The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun

Page 590

Maodou remained motionless, his body stiff, his large, protruding teeth still clenched, as if his soul had flown away.

Until a slippery snake tongue licked its face, Maodou's stiff donkey head looked at the snake's head so close to it, those vertical pupils staring at it as if to say something.

Brother, you smell so good.

"Ang ang ang!!!!"

Maodou darted away in a flash, making terrified hooting noises as it ran.

Its speed was so fast that it left afterimages and kicked up a cloud of dust.

"Hey?"

Jiang Ning shouted.

Why are you running so fast? There's still one friend you haven't seen yet.

Maodou ignored him and ran off, leaving afterimages on all four legs.

Jiang Ning couldn't help but laugh as he watched Maodou run off into the distance.

"Ha ha ha ha."

Seeing Jiang Ning's happy smile, the Huashan disciples responsible for guarding the area looked at each other in bewilderment.

Their sect leader... seems... a bit cunning?

……

Maodou ran wildly until she had run a great distance before stopping to catch her breath.

That's terrifying!

Maodou was still in shock.

It never imagined that the friend Jiang Ning introduced to it would be the strange beast that had scared it into running deep into the Qinling Mountains.

so bad!

Maodou looked grief-stricken.

After recovering, Maodou decided that the pond would be its forbidden zone from now on, and it would never go there again.

As he thought about it, Maodou headed towards a certain place.

The friend Jiang Ning introduced to it was too scary; it's going to go find its buddy.

Although he hadn't been back to Huashan for so long, Maodou still found his way to the back of Jade Maiden Peak with ease.

Seeing the familiar cave appear before him, Maodou's mood calmed down. He was about to call out to let Feng Qingyang inside hear him, but the next second, when he saw the rare medicinal herbs such as ginseng and lingzhi growing exceptionally well at the cave entrance, Maodou's eyes lit up.

Without saying a word, Maodou strutted right up to the ground and showed off wildly.

After a whirlwind of activity, Maodou lay down comfortably.

Its buddy is really good to it.

Jiang Ning is so mean; he took it there specifically to scare it.

These Ganoderma lucidum mushrooms can be considered a small comfort to its wounded heart.

While resting, Maodou suddenly heard a noise not far away.

Having roamed deep in the Qinling Mountains for so long, Maodou suddenly became alert and went to a high place to look into the distance.

Feng Qingyang was walking towards them.

Upon seeing Feng Qingyang, Maodou's donkey face turned serious.

Without hesitation, Maodou took off running.

Let's meet its buddy another time.

Maodou darted away and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

At this moment, Feng Qingyang was walking over with wine in his hand, talking as he went.

"Hmm, the wine Chong'er brought is indeed quite good. It would be a shame to just drink it straight. Let's go get some snacks to go with it."

Feng Qingyang seemed to be in a good mood until he returned to the cave.

Feng Qingyang stood there, stunned.

The herb garden, which he had carefully transplanted and tended, was now a mess, with the ground looking as if it had been gnawed by dogs.

Bang!

The wine in Feng Qingyang's hand fell to the ground.

"My ginseng."

"My Ganoderma lucidum."

"And my snow lotus!"

Feng Qingyang identified the body with trembling lips, his heart aching so much he could hardly breathe.

"Who is it?"

Feng Qingyang was furious.

But the next second, Feng Qingyang discovered traces left by the perpetrator on the ground.

Looking at these familiar yet unfamiliar hoof prints.

Feng Qingyang's eyes widened.

By this point, he knew perfectly well that the long-lost dead donkey had returned.

Thinking of that damned donkey, Feng Qingyang flew into a rage.

"You damned idiot!!!"

Chapter 801: Feng Qingyang in Anger

Maodou's return was unexpected, but it also made Jiang Ning very happy. However, on the very night Maodou returned, its creditors came knocking on the door.

It was truly a highlight moment for Maodou to force Feng Qingyang, who had been living in seclusion on Mount Hua for decades, to show himself.

After all, the last person who could persuade Feng Qingyang to leave the mountain was Dongfang Bubai.

"My grand-uncle's late-night visit is..."

Jiang Ning was somewhat surprised to see Feng Qingyang suddenly appear in the room.

Feng Qingyang's face betrayed his anger.

Who owns the exceptionally strong donkey on Mount Hua?

Upon hearing Feng Qingyang's words, Jiang Ning subconsciously raised an eyebrow.

The creditors have come knocking on our door.

"Did that donkey offend Grand Uncle?"

Jiang Ning did not admit it immediately, but first tested Feng Qingyang's words.

Feng Qingyang was furious and said directly, "That damn donkey is running around everywhere. A while ago, it ruined all the Ganoderma lucidum and ginseng that I had worked so hard to grow. I originally wanted to catch it and stew it to have with wine, but I didn't see it for a while. I thought its owner had restrained it. But today it has wiped out all the herbs I just planted."

"Who is its owner? I'm going to go find it, catch it, and stew it."

Every time he planted some herbs, they were devoured by edamame. He thought that since they hadn't seen each other for so long, the edamame wouldn't come back. But as soon as the edamame came, it ate all the herbs he had worked so hard to grow. It was as if he was working for the edamame for free.

Seeing Feng Qingyang's furious expression, Jiang Ning was speechless.

It seems that Maodou has really broken Feng Qingyang's defenses.

"cough……"

Jiang Ning coughed lightly, feeling a little guilty.

"Grand Uncle, to be honest, Maodou is mine..."

"Ok?"

Feng Qingyang narrowed his eyes upon noticing the key words, staring sharply at Jiang Ning, waiting for his next words.

Seeing Feng Qingyang's unfriendly gaze, Jiang Ning quickly changed his tune.

"It was the mount of one of my disciples from the Huashan Sect. It was quite intelligent and did indeed love to eat rare and exotic herbs. We usually let it eat them as it pleased, but we never expected it to wreak havoc on Grand Uncle's herb garden. It really deserves to be stewed."

"But that donkey and its owner have a deep bond. I hope my grandmaster will forgive it. I will make up for the losses it caused."

While he didn't directly admit to being Maodou's owner, Maodou had indeed ruined so many of Feng Qingyang's good things, and therefore deserved compensation.

Upon hearing this, Feng Qingyang squinted and looked Jiang Ning up and down.

Jiang Ning remained unfazed.

"Humph!"

Feng Qingyang snorted coldly and said, "The amount of Ganoderma lucidum and ginseng it eats is not small, and there are also some very precious medicinal herbs."

Although his tone remained unchanged, his anger had lessened considerably.

Jiang Ning smiled and said, "Please make a list, Grand Master Uncle. I will have my disciples collect the list and then compensate you, Grand Master Uncle."

Feng Qingyang didn't answer, but took out a piece of paper from his pocket. It was filled with a dense list, indicating that he had been prepared in advance.

Seeing such a long list, even Jiang Ning couldn't help but twitch his eyebrows, but he still accepted it.

"I will make preparations as soon as possible, please rest assured, Grandmaster Uncle."

"Ah."

Feng Qingyang nodded.

"I'll come back to pick it up next time."

After saying that, Feng Qingyang turned to leave, but before leaving, he turned back and said something to Jiang Ning.

"Next time, keep it under control. That's only because it's an old man. It would be bad if it went and ruined the people's fields."

Feng Qingyang didn't expose him, and Jiang Ning nodded in tacit agreement.

"Don't worry, Grand Uncle, I will definitely keep it under control from now on and will not bother you again."

Feng Qingyang paused for a moment, then said.

"There's no need to be so harsh. It can go if it wants, just don't let it harm my herbs again."

Jiang Ning understood and laughed.

"I understand, Grand Uncle, don't worry."

Feng Qingyang then left.

Watching Feng Qingyang leave, Jiang Ning couldn't help but shake his head. The next morning, he went straight to Maodou, pinched its ear and told it that it was not allowed to eat Feng Qingyang's herbs anymore. He promised to give it its favorite food, and Maodou reluctantly agreed.

Several months passed in the blink of an eye, and Jiangning was twenty-four years old that year.

The martial arts world is relatively peaceful now. Although remnants of the Demonic Cult occasionally appear in certain places, they cannot cause too much of a stir in the overall martial arts world.

For the past few months, Jiang Ning has been studying the Pure Yang Wuji Gong. Not long ago, when Master Qingzhu of the Emei Sect heard that he wanted to create his own martial arts technique, she directly sent him the Emei Nine Yang Gong.

Both the Emei Nine Yang Skill and the Wudang Pure Yang Limitless Skill were created by Guo Xiang, the founder of Emei, and Zhang Sanfeng, the founder of Wudang, based on the Nine Yang Divine Skill.

The fact that Emei would give Jiang Ning their sect's internal martial arts manual truly shows their deep affection and loyalty.

These two internal energy cultivation manuals provided Jiang Ning with invaluable guidance and assistance, and also greatly accelerated the progress of Jiang Ning's self-created cultivation techniques.

Time passed slowly, and three years went by in the blink of an eye.

Nothing major has happened in the martial arts world yet, except for some changes in Mount Hua and the imperial court.

Firstly, regarding matters of the court, Zhu Houzhao had seized power through his struggle with the civil officials, and in the past few years, he had also trained an elite army.

In addition, the relationship between various factions and the imperial court has gradually become closer in recent years. Many disciples from various factions have entered the imperial court to work, which has also allowed the imperial court to gradually gain control of the discourse in the martial arts world.

Moreover, something else happened in the palace: three years ago, Empress Dowager Zhang died of a serious illness, reportedly from worry.

The death of the Empress Dowager was indeed a major event for the court, but with the passing of Empress Dowager Zhang, Zhu Houzhao also completely took control of the inner palace.

In short, Zhu Houzhao is very different now than he was a few years ago; he has completely taken control of the court.