“Before I begin I think we should introduce ourselves, you can call me old man Li” the old man said before looking at the lady.
The Lady noticing his gaze said “My name is Yin Ji, My dream is to join Emei sect and be the most beautiful and powerful female in Jianghu my idol is Abbess Juechen sect leader of Emei and unmatched among women and she’s one of the strongest in China” she said in.
Old Li smiled “Yes, The Abbess of the Emei is modest and a prudent leader who nevertheless lets her heart dictate over reason. She was once the greatest heroine on the Central Plains fighting off invaders alongside the leaders of Wudang and Shaolin “
Old Li continued “And you boy” he said pointing at Zhao Long
Zhao Long said with a hint of embarrassment “Forgive me Old Li I do not know much about Jianghu nor the 8 sects, can you please enlighten me?”
At this point Meng Wu was also looking intently at the old man. The old seeing this smilled and said
“Hmm I will not tell you about Emei simply because they only accept female disciples. However let me begin by saying this in Jianghu there are chivalrous sects that help those in need and protect Jianghu from evil”
He paused waiting for the information to sink in then continued “The Sects that belong to the chivalrous side of Jianghu consist of Wudang, Shaolin, Emei and finally the Beggars Sect”
“Let me begin with Wudang. Wudang is located in the middle of the Wudang mountain range atop a series of long winding stairs. The basic idea behind the Wudang School is balance. The Wudang believe that the balance of one’s mind and body is essential to the mastery of the martial arts. In combat, they redirect energy used against them, throwing enemies off balance with a punch, or manoeuvring thin swords through enemy defences” Old paused again before saying
“There is a saying, `The most respected in the north is Shaolin; the most respected in the south is Wudang`. With focus on Internal Skills, Wudang disciples incorporate Taoist concepts within their martial arts”
Zhao Long said excitedly “Old Li what about the Shaolin and Beggars sects”
Old Man Li giggled and continued “Yes, well there is Shaolin as I mentioned before Shaolin Kung Fu is still one of the most famous forms of martial arts in the world. In China, it is viewed as the holy ground for martial arts. The historical origin of Shaolin started in 464 CE, Batuo, a Dhyana Master who came to China from India to spread Buddhist teachings, saw that Mount Song resembled a lotus flower and wanted to establish a Temple within the "flower". The Emperor agreed to build a Temple to worship Batuo. The Temple, located at the bottom of Shaoshi Mountain, is covered with lush forests (Lin). So it was named, `Shaolin Temple`. Shaolin excel in external skills, and many of its disciples have become great masters in the world. The Shaolin uphold righteousness, and have a good reputation with the common people of China”
He glanced around before continuing “Now on to Beggars sect. The Beggars' Sect is one of the supporting pillars in defending the country from foreign invasions. Their leader carries the revered “Dog Beating Staff” as a symbol of his authority and position. The most notable technique of the Beggar’s Sect is the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms. Anyone may join the Sect, making the martial arts of the school diverse. Due to the large size of the school they have a wide network of communication and members have a reputation as excellent information-gatherers. Members adhere to a strict code of conduct and maintain the utmost respect for their ranks. Each member carries at least one pouch-like "pocket”. The number of pockets indicates rank; Elders carry nine pockets" each. The Beggar’s Sect upholds justice and helps those in need.
Zhao Long grumbled “These chivalrous sects sound boring” Old Li surprised at Zhao Longs reaction looked at Meng Wu who had the same disdainful look on his face
He suddenly burst out laughing with spit splashing everywhere “P-pwahahaha*cough*cough* okay, okay let me tell you about the Evil sects of Jianghu.”
“Let me begin with Blissful Valley, The creator of the Blissful Valley Sect was a very astute man but he had a temperamental nature; he was also skilled in the lost art of fortune-telling. Because he predicted that he would not live beyond 46 years of age, he created the Blissful Valley in order to escape his fate and cheat death.”
“In support of his cause, he recruited many sinister and ruthless figures who relied on vicious martial arts skills to rampage in the Jianghu, killing indiscriminately. Blissful Valley is located on a secret island in Yunmeng Lake and is surrounded by hills, which act as a natural barrier and choke point. It is regarded as the most dangerous and immoral sect within the Wulin.”
Old Li continued “The people of Blissful Valley use poisons, hidden weapons, and even sneak attacks; sabotage is normal for them. In Wulin, the skills used by Blissful Valley are clean and efficient, while their skills cannot compare with deep cultivated internal forces.”
“And finally for the evil sects are the Royal Guards. The Royal Guards were established by Zhu Yuanzhang, taking orders from him directly. However by the reign of Emperor Yongle, they had cultivated more skill, and become stronger and more ambitious, finally breaking away from the imperial court and joining the Jianghu. “
“The Royal Guards undertake secret missions and have special privileges and abundant funds. Even though they no longer carry the authority of the imperial court, they are still an immensely powerful sect. They are cruel and cold-blooded, practising sinister yang style martial arts; all sects in the Jianghu fear them.”
Zhao Long asked in confusion “If Royal Guards serve China why are they considered evil”
Meng Wu interjected “They are not exactly evil but they are unrighteous, because they don’t care what methods they use, they just do everything they can to complete their mission. They are vicious and cruel; the Royal Guards seek power and control. Their brutal, merciless attacks are the dark twin of Shaolin.
Old man Li then said” Royal Guard is considered more ruthless and narrow minded, Shaolin branded them ignorant and malicious however there are righteous people in Royal Guards who seek to change the structure and the way matters are handled.
Zhao Long said “There are 8 big sect, you’ve only mentioned six what of the other two?”
Old Li “Don’t be impatient and let me finish, finally there are the two neutral sects among the eight them being the Tangmen and the Scholars sect”
“The Tangmen are located in Sichuan and are run by the Tang family, who are famous for their poisons and hidden weapons. The family castle is surrounded by traps and is very difficult to infiltrate. Even though the Tangmen are famous, very few people truly know them. When they do appear, it’s hard to track them, so people often think they are an evil sect. The rumour is that the Tangmen have seven different types of hidden weapons including poisonous needles and blinding sands. The most famous hidden weapon is the “Storm Pear Flower Needle”. A highly skilled martial artist could hit enemies at 64 different points simultaneously, making the technique impossible to defend against.” Old Li said gazing up at the stars in the night sky.
Yin Ji finally interjected” Tangmen disciples, with their secretive behaviour and hit-and-run tactics, give people an impression of being both good and evil. They aren't friendly with the decent high reputation Schools but also have great disdain for criminals.”
Surprised at her knowledge of the Tangmen old Li continued “Then there is Scholars sect. The Scholars was founded by Xiao Bieqing and Shi Yanbing. They wanted to create the school that gathered liked minded people educated in cultural arts, as well as martial arts. All members of the Scholars are practiced Musicians, Weiqi Players, Calligraphers, and Painters. Their skills use musical frequencies to attack.”
“Legend says that the most famous song of the Scholars can kill people without leaving a trace of blood. One of the six Grand Masters of martial arts integrated a set of secret moves into a song; this song was given to the Scholar’s founder and Master, Xiao Bieqing.”
All three of them were astonished at the fact scholars could kill people without leaving a trace of blood with music at that was truly remarkable.
“Also there are many hidden factions with masters that can even rival those of the big 8 sects, but I will not divulge in to that as you will learn all about them if you are able to enter wulin hahaha.”
“Well now get some rest when you finish up tomorrow at sunset we set out to Chengdu”
With that Zhao Long and Meng Wu lay outside whilst Yin Ji slept in the caravan.
Old man Li slept leaning again a tree. Whilst Zhao Long and Meng Wu lay on the field Zhao Long couldn’t help but ask “Meng Wu”
He replied “What is it”
“After hearing about the structure of jianghu, well at least the basic structure, do you now feel how small and insignificant we are currently and how vast wulin is?”
Meng Wu sighed “To become unmatched in jianghu is no easy task currently we are just little kids dreaming of greatness yet we have no idea the pain we will go through if we enter jianghu, I for one am prepared to bare and pain to gain strength. I must become strong.”
Zhao Long said “What sect will you try to join?”
Meng Wu replied “Blissful Valley”
Surprised at his reply Zhao Long sat staring at Meng Wu in shock before lying down again
“You’re crazy” he said shaking his head
Meng Wu said “And you where do you plan to go?”
Zhao Long said “Where else no other sect suits me except the Royal Guards we will meet again and at that time I will be feared and worshiped everywhere in China”
Meng Wu “If we meet again and you haven’t already got yourself killed I will show you what true strength is.”
With that both boys lay quietly until they fell asleep.
“WAKE UP!! We leave in 15minutes” old man Li shouted
....
15 minutes later
“WE HAVE ARIVVED TO CHENGDU!” shouted old man Li
Mesmerized Zhao Long gaped with his jaw almost touching the floor
Thinking that one day he would be feared and revered in amazing cities like this
Old man Li stopped the carriage about 20 meters from the city walls at a empty stable at the edge of the crossroad.
“You are on your from here Chengdu is just right up ahead and incase you didn’t know the only schools located in Chengdu are Tangmen and Emei”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Finishing, he walked into his carriage and shut the door.
“Meng Wu, what are we going to do?” asked anxiously
“We? You are on your own” he started walking towards the city gates not even turning back once.
“Hmph country bumpkin, you want to step in to the world of jianghu, naive kid” Yin Ji said as she also made her way to Chengdu
Thinking about what he should do, Zhao Long looked around nervously before realising Old Li was still there inside the carriage.
A look of hope appeared on Zhao Long face. He hurriedly made his way to the door of the carriage.
*Boom* Boom*Boom*
“Old Li open the door please, I need your help” Zhao Long said frantically
“.....”
Receiving no reply Zhao Long sat on the ground with his head in between his knees and his hands on his head.
“Old Li I don’t know if you are listening but if you are i would like to tell you my story”
“.....”
*Sigh*
“I’m an orphan you know, I use to live with my family, happy and free from troubles”
“My Father was a miner who worked all day to put food on the table and my mother was the kindest person in the whole world” he paused gazing at the darkening sky.
“For a miner my father was very righteous and my mother was very kind. I never understood why they always had to help others, you know? We were poor but yet my father would always give money to the poor. My family was loved by everyone who knew them and life was great until... until that day my father brought home an injured man unconscious”
Zhao Long started tearing up but continued “He was king looking man in white robes with his hair tied in a knot. When he woke up he spent three days recovering and living with my family. He kind he even told me many stories about powerful heroes flying through the sky, destroying mountains and defeating armies alone. I-I admire him. I wanted to be like him”
At this time Zhao Long started brawling “ O-o-on t-t-the 4th day my mother sent me to town to buy medicine for him since he was leaving the next day. When I arrived home....”
“When I arrived home I saw him holding a bloodied sword that b-bastard killed my mother and father” grinding his teeth he continued
“I hid like a coward. If only I was stronger I could have saved my parents. No if only my mother and father wasn’t so kind hearted I wouldn’t of been left all alone in this world. I will become powerful I will find that bastard cut his body into a thousand pieces and feed it to pig”
Finally Old man Li spoke “Boy once you have strength and you kill that man what will you do after ?”
“What will I do? I don’t know where life will take me, my only wish is to be able to protect those close to me and NEVER be taken advantage of by anyone”
“Hohoho boy to be kind means you can’t be all powerful and to be powerful means you can’t be all kind. You will understand what I mean by these words one day. Kid I like you,let me know if you want to go anywhere, young xia”
“Old Li I have traveled here from Qiandeng town and I don’t understand much I was hoping you could give me a tip or two”
“Recently the 8sects have been recruiting been recruiting disciples. If you wish to seek a teacher, maybe young Xia is willing to listen to some advice” he said smiling mysteriously.
“Yes, yes thank you senior Li. How do I get to Royal Guards?”
“Ohh you wish to join the Royal guards, suits you well. The Royal Guards are located in the Imperial Capital of Yanjing we will head there in two days time. Here take this” he said as he gave two taels of silver to Zhao Long.
“Use this to buy some foods stuff and head to the wine tavern opposite the martial arts practice school and buy this old man some wine, also look around abit and have some fun but come back and get some rest”
“Yes senior! I’ll be right back” he then started walking towards the city gates.
Standing in front of the huge 6 meter city walls Zhao Long took a moment to admire the wall before bring his attention to the city guards armed in full set of glistening Armour with spears a foot taller than them.
Giving a quick disdainful glance to Zhao Long, they continued standing there like unmovable statues. Zhao Long gulped making a note not to get on the wrong side of any of the city guards.
Moving on he entered the city only to be bombarded with a lively atmosphere. Street vendors all along the streets with hundreds maybe thousands of people on the streets chatting away merrily, purchasing foods and clothes, there was even one drunk man causing a scene at a wine house instantly get knocked by the waiter and stamped by multiple waiters then thrown on the street
Holy shit I better not mess with waiters too.
Making his way through the busy street he spotted a stall where a middle age woman with disheveled hair was steaming buns whilst at the same time was gently swaying her baby sing him a lullaby.
Noticing this Zhao Long made his way there, he said “ Miss, I would like to buy 4 steamed buns how much?”
“35wen each for a young handsome boy like yourself” she said chuckling
Blushing slightly Zhao Long cleared his throat“ Miss, here is 120wen please keep the change and do you know where the wine tavern opposite the martial arts practice sight is?”
“Ahh, what’s a young child like you doing buying wine?” she said mockingly
“Huh? No no no it’s not for me it’s for err uncle” he said hurriedly
“Alright, alright make a turn here, walk straight down then make a right, walk about 20steps there should be a big building with the words Mu Family’s Wine house” she paused a looked Zhao Long up and down before continuing “ The cheapest wine you’ll find there is 1Liang“
“Ahh ok I see, thank you miss”
Following her directions he found himself standing outside a huge grand building with a huge sign that almost came to life. With four magnificent word artistically written saying
‘Mu Family’s Wine House’. Entering he was bombarded with the mouth watering aroma of fine wine.
He walked to the counter before asking the lady” Miss can I buy 1 jar of wine for my old man?, ahh yes the cheapest one for 1Liang”
“Awww what is a cutie like you doing in a place like this” she picked up a jar from underneath the counter and continued “This one is on me for being such a cutie” she said childishly as she pinched his cheeks.
“Thank you for your kindness miss, before I leave” he said “Is there anything I can help you with?”
“Surprisingly there is, you see that man there he’s been drinking and causing ruckus, just go over there and politely ask him to leave” smiling kindly.
Looking over he saw a huge man with ruff messy hair, towering about 7foot with arms as this as logs
Well he caused any problems right? And I hate to owe someone a favour, this shouldn’t be to bad.
Zhao Long walked robotically towards the man when people saw this they started chattering amongst themselves.
But there was one man that caught his attention. The man looked mysterious clad in black from head to toe with a straw hat block the view of his face. He drank wine peacefully not bothered at all by the events occurring and he was even carving an image on to a piece of wood with a rusty worn out looking dagger.
Some looked amused, some felt pity and one table even started placing bets on whether the kid would get loose some fingers maybe even a hand or if he would run away as soon as that thug opened his mouth.
What Zhao Long didn’t know was that the huge man was in fact a notorious gangster who went by the name Iron Bear youngest brother of the leader of the Dark Bear gang who is rumoured to have fought the Patriarch of the Nangong family to a standstill no one knows what actually happened neither of them ever accepted or refuted the rumours.
At this moment Zhao Long arrived in front of Iron Bear.
“Sir urmm the lady at the counter told me to inform to please leave “he said nervously staring a the floor
Annoyed that a little punk dared to ask him to leave Black Bear frowned” Huh? Kid you got guts coming to me to tell me Purple Bear to leave get the fuck out my face before I take that leg of yours”
Seeing him radiate killing intent Zhao Long heart skipped a beat and he quickly said”N-no s-sir that’s not what I mean the la-” halfway through the sentence Purple Bear roared
“Bastard I told you to get the fuck out my face! Runt I will beat your ass then kill your daddy then I will fuck your mummy and cut your leg and feed it to dogs, you bastard get the fuck out my face” he said furiously whilst he took out a dagger and stabbed towards Zhao Long’s leg.
Just as everyone thought the dagger would penetrate this youngsters leg, Iron Bear suddenly gave a heart wrenching yell as his dagger left his hand and stabbed into the ceiling.
As the dagger still sprung back and forth on the ceiling, Iron Bears hands are already grabbing his own throat. But his eyes stared at a young man, wearing a black robe and a black straw hat masking his face, his eyeballs almost popping out.
He stared at the man in the black, his throat also giving off a ‘pftt pftt’ sound as blood squirted out. It’s only at this time that people began to understand that the dagger the man was using to carve had made its way to Iron Bears throat.
Yet no one saw how this dagger got to his throat.
Sweat poured down profusely from Iron Bear, his face full of agony, pain and regret. Suddenly he grinded his teeth, and pulled that dagger out of his throat, then stared at the black robed man, screaming, “I should’ve recognized that it was you!”
The black robed man replied coldly “Unluckily, you only realized now, or how would’ve attempted to do such a disgraceful act in front of me.”
Sadly Iron Bear did not here these words, for he will be unable to here another word again...