Fish 034: Yeah

Met by chance.

In the dead of night, the lone moon hung high.

A few figures sneaked out of the temple gate and to the side of the canal.

“Has it been frozen?”

“When you look at it during the day, this side is the hardest…”

The moonlight couldn’t reach this corner, so if you look at it, the water’s surface was so dark that you couldn’t really see it.

The canal was wide, and they couldn’t get through it with their qinggong.

“That evil star went to find the physician. The two of them hid in the temple and I don’t know what they’re doing. If we don’t take advantage of this opportunity to slip away, God knows if we’d be able to get out of this town alive.”

At this time, one of them hesitated and said, “but if we leave Luo Bin like this, will he…”

“You joke, if we don’t leave, who will report to Qingcheng Sect?”

These people didn’t dare speak too loudly, and looked around from time to time, only regretting that the wind was too weak tonight to cover up the subtle noises.

They picked up the hidden rope, found a big stone, and put it on the edge, then tied a knot around it with the rope. Only then did someone pull the rope and carefully lowered it into the canal.

“Kacha.”

The sound was very subtle, but it couldn’t be hidden from the ears of martial arts practitioners.

A man quickly took a few steps and passed the canal without any risk. He threw the rope back, and the others hurried to grab it.

“Don’t snatch, come one by one.”

Though he said that, everyone was not stupid. The past few days had not been that cold and the ice layer was not thick enough. Even if it could be used, the weight it could carry was limited.

There would be cracks when the first person stepped on it, and no matter how lightly the people behind them move, the ice would crack sooner or later.

Falling into the water on a cold day would be terrible let alone when they’re fleeing for their lives right now.

Several people vied over each other, but the first person to pass the canal had already taken advantage of the night to run away.

——if I don’t run away, should I stay and die?

Just now, no one was willing to be the first to go up, but they now realized something was wrong and rushed to go. If this continued, the two evil stars in the temple would definitely be alarmed!

As he thought so, he dragged his body and desperately ran. These days, they could only drink porridge every day, so they’re dizzy from hunger, and even assigned work by the evil star so they’re exhausted and miserable.

No matter how difficult it was, when he remembered the tragic situation of the people in Qinghu Town, his pace quickened a lot.

Ever since they realized that the evil star had used the Hidden Killing Sect’s unique skills, the evil star simply didn’t cover up and tortured the townspeople even more severely. Except for the old and weak women and children, the other middle-aged men had a share. After an hour, they would feel pain all over their bodies and wail endlessly. Their old parents, wives, and children would helplessly surround them, crying to death.

The scene was really horrible, but after the pain, there was nothing wrong with them. They could walk and move, and they couldn’t find any wounds at all.

This wasn’t an evil star, but clearly a devil! He liked to hear people cry!

Thinking of this, the fleeing man couldn’t help shivering with goosebumps all over his body. He rubbed the back of his neck, thinking that after this narrow escape, he must go to the temple to burn incense sticks to get rid of bad luck.

“It must be Luo Bin, that self-proclaimed hero, who suffered bad luck and brought me down…”

He spat and used the moonlight to identify the way ahead.

Soon, after this alley was the entrance of the town.

This damn Qinghu Town, he will never step foot again in his next life!

“Whoosh!”

A sharp arrow grazed his face and deeply pierced the wall.

The Jianghu man opened his mouth wide, his face full of horror and his legs becoming weak.

In front of Qinghu Town, there was a dense mass of soldiers in leather armor, at least four to five hundred soldiers.

The leading man was wrapped in a black cloak and was riding on a horse with a long sword in his hand, having an awe-inspiring presence.

The soldiers in the front row bent their bows and knocked their arrows, aiming at this side. The frightened Jianghu man could not move, lest he became an arrow target.

As soon as the general waved his hand, his soldiers immediately dismounted and escorted the Jianghu man over.

“General Liu, we’ve brought him.”

This general was none other than Liu Dan, the bandit general.

The person that ran all night that day and at dawn ran into Meng Qi only to be robbed of all his money. After Meng Qi left, Liu Dan wanted to run away but he couldn’t! What if he met this evil star again? He didn’t need the money. If these good Liangcheng horses were gone, he would be so heartbroken to death.

So he took his own soldiers, went down the mountain dejectedly, and went to a nearby county town to rest.

——subconsciously choosing the opposite direction where Meng Qi departed.

This place belongs to Peinan County, Pingzhou Prefecture, and there were many bandits in the territory. Liu Dan was acquainted with the county magistrate because of business, but he was just passing by in the past. This time, he went to bother him. When the magistrate of Peinan heard that General Liu was passing by and had nothing important to do, he immediately changed his mind.

There’s a group of rebellious parties from the Holy Lotus Shrine in the territory. No matter which county magistrate, they couldn’t sleep well. God knows when this group of people would rush to the county town to burn, kill and loot. The former magistrate once sent people to quell the chaos, but none of them came back.

Can’t beat them and can’t drive them away.

In addition, there were also bandits disrupting business in the other parts of the territory under his jurisdiction, and the impact was greater than that of Qinghu Town. However, the congregation of the Holy Lotus Shrine just stayed there and didn’t come out, so the magistrate of Peinan let it go.

Seeing Liu Dan now, the magistrate felt that the opportunity had come, so he prepared a banquet for General Liu, told the whole story of Qinghu Town, and asked General Liu for help.

Liu Dan was furious after hearing this. The Holy Lotus Shrine is a force under the Heavenly King, and they actually touched Pingzhou?

So bold! See how he cleans up these rabbles!

Know martial arts? Difficult to deal with?

Summon five hundred soldiers, bring bows and arrows, strong crossbows in the army, and simple catapults for attacking bandit villages. This formation can flatten a town if they push hard. They might not be able to catch the incense master with strong martial arts, but it wouldn’t be a problem to destroy the Holy Lotus Shrine’s power over there.

It took Liu Dan about six days to gather the manpower. This was because there were many bandits and soldiers in Peinan County, so his soldiers often came here and the routes were very familiar.

After ordering all the leaders, Liu Dan didn’t delay and brought people here that night.

“Be honest with me, if you dare lie, I will kill you!” The soldiers put a sword on the neck of the Jianghu man, and the latter wanted to cry without tears. What kind of bad luck is this? How did this happen?

“Where is your incense master?” General Liu asked condescendingly while sitting on the horse.

He regarded the escaping Jianghu man as part of the congregation of the Holy Lotus Shrine. Otherwise, how could someone stay up in the middle of the night and go to the entrance of the town to probe him?

Liu Dan thought to himself, these mobs are still very vigilant to still have people on watch in this cold winter month?

For this alone, General Liu thought highly of this Holy Lotus Shrine’s incense master.

With high martial arts skills and the ability to confuse people, they just squatted in Qinghu Town and never went out, unlike those bandits who yelled about big meat, big bowls, drinking, and large scales for money——there should be a secret development, and their plan is huge!

Then send scouts to investigate, what? There’s an extra circular canal in Qinghu Town? This is a trench!

There’s no one else in the town, and it seems that they all lived in the area surrounded by water canals. This is a solid wall with a clear field of view!

Not good!

Liu Dan felt that he had met an ambitionist and even someone who accumulated a lot of food and slowly became king!

“Quickly answer our general, where is the incense master of the Holy Lotus Shrine?”

“The incense master…is dead,” The Jianghu man said in a daze.

“What?”

General Liu’s eyes widened while thinking about his difficult opponent. He suspected that there was something wrong with his ears.

“Talking nonsense, you’ll be hacked to death!”

“No no, he’s really dead!” The Jianghu man finally came to his senses, and kept shouting his grievances, “I’m not from the Holy Lotus Shrine, I’m from Pingzhou’s Qingcheng Sect. I heard that the Holy Lotus Shrine is harming people here, so…so I followed a young hero from Qingcheng Sect to eradicate evil.”

Liu Dan stared at this person.

General Liu’s tough aura from being on the battlefield was something most people couldn’t bear. This guy from Qingcheng Sect had been tortured these days, and now pointed at by sharp arrows and swords, his legs went weak.

He tremblingly pointed to the alley where he came out, trying to look back to see his other escaped companions. As long as there was one more person, they could prove it together, and the credit would be higher.

But the alley was pitch black, with no human voice or movement.

The Jianghu man felt a bit cold. He didn’t know if those people failed to escape or hid because of the bad situation. In short, he was alone now. He had to work hard to convince this general to save his own life.

“…the congregation of the Holy Lotus Shrine in Qinghu Town is gone. Now there’s a remnant of the Hidden Killing Sect. A devil that controls the entire town. His martial arts are very evil. We are not opponents. That young hero of the Qingcheng Sect was about to be tortured to death…I escaped!”

General Liu asked the soldiers suspiciously: “What is the Hidden Killing Sect? Another group of rebels popping up?”

“General, this subordinate doesn’t know.”

Standing in the dark, Mo Li saw these soldiers and horses clearly. He frowned, and left without a sound.

The canal was full of people shivering in the cold. They fought with each other and finally broke the ice.

Although they wanted to run for their lives, they looked up and found Meng Qi with his hands behind his back, standing beside the canal and looking at them leisurely.

“…”

Who dares to go up there?

Meng Qi guessed that time was almost up, so he brought these people out one by one. Otherwise, something would go wrong when they freeze.

Then he knocked these people out one by one, looked up and saw Mo Li coming back. He asked with a smile, “Did you see it? Where did the soldiers come from?”

“About four to five hundred people. We know the one leading them.”

“Hm?”

Meng Qi felt that he knew quite a lot of officials of the Qi Dynasty because when his illness flared up, he frantically tracked down those who had secretly dug up his elixirs.

“Money bag Liu?”

“…his name seems to be Liu Dan.” Mo Li expressionlessly corrected.

“Anyway, he’s the one who gave me his purse.” Meng Qi waved his hand, ignoring the fact that he had robbed the other side, “Why, did he come to ask for the purse?”

Mo Li shook his head and said, “I don’t think so. He just came to destroy the Holy Lotus Shrine.”

This could be regarded as a matter within the responsibility of the Bandit General.

“Tsk, just right! The incense master and the congregation of the Holy Lotus Shrine can be given to him as meritorious service.” Meng Qi casually said, “As long as these people in Qinghu Town don’t seek death, they probably won’t be killed. According to the usual practice, they might be sent to remote areas to open up wasteland along with exiled criminals.”

“Where’s Hu Zi?”

“He left with Lin Dou two days ago.”

While speaking, the soldiers and horses brought by General Liu had already entered Qinghu Town.

Mo Li had to remind: “They brought archers and crossbows.”

“…may I teach you the hidden weapon technique of cutting ten bowstrings with a copper plate?” Meng Qi tilted his head and said so.

Mo Li saw that Meng Qi was planning to scare General Liu.

“No! He might not be scared to death when he sees you, but if you see him, you might have a seizure!” Physician Mo firmly wanted to take this patient away.

So General Liu’s subordinates built a wooden bridge and occupied the entire Qinghu Town. They then found that the congregation of the Holy Lotus Shrine was tied up on one side, and the group of Jianghu people, who came to eradicate evil and was rehabilitated, were lying on the other side dying.

A sign was inserted on the ground telling them how to get to the tomb where the incense master of the Holy Lotus Shrine was buried.

“…”

Liu Dan ordered the townspeople to be brought up for questioning. As a result, when the townspeople heard the words Ziwei Xingjun and Holy Lotus Shrine, their faces distorted, and some people even cried out in pain.

General Liu asked again, only to find that a certain devil was in Qinghu Town, forcing them to scold Ziwei Xingjun for six days.

At first, no one cooperated, but the devil used some method to make them die of pain. During the seizures, a bright-minded person yelled at Ziwei Xingjun and Holy Lotus Shrine in front of the devil, and the pain immediately disappeared, so everyone followed suit.

As a result, the townspeople no longer had any strange seizures, but when they heard those words, they felt a dull pain.

“What a strange man.” General Liu muttered to himself and then asked what this man looked like.

“That evil ghost is born with a good appearance, and you’ll be fascinated once you see it. It must be trying to harm people!”

“…clothes? Wearing a brown robe that looks very ordinary, and it’s not afraid of the cold in winter at the twelfth lunar month. It must be a monster!”

“There’s two people! There’s also a physician who is dressed tightly, like in a windproof cloak, so you can’t see its face…”

The more General Liu listened, the weirder his expression became.

At this time, Luo Bin was carried over, and he couldn’t wait to say: “General, those two people who escaped are the remnants of the Hidden Killing Sect. Please send someone to arrest them, so as not to harm the common people.”

“Shut up!”

Liu Dan glared, this is sending him to die!

This General hasn’t lived enough!

“Come, take down all the people here, and question them one by one!”

General Liu shouted in a fit of anger. He then turned to his soldiers and said, “When things are over here, let’s go back to Silang Mountain garrison as soon as possible.”

Never come out again!

Why is it so difficult to hide from that master?

Outside Qinghu Town, Meng Qi folded his arms and watched Physician Mo pack his bags.

“Physician, where are we going?”

“Qinghu Town belongs to Peinan County, and eighty miles to the south is Mount Silang.” Mo Li pondered, hearing that Mount Silang has dragon veins.