The Blade-Wielding Legend
Chapter 83 The Aftermath

Chapter 83: Chapter 83 The Aftermath

"Incense Master, the painting is here."

Upon hearing the man’s question, the concubine in white hurriedly took out a cylindrical scroll box from under the bed and handed it over respectfully with both hands.

The man received it, carefully opened it, and took out a scroll.

As he slowly unfolded it, an ancient landscape scroll dramatically appeared before everyone.

In the painting, mountains stretched across the horizon like a winding dragon, exuding a majestic aura, with clouds swirling around the mountain peaks, occasionally revealing stacked ridges.

Even a layman could tell that this painting was extraordinary.

Manager Wu couldn’t help but praise, "What excellent craftsmanship, Incense Master, what is the mystery behind this item?"

The white concubine was also puzzled, "A subordinate once interrogated Eunuch Lu, but he didn’t know the reason either, only that Princess Fu’an loved this painting very much."

The man examined the painting carefully and said, "The craftsmanship of this painting is outstanding, but the artist is not well-known; his name is Jiao Fayuan."

Manager Wu was startled, "A person from Magic Veins?"

The man nodded, "Yes, he was a magician from the Three Religions and Nine Sects in Ganzhou during the Da Xing Period, skilled in fengshui and geomancy, and was also a prince’s retainer at that time."

"At that time, Da Xing was at a standoff with the Golden Tent Wolf Country. Later, the Great Xuan rose to power and took control, leading to Da Xing’s downfall. Jiao Fayuan, following the prince’s orders, hid part of the national treasury’s silver and weapons within the Qinling Mountains, awaiting the day of restoration."

"Latterly, this map eventually fell into the hands of Prince Pingyang who hid it for personal reasons. He was implicated in a dispute over the heir to the throne and was accused of rebellion. Princess Fu’an took the map and fled to Guanzhong."

"Regrettably, after years of studying it without success, she inadvertently leaked information, drawing the attention of the Capital. I became aware of this by chance and secretly arranged interception."

"So, it was like that."

Manager Wu’s eyes flickered with excitement, "Incense Master, with these items, could the Divine Sect rise again?"

"Difficult!"

The Incense Master sighed, took a Bone Flower from Fire Ghost’s hand, removed the lid, and poured out some black granular powder, "The reason I was delayed in Chang’an for some days was to sneak into the government office and steal the formula for this substance."

"Gunpowder?" The white concubine was slightly confused.

The Incense Master shook his head, "Its power far exceeds ordinary gunpowder, inadvertently created by an Alchemy Master. The Li family, having obtained this substance, dared not keep it for themselves and offered it to the court, thereby securing their high official position."

"Unfortunately, I only managed to obtain a jar of the finished product, not the formula."

"The Great Xuan Dynasty is flourishing powerfully. With this substance, they will be unstoppable. I fear that soon, the whole pugilistic world will be suppressed, and rallying the common folk in good faith will only lead to needless sacrifice."

Upon hearing this, Manager Wu’s expression dimmed, "What should we do then?"

The Incense Master calmly stated, "Nature has its balance; if this world were only ruled by those with might, how could dynasties ever change?"

"The current Great Xuan Dynasty holds the law in high esteem, the populace wouldn’t dare cross the line. The petty use the law for personal gain, over time, this will inevitably lead to disaster."

"Ten years ago, the Sect Leader was eager to rise up, resulting in the Divine Sect being severely splintered. Nowadays, we’re short on capable personnel, everyone has hidden agendas, and our strength is much reduced. What we need to do is gather strength and wait for the right moment."

"I’ve observed the celestial signs; in two years, a great disaster will strike the Central Plains. After retrieving the treasure from the Qinling, we will move there to lie low, and then we can take the opportunity to expand the Divine Sect."

"Master Incense, you are wise!"

...

Boom!

A loud noise startled Sha Lifei from his deep sleep.

"What happened, did the earth dragon turn over?"

He was startled, rushed out the door in a flurry, only to see Li Yan in the courtyard practicing the Ten Pan Gong moves, having thrown the stone trough aside.

Sha Lifei looked up at the sky, then complained, "What are you freaking out about this early in the morning, disturbing my sweet dreams? Practicing, always practicing, crazier than your father..."

Li Yan smirked, "It’s a tough life living by the blade. Should I just practice my mouth instead of my skills?"

With a thick skin, Sha Lifei was undeterred by the mockery, swaying his head, "Hey, don’t underestimate the power of the mouth; if used well, it can be worth a million soldiers!"

Li Yan slowly finished his routine, thoughtfully said, "Uncle Sha, you haven’t made any breakthroughs over the years, partly due to neglecting practice, and partly because your master passed too soon to guide you. Now that I’ve reached the Hidden Energy stage, I can assist you, and you might make a breakthrough."

"Is there... a chance?" Sha Lifei was visibly intrigued.

"It might just be like piercing paper, one poke might do it."

"Alright, let’s put it to the test!"

This ’putting it to the test’ refers to slowing down the movements, exchanging dismantling moves, and during physical contact, carefully feeling the changes in Hidden Energy.

Boom! Boom!

After a while, Sha Lifei kept losing his balance and fell to the ground.

"I’m done! I’m done!"

Sha Lifei suddenly yelled as he rubbed his buttocks.

At that moment, Wang Daoxuan also pushed the door open, stretched lazily and looked quite normal.

"Daoist, how are you?" Sha Lifei quickly asked.

Wang Daoxuan was a bit embarrassed, "I’d like a bowl of mutton soup."

Li Yan laughed, "With your appetite restored, it seems the Daoist has completely recovered."

Sha Lifei quickly pulled the two, "Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go..."

...

It was still at the Wei family’s old street, at the Wu family’s old shop.

This place made excellent mutton, but it wasn’t a fancy restaurant. People of all sorts huddled together on the long benches, Three Religions and Nine Sects gathered, all sorts of people.

While they ate, they listened to the people next to them chatting.

"Did you hear? There was another fight last night."

"It was Hei Lao San and his gang, huh? They never do anything good. With the Zhou family down, some things naturally had to be reclaimed from them!"

"What’s actually happening with the Zhou family?"

"Not sure, but it’s definitely something major. Didn’t you see that the Captain Bureau has sent people over? I heard everyone at the scene has been prohibited from leaking any information."

"Old Master Zhang is going to take over as the head of the Divine Fist Association, right?"

"Definitely. I heard it was supposed to be a big ceremony, with officials from Chang’an coming to celebrate, but the old master prefers to keep it simple."

"Look at that, Zhou Pan really can’t compare—no wonder he met such a fate..."

"That’s not even the worst part. I heard that after Zhou Pan died, the Zhou family fell into chaos, fighting over the inheritance. Zhou Peide was imprisoned and sentenced to death, and Zhou Bai and his bossy mother, without anyone to support them, were thrown directly out of the Zhou family’s gates."

"Man, just last month I saw him swaggering around..."

Hearing the talk, Li Yan and the others weren’t surprised; they continued to eat and drink.

Many things are like this, starting from a small change and then creating waves of their own.

Changes in the Chang’an government reached Xianyang. With the Zhou and Zhang families settling their scores, the fate of those who depended on them also changed.

Swoosh...

Just then, a large group of beggars ran through the street, all panicked, some falling to the ground, their tattered bowls shattered.

"Stop running! Everyone stop!"

A few fierce government officials followed, wielding water and fire sticks, beating the beggars till they cried for their parents.

Someone couldn’t bear to watch and yelled, "Lord, what’s happened? Why unleash such fury on these poor souls?"

"You damn coward, where did you spring from?"

The government official with meaty face cursed back, but seeing many were indignant, he didn’t continue cursing and instead said arrogantly, "You think they’re anything good?"

"This morning, we cleared out their hideout in the city, and found plenty of abducted women and children—completely ruined. They’re cursing over there now, better go and see if any of your family members are involved!"

"Deputy Magistrate is furious. Military Officer Fan has been ordered to go to Chaotic Burial Mound. Today, they are determined to raid those beggar dens!"

His words held a righteous tone, but obviously no one was buying it.

What kind of behavior the Western Beggar Gang exhibited, those from the pugilistic world surely knew?

Even these government officials had often taken bribes from the Beggar Gang, turning a blind eye to many things, even sometimes backing the crooked dealings.

Now they were pretending to be the good guys in front of everyone.

And those beggars being beaten, most of them were wretched souls, controlled by the Western Beggar Gang, handing over their earnings from begging, barely able to eat their fill.

Despite all that was said, no one interfered further.

They knew, with the government suddenly taking action, there must be another reason hidden.

After the government officials drove the beggars away, Sha Lifei clucked his tongue, "The Western Beggar Gang is finished; it looks like the Taixuan Orthodox Sect is taking action to clear obstacles before the ceremony."

Wang Daoxuan nodded, "The consecration of the Mountain God is a significant event. If they allow the chaos at Chaotic Burial Mound to continue, sooner or later, it would breed disaster. With a Mountain God to keep watch, things will be much quieter there."

Saying this, he stood up and said, "Let’s go and see that Daoist Wu. He risked his life to save mine; thinking about it, I can’t sit still..."