Jianghu - Romantic School of New Wuxia (Volume 1 and 2)

Author: Guo Mei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: Twilight. The setting sun is like blood. In the courtyard of the Pengla Branch of the Qixing Sect, more than twenty men sat on the ground, all quietly sitting, not saying a word, the atmosphere solemn and tense. In the hall, four people sat around a redwood Eight Immortals table, while two others paced back and forth, their expressions filled with anxiety and anticipation, as if eagerly waiting for something. After a moment, one of the yellow-robed men suddenly stopped and said, "Ah, how can this be so urgent? Why hasn’t Zhang Xianren arrived yet?" The other man who was pacing also stopped and said, "If the Plum Blossom Hero Zhang Zuoquan does not come, tonight’s may not succeed." The yellow-robed man immediately shook his head, "Impossible! Zhang Xianren is known as ‘Zhang Jibu’ and is extremely trustworthy. He said in his letter that he will surely join us tonight to eliminate the villains from the martial world, so he will definitely come." Looking at the sky, he said, "It’s not yet dark, perhaps Zhang Xianren will arrive soon." The burly man looked at the setting sun and the darkening sky, sighed, and said, "I hope so, but with Zhang Daxia not here yet, what if something goes wrong? Oh, I mean, what if there’s an accident, like him getting tripped up?" The yellow-robed man quickly said, "With Zhang Xianren’s martial arts skills, apart from the ‘Myriad Tribulations Immortal’ Kuang Ji, few can match him in the demonic sect. And this Kuang Daima has been under our surveillance, never leaving ‘Myriad Ashes Villa’ half a step, how could he stop us?" Although he said so, seeing that it was already dark outside, he couldn’t help but worry about the “Plum Blossom Hero” Zhang Zuoquan. The burly man had the same thoughts and walked anxiously again. Seeing that the four people by the Eight Immortals table were still silent, he said, "Hmph, how can you all be so calm? With only us six, we’re probably no match for the great demon Kuang Ji." Among the silent four, a young man with a spirited demeanor raised his thick eyebrows and said, "Don’t worry, Master Gong. Normally, we six are indeed no match for the great demon Kuang Ji. But today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the situation is different. Even if Zhang Daxia doesn’t come, I believe we can still him!" It turned out that these six people were the masters of the six major orthodox martial arts sects of the current martial world. The yellow-robed man was the master of the Huanglong Sect of North Sichuan, Zhuang Shouyan, and the burly man was the master of the Wuyi Sect of Western Fujian, Gong Wuxiang. The spirited young man was the new master of the Yangzhou Qixing Sect, Zhuo Zhengming. The other three seated were the master of the Tianchi Sect of Eastern Liaoning, Gui Yanfeng, the master of the Wangwu Sect of Central Jin, Yu Wenyi, and the master of the Xuanwu Sect of Southern Guangdong, Changsun Hong. The master of the Tianchi Sect of Eastern Liaoning, Gui Yanfeng, asked in astonishment, "Master Zhuo, why must we the great demon Kuang Ji on the Mid-Autumn Festival? According to reason, the moonlight tonight is bright, making it easier for him to be discovered." Zhuo Zhengming seemed to be lost in deep memory and said with a touch of sadness, "This is a long story." In the courtyard, the still sat quietly on the ground, not saying a word, the air silent as if stretched tight. The night had already fallen, and the round moon hung in the sky. The bright moonlight poured down, illuminating the courtyard as if it were daytime, and the disciples could still see each other’s faces clearly. Suddenly, a cold wind blew, scattering sand and stones, and the moon was completely covered by dark clouds. The earth instantly plunged into darkness, and the sound of waves crashing against the coast came from afar, creating an eerie and terrifying atmosphere. Suddenly, a voice murmured, "The weather by the sea changes so quickly, so gloomy, it’s definitely not a good omen." Although it was dark and the faces couldn’t be seen, the voice revealed that the speaker was Gu Hong, the senior disciple of the Wangwu Sect, Master Yu Wenyi. Hearing this, everyone felt a chill in their hearts, but none spoke, waiting for the masters of the six major sects to give the order. After a while, Gu Hong couldn’t stand the oppressive atmosphere anymore and patted Hu Zhengchao, the senior disciple of the Wuyi Sect, Master Gong Yuanliang, and said, "Senior Hu, do you know what action we will take tonight? Why is it so secretive? Why didn’t you tell us earlier? And who else are we waiting for?" Hu Zhengchao said, "I’m not sure either. You need to ask Master Ji, he is responsible for the communication for this operation." The "Master Ji" Hu Zhengchao mentioned was Ji Enjie, the senior disciple of the Huanglong Sect, Master Zhuang Shouyan. He quickly said, "This matter must be very important. Although I am only delivering messages, I don’t know the details, but the master is waiting for the ‘Plum Blossom Hero’ Zhang Zuoquan. I was ordered by my teacher to deliver a message to him, and Zhang Daxia also said he would meet us on the Mid-Autumn Festival." Among the, there were three masters of the Huanglong Sect: Han Shouyi, Gu Shougang, and Liang Shouyu. Han Shouyi said, "The more than twenty of us are elites from various sects, and with the masters of the six major orthodox sects and the ‘Plum Blossom Hero’ Zhang Zuoquan, we almost have the entire strength of the orthodox martial world. But what could be worth such a large mobilization?" Changsun Sheng, the son of the master of the Xuanwu Sect, Changsun Hong, was clever and talented. At this moment, he slowly said, "In fact, it’s obvious without guessing. We have gathered at Pengla not only to deal with the great demon Kuang Ji, the master of ‘Myriad Ashes Villa,’ but also for what else could be worth such a large mobilization?" Everyone had already guessed this and knew how difficult and dangerous the matter was. Perhaps once they entered ‘Myriad Ashes Villa,’ they would never be able to leave. That’s why everyone was silent, tense, excited, and very uneasy. Hearing Changsun Sheng say this, they breathed a sigh of relief and began to discuss. Gu Shougang said, "I haven’t met this great demon Kuang Ji, is he really as powerful as you say?" Gu Hong said, "Not only is he powerful, but he’s simply terrifying! At the age of sixteen, when he first entered the martial world, he defeated Gan Keming, known as the second most powerful in the black sect, shocking the martial world. He then killed many evil sect masters, such as the ‘One-Armed Demon Beggar’ Jia Bazi, the ‘Cold-Faced Assassin’ Ji Yide, the ‘Thousand-Shadow Poison Monster’ Zhao Mingke, the ‘Jiangnan Thief’ Hong Sanqi, and the ‘Central State Dual Tyrants’ Jiao Shuzheng and Jiao Shuyi. At that time, he still had some chivalry, so everyone called him the ‘Peerless Dual Heroes’ alongside the current master of the Qixing Sect, Zhuo Zhengming. Some even called him the ‘Peerless Single Hero’ or the ‘Kuang World Extraordinary Hero’ because his martial arts skills far surpassed Master Zhuo Zhengming. In the past ten years, his martial arts skills have improved unimaginably. He could have done many good deeds for the martial world, but unexpectedly turned to the demonic path, slaughtering our martial arts heroes. Ah!” Gu Hong sighed deeply at this point. Hu Zhengchao said, "I really don’t understand, how could a person become so evil. Since three years ago, when he built ‘Myriad Ashes Villa’ in Pengla, he has been unpredictable. Especially in the ‘Test Sword Villa’ incident in Suzhou, overnight, he killed more than twenty masters of the sword who had arrived early for the ‘Sword Appreciation Conference’ as invited by Lu Qingzi. His cruelty and brutality were appalling." In the darkness, a famous elder of the Qixing Sect said, "At that time, the entire ‘Test Sword Villa’ had only my junior brother, Duan Jiong, who was sent to deliver a message, saying that Master Zhuo was too busy to participate, as the only one spared. He happened to be in the toilet and witnessed the merciless cruelty of the great demon Kuang Ji’s slaughter, and he was so terrified that he lost his mind." Gui Yanyun, the younger brother of the master of the Tianchi Sect of Eastern Liaoning, Gui Yanfeng, said, "At that time, our brothers also received an invitation to participate in the ‘Sword Appreciation Conference,’ but by the time we arrived, the tragedy had already occurred. We carefully examined the bodies of the dead and confirmed that they were all killed by Kuang Ji’s ‘Thunderclap Silk Palm.’" Liang Shouyu said, "The Kuang family of Pengla, the Lu family of Suzhou, and the Zang family of Xianyang are known as the three major families in the martial world. The Thunderclap Silk Palm of the Kuang family was once renowned, but now the Lu and Zang families have been destroyed by Kuang Ji, and the Thunderclap Silk Palm is also infamous. Although only Kuang Ji remains of the Kuang family, the ancestors of the Kuang family in the afterlife must not be at peace." Gu Hong continued, "Kuang Ji’s martial arts skills are unimaginable. That day in the ‘Test Sword Villa,’ the more than twenty masters of the sword seemed no weaker than us, but they were all dead in the blink of an eye. This time, the six major sects are mobilizing their elite forces, and even with the ‘Plum Blossom Hero’ Zhang Zuoquan, we may still not be his match." Hu Zhengchao said, "Could it be that Kuang Ji contacted many evil sect masters to ambush them and succeed?" Gui Yanfeng shook his head, "No! Kuang Ji has always been highly self-regarding and usually acts alone. In his youth, he was known as the ‘Peerless Dual Heroes’ alongside Master Zhuo, but only because they grew up together, loved to act as knights-errant, and had extraordinary martial arts skills. But when they entered the martial world, they were not together." A voice in the darkness said, "So it seems that if the ‘Plum Blossom Hero’ Zhang Zuoquan does not come, our strength is insufficient, and we may really die in ‘Myriad Ashes Villa,’ being torn to pieces and turned into ashes?" Ji Enjie, who had been silent, suddenly spoke with heroic determination, "A true man eliminates villains for the martial world, so must he have a sure guarantee of victory before acting? To die is to die, what is there to say more?!"