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"..."
Xiao Ning's expression changed slightly, but she quickly returned to normal.
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Chapter 31 Returning to Wudang Mountain
Having already agreed to make a house call for Xiao Ning, Hu Qingniu didn't delay any longer. He first packed his things, then arranged for his personal medicine boy, left a letter, and then drifted away with Xiao Ning.
Hu Qingniu got into the carriage, and Xiao Ning drove it himself. They left Butterfly Valley and headed west towards Wudang Mountain.
They walked and stopped every day, but couldn't go very far. Traveling by carriage was not as good as traveling alone as Xiao Ning. Moreover, they had to take care of Hu Qingniu's food, clothing, lodging and other miscellaneous matters.
Although Hu Qingniu also practiced martial arts, he did not specialize in it. He was only at the third level of the Acquired Realm and was still far from being free from the suffering of the Five Grains Cycle.
On this day, the two had just walked less than a hundred miles out of Butterfly Valley when they heard the sound of horses' hooves. Xiao Ning tightened the reins, stopped the carriage, and turned to look in the direction from which the sound came.
A troop of Mongol soldiers, brandishing curved swords and grinning maliciously, galloped from west to east, muttering incomprehensible words.
On the main road, people came and went in an endless stream, but they were all driven away by Yuan soldiers like livestock, and even Xiao Ning's carriage was no exception.
Xiao Ning was curious, but did not resist. Instead, he went with the flow, driving the carriage to follow the crowd of people forward.
When they reached a three-way intersection, they saw a Mongolian officer on horseback, followed by sixty or seventy soldiers, all carrying gleaming scimitars.
One by one, the common people walked to the front of the Mongol officer's horse and obediently knelt down and kowtowed.
Beside the officer, a Han Chinese translator demanded, "What's your surname?"
After the common people answered honestly, the Yuan soldiers next to them would kick them in the buttocks or slap them directly. The common people dared not be angry or speak out, and hurriedly walked away.
When they asked a local who said his surname was Zhang, the Yuan soldiers immediately grabbed him and made him stand by the roadside.
Then they saw a commoner carrying a basket with a newly bought kitchen knife, and the Yuan soldiers grabbed him and pulled him aside.
Seeing this scene, Xiao Ning was quite puzzled. Just then, Hu Qingniu poked his head out of the carriage and asked, "Does Doctor Hu know why these Mongol Tartars are questioning the people?"
Hu Qingniu squinted, watched for a while, and sighed, "How hateful! They're interrogating Han people of the five surnames!"
Xiao Ning looked puzzled: "What are the Five Surnames?"
Hu Qingniu sighed and began to explain.
The Mongol Yuan dynasty was tyrannical and cruel, and many people rebelled. Mongol ministers wanted to kill all the Han people, but they could not kill them all.
Grand Tutor Bayan then issued a brutal order to kill all Han Chinese with the surnames Zhang, Wang, Liu, Li, and Zhao.
Because among the Han people in the Central Plains, the surnames Zhang, Wang, Liu, and Li were the most numerous, while the Zhao surname belonged to the former Song imperial family. Once these five surnames were eliminated, the Han people would naturally suffer a great loss of vitality.
After hearing Hu Qingniu's explanation, Xiao Ning finally understood the whole story. He felt his blood boiling and a murderous intent rising uncontrollably in his chest.
Just then, it was Xiao Ning and his companion's turn to be questioned.
Seeing that the two men did not get out of the carriage, the Han Chinese translator shouted, "You barbarian scoundrels, you really don't know any manners! Why don't you kneel down and kowtow to our lord?"
The Yuan soldiers also looked towards Xiao Ning.
"Young Master Xiao, this..."
Hu Qingniu couldn't help but look at Xiao Ning, waiting for him to make a decision.
Xiao Ning took a deep breath, stared directly at the Han Chinese translator, and demanded, "Have you been kneeling on the ground for so long that you can't stand up anymore, so you expect others not to stand up either?"
The Han Chinese translator flew into a rage: "You filthy, despicable creature, how dare you talk back? Kneel down before me!"
As soon as he finished speaking, two Yuan soldiers pounced on him with ferocious expressions, about to drag him off the carriage.
Xiao Ning shook his head. This man had become a complete slave to the Mongols, his servility was ingrained in his bones, and he was beyond saving.
Clang!
Without further thought, he drew his longsword from the carriage, and a sword aura over ten feet long condensed in mid-air, whistling as it slashed towards the Yuan soldiers in front of him.
"puff!"
The two Yuan soldiers didn't even have time to react before they were killed instantly, their blood flowing like a river.
At this moment, screams and cries erupted, and it was seen that more than ten civilians who had been dragged aside by the Yuan soldiers had all been decapitated, their corpses lying everywhere on the ground.
After killing the man, the Yuan soldiers saw Xiao Ning resist and drew their scimitars, surrounding him and charging at him with shouts of alarm.
"Ha, you're courting death!"
Xiao Ning's face was filled with murderous intent. He leaped off the carriage with a light tap of his toes, brandished his longsword, and shouted loudly.
Sword flowers scattered, her figure swayed and moved like a willow in the wind, the sword light flowed and danced with the wind, like swaying willow leaves, flying up and down.
Within a radius of three zhang and a height of about one zhang, Xiao Ning's agile figure could be seen everywhere, like a divine dragon soaring into the sky and disappearing into the clouds, looking left and right, its head visible but its tail not.
The sword shadows advanced towards the group of Yuan soldiers like a meat grinder, leaving a trail of blood and flesh flying everywhere, accompanied by screams of agony.
In no time at all, all the dozens of Yuan soldiers present were slaughtered.
Clang!