Chapter 164: In the Apricot Forest

In the Heaven Dragon world, an apricot forest beside Mount Hui in Wuxi was exceptionally noisy today.

A group of people holding broken bowls, wearing tattered, greasy, dirty patchwork robes,

holding dog-beating sticks made of bamboo or wood, and looking disheveled, occupied the place.

With such distinctive attire, the origin of these people was obvious,

they were disciples of the Beggar Sect, known as the largest sect in the world.

And among this group of beggars of all shapes and sizes, a burly and heroic man stood out like a crane in a flock of chickens,

making people unconsciously ignore the others and focus their attention on him.

The man had a burly build, was in his thirties, wore a gray old cloth robe,

had thick eyebrows and big eyes, a high nose and a wide mouth, a square face,

and looked quite weathered, but his gaze was extremely imposing,

standing among the Beggar Sect members, he was like a lion leading a pride.

Only at this moment, there were four daggers on his body, these daggers deeply inserted into his shoulders,

drops of crimson blood overflowing from them, making people curious,

what kind of expert could injure such a great man?

"Sect Leader, you treat us like this, we have nothing to repay you with!"

Four white-haired Beggar Sect elders, wearing robes embroidered with nine pockets,

symbolizing the nine-pocket elders of the Beggar Sect, said to this man with gratitude.

The lion-faced, wide-nosed burly man laughed heroically, not caring about the injuries on his body

that would have been fatal to an ordinary person, and then swept his gaze over the four elders with a concentrated look:

"Elder Song, fifteen years ago when the Khitan invaded Yanmen Pass, you rushed back overnight to report the military situation,

even though you exhausted nine horses on the way, you didn't give up, helping the Great Song defenders resist the enemy,

you have great merit to our Great Song, great merit to our Beggar Sect; today I pardon you!"

"Elder Xi, you once guided my martial arts and had a deep friendship with me; in my early years, you even saved me from danger,

you have great kindness to me; today's matter, I, Qiao, will let bygones be bygones!"

"Wu Zhanglao, you once guarded Eagle Sorrow Gorge alone, resisting the Xixia One-Class Hall,

protecting the Yang family generals, and also protecting the vitality of our Great Song; you have great merit, I pardon you today!"

The burly man finally looked at Chen Zhanglao Guyan, who had arms that reached past his knees,

but whose face was extremely gloomy, as if everyone owed him money:

"Chen Zhanglao, although you are the least convinced by me, Qiao Feng, you once assassinated the Khitan Left Route Marshal Yelu Bulu,

winning a breathing space for the people of the Great Song; you also have great merit to our Great Song, I pardon you today too!"

"Sect Leader, we were bewitched by villains and wanted to overthrow you, but you returned evil with kindness; we are convinced!"

The four elders bowed to the burly man in unison, sincerely convinced, with no more rebellious thoughts in their hearts.

"Long live the Sect Leader!"

"Long live the Sect Leader!"

Seeing the burly man's spirit was so great that he could even pardon the elders who opposed him,

and could make the four elders sincerely convinced, the surrounding beggars cheered one after another.

Being able to get the support of so many Beggar Sect disciples, and having such a heroic,

broad mind, this burly man was naturally the Beggar Sect Leader,

known in the Jianghu as "South Murong, North Qiao Feng", Qiao Feng, Sect Leader Qiao.

"Sect Leader, it was this villain who bewitched us; how do you think we should deal with him?"

Elder Xi pointed to a beggar who, even though he was wearing beggar clothes with many patches,

had a refined and handsome appearance, a tall stature, looked like a decent person with status, a cultured man, and also had a bit of a scholarly temperament, asking.

This Beggar Sect disciple who looked more like a scholar than a beggar,

was the initiator of this rebellion, known as the "Scholar of Ten Directions", Quan Guanqing.

Qiao Feng also looked at Quan Guanqing and asked in a deep voice:

"Elder Quan, I have asked myself that I haven't treated you unfairly over the years; why did you rebel against me?"

Following Qiao Feng's words, numerous Beggar Sect disciples surrounded Quan Guanqing.

As long as Qiao Feng, the Sect Leader, gave an order, they would swarm up,

take Quan Guanqing down, and hand him over to Qiao Feng for disposal!

"Haha!"

"Why rebel against you?"

Quan Guanqing had no panic of being trapped, but laughed out loud instead.

After laughing, he stared fixedly at Qiao Feng:

"You are indeed the most brilliant master our Beggar Sect has ever had."

Song, Xi, Chen, Wu, the four elders, and the rest of the Beggar Sect disciples all nodded.

Since Qiao Feng took charge of the Beggar Sect eight years ago, he had made seven great contributions to the Beggar Sect,

including solving three major problems and establishing the Yanyun branch, among other important achievements.

He resolved internal disputes, resisted strong enemies externally, and reorganized the Beggar Sect to be very prosperous, with a resounding reputation in the Jianghu.

Most of the Beggar Sect's current prestige was due to Qiao Feng's credit.

Such a person, how could one not be convinced?

Qiao Feng remained unmoved; he knew Quan Guanqing must have more to say.

Sure enough, the next second he heard Quan Guanqing change the subject:

"But even if you have these contributions, you shouldn't have killed Vice Sect Leader Ma!"

"What?

Did the Sect Leader kill the Vice Sect Leader?"

The scene was in an uproar.

The reason they were making such a big fuss, gathering not far from Gusu,

was to find Murong Fu of South Murong and ask clearly,

whether Vice Sect Leader Ma Dayuan died at his hands.

"Vice Sect Leader Ma died under his famous stunt, the Throat-Locking Capture Hand, but the Sect Leader doesn't know this martial art!"

Someone defended Qiao Feng.

"With the Sect Leader's talent, how long would it take to learn the "Throat-Locking Capture Hand"?

Moreover, to kill the Vice Sect Leader, only the last move needs to be the Throat-Locking Capture Hand.

With Qiao Sect Leader's martial arts, even if the Vice Sect Leader was decades older than him,

how many moves would it take for him to take down the Vice Sect Leader?

Thus, it can be refuted why the Vice Sect Leader only had injuries from the Throat-Locking Capture Hand!"

A Beggar Sect disciple who stood on Quan Guanqing's side and firmly believed that Qiao Feng killed Ma Dayuan retorted.

"This..."

The person defending Qiao Feng lost his words.

Indeed, with Qiao Feng's talent of being almost invincible in the world at the age of thirty,

learning Ma Dayuan's "Throat-Locking Capture Hand" would be like taking something from a bag.

And as the Beggar Sect Leader, Qiao Feng was also the most likely to obtain the "Throat-Locking Capture Hand" from Ma Dayuan.

Qiao Feng didn't care about these assumptions and arguments; he pointed to the point and looked directly at Quan Guanqing:

"You say I killed Vice Sect Leader Ma; do you have any evidence?"

Facing Qiao Feng's frank gaze, Quan Guanqing turned his head away guiltily.

However, he still braced himself and said: "Since I dare to accuse you, I naturally have solid evidence."

He waved his hand, and a subordinate ran outside the apricot forest.

"Ma Dayuan, you died so miserably!"

After a while, a sorrowful and mournful voice sounded.

Four Beggar Sect disciples carried a sedan chair and walked slowly from outside the apricot forest.

The sorrowful and mournful voice came from this sedan chair.

And unlike an ordinary sedan chair, this sedan chair was all white,

and was hung with mourning clothes, clearly someone in the family had passed away.

"Sister-in-law, Brother Ma has already passed away; please restrain your grief!"

Qiao Feng came to the white sedan chair and bowed.

"Madam Ma, restrain your grief!"

The rest of the Beggar Sect disciples echoed in unison.

Clearly, the person sitting in this sedan chair was the widow of the Beggar Sect Vice Sect Leader Ma Dayuan, Madam Ma, Kang Min.

"Qiao Feng, you murderer, how can you ask me to restrain my grief?"

Kang Min's next sentence ignited the entire scene.

"What? Did the Sect Leader really kill the Vice Sect Leader?"

"This is impossible!

Why would the Sect Leader kill the Vice Sect Leader?"

"The Vice Sect Leader's widow has come out to testify; could this be fake?"

Facing such a direct slander, Qiao Feng was not angry, but asked:

"Sister-in-law says I killed Brother Ma; please produce evidence!"

Wu Zhanglao and others, who had just been completely conquered by Qiao Feng's personality, supported Qiao Feng:

"That's right.

Even if you, Madam Ma, are his widow, we cannot listen to your one-sided words!"

Seeing that elders like Song, Xi, Chen, and Wu didn't believe her,

a look of hatred flashed in Kang Min's eyes in the sedan chair.

However, this look of hatred flashed by and turned soft and weak:

"I am just a weak woman; how would I dare to groundlessly accuse the Sect Leader of our Beggar Sect?

Elders, take a look at this object and you will know what is going on."

A pale, weak, slender hand reached out from the sedan chair and handed over an object.

Quan Guanqing took the object, displayed it before everyone, and said triumphantly:

"Do you recognize this?"

"This..."

Elders Song and Xi hesitated, not daring to say the origin and name of this object.

Qiao Feng's expression sank: "Why is my folding fan in Madam's hands?"

The voice of Kang Min in the sedan chair remained soft and weak:

"I don't know that this is your folding fan, Sect Leader,

I only know that this is an object left at the scene by the murderer who killed my poor late husband."

"Sect Leader, you..."

The four elders and others looked at Qiao Feng with some suspicion.

It wasn't that they didn't believe Qiao Feng, but this was truly ironclad evidence, leaving them with no way to refute it.

This fan was a gift given to him by his mentor,

their former Beggar Sect Leader Wang Jiantong, on his twenty-fifth birthday,

with the poem written by Wang Jiantong himself on the fan face: "Snow drifts at Yanmen Pass,

Sand rolls over the roots of reeds; I am ashamed to count the number of captives for fame, I will cut down Loulan to repay the country's grace."

The back of the fan also depicted a warrior going out of the fortress to kill the enemy.

The painting was by their Beggar Sect's transmission elder, Elder Xu.

"I, Qiao Feng, swear to heaven, if I killed Brother Ma, may I be struck by five thunders and die a horrible death!"

Qiao Feng, unable to argue, had no choice but to swear an oath.

"Murderer!"

"Murderer!"

"Qiao Feng, as the murderer who killed Vice Sect Leader Ma,

what face do you have to be the Sect Leader of our Beggar Sect?

Hurry up and abdicate!"

"Qiao Feng, you murderer, we want you to be buried with Vice Sect Leader Ma!"

Seeing that the evidence seemed truly solid, Quan Guanqing's subordinates all became noisy, their language becoming increasingly extreme.

"What to do?

It seems the Sect Leader really killed the Vice Sect Leader!"

The Beggar Sect disciples who supported Qiao Feng, facing the accusations of Quan Guanqing and Kang Min,

also wavered, not knowing whether to continue standing on Qiao Feng's side,

or join Quan Guanqing to denounce, or even overthrow Qiao Feng.

Clap clap clap!

At this moment, a crisp, rhythmic sound of applause came from outside the apricot forest.

"Sect Leader Qiao said it well, those who kill Vice Sect Leader Ma must die a horrible death!"

A voice with ridicule and affirmation reached the ears of the Beggar Sect members,

full of confidence, as if what he said was bound to be realized.

"Who is so bold as to participate in our Beggar Sect's affairs?"

The Beggar Sect's law enforcement elder Bai Shijing, who had had no reaction and had been sitting on the fishing platform, could no longer maintain his calm and shouted sternly.

"Why is Elder Bai so excited?

Or should I say, are you also one of those who killed Vice Sect Leader Ma?"

The voice that had suddenly appeared remained calm, asking back.

"Don't you dare slander me!"

Bai Shijing's face turned blue and white, comparable to Sichuan opera face-changing.

"Which friend is visiting? Please show yourself!"

Qiao Feng was not angry because of the uninvited guest's ridicule, but invited him loudly.

"Show yourself!"

"Show yourself!"

The heroic voice, under the effect of profound internal energy, spread throughout the entire apricot forest.

"Since Sect Leader Qiao invited me, I will show myself."

The same voice as just now suddenly sounded among the Beggar Sect members.

"You, are you human or ghost?"

Looking at the figure that had suddenly appeared before their eyes,

Quan Guanqing's eyes popped out, shocked.

"Your light-body technique is peerless in the world!"

Qiao Feng bowed solemnly to the visitor. Even with his martial arts,

"Your lightness skill is superb, unparalleled in the world!"

coming from outside the apricot forest into their Beggar Sect members.

This meant that if the visitor had malicious intent, among the people present,

except for him, everyone else, down to the ordinary Beggar Sect disciples,

and up to the nine-pocket and law enforcement elders, would all have to wait to be slaughtered!

Such light-body technique is simply terrifying! ===== CHAPTER 165 =====

From the nine-bag disciples to the law-enforcement elders, everyone could only stretch out their necks to be slaughtered!

Such lightness skill is simply terrifying!