While on Mount Hua, my mind is at peace!

Chapter 138 I say you are, and you are!

A glint of shrewdness flashed in the old beggar's eyes. He raised his wine cup and clinked it against Yue Feng's. The two drank. The old beggar said, "This isn't the place to talk. Let's eat first." Without even glancing at Yue Feng, he began to devour his food.

Yue Feng smiled, not minding at all. He tasted a few bites of each dish and was almost full. The old beggar, however, had a huge appetite. He ate all the dishes on the table and then drank a whole pot of wine before stopping.

The old beggar wiped the wine stains from his mouth and let out a burp: "It's been a long time since I've eaten so heartily. I'm going to find a place to take a nap!" With a slight movement, he was already out of the hall.

The hall was quite full of diners, yet no one noticed the old beggar's departure. Yue Feng slowly drank the wine in his cup, carefully wiped his mouth clean, and then got up to leave his seat.

The old beggar left the restaurant lobby and plunged into the crowd on the street. He glanced back and, seeing no sign of Yue Feng, felt a little puzzled. Turning back, he saw a handsome young man before him—none other than Yue Feng.

The old beggar hesitated for a moment, then walked silently out of the city, with Yue Feng following closely behind. The two walked along the main road for a while before turning onto a side path. The path was quite secluded, ending at a quiet, deserted pavilion. The old beggar led Yue Feng to sit in the pavilion.

The old beggar said, "Yue Feng, do you know your crime? I traveled all the way to Mount Hua to find you, but you came to Hanzhong all the way here. You, the young master of the Mount Hua Sect, act more arrogant than I, the leader of the Beggars' Sect."

Yue Feng sensed that the old beggar's tone was only mocking and not malicious, so he immediately bowed to the old beggar.

"Junior Yue Feng pays respects to Chief Xie of the Beggars' Sect. I guessed you were a senior member of the Beggars' Sect, but I never imagined you were Chief Xie yourself. You truly are a master of disguise!"

Jie Feng waved his hand impatiently: "Don't give me that crap. You're a smooth talker, do you think I don't know you? Let me ask you, what were you and Chang Gaizhi talking about at the Hanzhong branch?"

Yue Feng didn't hide anything and recounted his conversation with Chang Gaizhi to Jie Feng in detail. Jie Feng asked, "Did he really tell you that he didn't personally escort the master's manual to the Luoyang headquarters because he was worried about the Eastern Depot?"

Yue Feng said, "That's right, that's what he said."

Xie Feng frowned and said, "That's strange. Do you know? Since the Eastern Depot gained power, countless sects in the martial arts world have been destroyed or swallowed up by them. Although our Beggars' Sect is the largest sect in the world, several of our branches have been raided and confiscated by the Eastern Depot for various reasons."

"Chang Gaizhi's Hanzhong branch is an exception. As you've probably seen, he's made it very prosperous. I thought he had a good relationship with the Eastern Depot, but perhaps I was mistaken?"

Yue Feng said, "It's also possible that Elder Chang's relationship with the Eastern Depot depends on him personally. In other words, he needs to be in Hanzhong. Isn't that a possibility?"

Jie Feng's eyes were filled with an unreliable smile, which inexplicably reminded Yue Feng of Chen Ji. He said, "Yue Buqun has always upheld the principles of a gentleman, yet he adopted a hypocrite like you. Excellent, wonderful! Hahahaha!"

Yue Feng smiled but didn't respond to Jie Feng's words. Jie Feng's smile faded, and he snorted, saying, "You clearly think that if someone keeps changing their ways, there must be a problem, so why are you still defending him verbally? It's clear you don't consider me one of your own."

Yue Feng said, feeling wronged, "Senior Jie, you are wronging me. I am neither a member of the Beggars' Sect nor your nephew, so how can I be considered one of your own?"

Jie Feng said, "I am the leader of the Beggars' Sect. If I say you're one of us, then you are! You still have Chang Gaizhi's elder token, don't you? I might as well just appoint you as an honorary elder of our sect."

"Once you find the manual for our sect, I will announce it to the world and let everyone know that our Beggars' Sect has gained a young and promising honorary elder."

Yue Feng pursed his lips and said, "Being an honorary elder is probably easier said than done. I'm afraid of trouble, so I'll pass. However, this case involves my friend, and I've promised to investigate it thoroughly. I will do my best, so Senior Jie can rest assured."

Jie Feng sized Yue Feng up and down for a moment, then suddenly said, "I just tested your lightness skill, and it's truly one in a million. Would you be willing to spar with me a couple more times?"

Yue Feng had long wanted to test the quality of the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms, and upon hearing this, he smiled and said, "I would be honored to accept your invitation and learn from Senior Jie's masterful moves of the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms."

"Alright, take this!" With a strange shout, Xie Feng suddenly raised his elbow slightly and struck with his right fist and left palm, delivering a straight and horizontal blow.

Seeing that his left and right hands moved fast and slow, combining strength and gentleness, and complementing each other, Yue Feng couldn't help but praise, "What excellent palm technique!" He then used the same skill to unleash the Demon-Subduing Palm Technique to neutralize the attack.

The moment their palms touched, Yue Feng felt that Jie Feng's palm force was solid and powerful. Under the same level of skill, the soft force of the Demon Subduing Palm could not be neutralized.

Before the Demon-Subduing Palm technique could be fully utilized, he transformed his palm into fingers, sending two thin streams of finger energy into Jie Feng's palm force. Jie Feng's hand trembled, and the palm force instantly dissipated.

Jie Feng withdrew his palm and laughed, "I've long heard that you've secretly learned Shaolin kung fu from somewhere, and seeing it today, it's true. You started with the Demon-Subduing Palm, right? And the finger technique you used later, could it be the Maha Finger? No, it also looks a bit like the Vajra Finger, that's strange..."

Yue Feng said, "All martial arts under heaven originated from Shaolin. Tracing back to the source, how can it be considered stealing? Senior Jie, which move from the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms did you just use?"

Jie Feng said with no small amount of pride, "This move is called 'Treading on Frost Leads to Ice.' Treading on frost means that solid ice will arrive. How about it, do you want to learn it?"

Yue Feng's eyes lit up: "I want to learn!"

Jie Feng snorted, "If you want to learn, help me find the manual! Once you find it, if you agree to become an elder of our gang, I might be able to lend you the manual for a few days."

Yue Feng was initially uninterested in Jie Feng's invitation, but the conditions Jie Feng offered were simply too tempting.

The two palm techniques he currently possesses—the Shaolin Temple's Demon-Subduing Palm and the Great Yu's Mountain-Opening Palm—are neither as refined as the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms. If he could obtain this palm technique and perfect it, even without fusing it with other palm techniques, it would be sufficient for him to handle most situations.

Once they had agreed, Yue Feng changed the subject: "I just heard from Senior Xie that you went to Mount Hua to find me first? What was the matter?"

Jie Feng's expression suddenly turned serious. He took out a bright red pill from his pocket and handed it to Yue Feng: "Do you recognize this?"

Yue Feng examined the pill closely. It was a bright red color and emitted a strong, pungent aroma. He shook his head. "I don't recognize it. What kind of medicine is this?"

Xie Feng said in a heavy tone, "This pill is called the 'Blazing Fire Pill.' It was specially refined by the Jade Dragon Manor in Sichuan at the behest of the Eastern Depot. After taking it, one can instantly gain ten years' worth of internal energy. However..."

As Jie Feng finished speaking, he rubbed his fingers together and peeled off the outer shell of the Fiery Pill, revealing a small gray worm inside. The worm was curled up quietly, seemingly dead, but Yue Feng's intuition told him that things were not that simple.