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

Chapter 492 The Origin of the Pu Clan
Upon hearing this, Pu Zhishen's entire body stiffened, and one side of his face twitched involuntarily, the wrinkles so deep they could trap a fly.

“Deputy Banner Chief Zhou, my snake wine is absolutely non-toxic. It’s an old recipe, and Chinese medicine is used to neutralize the snake’s toxicity. Drinking it will only strengthen your body and replenish your energy.”

"Is that so?" Wu Chengyu smiled faintly, grabbed a swaying follower, and poured half a bowl of wine down his throat. The follower was about to turn into a jetpack warrior when Wu Chengyu pushed him into the crowd with a look of disgust.

Immediately afterwards, he pulled Pu Zhishen into his arms and walked towards the inner hall. A few of the surrounding believers were still somewhat conscious, but they were all weak and did not notice anything unusual about the two of them.

As they walked, Wu Chengyu said in a playful tone, as if he were arguing with an old friend, "They are indeed snake wine, good stuff. You really went all out tonight, Lao Pu. But the first jar of wine must have been laced with something. It's not very toxic, but it will make people remember it fondly."

According to your plan, I'll probably ask you for this kind of wine again later. Not much, just a bowl a day. Slowly, the toxins will spread throughout my body, and my health will become weaker and weaker. Eventually, I'll either die suddenly from an illness, or I'll be at your mercy.

Having said all that, Pu Zhishen knew there was no way to continue pretending. He tried to break free from Wu Chengyu's arm, but unexpectedly, an internal force gradually spread throughout his body, firmly controlling him. He was like a puppet, his every step completely controlled and unable to act on his own.

"Don't speak. Right now, apart from the two hundred or so brothers on guard outside, the rest of Hou Tu Banner are basically drunk. No one will pay attention to us, and of course, no one will save you."

Let's go inside, to my room, to talk about everyday things, our dreams, and have a good chat about our feelings.

After walking a few steps, a maidservant came into view and carefully bowed, saying, "Greetings, Deputy Banner Master."

"I need to speak with Commander Pu. Where is my room? Please show me the way."

The maidservant quickly led the way, and soon they arrived at the main house in the backyard. Wu Chengyu told the maidservant to step back, then embraced Pu Zhishen and stepped through the door.

He threw Pu Zhishen directly to the ground, but Pu Zhishen was still unable to move. His face was covered with too many wrinkles, making it difficult to have a clear expression, but the panic in his eyes was already evident.

The old man was pondering how he had given himself away, since his previous actions should have been flawless.

On the other hand, he was shocked by Wu Chengyu's martial arts skills. The generals were usually mid-level second-rate experts. Based on the thorough information they had gathered, Wu Chengyu had only just reached the second-rate level, which meant he was not as good as Pu Zhishen.

However, in terms of the ability to control all his movements by the surge of internal energy into his body in that instant, a second-rate master's internal energy can only increase the attack power when making a move, but it is impossible to control others after the internal energy leaves the body. This is a performance that only a first-rate master can achieve.

Therefore, Zhou Dao is at least first-rate. So why is Zhou Dao hiding his martial arts skills, and what is his plan? These are the questions that puzzle Pu Zhishen the most.

But he couldn't afford to think about those things now. Since his conspiracy had been exposed and he was now at the mercy of others, saving his life was his top priority.

"I just arrived in Houtu Banner, and this is the first day I've met you. Logically speaking, we should have no enmity, so why would you try to kill me on the very first day?"

So what's your reason for targeting me? Is it for the position of deputy flag leader? You're not stupid, and you understand the situation within the church quite well.

Given the current situation of the Hou Tu Banner, the banner leader and deputy banner leader must have been directly appointed by the Yang Sect Leader from above. It is already lenient that the original Hou Tu Banner disciples did not pursue the matter, as they had no possibility of rising to power in the first place.

Besides, judging from your position among the various banner commanders in Hou Tu Banner, it doesn't seem to be very high. Even if someone were to be promoted from among you, the position of deputy banner commander shouldn't be yours. So there's no possibility that I'm blocking your path."

Wu Chengyu continued talking to himself, then glanced at Pu Zhishen's face, which had turned ashen.

"So the people who should be targeting me are not you, but those high-ranking officials on Bright Peak. I don't know many people on Bright Peak, and I probably don't have any enemies either."

Yang Xu is currently preoccupied with a lot of things and doesn't have time to deal with me. Now that he's become the sect leader, even if he's incredibly shrewd, he's bound to be complacent for a while. In his eyes, my martial arts skills are weak and I'm not a threat at all.

As for the others, Fang Yaning won't touch me. After thinking it over, the only people I've really come into contact with on my way to Bright Peak, besides Yang Xu, Fang Yaning, and Wu Du, are Wu Du.

I had long noticed that Wu Du was hostile towards me. Although he addressed me as "brother" to my face, he had been testing me. Although I didn't understand where his hostility came from, this guy was indeed the most likely to make a move against me.

The poison you just put in that medicinal wine was the most authentic snake venom, and you were able to turn the potent and deadly snake venom into a slow-acting poison. It seems that this Green-Eyed Snake King is absolutely capable of doing that.

So, the person who secretly poisoned me was Wu Du. Given my status, even Yang Xu couldn't openly attack me without solid evidence, so Wu Du resorted to poisoning.

Anyway, I've already been demoted to the Five Elements Banner. If I suddenly fall seriously ill and die in a few months, no one will suspect me. Yang Xu will probably have forgotten about me by then.

So, this Wu Du really hasn't given up on killing me. Could it be that that damned Fox King has a grudge against him, and is now targeting me?

Upon hearing Wu Chengyu mention the dead Fox King, Pu Zhishen's fear was mixed with a sense of bewilderment. As the son of the Fox King, Zhou Dao should never address his father in such a way. He instinctively felt that something was amiss, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Alright, these are just guesses. I'll settle accounts with that Wu poisoner later. Now tell me how I should deal with you."

Pu Zhishen quickly looked up: "Deputy Banner Chief Zhou is wise. It was indeed the Snake King's order, not my own intention. How could I dare to poison my superior?"

"When Hou Tu Banner submitted to Nangong Luan, Yang Xu, given his personality, would have planted spies within Hou Tu Banner. The position of these spies couldn't be too low; the position of General Banner was just right. So from the beginning, you were Yang Xu's man. But Yang Xu didn't value the Five Elements Banner, so the person responsible for controlling you was naturally his trusted confidant, Snake King Wu Du. Am I right?"

“Indeed, in my humble opinion, Deputy Banner Chief Zhou and the Snake King should only have a misunderstanding. Why not turn hostility into friendship? I still have some influence with the Snake King. Could you spare my life? In that case, I can also ask the Snake King for the antidote for you, sir.”

Wu Chengyu chuckled; this prematurely aged fellow was subtly reminding himself that he was already poisoned.

"There are definitely poisons in this world that could threaten me, but there won't be many. However, there are absolutely no snake venoms in this world that could threaten me, so Lao Pu, you don't need to worry about me."

But since you care about me so much, know how to flatter me, and are so understanding, I'm suddenly having second thoughts about killing you. However, I must reciprocate. Here are two gifts I have: one is called the Chain of Life and Death, and the other is called the Talisman of Life and Death. Which one would you like to choose?

Wu Chengyu indicated that he did not care about being poisoned, while Pu Zhishen felt that he had discovered Wu Chengyu's true martial arts skills and that he would definitely have no way out next.

But Wu Chengyu said he didn't want to kill him, which immediately gave him hope again. However, the Life and Death Chain and the Life and Death Talisman really didn't sound like good things.

Before Pu Zhishen could make a choice, Wu Chengyu had already decided: "You're an adult now, of course you want it all."

Wu Chengyu was already an expert in using these two tricks to torture and control people. More than thirty civil and military officials in Suzhou were witnesses to this. After such an operation, Pu Zhishen became yet another puppet controlled by the Life and Death Talisman.

"Come on, tell me in detail, what does Wu Du ask you to do?"

"Reporting to Master, the Snake King instructed me to ensure you drink poisoned wine every day, and at the same time, to report your every move in the Thick Earth Banner."

According to him, this alcohol could be consumed continuously for a month before being discontinued, but the effects would occur in the third month after stopping the medication. By then, even if a coroner performed an autopsy, they would only find that the person died from heart damage, leaving absolutely no clues.

"So, there are still four months until my attack. Do you think this snake king can live until the day I have my attack?"

“Master’s skills are unparalleled, so the Snake King Wu Du will naturally not escape from Master’s grasp.”

"Alright, from now on you will report to him as usual that I have been drinking poisoned wine every day, and that I have been eating, drinking, playing and having fun in Houtu Banner, and have not paid any attention to the affairs of Houtu Banner. Do you understand?"

"The villain understands."

"Let me ask you again, although you joined the Ming Cult, you certainly don't believe in the Ming Zun in your heart, but in Judas, right?"

Pu Zhishen was startled. This matter was known only to him and his relatives, and it was impossible for outsiders to know. For a moment, his mind went blank.

"How...how did Master know?"

"You don't need to ask me how I know. Just tell me how many of you believe in Judas within the Ming Cult's territory?"

"I really don't know." When it came to his family, Pu Zhishen became unusually tough again. Wu Chengyu didn't waste any more words and used the Life and Death Talisman again. This guy finally relented.

"The Xiaoren family has been a member of the Ming Cult for a long time, mainly settling down in Houtu Banner. Besides me, there are more than 30 young and strong members of the clan in Houtu Banner. The Xiaoren family is in a small mountain village below Guangming Peak, with a total of more than 200 people."

We have lived in Quanzhou for generations. Our ancestors followed the failed Fang La Rebellion and migrated to this western region with their followers, where we settled and put down roots.

Wu Chengyu nodded. "Moving from Quanzhou makes sense. In official history, the Pu family Jews lived in Quanzhou. When the Southern Song Dynasty fell, in order to curry favor with the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, they arrested and poisoned more than 3,000 members of the Southern Song imperial family."

These Jews were like parasites, yet as difficult to eradicate as cockroaches. Who would have thought that one of them would follow the Ming Cult to the Western Regions?

The Southern Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties all issued orders to exterminate the entire Jewish Pu family. The Southern Song was on the verge of collapse at the time and failed, but the Yuan and Ming dynasties were ruthless. Even so, some people still survived. It is unknown how the Pu family, who later sold mutton soup in Henan, managed to reproduce.

It now seems that during the Yuan Dynasty, the Pu clan of Quanzhou was almost wiped out, and the Ming Dynasty screened them again. So the last branch that survived should be the one that followed the Ming Cult to overthrow the Yuan Dynasty and was secretly hidden within the Ming Cult.

Wu Chengyu secretly calculated that the Pu clan in the Ming Cult currently numbered over two hundred. Jews are known for their prolific reproduction, so by the end of the Yuan Dynasty, a hundred years later, the Pu clan here would probably number at least two or three thousand.

It is entirely possible that these people followed the Ming Cult out of the Western Regions and eventually settled in the Zhumadian area of ​​Henan. Therefore, they are the ancestors of the Pu clan who eventually sold mutton soup.

The Pu family, which was exterminated twice in Quanzhou during the Yuan and Ming dynasties, should have been wiped out by now.

Wu Chengyu seemed to have discovered the truth: the Jews were fickle, so these people could be used as cannon fodder to disrupt the Ming Cult.

Thinking of this, Wu Chengyu gave Pu Zhishen a bright smile: "Don't worry, I will definitely give important positions to your Pu family in the future."

(End of this chapter)