Mysterious Martial Arts: The Record of the Swordsman

Chapter 322 Watching Immortals from the Moonlit Bridge

Chapter 322 Watching Immortals from the Moonlit Bridge

The moon shone through the sparse bamboo, casting shadows on the mountain walls. The hustle and bustle in front of Zhizhi Temple gradually faded away. Gui Xinshu had seen enough of the excitement and went to Xiamei Town to stay temporarily. The Wuyi Sect members also returned to their respective mountains. Only Jiang Wen, along with Hong Wending, Hongdou Girl, and Master Jipo, walked down the winding stone steps to the foot of the mountain, avoiding the crowds to catch up and chat.

The Southern Shaolin Temple has now become a cooking competition, with everyone giving their all and cooking professionally. Even though Red Bean and Master Chicken are considered peripheral figures, Jiang Wen doesn't want outsiders to see them and cause trouble.

The moonlight cast long and short shadows of the four people. The mountain breeze, carrying the coolness of the night dew, made Jiang Wen feel much more comfortable.

Jiang Wen didn't stop walking and asked bluntly, "Was that stone just now your doing, Miss Hongdou?"

At this moment, Hong Wending was exactly like Hong Xiguan, and said to her with his hands behind his back, "Mother, you don't need to do this."

Upon hearing this, Hongdou showed no embarrassment whatsoever. Instead, her eyebrows furrowed, and her bright eyes shone even more brightly in the moonlight, revealing a hint of shrewishness.

"Hmph, Sect Leader Jiang, how dare you say that? My Wen Ding could have clearly won, but you insisted that he pretend to lose by half a move! This is clearly favoritism!"

"Mother, that's not what Master meant..."

"The martial arts tournament is a place to make a name for yourself, not to be concerned with any fancy Jianghu etiquette! That brat from the Xiandu Sect makes me furious. I just used a small pebble to help him get off and rest earlier, so that Wen Ding wouldn't waste his energy wasting time with him!"

After marrying Hong Xiguan, Hongdou's personality quickly began to resemble that of her mother, Zhu Xiaoqian. As she spoke, she tried to grab Hong Wending, but Hong Wending seemed to have anticipated this and subtly dodged her, revealing a helpless yet accustomed expression on his face.

The philandering master, standing to the side, appeared quite "serious" at this moment. He carried a greasy roasted chicken leg in one hand and scratched his messy hair with the other, his tattered robe fluttering in the night wind. He chuckled, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.

“Jiang Wen, when a woman is protecting her child, you’d better not get involved. Just like me, the old monk, you can just turn a blind eye.” As he spoke, oil stains smudged onto his sleeve, but he didn’t care at all.

Jiang Wen understood. Hongdou's actions, though seemingly reckless and unreasonable, were actually helping Hong Wending to clean up the mess. Otherwise, the two on stage would likely not have received a positive evaluation from the martial arts community for their dramatic performance.

After scolding Jiang Wen, Hongdou went to scold Hong Wending, saying he was just as dense as her father. Then she grabbed his ears and cheeks and started rubbing them, showing how protective she was of her own. Jiang Wen glanced at Hong Wending with a smug look. The boy nodded slightly, his eyes clear, clearly having no objection to Hongdou's "help," but he was a little annoyed by her habit of pulling his ears and rubbing his cheeks in public.

"The master has keen insight."

Jiang Wen nodded to Master Ji Po, "However, why did you two suddenly appear in Wuyi Mountain? The Southern Shaolin Temple is in rebellion in Lingnan, so the temple affairs must be very busy."

Upon hearing this, Master Chicken paused in his chicken leg-eating, his manic and playful expression softened slightly, and a barely perceptible glint flashed in his eyes before he resumed his nonchalant demeanor.

“Amitabha, well done! The mess in Guangzhou is for those who need to take care of it. As for me, this old monk is just a free spirit. I heard that Wuyi Mountain is quite lively, with wine, meat, and exciting entertainment. And you, 'Gentleman Sword,' are hosting a martial arts tournament. How could I, this old monk, miss such a grand event? So, I brought Hongdou out for a stroll to relax and visit some old friends.”

Hongdou picked up the conversation, her tone still carrying a hint of dissatisfaction, but she also revealed the truth: "The senior monks at the Southern Shaolin Temple are indeed overwhelmed by the events in Guangzhou and can't spare the time. But the martial arts tournament is being held in Fujian, which is adjacent to Guangdong, so the temple can't completely pretend not to know. They have to send someone to check the situation. It just so happens that this old mad monk can't stay idle, and I was worried about Wending, so we came together."

She feigned helplessness and said, "Who knew that when I arrived, I would see you making him suffer?"

Jiang Wenxin understood perfectly that the appearance of Hongdou and Master Jipo was by no means a simple matter of "watching the show" and "looking at their son."

As one of the leading martial arts schools in the south, the Southern Shaolin Temple, even though deeply involved in the affairs of Guangzhou, could not possibly ignore this martial arts conference, spearheaded by Jiang Wen and aimed at integrating the martial arts forces of Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hunan, and Hubei. Now that the Wudang Sect has set off, the Southern Shaolin Temple, as its old rival, would certainly send spies to investigate.

The arrival of Master Ji Po, a highly respected, skilled martial artist who acted eccentrically yet methodically, demonstrated her stance while maintaining distance, thus avoiding excessive suspicion from external forces. Her decision to have Hong Dou accompany her stemmed from her deep longing for her son and also from her connection with Hong Wending, serving as a natural bridge between her and the Wuyi Sect.

Putting everything else aside, even if Feng Daode recognized this martial uncle, he could only pretend not to know. Otherwise, everyone would have witnessed the Wudang sect leader respectfully bowing to the old monk of the Southern Shaolin Temple, which would have been even more exciting than today's arena fun.

"I see."

Jiang Wen smiled slightly, immediately understanding. "The presence of you two adds even more luster to this grand event. Master Ji Po and Miss Hong Dou are both old friends of mine. Since you're here, please feel free to enjoy the ceremony. Although Wuyi Mountain is not as grand as the Southern Shaolin Temple, there will be plenty of fine wine, and the lively atmosphere will certainly not disappoint you."

Jiang Wen was being modest about this, because the six monasteries of the Southern Shaolin were burned to the ground, and none of the thirty-six branches survived. In comparison, the Wuyi Sect, located in a remote and impoverished area, was much more magnificent.

Master Chicken reverted to his madman state, patting his belly and laughing heartily: "As long as there's wine! As long as there's wine! Young Jiang, this old monk loves to hear you say that! Come on, come on, don't just sit here drinking the wind, hurry back and see if there's any more good wine and food, this old monk's stomach is rumbling again!"

As he spoke, he walked unsteadily yet with unusual speed up the mountain path, humming off-key Buddhist verses as if the solemn moment he had just experienced had never happened.

Hongdou watched the meddlesome master's retreating figure, pursing her lips, clearly not satisfied with this fellow traveler. But upon seeing Hong Wending, she smiled broadly. Jiang Wen couldn't help but marvel at how this stepmother was more devoted than a biological mother; just how outrageous was Hong Xiguan's charm?

Jiang Wen lagged behind. Since the Southern Shaolin Temple had also sent a subtle signal, he quietly placed another unexpected yet reasonable piece on the chessboard of this martial arts tournament. A barely perceptible smile appeared on his lips as he stepped forward to follow.

Moonlight filtered through the swaying bamboo leaves, casting silvery spots on the stone steps. Jiang Wen, Hong Wending, Hongdou, and Master Jipo walked slowly down the mountain along the path and saw a neatly arranged object with wheels parked at the bend at the foot of the path, blocking the way down the mountain at the end of the steps.

Jiang Wen exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, there are Li Auto owners here too?"

"This was left here by the old monk."

The meddlesome man suddenly stopped, scratched his messy hair, and pointed to the Li Auto parked haphazardly by the mountain road.

Jiang Wen took two steps forward and looked in the direction he was pointing. Under the shadow of the bamboo forest, a simple wheelbarrow was parked crookedly, with several bulging packages piled on it, haphazardly covered with tattered straw mats and white cloths.

Jiang Wen rubbed his hands together politely and said, "Master, you're too kind. You've come all this way, why bring a gift? The Southern Shaolin Temple isn't having an easy time either, no need to be so polite... Let me see what gift you brought—"

The meddlesome master said in a strange tone, "I'll give you a dead man's head."

Jiang Wen angrily retorted, "How dare you swear at me?"

Before he could finish speaking, the henpecked man had already rushed to the front of the car and ripped off the top piece of dirty burlap with his withered hand.

A faint, unsettling earthy smell mingled with a cloying, rusty sweetness, quietly permeated the air, completely different from the fresh scent of the forest. Under the moonlight, three corpses lay intertwined in an extremely contorted and disturbing position, exposed before everyone's eyes!

The topmost body had its neck twisted at an impossible angle, its ashen face staring directly at Jiang Wen, eyes wide and unfocused, dark brown bloodstains remaining around its mouth and nose, its expression frozen in extreme pain and terror. The two bodies below were even more entangled, arms and legs wedged into the gaps in the cart floor, their clothes covered in mud, withered leaves, and large patches of dark, sticky grime, exuding a strong stench of blood and death. These were clearly people who had just died!

"Look, it's a dead man's head!"

Master Chicken flashed his yellow teeth and pointed to the top tilted head, explaining earnestly, "The old monk didn't lie to you, it's fresh and hot... uh, it just cooled down not long ago, I picked it up while I was on my way."

Even Jiang Wen, who was used to seeing all kinds of things, was taken aback by the sudden "generous gift" and the horrific scene of the corpses piled up like Arhats. Hong Wending, on the other hand, tensed up, his eyes sharp as an eagle.

The meddlesome master casually tossed aside the burlap sack and pointed at the corpses, explaining, "It really wasn't the old monk's fault; they ran right into it!"

Master Ji Po recounted that in a mountain valley about ten miles from here, he saw a guy who seemed to be possessed, hacking and killing indiscriminately, attacking anyone he saw, and his attacks were both crazy and ruthless—and now the madman is lying here, the one with the crooked neck at the top. It is said that he was especially strong, and his moves were also strange, as if he had practiced hard fist and palm techniques, but he had lost all his mind and was left only with murderous intent.

Master Ji Po initially thought it was a brawl among martial artists, but seeing that both sides were scattering and fleeing, he sensed something was wrong and stepped in to mediate. It took him quite a bit of effort to subdue the man with his Indra's Claw, but before he could get any information out of him, the man suddenly slapped his own neck and died, bleeding from all seven orifices.

The remaining two were hit by his fists and feet, and the unlucky one, who was the most seriously injured, soon died. The henpecked master then pushed them over.

Jiang Wen still remembered when Master Ji Po was traveling wildly in Wuyi Mountain, he lived in the cemetery and tombs every day, and lived with the mummified corpses and immortal bodies. He had long since mastered the contemplation of impurity and the contemplation of white bones. But his current vigor was still quite impressive.

"That outfit... seems to belong to the Rattan Shield Gang?"

Jiang Wen's eyes suddenly narrowed, instantly snapping out of his earlier shock, and all the commotion about the martial arts tournament was left behind.

He strode to the car, ignoring the pungent smell, and bent down to examine it closely. He first looked at the top corpse, the one the eccentric master had mentioned who had gone mad and hurt people, and carefully observed his palms—

His hands were covered in calluses, especially deep ones around the base of his thumb, indicating he was a seasoned weapon user. However, his palms were not thick, quite different from the fist and palm techniques Jiang Wen was familiar with. What was even stranger was that Jiang Wen noticed some fresh fracture marks on his hands and arms.

Next, he examined the body's fingernails and the soles of its shoes—the soil was fresh, mixed with distinctive red particles and some moss fragments.

"Red soil...moss..."

Jiang Wen muttered to himself, his mind flashing back to the investigation he had conducted with Yuan Ziyi in the abandoned kiln and Sanliting. The red soil and moss fragments left behind by the Tengpai Sect disciples seemed to be somewhat similar to the corpse in front of him. Could this person have been to the place where the Tengpai Sect disciples disappeared before?

"Master, you said he suddenly went mad in the mountain valley?" Jiang Wen pressed, his tone regaining its usual calm. "Did you see anyone else? Or was there anything unusual on him or around him?"

The busybody scratched his head.

"Something special? It was all very chaotic back then, we were just focused on holding this madman down... Oh, right!"

He slapped his thigh. "When this person was dying, it seemed like he kept muttering something... 'Old man, don't die!' It was mumbled and indistinct. It sounded like he was chanting a spell."

"'Old Master Danliang is not dead?!'"

Jiang Wen blurted out, "This is the opening line of the Taoist poem on the wrapping cloth of the rattan shield sect disciple! The rattan shield sect disciple had come across this poem a few days ago, and now this person has also gone mad and died suddenly, reciting the same line before his death!"

"Miss Hongdou, I trouble you and Wen Ding to have Zhou Long and Chief Fan send a few reliable men to secretly transport these corpses back to a secluded spot behind Zhizhi Nunnery and guard them there, ensuring that no one gets close!"

Master Ji Po replied, "Sect Leader Jiang, don't worry. That brute Zhou Long from the Vajra Sect, the old monk just ran into him at the foot of the mountain. He has already sent his disciples to Sanliting and the lodgings of the various sects to maintain order, so that those Jianghu people won't cause trouble after drinking and disturb the peace of the assembly."

Jiang Wen suddenly realized: "So that's how it is. No wonder Zhou Long was nowhere to be seen at today's conference, and we couldn't even hear his raspy voice trying to help. Master, please think carefully again and find out their exact location and all the details of their madness. Please tell me in detail later."

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

As dusk settled, the mountain wind whistled through the bamboo, making a mournful sound. The daytime hustle and bustle faded away, leaving only a somber atmosphere as if a storm was brewing.

Several bonfires flickered in a clearing, illuminating several still-shaken faces. More than ten members of the Tengpai Sect and the Xiantianquan Sect huddled together, their faces still showing fear, whispering among themselves. It seemed they dared not risk crossing the dense forest and planned to wait until dawn before returning.

Jiang Wen stepped forward, his gaze sweeping over the crowd: "I am Jiang Wen, the leader of the Wuyi Sect. Do any of you know that disciple of the Tengpai Sect?"

A stocky, pale-faced disciple of the Innate Fist style was pushed forward by his companion. His lips trembled, and his eyes were unfocused, as if he were still immersed in immense fear. He swallowed hard, his voice shaking, "Hero Jiang... I know this person. His name is Liu Changshun, and he's a disciple of the Rattan Shield Sect!"

Jiang Wen exchanged a glance with the old woman and said in a deep voice, "Don't panic, tell me slowly, what's wrong with him?"

The disciple took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down, but his voice was still trembling violently: "Liu Changshun... had a conflict with me a few days ago, and we agreed to meet today with our brothers to spar... There are the Vajra Sect and the Beggars' Sect in Sanliting, and that evil god in Xiamei Town, so we agreed to meet at a secluded place at the foot of the mountain... But I never expected that he would suddenly go mad and then suddenly die, it was really frightening."

"Madness? Sudden death? Do you know the reason? Did he show any unusual behavior before?"

Yes! Yes!

A disciple from the Rattan Shield Sect nodded vigorously, his fear intensifying. He and the disciple from the Innate Fist Sect had become united. The disciple lowered his voice as if afraid of disturbing something. "Just a few days ago, Liu Changshun secretly told me that he encountered a ghost in the evening... in the ravine opposite Jade Maiden Peak!"

"Ghost?" Jiang Wen felt both unfamiliar and familiar with the word "ghost".

"No...it's not an ordinary ghost!"

"Liu Changshun is a strange guy... He often said that a fairy lived on Jade Maiden Peak, which is the spot by the Nine-Bend Stream... He often went there to look at Jade Maiden Peak at dusk, and that's when the accident happened..."

The rattan shield disciple's voice was ethereal, carrying a chilling, eerie quality. "He said that one day, he saw a... a ghost in the wilderness! Right there in the moonlight... wearing a grayish, thin, mist-like garment... floating there!"

He paused, as if recalling the horrific description, and a chill involuntarily ran down his spine.

"Liu Changshun said...that ghost was very eerie! It wasn't...it wasn't human at all! The moonlight was both cold and bright, making the whole forest look green. He hid behind a rock, being stared at by the ghost, and didn't even realize his hands and feet were numb with cold..."

"And then?" Jiang Wen pressed, his ominous premonition growing stronger.

"Later, that ghost... seemed to have found him! Liu Changshun said that he felt a chill run from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head, his mind went blank and his vision went black... When he regained consciousness, it was almost dawn, and he found himself lying paralyzed on the side of the rock, his bones felt like they were falling apart, cold and stiff."

Jiang Wen pondered for a moment and then asked, "When did this happen?"

“A few days ago, before the deaths of those three brothers were discovered, the sect leader suspected it was an assassination attempt by the enemy. So he kept an eye on everyone's whereabouts. Therefore, when he disappeared, the sect leader sent people to search for him for a whole day and night. He only returned the next day and told us himself…”

"But after he came back and told me all this, he lay down on the bed and fell fast asleep, only waking up for a short while in the middle of the night. He... he went to the wasteland and did something. Some of the brothers followed him to check... and found him practicing boxing alone in the wilderness. The grass was taller than a person, and there were piles of graves all around!"

His eyes widened in terror: "His movements didn't seem like his own body at all! Stiff! Awkward! His joints were cracking, like...like he was being pulled along by someone! But...and the wind he made with every move...the sound was terrifying! He just stood there gesturing like that all night, then went back to Sanliting and fell asleep...and when he woke up it was today. He asked us to find someone to settle scores, and then he went completely insane and killed one of his own brothers!"

After speaking, the disciple from the Rattan Shield Sect collapsed, panting heavily, his forehead covered in cold sweat. The members of the Innate Fist Sect around him were also deathly pale. The crackling campfire cast flickering light on their faces, adding to the eerie atmosphere.

The sudden appearance of martial arts skills in one's mind might be a stroke of luck, but a body stiff like a puppet, followed by a drastic change in temperament, immense strength, and a sudden death after killing someone, is clearly a scourge.

After the survivors passed the story around, they all agreed that this was not a miraculous encounter at all, but rather an encounter with evil spirits in the Wuyi Mountains. Their souls were taken away by the "non-human things" floating on Jade Maiden Peak, and they were cursed with some kind of extremely sinister curse!

Jiang Wen's eyes were sharp as lightning as he looked at the mountain outline swallowed by the night in the direction of Jade Maiden Peak. He felt a chill creep up his spine. Could it be that the ghost was now wandering in the wilderness below Jade Maiden Peak, coldly watching the living?

"Master Chicken, is the treasure of the Western Lu Kingdom really in the Wuyi Mountains?"

Jiang Wen turned to Master Ji Po and asked very seriously, while the mad monk smiled strangely and waved his hand, saying, "Don't ask me, don't ask me. Didn't the old monk entrust the treasure map of the Western Lu Kingdom to you for safekeeping?"

Jiang Wen recalled the treasure of the Western Lu Kingdom, which was found by the Southern Shaolin master in the ruins of the Western Lu Kingdom during the Zhou Dynasty. The earliest place there was the fiefdom of Liu Lei, who fed dragons during the Xia Dynasty. The tombs were layered and the dynasty was indistinguishable. The tortoise shells were covered with insect and phoenix scripts that he could not recognize. There was only one clue: a landscape map with nine bends and turns. After years of investigation, it was confirmed that it was in the Wuyi Mountains.

"I think I know something..."