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At this moment, footsteps were heard outside the door.

Linghu Chong walked in unsteadily, carrying a wine pot, with a strong smell of alcohol on his body. The former Huashan's first disciple is now thirty-five years old, with messy stubble on his chin and fine lines at the corners of his eyes, but the unrestrained and uninhibited look between his eyebrows has not diminished at all. The scabbard of the long sword hanging at his waist is badly worn, and the cloth wrapped around the handle is shiny and oily, obviously it is often used.

"Master, Master Wife."

Linghu Chong bowed hastily, his voice garbled from drunkenness: "I heard you're going to Baoding? Count me in."

As he spoke, he burped, and the smell of alcohol made Ning Zhongze frown and take a half step back.

A hint of disappointment flashed across Yue Buqun's eyes, but it quickly disappeared: "You went to drink again."

Such conversations have been repeated countless times over the past decade.

Linghu Chong grinned, revealing two dimples: "A few drinks won't be a problem."

"Let's set off at noon tomorrow, don't miss the time." Yue Buqun said lightly, turned around and no longer looked at him.

"Yes!"

Linghu Chong staggered out of the hall and almost bumped into Lin Pingzhi at the door.

Lin Pingzhi is now twenty-seven years old, much taller than he was ten years ago, but still as thin as a bamboo. His face is fair, his eyebrows and eyes are picturesque, and he has a gorgeously decorated long sword hanging from his waist. The gems inlaid on the scabbard sparkle in the candlelight.

"Big Brother is drunk again?"

Lin Pingzhi bowed to Yue Buqun and the other man, his voice soft and tinged with sarcasm.

Several fellow disciples have studied hard and practiced martial arts in recent years, but Linghu Chong is the only one who wastes his time drinking and having fun every day. Even his second brother's disciple can fight him to a draw, which makes Lin Pingzhi unable to bear it.

Ning Zhongze sighed: "Pingzhi, you will go to Baoding with me tomorrow. Go and prepare."

Lin Pingzhi bowed in response, and when he retreated, his steps were as light as a cat's, without making a sound.

The hall returned to silence, with only the occasional crackling of the fire. Yue Buqun looked out the window at the snow and wind, and suddenly said, "Chong'er has become more and more useless over the years."

Ning Zhongze walked up to him and whispered, "It has been like this since Wei'er and Shan'er got married."

After Yi Huawei married Yue Lingshan, the once high-spirited first disciple of Huashan became devastated and spent his days drinking.

"Forget it, let's not talk about him. Please pay more attention to Pingzhi during this trip."

Yue Buqun suddenly changed the subject: "His swordsmanship has improved rapidly, but his mind is naive... I am always a little worried."

Ning Zhong nodded.

In recent years, Huashan has become more and more powerful. When traveling around the world, fellow Taoists will give him some face. Last year, Lin Pingzhi was almost deceived by the evil sect because of his excessive sympathy. But judging from his actions, he seems to have not learned his lesson yet.

Outside the window, the wind and snow were getting stronger.

…………

Blackwood Cliff, Qinglong Hall.

The candlelight flickered in the Qinglong Hall, and the sixteen bronze candlesticks illuminated the hall. Ambergris burned in the copper stove in the corner, and the smoke swirled between the beams and pillars, forming strange shapes. Jabu held a black piece, and the cracks between his fingernails were stained with dark red paint. The pieces on the chessboard had formed a siege.

Elder Ge's white piece suddenly landed on the Tianyuan position with a "pop", shaking the chessboard slightly. The white-haired old man smiled sinisterly, revealing a half-missing front tooth: "Brother Jia, you are confused."

Jia Bu crushed the black piece in his hand, and the debris fell on the chessboard: "Before the leader went into seclusion, he strictly ordered not to cause trouble. Now that a million silver coins are passing through the border, are we really going to watch it happen?"

Elder Ge took out a red token from his bosom and threw it onto the chessboard. The sun and moon pattern engraved on the edge of the token was a little worn:

"Send a message to Wentian, saying that as long as we don't reveal our Ming Cult identity, we can do whatever we want."

Jabu's eyes gleamed and he suddenly clapped his hands.

Two black-clad cult members came in, escorting a tightly tied man. The man's face was covered in blood, and the cracked wound at the corner of his mouth was still bleeding, but he had the token of the Fuwei Escort Agency hanging around his waist.

"Tell me about it."

Jabu's sharp nails scratched the prisoner's neck, leaving white marks on the skin. "The escort route of the Fuwei Escort Agency."

The captive spat out a mouthful of blood, which dripped onto Jiabu's embroidered shoes: "Kill me if you want!"

Elder Ge sighed, took out a porcelain bottle from his sleeve, and opened the bottle with a popping sound. Several scarlet centipedes followed his fingers to the captive's face and drilled into his nostrils. Amid the screams, Elder Ge said faintly: "The taste of the Three Corpses Brain Pill is much more painful than death..."

Half an incense stick later, Jabu got the information he wanted. He looked at the twitching captive on the ground with satisfaction and waved to the followers: "Drag him to feed the snakes."

After everyone left, Elder Ge whispered, "According to the spies, Shaolin sent eighteen stick monks, and Wudang Qingxu also came down the mountain with the Zhenwu Sword."

Jia Bu sneered: "That's perfect. You take people to rob the escort, and I will personally meet Taoist Qingxu. Remember..."

There was a hint of viciousness in his eyes: "Leave a few alive for the Five Mountains Sword Sect."

The whistling sound outside came in through the window cracks and intertwined with the sound of candlelight in the hall.

…………

Midnight.

The official road along the Juma River was covered with half a foot of snow. The wheels rolled over the snow, making a dull creaking sound that was particularly harsh in the silent night.

Three hundred escorts from the Fuwei Escort Agency formed a long snake formation, the white breath of each person formed tiny ice crystals on their beards and eyebrows. Holding weapons, they rubbed their frozen fingers with their left hands from time to time, and their eyes vigilantly scanned the dark pine forests on both sides.

Walking in front of the team was the chief escort Lin Zhennan. He rode a jet-black Hequ horse, wearing a wolf fur coat, and hung a three-foot-two-inch green sword on his waist. Lin Zhennan kept his left hand on the hilt and his right hand on the reins.

He is in his early fifties, with gray hair on his temples, but his eyes are as sharp as an eagle, constantly scanning the dense forests in front and on both sides.

"Captain Zhao."

Suddenly, Lin Zhennan called out without turning his head.

Deputy escort leader Zhao Tiezhu immediately rode forward. This strong man in his forties had a scar on his face that ran from his right eye to the corner of his mouth, and half of his left ear was missing, a souvenir of a fierce battle ten years ago. His right hand was on the handle of the sword, his left hand was holding the reins, and a bronze gong was hung next to the saddle.

"Chief escort?"

Lin Zhennan lowered his voice and said, "Brothers, prepare your shields and string your crossbows. This black pine forest is too quiet. There is not even a night owl. This is not normal."

Zhao Tiezhu nodded, turned around and made a few gestures to the escorts behind him. The order was quickly passed down the team, and the escorts silently took off the iron-clad wooden shields they were carrying, and the crossbowmen drew arrows from their quivers and put them on the strings.

The sounds of wheels and horse hooves remained, but the atmosphere in the team had become noticeably more tense.

Lin Zhennan suddenly raised his hand to signal the team to stop. He narrowed his eyes and stared at an unnatural snow pile in the forest on the left. There were several shallow depressions there, as if someone had stepped on it and then covered it with snow. He slowly drew out the Qingfeng sword, and the sword body shone coldly in the moonlight. "There is an ambush."

Lin Zhennan's voice was not loud, but it was loud enough for the escorts around him to hear clearly.

Almost as soon as he finished speaking, the snow on the river bank suddenly exploded. Dozens of men in black jumped out of the snow, their steel knives reflecting cold light.

The burly man in the lead pulled off his black mask, revealing a face full of flesh and a pair of fierce eyes.

"Captain Lin, how are you?"

Jiang Tianshou, the leader of the Yellow River Gang, spoke in a loud voice, wearing a wolfskin cloak, and the copper rings on the nine-ring ghost-head knife in his hand jingled: "It's so cold, and it must be hard to travel with so much silver. Why not let the brothers of the Yellow River Gang help you share the burden?"

Lin Zhennan sneered: "Jiang Tianshou, you are so brave that you even dare to rob the government silver?"

Jiang Tianshou laughed loudly, and the fat on his face trembled: "Official silver? Who doesn't know that this is the private goods of Jiangnan Yunyan Pavilion? Stop bluffing!"

His smile faded, and he swung his sword forward: "Brothers, go! Leave no one alive!"

At the same time, a terrifying howl came from the dense forest on the right. More than a hundred ragged bandits rushed out waving various weapons.

The two leading men were particularly eye-catching - the leader of the Black Wind Village, Yan Luo, was wearing a complete tiger skin and holding a heavy axe in each hand; the second in command, Yan Sha, had a hunched back, his ten fingers were hooked, and there was a strange blue color between his nails.

"Hahaha!"

Yan Luo laughed wildly and knocked down a young escort with his axe: "I have waited for this day for ten years! Fuwei Escort Agency bastards, do you still remember how the Cangzhou branch disappeared?"

The most frightening thing was that dozens of gray-robed men stood up silently in the snow, their faces covered with white scarves, and hidden weapons flashing coldly in their sleeves.

The leader said sinisterly, "The White Lotus has descended upon the world, and the people have risen. This silver should belong to our Holy Church."

It was Chen Ping, the leader of the White Lotus Sect.

The escorts of Fuwei Escort Agency acted quickly. The escorts in the front row half-crouched on the ground, slamming their iron-clad wooden shields into the snow, making a dull thumping sound; the spearmen in the middle row placed their spears on their shields, with their sharp spear tips forming an airtight barrier; the crossbowmen in the back row had already pulled their bowstrings to their full length, aiming their arrows at the oncoming enemies.

"Fire arrows!"

Lin Zhennan gave an order.

The sound of bowstrings vibrating rang out one after another, and dozens of arrows whizzed out. Several members of the Yellow River Gang who were in the front fell to the ground, but more people continued to charge on the bodies of their companions. A bandit from the Black Wind Village was shot in the chest, but he laughed wildly and broke the arrow shaft and continued to charge forward, until he was shot through the throat by the second arrow and fell to the ground with a bang.

"Hold the formation!"

Zhao Tiezhu roared, and the machete in his hand drew an arc of light, cutting the two bandits who tried to break through in half. Hot blood splattered on the snow and instantly condensed into red ice crystals.

Jiang Tianshou strode towards Lin Zhennan, and the nine-ring ghost-head knife slashed down with a whistling sound. Lin Zhennan dodged sideways, and the Qingfeng sword was raised, and the two sharp blades collided, sparks flew. Jiang Tianshou turned his wrist, and the ghost-head knife suddenly changed direction, and the nine copper rings made a disturbing sound.

Lin Zhennan remained unmoved and used his family's sword skills. The sword light was like snow, protecting his whole body tightly.

"The old fellow is still as skilled as ever!"

Jiang Tianshou grinned and suddenly kicked up the snow on the ground. Taking advantage of the moment when Lin Zhennan's vision was blocked, he slashed at his neck with the machete.

Lin Zhennan was prepared, leaning back, the Qingfeng sword slid along the back of the ghost-head knife, and went straight to Jiang Tianshou's wrist. Jiang Tianshou quickly withdrew his sword to defend himself, and the two of them fought back and forth, and in a blink of an eye, more than 20 moves had passed, and they were evenly matched.

On the other side, Yan Luo's double axes had already split the shields of the three escorts. This fierce bandit leader was extremely powerful, and each axe had the power to split mountains and crack rocks. A young escort raised his shield to block, and the shield shattered with a sound. The axe blade continued to have the power to split him in half from shoulder to waist.

"Second brother! Go and rob the escort car!" Yan Luo roared.

Upon hearing this, Yan Sha immediately rushed towards the escort vehicle with a dozen of his trusted aides. This hunchbacked man was like a ghost, with ten hook-like fingers, and he specifically targeted vulnerable parts of people, such as the throat and eyes.

Just as one of the escorts raised his knife to strike, he was grabbed by the wrist in a flash of lightning. With a "crack", the wrist bone was broken. The escort screamed and fell to the ground. The next second, Yan Sha's claws pierced his throat.

The White Lotus Sect's soldiers adopted a more sinister tactic. They did not attack head-on, but kept wandering around the periphery, shooting poison darts and needles from their sleeves at the escorts like raindrops. A young crossbowman had just put the second arrow on his head when his neck suddenly felt numb. He reached out and touched a poison needle as thin as an ox hair. His face quickly turned black, and he fell to the ground twitching with foam at the mouth.

"Be careful with hidden weapons!"

As soon as Zhao Tiezhu shouted the warning, he felt a numbness in his shoulder. Looking down, he saw a poison needle as thin as an ox hair had already sunk into his flesh. He gritted his teeth and pulled out the needle, but his right arm had already started to go numb, and the machete almost slipped out of his hand.

Seeing that the dart formation was about to collapse, Lin Zhennan suddenly let out a long roar and used a move called "Purple Air Coming from the East" to force Jiang Tianshou to retreat. He quickly took out a bamboo tube from his arms and bit open the fuse with his teeth.

"boom!"

A red firework shot up into the sky, exploding into a gorgeous red flower in the night sky.

"Oh no! They are calling for reinforcements!"

Chen Ping's face changed drastically: "Quick battle, quick decision!"

Jiang Tianshou also became anxious, and his attack with the ghost-head knife became more fierce: "Kill them all!"

At this critical moment, the snow on both ends of the official road suddenly exploded! Dozens of swordsmen in white came from afar and arrived in an instant.

"Ahhh~~"

The sword flashed like a rainbow, and instantly knocked down more than a dozen members of the Yellow River Gang, with screams rang out.

"The Five Mountains Sword Sect is here!"

With a clear shout, Ning Zhongze, holding a long sword, landed on the top of the escort vehicle as lightly as a flying swallow. He was dressed in white clothes that were whiter than snow, and the long sword in his hand shone coldly in the moonlight. Wherever the sword pointed, the throats of the three White Lotus Sect warriors burst into blood at the same time.

Although Linghu Chong, who was following behind him, was drunk, his swordsmanship was not messy at all. The long sword in his hand seemed to be swung randomly, but each strike accurately pierced the enemy's vital points.

Three members of the Yellow River Gang rushed over at the same time. Linghu Chong turned his body and drew a graceful arc with his sword. The weapons of the three men fell out of their hands at the same time, and each of them had a bloody mark on his wrist.

"Hahaha! Jiang Tianshou!"

Linghu Chong laughed loudly and knocked away the weapons of three members of the Yellow River Gang with his sword: "It's been a few years since we last met, and you still haven't improved!"

Seeing this, Lin Zhennan was greatly encouraged: "Brothers, reinforcements have arrived! Kill them!"

The morale of the escorts was boosted, the shield formation suddenly pressed forward, and long spears stabbed out like a forest, immediately curbing the offensive of the underworld coalition.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Yan Luo roared: "Second brother! Don't worry about the escort car, kill the woman with the sword first!"

Upon hearing this, Yan Sha immediately gave up the escort in front of him and pounced on Ning Zhongze like a ghost. His ten fingers formed into claws, and his fingertips glowed with a strange blue light.

Ning Zhongze shook his sword and used the move "The Phoenix Comes" to pierce Yan Sha's heart. Unexpectedly, Yan Sha twisted his body strangely and continued to pounce from an incredible angle.

(End of this chapter)