Flower Stealing Master

As soon as Song Qingshu arrived at the inner palace, he saw several inner palace guards lying on the ground, and his heart sank. At that moment, the sound of weapons clashing came to his ears, and Song Qingshu hurriedly followed the sound.

"Everyone make it a quick fight, Emperor Kangxi is right in front of you, and he will be dealt with before the inner guards react. This is a rare opportunity!"

This time, the Red Flower Society finally managed to sneak into the palace, and most of the guards in the Forbidden City were sent to guard against the martial artists from all over the world. Chen Jialuo thought that the mission would go very smoothly, but he did not expect the team of imperial guards guarding Emperor Kangxi. The guards were very hard to deal with. Not only were they strong in martial arts, but they were also not afraid of death. The group's actions had now exceeded the expected time, and Chen Jialuo suddenly felt a bad premonition in his heart.

"Your Majesty, if we two servants are unfortunate enough to die in battle later, we please ask the Emperor to hold on. We shall try to communicate more with this group of rebels, and delay the time. Commander Duo and Lord Song should have noticed that something is wrong."

Zhang Kangnian and Zhao Qixian guarded Emperor Kangxi and retreated to the palace step by step. Although the two have always been quite mediocre, but at a critical moment, they were capable of understanding what was of importance. If Emperor Kangxi had an accident, then even if the two escaped with their lives, it would be a big crime of family extermination. But if Emperor Kangxi was safe and sound, even if the two were killed on the spot, Emperor Kangxi would not treat their families badly afterwards.

Emperor Kangxi looked around, but didn't see the Sunflower Ancestor coming out to rescue him, and he secretly regretted and feared for his life in his heart. But the education he had received since childhood helped him stay expressionless, keeping up a dignified look at the situation on the scene.

"Ahhhh!" With screams, the heads of the Red Flower Society eliminated the opponents in front of them one after another, and forced their way to Emperor Kangxi step by step. Many of them couldn't help showing a trace of joy on their faces.

Zhang Kangnian and Zhao Qixian looked at each other, and they were about to go forward in desperation, but Emperor Kangxi held on to their shoulders, and they looked back suspiciously.

They saw Emperor Kangxi standing out from the crowd, and he calmly said, "We know that today Our end is nigh, but We don't even know where you came from, which is a pity."

Chen Jialuo admired the courage of this young emperor very much, and cupped his hands and said, "The Emperor has an extraordinary bearing, and what he has done with his power can be regarded as worthy of a monarch. This Chen has always admired it. If it weren't for the difference between Manchu and Han, this Chen would be very willing to befriend your Excellency. It’s a pity that the reality is harsh and you have to be removed.”

"As long as the people live and work in peace and contentment, what is the difference between a Manchu reign or a Han reign?" Kangxi asked in a deep voice.

"To live and work in peace and contentment? Coming from you,Kangxi, its all just a load of horsesh*t!" Wen Tailai sneered, "Chief, we are in a dangerous situation, don't talk nonsense with the Manchu emperor. You just wait until I cut his head off. The head will be brought out of the palace to pay homage to the people who died tragically at the hands of the Tartars." Then he rushed towards Emperor Kangxi.

Seeing his ferocious appearance, Emperor Kangxi turned pale in shock, panicked, and hurried back to hide. Zhang Kangnian and Zhao Qixian cursed angrily and raised their swords to block him.

The two had just run a few steps, but felt their knees go numb, and their bodies staggered. Wen Tailai took the opportunity to slash the two swords with one palm strike, and the iron sword broke as a result. 

The attack hit them on their chests, which caused the two to spurt blood and they were blown away like a kite with a broken string, and fell feebly a few meters away. If it wasn't for the iron swords taking part of the palm force first, the two of them would have been killed immediately if they were hit directly by the Thunderbolt Hand.

Seeing Wen Tailai approaching and his impending death, Emperor Kangxi's body under his robe began to tremble involuntarily, but his dignity as an Emperor did not allow him to show even a trace of timidity, so he could only grit his teeth and glare at the other party.

Wen Tailai clenched his fists tightly, and the sound of his joints creaking was heard. Seeing the fear in Emperor Kangxi's eyes, Wen Tailai grinned, "Dog emperor, this Wen will give you a ride to hell."

Emperor Kangxi closed his eyes in resignation, but the sharp pain he imagined did not come. Instead, he heard an exclamation from the opposite side. He couldn't help but open his eyes, only to see a wooden sword stuck on the gold brick floor in front of him. Still trembling, emitting bursts of dragon roars.

Recognizing this wooden sword, Emperor Kangxi felt a sense of relief that he had never felt in his life, and said with great joy, "Qingshu!"

Song Qingshu flashed, stood in front of Emperor Kangxi, and said in a deep voice, "This Song is late for the rescue, and I hope the Emperor forgives my sins."

Emperor Kangxi was so excited that he couldn't even speak, and he wanted to hug and kiss him if he could, so how could he blame him?

Glancing around the scene, Song Qingshu sneered, "What an honor it is! If I am not wrong, then your Excellency is Chen Jialuo, the Chief of the Red Flower Society."

"Luo Bing, and her husband Wen Tailai, the Thunderbolt Hand."

"These twins must be the Black and White Guards of Impermanence, the fifth and Sixth leaders of the Red Flower Society, Chang Hezhi and Chang Bozhi."

"Golden Flute Scholar? Your Excellency is quite handsome, you should be Yu Yutong, the 14th leader of the Society."

"And these few should be, the one-armed Taoist Wuchen, the Thousand Arms Buddha Zhao Banshan…this Song had failed to recognize you before."

When he called out their names, the expressions of everyone in the Red Flower Society changed . Chen Jialuo stepped forward and said, "Your Excellency is a dignified Han, why do you want to be a dog for the Qing court?"

Thinking of the unclear relationship between the Red Flower Society and Prince Bao, Song Qingshu smiled lightly, "Isn't your Red Flower Society also working for the Manchus?"

As soon as this statement came out, both the Red Flower Society and Emperor Kangxi's expressions changed.

Chen Jialuo said in a deep voice, "As long as we can restore the Han people's country, why not compromise temporarily?"

Song Qingshu snorted, "If that's the case, why do you have to show such double standards?" And he secretly added a sentence in his heart, ‘If you have other plans, then why am I not allowed to have other agendas?’

"Why do you have to talk with this kind of running dog of the imperial court!" Wen Tailai was forced back by his sword thrust just now, and his heart was full of unwillingness, thinking that the other party was successful only due to a sneak attack from behind, .

"Look, no matter how hypocritical it is, in the end, we have to solve the problem with fists." Song Qingshu shrugged and spread his hands.

"Chief, it's not advisable to stay here for a long time, we need to end this fight quickly." At that time, a young woman with a pale complexion and a beautiful face stepped forward and reminded them.

There were blood and corpses all over the place, like a purgatory. And then, this charming young woman appeared, and suddenly there was a touch of warmth in the chilling atmosphere around the scene.

Song Qingshu noticed that she was holding a white blade in her slender hands, like holding a flower branch. Her pretty eyes were wide and her expression was tense, but it seemed like her lips were smiling.

Hearing her words, Chen Jialuo nodded and waved his hand, "Let's attack together, and make it quick." After speaking, he raised his sword and stabbed forward first.

The Thousand Arms Buddha Zhao Banshan, was the third leader of the Red Flower Society. He was famous in the wulin for his hidden weapons. When he saw their Chief launch an attack, he waved his sleeves, Flying Stone Locusts, Sleeve Arrows, Iron Lotus Seeds… all kinds of hidden weapons were shot at Kangxi who was behind Song Qingshu.

Before Chen Jialuo's martial arts accomplishment bloomed, the second leader Taoist Wuchen had always been the number one master of the Red Flower Society. Nicknamed "Soul-chasing, Life-taking Sword”, he was as fast as a meteor. When Chen Jialuo's voice just fell, and the tip of his sword had already reached within three feets of Emperor Kangxi.

Wen Tailai, the fourth leader of the group, shouted loudly and rushed forward like thunder. He aimed to hit Emperor Kangxi with a volley of thunderous attacks.

Chang Hezhi, Chang Bozhi, and the two brothers used the Darkness Eradicating Palms, one from the left and one from right, to attack Song Qingshu without interruption, intending to cooperate with their chief to keep Song Qingshu occupied.

The rest of the Red Flower Society were not as skilled in martial arts as these people, and in the blink of an eye, they had already fallen behind their companions.

After integrating the sword techniques of the Five Sacred Mountains on the Cogitation Cliff, Song Qingshu's swordsmanship could already be said to have reached a consummate realm, and he had also benefited a lot from his two fights with the master swordsman Feng Qingyang. 

Later, he gradually understood the legacy of Dugu Qiubai. With the sword intent contained in that engraving, it can be said that Song Qingshu had reached the level of a master in terms of swordsmanship alone.

Taoist Wuchen's swordsmanship was quite good, but after all, he had not yet reached the point of returning to the basics. He just blindly pursued speed and accuracy, but in Song Qingshu's eyes, it had left a fatal flaw.

Seeing that the tip of the sword was about to stab Emperor Kangxi in the throat, Taoist Wuchen was overjoyed, but suddenly found that he could no longer move forward. The scene where Song Qingshu had pinched the blade of his sword with his fingers suddenly entered his eyes, and he couldn't help but be horrified.

Song Qingshu didn't give him a chance to recover. He used his strength between his fingers to break Taoist Wuchen's long sword. Taking advantage of the moment when his opponent lost his center of gravity, he shot back the half-broken sword in his hand.

With a scream, Taoist Wuchen swiftly retreated, a broken sword was inserted deep into his right shoulder, and his left arm was broken. Most of his life's work was devoted to the swordsmanship of his right hand. So he had practically lost most of his fighting power, and he looked at the scene in horror.

All of Song Qingshu's movements were done in one go. Just as he forced Taoist Wuchen to retreat, he grabbed the Wooden Sword stuck on the ground with his right hand and lifted it up vigorously, pulling up the surrounding gold bricks from the floor.

These golden bricks were a kind of high-quality floor brick, which was produced in the imperial kiln by using a secret method, and they were specially used for important buildings such as palaces.

Song Qingshu waved his wooden sword and used his strength to send several huge square gold bricks forward, just enough to block Zhao Banshan's densely packed hidden weapons.

Wen Tailai had attacked from above, and he was also blocked by these golden bricks. But as he was already in mid air, he had to bite the bullet and hit them directly with palm force.

There was a loud bang, and the incomparably hard golden bricks were shattered by his palms. But Wen Tailai only felt his blood churning, his palms were sore and numb, and before he could recover, a fist pierced through the sky, traveled through the gravel quickly pressed onto his left chest.

Wen Tailai's face turned golden from the dust, and he fell back in embarrassment. Song Qingshu retracted his fist regretfully. If it wasn't for Chen Jialuo and the Chang twins, his Great Devil Eradicating Fist just now would have killed Wen Tailai.

Chen Jialuo's sword was also very fast. He was originally the furthest away, but his attack came only a little later than Taoist Wuchen, who was much closer. 

Song Qingshu did not dare to block the sword with his bare hands this time, but he still felt sorry for the other party in his heart. This attack was fierce, but it was needlessly complicated.

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Actually, the most accurate translation would be "Safflower Society", but I decided to go with the Red Flower Society so that it doesn't clash with wikipedia, which I'm using to give the readers an introduction for the various characters.

I must say the author really has a talent for describing fight scenes. From my experience with wuxia/xianxia novels, it is certainly not an easy thing to do. And remember this was at the time when he just started writing. I am curious to see how he develops three or four novels later (if he continues writing).