Knife splashing

Chapter 307: Catching Monsters in the City
Li Yan woke up before dawn.

Swish!
I don't know when it started to drizzle outside. I opened the window and saw that the sky and the earth were covered with mist and rain, and the yard was completely silent.

Li Yan didn't care. After a simple wash, he sat in a horse stance and practiced boxing and kicking in the room.

He first practiced the ten major techniques of Red Fist, then swung his arms and practiced the Pi Gua Wu Long Pan Da for a while.

Confucius said: Learn and practice it from time to time.

Although Li Yan has now embarked on a new path, his basic skills have not been lost, and he pays more attention to them.

If you practice these basic skills every day, you will always gain new insights.

After doing all this, he stepped into the Gangbu step, made hand gestures with his left and right hands, moved his body left and right, and his fists and palms changed into yin and yang thunder, and his whole body was crackling with electric light.

I had a casual chat with Wu Qu yesterday, and he pointed out the shortcomings of his martial arts based on his experience.

The most important one,
It’s just that the thunder method has not yet been fully integrated!

The strength of martial arts lies in the speed of close combat, which can not only crush martial artists of the same level, but also quickly break the magic and kill the sorcerer.

You know, the sorcerer's methods are all kinds of strange.

If you give the opponent time to cast the spell, the outcome will be very different. If the distance is long enough and the opponent has already set up the altar, you will most likely be at a disadvantage.

Therefore, martial arts should be performed swiftly.

When fighting, you can use thunder magic by pinching your fingers. Not only a sorcerer, but even a skilled warrior can speed up the battle, leaving you no time to use the thunder magic.

Li Yan’s primary goal now is to reduce this process.

Of course, no matter how advanced a person is, he cannot perform thunder magic without pinching his fingers. Wu Qu also gave him a suggestion, asking him to practice pinching his fingers to perfection, preferably within one second.

At the same time, it is hidden in martial arts moves.

In this way, even if the enemy knows the flaw, there is nothing they can do.

Once he became completely proficient and there was no gap between transitions, his martial arts could be said to have a solid foundation.

All that remains is to continuously increase the power.

Inside the room, Li Yan's speed kept increasing. In a small space, his steps kept changing while he made hand gestures to attack.

Gradually, he began to get some ideas.

For example, when performing Wulong Pan Da and Pi Gua Zhang strikes repeatedly, you can integrate the Heavenly Thunder Demon Hammer into them to overwhelm the opponent.

Even if one hammer doesn't kill the opponent, it can break his defense.

There is also the Northern Emperor's Yin Thunder Palm, which can be fully integrated into the Red Fist's attack, affecting the opponent's spirit and making it impossible to resist.

Yin thunder attacks the soul, while Yang thunder is extremely hard and yang.

If integrated into various moves, it can make up for the deficiencies and increase the lethality exponentially.

This is the key to martial arts.

Of course, martial arts, martial arts, and martial arts are also the key!

Li Yan was completely absorbed in his thoughts, constantly changing and practicing his moves. When he came to his senses again, it was already bright outside.

The people of the Tian family have already had breakfast. They have been hiding here for the past few days. Although it is safe, they are also feeling suffocated. They stand under the eaves and watch the rain.

When they saw Li Yan going out, they all greeted him.

After all, the young man in front of them is the key to their safe passage through the disaster.

As for Lu San, he was lying in the room and snoring.

He was extremely tired these past few days. After Li Yan came back, he divided the work. Lu San would keep watch at night and practice at the same time, and sleep during the day to get enough rest.

As for Li Yan, after finishing these things, he was too lazy to go out. Apart from eating, he stayed in the house to practice.

Of course, he did not forget to ask several monks for information.

Those monsters have not revealed any trace yet.

At the Barbarian King's Tomb, several Jiangxia barbarians tried to leave secretly, but were caught by the masters guarding outside the Baotong Zen Temple. Some of them committed suicide on the spot, while others could not bear the torture and confessed some information.

But those who came out to explore the way were all from the lowest class, and they were just instigated and joined the rebellion in a fit of rage.

To put it bluntly, these aren't good people either.

They were unwilling to live in the Miao village with such hardship, and they also felt that the work in the kiln factory did not pay well enough. Naturally, they felt resentful as they were in the three prosperous cities of Wuchang.

With the instigation of people sent by the rebellious chieftains, they began to gather people to rebel, saying that they wanted to restore the glory of "Jiangxia Man".

In fact, not many people know what happened to Jiang Xia Man...

The only thing they knew was that the priests were constantly performing blood sacrifice ceremonies in the Barbarian King's Tomb. All the wild animals on the mountain had been caught, and their own people were beginning to disappear.

They came out with orders to capture villagers nearby and perform blood sacrifices on them.

The priests only told them that a barbarian king had become a god, and when he came out of the mountains, he would restore his glory and lead them to occupy the three cities of Wuchang, and from then on they would enjoy wealth and glory...

Of course, Li Yan also knew a more important piece of news.

"You said that concubine is called Liu Niang?"

Listening to the monk's story, Li Yan's expression became solemn.

When something happened at the Wu family mansion and Wu Jiucheng was silenced, he was still on the mountain and was beaten half to death by Zhang Xiaoshan.

I know about this, but I have no idea of ​​the inside story.

I was busy for several days after I came down the mountain, and only found out now.

"Young Master Li knows this person?"

Several monks looked at his expression and immediately realized that something was wrong.

This Liu Niang was too mysterious. They searched the files but couldn't find any information about her.

Li Yan nodded and said in a deep voice: "Master Chengjue is here, I want to see him!"

…………

"Ghost Cult leader Zhao Changsheng?"

Master Chengjue had an extremely solemn expression on his face.

"Yes."

Li Yan nodded and said, "During the Song Dynasty, he was the leader of the Ghost Cult, Zhang Huaisu. He returned to life many years ago and took over the body of a Taoist from the Taixuan Orthodox Cult. He then infiltrated the Maitreya Cult and became its deputy leader."

"After the Maitreya Religion's uprising failed, this person disappeared and wandered around China, awakening various demons and monsters and making secret plans..."

"The chaos in Zigui County, Dangyang County, and now Wuchang City, all the chaos is related to it..."

"That Lady Liu, originally called Aunt Liu, is a sorcerer from Jiangsu and Zhejiang. She is good at magic with cats and ghosts. She once ran a brothel in Chang'an. She was a subordinate of Lady Hong and she also killed my father..."

"After the Maitreya Cult in Chang'an was destroyed, they killed people and left. Now Hongnu has been killed by me, and Liuniang is likely to have come back to life and become the leader here..."

"The truly terrifying one is Zhao Changsheng..."

Li Yan did not hide anything and told the whole story.

He had already known for a long time that he could not deal with Zhao Changsheng with his own strength.

The best way to deal with such people who hide behind the scenes and stir up trouble is to make their identities known to the world.

The Daxuan Dynasty is now at its peak, and the power of Xuanmen is far stronger than during the turmoil at the end of the Song Dynasty.

He just couldn't believe it. With so many experts, they couldn't catch Zhao Changsheng?

“I’ve heard of this person, too.”

Cheng Jue said solemnly, "Some time ago, news came from the Law Enforcement Hall in the capital, asking all places to keep an eye out for this person. They only said that he was the deputy leader of the Maitreya Sect, but no one expected him to have this identity."

Li Yan shook his head and said, "After the chaos in Dangyang County ended, I secretly reported the matter to the Law Enforcement Hall in the capital. I guess the news from there hasn't come yet."

This is not surprising.

It takes time to transmit information back and forth from here to the capital, and the Law Enforcement Hall also needs time to set up.

It is estimated that after some time, Zhao Changsheng's identity will be announced to all parties.

Cheng Jue nodded and said, "I will go back and report to the abbot. The Great Song Ghost Cult has been causing trouble for a thousand years. Now Zhao Changsheng is secretly planning to disrupt the war in the southwest and cause unrest in Shenzhou."

"To be honest, the Shaolin Zen sect has also sent several masters to support us. This time we must capture Zhao Changsheng!" The big monk also had some plans in mind.

Although the disaster in Wuchang City was planned and secretly designed by the evil spirits several years in advance, they were responsible for suppressing the disaster and could be considered to have failed in their duty.

If we can eliminate this scourge of Zhao Changsheng, it will be a great achievement.

However, Li Yan shook his head and said, "Zhao Changsheng is very cunning. He always uses other people to do things and rarely shows up. I guess it will be the same this time."

"Only by catching that Liu Niang as soon as possible can we resolve the disaster. Do you have any clues?"

Cheng Jue shook his head and said, "I also know a little about the cat ghost technique, which is often popular among the girls in brothels."

"But we have secretly searched all the brothels in the three cities and have not found any trace of him. He dared to show this skill, so he must have been prepared."

"This technique also has a weakness, which is that you have to suppress the cat ghost you raise at all times to prevent it from backlashing, so you need to kill a cat as a sacrifice."

Li Yan asked again: "Have you sent yamen runners to inquire about where cats kept by the people have gone missing?"

Cheng Jue shook his head and said, "I have asked, and the cats in the people's homes are fine. The other party must have used wild cats. The Westward Journey Beggars' Gang also sent back news, and there are indeed fewer wild cats in the city, but I don't know where they have gone."

"This Lady Liu should still be hiding in Wuchang City!"

After hearing this, Li Yan smiled dumbly and shook his head, saying, "Master, why didn't you tell me about this earlier?"

"If you don't know, just ask the cat!"

…………

Wuchang City, Qintai Alley.

This old alley is very old. It has existed since the Daxing period when the old Wuchang City was still there. It was a first-class wealthy place.

The story of Yu Boya meeting Zhong Ziqi and searching for a soulmate in "High Mountains and Flowing Water" took place nearby, and there is also a Guqin Terrace on Guishan Mountain to commemorate it.

Guqin Terrace was first built during the Northern Song Dynasty. At that time, this alley attracted many wealthy people in Wuchang City, so it was renamed accordingly.

During the Daxing period, the Kingdom of Wuchang confronted the Golden Horde along the Yangtze River from north to south. The three cities of Wuchang became the site of countless battles and often changed hands.

After the Golden Horde Kingdom conquered the city, apart from the Prince of Chu's Palace, the most prosperous Qintai Alley naturally became a target for plunder.

Many mansions of the wealthy and powerful were burned down, and the women in their families were also killed. They were tortured to death by the rebel army, and resentment was overwhelming, and evil spirits were rampant.

Even after Wuchang City was rebuilt and rituals were performed here to eliminate the evil spirits, the wealthy businessmen in the city felt that it was unlucky, so no one built a house here.

Even the common people felt that this place was ominous.

Over time, it became a gathering place for beggars. The streets were crowded with various dilapidated houses, and some abandoned old houses were filled with a foul stench.

"Here, everyone."

The beggar leader Zhou Ba'e, who was traveling west from Wuchang City, carefully led the way and said in a flattering manner, "I saw a few wild cats fighting for food before, but then they got frightened for some reason and ran away when they saw people."

Behind him were a group of monks from the Law Enforcement Hall, as well as Cheng Jue, Li Yan and Lu San.

Upon hearing this, Li Yan looked forward and saw a pile of ruins, covered with weeds and trees, and a lot of garbage, with a foul stench.

Zhou Ba'e said carefully, "This was originally a charity cemetery, but it was burned down by a fire, so it was abandoned."

Li Yan nodded and looked at Lu San.

Lu San stepped forward without wasting any words, pinched his fingers together, and made a strange humming sound, which sounded like a xiao, with a hint of ancient charm.

This was also the first time that Li Yan had seen it. He knew that it must be a method that Lu San had learned recently. It was indeed very different from the current Xuanmen techniques.

Wow!
Under the surprised gaze of the crowd, the originally quiet abandoned charity cemetery soon became lively.

Rats emerged from the holes in the ground...

Several snakes and wild dogs ran out from the shadows of the woods...

Whoa whoa whoa!
A dozen crows flapped their wings and flew over in the sky...

Not to mention Zhou Ba'er, even Cheng Jue was a little surprised when he saw it.

He knew that Lu San could speak the language of birds and animals and could command mice to give warnings, but he did not expect that he had such ability.

However, he soon frowned and turned to look at Zhou Ba'er, "What's going on?"

Many animals ran out, but there was no cat.

"this…"

Zhou Ba'e said awkwardly: "Master, the only place in the city where cats have appeared recently is here. I really don't know."

"Wait!" Li Yan next to him suddenly raised his hand.

They saw a small head peeking out from the roof of a dilapidated house, looking at them with wary eyes.

It was a little tabby cat.

Seeing this, Lu San's voice immediately softened.

Finally, the little tabby cat stumbled down. It was not only skinny as a stick, but also limped on its hind legs, its hair was stuck to its body, and its eyes were a little cloudy.

A hint of anger rose in Lu San's eyes. He carefully took out the water and minced meat that he had prepared and placed them on the ground.

The kitten was obviously very hungry. After eating a few bites, it began to vomit, staggering and somewhat unsteady on its feet.

Anyone can see that this kitten will not live long.

Lu San sighed, and the sound in his mouth changed again. The kitten also meowed with ups and downs in its voice, as if it was telling something.

Lu San gently comforted the kitten, then quickened his pace and headed towards another street.

When everyone saw it, they all followed.

They turned several streets in succession, and the surrounding area gradually became prosperous, where the people of the city lived.

Finally, Lu San stopped, stroked the kitten, and stared coldly ahead, "Those cat catchers are all here!"

In front of us was a large butcher shop, behind it was a large courtyard, and in front was a row of pork stalls where more than a dozen people were queuing up to buy.

Seeing the crowd coming forward aggressively, the people immediately realized that something was wrong and they all moved away, but they stayed close together and looked out to watch the fun.

The boss of the meat stall was a tall man, greasy all over and with a full beard. When he saw everyone coming, a fierce light flashed in his eyes.

"The bottom is exposed, hurry up!"

After saying that, he turned around, kicked away the fatty pork offal, tore open the oilcloth, and picked up a bamboo pole from it.

Hellfire Gun?!

Li Yan's eyes narrowed slightly, and he swung his hand back.

A flying knife whizzed out with a shrill sound.

The two sides were only a dozen meters apart. He used his hidden strength and his speed was amazing. Before the boss could even turn around, the flying knife pierced his back of the head and he fell to the ground.

The men under his command fled in all directions.

"Don't let anyone go!"

Chengjue gave the order in a cold voice, and the monks immediately leaped out.

The monks were all martial monks from Baotong Temple. It was easy for them to deal with these gangsters and they quickly subdued them one by one.

A few others rushed directly to the backyard.

Li Yan did not follow in, but instead pinched his fingers and took a deep breath. All the smells within the surrounding two hundred meters rushed into his nostrils.

"There's a secret passage underground!"

He suddenly opened his eyes, leaped up in three or two steps, made some hand gestures in mid-air, and arcs of electricity crackled above his fists.

When it landed, it smashed down suddenly.

boom!
There was a loud bang, and earth and rocks splashed everywhere.

The ground suddenly collapsed, revealing a huge hole.

Everyone hurriedly came closer and looked down.

Call ~
Black smoke suddenly rose from the pit, and pairs of green eyes flashed in the darkness, while cold air spread out.

It was still drizzling, and the water on the ground quickly condensed into white frost, leaving dense little footprints...

(End of this chapter)