The Demon King, reborn in Japan as a monk

Soon, Zhang Cuishan made up his mind.

After all, ordinary people know the saying "in times of emergency, one should act expediently," let alone a young swordsman like him who has some education.

Furthermore, taking hostages doesn't necessarily mean harm, and he could release them after his master and fellow disciples are safe. If the girl in front of him is indeed an important relative of the Prince of Ruyang, she certainly won't be in danger.

So the next moment, Zhang Cuishan took a step and walked quickly towards Zhao Min.

"What are you going to do!?" Zhao Min put on a tense expression at the right moment, twisted her body, and produced a small dagger that looked like it was for a girl to use for self-defense from who-knows-where. She held the scabbard in one hand and the handle in the other, and looked at Zhang Cuishan who was about to walk in front of her with a wary expression.

"If you come any closer, I'll... I'll..." As she spoke, Zhao Min drew the dagger from her hand, assuming a stance to retaliate.

Seeing this, Zhang Cuishan swiftly stepped in front of Zhao Min, reached out, and snatched the dagger from her hand, disarming her. Unexpectedly, Zhao Min was even faster; she flicked her arm, scattering a handful of powdery substance, and then, like a gust of wind, darted past Zhang Cuishan and disappeared into a corner of the room.

Zhang Cuishan frowned, turned around, and looked at Zhao Min—

"You are indeed no ordinary person. Tell me, who exactly are you!" Zhang Cuishan shouted.

"I am Zhao Min!" Zhao Min said proudly, raising her chin.

"Zhao Min?" Zhang Cuishan frowned.

He had assumed Zhao Min was the daughter of the Prince of Ruyang or something similar, but he never expected her to be a Han Chinese child. In that case, it was impossible for her to have any close relationship with the Prince of Ruyang.

At least he hadn't heard any rumors that the Prince of Ruyang had a fondness for young girls...

But upon looking around, Zhang Cuishan felt something was amiss. The furnishings in the room and the items on the bed beside him didn't seem like something an ordinary girl could enjoy; it was more like something a noblewoman from a wealthy family would have.

But Zhao Min is a Han Chinese...

No, Mongolians, or rather, the Prince of Ruyang himself, had a habit of giving themselves Han Chinese names. For example, the Prince of Ruyang's Han Chinese name was Lichahan. So it doesn't seem unbelievable that his daughters or relatives would follow his example and give themselves Han Chinese names.

He then used his lightness skill again and rushed towards Zhao Min.

Zhao Min unleashed her most mastered Wind God Power, as if enveloped by wind, and dodged once again with a speed even faster than Zhang Cuishan's lightness skill.

Then Zhang Cuishan, refusing to believe it, continued to pursue the matter.

Zhao Min continued running, aided by the power of the Wind God.

The chase was so intense that, if you didn't know who they were, you'd think they were just a young couple playing some kind of romantic game.

As he chased, Zhang Cuishan's speed gradually decreased, and then he suddenly stumbled and grabbed the table next to him for support.

"It finally worked." Zhao Min stopped walking when she saw this, and smiled at Zhang Cuishan, who was glaring at her but seemed to have no more strength left.

"What did you do?" Zhang Cuishan asked in a deep voice.

"Don't you think the fragrance in my room is too strong?" Zhao Min asked calmly.

"Fragrance? You poisoned me? Aren't you afraid of accidentally hurting yourself?" Zhang Cuishan asked in astonishment.

"Of course I took the antidote beforehand. Besides, what truly triggered the poison in your body wasn't the fragrance in the room, but the handful of incense ash I threw at you earlier. That was the real trigger." Zhao Min said confidently, "Yes, it was that handful of ash. Don't think that holding your breath could shield you from its effects. Although it didn't enter your body at that time, it still caused a change in the fragrance in the room. Combined with your subsequent actions, do you still think you were poisoned because you weren't careful enough?"

"With such meticulous thinking and methods, you are indeed no ordinary girl. Tell me, what is your true identity?" Zhang Cuishan asked Zhao Min with great admiration.

This little girl has grown up; she's definitely a woman whose intelligence and wit are no less than his Yin Susu's!

Most importantly, this little girl is Mongolian and a member of the Prince of Ruyang's household. If she were to be used against Han Chinese and martial arts practitioners, the martial arts world would be in serious turmoil...

Unfortunately, he no longer has the chance to win her over and nip the threat in the bud.

“I am the daughter of the Prince of Ruyang, Minmin Temur. Zhao Min is a Han Chinese name I gave myself,” Zhao Min said proudly.

"So the legendary, almost demonically intelligent princess is you? Looks like my downfall wasn't entirely unjust," Zhang Cuishan said resignedly.

"You're telling me all this to buy time, trying to force the poison out of your body with your internal energy, right? I advise you to give up on that idea. The poison you've been given is called Ten Fragrant Tendon-Softening Powder. Although it won't completely destroy your internal energy, it will suppress your internal energy reaction to the greatest extent, making you weak and powerless. In fact, the more you circulate your internal energy, the deeper the drug penetrates your muscles, making it difficult to remove. So, unless you can get the antidote, you won't be able to recover your strength or resist me within twelve hours," Zhao Min said calmly, as if she had Zhang Cuishan completely under her control.

"What do you want to do?" Zhang Cuishan asked in a deep voice.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that? Instead of staying on Wudang Mountain to cultivate your Tao, what are you doing sneaking into the Ruyang Prince's mansion in Dadu?" Zhao Min's expression changed, her cute little face now filled with sternness as she questioned, "Oh, and you, Zhang Cuishan, didn't you commit suicide at your master's 100th birthday celebration? Why are you still alive?"

"Could it be that your suicide attempt was a ruse, a way to escape and shift the conflict to Shaolin, which was Wudang's true objective?"

"No comment," Zhang Cuishan scoffed.

"It doesn't matter. You're in my hands now. I'll have plenty of time to interrogate you and find out your secrets, as well as the secrets of your Wudang sect." After saying that, Zhao Min really ignored Zhang Cuishan and turned back to the bedside, sat down, and waited patiently for the results outside.

Since Zhang Cuishan had already been poisoned by the Ten Fragrant Softening Powder, his current condition was similar to that of an ordinary person. Therefore, even though she was a minor girl and her physical strength was naturally inferior to that of an adult man, with the support of the Wind God Power of the Eternal Heaven Divine Art, she was able to suppress Zhang Cuishan who wanted to make a move. Naturally, she remained calm and composed without any panic.

On the contrary, the sounds of fierce fighting outside made Zhao Min frown.

"How many people did you bring this time?" Zhao Min questioned Zhang Cuishan.

Zhang Cuishan remained with his eyes closed, adjusting his breathing, and did not give any reply.

"Besides you, who else is moving around in my house?" Zhao Min continued to press.

Zhang Cuishan's continued behavior only fueled Zhao Min's growing irritation.

Since even her side has Wudang disciples coming, it's hard to guarantee that her father, the Prince of Ruyang, or her aunt's room won't also be visited by Wudang disciples. At that time...

"No, Father's place is guarded, and there are even experts protecting him. Even if Wudang disciples go there, there shouldn't be any danger. It's the concubines' place that's the problem..."

After thinking about it, she realized that they were just a group of concubines anyway, so even if something really happened, she wouldn't feel anything. Therefore, she calmed down a bit and continued to sit there, waiting for the servants to report.

Chapter 355 Hostage Exchange

However, bad news soon reached Zhao Min, who was waiting for her servants to report.

"Princess, something terrible has happened! The Prince has been captured by thieves and is currently in a standoff with the servants of the manor. What do you think..." A servant came to Zhao Min's room and reported.

"What? Father has been captured? Where are the guards? What are they doing?" Zhao Min was shocked upon hearing this. She stood up and glared at the servant who came to report, demanding an answer repeatedly.

"This..." The servant's face turned pale, but he couldn't explain it.

"Take that guy over there and come out with me." Zhao Min snorted coldly and pointed at Zhang Cuishan, who was still sitting at the table, and ordered him.

"Yes." The servant felt as if he had been granted a pardon and quickly agreed. He ran to Zhang Cuishan's side and, without any hesitation, pulled the aching Zhang Cuishan up with a forceful tug. He then escorted him and Zhao Min out of the room and to the group of people who were currently facing off.

"Princess." Upon seeing Zhao Min, everyone felt as if they had regained their sense of security and relaxed, bowing and greeting her.

"Fifth Brother!" At the same time, the Wudang members who saw Zhang Cuishan being escorted over also changed their expressions slightly and exclaimed in a low voice.

Clearly, they never expected that their fifth brother would be captured by the people of the Prince of Ruyang's mansion.

"Zhao Min, daughter of the Prince of Ruyang, greets Master Zhang of Wudang." Zhao Min greeted Zhang Sanfeng with great courtesy.

"What a beautiful little girl." Zhang Sanfeng looked Zhao Min up and down and smiled gently.

"Thank you for your praise, Master Zhang. But I have a question. Why would someone as accomplished as Master Zhang, who lives a life of leisure on the mountain, suddenly come to Dadu and sneak into my Ruyang Prince's mansion to commit such a bandit act? Don't you think it's beneath your dignity?" Zhao Min replied with a smile, straightened up, and asked Zhang Sanfeng with no less imposing manner.

"How could I not want to stay on the mountain, cultivating my Dao and practicing my skills, ignoring the affairs of the martial world? But someone has come knocking on my door. I can't just remain indifferent after knowing where my beloved disciple's enemy is, can I? What's the point of cultivating my Dao and practicing my skills then? Wouldn't it be better to just find a place to bury myself?" Zhang Sanfeng replied with a chuckle.

"So, Master Zhang has come here to avenge his disciple?" Zhao Min suddenly realized.

"good."

"Could it be related to my father?" Zhao Min pressed.

“There is no direct relationship,” Zhang Sanfeng said, shaking his head.

"Why should Master Zhang make things difficult for my father? Why not just release him?" Zhao Min said, taking advantage of her young age.

"Then why don't you have all the soldiers around here withdraw?" Zhang Sanfeng retorted.

“Master Zhang, you have been the number one person in the world for decades. Without these soldiers, I, this princess, would not dare to stand here and speak to you like this,” Zhao Min shook her head and refused.

"Similarly, for the safety of my disciples, I had no choice but to shamelessly invite Prince Ruyang to stay with me for a while until we were all safe before letting him go back," Zhang Sanfeng said regretfully.

“Master Zhang, when you talk about your disciples, aren’t you worried about the safety of Zhang Wuxia who is by my side?” Zhao Min smiled as she pointed to Zhang Cuishan, who was being escorted by others.

"Master, don't worry about me." Zhang Cuishan replied before Zhang Sanfeng could speak.

Zhao Min didn't hold back and kicked Zhang Cuishan in the back of the knee, making him stagger. Then she turned around and slapped Zhang Cuishan across the face.

"Snapped!"

"Fifth Brother!" the Wudang group glared at him angrily.

"What if I wanted to exchange this resurrected Zhang Wuxia for my father?" Zhao Min asked, as if she had done something insignificant. She turned around and continued to look at Zhang Sanfeng and the others not far away.

“That’s possible, but the location cannot be within the Ruyang Prince’s residence,” Zhang Sanfeng said calmly, stroking his beard as he narrowed his eyes.

It's like not seeing how Zhao Min treats her apprentice.

“Okay, you can tell me the location,” Zhao Min readily agreed.

"Let's go about five miles west of Dadu City. I remember there's a small hill there. Let's exchange hostages there," Zhang Sanfeng said after a moment's thought.

"Okay," Zhao Min replied readily.

"Then this old Taoist will take the prince to wait there first." After saying this, Zhang Sanfeng gave a low shout to the disciple beside him, and then quickly left the palace with the Prince of Ruyang, whose acupoints had been sealed, heading towards the outskirts of the capital.

"Princess," the commander of the guards from the Prince of Ruyang's residence asked.

“Take him and the guards here with you, and come after them with me,” Zhao Min said.

"Yes."

The people from the Prince of Ruyang's mansion quickly sprang into action, prepared their horses, and raced after Zhang Sanfeng and the others in the direction they had gone.

"Where's Ah Da?" On the way, Zhao Min, who finally realized that someone was missing from her side, asked those around her.

“Ah Da is dead. Ah Er is seriously injured. Only Ah San’s injuries are relatively minor, so he came out with us,” the two elders of Xuanming replied.

"Do you know why Zhang Sanfeng infiltrated our Ruyang Prince's Mansion today?" Zhao Min frowned slightly and asked the question that had been bothering her.

"Judging from Zhang Sanfeng's words and his previous behavior, it seems that he came to avenge his disciple, just as he said," Lu Zhangke replied.

"Avenge my disciple... Ah Da... you mean Yu Daiyan's matter? How did he know?" Zhao Min's mind raced, piecing together the fragmented information, and she asked with increasing confusion.

"Then I have no idea," Lu Zhangke shook his head.

"Regardless of how he found out, the mere fact that he dared to lead Wudang disciples to cause trouble at my Ruyang Prince's Mansion means the Wudang Sect cannot be allowed to live." Zhao Min was silent for a moment, then spoke softly but resolutely.

“What does the princess mean…” Hebi Weng pressed.

“It’s about time we clean up the so-called Jianghu forces,” Zhao Min replied.

……

And so, amidst the casual conversation, the group left the capital city, which should have already closed its gates, and arrived at the small hill five miles west of the city, as Zhang Sanfeng had mentioned, where they met Zhang Sanfeng and his companions who were already waiting there.