Jianghu Qimen Lu

Chapter 59 Righteousness and Awe

"Actually, all the Manchus deserved to die! Whenever I think of that tragedy, my heart surges, my blood boils, and my killing intent rises! Yes, more than 800,000 Han people were slaughtered within ten days on the orders of that beast Dodo. Just thinking about it is terrifying and shocking! The Manchus were too barbaric! They were not human at all! They treated the Han people like dirt, not as human beings. They wanted to wipe out our Han race! What kind of chivalry or friendship should we have with these devils?! We shouldn't be friends with beasts! No!" The person with the loud voice was obviously too excited, and there was even a sob in his voice!

"Master, I know that as a descendant of General Liu Zhaoji, the Commander-in-Chief, your hatred for the Qing Dynasty is boundless. However, you cannot let this hatred blind you. You must understand that things have two sides; you cannot think about problems one-sidedly! People are divided into good and bad, but you cannot generalize! There are good people and bad people among the Han Chinese. Take the Qing army's ten-day massacre of Yangzhou, for example. There were Han Chinese among the Qing army, such as the famous Ming Dynasty general Li Chengdong, who committed massacres..." "That demon, who instigated the three massacres of Jiading in the same year as the Yangzhou Massacre, is a blatant traitor, a despicable villain! During the Manchu conquest, many sycophantic figures like Li Chengdong emerged among the Han people! Otherwise, how could a mere few hundred thousand barbarian tribes have ruled over hundreds of millions of Han people for so many years?" These arrogant words jolted the Medicine King awake from his reverie. He slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Yes! How could I not have understood this?"

"So, you see, there are plenty of Han Chinese who lack national integrity and backbone! Similarly, there are quite a few Manchus who are clear about right and wrong and who suppress good and eliminate evil! Take this Lord Bai Shandian, for example. He once personally killed the fourth of the infamous Four Fiends of the Northeast—DanDou Kunlun! As an official in the capital, for the sake of justice and dignity, he unhesitatingly killed that imperial guard, which is also commendable!" Seeing that his master, the Medicine King, was gradually losing his temper... Then she continued to persuade him: "Actually, the person they brought to see you today is also a remarkable heroine of her generation, named Red Moon. Let me tell you her story in detail: To avenge her master's death, at the age of sixteen, she abandoned her privileged status as the daughter of a general in Hangzhou and her reputation as the leader of the Rongmen, the world's number one thief, willingly becoming a prostitute in a brothel. Finally, she personally killed the powerful Japanese pirate leader, Black Sun, and stole the martial arts treasure, the 'Complete Book of Martial Arts,' without harboring any selfish motives or reservations." The land was handed over to the government. However, she was still detained in Hangzhou prison by the Qing government on suspicion of treason. The corrupt and incompetent government once again stole the *Complete Book of Jianghu*. To recover this extraordinary book, the government asked Red Moon to come out of seclusion for the second time. Relying on her reputation as the world's number one thief and her unparalleled martial arts skills, she once again cleverly stole the Jianghu treasure from the Red Flower Society! Unexpectedly, this time she encountered the treacherous Golden Gate leader, Huang Miwu, and was poisoned by the Seven-Day Killing Poisonous Bee stinger, certain to die in seven days! "Father, as you know, I almost lost my life at the hands of Huang Miwu. If Master hadn't happened to witness it, wouldn't I be dead by now? To uphold justice and eliminate evil, Master, saving Red Moon is beneficial now and will benefit future generations! Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. May you be blessed with longevity, Master!" Zhang Kuang kept calling him "Master," and sure enough, he made the old Medicine King beam with joy. He immediately said he would no longer pursue Bai Shandian and the others, and activated the mechanism to shut off the switch.

When Bai Shandian and the others awoke, the tomb door was already open, and the soldiers outside carried them out one by one. A headcount revealed that, apart from Bai Shandian and Hong Chen, most of them were dead! The captain approached and reported, "The Medicine King has just given us the antidote and instructed us to keep our mouths shut and not mention it to anyone outside, otherwise the antidote will turn into poison!" He then took a small white porcelain bottle from his robes and handed it to Bai Shandian, saying, "The Medicine King has specially arranged that each person poisoned by bee stings only needs one pill. Take it with boiled water, and you'll be cured in a day." Bai Shandian was overjoyed, quickly took the bottle, examined it, and put it in his robes. Hong Chen was also happy, but somewhat fearful, said, "Why did the Medicine King suddenly change his mind? Otherwise, wouldn't we have already met our maker?!" Thinking of this, and remembering their near-death experience, everyone looked at each other in horror. Bai Shandian said, "Recalling the paintings on the stone wall, when the Qing Dynasty was expanding its territory, its actions were indeed arousing the wrath of both heaven and man, and no wonder the Medicine King treated us like this! Now he has suddenly abandoned his murderous intent, put aside his prejudices, and let us go. This can only be described as a manifestation of the spirit of a great hero!" Everyone nodded in agreement.

Back at the General's Mansion, after the General's wife gave her daughter the medicine, Hong Yueliang slowly woke up. She vomited a few mouthfuls of black blood, but her complexion gradually improved. The General's wife quickly ordered a maid to bring over a bowl of lotus seed and white fungus soup, and personally fed her daughter with a spoon. Hong Yueliang, after all, possessed superb internal energy; after eating the tonic, she was even able to get out of bed and walk around. Seeing her recover so quickly, Bai Shandian was even happier than Hongchen. He excitedly pulled her close, examining her carefully from head to toe, and laughed, "It's healed! Finally healed! Thank goodness! Heaven has been kind to me, giving me back a complete Hong Yueliang!" This unintentional remark made Hong Yueliang blush deeply. Hongchen also felt uneasy listening to this, thinking to herself, "I was wondering if this Lord Bai, who seems so attentive to my Yue'er, might have taken a liking to her? Impossible, he's already married!" So she said coolly, "Lord Bai, in front of the servants, you'd better let go of her hand!"

"Oh—" Bai Shandian seemed to wake from a dream, suddenly realizing what was happening. He quickly released his grip on Hong Yueliang's hand, scratched the back of his head sheepishly, and said with an embarrassed smile, "Actually, I... I'm happy to see Yueliang recover so quickly... uh, happy!" The general's wife, however, was very pleased and added fuel to the fire for her daughter, saying, "Child, you should know that Lord Bai is extremely concerned about you. Ever since you were stung by the poisonous bees yesterday, Lord Bai has stayed by your side day and night. He even suggested going to Wansongling in Yangzhou to find medicine." When Wang treated your illness, even your father knew that going to Wansongling was a perilous journey, fraught with danger, and advised him to think twice. But Lord Bai resolutely insisted on going, saying he would give up anything to save your life. So he led five hundred elite soldiers and your father on the journey without hesitation! Who would have thought that this trip would nearly result in the annihilation of the entire army! Although they eventually managed to retrieve the antidote, they also sacrificed the precious lives of more than half of their soldiers! My child, Lord Bai was a good man; we must not forget him!

Hong Yueliang, a woman of exceptional intelligence, was deeply moved when Bai Shandian addressed her as "Yueliang" in public, her face flushing crimson. Seeing his usual eloquence and quick wit, and his sudden stammering, she was even more flustered. She quickly bowed and said, "This humble woman thanks Lord Bai. You've worked so hard!" Bai Shandian, seeing her adoring gaze and shy expression, immediately realized his mistake and said, "No need for such formalities. This is what I should do!" He thought to himself, "The Hong family has probably misunderstood me! Actually, I'm facing a crisis at home. My parents-in-law have just died, my wife Xiangquan has been imprisoned, and my two children are still being cared for by the governor. The Emperor's mission—to retrieve the 'Complete Book of Jianghu'—has yielded no results whatsoever! At this moment, I am extremely anxious and uneasy, yet..." Du felt a sense of panic because Huang Miwu was far too powerful an opponent! If it weren't for Hong Yueliang's help the previous two times, he might have died long ago! What would be the point of fame and fortune then? What would be the point of family, marriage, and relationships?! Alas, he now felt his own power was too insignificant; only Hong Yueliang was his only source of strength, and of course, he didn't want anything to happen to her! As for having any romantic feelings for her, that was impossible! Because a single punch from Xiang Quan was enough to make him forget himself! If Hong Yueliang were added to the mix, and the two women started fighting, how would he survive?

How could Bai Shandian bring up this matter in front of Hong Yueliang and the General's wife? First, he was afraid that Hong Yueliang, being a girl, would lose face. Second, he was afraid of offending the General's wife, that shrew, which would make it difficult for her to enter and leave the General's mansion in Hangzhou in the future.