Jianghu Qimen Lu

Chapter 76 Singing from the Heart

Hearing this, Tie Suanpan and Qian Shou Guanyin exchanged a glance and smiled with relief. Pi Liangban and Long Juanfeng came up behind Bai Shandian, keeping a close watch on him from the left and right. Tie Suanpan, holding the brocade box, smiled and said to Bai Shandian, "Shall we go, Lord Bai?" Bai Shandian nodded, and the group stepped onto the stairs and filed away.

Climbing up to the cave entrance and entering the main hall, Bai Shandian glanced at the huge plaque above Yue Fei's statue that read "Return My Rivers and Mountains," thinking, "If I hand over the 'Complete Book of Jianghu' to the Mo Qing Society, it would be a meritorious deed, after all, they are a righteous gang in the Jianghu! Besides, Stinky Feet is their leader, so it would be returning the book to its rightful owner. However, I wonder how my wife, Xiang Quan, is doing in prison; I'm very worried about her! I must find a way to get the Mo Qing Society to rescue her!" Thinking this, he stopped and said, "Speaking of which, your leader, Stinky Feet, is my brother-in-law. May I ask you for a favor?" Tie Suanpan laughed, "Lord Bai, please speak freely! What's there to ask for? As long as it's something we brothers can do, we'll do it without hesitation!" Bai Shandian pondered for a moment before saying, "Do you know that today's incident has angered His Majesty? He has sworn that once he escapes, he will exterminate your Moqing Society and your entire family! I'm afraid even our whole family will not escape!" Tie Suanpan and the other three looked at each other, all horrified. The emperor's words were never absolute; it was common for him to grant pardons on the surface while secretly plotting to kill people. Once Qianlong was enraged, wiping out a small Moqing Society with the power of the entire nation would be an easy task! Just thinking about it sent chills down their spines.

Thousand-Hand Guanyin asked, "What does Lord Bai want us to do?" Bai Shandian replied, "My wife is still in Hangzhou prison, and I am powerless to help her. I intend to use the power of the 'Complete Guide to the Martial World' to force the Emperor to release my wife, Xiangquan, as well. Then, I will personally hand over the 'Complete Guide to the Martial World' to your leader, Choujiao! This way, your wishes will be fulfilled, and I will also be relieved of a worry! It will be a win-win situation, so why not?" Thousand-Hand Guanyin coldly laughed, "Lord Bai truly lives up to his reputation as a prominent figure in officialdom; his methods are indeed excellent and his actions are grand! Since we've already done this once, why not do it again?" Although her tone was laced with sarcasm, she didn't say she wouldn't do it. Tie Suanpan laughed, "Lord Bai, since Third Brother has no objections, I'll think of a way to go see the Emperor and have him release your wife as well!" With that, he went down into the cave.

It took about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea for him to return, carrying another imperial edict! Bai Shandian greeted him with a smile and asked anxiously, "What did the Emperor say?" Tie Suanpan laughed and said, "Don't worry, Lord Bai, the matter has been settled. Just wait for your family to reunite!" Seeing that he didn't explain the details, Bai Shandian didn't dare to ask any further questions and could only follow the others outside.

Just then, a thin, elderly man wearing reading glasses walked in from outside the main hall. He looked quite refined and almost bumped into Tie Suanpan! Tie Suanpan recognized the man but couldn't quite place where he had seen him before. The old man, however, was both surprised and delighted to see him and exclaimed, "Finally found you, friend!" Tie Suanpan looked at him with suspicion and asked, "What brings you here? You are…?" The old man became somewhat anxious and called out, "I am Qi Caiyun, the owner of Ke Lai Xi Breakfast Shop. Didn't you heroes and knights have breakfast here early this morning?" Tie Suanpan suddenly remembered this embarrassing incident, and a nameless anger rose within him. He suppressed his rage and asked, "What brings you here this time?" Qi Caiyun laughed heartily: "To be honest, there's a small matter... I really can't say it in front of so many friends!" Tie Suanpan didn't have time to argue with him. Before he could say anything, Pi Liangban couldn't contain himself any longer. He rushed to Qi Caiyun, his towering body seemingly wanting to crush Qi Caiyun's frail, aged frame into a pulp. He roared like thunder, "Why are you here again? If it weren't for your age, I could have slapped you to death!" Qi Caiyun pulled out the two gold ingots from his pocket, angrily retorting, "You gave me fake ingots, how could I not come after you!?"

"What? Fake gold ingots!" Split in two was stunned. He hurriedly shouted to Iron Abacus, "Second Brother, he says you gave him fake gold ingots? What happened? Come over and reason with him!" Iron Abacus was also shocked and furious. He rushed over, snatched the two gold ingots, examined them carefully, and declared resolutely, "These two ingots aren't mine! I recognize the gold ingots I gave you!" Seven-Colored Cloud flew into a rage, hissing sharply, "Do you think someone like me, buried halfway in the ground, would lie in broad daylight? Don't bully people just because you outnumber me! Is this what you..." "Those two ingots of brass!" Iron Abacus sneered, saying unhurriedly, "The silver and gold ingots I carry are all the operating funds of the Moqing Society. For valuable items like gold ingots, I usually draw a small red flower on the bottom with red ink as a mark of the Moqing Society's assets. Look at the bottom of your two ingots, where is there any little red flower?" Seven-Colored Cloud shouted and yelled, "Don't try to justify yourself, this is fraud! If that's the case, you might as well not pay for your meal, why bother trying to fool people?" Seeing that he was so unreasonable, Iron Abacus was so angry that he simply ignored him.

Although splitting things in two was reckless, he was inherently kind. Seeing things had escalated to this point, even a reincarnated Bao Gong (a legendary upright official) might not be able to explain it clearly! He didn't know whether to believe his second brother or the Seven-Colored Cloud, and was momentarily stunned. The Thousand-Hand Guanyin stepped in to smooth things over: "How about this, sir, we have urgent business to attend to. We'll resolve this matter when we return! If you have nothing else to do, please wait here for a moment, we'll be right back!" Unexpectedly, the Seven-Colored Cloud rolled its eyes and blocked the doorway, shouting loudly, "No one is leaving until this is resolved!" Enraged by his rudeness, the Tornado rushed forward and threw a punch! With a swift, powerful gust of wind, that hammer-like fist would surely smash the old man's dry, old bones to pieces! White Lightning, unable to bear the sight, closed its eyes—

Instead of the sound of fists striking flesh, there was a thud, followed by a startled cry from Split in Two: "Sixth Brother, what happened to you?!" Then came the sound of running footsteps. White Lightning quickly opened his eyes and saw Seven-Colored Cloud standing leisurely at the doorway, while Tornado lay unconscious at his feet! Split in Two quickly knelt down and helped him up, checking his injuries. His expression changed drastically after seeing the injuries, and he cried out, "Second Brother, Third Brother! You two come quickly and check on my Sixth Brother's injuries!" Thousand-Handed Guanyin and Iron Abacus rushed over and were equally shocked! Tornado's right arm had been dislocated and was convulsing! He must have been in unbearable pain and had fainted! Iron Abacus quickly knelt down, lifted his arm, and with a sharp twist and push, heard a crack—the bone had been set! Tornado yelled and woke up. Seeing his second brother, he instinctively warned, "Second brother, this strange old man has evil powers! Be careful!"

The Thousand-Hand Guanyin stopped facing Seven-Colored Cloud and coldly said, "Could it be that you are the renowned Seven-Colored Cloud, the leader of the Colorful Gate, who has shaken the martial world?" Seven-Colored Cloud smiled and nodded, "That is indeed me." The Thousand-Hand Guanyin said solemnly, "You once caused a sensation in the capital with your feats of turning people into living beings and moving heads. Why have you come to this small town in Jiangnan today? And why are you disguised as the owner of a breakfast shop, pressing our Red Flower Society step by step? What is your purpose? Please explain!" Seven-Colored Cloud laughed wildly for a while before finally saying, "Actually, our Colorful Gate and your Moqing Society originally had no grudges, it was only because of the appearance of the 'Complete Book of the Martial World'! It is said that the book describes various aspects of the martial world..." The secret techniques and hidden methods of each sect are revealed so thoroughly and comprehensively that it is truly astonishing! As the saying goes, "Better to give a single shard of gold than to sell a single word of spring!" One can imagine that in the martial arts world, sectarianism has always been strong; it is absolutely forbidden for sects to share their innermost secrets or pass on their skills, let alone divulge their hidden techniques—this is a grave taboo! Yet, the *Complete Guide to the Martial Arts World* goes against all this, not only corrupting morals but also betraying one's master and ancestors—truly the most forbidden book in the world! But humans are strange, highly evolved creatures; the more forbidden a book is, the more we want to read it; the stranger the words, the more we want to investigate! It is precisely for this reason that I came to Hangzhou!