Knife splashing

Chapter 94 Qinling Ancient Road
"So what if the idea is tough?"

A gentle voice sounded from the darkness.

Then, a man slowly walked to the window.

He was not very old, dressed in a blue Confucian robe, with fair skin and a smiling face. He looked like a scholar going out for an outing.

Looking at this seemingly harmless young man, a trace of fear flashed in the bearded man's eyes. He bowed his head and said flatteringly: "That's right, Third Brother, you are extremely intelligent and resourceful. It will be easy for you to deal with these people."

The young man glanced at him, shook his head and sighed, "I don't want to be tired, but there is no other way. Winter is approaching, and the guys in the village have to share the red cabinets to avoid the winter."

"You know the situation on the mountain. If we don't collect enough money, I'm afraid the village will collapse next year."

After saying that, he looked out the window and said, "There are more than one family on Niubeiliang Mountain who are greedy for this guy, but whether they can succeed is another matter."

"Let's find out the details first."

"Yes, third brother!"

"Ok?"

"Yes, sir..."

………………

It rains continuously and the autumn days are getting shorter.

By the time Sharifei returned from the inn, the sky had already darkened. In the dilapidated main room, there was a faint fire and a fragrance wafted in the air.

Sharifei sniffed, his eyes lit up, and he immediately sped up. Before he even entered the door, he shouted, "Okay, you won't wait for me when dinner is ready!"

"No hurries?"

Li Yan sat on the bricks and wiped the Guanshan knife in his hand. "Although the pheasants are fat in autumn, they are still a bit woody. If you stew them for a while longer, they will become more mushy."

The thing you are least worried about when you are on the road is meat.

Ordinary people are in a hurry when they are traveling, and even if they occasionally come across wild animals on the side of the road, they may not be able to catch them.

But these are not problems for Li Yan.

He had an amazing sense of smell and could never hide anything approaching. He also got some flying knives in Xianyang City. Often, when he was walking around, he would suddenly throw a knife and get something.

Everyone's mouths watered at the aroma wafting from the big pot, but no one dared to lift the lid.

Young Master Li is very picky about food. If the food is not cooked enough or the lid of the pot is opened prematurely, he will get angry and curse.

Naturally, Sharifei had to endure it. After putting down the jar of wine and the side dishes, he came close to Li Yan and told him the news he had heard.

Li Yan frowned, "The bandits are going to avoid the winter?"

Sharifi nodded and said, "Most likely!"

A young man in the barn was curious, "Why do we need to avoid the winter?"

The driver, Lao Mengtou, couldn't help himself and ran to the wine jar to pour himself a bowl. After taking two sips, he narrowed his eyes and said, "You are a gangster, you don't even know this?"

"Winter in the mountains is not so easy. Especially in the Qinling Mountains, when the mountains are blocked by heavy snow, there is a lack of food and clothing, and the roads are blocked. The bandits can't rob anything. If they continue to stay in the mountains, aren't they crazy?"

"So, every year at this time, they would rob a lot, divide the money and scatter down the mountain. Some would go back to visit their mothers, some would hide with their old lovers, and some would set up gambling houses in the village..."

"Anyway, everyone is busy with their own things."

"In the spring of the following year, the bandit leaders will round up people. If they don't show up on time, they will be stabbed three times and stabbed six times. If they die in a conflict with others, they will come together to seek revenge."

"After finishing these, we will continue to block the road and cut the way."

The young man was stunned. "Look back at me?"

Sharifei sneered, "Bandits don't just pop out of stones. Naturally, they have mothers, and some even have whole families to support."

"Sometimes, if you find a dishonest young man in the village who suddenly says he is going out to do business and only comes back for the New Year with some money, there is probably something wrong with him!"

"That's it..."

The young porter suddenly understood.

Then, everyone looked at Li Yan.

The porters originally thought that the person who would make the final decision in the team would be the experienced Sha Lifei, or the mature and steady Wang Daoxuan.

But over the past few days, Li Yan has arranged everything properly, which has made them completely convinced.

Li Yan pondered for a moment, "Let's talk about it when we get to Zhongnan Mountain. The news of the Niubeiliang bandit incident must have spread. Let's see how they deal with it..."

At this moment, he suddenly frowned and looked outside the door, "Some people are coming, quite a few, everyone be careful."

Sharifei quickly stood up with his knife in hand, took a look at the door, shook his head and said, "It's these officials, they really came!"

As he spoke, he recounted what he had seen at the inn.

Li Yan said nothing and looked at Wang Daoxuan.

Wang Daoxuan shook his head and said, "We are all on the road, so it's okay to help them. We can just make room for them."

This is the division of labor among the three-person team.

Li Yan was responsible for making harsh remarks, Wang Daoxuan was the peacemaker, and Shalifi was able to get along with both sides. He could be tough when necessary and soft when necessary, and he always had room to maneuver no matter what happened.

Sure enough, just as they finished speaking, the middle-aged man named Feng Ping bowed at the door and said, "Everyone, it's windy and rainy, can you please give us a room?"

"Okay, let's talk."

Having made up his mind, Sharifei naturally wanted to play the good guy and went with the porters to move the things from the house over there. Before he finished, he asked, "There is a hot meal over here. Do you want some?"

"Thank you, but no."

The middle-aged man clasped his fists with a solemn expression.

Sharifei was just being polite and didn't want to give it when they really asked for it. He shrugged and turned back to the house.

After watching them leave, Feng Ping began to direct others to light the fire, while he opened the curtain of the sedan chair and carefully helped an old man down.

The old man was tall but a little fat, with white eyebrows and a long beard, and a calm look in his eyes. He inexplicably exuded a sense of majesty.

"Madam, Miss, we have arrived." Feng Ping opened the second sedan chair, and a dignified woman in white came out, supporting an old woman.

Several people entered the side hall and looked at the house covered with thick dust. The old man sighed, "It's hard to travel, and there are always many inconveniences. Fengping, bring chairs to the lady and the young lady."

"Also, take some cakes to the neighbors, as a courtesy."

"Yes, sir."

The middle-aged man first took two small chairs off the sedan chair, then took out a lacquer box from it, and came to Li Yan's room. He bowed and said, "Thank you very much, everyone. My master asked me to bring some snacks for everyone to try."

"Si Fang Zhai's pastries?"

Sharifei's eyes lit up and he took it directly, "I'm so sorry, thank the old man for us."

"You are Welcome."

The middle-aged man Feng Ping nodded and turned to leave.

"Tsk tsk, look at their etiquette, they must be a wealthy family!"

Sharifei opened the lacquer box while praising it.

The lacquer box with a black background and red patterns is a craft that was originally handed down from the Han Dynasty. It is simple and elegant. After opening it, the colorful snacks neatly stacked inside are even more pleasing to the eye.

"The cakes from Sifangzhai..." Sharifei recalled nostalgically, "This stuff is not cheap, it costs ten taels of silver per box. The last time I ate it, I was helping a wealthy merchant in Chang'an with a funeral, and I got a bite."

Li Yan had eaten countless delicious things in his previous life. Although this thing was beautiful, he didn't like it. He let everyone share it and then went forward to lift the lid of the pot.

In an instant, heat rose and the fragrance filled the air.

It was just an ordinary big pot dish. The chicken was chopped up, stir-fried with the pickled vegetables, boiled with water, and a little salt was added.

However, he now has an amazing sense of smell, and can handle ordinary ingredients just right, controlling the heat exquisitely to bring out the original flavor of the ingredients, so they can be considered delicious.

Everyone was already impatient, and each stepped forward to fill a large bowl. They broke the dry food buns into pieces and soaked them in the hot soup. They squatted on the ground, took a sip of wine and a mouthful of rice, and ate without stopping, sweating profusely.

After dinner, everyone went to bed early. Although they stayed here temporarily due to the rain, they were all experienced and knew that the journey ahead would be difficult, so they had to take every opportunity to rest.

Only Wang Daoxuan and Li Yan were sitting by the campfire.

The two men agreed to take turns meditating in the first and second half of the night, while the one who was free would guard the Dharma and keep watch.

Li Yan was on duty in the second half of the night, so after everyone fell asleep, he sat cross-legged, first visualizing his internal organs, and then gathered all the little spiritual light in the dark at his eyebrows, entering a state of meditation and concentrating his mind.

Soon, the white light between the eyebrows expanded and a human figure appeared.

After several months of practice, the outline of the spirit became clearer and clearer, and the image could be vaguely distinguished. It looked similar to the Daluo Dharmakaya, wearing a Taoist robe and sitting on a lotus platform.

But his eyebrows, eyes and facial features are exactly the same as his.

This is the god visualized by Li Yan.

As soon as he concentrated his mind, he was protected by the Daluo Dharmakaya, so not a single bit of his spiritual energy would be wasted. In addition, he did not fight with anyone, so his spiritual consciousness was not damaged, so Li Yan's cultivation progress was amazing.

By the time he went to Taibai Mountain, his Taoism skills were enough to support the construction of the building.

To others, this was simply a miracle.

You know, before ordinary people build a tower, even if they practice diligently every night, that little bit of spiritual light will always dissipate, like a swimming pool, which takes in water while leaking.

This alone wastes a lot of time.

Li Yan did not have such concerns. What was even more amazing was that once his spiritual consciousness was injured, he could recover through his Daluo Dharma Body. He would not suffer a drop in his cultivation level due to a fight, so he did not have many concerns.

However, he showed no joy at the moment.

In the Dantian, on the palm of the left hand of the Daluo Dharmakaya, the "Gou Die" mark became more and more obvious, as if it had become a natural texture.

This is something from the underworld!
Even the Taixuan Orthodox Church has some taboos about that mysterious place.

After becoming a living ghost messenger, will his secret be discovered?

The closer they got to the Qinling Mountains, the more anxious Li Yan became.

Before I knew it, my daily meditation session was over.

When Li Yan woke up, it was already past midnight. Several people in the house were snoring loudly. The bonfire was blazing, but it still couldn't dispel the chill of the rainy night in late autumn.

Watching Wang Daoxuan enter a state of meditation, Li Yan added some more wood and sat in front of the campfire to keep watch.

Of course, he was not idle either, and took out two books from his backpack.

One is "Pi Gua Quan Boxing Manual" and the other is "Qin and Han Drum Rhythms".

Both of these items were given to me by Mr. Zhou, the head of the Chunfeng Class.

After all, the Yunlei God Drum is a magic weapon, so he carries it with him and hangs it on the back of his horse. He beats it at fixed times every day these days to exercise his hidden strength, and his skills have improved significantly.

But if you want to use it as a magical instrument, randomly hitting it will not work. You need to concentrate and cooperate with the "Qin and Han Drum Rhythms" to make it more powerful.

Also, there is this Pi Gua fist technique.

Several fierce fights during this period have made him realize his own problems.

Putting aside the difference in skill, the weaknesses in boxing have already become apparent.

Hong Quan is agile and good at close combat. Because of his father's influence and what he saw in his previous life, he has put a lot of effort into close combat.

The so-called trickery and beating means combining trickery and beating, hooking and sticking.

Facts have proven this to be the case; in the battle with Zhou Bai, he was not afraid at all as long as he was close to the enemy, and he could often even defeat the strong with the weak.

The art of fighting is very particular about distance.

According to his father's plan, he used the sharp sword at long range and the sharp fist at close range, which enabled him to build up his fighting power quickly and make a name for himself.

However, it is a bit insufficient now.

It’s not that Hongquan is bad, but everyone has different personalities and body shapes. Only by having the mother fist and absorbing various boxing techniques and developing one’s potential can one go further in the future.

For example, in the battle with the man with the Iron Wire Fist, he had no way out and could only rely on his cleverness and exploit the opponent's psychological flaws.

Moreover, in the past few months, Li Yan found that he had grown taller.

The boxing techniques must naturally change accordingly.

Zhou Pan has extremely long arms, so he chooses Tongbei Monkey Fist.

And his choice was the Pi Gua Punch.

Pi Gua mostly uses palms, so it is also called Pi Gua Palm. It is good at defeating the enemy at medium and long distances.

He emphasizes on long-range attack, long attack when far away, and whip attack when close. He can retract or release, make the attack long or short. He is best at controlling spatial distance, which is enough to make up for his shortcomings.

When combined with the Cannon Fist in the Red Fist, it is even more powerful.

There is another reason for choosing this path.

The dark power he practiced before was the Red Fist piercing silk power, but what he practiced now was the Divine Drum Cloud Thunder Sound, which was domineering and powerful, and the thunder force shocked all directions. The boxing method must also be coordinated with it, so that he can concentrate the boxing intent in the future.

Beside the campfire in the rainy night, Li Yan flipped through the boxing manual, occasionally falling into deep thought.

Of course, this is just a preliminary understanding.

As the saying goes, "changing boxing is as easy as ascending to heaven." Although he did not completely change boxing, forming his own characteristics is not something that can be achieved overnight, and he had to seek advice from famous masters.

After the trip to Qinling, I went there to find a master who was proficient in Pi Gua to learn boxing...

…………

Before I knew it, the night passed.

Just as Wang Daoxuan expected, the autumn rain had not stopped in the early morning and was still falling sparsely.

There is a taboo when transporting the coffin back home, that is, the coffin cannot touch the ground. If traveling in this kind of weather, even if it is wrapped in tarpaulin, the coffin will inevitably get wet.

If the car skids and overturns, it would be bad luck.

Everyone chopped firewood, boiled water and cooked porridge. After eating a bowl of hot rice porridge and yesterday's leftovers, they felt warm all over even though they were in a deserted house.

Around noon, the autumn rain finally stopped.

Li Yan and Wang Daoxuan went out to check the weather, and just then the people next door also came out of the yard.

The old man stroked his beard and looked into the distance. Seeing the green mountains and rolling white mist, he felt very happy and said with a smile, "Fengping, do you know which road we are taking?"

"Qin Chu Ancient Road."

"What's the origin?"

"This...I don't know."

The old man looked into the distance and sighed, "The Qinling Mountains divide the north and south, and are the middle dragon of the three major dragon veins. They were built before the Qin Dynasty, starting from Xianyang and ending at the southern mountain of the Qinling Mountains, so they are called Zhongnan Mountains. Later generations continued to build, and finally made it connect Qin and Chu."

"So that's how it is." The middle-aged guard suddenly realized.

The old man shook his head again and said, "From ancient times to the present, our ancestors have worked hard to cross the natural barriers and connect the four directions."

"There is the Ziwu Road, which runs from Chang'an to Hanzhong, Ankang and Bashu..."

"There is the Luogu Road, which goes south through Zhou to Xiluogu, and then to Hanzhong..."

"There is also the Baoxia Road, which is said to have been built by Emperor Yu, as well as the Chencang, Lanwu, Yigu, and Xigu roads..."

"I have heard of this subordinate, secretly marching through Chencang."

"That's right. The ancients could do this. I am just frustrated for a while. What should I be afraid of? When I return to Fengyang, I will endure hardships, train the younger generation of the clan, and wait for the opportunity. Thirty years later, won't the situation be different?"

Hearing the old man's good conversation, Wang Daoxuan couldn't help but feel a liking for him. "This old layman is very knowledgeable. We are also going to Fengyang. May I know your name?"

The old man pondered for a moment and said, "Since we are on the same journey, there is no need to hide anything, I am Lu Kang."

When Li Yan and Sha Lifei heard this, their faces turned a little strange...

(End of this chapter)