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

Chapter 452 The Seven Heroes of Jiangnan Return to Jiaxing

Xinglongfang Market in Jiaxing is located next to Nanhu Lake. From a distance, one can see a beautiful lake and mountain landscape, with a light mist rising from the water in the breeze.

A new butcher shop opened in Xinglongfang six months ago. At this moment, a burly, dark-skinned man, as tall as an iron tower, stood in front of the butcher shop. He was not just any ordinary dark-skinned man.

In early spring, there was still a bit of chill in the air. This man was wearing a sleeveless blouse, and the muscles on his arms were comparable to the waist of a child.

The burly, dark-skinned man held a sharp razor in his hand. Half a pig was in front of him, but he didn't brandish the razor. Instead, the blade flashed slightly, and the pork was quickly cut into strips and pieces. Then, he wrapped the pieces in lotus leaves and hung them on hooks in front of the butcher shop.

The pig bones were easily separated, most of the meat was removed from the bones, and then chopped into minced meat. He wasn't a bully, so naturally no one asked him to divide the minced meat so meticulously.

After finishing half a pig, the burly man's forehead wasn't damp with sweat. He casually washed the blood off his hands, sat down on a stool in front of the butcher shop, and picked up a wine jug that was being warmed over the charcoal fire.

This man was Zhang Asheng, and he was drinking yellow wine from Jiangnan. For the past ten years or so, he could only drink strong liquor from the Mongolian desert. It was very potent, and drinking too much of it left him with nothing but homesickness.

Sipping the yellow wine slowly, Zhang Asheng enjoyed its smooth, mellow flavor and subtle osmanthus fragrance. He gently shook his head, feeling quite content.

The morning market had just opened, and Zhang Asheng was waiting to open his shop when someone came in. It was a middle-aged woman with pretty features. Although her skin was a bit dark, the beauty of a woman from Jiangnan could still be seen between her eyes and eyebrows, but her waist was a little plump.

Her eyes softened immediately when she saw Zhang Asheng, and Zhang Asheng quickly sat up from the stool.

"Seventh Sister, you're pregnant now, why aren't you resting at home?"

"Fifth Brother, the mandarin fish are plump and delicious in spring. I used to make a living by fishing, but now it's not easy for me to go into the water. However, I still can't help but go to the lakeside to take a look. You can't see this Jiangnan-style lake view in the desert, and you can't eat fish there either."

I was lucky today. Look, I bought a few of the biggest ones. I'll have Sister-in-law Guo make fish soup for you at noon, and then I'll bring them over.

It is indeed very cruel to send a fisherwoman from a water town in southern China to stay in the Mongolian desert for more than ten years.

"Why bother going back and forth? My elder brother's house is quite a distance from here. I'll just go back and have a drink tonight."

"I can't stay still. I need to go out for a walk in the morning, see the people around me, and stop seeing endless grasslands. Anything is better."

Thanks to Wu Chengyu, Zhang Asheng is still alive, and he and Han Xiaoying are very much in love.

Strangely enough, after several years of marriage in Mongolia, Han Xiaoying was unable to conceive. However, just one month after returning to Jiangnan, she became pregnant. This delighted the Seven Heroes of Jiangnan, and Zhang Asheng was all smiles, living up to his nickname "Laughing Buddha."

After returning to Jiaxing, the seven of them moved into Ke Zhen'e's house. They had been sworn siblings for years and had supported each other for more than ten years, their bond no less than that of blood relatives. They no longer wanted to be separated, and Ke Zhen'e's house was big enough anyway.

The Ke family was actually a local powerful family. They not only had a sizable mansion, but also a lot of fertile land that they could rent out. Ke Zhen'e was blind and not good at business. Back then, he was just a landlord who made a living by collecting rent.

Although they had been gone for many years, the house was still there, though slightly dilapidated, and the rented-out fields were still there. Ke Zhen'e was in high spirits when he returned to Jiangnan. He waived half of the rent that had been owed for many years with a wave of his hand, and then became a landlord again.

The Seven Heroes of Jiangnan, along with Guo Jing and his mother, now all live in the Ke family home, treating each other as one family. However, the brothers are restless and each wants to find some way to make a living.

Among them, Zhang Asheng used to run a butcher shop. He rented back his old shop and continued to work as a butcher, butchering pigs and selling meat. Over the years, Zhang Asheng's butchering skills have become superb, comparable to that of a master butcher.

After Han Xiaoying became pregnant, she naturally stopped fishing, as her husband supported her. However, she was an active person. After being away from Jiangnan for many years, she was finally back and couldn't stay idle. Every morning, she would take a stroll around Nanhu Lake.

Han Baoju, the Horse King, still wanted to do horse business. He had extensive connections in the horse market, and his skills in judging and training horses had become even more remarkable after being honed in the desert. With the dozen or so top-quality horses they brought back from Mongolia, they quickly gained a foothold in the market.

As for the other three, Zhu Cong was once a private tutor, Quan Jinfeng, the reclusive swordsman in the bustling city, was a small vendor selling vegetables, and Nan Xiren, the woodcutter of Nanshan, was a woodcutter back then.

Having been away from Jiaxing for many years, there was no point in returning to the old business. However, Zhu Cong suggested that the three of them open a restaurant in Xinglongfang, mainly selling roast meat, as well as the Thirteen Spices recipe that Zhu Cong had obtained from Wu Chengyu. The restaurant's business has been getting better and better in recent months.

This is actually the life that the Seven Heroes of Jiangnan should have lived. They were originally chivalrous heroes of the Jianghu and local martial arts masters. For a promise, they were willing to die nine times without regret, and more than ten years of their youth were buried in the Mongolian desert.

If, as in the original novel, Zhang Asheng died young from the Nine Yin White Bone Claw, Han Xiaoying remained unmarried for life, and everyone except Ke Zhen'e was killed by Ouyang Feng on Peach Blossom Island, leaving only an old blind man to eke out a living, it would be far too unfair to them.

It's good to be like this now. I have my own business to manage, and the next generation is on the way. Every day I look at the South Lake in my hometown, listen to the local dialect, and drink yellow wine. There shouldn't be so many regrets in this world.

Han Xiaoying kept talking, but Zhang Asheng was tongue-tied and couldn't get a word in edgewise. He just looked at Han Xiaoying with affection and occasionally tried to wipe the sweat from her forehead.

Just then, a sturdy and honest young man came to Zhang's butcher shop. This was none other than Guo Jing, who had returned to Jiangnan three years earlier than planned. He and his mother, Li Ping, had visited Niujia Village in Hangzhou. The house from back then was now just ruins, and everything had changed.

Li Ping, overwhelmed by the memories, could never return to those days, so she immediately followed her original decision and settled in Jiaxing with Guo Jing.

The current Guo Jing is no longer dressed as the Mongolian boy he once was; he no longer wears a felt hat, but instead ties his hair up with a headband.

He was no longer wearing a Mongolian fur robe, but rather linen woven by Li Ping herself, cut into the style commonly worn by young men from Jiangnan.

In the past six months, Guo Jing has grown taller than he did in Mongolia. After all, he has practiced Wu Chengyu's martial arts combined with the ox and horse stance training. He is now close to 1.8 meters tall. According to the original novel, Guo Jing should be this tall after he grows up, and he will probably be much taller in the future.

But his face was still much darker than that of the boy from Jiangnan. Even after half a year, it hadn't gotten any lighter. His smile was still simple and honest, and he seemed a bit dull. Most importantly, he couldn't quite get the Jiangnan dialect right, and his speech was a bit awkward and incoherent.

"Fifth Master and Seventh Master are here too. Second Master asked me to come and get today's meat. He said there are quite a few customers who have made reservations today, so we need to slaughter at least one more pig."

“Okay, when your seventh master comes home, I’ll go kill another one. You can bring it back with you when you bring me lunch.” Han Xiaoying’s belly was bigger now, and she was radiating more maternal instincts. She wanted to pat Guo Jing’s head, but found it a bit difficult. This time, Guo Jing was a bit clever and took the initiative to bend down and offer his head.

"I learned this from your martial arts master. I don't know why, but he always likes to touch your head and mutters something like, 'A great hero's head must be touched a lot.' He's really convinced that you, silly boy, are a great hero."

Also, you've grown quite a bit taller in the last six months; it's getting hard to even touch your head anymore.

Guo Jing smiled sheepishly: "Master Wu said that the stance training he taught me will make me half a head taller than before. Second Master also said that my height will definitely exceed seven feet in the future. I have indeed grown a bit fast recently, and my appetite has also increased a lot."

Zhang Asheng laughed and said, "What's there to be afraid of eating a lot? Your second master and the others run a restaurant now, and your fifth master sells meat. Eat as much as you want. I want to see what you'll grow up to be like. Just look at you now, you're as sturdy as me. The more I look at you, the more I like you."

The three of them—husband, wife, master, and disciple—chatted and laughed for a few minutes. Guo Jing then placed the meat that Zhang Asheng had divided on his shoulder. The pork weighed over 150 jin (approximately 75 kg), but Guo Jing carried it without any effort.

"Fifth Master, Seventh Master, I'm leaving now."

Guo Jing had barely walked a short distance when Han Xiaoying was also preparing to go home. Unexpectedly, the silly boy came running back carrying the meat, his face showing a hint of anxiety.

"Fifth Master, Seventh Master, someone is arguing with the head master, and a bunch of people are surrounding him."

Zhang Asheng and Han Xiaoying's expressions changed drastically. Zhang Asheng grabbed the bull-ear-shaped knife on the cutting board and said, "Come on, take me to see if anyone in Jiaxing dares to provoke the Seven Heroes of Jiangnan."

Han Xiaoying's almond-shaped eyes widened. This girl was very gentle with her own people, but she had a bad temper with outsiders.

Zhang Asheng glanced at her, knowing that he couldn't control his wife's temper, and immediately instructed Guo Jing: "Jing'er, you don't need to worry about what happens later, we'll take care of it. Just keep an eye on your seventh master and don't let her do anything."

After walking about two hundred meters east from Zhang's butcher shop, I heard Ke Zhen'e's voice. His voice was a little hoarse, and it seemed to carry a hint of sarcasm and stubbornness. His tone was strange, and even when he spoke properly, it didn't sound like he was saying anything nice.

Zhang Asheng, Guo Jing, and Han Xiaoying pushed through the crowd and saw their elder brother leaning on an iron staff, arguing with someone. There were more than a dozen people surrounding him, who were obviously street thugs who, relying on their numbers, had surrounded Ke Zhen'e.

"You old blind man, you lost money gambling and now you don't know who we brothers are. We are a gang of five and a half, and no one in Jiaxing has ever dared to renege on our debts."

"You've lost three thousand taels of silver to us this time. Pay up immediately, or hand over all your family's property."

Ke Zhen'e rolled his eyes and said with a hint of disdain, "Spicy Mom won't bloom, so you're trying to play tricks on me, Uncle Ke. A few days ago, you guys insisted on dragging me into gambling and even deliberately lost to me. I knew there was something wrong with you guys."

Today I didn't play much, and in the blink of an eye you're saying I lost three thousand taels. Have you ever seen what three thousand taels looks like? Also, I'm blind, but my hearing is excellent. Your dice must be faulty.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Ke Zhen'e clenched his right fist tightly, crushing the dice in his hand and revealing the lead filling inside.

“I, Ke Zhen’e, have always been a man of my word. If I lose, I’ll accept it even if it means going bankrupt. But if you dare to cheat against me, you should go home and ask your parents who I, Ke Zhen’e, am.”

“I don’t care who you are. You say we cheated, so what? Anyway, if you lose at the gambling table, you have to pay up. Otherwise, you can forget about living in Jiaxing.”

No sooner had the thug finished speaking than someone interrupted, "I want to see who can make it impossible for the Seven Heroes of Jiangnan to survive in Jiaxing."

This place is not far from the restaurant run by Zhu Cong and others. Zhu Cong, Nan Xiren, and Quan Jinfeng have also arrived, along with Zhang Asheng and Han Xiaoying who just arrived. Except for Han Baoju who is in the horse market, all seven of the Jiangnan Heroes are here.

Excluding Guo Jing, all of the Six Heroes of Jiangnan present were no longer young. Ke Zhen'e was nearly fifty, and the youngest, Han Xiaoying, was already in her early thirties. After more than ten years of desert winds and sand, Han Xiaoying was still alright, but the others were a few years older than their actual ages.

But in the eyes of these thugs, they were just seven old guys who had returned from other places. They were all around twenty years old. Back when the Seven Heroes of Jiangnan dominated Jiaxing, these guys were just a bunch of naughty kids.

Quan Jinfa stepped forward: "Kid, have you heard of the Seven Heroes of Jiangnan? In Jiaxing, we're always the ones causing trouble for others, but no one has ever dared to bully us."

The scoundrels laughed loudly, and the leader pointed at Ke Zhen'e and said, "I've heard of him, but he was just a nobody in Jiaxing a dozen years ago. He's not much better than us. He couldn't make a living outside, so he came back to Jiaxing to retire. He should respectfully call us 'Grandpa' when he sees us."

The Seven Heroes of Jiangnan looked at each other in bewilderment, their faces bearing wry smiles. Having been away from their hometown for so long, their reputations no longer seemed to intimidate anyone.

There's a humorous saying that goes, "After three autumns, the martial arts world will quickly forget you."

Back then, the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan were quite famous. To put it bluntly, they were the local tyrants of Jiaxing. When they were besieging the Black Wind Duo, it was Lu Chengfeng who personally invited them to help.

After the incident involving the Guo and Yang families, Duan Tiande went to Qixia Temple to seek refuge. Faced with Qiu Chuji's coercion, the abbot of Qixia Temple asked the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan to mediate.

So these seven guys were at least well-known figures in the Jiaxing area. Who knew that after not returning to Jiaxing for many years, some thugs would look down on them?

Zhu Cong's eyes flashed, and he chuckled, "It seems you gentlemen have something to ask of me for using tricks on my elder brother. What do you want?"

"Sure, you must be the manager of the Seven Heroes Pavilion. Your Seven Heroes Pavilion's roast meat is indeed excellent. You've made a fortune in the past six months. We're all heroes of the martial world, so we should be generous with our money. We only want the secret recipe for the roast meat. As long as you obediently hand it over, the three thousand taels of silver will be forgiven. How about it?"

Upon hearing this, the Seven Heroes of Jiangnan burst into laughter. Having returned for half a year, they had become somewhat unfamiliar with the affairs of the martial arts world, aside from enjoying the scenery and food of their hometown. These ruffians, however, stirred up many memories for them.

Ke Zhen'e slammed his iron staff heavily on the ground: "You are the Five and a Half Hall, right? Let's see what tricks the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan have up their sleeves."

(End of this chapter)