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

Chapter 490 Deputy Banner Master of Houtu Banner
"Burn my broken body, raging fire, what joy is there in life, what bitterness in death? Do good and eliminate evil, only for the sake of light. Joy and sorrow, all return to dust. Pity me, the people of this world, for I have many worries. Pity me, the people of this world, for I have many worries."

At the summit of Kunlun Mountain, beside the sacred flame of the Ming Cult, a funeral was held for the former leader, Fang Yu, presided over by the newly appointed leader Yang Xu, with the Holy Maiden Fang Yaning dressed in mourning clothes and nearly a thousand high-ranking members of the Ming Cult kneeling in worship.

Wu Chengyu had no intention of kneeling before Fang Yu, so he mingled on the periphery from the beginning and secretly withdrew when they knelt down. But to be fair, the scene of these people talking about pitying the people of the world and having suffered many hardships was quite moving.

As expected, upon returning to Bright Peak, Yang Xu faced the prospect of the Ming Cult falling apart at any moment.

The events in Hubei involved too many people, and the truth about how the old cult leader died could never be kept secret.

On Yang Xu's side, it is said that Nangong Luan rebelled, and Yang Xu was unable to come to the rescue in time. Helpless, he had to temporarily submit to the situation. Then, taking advantage of the battle between Nangong Luan and the Beggars' Sect, he decisively took action and killed the traitor. Before his death, the old leader appointed Yang Xu as the next leader.

However, half of the people present at the time were Nangong Luan's subordinates, and they would not cover for Yang Xu.

After Nangong Luan died, Tiger King and Bear King, who were from the same faction, were severely injured by Mo Ku, the Dragon-Subduing Granny of the Beggar Clan. With no leader, these people all outwardly surrendered to Yang Xu.

Instead, fearing retribution, they kept trying to pin the blame on Yang Xu, a charge that Yang Xu couldn't clearly disentangle.

After returning to Bright Peak, Nangong Luan's former followers reunited and immediately began to subtly incite those who had previously been loyal to the old leader Fang Yu to resist Yang Xu.

At this moment, Fang Yaning's presence silenced the volcano that was about to erupt. Since the cult leader's daughter hadn't said anything, Fang Yu's former subordinates had no excuse to directly oppose Yang Xu.

With Fang Yu's funeral over, his cenotaph was placed in the ancestral land of Bright Peak. Fang Yaning vowed to observe three years of mourning and built a wooden house in the ancestral land, living a secluded life and never seeing any Ming Cult members.

Yang Xu kept his promise and kept vigil for ten days, kowtowing a hundred times each day, each time his head was actually banging against the stone slab. After a thousand times, his forehead was covered in blood and flesh, which caused Fang Yu's old subordinates to all fall silent, and they really couldn't find fault with Yang Xu.

At this point, the unrest among the Ming Cult members began to subside, and Yang Xu began to reorganize the Ming Cult's forces, with the primary goal of eliminating Nangong Luan's influence.

The Tiger King and Bear King were too badly injured to recover, and being old, they decided to abdicate to avoid Yang Xu's purging. As for whether they would live or die afterward, that would depend on their performance and Yang Xu's intentions.

Yang Xu's first order upon becoming the leader was to formally bestow upon Fang Yaning the title of Holy Maiden, a position of great prestige equivalent to that of the Vice Leader, but without any real power or subordinates.

Snake King Wu Du has become the new Left Guardian of Light. With the Fox King dead, the positions of Right Guardian of Light and the Four Great Dharma Protectors are now all vacant.

Yang Xu's men were all vying for these five top positions, but the Ming Cult always maintained a rough-and-tumble mentality, prioritizing martial arts skills for important positions.

The sect leader is usually a top-tier expert, the left and right luminaries are top-tier experts, and the four great Dharma Kings are first-rate experts. Now, there are definitely no more top-tier experts. Yang Xu is a top-tier expert, and the Snake King is first-rate experts. They are all being demoted and appointed.

Even so, the experts who could fill the other positions had to be Yang Xu's subordinates. Even with nearly ten thousand Ming Cult disciples, it would be impossible to fill all the positions in a short time.

As for Zhou Dao, the son of the Fox King who had made great contributions, he was assigned to Hou Tu Banner as the deputy banner chief.

The Five Elements Flag Master must be a first-rate expert, while the Deputy Flag Master is required to be a top-tier second-rate expert. Therefore, Zhou Dao, who has just reached the second-rate level, is absolutely unworthy of his position in the eyes of the disciples in the sect.

However, since Fox King Zhou Xuancheng died loyally for the old leader and promoted his son, no one could say anything about it. But in the eyes of most people, Zhou Dao was essentially driven out of Bright Peak, which was no different from being exiled.

Everyone thought that Yang Xu looked down on Zhou Dao, but the deeper reason was not something that could be told to outsiders. The reason why Zhou Dao was not kept at Bright Summit was entirely due to the request that Fang Yaning made to Yang Xu.

This was Wu Chengyu's own plan. Fang Yaning originally wanted to leave him at Bright Peak so that the two of them could join forces to carry out some more conspiracies.

But Wu Chengyu's idea was never to avenge Fang Yu. He didn't care whether Yang Xu became the leader or for how long.

Even though Fang Yaning has helped Yang Xu stabilize the situation, given Yang Xu's suspicious nature, he will never completely trust Fang Yaning.

Although she is no longer under house arrest, the number of spies around Fang Yaning has not decreased. To be realistic, Fang Yaning can't do anything right now.

If Wu Chengyu stayed at Bright Peak, he would at most be a sycophant under Yang Xu, playing the role of a treacherous minister. It would be better for him to use Fang Yaning's words to infiltrate the Five Elements Banner.

The Five Elements Flags are the true core strength of the Ming Cult. Each flag possesses skills that can be applied to military affairs, and Wu Chengyu is very envious of this special force.

Unfortunately, the Ming Cult's higher-ups had always used the Five Elements Flags as henchmen and never truly valued them, so for Wu Chengyu, this was the perfect opportunity.

The reason it's called the Thick Earth Banner is because it was previously affiliated with Nangong Luan. After the rebellion, the original banner leader and deputy banner leader were taken down by Nangong Luan, leaving the positions vacant. The banner leader hasn't been confirmed yet, but Zhou Dao, the deputy banner leader, has already taken office. The Sharp Metal Banner was originally under Yang Xu's command, so there are no vacancies. The other banners, the Blazing Fire Banner and the Giant Wood Banner, are Fang Yu's old forces, and Yang Xu doesn't dare to target them at this stage.

The leader of the Flood Banner is a senior and shrewd man, and is someone Yang Xu intends to win over. Only the Thick Earth Banner, since it is a former subordinate of Nangong Luan, is the only one Yang Xu can recruit. Therefore, the Thick Earth Banner is indeed the only one Wu Chengyu can go to.

The Kunlun Mountains are vast and majestic, stretching for 2,500 kilometers. They are considered the dragon vein of China, and their significance to the Chinese nation is extraordinary, both in mythology and in reality.

Even a powerful sect like the Ming Cult only occupied Bright Peak and the surrounding area of ​​a few hundred kilometers. In The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, both the Kunlun Sect and the Ming Cult used Kunlun Mountain as their base. Although they were neighbors, they were actually far apart. Otherwise, the small Kunlun Sect would have been swallowed up by the Ming Cult long ago.

The Five Elements Banners do not hold a high position. They are usually located at the foot of Kunlun Mountain, guarding Bright Peak from five different directions and protecting the Ming Cult's sphere of influence. Apart from the banner leaders and deputy banner leaders, ordinary disciples are not qualified to go to Bright Peak.

Hou Tu Qi is responsible for guarding a small mountain peak west of Kunlun Mountain. Although it is not large in area, it is the gateway to Guangming Peak and faces considerable pressure from the expansion of other sects in the Western Regions.

Although it is called a small mountain, its altitude is not low. It is as solid as a rock. Hou Tuqi has made full use of its engineering capabilities, hollowing out half of the mountain, making it full of secret passages and traps. If ordinary martial arts people try to break through, they will only die.

But now Hou Tu Banner is in a state of panic, with everyone feeling insecure. The original banner leader and deputy banner leader of Hou Tu Banner, who were accomplices of Nan Gongluan and participated in the rebellion, have now been purged, and their heads are still hanging on Guangming Peak.

The remaining followers were not really rebelling; they were simply obeying the flag leader's orders. Yang Xu had said that only the ringleaders would be executed, and the followers would be observed for their future conduct. But at this point, who could say that their head was definitely safe?

At this time, a deputy flag leader suddenly appeared. He was also the son of the Fox King, who had died in that rebellion. All the followers of the Thick Earth Flag were wary of this suddenly appearing deputy flag leader.

Fortunately, they had all undergone formal military training and were also conscious of obeying orders. Since there was no banner chief, the deputy banner chief was the highest commander, so they did not dare to openly defy their superiors. However, it would be extremely difficult for Wu Chengyu, the deputy banner chief, to break through and take control of Houtu Banner.

At this moment, Wu Chengyu had arrived at the Hou Tu Banner headquarters halfway up Hou Tu Peak. The organizational structure of the Five Elements Banner was somewhat similar to that of the Ming Dynasty's Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Besides the banner chief and deputy banner chief, there are five general banners and twenty small banners below them. Each general banner commands two hundred people, and each general banner has four small banners, each commanding 50 people. This part alone has a total of one thousand people.

There were 500 people exclusively assigned to the banner leader. Before the banner leader was determined, these 500 people should be under the command of Zhou Dao, the deputy banner leader. However, most of these 500 people had followed the banner leader to Hubei. Some were injured or killed, and some were purged. Now only about 200 people remain.

Each of the Five Elements Banners had roughly the same number of people, around 1,500 each, totaling nearly 5,000. This was a well-trained special force that had mastered core tactics, but unfortunately, successive leaders of the sect were limited by their vision and never paid enough attention to it.

But Wu Chengyu was very satisfied. Now, five generals and twenty junior officers were standing below the hall, while he sat alone in the main seat, looking around with great interest.

These people stood ramrod straight, which could be considered somewhat imposing, though they were far inferior to the army of later generations, but their appearance was completely different from that of the common people.

“I know what you’re all thinking. Hou Tuqi participated in the rebellion and is worried about being punished by his superiors. As the son of the Fox King, I’m afraid he’ll make things difficult for me.”

"But if I assure you that I've never thought of revenge, and that I have some influence with the cult leader, and that as long as you don't court death, the higher-ups won't turn on you, would you believe me?"

The junior officers dared not raise their heads. The five captains exchanged glances, showing some interest. The last one looked at the eldest middle-aged man, stepped forward, and asked with his hands clasped.

"May I ask if the Deputy Banner Commander truly means this? And is there anything we are required to do in return?"

“What good stuff could you guys who dig holes in the mountains every day have? I take what I say seriously, and I only have one request for you.”

At this point, he raised an eyebrow: "That means don't treat me like an outsider, and let me stay comfortably in Houtu Banner and live a peaceful life."

I used to be a beggar in the Jiangnan Beggars' Guild. To be honest, I really did beg for food back then. I never want to live that kind of life again.

After I come to the Ming Cult, I'll say I believe in the Ming Venerable, but I'm afraid you won't believe me. All I want is to eat and drink well, so please don't cause me any trouble.

You might not believe me if I just talk, but that's okay. We'll see how things go.

Now tell me, what's fun and delicious in Kunlun Mountain? For example, I'm craving snake soup. You guys dig holes in the mountain every day, so you must know where there are snakes.

"I'm a master at making snake soup. Since I'm here, why don't we host a whole snake feast in Hou Tu Banner so everyone can get to know each other? You'll see later that I'm very easy to talk to, so don't worry about anything."

Although the tactic of eating and drinking together is old, it is an effective way to shorten the distance between people.

(End of this chapter)