The Counterattack of the Villains

"Li has only one question to ask Master Xuanci."

Li Mu paused, stared at Xuanci and said slowly: "Who was the person who sent a message to the master back then, saying that a master from the Liao Kingdom was coming to seize Shaolin martial arts?"

The monks were convinced. They had guessed before that if Li Mu went to Shaolin, he would definitely ask this question, and it turned out to be true.

Xiao Feng looked at Xuan Ci without blinking, waiting for him to reveal the identity of that person.

Xuanci's face was filled with regret, and Heshi preached: "Amitabha, it's your fault, it's your fault."

"I don't dare to hide Li Juxia. That man was a close friend of the poor monk. He probably misbelieved people's words back then, which led to unintentional mistakes, guilt in his heart, and his untimely death."

Xiao Feng was shocked, his eyes widened, and his fists clenched unconsciously.

die young?

So the person who delivered the false news is dead, then who should I turn to to avenge my blood feud?

Li Mu said unmoved: "Whether he is dead or alive, I would be very grateful if Master Li could tell me his identity."

"This..." Xuanci said hesitantly: "That man still has a family alive. If the poor monk reveals that man's identity, what are Li Juxia's plans?"

Li Mu said matter-of-factly: "Master, don't you know that there is a saying in this world that 'the father's debt is repaid by the son'?"

Xuanci said with an unbearable look on his face: "But there is also a saying in this world, which is 'Debts are wiped out after death'."

Xiao Feng couldn't help but said: "If it is an ordinary debt, it can be canceled by death, but a blood debt can only be paid with blood."

"My parents' hatred is irreconcilable. Please tell me the identity of my enemy. Xiao Feng is extremely grateful."

Xuanci advised: "Almsgiver Xiao, when will it be time to retaliate against wrongs?"

Li Mu's face darkened and he said, "Master, haven't you ever thought about it, if that person really believed someone else's words wrongly, then who was the person who informed him of the news? What is his purpose?"

"The real culprit who harmed the lives of my disciple's biological parents and many heroes from the Central Plains is still at large. You don't want to find out the truth. You only care about protecting the family of your friends. Where do you care about justice?"

After listening to Li Mu's words, Xuanci's face changed slightly, and he said with great shame: "Li Juxia's words are reasonable, and there are reasons. This matter needs to be settled after all."

"Forget it, the person who informed me of the news was Murong Bo, the previous head of the Gusu Nan Murong family."

A cold light flashed in Xiao Feng's eyes, he cupped his fists and bowed to Xuan Ci, saying, "Thank you, Master, for informing me."

Xuanci lowered his head and Heshi preached: "Amitabha, sin is sin."

Li Mu said thoughtfully: "If it were Murong Bo, then this matter might not be that simple. Master, you may have mistakenly believed what others said, but he may not have."

All the monks were shocked when they heard this, and Xuanci solemnly asked: "Why did Li Juxia say this?"

Li Mu asked back: "Master, does he know the origin of the Murong family in Gusu?"

Xuanci muttered: "Murong is originally from Xianbei, everyone knows this."

Li Mudao: "But according to the information our Changkong Sword Sect has, Gusu Murong is different from ordinary Murongs."

"The Murong family in Gusu are descendants of the royal family of the Yan Kingdom during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. If the Yan Kingdom had not been destroyed, Murong Bo would have been the emperor."

"What?"

Li Muyu said without any surprise: "Furthermore, after the news of Murong Bo's death came out in Murong's house in Gusu, according to Li's investigation, Murong Bo probably faked his death and escaped."

Xuanci's face turned pale and he said, "Does Li Juxia really mean what he said?"

Li Mu nodded and said: "In recent years, a large number of martial arts masters have died due to the method of 'replying others with their own way'."

"With such a major incident happening in the Central Plains martial arts world, how could we, the Changkong Sword Sect, not investigate it?"

"Li has no direct evidence, but various clues show that those martial arts masters who died of their own unique skills were probably the work of Murong Bo."

"Nowadays, Nan Murong's single name has the word 'Fu'. What do you think of it?"

Xiao Feng's eyes were full of resentment at this moment, and he gritted his teeth and said: "The world has been at peace for a long time. Even if there are conflicts between countries, they only occur on the borders and within a small area."

"If they want to restore the country, they must make the world chaotic. Only in this way can they have the opportunity to profit from the chaos."

Xuanci said with regret and self-blame: "So he spread the false news in order to make the Song Dynasty and the Liao Kingdom forge a deep hatred, so that the two countries would go to war, and they would take advantage of the situation."

Li Mu continued: "Unfortunately, he did not expect that the Xiao family had already lost power in the Liao Kingdom. The death of Feng'er's parents did not attract the attention of the Liao Kingdom, so the plan failed."

"The master abbot will inevitably question him afterwards. He has no excuse, and he cannot admit it directly, which will ruin his reputation for a lifetime."

"He expected that with the abbot's character, as soon as he died, you would not reveal the truth and damage his reputation after his death, so he faked his death and escaped."

Under the guidance of Li Mu, the truth was completely revealed through the words of several people.

At this time, everyone in the main hall no longer had any respect or admiration for Nan Murong, only anger and hatred.

Especially Xiao Feng, who once had sympathy with Nan Murong and tried to prove to the Beggar Clan that he was not the murderer. Now that he thinks about it, he feels like a joke.

Xiao Feng cupped his fists at Li Mu and said, "Master, this disciple will rush to Gusu immediately and wipe out Nan Murong's family."

"Avenge my biological parents and seek justice for the heroes of the Central Plains who died in vain."

Li Mu raised his hand to comfort him and said, "Don't be impatient. Murong and his son may not be at home at the moment. If you go there rashly, you may end up in vain."

"If we alert the snakes and let them notice, they may hide them completely. Then it may not be easy to find them out."

When Xiao Feng heard what he said, he also felt that it was reasonable. He suppressed the anger in his heart for the time being and said, "What Master said is absolutely true, so how should we act?"

Li Mu thought for a while and said to Xuan Ci: "In my opinion, it is better to have the Changkong Sword Sect and the Shaolin Temple jointly hold a heroes conference."

"The name is that in recent years, a large number of martial arts heroes have lost their lives due to the method of 'repaying what they have done to others'. I specially invite Mr. Murong to go to Shaolin and explain this matter in front of the martial arts heroes."

"In this case, Murong Fu will definitely not fail to come, otherwise he will no longer have a foothold in the Central Plains martial arts world."

"When all the martial arts heroes arrive, we will try to force Murong Bo out and expose Nan Murong's conspiracy in front of the martial arts heroes."

After Xiao Feng listened to Li Mu's words, he shouted: "Okay, let them be ruined and brought to a dead end, and then kill them to comfort the undead souls. No matter how good it is."

"Amitabha." All the monks announced the Buddha's name in unison, and Xuanci said: "I will follow what Li Juxia said, but I would like to ask Li Juxia to tell me when the heroes conference is scheduled to be held."

Li Mu thought for a while and said, "Let's fix it on the day of Laba! We have some important things to do these days, so I ask Shaolin to take more care in delivering the letter."

The Heroes Conference is held in Shaolin, so Shaolin should naturally be responsible for these matters, and Xuanci and others have no objections.

After the matter was settled, Li Mu took Xiao Feng and left.

After finding out the identity of his enemy, Xiao Feng also had something on his mind. Now he just waits for the day of revenge to come.

He didn't have the slightest idea about the Liao Kingdom, except that he had led the Beggar Gang against the Liao Kingdom for many years, so he didn't have the slightest fondness for the Liao Kingdom.

It was also because of what Li Mu said just now: "The Xiao family had already lost power in the Liao Kingdom, and the death of Feng'er's parents did not attract the attention of the Liao Kingdom."

If the Liao Kingdom could do anything for his biological parents back then, he would have thought of some incense love.

Since the Liao Kingdom didn't care at all about the death of his biological parents, why should he take it to heart?

From now on, he will only peacefully remain a Song Dynasty person. At most, he will not take the initiative to become an enemy of the Liao Kingdom, but he will never stand up for the Liao Kingdom.

When I returned to my home at the foot of the mountain, I saw Ruan Xingzhu and A'Zhu A'Zi helping Qiao's mother pick vegetables, talking and laughing.

Luda and others were grilling lamb chops, while Qiao Sanhuai was simmering chicken soup in the kitchen.

The small courtyard was filled with joy and happiness, which made Xiao Feng feel very good after seeing this scene.

Near noon, Xiao Feng moved the square table to the courtyard, placed a table full of good wine and food, and everyone had a great meal.

Qiao Sanhuai also drank more wine with him, and was very happy and drunk.

After eating, Xiao Feng took everyone to wander around the nearby mountains and fields. When they came back, they brought back a lot of game, and they had another hearty meal for dinner in the afternoon.

It was not until sunset that Li Mu said goodbye to the two elders.

After all, this small courtyard couldn't accommodate so many people, and the two elders didn't keep them. They just sent them to the mountainside before saying goodbye with tears.

Still staying one night in Dengfeng City, the group headed to Bianliang the next day.

…

Bianliang, also known as Tokyo, Bianjing and Bianzhou, is the capital of the Song Dynasty. It is located on the south bank of the Yellow River and is the economic, political and cultural center of the Song Dynasty today.

Today, Bianliang is prosperous, with cars and horses on the streets, people flowing in, and shops lining both sides of the road.

Walking on the streets of Tokyo city is like being in a colorful and rich picture.

Zhang Zeduan, who is now just a little boy, will later draw the famous "Along the River During Qingming Festival" based on this scene.

He asked everyone to find an inn to stay in the city, while Li Mu went to Xuandemen in the south of the imperial city alone.

There were imperial guards guarding the gate outside Xuande Gate. When they saw Li Mu approaching, the leader of the imperial guard shouted as usual: "Who is coming? This is an important place in the imperial city, and no one else is allowed to approach."

Li Mu turned a deaf ear, took out the royal gold medal from his pocket, walked straight to the front of the imperial guard, and held the gold medal in his hand.

One side of the gold medal was engraved with the word "order", and the other side was engraved with the four characters "If I am here in person".

The imperial guard quickly bowed in front of the gold medal, and then asked Li Mu in a friendly manner: "May I ask, Your Majesty, why are you here in the imperial city?"

Li Mu said: "Li Mu, the head of the Changkong Sword Sect in Western Lu, has something important to discuss with the officials. I would like to ask the military master to pass it on."

The imperial guard's expression changed, and he said with a little respect: "Could it be that you are Li Juxia, who is known as the best hero of the Song Dynasty?"

Li Mu said: "If you don't dare to take it seriously, please ask the military master to pass it on."

The imperial guard nodded and said, "No problem, please wait a moment for Li Juxia."

He immediately sent one of his soldiers inside to pass the news, then returned to Li Mu and said with a smile: "In the battle with Xixia eight years ago, Li Juxia made the most of the contribution. We and other brothers in the army also admired him very much. We never thought that he could win today."

It is truly my great honor to see Li Juxia respect his example."

Li Mu smiled and said: "The military master has given me the award. Li is just doing what he can for the country and the people."

The imperial guard said with a sigh: "Searching for the head of an admiral among thousands of troops is like searching a bag for an object. Li Juxia's 'within his power' is a bit scary."

"Haha..." Li Mu chuckled reservedly. This imperial guard was quite good at talking, and there was no trace of flattery, which made people feel very comfortable.

Li Mu remembered something and asked Ozheng: "Li asked the military master for advice. I wonder who the current chief instructor of the Forbidden Army is?"

The Forbidden Army commander smiled and said: "It's Zhou Dong, the instructor. In addition to him, there are also several spear and stick instructors in the Forbidden Army, and they are several disciples of the noble sect."

Li Mu said clearly: "It turns out to be the 'Iron Arm' Zhou Daxia. I have admired his name for a long time, but I have never seen him, which is a pity."

This Zhou Tong is not an ordinary person. He may not be very famous himself, but the disciples he taught are extremely famous.

People like Lu Junyi, Shi Wengong, Lin Chong, and Yue Fei were all his direct disciples.

He also had two anonymous disciples, namely Wu Song and Lu Da.

Lu Da has now become a member of the Changkong Sword Sect, so naturally he has nothing to do with him. Lu Junyi and Wu Song are still little kids, but they have also been targeted by him.

However, Wu Song's parents are still alive now, and Lu Junyi is a son from a wealthy family in Hebei Province. He has not rushed to recruit disciples. He will see more in a few years.

Lin Chong, Shi Wengong and Li Mu have not been found yet, and it goes without saying that Yue Fei has not been born yet.

All in all, Zhou Tong's few disciples whose names were passed down to future generations have all been targeted by Li Mu.

Anyone who can become famous for their martial arts skills is mostly a highly qualified person, so Li Mu will naturally not let them go.

Li Mu was chatting with the imperial guard outside Xuande Gate. He didn't have any airs, and he could still have a lively chat with a small guard who only had twenty-five people under his command.

After a while of tea, the soldiers who went to communicate came back, followed by a chamberlain.

After the chamberlain came out, he looked at Li Mu respectfully and said, "The Empress Dowager invites Mr. Li to meet you at Chongzheng Hall."

Li Mu raised his eyebrows and sighed secretly.

He had just explained that he was visiting an official, but it turned out that the people who came out to pick him up were the Empress Dowager's people. This shows that Zhezong now has no autonomy at all.

Fortunately, this old woman has only a few years to live. Otherwise, even if Song Dynasty had him in charge, the future would be worrying.

Thoughts were swirling in his mind, but there was no expression on his face. He just said: "Please ask the official to lead the way."

The waiter had a flattering smile on his face. He turned sideways, bowed slightly, stretched out his hand and said, "Mr. Li, please."

Li Mu nodded to the imperial guard, and then stepped into Xuande Gate. The chamberlain walked beside Li Mu to lead the way.

Chongzheng Hall is equivalent to the imperial study room in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The emperor usually met with his subjects here when he was not attending court meetings.

After arriving outside Chongzheng Hall, the chamberlain asked Li Mu to wait at the door while he went in to report.

I could only hear the servant in the palace say: "Your Majesty, the Queen Mother, and Mr. Li Muli, a strange folk figure, have arrived."

An old but energetic female voice sounded: "Please."

"yes."

The chamberlain returned to the door, extended his hand to Li Mu and said, "Mr. Li, please."

Li Mu walked into the palace, clasped his fists and bowed in salute: "Li Mu, a common man, see Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager."

"Mr. Li, without any courtesy, I will grant you a seat."

The speaker was still the Empress Dowager Gao, Li Mu said: "Thank you, the Empress Dowager."

Li Mu stood up and looked up, and saw behind the desk, a young man wearing a yellow robe, with a thin face, who looked to be fifteen or sixteen years old, sitting there with a dull expression, like a clay sculpture. puppet.

Beside him, there was an elegant and elegant old woman sitting beside him, but her complexion was unhealthy and flushed. She was none other than the Empress Dowager Gao Taotao.

The chamberlain brought a stool from one side of the hall, and Li Mu sat down calmly.

With a faint smile on her face, the Empress Dowager said: "Mr. Li has never set foot in the palace since he met the late emperor once eight years ago. I wonder why you are here today?"

Li Muzheng said seriously: "Back to the Empress Dowager, the common people came today to open up territory for the Song Dynasty."

Zhezong Zhao Xu, who originally looked dull and expressionless, suddenly had a flash of light in his eyes. It was obvious that the words "open up frontiers and expand territory" touched the deepest desire in his heart.

The Empress Dowager's face did not change much, she just said calmly: "Oh? I wonder where the territory begins?"