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

Chapter 486 Everyone is imagining things
Does Wu Chengyu know how to paint? You would probably say he does.

In his previous life, he drew a bird on a tree branch in kindergarten and won second prize in the Haiqing Provincial Children's Painting Competition. However, for decades afterward, including this life, his painting skills remained at the level of a child.

(PS: This is the author's own true experience. I'm ashamed to say that there's no difference between being forty-five and five years old. I truly haven't changed my original intention, and I've remained the same for forty years.)
So the level of thoughtfulness is just so-so; to call it graffiti would be an insult to street art.

However, the meaning can be clearly expressed with just a few simple strokes; walls have ears.

If Fang Yaning can't even understand this meaning, then she'll only be a stupid pretty face from now on, and Wu Chengyu would feel it's a waste to even glance at her.

This Zhou Dao is still Wu Chengyu, but this time he can't change his appearance at will. He has to disguise himself according to Zhou Dao's original appearance. Fortunately, Zhou Dao is not bad looking. After cleaning up, he is probably an 80 out of 10 handsome guy.

Wu Chengyu originally wanted to find a reason to change his identity and infiltrate the Ming Cult. He had even decided whose face to use. Speaking of which, Wang Qinian's face was quite cheerful.

Unfortunately, the information the Beggars' Sect gave him allowed him to quickly pinpoint a person: Zhou Xuancheng's son, Zhou Dao, a former fourth-bag disciple of the Hangzhou branch, and now the son of the Golden-Faced Fox King, who is being hunted down by the Beggars' Sect.

Once Zhou Xuancheng's identity as an outsider spy was exposed, he immediately fled, and his son and several confidants also went into hiding.

However, the Beggars' Sect had too many spies, forcing Zhou Xuancheng and Zhou Dao to split up. Zhou Xuancheng took the waterway and arrived in Hubei first to meet up with the Ming Cult members who had come to join him. Nangong Luan then set out a plan to annex the Beggars' Sect.

Zhou Dao and the other six traveled by land, but their presence was discovered halfway through the journey, forcing them to go into hiding. As a result, they arrived in Hubei a step too late. The day before they reached Wuhan happened to be the day of Nangong Luan's rebellion.

Upon hearing the devastating news, Zhou Dao dared not trust the Ming Cult any longer and immediately led his men to the Jin Kingdom, only to be noticed by the Beggars' Sect once again.

Many people in the Beggars' Sect knew him, and his identity as the son of Zhou Xuancheng naturally attracted Lu Youjiao's attention, which soon reached Wu Chengyu's ears as well.

As the son of the Fox King, Zhou Xuancheng is inextricably linked to the Ming Cult. He is now a recognized loyal subject, and if Zhou Dao dares to return to the Ming Cult, his status will be quite high.

But the brilliance lies in the fact that this guy grew up in the Beggars' Sect, and there are very few people in the Ming Cult who know him. It couldn't be more suitable for him to infiltrate the Ming Cult with this identity.

As for Yang Xu's involvement in the rebellion, he also played a part in Zhou Xuancheng's death. In private, however, it was a blood feud between them. We'll have to see how Wu Chengyu handles it. Anyway, he wasn't his father, so Wu Chengyu has no reason to avenge Zhou Xuancheng.

Wu Chengyu pursued Zhou Dao for several days and found him on the Song-Jin border. Zhou Dao was determined to escape. Wu Chengyu killed the other five men first and then used his best method of interrogation, which mainly involved Zhou Dao's understanding of the Ming Cult and whether he had had any contact with members of the Ming Cult.

The result was so coincidental that even Wu Chengyu couldn't help but say that the Ming Cult member Zhou Dao truly knew was Yang Xu, who had come to Jiangnan three years ago.

But he only served as a host for a few days, showing Yang Xu the sights of Hangzhou. Apart from that, he had never met any of the native members of the Ming Cult.

There was also the Taibai Xuanjin Qi that Zhou Dao cultivated, which was also proof of his identity. This martial art was unorthodox and its upper limit was not very high, but it was still a unique skill. Zhou Dao's will was not firm, and he quickly revealed the complete cultivation method.

Wu Chengyu doesn't need to actually cultivate; as long as he knows the energy flow path, he can simulate it using the Lesser Formless Skill. Now that Fang Yu and Zhou Xuancheng are dead, the other members of the Ming Cult can't recognize that this is actually a counterfeit, and it doesn't even need an expiration date.

What followed was perfectly logical: the son of the loyal and righteous Fox King wanted to return to the Ming Cult. Even if Yang Xu suspected his motives, he had to welcome him on the surface and would never refuse him.

As for Yang Xu and Wu Du asking him to comfort Fang Yaning, it surprised him somewhat. It was clearly a test, and it would be a miracle if Yang Xu truly trusted him.

However, this was also a good thing for Wu Chengyu. His primary purpose in infiltrating the Ming Cult was, of course, to obtain the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth.

However, the things the Ming Cult had done before were truly disgusting to him. Given Wu Chengyu's personality, once his perverse sense of humor kicked in, he naturally wouldn't let the Ming Cult have an easy time.

Zhou Dao's identity can only allow Wu Chengyu to legitimately enter the Ming Cult, but he will still be alone on Bright Peak.

That cheap, dead father of Zhou Xuancheng has been gone from Bright Peak for many years. His power mainly relied on the intelligence network that the Beggars' Sect had set up in the Song Kingdom, but this time the Beggars' Sect has completely destroyed it.

The Fox King certainly still has some influence within the Ming Cult, but his strength is probably not that great, and he might not even acknowledge Zhou Dao, a guy he's never met before.

The best entry point now is actually Fang Yaning, the former heiress of the Ming Cult.

The reason Nangong Luan was able to succeed this time was that he and Yang Xu led their respective masters to cause trouble for the Beggars' Clan. When they encountered Hong Qigong, they were powerless to stop him and hurriedly sought help from the Ming Cult headquarters. This forced Fang Yu, who was ill, to leave Bright Peak with only a few people.

Most of Fang Yu's loyal followers in the Ming Cult were left at Bright Peak, which is why Fang Yu was alone and isolated when trouble struck.

Fang Yu's dying words established the legitimacy of Yang Xu's ascension to the throne, but everyone knew the tricks involved. So those forces loyal to Fang Yu might acknowledge Yang Xu's identity, or they might immediately rebel against Yang Xu if provoked.

The key lies with Fang Yaning, so it is essential to offer her words of comfort. Otherwise, what good will it do for Fang Yaning to harbor hatred towards Yang Xu when she is already struggling to protect herself?

If it were Wu Chengyu, she would definitely feign indifference first, taking advantage of the time before Yang Xu could kill her, and then return to the Ming Cult to discuss the matter further.

Yang Xu spared Fang Yaning's life not only because he had publicly agreed to Fang Yu's request, but also because he was caught in a dilemma. On one hand, he feared that if Fang Yaning died, Fang Yu's forces on Bright Peak would immediately rebel; on the other hand, he feared that Fang Yaning would return to Bright Peak and lead them in a rebellion.

Yang Xu was confident that he would win in the end, but now that his position had changed, his perspective was dictated by his circumstances. As the leader of the Ming Cult, he absolutely could not allow the Ming Cult's strength to be diminished again.

As you can see, the Beggars' Clan was never one to be trifled with, but after the Clean Clothes Clan rebelled, the Ming Cult immediately dared to come knocking on their door.

Upon returning to Bright Peak, Yang Xu's first task is to eliminate the forces that replaced Nangong Luan. If even the core forces that originally belonged to the leader are eliminated, then the Ming Cult, which has suffered greatly, will immediately be reduced to a second-rate force.

Yang Xu is not a top-tier master like Hong Qigong who can control the situation. At that time, the esoteric sects and other forces in the Western Regions will definitely not let the Ming Cult off the hook.

In short, the situation is a mess, and Yang Xu is helpless. The best way now is to appease Fang Yaning, at least on the surface, so that he can use her to appease the forces in the sect and give Yang Xu enough time.

Fang Yaning also needs this time; otherwise, she is still under house arrest and has no power to protect herself. If Yang Xu sees that she is stubborn and unyielding, he might just decide to force her to commit suicide before she returns to Bright Peak.

Unfortunately, Fang Yaning didn't realize any of this, and was consumed by grief and hatred, acting like a silly old woman. This is where Wu Chengyu had to enlighten her.

When Wu Chengyu entered Fang Yaning's room, with his cultivation and extraordinary senses, how could he not notice that there were ears on the other side of the wall? In fact, the figure lying outside the door in the three-dimensional image was clearly the Green-Eyed Snake King Wu Du.

Therefore, you must persuade him if you need to, and you must persuade him from Yang Xu's perspective, making your persuasion reasonable and persuasive, leaving Fang Yaning speechless. However, the watermark that was just drawn and then erased at the end just happened to reveal Fang Yaning's true feelings.

If Fang Yaning wasn't too stupid, she would immediately understand that Wu Chengyu was being sarcastic. She could easily guess the real meaning: Wu Chengyu was an accomplice of hers, and they were both seeking revenge for their fathers.

Her current state of isolation and helplessness, her impending emotional collapse, coupled with her innate goodwill towards Zhou Dao due to Zhou Xuancheng's loyalty, will lead Fang Yaning to immediately regard Zhou Dao as a kindred spirit.

At this moment, Wu Chengyu wiped the water stains off the table, gave Fang Yaning a seemingly wicked and arrogant smile that seemed to have a deeper meaning but was actually just a cool pose, and then turned and left, leaving behind a self-proclaimed dashing back view.

Fang Yaning was now sometimes suddenly enlightened, sometimes frowning, endlessly filling in the blanks with the intentions behind this thoughtful gesture. In the end, her gaze became more and more determined, and her spirits became more and more invigorated.

Sometimes well-intentioned advice may not be effective; one's own imagination is the most deeply ingrained, especially for a woman like Fang Yaning who is not very bright.

These kinds of people don't need to be deliberately fooled. Once they've subconsciously decided on you, even if you treat them badly, they'll still think you're doing a great service to all living beings.

A smile gradually appeared on her face. She looked down at the thin porridge and pickled vegetables that Wu Chengyu had brought, and finally had an appetite. The porridge made from the new rice was very fragrant and sweet, and the pickled vegetables made it even more delicious.

Junior brother, you've put your heart into this.

Yang Xu was also paying attention to Fang Yaning and Zhou Dao's meeting. Wu Du told Yang Xu about their conversation in detail.

Although Fang Yaning was not immediately convinced by Zhou Dao, her softening of attitude was very obvious.

Yang Xu was very excited, rubbing his hands together: "Very good, it is indeed a brilliant plan for the Snake King to send Zhou Dao to persuade his junior sister."

I hadn't seen the Fox King for years, and for a moment I had forgotten that the Fox King and my master were actually fellow disciples, so Zhou Dao could also be considered my and Ya Ning's junior brother.

Although they were almost identical in the sect, their circumstances after birth were very different. In the eyes of the Beggars' Sect, Zhou Dao suffered a lot when he was young.

So Zhou Daoming is speaking up for me, but in reality, isn't he also saying that the religion has treated him unfairly? Therefore, Ya Ning has no right to criticize him.

Let him avenge the Fox King? This kid is clearly dissatisfied with the Fox King. Although his personality is indeed a bit cold-hearted, he can't be entirely blamed.

If you look at what he said to Ya Ning later, he first used the greater good to suppress her, saying that both his master and he himself hoped that the Ming Cult could grow stronger. Ya Ning actually understood this, but she just didn't want to admit it.

And those two words he said: "Admiring strength."

If you are not strong yourself, you must rely on the strong. I ask you, in the Ming Cult, who is the only true strongman besides me? Therefore, only I can revitalize the Ming Cult.

You see, Ya Ning didn't refute it, which means she thinks so too. This thoughtfulness is truly commendable; she's insightful, articulate, and knows how to conduct herself.
Before returning to Bright Peak from Bashu, there are still several months of travel to go. Since Ya Ning isn't so resistant to being thorough, I'll let him persuade her more. I don't ask for anything else; as long as Ya Ning doesn't cause me trouble for a while after returning to Bright Peak, that will be enough for me to have many things to do.

The Snake King, standing nearby, offered a timely suggestion: "How should we deal with this Zhou Dao? He's not of low status, and although his martial arts skills aren't great, he seems a bit too slippery now. I'm afraid he's not trustworthy."

Yang Xu nodded, but didn't care: "Since he mentioned admiring strength, as long as I, Yang Xu, remain the strongest in the Ming Cult, he will not betray me. If there is someone stronger than me, and he betrays me, what can I do?"
Trust is impossible, of course, but such people are often quite useful and might become good helpers in the future. The Snake King need not worry about it.

(End of this chapter)