The Prodigal Disciple of Mount Hua: Seizing All Opportunities

The rain finally stopped.

The air was filled with the scent of fresh grass.

Chen Qianyang lowered his straw hat, leaned on a bamboo cane, and had a slightly hunched back.

At this moment, he looked nothing more than a sick man struggling to make a living.

Beside him was a girl wearing a floral cotton jacket, her face covered with pockmarks, her eyelids swollen, and she was strangely ugly.

"Don't look around." Chen Qianyang's lips moved slightly, and his voice was transmitted through his internal energy, reaching the ears of the girl next to him.

That was Qu Feiyan.

As promised, Ren Yingying returned the disguise tools he had left at the inn last night, along with a few healing pills.

With the addition of circulating the Yi Jin Duan Gu chapter of the Nine Yin Manual overnight, the cold poison in his body, which was like a bone-deep infection, was suppressed by more than half. Although the internal energy in his dantian had not yet returned to its peak, it was enough to kill people.

The atmosphere on the street was so tense it was suffocating.

At almost every intersection, there were disciples of Mount Song dressed in yellow robes standing.

If it's to deal with this half-dead old Taoist priest.

This is far too much of a show of force.

"Hey, I don't think your skills are that great." Qu Feiyan leaned closer, her voice low and tinged with dissatisfaction. "You made me look so ugly, but you dressed up as if you were all weathered."

"This is about saving your life, not a beauty pageant." Chen Qianyang said without looking to the side, tapping his bamboo cane lightly on the ground. "Besides, you're not exactly good-looking yourself."

"You!" Qu Feiyan's eyes widened. She was about to lash out when she saw a commotion at the city gate ahead. She immediately put on a timid expression.

At the city gate, several disciples from Mount Song were comparing portraits one by one.

Chen Qianyang sneered inwardly.

Zuo Lengchan indeed took it seriously; this portrait bore a striking resemblance to the old Taoist priest he had previously disguised himself as.

However, it's unlikely that Zuo Lengchan knew he possessed this disguise skill.

"Stop! What are you doing?" A disciple from Songshan blocked his way.

Chen Qianyang shuddered and coughed violently.

He didn't speak, but tremblingly raised the travel permit for leaving the city.

"Please, sir, have mercy..." Qu Feiyan cried, "My father has tuberculosis, and the doctor said there's no cure. He can only go home and wait to die."

Chen Qianyang cursed inwardly, thinking that this little girl was cursing him to die.

The disciple frowned, disdainfully using his sword sheath to pry open the travel permit and glance at it, then scanned Chen Qianyang's face.

"Get lost, get lost! Don't die at the city gate and bring bad luck." The disciple waved his hand impatiently.

Chen Qianyang thanked them profusely, and with his hunched back, he mingled into the crowd leaving the city, supported by Qu Feiyan.

Once outside the city gate, the feeling of being watched, like a thorn in one's back, faded away.

The two traveled swiftly northwest until they left the territory of Hengyang, at which point Chen Qianyang straightened his back and regained his former composure.

"Where to next?" Qu Feiyan wiped the freckles off her face.

"No." Chen Qianyang looked northwest. "To get to Baoqing Prefecture, we need to make a scene."

……

Baoqing Mansion, a grand mansion in the south of the city.

This place was originally a stronghold of the Qingcheng Sect in western Hunan.

The hall was in a mess, with broken wine jars scattered all over the floor.

"Damn it! What a coward! That Chen Qianyang is truly despicable. Does he possess some kind of sorcery?"

Hou Renying slammed the wine bowl in her hand against the wall.

As the leader of the "Four Beauties of Qingcheng", he had long lost the demeanor of a disciple of a prestigious family. His clothes were half-open, and his face was full of hostility.

After the battle in Fuzhou, Master Yu Canghai was killed tragically, and then Elder Peng Changhai was killed in western Fujian.

The Qingcheng Sect has now become a laughing stock in the martial arts world, falling from a first-rate sect to its current state.

Who in the martial arts world isn't laughing at them now?

"Senior Brother, please calm down." Hong Renxiong said with a gloomy face, "The senior uncles and elders of the Five Views and Three Peaks have already spoken. This time, they have gathered the strength of the entire sect and are determined to tear Chen Qianyang to pieces. We just need to stay here and wait for news."

"Wait? Wait until when!" Hou Renying's eyes were bloodshot. "The other factions have always been at odds with Qingfeng Temple. With Master dead, having me is exactly what they want."

"Senior brother, watch your words!"

"Isn't that right? Do they think Chen Qianyang is easy to deal with? If you ask me, those guys wouldn't fare much better than us if they actually ran into that kid."

"I wonder where that kid has disappeared to. The underworld in the southeast has already put up a bounty, but he seems to have vanished into thin air."

"By the way, where are Junior Brother Yu and Junior Brother Luo?"

"What else can we do!" Hong Renxiong gestured to the other side with his lip, a lewd look on his face.

Hou Renying understood immediately; he knew that the recent setbacks had indeed been a huge blow to them.

There was nothing I could do about how my junior brothers had turned out this way.

Hmph, it's all Chen Qianyang's fault. If it weren't for him, we wouldn't be in such a miserable state.

In the corner, Yu Renhao and Luo Renjie were busy.

The two men had several girls they had kidnapped from the neighborhood pinned beneath them.

The girls' clothes were torn to shreds, their mouths were stuffed with rags, and their faces were streaked with tears of terror, yet they could only utter desperate sobs.

"This is much more satisfying!" Yu Renhao grinned maliciously, biting the girl's fair neck hard, drawing out a string of blood beads. "What bullshit revenge? What the hell does it have to do with me?"

Luo Renjie chuckled strangely, "Senior brother is right. I've been so frustrated these past few days, it'll be good to vent my anger on these young girls. Anyway, the world's in chaos, who cares if a few women die?"

The air was filled with a nauseating smell of debauchery and blood.

Seeing this scene, Hou Renying's resentment seemed to deepen. He walked over and kicked the trembling girl on the ground, cursing, "What are you crying for! Being able to serve the Four Beauties of Qingcheng is a blessing you've accumulated over several lifetimes!"

Having said that, he loosened his belt, ready to join the violence.

squeak-

The heavy door was suddenly pushed open.

The wind outside blew in, carrying an extremely strong smell of blood, which instantly diluted the stench of alcohol in the room.

"Who?!"

Hou Renying turned around abruptly, his hand on the hilt of his sword.

There was a person standing at the door.

He wore a straw hat and a raincoat, and carried a long sword that was still dripping blood.

In the courtyard behind him, the seven or eight Qingcheng disciples who were originally on guard were now lying haphazardly in the mud.

The man slowly raised his hand, took off his straw hat, and casually tossed it aside.

He revealed a young and handsome face, yet it was as cold as ice.

"The Four Beasts of Qingcheng, it's been a long time!"

Chen Qianyang stepped across the threshold, his gaze sweeping over the few scantily clad girls before settling on the four burly heroes of Qingcheng.

Such behavior is an unforgivable crime.

"I heard you've been looking for me?"

Hou Renying's pupils suddenly contracted; he would recognize that face even if it were reduced to ashes.

"Chen...Chen Qianyang?!"

Upon hearing these three words, Yu Renhao and Luo Renjie, who were lying on top of the woman, jumped up as if electrocuted, frantically drawing their swords and not even having time to pull up their pants, looking extremely disheveled.

"You've got a path to heaven, but you won't take it..." Hong Renxiong roared, trying to bolster his courage. "Form the formation! Today, the four of us brothers will kill this Huashan bastard right here and avenge our master!"

Although the four were of low character, their martial arts skills were, after all, personally taught by Yu Canghai. In an instant, they formed the Qingcheng Sect's combined sword formation, with the four swords pointing at Chen Qianyang's vital points, their swords flashing.

Chen Qianyang looked at them, a mocking smile playing on his lips.

"A prestigious and righteous sect?"

He glanced at the girls huddled in the corner, trembling, and the chill in his eyes finally materialized.

"Having committed such beastly acts, do you even deserve to speak of revenge?"

Clang!

The sound of swords clashing rose, like the roar of a dragon in a vast marsh.

Chen Qianyang's figure vanished from the spot in an instant.

fast.

Extremely fast.

Hou Renying felt a blur before his eyes, and the once impenetrable sword formation suddenly appeared as if it were made of paper, full of flaws.

He instinctively tried to draw his sword to protect himself, but found his wrist felt cold.

puff.

A streak of blood shot out.

Then came the second and third rounds.

There are no fancy moves, only the most precise reaping.

Chen Qianyang's figure weaved through the four people, and with each swing of his longsword, he took a life.

"You dare to wield a sword?"

A cold voice rang in Luo Renjie's ears.

Luo Renjie stared wide-eyed in horror, about to beg for mercy, when a sharp pain shot through his throat and his vision began to spin—he saw his headless corpse slowly falling to the ground.

Just three breaths.

The hall fell silent once more.

The once arrogant Four Heroes of Qingcheng are now four mutilated corpses.

Blood splattered on the wall.

Chen Qianyang flicked the blood off the blade and sheathed the sword.

He didn't look back at the corpses, but simply tossed the clothes on the ground to the crying girl in the corner.

"Put them on."

look steadily forward.

His voice remained indifferent, but the murderous intent was gone.