liff at the Quarry Stone Valley and still could not find any clues. We all planned to prepare the corpse of our brothers for burial, but when we counted, there were only 17 dead bodies. The number of people that should have died should be 18 so why is it that we are now missing one?” He stopped talking then looked directly at Zhao Qiansun questioningly.

Zhao Qiansun remembering smiled and said, “In that bunch there was one corpse that had the ability to come back from dead and able able to walk around to this day. That living corpse is I, Zhao Qian Sun Li Zhou Wu Zheng Wang. (a joke… see Ren Wo Xing’s explanation below)

Reverend Zhiguang said, “At that time the three of us thought nothing of it, thinking to ourselves that during that fight, this brother here might have died and fallen down the cliff. So not seeing his corpse we did not linger too much on this. After we had properly buried all the brothers, we were all furious inside, so we threw all the Khitan corpse over the side of the cliff down into the Stone Quarry Valley. Brother Leader said to Wang Bangzhu: ‘Brother Jiantong, that Khitan man if he wanted to kill the two of us it would be as easy as turning his hand, so why did he just kicked us in our pressure points and allow us to live to now?’ Wang Banzhu replied: ‘I have been thinking of that but still can not figure it out. The two of us were part of the people responsible for killing his wife and son, it is only right that he should have ruthlessly killed both of us.’”

“The three of us discussed back and forth but could not think of a logical reason for what happened. Brother Leader then spoke up: ‘He must have carved those letters into the stone with some hidden intent. What a shame that none of us three knows the Khitan language.’ Brother Leader went down to the river and gathered some water to mix with the blood on the ground making ink. Then he colored it all over the stone. After that he imprinted the cliff writing onto a piece of white cloth torn from a gown. The Khitan used only a small saber but were able to carve letters two inches deep into the stone. With this kind of internal power his skills must have been unparalleled in the world, unmatched by anyone. Looking at the writing the three of us were secretly amazed. The memory of the day before still left a lingering fear in all of us. Returning back inside the Great Wall, Wang Bangzhu went to find a peddler who travels between there and Liao. Since that person knew the Khitan language we gave him the white cloth to read. He translated it out for us on paper.”

Zhiguang stopped speaking, looked up at the sky. He sighed and then continued, “After the three of us read the paper, all we could do was look wide-eyed back and forth at each other. We couldn’t believe it. The Khitan man had at that time made up his mind to kill himself, so why would he intentionally lie? We then went to find another person who reads Khitan and had him translate it by mouth one line at a time. What he said was exactly like the previous translation. God! If that was the truth then seventeen of our brothers had died a meaningless death. Those Khitan warriors had committed no crimes and were wrongfully implicated. As for that pair of husband and wife, towards them we had committed a great sin that could never be undone.”

Everyone was eagerly waiting to hear the words that were written on the mountain face, but Zhiguang was silent and had stopped talking. People’s impatience caused their tempers to flare and they irritably asked: “What did those words say?” “What sins had you committed towards them?” “Why do you feel regret towards the husband and wife?”

Zhiguang replied, “My good friends, it is not because I want to keep the meaning of those Khitan words a secret, but it is because if those words that were written were true, then all the actions of Brother Leader, Wang Bangzhu, and even mine were greatly in the wrong. We are too ashamed to face anybody. I am only a lowly common person in Jianghu, even if I did wrong it will not impact anything in the grand scheme of things. However regarding Brother Leader and Wang Bangzhu, they are different from me, what kind of rank and status do they hold? Moreover Wang Bangzhu had passed away. I do not dare to say anything that might ruin the reputation and prestige of these two people. I beg you all for forgiveness. I cannot say it.”

The previous bangzhu of the Beggar Clan was Wang Jiantong whose reputation and prestige were widespread. From Qiao Feng to clan elders to various disciples, all held deep gratitudes toward him . The members of the Beggar Clan were extremely curious about the story but upon hearing that this matter has implications toward the reputation and prestige of Wang Bangzhu not a single person dared to inquire further.

Zhiguang continued talking, “The three of us thought for a time, at first not wanting to believe it, but were forced to accept it so we decided to temporarily spare the life of the Khitan baby. We decided that we first off should head to Shaolin to see if there were any new developments. If the Khitan warriors actually did attack Shaolin then we could still kill the baby then. We rushed day and night toward Shaolin without stopping. Arriving there we saw that the number of heroes that had gathered at Shaolin to lend a hand was not small. The news involved the life and death of millions of common citizens, so all it needed was for the news to spread and numerous people came to help.”

Reverend Zhiguang turned his face from left to right looking at each person listening and then continued, “There were many heroes and revered seniors that came to the gathering at Shaolin that year. I need not to go into detail about that. Everyone was on full alert and ready, guarding the temple very tightly. More and more heroes from all corners of the land gathered as time passed. From September at the time of Mid Autumn Moon Festival all the way to December, three months passed without a single enemy movement. To further investigate the matter, we planned to look for the person who originally spread these news, however we could no longer find any traces of this person. Only then did we conclude that the news were actually false and that we all had been tricked. Both sides had suffered tragic and unnecessary deaths in the battle outside of Yanmen Guan Pass.”

“However not long after, Khitan calvary started invading Hebei so the matter about the Khitan warriors coming to attack Shaolin was soon forgotten. It did not matter whether they did or didn’t come, after all no matter what, the Khitans were still the mortal enemies of our Great Song.”

“Brother Leader, Wang Bangzhu, and I all felt ashamed and regretful about the situation outside Yanmen Guan Pass. The only people we told about it to was the Abbot of Shaolin and the families of the people who had died. We did not tell another soul except for those people. As for the Khitan baby, he was given into the care of a family of farmers living at the base of Mount Song. The matter had already passed and deciding what deal with the baby was quite difficult. We felt a lot of guilt for how we treated his parents, so we could not bear to take the baby’s life. However if we foster the Khitan baby till he grows up, and he seeks us out for revenge, then isn’t that like raising a tiger and sowing the seeds for disaster. In the end Brother Leader handed to that peasant family 100 Liang of silver and asked them raised the Khitan baby as their own, and not divulge to the baby any information about his heritage. That husband and wife did not have any children so they were overjoyed and accepted immediately. The couple also did not have any idea that this baby was of Khitan descent, because on the way to Mount Song we had changed the baby’s clothes to fit that of a Han baby. The people of Great Song held great enmity towards people of Liao that ran deep all the way to their bone marrow. So if they saw a baby wearing Khitan clothes then they would cause him harm…”

Qiao Feng hearing this had grasped about nine tenths of the intent, shakily asked “Reverend Zhiguang, that family… that family at the base of Mount Song… what… what… are their names?”

Zhiguang replied, “Bangzhu must have already figured it out. I don’t have any more reason to hide it. That person’s surname is Qiao, named Sanhuai.”

A stunned Qiao Feng yelled out, “No! No! Reverend please stop talking nonsense. Stop fabricating these stories to cause me harm. I am a definitely a Han so how can I be a Khitan savage? Sanhuai is… is… the person that is my biological father. Reverend stop talking nonsense…” Suddenly he jumped in front of Zhiguang, the left hand snatched the monk’s chest.

Shan Zheng and the 4 Elders called out, “Don’t!” and immediately rushed forward to rescue the monk. But Qiao Feng’s lightness skills were great. He jumped and dodged to one side while still maintaining hold of the Reverend with his left hand.

The sons of Shan Zheng – Shan Zhongshan, Shan Shushan, Shan Jishan – all three at the same time charged at the back of Qiao Feng. Qiao Feng, using only his right hand, caught both Shan Shushan and Shan Zhongshan then threw them far away. He next grabbed Shan Jishan, threw him to the ground, and placed his foot keeping pressure on Jishan’s throat.

Shan Family’s Five Tigers’ reputation and prestige were renown throughout the whole Shandong region. The five brothers had already been famous for a long time based on their own deeds, definitely not ones who rely on the fortune and fame of their parents. Even then, Qiao Feng easily dispatched the brothers like it was nothing. With his left hand holding Zhiguang, his right hand lashed out to grab, he threw the three Shan brothers around like pieces of straw, not one was able to put up any resistance. People saw this were shocked. Their jaws dropped in disbelief.

Shan Zheng, Shan Boshan, and Shan Xiaoshan felt anxious seeing their own flesh and blood in danger, wanted to jump in to help. But Qiao Feng had a foot on Shan Jishan’s throat. Knowing that his strength was something worth fearing, and all it needed was a press of the foot and Jishan will lose his life. Because of that, the three father and sons dared not to come any closer. Shan Zhen yelled out, “Qiao Bangzhu, if there is any misunderstanding then let us discuss it, don’t be heavy handed. Our Shan family does not have any enmity with you. Please spare my son.” Even the famous Iron Faced Judge were powerless and had to beg Qiao Feng.

Elder Xu called out, “Qiao Bangzhu, Reverend Zhiguang is a person who everyone in Jianghu respects. You must not harm his life!”

Qiao Feng’s hot blood had boiled, and he said in a loud voice, “Correct! The Shan family and I have no enmities with each other. I also had always respected Reverend Zhiguang. You people… if you people want to take away my Bangzhu position, then I will surrender it to you with both hands, but why do you have to create lies to slander me? I… what sins have I committed that would cause you people to accuse me as such?” The last few sentences his voice was choked by tears. People who heard were unable to restrain their feelings and started to sympathize with him.

The bones on Zhiguang’s skeleton let out a creaking sound. Everyone knew that his life was tethering on a needle. Whether he lived or died all were in the hands of Qiao Feng. It was so quiet that one could hear the sounds of the wind beating against the trees, the sound of the insects in the grass, and even the sounds of people breathing. No one dared to make a noise.

A short time passed before Zhao Qiansun suddenly started laughing, “So laughable! So laughable! Han people are not necessarily a cut above other peoples and aren’t Khitan people also are not pigs or dogs? Obviously you are a Khitan so why pretend to be a Han? What is there to be ashamed of? You even denied your birth parents and heritage, and here you call yourself a real man.”

Qiao Feng opened his eyes wide in anger, angrily asked, “Is senior actually calling me a Khitan?”

Zhao Qiansun replied, “How can I be sure? But in that battle outside Yanmen Guan Pass, that Khitan man we fought, his appearance and face is exactly like yours. That time I was so frightened. I fell unconscious immediately from terror. That man’s face I will never forget even in a hundred years. Also with my own eyes I saw Reverend Zhiguang carrying that Khitan baby back. I am a good for nothing corpse that came back to life, in this world outside of Xiaojuan (Granny Tan), I don’t involved myself in the business of anybody, nor do I have any involvement in other matters. If you are or if you are not the Bangzhu of the Beggar Clan, what does that trifling thing have to do with me? Why would I bring false charges against you? What advantage is there for me to make up a story about helping to kill your parents years ago? Qiao Bangzhu, my martial arts when compare to yours is very lacking. If I don’t want to live anymore, wouldn’t just killing myself be a better option?”

Qiao Feng slowly put Reverend Zhiguang down. He then flicked his foot and the large body of Shan Jishan flew out and fell to the ground with a thud. Shan Jishan stood up immediately. He was not in the slightest injured.

Qiao Feng looked at Zhiguang, seeing his face had a confident aura without the slightest hint of falseness, then asked, “So what happened afterwards?”

Reverend Zhiguang replied, “What happens afterwards, you should already know. At age seven you went to pick chestnuts in the forest, got chased by a wolf, and was rescued by a monk from Shaolin. The monk killed the wolf and treated your injuries. Then day after day the monk returned to teach you martial arts. Is this correct?”

Qiao Feng replied, “Correct. It seems the Reverend also knew of this matter.” Years ago when Reverend Xuanku passed his martial arts to Qiao Feng, he had ordered him not to tell anyone about it. So in Jianghu everyone had always thought that Qiao Feng was the direct disciple of Wang Bangzhu of the Beggar Clan. Who knew that he and Shaolin Temple had such an old and deep relationship.

Zhiguang said, “That monk from Shaolin was asked by Brother Leader to teach you martial arts and guide you since childhood to keep you from walking down the wrong path. Regarding this matter, Brother Leader, Wang Bangzhu, and I had many disputes. I wanted you to live the life of a common person, as farmer, and did not want you to learn martial arts to keep you away from being involved with the grudges and enmities of Jianghu. Brother Leader said that if we do that then we will be doing another wrong to your parents. So to make amends we must take care of you and develop you into a great hero.”

Qiao Feng said, “All you… all you seniors, why do you feel you will be doing wrong to my parents? People of Han and people of Khitan have been fighting and harming each other for a long time. It is a common thing. There is nothing to be regretful about.”

Zhiguang sighed and said, “The stone writing outside of Yanmen Guan Pass to this day still has not faded. Why don’t you go and see it. Brother Leader had already made up his mind and Wang Bangzhu went along with it. There was no way I by myself can win the argument. Only when you were sixteen years old did Wang Bangzhu received you as his disciple. After that there were many chances to get along together. Your natural talent is outstanding and progressed furiously. There was no way an average person can keep up with you. Of course if Brother Leader and Wang Bangzhu were not behind the scenes helping out, you would not be where you are today.”

Qiao Feng lowered his head to ponder. Thinking back on his life, he had faced numerous difficulties but each and every time his bad luck had turned into good. He had not faced much pain or hardships. He had met with many lucky opportunities in life. It came even without asking for it. For a long time he had thought that it was all due to his luck. But after listening to Reverend Zhiguang he realized he had a secret benefactor helping him all those years and he was ignorant of it. In his head he was stunned and asked himself, “If what the Reverend said was true then I am a Khitan and not a Han? Wang Bangzhu is not my kind teacher but the culprit who killed my father, killed my mother. The senior who helped me out in secret, he did not do it with pure intentions but probably only wanted to make reprimands to relief him of his guilty conscience. No! No! That can’t be right! Khitan people are evil and ruthless dogs. They are the mortal enemies of our Han people. How can I be one of those savages?”

(Part 2, translated by forgot password)

Zhiguang continued: ‘Chief Wang was very wary of you at first, but later, seeing you make fast progress in learning martial arts, behave generously and chivalrously, treat people with clemency, treat him with great respect and prudence, and act to his liking in every aspect, he gradually became really fond of you. Afterward, as you made more contributions and gained more prestige, from the people at the top to the people at the bottom of the Beggar Society, each and every one honored and submitted to you, even outsiders also knew that the upcoming Chief of the Beggar Society would be no one but you. However Chief Wang had still been undecided about you all along because you’re a Khitan. He tested you with three difficult problems, you got them done one by one, but only after you’d achieved seven feats did he entrust the Dog Beating Stick to you. In the Taishan convention that year, after you defeated nine strong enemies of the Beggar Society in succession, he then all the more resolutely installed you as the Chief of the Beggar Society. As far as laona (老衲 – old kasaya, a term a Buddhist monk calls himself with) know, for the past several hundred years, there has never been another Chief of the Beggar Society who had to go through so many hardships like you did.’

Qiao Feng lowered his head and said: ‘I only thought that enshi (恩师 – kind master) Chief Wang intended to train me, making me undergo many hardships so that I’d be able to take on important missions, but it turns out… but it turns out…’ Saying to here, in his heart he already almost believed that it was true.

Zhiguang said: ‘I only know as far as here. After you had started to serve as the Chief of the Beggar Society, seeing rumors in jianghu all having it that you acted heroically and valued justice, benefited the common people, behaved without partiality, reorganized the Beggar Society and made it thrive, inwardly I felt happy for you. Also, hearing that you’d several times ruined vicious schemes of Khitan people and killed some of their notable figures, I thought that, in that way, our previous fear of nourishing a viper in our own bosoms had become almost as groundless as the fear of the Qi people (杞人之忧 – the fear [of the sky collapsing] of the Qi people – referring to groundless fears). This incident should never have been mentioned, but somehow someone uncovered it? This is unlikely to be any good to the Beggar Society or Chief Qiao yourself.’ Saying to here, he let out a deep sigh. There was a sorrowful expression on his face.

Elder Xu said: ‘Zhiguang dashi (大师 – great monk), thank you very much for relating past events making everyone feel as if they were personally on the scene. This letter…’ He raised that letter with his hand and continued: ‘was written by that leading hero to Chief Wang. In the letter he made every effort to dissuade Chief Wang from handing over the Chief of the Beggar Society position to Chief Qiao. Chief Qiao, you may as well have a look at it.’ When he finished saying, he held out the letter.

Zhiguang said: ‘Let me take a look first, to see if it’s truly the original letter.’ When he finished saying, he received and held the letter in his hands, read it one time and said: ‘Correct, this is really the leading big brother’s original handwriting.’ Once finishing saying, he slightly transferred power into his left-hand fingers to torn off the foot of the letter where there was the sender’s name then put it in his mouth. With a bending of his tongue it was already swallowed into his stomach.

When Zhiguang torn the letter he had taken several steps towards the bonfire, thus he was a bit further apart from Qiao Feng. Moreover, he was putting the letter paper close to his eyes as if there was insufficient light and he could not see clearly, therefore when he torn off and put the bottom part of the letter in his mouth, the letter paper were just several cun (寸 – Chinese inch ~ 3.33 cm) away from his lips. Qiao Feng could never have expected this old monk of noble character and high prestige to use this cunning trick. With a roar of anger, he struck out with his left palm hitting the monk’s acupuncture points from a distance. His right hand immediately grabbed the letter, but it was still a bit too late, as the signature at the foot of the letter had already been swallowed by the monk down his throat. Qiao Feng struck out another palm to unblock his acupuncture points and angrily asked: ‘You… What are you doing?’

Zhiguang smiled and said: ‘Chief Qiao, once you have become aware of who you are, perhaps you will want to seek revenge for the murders of your parents. Chief Wang already passed away so there’s no need to mention him. But laona don’t want to let you know the name of this leading big brother. Laona also participated in the ambush against your father and mother that year, laona shall expiate all the crimes by myself, if you want to kill me or cut me to pieces, please do not hesitate to do so.’

Seeing Zhiguang lower his eyes and droop his eyebrows, looking merciful and stately, even though Qiao Feng was very sad and angry, he could not help having a feeling of respect for the monk. He then said: ‘Whether this matter is true or fake, at the moment I still don’t know. Even if I wanna kill you, there’s no hurry to do so now.’ When he finished saying, he gave Zhao Qiansun a sidelong look.

Zhao Qiansun shrugged his shoulders as if he was totally unconcerned about it and said: ‘That’s right, me included as well, you must give me my share of this debt. Just kill me whenever you like.’

Grandpa Tan loudly said: ‘Chief Qiao, everything should be considered carefully. Don’t act recklessly. If you incited the Hu Han conflict (Hu – 胡 – referring to minority people in northern and western China in feudal times), every person of exceptional ability in the Central Plains would become your enemy.’ Even though Zhao Qiansun was Grandpa Tan’s love rival, at that time he still raised his voice in support of him.

Qiao Feng let out a cold laugh, feeling utterly confused and not knowing how to reply. He then had a look at the letter in the firelight, only seeing it read: ‘My elder brother Jianran (剑髯 – sword beard/whiskers – Wang Jiantong’s nickname), after several nights of discussion, your idea of handing over your position has always been unchanged. However, after thinking about it carefully for several days, I still believe that it is inadvisable. Brother Qiao is a man of extraordinary talents. He has made many great contributions and behaved himself courageously and righteously. Not only is he the outstanding figure in the Begger Society, but in the whole of wulin in the Divine Land (神州 – China’s old name) there are only a very few people who can come close to him. If this talent inherits your position, it is only natural to expect that the prestige of the Beggar Society will expand at some time in the future.’

Reading up to here, Qiao Feng felt that this senior held himself in extremely high esteem, so in his heart he was very grateful to him for that. He continued reading:

‘But there’s not a day that I don’t think about the bloody battle at Yanmen pass and the shocking situations at that time. This child doesn’t belong to our ethnic group, his father and mother died because of both of us. In the future if he doesn’t know about his origin then there’d be no problem. Otherwise, not only will the Beggar Society be destroyed in his hands, wulin in the Central Plains will also have to face a massive catastrophe. At the present time, the people whose wits and martial arts can rival those of that child are extremely rare. It’s not an outsider’s job to interfere in the Beggar Society’s important internal affairs, but our friendship is far beyond what is usual, moreover, the involvement of this matter is too huge, please give it careful consideration.’ The signature at the foot of it had already been torn off by Zhiguang.

After reading the letter, Qiao Feng stood in stunned silence. Seeing that, Elder Xu held out another letter paper and said: ‘This is Chief Wang’s personal letter, you should recognize his handwriting.’

Qiao Feng received it. He only saw the letter paper read:

‘Instructions to Vice-Chief Ma of the Beggar Society, the Elder of Merit Propagation, the Elder of Rule Enforcement, and the other Elders: If Qiao Feng has any deed that is pro-Liao (辽 – a rival empire of Song) and anti-Han, and helps Khitan fight against Great Song (宋 – a Chinese dynasty), the whole Society must join forces to kill him, and make no mistake. Poisoning and assassination can both be applied. The killer will get credit for and not be guilty of doing so. Wang Jiantong personally penned.’

The date written at the end of the letter was: ‘Great Song, the 6th Yuanfeng year, the seventh day of the fifth month.’ Qiao Feng remembered clearly that it had been the day he had taken over the Chief of the Beggar Society position.

Qiao Feng knew without doubt that these several rows of words were really enshi Wang Jiantong’s handwriting, thus, he was no longer uncertain about his origin. However, recalling that enshi had always acted like a kind father, being strict in teaching but also very affectionate, Qiao Feng found it hard to believe that he had secretly written and left behind this order on the day he (Qiao Feng) had taken over the Chief of the Begger Society position. He felt heartbroken. Tears streamed down his face, drop by drop falling on the instructions of Chief Wang.

Elder Xu slowly said: ‘Chief Qiao, please don’t blame us for being disrespectful. Originally only Vice-Chief Ma knew about these instructions of Chief Wang. He kept them very carefully and never told anyone about them. In the past several years you behaved straightforwardly, and didn’t have any action that was pro-Liao and anti-Song and helped Khitan to oppress Han people, so Chief Wang’s instructions were naturally of no use. It wasn’t until the tragic death of Vice-Chief Ma that Madam Ma found out about this order. At first, everyone suspected that Vice-Chief Ma was killed by Murong gongzi (公子 – young nobleman) of Gusu, if you settled this score for brother Dayuan then there’d be no need to expose your origin. Laoxiu (老朽 – old senile – a term that old men call themselves modestly) thought about this again and again, because of the big picture I wanted to destroy the letter and Chief Wang’s order, but… but…’ Saying to here, he looked at Madam Ma, and said: ‘Firstly, because Madam Ma earnestly wants to avenge her husband’s death, it’s impossible to just let the wrongs that brother Dayuan suffered remain unsolved or let him die with an eternal grievance. Secondly, Chief Qiao supported Hu people, a conduct that has really endangered our Society…’

Qiao Feng asked: ‘I supported Hu people? Where did you get this from?’

Elder Xu said: ‘The two words ‘Murong’ are a Hu surname. The Murong clan is the descendant of Xianbei people. Just like Khitan, they are an uncivilized ethnic group.’ Qiao Feng said: ‘Huh, so it was because of that, but I didn’t know anything about it.’ Elder Xu continued: ‘Thirdly, a lot of people in the Society already know that you’re a Khitan, it’s no good concealing it.’

Qiao Feng looked into the sky and and let out a sigh. It was not until now that the depressing doubts and suspicions that had been in his mind for quite a while were cleared up. He asked Quan Guanqing: ‘Quan Guanqing, you knew that I’m a Khitan descendant so you opposed me, didn’t you?’ Quan Guanqing said: ‘Yes.’ Qiao Feng asked again: ‘The Four Elders Song, Xi, Chen, Wu listened to you and tried to kill me also because of this reason?’ Quan Guanqing said: ‘Correct, but they only half believed me and couldn’t make a decision. When the situation became critical they also chickened out.’ Qiao Feng said: ‘The clue about my origin, where did you get it from?’ Quan Guanqing said: ‘This matter involves outsiders, so excuse me for not being able to tell you. You should know that paper cannot wrap fire. No matter how you conceal your origin, someone would eventually find out about it. The Elder of Rule Enforcement has also already known about it for a long time.’

In a twinkling, thoughts in Qiao Feng’s mind surged up like tidal waves, for a moment he thought: ‘They’ve gotten jealous, making up all kinds of lies to frame me. Even if I, Qiao Feng, am all by myself, I won’t surrender and will fight bravely to the death.’ But immediately he also thought: ‘Enshi’s order is absolutely genuine. Zhiguang dashi is a person of high virtue and good reputation, and doesn’t bear any resentment towards me, why should he set up this dirty plan? Elder Xu is an important senior figure of our Society, how can it be that he has the intention of overthrowing the Society? Impartial Judge Shan Zheng, Grandpa Tan, Granny Tan all are renowned seniors in wulin. This Zhao Qiansun guy is screwy but he’s also not a zilch. How can this matter be false when they all tell the same thing?’

After listening to the words of the people like Zhiguang and Elder Xu, the mood of the beggar crowd was totally confused. Some people had already heard that he was a Khitan descendant, but they only half believed it, the other were only made