Lin Pingzhi

The Smiling, Proud Wanderer world.

While Lu Qingshan and Han Li were conversing in the chat group, Yue Buqun had already led the Mount Hua Sect members to Mount Heng, intending to attend Liu Zhengfeng of the Mount Heng Sword Sect's "Golden Basin Hand-Washing" ceremony.

After noticing Lu Qingshan and Han Li's chat records, Yue Buqun also felt a faint sense of urgency.

Of the five current members of the chat group, the group leader Lu Qingshan possessed the highest strength and status. Moreover, he held vast resources in his hands; merely taking out a small portion was enough to greatly improve the others' strength.

Among the remaining four, Han Li, who possessed the Heavenly Palm Bottle, was undoubtedly the most sought-after. He could use the Heaven-Soaring Creation Dew to exchange for a large amount of resources from the group leader. Although Pang Bo was not as fortunate as Han Li, the world he lived in was extremely advanced, making it relatively easy for him to cultivate and grow stronger.

Only the worlds of Yue Buqun and Cao Cao were lower-level and lacking in resources. Even though the chat group's upgrade had raised their worlds' levels, they still needed a great many external resources to continue cultivating!

And within the chat group, the one most capable of helping them was undoubtedly the group leader, Lu Qingshan!

If he wanted to keep obtaining resources from Lu Qingshan in the future, he had to find a way to maintain their relationship.

When Lu Qingshan had appeared last time, even Cao Cao had prepared a gift. Yue Buqun alone had prepared nothing, which left him rather vexed.

"Fortunately, the gift I prepared for the group leader is about to fall into my hands!"

With that thought, Yue Buqun immediately rose and led the Mount Hua Sect members out of the inn toward Liu Zhengfeng's residence.

When Yue Buqun's party arrived before the Liu residence, a Liu family disciple responsible for receiving guests hurriedly ran inside to report it.

Before long, Liu Zhengfeng, his face full of delight, quickly came to the entrance with his disciples to welcome Yue Buqun inside.

It was nearly noon, and guests from all walks of life had already begun arriving one after another.

There was Zhang Jinao, deputy chief of the Beggar Gang; Old Master Xia of Zhengzhou's Liuhe Gate and his three sons-in-law; Iron Granny of Goddess Peak in the Three Gorges between Sichuan and Hubei; Pan Hou, chief of the Sea Sand Gang of the East Sea; the two friends of Qujiang, Divine Saber Bai Ke and Divine Brush Lu Xisi; and many others...

Upon hearing that the Mount Hua Sect's leader had come in person, these people also went out to greet Yue Buqun.

Yue Buqun had always enjoyed making friends, so even though many of them were obscure or had less than sterling reputations, he chatted and laughed with each of them as he returned their greetings, showing none of the airs of a Mount Hua Sect leader who considered himself above others.

Thus, a crowd surrounded Yue Buqun as they headed toward the main hall.

At that moment, a hunchback mixed among the crowd witnessed this scene and heard the many martial artists around him praising "Gentleman Sword" Yue Buqun.

His head suddenly grew hot. He shoved aside the people in front of him and charged straight toward Yue Buqun. Then he bent his knees, fell to the ground, and repeatedly kowtowed. "Sect Leader Yue! You are the renowned Gentleman Sword of the martial world, and the Mount Hua Sect is a righteous and prestigious sect! Please uphold justice for my Fuwei Escort Agency!"

"The Fuwei Escort Agency?" Yue Buqun was slightly stunned.

Although Yue Buqun did not recognize the hunchback before him, merely hearing him mention the Fuwei Escort Agency was enough for Yue Buqun to guess his identity.

Lin Pingzhi!

Lin Pingzhi, who in his original fate had once become his disciple, married his beloved daughter Yue Lingshan, then ultimately killed Yue Lingshan and defected to the Mount Song Sect!

To be honest, in the eyes of Yue Buqun, who had read The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, Lin Pingzhi's nature was still quite chivalrous.

At the beginning, he had offended the Qingcheng Sect members for Yue Lingshan, who had disguised herself as an ugly girl. Even later, when the Fuwei Escort Agency suffered a great disaster and he was starving, he had never relied on his martial arts to harm ordinary people.

The reason Lin Pingzhi later turned evil was in fact partly because Yue Buqun had sought to seize the Lin family's Evil-Exorcising Swordplay.

But Yue Buqun had already joined the Myriad Heavens Chat Group and had now cultivated to the Grandmaster realm. Naturally, he could no longer be interested in seizing the Lin family's Evil-Exorcising Swordplay.

Yet what Yue Buqun had not expected was that, this time, he had not sent anyone to Fuzhou City at all, but Lin Pingzhi had still escaped from the Qingcheng Sect and arrived at Mount Heng, just as he had in the original plot.

And at that moment, Lin Pingzhi quickly told everyone present how Yu Canghai of the Qingcheng Sect had destroyed the Fuwei Escort Agency.

"Sect Leader Yue!"

Lin Pingzhi continued kowtowing. "Please uphold justice for my Lin family!"

Everyone present looked toward Yue Buqun. They too wanted to know how this "Gentleman Sword" would handle such a situation.

"Child, get up first!"

Yue Buqun said calmly, "This is a conflict between your Fuwei Escort Agency and the Qingcheng Sect. My Mount Hua Sect is an outsider, so it would be improper for us to interfere."

At that moment, Yue Lingshan, standing behind Yue Buqun, had already been saddened by the Lin family's tragedy. She stepped forward two paces and said, "Father, this man is pure-hearted and filial. Why not accept him into our Mount Hua Sect?"

Lin Pingzhi, still kneeling and kowtowing, heard this and immediately felt that Yue Lingshan behind Yue Buqun was like an immortal maiden from the heavens.

Then inspiration struck him, and he hurriedly continued kowtowing. "I beg Master to accept me as a disciple. This disciple will certainly obey your teachings, strictly observe the sect rules, and never dare to defy your orders in the slightest."

Hearing this, Yue Buqun could not help feeling that fate was playing tricks on him. After all the twists and turns, things had still reached this point.

Should he accept Lin Pingzhi as his disciple or not?

In truth, neither Lin Pingzhi before him nor Yu Canghai of the Qingcheng Sect mattered to the current Yue Buqun!

The only thing he cared about was what the people in the chat group, especially the group leader Lu Qingshan, would think of him after learning of this matter!

"Fine!"

After thinking it over again and again, Yue Buqun finally had his answer. He looked at Lin Pingzhi and said, "It would not be difficult for me to accept you, but you have not yet informed your parents. I do not know whether they would permit it."

Hearing this, Lin Pingzhi was overjoyed and continued kowtowing. "For this disciple to be accepted by such a gracious master, my father and mother would be happy beyond measure. There is absolutely no reason they would refuse! It is only that my father and mother have now been captured by those vile villains of the Qingcheng Sect. I beg Master to save them."

"Enough. Get up. I accept you as my disciple!"

Yue Buqun continued, "As for the grudge between your Fuwei Escort Agency and the Qingcheng Sect, once I have investigated it clearly, I will naturally act to save them!"

Seeing Yue Buqun accept Lin Pingzhi as his disciple, the host, Liu Zhengfeng, immediately stepped forward and said, "Congratulations, Sect Leader Yue, on accepting such a fine disciple. Please proceed to the main hall for tea!"

As he spoke, Liu Zhengfeng led Yue Buqun's party onward toward the main hall.

Over the next while, more martial artists arrived one after another.

By noon, apart from the Mount Song Sect, the other sects of the Five Sacred Mountains Sword Sect had all arrived in succession.

Liu Zhengfeng rested briefly in the inner hall while his disciples began receiving guests and directing the cooks and servants. Nearly two hundred tables were set both inside and outside.

The banquet soon began. Tianmen Daoist, leader of the Mount Tai Sect, was already courteously yielding the seat of honor to several senior masters.

Just then...

Bang! Bang!

Two gunshots suddenly rang out from outside, followed by a great burst of drums and music, mixed with the sounds of gongs and shouted announcements.

Upon hearing it, Liu Zhengfeng hurriedly went out to greet them.

An official with a face marked by drink and debauchery had already stepped into the residence. He called out loudly, "An imperial decree has arrived. Liu Zhengfeng, receive the decree."

Seeing the man, Liu Zhengfeng bent both knees and knelt directly to receive the imperial decree.

After learning that Liu Zhengfeng had spent money to purchase the military post of assistant general, many guests secretly looked down on him. Yet Liu Zhengfeng remained perfectly composed, his face wreathed in smiles as he invited everyone to take their seats.

Before long, the servants of the Liu residence came forward to serve dishes and pour wine.

At that moment, Liu Zhengfeng's disciple Mi Weiyi quickly brought out a small table covered in brocade. Another disciple, Xiang Danian, held a dazzling golden basin in both hands. It was already filled with clear water, and he carefully set it atop the small table.

Amid the sound of firecrackers, Liu Zhengfeng quickly walked to the table and cupped his fists as he bowed to the assembled guests.

Everyone rose and returned the gesture. But when they heard Liu Zhengfeng speak of things such as "receiving the ruler's salary, serving the ruler's affairs" and "loyalty and righteousness cannot both be fulfilled," those who had originally intended to show their support all fell silent.

Liu Zhengfeng did not mind in the least. He continued, "This disciple, Liu Zhengfeng, was graciously accepted by my master, yet I failed to bring glory to the Mount Heng Sword Sect. I am deeply ashamed! From this day onward, I, Liu Zhengfeng, shall wash my hands in a golden basin, devote myself to official service, and no longer involve myself in the grudges and disputes of the martial world. Should I violate this oath, may I end like this sword."

After saying this, Liu Zhengfeng flipped his right hand and swiftly drew a longsword from behind him.

With both hands, he snapped the blade into two. Then he casually let the broken halves fall. With two soft hissing sounds, both pieces embedded themselves in the blue bricks of the floor.

Seeing that Liu Zhengfeng had made up his mind, the people of the Five Sacred Mountains Sword Sect no longer tried to persuade him otherwise!

Then, smiling, Liu Zhengfeng rolled up his sleeves and was about to place both hands into the golden basin before him.