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

Shen An took the letter and unwrapped the sealing wax.

"Last night we met hastily at Hejiang Pavilion and were unable to have a proper conversation, which I regret. Today I watched you, young friend, shatter the hundred-refined ingot with skillful force. What is the principle behind this? Could it be as Zhu Xi said, that by investigating things one can attain knowledge, and by examining things one can understand their principles?"

However, the way of the sage is sufficient within our own nature; those who seek reason in external things are mistaken.

Looking again at my young friend's sword strike in the face of the enemy, the change in his mind was revealed in the very edge of his sword. At first, he hesitated, and the sword's momentum became weak; in the middle, he was confused, and the sword's light became scattered; finally, he made up his mind, and the sword's power solidified.

This is not because of the sharpness of the sword, nor because of the strength of the body, but because of the movement of the mind. From the heart to the object, if one desires to kill, one can kill.

It is evident that martial arts are not merely about physical strength, but also about cultivating the mind. The mind is the master of the body. Sincerity of intention leads to upright energy, and firmness of will leads to concentrated power. This cultivation of "sincerity of intention and uprightness of mind" is more fundamental than swordsmanship. I have learned a great deal.

I am going to Luling in Jiangxi Province. If you have time, you may send me a letter here.

The signature was indeed Wang Shouren.

It's really him!

Despite having made some preparations in advance, Shen An was still overwhelmed with emotion.

Regarding Yangming's opening statement that his method of investigating external things to exhaust the principles of Heaven was a wrong path, Shen An simply smiled.

It's not that he doesn't care about the principles of things; otherwise, he wouldn't have been sitting there examining bamboo when he was young. It's just that he was constrained by the times and habitually tried to seize the right to interpret the classics according to Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism.

But the next sentence immediately stunned Shen An.

"The mind is the master of the body..." Shen An pondered this sentence repeatedly, feeling a sudden clarity before his eyes and a premonition in his heart:

The second level of the "Lapis Lazuli Body Sun King Mantra" may only lack some time and effort.

Just as Shen An was still reeling from the shock, Feng Changrong's voice rang out from outside the courtyard: "Senior brother, the people have been brought."

Shen An took a deep breath, carefully folded the letter, put it in his pocket, and regained his composure.

Afterwards, he led Feng Changrong and the few solemn-looking outer disciples of Songshan into the study, and dismissed the others.

The door closed, and Shen An's gaze swept over everyone before he cut to the chase: "Were you all previously assigned by a senior named Ma Bao to monitor Liu Zhengfeng's residence?"

The leader immediately clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Yes. Senior Ma possesses Uncle Lu's token, and we are acting under orders."

"Very good." Shen An nodded and continued, "Before he called you over, did he say that he had already discovered something amiss at the Liu residence?"

"Yes. Senior Ma said he discovered that Liu Zhengfeng was colluding with a mysterious man in black, but he couldn't confirm the man's identity and needed our assistance to set up a trap."

"As expected." Shen An nodded, pretending it was his guess. "Then, during the sword-testing tournament, did he initially keep a close eye on Liu Zhengfeng, but after Tian Boguang left, did he immediately abandon Liu Zhengfeng and turn to chase after Tian Boguang?"

"Yes!" the disciple recalled, answering with certainty, "Senior Ma's expression changed drastically at the time. He told us to continue keeping an eye on Liu Zhengfeng and then chased after him."

Upon hearing this, Shen An slammed his hand on the table, his face displaying a complex expression that combined "sudden realization" with "heartache."

"That explains it!" he said sorrowfully. "So that's it! Ma Bao must have suspected that the person secretly associating with Liu Zhengfeng was none other than the notorious womanizer Tian Boguang! That's why he immediately gave chase after Tian Boguang after he appeared, hoping to capture him!"

He paused, his voice filled with regret: "What a pity... what a pity my lightness skill is too poor. By the time I caught up, it was already too late... Ma Bao had already been killed by Tian Boguang!"

"Bang!" Another heavy hammer blow startled everyone.

"No wonder! No wonder!" Shen An pounded the table, seemingly furious at his own incompetence. "No wonder I had already severely injured Tian Boguang and was about to kill him on the spot, but Liu Zhengfeng suddenly intervened. It seemed like he was helping, but in reality, every move he made was full of flaws, allowing Tian Boguang to escape! It turns out they had been in cahoots all along, and Liu Zhengfeng was trying to save him!"

Inside the study, several outer disciples were stunned by what they heard, and then they were all filled with righteous indignation, their eyes turning red.

"So that's how it is! Liu Zhengfeng, that hypocrite!"

"Poor Senior Ma, he died a tragic death at the hands of that lecherous scoundrel Tian Boguang!"

Seeing that he had successfully guided everyone, Shen An said no more.

He quickly spread out paper and pen and wrote down his hastily fabricated "truth"—that he had severely injured Tian Boguang, but Liu Zhengfeng intervened and allowed him to escape; that Ma Bao suspected that Tian Boguang was the one who had secretly met with Liu Zhengfeng; and that he chased after him but was killed in the process.

After writing it, he sealed the envelope with sealing wax and handed it to one of his disciples.

"You must set off immediately and personally deliver this letter to Uncle-Master Lu Bai, explaining to him everything that happened in Hengyang in detail! There must be no errors!"

"Yes!" The disciple took the letter, clasped his hands in a deep fist salute, and turned to leave in a long stride.

As the crowd dispersed, Shen An slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

It is far better to associate with lecherous thieves than with demonic cult members.

It's better to be infamous than to have a happy family reunion.

Moreover, this "collusion" was a complete fabrication from beginning to end.

Without any real evidence, no matter how domineering a sect may be, it is impossible for them to ruthlessly kill their own brother sects based solely on empty words.

Liu Zhengfeng does not deny his friendship with Qu Yang; they are indeed close friends, and Liu Zhengfeng is unwilling to deny their deep connection.

As for Tian Boguang...

Even if the entire Liu family were wiped out, Liu Zhengfeng would still not admit to having any connection with him.

However, that's not the key point. Even if Liu Zhengfeng were truly pure and flawless, his master would still take action against him.

His master never cared whether Liu Zhengfeng had associated with the Demonic Sect, but rather about Hengshan.

In the original storyline, his master used Liu Qu's friendship to launch an attack, which can be said to have taken the matter to the extreme.

Firstly, it is to uphold the will to oppose the demonic cult, which is also the legal basis for the existence of the Five Mountains Alliance.

Secondly, by exposing such a huge scandal to the Hengshan Sect, their strength and reputation would be weakened.

Thirdly, by using the banner of opposing the Demonic Sect, the Five Mountains Alliance Leader established a precedent for interfering in the internal affairs of various sects, thus providing an opportunity to intervene in the later disputes over the sword qi of Mount Hua and the new and old leaders of Mount Tai.

Fourthly, to test the reactions of various factions in the martial arts world, and at the same time to establish authority.

This domineering approach, while having significant side effects, is acceptable to one's master as long as their own strength is enough to crush everything. All criticism and backlash are merely the clamor of the incompetent.

The subsequent loss of control was also due to the sudden emergence of the Evil-Repelling Sword Technique and the Nine Swords of Dugu, which no one expected.

Wait, did nobody really expect this?

Will Shaolin Temple really just sit idly by and watch the neighboring Songshan Sect grow stronger and eventually threaten its own position without doing anything?

Since he had already guessed that the last time the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual stirred up bloodshed in the martial arts world was due to a grand scheme orchestrated by the Shaolin Temple—a single move, "driving a tiger to devour a wolf," successfully leading the Five Mountains Sword Sects and the Sun Moon Cult into a decades-long bloody conflict—then this time…

Shen An shook his head, his thoughts becoming somewhat chaotic again.

No, that reasoning is too far-fetched. How could someone lay a trap a hundred years in advance?

In another hundred years or so, the Ming Dynasty will be on the verge of collapse.

With his thoughts in a tangled mess, Shen An decided to stop thinking about it.

He only knew that if his master continued to follow that domineering path of self-importance, the final outcome would definitely not be good.

If we want Mount Song to rise to prominence, or even to unite the Five Sacred Mountains, we need to adopt a more moderate approach.

Now that Liu Zhengfeng has decided to retire from the criminal life, he must come up with a better plan that can convince his master before that.