The Villain's Counterattack

Chapter 414: Two Heroes Meet in Shaolin

After Qiao Feng and the others from Murong Academy left, Shan Zheng felt quite uneasy seeing the attitude of the Beggar Gang members, so he said goodbye to Elder Xu and left with his five sons, chasing after Wang Erlang. However, he thought to himself: The waters of the Beggar Gang are too muddy, and I am a good and upright person, so it is better for me not to get involved.

It was said that a dog-beating stick was stuck in the ground in the apricot forest and was surrounded by people. Elder Xu looked at the pitiful Mrs. Ma, and his doubts became stronger. The two letters in his hand had been opened. The handwriting on the envelope was obviously from Ma Dayuan, and the handwriting was very new, which made him even more uncertain.

However, this opportunity is rare. If you miss it, there will be no other chance. I am already very old. If I don’t have the opportunity, no matter how high my prestige is, it will be impossible for me to become the leader of the Beggars’ Sect.

Elder Xu is just like Ma Dayuan. Several generations before him were high-ranking members of the Beggar Gang. At the very least, he was an Eight-Bag Elder, and most of the time he was an elder. Elder Xu was very old and had the most experience, but at this time he was the most suitable person to be in power during the transition period. If he missed the opportunity, he would not even be needed during the transition.

Only Elder Song was determined to invite Qiao Feng back. No matter how he opposed Qiao Feng before, he supported him now. However, Qiao Feng's Khitan identity had been made public, and more people opposed him.

Now that his true identity has been exposed, Qiao Feng is indeed no longer suitable to be the leader of the Beggars' Sect. Sometimes we only know how to cherish something after we lose it. Some people have come to their senses but it is too late, while some people are still complacent and do not know that disaster is imminent.

As the sun rose, while the members of the Beggar Gang were still arguing among themselves, a group of people quietly surrounded them.

Qiao Feng, Wang Erlang and the others rode away at a very fast speed. Just after they had run for more than ten miles, a group of people and horses came into view on the road ahead. In the front was a large table, on which the food and wine were still emitting steam and fragrance. A young man in a green shirt was accompanied by a beautiful woman in a green long skirt, who raised her wine glass slightly to him.

When Qiao Feng saw this man, all the depression in his heart disappeared. He flew into the air and appeared in front of the big table. He raised a jar of wine, slapped the mud seal with his palm, and drank it in big gulps.

"Drink slowly. The Murong family has no shortage of fine wine and delicious food. Even if they eat three or five jars a day, I won't go bankrupt." The handsome man in green was Murong Fu. He made an invitation gesture to Shan Zheng who came on horseback. There were followers behind him who were responsible for leading the horses to welcome the guests. However, the Five Tigers of the Shan family were not qualified to sit at this big table, so they went to the side to dine with the Four Friends of Hangu, leaving Murong Fu, Qiao Feng, Shan Zheng and Wang Erlang alone to eat and drink comfortably.

"You know everything?" Qiao Feng drank a five-jin jar of fine wine, picked up a leg of lamb and tore it apart as if to vent his anger, then asked vaguely.

Murong Fu nodded slightly and said, "When I truly came to power, the first thing I did was to take over the Murong family's intelligence system. This covered everything within and outside the Song Dynasty, including Dali, Liao, Xixia, and Tubo. This is the fundamental reason why the Murong Trading Company can operate smoothly."

"Isn't the Murong Trading Company's unimpeded access a result of your military intimidation? Oh, and besides that, the Beggars' Sect also helped a lot." Qiao Feng's words made Murong Fu's expression falter slightly. He said helplessly, "Even if we don't say it out loud, we're still good friends."

Qiao Feng laughed heartily and said, "Now I've become a Khitan thief, despised by so many Beggars' Sect disciples. Do you still consider me a friend?"

"Qiao Feng in the north and Murong in the south, are they really puppets of the Beggars' Sect and the Murong family? Aren't we the ones who are powerful?" Murong Fu snorted. "If the Beggars' Sect has any objections, let them find someone to replace you and me in the three-year competition agreement. I don't mind beating him up in front of all the martial arts heroes in the Central Plains."

Qiao Feng felt much more relaxed after hearing his humorous remarks. After a night of hunger, he ate some wine and food. He then asked, "Where is Brother Ma now? When will he arrive in Suzhou?"

Murong Fu thought about the information he had received and calculated with his fingers, saying, "You should keep an eye on Deputy Gang Leader Ma. Deputy Gang Leader Ma also cares deeply about you. I was tracking the three evil men and was moving a little faster, but he was urging Master Xuanbei and Prince Duan Yu all the way, traveling by boat and horse, so his speed is not slow. We should arrive in a day or two."

If fast, they can arrive today, and at the latest tomorrow afternoon. In this era, transportation is inconvenient and communication is extremely poor. Murong Fu can only know a general idea. Shan Zheng, who was standing next to him, listened to what the two said and felt that the internal affairs of the Beggar Gang were even more chaotic and complicated.

"Since you two knew that Deputy Gang Leader Ma was not dead, why didn't you make this news public before? Otherwise, there wouldn't be such a disaster today." Shan Zheng finally couldn't help but ask out loud.

Murong Fu and Qiao Feng exchanged glances upon hearing this. Qiao Feng was the first to speak, "Brother Ma is missing. Madam Ma has reportedly claimed he was murdered, killed by a chokehold, and his body taken away by the killer. There were suspicions from the outset. The killer who could have killed Brother Ma couldn't have been frightened off by her, nor could he have left her as a witness, unless it was intentional."

"In the following days, Murong Trading Company's expert Xing Duan discovered more suspicious points, even finding traces of a battlefield in the wilderness. Then there was news that someone suspected to be Brother Ma had been kidnapped. Yet, many within the gang were convinced that Brother Ma was dead, even going so far as to baselessly assert that he died from a throat chokehold. This only fueled my suspicions."

At this point, Qiao Feng pointed at Murong Fu and said, "Our Murong Patriarch is a man of great passion. His whereabouts are impossible to conceal. He made such a grandiose trip to Dali's Wanjie Valley to propose marriage to his young wife that he made no attempt to hide his intentions. A simple inquiry would reveal this. Forget about disguises. Few people in the world could mimic his demeanor, martial arts skills, and knowledge. Furthermore, he's trying to live with his young wife, who hasn't even married yet. It's impossible for anyone to do this."

"Later, Master Murong unexpectedly encountered the Four Evils on the Sichuan-Shu border. He killed the ruthless flower-plundering thief Yun Zhonghe, and when he was ambushing the other three evils, he met Brother Ma. From the Four Evils' attitude towards him, it was clear that Brother Ma's true identity was highly likely." Qiao Feng shrugged. "From the time Brother Ma was captured and Madam Ma released the news of his death, it reminded me of the incident when Master was captured and the elders within the gang disguised themselves as him to divert attention. So I tacitly accepted the incident. While asking Brother Murong to rescue him, he deliberately pretended that Brother Ma was dead and was going to settle accounts with the Murong family."

"Of course, this is all just an act to the outside world. Internally, I firmly believe that it is extremely unlikely that Brother Ma was killed by Brother Murong. I just didn't list more evidence to avoid alerting the enemy and harming Brother Ma."

At this point, Qiao Feng turned his gaze to Murong Fu, who chimed in, "From the moment I heard the news of Ma Dayuan's death but didn't find his body, I suspected he wasn't dead. The subsequent encounter with the Four Evils was pure accident, and teaming up with Master Xuanbei was even more of a coincidence. As for the Shennong Gang rescuing Deputy Leader Ma in Dali City, that was truly a trap I set, and Deputy Leader Ma's cooperation was also crucial."

He described the situation in detail, including how he left halfway, used Duan Yu as bait, and Master Xuanbei and Master Huangmei as the main force. He told it all without hiding anything. He then talked about how he suspected Ma Dayuan, who was rescued so easily, was a fake, so he made many indirect attempts and finally confirmed that this was Deputy Gang Leader Ma himself.

He delivered a message to Qiao Feng on his behalf. Through the huge actions and many bad voices within the Beggar Gang, he suspected that there was a big problem. So he listened to Ma Dayuan's advice and kept silent. After he recovered from his injuries, he personally came forward and together with Qiao Feng caught the big fish that had been caught.

It's just that plans haven't changed quickly enough. He never imagined that Qiao Feng would be forced to leave the Beggars' Sect because his background was exposed. "Are you stupid? If you had released Ma Dayuan's handwritten letter early, it would have definitely scared a lot of people to death and completely destroyed their conspiracy."

Qiao Feng shrugged nonchalantly and said, "You also said that Brother Ma's fake death was just an excuse. The real reason lies in my life experience. I just want to ask, did you really know this all along..."

"Back in the day, the Liao Dynasty's imperial faction and the empress faction fought fiercely. Your father was the strongest member of the Xiao clan, and it's no exaggeration to say he was the anchor of the sea. However, as a member of the empress faction and close to the Han people of the Song Dynasty, he was naturally targeted by the imperial faction. That's why the false rumor about your father trying to peek at Shaolin's unique skills spread. He even managed to time it so accurately, something only someone who truly understood him could do."

Murong Fu was also impressed by his father's intelligence system. Although it was the result of a hundred years of accumulation of the Murong family, his father's operation was really admirable and he handled it very well. It was a pity that the result was really speechless.

"Sure enough, after your father's death, the situation of the Liao Dynasty's harem party began to decline rapidly, and was soon completely suppressed by the imperial party. Now in the Liao Dynasty court, the power of the Xiao clan is less than one-tenth of what it was thirty years ago. This shows how important your father's existence was back then." Murong Fu suddenly said, "Brother Qiao, do you have any thoughts on joining my Murong family?"

"No idea."

"Actually, this is possible. The people behind the scenes were Yelu Chongyuan and his son. Now, one of them is the Grand Marshal of the Army, and the other is the King of the Southern Court of Liao. They are definitely not people who can be fought alone. Brother Qiao is no longer the leader of the Beggars' Sect. If you want revenge, you can't do without the help of my Murong family." Murong Fu persuaded him, but Qiao Feng smiled and said nothing.

Murong Fu suddenly changed the subject, saying, "Those who spread the rumors back then were Yelu Chongyuan and his son, and it was my Murong family who passed on the news. Of the two leading brothers, the old leader, Wang Jiantong, has passed away. I wonder how you plan to deal with the remaining one?"

Qiao Feng fell silent upon hearing this. After a moment, he shook his head gently and said, "As the saying goes, the hatred between parents is irreconcilable. He led his men to kill my biological parents, yet gave me adoptive parents and even entrusted my master with martial arts. The gratitude and resentment between us cannot be explained in a few words. I must go to Shaolin and ask him for the truth before deciding my next move."

Murong Fu nodded slightly, raised his glass and drank with him before saying, "Come with me to Gusu City and stay for two days. When Deputy Leader Ma arrives and resolves the remaining issues of the Beggars' Sect, I will accompany you to Shaolin. I can't let you go to Shaolin alone. Besides, it's been a while since I last saw Young Monk Xuzhu, and I miss him quite a bit."

Upon hearing Xu Zhu's Buddhist name, Qiao Feng couldn't help but roll his eyes. This bastard would always tease the ugly little monk every time he came to Shaolin. But people just believed what he said, and Shaolin itself pretended not to see it. Who made him rich and generous?