The Beacon of Kyushu

Time flies, and three days pass in the blink of an eye.

The morning light awakens the earth and illuminates the deep and magnificent Zhangchao Valley. The valley is full of strange rocks and exotic grasses, and the sounds of monkeys howling and birds chirping are endless. The semi-artificial and semi-natural stone cave in the mountains is even more ingenious, and is no less beautiful than the paradise where immortals live in seclusion.

In front of the cave, there is a towering ancient pine tree, which has stood for thousands of years and is still evergreen all year round. Under the pine tree, an old man sits cross-legged, holding a brush in his hand, painting on rice paper. He paints very slowly, his eyes staring at the sky from time to time, his expression full of longing for his old friend.

"Brother Feng, I promised you that I would help you recover Nanzhao, and for that reason I would never serve another country. I promised you that I would protect the people of the world with you, and for that reason I have been in the mortal world for a long time, and I dare not ride a crane to travel to the immortal world. I have kept these two vows for a full hundred years, but your promise to drink and talk with me forever, and to fight with swords across the world, has finally become a joke..."

The old man murmured, and his writing speed slowed down a bit. Each stroke seemed to depict those once vivid pictures and the promises he once made solemnly. Unfortunately, the people in the paintings are no longer there, and the painter has long passed the age of 100. No matter how much he misses them, they will never reach the other side of the Forgetful River. Only the words he whispered in this life will turn into a sentence "I haven't seen you for many years" in the next life.

Time flies by and emotions are easily disturbed.

The old man's thoughts were still on a hundred years ago, reminiscing about his old friend who had been buried for decades. The next moment, he was brought back to reality by a scoundrel voice, "Master, I wonder if you haven't come up with any ideas in three days? If you really have no ideas, you may have to send your son off!"

The old man turned his head to look at the person who was speaking and said, "Jianfeng, if your master is not mistaken, the wooden stick on your waist is the Beggars' Sect's most precious treasure, the Handsome Stick, right?"

Wan Jianfeng raised his thumb and said, "Master, although you are quite old, your eyesight is quite good. However, you don't intend to tell your disciple that the idea you have been thinking about for three days is to let me go to the Beggars' Sect for help, do you?"

Chen Tuan shook his head and said in a deep voice, "No, Master wants you to return this staff to the Beggars' Sect within six months, otherwise Master will not let you off easily."

Upon hearing this, Wan Jianfeng said in astonishment, "Why? This handsome staff was not stolen by me, nor was it robbed by me, nor was it cheated by me, nor was it bought by me. It was given to me by Beggars' Sect leader Situ Zhong out of his sincerity to thank me! If I didn't despise fame and gain, even the position of leader would be mine now."

Chen Tuan knew that Wan Jianfeng would not accept it, so he asked calmly, "Jianfeng, although what you said is true, if people in the martial arts world who don't know the inside story see it, how will they talk about the Beggars' Sect? Will they talk about Yuntai Temple? Will they talk about you?"

Wan Jianfeng said disapprovingly, "How can you discuss this? Although I am not a disciple of the Beggars' Sect, I am just as poor as ever. If I can't get food, I have to flee. Is there anything unreasonable about holding a handsome stick? Master, do you think it's embarrassing to have a disciple who begs for food?"

Chen Tuan smiled faintly, "A dream can last for a hundred years, and a hundred years is just a dream. I have been in the world for a hundred years, been imprisoned for a hundred years, and practiced for a hundred years. Do you think I would care whether my disciples are rich or poor, beautiful or ugly?"

Wan Jianfeng said: "Yes, Master is a master, how can he be so superficial!"

Chen Tuan sighed and said, "Although I don't care, it doesn't mean that the Beggars' Sect doesn't care, it doesn't mean that your fellow disciples don't care, and it certainly doesn't mean that you shouldn't care! If someone says that the Beggars' Sect is a subordinate of Yuntai Temple, or that Yuntai Temple is a branch of the Beggars' Sect, or even that you stole the Beggars' Sect's treasure and used it to cause a dispute between the Beggars' Sect and Bi Temple, who can bear such a bad reputation?"

Wan Jianfeng thought for a moment and said, "Master, what you said seems to make sense. But you don't allow me to use a sword, and you don't allow me to use a stick, so what weapon should I use? You can't be so arrogant that you want your martial arts to be unparalleled in the world and let your disciple take on the sword with his bare hands!"

Chen Tuan smiled and shook his head, "Jianfeng, if you use the Tiandun sword technique, you are not inferior to your brothers. But you are restricted by your master from using the sword, and now I order you to return the handsome stick. If I don't give you another magic weapon, I'm afraid you will really resent me." "Disciple dare not!" Wan Jianfeng said lazily, thinking in his heart, "The famous magic weapons on Huashan Mountain have basically been given to my brothers. Now you won't favor me to the point of asking my brothers to return the weapons!"

Chen Tuan saw that Wan Jianfeng seemed to be thinking about something. He was slightly startled at first, but then he understood the mystery, "Jianfeng, you must be wondering which weapon your master will give you? However, I'm afraid you can't think of this even if you think about it for three days and three nights."

Wan Jianfeng scratched his head and said with a frustrated look on his face: "Master... Master, didn't you ask me to use a sword? When you were wandering around in the martial arts world, the Fuyao Sword you used was indeed a rare sword, but even if you give it to me, I can't use it!"

Chen Tuan smiled and said, "You want the Fuyao Sword? The Fuyao Sword is the most beloved sword in my life. Even for disciples who are masters of the highest level of swordsmanship, such as Shouzheng and Hongmeng, I didn't give it to them. How can I give it to you?"

Wan Jianfeng was puzzled and said, "Master, you said that I couldn't think of this weapon, so I naturally thought of something impossible. But since you said it's not the Fuyao Sword, then I really don't know which weapon I can't think of!"

Chen Tuan raised his hand and pointed into the cave, "Jianfeng, the weapon that Master mentioned is now placed in the cave. You will know it when you go in. In addition, Master has been thinking about it for three days and feels that the best way right now is for you to use this magic weapon to create a set of martial arts that belongs to you. That way, you will be able to reach Tokyo smoothly. As for how to further your studies in the future, it depends on your luck."

"Ah!" Wan Jianfeng opened his eyes and mouth wide when he heard that, with a look of surprise and resentment. But he suddenly thought that if there was a precious sword in the cave, even though he didn't know how to use a sword, he could still cut through iron like mud with the precious sword, and he might be able to fool those guys by chopping and slashing randomly, and he immediately felt a glimmer of hope.

Wan Jianfeng ran towards the cave with a nervous mood. At this moment, he felt unprecedentedly conflicted, hoping to see the weapon passed down by his master at a glance to satisfy his curiosity, but also hoping not to see it forever to avoid being disappointed.

Soon, Wan Jianfeng entered the cave, but he didn't see any magic weapons. He stopped in confusion and scanned the stone walls and the meditation bed one by one, and then he saw a five or six foot long reddish brown wooden stick standing beside the bed.

"Are you kidding me?" Wan Jianfeng looked at the wooden stick, his mouth almost curled up to the back of his head, "Master is so old, it's not bad for him to use it as a walking stick, but if I have to use it to travel the world, it's better to use a handsome stick!"

Wan Jianfeng didn't really want the stick, but he couldn't refuse it because of Chen Tuan's order. He was in a dilemma. He didn't know what to do when he heard Chen Tuan's voice coming from outside the cave, "Jianfeng, this stick was made by me personally at the top of Huashan Mountain 20 years ago. Don't think it looks ordinary in the cave. Take it out of the cave and you will like it."

"Okay..." Wan Jianfeng picked up the stick helplessly and left the cave in a huff. But as soon as he walked out of the cave, his eyes were attracted by the stick in his hand. The stick was shining brightly under the sunlight, and the breeze gently blew over the stick, which gave off a refreshing fragrance that made people feel relaxed and happy.

Wan Jianfeng looked at the elegant wooden stick in his hand, then at the strange handsome stick on his waist, and said with a smile: "Haha, Master is right. This stick looks better than the handsome stick, and it suits me better, a handsome and elegant young man!"

Chen Tuan said with a smile: "Jianfeng, don't just focus on the beauty of this stick and ignore its many wonderful features."

Wan Jianfeng stretched out his hand and touched the stick for a long time, a little confused, "Master, besides being beautiful, what else is so special about this stick? Can it become longer or shorter, or thicker or thinner? How come I didn't see it?" (End of this chapter)