area51novel Page 158
Page 158
"What do we do now?"
Zhang Quandao asked, his expression somewhat excited.
Hearing his words, Jiang Ning said, "No rush, I'll go in and find out what's going on."
He planned to go and find out who this guy surnamed Jia really was.
"Ok."
Zhang Quandao nodded, and Abbess Qingwei had no objections either.
Jiang Ning checked the weather; it was noon and the downpour was still in full swing. He decided to wait until nightfall to sneak into the enemy camp.
Finally arriving near Mount Hua, Jiang Ning decided to rest for a while, as he hadn't had a proper rest in the past few days.
Upon hearing that Jiang Ning wanted to rest, Zhang Quandao, Abbess Qingwei, and the others did not disturb him further, and had a Taoist priest take Jiang Ning to a tent.
The tent was very simple, but Jiang Ning didn't mind and went straight to sleep, only waking up at night.
After resting for a few hours, Jiang Ning felt much better than before.
Jiang Ning left the camp and found Zhang Quandao, Abbess Qingwei, and others to tell them that he was preparing to take action.
"Mr. Jiang, please take care on your journey."
Seeing that Jiang Ning was about to take action, Zhang Quandao gave him a word of advice.
"Rest assured, Daoist Master."
Jiang Ning nodded, bid them farewell for the time being, and then set off.
The night did not affect Jiang Ning's eyesight, and without much delay, Jiang Ning returned to the foot of the Thousand-Foot Cliff.
Looking at the dark tents not far away, Jiang Ning had infiltrated them before and was now quite familiar with the place.
Just like when I came before, the camps were still noisy even at night.
Jiang Ning searched all the way, peering into camps along the way, but after searching most of the enemy camp, he still couldn't find any trace of Master Mo.
It seems that things are not as he thought.
Jiang Ning thought to himself.
However, this is normal. It would be too absurd if Mr. Mo actually managed to become the enemy commander.
With this in mind, Jiang Ning decided to continue his search to see where the Four Immortals of Peach Valley were located.
Just then, a commotion suddenly erupted from a tent not far from Jiangning.
"Old Jia, sing one, sing one!"
A burly man's voice was so loud that it could be heard outside the tent.
Old Jia?
Upon hearing this title, Jiang Ning paused for a moment, then approached the tent, lifted a corner of it, and peered through the crack to see what was inside.
Mr. Mo was sitting in the center of a group of people, holding a huqin (a two-stringed bowed instrument), while the crowd was making a fuss.
"it is good."
Mr. Mo smiled and said, "Since you all want to hear it so much, then this old man will make a fool of himself by performing a song."
"it is good!"
The crowd applauded and cheered.
Mr. Mo made a gesture to quiet them down, and then began to play the erhu.
"The Jia family is not fake; their halls are made of white jade and their horses of gold..."
Chapter 224 When the fake is true, the truth is also false
Seeing the commotion inside, Jiang Ning was taken aback.
It really is Mr. Mo Da.
After parting ways with Master Mo last time, he thought Master Mo had already left, but he didn't expect him to come back.
Jiang Ning looked at the people in the tent; there were about a dozen of them.
The music was melodious, and Liu Qin stared blankly at Mr. Mo Da in the center.
He recalled a sentence that Liu Zhengfeng had said when talking about Mr. Mo Da.
"A good piece of music is poignant but not tragic, but his music is always sad. Unrelenting sorrow only brings tears to people's eyes. How can this be considered a good piece of music?"
Before Liu Zhengfeng retired from his life of crime, Liu Qin had always heard Liu Zhengfeng say that the tunes played by Master Mo Da always carried a strong sense of sorrow, which did not conform to his music theory.
Liu Qin later discovered, after following Mr. Mo Da, that it was indeed as Liu Zhengfeng had said.
After the upheaval in the Liu family, Master Mo took him on a journey through the martial arts world, making a living by performing with his erhu, and enduring hardships along the way.
Because Mr. Mo's music was too sad, few people liked it. Whenever he tried to perform in teahouses, he was either rejected by the owners or couldn't earn any money, leading a very difficult life.
At first, Liu Qin planned to use the money from the Liu family to improve their lives, but Mr. Mo refused and did not allow him to use it. As a result, the two of them lived a life almost like beggars.
This continued until they heard the news that the Huashan Sect was under siege, after which Master Mo took him back to Hengshan, and he changed back into his old clothes and life.
Liu Qin didn't understand why Mr. Mo was doing this.
Liu Zhengfeng didn't understand either.
Previously, Liu Zhengfeng and Mr. Mo had a strained relationship due to their disagreement on music theory. Later, Liu Zhengfeng tried to ease the tension by providing financial assistance to Mr. Mo, but for some reason, he angered Mr. Mo, and Mr. Mo never visited Liu's residence again.
Liu Zhengfeng once told Liu Qin that his senior brother had a strange temper and was very mysterious.
Master Mo Da was the first disciple of that generation to enter the sect. Liu Zhengfeng and his fellow disciples did not know his real name or who his parents were. They only knew that he was called Mo Da. When Master Mo Da first came to Hunan, he had a slight Nanjing accent, but as time went on, that accent became undetectable.
Mr. Mo never had much contact with them and always kept to himself.
Later, I never heard Mr. Mo mention any family or marriage. He has remained single ever since.
Even within the Hengshan School, Master Mo was a mysterious figure, and what left a deep impression on people was his sorrowful and melancholic Xiaoxiang Night Rain.
However, the piece that Mr. Mo played at this moment was one that Liu Qin had never heard before.
Unlike the usual sorrow and lament, the piece played by Mr. Mo Da, in addition to its inherent sadness, also carries an indescribable meaning, like the relief of an old man who has weathered decades of storms and now looks back on the past.
"When falsehood is taken for truth, even truth becomes falsehood..."
Mr. Mo's face was calm, his eyes were glazed over as if he were reminiscing, and he was reciting lyrics that Liu Qin had never heard before.
The others in the tent remained silent, as if their emotions were stirred by Master Mo's music.
They didn't know Mr. Mo's true identity, but they thought the melody and lyrics were very good.
After an unknown amount of time, the music that had been echoing in the tent finally stopped, and everyone came to their senses.
Mr. Mo had put down his erhu and looked at everyone with a smile on his face.
"I made everyone laugh."
Upon hearing this, the crowd, unusually, remained silent, as if their emotions were still caught up in the previous music.
"Old Jia, listening to your song, it seems like you have a story to tell."
One of them spoke, his tone tinged with laughter.
This man is Chief Shi of the Jiujiang White Dragon Gang.
Mr. Mo chuckled and said, "Those were just fleeting clouds in the past."
"Bai Yutang, Jin Zuoma, Lao Jia, judging from the words you use, you used to be from a wealthy family. How come you look so poor now?"
Another person spoke up and asked.
They heard the poem they had just heard sound like a monologue about someone's entire life.
Mr. Mo smiled again: "When I was young, my family fell into decline, and I wasted my life, living a mediocre life for decades. The past prosperity is now just smoke and clouds, so let's not talk about it, let's not talk about it."
One of them burst into laughter.
"Old Jia used to be from a wealthy family, no wonder his name sounds so delicate."
The others also burst into laughter.
Mr. Mo laughed as well, not minding their teasing at all.
Liu Qin stared blankly at Mr. Mo Da in the center.
"When falsehood is taken for truth, even truth becomes falsehood..."
Liu Qin murmured these words to herself.
The others thought Mr. Mo's name sounded pretentious, but only he knew that Mr. Mo was an imposter who had infiltrated their group, so his name was obviously fake.
But now, after listening to Mr. Mo's piece, he no longer knows whether Mr. Mo's real name or the fabricated name and identity he made up is true or false.
"Old Jia, this piece of music you've played sounds nice, does it have a name?"
A scholar-like man raised a question.
Mr. Mo thought for a moment, his gaze suddenly drifting into a daze. After a while, he shook his head and smiled.
"A casual work, anonymous."
Mr. Mo's acting skills are really that good?
Jiang Ning, who was watching from outside, was taken aback.
If he hadn't known that Master Mo was the leader of the Hengshan Sect, he would have believed it to be true.
He had only met Mr. Mo once, but now he understood why Mr. Mo was able to thrive in the enemy camp; his acting skills were truly impressive.
"Old Jia, where did you find this apprentice? He seems a bit shy."
At this moment, a burly man looked at Liu Qin, who was sitting silently on the edge.
Mr. Mo chuckled and said, "His father is a good friend of mine."
"And what about his father?"
The man asked again.
Mr. Mo snorted upon hearing this.
“His father was a scoundrel who was seduced by a vixen, leaving him all alone. I took pity on him and let him come with me. Now he can learn a trade from me so he won’t starve to death in the future.”
Liu Qin remained silent upon hearing this.
The man nodded and said, "His father is indeed a scoundrel."
"By the way, Lao Jia, the Holy Envoy has asked you to lead everyone in attacking the Huashan Sect. It's been almost half a month, and we haven't made a single move. Won't the Holy Envoy be angry?"
One of them looked worried.
Since their mutiny and replacement of Sima Da, Master Mo Da has used some means and sweet words to obtain command from the Four Immortals of Peach Valley, but he has not taken any further action, leaving them to besiege the mountain for more than ten days. They are worried that the Four Immortals of Peach Valley will blame them.
Mr. Mo chuckled upon hearing this.
"Don't be afraid, I'll take care of anything."
Chapter 225 Eat it all
“But we came here to avenge the Holy Maiden, but it has been so long and there has been no result, and so many people have died. I am afraid that the Holy Maiden will blame us if she finds out.”
The person who spoke earlier was still somewhat worried.
He wasn't the only one with this idea; everyone else shared it.
Mr. Mo said upon seeing this.
"The continuous torrential rain these past few days is a matter of timing."
"The enemy is on the mountain, while we are at the foot of the mountain. Mount Hua is the most dangerous mountain in the world, and the road to the top is too narrow. It is easy to defend and difficult to attack. This is the advantage of the terrain."
"Currently, two of the top ten masters of the righteous path are on the mountain, and Ning Yanwang is also guarding the mountain. The masters on the other side are far beyond our reach. We lack masters who can fight against Yue Buqun, Tianmen Daoren and Ning Yanwang. This is the human element."
"The other side has the advantage of timing, location, and popular support. It's not that we don't want to fight, but we simply lack the strength to do so."