Chapter 25 Sanctimonious
When the four elders of the Beggars' Sect saw the visitor, they immediately showed expressions of awe and bowed to him.

The gray-robed old monk in front of him is Master Zhiguang from Mount Tiantai. Although he is not well-known in the world, he is a true holy monk.

At that time, a plague broke out in Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi. In order to save the innocent people infected with the plague, Master Zhiguang risked his life, sailed across the ocean, and went to the wild overseas to collect exotic tree bark.

Although Master Zhiguang finally solved the plague, he himself fell seriously ill twice and lost all his martial arts skills.

"I was invited by Elder Xu of the Beggars' Sect and Judge Shan of Taihang Mountain to come here today, but I didn't expect there was another reason for this."

Master Zhiguang put his hands together and said, "Boss Qiao, although you are indeed a descendant of the Khitan, you have been raised and taught by Shaolin monks and Boss Wang since childhood. How are you different from the Song people? Don't worry about trivial things."

"Boss Qiao, what the old monk said is right. You don't need to worry about trivial matters."

Xiao Feng nodded slightly and said: "Although there are frequent wars between the Liao Kingdom and the Song Dynasty, not all Khitans are bad people. There are also some Khitans who have always been committed to the friendship between the two countries.

Your biological father's real name is Xiao Yuanshan. He learned martial arts from a Han master since he was young. He has very high martial arts skills and is deeply trusted by the Empress Dowager Xiao of the Liao Dynasty. She appointed him as the chief coach of the personal army of the Shushan Camp.

Influenced by his mentor, Xiao Yuanshan was committed to the friendly relations between Song and Liao. He often dissuaded Emperor Dao Zong of Liao from resorting to war, and was deeply loved by the people of both countries.

Unfortunately, thirty years ago, when Xiao Yuanshan brought his wife and children back to Yanmen Pass to visit his relatives, he was ambushed and killed by twenty-one martial arts masters from the Central Plains.

Because Xiao Yuanshan once swore that he would never kill a Han Chinese in his life, so even when he was besieged by those people, he still showed mercy and only forced them back and injured them.

However, those who ambushed Xiao Yuanshan had no moral principles. Seeing that they were no match for Xiao Yuanshan, they actually shifted their targets to his wife and children who were powerless.

It was not until he saw his wife and children being killed with his own eyes that Xiao Yuanshan went completely crazy and started a killing spree!
By the time Xiao Yuanshan came to his senses, most of the Central Plains masters who had ambushed him had been slaughtered.

Xiao Yuanshan was in so much pain that he lost the desire to live. In the end, he chose to commit suicide by jumping off a cliff, holding the bodies of his wife and children.

But what Xiao Yuanshan didn't expect was that his son was not killed, but was just temporarily in a coma.

So when Xiao Yuanshan found out that the child was still alive, he could only throw the baby back onto the cliff.

Later, the child was fostered in the home of Qiao Sanhuai at the foot of Mount Shaoshi, and was also named Qiao Feng.

Among those Central Plains masters who ambushed your father back then, there was your mentor Wang Jiantong, and the great monk present here, so you don’t owe Wang Jiantong and the others anything, but they owe you a lot.”

"Kakaka..."

Upon hearing this, Qiao Feng could not help but clench his fists, his tiger eyes flushed as he asked, "Master Zhiguang, is everything Young Master Xiao said true?"

"Amitabha, sin, sin."

Master Zhiguang sighed and said, "This donor Xiao is right. I have saved countless people in my life and have no regrets. The only thing I feel guilty about is that incident back then."

"Why?!"

Qiao Feng suppressed his anger and said, "My father was clearly committed to the good relations between Song and Liao. Why did you ambush and kill him? Is it just because he is a Khitan?"

“Because thirty years ago, the heroes of the Central Plains received a message that a large number of warriors from the Khitan Kingdom were going to attack the Shaolin Temple and take away all the secret manuals that had been treasured in the Shaolin Temple for hundreds of years.” Master Zhiguang said helplessly: “If the martial arts secret manuals of the Shaolin Temple were really taken away by the Khitan warriors and widely spread among the army, how could the officers and soldiers of the Song Dynasty be their opponents on the battlefield in the future?
This matter is of great importance. If those Khitan warriors were allowed to succeed, our Song Dynasty would be in danger of being destroyed, so we do not have time to verify it.

After learning that the Khitan warriors would pass through Yanmen Pass, we, under the leadership of our leader, traveled day and night and arrived at Yanmen Pass in advance to set up an ambush.

What happened next was just as Mr. Xiao had said.

Originally we didn't know that we had killed a good man by mistake. It was your father who left a legacy in Khitan characters on the stone wall outside Yanmen Pass before he jumped off the cliff.

We copied down the texts and asked someone who knew Khitan to translate them, and then we realized that we had made a big mistake.”

"Who is the leader?"

After learning the whole story, Qiao Feng felt that he had nowhere to vent his anger. He could not help but grab Master Zhiguang's shoulders and shouted with red eyes: "Tell me quickly, who is the leader?"

"Boss Qiao, the leader was deceived and made such a big mistake. He is now highly respected in the martial arts world. If this matter is made public, it will definitely damage his reputation and that of Boss Wang. Please forgive me for not being able to speak clearly."

Looking at Qiao Feng who was about to go crazy, Master Zhiguang put his hands together and said, "If Boss Qiao wants to take revenge, you can beat me to death with one palm. I just hope Boss Qiao can let go of the hatred in his heart."

"you……"

Qiao Feng was so angry that he raised his right hand, but when he saw Master Zhiguang closing his eyes and waiting to die, as if he didn't go to hell, who would? He really couldn't bring himself to do it.

To be honest, Qiao Feng admired people like Master Zhiguang very much, so even though he knew that Master Zhiguang had murdered his father, he was willing to believe that he was deceived by a villain and did not want to kill him.

"Hahaha……"

Just when Qiao Feng was caught in a dilemma, a loud and mocking laugh suddenly rang out, attracting everyone's attention.

Xiao Feng said with disdain on his face: "Old monk, do you know that the leader whom you protected with your life actually has a son in secret, and the biological mother of his son is Ye Erniang, who is known for being a 'evildoer'!"

"Impossible! You're talking nonsense!"

Upon hearing this, Master Zhiguang's face suddenly changed, and he could not help but angrily scolded: "The leader is highly respected, and he is... How could he have a son with Ye Erniang?"

The reason why Master Zhiguang chose to become a monk was, on the one hand, because he felt that he had committed many sins, and on the other hand, because he was influenced by the leader.

Master Zhiguang had always regarded the leader as his idol. Now that he knew that not only had he broken his vows, but he also had a son with Ye Erniang, he felt even more pained than killing him.

"Mr. Xiao, do you know who the leader is?"

Qiao Feng bowed to Xiao Feng solemnly and said, "Please tell me clearly, Young Master Xiao. Qiao Feng will be grateful to you!"

"No!"

Xiao Feng ignored Master Zhiguang's obstruction and announced loudly: "This person is the current abbot of Shaolin Temple - Abbot Xuanci!"

(End of this chapter)