Tianlong: Starting with Mantuo Manor as fertilizer

Fearing they would miss out on the credit and receive less, the three chieftains left the goods on the boat.

With one more person, there would be one more unit in the fighting force, so Xie Buruo naturally nodded in agreement.

Before long, several awning boats sped out from the reeds.

Ding Lao Er stood at the bow of the ship and saw several women with swords standing on the deck of the large ship in the distance. He immediately burst into laughter.

"Row! Row! Don't let these women get away!"

The Western Xia warriors were all excited, rowing and paddling with all their might, making the boat even faster.

The bald-haired Western Xia warrior, Uligu, reminded him.

"Brother Ding, this group seems to be from Mantuo Manor, and they're not easy to deal with. Brother Wu Liang and Sun Sanba aren't here either, so with just the few of us, we might be in some danger."

Ding Lao Er's face fell: "It's precisely because they're not here that we need to act quickly."

"Wu Liang is greedy and insatiable, and Sun Sanba is lecherous. Both of them are highly skilled in martial arts and domineering. If they were here, we wouldn't even get a sip of soup. There are only a bunch of women on the boat, what's there to be afraid of?"

"Besides, how are we going to transport all this gold and silver without big ships?"

Bald Wuligu wanted to persuade him further, but seeing Ding Lao Er's unfriendly expression, he had no choice but to shut up.

"Brother Ding is right! I was overthinking it!"

Ding Lao Er's expression brightened, and he patted him on the shoulder.

"That's right! Once we're on the ship, I'll pick out a pretty lady for you! You'll be first, and I'll be second!"

Bald Uligu was deeply moved by his loyalty and put his earlier displeasure behind him.

On the boat, a young man with a Western Xia hairstyle called out impatiently, "Brother Ding, what about me?"

Ding Lao Er laughed heartily, pointed at Granny Rui on the boat, and said, "You'll get this old woman for free!"

The people on the nearby boats burst into laughter, and a joyful atmosphere filled the river.

Before long, several small boats of the Western Xia had approached the large ship.

Only a few people were left to guard the boat, while the rest cast out grappling hooks and grabbed the gunwale.

With a push of his hands and a leap of his feet, he jumped onto the deck of the large ship.

As soon as Ding Lao Er landed, he spotted Xie Buruo and his eyes lit up.

"Haha, I've searched high and low without finding it..."

Before he could finish speaking, Xie Bu Ruo clapped his hands lightly.

In an instant, the rattling of doors and windows filled the air.

The skilled fighters of Mantuo Manor and the three chieftains, each armed with knives and spears, charged out together, with several of them also holding hidden weapons.

Upon seeing this, the Western Xia warriors all turned deathly pale.

Several thugs were about to fight back, but Ding Lao Er hurriedly stopped them, shouting, "Don't fight! There are too many of them!"

He turned his head and forced a smile: "Brother Xie is here too. What a coincidence! We won't disturb you any longer."

As he spoke, he led the group to slowly retreat.

With a sharp whoosh.

A nail shot out and embedded itself in the deck near Ding Lao Er's feet.

Granny Rui snorted coldly, "You think you can just leave after offending Young Master Xie?"

The village chiefs each raised their hands and fired whistling arrows.

Whoosh whoosh.

Three streaks of fireworks, red, yellow, and blue, rose into the sky in succession.

A burst of drumming and shouting came from the reeds, followed by a loud singing voice that pierced the air.

"Grandpa was born to kill..."

Countless small boats burst forth from the reeds.

The boatmen of Taihu Lake were far more skilled at maneuvering and rowing than the Western Xia people; their boats flew like arrows, arriving in the blink of an eye.

The Western Xia people who remained on the small boat tried to resist, but the boat suddenly rocked violently and capsized in a few moments, and everyone fell into the water.

It turned out that pirates had already infiltrated the water, waiting for this moment to capsize the boat and cut off their escape route.

The Western Xia warriors were decent in land combat, but underwater they were no match for the Taihu Lake pirates.

In the blink of an eye, they were all captured.

The Western Xia people on the ship turned ashen-faced when they saw that their retreat had been cut off.

Xie Bu looked around but couldn't find Wu Liang anywhere.

"Where's my senior brother? Why isn't he here? Did he stay at Xiaoxia Bay?"

Seeing that there seemed to be room for maneuver, Ding Lao Er quickly put on a big smile.

"Brother Xie, that beast Wu Liang took your grandmaster uncle elsewhere, and we really don't know where they went."

"Every wrong has its perpetrator, and every debt its debtor. Wu Liangcai is the ringleader! Brother Xie, you've lost your fellow disciple, and I've also lost my good elder brother. We're both unfortunate souls."

As he spoke, Ding Lao Er raised his hand and wiped the corner of his eye, seemingly very sad.

Xie Buruo was slightly disappointed to hear that Wu Liang was not there, and when he heard him mention his Grand Uncle, he became even more puzzled: "Grand Uncle?"

Ding Lao Er still hoped that honestly confessing would save his life in the chaotic world, so he dared not hide anything: "It's that blind old man whose eyes were sewn shut!"

Xie Buruo had never met that grandmaster uncle before and didn't know if it was true or not, so he asked again, "My grandmaster uncle didn't kill that traitor Wu Liang?"

Ding Lao Er shrugged: "This is your family matter. How could I possibly know?"

Xie Bu Ruo nodded, knowing he wouldn't get any information out of her.

"I am a kind-hearted person and I dislike killing the most. Apart from Ding Lao Er, the life and death of the rest of us will be decided by the sisters of the manor and the chieftains."

The group of Western Xia people breathed a sigh of relief and immediately declared that they were not familiar with Ding Lao Er.

A young man stepped forward from the crowd, but he was dressed in the robes of a Wuliang Sword disciple.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Xie. I'm Liu Lu!"

Xie Buruo was taken aback. Looking at the Western Xia hairstyle on the other person's head, he almost didn't recognize him.

Upon closer inspection, it was indeed Liu Lu, the junior brother of the Northern Sect.

On that day, when the Western Xia people stormed the mountain, the young man immediately knelt down and surrendered, shaved his head and changed his ethnicity, claiming that he also had Tangut blood.

Xie Buruo couldn't stand this kind of person, so he waved to him.

Liu Lu hurriedly ran forward, smiling obsequiously.

"Junior brother saw long ago that Senior Brother Xie is a talented individual who would definitely return to avenge our sect. That's why I've been feigning submission while secretly gathering intelligence, waiting to meet you today!"

Xie Bu Ruo nodded, then turned to Granny Rui and said...

"My junior apprentice is not married yet. I wonder if Grandma Rui would be interested."

When Granny Rui saw Liu Lu's rosy lips, white teeth, and well-proportioned features, her eyes lit up.

Instead of accepting thanks, I would rather have him given to me; that would be the best thing ever.

She quickly thanked him, saying, "Thank you for your generous gift, young master!"

Liu Lu felt uneasy under Granny Rui's gaze, sensing something was wrong, and turned to run away.

With a whoosh.

Having been struck on the back of the head, Liu Lu fainted on the spot. Granny Rui grabbed him by one leg and happily dragged him to her side.

The remaining Western Xia people felt their hearts sink upon seeing this.

A premonition arose in my mind, and I felt that falling into the hands of this group would be worse than death.

Amidst the panic, Bald Wuligu stepped forward, pointed at Xie Buruo, and said loudly.

"Let bygones be bygones! You surnamed Xie, do you dare to fight me one-on-one? If I am lucky enough to win, I have no other request but that you spare Brother Ding's life!"

His words amused everyone on the boat.

Pingrui's second wife laughed loudly, and the three village chiefs were even more overjoyed and bent over with laughter.

Bald-haired Wuligu's face flushed red as he angrily shouted, "What are you laughing at?"

Xie simply shook his head.

"You're not young anymore. How did you manage to survive in this world? In this world, you need influence and connections. Which gang are you from?"

Bald-haired Wu Ligu, in a fit of rage, disregarded the large crowd around him and strode forward, determined to fight Xie Buguo to the death.

Pingrui's second wife and others were about to stop them.

Ding Lao Er stepped in front of him first, his expression deeply moved.

"Baldy, I appreciate your kindness, but just keep living your life well."

Seeing this, everyone relaxed their stance slightly.

It was at this moment.

Bald Wuligu suddenly grabbed Ding Lao Er's belt and threw it with all his might. It flew over everyone's heads and headed straight for Xie Buruo.

Ding Lao Er was not surprised at all.

He flipped in mid-air and used the move "Swallow Skillfully Piercing the Clouds" to speed up his movements.

At the same time, the longsword was drawn, its cold light pointing at Xie Buruo, with the intention of capturing the leader of the bandits.

By the time the others realized what was happening, it was too late to stop them.

Xie Buruo, on the other hand, remained completely unperturbed, and frowned slightly upon seeing his move.

"That's not the T-shaped sword technique."

As he spoke, his sword was already drawn.

Two sword lights, one above and one below, crossed paths.

When Ding Lao Er landed, he looked down and saw a long tear in his shirt, revealing an expression of disbelief.

"This isn't the Boundless Sword Technique either!"