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

Just then, a disciple rushed in from outside, shouting in a panic, "Master, something terrible has happened!"

The Black Tiger Gang Leader's face darkened!
"Who the hell is wrong?"

What the hell do you mean the guild leader is in trouble? I'm perfectly fine, why are you cursing me?! Damn it!
The disciple was taken aback, realizing that the gang leader was angry that he had said something wrong. He then chuckled dryly and said, "Gang leader, something terrible has happened! The leader of the Mountain Alliance is here!"

The Black Tiger Gang leader suddenly stood up, exclaiming in surprise, "You mean Feng Jiuxiao is here?"

"Yes!"

"He's here? Why is he here too?"

Seeing that the leader was somewhat out of sorts, the scholar immediately reminded him, "Feng Jiuxiao has already publicly announced the cancellation of the Mountain Alliance; he is no longer the leader of the Mountain Alliance!" With the Demon Lord dead and the Demonic Sect destroyed, the Mountain Alliance no longer has any reason to exist, so Feng Jiuxiao publicly announced its cancellation. In truth, only Feng Jiuxiao himself knew that the reason he cancelled the Mountain Alliance was entirely because the retreat of his fellow martial artists in the Central Plains had chilled his heart!

The Black Tiger Gang leader seemed relieved. "Good, he's no longer the leader of the Mountain Alliance! What's he doing here?"

The scholar shook his head, speechless at the gang leader: "He came here naturally for the Heavenly Roc's Rainbow Egg!" If it weren't for the Heavenly Roc's Rainbow Egg, would Feng Jiuxiao have come to this desolate place?
The Black Tiger Gang Leader looked worried. "If he comes, what chance do we have?" Feng Jiuxiao's incredible fighting power made him want to retreat immediately!
The scholar narrowed his eyes: "Of course there's a chance! Based on my understanding of Feng Jiuxiao, he's a man of vision, magnanimity, and composure! At the Demonic Sect's headquarters, when the Azure Dragon failed its tribulation and fell to the dust, if he wanted to monopolize it, no one could get a piece of the flesh! But in reality, almost everyone managed to snatch a piece of the Azure Dragon's flesh!"

The Black Tiger Gang Leader's pupils contracted as the image of that figure in white confronting the Demon Lord across the void flashed through his mind again!
In the end, the Demon Lord was no match for the Blood Bone Demon Dragon and fled in disarray, only to be intercepted and killed! Feng Jiuxiao, like a god, looked down upon all living beings, disdaining to compete for the Azure Dragon Treasure, letting the heroes of the world frantically scramble for the Azure Dragon's flesh and blood! He was certain that with Feng Jiuxiao's strength at that time, he could have completely annihilated the exhausted heroes of the Central Plains martial arts world in one fell swoop!
“You’re right!” But his fear of Feng Jiuxiao was deeply ingrained, and he still harbored some concerns.

The scholar's gaze sharpened, and he said, enunciating each word clearly: "He's here solely for the Heavenly Roc's Rainbow Egg! So we have no need to be afraid! For now, everyone just needs to keep a low profile and avoid attracting his attention!"

The gang leader said, "Then let's keep a low profile!"

The scholar revealed a sly smile: "Let's continue with the old method, following behind Feng Jiuxiao and the others, letting them lead the way! Let Feng Jiuxiao be the alpha wolf, clearing a path through the snowstorm. We'll follow behind him, without having to struggle to push through the snow or worry about traps underneath. It'll be twice as efficient! If they can get some meat, we can at least get some soup!"

The gang leader's eyes flashed. "Second-in-command is right! That's what we'll do! As long as we follow Feng Jiuxiao around, we'll live the high life!"

The scholar was taken aback! Something about those words felt off.

Following behind and enjoying the good life?
The two looked at each other and then burst into laughter!

The other disciples also realized what was happening, and the thought of eating farts in the back made them burst into laughter!

The gang leader suddenly frowned and snapped, "What are you laughing at?"

The disciples cursed inwardly: "Damn it, only officials are allowed to set fires, while commoners are forbidden even to light lamps? Serves you right for eating farts! Eat well, eat more!"
Watching the thin, soaking wet soldier climb onto the ice, Feng Jiuxiao sighed with sympathy, "Oh dear, Centurion, look how amazing your soldiers are! In this biting winter, they're not afraid of the cold at all. Look at him, his body is covered in ice, but he doesn't care at all. I admire them!"

The centurion's face almost turned green!

The skinny soldier was freezing to death, but the young man in white was still making sarcastic remarks!
Venerable White Lotus added insult to injury: "Oh dear, he's still steaming from his body, he seems to be quite hot!"

The skinny soldier was shivering uncontrollably as soon as he emerged from the water, the water on his body freezing into ice crystals. "Is this what you call not being afraid of the cold?" the skinny soldier thought to himself. "Who the hell says I'm not afraid of the cold? May their whole family die a horrible death!"
At this moment, the fat guard returned with a squad of guards.

Dozens of soldiers were there; some carried rice sacks filled with barley flour; some carried bundles filled with frozen meat; and some pushed wheelbarrows loaded with vegetables that had been stored in the cellar since autumn and were now frozen solid.

When Chijiling saw those truckloads of vegetables, his eyes practically blazed with fury!
He had already cursed the fat soldier's ancestors for eighteen generations in his mind!
Those vegetables were left here for him to use during the winter! They were for his own consumption! He refused to sell them even when offered a high price!
Now, this fat idiot is actually giving it away!

Fuck!
Feng Jiuxiao smiled and said, "Centurion, in the dead of winter, you still have vegetables in your hands. Do you have some secret vegetable base?"

Upon hearing Bai Lian's translation, the centurion immediately said, "I don't know! What vegetable base? I have no idea!"

Venerable White Lotus said, “It is said that there is a place in the Uyghurs called Hami, where it is spring all year round. Even in the winter when snow is falling heavily, flowers still bloom there. The watermelons produced there are famous all over the world and are called Hami melons. It seems that the centurion has found such a magical place.”

The centurion immediately denied it: "I don't have any vegetable base here. These greens have been stored in the cellar since autumn! Where would we get fresh vegetables in winter?"

Feng Jiuxiao said "Oh," as if suddenly realizing something, "In that case, aren't these vegetables very precious?"

Venerable White Lotus chimed in, "Yes, every meal we eat is one less we can have!"

Feng Jiuxiao raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself: I asked you to cooperate with the performance, but I didn't ask you to perform beyond your usual level.
He feigned concern and said, "Oh dear, if we eat their vegetables, what will they eat?"

The White Lotus Venerable said nonchalantly, "Young Master, don't worry, they have plenty of vegetables! If they didn't have a large stockpile, would they sell? Unless they're an idiot! Right, Sect Leader Linghu?"

Linghu Jing, who had been holding back his anger, seemed to have finally found an outlet. He added fuel to the fire, almost bluntly: "Yes! They come to sell every day, which means they can't possibly eat all the vegetables they have. If they don't sell them, they'll just rot in the ground! If they don't even have enough to eat for themselves, how can they come out to sell them?"

It was as if the Venerable White Lotus was possessed by two different people in one body. He would immediately translate whatever anyone said. When he spoke, he was in a casual and relaxed state, but when translating others, he was in a different state, serious and earnest.

When he is himself, his voice is expressive and full of life; when he is someone else, he is like a puppet, his voice is flat and uninteresting.

As the centurion listened to the White Lotus Venerable's translation, his expression grew increasingly grim!

He sensed that the other party was not just there to "beg for alms," but clearly there to humiliate him!
But the terrifying strength the white-robed monk had just displayed still made him apprehensive! How could he dare to show the slightest dissatisfaction?

He gave a dry laugh and said, "Honorable guests from afar, your things have been prepared. Please take them!"

Feng Jiuxiao said, "What, you want to kick us out already? Are you trying to send us away like beggars?"

The centurion immediately waved his hand and said, "I wouldn't dare!"

Feng Jiuxiao said, "Didn't you just say you'd treat me to grilled fish? What, you're not going to grill the fish anymore?"

Centurion Chijiling was taken aback, thinking to himself: You really plan to eat grilled fish here?
But a genuine smile immediately spread across his face: "Grill! Grill it right away!"

He immediately organized everyone to set up a frame, place firewood, gut and scale the fish, and start a fire to roast them.

Venerable White Lotus said indifferently, "You're really something. My young master said he wanted to eat grilled fish, and you only prepared two fish? Are they just for filling a gap between his teeth? Who's going to eat that? Why are you so rigid?"

Chiji Ling's face darkened further, and he forced a smile, saying, "It's my fault for not thinking things through!" He immediately scolded the guards for being clueless and told them to hurry up and prepare the wine!

Several soldiers were nearly driven mad by the scolding! One of them, relying on his "close" relationship with the centurion, completely oblivious to the strange atmosphere, actually asked, "Centurion, where is the banquet being prepared? In your main tent?"

Chijiling roared, "Here! Bring the table over here! We're eating fish outdoors! Get it? Damn it!"

The guard was taken aback. "Why are you in such a hurry?"

Akakiri was so angry that he was about to draw his sword: "Get out of here!"

"Oh!" Seeing that Chijiling seemed genuinely angry, the guards turned and left dejectedly, muttering as they went, "What's wrong? Did he eat gunpowder? He was fine just now, what triggered this?" Several guards nearby quickly tugged at his sleeves and whispered, "Stop talking, hurry up and get ready! Can't you see the centurion looks unwell?"

"What happened to the centurion?"

"You? Are you blind? Didn't you see those three Han Chinese? They just forced Gesang to go into the water to catch fish!"

"Gesang? In the water? Catching fish?" He tried hard to recall, and seemed to remember something. "I was wondering why Gesang looked different. So he just went into the water? In this freezing weather, he went into the water to catch fish. Wasn't he afraid of freezing to death!"

"Oh no! We've run into a tough one! Get to work, or the centurion might throw you in the lake when he has nowhere to vent his anger!"

"Damn! This lake is full of dead people, don't curse me!"

The Black Tiger Gang leader peered through the gap in the curtain. "They've started a fire over there." Several gang members below him huddled together, all peering through the crack in the door. One of them said, "It looks like they're grilling fish!"

The Black Tiger Gang leader was taken aback and asked, "Are there fish in this lake?"

The scholar sitting in the back said, "Yes! Of course!"

"Isn't this a salt lake?"

"Can't there be fish in a salt lake? Seawater is salty too, and there are fish there!"

The gang leader turned to the scholar, "Why didn't you say so earlier?" His questioning was undisguised and overwhelming!

The scholar replied neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Chief, now that I've told you, will you be able to eat fish?"

The gang leader was taken aback. "Yes, how do we catch this fish?"

The scholar said, "Brothers, whoever can catch a fish, I will give him one tael of silver!"

The Black Tiger Gang members looked at each other in bewilderment. Earning one tael of silver for catching a fish was definitely a huge profit! But no one responded!
The scholar said, "One tael of silver is not a small amount! Chief, you see, I promised to give them one tael of silver, but none of the brothers are willing to go down to fish. Tell me, if I don't even pay a copper coin, who among them will go into the water?"

The gang leader felt his face burning, but he couldn't lash out! Although he was irritable, he wasn't stupid! If he forced his men to jump into the icy lake to catch fish just to satisfy their cravings, his position as the leader wouldn't last long!

Even your head could be moved!
He immediately tried to save face, saying, "The lake water is so cold, jumping in would definitely leave me with health problems. How could I let my brothers take that risk? If only someone could get me a fishing rod."

The scholar immediately said, "Brothers, I'm giving you a task: find fishing rods! Buy them if you can, borrow them if you can, and do whatever you can! Once you have the fishing rods, start fishing as soon as possible, and try to have some grilled fish tonight! Whoever catches a fish will still get a reward of one tael of silver!"

Someone mustered up the courage to ask, "What if you caught five?"

The scholar stretched out his right hand, fingers spread wide, and said, "Five taels! Two taels per person! Aren't two taels enough for you?"

"enough!"

"Then why don't you hurry up and go?"

"Yes!"

The disciples left one after another. Each of them wore an excited expression as they departed! Fish to eat and money to earn—who wouldn't be happy?

The Black Tiger Gang Leader's heart sank!
At the same time, a murderous glint appeared in his eyes!
This second-in-command is now more prestigious than I am, the leader!
All the disciples seemed to prefer obeying the orders of this refined and gentle second-in-command!

This sense of crisis is not new!

But today he felt it especially strongly!

Perhaps it was the sudden appearance of the boy in white that amplified his anxiety!

Once all the disciples were far away, he said calmly, "Wenzheng, now it's just the two of us. Tell me the truth, have you ever thought about taking my seat?"

Li Wenzheng, the second-in-command of the Black Tiger Gang, showed no sign of panic or unease upon hearing this. Instead, he remained extremely calm: "Are you worried that I'll take your position?"

Zhang Xiaolin, the leader of the Black Tiger Gang, stared intently into Li Wenzheng's eyes. "Not bad! Your performance has made me worry! Haven't you thought about that?"

The air suddenly became stagnant, making people feel extremely oppressed.

Li Wenzheng was silent for a moment, then said calmly, "I did think about it for a fleeting moment!"

Zhang Xiaolin's eyes flickered. "You thought about it before? And now? You don't?"

"Yes! I don't want to think about it anymore!"

"why?"

"It's not for any particular reason, I just realized who I am! I've reflected on myself! Examined my strengths and weaknesses! I'm cautious enough, but lack decisiveness! I'm good at giving advice and handling family matters! But I can't lead everyone to conquer cities and expand territory, I'm good at writing but not at fighting! If I become the leader, it will be difficult to convince the masses! In the underworld, the most important thing is who has the hardest fist, who has the most courage, and who has the strongest connections! I have brains and I'm ruthless enough, but my fists aren't strong enough, and I'm not bold enough. Do you want to go? If I were to take your position, I probably wouldn't be able to hold it for more than a month!"

"You're being so honest?"

"If you're not honest, will you dispel your doubts?" (End of Chapter)