Chapter 192: Time and fate
"Oh~~Are those guarding the mountain from your Songshan Sect?"

Zhu Chengwu turned his head slightly and looked at Ding Mian.

"Reporting to the Marquis, the people guarding the mountain are indeed disciples of my Songshan Sect!"

Ding Mian answered Zhu Chengwu's question.

After hearing Zhu Chengwu's question, Ding Mian finally realized that when Zhu Chengwu and his group came up from the mountain just now, it was impossible that they had not met the Songshan Sect disciples who were left behind by him to guard the mountain.

Ding Mian did not blame the group of mountain-guarding disciples for not stopping Zhu Chengwu from going up the mountain, nor did he blame those mountain-guarding disciples for not even being able to report the news.

With Zhu Chengwu's strength, the gap in strength between the group of mountain-guarding disciples and Zhu Chengwu and his group was too big.

It is impossible to stop or report it!
Even if Ding Mian went to guard the mountain by himself, he probably didn't have the ability to report the news under Zhu Chengwu's nose.

But after realizing it, Ding Mian couldn't help but start to worry about the safety of the group of disciples guarding the mountain.

"Your Huashan Sect didn't arrange any disciples to guard the mountain?"

Then, Zhu Chengwu turned his head back and looked at Yue Buqun in front of him.

"My Lord, my Huashan Sect has had a lot of bad luck. First, there was an internal fight over sword energy, then Uncle Feng died young, and then Senior Brother Feng was dissatisfied with me taking over the position of Sect Leader and took many disciples down the mountain.

"Over the past twenty years, although Buqun has tried his best to maintain it, Huashan Sect no longer has the ability to arrange disciples to guard the mountain?"

Immediately following Zhu Chengwu's questioning voice was Yue Buqun's voice.

Hearing Zhu Chengwu's question, Yue Buqun, who was very thoughtful, although not the person involved, thought of the same question as Ding Mian.

So what happened to those disciples guarding the mountain that Zhu Chengwu asked about?
However, I think their fate will not be good when facing Zhu Chengwu who goes up the mountain!

Unlike the worried Ding Mian, Yue Buqun felt a slight sense of gloating in his heart.

"I told you, the Songshan Sect, to bully others by relying on your numbers and strength, and you also guarded the gate for my Huashan Sect. Now you have hit a wall! How many of your disciples were killed by Marquis Fu'an?"

Yue Buqun thought secretly in his heart.

"Time is destiny!"

After hearing Ding Mian and Yue Buqun's answers, Zhu Chengwu did not say anything else, nor did he tell Ding Mian and Yue Buqun the final fate of those mountain guards that they wanted to know.

With his keen spiritual perception, Zhu Chengwu could sense Ding Mian's inner worry and nervousness, as well as Yue Buqun's gloating mood.

But the truth may disappoint both Ding Mian and Yue Buqun.

The fate of those disciples who guarded the mountain of Songshan Sect was not good, and many of them died, which was consistent with Ding Mian's concerns.

However, it was not as Yue Buqun expected, all the mountain guarding disciples were killed. Because Zhu Chengwu believed that those mountain guarding disciples were disciples of Huashan Sect, he did not kill most of them.

However, this incident also sounded a wake-up call for Zhu Chengwu, causing him to begin to reflect.

As an almighty grandmaster, Zhu Chengwu, who has a keen sense of perception, actually mistook the disciples of Huashan Sect and Songshan Sect. This is not a problem that can be ignored.

Among them, although the Five Mountains Sword Techniques have their own characteristics, their foundations are all the foundations passed down by the old Huashan Sect; facing Zhu Chengwu, those mountain-guarding disciples had no chance to attack at all, and Zhu Chengwu had no way to identify their moves; there are...

However, as the only supreme grandmaster among the six dynasties, whose combat power surpasses the peak Sanfeng and peak Bodhidharma, there can only be one fundamental reason why Zhu Chengwu mistook the disciples of Huashan School and Songshan School.

That is when Zhu Chengwu started to become arrogant and started to take things for granted!
Arrogance and complacency are common stages that almost all top figures will go through at some point in their lives.

The only difference is that some people overcome it and turn their arrogance into self-confidence and self-reliance, while some people do not overcome it and go further and further down the road of arrogance, and finally become unable to reverse their situation.

Just when Zhu Chengwu began to reflect on his mistake of taking the disciples of Songshan Sect as disciples of Huashan Sect, Feng Buping looked at Ding Mian, who was sitting on pins and needles not far in front of him and occasionally glanced at the foot of the mountain, with obvious dissatisfaction flashing in his eyes.

This time, it was the Songshan Sect who took the initiative to find Feng Buping and persuaded him to go to Huashan to seize the position of the leader of the Huashan Sect.

Now Zhu Chengwu unexpectedly arrived at Huashan and his position was inclined towards Yue Buqun.

Ding Mian, the one who persuaded Feng Buping to come to Huashan and personally came to Huashan to support him, now wants to abandon him alone and run away. What is the difference between this and treating Feng Buping as a disposable knife that can be thrown away after being used?
But unfortunately, the current situation is that Feng Buping cannot ask questions out loud, and he cannot ask questions out loud, because Zhu Chengwu's true qi has already temporarily deprived Feng Buping of the ability to speak.

Feng Buping's resentment could only remain in his heart.

As Zhu Chengwu fell silent and began to reflect on his behavior, the scene also fell into silence.

No one dared to speak out and disturb Zhu Chengwu's thoughts when he was obviously thinking about something.

Even Ding Mian, who was worried about the condition of the disciples guarding the mountain and wanted to go down the mountain and get away from the turmoil on the scene, did not dare to say a word after Zhu Chengwu spoke to stop him from leaving, and now that he began to think about things, he did not dare to leave without permission.

Even though Zhu Chengwu seems to be distracted and thinking about other things now, if Ding Mian takes any action that goes against Zhu Chengwu's words, Ding Mian dares to guarantee that he will definitely incur Zhu Chengwu's anger.

But this is something he cannot afford!

The only thing Ding Mian could do now was to signal with his eyes to the disciples behind him to leave quietly and go to see the situation of the disciples of Songshan Sect who were guarding the mountain on the Huashan Road.

Although he, a first-rate person, was fortunate enough to be in the sight of Zhu Chengwu, the best in the world, Ding Mian did not believe that Zhu Chengwu, a great master, would take care of an ordinary disciple of the Songshan Sect.

Unfortunately, Zhu Chengwu's power was too great and too strong. Ding Mian's eye signals were used to change several disciples before a brave disciple of the Songshan School finally obeyed Ding Mian's eye signals, left the scene, and went to check the current situation of his fellow disciples on the Huashan Road.

Ding Mian was right. Zhu Chengwu did not take care of these ordinary disciples. They were not worthy of Zhu Chengwu's attention.

Seeing that Zhu Chengwu remained silent and motionless, the brave disciple of Songshan School who took the risk to leave finally breathed a sigh of relief after carefully leaving the scene.

Now it depends on whether his adventure can be successful and he can get the ideal reward!

A long time has passed...

Ning Zhongze finally returned with his men.

"Hmm~~~"

Zhu Chengwu looked up at Ning Zhongze who had returned to the scene.

In other words, look at the two people behind Ning Zhongze.

Facts have proved that even a supreme grandmaster like Zhu Chengwu would feel unfamiliar with an acquaintance he hadn't seen for twenty-five years.

If Ning Zhongze hadn't brought the person nearby, Zhu Chengwu would never have realized that there was an acquaintance in Huashan.

"Master! Master!"

The younger of the two people following Ning Zhongze, the moment he saw Zhu Chengwu and Cui Shuyun, suddenly couldn't stop the tears in his eyes and shouted loudly.

"Shilin, I didn't expect you to be alive!"

The moment Cui Shuyun saw the young man, she was also a little excited.

The young man following behind Ning Zhongze was none other than Zhu Chengwu’s disciple - Zhao Shilin.

Although Zhao Shilin was Zhu Chengwu's disciple, Zhu Chengwu was in seclusion for many years.

Compared with Zhu Chengwu, it was Cui Shuyun, the nominal master's wife, who had more contact with Zhao Shilin.

In fact, this more is also relative.

More than 20 years ago, Zhao always wanted to pull Cui Shuyun down and push Zhao Qingya to the position of the wife of Marquis Fu'an.

Due to their different positions, Zhao Shilin and Cui Shuyun, who had frequent contact, did not have a close relationship in the past.

But after all, he was an old acquaintance!

And now it happened in front of Zhu Chengwu, Cui Shuyun and Zhao Shilin couldn't help but get excited!
"Hehe~~Master, Master's Wife!"

When Cui Shuyun and Zhao Shilin were looking at each other in inexplicable excitement, the middle-aged man next to Zhao Shilin, who was also following Ning Zhongze but was obviously much older than Zhao Shilin, followed Zhao Shilin, stared at Zhu Chengwu and Cui Shuyun infatuatedly, and shouted foolishly.

"Are you... Gongsun Lei?" Looking at the middle-aged man who looked stupid and dull, like a pervert, Cui Shuyun asked tentatively with uncertainty.

"Master, Master's Wife, yes! This is Gongsun Lei, Master's second disciple, my second junior brother!

He didn't die either, we were all rescued by Senior Feng Qingyang and brought to Huashan!"

Zhao Shilin pulled Gongsun Lei over, patted him on the shoulder, and motioned for him to greet Zhu Chengwu and Cui Shuyun like him.

After silently listening to a few words exchanged between Cui Shuyun, Zhao Shilin and Gongsun Lei, Zhu Chengwu finally remembered who the person next to Zhao Shilin, whom he called "Second Junior Brother", was.

Although twenty-five years had passed since the disappearance of Zhao Shilin's spirit, Zhu Chengwu could still sense it if he carefully sensed it.

After all, a person's body can change, but his soul cannot.

However, Zhu Chengwu was extremely unfamiliar with the spiritual aura of the people around Zhao Shilin.

However, if the middle-aged man next to Zhao Shilin is Zhu Chengwu’s second disciple, Gongsun Lei, then everything makes sense.

When Zhu Chengwu was fighting with the four great masters of Shaolin Temple, Grandmaster Gongsun Yiyang died in order to help Zhu Chengwu hold back Wudang Taoist Qingfeng.

In addition, Spark Ghost Mother and Jin Duyi and his wife have always been loyal supporters of Zhu Chengwu.

When Zhu Chengwu sent his cheap father-in-law Cui Zongyan to the northwest to mourn Gongsun Yiyang, he asked Cui Zongyan to bring a message to the Red Flower Ghost Mother and her husband, that is, as long as the Red Fire Ghost Mother and her husband were willing, Zhu Chengwu would accept their child as his second formal disciple.

That was the official promise made by Zhu Chengwu!

However, later on, news came out that Nanzhu Kingdom might have some high-level rare treasures of heaven and earth. Zhu Chengwu hid it from everyone and went to Nanzhu Kingdom alone.

Afterwards, for the sake of Yang Lei Zhen Yan, he sat on the unknown peak of the Elbrus Mountains that gave birth to Yang Lei Zhen Yan for twenty-five years.

Until now, Zhu Chengwu has not seen the second disciple he promised to accept, so Zhu Chengwu felt unfamiliar with Gongsun Lei's spiritual aura.

Today was the first time that Zhu Chengwu met his second disciple Gongsun Lei.

"Shilin, Gongsun, come here!"

Zhu Chengwu waved to Zhao Shilin and Gongsun Lei.

But contrary to Zhu Chengwu's expectation, although Zhao Shilin walked towards Zhu Chengwu at the first moment, Gongsun Lei seemed very hesitant. It was only with Zhao Shilin's pulling that he walked towards Zhu Chengwu.

During this process, Gongsun Lei's gaze would occasionally turn back to look at Ning Zhongze and Yue Buqun, as if asking for their opinions.

"master!"

Zhao Shilin came in front of Zhu Chengwu, pressed down Gongsun Lei's head, and bowed to Zhu Chengwu together.

"Tell me! How did you come to Huashan? Why didn't you go back to Xuzhou City to look for your master's wife and aunt in these years? What have you experienced in Huashan these years, and what are your concerns?"

Zhu Chengwu looked at Zhao Shilin with deep meaning in his eyes.

Don’t think that Zhu Chengwu couldn’t sense it. Although Gongsun Lei was reluctant to leave Mount Huashan, Zhao Shilin was also secretly paying attention to the changes in Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze’s expressions and attitudes.

Gongsun Lei has maintained the IQ of a six or seven-year-old child because of the influence he received while in the belly of the Red Flower Demon Mother in his early years. He will become dependent on whoever treats him well. It is understandable that Gongsun Lei pays attention to the changes in the expressions and attitudes of Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze after 25 years of living together.

But Zhao Shilin is not like that.

And don’t forget the revenge for his father Zhao Xinghan!
Zhao Shilin has always stayed in Huashan over the years. There must be something in Huashan that Zhao Shilin cares about.

"Master has a keen eye!"

Hearing Zhu Chengwu's question, Zhao Shilin's eyes darkened, and after a little thought, he decided to tell everything.

Even though they haven't seen each other for 25 years, Zhao Shilin still remembers that his master Zhu Chengwu was a person who liked to play it straight.

It is difficult to hide the truth from Zhu Chengwu, and it is unlikely to have a good ending!
"Master, after you disappeared, the Marquis Fu'an Mansion suffered a great disaster!

It was Senior Feng who saved me!

Although Senior Feng saved me, I was also seriously injured in that catastrophe, and my bones were severely damaged. I will never be able to reach the Grandmaster level in this lifetime.

Revenge, but I am powerless!
The reason why I stayed in Huashan and didn’t go to Xuzhou City to look for my master’s wife and aunt…”

Having said that, Zhao Shilin, with a sad and helpless tone, glanced carefully at Zhu Chengwu and Cui Shuyun.

"Master, Master's Wife, please forgive me for saying something disrespectful, but the Marquis Fu'an Mansion rebuilt by Master's Wife and Master's Aunt is no longer the Marquis Fu'an Mansion I remember, let alone the Marquis Fu'an Mansion I want to stay in."

Zhu Chengwu understood the meaning of Zhao Shilin's words.

Zhu Chengwu went to Xuzhou City and found out about the reconstruction of Fu'an Marquis Mansion. He also understood that what Zhao Shilin said made sense. The rebuilt Fu'an Marquis Mansion was indeed not the same Fu'an Marquis Mansion as before.

"But, this shouldn't be the only reason why you stayed in Huashan and refused to return to Xuzhou City, right?"

However, even though Zhao Shilin's words were reasonable, Zhu Chengwu still discovered that the reasons Zhao Shilin gave were not the only reasons why Zhao Shilin stayed in Huashan.

"Master has a keen eye!"

Although Zhao Shilin did not intend to hide the secret from Zhu Chengwu, he was still shocked that Zhu Chengwu discovered the clues so quickly.

"Master, after the fall of the Marquis of Fu'an Mansion, Second Junior Brother's parents were also found by Wudang and died in battle!

Before they died, Senior Jin and Senior Guimu hoped that Second Junior Brother would live well, marry and have children like a normal person!
So not long after Senior Jin and Senior Guimu died, Second Junior Brother got married!
Afterwards, the second junior brother had a son and a daughter!
Second Junior Brother’s wife and children are now on Mount Hua!
Do you want to meet him?"

As Zhao Shilin spoke, he looked at Gongsun Lei with pity and envy, then turned to Zhu Chengwu and asked.

At this time, Gongsun Lei was still standing aside, grinning foolishly, and from time to time he raised the cotton ball with a bell tied to it in his hand, as if inviting his master Zhu Chengwu to play with him.

To Gongsun Lei, whose mental state remains at the age of six or seven, death and marriage are just vague concepts.

Gongsun Lei was sad for a while after the death of his father Jin Duyi and his mother Honghua Guimu, but soon he recovered with the company of Zhao Shilin.

As for getting married, Gongsun Lei only regarded it as a game of house!

The entire process was controlled by Zhao Shilin.

The reason why Gongsun Lei listened to Zhao Shilin so much was because when he arrived at Fu'an Marquis Mansion, his most trusted father Jin Duyi and mother Honghua Guimu both told Gongsun Lei to listen to his master and senior brothers.

Since the master hasn't shown up, Gongsun Lei naturally has no choice but to listen to his senior brother Zhao Shilin.

Afterwards, his father Jin Duyi and his mother Red Flower Ghost Mother also came to Huashan while being hunted by Wudang. They once again emphasized to Gongsun Lei that he should listen to his senior brother Zhao Shilin and Feng Qingyang, who had not yet passed away.

Afterwards, Feng Qingyang passed away.

Gongsun Lei had no choice but to listen to his senior brother Zhao Shilin!

"how about you?"

Zhu Chengwu interrupted Zhao Shilin's thoughts and went straight to the core of the problem.

Hearing Zhu Chengwu's question, Zhao Shilin, knowing he couldn't escape, fell to his knees with a plop.

"Master, I have my own sweetheart in Huashan, and my sweetheart is none other than Sect Master Yue's daughter - Yue Lingshan!
For the sake of love, I have neglected my father's hatred. Please punish me, Master!"

As Zhao Shilin spoke, he knocked his head heavily to the ground.

And he never raised his head or stood up.

It seems like he is waiting for forgiveness from Zhu Chengwu, his master and lord.

(End of this chapter)