Chapter 1094: The Proud Son of Heaven (II)

"You mean... Wu Shuang is the last disciple of the Shaolin monk of the 'Kong' generation?" Liu Xunyi stared blankly at Xie Xuan, who was so sure of what he said, with eyes full of shock. His throat and tongue tightened due to the excitement in his heart, and he spoke incoherently, "In that case, doesn't he... doesn't he..."

"That's right!" Xie Xuan saw through Liu Xunyi's thoughts and nodded solemnly, "Wu Shuang is a disciple of the Shaolin monk of the 'Kong' generation. His seniority in Shaolin... is indeed on par with Xuanming, Xuanyun and others."

"Hold...Hold..."

This result was undoubtedly beyond the expectations of Liu Xunyi, Xiao Zhirou and Tang Afu. For a moment, the three of them looked at each other with hesitation, not knowing whether they could not believe such a strange story or could not accept such a fact.

"Now, you should know why Wu Shuang can freely enter and leave Shaolin Sutra Library without being blocked? And why can he become friends with Xuanyun, Xuanfeng, Xuanshan, and Xuanhai? It's because they are... brothers from the same clan and origin." Speaking of this, Xie Xuan was also a little amused, "He is obviously of the 'Wu' generation, but he has the prestige of the 'Xuan' generation. Shaolin may be big, but there are only a handful of people who can be on equal footing with Wu Shuang. As the saying goes, 'Don't look at the monk's face, look at the Buddha's face'. Regardless of Wu Shuang's status in the hearts of Xuanming and the four monks, just because his master is ranked in the Shaolin 'Kong' generation, he is the real... uncle of Xuanming and the other four, and they should be treated with respect. In this way, it doesn't seem strange that the four Xuanyun monks, who have never been involved in the grudges of the martial arts world, made an exception and wrote a letter to Xuanming to plead for him."

"Is this information... the content of yesterday's letter?" Liu Xunyi, who had gradually calmed down, asked hesitantly, "Recalling Abbot Xuanming's reaction yesterday, I think he must have known nothing about Wu Shuang's relationship with Shaolin beforehand."

"That's right!" Xie Xuan couldn't deny it, and cast an approving look at Liu Xunyi. "The secret that Wu Shuang is from the same lineage as Shaolin was originally known only to the four monks Xuanyun, Xuanfeng, Xuanshan, and Xuanhai. Xuanming was originally unwilling to allow Wu Shuang to enter and leave the Sutra Library freely. In the end, he could not overcome the repeated insistence of the four monks Xuanyun, and out of respect for his four senior brothers, Xuanming had to make an exception with great difficulty. As for the truth... he only found out yesterday."

At this point, Xie Xuan's mind changed, and he reminded him with a hidden meaning: "But this also proves that the young king of Qin must think highly of you, Xun Yi, otherwise Wu Shuang would never risk his identity being exposed and come all the way to Luoyang City to help you."

However, at this time, Liu Xunyi's mind was full of Wu Shuang's shocking connection with Shaolin, and he turned a deaf ear to Xie Xuan's "intentions".

"Who is Wu Shuang's master?" After pondering for a long time, Xiao Zhirou suddenly raised her head, staring at Xie Xuan who was hesitant to speak, and asked word by word, "Who is his master... the senior monk of the 'Kong' generation?"

Hearing this, Xie Xuan, who was intent on testing Liu Xunyi, was startled. He looked back at Xiao Zhirou, who was frowning, and asked in a half-comprehending manner, "Why did Master Xiao ask this? Did you...think of something?"

"Yes."

"Hiss!" Xiao Zhirou's straightforward admission surprised Xie Xuan. The look he gave her became more intriguing. "May I ask what Master Xiao is thinking?"

"Think of someone."

"who?"

"An old friend."

"Old friend?"

The rapid-fire question-and-answer session caught Liu Xunyi and Tang Afu off guard and made them feel inexplicably nervous.

Xiao Zhirou answered every question, so Xie Xuan no longer cared about testing Liu Xunyi's attitude towards the young king of Qin. His piercing tiger eyes stared at the solemn Xiao Zhirou without blinking, suppressing his inner uneasiness and continued to ask in the calmest voice possible: "I wonder which old friend did Master Xiao think of?"

"The last leader of the Guihai Sword Sect, Senior Mu Sheng."

Just these words not only made Xie Xuan's face change suddenly, but also made Liu Xunyi and Tang Afu, who seemed to have realized something, gasp.

"Valley Master, could it be that..."

"Why?" Xie Xuan interrupted Tang Afu's guess without even turning his head. "Why did Master Xiao think of Senior Mu Sheng?"

"Humph!"

Looking at Xie Xuan who was acting so serious, Xiao Zhirou raised her eyebrows and sneered with contempt: "With the ability of Xianwang Mansion to 'keep an eye on all directions and listen to all directions', it is impossible that they don't know the origin of Senior Mu Sheng and Granny Taohua, and it is impossible that they don't know the relationship between Granny Taohua and me. Why does Lord Xie ask when he already knows the answer?"

"I……"

"Xun Yi just made it clear that from now on, Xian Wang Mansion and Jue Qing Valley are considered 'our family'. Since they are 'our family', we shouldn't hide anything." Xiao Zhirou teased, "I tell Palace Master Xie everything I know. On the other hand, Palace Master Xie...why does he always pretend to be confused when he knows the truth?"

"Master Xiao, please don't misunderstand me. I dare not pretend to be confused in front of you." Xie Xuan was terrified and waved his hands to explain, "I am really confused! I was the one who had a candlelight chat with Xuanming at night, so why did Master Xiao always hit the nail on the head?" "Hit the nail on the head? You mean... I guessed it?" Xiao Zhirou subconsciously exclaimed, and a very rare excitement emerged in her eyes, "Is it really Senior Mu Sheng?"

"To be more precise... it was Master Kong Sheng." Xie Xuan corrected, "After the fall of the Guihai Sword Sect, Senior Mu Sheng, who survived the catastrophe but was disheartened, became a monk and was given the Buddhist name 'Kong Sheng'."

"Yes! Yes! It is indeed Master Kong Sheng!"

At this moment, Xiao Zhirou was nervous, excited, happy, and excited... She was completely different from the past, which made Liu Xunyi and Tang Afu look at each other in surprise.

In fact, Xiao Zhirou and Kong Sheng had no friendship, but had never met each other before.

To trace the root of the problem, it was because Granny Taohua was Kong Sheng's "adopted daughter", and Xiao Zhirou was deeply grateful to Granny Taohua for saving her life and giving her a new life, and was always regarded as her "granddaughter".

Therefore, although Xiao Zhirou and Kong Sheng had never met each other before, because of Granny Taohua... the two of them had already formed an indissoluble bond that transcended time and space.

All of Xiao Zhirou's knowledge about Kong Sheng also came from Granny Taohua.

Today, Xiao Zhirou was so excited because, firstly, the person who existed only in "legends" in the past actually appeared "alive" beside her. Secondly, Granny Taohua had been looking for the whereabouts of her "adoptive father", but had no news for decades. Now that she had a clue, how could she remain calm?

Because of this, Xiao Zhirou lost her composure when she heard Kong Sheng's name. Rather than saying she was happy for herself, it would be better to say she was happy for Granny Taohua.

"Yes! Yes!" Xiao Zhirou's voice became more urgent as she recalled the past. "I still remember that after the martial arts conference, the various factions in the Central Plains were besieged by the Mongolian army in Huashan. It was Wu Shuang who disguised himself as Sui Zuo and deceived tens of thousands of soldiers, allowing us to escape successfully. At that time, I was deeply shocked by Wu Shuang's superb 'disguise technique'. It turned out that it was given by Master Kongsheng! Granny Taohua told me a long time ago that Master Kongsheng's 'disguise technique' is unparalleled in the world."

"Not only Wu Shuang, there is another person... who is also proficient in 'disguise' and can also make a fake look real." Liu Xunyi's eyes suddenly flashed with an inexplicable light, but there was a hint of loss in his tone, "I think... she knew Wu Shuang's secret a long time ago, but deliberately pretended to be deaf and dumb in front of me, hiding it completely."

"Xun Yi, you are talking about..."

"Wu Shuang's 'good sister', Xunzhen!"

"she……"

"It was also because of Master Kongsheng that Wu Shuang secretly helped the Northern Sage King at the martial arts conference." Xie Xuan didn't want Liu Xunyi to vent her anger on Xunzhen, so he took the opportunity to change the subject, "Do you know why Master Kongsheng helped the Northern Sage King? And why did Wu Shuang save Xunyi from Ren Wuya?"

"Why?"

"Because King Beixian and Xunyi once helped someone." Xie Xuan smiled bitterly, "A person... Master Kongsheng cares about very much."

"This..." Bewildered Liu Xunyi stared blankly at the mysterious Xie Xuan, "Who have I helped?"

"Master Pan!"

"Pan..."

Xie Xuan revealed the secret in one sentence, which immediately gave Liu Xunyi, whose thoughts were in a mess, a flash of inspiration and lifted his spirits.

"Master Pan Ba ​​is... a direct disciple of Master Kongsheng when he was in Guihai Sword Sect. He once held the power of Guihai Sword Sect together with 'Qin Family Patriarch' Qin Gang, and was deeply trusted by Master Kongsheng. Later, the two of them committed a heinous mistake. Qin Gang never regretted it until his death, but Master Pan Ba ​​stopped at the brink of death, allowing Master Kongsheng to escape a fatal disaster." Liu Xunyi gradually recalled that Granny Taohua once lamented that Master Kongsheng had a bad fate, and the doubts lingering in his mind were solved one by one. "It turns out... because we helped Master Pan Ba, Master Kongsheng sent his disciples to the martial arts conference to lend us a hand..."

"Wait a moment!"

Tang Afu suddenly seemed to remember something, and his face turned extremely pale in an instant. He looked at Xie Xuan, Liu Xunyi and Xiao Zhirou, who were all very happy and affectionate, with horror, and said intermittently: "If... If I am not wrong, Granny Taohua and Master Kongsheng should have met sixty years ago. Master Kongsheng was already quite old at that time, and the martial arts conference was only a year or two away. If Wu Shuang went to help under the order of Master Kongsheng... That means... Master Kongsheng was still alive at least before the martial arts conference was held? People who practice martial arts often cultivate themselves and maintain their health. The law of sex is not uncommon in the age of seventy, and it is not surprising for the elderly to die in their eighties. But everyone knows that people over eighty are like a raft in stormy waters or a kite with a broken string. They are bound to encounter difficulties every year, disasters every season, illnesses every month, and declines every day... It is rare to find someone who is not broken after ninety years, and it is even rarer to be able to reach the age of 100. According to the various legends left by Master Kongsheng in the martial arts world, his age is far beyond the age of 100. If this is true, how long has Master Kongsheng lived in the world?"

……

(End of this chapter)