Zongwu: Aspiring to be the mastermind behind the scenes

Chapter 116: Ghost Villa Master, the Magical Use of the Sword Technique

"Master."

Shi He clasped his fists and saluted, proving the identity of the Taoist priest in front of him, who was none other than the world-famous grandmaster, Mu Dao Ren!

"Captain Lin, we meet again."

"Mu...Senior Mu..."

Lin Zhennan stammered and greeted him.

Taoist Mu had traveled around the world before, and naturally he had been to Fuzhou. Lin Zhennan personally entertained him twice.

Therefore, the two are not strangers.

But the previous Mu Dao Ren and the current Mu Dao Ren are obviously not the same.

"Since Chief Escort Lin has come here, he must be ready to join us."

"Yes...yes..."

Lin Zhennan's smile was very forced, but at this point, if he dared to say no, his whole family would probably be thrown into the sea to feed the fish.

Mu Dao Ren smiled and said, "Let me introduce you to this Jin Jiu. He is my superior in the organization, and he was the one who recommended you to me."

Lin Zhennan saluted: "Ginjiu... Senior, thank you for your appreciation!"

Jin Jiu smiled and said, "Captain Lin was able to expand the Fuwei Escort Agency from four provinces to six provinces without any innate or master-level combat support. Although he is not strong in terms of military strength, he is a very rare business and development talent.

Our organization needs people like you!
Work hard, and perhaps you will become a full member of the organization earlier than others."

"Thank you for your high expectations, senior."

Lin Zhennan gradually accepted the reality before him and couldn't help asking, "Our organization is..."

"We'll talk about it later," said Taoist Mu. "Let me introduce you to the others, Hai Qikuo and Gao Tao."

He pointed at the two people next to him, and then pointed at the four strong men behind Lin Zhennan and beside Mai Zihao.

"And these four, no tiger, no lion, no elephant, no leopard!"

"hiss!"

Lin Zhennan couldn't help but gasp, his heart filled with shock. "Your names...are well-known!"

Hai Qikuo, nicknamed the One-Armed Dragon, was once the overlord of a certain area of ​​water. He was even qualified to compete for the area where the Yangtze River meets the sea. However, he had a conflict with the wanderers on the sea, which caused him to suffer great losses.

But he killed innocent people indiscriminately and was later targeted by Ximen Chuxue. It is said that he had died long ago.

Gao Tao is an important figure in the Twelve Linked Docks, but he collaborated with the enemy and betrayed his country, colluding with Japanese warriors. After the matter was exposed, he was expelled from the power by the boss of the Twelve Linked Docks.

He was then targeted by Ximen Chuxue. According to rumors, he should have been dead long ago.

There are also the four brothers, tiger, lion, elephant and leopard. They also have an older brother who uses the dragon as his name and wreaks havoc on one side. Later, they meet the monks of Shaolin Temple.

Buddha said that if you put down your butcher knife, you will become a Buddha instantly.

Unable to win, the five brothers decisively laid down their butcher knives, turned to Buddhism, and became monks in Shaolin Temple. Their current names are actually their Dharma names.

But their eldest brother Wulong violated the Shaolin Temple's precepts and was punished to death.

The four men were immediately enraged and attacked the Shaolin abbot. After failing, they fled from Shaolin Temple and disappeared from then on.

Unexpectedly, none of these people died and were all related to Mu Dao Ren.

The terrifying power of the dark forces is truly frightening.

In fact, these people are all masters pulled out by Mu Dao Ren from Ghost Villa.

Several people returned the greeting, but judging from their attitudes, it was obvious that they didn't care much about Lin Zhennan.

If it weren't for Jinjiu and Mu Dao Ren, they probably wouldn't have returned the greeting.

Taoist Mu said, "After the wandering bandits at sea are dealt with, I intend to have the Giant Whale Gang and the Fuwei Escort Agency join forces to completely open up sea and land trade. At that time, all these business matters will be under the control of Chief Escort Lin. How do you think?"

"How dare this junior!"

"Of course not. I asked you to come here for this very purpose. You absolutely cannot refuse!"

"Yes……"

Lin Zhennan nodded helplessly, but when he thought about the future, if the Fuwei Escort Agency could rely on the power and support of the Giant Whale Gang, its development would be sky-high!
Thinking of this, I couldn't help but feel a little excited.

Shi He said, "Master, Chief Escort Lin is still confused. How did we deal with the ronin?"

Taoist Mu said, "Then I will explain it, and at the same time let Chief Escort Lin know the strength of our organization. In fact, not all so-called ronin come from the sea..."

The so-called ronin were actually losers in the political struggle in Japan. They were people who escaped from that place and luckily came to this land. In order to survive and obtain resources, they burned, killed and looted.

However, many local powerful people colluded with them for their own interests, and some even hired people to disguise themselves as ronin.

This is why sea wanderers cannot be eradicated no matter how hard they are banned or killed.

However, the Giant Whale Gang and the Ronin turned against each other, especially when it was revealed that one of their elders was colluding with the head of the Yagyu family. The leader of the Giant Whale Gang was furious and began to kill the Ronin.

Mu Dao Ren intervened at this time, disguised himself as a ronin and killed the leader of the Giant Whale Gang, supporting Mai Zihao to take the position, while continuing to expand the suppression of the ronin.

The Giant Whale Gang issued a solemn statement to all forces along the coast, demanding that they sever ties with the Ronin.

At the same time, a bounty was issued, and anyone could bring the ronin's head in exchange for silver.

"These... these two methods may have loopholes, right?" Lin Zhennan thought for a while and asked.

“Yes, although the Giant Whale Gang is powerful, it is impossible for them to scare all coastal forces. Some people still don’t care and even continue to disguise themselves as ronin.

The second order is a great opportunity for many people to make money. Killing good people and pretending to be ronin are happening all the time! "

Taoist Mu nodded: "At this time, we need the organization's intelligence network! Those forces that don't care about the orders of the Giant Whale Gang will be caught in the organization's intelligence network!"

Lin Zhennan was shocked, thinking back to the time when he had often heard about which forces were destroyed by ronin, and he also lamented the ferocity of ronin on the sea.

Now that I think about it, it's really suspicious.

Could it be that those forces that were destroyed by the ronin... Yes, these local tyrants can disguise themselves as ronin, so why can't the Giant Whale Gang?
Since it was the Ronin who eliminated them, it naturally has nothing to do with the Giant Whale Gang.

While eliminating those who disobey orders, it can also arouse the hatred of other forces towards the ronin.

It can be said that it kills two birds with one stone!
But if you think about it carefully, this is extremely difficult.

Who knows which ones are real ronin and which ones are fake, which ones obey orders and which ones don't?

I think the so-called organization's intelligence network played a role in this!

"As for the bounty issue, it's also very simple. In fact, the brains of ronin are slightly different from ours. It's enough to tell them apart.

In this way, we can cut off the possibility of the sea wanderers connecting with the forces on the mainland. Then we just need to deal with the sea wanderers..."

Taoist Mu said, "This is entirely dependent on the organization's intelligence network. Where are those ronin's bases, where are they hiding, how many people there are, how much supplies they have, how many experts there are... Even if the organization's intelligence network cannot fully explore these, it can often know most of them!
This... is the power of our organization!"

When he said the last sentence, he couldn't help but pat Lin Zhennan on the shoulder.

It was both a deterrent to calm his mind and also an expression of his own emotion.

The power of the organization is far stronger than he imagined.

These sea wanderers have become a serious problem for many years. Even the imperial court has been unable to eliminate them despite mobilizing troops many times.

The reason for this is that due to the vastness of the ocean and the countless islands, no one knows where they are hiding, so naturally, they cannot launch an effective attack. However, since he killed the gang leader and took over the Giant Whale Gang, with the help of his organization's intelligence, the number of ronin he has killed is arguably more than the number of ronin killed by the imperial court in previous military campaigns!

And what we are talking about here are real ronin, not those pretenders.

This shows how terrifying the organization’s intelligence network is!
If he is like this, what about Lin Zhennan?

Lin Zhennan's shock at this moment was beyond words.

Considering that Shi He actually knew about the Lin family's past that even he himself didn't know, and that Shi He had given him some advice specifically for him.

Now that I think about it, he probably already knew at that time that the Sword Manual of Exorcism was actually in the old house.

And this is also something that even he doesn't know!

Carrot and stick, a tactic that always works.

The promise made by Mu Dao Ren before was naturally the carrot.

Now, the terror of the organization's intelligence network is like a big stick of deterrence.

With these two moves, Lin Zhennan, who had just joined, became even more loyal than Hai Qikuo and Gao Tao.

After all, the reason why these two followed Mu Dao Ren so obediently was actually because they were being hunted and had to fake their own deaths.

Really helpless.

If Ximen Chuxue died, they would probably appear in the martial arts world openly and immediately.

In comparison, the four brothers tiger, lion, elephant and leopard don't have so many thoughts.

Because it was Shaolin Temple that wanted to kill them.

Ximen Chuxue might still die, but the inheritance of Shaolin Temple cannot be easily cut off.

So these four can now be said to be very loyal and honest.

"We have gathered here this time because we have another plan against the Ronin."

After these two moves, Lin Zhennan no longer felt as resistant as before. He thought for a moment and said, "Could it be that he is using Young Master Mai's identity as Gang Leader to lure the sea wanderers into action?"

"Not bad!"

Jinjiu nodded in response and said, "According to my intelligence, they have been attracted here this time, and among them is the head of the Yagyu family who escaped death!
Besides the people on the boat, I have other arrangements on land. This time, I've laid a tight net, leaving them no way to escape!

By the way, has the issue of Yu Canghai been resolved?"

Mai Zihao came over and said with some shame, "We've been waiting at the Fuwei Escort Agency for two days, but there's been no movement."

"It seems he's not stupid. He knows it's an ambush."

Jin Jiu said, "In that case, make a copy of the Sword Manual of Exorcism and hide it away. Then unfold the cassock and place it on the third floor. Have someone secretly guard it. If Yu Canghai comes, arrest him directly. But if anyone else comes to see it... leave it alone and let them learn it!"

"what?"

Mai Zihao was stunned: "Yes... But, if the person comes wearing night clothes and a mask, how can we tell if that person is Yu Canghai or someone else?"

Jin Jiu said, "Shi He, you have seen Yu Canghai before. How tall is he?"

Shi He laughed and said, "No more than five feet!"

(A ruler in the Ming Dynasty was about 30 centimeters)
"Remember? If the person coming is less than five feet tall, or is close to that distance, just attack and take him down!"

"Yes!"

Shi He came over and said, "I've seen the sword manual. It seems to be a quick way to achieve success. If other people learn it..."

"The strength of martial arts actually depends on the person. So what if they can achieve success quickly? Not everyone is Lin Yuantu!"

The Book of the Sword of Exorcism... or the Book of the Golden Flower, although it is a quick-learning martial art, not everyone can become a master.

This martial art was first practiced in the imperial palace.

It spread and fell into the hands of Zen Master Hongye of Southern Shaolin Temple.

Yue Su and Cai Zifeng of the Huashan Sect visited the Southern Shaolin Temple and secretly read the Sunflower Manual. Time was tight, so they each read half of the manual. When they returned, their understandings were completely inconsistent, and a quarrel ensued, neither willing to give in.

Zen Master Hongye noticed this and sent his disciple Du Yuan to Mount Hua. The two men thought that Du Yuan had practiced this skill, so they refused and asked him for advice.

In fact, Du Yuan had never read the Sunflower Manual, but he listened to the two people's stories, memorized them, understood them, and answered their questions at the same time.

Under such circumstances, he still managed to fool the two of them so that they did not become suspicious.

After returning, Du Yuan wrote part of his memory on his cassock, and integrated these fragments to create the Exorcism Sword Technique. He then returned to secular life and became a monk, changing his name to Lin Yuantu.

All these things show that his memory, comprehension and creativity are far beyond what ordinary people can achieve.

A person like this would surely become famous all over the world if he learned any other martial arts.

So it was not the Sword of Exorcism that made Lin Yuantu successful, but Lin Yuantu who made the Sword of Exorcism successful!

Later, the Sun Moon Sect attacked Huashan and took away the Sunflower Manual recorded by Yue and Cai.

At that time, Dongfang Bubai had become the deputy leader of the sect. The then leader, Rang Xing, felt threatened by him, so he gave him the Sunflower Manual to practice.

After Dongfang Bubai's training, he became resentful of this and later attacked Ren Woxing, imprisoned him, and seized power from the Sun Moon Sect.

Then he devoted himself to practice, and brought the Sunflower Manual to a level unprecedented in his history, and comprehended the wonderful way of the transformation of heaven and man and the growth of all things.

It can be seen that he is also a genius in martial arts.

Just like Lin Yuantu, it was Dongfang Bubai who made the Sunflower Manual successful, rather than the Sunflower Manual making him successful.

The other two practitioners of the Sword Manual of Exorcism.

Yue Buqun was originally a master in the martial arts world.

Lin Pingzhi was able to fully demonstrate the quick mastery of the Sword Manual of Exorcism, but in the end he only defeated Yu Canghai.

In fact, any quick-learning martial arts will always have flaws.

Otherwise, why would Buddhists and Taoists all over the world practice those slow martial arts?

It can be seen that although the Sword Manual of Exorcism does have the effect of quick success, it also has other flaws.

Regardless of genius, even if ordinary people practice this skill, they will probably only be at the innate level...

So, Gin didn't care.

"Besides, I want them to learn!"

Gin laughed.

Upon hearing this, Taoist Mu was surprised and asked, "Could it be that the Huangliang Pill can even restore something like this?"

"That's right! But, the effect of the medicine can only last for an hour!"

Taoist Mu's eyes lit up. "Even so, this one-hour experience must have seemed like a dream to those people... So, we really shouldn't be hiding this Exorcism Sword Technique. Instead, spreading it around would bring us greater benefits!"

Jin Jiu said, "We'll see. Even if the news gets out, there should be a good time. Otherwise, it will easily implicate the Giant Whale Gang."

"Right……"

(End of this chapter)