manynovel Page 172
Page 172
No one in the Jianghu (martial arts world) of the Song Dynasty, or even an ordinary citizen, would be unaware of the Yanmen Pass massacre.
This bloodshed led the Liao Kingdom to break the peace agreement and launch a large-scale invasion, resulting in the deaths of millions of people in the war.
More importantly, the real culprit behind this bloodshed remains a mystery.
All we know is that it was done by people from the martial arts world!
This means that if the real culprit cannot be found, the entire martial arts world of the Song Dynasty will have to bear the blame.
Therefore, everyone in the martial arts world was filled with resentment and gritted their teeth at the murderer who committed the bloody crime.
Although thirty years have passed and few people in the martial arts world mention this matter anymore, every time it is brought up, it still ignites anger and evokes a barrage of curses.
No one expected that this unsolved case, which had plagued the martial arts world of the Song Dynasty for thirty years, would be so easily solved by the Celestial Immortal at this moment.
The names that were revealed were particularly shocking.
It turns out that the leader of the massacre at Yanmen Pass thirty years ago was Abbot Xuanci of the Shaolin School, followed by Wang Jiantong, the leader of the Beggars' Clan, and the mastermind behind it all was Murong Bo of the Murong Clan of Gusu!
Many martial arts practitioners recalled that these three were the top figures of the righteous path in the Song Dynasty at that time.
How could they, who were revered by thousands, commit such heinous acts?
Immediately, the crowd erupted in discussion, their emotions running high:
"What? The matter between Murong Bo and Xiao Yuanshan is actually related to the Yanmen Pass massacre thirty years ago?"
"I never expected that this headless murder case would be exposed today. This trip has truly been worthwhile."
"The massacre at Yanmen Pass back then worsened relations between the Liao and Song dynasties, resulting in the deaths of countless civilians. Those who committed this crime dared not come forward to admit their guilt, making the entire martial arts world take the blame for them. Now, the truth has finally come to light."
"Did I hear that right? The person in charge of the Yanmen Pass incident was actually the monk Xuanci? How could he possibly be that kind of person?"
"You can't judge a book by its cover. Monk Xuanci and Chief Wang are both well-known figures in the martial arts world. Who could have predicted that they would do such a thing?"
“Something’s not right! Although Monk Xuanci and Wang Jiantong took the lead, the real mastermind is Murong Bo. There must be other twists and turns behind this.”
"No matter the reason, if someone makes a mistake and doesn't dare to take responsibility, that's absolutely unforgivable!"
"If this matter isn't thoroughly investigated, I'll curse Shaolin and the Beggars' Sect without hesitation!"
Xuan Nan was stunned.
I never imagined that my casual question would uncover such a huge secret about Shaolin.
The abbot of his own house was actually the mastermind behind the Yanmen Pass incident thirty years ago?
Hong Qigong was also stunned.
He came here just to watch the fun, but ended up getting smeared with dirty water.
Thirty years ago at Yanmen Pass, was the old gang leader one of the participants?
Murong Fu was even more dumbfounded.
What on earth is going on? How did my father get involved with the Yanmen Pass?
Moreover, according to the Celestial Immortal, Murong Bo is the true mastermind behind this whole affair.
Thinking of this, Murong Fu felt a chill run down his spine.
This event directly resulted in the deaths of millions of people in the Song Dynasty.
If it really was his father who did it, the Murong clan of Gusu would be condemned by the whole world, and his grand plan for revival would be completely ruined.
How could a father do this to his son?
"Please, Celestial Mystery Immortal, explain in detail and give the martial arts world of the Song Dynasty an explanation!"
Inside the hall, a member of the martial arts world shouted excitedly, which immediately drew a response from the crowd.
They have been waiting for this day for a long time.
Although they now know that Murong Bo, Xuan Ci, and Wang Jiantong were involved, that's not enough; they want to know the whole story.
Other figures from the Jianghu (江湖, a term referring to the martial arts world) in the imperial court were also happy to watch the spectacle.
Just by looking at the participants, you can tell there must be a big secret hidden behind this event.
If everything were revealed, it would be absolutely spectacular.
Facing the eager gazes of the crowd, Su Chen didn't keep them in suspense and said directly:
"Although the monk Xuanci and Wang Jiantong are the leaders of the Yanmen Pass gang,
But the key figures are still Murong Bo and Xiao Yuanshan.
Let's start with Murong Bo.
Most people should be familiar with this former head of the Murong family of Gusu.
Few people know that the Murong family of Gusu were not from the Central Plains, but were descendants of the Xianbei royal family that founded the Yan state.
Although the Yan Kingdom had been extinct for over two hundred years, the Murong family had always considered themselves royalty and had always dreamed of restoring the Yan Kingdom.
As the former head of the family, Murong Bo had an extremely strong desire to restore his kingdom.
At that time, the Liao and Song dynasties had a harmonious relationship, the war had ended, and the Song dynasty was peaceful and tranquil, so there was no chance to revive the Yan state.
Therefore, Murong Bo hatched a sinister plan to provoke a war, hoping to plunge the Song Dynasty into chaos so that the Yan Kingdom would have a chance to rise again.
The strongest rival surrounding the Song Dynasty was the Liao Dynasty.
Just then, Murong Bo learned some news—Xiao Yuanshan was going back to the Song Dynasty to visit relatives.
Xiao Yuanshan was a member of the Khitan royal family and the commander of the personal guard of the Shan Army under Empress Xiao of the Liao Dynasty. Because he was trusted by the Empress Dowager of Liao, he served as the chief instructor of the Shan Army.
In his youth, he traveled extensively throughout the martial arts world of the Song Dynasty, became an apprentice of a master from the Song Dynasty, and married a woman from the Song Dynasty.
Therefore, he had a very favorable impression of the Song Dynasty and was committed to promoting friendship between the Song and Liao Dynasties.
The decades-long peace between the Song and Liao dynasties owed much of its success to Xiao Yuanshan's persuasion of the Liao Empress Dowager.
That's why Murong Bo devised a plan to kill two birds with one stone.
As soon as Su Chen finished speaking, the hall erupted in chaos.
So that’s it!
It's really true!
Previously, no one understood why that incident occurred at Yanmen Pass. After it happened, the Liao Kingdom seized the opportunity to launch a large-scale attack, the border fell, and the people suffered heavy casualties. The martial arts world was thrown into chaos, and people were filled with fear.
It's fair to say that no one benefited from it.
Now everyone realizes that the real beneficiary was Murong Bo.
For this foreigner who was single-mindedly focused on restoring his country, the greatest gain would be for the Song Dynasty to be plunged into war.
Judging from the results, his plan was indeed quite successful.
Chapter 147 Still alive
The Battle of Yanmen Pass shattered decades of peace in the Song Dynasty, reigniting the flames of war and displacing countless people.
The thought that Murong Bo had committed such a ruthless act for his own selfish gain filled the assembled heroes of the martial world with rage, and they began to discuss it amongst themselves:
"My God! I never imagined it would be like this. The entire attack on Yanmen Pass was orchestrated by Murong Bo!"
"There were rumors in the martial arts world that an important figure from the Liao Kingdom died at Yanmen Pass, which prompted the Liao Kingdom to send troops. It turns out that it was all a conspiracy by Murong Bo!"
"Damn Murong Bo, does he know how many Song Dynasty people this scheme has killed?"
"Our ancestors were right. Those who are not of our clan are certainly not pure in heart. Murong Bo doesn't care about the people of the Song Dynasty at all."
"I used to have some respect for the Murong family of Gusu, but I never expected them to be a foreign bastard. When I get back, I will definitely rally all factions to attack the Murong family and make them pay with their lives!"
Su Chen took a small sip of tea and, before the crowd had finished arguing, spoke up:
"Actually, Murong Bo's plan is not clever at all; if you look closely, it is full of loopholes."
"But at that time, Xuanci had only been the abbot of Shaolin Temple for a short time. He felt that Murong Bo had a great reputation in the martial arts world and dared not disbelieve him. So he wrote to Wang Jiantong and others and gathered a group of experts from the Song Dynasty."
"Besides Xuanci and Wang Jiantong, there were also Master Zhiguang, Zhao Qiansun, 'Wansheng Dao' Wang Weiyi, 'Dijue Jian' Huangshan Heyun Daoist, 'Iron Pagoda' Fang Daxiong from Datong, Shanxi, and the 'Du Family Three Heroes' from Jiangxi, a total of twenty-one people, who went to Yanmen Pass together."
"At that time, Xiao Yuanshan was just visiting relatives in the Central Plains. He only had his wife and newborn child with him, plus a few servants. How could he withstand the sneak attack from Xuan Ci and his men?"
"Not long after, the servant and Xiao Yuanshan's wife were murdered."
"Xiao Yuanshan had sworn not to lay a hand on the people of the Central Plains, but seeing his wife killed, he could no longer hold back and suddenly rose up in resistance."
"At that time, his cultivation had reached the Great Freedom Realm. He fought against more than twenty experts from the Song Dynasty and killed seventeen of them."
"Of the remaining four, Xuan Ci and Wang Jiantong were both acupunctured, Zhi Guang was blasted into a tree, and Zhao Qiansun fainted from fright."
"Xiao Yuanshan also calmed down, his killing intent subsided, leaving only deep sorrow."
"He broke his vow, and with his wife and children dead, he lost all will to live and jumped off the cliff with his infant son in his arms."
"Unexpectedly, he discovered that the child was still breathing in mid-air, so he used his last bit of strength to throw the child up."
"After Xuanci and the others released their pressure points, they quickly realized that they had made a mistake and were very regretful for accidentally killing Xiao Yuanshan's family."
"But this is too shameful. If word gets out, the reputation of Shaolin and the Beggars' Sect will be greatly affected."
"So the remaining four people tacitly chose to keep it a secret."
"To compensate Xiao Yuanshan and his wife, Xuan Ci and Wang Jiantong took the remaining babies back and planned for the two factions to raise them together."
"As for the child's name, I'm sure everyone knows it."
"That is Qiao Feng, the current leader of the Beggars' Sect, who also controls both the Beggars' Sect and Shaolin Temple."
Inside the Dengtian Pavilion, an uproar erupted.
Everyone was immersed in grief over the bloody battle at Yanmen Pass.
No one could have predicted that the seemingly unremarkable Xiao Yuanshan would be so powerful, single-handedly fighting against more than twenty martial arts masters from the Central Plains without being at a disadvantage.
What's even more touching is that he was loyal and righteous, and chose to back down at the most crucial moment, which made everyone feel very sorry.
But what was most astonishing was Su Chen's last sentence.
It turns out that during the Battle of Yanmen Pass, Xiao Yuanshan had an infant who survived and was taken back and raised by Xuan Ci and Wang Jiantong.
If that were all, it wouldn't be so bad. What's truly frightening is that this baby is none other than Qiao Feng, the current leader of the Beggars' Sect.