Chapter 21: The Storm
"Quanzhou?"

Liu Xunyi frowned slightly and said thoughtfully: "The Jiangnan Lu Mansion is located in Quanzhou. Could it be that Luo Tianjin is going to visit Lu Tingxiang?"

Zhao Yuan nodded and said, "During the month you were in seclusion, a major event happened in the martial arts world. Seven days later, not only will Luo Tianjin appear in Quanzhou, I believe that all the martial arts sects will send people to the Lu Mansion in Jiangnan."

"Why is that?" Liu Xunyi was confused and asked, "Did something happen to the Lu Mansion? So they issued a call for help and summoned all the martial arts sects to help?"

"Haha..." Zhao Yuan laughed when he heard this. "The Jiangnan Lu family is one of the four great martial arts families. It has been passed down for four generations and has stood firm in the martial arts world for nearly a hundred years. Who in the martial arts world dares to act wildly in front of Lu Tingxiang? What kind of trouble can the Lu family cause?"

"That……"

"Xun Yi, have you heard of Mo Cen? He is known as the 'Subduing Tiger Blade' in the martial arts world." Zhao Yuan said, "The reason why all the heroes in the martial arts world gathered at the Lu Mansion in Jiangnan is precisely because of this man."

Liu Xunyi was slightly stunned, then he said thoughtfully, "Mo Cen... 'Subduing Tiger Blade' Mo Cen... I have heard of this man's name before. He was a well-known figure back then. It is said that twenty-five years ago, for the sake of national justice, he led twelve martial arts masters to sneak into the Bianjing Palace to assassinate Wanyan Shouxu, the ruler of the Jin Dynasty, but ultimately returned empty-handed. Since then, Mo Cen has retired and lived a peaceful life, so much so that there has been no news of him in the martial arts world for nearly twenty years. Now, Mo Cen should be almost sixty years old."

"Yes, in seven days it will be Mo Cen's sixtieth birthday." Zhao Yuan nodded and said, "Although it is said that he has been secluded for the past twenty-five years and has stopped making friends and traveling, in fact, he has never really left the martial arts world for a day. It's just that not much news about him has been spread, which gives people the false impression that he has retired. Since you know that Mo Cen once assassinated Wanyan Shouxu, you must have heard of another incident that caused a huge stir in the martial arts world."

"Your Majesty, are you talking about... the 'Wind and Rain Painting' that was stolen from the Jin Imperial Palace?" Liu Xunyi frowned and spoke slowly, "Back then, Mo Cen and his companions failed to successfully assassinate Wanyan Shouxu, and none of the twelve people who went with him escaped either. They all died tragically in Bianjing City. Only he managed to fight his way out of the pursuit of the Jin experts, and thus saved his life. Soon after, the news that the 'Wind and Rain Painting', a treasure of the Jin Imperial Family, was stolen spread in the martial arts world, and for a time, everyone in the world believed that Mo Cen had stolen the painting."

Zhao Yuan asked again: "Then do you know what is so special about this 'Wind and Rain Picture'?"

Liu Xunyi couldn't help but smile bitterly upon hearing this, and said jokingly, "I can't say whether it's true or not, but it's said that this map contains a huge secret related to the destiny of the Jin Dynasty. There are many different rumors in the martial arts world, and the two most common ones are that the 'Map of the Wind and Rain' is a treasure map, which implies a huge treasure that the Jin Dynasty royal family has treasured for many years. And the other rumor is that this map is actually a meridian running map of a set of internal power mental method, called 'Golden Feather Magic'. The Golden Feather Magic is said to be a peerless internal power mental method that is better than the Shaolin 'Yi Jin Jing'. As long as you practice this skill to the state of perfection, you can rule the martial arts world and have no rivals in the world." At this point, Liu Xunyi couldn't help but laugh at himself, "But rumors are always rumors, as for whether it is true or not..."

Zhao Yuanying said, "Yes, it was because of this 'Wind and Rain Picture' that Mo Cen was hunted down by all the martial arts sects. People all regarded this picture as a treasure that could help them rise to the top in one step, but they forgot whether the rumors were true or not. People who seek profit call it 'Wind and Rain', which means that gold and silver are like wind, money and grain are like rain, and with it, one can call the wind and rain. Martial arts fanatics call it 'Golden Phoenix Turning into Feathers', which means that it is the peerless martial arts 'Golden Feather Magic'. As the saying goes, all the people in the world are for profit, and no one cares about what is true or false. Mo Cen also lived a miserable life of exile because of this. He almost died in the hunt several times. Fortunately, he had a sworn brother. It was because of this brother who stood up for him when he was in danger that Mo Cen escaped death and was spared from the disaster of bloodshed."

"The Tiger Subduing Blade and the Dragon Subduing Sword! Back then, Mo Cen's sworn brother was from one of the four great martial arts families, the previous head of the Jiangnan Lu Mansion, Lu Chongyang." Liu Xunyi had also heard of this history, so he responded, "Lu Chongyang used his status in the martial arts world to intimidate the heroes, making them dare not to press Mo Cen any more, so Mo Cen had a chance to catch his breath."

"That's right." Zhao Yuan said seriously, "Although Mo Cen denied stealing the 'Wind and Rain Picture' in front of outsiders, he finally chose to admit it in front of Lu Chongyang. Lu Chongyang said in front of all the heroes in the world that no matter whether the 'Wind and Rain Picture' was real or fake, and no matter whether the picture was in Mo Cen's hands or not, no one in the world had the right to ask Mo Cen for it. Because the Jin Dynasty was destroyed, the 'Wind and Rain Picture' lost its original owner. Mo Cen once sneaked into the Bianjing Palace for the Song Dynasty and survived many dangers. He was a meritorious official of the Song Dynasty and a hero of the Han people. Therefore, even if the picture was in Mo Cen's hands, it should belong to him. Others have no right to ask about it, let alone ask for it."

"What Lu Chongyang said makes sense!" Liu Xunyi was indignant and nodded repeatedly, "Since the map was obtained by Mo Cen after escaping death, then others are indeed not qualified to ask him for it."

Zhao Yuan raised his eyebrows and said with a smile, "Others are not qualified, but what about the twelve heroes who followed Mo Cen to Bian Jing? According to Lu Chongyang's theory, the other twelve people who sneaked into Bian Jing are also heroes of the Song Dynasty, because they also fought for the Song Dynasty and even sacrificed their lives. Their contributions are no less than Mo Cen's. If Mo Cen could successfully steal this map, those twelve heroes must have made great contributions, otherwise Mo Cen would never have had this opportunity."

Hearing what Zhao Yuan said, Liu Xunyi couldn't help but be stunned, but after thinking about it, it seemed to make some sense, and his expression became a little hesitant, and he said to himself: "That's not wrong..." "Except for Mo Cen, the twelve heroes came from various sects in the world. Although they have died in Bian Jing, the sects they belonged to did not intend to give up. Therefore, even with Lu Chongyang's guarantor, they still refused to give in to Mo Cen, and vowed to force him to hand over the "Jingfenghuayutu" before they would give up." Zhao Yuan explained.

Liu Xunyi was not yet born when this happened, so he was not aware of many of the details. When he heard Zhao Yuan bring up the old story, he became nervous. Liu Xunyi asked worriedly, "What happened next? Could Lu Chongyang become an enemy of all the major sects for Mo Cen?"

Zhao Yuan shook his head slowly and said, "At that time, Lu Chongyang thought of an expedient plan. He admitted that the picture was indeed obtained by Mo Cen and the twelve righteous men with their blood, and it embodied the joint efforts of Mo Cen and the twelve righteous men. Therefore, this 'Jingfenghuayutu' should belong to them together. However, although there are many sects, there is only one 'Jingfenghuayutu', so no matter what, this picture can only be in the hands of one person in the end, and it is impossible to be divided into more than a dozen pieces. Since the other twelve people are dead, Mo Cen is the only one who is most qualified to collect this picture at the moment, which is reasonable and reasonable." When Zhao Yuan recalled this past event, a hint of admiration emerged in his eyes. Obviously, Zhao Yuan also quite praised Lu Chongyang for speaking out for justice back then. He continued, "Lu Chongyang also said that as long as Mo Cen is alive, no one will think of taking this picture, otherwise they will be enemies of his Jiangnan Lu Mansion. Because of this, Mo Cen can live safely to this day."

"He uses both kindness and severity, and emphasizes both reason and emotion. Lu Chongyang is willing to offend the whole world for Mo Cen. He is truly a hero!" Liu Xunyi said with emotion.

"Five years ago, Lu Chongyang died of an illness, and his son Lu Tingxiang inherited the position of the head of the Lu Mansion. He still upholds his father's love for Mo Cen." Zhao Yuan added, "As the saying goes, a tiger father will have a dog son. Lu Tingxiang was able to gain a firm foothold in the martial arts world at a young age, and he single-handedly managed the huge Jiangnan Lu Mansion and made it prosperous. Everyone in the Lu Mansion obeys him, which shows that he is definitely not an ordinary person."

Liu Xunyi nodded and said, "Lu Tingxiang and Luo Tianjin are both among the twelve heroes of the Central Plains martial arts world, and Lu Tingxiang is also known as the 'first gentleman in the martial arts world'. It seems that this is not groundless." Having said this, Liu Xunyi couldn't help but change the subject and asked, "Then now all the sects and schools have gathered in the Jiangnan Lu Mansion... Could it be that they are all here to congratulate Mo Cen on his 60th birthday?"

"Yes and no." Zhao Yuan smiled mysteriously, "Because seven days from now is not only Mo Cen's 60th birthday, but also the day when Mo Cen decides to retire from the underworld!"

"What?" Zhao Yuan's words shocked Liu Xunyi. He asked in astonishment, "Mo Cen has been in the martial arts world for most of his life, but now he wants to retire? Is it really true that 'the older you are in the martial arts world, the less courageous you become'?"

Zhao Yuan said: "Others may not know, but Mo Cen did choose to retire because he was timid, and he also sent out invitations to heroes through the Jiangnan Lu Mansion, with great fanfare, as if he was afraid that others would not know that he was going to retire."

Liu Xunyi nodded thoughtfully and said, "According to the rules of the martial arts world, once Mo Cen retires, all the past grudges will be wiped out, and the various grudges owed in the martial arts world will no longer have anything to do with him. The affairs of the martial arts world are the martial arts world. Anyone who understands the rules will understand this truth. Mo Cen did this, it seems that he also wants to live a peaceful and stable old age. But what I can't understand is that he has lived in obscurity for 25 consecutive years. Why is he suddenly making such a big fuss about retiring now?"

Zhao Yuan smiled and said, "Because he doesn't want to leave hidden dangers for his only son. Rumor has it that a woman gave birth to a son for Mo Cen not long ago. This is not only Mo Cen's late-born son, but also the only one who can continue the incense of his Mo family. If it were you, what would you do?"

"So that's how it is!" Liu Xunyi suddenly realized and said with a smile, "If it weren't for this old man, Mo Cen would never have retired from the martial arts world in this life..." Before Liu Xunyi finished speaking, a sudden light flashed in his mind, and he subconsciously exclaimed, "I understand! After seven days, Mo Cen will retire from the martial arts world, which means that from that day on, Mo Cen will no longer be a martial arts man. According to the rules of the martial arts world, the 'Wind and Rain Picture' that caused a stir should not remain in his hands. As the saying goes, 'An innocent man is guilty of possessing a treasure'. If Mo Cen does not hand over this picture, even if he retires from the martial arts world ten thousand times, he will never be able to escape the pursuit of various sects. Therefore, anyone in the martial arts world who covets this picture will go to the Lu Mansion in Jiangnan after seven days, with the purpose of waiting for an opportunity to obtain this picture from Mo Cen!"

"That's right!" Zhao Yuan nodded in admiration, "The Wind and Rain Map has been silent for twenty-five years. Now that it has reappeared in the martial arts world, it is bound to cause a stir. This stir is a great opportunity given to you by God. Because among the heroes who covet this map, the most outstanding one is..."

"Northern Sage King, Luo Tianjin!"

……

(End of this chapter)