Chapter 5 Aftermath of the Encounter

After dealing with the ambush, the five did not continue toward the town center. Instead, they turned into a side street and, after walking for a while, randomly chose a house and pushed the door open.

Cangling Town was not particularly large, but it was still a "town," not just a tiny village. Otherwise, the earlier fight would have already attracted onlookers. After the town had been abandoned for many years, there were many empty houses and thatched huts, with no one living in them and nothing of value inside. If one could tolerate the snakes, insects, rats, and ants, it wasn't a bad place to find shelter.

According to the information Meng Jiu had provided, aside from the leaders and disciples of the major sects who were staying at the inn in the town center, other Jianghu wanderers or members of second- and third-rate sects could only find such residences near the inn to make do. Of course, Meng Jiu and his Beggars' Sect elders never considered such problems; beggars were used to sleeping on the streets.

Feng Bujue and the others, as players, could ignore basic physiological needs like eating, drinking, and sleeping in the script. They only needed to pay attention to their stamina and whether they could maintain their concentration.

There was still about an hour until dawn. Feng Bujue's plan was for everyone to hide for another two or three hours and then go to the inn around seven in the morning. They would use that time to allow their survival and stamina to recover naturally. He also wanted to discuss the situation and countermeasures after dawn.

Because the script had a high degree of freedom, with no restrictions on time, map, or tasks, the players did not have to worry about being penalized by the system for passive play. They could safely rest and recuperate.

Of course, Feng Bujue was very efficient. He finished conveying everything he wanted to say in half an hour. In the following two-plus hours, it devolved into word chain games and Xiao Tan being tragically pelted with snacks...

While the players were hiding in the dark, passing the time, Shi Yanran and the square-faced man were not idle. They would meet from time to time to discuss the details of framing someone. They did indeed know each other. Shi Yanran had recognized the man from a quick glance earlier as Gongsun Li, the second leader of Wanxia Tower.

Although this Gongsun Li also had the surname Gongsun, he was not related to Gongsun Qian by blood. They simply happened to share the same surname. Gongsun Qian had joined the sect ten years earlier than Gongsun Li and was also ten years older. The two martial brothers had addressed each other as brothers since they were young. Moreover, both of them had a great talent for martial arts and were outstanding talents among their peers. Thus, decades later, they had become the top two figures in Wanxia Tower.

In Wanxia Tower, Gongsun Qian was undoubtedly the best in martial arts, but Gongsun Li's scheming was far beyond that of his master brother. Take Shi Yanran and Wang Ao's affair, for example. Gongsun Qian was kept in the dark, but Gongsun Li was very clear about it. The impressive thing about this man was that he knew, but didn't say anything… and he could pretend he didn't know at all.

He neither used this matter to threaten anyone nor interfered with the development of the situation. Gongsun Li's principle was just four words—"secretly guard against." Therefore, he was always prepared when faced with sudden situations. It was this "thousand days of guarding against thieves" approach that allowed him to turn the tide at such a crucial time today.

Gongsun Li's assistance to Shi Yanran this time was not because he had a good relationship with the woman or had any ulterior motives toward her. He was purely acting to preserve the reputation of Wanxia Tower and had no choice but to take action. He was also well aware that once the murder was exposed, the adultery would certainly be exposed as well. It would have been fine if it had happened somewhere else, but it had to happen here. Now, Cangling Town was even more bustling than a martial arts tournament. If Wanxia Tower's scandal were exposed at this time and in this place… then wherever they went in the future, people would point at their backs and say, "The master's wife is having an affair with a disciple." How would Wanxia Tower's disciples be able to walk the Jianghu in the future?

In normal times, upright gentlemen and righteous people are few and far between who can help based on principle rather than personal relationships when such times come. As things stood, Gongsun Li would not talk about truth or justice. It was better to push everything onto those outsiders. Anyway, judging from the appearance of Feng Bujue's group, they were all in their twenties and none of them were familiar faces. Even if they did have some skill, they were just newcomers to the Jianghu. With the Jianghu status of Wanxia Tower's second leader and the master's wife, Shi Yanran, it would be a sure thing to frame the five for killing Wang Ao, right?

That night, Gongsun Li and Shi Yanran finished discussing their story and immediately went to find Gongsun Qian. They said that they had accidentally discovered Wang Ao going out at night and felt that something was unusual, so they secretly followed him. However, after following for a while, they found that Wang Ao had died tragically in the street, and five strange-looking people with strange martial arts were standing next to his body. After fighting, they realized that the opponents were really powerful. They were afraid of being defeated with two against five, so they had no choice but to escape and report the news.

Although Gongsun Qian felt that there were a few flaws in this story, he didn't think too much about it in his anxiety. He immediately led more than ten disciples out of the inn and went to the scene of the incident under the guidance of Shi Yanran and Gongsun Li. As a result, they indeed found Wang Ao's broken body lying in the street. Judging from the number of footprints at the scene and the scattered darts on the ground, there had indeed been a fight involving many people.

However, under the current circumstances, they didn't know where to find the five people for the time being, so they had no choice but to collect the body and return to their residence to discuss the matter at length.

This group made a big show of going out and in from the inn. Naturally, many people saw them. Before dawn, the news spread, and almost all the major sects and martial artists heard that… Wanxia Tower's Wang Ao had been killed, and the killers seemed to be five mysterious experts who had never been heard of in the Jianghu.

…………

The next morning, Cangling Inn.

The cooks and waiters in the inn were busy before dawn. By this time, baskets of snow-white steamed buns and pots of fragrant tea were ready, waiting for the guests to call for them.

No one in Cangling Town knew exactly when the inn had reopened, not even the staff. Anyway, when people heard about the duel between Xie San and Ye Cheng in mid-July and rushed to the town, the inn was already operating normally.

Whenever those Jianghu people inquired about the inn's history, the staff would respond with ignorance. Because the staff in this inn did not understand martial arts or Jianghu affairs, they were all ordinary people from nearby counties. Someone had given them a considerable amount of money and told them that they only needed to work here for a month. After the fifteenth of August, the inn would close, and the money would be settled, and everyone would go their own way.

As for the innkeeper… he didn't appear often. He was a man in his forties, with a feminine appearance and an extremely pale face twenty-four hours a day. He looked like a ghost even in the daytime, and you couldn't see him at night. Some people even believed that he was the reincarnation of a wronged soul from the town.

Having talked about the inn's owner, let's talk about the guests in the inn…

In the martial arts world of this script, the most powerful forces were "One Manor, Two Towers, Three Sects, Four Gates," a total of ten sects.

One Manor was the Ye Manor in Xi'an; Two Towers were Wanxia Tower and Bafang Tower; Three Sects were Shaolin, Renwu, and Xiaoyao; Four Gates were Wuji Gate in Kaifeng, Vajra Gate in the Western Regions, Righteous Gate in Luoyang, and Tang Gate in Shu.

Among these sects, Ye Manor was the supreme force in the martial world, towering and majestic. The combat power of its top experts was recognized as the strongest in the martial world. In addition to Ye Cheng, known as the Sword God, the "Six Sword Shadows" in the manor were all top-notch experts at the level of sect leaders. Lu Qingning of the Fallen Plum Sword, mentioned earlier, was one of these six experts. Of course, she also disappeared last night…

As for the Two Towers, Wanxia Tower and Bafang Tower, they were both rising sects in the present day. Each sect had a peerless secret manual passed down from generation to generation, namely the Wanxia Divine Skill and the Bafang Supreme Heart Technique. Their leaders were also experts second only to Ye Cheng. Looking at the martial world, even if their kung fu was not in the top ten, it would not be outside the top twenty. Therefore, these two sects had many disciples, and the quality of the experts in the towers was not bad.

Speaking of the Three Sects, Shaolin Sect, Renwu Sect, and Xiaoyao Sect each respected the principles of "Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism." In addition to martial arts, they also taught philosophy. The spirit that these three sects followed had a bit of a "saving people" meaning, so they had many followers, and they basically didn't care about the aptitude of the disciples. Anyway, the three sects all had deep foundations and many martial arts skills. Disciples with low aptitude would practice some simple skills, while those with high aptitude would practice more profound skills. There were many martial arts secrets. Take the Shaolin Seventy-Two Supreme Skills, for example. It was good enough if a person could master one of them in their lifetime. Since ancient times, only Bodhidharma had mastered all seventy-two skills. No one would compare themselves to such a god.

The last Four Gates were considered to be the bottom of the first-tier sects. However, the Wuji Grand Art of Wuji Gate, the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill of Vajra Gate, the Dangtian Saber Technique of Righteous Gate, and the Poison Arts of Tang Gate were all unique and had their own strengths. In some specific situations, even the martial arts of Wanxia Tower or Bafang Tower might not be their match.

For example, the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill, quoting Jin Yong's description in "Return of the Condor Heroes"—"It is the supreme Dharma-protecting divine skill of the Esoteric sect, divided into thirteen levels. The first level is very easy, and even a dull person can master it in one or two years with instruction. The second level is twice as difficult as the first, requiring three or four years. The third level is twice as difficult as the second, requiring seven or eight years. It increases exponentially like this, becoming more difficult as you go further. After the fifth level, it often requires more than thirty years of hard work to deepen another level."

Theoretically speaking, even a person with mediocre aptitude could reach the thirteenth level by progressing step by step, of course, that person would have to have a lifespan of more than three hundred years or something…

In reality… Since ancient times, only Jinlun Fawang, an unparalleled genius who practiced diligently and progressed rapidly, had reached the tenth level in his lifetime. According to the Dragon Elephant Prajna Sutra, each palm strike at this time possesses the great power of ten dragons and ten elephants.

Therefore, the strength of martial arts is difficult to define. Some martial arts can be quickly mastered to a certain level by cutting off a certain organ on your body, while other martial arts, even if practiced for a lifetime, will not be very powerful if your talent is not enough.

The situation of the first-tier sects is roughly like this.

As for the Beggars' Sect… in this world, it can only be considered the leader of the second-tier sects. Meng Jiu, at his age, although his seniority was very high, his kung fu… was probably similar to Ye Hai. Don't even mention comparing him to Ye Cheng or the two leaders; even against the leaders of the Three Sects and Four Gates, Meng Jiu wouldn't dare to say that he had any chance of winning. The strength of the elders and core disciples in the Beggars' Sect was also somewhat different from the experts of the first-tier sects.

Perhaps some people would ask, doesn't the number one gang in the world also have a peerless skill like the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms? That's right, Meng Jiu had also learned the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, but not everyone could practice it to Xiao Feng's level. In the final analysis, it was still a matter of the person. If Xiao Feng had practiced the Prajna Palm from a young age and could live to be sixty years old, he could probably turn all the Beggars' Sect leaders of the past into ashes with one palm.

Let's talk about the other second-tier gangs, such as Diancang, Emei, Huashan, Kongtong, etc.… They haven't produced any particularly outstanding talents in recent years, and there's a bit of a "decline in inheritance, inheritance in decline" flavor.

The rest are the third-tier and non-influential gangs, such as the Giant Whale Gang, Qinghai Sword Gate, or XX Escort Agency. You can say that these guys are Jianghu people, or you can say that they are smugglers, farmers, and security companies… In terms of martial arts, their leaders may only be considered average, but the Cangling Sword Debate is attracting worldwide attention, and these guys naturally have to come and join in the fun, as if just participating in this event would raise their sect to a higher level. In the future, they can also brag to others: "Back then, when Ye Cheng and Xie San were dueling in Cangling Town, I was right there, doing this and that…"

As for those unaffiliated wanderers, there aren't actually many of them. So far, only seventeen or eighteen experts have successfully entered the town via small paths. Those who entered via the main roads were all great heroes and experts with close ties to the major sects and a high reputation, but there were only a few dozen of them.

By the thirteenth of August, the inn was filled with the leaders and disciples of the ten sects. Only a few lone travelers who had arrived early and had a high Jianghu status and martial arts skills were able to occupy some rooms in the inn.

The people from the second- and third-tier sects and other martial artists who came in twos and threes lived in the abandoned houses around the inn. Now, the houses nearby that had a bamboo stick inserted in front of the door indicated that they had been occupied. If there was no stick, feel free to take it. Anyway, this town was a no-man's land. The things that everyone agreed on slightly became the rules.

In summary, the current situation in Cangling Town is basically like this.

However, the two protagonists of the duel, Ye Cheng and Xie San, have not yet appeared in the town.

…………

Cold dew cleans the autumn sky, distant mountains are in sight.

The autumn morning in a small mountain town does give a very refreshing feeling.

Every morning, the leaders of each sect (including those living outside the inn) would bring one or two trusted disciples to find a table on the first floor of the inn to sit down, drink tea, and eat. They would inevitably chat with each other intentionally or unintentionally. On the surface, they were polite, but in reality, they were testing each other.

And the most discussed topic today was naturally the death of Wang Ao, a disciple of Wanxia Tower…

"Leader Gongsun, you and your disciples made such a commotion before dawn. What was all the commotion about?" The one who asked this question was a stout, greasy-faced monk. He was holding a wine jar early in the morning and wasn't sitting at the table. Instead, he was leaning against the side of the stairs leading to the second floor of the inn, sitting directly on the ground. His face was crimson, his expression was slightly drunk, his kasaya was open, and a string of Buddhist beads was hanging on his chest. Each bead was as big as a fist.

This monk was called Lushan. Although he was a Buddhist disciple, Lushan was obviously not from Shaolin. No one knew which wild temple this drunken monk came from, nor did anyone know where he learned a set of rather profound boxing techniques—Drunken Arhat. That's how he made a name for himself in the Jianghu. Over the past ten years, he had traveled the Jianghu and done many righteous deeds, so he could be considered a great hero.

"Hmph… Monk Lu, did you mishear because you were drunk?" Gongsun Qian snorted coldly, maintaining his poise and neither admitting nor denying.

The drunken monk Lushan's ability to pretend to be confused when he clearly understood was well known in the Jianghu. Lushan would say things that ordinary people were embarrassed to say. Anyway, as long as he put on that drunken look, he wouldn't be afraid of offending people. If the other party was really angry, the monk would say that he was drunk and talking nonsense, apologize, and both sides would have a way out.

"Oh? Could it be that I'm dreaming? That's not right… In my dream, it seems like I smell a bloody smell?" Lushan asked again, feigning ignorance.

"Maybe your monk's nose has been damaged by the wine?" Shi Yanran was sitting next to Gongsun Qian. Hearing this, she turned her head and replied unpleasantly.

"Leader Gongsun, I also heard the commotion." A tall, thin man in his forties interjected with a smile at this time. "Did you take your disciples up the mountain to hunt wild game in the middle of the night? Hehe… The things you hunted have quite a strong smell!"

This person was Ji Tong, the leader of Bafang Tower, and he had a long-standing feud with Gongsun Qian. Therefore, it was normal for him to make sarcastic remarks at this time.

Gongsun Qian did not bury Wang Ao's body last night. Instead, he ordered his disciples to wrap it in a straw mat and bring it back to the inn. The corpse was currently placed in one of their rooms, guarded by two disciples. As for the smell… he had used special medicine to treat it, which could temporarily suppress the smell of the corpse for a day and a night.

"Hehehe… Leader Ji's nose is really sharp." Gongsun Qian laughed, subtly cursing him.

Gongsun Li, Shi Yanran, and two other disciples next to him laughed in cooperation, as if the words were very funny.

"Hmph!" Ji Tong slapped the table. "Did you wipe it clean over there, or are you farting with your mouth?"

"What did you say!"

"Hahaha…" Ji Tong also laughed loudly. "Leader Gongsun, you didn't bury your disciple after he died because you couldn't find the murderer, right? Hehe… I, Ji Tong, have seen a thing or two. Why don't you let me take a look at the body so you can find your enemy."

"Hmph… I appreciate Leader Ji's kindness." Gongsun Qian snorted coldly. "I haven't just started walking in the Jianghu, so I don't need you to go to the trouble!"

The two of them exchanged barbs, while the leaders of the other sects and martial artists around them silently watched the excitement.

Just then, a few figures appeared at the entrance of the inn. It turned out to be Feng Bujue and his teammates, who had just walked in through the main entrance…