Yours truly, Ouyang Feng

Chapter 43 43, Fate Conflict, Divine Power Treasure
After meditating and resting by the stream for a night, Ouyang Feng and Hong Qi left the foothills of the Helan Mountains early the next morning and headed for Xingqing Prefecture in Western Xia.

Ouyang Feng had a good horse, but Hong Qi had no mount, so Ouyang Feng led the horse and walked with Hong Qi.

"Brother Hong, are you planning to wear this outfit when you enter Xingqing Mansion?"

"Is there any problem?" Hong Qi looked at his tattered clothes and brushed off the dust on them. "I am a disciple of the Beggars' Sect."

He sounded quite proud.

Ouyang Feng said, "Because Brother Hong is a disciple of the Beggars' Sect, this outfit is a bit eye-catching. Xixia has had many dealings with the Beggars' Sect. Brother Hong, aren't you afraid that you will be targeted as soon as you enter the city?"

Hong Qi didn't care: "There must be beggars in Xingqing Mansion."

Ouyang Feng said: "But Brother Hong, don't you want to try the specialties of Xingqing Prefecture? Wouldn't it be too ostentatious for a beggar to taste delicacies everywhere?"

Want to try some local delicacies?

Hong Qi really had this plan.

After a moment of silence, Hong Qi nodded and said:

"Brother Ouyang is right. I will just change my clothes before going into the city."

So when the two entered Xingqing Mansion, Hong Qi had already changed into a set of tight martial arts uniform.

"I heard that Xixia has a stone-roasted lamb dish, which is a delicacy that can't be found anywhere else."

As soon as he arrived at the city market, Hong Qi sniffed around, "It's almost time for dinner, why don't we go have a meal?"

"Okay." Ouyang Feng nodded.

The Xixia market is very lively, with shops lining the streets, a bustling crowd of people, and people of all ethnic groups dressed in formal attire, which is truly dazzling.

However, Hong Qi was determined and not disturbed by the hustle and bustle. He focused on smelling the fragrance and searching for delicious food, and he actually found a restaurant that served stone-roasted lamb.

Ouyang Feng threw the reins to the waiter who came over attentively and said:
"Brush the horse clean and feed him good feed."

Afterwards, he and Hong Qi walked into the restaurant lobby, found a table and sat down, ordered a stone-roasted lamb and a few side dishes, and ordered two jars of local famous wine.

While waiting for the main course, Hong Qi ate the cold dishes with his chopsticks flying, while listening attentively to the conversations of the guests in the lobby. Unfortunately, all he heard were gossips about business and politics, as well as a few Xixia scholars talking and discussing the Confucian classics. He did not hear any news related to Yipintang.

Seeing that Hong Qi was a little depressed, Ouyang Feng smiled and called the waiter:
"Come here, waiter."

The waiter ran over quickly, bowed and asked:
"I wonder what your orders are, Master?"

Ouyang Feng said:

"I have something to ask you. If you can satisfy me, I will reward you."

"Please feel free to ask me anything you ask. I will tell you everything I know."

"My brother and I have learned martial arts and would like to join the Yipintang to serve the country. I wonder if Xiaoer knows where the Yipintang government office is? What are the rules for joining the Yipintang?"

Hearing Ouyang Feng's words, Hong Qi's eyes widened immediately, and then he secretly gave Ouyang Feng a thumbs up in admiration.

Hong Qi joined the Beggars' Sect when he was young. He had been struggling for many years and had rich experience in the underworld, but he basically did not deal with the government. In addition, in the traditional concept of the Beggars' Sect, Xixia was an old enemy. Hong Qi had never thought that he could pretend to join Yipintang in order to find the target of this trip.

"Sir, you really asked the right person."

The waiter smiled and said:

"The Yipintang Yamen is just outside the Royal Garden in the north of the city. It is not difficult to join the Yipintang. No one is asked about their background or past deeds. Only martial arts skills are tested. As long as the martial arts skills are qualified, you can join the Yipintang."

Hong Qi couldn't help but ask:
"If you don't ask about your origins or past events, aren't you afraid of attracting spies from other countries?"

The waiter was indeed a waiter in a big restaurant in the capital of a country. He had a wide range of knowledge and explained clearly:
"Yipintang is not involved in military and political secrets nowadays. If a Yipintang warrior has a clean background, he can participate in protecting the nobles. Other Yipintang warriors can only do the hard work of arresting smugglers and catching bandits. Besides, our Great Xia has been friendly with Jin and Song for many years, and there are frequent business exchanges between the three countries. If there are spies, they have already mixed in with the caravans and have traveled to and from Great Xia countless times."

Hong Qi seemed to be thinking about something, while Ouyang Feng took out a gold melon seed and threw it to the waiter, "Well said, here's a reward for you."

The waiter took the small golden melon seed, nodded and bowed, and thanked him cheerfully: "Thank you for the reward, sir!"

After sending the waiter away, Ouyang Feng said to Hong Qi:
"After we finish our meal, how about joining Yipintang?"

Hong Qi laughed, "Okay!"

So when the main course came, the two of them devoured the meat in big chunks, drank wine in huge bowls, and ate and drank to their heart's content, soon clearing the table of food.

Afterwards, Ouyang Feng settled the bill, and the two of them left the restaurant and headed north of the city.

On the way, Ouyang Feng seemed to have nothing to do and asked casually:
"Speaking of which, Brother Hong, what are your ambitions? Just wandering around the world and doing good deeds?"

Hong Qi smiled proudly:
"Ambition? Of course I have it. My great ambition is to carry forward the Beggars' Sect and help the Song Dynasty to destroy the Jin Dynasty!"

"Promote the Beggars' Sect? Collect more beggars? Brother Hong, do you think that more beggars are a good thing?"

"Brother Ouyang, what do you mean?"

Ouyang Feng said calmly:
"In my opinion, the demise of the Beggars' Sect and the end of the world would be a truly good thing. The existence of hundreds of thousands of Beggars' Sect disciples can only mean that the court is incompetent, the government is incompetent, the nobles are corrupt, and the people are oppressed. If the Beggars' Sect helps to protect such a court, it would be a kind of...

"I am whipped by my master every day, and even my wife and daughter are raped by him, but I still try my best to protect his property. Of course, I am not saying that it is wrong for the Beggars' Sect to serve the country and the people. It is indeed right to protect the people, but who should own this country? Can we discuss the way the Beggars' Sect does things?"

Hong Qi was speechless for a moment. Although Ouyang Feng's words sounded reasonable, but...

Why does this guy seem more and more annoying?
Could it be that the two of them really have conflicting destinies?

……

at the same time.

In a house in a certain neighborhood in the city.

Four of the Five Tigers of Qinling gathered together, pondering over a silk map.

"According to this treasure map, this treasure is located in the Royal Garden, and the entrance is in a pavilion called 'Qingfeng Pavilion'. But we have sneaked into the Royal Garden several times, but why can't we find the Qingfeng Pavilion?"

"This picture was drawn during the Shaosheng period of Emperor Zhezong of the Song Dynasty. At that time, the capital of the Song Dynasty was still in Bianjing, and the Liao Dynasty had not yet perished. It has been nearly a hundred years since then. Over the past hundred years, the Royal Garden has been renovated countless times. Perhaps it has been renamed?"

"Is it as simple as changing the name? The location of Qingfeng Pavilion on the treasure map does not have a loft at all, only a rockery and flower pond..."

"Damn it, for this treasure map, we spent so much effort, killed so many people, abandoned the village we had managed for many years, and were ordered to die by the Guanzhong martial arts community. Even our fellow bandits wanted to kill us... After all the efforts, is it all in vain?"

"Impossible! I am determined to get this treasure! As long as we can find the treasure and master the peerless magic, not only the Guanzhong martial arts world, but also the whole world will be at our disposal!"

"But where is the entrance to the divine treasure?"

While they were arguing, the fifth of the Qinling Five Tigers suddenly pushed the door open and said with a strange look:

"Brother, I checked the Xingqing Prefecture Chronicles and learned that an earthquake occurred in Xingqing Prefecture more than 40 years ago, in March of the fourth year of Li Renxiao's Daqing reign. According to the Prefecture Chronicles, the aftershocks of that earthquake lasted for more than a month, destroying official and private houses and city walls, and killing tens of thousands of people and animals..."

Hearing this, the leader of the Qinling Five Tigers, Wang Heihu, changed his expression slightly, "Xingqing Prefecture has an earthquake? Could it be..."

The second oldest, "Rouge Tiger" Qin Baolian, said in a deep voice, "Could it be that the Qingfeng Pavilion collapsed in the earthquake and has not been rebuilt since?"

The fifth person who just came in, the fourth of the Qinling Five Tigers, "Ghost Tiger" Yang Lin, said:
"It would be fine if only the Qingfeng Pavilion collapsed. The point is that according to the treasure map, the divine treasure is located in an underground cave, and after entering from the entrance of the Qingfeng Pavilion, one has to pass through several corridors, three stone doors, and an underground ravine. If it was not only the Qingfeng Pavilion that collapsed in the earthquake more than 40 years ago..."

She didn't continue speaking, but the other four tigers understood what she had not yet expressed.

If the earthquake not only collapsed the Qingfeng Pavilion, but also the underground tunnels and caves, then their efforts would probably have been in vain.

"I won't be so unlucky!"

The eldest brother, Wang Heihu, gnashed his teeth and said, "Tonight we will explore the Imperial Garden again. Bring pickaxes and shovels and go to the location of Qingfeng Pavilion as shown in the treasure map to dig! I don't believe that we can't find the entrance to the divine treasure!"

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(End of this chapter)