Chapter 46: Polar Opposites Attract

  Many people were killed by Xie Yun on Mount Pan Island with a single "lion's roar", and it was not uncommon for them to become disabled. On that day, the Tianying Sect posted an article claiming to have obtained the Tulong Knife and asked everyone to come and admire it. Many people gathered on the island because of their desire for the "Tulong Knife". It is hard to say how many people were sincere in their congratulations and how many had ulterior motives to steal the knife. Who would have thought that Xie Yun, who was fearless and had high martial arts skills, would suddenly appear and kill everyone to get the knife? In a sense, it was also a case of "what goes around comes around" and "retribution". If these people had joined forces, they might have been able to kill Xie Yun, but then what would happen to the Tulong Knife? It's likely that there would still be a bloody battle with no end in sight. All this was for the sake of the rumor "the supreme ruler of the martial arts world, the treasure knife that slays dragons, commands the world, and none dare disobey". Many good fighters died on the island because of this baseless rumor.

  In this way, those who came from afar to find people would no longer be just a few from the Wudang Sect.

  Tianying Sect and Haisha School are not decent sects either, they cut off people's hands. Many famous orthodox sect disciples only applauded, but this time Kunlun Sect also had two disciples who died at Wangpan Mountain. Some disciples of other sects who went out temporarily without news were not absent, so many sects sent people to take a look, on the one hand to see if there were any fellow disciples in distress, and on the other hand to see if there were still clues about "Tulong Knife" on the island.

  On that day, Yu Daixi heard the news and vomited blood. After recuperating for three days, as Yao Guang had expected, he refused to rest again. Song Yuanqiao then suggested that he take Zhang Songxi and Yao Guang down the mountain to Wang Pan Shan Island for a trip. When Yu Daixi heard that his younger sister was also going, he immediately opposed it in surprise. However, most of his recuperation this month was thanks to Yao Guang's efforts, and Yao Guang didn't say anything about repaying him. Taking advantage of being seen as a child now, she went forward to ask for favors and show off her cleverness. Yu Daixi had no choice but to agree, and in the end, he could only bring Yao Guang along on the road. As a result, Yu Daixi's original travel plan was put on hold, changing from traveling at night to hurrying during the day and resting at night.

  A few people went down from Wudang Mountain, relying on their good horses' strong legs. Within a few days, they left the borders of Hubei Province and rushed towards Wangpan Island. Along the way, they occasionally heard news that some sect had found the body of their disciples on the island or someone vowed to be at odds with Xie Xun's faction.

  On this day, several people rested at Linjiang Wine House at noon. Suddenly, they heard someone next to them discussing that the Tianying Sect and the Haisa Sect had started fighting, and also said that two elders of the Kunlun Sect went to the Tianying Sect to reason, but were beaten and thrown down the mountain.

  Yao Guang took a few sips of water, looking thoughtfully at several Jianghu guests beside him.

  Coarse cloth clothing, wearing military equipment, with knives, swords and clubs, it doesn't seem like a single school of thought, if not friends, mostly people from the same gang.

  Yu Dailuo pushed a dish of vegetables in front of Yao Guang, following her line of sight to look at them and said: "Look at the skin color of these people, black with a hint of red, this is the result of being blown by sea winds and scorched by the sun for many years. Their shoes are different from ordinary people's, also convenient for getting in the water. The one who used the knife has a token hanging on his waist, leaping over the waves, this is a person from the Giant Whale Gang. The gang isn't big, but they do business without capital on the sea, usually if you encounter them, it's best to keep your distance."

  The Giant Whale Gang is notorious for killing and robbing at sea, and is one of the four major evil gangs. Yu Daishan's phrase "no capital business" refers to robbery, it's just a bit more elegant.

  Yao Guang took a deliberate glance and indeed spotted the token, couldn't help but laugh: "Indeed Third Master has more experience in Jianghu, I didn't even notice it, only paying attention to their clothes and weapons."

  Yu Daoyan couldn't help but smile when he saw the serious look on his junior sister's childish face: "Junior sister is already very good at noticing these things, and these Jianghu experiences are just a matter of time spent outside. As for these things, your fourth senior brother is quite skilled, traveling south and north, almost every local dialect has no difficulty for him, regardless of the size of the sect or gang, the fourth brother is also familiar with them. If I didn't speak up first, by the time the fourth brother finishes speaking, there would be nothing much to say."

  Yao Guang immediately smiled and looked at Zhang Songxi.

  Zhang Songxi also smiled and said, "Third brother is teasing me. Since that's the case, I'll say a few more words. As third brother has already said, these people are indeed from the Giant Whale Gang, but the Giant Whale Gang usually operates at sea and doesn't often move around in the Yangtze River water domain. Because their ships are designed for the ocean and not suitable for rivers, they may not be able to navigate well on the Yangtze River. Usually, they don't interfere with each other's territory, but now that these people have come ashore, it must be related to the Wang Pan Mountain incident. I heard that the Tianying Sect had invited the Giant Whale Gang and the Sea Sand Faction to a banquet that day. These factions are not on good terms, and after suffering such a huge loss, they may suspect each other. On one hand, they want to capture Xie Xun, but on the other hand, they're also wary of each other. They deliberately spread this news to cause trouble for the Tianying Sect.

  Yao Guang took another look at those people, seeing them talking loudly and boisterously, without any intention of lowering their voices or hiding from others. Then she looked back at her own side, where the three of them were speaking in hushed tones, and suddenly felt a sense of admiration and conviction.

  "Fourth Brother's mind is as fine as a hair, his thoughts are meticulous, I am far from comparable."

  She had gone down Mount Hua to take the battlefield in her heyday, but it was already a war-torn area, with refugees fleeing and two armies clashing. Many of the wandering Jianghu disciples were also joining the army to help with the battle array. Where is this "Jianghu" now?

  Zhang Songxi smiled and patted Yao Guang's shoulder, "Little sister, your words have reassured big brother a lot."

  Jade light does not understand raising her head.

  Zhang Songxi smiled and glanced at Yu Dayan, seeing that he also had a worried look on his face. He chuckled and said, "It seems there's still something in this world that our little junior sister doesn't understand, so we senior brothers aren't completely useless after all."

  Yao Guang was suddenly in a great predicament.

  Yu Daoyan also smiled twice, and said in a low voice: "The sun is too strong, the horses need to rest too. Let's continue on our way after noon. Can my junior sister's body still hold up?"

  Yao Guang nodded, "I'm fine. Since it's time for a break, I'll go borrow the kitchen to decoct medicine, just in time."

  Zhang Songxi naturally chimed in, "I'll accompany Little Shifu together. Third Brother can rest well and also send a message to Big Brother. Just now I saw the mark of Emei Sect at the inn, I wonder how Emei Sect is connected to this matter again."

  "What's the emblem of Emei Sect?" Yao Guang thought for a moment, vaguely remembering that she had indeed seen a white powder-painted pattern at the foot of the wall in a hurry, and Zhang Songxi had even stopped to take a few glances. She only thought that the sword was painted too ugly, never thinking that it would be the emblem of Emei Sect. "Could it be that white powder-painted Buddha light and sword?"

  Zhang Songxi nodded and continued: "Little Shifu indeed saw it too. That is the emblem of Emei Sect, the sword points to the direction of advancement, I see that it's pointing towards Wangpan Mountain, the white powder trail is very new, I estimate that Emei Sect also passed by here only a day or two ago."

  Yao Guang thought back to what Zhang Sanfeng had told her about the origins of Emei Sect. It was said that in the past, the granddaughter of Dong Xie, Guo Xiang, also known as "Little Dong Xie", a remarkable woman who at the age of 40 suddenly gained great enlightenment and became a nun, establishing the Emei Sect. At that time, she had thought that becoming a nun was not necessary, being a Taoist would be just as good. Now thinking about it again, because she was a nun, that's why she painted the Buddha's light.

  Yu Daishan thought for a moment, then said: "The Extinct Master is as hateful as an enemy, perhaps he wants to investigate the Golden Lion King or the head of the Heavenly Eagle Sect."

  Several people casually said a few words, finished their meal, and Yu Dairen went out to find someone to borrow paper and pen to write a letter. Zhang Songxi picked up Yao Guang to decoct medicine. Yao Guang was not familiar with the Emei faction's mark, so he asked about the liaison signals and marks of various major factions one by one. As a result, Zhang Songxi really knew everything as Yu Dairen said, and even some small and unknown factions were familiar to him. Only then did Yao Guang sincerely admire and put away his pride, unable to help but sigh "there are people outside of people".

  She didn't say anything, but as soon as she did, Zhang Songxi almost laughed so hard that he fell to the ground. After a while, he said: "Little sister, you're only five years old and you're already sighing about this? If we have to say it like that, then all of us brothers should go find a stone to knock our heads against!"

  There is a world beyond this world, and there is a heaven beyond this heaven.

  People who make such exclamations are often those who have already achieved something in a certain aspect, feel that they are someone, and only then do they have such feelings when compared to others. For example, Yu Daishan and Zhang Songxi, although they don't say it out loud, also have confidence in their own martial arts skills. If they encounter someone who can defeat them without being able to fight back, they will naturally have this feeling and even encourage themselves not to be complacent and to continue improving.

  But Yao Guang was only five years old at that time. A five-year-old child, normally speaking, how much ability can he have?

  If someone is better than a five-year-old child, it's worth saying; if not as good as a five-year-old child, then sighing "there are people outside of people" is still somewhat reasonable.

  The result was that Yao Guang turned out well, and with this appearance, he let out such an exclamation, suddenly making Zhang Songxi also unable to hold back his face, laughing so hard he fell over.

  Yao Guang held onto Zhang Songxi's neck to steady herself, her face expressionless as she stared at him who was stifling his laughter, thinking to herself that if she didn't look like this now, even if she still looked like she did when she was 24 or 25, Zhang Songxi wouldn't be laughing like this.

  In her heart, she wasn't much younger than a few of her senior brothers. Sometimes, she even felt that she was older than Yin Liting and Mo Shenggu by some years. But every time she caught a glimpse of herself in the water, she couldn't help but remind herself repeatedly: you're only five years old, only five years old. This discrepancy between her age in memory and her actual age always left her feeling helpless.

  In the afternoon, Zhang Songxi told Yu Dayan about this interesting thing, and Yu Dayan also hugged Yao Guang and laughed for a long time. Yao Guang could only sigh helplessly and pat the horse's head.

  After several more days, a few people abandoned their horses and boarded a ship, arriving at Wangpan Mountain Island.

  The corpses on the island had been cleaned up, but the trees and buildings that were destroyed at the time still remained in their original state. Several people looked carefully and walked to a rock wall, Yu Daishan exclaimed: "It's my fifth brother's handwriting!"

  Zhang Songxi picked up Yao Guang and rushed over, only to see twenty-four large characters written on the mountain wall several feet high from top to bottom.

  The number one in the martial arts world, the precious sword slays the dragon, giving orders to all under heaven, no one dares to disobey. With the support of the heavens, who can contend with him?

  These twenty-four characters are incredibly powerful, with each stroke containing the most exquisite martial arts skills. They were created by Zhang Sanfeng's concentrated effort and divine inspiration. When Zhang Cuishan learned them, he left these twenty-four characters behind when Xie Xun asked for a trial, and Xie Xun immediately admitted defeat. Afterwards, the three of them went out to sea, but the stone inscription on this wall remained, leaving countless people from the Jianghu who came searching in awe, with some even saying that Xie Xun had stolen the knife and grasped the divine skill, thus leaving behind these twenty-four characters. However, they did not know that these characters were not created by Xie Xun, but were actually written by Zhang Cuishan.

  Yu Daoyan and Zhang Songxi naturally recognized Zhang Cuishan's handwriting, and were more familiar with his "Iron Slanting Silver Hook" weapon. The two of them carefully searched the mountain wall, hoping to make another discovery.

  Yao Guang gazed at the mountain wall for a while, using her finger as a sword to make a few gestures, then looked again for a moment, and made a few more gestures. Finally, she confirmed her guess and said: "This is Master's handwriting, Fifth Brother only learned it, but I don't know what kind of situation it was at that time. How could Xie Xun watch Fifth Brother write these words? Since Xie Xun killed so many people, he wouldn't suddenly take an interest in watching Fifth Brother write and examine his martial arts skills."

  Zhang Songxi heard this, his body shook, and a gleam of light flashed in his eyes. "It's indeed a martial arts competition! It must be that Xie Xun wanted to compete with the Fifth Brother, and the Fifth Brother wrote down these words. Xie Xun knew he was no match, so he didn't write anything, which means he conceded defeat! If there wasn't the Fifth Brother on the island... perhaps..."

  Yu Daishan was now running wildly all over the island, as if he had gone mad. He searched every nook and cranny, digging three feet into the ground, and after half an hour, he returned with a big sweat on his face, but with a joyful expression, repeatedly saying "Can't find it, can't find it".

  When a person is alive, they must be seen by people; when dead, their corpse must be seen. Xie Yun killed so many people without covering it up, it doesn't make sense that if he killed Zhang Cuishan, he would suddenly throw his body into the sea or bury him, which means to say, Zhang Cuishan is still in this world!

  Yu Daayan could think of these things, Zhang Songxi naturally also could, the two brothers looked at each other, both were extremely excited.

  As long as there is man, there is hope.

  To avoid missing anything, the three siblings searched the island again carefully and returned to Wudang with a mix of worry and hope, sharing the good news with everyone. As soon as they returned to the mountain, they heard another piece of good news.

  Song Yuanqiao's wife has been pregnant for a month.

  The author has something to say: Actually, I've always thought that there's a big problem with "The Legend of the Condor Hero", which is that "the supreme ruler of the martial arts world, the precious dragon-slaying knife, commands the whole world and no one dares to disobey". Does anyone really think that just because someone has a knife, others will listen to them? It feels like this is just to make the story follow the main plot, and the author forcibly lowers the IQ of the entire world... And it's said that the dragon-slaying knife contains unparalleled martial arts skills. Okay, but don't these people think it's even more stupid to spend their limited lifetime searching for a knife infinitely?