Jianghu Qimen Lu

Chapter 20 Ingenious Torture and Wise Judgment

In the water dungeon of the Hangzhou General's Mansion, Bai Shandian, adorned with a three-eyed peacock feather, a qilin-embroidered official robe, and high-heeled boots, sat arrogantly atop the dungeon, looking down at Huo Shaoyun, who was imprisoned in the water. Enraged by Huo Shaoyun's deception, Bai Shandian had severed Huo Shaoyun's limbs and pierced his shoulder bone, completely destroying his martial arts! Although crippled and his wounds festering, Huo Shaoyun remained unfazed, his face filled with disdain.

"Tell me, what exactly is your relationship with the Japanese pirates of the Sun Gate? Why did you leave a message claiming to be a disciple of the Sun Gate when you kidnapped me as a child?" Huo Shaoyun remained silent. Seeing the pressure, he simply leaned back against the wall, closing his eyes to rest. Bai Shandian pulled a large golden-handled smoke bag from his waist, lit it, took a puff, and suddenly slowly exhaled countless smoke rings, which drifted and swirled, landing on Huo Shaoyun's face! He coughed violently, choking on the smoke. He tried to avoid it, but his entire body was chained, unable to move an inch. The hateful Bai Shandian's smoke rings seemed endless, as if he wouldn't stop until he suffocated Huo Shaoyun! This was terrible for Huo Shaoyun; snot and tears streamed down his face, his stomach churning. He coughed incessantly, wishing he could cough up his lungs!

"I'll talk, cough... I'll talk! Isn't that enough?" Huoshaoyun had roamed the martial world for decades, and had never witnessed such strange and cruel torture. It was truly worse than death, and the suffering was indescribable. The hero immediately bowed down and surrendered. White Lightning immediately stopped puffing smoke rings and coldly laughed, "Speak, my Beggars' Sect Chief!" Fire Cloud's face was ashen, his dead fish-like eyes rolling as he weakly said, "Actually, the Beggars' Sect members don't know about this. Thirty years ago, I joined the Sun Gate led by Black Sun. That spring, I went to the Beggars' Sect headquarters on Junshan Island in Dongting Lake, Changsha County, to participate in the entire Beggars' Sect Chief competition. Because our sect's influence permeated all levels of society, all the participants were elites selected from various regions. I was just a nobody of seventeen or eighteen at the time, so of course I wasn't qualified to participate in this chief competition. Unexpectedly, by chance, I met Black Sun, a Japanese from a foreign land. He came specifically to watch the spectacle of the largest gang in the Central Plains. Seeing that we got along very well, he offered to help me obtain the chief position, with only one condition: I must..." I joined his Sun Sect. At the time, their Sun Sect was unknown and virtually unknown in the martial arts world. I agreed without hesitation. He then taught me a set of Iron Palm techniques, and before practicing Iron Palm, I washed my hands with a rare poison. At first, I didn't know its power, but once I sparred with someone, the enemy would feel as if they were being roasted alive upon contact with the palm's energy, their bodies festering and dying! It was truly vicious. The day of vying for the position of sect leader on Junshan Island began. Although there were many masters vying for power, they all ultimately fell to me, an unknown junior. I shamelessly took the throne of sect leader. Little did I know that from then on, Black Sun revealed his cruel true colors. He not only made me plant spies in the government to gather intelligence, but he also frequently sought opportunities to lead large numbers of Japanese pirates ashore to burn, kill, and plunder our coastal soldiers and civilians...

Upon hearing this, Bai Shandian burst into a tirade: "Traitor! You sell out your country! Do you know that by doing this, you've paved the way for a villain, allowing him to plunder our border people with ease, like a tiger with wings! Your crimes are unforgivable, and you deserve to die!" Huo Shaoyun lowered his head in shame and stammered, "Actually, I regret it deeply. The brothers in the Beggars' Clan, seeing me aiding and abetting evil, all advised me not to get close to Black Sun anymore, lest I tarnish the Beggars' Clan's reputation. However, that Black Sun is simply too terrifying. Not only is his martial arts incredibly high, but his actions are also very strange. For so many years, I haven't been able to find a way to kill him; it's so difficult!" Bai Shandian couldn't listen any longer and shouted, "This time, he instructed you to kidnap my son, hoping to obtain the extraordinary book 'The Complete Book of Jianghu.' I ask you: what does Black Sun intend to do with 'The Complete Book of Jianghu'?"

"Well..." Huo Shaoyun pondered for a while before saying, "For many years, the martial arts world has longed for the extraordinary book 'The Complete Book of Martial Arts' belonging to the Xiang family of Jiangnan. Various sects and factions have always wanted to explore it and possess it. The Sun Gate, as a newly risen foreign gang, has even more of this ambition. He once privately declared to the martial arts world: whoever has the ability to obtain the extraordinary book 'The Complete Book of Martial Arts,' all the gangs under heaven are willing to elect him as their leader, ruling over thousands of gangs! This caused a huge uproar; the entire martial arts world was in an uproar. With fame and fortune at stake, all sects and factions were eager to act, their hungry eyes fixed on the Southern Fist Sect of the Xiang family of Jiangnan!" Bai Shandian secretly thought, "No wonder my wife, Xiang Fist, used a scheme that led to her family's annihilation. It seems the waters of this martial arts world are truly unfathomable! No one dares to confront it head-on; avoiding the strong and attacking the weak, finding a way to escape, is indeed the best strategy!"

"Where is Sun Gate's lair?" White Lightning demanded. Fire Cloud replied, "It's said to be on Ten Thousand Snake Island in the East China Sea. It's sparsely populated and extremely desolate; to be honest, I've never been there." White Lightning asked, "Since the mid-Ming Dynasty, Japanese pirates have wreaked havoc on our coastal areas, plunging the border people into misery. Therefore, since the founding of our Great Qing Empire, the court has implemented the wise policy of isolationism, and for many years, there haven't been any major incidents of Japanese pirates causing trouble on the border. I just don't understand, how did this Black Sun cross the border?" Fire Cloud chuckled awkwardly and mumbled: "Alas, I've taken many wrong turns in the past, using the Beggars' Sect's influence to bribe the border defense commanders for the Sun Gate, secretly opening the city gates and paving the way for them to wreak havoc on our Great Qing." White Lightning glared at him fiercely: "You! Really... Let me ask you: Where does Black Sun stay in Hangzhou?" Fire Cloud pondered for a moment, then said, "Black Sun is incredibly cunning, with several hideouts in Hangzhou, like a cunning rabbit with three burrows. But he frequents the Misty Rain Brothel, because his lover is the top courtesan there!"

"What's the name of the top courtesan?" Bai Shandian asked eagerly, overjoyed. Huo Shaoyun laughed, "You'll find out when we get there, Lord Bai."

"I want you to tell me!" Bai Shandian didn't mince words. Huo Shaoyun stuck out his tongue, shrugged, and had no choice but to say, "Her name is Red Moon. She's beautiful and talented, stunningly gorgeous. Everyone in Hangzhou knows her!" Bai Shandian's face flushed red, and he coldly retorted, "Are you saying I'm ignorant?" Huo Shaoyun remained silent, closing his eyes and saying nothing more. Bai Shandian pondered to himself, "These past few days, the entire city has been under martial law. The soldiers have been searching every house for Black Sun, practically turning the whole of Hangzhou upside down! Could it be that Black Sun is so audacious as to be fooling around in a brothel? Impossible, right?" He then fixed his gaze on Huo Shaoyun and asked, "Is there a hidden room in the misty rain?" Huo Shaoyun thought for a moment and said, "Now that you mention it, I do remember. There is indeed a cave in Red Moon's room, extremely well hidden. That's Black Sun's treasure trove." "Yes. It turns out he was a bandit his whole life, amassing countless treasures and curiosities. To please his lover, he would often take her to a secret room to admire and play with them. Of course, he wasn't afraid of his lover changing her mind and keeping everything for himself, because he was confident in his martial arts skills, finding few rivals in the world! I only stumbled upon that secret room when I was urgently trying to deliver intelligence to him. Luckily, the intelligence I was delivering was very valuable, otherwise I would have been killed by Black Sun long ago!" His expression was visibly strange; it was clear he was still vaguely afraid.

After Bai Shandian inquired about the details of the secret room, he said, "If everything you say is true, I will plead with His Majesty to pardon your death sentence!" Huo Shaoyun was overjoyed and hurriedly said, "Thank you! Thank you, Lord Bai!" Bai Shandian stood up, did not reply, and left in a hurry!

Instead of immediately deploying troops, he left the water prison, mounted his prized horse, and rode straight to the Southern Fist Sect. What was he doing there? He wanted to borrow troops from his wife! He had a premonition that Black Sun was hiding in the secret room of the brothel! But even he, Hongchen, and Zhang Kuang, working together, were no match for him. Left with no other choice, he had to condescend to ask his wife, Xiangquan, for help from her six hall masters—the six most famous fist styles!