chsdbacks Chapter 67 Hong 7's Kindness
Chapter 67 Hong 7's Kindness
When Zhao Yu asked about Hong Qi, Huang Yaoshi chuckled, shook his head, and pointed with his jade flute towards the alley behind the post station.
"He's still the same kind-hearted person; he can't change."
Zhao Yu was about to ask another question when his expression suddenly changed, and he stopped talking.
A few moments later, a series of hurried footsteps came from the alley entrance, accompanied by a hearty and cheerful laugh. The sound arrived before the person.
"Hahaha! Old beggar, I'm not late, am I? I just finished dealing with some small matters and rushed here, but I finally made it."
Before the words were even finished, a figure leaped onto the rooftop, landing silently and steadily as a mountain.
The newcomer possessed a bold and upright demeanor; he was none other than Hong Qi, the leader of the Beggars' Clan and the Northern Beggar.
Looking at him like this, Zhao Yu shook his head helplessly: "Hong Qi, you're only in your thirties, in the prime of your life. Why do you keep calling yourself an old beggar? What's wrong with you?"
Upon hearing this, Hong Qi scratched his head awkwardly and chuckled, "There's nothing I can do about it. I haven't been in charge of the Beggars' Sect for long, and many of the elders in charge of passing on skills and enforcing the law are veterans who have followed the previous leader through thick and thin. They have much more seniority than me."
"If I don't appear more mature and act more steadily, how can I gain the respect of those seasoned veterans?"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Yu was speechless for a moment.
Looking at Hong Qi's large, bony hands, he knew that these hands were capable of unleashing the unparalleled Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms.
With such profound skill, he was still worried that he wouldn't be able to command respect, which shows that Hong Qi was kind-hearted and unwilling to use his power to oppress others.
It was this kindness and chivalry that made him the revered Beggar Hong Qigong of the North in the martial arts world.
Zhao Yu stopped dwelling on the topic and changed the subject, looking at him with a half-smile: "Brother Hong, tell me, what were you doing just now? You're a bit late; I was almost finished fighting here when you finally showed up."
Hong Qi glanced at her, jumped down to sit beside her, turned her head away, and waved her hand somewhat awkwardly: "I didn't do anything, I just encountered a small thing on the way and was delayed for a moment, it's nothing serious."
"Brother Hong, has anyone ever told you that you really can't lie?" Zhao Yu stepped forward, arms crossed, and looked at him. "Your eyes are practically floating to West Lake, and you still say there's nothing wrong?"
Hong Qi stubbornly refused to admit anything, saying, "What are you saying? I don't understand."
"Alright, stop trying to hide it." Huang Yaoshi, who had been listening impatiently for a while, interrupted the two of them.
He looked at Zhao Yu and said, "You don't need to be suspicious anymore. Old Beggar didn't interfere with the affairs of your men. He just saw the fighting breaking out in the post station and was afraid that the innocent servants would be implicated, so he took advantage of the chaos to rescue all the unrelated Han servants in the post station."
He glanced at Hong Qi, who looked embarrassed, and sneered, "The Jin people are no loss, but you can't possibly plan to exterminate all those innocent people, can you? This old beggar was afraid you'd blame him, so he didn't dare tell you the truth. You're really getting more and more senile."
"Huang Yaoshi, what nonsense are you talking about!" Hong Qi jumped up in a panic and quickly gave Huang Yaoshi a meaningful look.
But Huang Yaoshi ignored him and didn't reply.
Wang Chongyang stepped forward, bowed, and smoothed things over: "Brother Huang is right. In my opinion, His Highness is not the kind of person who would indiscriminately kill innocent people. Chief Hong is really overthinking it."
This statement, seemingly an explanation, actually shuts down the conversation.
By putting Zhao Yu on a high pedestal, they prevented him from pressing Hong Qi for information about the whereabouts of those people, and also gave Hong Qi a way out.
Zhao Yu looked at the three people in front of him and chuckled, "Do you three think I, Zhao Yu, am the kind of ambitious person who would kill innocent people and disregard human life to achieve my goals?"
He turned to look at the brightly lit city of Lin'an, his tone deep: "If it weren't for the utter incompetence of those in the court, leaving the Song Dynasty riddled with holes and its people displaced, I would rather be boating on West Lake with Sister Lin, wandering the world as a carefree wanderer. Who would want to take on this mess?"
Wang Chongyang and the other two were all taken aback upon hearing this.
They looked at Zhao Yu's profile; in the darkness, his expression was incredibly serious, without a trace of pretense.
After all, at their level of martial arts skill, they have long since seen through the many illusions of the world, and the most important thing is to guard the path in their hearts.
Every word and action should align with one's true intentions.
Even a master of evil paths like Ouyang Feng, the Western Poison, always kept his word and would never lie about such a matter.
The three remained silent for a moment before Hong Qi finally spoke first: "Those servants are all local people from Lin'an, hired by the post station to serve the Jurchens. They have nothing to do with this matter. I've settled them at the Lin'an branch of the Beggars' Sect. Once today's matter is over, I'll have them all sent home. They won't cause you any trouble."
"Brother Hong, you flatter me." Zhao Yu smiled and cupped his hands in greeting. "Speaking of which, these people will be my subjects in the future. I should be thanking you for protecting them."
Upon hearing this, Hong Qi felt even more embarrassed and waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "It was nothing, Brother Zhao, you're too kind."
Just as the two were exchanging pleasantries, Huang Yaoshi suddenly stared straight at Zhao Yu, interrupting their conversation.
"Speaking of which, since you intend to undertake such a grand undertaking, your target should be the imperial palace, Shi Miyuan, or the one on the dragon throne. Yet tonight you chose to attack the Jurchens first, and even personally led the troops to oversee the attack. Why is that?"
He frowned slightly and spoke bluntly: "Whether or not you kill these Jurchens is irrelevant to your usurpation of the throne. Are you going to all this trouble just to vent your anger? Aren't you afraid of alerting the enemy, making Shi Miyuan and the one in the palace wary, and ruining your grand plan?"
That's a very insightful question.
Wang Chongyang and Hong Qi also reacted instantly, looking at Zhao Yu with their eyes full of doubt.
They couldn't understand why Zhao Yu, whose core goal was the throne, should have been secretly preparing for the palace coup at tomorrow's morning court session. Why did he have to make such a big show of killing the Jin delegation first?
This is completely illogical.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Yu slowly turned around and looked down at Duting Post Station, where the sounds of fighting had gradually subsided.
The gates of the inn were already closed, and a few scattered sounds of swords being sheathed could be heard from inside, indicating that Wang Huai'an and his men had cleared the area.
A cold smile curled at the corner of his lips as he slowly said, "No, killing these Jurchens is the most crucial part of my entire plan."
"What do you mean?" Huang Yaoshi frowned even more deeply.
Zhao Yu's expression gradually turned cold. His gaze swept over the three men, and he said in a deep voice, "Now that you three have arrived in Lin'an, you should have some understanding of the situation in the court. What do you all think is the current state of the Song Dynasty court?"