The Smiling, Proud Wanderer: From the Moment He Picked Up Qu Feiyan

Chapter 133 Shaolin Did Nothing

After the initial shock, Zuo Lengchan felt a surge of amusement.

You little fox, why are you pretending to be a ghost story here? Why beat around the bush? Can't you just say what you want to say?

He glanced at Shen An with interest and said calmly, "You mean, that lecherous thief is a member of my Songshan Sect?"

Shen An shook his head: "This disciple dares not speak presumptuously. It's just that this person's swordsmanship style is something I've never heard of before, yet I feel that it seems to have some connection with the Five Mountains Sword Sect."

Zuo Lengchan remained expressionless, wanting to see what his disciple had to say.

"Just tell me what you want to ask."

Seeing that his master had made his point clear, Shen An stopped beating around the bush. He raised his head, looked directly into Zuo Lengchan's eyes, and asked in a deep voice, "So, those people were all—kept by you, Master?"

He nodded, not denying it: "That's right. The person you killed was a loser from the Sword Sect after the Battle of Huashan Qi Sword. They had nowhere else to turn and came to me for help. As the leader of the Five Mountains Alliance, I naturally couldn't stand idly by, so I took them in. I never expected—that there would be such morally corrupt people among them."

His tone was filled with regret and indignation, as if he had only just learned of the matter himself.

Shen An, however, seemed oblivious to the underlying meaning in his words, and instead seized the opportunity: "Master took them in because he wants to use them to eventually subdue Mount Hua and complete the great undertaking of unifying the Five Mountains Sects, right?"

Zuo Lengchan remained silent for a moment, then slowly nodded.

"good."

Now that things have come to this, continuing to hide it would make me seem petty.

Having received an affirmative answer, Shen An's heart calmed down. He took a deep breath and asked the question that had been troubling him the most: "Master, have you considered that simply having the strength to suppress the other four sects is far from enough to unify the Five Mountains? Our neighbor—Shaolin Temple—will absolutely not want to see this happen."

It seems this kid has a lot on his mind.

Well, it's time to let him know.

Zuo Lengchan nodded and slowly said, "Therefore, our actions must be fast enough. Fast enough that the Shaolin Temple has no time to react. Fast enough that by the time they realize the threat, our Five Mountains Alliance will have already merged, and the deed will be done. At that time, they will have neither a pretext to attack nor the opportunity to intervene."

7

Shen An was shocked upon hearing this.

So, the reason for gathering the unorthodox sects was to simultaneously target the Four Mountains?

He had to admit that his master's idea, though crazy, was not impossible.

Looking back at the original story, if it weren't for Linghu Chong, the biggest variable, Master's plan to merge the Five Mountains Sects would have actually succeeded.

By then, the die will be cast. Even if Shaolin Temple is dissatisfied, it will probably have no choice but to accept it when faced with a fully integrated and unprecedentedly powerful "Five Mountains Sect".

But is it really that simple?

Did Shaolin really realize nothing and do nothing?

At the foot of the mountain, Di Xiu stood at the entrance of the town, watching the carriage carrying the two sisters-in-law slowly disappear at the end of the road.

A night breeze blew by, bringing a touch of coolness. He tightened his collar until the carriage was no longer visible, then let out a long sigh of relief and turned to return to the mountain.

What happened today was truly breathtaking.

The fact that Shen An showed a completely different side of himself from before still makes him feel lingering fear when he thinks about it.

As he was gathering his strength to ascend the mountain, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a few inconspicuous stones placed under an old locust tree by the roadside.

The child formed a swastika symbol.

Di Xiu felt a chill run down his spine, and for some reason, he suddenly wanted to raise his right arm.

He glanced around discreetly, and after confirming that there was no one suspicious nearby, he turned and walked into a small alley deep in the town, just like an ordinary disciple coming down the mountain.

At the end of the alley is a herbal medicine shop where a dim yellow lantern is lit day and night.

Di Xiu pushed open the door and entered, a strong aroma of herbs wafting towards him. Behind the counter, an old shopkeeper with sleepy eyes lifted his eyelids.

"What would you like to order, sir?"

"Shopkeeper, could you please tell me if you have any 100-year-old 'Solanum nigrum' or 'Acorus calamus'?"

The old shopkeeper's cloudy eyes cleared slightly in an instant. He looked Di Xiu up and down and said slowly, "The medicinal herbs you requested, sir, are all very precious. We'll have to search carefully in the storeroom. Please follow me, sir."

Having said that, he took an oil lamp and led Di Xiu through the main room and into the warehouse in the backyard.

To anyone else, this was just an ordinary experience of buying medicine.

After leading Di Xiu into the dimly lit warehouse, the old shopkeeper pointed to a pile of medicinal herbs in the corner and said in a low voice, "Please take a look for yourself, sir."

After saying that, he turned and left, leaving the warehouse door slightly ajar, while he stood guard outside.

The warehouse was filled with an even stronger aroma of herbs, with various medicinal materials neatly stacked in different categories.

A familiar figure was sitting cross-legged on a pile of dried astragalus root; it was the same high monk from earlier that day.

"Uncle-Master." Di Xiu stepped forward, bowed deeply, and was extremely respectful.

"Sit." Fang Jue opened his eyes, indicating to Di Xiu that there was no need for formalities. "Is the matter settled?"

"It's all taken care of." Di Xiu sat down opposite him and briefly explained the arrangements for escorting the two women. Then, unable to hold back any longer, he lowered his voice and said, "Uncle-Master, today's events deviated far too much from our original plan. That Shen An—his reaction and methods completely exceeded our expectations!"

"It's more than just beyond expectations." A wry smile appeared on Fang Jue's face as he sighed, "It's absolutely earth-shattering."

""

"He—his ruthlessness is simply terrifying! Within three moves, he smashed Cong Buqi into a bloody pulp without even blinking. Martial Uncle, this person—is definitely not a good person; he's practically a carbon copy of Zuo Lengchan! Did the temple misjudge us when they asked us to win him over?"

"No." Fang Jue slowly shook his head, his eyes becoming profound. "On the contrary, the abbot may see further than any of us."

He paused, then said in a deep voice, "Today, I observed Shen An. Although he was ruthless and decisive, with cruel methods, like a demon god, he was also meticulous and showed genuine kindness towards those two innocent women. This shows that he has a scale in his heart, a scale to weigh good and evil."

"Killing evil is like a thunderous rage; saving good is like a gentle spring breeze." A glint of appreciation flashed in Fang Jue's eyes. "Such a person is fit to be used by the Buddha."

He changed the subject, looking at Di Xiu with a hint of reproach in his tone: "Why didn't you cooperate with me before and take the opportunity to expose Cong Buqi's identity? I had already given you the opportunity."

Upon hearing this, Di Xiu forced a smile that looked more like a grimace: "Uncle-Master, we—we were all wrong! We all thought Shen An was just a naive and inexperienced young man, but in reality—he's far more terrifying than we imagined!"

"Uncle-Master, to be honest, before you arrived, Cong Buqi had already revealed his identity before he died. But Shen An—he pretended not to hear and even threatened me with his eyes, forbidding me from telling him!"

Di Xiu recalled Shen An's calm yet cold gaze at that moment and still felt a chill run down his spine: "He wasn't unaware at all; he knew all along! He knew those were people his master had raised, which is why he killed them so decisively, leaving no survivors, so that there would be no one to testify!"

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