Chef God of the Wuxia and Fantasy World

"Nothing can be hidden from Sister Hong." Now that there were no Huashan disciples around, Ling Chi could finally relax: "Chunxiang, pour tea for Sister Hong."

"Yes." Chunxiang immediately served the freshly brewed tea. "Please enjoy the tea, esteemed guest." She then stood aside with Xiaxiang.

"Sister Hong must be thirsty! Quickly drink some hot tea to soothe your throat," Ling Chi advised.

Zhu Fei smiled and nodded, picked up the teacup, smelled the aroma of the tea, took a sip, and nodded, saying, "Thank you for your thoughtfulness."

Ling Chi laughed and said, "Knowing that you only drink tribute tea, Sister Hong, how could I dare to fool you with other teas?"

Zhu Fei smiled slightly and said, "I really didn't expect that Mount Hua would undergo such a change."

“Life is unpredictable.” Ling Chi’s smile faded, and his voice was low. “I never dreamed that the Huashan Sect would turn out like this.”

Zhu Fei put down her teacup and said calmly, "The Demonic Sect did not attack the Huashan Sect."

"..."

Ling Chi said helplessly, "Sister Hong, it's good to be a little confused in life. Some things are better left unsaid, just keep them to yourself."

Zhu Fei shook her head: "My sister is the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. There are some things that must be investigated thoroughly."

Ling Chi remained silent for a moment, then stood up and said, "Sister, come with me."

He turned to Chunxiang and Xiaxiang and said, "If any guests come, just say I'm not here."

"Yes, young master."

……

The secret chamber of the Huashan Sect.

Lingchi lit torches for illumination.

A small table was placed in the middle of the wooden bed. Ling Chi put the tea and snacks she had brought in on the table, took off her shoes and sat on the couch: "Sister Hong, please sit down!"

"..."

Zhu Fei took off her boots, revealing white socks, and sat cross-legged on the couch: "Can I speak now?"

“I have already issued a gag order, and this secret will not be revealed to anyone.” Ling Chi looked at Zhu Fei across from her, her gentleness diminished, replaced by a more spirited air: “But if Sister Hong wants to know, I will tell her.”

Zhu Fei smiled and said, "I'm all ears."

Thinking of the three division commanders who had just passed away, Ling Chi sighed: "This whole affair was a tragedy from beginning to end."

Next, Ling Chi recounted the secrets between Feng Qingyang, Ning Zhongze, Yue Buqun, and Linghu Chong from back then.

It all started more than twenty years ago at the Jade Maiden Peak of Mount Hua, where a battle of sword energy took place.

Chapter Fifty: The Secrets of That Year

Throughout the entire novel *The Smiling, Proud Wanderer*, there are just too many mysteries surrounding Feng Qingyang, Ning Zhongze, and Linghu Chong. When Ling Chi herself read the book back then, she found many parts incomprehensible. The hidden secrets within are just like those in a detective novel—there are simply too many.

It wasn't until recently, when Yue Buqun berated Feng Qingyang and Ning Zhongze for adultery and the three of them committed suicide one after another, that Ling Chi deduced the general secret from the clues.

In the original work, when Linghu Chong and Ren Woxing first met at Plum Manor in West Lake, Ren Woxing looked down on Yue Buqun, but had a good impression of Ning Zhongze and said something.

"Among the Huashan Sect, there are certainly people I respect. Elder Feng is one, and you, young friend, are another. There is also your senior, named something like 'Huashan Jade Maiden' Ning... Ning something. Ah, that's right, her name is Ning Zhongze. This young lady is quite generous and bold, a remarkable person, it's just a pity that she married Yue Buqun, a beautiful flower stuck in cow dung."

Later, during the three battles at Shaolin Temple, Ren Woxing made a similar statement: "I know about Lady Ning of the Huashan Sect, but I've never heard of Mr. Yue."

It can be said that Ren Woxing only had three people he liked in the Huashan Sect: Feng Qingyang, Linghu Chong, and Ning Zhongze.

It's easy to understand why Linghu Chong formed a special bond with Feng Qingyang, given his exceptional martial arts skills. However, why did Ning Zhongze leave such a deep impression on him? This remains a mystery.

Although Ning Zhongze is described as "generous and magnanimous," there are countless such figures in the martial arts world, if not tens of thousands, so it's hardly a good reason to be impressed. Therefore, Ren Woxing's special impression of Ning Zhongze must have other reasons as well.

In terms of martial arts, Ren Woxing looked down on Ning Zhongze's skills; in terms of knowledge, Ning Zhongze was also mediocre; in terms of achievements, Ning Zhongze became famous relatively late, and most of her fame was due to Yue Buqun's name; in terms of appearance, although Ning Zhongze was good-looking, Ren Woxing was a man of great stature who had seen countless beauties, so he wouldn't elevate her status because of that.

So, does Ning Zhongze have a special relationship with him?

But at first, Ren Woxing couldn't even remember her name, so the possibility was almost zero.

Then there's only one possibility left: Ning Zhongze is related to Feng Qingyang! It was through Feng Qingyang that Ren Woxing gained some understanding of Ning Zhongze.

This may sound unbelievable, but upon closer examination, it makes perfect sense.

Going back more than twenty years, during the grand sword competition at Jade Maiden Peak of the Huashan Sect, the Sword Sect and the Qi Sect fought amongst themselves. In the end, Yue Buqun's master, with his exceptional martial arts skills, defeated more than a dozen masters from the Sword Sect, securing the final victory. However, another important reason was that Feng Qingyang, the top master of the Sword Sect at the time, was lured away from the mountain under the pretense of a marriage proposal and did not participate in the final battle; otherwise, the outcome would have been reversed long ago.

According to Chongxu, "When the two sects of Mount Hua were fighting, Senior Feng happened to be getting married in Jiangnan. Upon receiving the news, he rushed back to Mount Hua, only to find that the Sword Sect's experts had been almost entirely wiped out and utterly defeated. Otherwise, with his exquisite swordsmanship, if he had participated in the sword fight, the Qi Sect would never have been able to gain the upper hand. Senior Feng then discovered that the marriage in Jiangnan was actually a big deception. His father-in-law had secretly been commissioned by the Qi Sect of Mount Hua to buy a prostitute to impersonate a lady, thus keeping him tied down in Jiangnan. When Senior Feng returned to his in-laws' home in Jiangnan, his fake father-in-law's entire family had already fled and disappeared. It is said in the martial arts world that Senior Feng, enraged and ashamed, committed suicide."

In fact, Feng Qingyang was not dead, but it would be against human nature for him to live in seclusion from then on.

It's important to know that many of his fellow disciples died at the hands of the Qi Sect, and that the Qi Sect members even used despicable means to trick him away, making it an unfair competition. How could he not seek revenge? Moreover, Feng Qingyang "rushed back to Mount Hua after receiving the news," indicating that he wasn't entirely unwilling to participate in the duel.

From the perspective of the martial arts world at that time, the most reasonable course of action would have been to launch a bloody revenge against the Qi Sect, at least to kill its ringleaders, such as Yue Buqun's master, and at the same time to contact Cheng Buyou, Feng Ping and other remnants of the Sword Sect to reclaim the orthodoxy of Mount Hua.

The Qi Sect should have been prepared for a fight; it was a fight to the death. But in the end, the Qi Sect emerged unscathed, and Feng Qingyang was also unharmed, yet he swore he would never fight again. This seems suspicious no matter how you look at it.

On the flying bridge of Hengshan that day, when Chongxu was recounting the past, Fangzheng repeatedly winked at him, telling him to stop. Why was that? You see, he was only talking about how Feng Qingyang was deceived, not some immoral or shameful act. Moreover, it was a "legend in the martial arts world," which many people obviously knew. Why couldn't it be said?

The only explanation is that if we continue, we might touch upon a great secret that cannot be spoken of! This secret is unknown to most people, and Fang Zheng Chongxu, as the highest leader of the martial arts world, naturally possesses many secrets, but it is hard to say to what extent he knows them.

Therefore, one possibility is already emerging.

When Feng Qingyang returned to Mount Hua to exact his revenge, he suddenly encountered Ning Zhongze, a young and inexperienced swordswoman and successor of the Qi Sect. He kidnapped her for his own revenge, and in the process, a tragic fate was forged between them.

One was a beautiful young girl of sixteen or seventeen, just beginning to experience love; the other was a man in his fifties, whose martial arts skills were superb and no less than those of a man in his prime.

A single encounter, like a gentle breeze and jade dew, surpasses countless meetings in the mortal world. For about a year, the two were deeply in love, their chivalrous deeds taking them across the martial world, and they also had secret dealings with figures like Ren Woxing. A year later, the heroine Ning gave birth to a son, who was none other than Linghu Chong.

This solves a series of problems, the first being Linghu Chong's age.

When Yue Buqun told Linghu Chong about the battle between the two sects on the Cliff of Contemplation at Mount Hua, he said it was "twenty-five years ago," which would have been at the end of the year. A few months later, at Five Tyrants Ridge, Linghu Chong told Huang Boliu that he was twenty-six years old that year, which would have been early spring of the following year. Therefore, Linghu Chong would have been twenty-five years old before the new year, and because it's a traditional Chinese age reckoning (using the lunar calendar), he would have been one or two years younger than his actual age. Based on this calculation, Linghu Chong was born about a year after the sword fight at Jade Maiden Peak. This perfectly matches the timeline of Ning Zhongze and Feng Qingyang's romance!

Secondly, why did Ning Zhongze strongly oppose Linghu Chong and Yue Lingshan's marriage?

The stated reason was that Linghu Chong was "reckless, willful, frivolous, and fond of drinking. If Shan'er were to marry him, she would surely ruin her life." Even Linghu Chong himself disagreed with this. The real reason was that the two were half-siblings, so of course they could not be together.

Thirdly, why did Feng Qingyang pass on the Dugu Nine Swords to Linghu Chong?

In reality, Tian Boguang only wanted Linghu Chong to go down the mountain to see Yilin. It wouldn't harm Linghu Chong himself, and there was no need for him to pass on his sword skills. Moreover, because of Yue Buqun, Linghu Chong also acted very arrogantly, as if he didn't care whether he was taught or not. Even Feng Qingyang joked, "It's me who's here to beg you to teach me."

Even so, he still passed on the entire Dugu Nine Swords to Linghu Chong. It seems that Feng Qingyang was condescending, but if we consider that the two were father and son, it is easy to understand.

Therefore, Linghu Chong not only admired and respected Feng Qingyang, but also felt extremely close to him and found them to be very compatible. He felt that Feng Qingyang was much closer to him than his mentor Yue Buqun.

On the surface, it's just because of similar personalities, but in reality, the similarity in personalities stems from the deep bond of blood ties between family members.

Fourthly, why did Ning Zhongze never doubt Linghu Chong's swordsmanship?

At the time, everyone in the Huashan Sect believed that Linghu Chong had stolen the Lin family's Evil-Repelling Sword Manual, but Ning Zhongze spoke up for him at every turn. This was naturally because she already knew the truth. However, even though she knew, she couldn't reveal it.

Fifth, Ning Zhongze's martial arts skills were mediocre and his aptitude was average. How could he have invented such a brilliant sword technique as "Ning Family Sword"?

He clearly learned some basic sword techniques from Feng Qingyang, such as the lost sword techniques of the Five Mountains Sect, and then combined them with his own martial arts to form the so-called "Ning Family Sword".

Sixth, why did Feng Qingyang choose to live in seclusion on the back mountain of Mount Hua instead of with his disciples from the Sword Sect?

That was, of course, so that he could see his little lover, Ning Zhongze, who had already married someone else, whenever he wanted.

There is much other evidence, such as Feng Qingyang's hatred for Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze's maternal love for Linghu Chong.

As for why Feng Qingyang couldn't stay with Ning Zhongze in the end, and why Linghu Chong became Yue Buqun's disciple, that's something that happened later.

Not long after Ning Zhongze gave birth to her son, her master came to settle scores. Feng Qingyang was originally a skilled martial artist, but he was no match for her because he had to take care of his wife and son. Although it would not be difficult for him to escape, his wife would definitely be captured and his son would be killed by his enraged master, Yue Buqun. Both of them had their concerns and finally reached a compromise.

Feng Qingyang promised to live in seclusion and never fight again. Ning Zhongze promised to marry Yue Buqun, the top disciple of Huashan Sect. Yue Buqun's master promised that, on the condition of preserving the reputation of Huashan Sect, their son would be adopted as an orphan, and Ning Zhongze could still care for him and train him to become the next generation leader of Huashan Sect. Feng Qingyang would also teach him martial arts when the time was right.

The life journey of the great hero Linghu Chong begins here!

As for what role Yue Buqun played in it?

According to Yue Buqun himself, he was stabbed in the chest and his life was in danger during the sword fight.

Such a severe injury would require at least six months to heal, and his martial arts skills would inevitably be greatly diminished. Regaining his strength would also require a long period of arduous training. Therefore, Yue Buqun was likely recuperating and practicing on Mount Hua, completely unaware of everything happening outside. That's why he happily married Ning Zhongze several years later, not knowing that Ning Zhongze's son was already several years old.

Later, Linghu Chong became a disciple of Yue Buqun, which must have been arranged by his grandmaster, who had passed away when Linghu Chong was still a child. Yue Buqun was certainly unaware of Linghu Chong's origins, as Linghu Chong never inquired about or searched for his family, assuming that the child was brought by his grandmaster, a fact that Yue Buqun himself was also unaware of.

Linghu Chong is certainly not his real name. "Linghu Chong" sounds like a homophone of "Ning Hefeng". The character "Chong" is composed of the three-dot water radical from "Qing" in Feng Qingyang and the "Zhong" radical from Ning Zhongze. The ancient character "Chong" also had the three-dot water radical.

Yue Lingshan was about eight or nine years younger than Linghu Chong, which shows that the couple's married life was not smooth at the beginning.

Ancient people did not understand the ovulation principle of sexual intercourse, so it was difficult to conceive if the frequency of intercourse was low. It is evident that Ning Zhongze was initially unwilling to have marital relations with Yue Buqun, but Yue Buqun treated her well until Yue Lingshan was born and they had a daughter together, after which they gradually became affectionate.

This solves the last big mystery—why did Yue Buqun's personality change so drastically later?

While his ambition certainly played a part, it was mostly driven by the insane hatred he felt after discovering the truth.

Linghu Chong was expelled from the Huashan Sect by Yue Buqun at Wubagang. Feng Qingyang was living in seclusion on Huashan and was completely unaware of this. When he later discovered it, he naturally believed that his agreement with Linghu Chong's grandmaster had been broken. Therefore, he arranged to meet Ning Zhongze and wanted to take her away. Ning Zhongze, of course, could not bear to leave her husband and daughter and refused.

As a result, Yue Buqun discovered this process. Yue Buqun was extremely angry, but fearing Feng Qingyang's martial arts skills, he dared not make a fuss. In a fit of rage, he began to cultivate the Evil-Slaying Sword Manual, intending to become the number one martial artist in the world before taking revenge. In the end, he transformed from a moral gentleman into a psychopathic murderous maniac.

In the original work, Feng Qingyang once said: "The most powerful moves in the world are not in martial arts, but in conspiracies, tricks, and traps. If you fall into someone else's cleverly arranged trap, no matter how skillful your martial arts moves are, they are completely useless. If someone controls your family, no matter how high your martial arts are, you will still be at their mercy."

It is evident that when Ning Zhongze was weak after giving birth at the summit of Mount Hua, the Qi Sect leader and others came to launch a surprise attack. Their purpose was not simply to rescue Ning Zhongze, but to use her and the young Linghu Chong as hostages to force Feng Qingyang into seclusion. They promised that Ning Zhongze would marry someone else and raise Linghu Chong to become the next sect leader.

As for Ning Zhongze, she didn't object to Linghu Chong and Yue Lingshan at first because she thought they were just like brother and sister. When she realized that things weren't going well, she immediately arranged for Lingshan to marry Xiaolinzi.

Yue Buqun's final madness and Ning Zhongze's final suicide were both due to the leak of this secret.

These are all of Ling Chi's guesses and inferences.

Although his arrival in this world changed some details, the overall changes were not significant.

For example, when the Huashan Sect was thriving and the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual was not very important, why did Yue Buqun still insist on castrating himself to practice the sword?

Nine times out of ten, it's because, just like in the original work, he discovered Ning Zhongze and Feng Qingyang's affair due to some opportunity.

Recalling that time on the mountain road, Ling Chi asked Yue Buqun, "Was it worth it?"

Yue Buqun's reply was: "You wouldn't understand."

At that time, he certainly wouldn't have understood.

By the time he understood, it was too late.

As for why Feng Qingyang chose to retire in the capital after receiving the message by carrier pigeon?

He must have been hesitant at first, so he made himself a choice.

First choice: Meet Ningzhong and take her with you.

But it was clear that Ning Zhongze rejected him.

With his woman already someone else's wife and mother, and with Linghu Chong doing well at the Huashan Sect, Feng Qingyang put his mind at ease and made his second choice—to retire in the capital.