Martial Arts World Assassin

Chapter 21 Brother Taibai
After hearing the reason why Tie Luohan traveled to Liaodong, Huang Sixi thought that this monk was indeed chivalrous as he was willing to risk his life for a stranger.

He asked, "Have you found Mr. Fang's children?"

Tie Luohan looked sad: "I haven't met him, but I have found out his whereabouts. Fang Yuanwai's son was killed by the Tartars when he tried to escape two years ago, and his daughter died of illness last year."

After Tie Luohan came to Liaodong, he disguised himself as a lama and met many local Han people. He learned the news about the children from the captured villagers of Fang Yuanwai.

He added, "In fact, I found out whereabouts at the beginning of last winter, but I didn't know how to tell Mr. Fang about it, so I didn't return to the Central Plains."

But dragging it on was no solution, and he had to face this matter eventually. He decided to leave Shengjing today, but he encountered Huang Sixi's assassination attempt on Huang Taiji.

Luo Liru asked him, "Brother Luo Han, when you return to the Central Plains, are you going to tell Mr. Fang the truth?"

Tie Luohan has a straightforward character and doesn't know how to lie, but he also knows that telling the truth will hurt people.

In fact, he was in a dilemma: "If I tell Mr. Fang the truth, he will lose hope and will probably commit suicide again."

He nudged Luo Liru with his arm and said, "Brother, do you have any good ideas? We can tell Mr. Fang the truth and make him give up the idea of committing suicide."

Luo Liru sighed, "I don't have any ideas! I heard that the Tartar invaded the year before last and abducted more than 100,000 people from Northern Zhili. I don't know how many families were separated from their wives and children. Brother Luohan, you can only persuade Mr. Fang to mourn and accept the change!"

After saying this, he turned his head and looked at Huang Sixi. Suddenly, he thought of a solution and proposed it casually:

“When you, Luohan, see Mr. Fang, you might as well tell him that Mr. Huang killed the Tartar emperor and the Tartar prince, and has wiped out all the Tartar dignitaries, avenging our fellow countrymen in Zhili!
"Perhaps Mr. Fang will be comforted by this news, and he will erect a longevity tablet for Mr. Huang, and from then on he will eat vegetarian food and chant Buddhist scriptures, and will never seek death again."

Tie Luohan slapped his thigh and said, "What a great idea! If we tell Fang Yuanwai about the killing of the Tartar emperor, he will be so happy that he won't be able to sleep for three days and three nights. Huang Xianggong avenged his children, so if we ask him to repay his kindness by offering Huang Xianggong's longevity tablet and praying for blessings every year in the future, he will definitely agree!"

Tie Luohan really thought that the idea was good, and he had finally found a solution to Mr. Fang’s problem.

He thought again, since the Wanli period, the Tartars had repeatedly invaded the borders, and countless tragedies of separation of flesh and blood had occurred. When the news that Mr. Huang had stabbed the Tartar emperor to death spread in the Central Plains, it was estimated that every household in the nine border areas of the Ming Dynasty would set up an immortality tablet for Mr. Huang.

However, Mr. Huang is being wanted by the Tartars, who must hate him to death and will try to take revenge on him and his family in the future. The real name cannot be used on the Changsheng tablet. Fortunately, "The Dragon Subduing Hero" is a pseudonym.

When Tie Luohan thought of this, he tried to ask Huang Sixi for his opinion: "Mr. Huang, do you think the magic of the Changsheng card can be used? If it can be used, how about using the name of the hero who conquers the dragon?"

"If it can save Mr. Fang's life, then I have no objection."

Anyway, all the common people want is a place to rest, so it doesn’t matter what name it uses.

Huang Sixi joked again: "But I am only seventeen years old this year. Can I set up a longevity tablet at this age? Will my life shorten as I set up a tablet?"

"Ah? Mr. Huang, you are only seventeen?"

Tie Luohan and Luo Liru looked at each other, unable to believe their ears.

They always thought that Huang Sixi was an old senior in his fifties or sixties. Even though Huang Sixi looked young, they did not regard Huang Sixi as a young man.

With Huang Sixi's outstanding martial arts skills, it would be impossible to reach that level without decades of hard practice.

When I met Huang Sixi earlier, one of them called himself a little monk and the other called himself a villain, and they also regarded themselves as juniors.

Who would have thought that Huang Sixi was barely older than a teenager. Tie Luohan counted on his fingers and sighed, "Mr. Huang, I am a generation older than you. It seems that I have to call myself an old monk in the future."

Luo Liru immediately laughed out loud: "Brother Luohan, you call yourself an old monk, so shouldn't I call myself an old man?"

Tie Luohan said sternly: "Just wait, brother, sooner or later you will become an old man!"

The laughter suddenly became louder.

Huang Sixi couldn't help but smile.

Luo Liru noticed that Huang Sixi was always calm and composed when he spoke. Although he was young, his demeanor was extremely steady.

Luo Liru couldn't help but have the urge to imitate Huang Sixi. He was twenty-three years old, six years older than Huang Sixi. Feeling that his manners were clumsy, he quietly sat up straight and put on the same calm demeanor as Huang Sixi.

But Huang Sixi's subsequent questions made him nervous.

"Luohan came to Liaodong to look for someone for justice. He pretended to be a lama for two years just to keep a promise. Do you have any special circumstances, Liru?"

"Mr. Huang, I just followed my senior brother to Liaodong to do business. I don't have any other mission."

"Trading with the Tartars? I remember that the Ming Dynasty had long ago sealed off the borders and strictly prohibited the flow of materials from the Central Plains into Liaodong. Are you, the Golden Dragon Gang, smuggling illegally?"

"In fact, our Golden Dragon Gang has no business relationship with Liaodong. Instead, we are escorting goods for our friends!"

"Friends? What friends?"

Huang Sixi did not intend to force Luo Liru to reveal his background, but he decided to take Luo Liru and Tie Luohan back to the Central Plains together, letting the two of them act as his guides and show him a safe route.

This journey would involve traveling at least a thousand miles. If one were intercepted by the Tartars on the way, one would have to take a detour through the grasslands, and it might take even two or three thousand miles before one could return to the Central Plains.

In the next few months, Huang Sixi will be with Luo Liru day and night, so it is naturally necessary for him to get to the bottom of Luo Liru's situation.

Luo Liru was most afraid that Huang Sixi would regard him as a profiteer with ties to the Tartars, but he did not hide his experience because of this.

He said truthfully, "My master Jiao Gongli founded the Golden Dragon Gang in Jinling City in his early years. There are more than 2,000 gang members. The daily expenses are very high, so they need to do some business. But since I joined the Golden Dragon Gang, all the businesses have been concentrated in Jiangnan, and I have never done any business in Jiangbei."

Tie Luohan continued, "Since you have never been out of Jiangbei, then why did you come to Liaodong to do business?"

"This is all because of a pair of good friends of my master!"

Luo Liru revealed: "On the Taibai Mountain in the Qinling Mountains of Shaanxi, there is a pair of gangsters. The elder brother is called Shi Bingguang and the younger brother is called Shi Bingyi. The two brothers are close friends with my master. Last year, they suddenly visited my master and said that they were robbed while selling goods in Liaodong. So they came to my master for help and asked him to go to Liaodong."

Shi Bingguang and Shi Bingyi from Taibai Mountain?
Huang Sixi knew the origins of the brothers. They were the vanguards of the Central Plains martial arts world who surrendered to the Tatars. They also had an ally named Li Gang, who were known as the Three Heroes of Taibai.

He used to be a bandit, but after he retired, he started to get involved in smuggling, specializing in transporting supplies to Liaodong. It was during this period that he defected to the Ninth Prince Dorgon, and under Dorgon's orders, he wooed the martial artists from the Central Plains to surrender to the Tatars.

(End of this chapter)