Knife splashing

Chapter 180 The Most Valuable Brain

On the 20th day of the first lunar month in Guanzhong, there is a custom called "patching the sky".

It’s not a big festival, it’s just that we eat pancakes on this day.

Putting a few of them on the roof is called "repairing the sky".

Throwing two pieces into the well is called "filling the ground."

Yang Baozhu threw the pancake in his hand into the well, bowed three times respectfully, and then shouted to the house: "I'm going out!"

His wife complained in the house: "He went to the teahouse again. He just came back and didn't even take a rest."

"Hey, you talkative woman!"

Yang Baozhu cursed, then put his pipe behind his neck, put his hands behind his back, and walked out of the house humming a little tune.

The old city of Huayin is not big, but because it is close to Tongguan, it is a strategic military location. It was destroyed by war in the previous dynasty, leaving only ruins and no one living for hundreds of miles. It only gradually recovered later.

Although Yang Baozhu was just a suona player in the Zuo family troupe of shadow puppetry, a lower-class profession, his ancestors had once been glorious.

The Hongnong Yang family is a well-known family. They have produced four generations of emperors, five generations of empresses, and many famous ministers and generals.

Logically speaking, it should be a big family that dominates the area.

Unfortunately, the Hongnong Yang family originated in the Western Han Dynasty, flourished in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, and declined in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. By the Song Dynasty, the big family moved south, leaving only these side branches.

Only when we worship our ancestors can we recall the glory of the past.

Whenever Yang Baozhu mentioned this matter, he would always be laughed at. After all, in Guanzhong, every family had ancestors who were rich.

But in the past two days, he was very proud of himself.

"Mr. Yang is here!"

Sure enough, as soon as I walked into the teahouse, someone greeted me loudly, and even the waiter diligently brought me tea and served me carefully.

"Brother Yang, tell me more about what happened that night!"

As soon as Yang Baozhu sat down, several people came over.

"Didn't I just talk about this yesterday?"

Yang Baozhu pretended to be impatient and complained, but when he took out his pipe and someone beside him lit it up attentively, he still took two puffs and said calmly: "The story of that night is worth telling..."

"This Lantern Festival Drum King Conference is attended not only by our Shanzhou team, but also by many teams from other states. It is much more lively than before..."

"They all showed their unique skills. We, the old Huayin team, cannot lose face. When the Eight Directions Appearance Technique was used, it immediately shocked the whole audience..."

"Have you heard of Xiong Baodong? He's the leader of the Chang'an Fire Bear Gang!"

"How does it compare to the blood knife we ​​have here?"

"Bah, there's no comparison! That's Chang'an, he has thousands of followers, all of them are capable fighters."

"But still, his head was taken off!"

"Tsk tsk... I was just watching from the side. Ouch, I got all bloody. My newly made clothes are a pity... That young warrior Li was holding his head and roaring. He was really a knight from the Tang Dynasty reappearing!"

Yang Baozhu was worthy of being from a theatre troupe. Although he could not sing, when he talked about what happened that night, he made one joke after another, which made everyone exclaim in surprise.

Someone couldn't help but ask, "Isn't it just a drum king competition? Why is there so much competition and even someone died?"

Yang Baozhu glanced sideways and said, "To climb Mount Huashan!"

"What?"

Someone immediately spit out a mouthful of tea, "That idiot Huashan, I go up there every day. If they want to go up, they can ask me to lead the way. I know all the roads well."

"hey-hey."

Yang Baozhu sneered: "You are ignorant, you really think Huashan is what you see. Some places are not accessible to ordinary people."

"You won't understand if I tell you too much. Anyway, that spot is valuable. Otherwise, why would people from other states come to grab it?"

"How much is it worth?"

"What? It's two thousand taels..."

hiss--!
Everyone suddenly gasped.

puff!

Just then, laughter was heard from a distant corner.

Yang Baozhu looked up and saw a red-faced man sitting there. He was wearing a tattered sheepskin coat, was quite tall, and had a Guanshan knife hanging on his waist.

It's a swordsman!
Yang Baozhu was a little angry at first, but now he was startled and said carefully, "My dear hero, I was just talking nonsense, please don't take it as an offense."

"Your news is out of date!"

The red-faced man drank the tea in the bowl and shook his head, saying, "One quota was sold for 10,000 taels. The nine tokens in Li Yan's hand were sold for a total of 90,000 taels!"

"What?"

Now it was Yang Baozhu's turn to be surprised. He suddenly felt that the twenty taels of reward money in his arms no longer seemed so attractive. At the same time, he secretly cursed the boss for being stingy.

"Ninety thousand taels..."

The red-faced man clicked his tongue and shook his head. “Not only that, the Qiao family in Fengyang County and some old men from the Fire Bear Gang have jointly offered a bonus of 5,000 taels and a bounty on Li Yan’s head.”

"His head is the most valuable thing on the road now!"

Yang Baozhu smiled and said carefully, "That young warrior Li can easily kill even a master of Hua Jin, and he is also a sorcerer. Who would be so desperate to take the bonus?"

“There are many people who value money over their lives!”

"Unfortunately, I am one of them!"

The red-faced man said this as he slowly stood up.

Only then did everyone realize that he was two meters tall!
Yang Baozhu swallowed his saliva, bowed respectfully and said: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, may I ask you, brother..."

"Pu County, Yuan Heizi!"

After saying that, he burst into laughter and strode out.

Everyone looked at each other with fear in their eyes.

"It's Yuan Zhetian from Pu County!"

……

After Yuan Zhatian left the teahouse, he strode towards the city gate.

He has an unusual body shape and is very conspicuous when walking on the street.

At the city gate, his wanted poster was clearly posted on the wall, but when several city guards saw it, they turned their heads away and pretended not to see it.

"Humph!"

Yuan Zhatian sneered and swaggered out of the city gate.

Arriving at the foot of the loess hill outside the city, a man suddenly jumped out from a tree, with a big smile on his face, and bowed respectfully, saying, "Hello, big brother."

"Have you found it?"

"The idea is in the mountains thirty miles away. It used to be the old Tang mausoleum. I heard that several groups of swordsmen have already gone there."

"what's the result?"

"This... they've all gone crazy, killing each other. According to one of the survivors, they ran into something dirty, and it's all over the mountains!"

"Bah, they are all idiots!"

Yuan Zhatian sneered and cursed: "That man is a sorcerer. Just going there stupidly is no different from seeking death."

"Go, call someone!"

"Yes!"

The short man jumped up, jumped off the mound, rode away on his horse, and soon disappeared.

Yuan Zhatian held a straw in his mouth, put on his hat, crossed his legs, and lay down under a tree to rest.

Half an hour later, three people came up the official road, a monk, a Taoist and an old woman. They were the three sorcerers who had followed Xiong Baodong during the Lantern Festival.

Yuan Zhatian seemed to sense something, he lifted his bamboo hat and stood up, jumped down from the mound, glanced at the three people, waved his hands and clasped his fists and said: "Seniors, we agreed to meet tomorrow."

He was able to get the news because of these three people. The three people looked unhappy. The one-eyed monk said in a deep voice: "This kid is slippery. I don't know why he didn't go to Huashan, but if he runs away again, he will have no chance at all."

They were also unlucky. After Xiong Baodong's death, they lost even the chance to fight. After coming to Shanzhou with so much hardship, they naturally did not want to return empty-handed.

But after the Lantern Festival, Li Yan and his gang completely disappeared. At the same time, news came that a sorcerer named Ye Kulang from Fengyifang was responsible for selling the remaining tokens.

The three of them were unscrupulous and would never honestly pay for the goods, so they sneaked into Fengyifang at night and tried to rob the goods.

Needless to say, I ran into a tough guy.

The Night Crying Boy held up the soul-calling banner and wailed. The three of them almost died and were so scared that they crawled out of Chang'an.

Of course, the three of them did not give up.

Thinking that there were experts in Chang'an and it was impossible to follow Li Yan and his gang on their journey, he joined forces with Yuan Zhatian, a popular swordsman on Weinan Road, and prepared to kill Li Yan.

"Don't worry, he can't run away!"

Yuan Zhatian sneered and said, "I have heard of Li Hu's name before. Even though his son is powerful, he still has to die today!"

The old Taoist holding a large gourd on his back said coldly, "You are so arrogant, kid. Xiong Baodong, a master of Huajin, was killed by him in just a few moves. Where do you get your confidence from?"

"Hahaha…"

Yuan Zhatian laughed wildly, "You will know in a moment!"

After a while, dust rose up on the dirt road in the distance, and about thirty people came riding on horses, all of them with disheveled hair and dirty faces, and fierce eyes.

The old woman in black smacked her lips and said, "You still have so many subordinates. Are you planning to go to the mountains and become a bandit in the future?"

Yuan Zhaitian scratched his chest, rolled off a mud ball and flicked it lightly, "I killed a few wealthy people, and the court is looking for them. I can't take any lucrative jobs anymore, so I just went up the mountain."

"It's about making money anyway, and it's faster if you can't rob it?"

As they were talking, the cavalry had already approached.

After his men brought the horses over, Yuan Zhatian took out an oil-paper bag from the saddle and said with a chuckle, "Seniors, do you recognize this?"

The Taoist carrying the gourd sniffed and his expression changed slightly.

"gunpowder?"

"That's right!"

Yuan Zhatian smiled and said, "I'm afraid you don't know, but there's news recently that Bai Ruoxu, the former head of the Yahang Hall in Chang'an City, has robbed a magic spear from the Duwei Division."

"A few days ago, I was intercepted by a Cao Gang expert at Manchuan Pass. He wanted to rob the gang, but the Cao Gang leader was shot and half of his body was shattered!"

"He is a famous master of Hua Jin!"

"Two days ago in Tongguan, a group of newly-arrived Central Plains gangsters robbed a Jinzhou merchant caravan and set up an ambush with gunpowder. Even the famous Tianshun Escort Agency was caught!"

As he spoke, he shook the explosive pack in his hand and said with a strange smile: "This thing is the hard currency in the black market right now."

"No matter what sorcerer or master of Huajin, they are still made of flesh and blood. Ten taels of silver can take their lives!"

"Three seniors, how about our magic?"

"Hahaha…"

The group of knife-wielding bandits suddenly burst into wild laughter.

The three sorcerers looked at each other with unpleasant expressions.

They would never share the profits with others. Their original plan was to kill Yuan Zhatian after robbing the things.

But looking at the explosive packs in the bandits' hands, he felt inexplicably scared.

They were also witnesses of the use of muskets on the night of the Lantern Festival.

Seeing that the three men were silent, Yuan Zhatian chuckled, said no more, and ordered horses to be brought to them.

With a whistle, the horse team immediately headed towards the distant mountains...

……

It's not even the end of the first month of the year and the weather is still cold.

The bandits on horseback rumbled past, all covering their faces with their headscarves.

In the blue sky, a falcon flew up and down, sometimes making a circle, and sometimes suddenly diving.

High up on a hill, a man in a black robe sat on a big tree. Under his hood, he had a round face and bright eyes. Even when he wasn't smiling, there were two obvious dimples at the corners of his mouth.

Seeing the gliding trajectory of the falcon, he jumped off the tree, slid down the steep slope, and jumped when he encountered rocks.

Its movements are nimble, like a mountain antelope.

Soon, a valley appeared in front of them, with a dilapidated earthen temple next to it. It had obviously been abandoned for a long time, but there was still smoke rising from the sky.

Hearing the noise, Sharifei walked out of the earthen temple, smiling and flattering, "Hey, Brother Lu San is back, come on, I'll help you get your things."

"Need not."

Lu San stepped back quickly with a cold face.

"Hey~ Why are you being so polite to your own brothers?"

Sharifei was polite in his words, but his eyes were fixed on Lu San's waist.

Hanging there were the Fire Ghost's bone firearms and ammunition packs.

Seeing this, Lu San shook his head and said, "Don't think about it. I've already given you three pills, and I don't know the formula. There aren't many of them, so you have to save them for the critical moment."

Sharifei was itching to do so, and rubbed his hands together, saying, "Just one, just one. If we can figure out the formula, what else do we have to worry about?"

Unfortunately, no matter how much he said nice things, Lu San remained unmoved.

At this time, Wang Daoxuan also came out and shook his head and said, "Don't be so unreasonable, Brother Lu San, have you found anything?"

After the Lantern Festival, Li Yan and his companions left Chang'an and stayed in the village outside the city, waiting for Ye Kulang to dispose of the things.

Li Yan was afraid that the Duwei Si would follow him, so he did not contact Lu San, but Lu San took the initiative to come to him and prepared to say goodbye and leave.

How could the three of them agree to this? They persuaded him to join their group no matter what.

Lu San was wanted in his hometown. His revenge was over. In the vast world, he didn't know where to go, so he simply followed the three men.

Needless to say, the benefits are obvious. Lu San can understand the language of birds and animals, and he has also tamed a falcon to help everyone with reconnaissance.

Someone attacked two days ago, and it was Lu San who discovered it in advance.

Hearing Wang Daoxuan's question, Lu San nodded woodenly, "Yes, there is a group of people, about thirty or so, riding horses towards this side."

"What are you afraid of?"

Sharifei said happily: "It's useless no matter how many people there are. Brother Yan is practicing, and the mountains are full of lonely ghosts every night. They probably can't even get close."

"Don't be careless." Wang Daoxuan shook his head and said, "If they attack during the day, what if they disturb Brother Yan's practice?"

"Brother Lu San, please inform Brother Yan. Lao Sha, you will help me set up the altar. If they go up the mountain, we can stop them."

Since Li Yan was not there, Wang Daoxuan took the lead.

Sha Lifei accompanied Wang Daoxuan in setting up the magic circle, while Lu San went to the valley behind and wrote and drew on the cloth with a charcoal pencil.

"Squeak!"

He pinched his mouth and screamed, and a mouse came out from the nearby bushes, crawled along the trouser leg and onto Lu San's hand, very clever and docile.

Lu San tied a strip of cloth around the mouse's legs, then came to the entrance of a hole, and after a few squeaks, he put the mouse into the hole.

The mouse immediately crawled quickly. The narrow and dark cave was not an obstacle for it at all, and it crawled into the mountain in a short while.

The entire mountain is actually a mound of earth.

Squeak!

In less than half an incense stick of time, the mouse went into the mountain and a tomb suddenly appeared in front of them. It was very old and many parts had collapsed.

In the middle of the tomb, there was a dim candlelight.

Li Yan sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, rubbing his hands together slowly. There was a faint sound of thunder, and at the same time, there were crackling flashes of lightning...

　Two more chapters today
　　
　
(End of this chapter)