The Legend of Shushan Xuanjian

Chapter 9 The Frog at the Bottom of the Well
This time the battle was so bloody, if it wasn't for the appearance of the stick-wielding boy, everyone would have died here. After thinking about it, everyone felt that they had walked through the gate of hell.

After a while of shock, everyone sat in a circle.The general surnamed Zhang began to talk about the ins and outs of the two brothers Wang Zhanshan and Wang Zhanhe.

It turned out that these two were middle- and lower-level generals under General Gao Xianzhi of the Anxi Army, Wang Zhanshan was Gao Xianzhi's personal soldier, and Wang Zhanhe was the leader of the scout battalion.The two are highly skilled in martial arts and have made a lot of military exploits. They originally won Gao Xianzhi's trust and their official careers are very good.However, Wang Zhanhe's character was low, and he was a womanizer. In a battle, he violated the military order and raped many women from good families.

In order to enforce military discipline, Gao Xianzhi ordered Wang Zhanhe to be punished according to military law, and asked to be executed at a certain date.Wang Zhanshan had a deep brotherhood, and after begging General Gao to be invalid, he took advantage of the night to kill the guards and rescued his younger brother Wang Zhanhe.Afterwards, the two brothers sneaked into the armory, stole elite weapons, and fled to the pass.

Wang Zhanshan once followed Gao Xianzhi to expand the territory in the Western Regions, guarding left and right.Gao Xianzhi originally planned to let Wang Zhanshan go, and sent someone to hunt him down symbolically, but nothing happened.However, the two did not want to repent, and after they were freed from the shackles of the military camp, they became more daring and reckless. Relying on their high martial arts skills, they fled all the way from Zhangye, Wuwei, and Tianshui to Xichuan.The two brothers are called "two kings" by the people at the bottom.Rumors spread everywhere and became more and more mysterious, causing great panic among the people. Women and children dare not go out after lighting the lamps.There is a folk song to frighten children, saying: "Crying at night, the two kings will take their lives." The children heard the name of the two kings and dared not cry.

Although the people of the two kings were very angry, they had no choice but to report to the imperial court because they were no match for their opponents.The Ministry of War ordered an investigation. Only then did Gao Xianzhi realize that the two men had done bad deeds, and he was furious. He mobilized elites from the Anxi Army to support the local area, formed dozens of hunting teams with local police officers, and killed the two kings on the spot.

Wang Zhanhe was born as a scout and has rich experience. After several months, the hunting team still failed to succeed.Although the two kings escaped many rounds, the situation is getting more and more serious.So the two fled to Xichuan, trying to hide in the vast mountains of Bashu.

Captain Zhang Huajin's team is one of the hunting teams.Wang Zhanhe was very cunning and faked his death in order to mislead the hunting team.Zhang Huajin was eager to make great contributions, so he went deep into the Tubo area alone, but today the whole army was almost wiped out by the second king.To express his gratitude, Zhang Huajin hurriedly asked about the origins of the stick-wielding boy, Ding Shujian and others.

At this moment, the stick-wielding boy lost the arrogance he had in the life-and-death decisive battle, and his words were easy-going.The boy, surnamed Hu and named Changgang, was born in Jiangyou, Xishu, and was a disciple of Shaolin laymen.After studying in Shaolin for seven years, this time I went back to my hometown to visit my relatives. After hearing about the evil deeds of the two kings, I decided to follow the hunting team to get rid of the banditry in my hometown.

After cleaning the battlefield and properly burying the dead Tubo people and soldiers, Zhang Huajin clasped his hands together and said, "My friends, the military order is like a mountain, so I dare not stay for long. Let's just say goodbye and see you again someday!".After all, he got on his horse and led the soldiers to leave quickly.

Qingcheng sacrificed three disciples, so the matter is serious.After Ding Shujian sent the pigeon letter, he didn't dare to stay for long, and headed back to the mountain with the ashes of Bai Fu, Zhang Zixuan and three juniors.

Hearing that the three of Ding Shujian came from Qingcheng, Hu Changgang also felt good about it, and the four of them returned together.After spending the first few days of sadness of losing their fellow disciples, the mentality of several teenagers began to recover slowly, and there were more topics to talk about.

Bai Fu and Hu Changgang were about the same age, had fought side by side, and soon became friends.Bai Fu admired Hu Changgang's excellent martial arts, and he kept asking for advice along the way, which benefited him a lot.

Bai Fu said: "Brother Changgang, your lightness kung fu is superb, and your stick technique is even more marvelous. We really admire you. In all fairness, no disciple in Qingcheng under the age of 20 can match you."

Hu Changgang replied modestly: "Thank you, Brother Fu, for your kindness. I am actually just an ordinary Shaolin disciple. Except for the magic of the Langa Tiger Cudgel technique taught by my master, the rest are also the basic skills of Shaolin."

Bai Fu was shocked: "This is not considered first-class martial arts? I have seen it with my own eyes, and the two kings are no match for you!"

Hu Changgang also sighed when he heard this, and said: "It's great to take refuge in disciples. It's just passed down from generation to generation in my family, and the family will never let me be shaved. I am also very sorry, what Prajna Palm and Maha Finger Jue are useless. I have no chance to learn Shaolin's first-class profound martial arts such as the leg of the gods and the mind. I have seen the elders of the Bodhidharma Academy and the Arhat Hall demonstrate it. It is really shocking. so and so..."

What Hu Changgang said was dry, and Bai Fu was fascinated by hearing it...

After hearing this, Bai Fu threw himself to the ground with envy, and praised: "In this way, our martial arts in Qingcheng are much worse than yours. Except for my master who can compete with the head of your Bodhidharma Academy, the other elders are not your elders. opponent."

Hearing this, Hu Changgang hesitated for a moment, but still said: "Brother Fu, you are talented and intelligent. If you can go to Shaolin to study art as soon as possible, your achievements in the future will definitely not be inferior to mine. To say something that should not be said, although Qingcheng is a famous family He is decent, but after all, he is in a safe corner, away from the martial arts in the Central Plains. He may still have some fame in Sichuan, but in the world, he is indeed like a frog at the bottom of a well. My parents saw this, and they resolutely forced me to leave Sichuan and send me to Shaolin."

Hu Changgang's words were like a bolt from the blue, and it was a blow to the head.After Bai Fu listened to it, he stayed up all night, unable to calm down for a long time.Because he knew that what Hu Changgang said was the truth, it hit Qingcheng's weakness, and it also hit his own pain point...

Arriving at Songling Pass in Beichuan, where the Qiang and Tubo meet, the four parted, reluctantly.

……

After returning from Chuanzhu Temple in Songzhou, Bai Fu didn't think about eating and drinking, and didn't want to sleep.Because he saw another world of martial arts.But the Qingcheng disciples around him are still the same, complacent, thinking that Qingcheng's martial arts are the best in the world, and after finishing their daily classes, they travel around the mountains and rivers every day, without thinking about making progress.No one has ever cared about the gap with disciples of the same age from famous schools such as Shaolin.In Bai Fu's view, what Hu Changgang said was too correct. This is a frog at the bottom of a well, watching the sky from a well.If things go on like this, even if I practice hard until I am eighteen or nineteen years old, I will not be a match for others at all.

What's more terrible is that this kind of problem of being a frog in the bottom of a well is not only shared by the disciples, but also by many uncles and uncles.The elders talked all day long, fooling their disciples, what about Qingcheng?How about the heart method and martial arts?During the conversation, Qingcheng martial arts and Shaolin did not give way.Neither admitting the actual gap with famous schools such as Shaolin, nor caring about what is happening in the Central Plains martial arts, no wonder the folk proverb often says "Bashu is the place where the dragon is locked!"

However, I am in it, even though I understand this truth, I can't break free.Master has been in retreat for a year, and no one has told him.

Occasionally complaining, not only the elders don't like it, even the senior brothers also regard themselves as different.This kind of feeling that everyone is drunk and I am alone is so unbearable.

Bai Fu fell into deep anxiety and really thought about his life for the first time.

When the mind is disturbed, everything is in chaos.

Bai Fu didn't go to school at all, and asked for leave all day long, standing alone on the cliff, letting the bitter mountain wind mess up his long hair...

(End of this chapter)