Battle of Xiangyang (1)

  Cultivation, studying those symbols, running to the ancient tomb every now and then, secretly finding Little Dragon Girl to play with. On Mount Zhongnan, Lin Heng's days passed quickly and happily, and he also gained a great sense of satisfaction from this peaceful and busy life, especially when he was with Little Dragon Girl, it made him feel even more joyful.

  It's really strange, isn't it? At first, Lin Heng also thought he was very strange, and he even suspected that he had an interest in Loli. But soon he reacted. It wasn't that he was interested in Loli, but rather that he was interested in Little Dragon Girl. I believe that modern men, not many would say they are not interested in Little Dragon Girl. Lin Heng used to be a modern man too, and Little Dragon Girl was his heart's goddess. Now, seeing the goddess, he naturally felt happy.

  At first, the goddess was still young, and Lin Heng felt a sense of disappointment. But slowly, this disappointment turned into interest, because watching the goddess grow up was quite interesting.

  The most important thing is still the innocence and loveliness of Little Dragon Girl. At this time, Little Dragon Girl was not as cold as she would be later, but had a more homey little girl feeling, like that of a younger sister.

  Lin Heng, who had never had many friends, suddenly gained a little sister and naturally doted on her. Through his affection for Little Dragon Girl, he also felt happy and joyful.

  It was because of this that he had a smile on his face all the time, which made those fellow disciples of Quanzhen Sect feel very strange. Unfortunately, his good mood did not last long, as news came from Jianghu that the Mongolian army was attacking Xiangyang again.

  The Mongols are a nation that has been constantly at war and plundering everywhere. If they stop, they will surely rot like the former Jin Dynasty. Therefore, they will not stop their actions, and the Southern Song Dynasty also does not allow them to stop. So, after some preparation, they launched another southern invasion campaign.

  This news made the quiet Quanzhen Sect busy. During this time, Ma Yu personally rang the big bell in front of Chongyang Palace, gathering all disciples to talk about the Mongolian invasion of the south. The hot-headed Qiu Chuji immediately expressed his intention to go to Xiangyang, and Ma Yu and others also had this idea, but they still discussed it carefully and finally decided that Ma Yu would lead, with Qiu Chuji and Hao Datong following, and under them, ten Zhi-character generation disciples would also follow, together going to Xiangyang to help Guo Jing defend the city of Xiangyang, while others remained in Quanzhen Sect.

  As for this proposal, everyone had no doubts. So on the same day, Ma Yu led the crowd to Xiangyang City, where Lin Heng was among them.

  Thirteen men rode horses and whipped them to hurry, and they arrived in Xiangyang after three days and nights. At this time, the city of Xiangyang was tense, with countless soldiers holding weapons patrolling the streets, and on the city walls, there were also countless armored soldiers holding weapons, monitoring all directions.

  Lin Heng and others arrived at Xiangyang City, a large number of martial artists were rushing here, especially the beggars, almost all gathered here. Along the way, everyone was busy greeting each other, but they all had solemn faces, apparently worried about the Mongols attacking the city.

  Arrived at the Guo residence, Guo Jing and Huang Rong personally stood outside the gate to pay their respects to the guests. When they saw Ma Yu, Qiu Chuji, and Hao Datong arrive in person, they were overjoyed.

  "Ma Daochang, Qiu Daochang, Hao Daochang, I really didn't expect the three of you to come in person. Guo Jing is truly flustered." Guo Jing first paid his respects to the three with a bow, then instructed Huang Rong: "Rong'er, quickly invite the several Daoist priests inside!"

  "Rest assured, Brother Jing. I will take good care of the several Taoist priests!" Huang Rong nodded and then smiled at everyone, welcoming the Quanzhen Sect people into the house.

  It turns out that Guo's mansion is not big, and before they lived alone without showing it off, but now with so many martial artists coming, the place suddenly feels crowded.

  Standing in the crowd, Lin Heng was in a bad mood. He didn't want to leave Zhongnan Mountain in the first place, and now he had to listen to all the noise from the people, so naturally he wasn't in a good mood. He looked around and saw that his master and two uncles were busy greeting and talking to the crowd, so he took a wine jug and wandered out by himself.

  Sitting on the quiet rooftop, Lin Heng faced the sun, slowly sipping his wine, his eyes staring blankly downwards, lost in thought.

  Actually, he didn't think of anything, just being absent-minded, or maybe he was a bit perplexed.

  When he was laughing, he had been confused before because he didn't know what to do. Later, he set a goal for himself and worked hard to achieve it. However, the world changed suddenly, and before he could realize his goal, he suddenly crossed over here. Everything in the past was far away from him, and he started a new life. At first, he was busy recovering his martial arts skills and cultivating, later he came back to calculate and learn. He didn't have time to think carefully, but now that his mood had turned bad, he suddenly thought of these things, which made him feel empty in his heart.

  "Alas!" He let out a soft sigh and Lin Heng listlessly shook his head. Just as he was feeling annoyed, a voice suddenly came from beside him, saying: "Young man, I see you're still young, what are you doing here sighing and complaining?"

  Lin Heng was taken aback and immediately turned his head to look back. Behind him, at some point, a long-faced old man with a wispy beard under his chin, wearing a patched shirt, holding a large lacquered calabash appeared. This old man spoke with a full voice, had a ruddy complexion, and obviously was not weak in martial arts, especially since he could appear silently behind him, which was absolutely not something anyone could do.

  He carefully sized up the old man and found that his right hand, which was holding a gourd, was missing an index finger. He immediately knew who this person was. He bowed with his fists together and said: "Junior Lin Heng has met Seventh Uncle!"

  "Lin Heng? Are you that kid who knows Sanskrit?" Hong Qigong was taken aback for a moment, then immediately thought of the kid who deciphered the Nine Yin Manual. Speaking of which, this kid could be considered his lifesaver, and he didn't expect to run into him here. "I remember Rong'er saying you're clever and quick-witted, so why do you look so down in the dumps now? Come on, tell old beggar what's troubling you."

  "Alas!" Lin Heng sighed, taking a sip of wine. "Seventh Uncle, I was originally an orphan, but fortunately, my master took me in and taught me medicine. However, although my medical skills are excellent, I don't understand martial arts. Later, I obtained some secret manuals by chance and practiced some kung fu. At that time, I wanted to be a heroic swordsman like those in the jianghu. But later, I discovered that my kung fu wasn't great, and there were many places where I had practiced incorrectly. So, I wanted to find a master to guide me. Later, by chance, I arrived at Niujiavillage and became a disciple of my benevolent master. Now, my kung fu has made some progress, and I have some reputation in the jianghu. But, I suddenly feel that I seem to have nothing to do, everything is just following the crowd, without any thoughts of my own. Seventh Uncle, isn't this laughable?"

  As he spoke, Lin Heng looked at Hong Qigong, hoping that he could point out a clear path for himself. Indeed, after listening to him, Hong Qigong immediately patted Lin Heng's shoulder and said: "Young man, your problem is actually very simple. You just need to figure out what you want and you'll be fine. Now, tell me, what is your life goal? Like us Five Greats, in the past it was all about being the best in the world. Later on, I opened my eyes and put my life goals on upholding justice and promoting the Beggar Clan. Nowadays, I'm old, so I've let go of my ambitions and am carefree in the Jianghu. My old rival Ouyang Feng has gone mad. What about you? Do you have your own goal?"

  "A goal?" Lin Heng smiled wryly. In the past, he had goals, but those goals were only utilitarian goals, not ones that came naturally from his heart. Therefore, although he could strive in that direction, he would never be able to do it with the same sincerity as Hong Qigong.

  "I don't know what my goal is, but I can set one for myself and move forward. I believe that in the future, I will definitely find my heart's goal." Lin Heng clenched his fist, a determined look on his face. Hong Qi Gong nodded in satisfaction, but suddenly, he saw Lin Heng reveal a **-like smile, and heard him say: "Qi Gong, my first goal is to become the number one under heaven. You are one of the Five Absolutes, your kung fu is not weak, why don't you point me in the right direction?"

  In Hong Qigong's astonished gaze, Lin Heng finished speaking and directly slapped out with one palm. Hong Qigong was not given a free pass, his reaction was slow by half a beat, but the force of the slap he made was full. The two palms faced each other, touched and parted immediately, and the explosive force was dissipated by the two men in succession.

  Lin Heng smiled slightly and immediately stepped on the roof, clenched his fists, and struck at Hong Qigong. Hong Qigong was not polite either, and he also liked to point out younger generations, so he started fighting with Lin Heng.

  The two first exchanged a few blows on the rooftop, then each flew into the air and fell into the deserted backyard. Here, they were not afraid of breaking through the roof and let loose with their hands and feet.

  "Seventh Master, I'm here!" A loud shout, Lin Heng's body crackled with energy as he threw a punch at Hong Qigong, his massive fist force completely contained within his fist, without making a sound. Hong Qigong looked at the punch and shouted, "Good!" As he spoke, he also struck out with a palm, using his most prized Dragon-Subduing Eighteen Palms technique. The two clashed in a flurry of fists and palms, unleashing enormous power.

  From his palm, Lin Heng only felt Hong Qigong's power surging over in waves, each wave stronger than the last.

  "Dragon Subduing Eighteen Palms is indeed extraordinary!" Lin Heng couldn't help but praise again after experiencing the Dragon Subduing Eighteen Palms once more. However, his own martial arts skills didn't fall behind in the slightest. His right fist exerted force, while his left fist suddenly shot out, forming an opening with his right fist as they both pressed towards Hong Qigong. Hong Qigong drew back his palm and then quickly struck out with another palm, precisely slapping onto the empty space between Lin Heng's two fists. Lin Heng smiled slightly, retracting the empty space between his fists, and his left fist directly shot upwards, smashing towards his own arm. Seeing this, Hong Qigong's slapped-out palm suddenly dropped downwards, instantly pressing onto Lin Heng's left arm before quickly withdrawing to dodge Lin Heng's punch.

  "What a quick reaction speed!" Lin Heng exclaimed in surprise, looking at Hong Qigong with a more serious gaze.

  He had thought he had reached the realm of the Five Absolutes, but now it seemed there was still a long way to go. He had felt this when he fought with the leader of the Ancient Tomb Sect, but at the time he thought he hadn't used his full strength, so he didn't think about it too much. Now, after fighting with Hong Qigong, he clearly felt the difference between them.

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