The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun

Page 343

He checked Jiang Ning's body before leaving.

He was shocked when he heard that Jiang Ning had suffered such serious injuries and almost died. He was afraid that Jiang Ning might have some hidden injuries, so he decided to have him checked.

To his surprise, Jiang Ning was in excellent health, without any hidden ailments or injuries.

This relieved Yue Buqun.

After watching Jiang Ning leave, Yue Buqun prepared to return to his room to rest, but found Ning Zhongze looking at him expressionlessly.

"what happened?"

Yue Buqun sensed something was wrong and tentatively asked a question.

Ning Zhongze maintained the same expression as before.

How many things are you hiding from me?

Upon hearing this, Yue Buqun knew that his wife was upset.

"This one……"

Yue Buqun pondered a solution in his mind and quickly responded aloud.

"A little bit."

Ning Zhongze raised his voice. "Is this just a little bit?"

"If it weren't for tonight, I probably wouldn't have known that you've been hiding so many things from me."

Ning Zhongze was furious.

It is said that couples who have gone through thick and thin will depend on each other for life. They have been married for decades and have overcome all kinds of hardships together. They have developed the Huashan Sect, which started with just the two of them, to its current state. It can be said that they have put in a lot of effort. Ning Zhongze believes that Yue Buqun has no secrets.

Now she discovers that Yue Buqun has been hiding so many things from her, which makes Ning Zhongze very angry.

She was so angry that she didn't want to talk to Yue Buqun anymore.

"This one……"

Yue Buqun was speechless, then walked to Ning Zhongze's side, but Ning Zhongze turned her back to him.

"lady."

Yue Buqun sighed. "This matter is a secret of my Huashan Sect. Even I only learned about it before my master passed away. My master instructed me not to reveal this matter, and the fact that he didn't tell you beforehand shows that he didn't want you to know."

Ning Zhongze questioned, "What about what happened after that? Why weren't you told?"

Yue Buqun was speechless once again.

Receiving no answer, Ning Zhongze pressed again, "Does Ning'er also know about these things?"

Yue Buqun fell silent upon hearing this.

Ning Zhongze didn't hear the reply from behind and also fell silent.

After a while.

Ning Zhongze spoke again.

"We've come this far together, and yet you've kept so many things from me. Even Ning'er knows, but I knew nothing. Can't I share your hardships? Can't I know?"

Yue Buqun sensed something was wrong.

Ning Zhongze's voice began to choke up.

When Yue Buqun turned to the other side, he discovered that Ning Zhongze was already in tears.

Yue Buqun sighed inwardly and gently embraced Ning Zhongze.

Ning Zhongze did not struggle, but buried her head in his arms and silently shed tears.

Yue Buqun didn't know how to comfort him, so he could only remain silent.

After a moment, Ning Zhongze's voice rang out again.

“I know you don’t want me to bear all this yourself. I also know you’ve worried a lot about the Huashan Sect. But I’m also a Huashan disciple and your wife. You shouldn’t keep it from me. I have the right to know all this. We can face it together. Even Ning’er knows about these things, but you won’t tell me. Do you think I’m so unreasonable? Can’t I face this with you?”

Ning Zhongze's voice was much calmer, but it still carried a hint of sadness.

"It's my fault."

Yue Buqun sighed, hugged Ning Zhongze tighter, and sincerely apologized. "I was worried because you've done so much for Mount Hua and didn't want you to know about these intrigues and schemes. I overlooked your thoughts, and it was my fault."

Ning Zhongze did not speak again.

After a while, Ning Zhongze spoke softly.

"let me go."

Upon hearing this, Yue Buqun released Ning Zhongze and looked at her face. Ning Zhongze's face was covered in tears, her eyes were slightly red and swollen, and her makeup was ruined.

"Humph."

Ning Zhongze noticed that Yue Buqun was looking at her, so she snorted and turned her head away.

She knew she must look terrible crying right now.

Yue Buqun did not want to embarrass Ning Zhongze, and said, "Madam, let me fetch a basin of water for you to wash your face."

Ning Zhongze knew her makeup was smudged, so she nodded.

Yue Buqun left the house to fetch a basin of water, but stopped abruptly as he was about to return to his room, his face showing hesitation.

After a while, Yue Buqun went to the kitchen, intending to use the Emei Sect's kitchen to make some ginseng soup.

……

The next day.

Jiang Ning rested for a night and prepared to go out for a walk early in the morning.

He planned to go and take a look at Yue Buqun.

After last night's discussion in the side hall, Jiang Ning had a premonition that Ning Zhongze might argue with Yue Buqun.

I don't know how my master handled it.

With this thought in mind, Jiang Ning arrived at his master and mistress's house, only to find it empty. He had no idea where the two had gone.

Not seeing anyone, Jiang Ning decided to wander around. After a while, he walked into a garden and happened to run into Yue Buqun.

At this moment, Yue Buqun stood not far away with his hands behind his back, looking ahead with a calm expression.

Jiang Ning followed the gaze and saw a person practicing swordsmanship.

It was Lin Pingzhi.

Jiang Ning's gaze darted back and forth between Yue Buqun and Lin Pingzhi before he walked over.

"What is Master thinking about?"

Yue Buqun had already been aware of the commotion behind him. Upon hearing Jiang Ning's words, Yue Buqun remained motionless, his expression unchanged, and he did not answer Jiang Ning's question.

Lin Pingzhi's grandfather was Lin Yuantu. Back when Lin Yuantu was still the Zen Master Duyuan, he played a significant role in instigating conflict between the Huashan Sword Qi faction.

Now that Yue Buqun knows about this matter, it's hard for him to judge what his attitude towards Lin Pingzhi is now.

Should we kill Lin Pingzhi? Or expel him from Mount Hua?

After a long time.

"That's all."

Without responding to Jiang Ning, Yue Buqun sighed inwardly and simply said, "Never mind."

"Let bygones be bygones."

Upon hearing Yue Buqun's words, Jiang Ning knew that Yue Buqun would not take his anger out on Lin Pingzhi.

"Master, after I left last night, Master's wife..."

Jiang Ning hesitated for a moment, but still decided to ask.

Given Ning Zhongze's personality, she would definitely get angry if she found out that Yue Buqun was hiding so many things from her.

Yue Buqun turned his head and looked at him with dark circles under his eyes.

“Your master’s wife is a reasonable person. At first, she was indeed angry when she found out that I was hiding something from her, but after my persuasion, she is no longer angry.”

Chapter 459: Sword Dance (18/26)

He listened to Yue Buqun's words and then looked at his expression.

The dark circles under her eyes, which were somewhat dark, were so noticeable on her fair skin.

Clearly, things were not as simple as Yue Buqun had described.

However, since Yue Buqun did not intend to elaborate, and Jiang Ning did not insist on knowing, he did not ask any further questions.

"Master, senior brother."

At this moment, Lin Pingzhi, who was practicing his sword not far away, also put away his sword and walked towards Yue Buqun and Jiang Ning.

In fact, Lin Pingzhi had already seen Jiang Ning coming over, but because Yue Buqun was also watching him practice swordsmanship, he did not stop halfway and only put away his sword after he finished practicing.

"Ah."

Yue Buqun nodded slightly and said to Lin Pingzhi, "Ping'er, your martial arts have indeed improved quite a bit during this period, and you have also become very proficient in the swordsmanship of Mount Hua. However, there are still shortcomings. Your swordsmanship is not coherent, and you have not yet figured out how to use the sword."

Lin Pingzhi, unaware of Yue Buqun's previous thoughts, bowed respectfully after Yue Buqun finished speaking. "Please guide me, Master."

Yue Buqun laughed. “I was indeed going to instruct you just now, but since Ning’er is here, let Ning’er instruct you instead. It just so happens that you two have a deep bond, and you haven’t had a proper chat since Ning’er returned yesterday.”

Lin Pingzhi nodded happily. "Thank you, Master, and thank you, Senior Brother, for your guidance."

Jiang Ning had no objection to the task Yue Buqun gave him. "Yes, Master."

After saying that, he nodded to Lin Pingzhi.

"Alright, Ning'er, you stay here and instruct Ping'er in sword practice. I'll be leaving now."

After Yue Buqun finished speaking, he left.

After Yue Buqun left, Lin Pingzhi looked at Jiang Ning with a joyful expression.

"Senior brother, it's so good to know you're alright."

When Lin Pingzhi heard the news of Jiang Ning's death, it was as if the sky had fallen. After that, he trained day and night, just to avenge Jiang Ning one day.

Jiang Ning smiled. "I'm sorry to have worried Junior Brother Lin."

Jiang Ning didn't say much about this, but instead began to instruct the other party on the Huashan sword technique.

“Junior Brother Lin, the way of swordsmanship is not about rote memorization or fixed moves, but more about change. The Huashan swordsmanship is extremely profound. Each move is the result of the life's work of countless predecessors. But we don’t learn swordsmanship by following the sword manual move by move. Instead, we need to connect them and combine countless moves to form ever-changing swordsmanship. If you can’t do this, even the best swordsmanship is useless.”

Jiang Ning first explained this point to the other party, and then said, "You have already memorized the sword moves, so I won't go into detail. Next, I will demonstrate the Huashan sword technique, and you can watch from the side. I hope it will be helpful to you."

Upon hearing that Jiang Ning was going to demonstrate the Huashan sword technique, Lin Pingzhi's expression turned serious, and he said solemnly, "Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother."

Jiang Ning came out without a sword, but after taking the sword from Lin Pingzhi, he went to the open space where they had been before to practice his swordsmanship.

It was almost December, and heavy snow fell on Mount Emei, turning the entire world into a vast expanse of white.

Jiang Ning is practicing swordplay in the snow.

……

"Senior brother, we have arrived at Shunqing Prefecture and are not far from Mount Emei."

Fang Sheng said to Fang Zheng.

They started their journey from the Shaolin Temple in Henan in November, and now it's December, and they've entered Sichuan province.

They are still several hundred miles away from Mount Emei, and will arrive in a while.

At this time, the Shaolin monks stayed at one of the inns in Shunqing Prefecture.

"Ah."

Hearing his junior brother's words, Fang Zheng nodded slightly and then asked, "How's the investigation into the Emei Sect going?"

When the conversation turned to business, Fang Sheng's expression became serious. "The investigation is almost complete. Before the Emei Sect women launched their attack on the lineage of Master Jin Guang, one of the Emei disciples visited Mount Hua. A few months later, a civil war broke out at Jin Ding Temple. I think those who now control the Emei Sect must have formed an alliance with the Mount Hua Sect around that time."

Fang Zheng's expression remained unchanged. After listening, he asked, "Are there no survivors from Jin Guang Shangren's lineage?"