's for sure. The most dangerous place is actually the safest. It's called the darkest place under the lamp. After that fat monk returns to Shaolin to report, Xuanci will send experts from the temple even if he doesn't come in person. At that time, it will be useless for me to hide in the cellar. Even if I can hide in there, I don't want to waste my time. I am determined to obtain Shaolin's secret skills. Don't worry, I will come back to see you often."
Murong Bo hugged his wife, then turned and left the Murong family, heading straight for the Shaolin Temple.
Outside Yanmen Pass, Xiao Yuanshan climbed the cliff and arrived at the place where he had carved the words. With a gentle wave of his hand, he swept away the soil covering the words.
He had first gone down to the bottom of the cliff to search for his beloved wife's body, but he couldn't find even a bone, which made him even more grief-stricken.
"Central Plains martial arts world, here I come!"
Chapter 432 Hidden Treasures
Swish, swish, swish...
Waaaaah...
Clang clang clang...
"You surnamed Wang! Are you determined to fight me for Meiniang today?" the burly man roared, wielding a large stick.
"Heh heh, nonsense! From today onwards, Mei Niang is mine every single day!" The handsome swordsman sneered, wielding a large sword.
"Then I'll experience the power of your Wang family's swordsmanship again! If you've got the guts, don't try to dodge!" The burly man was enraged upon hearing this and attacked again.
"The Fang family staff looks like a piece of shit!" The handsome swordsman showed no fear.
Clang clang clang...
Snap snap snap...
"Good! Well done!" A fat woman who looked to weigh 300 pounds stood on tiptoe and clapped her hands, her shouts louder than any of the men around her.
"Those two are incredibly skilled in martial arts!"
"He must be one of the most outstanding young talents in the Central Plains martial arts world!"
"Wow! They both disappeared! What kind of movement technique is that?!"
"What kind of movement technique is that! They were both captured by someone else!"
Only a knife and a staff remained in the arena. The handsome swordsman and the burly man were taken away by a masked man in black as if they were chickens, disappearing from everyone's sight in a few leaps.
Thump! Thump!
"Hero, spare my life!"
Who are you?
"Do you two know about the ambush of the Liao people outside Yanmen Pass by the martial arts world of the Central Plains?" Xiao Yuanshan asked coldly.
The two remained silent, but Xiao Yuanshan's eyes lit up. "Whoever can tell us this, Meiniang will be theirs!"
“I’ll say it!” The handsome swordsman reacted quickly.
Snap!
Xiao Yuanshan slapped the burly man unconscious. "Speak up. If you dare to lie to me, Meiniang is his."
The handsome swordsman swallowed hard. “I dare not deceive you, sir. I do know about Yanmen Pass. I heard that there is a leader in the martial arts world who, upon learning that the Liao people wanted to steal the Seventy-Two Arts from Shaolin Temple for training the Liao army, rallied the martial arts world of the Central Plains to ambush them outside Yanmen Pass. Many masters have gone.”
"Who was that leader?" Xiao Yuanshan recalled the scene that day. There were indeed two people with outstanding martial arts skills, but he could not rule out the possibility that the real mastermind did not personally take action.
"Well, I don't know, but to become the leader of the Central Plains martial arts world, he must be a renowned senior master in the martial arts world," the handsome swordsman guessed.
"Very good, he's yours now." After saying that, Xiao Yuanshan used his lightness skill to leave the place. He had asked many people along the way, and the answers he got were all similar: the Central Plains martial arts world had won a great victory, and the invading Liao army had been completely wiped out, but no one knew who the leader was.
Xiao Yuanshan guessed that this leader was likely one of the two most skilled martial artists in the opposing camp, and one of them had a powerful and fierce palm strike, which was very similar to the Shaolin martial art, the Vajra Palm, that his master had mentioned.
"In that case, I'll go check out Shaolin first. Hmph! Didn't the people of the Central Plains say I came here to steal the Seventy-Two Arts? Well then, I'll go and learn them all!"
...
Luoyang, Shaolin Temple.
"Huh? Why did Old Yan send so many dishes today?" The big monk casually pulled out a cucumber, stroked it, and took a bite out of half of it.
"Hehe, my wife is about to give birth, so I have to go home and stay for a while longer. Don't worry, I've already arranged for the shop's staff to deliver the groceries for me. This time, the extra groceries are on me."
The speaker had a kind face and was none other than Murong Bo in disguise. He used the alias Yan Longyuan, a merchant, to run a business of supplying grain and vegetables to Shaolin Temple. His products were cheap and of high quality, which won him the hearts of the Shaolin people.
After returning to Suzhou, Murong Bo hid in his cellar to study Shaolin martial arts.
Finally, in the winter of that year, Murong Bo became a father. His wife, Wang, gave birth to a boy, whom Murong Bo named Murong Fu, meaning to restore the Great Yan.
Because Master Xuanbei of Shaolin Temple frequently visited the Murong family, Murong Bo dared not stay at home for long. After enjoying a few days of family time, he returned to Shaolin again.
But this time, in the Sutra Pavilion, Murong Bo discovered another thief who was secretly learning martial arts!
Xiao Yuanshan was also surprised. He didn't expect that there were other people in Shaolin Temple who were secretly learning martial arts like him. He didn't quite understand some of the moves and needed to find someone to test them on.
The two, as if by telepathy, left the Sutra Repository one after the other and went to the back mountain of Shaolin to spar.
The two fought to a draw, not only because of the Shaolin martial arts they had secretly learned, but also because their original martial arts skills were evenly matched.
However, to reduce the risk of being seen by others, the two would only spar every few months. Usually, they would live peacefully in the library and pretend not to see each other even if they met.
Another year has passed in a flash. In addition to secretly learning Shaolin martial arts, Xiao Yuanshan is also secretly investigating the whereabouts of the gang leader and his child.
At the time, the other party was masked, and some people couldn't be too sure just by looking at their eyebrows and eyes. However, Xiao Yuanshan had already investigated and found out who the two martial arts masters were, especially the one who used the Vajra Palm.
The current abbot of Shaolin Temple, Lingmen, is a master of the Vajra Palm technique, and several of his disciples have also learned it. The master at Yanmen Pass should have been one of Lingmen's disciples.
The two most likely candidates are Xuan Ci and Xuan Cheng, but judging from their age and physique, Xiao Yuanshan thinks Xuan Ci is more likely.
However, Xiao Yuanshan had initially entrusted Feng'er to another person. He wanted to show himself and interrogate Xuan Ci, but he was afraid of alerting the enemy and even endangering Feng'er.
After much deliberation, Xiao Yuanshan still felt it was better to remain hidden in Shaolin. Even if he found Feng'er now, what could he do? Should he hide in the Sutra Pavilion with the child? Or should he find a place to live in seclusion and raise his son?
He entrusted the child to that person because he valued that person's character, thinking that Feng'er wouldn't suffer. He didn't harm Feng'er then, so it's even less likely he would later.
So Xiao Yuanshan suppressed the urge to go find his son first and continued to hide in Shaolin to practice martial arts. In fact, he was also a martial arts fanatic, just like Xuan Cheng.
Shaolin is indeed a place where dragons and tigers hide. In Xiao Yuanshan's opinion, Xuan Cheng has an extraordinary talent for martial arts, and his martial arts skills are no less than his own in the Battle of Yanmen Pass.
You have to understand that at that time, I was fighting desperately in a fit of rage and performed exceptionally well. I wouldn't have had that kind of strength if I had fought normally.
Xiao Yuanshan believed that if that person was Xuan Cheng, then Xuan Cheng must have deliberately let him win, otherwise he wouldn't have been the one to win in the end.
It was precisely for this reason that Xiao Yuanshan basically ruled out Xuan Cheng and focused his attention on Xuan Ci.
Through more than a year of observation, he discovered that Xuanci was a very compassionate person, a model among monks. He often went down the mountain to do good deeds, and the people in the villages around Shaoshi Mountain respected him very much.
Xiao Yuanshan felt that even if he found out that Xuan Ci was the ringleader, he probably wouldn't be able to bring himself to kill such a highly respected master.
Another year has passed in the blink of an eye; it has been the thirty-fifth year since Xiang Yu and Hao Jiu transmigrated to this world.
That year, another rebellion broke out in Dali. The powerful minister Yang Yizhen killed Duan Lianyi, the twelfth emperor of Dali, and proclaimed himself the Guang'an Emperor. Duan Lianyi's son, Duan Yanqing, disappeared.
But just four months later, Yang Yizhen was killed by Gao Shengtai's rebellion.
Gao Shengtai believed that Duan Yanqing was dead, so he installed Duan Lianyi's nephew, Duan Shouhui, as emperor.
A year later, Duan Shouhui became a monk and abdicated the throne to Duan Silian's grandson, Duan Zhengming, who later became the Emperor of Baoding.
Duan Zhengchun was also granted the title of Prince of Zhennan and began writing about his harem.
Meanwhile, Li Qiushui of the Western Xia Kingdom once again experienced the seven-year itch...