I am Jinshan Youxia

He tapped his fingers on the stone table, his expression growing increasingly excited, and said, "Before I go into seclusion, let's have one last bit of fun."

Su Xinghe remained silent, but a strange excitement welled up inside him.

Let's all have some fun!

A strange tingling sensation spread from his spine to the back of his head, and his usually quiet and elegant face revealed a somewhat fanatical smile.

"Old Su, go and write a letter to the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty for me."

Zhang Chengyi closed the Divine Foot Sutra that was placed in front of him and said, "Tell him that I, Zhang Chengyi, the wandering knight of Jinshan, will personally visit him on the night of the full moon and invite him to admire the moon..."

"Drinking alcohol."

Ugh, that hateful Northern Song Dynasty! It wasn't even the Forbidden City; it was called the Imperial Palace. The Forbidden City was so much more impressive.

"Yes." Su Xinghe calculated the celestial phenomena. The time was about three days later. For their journey, it would only take a few hours at most to reach the Bianliang Imperial Palace, so there was no rush to set off.

However, it seems that before his seclusion, Grandpa Zhang is indeed leaving...

Having experienced so much, he had long believed that the man before him was a deity descended to earth, and that his so-called seclusion was perhaps an ascension to immortality.

During the Northern Song Dynasty, Taoist culture flourished, and rumors of "ascension" were everywhere. Various legends of immortals emerged one after another. Several decades earlier, in the fourth year of the Jingde era, a man named Wang Wen claimed to have ascended to heaven in the Kuocang Cave of Kuocang Mountain. Emperor Zhenzong of Song was "greatly pleased" and bestowed upon him the name Xianju (Immortal Abode).

In such an environment, and having met such extraordinary people, Su Xinghe, who was originally not interested in the stories of gods and ghosts, has now been completely fooled.

The thought of Zhang Chengyi returning to the Immortal Realm filled me with a sense of melancholy and sadness.

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At night, the valley was deaf and dumb.

"Ouch!"

After a cry of pain, in the thick darkness of the night, the deaf-mute disciples who had been given the power to keep watch carried two people to the light, one on each side of their hands.

"Let me go! I need to see Grandpa Zhang!" the man on the left shouted. "Grandpa Zhang, I'm Bao Qianling, I have something to say—"

Although the disciple of the Deaf-Mute Sect was both deaf and mute, seeing the extent to which he opened his mouth, they were worried that he would disturb Grandpa Zhang, so they used their internal energy to directly strike his mute acupoint.

"Huh?" Xue Muhua recognized the two people being carried as soon as he landed.

One was indeed Bao Qianling, who had no capital, while the other was Huiming, the monk from that nameless temple. How did these two manage to break into the Valley of the Deaf and Mute?

He thought for a moment, nodded in acknowledgment, and the deaf-mute disciple released his hand and silently returned to the darkness.

These disciples of the Deaf-Mute Sect were truly loyal to Su Xinghe. In the novel, when Su Xinghe was about to be burned to death by the pillar of fire, not one of the more than twenty disciples backed down. They ran in front of Su Xinghe and used their own flesh and blood to withstand the pillar of fire. Most of them died, and a few were seriously injured and turned into charred remains.

Fortunately, in reality, their loyalty was rewarded. Even though they were still deaf and mute, they still managed to please Zhang Chengyi and gain unparalleled internal strength. If they could regenerate flesh and blood through martial arts breakthroughs, they might be able to regain their hearing and voice.

"Benefactor Xue, how have you been?"

Monk Huiming remained calm. After landing, he patted his gray robe, stood up, and greeted the monk with his hands clasped together.

Bao Qianling, who had been silenced by acupressure, tried several times but failed to break the blockage. She stared at Xue Muhua, pointing to her mouth repeatedly.

The One-Finger Divine Skill of the Dali Duan Clan is now so common in the Valley of the Deaf and Mute that everyone knows it. Once you have enough internal energy, this profound acupoint striking skill that can project true energy is not difficult. Even Zhang Chengyi could easily learn it, let alone others.

Of course, this is only true if you master the skills. To unleash unprecedented power is purely due to an abundance of internal energy.

Even if her skill level wasn't high and her training wasn't profound enough, it wasn't something Bao Qianling, who lacked the necessary skills, could break through.

Chapter 59 Openly Repairing the Plank Road

"Master Huiming, Mr. Bao, it's been a long time."

Xue Muhua casually pointed, his inner force shooting out to release Bao Qianling's speech impediment. He then asked with a smile, "What brings you two here so late at night?"

After dinner, Master set off for Bianliang. He was not only going to deliver a message, but he would also most likely be gathering information beforehand. Among the Eight Friends of Hangu Pass, he was the only one who was good at interpersonal relationships, so he was mainly in charge of the affairs of the valley.

As for Grandmaster Wuyazi...

Ever since he was found in Wuliang Mountain, and before that bitch Li Qiushui came to find him, he has always seemed a bit depressed. Except when he is studying martial arts with others, he spends his time either admiring flowers, the moon, and the scenery, or taking care of the medicinal herbs he cultivates on the back mountain. He is quite withdrawn.

Incidentally, when Grandmaster Wuyazi returned, he specifically begged Uncle Zhang not to go looking for that scoundrel Li Qiushui and his senior master.

Perhaps because he had spent so much time with Grandpa Zhang, he became too lazy to hide his displeasure and disgust towards Li Qiushui. If his master hadn't heard and reprimanded him, he probably would have spoken out about it in private long ago.

Bao Qianling paused to get used to speaking, then said, "I happened to be near Bianliang a few days ago when I heard that the Emperor was going to send troops to Leigu Mountain. I also felt itchy to fight, so I went to the capital to inquire around. By chance, I overheard something: the Emperor's sending of troops was a pretense. In reality, the Imperial Guards, along with the Western Xia and Dali, had gathered hundreds of experts to prepare to attack Leigu Mountain at Hai hour tomorrow night."

Tomorrow at 10 PM? A master of the Three Kingdoms?

Xue Muhua was a little unsure, but after thinking about it for a while, he felt that it was somewhat possible.

Firstly, the news of the imperial court's dispatch of troops spread too quickly, and the proclamation was specially sent over. This might make sense when dealing with other mountain bandits and outlaws, but it's a bit strange when facing martial arts sects.

After all, if someone with high martial arts skills wants to leave, the army simply can't catch up. In this light, it seems to be somewhat of a delaying tactic.

It's understandable that the imperial court sent top-notch palace guards; how could they allow others to sleep soundly in their own bed? Dali was in an even worse situation. Prince Duan Yu and the eminent monks of Tianlong Temple were all staying in the valley, where Emperor Baoding, whose Dharma name was Benchen, was also present. Furthermore, the One-Finger Divine Skill and the Six Meridians Divine Sword had been leaked to outsiders. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that they had a deep-seated hatred for each other.

Why the Western Xia?

Was it merely the four villains of Yipintang and Helian Tieshu who were dealt with?

That doesn't make sense.

Xue Muhua was a little puzzled as to why the Western Xia had gotten involved, but he quickly put it out of his mind. Whatever the reason, they were enemies.

This is a trivial matter, not worth waking up Grandpa Zhang in the middle of the night. He made a few hand gestures towards the shadows and then said, "Guests are welcome, please come in, you two."

Huiming and Bao Qianling exchanged a glance and then entered the valley.

Before returning from Suzhou, Leigu Mountain had never been quiet. Every single person captured was a renowned senior master in the martial arts world. And Grandpa Zhang was incredibly high-profile, coming to Leigu Mountain to gather information, try to break in and cause trouble, or rescue his elders.

Scattered, on average one or two people every day. Leigu Mountain is not small, and the surrounding area is all mountains and forests. If you know some martial arts and bring some dry food, you can sneak over mountains and ridges to the vicinity of Tianlongdiya Valley.

Moreover, the number of people in the Deaf and Mute Sect was originally small, so they couldn't monitor every corner of the mountain. They could only take turns guarding the Deaf and Mute Valley day and night.

Before being taught the skills by Grandpa Zhang, they relied entirely on the formations of the Five Elements, Eight Trigrams, and Qimen Dunjia left by their master Su Xinghe to deal with the situation. After all, even Ding Chunqiu couldn't break through them in a short time. Many hotheads rushed in, but after wandering around for a while, they would get exhausted or starving and would be thrown out by the deaf-mute disciples.

It's much simpler now; you can just get started, but there are also more hassles.

Grandpa Zhang said that after he goes into seclusion, the others can move away from Leigu Mountain, but where they will go is still undecided.

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The next day, early in the morning, in the pavilion in the valley.

"Coming to launch a surprise attack on Leigushan?"

That's a very clever idea.

Zhang Chengyi smiled, wondering which brilliant person had come up with the idea.

"Speaking of which, how did you two end up together?" he asked with some curiosity.

Bao Qianling rolled his eyes. He seemed speechless when the matter was brought up. He glanced at Huiming for a while, and seeing that the old bald man didn't speak, he said, "I had handled the matter I took on from you, Uncle Zhang, very well. Ask him what he did."

Huiming remained silent with his head down.

Bao Qianling took a deep breath before recounting what had happened in the past.

His method of dealing with the monk Huiming's remote temple was simple and brutal: he sneaked into the local magistrate's house, collected a large amount of evidence of his corruption, used it to threaten the magistrate, and then rushed over overnight to deliver the evidence to the desk of a well-known, honest and upright official.

Everything was going in a good direction, so he went back to report. Just then, Zhang Chengyi and his group left, so he decided to finish up the matter.

Dealing with officials is never a matter of a day or two in any era. The Northern Song Dynasty had loopholes in its management of official corruption, coupled with problems such as the exemption of officials from punishment and mutual protection among officials, making the process exceptionally long.

The magistrate certainly wouldn't dare to openly shut down the illegal temple, but he was secretly stirring up trouble.

Huiming was supposed to be patient and wait until the magistrate was driven out, but he couldn't hold back. He arranged for the adopted little monk to be sent away and then rushed into the yamen alone with his monk's knife.

Later, in order to save people, Bao Qianling also became a wanted criminal and could only wander around with Huiming. The county magistrate was exiled, but the crime of the two of them storming the government office could not be absolved.

He went to the vicinity of Bianliang to see if there was any chance to seek justice from someone.

[Perhaps the magistrate did something that Master Huiming couldn't tolerate.]

[Moreover, this approach is truly riddled with flaws. It would have been simpler and more direct to just kill the magistrate. Expecting an honest official to uphold justice for the people while also seeking redress from someone is a truly characteristic way of thinking of our time.]

Zhang Chengyi glanced at Huiming, who remained silent, and said, "Alright, alright, it's all in the past. If you two have nowhere to go, go to Suzhou. I'll write you a letter. Find Xiao Feng and follow him."

Anyway, it has nothing to do with him, and he doesn't plan to meddle any more.

Bao Qianling's expression was somewhat unnatural, and she changed the subject, saying, "Uncle Zhang is joking. If there's nothing else, we'll be leaving now."

As they were talking, Xue Muhua suddenly walked over in a hurry and whispered in Zhang Chengyi's ear, "Uncle Zhang, the great hero Xiao Feng has brought his men."

Oh, what a coincidence?

Zhang Chengyi was a little surprised that Xiao Feng, who had been recruited by the government, had brought his men over early in the morning on the day the three kingdoms were about to attack Leigu Mountain.

Is this a sign that they're no longer willing to be obedient subjects of the Song Dynasty?

As for whether Xiao Feng will turn against him...

He felt that even Xiao Feng, who had only changed back to his original surname a few months ago, probably wouldn't dare to think like that.

After the incident in Suzhou, everyone around him revered him as a god.

Chapter 60 Purpose of the Visit

"A member of the Beggars' Sect has noticed unusual activity from experts from Western Xia and Dali."

Zhang Chengyi repeated Xiao Feng's words and asked with a smile, "And what about you?"

"What brings you to Leigu Mountain with your men?"

The Xiao Feng before us, having served as the lord of Suzhou for several months, has used his personal charisma and skill to unite most of the poisoned individuals who have received his powers, and has also brought the Murong clan's subordinates under his control.

Last month, the Beggars' Sect lost too many high-end combatants and nearly half of its disciples who followed him in Suzhou, so they naturally returned to his embrace.

He exudes an aura of authority.

It should probably be closer to the feeling when the protagonist enters the Liao Kingdom in the later part of the Tianlong novel.

Upon hearing Grandpa Zhang's question, Xiao Feng showed no remorse and said frankly, "It's all because of me that the Emperor is taking action against Leigu Mountain."

It's really just a group of martial arts masters gathered together; the imperial court doesn't need to interfere at all. The more they target them, the more people will think they're making a mountain out of a molehill.

However, given the close relationship with General Xiao, who had now occupied the strategically important Jiangnan region and been recruited by the government, it was impossible for the government to stand idly by. Suzhou was too important; to put it bluntly, losing Jiangnan would be like being strangled by the Grand Canal, a situation not much different from losing half of the country.

Unfortunately, the forces under the command of Xiao Feng, the Prince of Jiangnan, easily defeated the imperial army with a mere display of their power. It wasn't that the Emperor felt he couldn't win, but rather that the cost of fighting was too high. He decided to try to win them over through amnesty, and then resolve the matter through political means.

Clearly, someone who held a similar position in Suzhou and was not far from the capital became a target in every sense of the word.