Sword drawn from the constellations, poison as its edge.

Chapter 258 An unexpected encounter
As the two groups were about to part, Xiao Feng handed a cloth-wrapped package to Jiang Mingzhe, saying, "Brother, when you have time, return this secret manual to the monks of Shaolin."

Jiang Mingzhe took it, hesitatingly saying, "Brother, this was stolen by my sister-in-law with great difficulty, you..."

Xiao Feng waved his hand and laughed, "Don't worry, I discussed it with A'Zhu yesterday, and she agreed to return the book."

As he spoke, he took A'Zhu's hand and said sincerely, "A'Zhu originally stole this book for two reasons: first, to avenge me, and second, because she was afraid that I couldn't beat the Shaolin monks and wanted me to learn this skill to increase my strength. But now that the Shaolin Temple gate has been destroyed by you, countless monks have been killed, and the culprit Xuan Ci is also dead, my father and I have avenged our great hatred. As for this skill, firstly, I don't understand it, and secondly, there is no need for me to learn it. So I simply returned it to them, as a way of repaying Master Xuan Ku's kindness of teaching me for ten years."

A'Zhu continued, "Although the four of us disguised ourselves when we stole the book, we still showed that we knew you brothers. Shaolin Temple may be in a mess right now and can't care about much else. But once things settle down, those with knowledge can trace the source carefully and might be able to guess the whereabouts of the Yi Jin Jing. Mingzhe, I only wish to spend the rest of my life with Brother Xiao in peace. I really don't want any more trouble."

Seeing that his tone was firm and that A'Zhu's eyes were smiling, clearly not caring about the fate of the Yi Jin Jing, Jiang Mingzhe nodded and put it into his pocket. He hugged Xiao Feng and Xiao Yuanshan and then went on his way.

After leaving Dengfeng, he and his party traveled north to catch up with Xiao and his son. They left Yanmen Pass to pay their respects to Madam Xiao, and spent time learning Xiao Feng's two great martial arts skills. By the time they returned to Dengfeng, it had been more than twenty days.

By this time, the heroes of the martial arts world who had gathered because of the Shaolin battle had all dispersed. Jiang Mingzhe and his group returned to Longyuan Treasure Shop, while Li Qiushui, the Eight Friends of Hangu, Duan Zhengchun and the rest of the group had all left.

The shopkeeper was summoned for questioning. It turned out that a few days after Jiang Mingzhe and the others left, Li Qiushui's injuries had improved. Shi Qinglu removed her stitches, and she took medicine every day to recuperate. She also used powdered jade to wipe her face. After more than ten days, her beauty was restored. Overjoyed, she kept her promise and passed on her divine skill, personally teaching Doctor Xue and Shi Qinglu how to practice it.

Even Feng Asan, who made surgical instruments, won a prize. Li Qiushui taught him a powerful boxing technique, which made his fellow disciples extremely envious.

The Eight Friends of Hangu Pass had long believed that Li Qiushui was their junior grandmaster, and seeing her unparalleled martial arts skills and gentle and kind nature, they became increasingly respectful towards her.

A few days later, a master from the Western Xia First-Class Hall suddenly delivered an urgent letter. Li Qiushui tricked the Eight Friends, saying that she was a spy she had planted within her sister's forces. After reading the letter, she flew into a rage and, unwilling to wait for Jiang Mingzhe's return any longer, hurriedly left. The Eight Friends followed her.

Upon hearing this, Azi jumped up and down in a panic: "Ahhh! She hasn't even taught me the Lesser Formless Skill yet, and she's already run away like this!"

The shopkeeper continued his report, saying that the day after Li Qiushui and the others left, Duan Zhengchun also hurriedly left with Li Qingluo, looking very happy as they went, but no one knew where they were going.

Upon hearing this, Duan Yu paced anxiously, "I was just about to discuss with Father how to arrange the important matter of going to sea, where has he gone?"

Jiang Mingzhe remained calm and questioned the shopkeeper carefully. He learned that Li Qiushui had been quite anxious when she left, and a thought began to form in his mind: Could it be that she found out where Wuyazi was and went to Leigu Mountain to find her old lover?
According to the original text, Leigu Mountain is located in Runan. In later times, Runan was a county under the jurisdiction of ZMD City, but in ancient times, Runan was one of the prefectures under the jurisdiction of Yuzhou, and the area was extremely large.

He then inquired with the shopkeeper, asking if he had heard of Leigu Mountain.

The shopkeeper thought for a moment and nodded, saying, "East of Funiu Mountain and south of Ru River in Ruzhou, there is a mountain called Dalong Mountain. It is said that during the Spring and Autumn Period, King Zhuang of Chu beat a drum on the mountain during his northern expedition. Later, during the Chu-Han Contention, Fan Kuai also beat a drum on the mountain, hence the name Leigutai (Drumming Platform). I wonder if this is the place you are going to, young master."

他大致画出地形，说了路途远近，姜明哲暗暗点头，想起原著中，丁春秋一行自洛阳附近出发，往东南方行了七八日抵达，估算位置距离，正和掌柜所说地方相符。 便如实对众人说了，下一站要去擂鼓山：“当初慕容匡对我说过，给他戴绿帽的无崖子藏在擂鼓山，无崖子和李秋水爱恨纠缠，李秋水急急离去，多半便是得了他的消息，我们且去看一看，就算李秋水不是去此地，那也无妨，我扯出无崖子来揍上两拳，好歹对得起慕容匡传我斗转星移和参合指。”

The women found it amusing, and Duan Yu, wanting to follow Duan Zhengchun's trail, hurriedly left Dengfeng and headed south.

Less than half a day after setting off, I encountered a middle-aged monk who was hurrying north.

This monk was unusually short and extremely obese, with a huge belly and a face as prominent as a woman about to give birth. Wang Yuyan glanced at him and whispered, "The way this man walks shows that he practices Shaolin martial arts. He must be a monk who was traveling abroad and rushed back to help after hearing about the defeat of Shaolin Temple."

Throughout the journey, Azi led Zhong Ling and Wang Yuyan in their daily bickering. Listening to her speak, I instinctively retorted, "Hmph, who said he was returning to provide reinforcements? I think he..."

As she spoke, she carefully examined the fat, short monk, saying, "I see that his face is pale and his lips are white, like a zombie. It's the height of June, yet he's trembling all over. Clearly, he's suffering from some serious illness and is in a hurry to return to Shaolin Temple for help!"

At this point, he couldn't help but laugh and said smugly, "Hahaha, this monk ran himself ragged back to Shaolin, only to find the temple dilapidated and empty, with no one to rescue him. Do you think he'd cry?"

Since meeting Jiang Mingzhe, they have fallen in love, and most of her violent temper has subsided. However, her ingrained personality is hard to completely reverse. She has a lot of wicked tastes, and she can't help but gloat when she sees unrelated people suffering. Therefore, she spoke these words very loudly, deliberately wanting the monk to hear them.

The fat, short monk, seeing that Jiang Mingzhe and his entourage were handsome men and beautiful women, dressed in fine clothes and riding spirited horses, each carrying weapons, assumed that they were either disciples of a major sect or scions of a noble family. He harbored ulterior motives and did not want to cause trouble, so he had already kept his distance by the roadside.

But upon hearing Azi's words, his heart trembled. He thought to himself: I was going to secretly go back to the temple and ask my fellow disciples to give me a few Six Yang Righteous Qi Pills to ward off this bone-chilling cold so that I could continue on my way. How come Shaolin Temple is so dilapidated and empty?
Although he didn't want to cause any more trouble, he had no choice but to stop and try to put on a kind expression. He put his hands together and smiled, saying, "Benefactors, this humble monk greets you, but I wonder if what this female bodhisattva just said is true or false?"

Azi reined in her horse, beaming with pride, and said, "How can you, a Shaolin monk, be so out of touch with the world? Don't you know that a month ago, Shaolin Temple provoked a formidable giant ginger? When that giant ginger got angry, it stormed the mountain gate and slaughtered half of the old monks, young monks, and monks of medium age..."

She gestured wildly, demonstrating what "chatterboxing" meant, and said rapidly, "The other half is running around everywhere, some going to Donglin Temple, some to Nanlin Temple, some to Xilin Temple, and some to Beilin Temple. The once-famous Shaolin Temple is now just a pie in the sky! You don't need to go back. Just find a fat temple to stay at. But you must remember, you can only go to a fat temple. If it's a skinny temple, seeing how fat you are, they definitely won't accept you, hahahaha!"

The monk, seeing that she was exaggerating, didn't believe her and nodded, saying, "I see, thank you for your guidance, Bodhisattva."

Having said that, he lowered his head and continued on his way. When Azi saw this, she frowned and said unhappily, "Hey, I mercifully pointed you to Feilin Temple, why don't you listen to me and still want to go to Shaolin Temple? By the time you get there, it will be dark, and the ghost of the old monk Xuanci will come out and eat you in one bite."

The monk exclaimed in surprise, "Abbot Xuanci is renowned throughout the martial world and highly respected. How dare you, a mere woman, insult him like this?"

(End of this chapter)