A great man once said: Information is the key to winning a battle.
The information that Zhang Sanfeng, the ancestor of the Wudang Sect and the number one martial artist in the world, was a fat man was of great importance to Li Xiu and required him to adjust his future plans accordingly.
The novel "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber" and its numerous TV adaptations generally followed a similar plot, but there was one version that stood out and left a deep impression on Li Xiu: the only adaptation of the novel that deviated greatly from the original setting and characters, even turning them into parodies.
In this version, Zhang Sanfeng was portrayed as a hot-tempered, foul-mouthed and overweight Taoist.
Zhang Wuji, who was originally kind and hesitant, became a scheming man, while the two elders of the Mount Hua Sect wore red crosses on their uniforms and were both corrupt and predatory.
These things did not matter to Li Xiu. What mattered was that, according to this version, the original founder of Jin Gang Gate ( Diamond Gate ) in the novel, Huogong Toutuo, was actually the first person to discover the Nine Yang Manual.
Decades ago, after defeating several dozen high-ranking Shaolin monks and defecting from Shaolin, Huogong Toutuo felt that he was unbeatable and challenged Zhang Sanfeng at Wudang Mountain.
Unfortunately, due to the fact that his Yang essence had already been depleted when he acquired the Nine Yang Divine Skill, he was unable to fully utilise the skill's maximum power and was defeated by Zhang Sanfeng.
Later, he jumped off a cliff and died because he couldn't bear the defeat.
When he thinks of this eccentric person, Li Xiu can't help but shake his head and doesn't know what to say.
But it is this eccentric version, and the eccentric Huogong Toutuo, that allows Li Xiu to see a chance to take a step towards heaven, a chance to transform himself from an ordinary man into the world's top expert.
He has to plan the protagonist Zhang Wuji's chance.
Of course, this requires careful calculation and planning.
After that, Li Xiu began to actively search around the base of the cliffs and the foot of the mountains.
Unfortunately, he found nothing, and with that, Li Xiu's last hope was dashed.
It seems that the founder of Jin Gang Gate, Huogong Toutuo, is really arrogant and has a sick brain. He actually dared to go to the Wudang Sect alone to challenge the leader of the sect.
If it were a lesser sect, even if you defeated their leader, the disciples and elders would still swarm in and let you die of exhaustion, and then announce that the madman was too reckless and challenged the leader of our sect, and was killed by the leader of our sect in a few moves. Unjust.
However, Li Xiu thought about it carefully and noticed that Zhang Wuji showed no martial arts skills and was not wearing a Wudang robe after being thrown off the cliff. However, Huogong Toutuo almost certainly said that Zhang Wuji was a Wudang disciple as soon as he saw him.
It seems that Huogong Toutuo may have challenged Zhang Sanfeng, the leader of Wudang Sect, in the past, and fell off the cliff after being defeated. The place where he fell is said to be in the back mountain of the Wudang Sect.
This is a big problem. Wudang Mountain is an important place in this world, unlike the modern tourist attraction. Not just anyone can enter the mountain gate, let alone the deeper back mountain.
As a result, he ended up back in Wudang.
But Li Xiu also found another way into Wudang.
A few days ago, Li Xiu heard that Old Yang, who brings firewood to Wudang Mountain every day, was thinking of quitting. And Old Yang was also a greedy and timid person. Li Xiu immediately had an idea.
It was easy for Li Xiu, who had hundreds of taels of silver, to scare the old man who was collecting firewood.
Then he knocked on the table and persuaded the old man to sit down. Everything went smoothly, and he will take over Old Yang's job tomorrow.
Li Xiu ate and thought about the events of the past few days, going over his plan in his mind to see if there were any mistakes.
After confirming that there were no problems, a satisfied smile appeared on Li Xiu's face.
The important things will come, just wait for tomorrow.
The next day, early morning.
The sun was just rising and the mountain mist had not yet dissipated. From a distance, the white silk covered and wrapped around Wudang Mountain, giving it an air of mystery.
In front of the mountain gate, a middle-aged horse-faced man wearing a grey and green sect robe stood still with his sleeves rolled up and his hands behind his back, as if waiting for someone.
Soon two figures appeared on the winding stone steps of the mountain road.
One old and one young, one in front and one behind, one empty-handed and one carrying firewood.
The wrinkles on Old Yang's face seemed to twist together as he folded his hands and smiled: "Yellow Manager, sorry to keep you waiting."
The middle-aged horse-faced man hesitated for a moment before speaking: "It's okay, it's okay."
The man then looked at the young man in patched hemp clothes, carrying a bundle of firewood on his shoulder.
"Old Yang, is this your distant nephew?"
Old Yang replied: "Yes, yes, this is the distant nephew I mentioned to you yesterday."
"Isn't it? I am getting old and my strength is weak now. It is difficult for me to carry even two small bundles of firewood. I really can't do it anymore.
Just in time, my nephew's mother asked me to find him a job. I thought I could let him take over and continue to deliver firewood to the Taoist masters for me."
As he spoke, Old Yang also pulled his distant nephew, who seemed to have little experience in the world and was a bit shy, forward.
"This..."
The man with the horse-like face looked a little embarrassed and couldn't help but sigh.
"Ah, please take care of him, Yellow Manager."
Old Yang handed over a silver ingot with no expression on his face, and the man with the horse-like face accepted it without even looking at it, as if nothing had happened. Li Xiu wouldn't have noticed the small movements between the two of them if he hadn't been paying attention.
This skill was practiced and smooth. Li Xiu felt inferior.
The man with the horse-like face felt the silver ingot in the sleeves of his robe and his eyes lit up.
Wow, that's five taels, not a small amount.
Old Yang needed someone to replace him anyway, and under normal circumstances, he would have to go to the town to recruit people on the mountain road. Now that he had both a readymade person and silver, how could he not be willing?
With a light cough, the embarrassment on the man's face quickly disappeared.
"Cough, all right, after all, we should consider a parent's feelings for their beloved child."
Old Yang's face was full of smiles when he heard this.
"Since Yellow Manager has agreed, he will take over my job of delivering firewood from today, and I'll trouble him right away."
"No trouble, no trouble."
The man with the horse-like face waved his hand to indicate that there was no need to be so polite, after all, he had been paid.
Old Yang gently nudged his distant nephew: "Don't stand there dazed, say hello."
Then he turned to the man with the horse-like face and said: "Please don't mind him, this boy hasn't seen much of the world and is a bit shy."
The "distant nephew" looked at Old Yang and secretly sighed that Old Yang was also a potential actor.
Earlier, he had agreed with Old Yang to really treat him as his own distant nephew and not hesitate to do whatever was necessary. But now that he is an insider, he doesn't see anything wrong.
Hearing Old Yang's words, the man with the horse-like face didn't mind either. He just needed someone to deliver firewood, as long as they knew how to chop wood.
"Dao... Daozhang, hello!"
Old Yang's distant nephew spoke with a certain timidity and woodenness in his face.
"What Daozhang, call Yellow Manager..."
Old Yang halfway corrected him, but was stopped by the man with the horse-like face, who looked at the young man with a somewhat flattering expression.
"Hey, just call me Daozhang!"
Only second-generation disciples who are highly skilled in the sect's martial arts can be respectfully called Daozhang by ordinary people after they go down the mountain.
Even the young-looking third-generation disciples don't get to hear it.
He never thought that he, a steward without martial arts, would have a chance to be called Daozhang.
When Old Yang saw this, he didn't say much, just thanked him again and gave his distant nephew a few instructions before heading down the mountain.
The middle-aged man with the horse face walked ahead, talking about what to look out for. The somewhat wooden Li Xiu followed behind, carrying firewood and occasionally responding with a few words. They slowly entered Wudang Sect.