Knife splashing

Chapter 33: Mass Graveyard Beggar's Den
"idiot!"

Snapped!
With a loud slap, Meng Haicheng fell to the ground.

Blood mixed with broken teeth fell down, and the dust on the ground covered his body. Combined with the bloody bandage on his neck, he looked extremely disheveled.

However, Meng Haicheng didn't even dare to breathe. He quickly got up and knelt on the ground, his forehead covered with cold sweat.

This is a fairly large blacksmith shop.

In the yard outside, there was a row of dilapidated blacksmith furnaces. The fire was red, and iron slag and coal slag were scattered all over the ground. A group of men with bare upper bodies were smashing down with large and small hammers in their hands alternately.

Ding! Ding! Dang! Dang!
Accompanied by the harsh sound of iron hammering, sparks flew everywhere.

In the inner courtyard, a group of men dressed in different styles and covered in tattoos were standing or squatting. Under the dim candlelight, their faces were grim.

The air was filled with a strong smell of sweat, tobacco, and the sour odor of clothes that had not been washed for many days, which were intertwined and made people feel sick.

This is the Iron Knife Gang’s headquarters.

Just above the steps in the inner courtyard, a man was sitting on a throne.

The man was extremely tall, with an untidy beard, dark skin, and extremely rough facial features. He looked very powerful.

But he chose to wear a bright red robe, and he didn't wear it properly, with his right arm and shoulder exposed, and a black tiger tattooed on his dark skin.

He wore a small hat and flowers in his ears, looking out of place.

This person is Zheng Heibei, the leader of the Iron Knife Gang.

He was originally a blacksmith in Xianyang City. He was born with supernatural powers since he was young. He learned the family's Tongbeiquan, but he also had a hot temper. He got involved with a group of troublemakers and often fought with others.

After offending someone once and being thrown into jail for a few days, he suddenly came to his senses, kowtowed to Zhou Pan and became his disciple, and then founded the Iron Knife Gang.

West City is far less prosperous than East City, but his Iron Knife Gang is very powerful and almost monopolizes the blacksmith business in the city, so the profits are quite lucrative.

At this moment, Zheng Hei was sitting on a chair with a big golden sword on his back, playing with a walnut in his hand, looking coldly at Meng Haicheng who was kneeling on the ground.

"Do you know where I went wrong?"

Meng Haicheng secretly complained, "I shouldn't have agreed to the life-and-death contest."

He is also an old hand and only realized he had been cheated after he left.

Since their side had the advantage in numbers, they should have changed their mind immediately and rushed forward to kill Li Yan. Who would have known that Li Hu's son was in Xianyang by then?

Sadly, I was really scared at that time.

I think of Li Yan's eyes again, and my heart still feels cold.

"Humph!"

Zheng Heibei above him didn't know what he was thinking, and said coldly: "A young boy who just got out of the underworld has played you around. No wonder he has ended up like this."

"Who does he think he is? It would be fine if we just hacked him to death, and then we can find someone else to take the blame. But now it has become a martial arts arena fight. No matter who wins or loses, it's the master's face that's being slapped!"

Meng Haicheng was even more frightened now, and gritted his teeth and said, "Otherwise, I will take people to skin him alive right now!"

"late!"

Zheng Heibei said calmly: "Everyone on the Xianyang Road is talking about this matter now. If you kill him now, wouldn't it be a joke?"

Meng Haicheng was speechless and felt even more miserable in his heart.

If I had known this earlier, I would have pretended not to know that guy.

Zheng Heibei above him pondered for a while, turned his head and looked to the side, his tone became much softer, "Master You, I heard that the boy followed a Taoist from the Xuanmen Sect, do you know what they are going to do?"

"It's nothing more than asking the gods for help."

The person who spoke was a middle-aged man.

His appearance and accent were completely different from those of the people in Guanzhong. He had features from Jiangzuo, wore a black robe, had disheveled hair, and had a long beard.

What’s even more bizarre is that there is a Tai Chi symbol painted in cinnabar on its forehead.

This man was called You Laosi, a sorcerer from Jiangzuo. He was good at using spells and curses. No one knew who he had offended, so he had to hide everywhere.

When Zheng Heibei found out, he secretly took him in.

Over the years, several of his opponents died suddenly, and it was all caused by this You Laosi. Zheng Heibei relied heavily on him.

The sorcerer You Laosi stroked his long beard and sneered, "The Taoist is called Wang Daoxuan. His ability is average. All he did was to ask the Yin God to protect them and take on some tough jobs."

"To pray for the Yin spirit, we have to go to the mass grave, probably tomorrow night."

"And the mass grave is the territory of the beggars who traveled west. The leader of the gang has someone say that if they make trouble during the ritual, the beggars will not be able to escape death."

"By then everyone will be dead, what's the point of fighting?"

"Master You, what a good idea!"

Zheng Heibei pondered for a moment, "Ergou, go there, and remember to be polite. Those beggars are a bit weird."

"yes, Sir!"

A man with a pointed chin and monkey-like features stood out from the crowd.

"Wait a minute."

The warlock You Laosi suddenly said, "If you go like this, the custodian won't be able to see you, and you may even risk your life. I'll tell you what to do..."

"Thank you, Master, for your guidance."

Ergou took note of it carefully, clasped his hands and left.

……

The Iron Knife Gang was based in the eastern part of Xianyang.

After Ergou, a man with a pointed chin and monkey cheeks, went out, he rode a fast horse, passed through Changping Warehouse, passed by Ma Wang Temple, and left Xianyang City through the northwest gate.

Compared with the ancient ferry in the south, the north gate is much more desolate.

In the autumn rain, the tall memorial archway stood alone in the wilderness. Occasionally, civilians passed by on the muddy official road, all of them were from nearby villages.

Ergou wore a conical hat and rode his horse at full speed.

Towards evening, we arrived near a small hill.

Or, it can't even be called a mountain.

The Guanzhong Plain is surrounded by mountains on all sides. Whether it is the Qinling Mountains and Zhongnan Mountains in the south, the Huashan Mountain and Lishan Mountain in the east, or the Liangshan Mountain in the back, they are all much higher than the small mound in front of us.

But the popularity here is not inferior at all.

Whether it was war, famine, plague, or fighting among the people in the martial arts world, there were many unclaimed corpses every day in the huge city of Xianyang.

Of course, these corpses cannot be discarded at will.

Even the criminals who were beheaded on the execution ground would have someone to bury them.

And this task was given to the Westward Journey Beggars' Sect.

They are not buried properly. Most of them are just wrapped in a straw mat, unless they meet a kind-hearted person who donates, then they will use a thin-skinned coffin with a dog's head bumped against it.

They didn't care about feng shui and just buried the bodies randomly on the mountain.

This place is the Xianyang mass grave.

After countless years of accumulation, the mountain is now filled with ownerless graves, various shabby old trees, crows flying around, and packs of wild dogs roaming around.

In the autumn rain, it is dark and gloomy, as if it is the underworld.

No ordinary citizen in Xianyang City dared to come to this place.

Even Ergou, a member of the Iron Knife Gang, felt scared when he saw this scene. He couldn't help but spit and cursed inwardly: A bunch of thieves who have to live in this damn place...

Of course, he only dared to criticize in his heart.

The Beggars' Sect in Xianyang City has never been easy to mess with.

Ever since the great drought and plague and the rebellion of Maitreya many years ago, the Beggars' Gang has moved to this mountain and their whereabouts have been very strange.

They said it was to avoid the war, but they didn't move back even when peace came.

Some people also suspected that they were secretly colluding with the Maitreya Sect. Even a cavalry captain in Xianyang secretly sent people to investigate, and then led his troops to search, trying to make a contribution.

However, nothing was achieved.

Gradually, people got used to the existence of beggars' dens on the mass graves.

But in the world, there are more legends about these beggars.

For example, they have the ability to charm spirits, and often collude with human traffickers in the city to abduct and sell women and children...

For example, they can play with snakes and scorpions, and even command wild dogs here...

There were several swordsmen in the martial arts world who offended the Beggars' Sect and died tragically for unknown reasons.

In short, these beggars are very evil.

It was near evening, the night had already turned dark, and with the autumn rain and fog, the light was very dim.

Ergou felt scared, so he dismounted and picked up a lantern, moving forward cautiously, always looking left and right to pay attention to the movements around him.

Looking at the countless ownerless graves around him, even though he was a man who could stab a person without blinking an eye, he felt his scalp tighten and his hair stood on end.

"Wang! Wang! Wang!"

As soon as we stepped onto the mountain path, we heard the roar of wild dogs.

In the dark and wet fog, pairs of blood-red eyes appeared.

Clang!
The man was startled and quickly drew the sword from his waist.

The pack of wild dogs at the mass grave is also a terrifying existence in the legends of Xianyang City.

These guys feed on dead bodies and are quite ferocious. Some people have even seen them attacking a pack of wolves, so eating a human being is no problem for them.

Thinking of Master You's instructions, Er Gou, even though he was terrified, quickly put away his knife, clasped his fists and said loudly: "We drink from the same river and share the same evergreen. I am Lu Er Gou, and I have come to pay my respects. I hope you will show up and see me!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a scolding voice was heard in the distance.

Along with the sound of wild beasts running, the pairs of red eyes quickly disappeared.

Ergou was secretly horrified by what he saw. These beggars really knew how to drive away stray dogs.

Soon, a dark figure appeared in the rain and fog. He didn't carry a lantern, but hunched over and asked in a deep voice, "Where are you from, distinguished guest?"

"The old capital of the Qin King."

"Do you know the importance of the Jianghu?"

"A total of four catties, twenty-three ounces, five cents, four cents, nine cents, and eight cents!"

"What are four fen, nine li, and eight hao?"

"Four seas, nine rivers, and eight rivers."

"Where can you make money, fellow Taoist?"

"I don't dare. I'll just follow Uncle Zheng to make a living."

"Let's go."

After some underworld code words, the general details were revealed. The figure in front finally raised a lantern, and it turned out to be an old beggar with ragged clothes and dishevelled hair.

Ergou breathed a sigh of relief and followed closely behind.

Along the way, he always felt that something was staring at him in the dark, but he didn't dare to look too much, thinking that these beggars were indeed evil.

Finally, after entering the mountain, a faint fire appeared in front of us...

(End of this chapter)