Chapter 989 Inviting Qiao Feng to Join the Court

The temperature in the Central Plains has risen in April.

Su Mingzhe was wearing a short coat and straw sandals, sitting with his horse and sword in hand. When he saw Qiao Feng coming over with the head of the Imperial City Bureau, he stood up, bowed and said:

"My name is Su Mingzhe, a nameless person in Jianghu. I have long heard that Boss Qiao is a peerless hero. It is a great honor to meet him today!"

"Mr. Su, you are too modest. Qiao is no longer the leader of the Beggars' Sect. You can just call me Qiao Feng by my name!"

Qiao Feng had not received much education since childhood and was not good at being elegant. He smiled heartily, thanked Su Mingzhe for the medicine first, and then asked directly about Su Mingzhe's identity and background, as well as the purpose of inviting him to meet him.

"I dare not hide it from you, Brother Qiao. You should be able to see that we are from the imperial court. This eunuch Wei is the head of the Imperial City Department. The cause of Ma Dayuan's death, as well as the scandal between that bitch Kang Min and the elders of the Beggars' Sect, were all exposed by him and spread throughout the martial arts world."

Su Mingzhe knew Qiao Feng's character, so he didn't hide anything and directly stated his identity. Then he spoke seriously:

"A few days ago, Brother Qiao's parents, Qiao Sanhuai and his wife, and his mentor, Master Xuannan, were killed one after another. We have found the murderer, but the murderer's identity is quite unusual. Whether to reveal his identity or not, we need to ask Brother Qiao's opinion first."

"Mr. Su, who killed my parents and my mentor?"

When Qiao Feng heard that Su Mingzhe actually knew the real murderer who killed his parents and mentor, his tone suddenly became anxious.

These past few days, he couldn't sleep every night, worrying about tracking down the real culprit.

Now, someone wanted to tell him who the real murderer was, and Qiao Feng immediately became excited.

"You guys stand down!"

Su Mingzhe waved his hand, and all the servants around him retreated ten feet away, and firmly controlled the surrounding environment to prevent others from getting close.

At this time, Su Mingzhe spoke:

"Brother Qiao, I will tell you the identity of the real murderer later. Let me tell you the cause of everything first."

"This matter is really a long story, and we have to start from fifty or sixty years ago."

"Back then, there was a man who called himself 'Xiaoyaozi'. He accidentally obtained a magical manual. In order to dominate the world, he constantly robbed the martial arts secrets of various major martial arts sects. The masters of the Central Plains gathered together and wanted to destroy him, but they found that when they fought him, the true energy in their bodies disappeared unconsciously..."

When Qiao Feng heard this, he immediately stared at it and exclaimed, "Brother Su, are you talking about the [Transformation Technique]?"

Su Mingzhe was not surprised to see that Qiao Feng knew this old story.

After all, the Beggars' Gang has existed since the end of the Tang Dynasty, so it is normal for the elders in the gang to know old stories from fifty or sixty years ago.

Su Mingzhe took out the scroll he had found in Langhuan Blessed Land from his bosom, handed it to Qiao Feng, and said:

"The name of this [Hua Gong Da Fa] is the name given to this martial art by the martial arts masters in the Central Plains. Xiaoyaozi founded a sect, the Xiaoyao Sect, and called this martial art [Beiming Divine Art]."

Qiao Feng took the scroll and unfolded it, and found that it was the secret manual for practicing [Northern Divine Art] and [Lingbo Weibu].

When he saw those patterns of naked women, he was startled and looked up at Su Mingzhe. Seeing that Su Mingzhe had a calm expression and motioned for him to continue watching, he lowered his head and started watching again.

After a while.

Qiao Feng read ten lines at a glance, and simply looked at the operating rules of the two methods, then put them together again and gave them back to Su Mingzhe:
"Mr. Su, this [Northern Divine Art] is very different from the cultivation method of the Central Plains sect. It should not be a Central Plains sect, right?"

"Yes, Xiaoyaozi learned this martial art from a hidden sect in Dali Kingdom. That hidden sect calls itself 'The Valley of Eternal Spring'!"

Su Mingzhe recounted the story of how Xiaoyaozi learned the [Eternal Spring Skill] from the Eternal Spring Valley and then went around stealing secret manuals from various martial arts schools in the Central Plains.

"Although this Xiaoyaozi calls himself 'Xiaoyaozi' and looks like a hermit, he is actually a peerless demon!" "Since he became a master of martial arts, he has been robbing martial arts secrets from all schools and sects. All the martial arts masters in the Central Plains have been slaughtered by him alone. It can be said that he has committed endless murders."

"Later, he suddenly disappeared, and some people said that he had committed too many sins and had gone astray and died."

"However, although Xiaoyaozi died, he left behind four disciples."

"The eldest disciple is Wu Xingyun, who inherited the power founded by Xiaoyaozi, which is Lingjiu Palace on Piaomiao Peak of Tianshan Mountain far away in the Western Regions. Lingjiu Palace has thirty-six island masters and seventy-two cave masters under its command, and can easily command thousands of troops!"

"The second disciple, Wuyazi, inherited the position of the head of the Xiaoyao Sect and also controls the martial arts treasure house left by Xiaoyaozi, the Langhuan Blessed Land. All the martial arts secrets that Xiaoyaozi robbed from various sects are collected there."

"The third disciple, Li Qiushui, married senior brother Wuyazi and gave birth to a daughter. Later, she remarried to the ruler of Xixia State and is now the Empress Dowager of Xixia State."

"The fourth disciple, Li Canghai, is a sister of Li Qiushui. After Xiaoyao disappeared, she also disappeared."

Qiao Feng's eyes moved slightly, and he waited for Su Mingzhe to finish speaking before asking curiously:

"My parents were killed. What does this Xiaoyao Sect have to do with it?"

“It’s not a big relationship, but there is still some relationship.”

Su Mingzhe sighed and continued:
"When Xiaoyaozi was robbing martial arts secrets from various schools, he also slaughtered all the martial arts masters in the Central Plains, causing the Central Plains martial arts world to fall into decline. Many masters went into seclusion to avoid disaster. It was at this time that your biological father, Xiao Yuanshan, became a disciple of a Central Plains martial arts master and learned unparalleled skills!"

"Later, someone, for his own selfish gain, spread a false rumor that a Khitan warrior wanted to take advantage of the lack of martial arts masters in the Central Plains to come to Shaolin Temple to steal the martial arts secrets."

"Shaolin Temple is also afraid of being killed by Xiaoyaozi. In addition, all the masters of Shaolin Temple have been slaughtered by Xiaoyaozi a long time ago. This is why they have no choice but to invite the best fighters from various sects to intercept outside Yanmen Pass, hoping to keep the enemy out."

"It was also at this time that your father came to visit relatives in the Central Plains with his wife and children. He was mistaken for a Khitan warrior who was trying to steal martial arts secrets, and that's how he got killed."

"So, if we really want to trace the cause of your parents' murder, we must start from when Xiaoyaozi brought disaster to the Central Plains martial arts world."

When Qiao Feng heard these secrets, his mood was like the upheavals of the world.

But because everything Su Mingzhe said was reasonable, he had to believe it a little:
"Mr. Su, since you know so many things, I think you know who was the leader back then?"

"If Brother Qiao really wanted to guess, he would have guessed who the 'leader' was. However, Brother Qiao is a hero and is unwilling to judge others by his own standards. That's why he is troubled by this matter!"

Su Mingzhe praised Qiao Feng, then continued with a smile:

"As I said just now, someone, for his own selfish reasons, spread false information and told the Shaolin monks that Khitan warriors were coming to Shaolin Temple to steal the secret manual. The leader who invited the Central Plains masters to intercept them was naturally the Shaolin Temple's abbot Xuanci."

Qiao Feng's eyes darkened. He had indeed guessed this answer, but he never dared to believe it.

After all, he grew up next to the Shaolin Temple and was taught by the Shaolin monk Master Xuan Nan.

It can be said that his gratitude to Shaolin Temple is only slightly inferior to that of his parents’ upbringing, and greater than that of the former leader of the Beggars’ Sect, Wang Jiantong.

Now that the truth had been revealed, Qiao Feng could only suppress the grief and shock in his heart and asked again:
"Mr. Su, who is the person who spread the false news?"

"The person who spread the false information is also involved in another case. If Brother Qiao is willing to join the Imperial City Division, even as a temporary guest official, we will tell you all the details immediately! Otherwise, we will have to wait a few months until we have arrested all the criminals in the other case before we can tell Brother Qiao."

At this point, Su Mingzhe concealed the truth for a bit, but extended an olive branch to Qiao Feng.

Of course, if Qiao Feng is unwilling to accept the invitation, he will not force him.

After all, he admired Qiao Feng as a person and respected Qiao Feng's choice.

(End of this chapter)