Chapter 1459: Happy Forest (Upper)

The three walked out of the stone cave, finally seeing the sky again. Outside, the heavy rain continued to pour down in sheets. Qiao Fangzheng felt the cool, moist wind blowing against his face. Heedless of the raging storm, he strode into the wind and rain, spread his arms, lifted his head, and reveled in the downpour's baptism. The rain quickly soaked his entire body, washing away the filth all over him. Qiao Fangzheng's white hair, wet and plastered to the back of his head, had rain from his eye sockets streaming down his cheeks like tears—but the blind Qiao Fangzheng would never again have the chance to cry in this life. He laughed loudly: "Heaven, heaven, you have not treated me, Qiao Fangzheng, poorly. In my lifetime, I will surely avenge this deep, bloody grudge!"

Heaven seemed to hear his call; a bolt of purple lightning tore through the cloud‑filled sky, illuminating Qiao Fangzheng's face, etched with deep lines and the vicissitudes of life. His expression was ferocious and terrifying.

Hu Xiaotian recalled that Ji Feihua was tasked with holding off the Beggar Sect in Happy Forest, fearing she might run into trouble. Although Ji Feihua's martial arts were superb, the Beggar Sect was mighty, with hidden talents within its ranks, and she was going alone—after all, a single log cannot support a bridge. He said to Qiao Fangzheng: "Senior, I have urgent business and must hurry to Happy Forest. Let me go first; you and Xia Zhangming can follow later."

Hearing the name Happy Forest, Qiao Fangzheng frowned slightly: "What are you going to Happy Forest to do?"

Hu Xiaotian hid nothing from him, telling him about the Beggar Sect members gathering in Happy Forest.

Qiao Fangzheng said: "Take me with you; this old man wants to see just who it is." After saying that, he realized his words were improper—he had no eyes, so what could he use to look?

Hu Xiaotian knew he was eager for revenge, but bringing him along would surely waste a lot of time and affect his own schedule. He smiled: "Senior, stay calm; know that a gentleman's revenge need not be rushed—ten years is not too late. Let Xia Zhangming accompany you and come up behind; I need to rush there to meet my friend."

Although Qiao Fangzheng had been imprisoned for years, he was still quick‑witted and immediately understood that Hu Xiaotian was worried he would become a burden. He sighed: "Never mind, old man won't trouble you. Just go; don't worry about me."

Hu Xiaotian knew Qiao Fangzheng had been imprisoned for years, his temperament odd; though their contact had been brief, he could see that the man was rather aloof and unwilling to ask for help lightly. Although Qiao Fangzheng's martial arts were strong, he was blind. Even though he had now escaped the stone cave, he was unfamiliar with the surrounding terrain—how far could he get by relying only on his hearing?

He gave Xia Zhangming a look, using voice transmission to agree on a meeting point. At this juncture, of course he couldn't let Qiao Fangzheng go to Happy Forest, nor could he truly abandon him. First, Qiao Fangzheng is blind—how could he find a road in these wild mountains? We can't just let him fend for himself. Second, Qiao Fangzheng is a former transmission elder of the Beggar Sect, one of its most venerable figures. He surely knows the sect's inner secrets; perhaps from him we could learn the whereabouts of our grandfather. Of course, Hu Xiaotian especially needs to remind Xia Zhangming: under no circumstances should they go to Happy Forest; instead they should take another route straight to Red Wood River, and after I finish my business in Happy Forest, I will immediately go to meet them.

After bidding farewell to the two, Hu Xiaotian hurried down the mountain. Arriving at the spot where he had previously tethered his horses, he found both horses dead there—necks twisted off by wild beasts, bellies ripped open, entrails strewn across the ground. Thinking of the many wild beasts kept at the Sword‑Washing Mountain Villa, such an occurrence was not surprising.

Hu Xiaotian could only rely on foot. Reaching the main road, he seized an opportunity, snatched a horse from a passing merchant. In his haste he didn't bother to explain, flung a gold ingot at the man—enough to compensate for the horse—and galloped off toward Happy Forest.

When he reached the vicinity of Happy Forest, he did not go straight in but went to the great banyan tree where he had previously arranged to meet Ji Feihua. The tree's aerial roots spread far and wide, its canopy dense, covering a radius of about half a li. Hu Xiaotian waited there awhile; Ji Feihua did not appear, and he felt strangely uneasy—she was always punctual. Seeing that half an hour was about to pass, why hadn't she come? Had she run into trouble? He waited a bit longer, but finally could wait no longer and decided to go to the Beggar Sect's gathering site to see what had happened.

Hu Xiaotian left his horse under the banyan tree, performed the Tendon Changing Bone Shifting art to alter his appearance, and quickly turned into an ugly camel‑like figure. He walked southeast for two li and entered the heart of Happy Forest. Happy Forest is actually a grove of banyan trees, their branches and leaves lush, roots intertwined; once inside, the light grows much dimmer. Although the heavy rain had stopped, the sky had not cleared; the banyan trees blocked the sun, making the forest feel as if night were about to fall. This gloom cast an indescribable weight on the mood.

In the center of Happy Forest lay an open clearing with a stone pavilion—the very place where the Beggar Sect had previously held its meeting. Before Hu Xiaotian even approached the clearing, he sensed no sound; the autumn breeze brought cool, post‑rain air tinged faintly with the smell of blood. He muttered that something was wrong and quickened his steps. As he took in the scene before him, he gasped: the stone pavilion was surrounded by more than ten bodies strewn haphazardly. His heart leapt to his throat; he rushed over and examined each corpse carefully, relieved to confirm that Ji Feihua was not among them. However, he discovered among the dead the master of the Sword‑Washing Mountain Villa, Liang Buzhou, and the elder who had previously been tasked with notifying Liang Buzhou to attend the gathering, Xian Nongjing. Both had died in an eerily similar fashion—killed with a single move that sealed the throat and crushed the windpipe.

Hu Xiaotian marveled at the killer's skill—Liang Buzhou's martial arts were hardly ordinary, and Xian Nongjing was one of the Beggar Sect's Eight Great Guardian Law Elders. Yet neither had a chance to retaliate before their opponent. Examining the other corpses, some had their skulls pierced by five fingers, others had their throats crushed. In total there were twelve bodies, and not a single one survived. Hu Xiaotian knew something about the Beggar Sect's customs: status is indicated by the number of money‑bags carried. By that reckoning, there were six seven‑bag disciples and three eight‑bag disciples among the dead—men of considerable standing in the sect. To have them all slain together in Happy Forest was no small matter; if the Beggar Sect learned of this, it would surely mobilize its full strength for revenge.

If it wasn't Ji Feihua, then who could have slaughtered this band of beggars? If one person could easily kill so many, Ji Feihua's situation must be extremely perilous. Thinking of this, Hu Xiaotian couldn't help but worry for Ji Feihua as well. He knew this place was a hotbed of right and wrong, not to be lingered in; if anyone saw him here, trouble would surely follow.

Hu Xiaotian quickly examined the corpses, hoping to find a clue. Sure enough, beneath Xian Nongjing's body he discovered a half‑written ancient character. He cursed inwardly, 'Someone wants to frame me!' Fortunately he had been careful; the half‑drawn 'Hu' character, if seen, would surely lead others to think of him. He dragged Xian Nongjing's corpse aside, wiped the character clean from the ground, and while moving the body accidentally let an ebony tablet fall out. He picked it up, not knowing what it was, and simply pocketed it, confident that no clue could now point to him, before withdrawing.

The more Hu Xiaotian thought, the stranger it seemed. That day he had clearly heard Xian Nongjing say the Beggar Sect's leader, Shangguan Tianhuo, would personally preside over the gathering, yet the scene showed no sign of Shangguan Tianhuo—was he detained midway, or had Xian Nongjing lied from the start? In any case, this affair was out of the ordinary. The first person to give him a clue had been Hu Buwei; if Hu Buwei hadn't claimed that Xu Lingkong was imprisoned in the Sword‑Washing Mountain Villa, Hu Xiaotian would never have ventured here. Yet today, after sneaking into the villa, he found no trace of Xu Lingkong; instead he had inadvertently rescued one of the former transmission elders, Qiao Fangzheng. To add to his puzzlement, the man known as the Beast Demon, Yan Huyiao, had fled without fighting—did he really believe those two iron‑backed blue apes could defeat any opponent?

It seemed Hu Buwei was nine times out of ten spreading false information—a real old fox. Were the deaths of these Beggar Sect members connected to him? Was he again trying to stir up hatred between me and the Beggar Sect by manufacturing this slaughter, and what collusion, if any, existed between Hu Buwei and the Hundred Beasts Sect?

Hu Xiaotian returned to the spot where he had just tethered his horse, hoping to meet Ji Feihua there, but when he arrived he found not only that Ji Feihua had not come, but that his horse had also been killed. The animal's death was gruesome—it had been struck in the head by a single punch, its skull shattered, the force of the blow leaving Hu Xiaotian quite shocked.

Today's events made him uneasy; it seemed everything might be Hu Buwei's plot. He ought to know the situation at the Sword‑Washing Mountain Villa well, but he was unsure whether Hu Buwei's aim was merely to provoke a feud between him and the Beggar Sect. (To be continued~^~)

Today's events made him involuntarily nervous; it seems that everything might be a conspiracy by Hu Buwei. He should be quite aware of the situation at the Sword-Washing Mountain Villa, but it's unclear whether his goal is merely to provoke a feud between himself and the Beggars' Gang. (To be continued~^~)