The Smiling, Proud Wanderer: Yue Buqun of Mount Hua

A clang of weapons rang out, followed by the sound of a woman crying in front of them. Her voice was filled with despair and sorrow as she struggled desperately but could not break free.

This is……

Yue Buqun urged his horse forward. Hearing the commotion ahead, he became anxious and lashed his whip several times on the horse's rump, causing the blue-maned horse to neigh and paw the ground as it sped forward.

Soon they rushed into the woods, turned a corner, and suddenly a clearing appeared before them, where a group of Japanese ronin with shaved heads, dressed in samurai clothes and carrying samurai swords were resting around a campfire.

Several people sat on the ground, leaning back with their left arms draped over stools, drinking and eating roasted meat from gourds in their right hands. Two of them, drunk, danced the Awa dance, drawing cheers from the crowd.

But many more, already full and satisfied, were grabbing village women they'd found from who-knows-where and pinning them to the ground, writhing them. Several naked corpses lay motionless nearby, blood pooling on the ground; clearly, they had angered their attackers during resistance and been hacked to death.

Cheers and laughter filled the air, brimming with triumph and excitement, like a grand banquet, accompanied by continuous music.

But this was built on the foundation of a devastated mountain village, the suffering of its people, and the loss of countless families.

Yue Buqun stared blankly at the scene, his hand gripping the reins tightening unconsciously, snapping the sturdy reins in two. He knew that Japanese pirates were rampant during the Ming Dynasty, causing great suffering to the people, but he never expected to encounter them at this time. His eyes involuntarily turned bloodshot, and a murderous aura arose spontaneously.

"Where did this bastard come from, daring to meddle in other people's business?" someone asked, his eyes glazed over with drunkenness.

This man, dressed in a blue robe and gently waving a folding fan, was likely a guide for the Japanese pirates. It was because of their guidance that this group dared to venture deep into the interior.

Yue Buqun had no interest in speaking. He stepped into the stirrups, leaped into the air, and charged towards the group with a swift swing of his longsword. With a single strike, several men fell to the ground. The other warriors were stunned, never expecting that after venturing hundreds of miles into the interior without a single casualty, they would be killed.

He immediately stood up, drew his sword, roared, and charged forward, the blade flashing coldly, intending to kill the intruder.

Yue Buqun brandished his longsword and charged through the crowd. Once he was out of the crowd, he casually flicked the blood off his Gentleman's Sword, then sheathed it and looked at the pitiful village women.

As for the samurai, they were all as if they had been struck by acupuncture points, and after a long while they crashed to the ground, bleeding profusely, and none of them survived.

He opened his mouth as if to comfort them, asking if they were alright, but he couldn't bring himself to say it.

They're already in such a miserable state, what can you say? You can only stand there helplessly, and the worst part is that you don't understand Cantonese. They say that different people speak different languages ​​every ten miles, and different customs every hundred miles. Listening to their cries, you can only hear their sorrow and grief, but you don't know how to comfort them.

Pointing to the first scholar, he said, "Soothe them and let them come with me. I will find someone to take care of them."

The scholar was dumbfounded. "I am a traitor! I used to follow the warrior and did quite well, burning, killing, and looting. My family built three large brick houses and owned hundreds of acres of paddy fields. We were living a wealthy life."

In the blink of an eye, they were all killed, leaving him alone, and he almost wet his pants.

He quickly nodded in agreement and ran to comfort them. Even though they resented and tore at him, wishing they could kill him, the scholar dared not resist, since he was a member of the warrior group. He hurriedly ran away to a distance from the group and scolded them.

After a busy half-day, he finally had the women come over to kneel and express their gratitude.

Yue Buqun waved his hand to indicate that it was nothing, and then prepared to leave with them to find someone to settle them in. He had come from afar and did not know anyone, so he could only find someone else.

But they saw the women reluctant to leave, weeping as they gathered up their belongings. This group had robbed several villages, a dozen horses, and several carts, all piled high with looted supplies.

Yue Buqun smiled and didn't say much. He knew they were reluctant to part with these supplies. To him, it was only a few hundred taels of silver. It would be inconvenient to take it back. If needed, he could easily find a mountain stronghold to perform a chivalrous act and earn several thousand or even tens of thousands of taels.

But for them, it was a fortune they could never acquire in a lifetime, so how could they give it up?

Yue Buqun watched in silence. He knew they must be filled with unimaginable sorrow after suffering such a calamity. He didn't say much until they loaded the goods onto the cart, and then he led them away.

With a horse-drawn carriage, the journey was quite fast, and they arrived in Fuzhou in just one day.

As Yue Buqun pulled on the reins and sat on his blue-maned horse, looking at the towering city of Fuzhou, he thought to himself, "Does a place like Fuzhou really need to build a ten-meter-high city wall?"

Fuzhou, located in Fujian, is a well-known strategic location that is not contested by military strategists. However, places like Xiangyang are highly contested by military strategists, with both sides deploying heavy troops to fight for them repeatedly.

Just as Guo Jing defended Xiangyang for decades, with the Mongol army repeatedly gathering to attack until it was finally breached, Fuzhou was pacified with a simple proclamation; all that was needed was to conquer the surrounding areas, and they would naturally submit.

Seeing groups of people lining up to enter at the city gate, he spurred his horse forward.

A soldier at the city gate came over and scolded, "Where did this convoy come from? Come over and pay your taxes."

The scholar, bowing low, carefully ran over to pay the taxes and arrange things. As a convict awaiting punishment, he could only hope to survive by working tirelessly to let Master Yue know his abilities. For his own sake, he had no choice but to do so.

Yue Buqun urged his horse forward, leading the caravan into Fuzhou, and soon arrived at the Fuwei Escort Agency.

A straight bluestone path stretched out, leading directly to the west gate. Before a magnificent residence, two stone altars flanked each, each topped with a blue flagpole about two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters) high. The right flag bore a fierce, menacing lion embroidered in yellow silk thread; the flag fluttered in the wind, making the lion appear even more lifelike. Above the lion's head were a pair of bats embroidered in black silk thread, their wings outstretched in flight. The left flag bore the four black characters "Fuwei Escort Agency," their strokes bold and powerful.

The mansion's vermilion gate was adorned with gleaming copper studs the size of teacups. Above the gate, a plaque bore the four large gilded characters "Fuwei Escort Agency," with the two smaller characters "Head Office" written below. Inside, two rows of long benches were occupied by eight men in sturdy attire, each standing ramrod straight, exuding an air of heroic strength.

One glance is enough to tell how prosperous this escort agency was. Unfortunately, the fortune of Fuwei Escort Agency was short-lived. After Lin Yuantu's death, its strength greatly declined, and it was eventually killed by Yu Canghai.

Upon seeing a convoy arriving, a man in tight-fitting clothes stood up, approached, clasped his hands in a respectful greeting, and asked, "Sir, may I ask what brings you to my Fuwei Escort Agency? Are you here to transport goods or to entrust someone to us?"

Yue Buqun glanced down at him: "Next, Yue Buqun."

"I've heard so much about you." The man said it with an air of long-standing admiration, but his eyes were blank.

Yue Buqun knew that the man was unaware of his identity. Everyone in the martial arts world knew Yue Buqun of Mount Hua, but a mere porter at the Fuwei Escort Agency in Fuzhou had no need to know or memorize his name.

Yue Buqun was like a legend at the bottom of the martial arts world. He would never come to Fuzhou in his life, let alone have any connection with the Fuwei Escort Agency. What use would it be for him to memorize the name?