Eternal Sword

Chapter 174: Concealing the truth
The old man looked sad and said, "The various forces have besieged the city for a long time. The city is short of food. Emperor Wu has used up all the remaining food, and the soldiers can't get much, let alone the people in the city. During this period, civilian heroes from all over Shenzhou organized themselves to transport food to the capital. Unfortunately, they were all intercepted and killed by Murong Zhong, Yuwen Mao, and Xuantian Sect..."

"In the past few months, the armies of the Murong family, the Yuwen family, and the Xuantian Sect have been rampaging in Guanzhong. Countless people have lost their homes and are displaced. Roads are cut off and there is no human habitation within a thousand miles."

At this point, the old man sighed deeply, as if recalling something, and murmured softly: "The spring swallows return and nest in the trees."

The last sentence sounds a bit strange.

But when Chen Tang thought about it for a moment, he felt a chill!
Swallows were originally supposed to build nests under houses, but the capital was devastated and the land was barren. When the spring swallows returned, they could only build nests in the woods, which shows the tragic situation in troubled times.

"and after?"

Chen Tang asked again.

The old man took a breath and continued, "There is no food in the city. If we continue to hold on, people will eat each other. Emperor Wu couldn't bear to see this happen, so he chose to lead the Dragon and Tiger Guards around him to fight his way out of the capital!"

Chen Tang was silent.

The target of the Yuwen family, the Murong family, and even the Xuantian Sect is Emperor Wu.

If Emperor Wu could fight his way out, regardless of life or death, he could at least temporarily lift the siege of the capital.

A few days ago, the old man mentioned the origin of the Dragon and Tiger Guards.

The Dragon and Tiger Guards are the imperial palace guards of Emperor Wu. The selection process is extremely strict, and all of them are first-rate masters of the third rank or above. There are only about a thousand of them.

After the battles of Xiajiang and Xueling, there were less than five hundred Dragon and Tiger Guards in the capital.

The old man said, "Emperor Wu fought his way through the chaos of the army with a severely injured body and fled to the west. The Dragon and Tiger Guards around him had already been dispersed and only a few were left. After fleeing all the way, only a dozen people were left with Emperor Wu."

"Finally, Emperor Wu was caught up by Yuwen Mao at Wujiang Mountain in Guanzhong and was killed by him outside Xinping Zen Temple."

Chen Tang's heart moved.

Guanzhong, Wujiang Mountain?

The Guanzhong of the former dynasty is today's Yongzhou.

When he was coming down the snowy mountain, a guest in the mountain once told him that if he encountered any big trouble, he should go to Xiping Temple in Yongzhou to find a monk named Lekong.

He had seen on the map that the location of Xiping Temple was on Wujiang Mountain.

What is the relationship between Xiping Temple and Xinping Zen Temple?
Chen Tang didn't figure out anything, so he put aside his doubts for the time being and asked, "Did anyone see Emperor Wu die at that time?"

“A lot of people saw it.”

The old man said, "In addition to Yuwen Mao, there were many monks in Xinping Temple, and even the more than ten Dragon and Tiger Guards around him. They all saw with their own eyes that Emperor Wu was beheaded by Yuwen Mao and his head and body were separated."

Chen Tang frowned slightly.

He originally thought that Emperor Wu might have faked his death or used a substitute to conceal the truth and escape.

But if there were so many people present, and Yuwen Mao killed him personally, then this speculation is unrealistic.

After all, Yuwen Mao is a powerful master with a keen eye.

If it was a substitute, he would definitely not be able to hide it.

Even cutting off the head and faking death are impossible.

In this case, the guest in the mountain could not be Emperor Wu.

The old man sneered and said, "Yuwen Mao still wants to force the Emperor to tell him the whereabouts of the Imperial Seal and the secret of the Dragon and Tiger Pill Sutra. The Emperor is such a person that he would not do as he wishes even if he dies."

Chen Tang was shocked when he heard this!
Shan Zhongke once said that he combined the two superior techniques of Buddhism and Taoism to create an internal strengthening method, which is the Dragon-Tiger Pill Sutra!
It seems that the guest in the mountain is Emperor Wu!

But how did Emperor Wu escape death and hide the truth in public when he was seriously injured?

How can this be?

Chen Tang was puzzled.

The old man understood the situation so clearly that he could even tell some details, and his identity was obvious!

Chen Tang pondered for a long time and asked again: "Are the descendants of Emperor Wu still alive?" "They are all dead."

The old man shook his head and said, "Some died in battle in the capital, and some committed suicide."

Chen Tang said: "As far as I know, Emperor Wu should have a descendant alive. During the turmoil in the capital, someone sneaked into the palace and rescued a prince."

"Ok?"

The old man's eyes brightened.

Of course he knew about this, but how did the young man in front of him know about it?
What was the purpose of this young man asking the descendants of Emperor Wu?

Could it be that Yuwen Mao wanted to kill them all and sent out secret spies?

In a flash, the old man became more wary and murderous towards Chen Tang.

Chen Tang asked, "Senior, do you know the whereabouts of this prince?"

The old man shook his head.

Not to mention that he didn't know, even if he knew, he couldn't say it.

The old man suddenly attacked Chen Tang!

He stretched out his skinny hand and grabbed Chen Tang's shoulder.

This attack came without any warning and was extremely fast, so Chen Tang had no time to dodge.

He directly used the Dragon Claw technique to grab the old man's wrist joint in reverse.

Ever since he had cultivated to the seventh level and mastered Yi Jin, he had become more and more proficient in the use of the Dragon Claw.

This time, I did it completely subconsciously.

The old man recognized the technique of the Dragon Claw and used the same move to grab Chen Tang's wrist.

Chen Tang changed his moves again and used all eight styles of Dragon Claws.

Both sides attacked continuously in mid-air, changing their moves.

There is no head-on confrontation, but if you are not careful, the opponent will grasp the vital joints!
After more than ten moves, the old man tested Chen Tang's strength, found a flaw, went straight in, and instantly grasped Chen Tang's multiple joints, making him unable to move.

"Who taught you the Dragon Claw?"

The old man asked in a low voice.

Chen Tang endured the pain from his joints, pretending not to know, and said, "What dragon claw? Mine is called Tianshan Zhemei Hand."

"nonsense!"

The old man growled, "If you don't tell me your master, I will cut off your wrists immediately, so that you will never be able to hold a knife again!"

"Hey, what are you doing, old man!"

At this moment, a scolding came from the entrance of the village.

Mrs. Lu was holding a sackcloth in her hand, her face full of disgust, and she muttered, "You are so old, why are you fussing with other people's children?"

The old man still held Chen Tang and frowned, "Madam Lu, I have some private matters with him. It has nothing to do with you."

In a blink of an eye, Madam Lu had come close, and seemingly casually slapped the old man's hand with a piece of sackcloth, and lightly scolded: "Let go!"

The old man didn't take it seriously at first.

When the sackcloth hit the back of his hand, several acupuncture points on the back of his hand suddenly hurt, as if they were pricked by needles!
The old man's face changed, and he felt his whole arm go numb in an instant, and his palm loosened uncontrollably.

Mrs. Lu grabbed Chen Tang, held his wrist, and left without looking back, walking towards the village.

The old man stood there in a daze, staring at Madam Lu's back for a long time before he exhaled and muttered, "What a powerful internal energy! There is actually a master in this village. I was wrong."

(End of this chapter)