The Villain's Counterattack

Chapter 311: Visiting the Beggars' Sect and Fighting Qiao Feng

After receiving his appointment documents, Murong Fu, accompanied by twenty followers and four adult maids, chose to take a detour to Luoyang, where he presented his name card to the Beggars' Sect leader, Wang Jiantong. Wang Jiantong, already quite old, summoned his deputy leader, Ma Dayuan, and the next leader, Qiao Feng, to greet this rising star.

Since Murong Fu came of age, he would set up a martial arts arena in Gusu City every year to make friends through martial arts. In the past two years, he had fought nearly a hundred battles, both large and small, but he had never been defeated. There were even very few people who could defeat him for a hundred moves. Together with Qiao Feng, he was known as the rising star of the north and the south, and was nicknamed the Qiao Feng of the North and the Murong of the South.

However, unlike the Nine-Pocket Elder of the Beggars' Sect and the next leader, Qiao Feng, Murong Fu is half a martial arts master and the other half a scholar recognized by the court. His literary talent is also well-known to people all over the world. He is proficient in poetry, songs, calligraphy, chess, and painting, and his level of attainment is admirable.

This indeed made many people feel incredible. There has always been a huge gap between people in the martial arts world and the imperial court, not to mention that the Song Dynasty valued culture over military affairs and even suppressed military men. The actions of the Murong family were undoubtedly very suspicious, and people suspected that they were preparing for transformation.

Wang Jiantong had his own understanding of Murong Fu's sudden visit. As the leader of the Beggar Gang, he had more information channels than ordinary people. It was no secret that Murong Fu was appointed as the magistrate of a remote place, and that place happened to be at the border of Dali Kingdom. His intention was very obvious when he detoured to the Beggar Gang headquarters on his way to take up his post.

The Murong family is ready to make friends with the Beggars' Sect and even form an alliance!

Wang Jiantong had a relatively good attitude towards the Murong family. After all, the previous patriarch Murong Bo had a wide range of friends, and he and the abbot of Shaolin Xuanci were close friends. The new patriarch of the Murong family was even more active in getting closer to the court. On the one hand, he sent Bao Bu Tong, the owner of Jinfeng Manor, to the court to become a censor who dared to do and say anything and criticize anyone. On the other hand, he sent Feng Bo'e, the owner of Xuanshuang Manor, to the border to serve as a general. He fought against the invasion of the Liao Kingdom several times and became famous.

In secret, Gong Yeqian, the owner of Chixia Manor, did not hesitate to disguise himself as a businessman to provide supplies to the front line, and secretly traveled to the Liao Kingdom to gather information. Naturally, this involved cooperation with the Beggar Gang, and he even rescued the Beggar Gang's spies several times.

Wang Jiantong secretly remembered all these things in his heart, and he had a deeper fondness for Murong Fu. However, as the leader of the world's number one gang, he would not take the initiative to curry favor with Murong Fu, his junior. But if the junior came to visit him in person, he would definitely not take it lightly, let alone neglect it.

The gang leader, deputy leader, and future successor were all there to greet him. Murong Fu's treatment was nothing short of impressive. He presented Wang Jiantong with a generous gift, including ten stalks of century-old ginseng from Korea and a recipe for a healing decoction. This delighted Wang Jiantong immensely. Whether it worked was another matter, but the thought was there. Furthermore, the recipe was from the genius doctor Xue Muhua, so it was definitely something special.

Wang Jiantong's body was covered with scars and was in a state of irreparable pain. Murong Fu's Nine Yang Magic Art had reached perfection and could alleviate the situation, but the two sides were not close friends, so he would not do such a thankless task. He just said a few words of concern and then got to the point.

"Taizu founded the country as a soldier, and gave up military power with a toast. Afterwards, he emphasized civil officials over military officials. It's not because he didn't know the importance of military personnel, but he attached too much importance to them. It's a pity that later generations didn't understand his intention, and instead were misled by those corrupt scholars. They suppressed military personnel, causing the Han people in the Central Plains to be bullied by foreign races." Murong Fu spoke in a low voice, but every word carried a heavy weight in the ears of everyone.

"My noble families, with their own heritage, have mostly chosen to add fuel to the flames. However, my Gusu Murong family, founded on martial arts, is caught in a dilemma." At this point, Wang Jiantong's heart slightly moved, and he said in a deep voice, "Are you wavering between transforming into a scholarly family, or continuing to maintain your martial identity while also cultivating literary pursuits?"

Murong Fu nodded slightly, looking at Wang Jiantong with admiration, "I knew I couldn't hide this from Senior Wang. The Murong family, founded on martial arts, is bound to arouse suspicion from the government. However, it is impossible for our Murong family to abandon martial arts. How can we let the core heritage passed down from generation to generation be severed? If so, we can only cultivate both civil and martial arts, but this will increase the difficulty and inevitably lead to a situation where we are not proficient in all aspects, which is not as profound as the result of specializing in one."

"In addition, my Gusu Murong clan will also train individual literati or warriors, and even businessmen. As long as it is beneficial to the country and to my Murong clan, we will make every effort to train them, even if it costs more money and the gains do not outweigh the losses, we must stick to it." Murong Fu himself did not believe what he said, but Wang Jiantong believed it and even praised him highly.

As Wang Jiantong's disciple and the top candidate for the next leader of the Beggars' Sect, Qiao Feng had access to a lot of intelligence. Naturally, he knew that there were two retainers of the Murong family fighting on the border, one openly and one secretly, and they were quite caring towards the Beggars' Sect. Xiao Feng even once drank happily with Gong Yeqian, the owner of Chixia Manor, and had a passionate palm fight with him. He was full of praise for his Sky-Flipping Palm, saying that it was a rare and superb palm technique after the Dragon-Subduing Palm.

"This trip south to the border of the Great Song Dynasty to serve as a county magistrate is a test for me. I want to see if the civil and martial virtues can coexist. There, the emperor is far away, and I can do whatever I want. As long as the result is good, I can do whatever I want. However, on the battlefield, intelligence comes first. As the saying goes, knowing yourself and the enemy ensures victory in a hundred battles. Although I believe I have some tricks and my martial arts skills are passable, I am not familiar with many of the tricks and methods of the underworld, so I would like to ask the Beggars' Sect for their guidance."

Murong Fu's attitude was very respectful, and Wang Jiantong was very satisfied. He also agreed with his idea and wanted to see how far he could go, so he agreed without hesitation. Then the three of them exchanged martial arts, and Murong Fu seemed neither too extreme nor too outstanding. In the end, he even had a big battle with Qiao Feng.

After three hundred rounds, the two were evenly matched and ended in a draw. Qiao Feng's Dragon Subduing Palm was superb, but he could not withstand Murong Fu's equally extraordinary Sky-Flipping Palm, and his sharp sword fingers that could break through the opponent's body, making it impossible for Qiao Feng to use his skills several times.

However, Qiao Feng was also a martial arts genius. Although his internal strength, moves and realm were not as good as Murong Fu's, he was still evenly matched with him and seemed to be getting braver as the battle went on. In the end, he was thrown off by Murong Fu with his superb lightness skills, ending the battle.

Murong Fu also tried to win over the deputy gang leader Ma Dayuan, asking him to take care of the Murong family's business in Luoyang City. He also openly gave many benefits and conveniences to the Beggar Gang and Ma Dayuan personally.

As for Qiao Feng, aren't ten jars of fine wine enough? You have to know that this is ten jars of fine wine every year, not just a one-time thing.

After taking a VIP token of medium size from the Beggar Gang, Murong Fu rode away. Inside the Beggar Gang's headquarters, Wang Jiantong looked at his disciples and old brothers, asking them about their impressions of Murong Fu.

Qiao Feng was the most direct. He said that his martial arts might be slightly inferior to his opponent, especially in terms of lightness skills, and he really should not be able to defeat his opponent. However, his Dragon Subduing Palm was definitely not inferior to his Heaven-Turning Palm. If they really fought to the death, he would most likely be the winner in the end.

Wang Jiantong did not comment on what Qiao Feng said, but turned to look at Ma Dayuan. The deputy leader of the Beggars' Sect told him about the various businesses of the Murong family in Luoyang one by one and finally came to the conclusion that they were very rich, but most of the money seemed to have flowed into the border.

Ma Dayuan actually had a good impression of Murong Fu's generosity. The top leaders of the Beggars' Sect were not actually beggars. Wang Jiantong was not, he Ma Dayuan was not, and even Qiao Feng was not.

As a deputy gang leader, he owns his own property and mansion, and supports a beautiful wife, maids and servants. It would be difficult for him to survive without money. Murong Fu's move is exactly what he wants, and he really doesn't need to pay more. He just needs to say hello and take care of him a little more.

If something is cost-free and can easily achieve a win-win situation, why not do it?

Wang Jiantong cast his gaze toward the gate and sighed softly, "This boy is quite remarkable. If he is devoted to the country, he should be a pillar. If he has other intentions, no one in the world can stop him. But right now, it seems that he still has his heart set on the Han people of the Central Plains. You two must remember this: if one day he truly harbors evil intentions, you must eliminate him by any means necessary. Feng'er, you said that in a fight to the death, you would most likely win, but I don't think that's entirely true. This boy hasn't been giving his all from the beginning. If I'm right, his palm technique isn't the strongest."

"The Gusu Murong clan is known for their tactic of giving an untoward blow. The most iconic form of this is the 'Fighting Stars Shift', followed by the invisible, colorless, and soundless 'Sanhe Finger', and finally the 'Dragon City Sword Technique'. Palm techniques have never been the Murong clan's signature martial arts," Wang Jiantong said gravely, "So, if you two really fight to the death, it's most likely you, Feng'er, will die."

Qiao Feng and Ma Dayuan looked at each other in bewilderment. What he said made a lot of sense. In this duel, the two men were evenly matched in their palm-based combat. Although Murong Fu occasionally used his sword to demonstrate his extraordinary swordsmanship, it did not attract their undue attention. They never thought that this was not his true strength.

"This brat actually dared to let me win like this. Next time, I will make him fight me with all his strength!" Qiao Feng's fighting spirit did not diminish, but became even stronger.

On the road, galloping horses kicked up clouds of dust. Murong Fu looked at his palm, gently clenched it twice, and couldn't help but admire it. "Qiao Feng's Dragon Subduing Palm is indeed powerful, but it is not comparable to Guo Jing and Hong Qigong. However, your Dragon Subduing Palm has now been mastered by me, and it has become the Dragon Subduing Palm of my Murong family! Next up is the Dali Duan family's 'Six Meridians Divine Sword' and 'Withering and Flourishing Zen Technique'."