Wuxia 14

An invitation arrived from Shaolin Temple at the foot of the mountain, requesting the Wudang members to attend the Lion-Slaying Conference.

Liu Zhong was surprised.

Since Zhou Zhiruo had already married Song Qinghua and had not participated in Zhang Wuji's voyage at sea, why was there still a Lion-Slaying Conference?

Out of curiosity, Liu Zhong followed Yu Lianzhou and Mo Shenggu toward Shaolin Temple.

Song Qinghua was also curious, wondering how the Lion-Slaying Conference in this lifetime differed from the previous one, so he brought Zhou Zhiruo along.

Primarily, he remembered how in his past life, Zhou Zhiruo had been humiliated by the Yellow-Clad Woman.

That Yellow-Clad Woman had blindly favored Zhang Wuji and the princess of the Yuan Dynasty, suppressing the Emei Sect leader Zhou Zhiruo while acting like some sort of superior expert.

Song Qinghua had been furious, but in his previous life, his martial arts were not as advanced as they were now, and he was no match for the Yellow-Clad Woman, unable to stand up for Zhou Zhiruo.

In this life, he intended to seek justice for his wife.

Song Qinghua also remembered that this Lion-Slaying Conference was a conspiracy by the Yuan Dynasty; that fellow Cheng Kun had not only colluded with Yuan soldiers to surround and attack the gathered heroes at the foot of Mount Shaoshi, but had also buried gunpowder on the mountain, intending to blow everyone to death.

This crisis had to be resolved first.

Song Qinghua went to find Liu Zhong.

He trusted his elder brother from this lifetime more than anyone else.

He trusted him even more than he trusted his own wife.

He knew his brother would believe his words and would not pry into his secrets.

Liu Zhong was actually thinking about dealing with that fellow Cheng Kun as well, so Song Qinghua coming to him played right into his hands.

After the two discussed it, they went to find Yu Lianzhou and Mo Shenggu.

Liu Zhong: "Second Uncle, Seventh Uncle, I have received information concerning the safety of the heroes of the pugilistic world this time."

Yu Lianzhou: "What information?"

Although he and Mo Shenggu were puzzled as to how Liu Zhong, who had been staying on Wudang Mountain and following behind them, could have obtained information they were unaware of.

But the two trusted that Liu Zhong would not speak nonsense, so they suppressed their doubts and asked.

Liu Zhong first provided them with a brief explanation: "Qinghua and I previously cultivated some manpower in Tianshan, and they sent me a message via carrier pigeon regarding something they accidentally discovered."

After a pause, Liu Zhong said: "This Lion-Slaying Conference is actually another 'the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind' conspiracy by the Yuan people. There are spies from the Yuan in Shaolin Temple, and the Shaolin abbot has already been controlled by that person. That person has also buried gunpowder on the mountain, wanting to blow up the heroes who came to attend the conference. The Yuan soldiers have even gathered their forces, waiting for the heroes to go up the mountain before surrounding Mount Shaoshi."

Yu Lianzhou and Mo Shenggu were shocked upon hearing this and hurriedly asked: "Is this true?"

Liu Zhong nodded: "It is true."

The two could no longer sit still.

Mo Shenggu said bitterly: "Those Yuan dogs! They dare not act openly and only resort to such despicable methods."

Zhou Zhiruo spoke up: "Could it be the idea of that Yuan Dynasty princess again?"

Mo Shenggu: "It is very likely."

Thinking of the ambiguity between Zhang Wuji and Zhao Min, their expressions turned ugly.

They decided that once they saw Zhang Wuji, they would have to give him a stern warning.

Even if a young man is prone to infatuation, he must distinguish which women he can love and which he cannot be with.

Zhao Min was not like Yin Susu.

Although Yin Susu was called a demonic cult enchantress, she was still Han Chinese, and once she turned over a new leaf, everyone could accept her.

But Zhao Min was a Yuan Dynasty princess, and there was an irreconcilable ethnic conflict between her and the Han people.

Furthermore, Zhao Min had schemed against the entire pugilistic world, and the six major sects all held grudges against her.

If Zhang Wuji were to be with Zhao Min, he would likely become an enemy of the entire pugilistic world.

Moreover, he was the leader of the Ming Cult; if he were with the enemy's princess, would the Ming Cult members under him still obey him?

Yu Lianzhou and Mo Shenggu sighed.

Wuji was a child who grew up without parents or elders to guide him; had he gone astray?

Zhou Zhiruo said: "I will write a letter to my master now to inform her of the situation."

Yu Lianzhou and Mo Shenggu realized they needed to disclose the matter to sects other than the Shaolin Sect.

The five of them discussed it and split up to notify the other sects.

Zhou Zhiruo and Song Qinghua went to notify Abbess Miejue.

Liu Zhong, having the highest martial arts and the fastest speed, went to notify He Taichong and Ban Shuxian of the Kunlun Sect, who had traveled from afar.

Yu Lianzhou went to notify the Kongtong Sect, and Mo Shenggu notified the Huashan Sect.

On the way, Liu Zhong encountered people from the Beggar Sect and told their Head Bowl-Bearer the news.

The leaders of the other sects were all shocked, and the Kunlun Sect and Kongtong Sect immediately considered returning to their mountain gates.

Liu Zhong did not stop them and let them take their disciples and turn back toward their mountains.

At the foot of Mount Shaoshi, the leaders of the few sects that had not returned gathered together to discuss how to use the enemy's own strategy against them and launch a counter-attack against the Yuan people.

Liu Zhong offered his suggestion: join forces with the Ming Cult army to launch a pincer attack and annihilate the Yuan forces.

Upon hearing the words Ming Cult, Abbess Miejue's face darkened, and she prepared to object.

Liu Zhong spoke before she could: "Abbess, the hatred for our country outweighs personal grudges. I believe that if Lady Guo Xiang were alive, she would agree with this choice."

Abbess Miejue glared fiercely at Liu Zhong, her expression shifting uncertainly, but in the end, she did not voice her opposition.

Liu Zhong said to Mo Shenggu, "Seventh Uncle, I will leave the matter of contacting the Ming Cult to you. Go find the Ming Cult Left Emissary Yang Xiao and discuss the alliance with him. As for Junior Brother Zhang Wuji, let's keep him in the dark for the time being."

Mo Shenggu was about to ask why, but he immediately thought of the entanglement between Zhang Wuji and Zhao Min, realizing that it wasn't Zhang Wuji that Liu Zhong wanted to keep in the dark, but Zhao Min.

He sighed and nodded.

Liu Zhong then discussed with the others how to ferret out the traitor within the Shaolin Temple.

Liu Zhong said, "It is said that the traitor hiding in the Shaolin Temple is none other than Cheng Kun, whom Xie Xun has been searching for all this time; his Buddhist name in the Shaolin Temple is Yuanzhen."

Old Man Gao of the Huashan Sect asked in surprise, "Didn't Yuanzhen die at Bright Peak? Could it be that the monks of the Shaolin Temple lied to us?"

Liu Zhong replied, "The Shaolin monks have no reason to lie to us; it must be that Yuanzhen was cunning enough to fake his death. By now, the Shaolin Temple must have been brought under his control through despicable means."

Yu Lianzhou frowned, "The greatest threat is the gunpowder. If it is ignited, I fear the heroes of the martial arts world will suffer heavy casualties."

Liu Zhong said, "Leave the matter of the gunpowder to me; I will handle it."

As a biochemical expert from his past life, could he not handle a pile of gunpowder?

Yu Lianzhou worried, "Qingshu, can you do it? That is gunpowder; it is very dangerous."

Even martial arts masters were wary of the power of gunpowder.

Liu Zhong gave him a smile full of confidence, "Rest assured, nephew does not fight battles he is not prepared for."

Once the matters were discussed, the high-ranking members of each sect began to ascend Mount Shaoshi in batches, pretending on the surface that they knew nothing.

To prevent leaks, only the high-ranking members of each sect knew about this, and the disciples under them were unaware of their true purpose for coming.

Upon arriving at the Shaolin Temple, the high-ranking members of the various sects relied on their martial arts to begin secretly patrolling the temple, discerning who were the true Shaolin monks and who were the lackeys of the Yuan!