The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, Becomes a Disciple of Yue Buqun

The young man was holding his robe in one hand and had a long sword tied around his waist. He was walking up the mountain step by step. His upper body did not shake at all, and the rugged mountain road was as flat as the ground under his feet.

At this time, the young man looked up and saw Yue Buqun and others. There was a hint of surprise in his eyes, but he did not shout. Instead, he continued to walk towards the mountain, but his steps were a little faster. Even so, his upper body did not shake.

The young man put down his robe and walked over step by step after he walked across the mountain road and stepped onto the flat ground. When he saw the people kneeling on the ground, he was even more surprised, but he did not ask anything. Instead, he came in front of Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze and saluted.

"Disciple Jiang Ning, I pay my respects to Master and Master's Wife."

His voice was as cold as his face.

Chapter 4: Is Justice Delayed Still Justice?

"Master and his wife have been gone for two or three months. How are you these days? Is your journey going smoothly?"

Looking at the young man in front of him, Ning Zhongze smiled.

"Okay, okay, thanks to Ning'er for caring about you. When your master and I were not on the mountain, did you practice hard?"

Jiang Ning looked calm and composed: "In reply to Master's wife, although Master and Master's wife are not in Huashan during this period of time, the teachings of Master in the past are still ringing in my ears. I dare not slack off for a day."

After hearing the answer, Ning Zhongze's smile deepened and his expression became more satisfied.

After the conversation, a smile appeared on Jiang Ning's face, as if the ice had melted.

Unlike Ning Zhongze, while his wife and apprentice were talking, Yue Buqun's eyes swept over Jiang Ning's body and found that he had no scars and no signs of internal injuries. His expression then became calm.

At this time, Yue Buqun said calmly: "How about you come down the mountain this time? Can you help Wang Yuan rescue his wife and daughter?"

Jiang Ning was not surprised to hear this. Yue Buqun must have known the reason why he went down the mountain from Lu Dayou and others. Since Yue Buqun asked this, he had no intention of pursuing the matter of him going down the mountain without permission despite his master's orders.

Jiang Ning nodded: "In reply to Master, Wang Yuan's wife and children have been rescued safely, and his property has also been recovered."

Yue Buqun nodded, then asked: "Did you encounter any setbacks along the way? Did you encounter any difficulties?"

Jiang Ning smiled and said, "After I came down the mountain, I followed Wang Yuan to Yunmeng County. Later, I learned from others that Wang Yuan was not lying, and I personally confirmed this from the housekeeper and those people. After that, I helped Wang Yuan rescue his wife and daughter, and took back the part of the family property that the housekeeper had embezzled. Then I went to the county government to find the magistrate of Yunmeng County and recovered the other part of Wang Yuan's family property. Wang Yuan wanted to give his family property as a gift to repay the kindness of Huashan Sect, but I refused."

Yue Buqun asked again: "Have his wife and daughter been humiliated?"

Jiang Ning shook his head, "No, before I went there, the Wang family's housekeeper and the group of villains wanted to force Wang Yuan's wife and daughter, but he refused to obey and threatened to die. The housekeeper first seized the master's property. If he forced the master's family members to commit suicide, he was afraid that the people of Yunmeng would be ashamed, so he did not force them. Instead, he locked his wife and daughter in the woodshed and fed them porridge every day to make them obedient. They were not rescued until I went there."

Yue Buqun nodded in satisfaction and commented on Jiang Ning's actions: "Not bad, you did a good job."

"You didn't just listen to Wang Yuan's one-sided words and rush to kill him. Instead, you verified it through multiple sources before helping him. If you only listen to one side, you will believe it. If you listen to both sides, you will understand."

"Later, he went to the county government to recover some of the Wang family's property. He was not afraid of power and insisted on justice."

"well done."

Yue Buqun did two very good things in a row, which showed that he was very satisfied with Jiang Ning's actions.

Jiang Ning always had a smile on his face as he just stood there, not showing any joy at Yue Buqun's praise, which made Yue Buqun even more satisfied.

"Master, what are you doing, brothers?"

Jiang Ning spoke at this time, looking at Lao Denuo, Lu Dayou and others who were still kneeling on the ground, with questioning eyes.

Upon hearing this, Lu Dayou raised his head and gave Jiang Ning an ugly smile, then lowered his head again, not daring to speak.

From the time Jiang Ning went up the mountain to talk with Yue Buqun, they didn't dare to say a word. Yue Buqun didn't let them get up, so they didn't dare to get up and just knelt there obediently.

But after kneeling for a long time and the ground was hard, his knees began to hurt, like being pricked by needles. It was okay for the young Lu Dayou and Gao Genming, but it was not so easy for Lao Denuo.

He is old, with weak arms and bones. Even though he is skilled in martial arts, he can kill an old master with just a few punches. He cannot bear to kneel down like this.

At first he could kneel straight, but after a while he couldn't hold on any longer and his legs started to shake. Finally he had to support himself on the ground with his hands, which made him feel a little better, but still uncomfortable. His legs were shaking as if they were going to take off. Ying Bailuo, who was kneeling beside him, kept closing his mouth, pursing his lips, his shoulders were shaking, his face was flushed, and he wanted to laugh but didn't dare.

"Humph."

Upon hearing this, Yue Buqun snorted coldly, but not at Jiang Ning, but at Lu Dayou, Gao Genming and others.

"They are all Huashan disciples, but they let me go down the mountain alone to deal with the evildoers. They stubbornly obeyed the master's orders, but they didn't know the principle of taking emergency measures. They insisted on waiting for me to come back. By then, Wang Yuan's family would have been killed by the evil servants. What's the point of me coming back? To collect the bodies?"

"As fellow disciples, they don't even understand this."

Yue Buqun snorted again, looked at them and said coldly: "It's fine if Ning'er can come back safely this time, but if something unexpected really happens, and you, as senior brothers, do nothing and watch him get into trouble, I will definitely not forgive you!"

Lu Dayou, Gao Genming and others looked bitter and unable to refute, and could not say a word.

"What the brothers said is correct."

Jiang Ning said calmly: "Before we know the enemy's strength, we must be cautious, plan ahead, and make full preparations to avoid losing our lives in vain."

"However, how should we plan for the long term? And to what extent should we prepare? After preparing for this, we should also consider that. After preparing for this, should we prepare for the next one? After considering this, should we consider the next one?"

"After all the preparations and planning, when will the preparations end? When will the planning end? Can I wait? Can my brothers wait? Can Wang Yuan wait? Can the next Wang Yuan wait?"

"Everyone talks about justice, but what is justice? Helping the weak and punishing the evil is justice, and punishing evil and promoting good is justice. Since it is justice, then it doesn't seem to matter if we come a little later. But if we wait until Master comes back to help Wang Yuan, by then his wife and daughter will have been killed. We will certainly help him get revenge and take back his property, but what's the problem? Is justice delayed still justice?"

Jiang Ning's voice was not loud and was very calm, so calm that there was not a trace of emotion, and there was no hint of accusation or teaching. But to Lu Dayou and others it sounded like a knife cutting their hearts.

With every word Jiang Ning spoke, Lu Dayou, Gao Genming and others lowered their heads a little. By the time Jiang Ning finished speaking, they had already buried their heads deeply in the ground.

On the contrary, the anger on Yue Buqun's face gradually dissipated with Jiang Ning's words, and in the end he even showed a few smiles.

His disciple has this kind of personality. He is usually very quiet, not impatient or irritable, and does not show his emotions on his face. Although he is young, he is very opinionated. Just like now, he has his own understanding of the world and justice. His personality is completely different from Linghu Chong's. He is also very talented. At a young age, he is already on par with his eldest disciple.

Sometimes Yue Buqun felt that if Jiang Ning was not younger than all the other disciples, he would be more suitable to be the eldest senior brother.

Chapter 5: With a compassionate heart, a thunderous approach

Chapter 5: With a compassionate heart, but with drastic measures

"Okay, get up."

In the end, it was Ning Zhongze who spoke.

"Ning'er is right. Justice delayed is justice denied. You should keep this in mind in the future."

"Yes, thank you, Master's wife, thank you, Junior Brother."

Lu Dayou, Gao Genming, Shi Daizi and others then stood up one after another and saluted Ning Zhongze, and finally thanked Jiang Ning with ashamed looks on their faces.

"Humph."

Yue Buqun snorted coldly again, but it was not as heavy as before. Since Ning Zhongze asked them to get up, he let it go.

"By the way, after you went to Yunmeng County, who were those Jianghu people?"

Yue Buqun seemed to remember something and asked Jiang Ning.

Jiang Ning smiled upon hearing this and said, "They are just some people who only know how to fight. They are not very powerful, so it is nothing to deal with them."

Yue Buqun nodded, but then frowned and said, "If that's the case, then why did it take so long to return to the mountain?"

"On my way back, I passed by Anyang County and found that there was a thief in that place. The Anyang County government offered a reward. Thinking that our sect was in financial difficulties and that we were always supported by Master, I felt bad for him, so I spent some time to catch the thief and relieve Master of his burden."

As Jiang Ning spoke, he took out a silver ingot from his sleeve and handed it over with both hands. There were a total of ten taels of silver.

Although ten taels of silver may not sound like much, its purchasing power is already very large. One tael of silver can buy two dan of rice, and one dan of rice weighs about 100 to 150 jin.

Yue Buqun remained silent.

After a while.

Yue Buqun waved his hand and said, "Since this is what you got from catching a thief, you can keep it for yourself. You don't have to worry about your livelihood. I will find a way to solve it. Just practice with peace of mind."

"Yes."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ning took the silver back and put it back into his sleeve.

Since Yue Buqun had said so, if he continued to insist, he would only embarrass Yue Buqun.

"Okay, we just got back today, so you guys go downstairs and prepare to eat. We still have to pay respects to the ancestors later."

Worship the ancestor?

Jiang Ning raised his eyebrows when he heard this.

Generally, people would only bow when Yue Buqun accepted a disciple or when there were important occasions for the Huashan Sect. It was not necessary on ordinary days.

Today is not an important day, but Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze just came back and want to pay homage to the master. Are they accepting new disciples?

"Yes."

Jiang Ning didn't ask any more questions. He just responded and prepared to go back to his room, but was stopped by Yue Buqun.

"By the way, Ning'er."

Yue Buqun asked Jiang Ning, "How did you deal with the butler and the dozen or so people?"

Hearing his master's question, Jiang Ning did not hesitate.

"killed."

The voice was very soft, as if he was talking about something insignificant.

Yue Buqun was stunned for a moment.

"Kill them all?"

Jiang Ning nodded, his face calm.

"Yes."

Lu Dayou, Gao Genming, Shi Daizi and others were all shocked and looked at each other.

People like Lu Dayou and Gao Genming entered the Huashan Sect at different times. Most of them entered later than Jiang Ning and knew nothing about Jiang Ning. They only occasionally heard from their eldest brother that Jiang Ning was brought back from outside by the master twelve years ago. At that time, Jiang Ning was only three years old. He is only fifteen years old now.

Their junior brother has never been seen leaving the mountain since they met, except for one time when Yue Buqun was in a good mood and felt that Jiang Ning was too homebound, so he insisted on organizing a spring outing for the sect and forced Jiang Ning to go on a budget trip to Shaanxi. Apart from that, Jiang Ning has never left the mountain again.

Even though the master took a few of them to visit other Five Mountains Sword Sects a few times to make themselves familiar to them, Jiang Ning refused to go and stayed at home in Huashan. As a result, although he was a disciple of Huashan, his fellow disciples from other Five Mountains Sword Sects had never seen him and only knew that he existed.

In their impression, Jiang Ning usually practiced martial arts and read books, and had no other entertainment activities. Even Junior Sister Lingshan said that he was very boring. The last time he went down the mountain with Wang Yuan to Yunmeng County was his first time going down the mountain, but they didn't expect that he would kill so many people in just this one trip.

It's not like these people haven't killed people before, and they would also see injustice when they go down the mountain. But no one could be as calm as Jiang Ning after killing someone, as if he had killed pigs and dogs instead of humans.

This attitude made all the fellow disciples and others shudder.

In the past, they thought that Junior Brother Jiang Ning's usual indifferent appearance was just due to his personality, but at this moment they felt that it was more like a kind of indifference.

Yue Buqun then frowned and asked, "Where is the county magistrate? Did you kill him too?"

There was a barely perceptible hint of nervousness in his expression when he asked the question.

Jiang Ning shook his head and said, "No, I just asked him to return Wang Yuan's property and left."