Chapter 12 Going North
The weather in Hengshan will not improve because Ou Zanghua is going to travel. It is gloomy early in the morning and it may rain at any time.

Outside Liu's house, servants were waiting with four horses.

This time when he went to the capital, in addition to Qu Yang and Qu Feiyan, Liu Zhengfeng also asked the honest Xiang Danian to accompany him, so that he would be able to find no one he could trust when he needed help.

Liu Qing took out the amulet he had asked for, and after the two said goodbye reluctantly, Ou Zanghua mounted his horse in a dashing manner, and under the expectation of everyone, he waved the whip and rushed out of Hengshan City with great ambition and passion.

Ouyang looked at the four horses going away, and could not help but put his hands together, and bowed in the direction of the Nanyue Temple, muttering: "I pray to the Nanyue Sitian Zhaosheng Emperor to bless Tibet and make it smooth and successful."

There is a must-pass road from Hengyang to Tanzhou, called Zhuting Town. It is a small town built on the bank of Xiangjiang River, so the waterway is relatively developed.

At this moment, in a restaurant in the town, a middle-aged man and woman booked the second floor and were waiting for something calmly.

Among these two people, the man is called Zhou Gutong and the woman is called Wu Baiying. They are not husband and wife but better than husband and wife. They are known as the "Tongbai Twins" in the martial arts world and are masters of the Sun and Moon Sect.

Not long after, a woman in her twenties came up. She was wearing a blue shirt and trousers with white flowers printed on it, and an embroidered apron from chest to knees. The colors were brilliant and magnificent, and she had a pair of huge gold earrings on her ears, as big as the mouth of a wine glass.

This person is none other than the leader of the Five Immortals Sect, Lan Fenghuang!

"Oh, I was delayed on the way. Sorry to have kept you waiting."

Lan Fenghuang sat down with a smile on her face, poured herself a glass of wine and drank it, then said with satisfaction: "Drinking a sip of hot wine in winter warms the stomach all the way, it's really comfortable."

"Lan Fenghuang, is there any news about the person we asked you to inquire about?" Wu Baiying couldn't help but frowned slightly as he looked at Lan Fenghuang's cheerful and familiar appearance.

“Yes!”

Lan Fenghuang said with disdain: "Qu Yang has gone from bad to worse, and has actually become a follower of a Hengshan Sect disciple."

"This is impossible!"

Wu Baiying immediately shook his head and said, "How could Qu Yang give up his position as a Divine Sect elder and become a follower of a Hengshan disciple?"

Zhou Gutong thought for a while and asked, "What is the name of the Hengshan disciple?"

"I heard his name is Ou Zanghua, he is very good at studying, and it seems he got first place in the exam. He is now preparing to go to the capital! He will probably pass by Zhuting Town in two days." Lan Fenghuang picked up the chopsticks, picked up a piece of meat and put it into her mouth, saying casually.

After these words were spoken, Zhou Gutong and Wu Baiying looked at each other and both felt that things were getting a little troublesome.

Lan Fenghuang was a woman from the Miao area. She was unfamiliar with Han etiquette, did not follow complicated rituals, and was not interested in the imperial examinations.

But Zhou Gutong and Wu Baiying lived in the 18 provinces of the Han area. Since he got first place in the exam and was going to the capital, they quickly guessed what was going on.

"Brother Zhou, are you still going to take action?" Wu Baiying asked hesitantly.

Zhou Gutong thought for a while and said, "Let's make contact first! If we can scare Ou Zanghua away, that would be the best. If not, we can explain to the elders."

Lan Fenghuang was very smart. When she heard these words, she realized something was wrong.

But she didn't say anything, but took note of it secretly.

Two days later, it was a rare sunny day, and Ou Zanghua and his four companions rode fast horses to the outskirts of Zhuting Town.

Looking at the bustling crowd, Ou Zanghua said, "Get off your horses and walk! Don't bump into the people coming to the market."

"Hehe, you are still kind-hearted."

Qu Feiyan immediately dismounted. She looked at the bustling town and suddenly thought of something. Her eyes lit up and she asked, "Since it's a market, will there be anyone selling candied haws?"

"There should be!" Ou Zanghua led the horse and walked into the town, saying gently: "If I meet him, I will treat Feiyan to a meal." "Thank you, sir!" Qu Feiyan was even happier when she heard it.

Seeing this, Qu Yang shook his head helplessly and said, "Sir, please don't dote on Feiyan too much."

"It's just a string of candied haws. It can't be considered as pampering." Ou Zanghua looked back at Qu Yang and said casually.

"But sir, I want two strings."

"it is good."

Xiang Danian saw that Qu Yang was somewhat concerned, so he explained: "Senior Qu, don't worry, this is just the character of our senior brother. He has always been very kind to the people around him."

The group followed the crowd into the town and soon found a vendor selling candied haws. Ou Zanghua immediately bought five strings and distributed them to everyone.

Near noon, the four of them found a restaurant and ordered a few dishes and a pot of wine.

While they were eating, the restaurant, which had been quite lively, became quiet at some point. When Xiang Da Nian turned his head, he realized that their table was the only one in the hall.

"Brother, there is an ambush!" Xiang Danian was shocked and immediately stood up with a sword in hand.

"Yeah, I know, don't be nervous."

Ou Zanghua nodded calmly, then wiped his mouth elegantly and said, "You took so much effort to persuade the other guests to leave, so you must have something to tell us!"

After a while, a voice came from the stairs: "As expected of you, you are a champion. You are really brave!"

Then, the two Tongbai brothers were seen walking down from upstairs one after another.

"Zhou Gutong, Wu Baiying?! They are coming for me."

Qu Yang couldn't help but sigh when he saw the two of them. He bowed to Ou Zanghua and said, "It's my fault that I have caused trouble for you, young master."

"Qu Bo, there is no need to do this. I hired you and I am ready to solve these problems." Ou Zanghua shook his head, looked at Tongbai Shuangqi and said, "Why don't we talk!"

"There's nothing to talk about," Wu Baiying stepped forward and said seriously, "This is an internal matter of our cult. It has nothing to do with you. We just need to take the traitor away."

"Even I can't keep Qu Bo and Fei Yan?" Ou Zanghua asked with some confusion.

Zhou Gutong bowed slightly and said, "Jie Yuanlang has a bright future ahead of him. He is not on the same path as the wandering people of Jianghu like us. It is best not to get involved in this muddy water."

"No way!" Ou Zanghua smiled and said, "I have hired Qu Bo as my guide. He has gone with you. If I can't catch up with the Spring Examination, it will be very troublesome."

Zhou Gutong frowned slightly and said slowly: "We are willing to compensate Mr. Jie Yuanlang with 500 taels of silver. With this money, Mr. Jie Yuanlang can recruit ten more guides."

Ou Zanghua paused. This man was quite interesting. It seemed that the identity of Jie Yuan was somewhat intimidating to the people in the underworld.

Otherwise, they would have started working long ago. How could they have come up with five hundred taels of silver?

Thinking of this, Ou Zanghua couldn't help but sigh and said, "What I mean is, Qu Bo and Feiyan are already mine, you can go back to where you came from. Do you have to make it so clear before you give up?"

Wu Baiying asked coldly: "Does Jie Yuanlang want to be an enemy of the Divine Religion?!"

"From what you said, you can represent the Divine Religion?" Ou Zanghua looked at Wu Boying, his smile disappeared, and he asked indifferently: "Or, does your Divine Religion want to be an enemy of my Confucianism?"

Isn't it just waving a big banner?
Ou Zanghua wants to see whether the flag of your Sun Moon Sect is big enough!

(End of this chapter)