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

Chapter 531 Guo Jing's Suffering
Guo Jing has been suffering a lot lately. He was born in the Mongolian desert and lived with his mother. He was a poor child, but he was too young to know what suffering was.

Later, he met the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan, and his martial arts training was naturally arduous. The Seven Freaks of Jiangnan were not exactly great teachers; each had their own strengths, which were quite different.

Even if we take Zhang Asheng's innate martial arts skills, which he should have died but did not, as our fundamental technique, we must also learn the martial arts of other masters, including hidden weapons, grappling techniques, whip techniques, palm techniques, knife techniques, spear techniques, and sword techniques.

At that time, Guo Jing hadn't yet mastered the technique and progressed slowly. He often had to practice a single move dozens of times before he could execute it completely. Among the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan, Ke Zhen'e and Han Baoju were hot-tempered and would curse at the drop of a hat, but Guo Jing still didn't feel bitter.

Li Ping was illiterate, but she had excellent upbringing. She made Guo Jing understand early on what it meant to respect his teacher and to value the Way. She made him understand that his master's scolding was for his own good, so he would practice diligently every day. If he couldn't do it ten times, he would do it a hundred times, and if he couldn't do it a hundred times, he would do it a thousand times.

Although he was exhausted every day and would fall asleep as soon as it got dark, and would be covered in sweat by the time the sun rose the next day, Guo Jing was so focused and free of distractions that he was content as long as his master praised him someday.

When he met Wu Chengyu, he laid a solid foundation with Wu Chengyu's help and his skills improved rapidly. His martial arts training progressed by leaps and bounds. His masters stopped scolding him, but not long after, Wu Chengyu sent him to the militia training camp on Xishan Island in Taihu Lake.

He received Yue Fei's military training methods every day, which were extremely strict. He also had to study the Military Manual of Yue Fei every day. After all, he was Wu Chengyu's disciple and received preferential treatment. Only a few people in the army could have the complete military manual. He practiced during the day and studied by lamplight at night.

But Guo Jing always enjoyed it. Especially in the past year, he had become a captain of a thousand men, leading his thousand soldiers to infiltrate the Jin Kingdom and fight guerrilla warfare. He could both defeat the Jin cavalry head-on and launch long-distance raids to kill generals and seize flags.

Guo Jing is not yet eighteen years old, but he is already a mature mid-level general. His confidence and ambition grow every day. The sweat of the past has long become his path, but he still does not know what hardship is.

Until this time, Guo Jing, who had just led his team back to the Taihu base, was grabbed by Wu Chengyu, who had disappeared for two years and was now up to no good. Wu Chengyu took him from Suzhou straight to Gushan, ostensibly to help him find an opportunity.

Then, the unscrupulous master had a flash of inspiration, and Guo Jing finally began to suffer terribly. He was frowning every day, unable to sleep at night, and most importantly, his tongue was often tied in knots. He even felt that his lips had become thinner.

Who would have thought that his mentor would suddenly stop teaching him martial arts and instead start teaching him storytelling, long and long passages of storytelling, clearly made up by Wu Chengyu himself, with no one knowing where he found the stories.

Guo Jing has never been a man of many words. Even though he has been trained over the years and can now issue orders in battle with ease, it would be incredibly difficult for him to tell stories to a group of strangers, especially stories about unfaithful men.

He himself hadn't even experienced the first stirrings of love, so how could he know what it meant to be unfaithful and heartless, let alone say such a thing?

The key point is that Wu Chengyu demanded that Guo Jing meet the same standards as Master Guo. Not only should he be eloquent and articulate, and perform with grace, but he should also be able to express himself with facial expressions and gestures, conveying the full range of emotions and making the audience feel as if they were actually there.

If this child didn't have such a deeply ingrained respect for his teacher and such profound reverence for his master, even the best disciple could be driven to rebellion.

So, apart from practicing storytelling while traveling every day and hoping to suddenly become mute, Guo Jing had no ability to refuse.

Finally, the day of the storytelling arrived. Guo Jing, dressed in a blue robe, stood behind a small table, holding the gavel that Wu Chengyu had specially provided for him. It was said to be made of golden nanmu wood. He silently picked up the gavel and slammed it on the table. Unable to control his emotions, he began to tell the story with a sorrowful expression.

During the reign of Emperor Renzong, Bao Zheng, the prefect of Kaifeng, was known for his incorruptibility and impartiality.

On this day, the sound of drums resounded throughout the court. A woman named Qin Xianglian, accompanied by two young children, her face covered in dust and grievances, entered the court to plead her case. The person she was accusing was none other than the emperor's son-in-law, Chen Shimei!

It turns out that Chen Shimei had already started a family before passing the imperial examination. His wife, Qin Xianglian, had cared for his parents until their deaths, bore him children, and managed the household affairs with great hardship.

Who would have thought that Chen Shimei, after passing the imperial examination, would become obsessed with the wealth and power of the royal family, abandoning his wife and children, concealing his marital history, marrying a princess, and transforming himself into a prince consort of noble birth!

That's not all! To protect his wealth and status and avoid being exposed, Chen Shimei went so far as to secretly send assassins to kill his wife and children! Even tigers don't eat their cubs; such behavior is utterly devoid of conscience and is rarely seen throughout history!
Fortunately, Judge Bao was discerning, fair, and incorruptible. Undeterred by the overwhelming power of the wealthy and powerful, he overcame all obstacles and upheld justice. In the end, the righteous guillotine fell, bringing this ungrateful, ruthless, and heartless traitor to justice on the spot!
Chen Shimei's wickedness is the epitome of the most heartless man in the world!

At first, he stammered and was covered in sweat, but Guo Jing was a brave and capable general who fought bravely on the battlefield. After a little panic, he quickly calmed down. Under Wu Chengyu's supervision, he had indeed worked hard these days and soon began to speak fluently.

However, he was not a professional storyteller, so he couldn't be as vivid as he seemed. He could only recite from the script. Compared to Wu Chengyu, who used to tell stories of Lu Bu and Diao Chan at Hongyun Restaurant, he was far inferior.

Unfortunately, the content was quite novel. The case of Bao Gong was written in the Ming Dynasty, by which time Bao Zheng had been dead for many years. He did leave behind a good reputation as an upright official, but his story was not widely circulated. Moreover, the story told by Guo Jing was entirely centered around unfaithful men.

To have Guo Jing, a great hero who served his country and its people, run off to a small seaside town to tell stories, a devoted and faithful man who never even experienced love, and then talk about unfaithful men, is undeniably another of Wu Chengyu's wicked tastes.

The storytelling was so-so, but the content was wonderful. The guests who were just eating heartily were immediately captivated by the storytelling after finishing a bowl of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. Everyone cheered, and some even began to angrily curse the unfaithful man.

This was the first time Huang Rong had ever met Guo Jing. For some reason, she felt he was special at first glance. After all, everyone in her family was intelligent, and seeing this young man with thick eyebrows, big eyes, sweaty face, and an honest and embarrassed expression, she felt quite curious.

She couldn't help but glance at him a few more times before turning to Lu Guanying, who had thick eyebrows and big eyes, but compared to Guo Jing, who had grown up in the desert and trained in the military camp for many years, he was still considered to be fair-skinned and slightly delicate.

"Little Yingzi, did you hear that? A heartless man is the most despicable. Don't forget, you and Xiaoyun are engaged. If you dare to be a heartless man in the future, I won't let you off the hook. I'll get a guillotine and chop you up."

Lu Guanying glanced at Qu Yun secretly, her face turning red again: "Little Martial Aunt, don't talk nonsense. I would never do anything to betray Xiao Yun."

Qu Yun, however, remained calm and composed, her eyes sparkling with a smile: "Don't worry, Junior Aunt, he wouldn't dare. Uncle Lu won't let him off the hook, and my father will definitely break his legs too. At most, I'll just give him a pair of crutches."

As soon as she finished speaking, Huang Rong and Qu Yun burst into laughter, making Lu Guanying's neck veins bulge, yet he also seemed a little shy. At this moment, Hongyun Restaurant was packed with guests; the lobby on the first floor was full, and the private rooms on the second floor were also full, with only one private room remaining. The window inside offered a view of the lobby below, and Wu Chengyu sat alone by the window.

Before him was a pot of osmanthus wine and a few side dishes. He sipped it quietly by himself, while glancing down at Huang Rong, who was whispering to her friends.

Huang Rong is not much different from what we remember. She is clever and mischievous, with a touch of chivalry. She was taken care of from a young age and had friends to accompany her. At least her childhood was happy. This feeling is more like her own daughter in the original work, Little Eastern Heretic Guo Xiang.

As for Qu Yun, the silly girl was completely gone. The little girl sat there without saying much, but every word she uttered either made Huang Rong laugh or made Lu Guanying look a little embarrassed. The silly girl was no longer silly and exuded a shrewdness.

After Lu Guanying's fate changed, who would have thought that he would end up with the silly girl? However, Lu Chengfeng's son and Qu Lingfeng's daughter were from the same school and grew up together, so it was only natural. But judging from the way he was being controlled, he was a henpecked husband.

His trip to Peach Blossom Island to collect a debt from Huang Yaoshi was actually quite contradictory. The hatred of his broken leg and the resentment of his past life destined him to have a fight with Huang Yaoshi, but it was difficult to find the right balance.

The biggest obstacle is Huang Rong. Despite her rebellious nature and frequent clashes with Huang Yaoshi, she is proud of her father and has deep feelings for him.

Huang Rong is Wu Chengyu's cousin, and they are blood relatives. Given his past life's feelings of admiration for Feng Heng, the years of care he received from Feng Heng, and his own feelings of affection for Huang Rong from reading novels in his previous life, it was destined that Wu Chengyu would never want to hurt Huang Rong.

But if something were to happen to Huang Yaoshi, Huang Rong would inevitably become enemies with Wu Chengyu, which is something Wu Chengyu absolutely does not want to see.

Therefore, Wu Chengyu was still undecided about how to deal with Huang Yaoshi. Otherwise, he probably would have returned to Peach Blossom Island long ago to cause trouble for Huang Yaoshi.

Wu Chengyu came to Gushan this time because he really didn't want to delay any longer, but even now, he still didn't know how to start.

As for bringing Guo Jing along, it was because I still had a lingering thought in my heart: I wanted to see if he and Huang Rong, those two little ones, would still have a chance to be together. The whole world had been completely changed by Wu Chengyu, that butterfly.

Guo Jing returned to Jiangnan with Li Ping early on and joined the Suzhou militia. He would no longer have the chance to meet Huang Rong disguised as a little beggar at the ferry restaurant and then generously treat her to a lavish meal and give her gold and a fine horse.

Huang Rong is no longer alone and helpless since childhood. She now lives a happy life with several senior brothers who dote on her and friends who accompany her. Occasionally, she quarrels with her father and tries to run away from home, but she will be stopped by someone before she gets very far. It is impossible for her to run into the territory of the Jin Kingdom.

Huang Rong is no longer the little girl in the original novel whose father was aloof and ignored her, and who had been lonely and helpless since childhood. Naturally, she would not be moved by someone who was genuinely kind to her and follow them to the death.

Without Huang Rong's help, Guo Jing would not have been able to become a disciple of Hong Qigong. Hong Qigong had already found a successor in A Ku, so he would not easily accept any more disciples. Fortunately, Guo Jing still learned the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms from A Ku.

Guo Jing's life trajectory was that he spent most of his time in the military camp and would later appear on the battlefield against the Mongol Yuan Dynasty. He would have almost no chance to meet Huang Rong again.

It can be said that Wu Chengyu has completely ruined the marriage between Guo Jing and Huang Rong, and the two of them will probably never have the chance to meet again in this lifetime.

But as people of later generations, when they talk about Guo Jing, they will naturally think of Huang Rong. This pairing can be said to be locked in. If Guo Jing and Huang Rong had not become a couple, it would have been a regret caused by Wu Chengyu himself.

That's why Wu Chengyu forcibly brought Guo Jing here, creating an opportunity for him to meet Huang Rong, to see if the two little ones would still fall in love at first sight.

Of course, if there is no result, Wu Chengyu will not force it, after all, he has made an effort and given an explanation.

In retrospect, Huang Rong only glanced at Guo Jing a couple of times while listening to the storyteller, and thus had some impression of him. However, Guo Jing was nervous at the time and focused on memorizing his script, so he didn't pay any attention to what the audience looked like. Their meeting didn't spark any interest in each other, which is quite a pity.

With his mind racing, Wu Chengyu's attention returned to Huang Rong. When his predecessor was expelled from Peach Blossom Island, Huang Rong was still an infant. His predecessor didn't even have a chance to properly see his cousin before disappearing from this world completely.

Wu Chengyu has memories of his previous life, but his memory of Huang Rong is very vague. However, upon seeing Huang Rong's current appearance, Wu Chengyu, who has received the memories and emotions of his previous life, immediately feels a greater sense of longing for the deceased.

Huang Rong actually resembles Huang Yaoshi by at most three points, but she looks more like her mother Feng Heng. Feng Heng also looks very similar to Mu Qingyin, the mother of Wu Chengyu.

There is no doubt that these two women had a great influence on the original owner of the body. Huang Rong essentially inherited the appearance of Feng Heng and Mu Qingyin. Now, seeing them again, and seeing their voices and smiles in the same way as the two women in his memory, Wu Chengyu could not help but feel a sense of disorientation.

At this moment, A-Ku was not with him. This new Lady Wu had been in the Beggars' Sect for a long time and liked lively atmosphere. She occupied a table by herself, first drinking three bowls of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, and then hugging the Dongpo Pork Knuckle and licking it.

This girl still prefers to eat more meat. She was sitting right behind Huang Rong and the others, watching their backs as she ate and listened to her three friends bickering. A-Ku's eyes also showed a bit more of a smile.

Aside from time travel and cheat codes, A-Ku knew everything about Wu Chengyu, and naturally immediately realized that the little girl in white was her husband's cousin and her sister-in-law. She was still a child at heart, thinking about how to get in touch with Huang Rong and the others.

Just then, a middle-aged man suddenly sat down across from Ah Ku at the table. Calling him middle-aged was a bit of a stretch; he was slightly older than Wu Chengyu, probably in his early thirties, with a calm and composed expression.

"Feng Mofeng of Peach Blossom Island has met Lady Mo of the Beggar Clan."

(End of this chapter)