The Smiling, Proud Wanderer 57 Chapter Thirty-Two: School Merger Part 2

Priest Tianmen got even more indignant when he heard this. He shouted, "What's this got to do with me being the headmaster? No matter what anyone said, Taishan School will not be annexed while I'm in charge."

Yujizi said, "What you said is really beautiful, but inside your heart, you actually don't want to relinquish your position of headmaster."

Priest Tianmen indignantly said, "You really think that I'm that selfish?" He extended his hand and took out a black dagger out of his bosom. He then shouted, "From now on, I'm no longer the headmaster. If you want to be the headmaster, then come and do it!"

Everyone saw that this black dagger looked ordinary but all the seniors of the five mountains sword schools knew that it was a relic from the time when Priest Dongling started the Taishan School. This dagger had become the symbol of Taishan School's headmaster and had been pa.s.sed down from headmaster to headmaster for the last three hundred years.

Yujizi retreated a step and coldly laughed. "You're willing to part with it?"

Priest Tianmen angrily replied, "Why wouldn't I be willing to part with it?"

"Alright, then give it to me!" As he said this, he extended his right hand and grabbed the dagger in Priest Tianmen's hand. Priest Tianmen didn't expect that Yujizi would actually grab the dagger from his hand. So as he was startled, the dagger was already s.n.a.t.c.hed by Yujizi. Without thinking too much, he pulled out the long sword hanging on his waist.

Yujizi flew back and two green blurs were seen as two old priests blocked Priest Tianmen's way with their swords. They shouted, "Tianmen, you're defying your senior. Have you forgotten our school's commandment?"

Priest Tianmen saw that these two people were his martial uncles, Yuqingzi and Yuyinzi. His whole body s.h.i.+vered as he called out, "Martial uncles, you saw it with your own eyes, Yuji… … What Martial Uncle Yuji did just a moment ago!"

Yuyinzi said, "We've seen it with our own eyes. You gave the school's headmaster position to Martial Brother Yuji. Abdicating your position to someone more worthy is a very good thing to do."

Yuqingzi said, "Since Martial Brother Yuji is your martial uncle, who is now also your headmaster, you've committed a very big sin by pulling out your sword to kill him."

Priest Tianmen saw that his two martial uncles were being unreasonably favourable towards Yujizi and were also unexpectedly finding faults with what he did. In an uncontrollable rage, he shouted, "I only said that in anger. How could the headmaster position be pa.s.sed down so… so quickly, d.a.m.n… d.a.m.n it, I would never have pa.s.sed it down to Yuji." In his fit of anger, he unexpectedly said some foul language.

Yuyinzi shouted, "Are you fit to be the headmaster after saying such kind of language?"

From amongst the Taishan School's group, a middle-aged priest stood up and said loudly, "Our school's headmaster has always been my master. What kind of tricks are martial uncles playing here?" This middle-aged priest had a Taoist name of Jianchu, and he was Priest Tianmen's second disciple.

This was followed by another person who stood up and shouted, "Martial Brother Tianmen already gave the headmaster position to my master. The thousands of people on top of Mount Songshan here saw and heard what happened. How could it be false? Martial Brother Tianmen said just a moment ago: 'From now on, I'm no longer the headmaster. If you want to be the headmaster, then come and do it!' You didn't hear it?" The one who said this was Yujizi's disciple.

More than a hundred people from the Taishan School's group started chanting, "Old headmaster abdicated, new headmaster takes over! Old headmaster abdicated, new headmaster takes over!"

Priest Tianmen was the most senior disciple and he also had the most reputation in the school, but five or six of his martial uncles secretly plotted against him and suddenly went against him together. So from the two hundred Taishan School's people who had come up to Mount Songshan today, more than one hundred and sixty of them were his enemy. Yujizi lifted the iron dagger high above his head and said, "This is Grand-Master Dongling's divine weapon. Grand-Master's last words were: 'Seeing this dagger is like seeing Dongling'. Should we listen to Grand-Master's last word?"

More than one hundred priests loudly shouted, "Headmaster is right!" There was also people calling out, "Disciple Tianmen is rebelling, and is not adhering to our school's rules. He deserves to be punished."

When Linghu Chong saw what was happening, he was guessing that all these people were secretly put here by Zuo Lengchan. Priest Tianmen had an irritable nature and could easily be stirred up. With just a few words, he could become extremely angry. At this moment, hearing the loud voice of his enemy, Tianmen felt he couldn't restrain himself anymore. But even though he was extremely enraged at the moment, there was nothing that he could do. Linghu Chong gazed at where Huashan School was crowded together and saw his master standing with his hands behind his back. His master's face had no expression whatsoever. Linghu Chong thought, "Yujizi and his people set this up, and Master greatly objected to this. But he doesn't want to meddle in this and seems to be just calmly observing what's going on for now. I'll just follow his lead then."

Yujizi waved his left hand a few times and suddenly around one hundred and sixty priests from Taishan School dispersed and pulled their long swords out. They encircled the remaining fifty plus priests. All the priests encircled were Tianmen's disciples. Priest Tianmen indignantly bellowed, "You really want to fight? Let's fight to the death."

Yujizi said clearly, "Tianmen listen! Taishan School's headmaster has an order: Drop your sword and surrender. Do you submit to Grand-Master Dongling's dagger?"

Tianmen angrily replied, "Pei! Who said you're our school's headmaster?"

"Tianmen's disciples, this matter has nothing to do with you, throw down your weapons and surrender yourself! We won't look into this matter further, otherwise you'll be punished heavily," Yujizi called out.

Priest Jianchu shouted, "If you can promise to Grand-Master's dagger that you would never let the hard work of Grand-Master in establis.h.i.+ng the Taishan School be wiped out, then all of us will support you in becoming headmaster. But if once you've become headmaster, you immediately sell our school to Songshan School, then you'll become the greatest sinner in our school. And when you die, you won't have face to meet Grand-Master."

Yuyinzi said, "You little kid, do you think you're good enough to talk to your seniors from the 'Yu' generation? When the five schools merge, wouldn't Songshan School's name also be wiped out? Five Mountains School, these two words of 'Five Mountains' include Taishan in it, what's not good about that?"

Priest Tianmen replied, "You were all secretly sowing discord and have all been bought by Zuo Lengchan. Hng, hng! If you want to kill then go ahead. But if you want me to promise to surrender to Songshan, I will never do it."

Yujizi said, "You're all refusing to obey's Headmaster's dagger! Careful! You'll die shortly and you will die unburied."

Priest Tianmen said, "Disciples loyal to Taishan School, today we'll die fighting and spill our blood on Songshan."

The disciples standing around him answered, "We'll fight to the death and will never surrender."

Even though their number was small, each of their faces showed their resolve. If Yujizi told his men to attack, it wasn't going to be quick in killing all of them. Also, the thousands of good heroes, Shaolin School's Great Master Fangzheng, Wudang School's Priest Chongxu, and the other senior masters around the base of the wors.h.i.+p place would never allow them to take advantage of this and allow the ma.s.sacre of their own martial brothers to happen. Yujizi, Yuqingzi, Yuyinzi, and their men were watching carefully, not knowing what to do.

Suddenly, someone from far to the left lazily said, "Old man has walked everywhere in this realm, I've also seen a lot of good heroes. But I rarely see a dog who disclaims what he says immediately after he said it."

Everyone looked at where the voice was coming from and they saw a person wearing hemp clothes leaning besides a big rock. His left hand was holding a big bamboo hat and he was using it to fan himself. This person looked slim, his two eyes were squinted, and his face was showing a disapproving expression. No one knew who this person was, and they also didn't know who he was scolding. They heard him continued, "You clearly already gave your headmaster position to someone else, could it be what you were saying was bulls.h.i.+t? Priest Tianmen, your name has this character 'Tian', I'm afraid we should change it into the word 's.h.i.+t'. Then it'll sound right." Yujizi and his men understood that he was helping them, so they all laughed.

Tianmen indignantly said, "It's my own Taishan School's matter! Outsiders don't need to worry about it."

That hemp clothed man lazily replied, "When old man sees a matter that's not pleasing to my eyes, then I'll definitely worry about it. Today is the five mountains sword schools' good day for merger, but instead you, ox-nosed priest, pulled out your sword and created trouble here, making people lose interest. This is really bulls.h.i.+t."

Suddenly, they saw a flash as that hemp-clothed man jumped forward and rapidly charged at the encirclement of Yujizi and his men. He slashed the bamboo hat he was holding in his left hand down on Priest Tianmen's head. Unexpectedly, Priest Tianmen didn't block this strike. Instead he pointed his sword towards that person's chest who then hastily dropped down to the ground and rushed underneath Priest Tianmen's legs. He slapped his right hand on the ground to turn his body around. Then with a 'hu' sound, he kicked out repeatedly at the back of Priest Tianmen's body. These few moves displayed by that person were extremely weird. Every one of the heroes gathered on the mountaintop was skilled, but they had never heard of any of these moves before, let alone seen it. Tianmen couldn't guard against this attack and his acupoints were hit. The disciples around Tianmen immediately stabbed their swords towards that person. That man just laughed loudly and grabbed Priest Tianmen's back to block the incoming swords which forced the disciples to withdraw their swords in a hurry. That man shouted, "Throw down your swords, or I'll twist off this ox-nosed's head." As he said this, his right hand clutched the top of Tianmen's head.

Tianmen's martial art was useless now as his movement was controlled by that person, and he couldn't move at all. His once red face had now turned pale. Looking at the situation, it's clear that the hemp-clothed man only had to apply some power into his right hand to twist Tianmen's head around and break his neck. Jianchu said, "You suddenly ambushed us. This is not what heroes do. What's your name?" That person used his left hand to smack Priest Tianmen's ear and then lazily said, "Whoever is rude to me then I'll hit his master."

When Priest Tianmen's disciples saw that their honoured master was being insulted, they were startled and angry at the same time. Each of them only needed to pierce their long swords towards the hemp-clothed man at the same time, then that man would instantaneously become a hedgehog. But Priest Tianmen was still under his control so none of them dared to move for fear that their actions might hurt their master. A young man scolded, "You dog…" That man again lifted his hand and slapped Tianmen's ear. He then said, "You're a disciple from the school. How can you still say such foul language?"

Suddenly, Priest Tianmen cried out loudly as he suddenly turned around and came face to face with that hemp-clothed person. Blood spouted out of Priest Tianmen's mouth. The hemp-clothed person was startled and wanted to take his hand off Priest Tianmen, but it was too late. All of a sudden, that person's whole head and face became drenched with blood from Priest Tianmen, while at the same time, both of Priest Tianmen's hands turned around and grabbed his neck. With a sharp sound, that person's neck was snapped. Priest Tianmen then threw that person's body away, which landed tens of feet away. Priest Tianmen now looked completely tall and strong, and at the same time looked strangely powerful with his face full of blood. Everyone who saw him was terrified. After some time, he violently shouted and dropped to the ground. At first, he was unexpectedly attacked by that person who used many weird moves, then he was repeatedly insulted. So he couldn't hold back his anger anymore and was willing to lose his life, so he exerted his inner energy and forcefully broke his meridian. By doing that, he managed to open up his sealed acupoints, and then he exerted himself and killed that person. But his own meridian was broken so he wouldn't be able to live any more as well. Tianmen's disciples cried out "Master!" and rushed over to support him. But when they saw that he had already died, they all started scolding loudly.

From amongst the crowd, someone suddenly said, "Headmaster Zuo, you ordered that 'Green Ocean Owl' to deal with Priest Tianmen. Isn't that too much?"

Everyone turned around to look at the person who said this. What they saw was a rustic old man who some people knew of as He Sanqi, who usually went around selling wonton in the markets around the cities. As for that person who was violently killed by Priest Tianmen, no one knew who he was or where he came from. They only heard that He Sanqi called him as 'Green Ocean Owl'. Yet, still not many people knew who 'Green Ocean Owl' was.

Zuo Lengchan said, "What a joke. This is the first time that I have met Brother Ji. How can you say that I ordered him to do this?"

He Sanqi said, "Perhaps Headmaster Zuo hasn't been acquainted with 'Green Ocean Owl' for long, but you're well acquainted with this person's master 'White Malignant Star'."

When the word 'White Malignant Star' came out of He Sanqi's mouth, the crowd uttered their surprise. Linghu Chong vaguely remembered that many years ago Master-Wife had mentioned this name: 'White Malignant Star'. At that time, Yue Lingshan was only around six to seven years old and she was crying incessantly. Madam Yue tried to frighten her by saying, "If you keep crying then 'White Malignant Star' will come and take you away." When Linghu Chong asked who this 'White Malignant Star' was, Madam Yue replied, "'White Malignant Star' is an evil person. He likes to eat small kids who love to cry. This person has no nose, and there's only two holes on his face, just like a piece of board." At that time, Yue Lingshan was scared by this and stopped crying. As Linghu Chong thought of the past, he gazed at Yue Lingshan and saw her staring at a distant mountain peak looking as if she was pondering something. Scowling at times, she seemed to be worried about something. It was obvious that she didn't recall of this 'White Malignant Star' and that she had long ago forgotten about it. Linghu Chong thought, "Little martial sister has just gotten married, and she loves Martial Brother Lin a lot. What unpleasant matter is she thinking of? Could it be that they're fighting at the moment?" He saw Lin Pingzhi standing besides her and his face looked quite weird. He seemed to be smiling and yet not smiling, and he seemed to be angry but not quite angry. Linghu Chong was again surprised, "What kind of expression is that? On whose face did I see this expression before?" But he couldn't remember where he had seen this kind of expression before.

He then heard Zuo Lengchan reply, "Brother Yuji, congratulations on becoming Taishan School's headmaster. Regarding this five sword schools merger, what's Brother's esteemed opinion on this?" Zuo Lengchan didn't answer He Sanqi's question but instead went around it. Then this meant that tacitly he was not disputing that he knew of 'White Malignant Star'. White Malignant Star's evil name had been known for around twenty to thirty years, but the number of people who had actually seen him or suffered under his hands was not many. It seemed that his evil reputation mainly came from his ugly appearance. However, from looking at his disciple Green Ocean Owl's behaviour, it was obvious that this master and disciple didn't belong to the orthodox school.

Yujizi grasped the dagger in his hand and was feeling proud of himself. He happily replied, "The merger of the five mountains sword schools benefits everyone of us in the five schools, and there's no harm in it at all. It's only that Priest Tianmen was very selfish and didn't think of the welfare of everyone, so he went against the idea. Chief Zuo, as I'm the headmaster of Taishan School now, I wholeheartedly approve of the merger of the five schools. Everyone in Taishan School is now under your command and will flourish under the Five Mountains School's family. If anyone tried to obstruct this, then my Taishan School will be the first one to go against them."

More than a hundred people from Taishan School boomed their answer, "Taishan School whole heartedly agrees to the merger. If anyone absurdly objects to this, Taishan School swears to go against them." These people answered together and loudly. Even though there weren't many of them, their voices were firm and reverberated throughout the mountaintop. Linghu Chong thought, "It's obvious they've practised this before hand. Otherwise, even if everyone of them agreed to the merger, their words won't be exactly the same from each other." Also hearing the respectful tone that Yujizi used when addressing Zuo Lengchan, he guessed that if Zuo Lengchan had not secretly given him a payoff before, then Zuo Lengchan must have used some kind of violent method to control him. When Priest Tianmen's disciples saw that their master had died violently and that things were out of their control, they were forced to sit there silently. Some of them grinded their teeth and cursed silently, while a few clenched their fists tightly as their faces filled with grief and indignation.

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Zuo Lengchan said loudly, "Hengshan and Taishan Schools have already approved of the merger, so it seems that all our schools will be merged very soon. There's only benefit for everyone in the merging of the schools. There's no harm in it. So my Songshan School will also follow your decision and celebrate this together."

Linghu Chong coldly thought in his heart, "You certainly can talk very beautifully. All these matters were setup by you, but you're actually making it sound as if you're just following their ideas."

He heard Zuo Lengchan continue, "Among the five schools, three schools have already agreed to the merger. What does Heng-Shan School think of this? Heng-Shan School's previous headmaster, Dingxian s.h.i.+ Tai, had repeatedly discussed about this matter with me. She completely endorsed this merger. Dingjing, Dingyi s.h.i.+ Tai also agreed with this." From among the black-uniformed disciples of the Heng-Shan School, one disciple cried out in a clear voice, "Headmaster Zuo, what you said was wrong. Before our headmaster and two martial uncles pa.s.sed away, they hated this idea of a merger and completely opposed it. As a result of opposing this merger, the three honourables met their misfortunes. How can you pa.s.s off your own opinion as that of the three honourables?" Everyone turned their heads to look who was speaking, and saw a round-faced girl. This young lady who was very good in talking was Zheng E. She was still very young so most of the people from the other schools didn't recognise her.

Zuo Lengchan replied, "The martial art of your master, Dingxian s.h.i.+ Tai, is high, and her experience is really out of the ordinary. She's in fact the greatest person among everyone in our five mountains sword schools, and I admired her very much. But it's a pity that they were killed in Shaolin Temple. If she was still alive today, then she would know what is right or wrong in today's gathering." He paused for a time before continuing, "That day when I was discussing the merger with Dingxian, Dingjing, and Dingyi s.h.i.+ Tai, I mentioned about this matter already. Actually it didn't matter if this merger comes to fruition or not. But if the merger actually goes through then I would have definitely asked Dingxian s.h.i.+ Tai to be the leader of the combined schools. At that time, Dingxian s.h.i.+ Tai was being humble and declined, but I would definitely have supported her fully. Later on, for some unknown reason, Dingxian s.h.i.+ Tai firmly declined this idea. Ai, what a pity, what a pity, such a hero unexpectedly pa.s.sed away when her service here isn't done yet. Her death at the Shaolin Temple really made people sad." He had now mentioned Shaolin Temple twice in his speech, as he implicitly put the responsibility of Dingxian s.h.i.+ Tai's death on Shaolin Temple. He was implying that even though the murderer might not have been someone from Shaolin School, there were many martial art masters at Shaolin who were capable of killing these two masters. Also, even if Shaolin School didn't plot the demise of the s.h.i.+ Tai, they had let their murderers escape and were negligent in their responsibility to protect the people inside the temple.

Suddenly, someone with a crude voice said, "What Headmaster Zuo said was wrong. That day, Dingxian s.h.i.+ Tai told me, she actually wanted to choose you to become the headmaster of the five mountains sword schools."

Zuo Lengchan felt really happy. He took a look at that person and saw that person had a horse face, mouse eyes, and looked very weird. He didn't know who that person was but since he was wearing a black gown, it indicated that he was from the Heng-Shan School. Besides him were five more people with similar appearances, wearing similar gowns, but Zuo Lengchan didn't know that they were the Peach Valley Six Fairies. Even though Zuo Lengchan felt exulted, his face stayed calm and collected.

"Honourable Brother, what's your name? Even though Dingxian s.h.i.+ Tai had said that at that time, I still couldn't be compared to her. I would never be able to be as good as her."

The person who spoke out before was Peachtree Root Fairy. He now loudly replied, "I'm Peachtree Root Fairy. These five people are all my brothers."

"I have heard of your ill.u.s.trious name for a long time," Zuo Lengchan replied.

"Which ill.u.s.trious name have you heard of me? Did you hear about my powerful martial art or my vast knowledge?" Peachtree Root Fairy asked.

Zuo Lengchan thought, "So these six idiots were the ones who ripped Cheng Buyou apart." But thinking that Peachtree Root Fairy had just supported him, he said, "The six of you have powerful martial arts and vast knowledge. I've heard of both."

Peachtree Trunk Fairy said, "There's nothing great about our martial arts. But if the six of us teamed up together, we would be better than Chief Zuo by a bit. However, if we're fighting one on one, then we lack by a lot."

Peachtree Flower Fairy added, "But with regards to knowledge, we're way better than Chief Zuo."

Zuo Lengchan snorted and replied, "Really?"

"I'm not wrong at all. That's what Dingxian s.h.i.+ Tai said on that day," Peachtree Flower Fairy replied.

Peachtree Leaf Fairy said, "When Dingxian s.h.i.+ Tai, Dingjing s.h.i.+ Tai, and Dingyi s.h.i.+ Tai were chit chatting inside the convent, they talked about the merger of the five mountains sword schools. Dingyi s.h.i.+ Tai said: 'It's alright if the five mountains sword schools don't merge. But if we're going to merge, then we must ask Songshan School's Mr. Zuo Lengchan to become the headmaster.' Do you believe me?" Zuo Lengchan was secretly feeling very happy. He replied, "Dingyi s.h.i.+ Tai gave me a lot face, I don't deserve it."

Peachtree Root Fairy said, "Don't be happy yet. Dingyi s.h.i.+ Tai also said: 'Among the heroes in the realm, Songshan School's headmaster Zuo is very highly regarded. If he does become the headmaster of the Five Mountains School, that's really the best choice. But he's very selfish, narrow minded, and has no tolerance. If he really becomes the headmaster, then my female disciples would certainly suffer under him.'"

Peachtree Trunk Fairy continued his brother's speech, "Dingxian s.h.i.+ Tai then said: 'On the other hand, we have six heroes here. Their martial arts are really high, and their knowledge is also vast. They would do well enough as headmaster of the Five Mountains School.'"

Zuo Lengchan laughed coldly and said, "Six heroes? Who are they?"

Peachtree Flower Fairy replied, "Of course these six heroes are the six of us." As soon as he said this, the thousands of people on the mountaintop burst into laughter. Even though most of these people didn't know of the Peach Valley Six Fairies, they saw that these six brothers looked weird and that their appearances were comical. When they heard that they were praising themselves as heroes and were saying that their 'martial arts are high and their knowledge is vast', they couldn't hold back their laughter.

Peachtree Branch Fairy said, "At that time, when Dingxian s.h.i.+ Tai mentioned these words 'Six Heroes', Dingjing and Dingyi s.h.i.+ Tai immediately realised that these words were referring to the six of us, and they immediately cheered. Hmmm, what did Dingyi s.h.i.+ Tai say at that time? Brothers, do you remember?"

Peachtree Fruit Fairy confidently replied, "Of course I remember. At that time, Dingyi s.h.i.+ Tai said: 'The knowledge of these Peach Valley Six Fairies, when actually compared to Shaolin Temple's Great Master Fangzheng, lack only by a bit. Compared to Priest Chongxu of Wudang School, their martial arts aren't as good. But within the five mountains sword schools, no one can be compared to them. Martial sisters, what do you think?' Dingjing s.h.i.+ Tai then said: 'I actually think otherwise. Martial Sister Dingxian's martial art and knowledge aren't below the Peach Valley Six Fairies at all. It's a pity that we're females and we're also Buddhists. So it'll be inconvenient for us to become the headmaster of the Five Mountains School and lead the thousands of heroes. So, we should choose the Peach Valley Six Fairies for this position.'"

Peachtree Leaf Fairy continued with the story, "Dingxian s.h.i.+ Tai nodded her head and then she said: 'If the five mountains sword schools are really going to merge, and these six brothers aren't the headmasters, then it would be hard for the school to flourish and prosper.'" As Linghu Chong listened on, he found it becoming funnier and funnier as he came to understand that the Peach Valley Six Fairies were deliberately trying to cause trouble for Zuo Lengchan. Zuo Lengchan had fabricated words and tried to pa.s.s them off as words said by people who had already pa.s.sed away, and now the Peach Valley Six Fairies were copying him. This tactic of making use of Zuo Lengchan's method to dispute with him was really good as Zuo Lengchan was unable to dispute back.

On top of Mount Songshan, besides people from Songshan School and some outsiders who are under Zuo Lengchan's command, there were actually many people who disagreed strongly with the idea of merging the five mountains sword schools. Some were highly experienced heroes such as Abbot Fangzheng and Priest Chongxu who were afraid that Zuo Lengchan's ambition would become unchecked and disaster would strike in Jianghu. There were also those who saw Priest Tianmen died miserably and were feeling very angry at Zuo Lengchan. There were some who believed that after the five mountains schools had merged, the reputation of the Five Mountains School would prosper greatly, and that they wouldn't allow their own school to miss out on this; And there was also Linghu Chong and his Heng-Shan School's people who had great hostility towards Zuo Lengchan believing that Dingxian s.h.i.+ Tai, Dingjing s.h.i.+ Tai, and Dingyi s.h.i.+ Tai were killed by him, and were hoping to exact their revenge on him. When all these people heard the nonsense that the Peach Valley Six Fairies were spouting, some people also fabricated similar things making Zuo Lengchan unable to dispute them back. But for the most part, people were just laughing quietly, while the young ones laughed slightly louder. Suddenly, a rough voice said, "Peach Valley Six Weirdos, were there other witnesses around when Dingxian s.h.i.+ Tai said this?"

Peachtree Root Fairy replied, "Many Heng-Shan School disciples heard it themselves. Miss Zheng, isn't that right?"

Zheng E quickly held back her laughter and calmly replied, "That's right. Headmaster Zuo, you said that my master approved of the merger of the five schools. Who else heard this? Martial sisters, did any of you hear these words from our honourable master?"

More than a hundred female disciples answered together, "We've never heard of these words." One of the disciples said loudly, "Most likely, those words were Headmaster Zuo's own fabrication." There was also a female disciple who said, "Compared to Headmaster Zuo, my master was more inclined to support the Peach Valley Six Fairies. We've all been following the three honourables for many years now, how could we not have known what was in their minds?"

Many people burst into laughter. Peachtree Branch Fairy loudly added, "That's right, we're not telling lies, isn't that right? Later on, Dingxian s.h.i.+ Tai also said: 'When the five schools do merge then there's only one position of headmaster, while the Peach Valley Six Fairies have six people. Who do you think will be the best one to take on this position?'. Brothers, what was Dingjing s.h.i.+ Tai's answer?"

Peachtree Flower Fairy replied, "This… Hmm, yes, Dingjing s.h.i.+ Tai said: 'Even when the five schools merge into one, the mountains of Taishan, Hengshan, Huashan, Heng-Shan, Songshan are on the east, south, west, north, and in the middle respectively, and they can't be physically merged into one. Zuo Lengchan is also not an emperor. How could he move all these mountains together and make it one? So we'll just ask five of the Peach Valley Six Fairies to take care of each of the mountains, and have the remaining one to be the headmaster.'"

Peachtree Leaf Fairy said, "That's right! Dingyi s.h.i.+ Tai then said: 'Martial sister is right. The parents of the Peach Valley Six Fairies had really good foresight, they knew that Zuo Lengchan wanted to merge the five mountains sword schools sometime in the future so they gave birth to six brothers, not five or seven. Really admirable, admirable!'" When the crowd heard this, their laughter was so loud that it reverberated through the whole mountain.

Zuo Lengchan had prepared this place of wors.h.i.+p for the merger of the five mountains school. He had originally set the place up in all its grandeur so that all the attending heroes would be awed by it. But he had never expected that these six idiots would come out and start telling jokes in front of everyone, making this grand ceremony looking like a comical play. Zuo Lengchan was actually furious, but since he was the host at Mount Songshan, he couldn't just do whatever he wished and was forced to hold his anger in check. He secretly hatched a plan, "Once this matter is finished, if I don't kill these six idiots, then I'm not Zuo."

Peachtree Fruit Fairy suddenly wept loudly and started calling out, "This is not good… not good! Ever since the six of us were born, we've never been more than a foot apart from each other. One is to be the headmaster of the Five Mountains School, while the others are going to live separately on five other mountains. This won't do, we can't do that." He was crying genuinely, as if the headmaster position of the Five Mountains School had been decided, and that the six of them were faced with the situation of parting ways forever.

Peachtree Branch Fairy said, "Sixth brother, don't be upset, the six of us won't be separated. Brothers, don't give up. I also won't give up. But since people expect us to become the headmaster of the Five Mountains School, we're left with no choice but to go against the merger of the five mountains schools."

Peachtree Root Fairy and the other four brothers replied together, "Right, right, why do we need to merge the five mountains sword schools?"

Peachtree Fruit Fairy snorted his nose and broke into a smile. He said, "Even if the schools are really merging, there's a great hero in the Five Mountains School. Compared to the six of us, his knowledge is higher, his martial art is more powerful, and just like the six of us, he has the favour of everyone. It's not late for this kind of person to become the headmaster."

Zuo Lengchan was worried that these six chaps would continue with their pestering and make more and more trouble. So he quickly cut them off and immediately said clearly, "Six heroes, are you the headmaster of Heng-Shan School? Or is it someone else? Are the six heroes taking responsibility for Heng-Shan School's matters?"

Peachtree Branch Fairy replied, "We originally wanted to become the headmaster of Heng-Shan School. But thinking that the headmaster of Songshan School is you, old brother Zuo, when the six of us become the headmaster of Heng-Shan, then we would be on par with you. Hey, hey, this… that…"

Peachtree Flower Fairy said, "If we're on par with him, then the six of us heroes would definitely lose our position. That's why we asked Linghu Chong to take on this difficult job and become the headmaster of Heng-Shan School." Zuo Lengchan was seething with rage, and he said coldly, "Headmaster Linghu, you're now leading the Heng-Shan School family, but you're not restricting the people in your n.o.ble school but allowed them to spout nonsense in front of the entire realm's heroes and shame themselves."

Linghu Chong smiled. "These six Peachtree brothers are honest and sincere, and they speak candidly. But they're not the kind of people who blindly invent rumours. Their story of Dingxian s.h.i.+ Tai is more reliable when compared to the nonsense from someone outside this school."

Zuo Lengchan snorted and said, "Today, on this matter of the five mountains sword schools merger, your n.o.ble school is thinking of objecting to it all by yourself?"

Linghu Chong shook his head. "Heng-Shan School is not objecting to it by ourselves. Huashan School's headmaster, Mr. Yue, is the respected master who initially taught me my skills. Today, even though I belong to another school, I don't dare to forget the instructions from my former respected master."

Zuo Lengchan replied, "The way you said that, you'll still listen to what Huashan School's Mr. Yue say?"

"That's right. My Heng-Shan School and Huashan School are uniting our effort and working together," Linghu Chong replied.

Zuo Lengchan turned his head to look at the Huashan School. He then said, "Mr. Yue, Headmaster Linghu didn't forget your past kindness to him. Congratulations! Headmaster Linghu will follow your lead whether Sir agrees to the merger or not. But what does Sir think of this merger?"

Yue Buqun replied, "Since Chief Zuo asked me earlier, I've already considered about this matter in details. But it's actually not easy to reach a decision." At that moment, everyone in the crowd turned their eyes to look at him. Many of the people in the crowd thought, "Hengshan School is weak to stand by itself, and Taishan School has divisions inside their school, so both of them were unable to resist Songshan School. At this time, Huashan School and Heng-Shan School have become allies, and adding Hengshan School to the mix, they can definitely go up against Songshan School." They then heard Yue Buqun continued, "My Huashan School was founded more than two hundred years ago. Some time ago, our school suffered a schism and divided into the Qi Branch and the Sword Branch. All the seniors in Wulin already know about this. When I thought of the days when the two branches were killing each other, I still tremble with fear…"

Linghu Chong pondered, "Master once mentioned that the struggle between these two branches was the school's biggest shame and cannot be mentioned to the people outside of the school. Why is he now publicly discussing about this matter in front of all the realm's heroes?" He then heard Yue Buqun's sharp voice travelling over many li, and each word that he said echoed back from distant places. Linghu Chong thought, "Master's cultivation of the 'Divine Art of Violet Twilight' has gotten even higher. His voice and the way he used his inner energy seems quite different than the past."

Yue Buqun continued, "That's why I deeply feel that being apart is not as good as being together for all the sects in Wulin. Hundreds of years ago, the fightings were very fierce in Jianghu, and no one knows just how many people from the orthodox path died from such fights. Tracing the source of this, it's most likely that these fighting occur because there were too many sects in Jianghu. I've always believed that if all the sects in Wulin are to become one, then everyone will be like brothers, and all those kinds of killings would be greatly reduced. Then many heroes would not lose their lives while they're still in their prime, and the numbers of orphans and widows would also be greatly reduced." He said this with a voice full of pity towards the fate of mankind, and many people couldn't help but nod their heads when they heard this. There were some people who whispered, "Huashan's Yue Buqun is called 'Gentleman Sword'. He's really earned his reputation. His heart is full of compa.s.sion." Abbot Fangzheng joined his two palms and said, "Very good, very good! Scholar Yue is very compa.s.sionate. If everyone in Wulin thought the same way as Scholar Yue, then all the bloodshed and killings in Wulin will disappear completely."

Yue Buqun said, "Great Master is overpraising me. That was just my shallow view of things. Shaolin temple's reverend monks from generations past must've thought of the same thing a long time ago. It's evidence of Shaolin temple's prestigious status in Wulin that with just one call, all the wise and outstanding warriors from every school and sect responds to it. This must be because of Shaolin temple's achievements for the last hundreds of years. It's true that each school and each sect's martial art has different roots and that their methods of inner energy cultivation are very different from each other. So if we actually want every pugilist out there to be under one school, then that would be easier said than done. 'A gentleman is friendly but not at the expense of principle.' Just so, our martial arts can be different but we must still be at peace with one another. Even until today, there are still a lot of sects and schools in Jianghu, which are clearly fighting in the open or are fighting in secret, and countless lives are lost because of this. All these deaths and killings, just because of some senseless fights. All the wise heroes from years past must've known that all these divisions in sects and schools are causing a lot of harm in Jianghu. But why can't we resolve all these heartaches and eliminate this division? I really don't understand this. So I've been thinking about this matter for many years now, and it was only recently that I've suddenly become enlightened and understood the key point that's been hindering this from happening. This matter affects the life and death of everyone in Wulin from the orthodox path, so I don't dare to keep this matter to myself. That's why I've cautiously raised the issue and ask everyone here to give me some advice."

The crowd one by one shouted, "Please say it, please say it!" "Mr. Yue's opinion is definitely wise." "So what's the reason behind this?" "Eliminating all the division between sects and schools is impossible!" Yue Buqun waited until the crowd calmed down before saying, "I thought about this and felt that one of the reasons is the difference between the word 'hurried' and 'gradual'. Throughout the times, the compa.s.sionate people in Wulin have always hoped to remove the division between the sects and they have often done this in a hurry. They've always tried to remove these boundaries between sects and eliminate the division in one fell swoop, but they never realised how difficult it is to do. All the sects in Wulin, the big ones number in the tens and the small ones number in the thousands, and every single sect has its tradition in the tens or even thousands of years of history. If they actually want to eliminate all these divisions in one fell swoop, then of course it's going to be impossible."

Zuo Lengchan said, "So according to Mr. Yue's opinion, if we want to eliminate the division between sects then it can never be done? Wouldn't that be crus.h.i.+ng everyone's hope?"

Yue Buqun shook his head. "Even though it's very difficult to do, it's actually still possible to do. I said before about the difference: hurried and gradual. As the saying goes, you botch it by rus.h.i.+ng it. We must change our principle and the people from the orthodox path must also cooperate to go forward. If we do it in fifty years, or one hundred years, we'll definitely succeed."

Zuo Lengchan sighed before saying, "Fifty years, one hundred years, most of the heroes here would've turned into bones by then."

Yue Buqun replied, "We must do our best on this matter, and we don't have to worry whether we'll be able to actually complete this matter in our own generation or not. This is the same like planting trees for the later generations. We plant the trees and let the future generations enjoy some peace and calm. How can this be not a good idea? Also, fifty or one hundred years is the time that it would take to completely accomplish this. But if you actually want to see some slight accomplishment, then eight to ten years will be sufficient to see what have been achieved."

Zuo Lengchan said, "Eight to ten years to see a slight improvement… That's very good then. But how do we first start on this?"

Yue Buqun smiled slightly and continued, "Actually what Chief Zuo is doing right now is to the benefit of the orthodox path in Jianghu. We should first eliminate this view of many sects and schools in Wulin as it achieves nothing. First, we should get the sects and schools which are relatively near to each other, have similar martial arts, and are friendly to each to first combine as much as they can. Then within eight to ten years, the number of sects and schools would've been greatly reduced. Our five mountains sword schools should first combine to make the Five Mountains School to setup an example for the other sects. This would be a glorious achievement that would be praised throughout Jianghu for years to come."

When he finished saying this, the crowd started to call out, "So Huashan School approves of the merger."

Linghu Chong was greatly startled, and he thought, "I never expected that Master would actually approve of the merger. Since I've already said that Heng-Shan School will follow Huashan School's lead, then I can't eat my words and not go forward with the merger." He was feeling anxious and took a look towards Great Master Fangzheng and Priest Chongxu. They both were shaking their heads and were looking quite depressed.

Zuo Lengchan had always been worried that Yue Buqun would object. This person was good at debating. His reputation in Jianghu was also very good, and it was hard to force him into doing something. He had never expected that Yue Buqun would unexpectedly support the merger. He was elated as he said, "Songshan School approves of the merger. My reason for the merger before was originally 'Unity of will is an impregnable stronghold.' Together we're strong and alone we're weak. But after hearing Mr. Yue's reason, my view has now been broadened and I realised that this merger concerns the future of Wulin and will benefit more than just our five schools."

Yue Buqun replied, "After our five schools merged, if we want to actually extend our influence then we'll definitely be in compet.i.tion with the heroes from the other sects. When this happens, not only would it result in problems throughout Wulin, it would also be very unbeneficial to our Five Mountains School. Thus, the merger would also be more disadvantageous than beneficial to all the heroes in Wulin. That's why the objective of this merger must be 'to stop the fighting and to resolve the disputes'. That way, after the merger of our five schools, no sect would be disadvantaged and everyone need not have any worries."

When the crowd heard him, there were some who breathed a sigh of relief, and there were also some who were still half doubting what he said. Zuo Lengchan said, "In that case, Huashan School approves of the merger?"

"That's right," Yue Buqun answered. He paused for a while before looking at Linghu Chong. "Heng-Shan School's Headmaster Linghu was previously in the Huashan School, so he and I have more than twenty years of master-disciple relations.h.i.+p. After he went out of the Huashan School, I didn't abandon him and have never forgotten our relations.h.i.+p. I've always hoped that we can be together again under one school. Today, I've already promised him that we will again be in the same school." He said till here when he revealed his smile. Linghu Chong was shaken and he immediately understood. Linghu Chong thought, "He promised me that I'll be able to return to his school, but he didn't actually mean to return to Huashan. He actually meant that after the five schools have merged, then Master, Master-Wife, and I would again be under one school. That's also very good." His thought continued, "Master just said how the merger of the five schools must be with the aim 'to stop the fightings and to resolve the disputes'. If that's true, then the merger of the five schools is a good thing and not a bad thing at all. Looking ahead, it seems that the future of the Five Mountains School is still undecided whether its aim is going to be what Master has said or what Zuo Lengchan has envisioned. If Huashan and Heng-Shan School ally together, and if we add Hengshan School as well as some of the priests from Taishan School to our alliance, then our three and a half schools would be able to withstand Songshan School and half of the Taishan School. Only then would we be able to win."

Linghu Chong still had this disquiting thought inside his heart when he heard Zuo Lengchan said, "Congratulations Mr. Yue and Headmaster Linghu! From today onwards, both of you are again under one school. This is a really happy event." From among the crowd, hundreds of them started to applaud this.

Suddenly, Peachtree Branch Fairy loudly said, "This is inappropriate, really inappropriate, really really inappropriate!"

Peachtree Trunk Fairy asked, "Why is it inappropriate?"

Peachtree Branch Fairy answered, "The headmaster position of the Heng-Shan School should've belonged to us brothers, isn't that right?"

Peachtree Trunk Fairy and the other four brothers answered together, "Yes!"

Peachtree Branch Fairy said, "But we were polite, so we let Linghu Chong do it, isn't that right? But when we gave Linghu Chong this position, there was a clause for him to take revenge for Dingxian, Dingjing, and Dingyi s.h.i.+ Tai, isn't this right?"

When he asked this, his other five brothers replied together, "Yes!"

Peachtree Branch Fairy said, "But what if the people who killed the three s.h.i.+ Tai were inside the five mountains sword schools? According to my opinion, if it's not that person surnamed Zuo (left), then it's that person surnamed You (right), or maybe if it's not left or right, then it's that person surnamed Zhong (middle). If Linghu Chong joined the Five Mountains School, then he would become martial brother with this person surnamed Zuo or You or Zhong. Then how is he going to take revenge for Dingxian s.h.i.+ Tai?"

The other Peach Valley Five Fairies answered, "What you said isn't wrong at all."

Zuo Lengchan was furious and he thought, "You six chaps have insulted me. Now, you'll only live for a few more hours. After that none of you would be able to spout your nonsense anymore!" He then heard Peachtree Root Fairy said, "If Linghu Chong isn't going to take revenge for Dingxian s.h.i.+ Tai, then he can't be the headmaster of Heng-Shan School anymore, isn't this right? If he's not the headmaster of Heng-Shan School then he can't make the decision for Heng-Shan School, isn't this right? If he can't make the decision for Heng-Shan School, then whether Heng-Shan School joins the Five Mountains School or not isn't Linghu Chong's decision to make, isn't this right?"

As he asked each question, the other Peach Valley Five Fairies answered each question with a resounding, "Yes!"

Peachtree Trunk Fairy said, "A school cannot be without a headmaster. Since Linghu Chong can't be the headmaster of the Heng-Shan School anymore, we must select a wise person to do it, isn't this right? In Heng-Shan School, there are six heroes whose martial arts are powerful with vast knowledge. At that time, Dingxian s.h.i.+ Tai has already decided, and just then Five Mountains School's Chief Zuo has also said: 'The six of you have powerful martial art and vast knowledge. I've heard of your ill.u.s.trious names for a long time already', isn't this right?"

As Peachtree Trunk Fairy asked each question, his five brothers again answered each question together with a, "Yes!" The person asking the question was getting louder and louder, while the people answering him were also getting stronger and stronger.

The crowd on the mountaintop found this to be really funny and they were also feeling happy that there were people here causing trouble for the Songshan School. Some people were laughing loudly at this, while tens of them were following the Peach Valley Five Fairies in answering, "Yes!"

After Yue Buqun approved of the merger, Linghu Chong's mind was in chaos. When he heard the Peach Valley Six Fairies spouting nonsense, he really liked it as it seemed that the six brothers were trying to get him out of trouble. But after hearing them for some time, he suddenly found it strange. He thought, "Peach Valley Six Fairies usually speak in an entangled manner, and what they say usually doesn't connect. But ever since we've arrived at Songshan, every single sentence they've said always has some deep meaning behind them. Just a moment ago what they were saying seemed to be for their own benefits, but those words they said actually had some hidden meaning behind them. And it's actually very hard to dispute what they were saying. It's really different from their usual way of randomly spouting nonsense. Could it be that there's a wise person who's directing them?"

He then heard Peachtree Flower Fairy said, "These six people in Heng-Shan School have outstanding martial arts and their knowledge and experience are just like those of grand heroes. Everyone's here not a fool, so you must know who these people are, isn't this right?" More than a hundred people laughingly answered, "Yes!"

Peachtree Flower Fairy said, "The world's right and wrong depends on people's opinion, and this depends on the people's heart. May I ask everyone, who are these six grand heroes?" More than two hundred people laughed loudly while they answered, "Of course these six heroes are the Peach Valley Six Fairies."

Peachtree Root Fairy said, "Ah, in that case, this headmaster position of Heng-Shan School; the six of us are forced to take responsibility for it, pushed into taking on this difficult job, of n.o.ble character and high prestige, is in favour with the public, successful, comes to light, drum the mountain, opens the door…" As he talked, the sentence was getting more and more unintelligible, and the crowd was clutching their stomachs laughing loudly. Songshan School's people were now shouting loudly, "What are you six chaps rambling about? Quickly scram down this mountain!"

Peachtree Branch Fairy said, "Strange! Your Songshan School was trying everything you can to merge the five schools together. But now you unexpectedly want the six big heroes of Heng-Shan School to go down the mountain. Once the six of us are gone, then the rest of Heng-Shan School's little heroes and female heroes will of course follow us down the mountain, and this merger of the five mountains school would fail. Great! Heng-Shan School, let's go down the mountain and let their four schools merge together. Zuo Lengchan loves to become the headmaster of the four schools, we'll just let him do it. We, Heng-Shan School, won't join this celebration."

Yihe, Yiqing, and the rest of the female disciples hated Zuo Lengchan deeply. When they heard the Peach Valley Six Fairies said this, they immediately shouted, "Let's go!"

When Zuo Lengchan heard this, he was worried. He said to Linghu Chong, "Headmaster Linghu, we're martial artists, and our words are like gold. You already said that you'll follow Mr. Yue's lead in this. So should we disregard what you said?"

Linghu Chong lifted his head and took a look at Yue Buqun. Yue Buqun's face was looking intense, and he was continuously nodding his head; Linghu Chong turned his head and looked at Great Master Fangzheng and Priest Chongxu. He saw they were continuously shaking their heads seeing that he had not done what he was supposed to do. Suddenly, he heard Yue Buqun said, "Chong'er, you and I are like father and son, and your Master-Wife is waiting for you. Could it be that you don't want to be together with us? To be like we were before?"

When Linghu Chong heard this, tears suddenly filled his eyes. Without thinking anymore, he loudly said, "Master, Master-Wife, Son actually hopes for this. Since you support the merger of the five schools, then Son doesn't dare to disobey you." He paused for a time, before continuing, "But, the deep enmity of the three s.h.i.+ Tai…"

Yue Buqun loudly said, "Heng-Shan School's Dingxian, Dingjing, and Dingyi s.h.i.+ Tai are the unfortunate victims of a plot, and everyone from the orthodox path regrets this deeply. From today onwards, after the merger of the five schools, Heng-Shan School's matter is also my business. Right now, the most important thing to do is to investigate this matter clearly. Then with the might of our five schools, and with the a.s.sistance of everyone from the orthodox path, we'll make minced meat out of this murderer. Chong'er, you don't need to be anxious. This murderer is our Five Mountains School's most hated enemy and we would never let him go." The way he said all this was full of righteousness and without any doubt. Heng-Shan School's female disciples cheered loudly. Yihe loudly called out, "Mr. Yue is right. If your honourable is able to preside over this and avenge our three honourable then everyone from Heng-Shan will be deeply grateful to you."

Yue Buqun said, "I'll take responsibility for this matter. Within three years, if I can't avenge the three s.h.i.+ Tai, then everyone from the orthodox path can say that I'm a shameless and despicable lowlife." After he said this, Heng-Shan School's female disciples cheered loudly. Linghu Chong thought, "Even though I'm determined to avenge the three s.h.i.+ Tai, I still wouldn't be able to put a time limit to my effort. Everyone suspects that Zuo Lengchan is the murderer, but how do we get proof for it? Even if we pressed him for an answer, he would never admit it. How can Master be so certain? He must've known who the murderer is and he must also have the evidence to back this up to be able to do this within three years."

He had previously agreed to accompany Yue Buqun in approving of the merger, but he was afraid that Heng-Shan School's disciples would not be willing to go with this decision. But when he saw them cheering loudly, and not a single one of them raised their objection, he felt relieved. In a loud voice, he said, "That's fabulous. My master, Mr. Yue, has already said that the most important thing is to investigate clearly who has killed the three s.h.i.+ Tai, and that this person is the most hated enemy of the Five Mountains School and would never be let go. Headmaster Zuo, you approve of this?"

Zuo Lengchan coldly said, "These words are right. Why would I disapprove of it?"

"All the heroes here today have already heard. The most important thing is to investigate clearly who killed the three s.h.i.+ Tai. No matter if he's the killer, or if he's the person pulling the string, or even if he's a highly respected senior, every single person must be executed," Linghu Chong announced. When the crowd heard this, half of them cheered.

Zuo Lengchan waited for them to quieten down before he said, "East mountain Taishan, south mountain Hengshan, west mountain Huashan, north mountain Heng-Shan, and middle mountain Songshan have unanimously approved of the merger. From now on, the names of our five mountains sword schools will no longer be mentioned in Wulin, and all of the five schools' disciples are now the new disciples of the Five Mountains School." He waved his left hand, and firecrackers started to go off from everywhere around the mountaintop celebrating the formal opening of the 'Five Mountains School'. The crowd was smiling and was amusedly looking around at each other. They all thought, "Zuo Lengchan has prepared everything so carefully for the merger of the five mountains sword schools. If the merger has actually failed today, it seems likely this Songshan mountaintop may have turned into a killing field and be flooded with blood."

The mountaintop was overflowing with smoke. Paper fillings were flying everywhere, the sound of the firecrackers was getting louder and louder, and no one was able to say anything. After a very long time, the firecrackers finally stopped. This was followed by a number of people going up to Zuo Lengchan to congratulate him. It seemed that these people were the ones invited by Songshan School to a.s.sist them, or maybe they were the people who wanted to flatter Zuo Lengchan after seeing him succeed. Zuo Lengchan was humble in receiving their congratulations, and even his cold ice face revealed a smile or two.

Suddenly, Peachtree Root Fairy said, "Since the five mountains sword schools have already merged into Five Mountains School, then we'll allow nature to take its course. This is called knowing when to let things be."

Zuo Lengchan thought, "Ever since you six weirdoes have been on this mountaintop, these were the first words you said that resemble what normal people say."

Peachtree Trunk Fairy said, "Each of the schools has its own headmaster. Who do you think is the best to be the Five Mountains School's headmaster? If everyone unanimously elects the Peach Valley Six Fairies, then we'll be forced to take on the responsibility."

Peachtree Branch Fairy said, "Just then Mr. Yue said: The merger of the five schools is to the benefit of Wulin and not for personal ambition. Since it's like that, even though this position has a big responsibility, and requires a lot of work, the six of us will take on this difficult job."

Peachtree Leaf Fairy let out a long sigh, then he said, "Since everyone is so enthusiastic, how can we six brothers just sit on the side and be spectators, and not lend our strengths to the orthodox path in Jianghu?"

These six brothers were talking as if they had been elected to lead the Five Mountains School. A tall old man from Songshan School said loudly, "Who elected you to be the headmaster of the Five Mountains School? That's just crazy talk!" This person was Zuo Lengchan's martial brother, 'Tower Holding Palm' Ding Mian. At this time, people from Songshan School started to make some noise. One person said, "If today isn't a great celebration for the five schools' merger, we would've chopped all your legs off." Ding Mian added, "Headmaster Linghu, you don't care that these six crazy people are making a disturbance here?"

Peachtree Flower Fairy loudly said, "You're calling Linghu Chong 'Headmaster Linghu'! You're electing him as the Five Mountains School's headmaster? Just then Zuo Lengchan said that there's no more Heng-Shan School or Huashan School in Wulin. Since you called him Headmaster Linghu, that means you recognise him as the headmaster of the Five Mountains School."

Peachtree Fruit Fairy said, "When compared to us, Linghu Chong isn't as good as us. But since you want Linghu Chong to become the Five Mountains School's headmaster, then you'll have to settle for second best then, and we just have to put up with it."

Peachtree Root Fairy raised his voice and called out, "Songshan School nominates Linghu Chong to be the Five Mountains School's headmaster! What does everyone think of this?"

This was followed by the tender-voiced cheers of more than a hundred females. Of course they were all the female disciples of the Heng-Shan School. Ding Mian was the one who called out 'Headmaster Linghu' and gave the Peach Valley Six Fairies this topic. He couldn't help feeling embarra.s.sed and his face was blus.h.i.+ng furiously, not knowing what to say. He just managed to stutter, "No, no! I… I didn't…. didn't mean it that way. I'm not nominating Linghu Chong to be the Five Mountains School's headmaster…"

Peachtree Trunk Fairy cut him off. "You're saying you don't want Linghu Chong to be the Five Mountains School's headmaster because you don't want to lose the Peach Valley Six Fairies. Since you love us so much, it would be impolite for us six brothers to refuse. We have to shamely take on this position then."

Peachtree Branch Fairy said, "How about this? There's no harm for us to take on the position for one and a half year while we wait for things to settle. Then we'll step down and give this position to a better person. There's no harm in doing that." His five brothers answered together, "Right, right, this is called taking the middle road."

Zuo Lengchan coldly said, "The six of you really talk a lot here as if all the world's heroes here are nothing. Why can't you allow other people to say a few words?"

Peachtree Flower Fairy replied, "We can, we can, why not? If you want to talk, please talk. If you want to fart, then please fart." When he said these words 'If you want to fart, then please fart', everyone around the place of wors.h.i.+p suddenly became quiet because if anyone said anything, they could be considered farting.

After some time, Zuo Lengchan again said, "Heroes, please tell us your opinions. Ignore the nonsense those six crazy people were spouting."

Peach Valley Six Fairies took a breath together and snorted a few times. Then they said, "Someone's farting, it smells really bad."

A thin old man from the Songshan School group said loudly, "Five mountains sword schools have the same root, different branches. We've been allied together and for the last few years, Headmaster Zuo has been our chief. Headmaster Zuo has been leading the five schools for a long time now, and has increased the prestige of the five schools. So naturally, Chief Zuo is our Five Mountains School's headmaster. Who else can take on this position?" This person partic.i.p.ated in Liu Zhengfeng's gold basin hand-was.h.i.+ng ceremony in Hengshan, so many people recognised him as Lu Bai. Ding Mian, Lu Bai, and Fei Bin killed Liu Zhengfeng's whole family. They were really cruel and merciless.

Peachtree Flower Fairy said, "Wrong, wrong! We must elect a new headmaster for the Five Mountains School. This position of headmaster, we must get rid of the old and exchange it with a new one."

Peachtree Fruit Fairy said, "That's right. If Zuo Lengchan becomes the headmaster again, then that's like changing the form but not the content and there wouldn't be an atmosphere of new-ness. Why would you merge the five schools then?"

Peachtree Branch Fairy said, "Everyone can become the headmaster of the Five Mountains School, but Zuo Lengchan cannot."

Peachtree Trunk Fairy said, "According to my esteemed opinion, we should get everyone to take turns doing the job. A person can be a headmaster for a day. So I'll do it today, then you'll do it tomorrow. Everyone will share it and gets their turn. This is a really fair method and no one can take advantage of it. This is really good business, and everyone's happy."

Peachtree Root Fairy applauded and he said, "This method is really clever, so we should get the youngest young lady to do it first. I elect Heng-Shan School's little sister Qin Juan to be today's headmaster of the Five Mountains School."

Heng-Shan School's female disciples knew that the Peach Valley Six Fairies' statement was to make trouble for Zuo Lengchan, so they all cheered. For more than a thousand people there, this matter had nothing to do with them, so they also followed in cheering. In a moment, the Songshan mountaintop was again in chaos.