Chapter 27: Lin Pingzhi

The Martial World of Xiao Ao Jianghu.

While Lu Qingshan and Han Li were exchanging words in the chat group, Yue Buqun had already led the entire Huashan Sect to Hengshan, preparing to attend Liu Zhengfeng's "Golden Basin Hand-Washing" ceremony of the Hengshan Sect.

Upon noticing the chat records between Lu Qingshan and Han Li, Yue Buqun also felt a slight sense of urgency in his heart.

It must be known that among the five members currently in the chat group, the group owner Lu Qingshan possessed the highest strength and status, and moreover, he held a vast amount of resources in his hands; merely producing a small portion of them would be enough to greatly advance the strength of the others;

Among the remaining four, Han Li, who possessed the Heaven-Defying Bottle, was undoubtedly the most sought-after, able to exchange the Can Tian Zao Hua Dew from the group owner for a large quantity of resources; as for Pang Bo, although he was not as fortunate as Han Li, the world he inhabited was also extremely high-level, making it relatively easy for him to cultivate and become stronger;

Only he, Yue Buqun, and Cao Cao, whose worlds were of a lower level, suffered from a scarcity of resources; even when the chat group upgraded and raised the level of their worlds, they would still need to rely on a massive amount of external aids to continue cultivating!

And within the chat group, the one most capable of bringing them help was undoubtedly the group owner, Lu Qingshan!

If he wished to continue obtaining resources from Lu Qingshan in the future, he must find a way to maintain the relationship between himself and Lu Qingshan.

Last time Lu Qingshan appeared, even Cao Cao had prepared a gift, yet only he, Yue Buqun, had prepared nothing, which truly left him quite depressed.

"Fortunately, the gift I prepared for the group owner is about to be in my hands!"

Thinking of this, Yue Buqun immediately rose, then led the entire Huashan Sect to leave the inn and rush to Liu Zhengfeng's residence.

When Yue Buqun and his party arrived before the Liu residence gate, the Liu residence disciple responsible for reception at the entrance hurriedly ran to report.

Not long after, Liu Zhengfeng, with a face full of joy, led disciples to the gate swiftly, preparing to welcome Yue Buqun into the residence.

At this time, it was nearly noon, and guests from all paths had already arrived one after another.

There were the Beggar Sect's Vice Leader Zhang Jin'ao, the Zhengzhou Liuhe Gate's Elder Master Xia and his three sons-in-law, the Iron Old Man from the Goddess Peak of the Three Gorges in Sichuan and Hubei, the leader of the Eastern Sea Sand Gang, Pan Hou, the two friends of Qujiang, the Divine Blade Bai Ke, the Divine Brush Lu Xisi, and so on...

Upon hearing the news that the Huashan Sect Leader had personally rushed over, these people also came out one by one to greet Yue Buqun.

And since Yue Buqun himself very much liked making friends, even though many among these people were obscure or had unclear reputations, he still chatted and laughed, exchanging greetings with everyone one by one, without putting on the airs of a Huashan Sect Leader who considered himself superior.

Just like that, a crowd surrounded Yue Buqun and walked towards the main hall.

And at this moment, a hunchback mixed within the crowd witnessed this scene, and at the same time, the praises of many martial artists for the 'Gentleman Sword' Yue Buqun reached his ears.

Subsequently, his mind heated up, and suddenly he pushed open the crowd in front of him, rushing straight to Yue Buqun's front; immediately after, he bent his knees and knelt on the ground, bowing his head repeatedly towards Yue Buqun, saying: "Sect Leader Yue! You are the famous Gentleman Sword in the Martial World, and the Huashan Sect is a renowned orthodox sect in the Martial World; please administer justice for my Fuwei Escort Agency!"

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

Although Yue Buqun did not know the hunchback before his eyes, merely hearing him mention the Fuwei Escort Agency, he had already guessed the other's identity!

Lin Pingzhi!

In the original fate, the one who once bowed to him as a master, married his beloved daughter Yue Lingshan, but ultimately killed Yue Lingshan and defected to the Songshan Sect, Lin Pingzhi!

To speak honestly, in the eyes of Yue Buqun, who had read "Xiao Ao Jianghu", Lin Pingzhi's nature was still quite chivalrous.

Not to mention that at the beginning, he offended the entire Qingcheng Sect to pretend to be an ugly woman for Yue Lingshan; even later, when the Fuwei Escort Agency met with great disaster, and he was starving, he never used his Wu Gong to attack ordinary people.

The reason why Lin Pingzhi turned dark later on actually had to do with his, Yue Buqun's, plotting to seize the Lin family's "Evil-Repelling Sword Technique".

However, since he, Yue Buqun, had already joined the Heavens Chat Group, and was now cultivated to the Grandmaster realm, it was naturally impossible for him to continue plotting to seize the Lin family's "Evil-Repelling Sword Technique".

But what Yue Buqun did not expect was that this time he had not sent anyone to rush to Fuzhou City, yet this Lin Pingzhi had still escaped from the Qingcheng Sect's hands and rushed to Hengshan just like in the original plot.

And just at this moment, Lin Pingzhi very quickly recounted the matter of the Fuwei Escort Agency being wiped out by Yu Canghai of the Qingcheng Sect before the eyes of everyone.

"Sect Leader Yue!"

Lin Pingzhi continued to bow his head, saying: "Please administer justice for my Lin family!"

Everyone present turned to look at Yue Buqun; they also wanted to know how this 'Gentleman Sword' Yue Buqun would handle such a situation.

"Child, you get up first!"

Yue Buqun was seen speaking calmly: "This is a conflict between your Fuwei Escort Agency and the Qingcheng Sect; I, the Huashan Sect, am an outsider, and it is truly inappropriate for me to interfere."

And at this moment, Yue Lingshan, standing behind Yue Buqun, was already saddened by the Lin family's tragedy; she was seen stepping forward two paces and saying: "Father, this person is utterly pure and filial; you might as well take him into my Huashan Sect!"

Hearing these words, Lin Pingzhi, who was still kneeling on the ground bowing his head, instantly felt that the Yue Lingshan behind Yue Buqun was like a fairy from the heavens.

Subsequently, fortune came to his mind, and he hurriedly continued to bow his head, saying: "I beg the Master to accept me into the sect; the disciple will certainly strictly obey the teachings, strictly guard the sect rules, and dare not have the slightest violation of the Master's orders."

Hearing these words, a feeling of fate playing tricks on people also rose in Yue Buqun's heart; he never expected that after all the twists and turns, things would ultimately come to this step.

Then, should he take this Lin Pingzhi as a disciple or not?

In fact, whether it was the Lin Pingzhi before him or the Yu Canghai of the Qingcheng Sect, neither was important to the current Yue Buqun!

The only thing he cared about was the opinion of the people in the chat group, especially the group owner Lu Qingshan, after they learned of this matter!

"Enough!"

After pondering over and over again, Yue Buqun finally had an answer in his heart; subsequently, he looked at Lin Pingzhi and said: "Accepting you is not difficult, but you have not yet informed your parents, nor do I know if they permit it?"

Hearing these words, Lin Pingzhi's heart rejoiced; immediately he continued to bow his head, saying: "The disciple is fortunate to be accepted by the Gracious Master; my father and mother would be too happy to refuse; there is absolutely no reason for them not to allow it! It is just that my father and mother are now captured by the evil bandits of the Qingcheng Sect; please, Master, aid in their rescue."

"Very well, get up; this Master accepts you!"

Yue Buqun continued to say: "As for the grudge between your Fuwei Escort Agency and the Qingcheng Sect, after this Master has investigated clearly, I will naturally take action to rescue them!"

Seeing Yue Buqun accept Lin Pingzhi as a disciple, the host Liu Zhengfeng nearby immediately stepped forward and said: "Congratulations to Sect Leader Yue on acquiring an excellent disciple; please proceed to the main hall to receive tea!"

Speaking thus, Liu Zhengfeng led Yue Buqun and his party to continue rushing towards the location of the main hall.

In the following period of time, other martial artists from the Jianghu arrived one after another.

By noon, among the Five Great Sword Sects, apart from the Songshan Sect, the other several sects had already arrived one after another.

Liu Zhengfeng rested slightly in the inner hall; his disciples began to entertain the guests, directing cooks and servants, setting up nearly two hundred tables inside and out.

The banquet soon began; the Taishan Sect Leader, Tianmen Daoist, was already mutually yielding the chief seat position with some senior elders and famous figures.

Just at this moment...

Bang! Bang!

Suddenly, two gunshots came from outside the door; subsequently, the sound of drums and music erupted loudly, accompanied in between by the sounds of gongs and shouts clearing the way.

Upon hearing the sounds, Liu Zhengfeng hurriedly came out to welcome.

He saw an official with a face full of wine and lust already stepping into the residence, simultaneously speaking loudly: "The Imperial Decree has arrived; Liu Zhengfeng, listen to the decree."

Seeing the arrival, Liu Zhengfeng bent his knees and immediately knelt down to receive the Imperial Decree.

Knowing that Liu Zhengfeng had spent silver to donate for the Wu Gong position of "Vice General", many among the guests secretly despised him, yet Liu Zhengfun was calm and composed, his face full of smiles, while respectfully inviting everyone to take their seats.

Before long, the servants of the Liu household began stepping forward to serve dishes and pour wine.

At that moment, Liu Zhengfeng's disciple, Mi Weiyi, quickly brought out a tea table covered with brocade; another disciple, Xiang Daniang, held a golden basin gleaming with Jin Guang in both hands, the basin already filled with clear water, and placed it squarely upon the tea table.

Amidst the sound of firecrackers, Liu Zhengfeng soon approached the tea table, clasped his fist, and bowed to the assembled guests.

Everyone rose in turn to return the greeting, but upon hearing Liu Zhengfeng speak words such as "One who eats the ruler's salary must serve the ruler's affairs" and "Loyalty and righteousness cannot both be fulfilled," those who had intended to show support fell silent.

Seeing this, Liu Zhengfeng took no notice and continued: "Disciple Liu Zhengfeng, having been taken under the wing of my revered master, has failed to bring glory to the Hengshan Sect's name, and feels deeply ashamed! From this day forward, I, Liu, shall wash my hands in the golden basin, devote myself entirely to official service, and no longer meddle in the grudges and disputes of the Jianghu. Should I break this vow, may I suffer the fate of this sword."

Having spoken these words, Liu Zhengfeng flipped his right hand and quickly drew a long sword from behind his back.

With both hands, he snapped the blade in two, then casually let the two broken halves fall; only a pair of soft hissing sounds were heard as the two broken sword pieces pierced the green bricks of the ground.

The others of the Five Great Sword Sects nearby, seeing that Liu Zhengfeng's mind was made up, ceased their attempts to dissuade him.

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

(End of this chapter)