“Nie Yun! You’re courting death! All disciples, listen to my command! First, kill this villain, then capture Liu Zhengfeng!” Seeing Ding Mian’s miserable state, Fei Bin was filled with rage and drew his sword, shouting to the Songshan disciples.

Just then, Liu Zhengfeng shouted, “Hengshan Sect disciples, listen to my command! They are not allowed to lay a finger on Sect Leader Nie!”

“Disciple obeys!”

Hundreds of voices suddenly rang out as the Hengshan Sect disciples, swords in hand, protected Nie Yun in the center.

Master Dingyi also shouted loudly, “Hengshan Sect disciples, listen to my command and protect Sect Leader Nie!”

“Yes!” With a melodious female voice shouting, a group of nuns drew their swords and glared angrily at the people from Songshan.

“Where are the disciples of the Mount Tai Sect?” Tianmen Daoist roared.

“Disciple is here!” Dozens of Taishan Sect disciples also stepped out from the crowd and surrounded Tianmen Daoist.

The hot-tempered Tianmen Daoist shouted, “Senior Brother Fei, your Songshan Sect has done such a thing that violates chivalry today! Although my Taishan Sect is not as numerous and powerful as yours, we also have the heart to uphold justice and sacrifice ourselves for righteousness! If you insist on going your own way, even if my Taishan Sect sheds blood on the spot today, we will not hesitate!”

Then came another sound of swords being drawn.

“That’s right, Senior Brother Tianmen is right, and so is our Hengshan Sect!” Dingyi stepped forward and echoed loudly.

The other martial arts figures who were on good terms with Liu Zhengfeng also stood up. Although they did not speak, their meaning was clear: Songshan Sect, try making a move.

In the original novel, Liu Zhengfeng’s entire family was killed simply because he publicly admitted to associating with Qu Yang.

The Five Mountains Sword Sect and the Sun Moon Sect have been fighting for nearly a century, with countless deaths and injuries on both sides, and their hatred runs deep. Liu Zhengfeng not only befriended Qu Yang, but also called him a confidant.

He forced himself into isolation, becoming the target of everyone’s criticism, and in the end, he could only suffer the destruction of his family and death.

However, this time, because of Nie Yun’s reminder, Liu Zhengfeng flatly denied the accusations of the Songshan Sect. In ancient times, there were no audio or video recordings, so the Songshan Sect’s words were unsubstantiated. Naturally, the Hengshan Sect, with its many members, would protect their senior uncle.

Moreover, the Songshan Sect appeared aggressively from the start, even attempting to take Liu Zhengfeng’s family hostage, completely disregarding the rules of the martial arts world and provoking public outrage.

Everyone was thinking: If you can deal with the Hengshan Sect like this today, will you deal with me like this tomorrow?

Several older guests, including Zhang Jin’ao, the vice-leader of the Beggars’ Sect, and Master Xia of the Zhengzhou Liuhemen Boxing School, spoke out righteously, launching a verbal attack on the Songshan Sect. Even Yu Canghai of the Qingcheng Sect pretended to rebuke them.

Fei Bin and Lu Bai exchanged a glance, both shocked and furious. They had thought that they could kill Liu Zhengfeng’s entire family this time, which would weaken the Hengshan Sect and intimidate the other three sects, paving the way for the unification of the Five Mountains Sects. They never expected that things would turn out this way.

Lu Bai was unwilling to accept this, so he raised the command flag and shouted at Tianmen and Dingyi, “The Left Alliance Leader’s command flag is here, how dare you disobey my orders?”

Then he said to Nie Yun, “You acted ruthlessly, injuring my junior brother. You must be colluding with the demonic sect to harm my Five Mountains Sword Sect. You…”

“shut up!”

Nie Yun interrupted him sharply, “Back then, you brought three Sword Sect senior uncles to my Mount Hua to provoke me. I didn’t hold it against you because of the Five Mountains Sword Sects’ unity. I never expected you to resort to such a vicious scheme today! Although the Five Mountains Sword Sects have an alliance agreement and we are willing to obey the orders of the Left Alliance Leader, that is for the purpose of fighting against the Demonic Sect and forming an alliance for self-protection. It is not for your Songshan Sect to abuse your power for private gain, kill innocent people, or take the opportunity to eliminate dissidents and annex other sects.”

“Damn it!” Fei Bin, as Zuo Lengchan’s most trusted lackey, was about to make a move.

Suddenly, a faint melody of a zither drifted from afar, and the expressions of everyone present changed.

Fei Bin and Lu Bai were overjoyed. Fei Bin stepped forward and exclaimed, “Is it Master Mo of Xiaoxiang Night Rain? Please show yourself!”

The sound of the zither grew closer as the music approached. A gaunt-faced, slender old man in a blue robe slowly walked in from outside the door. He was playing the erhu, and the music was mournful and melodious. He was none other than Master Mo Da, the leader of the Hengshan Sect, known in the martial arts world as “Xiaoxiang Night Rain”.

As soon as Master Mo entered the hall, Abbess Dingyi stepped forward and said, “Senior Brother Mo, you’ve finally arrived. Just now, three senior brothers from the Songshan Sect, acting on Senior Brother Zuo’s orders, wanted to exterminate Junior Brother Liu’s entire family on charges of colluding with the Demonic Sect! When Headmaster Nie of the Huashan Sect spoke up for justice, they actually took action to force him.”

Master Mo nodded slightly, then stared at Liu Zhengfeng with eyes like lightning, and said coldly, “Are you colluding with the Demonic Sect?”

Liu Zhengfeng said with a serious expression, “This is utter nonsense and pure slander.”

“Alright, I believe you!” Master Mo turned to Fei Bin and said, “You heard it, my junior brother said no, so it’s no.”

“Mo Da, Liu Zhengfeng colluded with Qu Yang, an elder of the Demonic Sect, to harm my Five Mountains Sword Sect. How could you…” Fei Bin originally thought that Mr. Mo Da was at odds with Liu Zhengfeng as rumored and could speak up for him, but he did not expect that Mr. Mo Da would just gloss over the matter with a single sentence.

Master Mo waved his hand and said, “If you have evidence, then produce it. If you don’t have evidence, go back and tell Alliance Leader Zuo that although the Hengshan Sect is not as big and powerful as the Songshan Sect, it will not allow others to bully it.”

“You… do you dare to disobey the orders of the Left Alliance Leader?” Fei Bin still wanted to use Zuo Lengchan to put pressure on Mo Da.

Nie Yun stepped forward and said, “If one’s conduct is upright, one’s orders will be obeyed without being given; if one’s conduct is not upright, one’s orders will not be obeyed even if given! Besides, your Alliance Leader Zuo is not the Heavenly King himself. Does he expect us to obey if he tells us to commit suicide? He wants to merge the Five Mountains Sword Sects into the Five Mountains Sect and become the sect leader himself. Hmph… What a big appetite! Aren’t you afraid of choking yourself to death!”

“You’re talking nonsense!” Fei Bin was so angry that he wanted to hit him, but he saw Mr. Mo holding his erhu and looking at him coldly.

At this moment, Ding Mian, who was being supported by the disciples of Songshan, smiled wryly and said, “Sect Leader Nie is truly a young hero. Ding Mian admires him!”

Nie Yun smiled faintly and said, “Thank you for showing mercy, Uncle Ding.”

Upon hearing this, Ding Mian felt another mouthful of blood rise to his throat, but he gritted his teeth, swallowed it down, and then clasped his hands in a fist salute to the crowd, saying, “Heroes, sect leaders, today my Songshan Sect acted rashly and without due consideration, and I apologize to you all. Regarding Senior Brother Liu’s matter, it was I, Ding Mian, who was misled by one side, and Senior Brother Zuo was also deceived by me. After I return to Songshan and report to Senior Brother Zuo, I will personally commit suicide to atone for my sins to Senior Brother Liu, Senior Brother Mo, all the senior brothers and sisters of the Huashan, Hengshan, and Taishan Sects, and to all the heroes!”

Fei Bin’s expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly said, “Senior Brother…”

Ding Mian grabbed his hand and whispered, “Go quickly!”

Fei Bin was utterly shocked, but seeing Ding Mian’s lifeless eyes and pale face, he understood somewhat. He said sadly, “Senior brother…”

“Let’s go!” Ding Mian gripped Fei Bin’s hand tightly, forced himself to stand up, and then turned to give Lu Bai a wink.

Lu Bai’s eyes flashed with murderous intent as he cupped his hands in greeting to the crowd and said, “May our friendship endure as long as the mountains and rivers flow on. Farewell!”

After saying that, Fei Bin and Ding Mian, one on each side, slowly walked out.

The disciples of the Songshan Sect followed behind the three, heads bowed, as they filed out.

********************

“Sect Leader Nie, are all the things you said today true?”

In a secluded room in the Liu residence, Abbess Dingyi asked Nie Yun with a grave expression.

The Taoist Tianmen, Master Mo Da, and Liu Zhengfeng beside him also looked at Nie Yun with serious expressions. Nie Yun’s words today had taken them all by surprise.

Nie Yun did not answer directly, but instead asked, “May I ask my fellow martial uncles and senior masters, how skilled are the Thirteen Protectors of the Songshan Sect?”

“This…” The group exchanged glances and fell into a deep thought.

After a moment, Liu Zhengfeng said, “‘The Thirteen Protectors of Songshan’ have been famous for many years, and each of them is a master of martial arts with superb skills.”

Nie Yun then asked, “How many people among our four sects can rival him?”

The expressions of the group of people changed immediately. Ding Yi thought of the group of female disciples under his command and shook his head, saying, “I’m afraid that apart from you and me, my two senior sisters, and Lady Ning from the Huashan Sect, no one can defeat us.”

Nie Yun nodded and said, “That’s right. Zuo Lengchan, Master Fangzheng of Shaolin, and Daoist Chongxu of Wudang are the three great masters of our orthodox sect. The Thirteen Protectors of Songshan are also all highly skilled. The number of disciples of the Songshan Sect is far greater than that of our four sects. Do you think he would be content to be just the leader of the Five Mountains Sword Alliance?”

“That being said, it doesn’t prove that the Left Alliance Leader has any intention of annexing the four factions!”

Although Abbess Dingyi had a fiery temper, she was a Buddhist nun after all and was not interested in power. In addition, Zuo Lengchan had cultivated a good image, so she did not agree with Nie Yun’s words.

“Indeed! Sect Leader Nie, although the Songshan Sect’s actions today violated the code of chivalry, they were for the safety of our Five Mountains Sword Sect. I don’t think Alliance Leader Zuo would be so insidious!”

Tianmen Daoist also spoke up, saying that although he was strong-willed, he was not good at intrigue. In the original story, he was taken away from the position of sect leader by his uncle for this reason. In the end, he refused to be humiliated and severed his own meridians to die.

Neither Mo Da nor Liu Zhengfeng spoke. The attitude of the Songshan Sect that “those who oppose me will die” had left both of them feeling dissatisfied.

“As monks, you two are naturally indifferent to fame and fortune, but the word ‘power’ is the most tempting.”

Nie Yun sighed deeply, “Do you two know why I am the only one from the Huashan Sect to come and congratulate Uncle Liu today?”

The people present were actually quite puzzled about this, but when they asked Nie Yun before, he always gave casual answers.

Nie Yun looked at the four of them, his face flushed with anger: “This matter is a disgrace to my Huashan Sect, but now I have no choice but to tell you the truth. Do you all still remember my master’s third disciple, Lao Denuo?”

Lao Denuo was one of the few disciples in the Five Mountains Sword Sect who had already acquired skills before joining the sect, and he was also quite old, so the leaders of each sect had some impression of him, and everyone nodded in agreement.

“This person joined my Huashan sect more than ten years ago, and has always pretended to be mediocre and inactive. In reality, he is a disciple of the Songshan sect. He was ordered by Zuo Lengchan to infiltrate Huashan to gather intelligence!”

“What?!” Everyone present was taken aback.

“If it weren’t for my junior brother Linghu Chong accidentally discovering some clues, I’m afraid the entire Huashan Sect would still be kept in the dark.”

Nie Yun’s face showed a “sad” expression. “Unfortunately, the situation was too urgent at the time, and my junior brother failed to inform us in time. By the time I arrived, my junior brother had already been silenced by that villain. I fought him fiercely and finally killed him while I was injured.”

“Sect Leader Nie, is this true? Zuo… Zuo Lengchan actually sent people to infiltrate Mount Hua more than a decade ago?”

Master Dingyi asked in shock, no longer addressing Zuo Lengchan as “Alliance Leader” but calling him by his given name.

“There are correspondence and the Songshan Sect’s token as proof. The letter clearly states that Zuo Lengchan does indeed have the ambition to annex the four sects. My master’s wife was afraid of alerting him, so she kept this matter a secret and told everyone that she had sent two people down the mountain on business and that they would not be back for a long time.”

After Nie Yun finished speaking, he shook his head again, looking heartbroken. “When Uncle Liu retires from the martial arts world, our Huashan Sect should have come to congratulate you. However, first there was an internal traitor who killed disciples, then my master passed away, and then the Sword Sect came to force us to resign. Therefore, my master’s wife stayed behind at Huashan with all the junior brothers and sisters and dared not make any moves. Please forgive me for my rudeness, Uncle.”

Liu Zhengfeng waved his hands repeatedly to show his understanding, but when he heard that the Huashan Sect had been targeted by Zuo Lengchan so early, he felt a chill of fear.

“Smack!”

Tianmen Daoist slammed his hand on the table, his eyebrows furrowing and his hair standing on end. “I never imagined that Zuo Lengchan, who speaks of benevolence and righteousness on the surface, would commit such despicable acts behind the scenes! He wants to annex my Mount Tai Sect? Hmph, he’ll have to ask my sword if it agrees first!”

Mo Da stroked his beard and said to Nie Yun, “Now that Sect Leader Nie knows about Zuo Lengchan’s conspiracy, he must already have a plan in mind?”

Nie Yun smiled and said, “Our Five Mountains Sword Sect has a history spanning hundreds of years, and we cannot allow outsiders to take it away so easily. I already have some ideas about this matter. However, this matter is of great importance, and my master’s wife is not here today, so it is not convenient to discuss it. I ask you seniors to go back and organize your sect affairs first, and we will gather at Mount Hua next month to discuss countermeasures. Today, the Songshan Sect’s conspiracy against Uncle Liu failed, so it should be quiet for a while. As long as we don’t give Zuo Lengchan any leverage and are always on guard, I believe there will be no trouble in the short term.”

As Nie Yun spoke, he kept glancing at Liu Zhengfeng, fearing that Liu might be careless and meet with Qu Yang, allowing the Songshan Sect to catch him red-handed. Liu Zhengfeng naturally understood Nie Yun’s meaning and nodded silently.

“The three nuns of the Hengshan Sect are of noble character and are as close as sisters. The disciples in the sect are also kind-hearted, so there shouldn’t be any internal troubles. However, besides the many disciples of the Songshan Sect, Zuo Lengchan has also gathered many underworld experts. I’m afraid he might send someone to impersonate a member of the Demonic Sect to carry out an assassination. Please ask Uncle Dingyi to tell Uncle Dingxian and Uncle Dingjing to be extra careful and not to easily disperse. Uncle Tianmen is righteous and has a fiery temper. He will certainly not submit to Zuo Lengchan. But I learned from Laodenuo’s letter to the Songshan Sect that your senior disciples, such as Yujizi, Yuqingzi, and Yuyinzi, have secretly sided with Zuo Lengchan. They are just waiting for the right opportunity to seize your position as sect leader. They are of high seniority and have many disciples. When you return this time, you must be extra careful and never be hasty or reckless, especially not to give up the position of sect leader lightly.”

“Don’t worry, Sect Leader Nie, I will definitely act with caution.”

Tianmen Daoist spoke with utmost seriousness. He was not good at scheming and plotting, but he was able to surpass several senior disciples to become the sect leader and hold the position for decades. Clearly, he was not a stupid person.

In the original story, he was caught off guard by Zuo Lengchan’s conspiracy and said something in anger that gave others an opening. Now that Nie Yun has reminded him, he will naturally not do that stupid thing again.

After some discussion, the group agreed to meet at Mount Hua next month.

********************

Tianmen Daoist and Dingyi were both impatient people. After saying goodbye to everyone, they prepared to leave.

Taking advantage of everyone’s inattention, Yilin quietly came to Nie Yun’s side and said reluctantly, “Senior Brother Nie, I’m leaving.”

This wasn’t a cave, so Nie Yun naturally couldn’t do anything intimate. He smiled and said, “Junior Sister, please be more careful in the future. Remember what I told you, I’ll come to see you when I have time.”

Yilin blushed and whispered, “Senior brother, I…I’ll wait for you.”

Seemingly finding the statement too ambiguous, Yilin turned and ran back to the Hengshan Sect’s group without waiting for Nie Yun’s reply.

“Hehe…” Nie Yun looked at that beautiful and lovely back, recalling that intoxicating feeling in his mind, and a lingering smile appeared on his lips.

“Hmph! You lecher!” A slightly jealous voice rang out from behind. Nie Yun turned around and saw Qu Feiyan pouting, glaring at him sideways.

“You little brat, how am I a lecher?”

“You still deny it? Your eyes are practically glued to that little nun!” Qu Feiyan said sourly. “It’s just because she’s pretty!”

“Hehe… If I don’t look at her, am I supposed to look at you?” Nie Yun glanced at the little girl up and down, shook his head, and made a “tsk tsk” sound, looking disgusted.

“You…” Qu Feiyan stomped her foot angrily, “What’s wrong? Am I not pretty?”

“Feifei…” Liu Zhengfeng walked over, “You’re being silly again!”

“Grandpa Liu, I didn’t! He’s just teasing me!” Qu Feiyan tugged at Liu Zhengfeng’s sleeve and pleaded.

Liu Zhengfeng smiled and took out a booklet, handing it to Nie Yun.

When Nie Yun opened it, he found it filled with strange and unusual characters; it was actually a musical score.

He looked up at Liu Zhengfeng, puzzled, and asked, “Uncle Liu, what is this…?”

Liu Zhengfeng said, “I have known that person for many years. We are both passionate about music and are kindred spirits. This is a piece called ‘The Smiling, Proud Wanderer’ that we created over several years. We are both quite accomplished in music and are confident that the wonder of this piece is unprecedented. If it weren’t for your reminder today, I’m afraid we would have already gone to the Yellow Springs together. I have no way to repay your great kindness. After much thought, I decided to give you this qin and xiao score.”

Nie Yun put the booklet into his bosom and said solemnly, “I dare not refuse such a gift from an elder. I will accept it without hesitation and will keep it safe and study it diligently in the future. Please wait, Uncle-Master, I will take my leave.”

After saying that, he turned to Qu Feiyan and said, “Feifei, I’m leaving. Take care of yourself.”

Qu Feiyan pouted and looked away, completely ignoring him, thinking to herself, “So what if he’s small? It’s not like he won’t grow up!”

Nie Yun smiled slightly, then took his leave.

Not long after he left, a petite figure darted out of the Liu residence and ran in the direction he had gone.