I am Jinshan Youxia

“Why bother?” Zhang Chengyi replied casually. “We were just strangers who met by chance. Monk Huiming took on this matter himself. If he can’t handle it, I will naturally step in.”

"But once the matter is resolved, there's no need to bring it up again."

"The journey through life is long, but we will meet again if fate allows."

"If there is no chance to meet again..." Zhang Chengyi closed the manual, stretched, and looked out the carriage window at the increasingly vibrant spring scenery in the distance.

"It's fine to just be a passerby."

Kang Guangling paused for a moment, then remained silent.

One day, Huiming forgot about the guests who had visited him, and had no way of knowing what they had done in private. Bao Qianling still remembered the chivalrous deeds he had failed to accomplish even in his old age. As passersby on this journey of life, they all behaved well.

No?

The carriage swayed and moved forward without stopping, just like everyone in this melting pot of the martial arts world, each eventually finding their own way home.

-------------------------------------

As evening approached, more and more wandering travelers appeared near Gyeongbokgung Temple.

In the Central Plains, where transportation is convenient, the news of Xu Chongxiao's capture spread for some time. The Beggars' Sect, Qingliang Temple, and Shaolin Temple all participated in the Heroes' Gathering, and people from all walks of life naturally came to investigate.

Even if there's no profit to be made, just showing one's face in front of so many martial arts heroes would be a good thing.

Even if you can't show your face, just joining in the fun is good enough.

Anyway, no one felt that they needed to go against the "Golden Mountain Ranger" who captured Xu Chongxiao and injured or crippled the Shan family father and six sons.

This presented Zhang Chengyi and his group with a difficult problem—

There are no guesthouse rooms left in the small town near Gyeongbokgung Temple.

There were far too many people. The disciples of the Shan family came in full force, and Qingliang Temple invited many famous sects to make a big splash. The beggars brought by the Beggar Clan were also a huge crowd.

As you walk into the town, you see groups of beggars scattered about, their clothes tattered and their bodies filthy. They sit on the ground, leaning lazily against the walls, enjoying the afterglow of the sun.

Those who know it call it a gathering of heroes, but those who don't might mistake it for a begging party.

The Beggars' Sect may not have much else, but it certainly has a huge number of members. In this day and age, there are as many beggars as you want.

Zhang Chengyi and his group had no choice but to abandon their horses and walk into the town. Even so, when they arrived at the tavern, it was still packed with people, all carrying weapons of varying lengths, drinking and eating meat, making a great commotion. It finally gave them the feeling of a gathering of chivalrous heroes from the martial arts world.

It was just too noisy, giving them a headache. They spent a lot of money to have a meal in a private room on the second floor, and when they came out it was getting dark, so finding a place to stay became a problem.

Generally speaking, private houses are the second choice after guesthouses, but unfortunately, in such a crowded town, it is somewhat difficult to find an empty private house.

As for resolving it with force?

A closer look reveals that the beggars scattered throughout the town are subtly monitoring the actions of all the martial arts practitioners, presumably because the Beggars' Clan is also afraid that the mixed group of martial arts practitioners might cause some trouble.

Regardless of whether the Beggars' Sect engaged in cruel acts like human trafficking in their previous life on Earth, in Mr. Cha's world, the Beggars' Sect is a righteous organization that cares about the country and its people.

There might not be that many formally trained Beggar Clan disciples, but ordinary beggars are enough to form a dense and well-connected intelligence network. If anything happens in town, it can probably be reported to the person in charge immediately.

Perhaps their target was too obvious. After asking several inns and finding them all full, Zhang Chengyi and his companions were about to spend money to gamble when a lame beggar stepped forward and asked, "Are you the wandering knight of Jinshan, Zhang Chengyi, the great hero?"

"I will not change my name or surname."

Zhang Chengyi clasped his hands in a fist salute, mimicking the heroic demeanor of the characters in movies and TV dramas from his previous life, and said, "It is indeed I."

The lame beggar seemed startled and choked by his incongruous actions and words. He had always thought of himself as a beggar, somewhat vulgar and uncouth, but this man before him...

It's hard to say, it's hard to say.

He concealed the strange expression that involuntarily crept onto his face, then lowered his head and said, "By order of our elder brother, if you, Hero Zhang, arrive here, could you please wait until he has met with you tomorrow before making your appearance?"

"Who is your eldest brother?" Zhang Chengyi asked, then realized who the Beggars' Sect disciples called their eldest brother, and became excited, saying, "Is it Qiao Feng?"

He was really looking forward to meeting Qiao Feng.

The lame beggar lowered his head and remained silent. Since the other party addressed his gang leader by his name, he dared not speak directly. It wasn't that he was estranged from his elder brother, but rather that he couldn't let outsiders see him as disrespectful and lacking in manners.

He bowed and said, "Esteemed heroes, please follow me."

"Let's go!"

Seeing the patriarch leading the way, Su Xinghe gave his disciples a look, and the fourth brother, Wu, silently disappeared into the crowd to find the person who had followed in the shadows.

Chapter 27 The Only Person He Ever Met

The next day, early in the morning, in a house in a small town near Gyeongbokgung Temple.

Someone has entered the yard.

Zhang Chengyi opened his eyes. Before he could even get dressed, he heard a loud bang. He quickly put on his crane cloak, slipped on his shoes, and went outside.

As dawn broke, Kang Guangling, on night watch, faced off against a imposing man. Several footprints were deeply embedded in the bluestone slabs in front of each of them.

Kang Guangling has three footprints, while the majestic man opposite has two footprints.

Seriously? You're using cheats and you still can't beat others?

Zhang Chengyi scratched his head as he looked at it.

Upon hearing the noise, the lame beggar and the sorrowful old man entered the courtyard and bowed to the man, saying, "Brother."

"Hey, Chief Qiao!"

Zhang Chengyi's eyes were bright. He stepped forward a few paces and extended his hand. "I've long admired your name. It's a pleasure to meet you. Please take care of me."

Qiao Feng suppressed his surging blood and qi, his numb hand hanging down naturally. He nodded to his two subordinates and asked in confusion, "Are you Zhang Chengyi, the great hero, in person?"

"Exactly, exactly." Zhang Chengyi realized that there was no custom of shaking hands in this era, so he rubbed his hands together and looked at the Beggar Clan leader opposite him with the eyes of someone looking at an exquisite figurine, until the other man felt a little creeped out, before saying, "Do you know that I have done you a great favor?"

As the two began to talk, Su Xinghe and the other Eight Friends of Hangu also appeared in the courtyard, dressed neatly.

Qiao Feng glanced at everyone and noticed that they all seemed to possess superb internal strength. If only they all had Kang Guangling's level...

He secretly felt a sense of unease, not understanding what this strangely worded and acted Jinshan Ranger was saying, so he maintained his smile and asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"Do you know that Xu Chongxiao wanted to get you? That's why I arrested him beforehand," Zhang Chengyi said casually.

The language is a bit rough, but it's not hard to understand.

Both the lame beggar and the old beggar's expressions changed slightly.

Qiao Feng, however, suppressed his smile and said seriously, "Brother, please don't say such joking things in front of others."

He is a person who insists on evidence in everything. In the novel, everyone believed that Murong of Gusu killed Ma Dayuan, and he was willing to spend time investigating. Now that everyone thinks Zhang Chengyi is a villain who is rotten to the core, he also wants to investigate.

What sounded like words meant to sow discord between his elders and him could hardly be considered the truth.

Zhang Chengyi chuckled and said, "Believe it or not."

He wasn't there to reveal the truth, nor was he there to help Qiao Feng set things right and secure his position as the leader of the Beggars' Sect.

Whether Qiao Feng was a Khitan or not is completely unimportant, and whether he was the leader of the Beggars' Sect is also unimportant.

The arrest of Xu Chongxiao was just a spur-of-the-moment decision. If he really wanted to help cover up the matter of the Khitan bloodline, the best way would be to kill Elder Xu, Quan Guanqing, and Kang Min. These three were the main force in the anti-Qiao faction. If that didn't work, he could just kill a few more. It wasn't a big deal.

But the problem is that it's too troublesome.

He might waste time eating delicious food, meeting interesting people, and helping singers and monks he meets by chance, but he would never go to great lengths to please a grown man.

Even the great heroes you admired in novels in your past life are not allowed.

It's not like I'm just bored and have nothing better to do.

"By the way, what did you want to see me about?" Zhang Chengyi turned his head and forgot about what he had just said. Just like he didn't care whether Xu Chongxiao was alive or dead, as long as the commotion was big enough, that was enough.

While the other person didn't care, Qiao Feng's heart skipped a beat. When he saw Elder Xu yesterday, the other person's somewhat out-of-control demeanor and strange behavior made him think more about it.

Despite his rugged and forthright appearance, he is actually very meticulous. To use a somewhat inaccurate phrase, he has the heart of a tiger but the delicate touch of a rose.

He remained outwardly calm, clasped his hands in a fist and said, "My purpose in coming here is naturally for Elder Xu's safety."

"Let him go. If you're interested, go find him yourselves." Zhang Chengyi said casually, noticing the old man seemed a bit disinterested. "Just consider it me capturing him for fun."

"..."

Qiao Feng was speechless.

Although many people knew that this old man Zhang was a bit crazy, when they actually started chatting, even he found it hard to keep up.

Can't you even say a few polite words? Your blunt and perfunctory manner of speaking is hard to understand.

"I met Elder Xu yesterday," he replied dryly, then was left speechless by the other party's peculiar thought process and way of chatting.

"Oh, it seems we just missed each other. What a pity," Zhang Chengyi said regretfully. "Is it all over?"

"If there's nothing else, I'll wash up, have some breakfast, and then head to the Hero Tournament."

He said with great interest, "Since we're all awake now, let's go over early and see what's going on. Qiao Feng will be there too. After the Heroes' Gathering ends, we can grab anyone who might be useful."

If we go south to recruit someone, the first candidate is Wang Yuyan. She's a master of words and knows a lot about martial arts. If we capture her and make her study martial arts thoroughly, with Murong Fu around, we won't have to worry about that little girl not obeying.

I wonder how things are going with Wu Yazi. Has he dealt with Ding Chunqiu? It would be great if he could bring Li Qiushui and Tianshan Tonglao back with him.

"..."

Seeing the man's absent-mindedness, Qiao Feng felt a strange sensation welling up inside him, making him want to grab him and shout:

Do you know that this gathering of heroes is to punish you?

Do you realize that if we don't reach an agreement now, we might end up fighting at the Heroes' Gathering later?

He suppressed his strange thoughts, sighed silently, and turned to leave under Su Xinghe's sympathetic gaze.

He had never met such a strange person in his life.

-------------------------------------

Deep in Taihu Lake, at Mantuo Villa, in the study.

"Who goes there?!"

The mistress of the manor, Madam Wang, or rather, Li Qingluo, heard the man's breathing outside the door and pushed open the window to scold him.

To her surprise, she saw a familiar figure, his shirt stained with blood, leaning against the window. She cried out, "Father!" Before she could finish speaking, she helped the white-haired old man into the house, dismissed the servants who had come upon hearing the commotion, and then asked, "Father, what happened to you...?"

You should know that the person she called "father" was none other than Ding Chunqiu, the Starry Night Old Monster, who was feared throughout the martial arts world. How could he have been injured like this?

"I'll go get your medicine." She hurriedly stopped talking and was about to go to the pharmacy when she was called back.

"Don't let anyone know that I came here." Ding Chunqiu's face was ashen, with bluish-purple hues constantly appearing on his forehead, clearly indicating that he had suffered extremely severe internal injuries.