Chapter 159: The Zhen Wu Visit
Gu Xiaosang did not notice Meng Qi’s vigilance, so she just casually stroked her hair with such grace and beauty and continued talking, “It’s rumored that the Extinctive Blade of Overlord had been dormant for a long time. No one from the Sect of Plain Lady had ever figured out the supreme arts ‘the Six Strokes of the Overlord’ and ‘Nine Annihilation at Heavenly Nights’ from the Thunder God impartation. A possible cause of this could be that these supreme arts were in conflict with their own impartation.”
“The foundation of the Sect of Plain Lady scripts are the ‘the Scripture of the Plain Lady’ and ‘Abstruse Writing of Lady Cha’, which is said to have the power to coagulate the ‘Mystic Fairy of Nine Heavens’ and the ‘Golden Body of Joyful Bodhisattva’. The former is full of fairyism, preferred by the men and women who want to advance to immortalism together. Buddhism, however, opts for the latter, which is in conflict with the Extinctive Blade of Overlord.” Meng Qi nodded in a deep thought.
The Dominator of Samsara in Six Realms had commented the Extinctive Blade of Overlord as “Unrivalled in fierceness and power”, which was in stark contrast to that of the way of the Sect of Plain Lady, which is to combine the Yin and the Yang, supple and adamantine.
Gu Xiaosang spat and said with half a laugh, “Those despicable tramps only know how to seduce others’ husbands! Please, hubby, don’t get close to them because they’ll suck every ounce of energy from you. Cut them when you see them!”
At this moment, she laughed sillily. “I’m still waiting for you to come of age when we could be in wedlock, so you must remain pure of a body… ”
Up to this point, she had maintained a saint-like persona. But now, she was winking, revealing a hint of indescribable sensual charm.
“Crazy bi*ch! “Meng Qi cursed inside, but he knew that Gu Xiaosang was full of it and her words were not to be trusted. When her intent is realized, she’d definitely turn mercilessly.
Gu Xiaosang’s facial expression changed faster than the weather. Just now she was irresistibly seductive. but now she is now back to being holy and pure. “the Sect of Plain Lady did have a male disciple from the older generation. He originally attended to the incense stove and herbal medicine, but it’s been rumored that he had figured out a blade form of the exterior level from the Extinctive Blade of Overlord. He eventually became one of few male core disciples. Now he isn’t to be underestimated because he’s become an expert of the Exterior level.”
“He figured out a blade form from the Extinctive Blade of Overlord?” Asked Meng Qi, a little startled. “Didn’t she say that most exterior-level masters had been dormant?”
Gu Xiaosang nodded slightly and answered, “But it’s neither the ‘the Six Strokes of the Overlord’ nor ‘Nine Annihilation at Heavenly Nights’. He calls it the ‘Seven Purple Thunderstrikes’.”
She told the story in a calm voice, but all sorts of feelings welled up from inside of Meng Qi. He eventually let out a laugh and wondered to himself. “Could it be that she was a Samsara traveler too? She even learned the ‘Seven Purple Thunderstrikes’, the art that I had long coveted!”
Meng Qi thought what she speculated about him being an herbal medicine and incense stove attendant was likely accurate.
Meng Qi had read about the “Seven Purple Thunderstrikes” in a comic book somewhere, mentioning something about it being a supreme art.
Gu Xiaosang never mentioned her purpose in talking about the Extinctive Blade of Overlord. She just looked at Meng Qi with a smile, giving off a kind of girl-next-door appeal. “When hubby appeared on the boat, you frightened my subordinate to the core. And when you ended him with one sword move, my face went all red and I was more than aroused. The move was such that of a skilled master, and I just wanted to lie in your arms. ”
Meng Qi did not loosen his grip on his sword and blade, and he was still at the ready to strike if the occasion called for it.
Gu Xiaosang was in a daze all of a sudden. “Being handsome and charming is naturally appealing, but courage and generosity are character traits of a hero. If hubby could slice away any evil spirits blocking the way, cut any roadblocks created by conscience, and skulls that you beheaded could pile up like a mountain under hubby’s feet or blood you spilled could fill up a lake in front of hubby. Then no one within the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths dared not follow. By then, I’d be more than willing to rid of my stature and be a housewife that possesses culinary skills to kill for.”
Her proposal was so compelling, yet Meng Qi did not believe a word of it. “This evil tramp is using seduction to coax me into getting the Extinctive Blade of Overlord for her.”
Gu Xiaosang pulled her flute again and started playing that lingering, touching music, where each note screamed unwillingness to part.
Her boat sailed across the river disappearing into the darkness, but the sound of her flute still drifted in the air.
She came and went with such grace that even Meng Qi was in awe. Knowing an instrument does indeed add bonus points to your aura! “But I don’t have the time to learn…”
If Gu Xiaosang knew that Meng Qi only cared about her musical talents, who knew how she would feel.
After changing to another Junk Ship, Meng Qi arrived in Xuanwu City two days later because he was drifting with the current. The entrance to the Zhen Wu Sect was situated 20 miles north of the city. Jianghu men called Xuan Wu City the backyard of Zhen Wu, meaning it had belonged to them and that they did not set much store by the government’s rule.
Meng Qi felt a unique style of bustle as soon as he stepped off the boat, different to that of the “Three Mountains and Four Waters”. People were coming and going on the busy wharf. Some were dressed in baggy and comfortable robes, some in delicate and fine clothes, some in head scarves and some in straw sandals. Some were rich and some were poor. All kinds of dialects had entered the ears.
Meng Qi inhaled deeply and identified the smell of roast chicken amid the stench and different fragrances. He also recognized the smell of Xuan Wu City’s famous fermented bean curd and fish being fried. By now he was feeling peckish and wanted to sit down for a big meal.
But he was not rash and decided to find Zhang Yuanshan first because only a local would know the best places to eat.
He again hid his three major weapons in a big parcel, pressed his left hand on the Ice Palace Sword like a swordsman, and used his right hand tighten the string on his official’s cap just in case his wig accidentally came off, which would be embarrassing.
As Meng Qi entered the city along the broad stone road, he saw more hustle and bustle.
After asking for the directions to the Zhang Manor, he walked casually like a country bumpkin entering town for the first time. The thieves took notice of Meng Qi and attempted to steal his money, but every time their hands got close to Meng Qi, they were bruised from being hit like a teacher punishing his pupils with a disciplinary ruler.
The thieves found out the hard way they had since this “humble” looking chap was a skilled master, and not someone to mess with.
Seeing this place was ruled by the honest and just Zhen Wu Sect, the thieves dared not make a big fuss, so just quietly walked away.
After Meng Qi had taught those petty thieves a lesson, he turned into a quiet street surrounded by large homes with tall fences. Not long afterward, he saw the Zhang Manor along the Xuan river, whose building was big and grand. Everything about it just screamed extravagance.
He knew Zhang Yuanshan was a part of the Zhen Wu Sect. In fact, the core of the Zhang family also served the top pros of them. “If I were still a Shaolin disciple, I’d just sent an invitation to him and await the general affairs of the Zhen Wu Sect to call Zhang Yuanshan. But my identity is quite a sensitive subject at present, so it’s best if I just go to the manor first and wait for a family member to take me up to the mountain.”
There were some hitching posts outside the gates of the Zhang manor, most of which had ropes around them. A lot of gallant horses were leisurely snorting there.
“So many guests… ” Meng Qi was a little perplexed. “How could there be so many guests?”
He thought there might be a wedding or a birthday or something.
“Zhen… little monk?” All of a sudden, a familiar female voice came from the alley and it had a tone of uncertainty.
Meng Qi was frightened and shocked for a moment so he grabbed the handle of his sword to avoid revealing his true identity and invited unnecessary trouble.
As he turned his head, he saw an oval-shaped face of a young girl hiding in the corner of the alley. Her face was cute and sweet, which revealed a look of meeting a hometown friend in a strange place. At last, he breathed a long sigh of relief.
“Miss Zhenzhen?” Meng Qi lifted his eyebrows and walked forward. This was a companion and compatriot, Fu Zhenzhen, the disciple of Yinghua Monastery from the North Zhou Dynasty, also an expert in poisons and alchemy.
She actually traveled thousands of miles south to find her lover!
“I could never have guessed that Fu Zhenzhen, who appeared to be soft and fragile on the outside, was so decisive and a girl of actions instead of just words…” Meng Qi praised silently, then said with half a smile, “Miss Zhenzhen, are you here to see Senior Brother Zhang?”
“I’ve been… been here for a few days, but I’m afraid to knock on the door.” Fu Zhenzhen pulled at the corner of her robes, revealing a hint of embarrassment like meeting the in-laws for the first time.
Meng Qi held back his laughter for he knew that Fu Zhenzhen was easily embarrassed and couldn’t handle jokes of this kind. Plus she was an expert in poisons, so it was best not to annoy her. So he added, “Great, I’m here to see Senior Brother Zhang as well and let’s go together. By the way, call me Meng Qi from now on.”
Fu Zhenzhen blushed and agreed. She had seen the Ranking List of Young Masters, so she did not call out the name Zhen Ding.
Because Fu Zhenzhen was shy and embarrassed, she did not say a word until they got to the front gate of the Zhang Manor.
Meng Qi walked up the stairs and said to the doorman smilingly. “I’m Meng Qi and this is Miss Fu Zhenzhen. We’re here to visit Senior Brother Zhang, Zhang Yuanshan. You just need to tell him our names and he’d definitely see us.”
He acted as if he were an old friend with Zhang Yuanshan to avoid further questioning from the doorman.
The doorman did not even lift his eyes and replied.”There be someone here to take today’s guests up the mountain in a few moments, and you just need to follow them.”
“Today’s guests?” Meng Qi felt more confused and strange by the second. As he was about to ask, a servant was walking out with a group of Jianghu men following behind. There were monks and Taoists, childes and beggars.
The doorman mumbled something to the servant, informing him about Meng Qi and Fu Zhenzhen’s identities. The servant nodded and politely bowed, then signaled them to follow him.
A group of people traversed through the city on foot and headed towards Zhen Wu mountain.
“Meng Qi, when I saw your name on the Ranking List of Young Masters, I was completely shocked.” Fu Zhenzhen finally opened her mouth. She was actually older than Meng Qi, so she chose to address him by his full name because they were not exactly close.
Upon hearing her words through Secret Voice-sending, Meng Qi was both elated and depressed. He was delighted about the fact that he was able to hold a spot on the Ranking List of Young Masters, but his sobriquet was awful!
“Miss Zhenzhen, did you cease the opportunity to come south while being on your external mission?” There were a few experts of the Exterior level from the Yinghua Monastery. It was not a big sect, so the disciples could go outside of the monastery to experience the world once they’d reached the enlightenment period. So that was why Meng Qi asked.
Fu Zhenzhen instantly blushed and she answered while watching her feet. “I… I thought I had nothing better to do with my exterior mission, so I decided to come south. Plus I’d exchanged for the first section of the ‘Man-saving Sutra’, so I had to get away from my monastery to avoid it being discovered.”
“I admire her persistence towards love…” Meng Qi sighed deeply. Then he went on chatting with her casually while listening to the conversations of the Jianghu men that they were with.
“The marriage between the Zhang and Song families would change the make-up of the Zhen Wu Sect.”
“They’re just trying to protect themselves as the Yao family had become stronger in the past few decades. The three major families are about to join forces and become one big family… ”
Meng Qi felt more strange and confused as he listened, so he could not help asking a Taoist next to him, “Sorry to interrupt, Taoist, but is today the day of the wedding between the Song and the Zhang family?”
The Taoist threw Meng Qi a strange glance as if he were wondering why Meng Qi was here if he knew nothing about it.
He thought for a few moments and answered, “Indeed, today is the day of the engagement between Zhang Yuanshan of the Zhang family and Song Mingxi of the Song family.”
Meng Qi was shocked upon hearing this news and subconsciously turned towards Fu Zhenzhen. Her face had turned pale and she was trembling. It seemed that she was about to faint.