I've never felt happy to become an immortal.

Chapter 124 Langya (Two in One)

Amidst the green mountains and clear waters, a group of people are maintaining an orderly formation in the forest and advancing slowly.

The name of the escort agency was clearly hung on it - Baima Escort Agency.

Although it sounds like a common name, the White Horse Escort Agency is also ranked among the top ten in Southern Chu. The reason is very simple. It is large enough and has branches in every state.

Of course, it is impossible to support so many branches and so many people just by escorting goods. Therefore, in essence, the White Horse Escort Agency is also a chamber of commerce, and it will transport its own goods while escorting goods.

There are always robbers and escorts in the world, but life-and-death fights between them are rare. The larger the escort agency, the more likely it is that it has operations in various places and has a wide network of contacts.

There is not much to say about the escort agency itself, but what is worth mentioning is the escort trip itself.

Usually, the escort agencies have old people leading newcomers, slowly training the team and cultivating disciples, but this escort trip is an exception. 90% of the escorts are old people, and only about 10% are newcomers, and they are only new in age and experience, and they all have their own strength.

Looking around, there were more than thirty incoming escorts, plus more than twenty well-dressed servants, a total of more than fifty people. Even the bandits would shake their heads when they saw this lineup.

There is only one reason why the White Horse Escort Agency is so cautious, and that is that this convoy is of great value.

The chief steward of Prince Yun's Mansion personally sent someone to the Baima Escort Agency to place the order. Even the boss of the escort agency was alarmed and went out to greet him with a smile and expressed his gratitude.

Just this escort trip to Langya Prefecture would bring in five thousand taels.

The gift was extraordinary. It was a treasure from the previous dynasty collected in the palace, and was sent to the old lady of the Lin family to celebrate her birthday one year in advance!

At that time, some people in the escort agency said that this must be the huge expense of His Majesty to invite Lin Buren to return to the court, but they didn't understand why the Baima Escort Agency was responsible for sending him back.

The escort leader in charge of this trip doesn't think so. Zhao Xiangma has been in the Baima Escort Agency for thirty years. Now he is over fifty years old and is in the prime of a warrior. His strength is also at the first level of the outer world.

Although he has not reached the master level, he can still be ranked among the top five in the White Horse Escort Agency in the capital.

More importantly, he was meticulous, experienced in the martial arts world, and always very cautious... Although it was true that this escort was carrying the priceless phoenix crown of the previous dynasty and the second-rank imperial robe awarded by the court, he was actually escorting a human.

The key figures are the one man and two women following in the convoy.

After staying in the capital for a long time, Zhao Xiangma's eyesight became more discerning. He didn't think that these three people were really just the Embroidered Uniform Guards sent by the court to serve as followers.

Leaving aside the two women with veiled hats, the masked young man in white alone had an extraordinary temperament. He took a look at his cultivation level and found that the second level of cultivation was not too high.

Zhao Xiangma really didn't want to accept such a troublesome escort. The waters of the Nanchu world were too deep and one never knew when someone would drown.

This escort trip was not very fast. It took three days to leave the capital and only two-thirds of the way had been covered. It was still a day and a half away from Langya.

The team took the official road and had to take a detour. There was also an inn set up by Nan Chu on the way, so the first three days were peaceful.

But next we will enter the territory of Wuzhou.

There are so many mountains at the border between the two states.

Langya is mountainous, and although it has formed an area that is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and has hardly suffered from the ravages of war, it is also because of the existence of these mountainous areas that there are a large number of bandits, and it is difficult to find any demons, monsters, ghosts and monsters that sneak in.

Even an experienced escort may not be able to figure out when a new group of people were replaced.

The bandits who can stay for a long time must be those who are supported by local people for their own benefit, or they may be the black gloves of some big shot.

Most mountain bandits are essentially bandits who rob and run away, committing murder, arson and all kinds of evil. This type is the most troublesome.

Why is it said that the underworld of Nanchu is too chaotic? The main reason is that there are too many sects and schools in the underworld, and there are many factions and mountains. All kinds of dramas of grudges and love are constantly being played out. If you have killed someone and don't want to be arrested by the government or captured by the Embroidered Uniform Guards, you can only abandon your past identity and become a bandit.

Enter this dense forest for a while.

Zhao Xiangma suddenly pulled the reins and stopped. He raised his hand, and the bodyguards behind him grabbed their weapons and took a battle-ready stance.

He took a deep breath and said, "Good men from the mountains, please allow me to pass through! Here is some money for your filial piety!"

He raised the purse in his hand and said loudly: "Here is fifty taels!"

The forest was extremely quiet, without a single sound.

It is precisely because there is no movement that it is scary. If the other party does not take the money and does not speak, then the goal is not pure.

Suddenly, there was a sharp sound of breaking through the air, and an arrow shot out, directly piercing the purse in Zhao Xiangma's hand, and the silver scattered all over the ground.

His face turned dark, and the next moment he caught a glimpse of a shadow approaching from the corner of his eye. A man swung a knife and cut the horse he was riding into two pieces on the spot.

Zhao Xiangma flew into the air and shouted angrily, "How dare you, you thief!"

He drew out his straight knife and chopped it down on the head.

The swordsman who attacked by surprise tried to defend himself, but the two of them were not at the same level of strength. It was too easy for Wai Jing to kill a Zhu Shen, and he was cut in half with just one sword.

Although the leader killed this group of people as easily as cutting melons and vegetables, the resistance of the escorts behind him was not easy either. They all took up weapons and formed a formation to resist.

There were more than thirty escorts, but the number of attackers was obviously over fifty, and each of them was fearless and behaved extremely crazy.

Zhao Xiangma kept swinging his sword, but he couldn't stop more people from rushing towards the convoy. He looked to the back of the convoy... the goods and important people were at the back.

His old friends and brothers from the escort agency were all here, and he was unsure which side to help.

If the goods and important people were lost, King Yun would be furious and the small Baima Escort Agency would not be able to bear it.

But if he had to watch these brothers being killed, he would also feel heartbroken.

But soon, he didn't have to worry about it, because two True Warriors in the Zhixuan Realm aimed at him at the same time, one in front and one behind, cooperating very tacitly, and attacked together. Although both of them were at the fourth level of the Ascension Tower, they relied on seamless cooperation and made it impossible for Zhao Xiangma to gain any advantage or find any opportunity, and he was forced to retreat all the way from the convoy.

There was chaos.

The fearless attackers had already climbed onto the rickety carriage.

At this moment, a long sword was unsheathed, and the young man in white walked out of the carriage with the sword in his hand. With a light swing of the sword, several attackers in front fell down, covering their throats.

He wore a mask on his face and glanced at me calmly: "I really admire the intelligence network of the Northern Zhou people. I didn't expect them to send so many people to kill me. Are you so unwilling to do that?"

These words revealed his identity, and the attackers swarmed over.

But it was meaningless. The young man in white swung his sword across the room, strolling leisurely in the midst of swords and sabers. The attackers from the Northern Zhou Dynasty could not resist at all and were killed as easily as cutting melons and vegetables. They did not understand why, with the same level of cultivation, the sword swung by this man could be so freehand and so deadly.

This has nothing to do with cultivation, it’s just because compared to Bai Xuan, they are not very good at killing.

In just a few tens of seconds, half of the attackers had fallen, and this death rate also stunned the other attackers.

Only then did they realize how dangerous this mission was, but after a moment's hesitation, they pounced on it again at all costs.

They were originally death squads from the Northern Zhou Dynasty, so it was still worthwhile for them to be able to kill Bai Xuan. If they failed to complete the mission, their fate would be worse than death.

Unlike Southern Chu, Northern Zhou was a sectarian alliance disguised as an imperial court. The five major sects devoured all resources and exploited the people and even the underworld. They were never short of people, supplies, killers, and soldiers.

Launching such a suicidal attack would be a disaster for many sects in Southern Chu, but for the five major sects in Northern Zhou, it would be just a drop in the bucket.

Because those who were sent to carry out this mission were all eliminated losers, and many of them were death row prisoners who had taken poison. If they died here, their loved ones could live a slightly better life.

Comparing the two sides, the Northern Zhou Dynasty undoubtedly evolved more extreme. The five major factions, like a military-industrial complex, firmly hijacked the state system, forming extremely complex internal interest disputes, and thus civil wars continued.

After about two minutes, the battle here was over.

Zhao Xiangma on the other side also came back with two heads in his hands. At a glance, he saw a young man in white standing among the corpses on the ground, slowly sheathing his sword.

His expression was very complicated. On the one hand, he knew that it was the other party who caused the losses and disasters. On the other hand, he knew that it was because of the other party's actions that the loss of manpower in the escort agency was reduced.

With a fist clasp, Zhao Xiangma began to count the number of people and the losses, and arranged for the wounded to be bandaged.

Bai Xuan returned to the carriage, and Ning Jianshuang asked, "Is it over?"

"It's over for now." Bai Xuan said, "Ye Bushou's intelligence work has penetrated to this extent. They arranged five groups of fakes, and they were able to find them."

"If it weren't for the White Horse Escort Agency, it would be difficult for us to deal with it." The voice of a third person was heard in the carriage, and Xi Qingqing sighed.

"Did you just do anything?"

"Yes, I cheered myself up in my heart."

It's really justified.

Is it reasonable for the second on the list of Sleeping Dragons to just sit here and win without doing anything?
"If the next wave comes, you go up and hold it off." Bai Xuan said lightly.

"Why!"

"You're eating, drinking, and riding for free, and you're still asking why?" Bai Xuan asked back, "Did you pay even a tael of silver?"

Xi Qingqing lost her temper and poked her finger: "I didn't do anything for a reason. This way I can protect her. You can let go of your hands and feet outside, right?"

Ning Jianshuang saw herself being pushed out as a shield and hesitated to speak. In fact, she had the means to protect herself at the critical moment.

Just by lifting the curtain and taking a look outside, the scene was shocking.

At this moment, she realized more deeply the meaning of the four words "people are afraid of becoming famous".

"The Northern Zhou Dynasty has already regarded you as a thorn in its side. I'm afraid this assassination will never end." Ning Jianshuang said worriedly.

"It's just a little annoying." Bai Xuan said calmly, "They dare to waste manpower to assassinate me now. They just want to use a smaller price to gamble on a smaller probability. Once I can enter the human ranking, this probability will be infinitely close to zero, and they will naturally stop."

"By then, there will definitely be a master from the human ranking list who will come and kill you."

"Then let them come." Bai Xuan smiled faintly: "See if they can afford the loss!"

The human list is not something that exists everywhere. One less person will be on the list if one dies. Moreover, they are all well-known figures on the human list. Even if there are people willing to be assassins, there won’t be too many of them.

There will be another batch of deaths on the Crouching Dragon List, but the Human List are all real elites, all substitutes for the Grandmasters, and the Northern Zhou Dynasty cannot afford to lose them. Once half of them are killed or injured, they will be in a state of transition.

"Let's change the subject." Ning Jianshuang said, "Have you read the scroll Lianxing gave you?" Bai Xuan nodded, "This time I'm going to Langya to investigate a case and, by the way, to take down three famous demons who are hiding in Langya."

"What case?"

"The Murder of the Langya Prefect."

"Hmm?" Xi Qingqing became interested. "The prefect is the highest-ranking official in the area, right? How could he have been murdered?"

Ning Jianshuang asked, "Such a big thing, why hasn't the court heard about it?"

"Because this matter was suppressed by the Lin family." Bai Xuan replied.

"Langya Lin Clan..." Ning Jianshuang took a deep breath and asked tentatively, "Why did the Lin Clan suppress it?"

Xi Qingqing casually said, "Whoever covers up the news is guilty."

"It's not the Lin family." Bai Xuan was very sure.

"Why?" Xi Qingqing asked mischievously, "Is it because you have a past relationship with the Lin family's eldest daughter that you are partial to her?"

Bai Xuan gave him a look of stupidity: "Because the local prefect is a member of the Lin family."

"what?"

"What's the big deal? The Langya Lin family is one of the most prestigious families. They've been operating in the local area for many years and have long since established self-government. The local prefects were all recommended by the imperial court. If we replace them with an outsider, do you think the Lin family will pay any attention?"

Langya Prefecture covers an area close to half that of Wuzhou. This doesn't mean that everyone in Langya must have the surname Lin, but the influence of the Lin family has penetrated into all aspects of life, including scholars, farmers, merchants, and artisans. It also has influence on students, former officials, in-laws, clansmen... To give an inappropriate example, it is like the modern Samsung Group to the Koreans.

For the locals, the Lin family is a dense mass that cannot be avoided until death.

When Emperor Gaozu of Southern Chu overthrew the previous dynasty and established Southern Chu, the Lin family's territory was not taken down by the enemy at all. Instead, they slowly went over to join the team when they saw Emperor Gaozu was about to win. There was no difference between the previous dynasty and the present. They just took off their official uniforms of the previous dynasty and went to the new dynasty to get a new one. Even the local prefect was the same person. He changed his official position from an official of Southern Liang to an official of Southern Chu, and there was a seamless transition.

Because of this, the Lin family has a strong obsession with controlling Langya. Even if the prefect died, they believed it was their own family affair and needed to handle it themselves. They would not rely on the power of the court and firmly rejected the intervention of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Zhuge Liang had always wanted to place spies from the Embroidered Uniform Guard in the territories of prominent families, but he had never been completely successful.

When facing the Lin family, the Embroidered Uniform Guards could basically do nothing, so they turned to Bai Xuan, hoping that he could help them and break the situation through him.

Back to the case itself.

The death of the prefect is not an isolated case in Langya. In fact, many deaths have occurred in Wuzhou recently, and the murderer's modus operandi is consistent, making it a serial murder case.

Lin was not the only victim.

Bai Xuan was not particularly concerned about the case itself, and he was not good at solving cases.

The court only needed him to be responsible for contacting the Lin family and let the Embroidered Uniform Guard conduct the investigation without restraint so that they could get the full picture of the matter.

The Lin Group is too big and too complicated. It is almost impossible to expect them to conduct internal self-inspection. Whatever they find will be easily dismissed.

"Investigating a case is too complicated. Robbery is more suitable for me." Xi Qingqing felt itchy all over when she mentioned the details of the case.

Ning Jianshuang, on the other hand, started to read the scroll. She was more inclined to use her brain.

Bai Xuan asked, "Are you interested in killing some bad guys?"

Xi Qingqing asked, "Is there any benefit? If not, I won't do it."

"It can help you increase your prestige and improve your reputation."

"Does this lady still need fame? I'm already world-famous." Xi Qingqing raised an eyebrow. "Would you go out of your way to challenge a master just to become famous?"

"That really doesn't do any good." Bai Xuan spread his hands: "They can only give me a salary increase and performance bonus."

"Huh?" Xi Qingqing bared her fangs. "Let me go to work and give you a raise? Have you forgotten that we're still missing a long-overdue duel?"

Bai Xuan sneered calmly: "Wait until I reach the Profound Realm. Don't let me beat you to tears then."

Xi Qingqing rolled up her sleeves and said, "Believe it or not, I can shatter your Zhixuan dream with three punches!"

"Okay, stop arguing." Ning Jianshuang couldn't calm down and pulled the two apart: "You are already adults, pay attention to your image."

Bai Xuan looked outside boredly. The convoy had already started heading towards Langya again.

He is not afraid of the long journey, because no matter how long it is, there will be a day when it will end.

I’m just afraid that the scenery along the way is too old and seems boring.

……

Into the night
A mountain pass on the border of Wuzhou.

This place is dozens of miles away and is rarely visited by humans. It is full of snakes, insects, rats, ants, tigers, leopards and other rare beasts. Ordinary people are not allowed to enter.

The entrance to a cave is hidden under a deep pool. Inside the cave, there is a mountain cave that stretches for more than ten miles. It was formed naturally and was later expanded artificially. It can directly pass through the mountain road and reach the heart of Wuzhou.

This mountain road is occupied by a medium-sized underworld force in Wuzhou, called the Tieling Sect.

The name is just a name. In fact, this place is one of the strongholds supported by the Northern Zhou Dynasty.

Only the top leaders of Tieling Sect knew about it, while the disciples below had no idea that they had become the thatch covering the cave.

The reason why they were able to continuously infiltrate into Southern Chu was that they had no shortage of manpower and had control of the geographical location.

In the past, these materials would have been difficult to be effectively used even in the hands of the five major sects. Ever since Grand Tutor Huang ascended to the throne, his disciple Ye Qinghou became the national teacher and founded Ye Bushu, the comprehensive infiltration plan into Southern Chu was able to be launched.

Even the Langya area, which had not experienced war for hundreds of years and had enjoyed peace, had been secretly opened up.

In fact, Bai Xuan himself didn't know how many people in Northern Zhou wanted to kill him.

Although Zhuge Liang influenced the balance of the Northern Zhou court in various ways, the five major factions did not want to see Ye Bushu become powerful.

However, the Northern Zhou Dynasty was also reluctant to see the martial arts world of Southern Chu stabilized, and even more so, it did not want the court of Southern Chu to be able to control the martial arts world.

Over the years, the instability of the Southern Chu martial arts world was due to both internal and external factors... because the Northern Zhou spies had often secretly provoked conflicts, and Song Qingtang was not an isolated case.

There are also intrigues within the five major factions of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, and they are not on the same page with Ye Bushou, but they have reached a certain degree of consensus on the issue of "Bai Yueguang must die."

Although they were offering a bounty on Bai Xuan's head as a form of competition, the leaders of the five major factions were more worried that internal strife would break out among their own factions first.

Considering that Bai Xuan's own strength is too strong, ordinary assassinations are difficult to be effective, so only a limited number of elites are sent out.

Whether to go to Nanchu is entirely voluntary, and where you will be sent after arriving is also decided by drawing lots.

It sounds like a joke.

But this is also the practice of the five major factions, the ultimate in internal competition.

They have no shortage of elites or manpower... Once they are on the human list and become the seeds of the Grandmaster, they do need some care.

Apart from this, there are so many geniuses that they are far from worth mentioning.

Not even one out of ten geniuses can become a Grand Master on the Earth List.

For the geniuses of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, Bai Xuan has already been regarded as the target of a hunting game. Whoever can take off his head will return home with full honor.

The leader of Tieling sect is also well-known in Wuzhou. Although he is not a master, he has earned the title of Jade Buddha Hand. He is quite prestigious in this small area and is considered to be the top real warrior under the master.

At this moment, he was standing nervously in the cave waiting for the distinguished guests to come. Looking at the flickering torches and the direction of the wind, he knew in his heart that the people coming were not the geniuses of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, but also the wolf cubs of the Northern Zhou Dynasty...all of them were murderous demons soaked in jars of human blood.

Although he was from Southern Chu, he had surrendered to Northern Zhou long ago and was developed by Ye Bushu into a subordinate. He worked loyally for Northern Zhou because he had not been optimistic about Southern Chu twenty years ago.

Under the fanatical support of the converts, he hated Nan Chu even more.

"Master, the people have arrived." An elder of the Tieling Sect reminded.

The Jade Buddha Hand's expression became solemn, and he took the initiative to greet them, smiling: "Welcome, the two envoys!"

"No need to welcome me, I'm alone."

A young man in a nightgown walked out of the darkness. His hair was slightly curly, and only his eyes had the characteristics of the Yaoyi tribe, which were similar to the pupils of a wild beast. In his right hand, he held a head, which was still dripping with blood. It was obvious that he had just taken it off.

Jade Buddha Hand's breathing immediately stopped. He had just arrived and they had already killed his own people?
No wonder the Northern Zhou Dynasty did not allow them to come in from the same place. They are simply a bunch of lunatics. I am afraid they will kill all their own people as soon as they meet.

"Don't be nervous. He's my competitor, not you. He refused to listen to me, so I just killed him." The curly-haired young man twisted his neck and said, "I only kill enemies, not obedient dogs."

When Jade Buddha Hand heard the word "dog", the facial muscles twitched slightly, but he did not dare to question it.

He recognized who the young man was and did not dare to act rashly.

He is Ye Qinghou's registered disciple, Tuoba Han, who ranks seventh on the Crouching Dragon List.

Ye Qinghou has only three disciples, and this disciple is the youngest one. Although he is not a direct disciple, but is just a nominal disciple, this is because Tuoba Han was born in the Fengdao Sect, not because he lacks talent.

The Wind Blade Sect is one-fourth of the Wind, Fire and Mountain Forest Sect, one of the five major sects in the Northern Zhou Dynasty.

These two backgrounds are enough to make the leader of Tieling Sect sweat profusely. It would only take a word for the other party to crush him to death.

Tuoba Han looked at the Jade Buddha's hand expressionlessly: "Tell me, has Bai Yueguang arrived in Wuzhou?"

"The first batch of death squads has been dispatched today, but no news has been received yet."

"...Very good." Tuoba Han showed a lone wolf smile, sharp teeth visible in his grinning mouth: "It seems that he has arrived."

He patted Yufoshou's shoulder and said in a low voice, "Go, spread the news and attract more people."

(End of this chapter)