Sword drawn from the constellations, poison as its edge.

Chapter 153 The truth revealed
Elder Xu's lips twitched twice, but he ultimately said nothing and obediently handed over the letter.

Since his debut, he has suffered repeated setbacks, and now even Madam Ma has run away. He has lost all his pride and no longer has the dignified demeanor of a patriarch he once had.

Qiao Feng was about to take the book when he heard someone chanting Buddhist prayers as they emerged from behind the apricot tree: "Amitabha, Chief Qiao, please wait!"

Seeing another setback, Qiao Feng became irritable. He turned his head and saw that the newcomer was an old monk with a large face and ears, and a dignified appearance. He was wearing an old monk's robe and straw sandals.

Qiao Feng frowned and asked, "And who are you, sir?"

Elder Xu's face lit up with joy, and he quickly said, "This is Master Zhiguang from Tiantai Mountain. My brother Shan and I specially invited him to be a witness."

Qiao Feng was immediately moved and clasped his hands in greeting, saying, "So you are Master Zhiguang. I have long admired your name and apologized for my disrespectful attitude just now. Please forgive me, Master."

Bao Butong exclaimed in surprise, "Oh my, so it's this person. No wonder Qiao Feng was so respectful to him. Decades ago, the Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong regions were plagued by miasma, and countless people died. It was this monk Zhiguang who made a great vow and went to the remote and desolate overseas. He risked his life to collect the bark of a strange tree, which eradicated the miasma. He can be called a living Buddha to all. However, he himself fell seriously ill twice because of this and lost all his martial arts skills. He has never been active in the martial arts world since then."

The fact that the foul-mouthed monk Bao Bu Tong praised him so highly speaks volumes about the good reputation of this monk in the martial arts world.

Jiang Mingzhe wondered if the bark of the strange tree could cure miasma? Could the miasma be malaria? And was the bark of the cinchona tree?
Zhiguang waved his hand and said, "Chief Qiao, you are too kind. I roughly know the contents of the letter in your hand. I would like to advise you to burn it and not read it. That would be a blessing for the world."

Elder Xu frowned and said, "Master, how can you act like this?"

Zhiguang smiled slightly and stared at Elder Xu, saying, "Since Chief Qiao took the lead of the Beggars' Clan, has he ever failed the people or the country?"

Elder Xu paused, then shook his head and said, "No, but..."

Zhiguang sighed, “What do you mean by ‘but’? Since there has never been anything, it shows his character and magnanimity. Why make a fuss over nothing? Elder Xu, in this world, not everything needs to be investigated thoroughly. There are many things that are better left unsaid than known.”

These words left Elder Xu speechless. Zhiguang then looked at Qiao Feng with kind eyes and said softly, "If Chief Qiao trusts this old monk, please burn this letter. It will be a great blessing for you and for the world."

Qiao Feng looked at the envelope in his hand, then at Zhiguang, and asked in confusion, "Master, do you mean that if I read this letter, I will bring disaster to the world?"

Zhiguang sighed, “I do not know what will happen after you read this letter, but it will inevitably cause you endless suffering.”

Qiao Feng hesitated. He greatly admired Master Zhiguang's righteous deeds back then and was convinced that the other party would never intentionally harm him. Therefore, there must be a reason for what he said.

But everyone has a sense of curiosity, especially when it concerns themselves. Qiao Feng couldn't understand why Chief Wang would leave such a will and why he would be wary of him taking actions that would lead him to befriend the Liao and destroy the Song.

After pondering for a long time, he handed the envelope to Elder Xu and said in a low voice, "Elder Xu, please take out Chief Wang's last will and testament for me."

Elder Xu remained silent and quietly handed over the letter.

Qiao Feng looked down and saw that it was indeed his mentor Wang Jiantong's handwriting, clearly written:

"A decree to Vice Chief Ma, Transmission Elder, Enforcement Elder, and all other elders of the Beggars' Sect: If Chief Qiao Feng is found to be pro-Liao and anti-Han, or to be aiding the Khitan and suppressing the Song Dynasty, the entire sect shall immediately unite to kill him without fail. Poisoning or assassination are both permissible, and those who carry out such actions will be rewarded without punishment. Written by Wang Jiantong, May 7th, the sixth year of the Yuanfeng era of the Great Song Dynasty."

"The seventh day of the fifth month in the sixth year of Yuanfeng..." Qiao Feng murmured.

He remembered the date clearly; it was on this day that he took over the Dog-Beating Stick from Master Wang and officially took charge of the Beggars' Sect.

He never expected that his mentor, whom he regarded as a father, would leave behind this hidden trick on the very day he took over as gang leader.

Qiao Feng blinked, and with two soft pats, two teardrops the size of soybeans fell onto the letter.

Zhao Qiansun suddenly said, "Chief Qiao, you must be filled with endless doubts right now, but if it were me, I would definitely want to read the other letter! Don't listen to Monk Zhiguang spouting those grand principles. This monk is full of thoughts about the common people and the world, so of course he doesn't want you to know the truth. But I've been thinking about it for a while now, and I just can't figure it out. How can a hero like you not know your own origins?"

Zhiguang glared angrily and said sternly, "Zhao Qiansun, you're just trying to stir up trouble!"

Zhao Qiansun said smugly, "Monk Zhiguang, do you really think you're some kind of bodhisattva or Buddha? The cause and effect of the battle at Yanmen Pass back then, others may not know, but do you not know either? You are willing to sacrifice for the people of the world, that's your own business. Qiao Feng is not a monk, nor is he like you. Why can't he know the truth and be kept in the dark his whole life?"

The two men each held their own version of events, and Qiao Feng frowned, unable to resist looking at Jiang Mingzhe.

Jiang Mingzhe knew that he was torn between his inner thoughts and his own, so he said decisively, "Brother, if I am not mistaken, the other letter should be related to your background. Brother, the three of us are sworn brothers and will share weal and woe. Even if you are the peerless demon king, you are still my brother, Jiang Mingzhe's brother."

Jiang Mingzhe's thoughts were essentially the same as Zhao Qiansun's. Qiao Feng was entitled to know his origins and had the right to choose the path he would take in the future.

Duan Yu immediately replied, "Brother, me too!"

Jiang Mingzhe glanced at him, intending to teach him: You should say that I am the same.

However, the atmosphere was serious at the moment, so he suppressed the thought and decided to talk about it another time.

Qiao Feng nodded, his eyes filled with emotion, and said to Elder Xu, "Please give me the other letter as well."

"Wait a minute!"

Zhiguang suddenly reached out and took the envelope from Elder Xu's hand: "Chief Qiao, since you insist on knowing your background, then the only way is to do it in public, so that everyone knows."

Qiao Feng knew that Zhi Guang was afraid that if he knew his true identity, but the Beggars' Clan did not, then if something happened to him, they would be caught off guard and suffer a great loss.

Feeling increasingly uneasy, he nodded and said, "Okay."

Zhiguang sighed: "Very well, before you read this letter, I must tell you a story from the past. I and Zhao Qiansun were both involved. This happened thirty years ago. That year, someone sent word that a large number of Liao warriors were going to attack Shaolin Temple and steal the martial arts manuals from the Sutra Pavilion..."

Zhiguang recounted the bloody battle at Yanmen Pass with a somber expression, while Zhao Qiansun added details from the side, slowly unveiling that bloody scene from back then...

Outside Yanmen Pass, a group of heroes laid an ambush, first killing nineteen Khitan warriors, then surrounding and killing a couple holding a child. The wife died tragically at the hands of the crowd, while the husband displayed great power, single-handedly defeating the heroes. Only Zhiguang was thrown to the treetop and miraculously survived, and Zhao Qiansun was also frightened into unconsciousness and thus survived as well. Finally, they defeated the "leader" and the Beggar Clan leader Wang Jiantong, questioned them sternly, but did not kill them. They carved their names on the stone wall, then jumped off the cliff with their wife and child, throwing the still-living baby up the cliff, where it landed on the stomach of the Beggar Clan leader Wang.

The next day, Zhiguang and his two companions returned to the battlefield, made rubbings of the Liao script on the stone wall, and sought someone to translate it. Only then did they realize the grave mistake they had made. However, Zhiguang, fearing to tarnish his leader's reputation as a chivalrous man, refused to reveal the specifics of the error, only telling them how to deal with the infant.

"...The Qiao Sanhuai couple must acknowledge themselves as the parents of this Khitan baby, and they must never let him know about the adoption when he grows up..."

Upon hearing this, Qiao Feng understood immediately. His face turned extremely ugly, and he said in a miserable tone, "Are you saying that I, Qiao Feng, am not a Han Chinese, but... a Khitan dog? Impossible, impossible! How could I, Qiao Feng, a dignified Han Chinese, be a Khitan dog?"

Seeing the madness in his eyes, Jiang Mingzhe shouted, "Brother! Have you not heard the saying, 'If the feudal lords use barbarian customs, treat them as barbarians; if they advance into China, treat them as Chinese'? In the past, the Five Barbarian Tribes invaded China, and the Central Plains were lost. For hundreds of years, ethnic groups have been intermingled, with each having elements of the other. Even Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty had barbarian blood. What about now? If we really want to be serious, how many of the hundreds of millions of people in the Song Dynasty are truly and completely Han Chinese?"

Qiao Feng's body trembled, his expression softened slightly, and he stared intently at Jiang Mingzhe.

Jiang Mingzhe pointed at Bao Butong: "Murong in the South and Qiao Feng in the North are equally famous. The Murong family are descendants of the Xianbei, so does that stop Young Master Murong from being renowned throughout the martial arts world?"

He stepped forward and patted Qiao Feng's chest heavily: "You were raised by the Han people since childhood, ate Han food, wore Han clothes, spoke Han language, drank Han wine, and learned the benevolence and morality passed down by the Han people for thousands of years. Your heart is a noble Han heart. Who dares to say that you are not a Han person?"

These words struck the beggars like a thunderbolt, and they all nodded slightly in agreement.

Zhao Qiansun also said, "This young man speaks very well. I can't articulate these principles, but I share the same thought: Han people are not necessarily superior, and Khitan people are not necessarily worse than pigs and dogs!"

Qiao Feng's body trembled again, and he slowly said, "Not bad! Thank you, senior, and also my second brother..."

He placed his hands on Jiang Mingzhe's shoulders and said gratefully, "I also want to thank you for your guidance! Well, I am a child of the Khitan people, so it's no wonder that my master was wary of me doing something bad one day, and it's no wonder that the elders wanted to rebel against me after they found out... But what you said makes more sense, Second Brother. I, Qiao Feng, have only made friends with Han brothers and learned Han principles. How can you treat me like an ordinary barbarian?"

He spoke these words aloud, and Elder Xi, Elder Wu, and the others couldn't help but show their shame.

Qiao Feng smiled slightly and said, "They're overthinking it. I want to see what the other letter says."

As he spoke, he turned back to take the letter from Zhiguang's hand, but Zhiguang's thumb pressed tightly against the letter. Qiao Feng didn't care, reached out and tore the letter, leaving a corner in Zhiguang's hand. Zhiguang quickly stuffed it into his mouth and swallowed it in one gulp.

Qiao Feng roared, "What are you doing!"

Zhiguang smiled slightly: "Now that Chief Qiao knows your background, he will surely avenge your parents. I am willing to bear all the sins myself. However, I do not want you to know the name of the leader. Chief Qiao, you can kill me or cut me into a thousand pieces. I will gladly accept it."

After saying this, he closed his eyes, clasped his hands together, and said nothing more.

(End of this chapter)