Starting from Wudang, the journey to Butterfly Valley in northern Anhui is also not very close.
If you just ride on horseback, even if you choose shortcuts and trails, you will still have to cover a distance of at least one or two thousand miles, which will take a lot of time and energy.
Fortunately, the two places are connected by the Han River and the Yangtze River. Taking a boat down the river is much more convenient and faster than traveling on the ground.
Meng Xiu hired a small boat along the Han River and went as far as Hankou. After arriving at Hankou, he changed to a boat on the Yangtze River and headed east along the river.
After taking the boat into Wan Province, Meng Xiuyuan heard that the boatman said that he had almost arrived, and he paid the boat fare before landing.
He only knew that Butterfly Valley was located on the "Nvshan Lake in North Anhui", but he didn't know exactly how to get there, so he could only ask the pedestrians around for directions while constantly adjusting his route.
After marching all the way north for two or three days, we finally found the female mountain.
Fortunately, this place was only that big in total and was not as dense with snowy mountains as Kunlun, so it didn't take long for Meng Xiuyuan to find a valley.
I could see seven or eight thatched huts next to a clear stream. There were flowerbeds in front, back, and left of the hut, filled with all kinds of flowers and plants. It was obviously the residence of the medical immortal Hu Qingniu.
But before Meng Xiu could get closer, three ugly old men suddenly appeared from the roadside and called out to him:
"Anyone who comes, please stop.
I don’t know your name and why you came to Butterfly Valley?”
Meng Xiuyuan was stunned when he heard this. He was surprised when Hu Qingniu hired such three doormen.
However, the tone of the other party was quite polite, but they were slightly wary, so Meng Xiuyuan did not want to embarrass them and said straightforwardly:
"I, Wudang Meng Xiuyuan, came to Butterfly Valley to take my nephew Zhang Wuji back to the mountain."
Unexpectedly, when these three old men heard these words, their sensitive nerves seemed to be touched. The three ugly faces covered with scars and pockmarks instantly changed their colors. Each of them looked at Meng Xiuyuan with stern eyes and serious faces.
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After a long while, the leader took a step forward and asked Meng Xiuyuan again in a heavy voice:
"I would like to ask, are you really Meng Shaoxia, the 'Purple Sky Sword' of Wudang?"
From their breathing and body shapes, it can be seen that these three old men all have good martial arts skills.
In addition, the three of them had ugly faces and a terrifying aura in their words and deeds. Ordinary people might have been scared out of their wits if they were forced like this.
But if you put it on Meng Xiuyuan, it is just like the breeze blowing on the mountain and the bright moon shining on the river.
"Yes, what, what's the problem?"
Meng Xiuyuan was not angry either, but replied calmly.
"I don't dare. Please come with me, young hero, and we will guide you."
After saying that, the old man turned around and led Meng Xiuyuan towards the courtyard, while his two accomplices were behind Meng Xiuyuan, one on the left and one on the right.
The three of them seemed to have inadvertently surrounded Meng Xiuyuan in a triangular manner. At the same time, their bodies secretly tensed up, and they were obviously wary of Meng Xiuyuan.
Meng Xiuyuan was still calm and didn't care, so he just walked slowly with them.
Anyway, everything will be clear once we enter the courtyard, so there is no point in wasting words here.
"Wuji."
As soon as Meng Xiuyuan entered the yard, he saw Zhang Wuji sitting on the stone steps at the door, holding a book and studying hard. Although the child had grown up a lot after two years, his appearance had not changed much, and he could recognize it at a glance.
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"Uncle Junior?!" Zhang Wuji raised his head and was stunned for a moment, then he recognized Meng Xiuyuan.
Although the time they got together was short, Zhang Wuji would never forget Meng Xiuyuan, the junior uncle who saved his life at the hands of two veterans, Yu Xuanming.
As he spoke, Zhang Wuji quickly put down the book in his hand and walked towards the door to greet him.
Seeing this situation, the expressions of the three very wary old men surrounding Meng Xiuyuan immediately softened, and they walked together to where Meng Xiuyuan's eyes were. They no longer looked like they were about to take action at any time as before.
Immediately, the three of them bowed down and bowed deeply to Meng Xiuyuan. The old man at the head of them said sincerely:
"Meng Shaoxia, please be well. I, Yin Wufu, have been rude.
We were unable to confirm your identity just now. We offended you a lot, and we hope you can forgive me.
It’s really your responsibility and you don’t dare to neglect it.”
Meng Xiuyuan was stunned when he heard this, and then he understood the identities of these three old men.
Since this man calls himself Yin Wufu, the two people next to him should be Yin Wulu and Yin Wushou. The three of them are all slaves in Yin Susu's family.
Before Master Zhang Sanfeng's 100th birthday party, they went to Wudang Mountain and gave many valuable gifts to Zhang Cuishan, his son-in-law, on behalf of their master Yin Tianzheng.
At that time, Meng Xiuyuan was busy practicing the "Purple Sky Sword Qi", so he only heard his name and never met him in person.
They were just said to be domestic slaves, but in fact these three people had a long history. They were all well-known masters in the world in their early years. Later, they were rescued by Yin Tianzheng, the leader of Tianying Cult. In gratitude for his kindness, they made a vow to serve him for life.
The slaves abandoned their previous names and changed their names to Yin Wufu, Yin Wulu, and Yin Wushou.
Meng Xiuyuan thought of this, but he couldn't help but feel a little vigilant. Because he couldn't figure out why the three of them were here at the same time to protect Zhang Wuji.
You must know that although these three people are slaves in name, they are still considered top players in the Sky Eagle Sect. Even if Yin Tianzheng is worried about his grandson's safety, under normal circumstances, there is no need to arrange for the three of them to come at the same time.
Even if the Tianying Sect has a big business, it cannot afford such a waste of talents.
Moreover, when Meng Xiuyuan appeared just now, the three of them were a little too nervous. It was obvious that there was something hidden.
So after leading Zhang Wuji to sit down again and chatting with him for a while, Meng Xiuyuan turned to look at Yin Wufu and the other three people standing by and asked directly:
"Steward Yin, I see that when I told you that I came here for Wuji, your expressions changed.
But during this period, someone came to this valley to cause trouble for Wuji?"
When Yin Wufu heard this, he nodded and politely replied to Meng Xiuyuan:
"Young Shaoxia Meng, you have a keen eye, and this is indeed the case.
In the past month or two, there have been rumors in the world that Master Wuji is recovering from his injuries alone in Butterfly Valley.
Many young people heard about this and were greedy for the news about the dragon-slaying knife. They thought that an opportunity had come and wanted to harm Master Wuji.
There were many people coming overtly and covertly, some breaking in by force, some sneak attacks at night, and some trying to get in under the guise of seeing Hu Qingniu for medical treatment.
Although most of them are arrogant and foolish people, it doesn't take much effort to get rid of them.
But that dragon-slaying knife is too touching. Even though we have killed many people to establish our authority and intimidate, there are still many people who come after us.
You just said that you wanted to see Master Wuji, and we don't know the depth of your kung fu, so we are afraid that a powerful enemy may be approaching, so we naturally don't dare to ignore it."
Meng Xiuyuan frowned slightly when he heard this, sighing secretly at the greed of human nature that he would even risk his life for a mythical legend.
Immediately, he continued to ask:
"Do you know why the news that Wuji was recovering here spread?"
That Yin Wufu shook his head:
"The villain is incompetent. I only found out that someone deliberately spread this news in the world.
As for who it is, I don’t have a clue yet.”
Meng Xiuyuan was silent immediately. To be honest, given the current situation, it was difficult for him to guess who was doing this.
Although Meng Xiuyuan was not afraid of anyone in the world, he still felt a little unhappy after being plotted like this behind his back.
Unexpectedly, when he was thinking about it, he heard a disdainful voice suddenly coming from the room behind him:
"Humph, you young heroes of the Wudang Clan don't need to worry, this matter has nothing to do with you.
The person behind is coming towards me, Hu Qingniu."