Jianghu Qimen Lu

Chapter 60 National Integrity

Immediately, Bai Shandian grabbed Hongchen's hand and pulled her away, whispering in her ear, "Come on, let's go to the living room. I have something to say!" Hongchen thought he was eager to propose marriage to her family, and she was extremely impatient. She immediately shook off his hand and angrily said, "You go ahead first, I'll be there shortly!" Seeing Bai Shandian's surprised expression as he went straight there, she thought to herself, "What a piece of trash! Your father-in-law and mother-in-law just died, and your own wife has been arrested and imprisoned in Hangzhou by the imperial court! You've already ruined your family, and you're still having spring dreams under the locust tree—you're just thinking about how to have your cake and eat it too." "Well, if this were before, you might have offered my daughter as a concubine (Manchu for second wife or secondary wife), and we could discuss it. But given your family's current state of decline, even if you offered my daughter as your principal wife, I wouldn't agree! If you still haven't caught Huang Miwu and retrieved the 'Complete Guide to the Martial World' after three days, and His Majesty blames you, you might be beheaded! Hmph, you can just sit here on a cold bench in the living room; I can't be bothered with you!" Truly, the world is cold-hearted, and human relationships are as thin as paper. Fame and fortune are the chains that bind petty people, and beauties only love wealthy men!

Bai Shandian waited and waited, but Hongchen didn't come. Frustrated, he left and went straight to the Governor-General's Mansion of Jiangzhe. As soon as he entered, he heard his youngest son, Baijin, crying. He rushed over and saw that in the courtyard in front of the living room, little Baijin was being held down on the ground by a fat boy of about twelve or thirteen years old, crying and cursing, struggling desperately! Little Baiyu cried and begged the fat man, "Young Master Zhang, my brother is ignorant, please don't hit him anymore, put him down!" The fat man, also dressed as a rich young master, straddled Little Baijin's body, tearing at his little chili-shaped braids, laughing and cursing, "You bastard without parents, you dare to talk back?" Little Baijin was no match for his strength and struggled several times but couldn't break free. Suddenly, he had a bright idea and shouted, "Snake, snake, a snake crawled into your crotch!" The young master Zhang was Zhang Kuang's only beloved son, who was spoiled and pampered, and was given all the good food, which is why he was like this. This kid was terrified of snakes. Upon hearing the word "snake," he scrambled to his feet, his eyes darting around, repeatedly asking, "Where's the snake? Where's the snake? I haven't seen it!" Unexpectedly, Little White Gold, instead of helping, crawled up from behind like a black dog between Zhang's legs, suddenly straightening up with a sharp cry. Zhang was thrown flat on his back, his chubby body landing squarely on a pot of chrysanthemums. With a loud crack, the flowerpot shattered on his fat bottom, nearly splitting his own buttocks in two! A large bump immediately appeared. The kid screamed like a pig being slaughtered, rolling around on the ground!

Upon hearing the news, the Governor's wife rushed over. Like mother, like son; the Governor's wife and her son looked exactly alike—both had large heads and ears, protruding bellies, and were both wildly restless and unruly. Seeing her son wronged, she was furious. She stormed up to Little White Gold, baring her teeth and claws, shouting, "You little brat, how can you be so domineering? We feed you and drink you, are we supposed to feed you to beat people?" Little White Gold was defiant, retorting, "He insulted me first! When I talked back, he pinned me down and started hitting me! Do you think I wouldn't fight back?" The Governor's wife, with her fat face, was quite stern and knew how to lecture: "If you hadn't offended him, how could my son have insulted you? What did he say?" Little White Gold truthfully replied, "He said I had no parents and no manners! Who says I don't have parents?" The Governor's wife... A barrage of sarcasm followed, and someone spat, "Do you even have parents? Why doesn't your father come to visit you? Your mother is even worse off; she was imprisoned in Hangzhou a few days ago, and I heard she's sentenced to death! I doubt you'll ever see her again in this lifetime!" Little Bai Jin cried out, "You're talking nonsense! This isn't true!" The governor's wife helped her son up while sneering, "You won't shed a tear until you see the coffin, and you won't turn back until you hit a wall! When your mother is executed at noon, you'll believe it!" Seeing that even an adult like her said this, Little Bai Jin began to believe her and burst into tears, crying, "You're lying to me! What you're saying is absolutely not true! You're lying to me, boo-hoo—" Little Bai Yu hugged her younger brother tightly, and the two of them cried together, sobbing and calling out, "Mother! I want my mother…" Bai Shandian couldn't bear to watch any longer; his nose stung, and two streams of tears welled up in his eyes! He wiped the tears from his cheeks and hurried over. The governor's wife was quite embarrassed when she saw him, and quickly led her son away with an awkward smile. Little Bai Jin and her sister, upon seeing Bai Shandian, happily rushed into his arms, crying, "Father, why did you leave us in someone else's house? Did something happen at home? Where is my mother?" How could he answer his children's questions? Their cries stirred up his longing for his wife… Quan'er, are you doing well in prison?

Just then, Zhang Kuang suddenly walked into the mansion from outside. Upon seeing Bai Shandian, he couldn't help but ask, "Lord Bai, what's wrong? What happened?" Bai Shandian jumped up upon seeing him and shouted, "You...you Zhang Kuang! What have you been doing these past two days? Have you completed the task I assigned you? Have you seen Huang Miwu?" Faced with his barrage of questions, Zhang Kuang simply smiled and said unhurriedly, "Lord Bai, let's go to the living room to discuss this in detail!" Bai Shandian had no choice but to let his two children go play in the back garden first, and then followed Zhang Kuang to the living room.

The two men sat down, one as host and the other as guest. Zhang Kuang explained, "That morning, I led a few personal guards to find Huang Miwu, the leader of the Golden Gate Sect. At a market, I encountered a strange thing! A gaunt, middle-aged fortune teller, upon seeing me, said I was nearing the end and needed him to avert my death. I suspected he was the one we were looking for, so I deliberately gave him the wrong birth date and time. But when he looked at my palm, he said I had lied and demanded a 300-coin divination fee as a sign of repentance, and that I must then truthfully reveal my birth date and time. Otherwise, I would face bloodshed today! I hurriedly sent someone back to my residence to fetch the money, but the fortune teller said he had to..." I went back to the manor with him to get the money, and also to have him look at the house and check its feng shui. He readily agreed, but unexpectedly, after leaving the market, he led us to a deserted area in the suburbs. Suddenly, a fierce wind arose, so strong that people couldn't open their eyes. In that instant of blindness, my subordinates and I were all struck on the spine and speech-impairing acupoints, leaving us not only completely paralyzed but also unable to speak. Having dominated the martial world for decades, I never expected to be caught off guard like this; I was extremely aggrieved. That thin, middle-aged fortune teller cruelly murdered all my personal guards, throwing them into a dry well, leaving only me in a carriage, which headed straight for Wansongling at the Slender West Lake in Yangzhou…”

"You also went to Wansongling in Yangzhou?" Bai Shandian asked curiously.

Zhang Kuang continued, "Yes! Actually, I know what Lord Bai and Lord Hong went to Wansong Ridge for, but that's a story for later! Please listen to my explanation—" Bai Shandian was startled and blurted out, "What? You know what we went there for? Could it be that you saved us when we were trapped in this predicament?" Zhang Kuang smiled slightly, "Lord Bai is truly a genius, incredibly intelligent, you guessed right! Yes, the Medicine King is my mentor, and I persuaded him with my words to let you go!" Bai Shandian laughed, "At the time, I couldn't understand why the Medicine King would be so merciful as to release us. It turns out it was you, Lord Zhang, who saved us! Thank you!"

Zhang Kuang continued, "Actually, this skinny fortune teller is Huang Miwu, the leader of the Golden Gate Sect. He's Korean and has close ties with the Sun Gate Sect, always working together in malice. Hearing that the 'Complete Guide to the Martial World' had reappeared, he specially came from Penglai Island to Hangzhou to plot his move. Once, during a fight with Red Moon, he was accidentally injured by the poisoned silkworm silk armor she wore. To expel the poison and heal his wound, Huang Miwu went to the Medicine King for medicine, but unexpectedly, the Medicine King was very principled and claimed that he had three things he wouldn't see..." The first rule is to refuse medical treatment to barbarians from other tribes! Turn him away! Huang Miwu inquired extensively and gathered intelligence from all sides, finally discovering that I was the only disciple to whom the Medicine King had ever taught him internal energy cultivation techniques. Therefore, he kidnapped me to Wansong Ridge, intending to threaten the Medicine King into handing over the antidote. Unexpectedly, upon seeing the Medicine King, I was no match for him and was nearly injured by the Seven Poisons Formation. Fearing that the old poison wouldn't be cured and new poison would arise, I hastily abandoned you and fled in a sorry state! Then, you came…”