The Sword of Smiling and Proud

Chapter 40
When Guan Yuan took the monkey to Bazhong, in a private house in the outskirts of Chengdu, members of the White Lotus Sect were sitting together.

The leader, Duan Shengjie, was leaning on the soft couch. He had suffered serious internal injuries, and he was only able to get up slightly in the past few days.He was sent flying by Guan Yuan's palm, his right shoulder blade was cracked, and several meridians were broken all over his body. He probably had to rest for several months.Fortunately, the poison he was forced to come back was cured in time, otherwise it would be even more troublesome.

Elder Mo, Elder Bai and several core members of the White Lotus Sect surrounded him, discussing what to do next.

"This time we have a bad start, and the Righteous Way of Shuzhong has taken precautions. We have to keep a low profile in the near future, and we must not provoke the government." Elder Mo said.

"Mother Wusheng blesses you, this setback must be a warning from the heavens, and my teaching strength still needs to be accumulated. It is not good for us to revolt before the time comes." Elder Bai beside him said.

"The congregation of Meishan exposed their identities this time, so they have to arrange to go to a nearby county to escape, so they can't be arrested by the government."

"Also, many people were injured this time, and we have to prevent them from seeking revenge, especially those from the Qingjiang Gang."

Duan Shengjie, who was resting on the couch with his eyes closed, saw them discussing above, and raised his palm slightly as a signal.Mo, Bai and the others stopped and looked at him.

"The Huashan School's Guan Yuan's martial arts skills are much higher than mine, but I still don't accept it." Duan Shengjie said, "Ahem, cough, if I can understand the essence of Yiyang Finger, I will definitely be able to take it down."

"Master, don't think too much, there will be opportunities to trouble him in the future." Elder Mo persuaded.

"En." Duan Shengjie was already struggling just to say these few words.

"Master, where will we go from now on?" Elder Bai asked.

Duan Shengjie paused for a long time, then said softly, "Sun Moon God Sect."

"Master, are you planning to cooperate with the Sun Moon God Sect?" Elder Mo's expression moved slightly, "I have been to the letter before, but they don't seem to be very interested. The Eastern leader of the Sun Moon God Sect has not asked about common things in recent years. Fewer and fewer. After our messenger went, we didn’t even see each other.”

"Although the Sun Moon God Sect has a large number of people, they don't seem to be so hostile to the government. I'm afraid they don't want to participate in the great cause of our White Lotus Sect." Elder Bai didn't seem very optimistic either.

"In the past few years, a new deacon named Yang Lianting has been raised in the northwestern region of the Sun Moon God Sect, and he has won the trust of Dongfang Bubai. I heard that this person's martial arts skills are ordinary, but he is very successful. If he wants to win people in the Sun Moon God Sect, We must do some great things." Duan Shengjie pointed his index finger to the northwest, and said slowly, "Let's go and touch him, maybe there will be miraculous results."

"In addition, the scope of my White Lotus Sect's traditional preaching is in Henan, Shandong, Sichuan and other provinces. Later, I will go to Guanzhong and outside the Great Wall to lay the foundation so that there will be a response from all directions when there is an incident in the future. The Sun Moon God Sect also has Not a small force, just right to cooperate."

"There is one more thing. The Huashan faction is in Guanzhong. I want to compare it with Guanyuan."

During this period, Shengjie really never forgot about Guan Yuan who disturbed his good affairs.

Seeing that he had made a plan, Mo, Bai and others obeyed his orders.

……

When Guan Yuan and the others arrived in Bazhong County, it was already around the Dragon Boat Festival.

The county town is lively, worshiping gods and ancestors, praying for blessings and warding off evil spirits, and the festival is full of flavor.Bazhong people raced dragon boats on the Ba River that passes through the city, and the two banks were full of onlookers.

There are a lot of dragon boats here.

These dragon boats usually sink at the bottom of rivers and lakes, and some dragon boats are placed on wooden frames on land, and then protected by scaffolding, and the dragon heads are placed in ancestral temples for worship.Every year, on the auspicious day before the Dragon Boat Festival, the dragon boat will be launched or floated from the bottom of the water.

After the "Dragon Boat Riding", there are important ceremonies such as picking greens and dotting the eyes.The local county chronicle records: "When setting off a boat, set off firecrackers, beat gongs and drums, and after the boat is cleaned and oiled, pull out a few grasses and put them on the bow and stern of the boat, which is called picking greenery from a boat."

Before the dragon boat race, the dragon must be invited to sacrifice to the gods.Before the Dragon Boat Festival, it is necessary to get out of the water. After offering sacrifices to the gods, install the dragon head and tail, and then prepare for the race.During the dragon boat race, the dragon head and tail are taken out from the ancestral hall or temple every morning, and sent back every night. The welcoming team must be the dragon head first and the dragon tail behind.The whole dragon boat race is divided into several links such as inviting the dragon, offering sacrifices to the dragon god, traveling the dragon and harvesting the dragon.

Guan Yuan and the two watched the excitement in the city for a long time before finding the gate of the Shu family and explaining their purpose.

Someone from the Shu family joined the Huashan School before and learned martial arts. After returning to their hometown, they bought some land and became a rich man.From then on, the Shu family and Huashan School had a close relationship, and the current head of the family, Shu Tianzuo, and Yue Buqun's brothers matched each other.

Shu Tianzuo heard that Huashan sent someone, and hurriedly asked his servants to invite the two into the lobby.

"Hahahahahahahaha, it's Nephew Guan Xian of the Huashan School, how is your master?" Shu Tianzuo's voice came before he arrived.

"Everything is fine with my teacher, junior Guan Yuan, I have met my uncle." Guan Yuan saluted.

"I haven't been able to pay homage to the mountain gate, so I can't be regarded as a genuine uncle, hahahahahaha." Shu Tianzuo is free and easy, with a lively personality, but he doesn't know how he and Yue Buqun became friends because of their serious personalities.

Shu Tianzuo pulled Guan Yuan to sit down, and asked his servants to give the monkey a lot of food, which made the little monkey a little embarrassed.

He asked a lot about the recent situation on the mountain, greeted Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze, and even Yue Lingshan was not left behind.Guan Yuan answered one by one, and the two chatted happily.

It turned out that the Shu family was passed down to Shu Tianzuo's generation, who basically didn't know much about martial arts, and lived off the land rent and tax, and the front business. There are many good land in this Bazhong belonged to his family, and their life is very prosperous.

Shu Tianzuo had a middle-aged son named Shu Qi, and he loved him very much, but he was weak and sick since he was a child, which made his family worry.Now there is a 7 or 8-year-old boy who is in good health, but Shu Tianzuo wants him to practice martial arts so as not to be weak in the future.Since it is martial arts, of course the Huashan School is the first choice, so he sent a letter to Yue Buqun, talking about it.

Guan Yuan also saw this child, who was smart and cute.

He knew in his heart that although Yue Buqun said before going down the mountain that he wanted to consider the child's bones, let's talk about it when it's appropriate.But according to Yue Buqun's temperament, he will definitely not refute Shu Tianzuo's face, and he will definitely take Shu Qi into his family.After all, people want to strengthen their bodies, not to achieve great professional skills.

Guan Yuan fully agreed to Shu Tianzuo, saying that he could bring Shu Qi back to the mountain at any time, but now Shu Tianzuo was a little bit reluctant, after all, Shu Qi was young, and his family was very worried.

Of course, Guan Yuan understood the Shu family's love for the baby, and said that he could wait a few days for Shu Qi to prepare before taking him back to the mountain.

So he and Hou'er temporarily lived in Shu's Bieyuan for a period of time, practicing sword and Qi every day, and a few days passed in a blink of an eye.

(End of this chapter)