The Blade-Wielding Legend
Chapter 43 Puppet Monkey, Soul-Shaking Drum

Chapter 43: Chapter 43 Puppet Monkey, Soul-Shaking Drum

神州’s Taoist temple locations were very particular.

Built atop famous mountains or deep within great rivers, where people were scarce, usually meant a focus on studying the Dao, far away from the worldly dust...

Built halfway up the mountain signified being halfway in the mundane world, halfway in immortality...

And built at the mountain’s base meant practicing in the world, making wide connections of goodwill...

If built in the city, there was undoubtedly no shortage of incense, emphasizing personal popularity.

Therefore, the commerce around city temples was usually prosperous, bustling with people.

In the west city, the old street near the Lady’s Temple.

Here, the streets were also lined with shops on both sides, but unlike the City God Temple where incense and red and white wedding shops gathered, this place was mostly filled with various artisan shops.

Leather workers, goldsmiths, carpenters, stonemasons, and other trades had shops, and even more shops derived from these, like those specializing in making saddlery, helping people craft shadow puppets, making furniture, and even helping artists create various musical instruments.

Several men from the White Ape Gang walked briskly.

Unlike the Iron Blade Gang, Yuan Qu grew up mingling in brothels, where he had seen all kinds of scenes, priding himself on the impressive spectacle. Hence, his subordinates were dressed neatly and uniformly, all in black jackets, samurai boots, and thick leather waist guards.

Each was tall and burly, walking together made them appear even more fierce.

Along the way, citizens who saw them all looked fearful, hastily avoiding them.

Very soon, they arrived in front of a secluded shop.

Outside the shop, many puppets were hanging, all dressed in opera costumes, with painted facial patterns—sheng, dan, jing, mo, chou—all appeared lifelike.

This was a shop that made puppets.

Puppet shows, also known as "little plays," originated during the Han dynasty and thrived during the Tang dynasty. Even the Tang emperor wrote poetry: "Carved wood and strings make the old man, chicken skin and crane hair akin to real."

They were called "little" because during performances, a small stage was set up with curtains below, where the artist, with skillful hands and singing, could portray joy and sorrow within a tiny space.

The puppet shows of Xianyang were similarly famous.

With just two or three people, one could perform at various rural temple fairs, thus many were in this trade, and there were shops specializing in making puppets.

Inside the ancient shop, a middle-aged man was carving a puppet.

He wore white clothes, and his black hair hung over his shoulders, his eyes were narrow, and his expression was cool. His fingers were long and strong, as the carving knife slid, wood chips fell.

For some reason, there was a sense of incongruity with the old shop.

Even hearing footsteps, he remained fully focused, as if no one existed.

Several men from the White Ape Gang dared not even enter the door, just stood outside, bowing respectfully and greeting,

"Master Chen, our gang leader would like to request your help."

The man in white did not even raise his head and continued to focus on his carving.

"Where are the things I asked for?"

"Don’t worry, Mr. Chen, there’s just one more to complete. The gang leader said there are many eyes during the day, so we’ll deliver it to your residence at night..."

.......................

Two hours later, the Yuan Family Mansion.

Unlike Zheng Hebei of the Iron Blade Gang, after Yuan Qu became successful, he had a completely different style, buying mansions, building gardens, with a demeanor of a wealthy landowner.

Perhaps having grown up poor, now he indulged in luxury as much as possible.

"Young Master Zhou, please!"

Outside the main gates, a man politely led the way.

Behind him followed a young man, tall and upright, with thick eyebrows and large eyes, well-defined features, wearing a silken robe gown, and a jade signet ring on his finger.

His eyes were bright, exuding a fierce aura.

Upon entering the mansion, Yuan Qu came up to greet him, smiling,

"Zhou Bai, you’re indeed hard to invite. Could it be because you acquired the true teachings of the master and now look down upon your Uncle Yuan?"

The newcomer was none other than the Zhou family’s talent, Zhou Bai.

"Uncle, you are joking."

Young Zhou Bai was clearly somewhat impatient, slightly bowing, then looking around, shook his head,

"Uncle, your garden has become even more beautiful, my great uncle has said before, if you were not so indulgent in these external things, your skills would be far beyond this."

"Hahaha..."

Hearing this, Yuan Qu was not angered at all; instead, he laughed,

"I’m old, not as diligent and brave as you young people. I’ll be satisfied just hearing about you becoming famous in the pugilistic world someday."

Zhou Bai was noncommittal, "Uncle Yuan, why did you invite me here?"

"You’ll find out once you enter."

Yuan Qu smiled mysteriously and led Zhou Bai into the main hall.

Inside the main hall, a large macaque squatted on a chair, its neck tied with an iron chain, tearing apart a live chicken in its hand, devouring it with blood dripping from its mouth.

Though it looked human-like, there was a flash of brutality in its eyes.

On another chair sat a middle-aged man in white, his black hair over his shoulders, with a cold expression, playing with prayer beads in his hands, meditating with his eyes closed.

Seeing them come, he merely glanced faintly.

Yuan Qu immediately introduced him,

"Zhou Bai, let me introduce you, this is Master Chen Fagui, a magic vein expert from the Nine Elements Sect."

"Greetings, Master Chen."

Zhou Bai was shocked in his heart, courteously bowing.

Among the various pugilistic sects, the Gold Sect was chief, Mystical Sect beyond worldly affairs.

The Taixuan Orthodox Sect was the state religion, interacting mostly with high-ranking officials and nobility. For pugilistic people like them, the most they could engage with was the magic veins in different places.

The Nine Elements Sect originated from Li Mountain, also an ancient sect. It’s said that they were the descendants of the craftsmen who built the Emperor’s Mausoleum and had inherited the Taoist teachings of that time, making them influential throughout Guanzhong.

The characteristic of the magic veins was that the names of the true disciple included the character "Fa" (law).

Needless to say, this Chen Fagui was indeed a real Magic Vein Mage!

What did he want to see a magician for?

Zhou Bai was puzzled in his heart and glanced at the large macaque, frowning,

"Uncle Yuan, why is my great uncle’s boxing beast here?"

Monkey fist had many varieties, even within the Red Fist system there was one, but it was considered inelegant and called "child’s fist."

Zhou Pan was a master of this path and learned the Tongbei Monkey Fist, merging the two and delving deeply into the art, thus stepped into Force Transformation.

He captured two large macaques near Zhongnan Mountain, both possessing intelligence. Observing their form, when practicing boxing, he taught the two large macaques the boxing art.

Zhou Pan was very fond of them, calling them boxing beasts.

Since becoming the head of the Divine Fist Association, his fame spread far and wide. Frequently, people came to challenge him, so he made a rule: defeat the large macaque, then fight him.

This was also one of the sources of his notorious reputation.

On regular days, the two large macaques were always by Zhou Pan’s side. Seeing it here now naturally puzzled Zhou Bai.

"Of course, I asked the master to send it over."

Yuan Qu smiled slightly,

"Isn’t the competitional fight upon us? Though you’ve grasped the monkey form, you’re missing a touch of agility and ferocity, so I spent a great sum to ask Master Chen to use a secret technique to help you understand, and the master has already agreed."

Hearing this, Zhou Bai felt displeased in his heart and shook his head,

"He’s just a rural boy. Uncle Yuan, do you have no confidence in me?"

Yuan Qu laughed,

"I certainly have confidence in you."

"But you know that old Zhang Yuanshang has always been against the master, if that boy were without merit, why would he take the initiative to organize?"

"So, you not only have to win but win swiftly!"

"If you easily defeat Li Hu’s son, there’s no guarantee the master won’t be so pleased that he’ll let you go out and roam the pugilistic world, making a name for yourself."

After hearing this, Zhou Bai’s eyes brightened immediately,

"Really?"

"How could it be false!"

Yuan Qu smiled sincerely.

That magician, Chen Fagui, had been watching indifferently. Seeing Zhou Bai agree, he directly stepped forward, taking a tuft of hair each from Zhou Bai and the large macaque, wrapped them in the Yellow Talisman, and alternately stuffed them into both man and monkey’s mouths.

Zhou Bai looked at all this, inevitably feeling apprehensive.

Dealing with magicians could be defenselessly harmful; thus, there was a saying in the pugilistic world that when dealing with these people, whether it be Four Pillars of Destiny, fingernails, or hair, one shouldn’t easily hand them over.

If it weren’t for Zhou Pan’s agreement, he would never let the other person get close.

Sensing Zhou Bai’s vigilance, Chen Fagui didn’t care.

He then took out a wave drum painted with Eight Trigrams, shaking it while stepping Gang and stepping Dipper, swinging his head, his black hair wildly dancing, and his eyes gradually turned white.

He mumbled words, but the pace was so fast, it was entirely inaudible.

As the sound of the wave drum rang, Zhou Bai began to show abnormalities.

He could feel, all around him, that large macaque’s aura.

The aura surged into his body, inadvertently causing him to tremble and twitch, his knees gradually bending, scratching his head with a backward hand, making faces, mimicking exactly the actions of that large macaque.

Subsequently, both man and monkey began executing monkey fist in the hall.

Each move was fierce, each punch ruthless.

Zhou Bai’s eyes, too, had gained a few shades of beastly ferocity.

Snap!

With a reach of his hand, the thick beam wood left claw marks.

The young boy cheered, running around with hands and feet on the ground like a monkey, occasionally baring his teeth at Yuan Qu, his whole body full of wildness.

"Good!"

Yuan Qu clapped in congratulations but his eyes were full of mockery...

.......................

Unknowingly, it became nightfall.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Near the City God Temple, old alley, the sound of the drum still reverberated.

On and off, each beat like thunder.

On the stone street, Wang Daoxuan walked with a lantern, stepping into Wendao Temple, looking at Li Yan in the courtyard with a crazed look, couldn’t help but slightly shake his head.

Sha Lifei was squatting on the steps, a jar of aged wine hugged in his arms, a spread-out oiled paper wrap beside him full of boiled peanuts and marinated beef.

"Daoist, want a sip?"

Seeing Wang Daoxuan enter, he raised the jar, inquiring in a low voice.

Wang Daoxuan shook his head in refusal,

"No, the hour of peace is approaching, drinking agitates the blood, contrary to the natural times. If I drink, I’m afraid I’ll be unable to practice later."

"What’s there to practice..."

Sha Lifei muttered,

"With the drums playing like this, how can anyone sleep!"

Wang Daoxuan was somewhat helpless too,

"I just spoke to the neighbors, they all don’t mind, why must you complain."

"I don’t dare complain, just worried."

Sha Lifei quickly rebuffed, shaking his head,

"This has been thundering all day, without eating or drinking, and the day after tomorrow he’s going onto the stage. Aren’t you afraid there might be trouble?"

Looking at Li Yan in the courtyard who seemed oblivious to others, Wang Daoxuan pondered,

"This is the State of Selflessness, Brother Yan’s early instructions indicate he is aware."

"We just need to wait patiently."

That night, the citizens of the old street were truly suffering.

But what puzzled them was, the drum sounds that seemed annoying before became surprisingly pleasant to their ears in the second half of the night.

And that night, they slept unusually peacefully...