A journey through the world of martial arts

Chapter 13 Lessons
After the two finished their meal, they went upstairs to rest. Gu Xu was worried that something might happen at night, so he let Wei Bi stay in the same room with him, and all the precious things were kept together for safekeeping.

It was late at night, and Wei Bi, being just a child, went to sleep early. Gu Xu, on the other hand, had made a makeshift bed on the floor and was meditating and practicing his martial arts. Suddenly, his ears twitched, and he heard someone on the roof. Moreover, it was a skilled person, at least with good lightness skills. The footsteps were very light, and if Gu Xu hadn't been so skilled, he wouldn't have been able to detect it.

A tile on the roof was lifted, and moonlight shone into the room. Gu Xu remained seated and motionless. After a while, Gu Xu heard the sound of someone leaving. A moment later, a hole appeared in the window, and a wooden tube extended out, releasing a smoky smoke.

Gu Xu gently gathered the smoke into a ball and sank it into the basin of water. Then he closed his eyes to rest and waited for the person to arrive.

The person outside waited for a while before coming in. It was a thin man dressed in black with a mask on, carrying a weapon. When he saw that the two people in the room seemed to be drugged, a fierce glint flashed in the man's eyes, and he slashed at Gu Xu's neck. He seemed to have already seen Gu Xu's fate of being beheaded.

To his surprise, the blade was easily caught between two fingers. The man in black was shocked and tried to swing the knife back, but found that he couldn't get it back no matter how hard he tried. He immediately let go and ran towards the door. Gu Xu wanted to see what kind of person he was, so he quickly blocked his retreat and turned around to strike with a soft palm. Caught off guard, the man in black was hit hard by the palm.

He let out a muffled groan, his body flying backward and crashing into the wall with a thud. His body went limp, and he immediately collapsed to the ground, motionless. Several pieces of debris fell from the wall. If Gu Xu hadn't wanted to spare his life, this man would not be alive today.

Walking up to the man in black, Gu Xu removed his mask and found a familiar face—one of the beggars Gu Xu had previously discovered spying on him. The man was already unconscious. Gu Xu took out a rope and tied him up.

A series of noises woke Wei Bi up. He noticed there was another person in the room and asked in surprise, "Master, who is this person? Why is he dressed like that?"

“This is a villain who wants to murder for money. I’ll find out who he is once I wake him up,” he said, picking up a teapot and pouring it on the man’s face. The man in black was awakened by the water and, seeing that he was bound, moved slightly before glaring angrily at Gu Xu.

"You'd better not waste your time. Tell me your origins, and I'll give you a quick death," Gu Xu said, not wanting to waste any more time with him.

"Hmph, I am Wu Zhen, the Eighth Elder of the Beggars' Sect. If you know what's good for you, release me quickly," Wu Zhen hoped to use the name of the Beggars' Sect to make Gu Xu back down and release him.

To his surprise, the other party just sneered, "Beggar Clan? What a big name. As expected, they are just some low-class people who do such despicable things." Gu Xu looked down on the Beggar Clan. Apart from a few people, he had no good feelings towards the Beggar Clan.

Taking advantage of the chaos, the Beggars' Sect has committed numerous heinous acts, such as harming children and buying and selling people. None of the six major sects respect it, truly tarnishing its former reputation as the number one sect in the world.

Upon hearing Gu Xu's tone, Wu Zhen immediately realized he had met a tough opponent. He dared not act rashly and cautiously asked, "What sect or school do you belong to, and who is your master?"

"I am Gu Xu, a disciple of Wudang. As for who my master is, you are not worthy to ask. You have come here tonight to rob and kill, and I will have to send you to meet the King of Hell."

Upon hearing Gu Xu reveal his family name, Wu Zhen immediately regretted his actions. Of all people to offend, he had to mess with the Wudang Sect. Now, he was afraid he would lose his life. However, Wu Zhen was also a cunning person. Seeing the murderous look in Gu Xu's eyes, he quickly said, "Daoist Gu Xu, I was just following orders. It was all Elder Liu's idea."

Upon hearing this, Gu Xu sheathed his sword. After listening to Wu Zhen's explanation, he understood the reason. Liu Butong was greedy, lustful, and ruthless. Many wealthy families had fallen victim to his cruelty. Today, when Gu Xu entered the city, his informant reported Liu Butong, which is why he sent Wu Zhen to carry out the attack.

In order to save his own life, Wu Zhen told all the evil deeds Liu Butong had done in order to divert Gu Xu's attention. After listening to him, Gu Xu felt that he had added another person to his kill list.

“In that case, take me to find Liu Butong tomorrow, but don’t even think about running away,” he said, taking out a porcelain bottle and pouring out a pill. “This is the Heartbreak Pill. There will be no abnormalities for two days after taking it, but if you don’t take the antidote after two days, your liver and intestines will be torn apart, and you will die bleeding from all seven orifices.”

Wu Zhen had genuinely intended to inflict mutual damage on Gu Xu and Liu Butong, but now that Gu Xu had produced such a vicious drug, his face immediately turned ugly.

"You call yourself a member of a reputable sect, yet you resort to such methods. If the Seven Heroes of Wudang find out, won't they hold it against you?" Wu Zhen dared not say it aloud, but could only think it to himself.

After Wu Zhen swallowed the pill, Gu Xu untied him. "I can let you go, but you must take me to find Liu Butong first thing tomorrow morning. Don't try any tricks." After saying that, Gu Xu let Wu Zhen leave. Anyway, this man was going to die sooner or later, so let him make one last contribution before he dies.

Nothing happened that night. The next morning, after breakfast, Wu Zhen waited respectfully outside the inn. "Daoist, I've inquired about Liu Bu. He's currently in the mountain god temple ten miles outside the city."

"Mountain God Temple?" "Master, you may not know this, but today and tomorrow are the days when the Ren branch of the Beggars' Sect is gathering. As the branch leader, Liu Butong has no choice but to appear, otherwise he would just stay in his own residence." Wu Zhen explained the situation to Gu Xu in detail.

Meeting Gu Xu's ambiguous smile, Wu Zhen's heart tightened, and cold sweat poured down his face. He forced himself to calm down.

"You lead the way," Gu Xu said, leading the two into the carriage. Wu Zhen pointed out the direction, and after traveling east for three-quarters of an hour, a dilapidated mountain god temple came into view.

Wu Zhen led Gu Xu and the other into the mountain god temple, only to find more than a dozen beggars waiting in ambush, apparently having been there for quite some time. Gu Xu glanced at them and saw that apart from the short, fat old man at the head, the rest were just there to make up the numbers.

Upon seeing Liu Butong, Wu Zhen immediately became obsequious. The latter nodded to him, and Wu Zhen's right hand suddenly appeared, grabbing at Wei Bi. He was playing a game of cat and mouse, but Gu Xu already knew he was up to no good. He directly chopped off Wu Zhen's right palm with his sword. Wu Zhen screamed in agony as Gu Xu struck him with a Mountain-Shaking Iron Palm, rupturing his internal organs. He coughed up blood, stumbled against a wooden pillar, and collapsed like a rag doll. It was clear he was not going to survive.

"How dare you!" With a long shout, Gu Xu sensed a palm strike coming from behind. Liu Butong was also surprised to see Wu Zhen's miserable state, but he didn't have time to think about it. His subordinate had been killed. If he didn't get revenge, what prestige would he have? He had to kill this kid today, no matter what, not even the Wudang Sect.

After leaving the inn last night, Wu Zhen told Liu Butong the whole story, hoping to atone for his sins and get the antidote.

Liu Butong told him, "If he really is a member of the Wudang Sect, then what you ate was definitely not poison. He's just trying to trick you. Don't worry, take him to the mountain god temple outside the city tomorrow, and you'll be saved."

Gu Xu didn't even glance at him. He spread his sleeves, and the inner part of his robe expanded. After Liu Butong was struck by his palm, he felt an unfathomable internal force pass through his arm and into his body, constantly ravaging his meridians. After a brief exchange, Liu Butong let out a miserable howl and flew backward at an even faster speed than when he came. His clothes exploded into pieces in the air, and after landing, his whole body began to turn red. In no time, he looked like a roast suckling pig.

Liu Butong, who was lying on the ground, said angrily to the people around him, "Hurry up and set up an array, and arrest him for me."

Despite their fear of Gu Xu, the crowd had no choice but to do as Liu Butong instructed. More than ten people, armed with bamboo poles, surrounded Gu Xu and kept banging on the ground, attempting to use the "Dog-Beating Formation." Gu Xu was too lazy to deal with them; in his eyes, they were all accomplices to evil and deserved to die.

With a series of "swish, swish, swish," several sword shadows flashed past. In Liu Butong's horrified gaze, more than ten people had a small cut on their necks and then died. With another casual sword thrust, Gu Xu pierced Liu Butong's heart. Only then did Gu Xu have time to look at Wu Zhen.

"The pills I gave you were real," Wu Zhen said, dying in remorse.

Wei Bi stood by the side the whole time, watching his master display his power with unwavering eyes. When Gu Xu walked over, Wei Bi finally smelled the blood in the temple and immediately bent down to vomit uncontrollably. Soon his face turned deathly pale.

Once Wei Bi had recovered, Gu Xu led him away from the mountain god temple and continued driving towards Hubei.

While they were camping out at night, Wei Bi wanted to speak several times, but he held back. Gu Xu finished his meditation and said calmly, "Ask whatever you want." "Master, you killed so many Beggars' Clan members today. Won't that cause you any trouble?"

“You heard what Wu Zhen said yesterday, and I checked it out later. It’s true. Those people were utterly depraved and deserved to die. Now that they’ve died at my hands, it’s a good thing for them. So what if they’re from the Beggars’ Gang? If they’re smart enough, they won’t keep pressing the matter. Otherwise…”

Gu Xu was thinking that if the Beggars' Sect persisted, they would only be ruined. Wei Bi didn't understand these things. After seeing how powerful Gu Xu was today, he only wanted to get to Wudang as soon as possible and learn martial arts.

After spending the night in the open, the two traveled for three days before finally entering Hubei Province. Gu Xu drove familiarly towards Shunyang City, and soon arrived at a Taoist temple, a branch of Wudang.

After Gu Xu gave his name, the young Taoist went in to report. Soon after, someone came out in a hurry. The leader was a young Taoist priest. Upon seeing Gu Xu, he bowed respectfully and said, "Senior Brother." Gu Xu said, "So it is Junior Brother Zhao who is on duty here."

Junior Brother Zhao was overjoyed that Gu Xu could still recognize him. He hurriedly led Gu Xu and the other man into the temple, while the carriage was led to the backyard by someone else.

(End of this chapter)