Chapter 205 Now I have become an officially certified traitor!

a few days later.

Tokyo city.

That night, Xuanzhen climbed over the wall and entered the palace.

There are some masters in the imperial palace, but the most powerful one among them is just a first-rate master and is far from being Xuan Zhen's opponent.

Xuan Zhen was an expert in martial arts and he searched the palace silently. After a while, he eavesdropped on the conversation between the palace maids and eunuchs and found out where Emperor Zhao Xu was.

Xuan Zhen sneaked into Zhao Xu's bedroom. His fingers were as fast as the wind and as powerful as lightning. With his invisible finger force, he pointed at the eunuchs who were serving Zhao Xu in mid-air.

This flower-picking finger technique was used to perfection, fully demonstrating the exquisiteness of Xuanzhen's martial arts.

However---
"who?"

A handsome young man in a red robe noticed something unusual and suddenly struck out with a palm in the direction of Xuan Zhen.

This palm strike may seem ordinary, but its power is unpredictable. It is a move from Taizu Changquan called "Seizing Mount Hua in Five Steps".

"Taizu Changquan?"

Xuan Zhen was startled and dodged, and with a flick of his robe sleeves, he easily resolved the young man's attack.

The young man stared at Xuan Zhen, but he was not panicked at all, and said: "So it's a monk. Master, you have good martial arts skills. You broke into the palace at night. I think you came to see me specially, right?"

Xuan Zhen saw that the young man had an extraordinary demeanor and was calm in the face of danger. His Taizu Changquan was also very handsome. He couldn't help but like him. He put his hands together and said, "I am Shaolin Xuan Zhen, and I am honored to meet you, Your Majesty."

The one who can call himself "I" is naturally the current emperor of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Xu.

However, Xuan Zhen did not expect that the Zhao family has always been mostly composed of little black fat boys and little white fat boys, but it is really rare to have an official as handsome as Zhao Xu. It does not seem like he is from the Zhao family.

Moreover, the Zhao family originally passed down martial arts from generation to generation. However, after they ascended the throne, except for Emperor Taizu who had unparalleled martial arts skills and Emperor Taizong who had excellent lightness skills, from Emperor Zhenzong to Emperor Shenzong, all of them were weak scholars and did not practice martial arts.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Xu is quite skilled in martial arts. Although he is young, he has already achieved the accomplishments of a first-class master.

However, if he really practiced the martial arts left by Taizu, he would probably not live long.

"Xuan Zhen? The Shaolin monks of the Xuan generation are headed by Xuan Ci. The ones I know include Xuan Cheng, Xuan Ji, Xuan Nan, Xuan Bei, Xuan Ku, Xuan Du, Xuan Shi, Xuan Ming and Xuan Tong. I wonder which monk of the Ling generation the master is a disciple of. I have never heard of him. The master's Flower-Picking Finger is so superb. I am afraid that his martial arts can only be compared to that of Master Xuan Cheng back then." Zhao Xu asked.

Seeing that Zhao Xu knew all the masters of the Shaolin Xuan family like the back of his hand, Xuan Zhen was even more surprised and said, "The emperor knows a lot about Shaolin Temple!"

Zhao Xu said: "Shaolin Temple has a long history with the Zhao family. The reason why Shaolin Temple was able to regroup is because of the strong support of our dynasty. Of course, Shaolin Temple also reciprocated the favor and has always been loyal to the emperor and patriotic. I know this."

Xuan Zhen said: "I am the descendant of Shaolin's hidden vein."

Zhao Xu didn't know whether to believe it or not, but he didn't dwell on it. He said, "Master, you came here so late at night. You must have something important to tell me. Please come into the house and talk."

He showed no fear at all, was not worried that Xuan Zhen was an assassin, and was even able to chat and laugh with him.

Xuanzhen was deeply moved. If Zhenzong had been so courageous, there would have been no need to sign the Treaty of Chanyuan.

The two entered the house, and Xuan Zhen said, "Your Majesty, I have been entrusted to tell you that the Song Dynasty is in danger. Since Murong Longcheng, the Gusu Murong family has wanted to rebel. In order to realize his ambition to restore his country, Murong Bo spread false news and instigated the Battle of Yanmen Pass, which caused great harm to the family of Xiao Yuanshan, the coach of the Liao Kingdom's Shushan Army, and also caused great suffering to the martial arts heroes of the Central Plains. Now his son Murong Fu is even worse than Murong Bo."

"The official lives in the deep palace, with no access to information, so I guess he doesn't know much about Murong Fu. Murong Fu's martial arts have really reached the limit of human ability. He is ambitious and is recruiting soldiers and horses. He can start an army in the southeast at any time. The army in the southeast is weak, and Murong Fu has been building it up for generations. Once he starts an army, the southeast will inevitably be corrupted, and the whole country will fall into turmoil."

"Moreover, Murong Fu is definitely not a reckless man who only knows martial arts. He is the son-in-law of Dali and Xixia, and he is in collusion with the Tubo national teacher Jiumozhi. If he rebels, he will definitely be linked with these three countries. Moreover, the Liao ruler Yelu Hongji has the intention of invading the south. Once he learns that there is a change in our Song Dynasty, he will definitely take advantage of the situation. By then, the Song Dynasty will really be in danger of being destroyed."

"The late emperor's beloved general Li Xian, a master of the time, has died at the hands of Murong Fu. Li Xian's adopted son Tong Guan has also surrendered to Murong Fu and has become his spy. Tong Guan, this treacherous traitor, has been active everywhere, deceiving the Empress Dowager, and has allowed Murong Fu to be recruited. The officials in the court are completely unaware of the impending danger. If I don't come to inform you, I'm afraid that in the future when Murong Fu's troops are at the gates of the city, you will not know the threat of Murong Fu!"

Xuan Zhen told the story in detail, explaining Murong Fu's threat clearly, which showed that he knew a lot of inside information.

Zhao Xu was moved, and murmured, "When the emperor was alive, the person he trusted the most was Li. I knew that Li was loyal, and the people he personally eliminated must be traitors who seriously threatened the Song Dynasty. I also admire Li's high martial arts skills. He was killed by Murong Fu, so I knew that Murong Fu was no small matter. But now the government is all decided by my grandmother, and I am powerless to interfere. But I never expected that Murong Fu would be so rampant."

Then Zhao Xu said to Xuan Zhen, "Fan Wencheng once said that if you are in a high position, you should worry about the people; if you are far away from home, you should worry about your ruler. You should worry about the world before you worry about yourself, and then you will enjoy the world after you enjoy yourself. Now there are indeed loyal officials and righteous men in the world. There are loyal and righteous men like you, who worry about the country and the people even though they have entered the Buddhist world. I am very relieved. I think that since there are so many people with lofty ideals like you, the world will not perish."

Zhao Xu stood up and said, "I have always known about the long-standing problems of the Song Dynasty. My father told me long ago that the Song Dynasty has three redundancies: redundant officials, redundant soldiers, and redundant expenses, which in turn lead to two accumulations, that is, poverty and weakness. My father had tried his best to reform the three redundancies and two accumulations to benefit the people, but unfortunately, he was not lucky enough. I wanted to continue to eliminate bad policies and benefit the people after I took power, but I didn't expect that there would be traitors like Murong Fu who would cause chaos."

"This thief is colluding with foreign nations, and is indeed a Xianbei Hu race, and his crimes are extremely heinous. Unfortunately, I am not in power, and I cannot mobilize a single soldier, and I cannot command you gentlemen. I wonder how the master can teach me?"

Zhao Xu's words were generous, his attitude was sincere, and he treated the wise and the humble with respect, which made Xuanzhen feel that this young emperor would definitely be a wise ruler in the future.

Thinking of this, Xuanzhen agreed more with the Sweeping Monk's ideas.

With such a wise ruler, the Song Dynasty will have at least a hundred years of national fortune. Murong Fu rebelled for his own personal ambition and brought disaster to the people. He is indeed a big devil. It cannot be denied that the Song Dynasty has many problems now and the people need to suffer, but as long as the people are patient and wait for the emperor to rule, with such a wise ruler, are they still afraid that they will not have a good life in the future?

Thinking of this, Xuan Zhen said solemnly: "It is difficult to count on the power above the temple, so I, Shaolin Xuanci Abbot, have announced to the world that I want to invite heroes from all over the world to hold a demon-slaying meeting. In order to call on more heroes, I hope that the emperor can write a secret decree so that we can obtain the reputation of the court, and more heroes will come to help. The Song Dynasty has nurtured scholars for a hundred years, and people are eager to repay their kindness. Even among the Zhao clan, there are masters!"

Normally, Zhao Xu would never agree to Xuan Zhen's request.

Once the news of the secret letter got out, there was no room for maneuver between him and Empress Dowager Gao.

Empress Dowager Gao knew that Zhao Xu did not like the old party and did not like her disapproval of a series of policies of Emperor Shenzong.

Zhao Xu also knew that Empress Dowager Gao did not like his political ideas.

But the two of them must tolerate each other for the sake of the country and have a tacit understanding with each other. That's everything. They will talk about it after Empress Dowager Gao passes away.

So no matter how excessive Empress Dowager Gao's actions were, Zhao Xu always endured and restrained himself.

But now Zhao Xu has learned about the huge threat posed by Murong Fu, and that Empress Dowager Gao and other nobles are so callous. Zhao Xu has made up his mind to be deceived to this extent.

"That Murong Longcheng was known as the invincible one in the world. Even Taizu's martial arts could not match him. Murong Fu was able to kill Li Daguan, so his martial arts might be no less than that of our ancestor. Is Shaolin confident?" Zhao Xu asked, "If Master Xuancheng had not gone astray, his martial arts would definitely be better than Murong Fu's. Unfortunately, Master Xuancheng's martial arts are completely useless. Now, Master, you are already a leader in Shaolin."

Xuan Zhen had to reveal a little bit of his trump card, and said: "You just need to be at ease, sir. There are many hidden dragons and crouching tigers in my Shaolin Temple, and there are masters who are no less powerful than Murong Fu."

"That's good." Zhao Xu said, and took out paper and pen, wrote an imperial edict ordering Shaolin Abbot Xuanci to gather the heroes of the martial arts world and eradicate the traitor Murong Fu, stamped it with his own small seal, and took out a jade belt to give to Xuanzhen as a token of trust.

It can be considered as an official certification that Murong Fu is indeed a big traitor!

"I don't have a jade seal, only a small seal. However, among the Zhao clan, there is a grandfather named Zhao Rui, who is known as the Iron Lock Across the River and is a scoundrel in the martial arts world. If you find Zhao Rui, he will recognize this jade belt and can testify for you!" said Zhao Xu.

Not many people in the main line of the Zhao family practice martial arts, but the Zhao clan is spread all over the world, especially the Taizu lineage, which has no chance of becoming emperor. Many of them have inherited the family martial arts and live in the martial arts world.

During the Legend of the Condor Heroes period, there was an old Lord Zhao in the Zhao family who was very skilled in martial arts. Guo Jing and Huang Rong had tried to invite him but failed.

"Since the emperor has placed so much trust in me, I will definitely do my best to handle this matter." Xuan Zhen said, "There is one thing I don't know whether I should say or not."

Zhao Xu said: "Master, please speak."

Xuan Zhen said: "Is what the emperor is practicing the Yijin Jin that Taizu left behind?"

Zhao Xu said: "That's right."

Xuan Zhen said: "Back then, Patriarch Bodhidharma faced the wall for nine years and wrote the Yi Jin Jing, but the Second Patriarch Huike could not comprehend it. It was not until many years later that Master Huike met Li Jing, one of the Three Heroes of the Wind and Dust. Li Jing fully understood the secrets of the Yi Jin Jing, and only then did Shaolin's Yi Jin Jing come into being. Li Jing also mastered the Yi Jin Jing, but he was a soldier, so he later changed the Yi Jin Jing into the more powerful Yi Jin Jin and passed it on to his descendants. The Yi Jin Jin that Taizu of this dynasty obtained came from Li Jing's descendants."

"Is it really like this?" Zhao Xu was stunned, obviously not knowing this story.

Xuan Zhen continued, "The Yi Jin Jing of Shaolin requires one to see through the self-image and the human image before learning it, but the Yi Jin Jin taught by Li Jing does not require one to see through the self-image and the human image. It's just that Yi Jin Jin has lost the health-preserving effect of Yi Jin Jing, and a lot of it has been lost in the process of transmission. Although Taizu used the Panlong Staff to fight all over the world after learning it and became a master of the time, he later became possessed and unfortunately died suddenly. The official's breath is unstable from time to time, which may be a hidden danger in practicing Yi Jin Jin."

Zhao Xu's expression changed.

"If the emperor is willing, I can take a look at his body." Xuanzhen said.

Zhao Xu hesitated for a moment and held out his wrist.

Xuan Zhen felt Zhao Xu's pulse and suddenly his face changed. He asked, "At what age did you start practicing Yi Jin Jin?"

"Ten years old." Zhao Xu said.

"You are seriously ill!" Xuan Zhen said with regret, "If you have other martial arts foundations, the hidden dangers are small if you start practicing after the age of sixteen. But if you start practicing at the age of ten, when your body is not fully developed, the hidden dangers are really great. Although you have accumulated a lot of internal strength, your tendons and bones are seriously damaged, and your internal organs and blood are hurt. I am not exaggerating. With your current condition, it will be very difficult for you to live past the age of thirty."

"What?!" Zhao Xu's face changed drastically, "Master, is there any way to save him? I still have many unfulfilled wishes!"

Xuan Zhen pondered and handed over a copy of the Shenzhaojing, saying, "My Lord, this is the Shenzhaojing created by my master. If you can practice it according to the rules, you may be able to recover some of your vitality. However, my Lord has been seriously injured. The Shenzhaojing can only extend your life by ten years at most."

Xuanzhen sighed in his heart. The Song Dynasty finally had a wise ruler, but he turned out to be short-lived.

The fate of this country is declining no matter how you look at it.

"Thank you, Master." Zhao Xu said.

Xuan Zhen nodded, flew out immediately, and disappeared into the night.

"I advise you not to cherish your golden dress, but to cherish your youth. If there are flowers to be plucked, pluck them now, and don't wait until the flowers have fallen and the branches are empty." Thinking that he would soon die, Zhao Xu's eyes became firm, "I can't wait any longer!"

(End of this chapter)