Martial Arts Crossover: It All Started with Hijacking Li Canghai

Yuelai Inn.

The largest inn in the eastern part of the capital, with three floors.

The entire second floor was booked out today.

Yue Buqun wore the robe of the leader of the Five Mountains Alliance, with a purple-gold sword hanging at his waist, and walked with steady steps.

From a distance, he exudes the air of a grandmaster.

Upon closer inspection, something seemed amiss.

His beard, a mix of gray and white, was neatly trimmed.

There is a very thin layer of fish glue between the root and the skin.

fake.

Yue Buqun entered the room and closed the door.

He examined the fake beard in the bronze mirror, then looked at his own face.

Her eyebrows and eyes are still the same, but the lines are much softer, and the angles of her cheekbones are less pronounced.

A man in his forties, but the face reflected in the mirror looked like that of a thirty-two-year-old.

Anyone else would definitely be happy.

Yue Buqun punched the edge of the bronze mirror!

The first page of the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual contains eight characters: "To practice this skill, one must first castrate oneself!"

With the fall of the knife, his swordsmanship improved by leaps and bounds, but the price was also clearly visible.

Her voice became more delicate, her body hair receded, her skin became smoother, and even her temperament changed.

In the past, Yue Buqun could slam his fist on the table and curse when he was angry. Now, let alone cursing, if a single word doesn't suit his mood, he first feels a surge of grievance, followed by a strange sense of irritation.

Once, Ning Zhongze accidentally bumped into him, and he instinctively turned to the side to avoid it. The angle of the movement startled even himself.

"Senior brother?"

Ning Zhongze's voice came from outside the door.

Yue Buqun quickly composed himself, coughed, and lowered his voice by half a octave.

"What's wrong?"

Ning Zhongze pushed open the door and came in, carrying a bowl of ginseng tea.

"Senior brother, you've had a long journey. Have a bowl of ginseng tea to warm yourself up."

Yue Buqun took it and sipped it.

Ning Zhongze sat down opposite him and sized him up for a while.

"Senior brother, you seem to have lost a lot of weight recently."

It's not that I've lost weight, it's that my muscles are shrinking.

After practicing the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual, his masculine energy gradually faded, and his once firm shoulders and back became loose.

It wasn't too noticeable when the robe was on, but once the clothes were taken off, everything was exposed.

Therefore, Yue Buqun had not allowed Ning Zhongze to see his body for half a year.

"I'm a little tired from practicing too much."

Ning Zhongze's lips moved, as if she wanted to say something but then swallowed it back.

Just six months ago, my senior brother was the Huashan Sect Leader, a man with a strong voice and a confident stride.

Now she speaks softly, and even her laughter carries a hint of... allure.

She actually saw those two words on her senior brother.

"Senior brother, what exactly are you...?"

"Alright."

Yue Buqun put down his teacup, his tone somewhat impatient.

"The important matter is at hand; we'll talk about it later."

Ning Zhongze stopped speaking, got up and left.

……

As evening approached, the Quanzhen Sect members arrived.

Qiu Chuji, in his early fifties, led the way, carrying a long sword on his back. Behind him were Ma Yu, Wang Chuyi, Hao Datong, and Sun Bu'er.

Five of the Seven Masters of Quanzhen came; it was quite a grand affair.

Yue Buqun came out to greet them, bowing with his hands clasped.

"Brother Qiu! I've heard so much about you!"

Qiu Chuji sized up this Alliance Leader Yue several times. To be honest, Mount Hua was only a second-rate sect. After all, before Feng Qingyang was exposed, second-rate sects were already giving him a lot of face.

Now that the Five Mountains Sword Sects have merged, even though Mount Song has suffered a great loss of vitality, it is still powerful enough to become a formidable force.

Qiu Chuji returned the greeting with a cupped hand, saying, "Alliance Leader Yue, you are too kind. The Quanzhen Sect has come here for the same reason."

After the guests and hosts were seated, Qiu Chuji got straight to the point.

"What are your faction's rules regarding Ao Bai's birthday banquet?"

Yue Buqun straightened his clothes and adopted an upright and awe-inspiring posture.

"Brother Qiu, although our Five Mountains Sword Sect is a martial arts sect, overthrowing the Qing and restoring the Ming, and expelling the Tartars, is the great righteousness of all Han people. The old villain Ao Bai has gone too far. If we martial artists sit idly by and do nothing, how are we any different from walking corpses?"

Qiu Chuji listened without offering any comment.

If it weren't for Ao Bai sending out invitations, he wouldn't have gotten involved in this kind of thing to save face for the Quanzhen Sect.

Yue Buqun began to explain his plan in a clear and logical manner.

However, a middle-aged Taoist priest sitting behind Qiu Chuji had an indifferent expression on his face from beginning to end.

Zhao Zhijing.

He was in his forties, with a square face, a straight nose, and an upright appearance.

A prominent figure among the third-generation disciples of the Quanzhen School, and a capable assistant to Qiu Chuji.

During the discussions, Zhao Zhijing declared, "Assassinating Ao Bai is fine, but I will absolutely not associate with those Heaven and Earth Society people. Peddlers, laborers, and thugs—will they sit at the same table as my Quanzhen Sect?"

No one paid attention to these words at the time; it was just a matter of sectarianism.

Yue Buqun remembered this person.

In righteous sects, those who loudly proclaim their disdain for associating with others are often the ones who are closest to the opposing side.

Yue Buqun has been a hypocrite for so many years. His other skills are hard to say, but he can always spot a hypocrite.

……

into the night.

Most of the lanterns at Yuelai Inn were extinguished, leaving only a few swaying in the wind under the eaves.

Yue Buqun lay in bed, not asleep.

Ning Zhongze slept in the next room. Ever since he claimed to be "unwell," the two of them had been sleeping in separate rooms.

It was just past midnight.

A series of very light footsteps came from the end of the corridor.

Since mastering the seventh level of the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual, his senses have become several times sharper than before.

Their hearing, sense of smell, and sensitivity to changes in airflow are all far beyond those of ordinary people.

As for the cost of this keen insight, let's not dwell on it.

The footsteps were slow, deliberately avoiding the creaking wooden plank in the middle of the corridor.

The direction of Zhao Zhijing's room.

Yue Buqun did not get up immediately.

After the footsteps descended the stairs, and after a few more breaths, he threw on an outer robe, put on the covers, and climbed out the window.

His movements were incredibly fast; he landed on the roof of the inn without even knocking a single tile.

A figure in a gray robe was walking briskly away down the back alley.

Yue Buqun followed.

Zhao Zhijing turned into a dead end, where a small door was ajar, letting out a sliver of light.

Yue Buqun lay on the opposite rooftop, looking down.

The two men who came out to meet us had knives at their waists, and judging from their clothes, they were officials from the Qing Dynasty.

Zhao Zhijing looked around, slipped inside, and closed the door.

Humming voices could be heard coming from inside the room.

"...Master Zhao, the message from above is very clear. As long as the Quanzhen Sect doesn't cause trouble on the day of the birthday banquet, Lord Ao Bai will give them a great gift afterward. You will undoubtedly be the future leader of the Quanzhen Sect."

Zhao Zhijing remained silent for two breaths.

"My master and uncles won't agree to it."

"Your master and uncles don't need to know. When the crucial moment comes, you take a few junior brothers and retreat. Whoever rushes to the front will be unlucky. What does that have to do with Master Zhao?"

"How can that be! I know my master and the others too well; they will never retreat with us."

Zhao Zhijing's voice was filled with anger.

"Lord Ao's intention this time is to wipe out any sects or martial arts practitioners with anti-Qing intentions. Master Zhao is a smart man, and besides, does the Master really not want to take away those old fogies up there?"

There was a few moments of silence.

Zhao Zhijing suddenly lowered his voice even further, and Yue Buqun could barely hear him by pressing his ear to the roof tiles.

"My master and uncles are my dearest friends and family."

"So, the Taoist priest is withdrawing?"

The speaker's tone turned cold.

"no."

Zhao Zhijing paused.

"There aren't enough positions for the leader of the Quanzhen Sect, so you'll have to pay more!"

Yue Buqun's fingers, which were resting on the roof tiles, tightened slightly.

The Quanzhen Sect has produced a traitor, and not just any ordinary traitor.

His earlier pronouncements against cooperating with the Heaven and Earth Society weren't out of contempt; he was actually on the opposite side.

Moreover, Zhao Zhijing even sold his master and uncle, and even haggled over the price because he thought it was too low.

tough enough.

The lights inside were turned off, and Zhao Zhijing slipped out and quickly returned along the same route.

Yue Buqun did not alert the enemy and squatted on the roof ridge.

The moonlight cast a shadow on his profile.

He reached up and touched the fake beard on his chin, then suddenly smiled.

That smile.

If Ning Zhongze saw this, she probably wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.