Martial Forest

Chapter 26: The Scroll of Duke Jingwu of Wei II

After all, every once in a while, the martial arts world does clash with the imperial government.

Li Jing during the battle against Eastern Tujue won a great victory and was granted the title Duke of Dai.

However, when he returned to the capital, he imperial censor Xiao Yu accused him of allowing his soldiers to plunder the Eastern Tujue treasury.

This is actually one of the pivotal stories of how the Scroll of Duke Jingwu of Wei came to be and it is also one of the reason why people covet the Scroll

While the charges sound like a simple plundering of wealth, some martial artist claimed that Li Jing had stolen the Eastern Tujue supreme martial arts of Eastern Tujue.

Eastern Tujue had great warriors and powerful martial artist and Li Jing fought many of them and even admires them even if he did not show it openly.

Li Jing is said to have been very interested in martial arts of the Eastern Tujue. People said this is the beginning of how the famous Scroll was created.

It is said that at this point of his life, Li Jing is proficient enough to create his own martial arts and one of the most enduring myths about the Scroll was that Li Jing combined his martial arts that he had learned from the bearded man with the Eastern Tujue supreme martial arts to create a new kind of martial arts.

But it did not stop there.

During the campaign of Tuyuhun, Li Jing rebuked Gao Zhengsheng for arriving late.

Gao and official Tang Fenyi accused Li Jing plotting treason. The matter was investigated and Taizong pay great attention to this matter

The evidence was found lacking and Gao and Tang were exiled.

Taizong wanted to execute Gao but the other officials pleaded that Goa Zhengsheng had contributed to Emperor Taizong ambush at Xuanwu Gate against Li Jiancheng.

Taizong remembering this event relented and only exiled Gao.

From this point, Li Jing refuse to receive guest and he even did not see his relative often.

It was at this moment, that many martial artists believed that Li Jing was writing the Scroll.

It is said the reason for the creation of the Scroll is not only because he had gained the suspicion of Taizong that he is refusing to receive guest but also to write and crystallize his own understanding of martial arts derived from all the martials arts technique that he had learned.

The Scroll remains as one of the most coveted secret martial arts technique that was seen by many aspiring martial artist since the news of its appearance.

Duke Jingwu of Wei pacified the Wu region to the south, cleared the desert to the north and settled the Tuyuhun to the west.

And travelling and fighting up and down the Tang empire, he learned from his enemies and his rivals and even stolen a few of their martial arts methods and their internal energy method.

All the accumulation of this knowledge had created a very powerful martial arts technique that is probably unsurpassed in Wulin.

One could only imagine what kind of martial arts Duke Jingwu of Wei had manage to create with his vast knowledge.

Some people said that the reason why Li Jing created the martial arts technique was because he fears that Taizong was ready to deal with him and created the martial arts so that whoever got it could topple the Tang dynasty for him and get him his revenge

Of course, no one knows whether this is true or not

Fortunately, Taizong did not do such a thing to Li Jing. People believed that Li Jing had brought the martial arts technique into his tomb.

People said that is why Underworld Gate had got to the Scroll first.

Li Jing was buried in a large tomb made in the shape of Mount Tie in Eastern Tujue territory and Mount Jishi in Tuyuhun territory.

People said that the Underworld Gate found it first. But the old man didn’t believe that. He believed in a different version of the story,

He believed that it was not the Underworld Gate that firs got that martial arts technique. He believed it was Taizong that first got it.,

Taizong in his campaign against Goguryeo failed terribly. And he is even said to be injured at that time

Li Jing probably did not bring the martial arts to his grave and instead entrusted it to be given to the Emperor.

Because one of the enduring legends regarding the Scroll of Duke Jingwu of Wei was that whoever learned the Scroll to its pinnacle would gain longevity.

The reason why Li Jing is said to be unable to live as long as he could is because he only understands certain truth after he is half step into his grave.

And coupled with the fact that his wife who he loved dearly had died before him, he might not feel there is anything worth living for anymore.

But whether Taizong could practice the martial arts in the Scroll is another story entirely. Taizong in his later years were not a good sight to look at.

He lost all his vigor of youth and his idealism has disappeared and one could argue that Taizong in his later years is only a little good than Yang Guang

Considering that not long after the death of Li Jing that Taizong also died, one could surmise that Taizong did not succeed in practicing the Scroll.

During the chaos of the palace during Wu Hou rule, it is probably at that time the Underworld Gate sneak into the palace and manages to steal it from the palace.

And it wasn’t until White Ghost Bai Qingniu stolen it from the Underworld Gate that the existence of the Scroll was spread to the world.

The Old Man sighed. He stomps his feet and the blade strapped on his back, flew out of its sheathe and the old man jump and grab the blade.

The blade is thick and heavy and have the carving patterns of tigers on its edges.

It is dazzling and one could see the sharpness of the blade.

Today, he would like to confirm one thing. White Ghost had said that the Scroll is not in his possession.

And the whole martial arts world believed him since they could not find anything

The Old man know that the Underworld Gate had already regained back the possession of the Scroll but what he wanted to know was whether White Ghost had memorized it all.

This information about Bai Qingniu is something that the old man found a few years ago.

He met one of the people who knew Bai Qingniu when he was young and that person told him that when Bai Qingniu was young, he could remember anything he sees with a glance.

It is then being not shocking at all to the old man when he heard that Bai Qingniu become a physician.

To become such a divine physician, he must have to read a lot of books but before Bai Qingniu became a physician White Ghost Bai Qingniu had always fought and kill people.

When would he have the time to read books regarding medicine?

The more the old man thinks about it the expertise that Bai Qingniu shows in administering medicine and in treatments shows that Bai Qingniu really possess such a powerful memory that he could easily become an expert in other line of works after he is even crippled of his martial arts.

Bai Qingniu might not have the Scroll any longer but that did not mean that Bai Qingniu did not have the Scroll in his mind.

Locked in that brain of his, maybe Bai Qingniu had always knows the Scroll content and the only reason that Bai Qingniu could not learn it is because he could not understand it.

The old man then wielding his large blade walk inside the entrance. He had expected an ambush but no one came for him

‘Is the expert is not here in this hut area?’ He asks himself and then he smiles

‘That is even better’ he said to himself

The sun above is just going up and dawn had passed. The chirping of birds fills he forest signifying morning has come.

The sound of nature could be heard everywhere in the forest. The old man sees the door of the hut, the hut itself look quite neat.

He then makes his move. His blade moves and he made a slashing motion with his s***h.

The wind around the edges of his blade is cut creating some whirlwind around the blade path.

And then the sound of something being broken could be heard.

The entire hut seems to shakes and Bai Qingniu who is still sleeping soundly suddenly felt the jolt. Being startled he woke up almost immediately

Bai Pingting sensing the shaking also got up while rubbing her eyes and Bai Qingniu disciple is also getting up like a cat that had its tail being stepped on.

The blade s***h cut down the door of the hut into two. When that blade attack hits, the door of the hut is cut evenly in the middle. The others side flew to the right and the other flew to the left.

He then jumps in front of the hut door ready to take the initiative if someone suddenly attacked him

 Standing in fort of the hut door, is a muscly bulky old man with a blade on his hand, the tip pointing to the ground.

Bia Qingniu quickly grab his granddaughter and Bia Pingting who is juts woken from her sleep is shocked as she was pulled to her grandfather back.

Xu Wen also got up and scramble to find his sword and pointing it toward that intruder

Bai Qingniu could not see the intruder clearly because he had just woken up from his sleep. He then focusses his eyes and then his face become pale

He recognizes who the person was and he could feel himself trembling.

‘Shi Yuan! It is you!’

The old man nodded

‘Bai Qingniu it has been a long time since we see each other’ Smiling he then said

‘I have two question to ask you. Where is the one that killed my Junior brother? And, did you remember the content of that Scroll?’

Bai Qingniu clench his fist. Xu Wen pointed his sword toward the uninvited guest but his hand is trembling. Bai Pingting on the other hand is hiding behind his grandfather back

At the same time this was happening, Li Xian had already come up from the cliff. And then he rushes to the hut as quickly as he could.

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