Chapter 172: The Green Lotus Messenger

Another month passed. Ma Dayuan and Qiao Feng, who had killed many Xixia masters and rescued many civilians in Xiding City on the border, returned with most of the elite Beggar Gang members who had been killed.

The reason for coming back was because of a series of unreasonable demands made by Daxia to Song Dynasty.

The Song Dynasty court decided not to tolerate it anymore, so it tore up the contract and sent military force against Western Xia.

The Song Dynasty court, which had always been very weak, finally became tough.

Now, on the border between Song and Xia, the imperial court has ordered the two sides to prohibit trade and suspend the implementation of the Song-Xia peace treaty. The Song Dynasty has dispatched a large number of troops and decided to use military force against Western Xia to launch a strong counterattack against Western Xia's breach of the treaty.

Since the imperial court had already decided to use military force, the martial artists, led by the Beggars' Sect, would not be able to play any significant role if they stayed any longer, so they dispersed.

The Beggars' Sect, led by Ma Dayuan and Qiao Feng, also retreated back to Luoyang City.

"The gang leader and I have been gone for a long time. Is there any problem in the gang?"

The first thing Ma Dayuan did after returning to the gang was to call Chu Yuan to his home and ask about the gang's situation during this period.

Also traveling with them was the Beggars' Sect leader, Qiao Feng.

"Master, there is no problem. Everything is fine."

Chu Yuan bowed to his master Ma Dayuan and gang leader Qiao Feng, then shook his head.

He glanced at them without leaving a trace, and after serving them tea, he stayed beside Kang Min who did not leave!
My master's wife wanted to sleep with me, but I disagreed and kept avoiding her. He hired two mistresses and wanted to frame me.

In front of Chu Yuan, Kang Min was not nervous and looked normal, as if nothing had happened.

She felt that Chu Yuan would not reveal what happened between them, and she had already covered up the rumors about her and Chu Yuan in the gang.

"Do you know that during the time when the gang leader and I were away, there were rumors about you and Min'er in the gang?"

Ma Dayuan thought for a while and said.

Chu Yuan's heart moved. Could it be that Kang Min was really not afraid of death and reported the false accusation against her to Ma Dayuan?
"Of course I know."

Chu Yuan nodded.

Ever since the last incident, rumors about him and Kang Min have been quietly spreading in the gang.

After all, that day, in addition to Bai Shijing and Quan Guanqing, there were also a group of disciples from the Law Enforcement Hall.

"After I came back, I heard a lot of gossip between you and Min'er. I asked Min'er about it, and she said it was just a misunderstanding."

"You deliberately kept your distance from her to avoid gossip. Thinking of the instructions I gave you before I left, she was angry for a moment and told Elder Bai and Elder Quan that you were unfilial. However, the two elders misunderstood you and thought you had done something improper to Min'er. Later, everyone talked it out and the misunderstanding was resolved. Since it was just a misunderstanding, you don't have to take it to heart."

Ma Dayuan comforted Chu Yuan.

As soon as he returned to the Beggars' Sect, he heard rumors that his wife Kang Min accused his disciple Chu Yuan of committing a crime against her, which also led to the law enforcement elder Bai Shijing and the nine-bag elder Quan Guanqing arresting people.

Nowadays, there are countless rumors among the Beggars' Sect, saying that he is a bad judge of people. He saved the disciple he taught martial arts, but he actually had evil intentions towards his wife.

But it was just a rumor after all. Later, the Law Enforcement Hall Elder Bai Shijing and the Nine Pockets Elder Quan Guanqing led the Law Enforcement Hall disciples to capture and interrogate Chu Yuan but failed. Later, the Law Enforcement Hall Elder Bai Shijing and the Nine Pockets Elder Quan Guanqing issued a statement to the public.

They said it was just a misunderstanding and the matter had been settled, and asked everyone not to speculate or spread rumors.

After Ma Dayuan returned to the headquarters of the Beggars' Sect, he heard the news and immediately asked his wife Kang Min about the whole story.

Although he thought he would not make a mistake in choosing a person, he did not dare to underestimate the reputation of his wife and his own disciples.

Fortunately, the results he got from his wife Kang Min made him put his worries to rest.

It turns out it was just a misunderstanding.

"It was just a misunderstanding, but I didn't expect it would affect Master's wife's reputation."

Chu Yuan said.

He was a little surprised when he heard Ma Dayuan's words.

I didn't expect Kang Min to be so capable that she could even make up for this.

But my master is too upright.

If an ordinary man heard the rumors about his wife and his disciple, no matter how the two explained, he would probably have suspected that the two were having an affair. However, Ma Dayuan simply believed his wife's flawed explanation.

I don’t know whether I should say that Ma Dayuan trusts his wife, or that he is unlucky to marry a woman like Kang Min who is eloquent but unfaithful to her husband.

"Since it's just a rumor, don't worry about it. It will fade away over time."

Ma Dayuan said.

"Brother Ma!"

At this moment, Qiao Feng, who had been sitting aside and had been silent, looked Chu Yuan up and down, as if he had discovered something. There was a look of amazement in his eyes, and he suddenly spoke.

"Boss, what's wrong?"

Seeing that Qiao Feng was looking at his disciple Chu Yuan but calling him, Ma Dayuan turned his gaze to Qiao Feng and said.

"Brother Ma, I have seen this disciple of yours a few times before. His martial arts skills were not very good in the past. Who would have thought that after not seeing him for a while, he would have developed such powerful martial arts skills."

Qiao Feng looked Chu Yuan up and down, and exclaimed in amazement.

"Why do you say that, Gang Leader?"

Ma Dayuan was puzzled.

Doesn’t he know how strong Chu Yuan is?

He taught Chu Yuan all his martial arts!
The martial arts he taught Chu Yuan included not only the stick technique "Eighteen Stick Techniques of Earth Dragon" and the palm technique "White Lotus Locking Jade Palm", but also the "Lotus Skill".

It's not that he doesn't want to teach Chu Yuan stronger martial arts, but his own martial arts are not that strong, and he is only a second-rate master in the martial arts world.

As we all know, the Beggars' Sect is best at external skills and lacks strong internal skills. If one wants to become a martial arts master, one must at least wait until the age of 40 or 50.

Why is Chu Yuan, at such a young age, so highly praised by the gang leader Qiao Feng?
Qiao Feng stood up, walked around Chu Yuan, and said with admiration: "His breath is long, his temples are slightly bulging, and his eyes are shining. This is a sign of successful internal training. I didn't expect that our Beggars' Sect would produce such a young talent."

He is already thirty years old and is the leader of the Beggars' Sect.

The martial arts world lists him and "Murong Fu" of the Jiangnan Murong family as the strongest masters of the younger generation.

But he thinks that he is no longer a member of the young generation in the underworld.

After hearing what his gang leader said, Ma Dayuan observed Chu Yuan and found that the characteristics of his disciple Chu Yuan were exactly the same as what his gang leader had described.

"Boss, how does my disciple's martial arts compare to yours?"

Ma Dayuan really couldn't figure it out, so he asked about the doubts in his mind.

"I don't know. I'll know only after I've fought."

Qiao Feng shook his head.

Ma Dayuan was shocked for a moment when he heard this.

He knew what the gang leader's evaluation meant!
This means that even the leader of his own gang is not absolutely sure of defeating his disciple Chu Yuan!
How come I only spent a few months away and when I returned to the Beggars' Sect headquarters, I felt that everything had changed?

Let’s not talk about the rumors about his disciple Chu Yuan and his wife, those are just rumors.

But in just a few months, disciple Chu Yuan's martial arts has advanced to such a level, which sounds incredible.

"Brother Ma, with Brother Chu's martial arts, it would be a waste of his talent to let him serve as a helmsman under you and help you handle things."

Qiao Feng sat back in his chair and said.

"What does the gang leader mean?"

When Ma Dayuan heard this, he immediately had a bad feeling.

"Let Brother Chu come and help me. Our gang is in need of talent. Once he has made some achievements and has gained prestige in the gang, I think I can let him be the deputy gang leader."

Qiao Feng said bluntly.

He knew that since Chu Yuan had such powerful martial arts, whether he had obtained the secret manual by chance or had learned the skills from a senior master, it would be a waste of his talent if he were to be the leader of the Beggars' Sect.

If the Beggars' Sect does not know how to make good use of talents, such talents may miss the opportunity to join the Beggars' Sect.

Although Chu Yuan is the disciple of the deputy gang leader Ma Dayuan, and was promoted and trained by him, and Ma Dayuan has done him a great favor, this is not safe.

"Chu Yuan, what do you mean?"

Seeing that his disciple was appreciated by the gang leader Qiao Feng, and that his rapid rise to fame was just around the corner, Ma Dayuan looked at Chu Yuan and said.

He did not tie Chu Yuan to his side, nor did he fear that Chu Yuan's power in the Beggars' Sect would exceed his own, but instead he sought Chu Yuan's opinion.

"I don't care, but I want to have some free time so I can have more time to practice martial arts."

Chu Yuan said.

As the leader of the Beggars' Sect, he has to deal with a lot of things on a daily basis.

If possible, he would like a less busy position.

"So, when our Beggars' Sect was first established, we had the positions of 'Blue Lotus Messenger' and 'White Lotus Messenger', whose status was equivalent to that of the elders. However, since these positions were more in name than in reality and had no real power, no one was willing to take them up, so they were abolished not long after. Otherwise, how about letting Brother Chu take up the position of 'Blue Lotus Messenger' first? When Brother Chu has made contributions that are enough to convince the others, it won't be too late to let him become the deputy leader!"

Qiao Feng thought for a moment and said, "Speaking of which, the Beggars' Sect is known as the largest sect in the world.

But because the Beggars' Sect disciples are of varying quality, some of them are more famous than they are capable of.

Ever since the old leader passed away and passed the position of leader to himself, there has been no other master in the Beggars' Sect except himself who can be considered as a leader in the world.

Therefore, the appearance of Chu Yuan made Qiao Feng feel like he had found a treasure.

He wanted to train Chu Yuan to become another master who could show off his skills in the martial arts world besides himself.

"Blue Lotus Messenger... this position is great!"

Chu Yuan's eyes flashed with joy and he nodded repeatedly.

In his opinion, this kind of position, which is leisurely, high-ranking and does not require any actual work, is much better than being a deputy gang leader or something like that. It is simply a model of getting more money and less work.

Even if you offer him the position of gang leader, he won't change it.

After all, to become the leader of the Beggars' Sect, one must be spit on by all the gang members. It's disgusting just to think about it.

I wonder if there will be such strange rules in this world when the leader of the Beggars' Sect inherits the position of leader.

If possible, he wanted to continue to sit in the position of "Green Lotus Messenger" and did not want to be the deputy leader of the Beggars' Sect.

As a disciple of Ma Dayuan, the deputy leader of the Beggars' Sect, he had been watching all this. Ma Dayuan was so busy following Qiao Feng that he didn't even know that his wife had found many mistresses in the sect and was even having an affair with his own disciple.

In addition to the fact that Ma Dayuan has an upright character and is busy with family and national affairs, and has never doubted his wife Kang Min, this is also related to the fact that Ma Dayuan is extremely busy on weekdays, which gives Kang Min the opportunity to have an affair.

"Since Brother Chu agrees, I will inform everyone later. From today on, you will be the 'Blue Lotus Envoy' of the Beggars' Sect, with a status equal to that of an elder."

Qiao Feng laughed.

"You are very good!"

After he came back from a trip, he saw that his disciple Chu Yuan was actually appreciated by the gang leader and became the "Green Lotus Messenger" of the Beggar Gang. His status was not much worse than his own. Ma Dayuan felt a little complicated, but he praised Chu Yuan.

"Now that you have become the "Blue Lotus Messenger" of the gang, don't forget your master and mistress from now on."

At this moment, Kang Min sat next to Ma Dayuan and teased Chu Yuan jokingly.

In fact, she felt quite complicated when she saw this scene.

Because Chu Yuan had just drawn a line with her not long ago, he was appreciated by Qiao Feng and became the "Green Lotus Messenger" of the Beggar Gang.

If she had seduced Chu Yuan and had an affair with him before because he was young and handsome, and because he was her husband Ma Dayuan's disciple, and she wanted to get rid of Ma Dayuan and had some use for him, then she would have seduced Chu Yuan and had an affair with him.

Then, from the moment Chu Yuan became the "Blue Lotus Messenger" of the Beggar Gang, he had become just like the law enforcement elder Bai Shijing and the Nine-bag elder Quan Guanqing, who he wanted to use their power and beauty to seduce.

Unknowingly, the other party has completed the leap and transformation of identity.

This man is young and handsome. He recently displayed his superb martial arts skills and just now gained power!
"But why can't I use such an excellent person?"

Kang Min said in his heart.

"Master has done me a great favor, I will never forget him."

Chu Yuan said.

He didn't mention the master's wife.

Kang Min recalled the past scenes of the two of them making love under the bed, and immediately cursed in her heart, "You bastard."

"Brother Chu, you are an extraordinary martial artist. Let's find an opportunity to spar with each other."

Then Qiao Feng said again.

"The leader has invited me, so I'd rather obey than be disrespectful."

Chu Yuan bowed.

"We are brothers from now on. There is no need to be so polite and reserved."

Qiao Feng laughed.

……

It didn't take long for Chu Yuan to leave Ma Dayuan's residence.

The news that Chu Yuan was highly skilled in martial arts and was appreciated by the leader Qiao Feng and named the "Green Lotus Messenger" spread throughout the Beggars' Sect headquarters.

Before Qiao Feng was framed by Kang Min, Quan Guanqing, Bai Shijing and others and his identity as a Khitan was exposed, Qiao Feng had great prestige in the Beggars' Sect.

There is even a vague tendency that he will surpass the previous gang leader Wang Jiantong.

In addition, Qiao Feng stood firm on national justice and led the Beggars' Sect to help the Song Dynasty court and resist the Liao Kingdom and Western Xia many times, which made his prestige within the Beggars' Sect reach its peak.

No one had any objection to Qiao Feng appointing Chu Yuan as the "Green Lotus Messenger" of the Beggar Gang, which had not been established for many years.

As Chu Yuan walked along, the people who had known Chu Yuan during these days all greeted him and congratulated him on being named the "Green Lotus Messenger" by the gang leader. Chu Yuan responded with a smile!

Chu Yuan even walked around twice more and came to the small courtyard where the Dharma Protector Hall was located. He did not leave until he saw Bai Shijing, the elder of the Dharma Protector Hall, and walked past Bai Shijing.

It's just that when he left, Bai Shijing didn't look very good.

If Chu Yuan didn't know where Quan Guanqing, the Nine-Bag Elder, was at the moment, he would have wanted to hang around in front of him.

Chu Yuan had just returned to his residence, but there were already three Beggar Gang disciples waiting for him at the door.

"What do you want from me?"

Seeing that he had just returned, Chu Yuan immediately walked up to the three Beggar Gang disciples in front of him and said.

The leader of the group stepped forward and said respectfully, "Captain Chu... No, Envoy Chu, because you are now the Green Lotus Envoy, your status is equal to that of an elder, so you are eligible to have an independent courtyard as your residence at the Beggars' Sect headquarters. We are here for this matter."

Chu Yuan suddenly realized that he, who used to live in a single room in the Beggars' Sect headquarters, now has the qualifications to own a small courtyard like his master Ma Dayuan.

Chu Yuan thought for a moment and said, "Can I choose this courtyard myself?"

The leader said, "You can choose, but there must be an extra vacant courtyard in the headquarters. However, there is only one vacant courtyard left in our Beggars' Sect headquarters."

Chu Yuan asked: "There is only one place, where is it?"

Another Beggar Gang disciple said, "It's right next door to the Ma Gang leader's residence."

Chu Yuan said without hesitation: "Just rule this out."

If he chose to live next to his master Ma Dayuan.

Doesn't this give Kang Min another opportunity to harass me?
The leader said, "There is no suitable courtyard for an envoy in the headquarters."

Chu Yuan thought for a moment and said, "If the headquarters is not an option, can we live outside the headquarters? It doesn't have to be too far away, just help me find a small courtyard to live in near the headquarters."

The Beggars' Sect disciple who had been silent said, "Of course you can, but generally the elders and deputy leaders who have real power in the sect live in the main hall. Only those idle elders without real power live outside the main hall..."

Just as he finished speaking, the Beggar Gang disciple suddenly realized something. He raised his head and secretly glanced at Chu Yuan's expression.

Seeing that there was no anger on Chu Yuan's face, he felt relieved.

Isn’t this position of “Green Lotus Messenger”, which is not a permanent position in the gang, just an idle position?

There is no clear division of responsibilities.

But he didn't dare to say more, for fear of offending Chu Yuan.

Even though Chu Yuan's position was an idle one, he was still a "Green Lotus Messenger" with the same status as the elders. It was said that he was also appreciated by the gang leader. Wouldn't it be easy for him to deal with an ordinary disciple like him?

Chu Yuan understood that the elders and deputy leaders of the Beggar Gang who had real power all lived in the headquarters, probably because they were afraid of being excluded from the center of power.

Those idle elders without real power were probably squeezed out.

But this was exactly what he wanted. He had no interest in getting involved in a gang's struggle for power and profit. He just wanted a quiet environment to practice martial arts.

Chu Yuan said: "Please help me build a small courtyard next to the Beggars' Sect headquarters. I don't have any special requirements, just a place to live."

No matter what, the courtyard is more comfortable and convenient than the single room I live in now.

The leader agreed: "As you command."

In their opinion, Chu Yuan is quite easy to get along with.

He did not make things difficult for them, but instead asked them to find another unused courtyard for him in the Beggars' Sect headquarters.

"We'll take our leave now. We'll come back to inform the messenger after this matter is settled."

After leaving a word, the three men said goodbye and left.

Their efficiency is unexpectedly fast.

Only five days later, they found Chu Yuan again.

"Messenger, your courtyard is ready. I wonder if you are free today. We will take you to have a look!"

The leader among them said.

(End of this chapter)