Jianghu Qimen Lu

Chapter 51 The Clever Theft of the Strange Book

"Lord Bai, where do you think the Emperor could have gone if he wasn't staying at the General's Mansion in Hangzhou? Did he go to Governor Zhang's mansion?" Bai Shandian sighed and said, "Impossible. The Emperor has a strange habit; whenever he goes on an incognito trip, he never stays in the residences of officials! Perhaps he's returned to Beijing with his men right now, or perhaps he's lurking in the shadows, closely watching the two of us!" These words startled Hong Chen! He looked around in alarm, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

Just then, a guard pushed open the door and reported, "Lord Hong, there's a stinking beggar monk outside the gate demanding to see you, saying he has important matters to discuss. The guards at the gate, seeing his ragged clothes and erratic behavior, wouldn't let him in. He then attacked them, and his martial arts skills are quite impressive; he quickly defeated over a dozen men!" Hong Chen, somewhat annoyed, stood up abruptly and shouted, "What kind of poor monk is this in the dark? Is he some kind of beggar? Give him some food and send him on his way!" "That's it! Why bother arguing with him? Really!" The guard said, "The mad monk doesn't want to eat or drink, he just keeps insisting on seeing you, sir! I had no choice but to come and report." Hongchen cursed, "Troublesome!" and was about to go out with the soldiers to see what was going on when Bai Shandian said, "Could it be that your daughter has returned disguised as a man? I'll go out and see too!" The two followed the soldiers to the front gate of the courtyard, and sure enough, they saw a fat old monk fighting a group of Eight Banner soldiers in a brightly lit area. Shouts and cries fueled his punches, and his movements were incredibly fast. He weaved through the crowd, his hands moving in and out, grabbing soldiers and throwing them away. In a short while, he had knocked down more than a dozen of them. But the Eight Banner soldiers were heavily guarding the area, and as soon as one group was defeated, another rushed in, keeping the old monk extremely busy!

"Stop it, both of you!" Hongchen roared, ending the fight. The old monk somersaulted and landed in front of the two. Bai Shandian asked, "Master, your Shaolin Marrow Cleansing and Tendon Changing Classic was truly divine, reaching a state of perfection. May I ask which generation of Shaolin Temple in Songshan, Henan, you are?" The old monk clasped his hands together, chanted "Amitabha," and smiled, "The past is like smoke, unbearable to recall. In truth, I was a rebellious disciple expelled from the Northern Shaolin Temple, and no one considers me a brother anymore. I have no way of knowing how many generations I've been with! My Dharma name is Kongdun, and I am the current leader of the Beggars' Sect..." Upon hearing this, Bai Shandian was greatly surprised and unconsciously took a step back, becoming cautiously wary. Could it be that his late-night visit was to avenge Huoshaoyun?

Kong Dun glanced at Bai Shandian, completely ignoring him, and asked Hong Chen instead, "Red Moon, is she the young lady from the General's Mansion?" Hong Chen replied, "Yes! What's wrong with her?" Kong Dun's gaze was intense as he stared intently into Hong Chen's small eyes, and he asked in a deep voice, "Has your young lady returned to the manor? I have something to discuss with her!" Hong Chen, unaware of what had happened, truthfully answered, "No! May I ask what business you have with her, Master?" Kong Dun looked around and said, "It's not convenient to talk here. Could we go inside to discuss this?" Hong Chen quickly spread his hands, "Please come inside and we can eat and talk." Kong Dun was secretly pleased and followed the two into the living room.

Kong Dun glanced at the table laden with chicken, duck, fish, and meat—a truly sumptuous feast. Without any ceremony, he sat down casually, grabbed a plump chicken leg, and began to wolf it down. As he ate, he said, "Actually, Red Moon and I are friends in the martial world. Last night, we, along with four other friends called the Four Fiends of the Underworld, plotted to steal the extraordinary book 'The Complete Book of Martial Arts' from the Southern Fist Sect's residence..." White Lightning and Red Dust exchanged a knowing smile, both thinking, "It seems Red Moon's companions have arrived!"

But as he continued, "Unexpectedly, upon arriving at the Incense Mansion, we found that the leader of the Moqing Society, Stinky Feet, had already succeeded and handed the item over to his subordinate, Thousand-Handed Guanyin. While Red Moon rushed out to fight Stinky Feet, we followed Thousand-Handed Guanyin to the outskirts, then surrounded her, forcing her to hand over the 'Complete Book of Jianghu.' Unexpectedly, she let out a long howl, summoning eleven hall masters and one incense master from the Moqing Society! The battle situation immediately reversed completely, and the five of us were trapped in the middle, unable to escape. Fortunately, one of the Four Fiends of the Underworld, Fujibayashi Jonin, was a ninja. He suddenly vanished underground..." As the enemy stared in disbelief, they suddenly reappeared, raising their hands and sending over a dozen throwing knives hurtling towards the Mo Qing Society's heroes! Several screams rang out as several wounded men, losing all will to fight, fled. The five of us gave chase, but as we approached the Qiantang Gate, a large contingent of soldiers stood guard, recognizing the Four Fiends of the Underworld as Japanese, and wouldn't let us leave…” Bai Shandian asked, somewhat bewildered, “Are the Four Fiends of the Underworld members of the Sun Gate?” Kong Dun nodded, “Indeed.” Bai Shandian's heart skipped a beat, thinking, “If Red Moon is still hiding something from me, and is still entangled with the Sun Gate, this is extremely bad!”

Hongchen asked anxiously, "What happened next? Master, please continue!" Kong Dun had already finished his chicken leg, then picked up the wine pot and downed it in one gulp! Seeing his lack of manners, Hongchen didn't bother to scold him, and instead summoned a personal guard to pour wine for him at the octagonal table. Kong Dun then picked up his chopsticks, grabbed a braised fish head, placed it on the small plate in front of him, and began to devour it. He had absolutely no table manners, appearing utterly vulgar and quite annoying! Hongchen thought to himself, "If it weren't for wanting to know my daughter's whereabouts and listening to you, I would have kicked you out of the General's Mansion long ago! What a piece of trash!"

Kong Dun ate his fill, then let out a satisfied burp, took a sip of tea, and continued, "But I and Red Moon are truly on the same side. We were just using those idiots from the Sun Gate! Our Great Qing Dynasty is closed off from the world, prohibiting all foreigners from entering. Seeing four Japanese men appear in Hangzhou, of course we arrested them. The four of them had no choice but to fight the soldiers. I went straight there, quietly following the Mo Qing Society's heroes, relentlessly pursuing them. Finally, they arrived at Zhuxian Town and checked into an inn. After they were all asleep, I secretly crept to the door of Thousand-Hand Guanyin's room, took out my dagger, quietly unlatched the door, gently opened the door, and silently rolled to her bedside. Earlier on the roof, I had already peeked at Thousand-Hand Guanyin through the roof tiles, and then..." The "Complete Works of the Thousand-Hand Guanyin" was hidden under her pillow. At this moment, I, hidden in the darkness, used my night vision to observe her every move. I saw that the Thousand-Hand Guanyin was snoring softly, fast asleep, her head motionless, pressing against the pillow. A clever idea struck me. I quickly and gently plucked a strand of her hair. Because of the incredible speed, she didn't notice and continued snoring. I used the hair to tickle her earlobe until she couldn't resist the itch, rolled over, and fell back into a deep sleep. Good! Her head had finally moved! Overjoyed, I quickly lifted the pillow, found the strange book, and tucked it into my pocket! Just as I was about to leave, I heard a thud outside, and a figure flashed into the room! I was startled, thinking, "The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind; could there be someone else in the same boat?" This little thief was quite bold; seeing the door wide open, he brazenly rushed in... He'd dashed in! Just as I was about to get a closer look at this master, the figure, without a word, moved with ghostly speed and pounced on me! I quickly used my left hand to feint his right punch, while simultaneously striking his face with my right palm! But he wasn't really fighting me; the right punch was just a feint. Taking advantage of my counterattack, he suddenly retreated, throwing something to the ground with his left hand. A deafening boom followed, and a plume of white smoke rose! Fearing the smoke might be poisonous, I quickly covered my nose and mouth with both hands. In that split second, I felt the figure touch my chest, then I glided out of the room, leaped onto the roof, and disappeared into the night. At this moment, the Thousand-Handed Guanyin, awakened by the loud noise, opened her eyes and, seeing me, leaped up to fight me. Meanwhile, inside the inn, the Mo Qing... The assembled heroes awoke in a panic, scrambling to rush towards the house, quickly surrounding it. Knowing that even a skilled fighter can't withstand four fists, and a fierce tiger can't bite a pack of wolves, I couldn't linger; I had to escape as soon as possible! Otherwise, I risked being caught off guard and falling into this predicament. I immediately resolved to kill, showing no mercy, unleashing my Shaolin Marrow Cleansing and Tendon Changing Classic skills. I seized the remaining members of the Mo Qing Society, dislocating their bones and tendons, striking their pressure points, and tossing them away. The cries of ghosts and wolves echoed as they were all knocked to the ground. Taking advantage of this opportunity, I burst out of the room, leaped onto the roof, and, under the cover of darkness, fled into the distance. Reaching a secluded spot, seeing that the Mo Qing Society members hadn't pursued me, I remembered to check what the *Complete Guide to the Martial Arts* looked like. But when I reached into my robes, they were empty. The *Complete Guide to the Martial Arts* had vanished!