A journey through the world of martial arts

Chapter 14 Back to the Mountain
After the three of them sat down, Gu Xu said, "Junior Brother Zhao, I have come here today to ask for your help with something." Junior Brother Zhao's real name is Zhao Jun. He is a disciple of Grandmaster Uncle Song Yuanqiao. His martial arts skills are among the best of his generation, and he is now highly regarded by Grandmaster Uncle.

Zhao Jun quickly replied, "Senior brother, you're too kind. If there's anything I can help you with, I'll do it as soon as possible." He knew that this senior brother would definitely become the leader of Wudang Sect in the future, so of course he wanted to build a good relationship with him.

“Senior brother, I still have some things to take care of. It’s inconvenient to bring Bi’er along, so I would like you to escort my disciple to Wudang and hand him over to our eldest master. Let him guide me for a while, and we will make a decision after I return to the mountain.”

Zhao Jun thought this was easy, so he said, "Don't worry, senior brother, I will send a capable person to escort you personally, and I guarantee there will be no mistakes." Gu Xu nodded. In fact, the martial arts world in Hubei was now under the control of Wudang, and ordinary people would not provoke them.

"Bi'er, you should go to Wudang tomorrow. As we agreed before, I will definitely return to the mountain within a month at the latest. You should practice martial arts with your grandmaster uncle and not be lazy."

Wei Bi nodded. He had witnessed his master's strictness on the road. His master was not only strict with him, but also demanded a lot of things from him. Although it made him look a bit embarrassed, he had to admit that a strict teacher produces outstanding students, and his progress in martial arts was obvious.

Zhao Jun listened to his senior brother's words and valued this young disciple highly. He looked him over and noticed that his breathing was upright, peaceful, gentle, and long. This was the basic Qi cultivation method of Wudang. He did not expect that he could cultivate to such a level. He immediately raised Wei Bi's level by another grade.

After chatting for a while, Zhao Jun had someone bring in food. Wei Bi had been eating dry rations for several days and had no taste of meat in his mouth. Looking at the meat on the plate, he couldn't help but swallow his saliva. Seeing Wei Bi's amusing appearance, Gu Xu said with a smile, "Eat quickly. We're going up the mountain tomorrow, and then it won't be as lavish."

As soon as he finished speaking, Wei Bi kept picking at the plate of braised meat with his chopsticks, eating it with great relish along with the rice, which made Gu Xu's mouth water as well.

After the meal, Wei Bi was put to bed, while Gu Xu continued meditating and practicing his skills after finishing a letter.

The next day, Gu Xu bid farewell to Zhao Jun and rode his horse to Butterfly Valley in southern Anhui.

The journey was smooth and calm until we arrived at a scenic valley. We dismounted and led the horses along the way. There were butterflies, some black, some white, some red, and some blue, fluttering among the wildflowers. It was a beautiful sight. We followed the stream upstream and soon came to see a few wooden houses built by the lake.

Gu Xu knew that Hu Qingniu had an eccentric temperament and never treated outsiders except for members of the Ming Cult. There was an unknown reason for this.

After tying his horse to a tree, Gu Xu picked up his sword and backpack and went outside the wooden house. He found various herbs drying in the sun, and the strong smell of herbs filled his nostrils. He immediately said loudly, "Gu Xu of Wudang, please see the Physician of Butterfly Valley if you have something to say."

After a long while, an impatient voice came from inside the wooden house: "I don't welcome people from reputable sects here. People from outside, get out of here. If you anger me, you'll regret it." Gu Xu didn't care about these words and immediately said another name: "Xianyu Tong".

With a loud bang, the door was violently flung open, and Hu Qingniu rushed out, holding a porcelain bottle in his hand. Upon seeing Gu Xu's appearance, he became even more enraged, pulled out the stopper, and raised his hand to throw the contents of the bottle at Gu Xu.

Seeing Hu Qingniu make his move, Gu Xu was even faster, snatching the porcelain bottle away with a swift motion. To Hu Qingniu's horrified gaze, it turned into a pile of powder, falling down and scattering in the wind.

"Is this how the Butterfly Valley Physician treats his guests?" Gu Xu wanted to give him a hard time so that they could talk business.

Seeing that he was not afraid of the poison at all and had come prepared, Hu Qingniu's momentum inevitably dropped, but he still angrily asked, "What exactly do you want to do?"

Gu Xu said, "Senior, won't you invite me in for a cup of tea?" Hu Qingniu had no choice but to invite him in and brought him a cup of dark tea. Gu Xu smelled it and said, "Senior's tea is no ordinary tea. The thirteen medicinal herbs with conflicting properties have achieved a perfect balance. If the drinker's internal energy is insufficient, their blood will flow backward. Senior has a kind heart."

After saying this, Gu Xu drank the tea in one gulp. Hu Qingniu's expression changed, and he thought to himself, "I underestimated him."

Seeing that Gu Xu was still full of energy after drinking the tea, Hu Qingniu said, "Now you can tell me, what is the reason you came here?"

Looking at Hu Qingniu, Gu Xu said, "I have three purposes for this trip. First, to exchange medical skills with you, senior. Second, to ask you to refine a elixir. Third, to offer you Xianyu Tong's life." The first two were fine, but the last one really moved Hu Qingniu.

Hu Qingniu glanced at Gu Xu, not wanting to know how he knew this secret. As long as he could kill Xianyu Tong and avenge his sister, he would pay any price.

Years ago, Hu Qingniu's sister, Hu Qingyang, was taken advantage of and abandoned by Xianyu Tong, the Huashan Sect Leader whom he had treated. In the end, she and her unborn child died. Hu Qingniu plotted to assassinate Xianyu Tong many times, but he never succeeded. Instead, he became more vigilant.

Hearing that this Wudang disciple wanted to avenge him was quite novel, after all, Wudang and Huashan were prestigious and righteous sects, naturally on the same side. "Master, what exactly is your purpose in avenging me?"

"To put your mind at ease, senior, you can devote more time to studying medicine, which will be of great use in the future. In addition, Xianyu Tong is despicable, treacherous and cunning, and has disgraced the six major sects. Eliminating him will also rid the martial arts world of a scourge. Do you think these reasons are sufficient, senior?" Gu Xu said calmly.

Nodding, Hu Qingniu reluctantly acknowledged these points, then changed the subject, "You want to discuss medical techniques with me, but I don't know how to do it. What skills do you have?"

Gu Xu took out a booklet containing surgical techniques, which he believed would leave Hu Qingniu speechless. As he expected, Hu Qingniu initially took the booklet casually, but after reading it for a while, he also had an expression of disbelief on his face.

Looking up at Gu Xu, he said in a hoarse voice, "Daoist Master, these things are truly astonishing. If the cases in them are true, then Daoist Master can be said to have established his own school of thought. My little tricks are not even worth a glance."

“Senior is mistaken. I greatly admire your medical skills and hope to learn even a little bit. As a token of my gratitude, I would like to present this book to you.” Hearing that Gu Xu was going to give him such a precious thing, Hu Qingniu was also very excited. With these, his medical skills could be further improved. He immediately said, “I can teach you with all my heart, but how much you can learn depends on your comprehension.”

Gu Xu bowed and said, "Then I'll have to trouble you, senior."

"Take a look at these two medical books first. Ask me if you don't understand anything. I'll go and study those things first," Hu Qingniu handed the two thick books to Gu Xu, then returned to the inner room without looking back.

In the following days, Gu Xu carefully studied the medical books compiled by Hu Qingniu, occasionally raising some questions. Hu Qingniu patiently guided him. One learned diligently, and the other taught with heart. With his amazing comprehension, Gu Xu memorized these things in just over half a month, making Hu Qingniu exclaim in his heart, "A prodigy!"

A few days ago, Hu Qingniu refined Gu Xu's ginseng into a recovery pill, adding many of his own precious medicinal herbs.

“Senior, I have been away for a long time and am preparing to return to the mountain. If you need help, you can take this jade pendant to Wudang Mountain to find me.” Gu Xu handed a piece of green jade pendant to Hu Qingniu. The latter thought for a while and then took it. Although the material was ordinary, it felt cool to the touch. A Tai Chi diagram was engraved on the front, and the words “Wudang” were engraved on the back. There were also two small characters “Gu Xu” below.

"Then I won't keep Daoist Gu Xu any longer. Farewell," he said, personally escorting Gu Xu out of the valley before returning to his room to continue his research on the surgery.

After bidding farewell to Hu Qingniu, Gu Xu rode his horse towards Wudang Mountain. It took him two days to finally reach the foot of the mountain. Thinking that he had been away from the mountain for a long time, he brought some gifts for his fellow disciples.

As soon as Gu Xu led his horse to Jiejian Rock, several disciples guarding the mountain came up to greet him. "Senior Brother Gu Xu, you've finally returned to the mountain!" Chen Xu said happily, and the others also surrounded him.

"So it's Junior Brother Chen's turn to guard the mountain today," Gu Xu said as he distributed some snacks to them. After chatting for a while, Gu Xu went up the mountain alone.

Disciples kept bowing to Gu Xu along the way, and Gu Xu nodded in response. After walking for a while, the Zixiao Palace was already in sight.

Having been away from the mountain for a long time, returning again and looking at the scenery before him, he felt an indescribable feeling. Just then, two children saw Gu Xu and cheered, running over quickly. The smaller one hugged Gu Xu's leg, while the slightly older one called out "Master".

"Qingshu, have you been practicing martial arts lately?" Gu Xu's words immediately made Song Qingshu frown. He let go of her hand, turned his head away and ignored Gu Xu, but after seeing an exquisite mask, he enthusiastically called out "Senior Brother" a few times, and finally got the mask in his hand. After putting it on, he bared his teeth and claws at Gu Xu.

Seeing Wei Bi's envious look, Gu Xu took out another mask and let the two of them go play.

Upon entering the main hall, Gu Xu saw his senior uncle, Song Yuanqiao, waiting for him. He quickly greeted him. Song Yuanqiao stared at him for a moment, then smiled and said, "Your martial arts have indeed improved again. Even I can't tell how far you've come. It seems your travels have brought you great progress. Very good."

"I dare not accept your praise, Master. I have only done my best and dare not slack off."

“To do one’s best is to have the will, and with the will one will not slack off. With such diligence, it is not surprising that he has achieved such skill.” Song Yuanqiao was extremely satisfied with his junior apprentice, not to mention that he had also found such a precious medicine as “Black Jade Broken Heart Ointment”.

“You wrote to me before saying that the ‘Black Jade Broken Heart Ointment’ could cure Third Brother’s injury. I was a little skeptical at first, but seeing that Third Brother can stand up for a short time now, you have made a great contribution. What reward do you want?” Song Yuanqiao looked at Gu Xu and said.

(End of this chapter)