Chapter 1499

He paused for a moment, pointing at Zhu Ba and said: "Again, this person deliberately leaked the whereabouts of the old chief to Elder Xu; Elder Xu went to Profound Yin Mountain to seek Daoist Kongkong, demanding the Green Bamboo Staff, but Elder Xu thereby stepped into their pre-designed trap. Elder Xu and Daoist Kongkong fought to the death at the summit of Snow Peak, triggering an avalanche, both perishing, and the Green Bamboo Staff's whereabouts have been unknown since."

Zhu Ba's expression was grim; he silently thought, Let me bear all the blame, I only hope they keep their promise and spare my family, but he knew deep down that possibility was slim, for Guan Tianhuo father and son were no kind souls.

At that moment, a voice of doubt came from below: "If he designed it behind the scenes, why did the green bamboo staff end up in the chief's hands?"

Guan Yunfeng looked up and finally saw who was speaking—an ugly hunchbacked middle-aged beggar who seemed unfamiliar, but the Beggar Sect had so many members; nearly two thousand had come tonight to attend the gathering, so Guan Yunfeng couldn't know everyone, and he hadn't suspected much, preparing to speak.

A deep, resonant voice came from behind: "Let me explain this myself!" It was the Beggar Sect chief, Guan Tianhuo, arriving.

"Pay respects to the chief!" All the beggars clenched their right fists, pressed them to their chests, bowed deeply to show respect, and tapped their dog-beating sticks on the ground in unison with their left hands. The hunchbacked ugly beggar who had just spoken was Hu Xiaotian; he and Long Xi Yue also imitated the surrounding beggars' salute. Seeing so many people move their dog-beating sticks at once was impressive. Witnessing such might and bearing, Hu Xiaotian began to understand why so many would vie desperately for the position of chief beggar.

Guan Tianhuo was over forty, well-kept, with a fair complexion, gaunt features, and three wisps of long beard on his jaw. He wore a deep blue robe, though it had a few patches in inconspicuous places, and the robe was laundered clean; his attire did not look like a beggar's but rather that of a learned scholar. His hands were clean. In his right hand he held a crystal-clear dog-beating stick—the green bamboo staff, one of the Beggar Sect's two treasures, and also the symbol of the sect chief.

After receiving the beggars' salute, Guan Tianhuo spoke softly: "Brothers, we have gathered here today to purge traitors from the sect, to seek justice for our fallen predecessors and brothers, to comfort their spirits in heaven. Another important reason is that our Beggar Sect now faces an unprecedented crisis, verging on life and death; we must convene to devise a plan, how to overcome the predicament, so as to help the sect emerge from the predicament."

Guan Tianhuo, after all, held the chief's position; evidently he commanded more authority than his son, and no one present dared to interject lightly.

Hu Xiaotian coldly stared at that scoundrel, silently cursing Guan Tianhuo father and son for their hypocrisy and shamelessness, who would stop at nothing to use vile means to deceive the sect members and control the Beggar Sect. Today he must find an opportunity to expose their deceit.

Guan Tianhuo raised the green bamboo staff in his hand, and all eyes turned to it. He said: "After the former chief was killed, this green bamboo staff was seized by the Daoist Kongkong; we actually did not know this at first. Kongkong Daoist killed the former chief not out of personal grudge but because he was commissioned. I have only just discovered that his secular name is Qiao Fangyuan, a cousin of Qiao Fangzheng, one of the Beggar Sect's four senior transmission elders."

Gasps rippled through the crowd; Hu Xiaotian and Long Xi Yue were also greatly astonished, yet Qiao Fangzheng had never mentioned his connection to Daoist Kongkong—was it true or false? However, Guan Tianhuo spoke with such certainty that it hardly seemed a lie.

Guan Tianhuo said: "You should remember that ten years ago our Beggar Sect suffered a calamity, when someone infiltrated the sect trying to steal our martial arts secrets; the three transmission elders fought together, finally repelling the strong enemy, but the three elders also fell in battle."

The crowd nodded in agreement; this was indeed one of the most sensational events in the Beggar Sect over the past decade, and they certainly knew of it.

Guan Tianhuo said: "Before their deaths, the three elders passed their inner strength to my son Yun Chong, and entrusted him to transmit the twenty-seven techniques of the sect's dog-beating stick to Elder Qiao for safekeeping; yet Qiao Fangzheng, in violation of the sect's ancient rule, seized this opportunity to secretly learn all thirty-six dog-beating stick techniques!"

The beggars below murmured, each indignant; according to sect rules, aside from the chief, no one may learn the full thirty-six dog-beating stick techniques, and they never had such a chance, since each generation of sect elders divides the dog-beating stick techniques into several parts, transmitting them respectively to the transmission elders, who then pass them on to the next chief; the transmission to the chief is not a one-time complete transfer, normally completed within three years—first, because the dog-beating stick technique is profound and subtle, even if fully transmitted the recipient may not grasp it all quickly; second, the three-year period allows observation of the chief's character, and if the chief's character is poor, the transmission elders have the right to halt instruction.

Guan Yunfeng gave a glance, signaling someone to bring Qiao Fangzheng forward; Qiao Fangzheng's beard and hair were disheveled, and with each step his shackles clanged, yet his expression remained haughty, showing no sign of submission. He arrived at the Wind and Wave Platform, stood firm, his face turned arrogantly toward the night sky; though he had lost both eyes, everyone could still sense his contempt for the current chief, Guan Tianhuo.

Guan Tianhuo said: "Qiao Fangzheng, do you know your guilt?"

Qiao Fangzheng laughed heartily: "What crime do I, an old man, have?"

Guan Tianhuo said: "Violating sect rules, colluding with external enemies, bringing disaster to the Beggar Sect, harming brothers!"

Qiao Fangzheng haughtily replied: "If one wishes to accuse, there is never a lack of pretext!"

Guan Tianhuo nodded and said: "It seems you won't shed tears until you see the coffin!" He turned to Zhu Ba: "Zhu Ba, in front of all the sect brothers, speak clearly—who exactly ordered you to leak the news of the former chief to Elder Xu?"

Zhu Ba bit his lip and trembled: "It's him!"

Guan Tianhuo then asked: "What did he promise you?"

Zhu Ba replied: "He promised that if he smoothly became chief of the Beggar Sect, he would help me become the head of the sect's enforcement elders."

Zhao Shenxiong flew into a rage, stepped forward and kicked Zhu Ba in the abdomen, causing him excruciating pain; his body doubled up like a shrimp, he burst into violent coughs, bringing up blood. The onlooking beggars below felt no sympathy, instead shouting in unison, "Kill him! Kill him!"

Guan Tianhuo looked at Qiao Fangzheng and said: "Qiao Fangzheng, do you have anything else to say?"

Qiao Fangzheng said: "Zhu Ba, do you still have a conscience? What are you afraid of? Don't you know the fate of the Beggar Sect rests on your single thought? Could you really bear to watch the sect's thousand-year foundation be destroyed in an instant?"

Zhu Ba's face was buried in the ground, already streaked with tears.

Guan Tianhuo said: "Qiao Fangzheng, you're still stubborn; fine, I'll ask plainly before all the brothers: how did your eyes go blind?"

The muscles on Qiao Fangzheng's face twisted from pain.

Guan Tianhuo said: "If you won't say, then I'll say it for you: was it the former chief who gouged out your eyes, right?"

The venue fell silent; everyone awaited his answer, including Hu Xiaotian and Long Xi Yue, who were greatly astonished—this was a question Hu Xiaotian had long wanted to ask but found inconvenient. Indeed, given Qiao Fangzheng's formidable martial arts, only a top-tier master could have gouged out his eyes.

Qiao Fangzheng's chest heaved violently, his body trembling: "Yes!"

"Why did he gouge out your eyes?"

Qiao Fangzheng said: "Because I did wrong!"

Guan Tianhuo said: "You have no face to say, is it not? Because you had an affair with the former chief's wife; you not only carried on behind his back but also bore a child."

An uproar erupted; even Hu Xiaotian felt thunder rumbling—Qiao Fangzheng, Qiao Fangzheng, I really didn't expect your old self to have been so philandering in youth; this deed is indeed somewhat underhanded, after all he is your chief, and you acted thus, no wonder he gouged out your eyes.

Qiao Fangzheng said: "Yes! I am sorry to him."

The beggars below had already begun to curse; seducing one's brother's wife is a major taboo in the martial world, let alone that Qiao Fangzheng seduced the wife of the former chief of the Beggar Sect.

Guan Tianhuo said: "You concealed this from the former chief for twenty whole years; when you learned your son was gravely ill and the former chief came to save him, that woman only then revealed your affair, and in anger the former chief gouged out your eyes, right?"

Qiao Fangzheng said: "I bear him no grudge, I have not the slightest resentment toward him; it is I who have failed the chief."

Guan Tianhuo gave a cold chuckle: "That woman is dead, your son is dead—could it be that you harbor not even a shred of hatred for him?"

Qiao Fangzheng said: "I have never hated the chief!"

Guan Tianhuo said: "You hate him, you think the former chief refused to save, blaming the illegitimate offspring's death on him; that hussy, overcome by grief, committed suicide, and you also blamed that on the former chief, so you plotted to harm him!"

"I didn't!" Qiao Fangzheng shouted.

Guan Tianhuo sneered: "Even though the former chief gouged out both your eyes, you still don't hate him?"

Qiao Fangzheng said: "No hatred, never have!" He clenched his fists, trembling all over from pain, and the iron chains and shackles binding him rattled incessantly.

Guan Tianhuo said: "Who would believe? Qiao Fangzheng, every word of yours is a lie; from now on you only think of revenge—you designed the former chief's death, and fearing exposure, looking over the sect, the person you most dread is Elder Xu, the biggest obstacle to your becoming chief, so you used Zhu Ba to lure Elder Xu to Mount Xuan Yin and then killed him, though that avalanche was not in your plan, so you never got the green bamboo staff." He raised the green bamboo staff in his hand and shouted: "Perhaps it is the former chief's spirit in heaven protecting our Beggar Sect, blessing that the sect's fire never dies; I found this green bamboo staff first, and it did not fall into the hands of you, this treacherous man!"

Lao Zhangyu miscalculated, covered his face and crawled away—this is the Four more! Who said there still needs an update at midnight? It's me! Lao Zhangyu dug a hole for himself, picked up a stone and smashed his own foot, but what am I, a spit, a pit! Having said it, I must own it! I'll keep writing, there will be another update at midnight! How about that, Lao Zhangyu is just that fierce! (To be continued~^~)