While on Mount Hua, my mind is at peace!

Chapter 65, Part 1 and Part 1

The group rode at full speed and finally arrived outside Huayin City three days later. They paused for a moment outside the city, and Yue Feng, gazing at the familiar city walls, suddenly felt a sense of returning home.

Feng Buping pulled Yue Feng aside: "Brother Feng, I need to meet up with the people from the Songshan Sect and the Eastern Depot. You don't need to come with me. How about I go to the Weihe Gang to find you after I've made my plans?"

Yue Feng asked with a smile, "Brother Feng, you're not planning to leave me behind and go up Mount Hua alone, are you?"

Feng Buping smiled awkwardly: "How...how could that be? I just saw that you and Miss Xiong were getting along very well, and I couldn't bear to separate you two."

Yue Feng glanced at Xiong Zhaozhao in the distance: "Miss Xiong and I are just business partners. How can that be compared to the brotherhood between you and me? Brother Feng, if you try to abandon me again, I'll really get angry."

Feng Buping was both touched and helpless, so he had no choice but to agree to take Yue Feng with him. Yue Feng greeted Xiong Zhaozhao and arranged to go to the Wei River later to help find her, then went with Feng Buping to a restaurant in the city.

As agreed, Feng Buping gave the innkeeper a false identity. The innkeeper immediately led him and Yue Feng into a private room, served them wine and dishes, and asked them to wait a moment.

The two waited for a while, when suddenly a hearty laugh came from afar. A middle-aged official pushed open the door, followed by a short, fat man with a sallow complexion.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting! My surname is Qi, and my given name is Lang. I am a servant in the Eastern Depot. This is Mr. Le Houle, the 'Great Yin-Yang Master' of the Songshan School. Where are Mr. Cheng and Mr. Cong? And who is this young man?"

Feng Buping said coldly, "Cheng Buyou and Cong Buqi were instigated to murder our senior brother, and I have already eliminated them. Lord Qi, you seem to be quite familiar with those two?"

Qi Lang raised his eyebrows in surprise: "Is that so? To be honest, they did come to me for drinks before, and even asked me to teach them a few sword techniques from the Eastern Depot."

"I have a very low alcohol tolerance, and I might have said some inappropriate things when I was drunk, but those were just slips of the tongue and shouldn't be taken seriously!"

Seeing that Qi Lang had completely shirked his responsibility, Feng Buping suddenly felt a surge of anger. Just as he was about to explode, Yue Feng reached out and gently pressed down on his shoulder.

Feng Buping turned his head and met Yue Feng's smiling gaze, and inexplicably calmed down. Although he didn't understand why Yue Feng wanted to stop him, he believed there must be a reason behind it, so he just snorted heavily and remained silent.

This subtle interaction between the two was observed by Qi Lang and Le Hou. Both were seasoned and shrewd men; how could they not see that Yue Feng was the one who kept his word? They exchanged a surprised glance. Qi Lang cupped his hands in a respectful gesture to Yue Feng and asked in a different tone:

"May I ask your name, young hero?"

"My name is Feng Yue. I greet Lord Qi and Mr. Yue." Yue Feng respectfully rose to return the greeting. "Please have a seat. Let's talk after we sit down."

The group rearranged their seating, and Qi Lang said, "The higher-ups are taking this operation very seriously, and have specially dispatched an unparalleled expert to assist us. I think we should leave the chief seat vacant for our powerful ally, what do you say?"

No one objected, and after several rounds of polite refusals, Qi Lang took the second seat, with Le Hou to his right, and Feng Buping and Yue Feng taking their seats on the other side of the head seat. After taking their seats, Yue Feng got straight to the point:

"We're all here for the Huashan Sect, there's no need to hide anything. Lord Qi, Mr. Yue, what's our plan?"

This was also the issue that Feng Buping was most concerned about, so he immediately stopped drinking and eating, and started listening intently.

Qi Lang and Le Hou exchanged embarrassed glances. Qi Lang said:

"This plan... originally existed. But you two are unaware that the situation on Mount Hua has changed dramatically compared to when we first arrived in Huayin. The original plan has therefore become a joke and needs to be revised."

Feng Buping frowned and said, "What changes could have happened on Mount Hua? Has Yue Buqun's martial arts improved significantly?"

Qi Lang smiled wryly: "If it were just that Yue Buqun's martial arts had greatly improved, I'd be truly grateful. Let me tell you something: a few days ago, I sent one of my capable subordinates to scout Mount Hua, but he was discovered as soon as he reached the top. Guess who discovered him?"

Feng Buping had no clue and could only guess: "Is it Yue Buqun? Or maybe his eldest disciple, Linghu Chong?"

Qi Lang shook his head repeatedly: "No, it's not that. It's Xie Tianqing, the new leader of the Qingcheng Sect! The leader of the Qingcheng Sect personally led a team to inspect Mount Hua. Who would believe that if word got out? Hey! It actually happened!"

Before Feng Buping could react, Qi Lang continued, "Mr. Le and I didn't believe in superstitions, so we sent a few more people over. We discovered that there was more than just the Qingcheng Sect stationed on Mount Hua. There were also the Hengshan Sect of the South Mountain, the Hengshan Sect of the North Mountain, the Taishan Sect, and several hidden martial arts masters."

"Besides the Songshan Sect, the other four of the Five Mountains Sword Sects are all located on Mount Hua. If we were to use the Qingcheng Sect to fill the void left by the Songshan Sect, it would be fair to say that we are not dealing with just one of the Five Mountains Sword Sects, but the entire Five Mountains Sword Sects!"

Feng Buping was greatly shaken, his face turning deathly pale. He had long anticipated the extreme difficulty of this matter and was prepared to die a heroic death; however, the fact that it was this difficult was still beyond his expectations. In an instant, Feng Buping felt utterly hopeless, as if all sounds and images were fading away from him.

"Brother Feng, Brother Feng?"

Yue Feng's call brought Feng Buping back to reality. Yue Feng poured Feng Buping a cup of wine and made him drink it, then said to Qi Lang and Le Hou, "My elder brother and I are already aware of the situation at the Huashan Sect. May I ask, seniors, what are your plans now? You're not going to back down, are you?"

Qi Lang sighed, "I really want to back out, but I can't. Ever since the crushing defeat at Hengyang, the higher-ups have been getting restless. If I don't produce some results soon, my life will be in danger, not to mention losing my official position."

Le Hou said succinctly, "The Songshan Sect will follow Lord Qi's lead without question."

Yue Feng nodded: "If that's the case, then it's easier. The Huashan Sect has a lot of people? We're not without friends in the martial world. Instead of sitting here frowning, we might as well go out and win over everyone we can. Anyway, Huashan is there, it's not going anywhere, we have plenty of time."

Le Hou asked, "Does Young Hero Feng have a target in mind?"

Just as Yue Feng was about to speak, the door was kicked open with a bang, and several men in purple robes escorted a young man in white robes as they rushed in.