The Legend of the Condor Heroes: From Being Expelled from Peach Blossom Island

Chapter 122 The mob
No matter the world, there is no such thing as a truly foolproof plan.

After leaving the west gate of Suzhou, those martial arts practitioners who had not gone to watch the arena competition headed towards Tiger Hill in twos and threes, completely disorganized and undisciplined.

However, from Deyuelou to Huqiu, it was a distance of more than ten miles. These people walked openly on the main road and slowly gathered together. Each of them had their own plans and were on guard. They were scattered and dispersing, like a swarm of flies.

Shi Shun was right; they were indeed a mob.

Shi Shun's goal was to make them kill each other. With this calculated strategy, at least those outlaws who opposed peace talks would suffer heavy losses.

But not everyone in the martial arts world is a fool.

They had only gone halfway when the martial arts practitioners all stopped in their tracks, whispering amongst themselves, not daring to go forward.

There were at least two hundred beggars, each carrying at least three cloth bags, who were true members of the Beggars' Sect. They blocked these martial arts practitioners on the way.

Two disciples with seven bags of spiritual energy stood at the front, and one of them stepped forward and spoke.

"I am Wang Dazhong, the leader of the Suzhou branch of the Beggars' Sect. Many of you here should recognize me. Today, I am acting on the orders of Chief Hong of the Beggars' Sect. I urge you all to turn back now and not to wade into the muddy waters of Tiger Hill. It is clearly a trap, a killing scheme set by the imperial court against us martial arts practitioners."

The mob looked at each other, their hearts not only divided, but also filled with insatiable greed.

"I am not afraid of death. As long as I can kill the Jin dog and avenge my dead parents, I am not afraid of anything. Chief Wang, just tell me if there is a Jin dog there. Do not block our way. Once the Jin dog enters the territory of my Great Song Dynasty, it must be killed."

Another disciple with seven bags was somewhat tempted upon hearing this. He was always reckless and didn't understand why the gang leader wanted to stop them. In his opinion, he didn't care whether it was a trap or not, he would just kill his way through. Even if he lost his head, it would only leave a big scar.

Just then, Wu Chengyu, who had been rushing to Suzhou City using the Crane Shadow Flowing Light technique, also caught up. He mingled in the crowd and almost burst out laughing when he saw this seven-bag disciple. This was his old friend, the future leader of the Beggars' Sect, Lu Youjiao.

Lu Youjiao's fate was slightly altered by Wu Chengyu. Because Wu Chengyu exposed the Gushan branch, Lu Youjiao was left there by Hong Qigong to serve as the branch leader. Now, it seems that Hong Qigong has changed his position again.

Although things didn't go very well back then, Wu Chengyu wouldn't hold a grudge against someone who was straightforward and had no ill intentions. After not seeing him for several years, he actually felt a bit closer to him.

Provoked by the other party's impassioned words, Lu Youjiao turned to Wang Dazhong and said, "Why does the gang leader insist that we stop them here? I don't understand."

Wang Dazhong glared at him irritably, ignored him, and continued to persuade the person opposite him.

"Everyone should know what kind of person our Beggars' Sect Chief Hong is. Since he asked us to stop you all, it is naturally for your own good."

Don't you trust Chief Hong's character? When has our Beggars' Sect ever done anything to betray our fellow martial artists?

Although there are five great masters in the world, in terms of prestige in the martial arts world, Hong Qigong is indeed the most outstanding. Not counting the deceased Wang Chongyang, the others cannot be compared with him at all.

Hong Qigong's conduct was generally impeccable, except for his fondness for criticizing Wu Chengyu. He was considered to have the highest moral standard among martial arts heroes.

Therefore, upon hearing this, many of the martial arts practitioners on the other side fell silent.

Unfortunately, some of these people are either blinded by greed or have already been tainted by spies.

Someone hiding in the crowd whispered, "I think the Beggars' Sect is only after Yue Fei's martial arts essence from the Wumu Legacy." "Yue Fei's Yue Family Scattered Hand was unparalleled in the martial arts world back then. If the Beggars' Sect wants to monopolize it, just say so. Do you think we would dare to compete with Chief Hong? Of course we have to give way."

"We wanted to kill Jin Gou, but your Beggars' Sect stopped us. This doesn't make sense. Have you sided with Jin Gou?"

“I believe that Chief Hong is upright and honest, but your Beggars’ Clan has done a lot of dirty things. Don’t think we don’t know. If you want us to turn back, fine, you can have Chief Hong come out and talk to me in person.”

“That’s right. Everyone knows about the Beggars’ Sect’s practice of picking up beggars. It happened in Gushan back then, and it was Chief Hong who personally killed those scoundrels. I only believe Chief Hong; I don’t believe any of the other Beggars’ Sect disciples.”

Speaking of the Gushan incident, Lu Youjiao blushed. He was a witness to it, and many people had seen Wu Chengyu telling stories on the street and Hong Qigong appearing. The fact that the Gushan branch was stealing children by beggars could not be kept secret.

Wu Chengyu watched coldly. Some of the clamoring people were after the martial arts in the so-called "Wumu Legacy," but it was later proven that there was no such thing as the Yue Family Scattered Hands in it; it was purely a military treatise.

However, even Ouyang Feng in the original novel couldn't help but be tempted after hearing that Yue Fei's martial arts manual contained the Yue Family's freehand techniques. This shows that Yue Fei's martial arts skills were truly extraordinary, so it's understandable that these martial arts practitioners coveted Yue Fei's skills.

But those who keep shouting and stirring up trouble clearly have ulterior motives; they might even be people sent by historians to infiltrate the group.

Seeing the crowd's agitated state, and with constant provocation, even the initially clear-headed people gradually lost their temper. These people began to attack the Beggars' Sect, and the two sides pushed and shoved each other, and a fight was imminent.

But Wu Chengyu was already impatient. He had no intention of sabotaging the Song-Jin peace talks. It was now a certainty that the Shi family was playing a conspiracy. He was more concerned about the safety of Sister Niu, Lu Zhiyi, and others.

With the Beggars' Sect around, even if these people eventually started fighting, it would only result in a mess. A few people would probably die in the end, but this group would not have the chance to go to Tiger Hill to die again. Hong Qigong's goal of stopping them here and preventing them from losing their lives can be considered to have been achieved.

Just as Wu Chengyu was trying to squeeze out of the crowd, what was bound to happen finally occurred.

The two sides were just one spark away from igniting a conflict. Wu Chengyu believed that the Shi family would launch a sneak attack first, and then the Beggars' Sect would retaliate, resulting in a chaotic brawl.

Who would have thought that the one who struck first was Wang Dazhong, the leader of the Beggars' Sect's Suzhou branch.

One of the martial arts practitioners, with a sorrowful face, was the most agitated after being stopped, repeatedly shouting "Kill the Jin dogs!" and spitting all over Wang Dazhong's face.

Unexpectedly, Wang Dazhong suddenly struck the man with a palm, sending him flying several meters away, spitting out blood, and collapsing to the ground.

In the current situation, it was absolutely wrong of Wang Dazhong to strike first.

The crowd that had been blocked finally erupted into chaos, clapping and punching, and immediately started fighting with the Beggars' Gang. Those guys who had attracted Wu Chengyu's attention and been fueling the fire even drew their weapons.

"Beggar Clan disciples, listen to my command! By order of Chief Hong, intercept these guys. Since they dare to disobey the Beggar Clan's orders, show no mercy and beat them up!"

Once the order was given, the scene turned into chaos, with chickens and dogs flying everywhere, but fortunately no one went for the kill.

Lu Youjiao panicked and quickly pulled Wang Dazhong out of the crowd, saying, "Chief Hong only told us to intercept them and instructed us not to make a move. How dare you misinterpret his meaning?"

(End of this chapter)