The light of the sword is like the moon reflecting on Kyushu

When a dozen or so Taoist priests appeared in front of the carriage, Pang Shiwu immediately shouted, "Brother, Master Yichen has arrived!"

Feng Jiuxiao immediately jumped out of the third carriage, lifting the curtain, and strode towards Daoist Yichen, clasping his hands in greeting and saying with a smile, "Oh, Daoist Yichen, how have you been?"

Master Yichen laughed and said, "You little rascal, it's been less than a month since we parted ways from the Demonic Sect's headquarters, hasn't it? I'm still the same, but you seem to have gained weight."

Feng Jiuxiao chuckled and said, "All you do every day is eat and sleep, how can you not get fat?"

The two hit it off and felt a great sense of kinship when they met again.

Feng Jiuxiao then greeted the Taoists behind Master Yichen one by one, and bowed, saying, "Greetings, fellow Taoists."

Seeing his courteous manners, the Taoist priests all clenched their right fists inside their left hands, extending their fingers to enclose their right hands, forming a Tai Chi symbol, signifying "promoting good and suppressing evil." They stood upright or bowed slightly, their movements natural, saying, "Compassion, compassion, we greet you, young master!"

Master Yichen said, "Why are you only arriving now?"

Feng Jiuxiao smiled and said, "We encountered some unexpected events on the way, which delayed things a bit."

Yichen didn't press the matter further. If the other party wanted to talk, they would, even without being asked. If they didn't want to talk, asking would be pointless.

At this moment, the people from the Huashan Sect also came to greet them. Linghu Jing laughed loudly from afar, "Brother Feng, you've finally arrived!"

Feng Jiuxiao clasped his hands in a fist and smiled, "What? Brother Linghu, are you missing your brother?"

Linghu Jing said with a wry smile, "If you hadn't come soon, I would have starved to death!"

Feng Jiuxiao laughed and said, "Huh? The dignified leader of the Huashan Sect would starve to death? Are you kidding me?"

Linghu Jing said seriously, "We've run out of food and money. If you don't come soon, we're really going to starve to death!"

Feng Jiuxiao smiled and said, "Master Yichen is right here. If you have any difficulties, why don't you ask Master Yichen for help?"

Linghu Jing said awkwardly, "Ask Master Yichen for help? They are also in dire straits. How could I possibly ask to borrow money?" Master Yichen chuckled dryly, "To be honest, we are also in dire straits! If it weren't for our slight knowledge of the art of fasting, we probably wouldn't have been able to keep going!"

Feng Jiuxiao was taken aback: "Brother Linghu, how did you end up having to borrow money?"

Linghu Jing said helplessly, "Do you see that over there?" He pointed to a dense cluster of Tibetan tents on the east bank of the lake. "Those are the Tibetan army's encampment. The person in charge is a centurion named Chijiling. That guy is really cunning. When we first arrived, he tried to sell us fresh water and food. At first, we all brought our own food and water, and we thought we'd be on the island soon, so we didn't take it seriously. But then he said we could choose not to buy, but if we wanted to buy later, the price would change. I didn't believe him." "I suppose my fellow martial artists thought the same thing. I didn't expect the lake water to be salty, making it difficult to freeze. It has frozen over these past two days, but the ice is too thin, like paper. My lightness skill is quite good; I can skim the water like a dragonfly, but I can only maintain that distance for about a hundred zhang. Beyond that, my internal energy becomes disordered, my body becomes heavy, and I fall into the water! The terrain here is high, and the temperature is already low. In the dead of winter, the lake water is bitterly cold; even a short time in it can freeze a person to the bone! A slight mishap, and the cold can penetrate to the bone, leaving lasting damage!"

Feng Jiuxiao asked, "How far is Haixin Mountain from the shore?" He looked at the blurry black shadow at the far end of his vision, "About a thousand zhang?"

Linghu Jing said, "Yes! This place is also the closest to Haixin Mountain."

Feng Jiuxiao said, "Aren't there boats over there? They look usable, why aren't we using them?"

Linghu Jing smiled wryly: "Those are Tibetans too! Those Tibetan soldiers said that everything here belongs to the Dai family, and they can use their ships if they want, but it will cost ten thousand taels of silver for a round trip!"

Pang Shiwu cursed, "What? Ten thousand taels? Holy crap! That's outrageous! Ten thousand taels of silver for a round trip? Isn't that robbery?"

Zeng Yong, who was in the second carriage, said, "Robbery? Ha! They make money much faster than they rob!"

Feng Jiuxiao said, "Brother Linghu, this is easy to handle! You've run out of food, but they haven't! Come with me!"

He turned and walked towards Chijiling's direction.

Linghu Jing was taken aback. "You... what are you going to do?" Feng Jiuxiao smiled and said, "To beg for alms, of course! I'll trouble you to come with me, Venerable One." Venerable White Lotus immediately clasped his hands together and said, "Yes, sir!"

Linghu Jing was somewhat surprised: "What? You want to beg for alms from those Tibetans?" Isn't begging for alms just robbery? What is Feng Jiuxiao thinking? Isn't she afraid of making a big fuss?

Feng Jiuxiao was somewhat puzzled: "What? Is there a problem?"

Linghu Jing smiled wryly, "They are soldiers of the Tubo Dynasty! As the saying goes, even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake! We are outsiders, they are locals... and besides, the common people can't fight against the officials!"

"Hehe, Brother Linghu, is that what you're worried about? Although they are soldiers, they are not the soldiers of the Tibetan Emperor! They are just the private soldiers of the six major families of Qingtang City, commonly known as the government troops!"

"Fubing (府兵)? Then... what's the difference between them and the imperial army? Killing Fubing won't alert the Tibetan court?"

"Heh, how could that be? The six great families are the foundation of Qinghai-Tibet! If we touch them, the Zanpu (Tibetan king) will definitely not let us off!"

"Then...then you still want to touch them?" Linghu Jing was completely bewildered!
Since mobilizing the local militia would also anger the Tibetan dynasty, why bother mobilizing them and offending the Tibetan dynasty?

Feng Jiuxiao laughed and said, "Brother Linghu! What I want to say is that whether they are soldiers of the Tibetan royal court or soldiers of Tibetan nobles, they are not the reason for you to go hungry! They also have no right to extort you!"

Linghu Jing was taken aback, and was quite grateful for Feng Jiuxiao's empathy! But he thought to himself: If he confronts the Tibetans head-on, he will probably get into endless entanglement. Even if he manages to escape, he will miss the opportunity of the Heavenly Peng Egg. This trip to Qinghai will be a waste!
Pang Shiwu's voice rang out from behind: "Sect Leader Linghu, we just came from Qingtang City. The six major families have been completely eradicated, and the guards of three of them have been wiped out! There are still three guards left here, and they must be killed as well!"

Linghu Jing was shocked and slowly turned to look at Pang Shiwu: "What did you say? You wiped out the six major families of Qingtang City?" He had learned a lot about the reputation of the six major families of Qingtang in the past two or three days! That centurion Dai Chijiling had boasted about the six major families in his words and deeds!

Pang Shiwu said, "Yes! It just happened yesterday. The guards of the three major families stationed here shouldn't have received any definite news yet, otherwise they would have run away long ago!"

Linghu Jing was somewhat shocked!
He thought that eliminating the forces of the six major families would be quite troublesome, after all, the record was "total annihilation", which meant that none of them escaped! If it was just "decapitation", it would be a piece of cake!
Feng Jiuxiao said, "Brother Linghu, killing a few Tibetan lords is nothing special. Do you doubt my strength?"

Linghu Jing chuckled awkwardly, "Killing people isn't difficult; the difficult part is ensuring that none of them escape!"

Feng Jiuxiao said, "As long as the tactics are appropriate, it's not difficult! Besides, we have three great outside helpers!" His gaze turned to Xiong Mengyan, Wang Sheng, and Duanmu Yan!
Linghu Jing then noticed Wang Sheng and Duanmu Yan, and immediately understood! Feng Jiuxiao now had many experts around him, so it seemed that annihilating the six major families would not be difficult! However... once the Tibetan army gathered and pursued them, the consequences would be unimaginable!
Master Yichen frowned: "So, the six hundred soldiers by the lake...Young Master Feng intends to..."

Feng Jiuxiao didn't turn around, and said calmly, "We absolutely cannot let any of them live! They are accomplices of the three major local evil forces, and their hands are stained with the blood of innocent serfs! If they run away, they will definitely join the new powerful and wealthy and become their new accomplices! They will be the new nightmare of the serfs!"

Master Yichen said, "I understand! Once you issue the order, young master, I will lead the entire sect to provide full support!"

Feng Jiuxiao didn't turn around, but simply raised his right thumb high! He strode towards the Tibetan tent complex!
Linghu Jing followed closely behind.

Pang Shiwu said, "Daoist Master, please take me to the camp!"

Master Yichen said, "Very well! Follow me!"

Led by the disciples of the Maoshan Sect, the convoy arrived near the Maoshan Sect's camp.

Almost all the tents were pitched 30 feet away from the lake, because the humidity and cold were even greater within 30 feet of the lake, so each gang stayed 30 feet away from the boundary between the water and the shore!
Therefore, Pang Shiwu led the way and drove the carriage to this thirty-zhang-wide blank area.

Master Yichen invited Yuan Zishan, Chang Zijin, Xiong Mengyan, and other women into his tent to warm up; there was a small stove inside. The Maoshan disciples invited the rest of the group to their tents for temporary rest. The Maoshan tents were all very large, large enough for five people to sleep side by side.

Chiji Ling's eyes flickered: "Why did that young man in white come to our door?"

The fat soldier laughed, "He's probably here to buy supplies! I recognize the guy next to him; he bought a lot of things from me, and he always looked like he was in pain when he paid. I reckon his pockets are almost empty!"

Chiji Ling smiled sinisterly: "You don't need to go. We'll just sit here and wait for them to take the bait!" (End of Chapter)