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

Chapter 426 Homesickness

When later generations read The Legend of the Condor Heroes, Wu Chengyu always had two questions.

One question is why Qiu Chuji didn't take Yang Kang away when he found him, but just left him in the palace.

Another question is why, after the Seven Heroes of Jiangnan found Guo Jing, they didn't bring Li Ping and Guo Jing back to Jiangnan to teach them martial arts. Li Ping and Guo Jing were originally from Hangzhou, and they were only brought here by Duan Tiande because they had no choice but to stay.

Previously, it could be said that Li Ping alone could not take the child back, but with the arrival of the Seven Heroes of Jiangnan, they were fully capable of escorting Li Ping and her child back to their hometown.

Wu Chengyu didn't think that Li Ping, who missed Jiangnan day and night, would develop any deep feelings for Mongolia.

The Seven Heroes of Jiangnan would be even less likely to stay here. They were all outlaws who roamed the streets of Jiaxing. Regardless of whether Zhang Asheng was buried in the Mongolian desert, they had no reason to stay here indefinitely.

It doesn't matter where you teach your disciples. The Mongolian grasslands are harsh and cold; they're hardly a good place. Not to mention the Song and Jin dynasties, even in later generations, apart from the big cities in Inner Mongolia, life in the grasslands was quite inconvenient.

Furthermore, with the constant warfare in Mongolia over the years, if Guo Jing hadn't rescued Jebe and received the protection of Temujin's tribe, it's uncertain whether Guo Jing and his mother would have survived until the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan found them.

So when Wu Chengyu asked the question that had been bothering him for so long, Guo Jing was still confused. His memories of Jiangnan all came from Li Ping, and he couldn't talk about feelings for her at the moment.

However, Li Ping and the Seven Heroes of Jiangnan were also speechless for a moment, not knowing how to answer. They were probably asking themselves, "Yes, why don't we go back? Mongolia is nothing compared to their hometown of Jiangnan."

Ma Wangshen Han Baoju stammered, "We have an agreement with Qiu Chuji to have a martial arts contest when they turn eighteen. This place is closer to the Jin Kingdom."

Wu Chengyu countered, "But the place you've agreed to the duel is the Misty Rain Pavilion in Jiaxing. You'll all have to go back first."

Han Xiaoying said, "Temujin and the others treat Jing'er very well, and we live a stable life. For a while, we didn't think about leaving here."

"You all heard what I just said. Temujin wants Jing'er to abandon his Han identity and identify as a Mongol from now on. What good will it do him to stay here any longer?"

None of you want your disciples, whom you've painstakingly trained, to ultimately abandon their Han Chinese identity, right? Wouldn't that make all your righteous efforts over the past eighteen years a joke?

During this era, the Song Dynasty was weak, and the Jin, Western Xia, and even the Mongols looked down on the Han people. However, the Han people considered themselves the orthodox successors of Chinese civilization and also looked down on these barbarians. It was absolutely unacceptable for any Han person to voluntarily abandon their ethnicity.

Moreover, loyal and righteous people like the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan would absolutely not allow it.

Temujin's casual remark that Guo Jing should no longer identify as a Han Chinese struck a nerve with the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan, which is why Wu Chengyu asked Zhu Cong, "Those who are not of our race must have different hearts."

Wu Chengyu seized the opportunity and turned to look at Li Ping, the woman he respected most. In the original story, she bravely faced death to prevent Guo Jing from betraying his people. How could she now agree to let Guo Jing join the Mongols so early?

“Sister-in-law Guo, it is true that Temujin has been kind to you, but some time ago, when Temujin was in danger, it was Jing’er who risked her life to rush into Sangkun’s camp and capture Dushi. This made Sangkun hesitate to act, and Temujin was able to take the opportunity to break out of the encirclement.”

In my opinion, it was only a small favor for Temujin to protect you, and Jing'er's desperate help is more than enough to repay his kindness.

As for your life here, it's all earned through your hard work day and night, herding sheep and weaving felt. You owe no one anything.

Or perhaps you feel that Jing'er has been made the Golden Knife Prince Consort, and will enjoy wealth and honor in the future, so you are reluctant to give him up.

Knowing Sister-in-law Guo as I do, you probably won't care about this.

Li Ping was not good with words, and after hearing Wu Chengyu's words, she didn't know how to respond. But she understood that they no longer owed Temujin any favors. She lowered her head in thought and turned to look at Guo Jing.

"Jing'er, let me ask you this: do you really want to marry Hua Zheng?"

After hesitating for a long time, Guo Jing stammered and replied, "I don't know. I treat Hua Zheng as a younger sister and never thought about becoming a prince consort."

Hearing Guo Jing's words, Li Ping breathed a sigh of relief and said to the Seven Heroes of Jiangnan and Wu Chengyu, "I've watched Hua Zheng grow up since she was a child, and I like her too. But I always felt that it would be best for Jing'er to marry a Han woman in the future. After hearing what Jing'er said, I feel much more at ease."

Then Ke Zhen'e habitually slammed his iron staff on the ground: "Brother Wu is right, we were confused. Why don't we go back? Jiangnan is much more comfortable than this Mongolian desert."

Wu Chengyu nodded, feeling much more at ease. Genghis Khan's words today were indeed the best opportunity, immediately stirring everyone's thoughts. Coupled with Wu Chengyu's question, which was somewhat like a soul-searching inquiry, the Seven Heroes of Jiangnan and Li Ping finally understood.

He came to Mongolia for two main reasons: one was to take Guo Jing as his disciple, which he has already accomplished.

The other thing was to find a way to kill Temujin, and use that as a breakthrough to completely change the course of history.

The Mongolian steppe has just been unified, but only in name. There are still many small tribes that Temujin needs to subdue, and there are many internal conflicts.

Temujin also needed to find a way to pursue and kill the fleeing Wang Khan and Sangkun, so the Mongols could not move south in the short term.

Wu Chengyu had plenty of time. As long as he killed Temujin before leaving the grasslands, the newly unified grasslands would inevitably descend into chaos. First, Wang Khan and Sangkun would surely make a comeback, and Temujin's four sons were no pushovers; each was a hero who had made great contributions to the Mongol conquest of the world.

Aside from Tolui being young, Jochi and Chagatai had always been at odds, and Ögedei, though outwardly mild-mannered, was destined to become the second Great Khan of the Mongols, which meant he must have been ambitious. These three were bound to split and fight each other.

Furthermore, the four heroes and four mastiffs under Genghis Khan's command, without Genghis Khan's control, would inevitably develop rebellious intentions.

If the overall trend remains unchanged, the Mongolian steppe will eventually be unified, but its strength will be greatly reduced, and its successors will definitely not be as talented and ambitious as Temujin.

When the Mongol cavalry marches south, the pressure on the Jin Dynasty will be greatly reduced, and the situation will no longer be one-sided. The Jin Dynasty and the Mongol Yuan Dynasty will fight to the death, and the rebel army led by Hong Niangzi can take advantage of the situation to rise up. Wu Chengyu also has his own plans for the next step, and he may really be able to change history.

Wu Chengyu's mindset is now completely different from when he first transmigrated. He originally did not want to change history or get involved in these dynastic struggles. To him, the Mongol Yuan dynasty's occupation of the Central Plains after the Song and Jin dynasties was part of history, so why bother changing it?

However, after traveling through time, seeing the Han people being so oppressed, especially the Han people living like slaves in the Jin and Western Xia territories, as well as the corruption and incompetence of the Southern Song court, finally spurred Wu Chengyu to take the initiative to change history.

In addition, Wu Chengyu also wanted to change Li Ping's fate. This woman, whom he respected very much, had a life full of hardships. She raised Guo Jing, a great hero, but in the end, she died in a foreign land.

A year later, the Mongolian grasslands were in chaos. What good would it do to stay there? It would be better to take Li Ping back to Jiangnan as soon as possible so that she could have a peaceful and happy old age. Only in this way could Wu Chengyu fulfill his grievances.

Wu Chengyu's words immediately excited the Seven Heroes of Jiangnan. Who wouldn't want to return to their hometown? They were all tempted to leave at that moment.

"Get ready, let's leave now. Brother Wu, I don't want to stay here for even a day longer." It was Han Baoju who spoke.

“How pleasant it would be to return to Jiangnan, but wouldn’t Sister-in-law Guo and Jing’er be going back to Niujia Village?” asked Zhang Asheng.

“The Guo family in Niujia Village has no relatives left, so they’re coming back to Jiaxing with us. We still have some businesses in Jiaxing, so Sister-in-law Guo’s life will be more comfortable.” This time it was Han Xiaoying.

Faced with the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan's incessant chatter, Wu Chengyu had no choice but to interrupt them.

"Gentlemen, we cannot leave for the time being. I have just helped Jing'er lay a foundation, and now we must strike while the iron is hot and make her foundation even more solid. That is why I made a one-year agreement with Temujin. Please be patient."

Wu Chengyu's words calmed everyone down. The thought of having to stay for another year made them feel a little discouraged, but the thought of being able to leave after a year made them excited again.

Wu Chengyu ignored them and pulled Guo Jing away.

"Jing'er, you were interrupted by Temujin just now. Now that you have gone through a month of iron vat virgin chicken training and painful massage, not only has your aptitude greatly improved, but your physique has also been adjusted. Next, your master will formally teach you martial arts."

However, what I will teach you first is not the Big Dipper Great Method or the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill, but some stance training methods. These stance training methods can continue to improve your aptitude and consolidate your foundation.

"Don't underestimate these simple stances; they are my closely guarded secrets. My martial arts skills today are all thanks to these stances. So, concentrate and practice diligently."

Wu Chengyu went to great lengths to train Guo Jing, and for the first time, he took out the martial arts he taught him from the bamboo slips. In this world, apart from A Ku, only Guo Jing was qualified to learn these secret techniques that he had not passed on to him.

However, Wu Chengyu spent three years just practicing the Ox and Horse Stance, while Guo Jing didn't have any such skills. It's unknown how long it would take for him to learn all of Wu Chengyu's body-refining methods.

Wu Chengyu had other things to do, and his personality didn't allow him to stay by Guo Jing's side for the next few years, so he only planned to teach Guo Jing for one year.

After much deliberation, Wu Chengyu selected the most suitable parts of each of the several martial arts techniques obtained from the bamboo slips and compiled them into a new stance training method.

The Ox and Horse Stance method of bone and strength training will make Guo Jing taller in the future, but he will definitely not be 1.9 meters tall. However, he will not be as tall as Wu Chengyu before his transformation, who had a double-door refrigerator-like physique. According to Wu Chengyu's calculations, practicing the Ox and Horse Stance will make it much easier to cultivate the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill in the future.

There are also methods for training leg explosiveness and body agility using the catwalk technique, and methods for altering the flow of muscles on the body surface using the eel technique.

In addition, the Bear Appears is only suitable for people whose foundation is damaged to practice, but Wu Chengyu also incorporated the tricks of making people able to eat more and absorb the maximum nutrients from food, and making them able to sleep and replenish themselves with the nutrients absorbed during sleep into these stances.

Aside from the fact that the Turtle Grandson Technique takes too much time to master and has no shortcuts, and that the Talking Technique is really not suitable for Guo Jing's personality, Wu Chengyu himself has not yet mastered the Gangshou Technique. As for the other techniques that were rewarded to him with bamboo slips, Wu Chengyu has simplified them and is preparing to teach them to Guo Jing.

This kid's future foundation will definitely not be as good as Wu Chengyu's, but it's still amazing enough.

According to Wu Chengyu's plan, Guo Jing would practice stance training for the first half of the year, and then be guided to practice the Big Dipper Great Law and the introductory Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill for the second half of the year. After that, Guo Jing would have to cultivate on his own. At that time, he would either return to his street urchin state or carry out his next plan.

After three months of cultivation, Wu Chengyu had a craving for meat. He went out and hunted a yellow goat. He and Zhang Asheng cleaned the goat, set up a fire, took out the Thirteen Spices seasoning, and made a whole roasted goat. Just as the aroma of the roasting was filling the air and the fat was dripping, Hua Zheng and Tuolei arrived again.

They had come a few times before, and each time they saw Wu Chengyu, they gave him a cold look and would whisper to Guo Jing, but Wu Chengyu didn't seem to care.

But this time, they were accompanied by more than a dozen people who looked like martial arts practitioners, and they seemed to have ill intentions, acting aggressively.

(End of this chapter)