All the gods began by cultivating the Iron Shirt technique.

The brief chaos last night did not cause much damage to Tongjiang County, but the increasingly unscrupulous behavior of the Qingshan Gang has made the people of the county even more panicked.

Inside the Iron River Martial Arts Hall, the familiar dull thumping sound echoed once again in the vast space.

Bang!Bang!

Yang Pan stood in a stance, wearing only a pair of shorts, while Huang Hui swung a wooden stick, striking every muscle on Yang Pan's body. Each time the stick struck, it was slightly bounced off Yang Pan's taut muscles, but at the same time, a subtle force penetrated into his muscles, bringing him a slight numbness.

Huang Hui swung his wooden stick swiftly and rhythmically. In half an hour, Yang Pan's entire body was repeatedly pounded. At this moment, his skin was red all over, and he looked as if he had been steamed in a furnace, with steam rising from his head.

For an ordinary disciple, this state would be the limit of this training session. At this point, they should stop to rest and apply external medicine to aid cultivation and nourish and restore their physical body.

However, Yang Pan had been cultivating for some time, and with the characteristics of the Longevity Fruit, he could naturally extend his cultivation time without any worries.

Initially, Huang Hui opposed Yang Pan's crazy physical training. After all, Yang Pan could be so crazy that he didn't care about his own life or death, but Huang Hui couldn't follow suit and kill him. If he really killed Yang Pan during training, it would ruin his reputation and that of the entire martial arts school.

However, after Yang Pan offered to add an extra tael of silver and extended his cultivation time by several days, Huang Hui was finally relieved to find that Yang Pan was indeed unharmed.

Bang!Bang!

Another hour later.

"I can't go on anymore, Junior Brother Yang. I need to rest."

Huang Hui threw down the wooden stick in his hand, turned around and walked to the tea table next to him. He picked up the kettle and took a big gulp of water before letting out a long sigh of relief.

His gaze then shifted to Yang Pan, who was applying topical medicine in the courtyard, and a hint of envy and regret appeared in his eyes.

Exercising the body is one thing, but enduring prolonged beatings with sticks is quite another.

It should be noted that in the past, even with the aid of external medicine, the disciples in the academy would inevitably experience muscle soreness the next day during their training sessions, which would inevitably affect their progress in training.

But Yang Pan, not only did he practice for even longer periods, but he also didn't experience any muscle soreness when he continued practicing the next day. In Huang Hui's view, this meant either that Junior Brother Yang had a resilient character, able to endure and withstand hardship, or that he possessed extraordinary talent, with a physical recovery ability far exceeding that of ordinary people.

Regardless of the situation, Yang Pan is extremely suitable for practicing this external martial art.

It's just a pity that he's too old.

If he had started practicing when he was young, Huang Hui was certain that the other party's skill in Iron Shirt would be far superior to his own.

"There was quite a commotion on West Street yesterday. Was it those thugs from the Green Mountain Gang causing trouble again?"

After a long silence, Huang Hui finally spoke up and asked.

"Yes, but they were quickly driven away by Commander Wang and his troops." Yang Pan endured the stinging pain in his muscles and evenly applied the ointment to his arm.

This ointment is different from the topical medicine used for skin resurfacing; in Yang Pan's opinion, it has a good effect on muscle recovery. Combined with the recovery ability inherent in the Longevity Fruit, the effect is almost doubled for Yang Pan, which is why he is able to carry out high-intensity training every day without interruption.

The only downside is that it's a bit more expensive.

"Junior Brother Yang, what are your plans for the future?" Huang Hui put down his teacup and turned his gaze to the street outside the martial arts school. If you continue along the street for two or three miles from here, you will reach the county town gate.

"Plans?" Upon hearing this, Yang Pan paused in his actions.

"The Xu family is behind the Qingshan Gang. All of the Qingshan Gang's actions over the past year have probably been controlled by the Xu family. Moreover, the Xu family controls the brick kilns in the county, but recently there wasn't a single brick available, and the county magistrate was furious about it."

Huang Hui spoke casually, as if he were talking about something extremely ordinary.

However, Yang Pan keenly sensed something unusual. He wasn't exactly a smart person, but he had been exposed to all sorts of conspiracies and schemes in movies and TV dramas in his previous life. Coupled with Senior Brother Huang's almost explicit words, how could Yang Pan not guess that the Xu family had ill intentions?

With the Mongols now invading, bricks are essential for the prefectural city to defend against them. If the bricks cannot be transported to Anqing Prefecture in time, it will inevitably exacerbate the prefecture's decline. If the Mongols breach the prefectural city and march straight for the county seat, and there are internal collaborators within the county seat, the consequences...

In an instant, Yang Pan thought of the scene of the Mongol cavalry breaking through the county town. If that day really came, even martial artists like Senior Brother Huang and Instructor Zhao, who had cultivated internal strength, probably wouldn't be able to survive.

"Senior Brother Huang is preparing to leave? But the county is now under lockdown, so even if you want to leave, it won't be that easy."

Yang Pan didn't ask why the matter wasn't reported to the county government. Judging from the increasingly unscrupulous behavior of the Green Mountain Gang recently, and the fact that the government only drove them away instead of directly suppressing them, the county government was probably powerless to do anything about it.

Moreover, most of the soldiers in the county government office were recruited from local militia or refugees from other places, and some of them might be people planted by the Xu family.

"The county city wall is only about ten feet high. For us martial artists, climbing over the wall is not difficult. Moreover, I have acquaintances in the county government, so leaving the county government is not difficult. It just depends on whether you, Junior Brother Yang, are willing to leave with me?" Huang Hui did not deny it, his eyes fixed intently on Yang Pan.

Yang Pan understood that this last sentence was probably Huang's main purpose.

Leaving the county town wasn't difficult; just like a year ago, countless people left as soon as they heard the rumors. But as the saying goes, if it's not safe inside the county, it's just as dangerous outside. Leaving the county town alone, without sufficient armed protection, one simply couldn't get past the bandits outside.

That's why many people chose to stay and take a gamble. Staying in the county meant that the Mongols might not be able to breach the prefectural city, and they would be safe and sound, which was better than risking their lives to fight the bandits.

But now it seems that it is no longer possible. Anqing Prefecture is in dire straits, and the people in the county are filled with fear. In order to prepare for the Mongol cavalry, the county magistrate has even ordered the city to be sealed off.

"Is it just me and Senior Brother Huang? Where are the other senior brothers?" Yang Pan didn't rush to answer, but instead asked.

"I've already informed the other junior brothers, and they're all willing to leave together." Huang Hui said with a smile, as if he had already guessed that Yang Pan would ask this question.

Good heavens, it seems Senior Brother Huang has been planning this for a long time. But his senior brothers are far too cunning; Yang Pan hasn't gotten a single piece of information from them these past few days. However, Yang Pan didn't think too much about it; instead, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Many hands make light work, and besides, these are all martial artists with skills, so they should be able to save their lives even if it's dangerous outside the county.

Yang Pan immediately agreed without further hesitation.

Having agreed with Senior Brother Huang to set off together in two days, Yang Pan lost all interest in continuing his cultivation and turned to leave the martial arts school, heading towards the Qin residence.

......

West Street, Xu Mansion.

"Big brother, great news!" Xu Zhengshan hurriedly walked into the main hall, and before he could even sit down, his voice reached Xu Zhengqing's ears.

"I just received a message from Dumuha saying that Anqing Prefecture will be captured in a day at most. He told us to prepare ourselves and open the city gates from within as soon as the Mongol cavalry arrives! At that time, my Xu family will be the heroes!"

His excitement was undisguised. Xu Zhengshan was dressed in Southern Song Dynasty clothing and making money from Southern Song Dynasty, but in his heart he was thinking about how to lure the Mongols into the city, without caring at all about the massacre that the Mongols would carry out on the people after entering the city.

Upon hearing his brother's words, Xu Zhengqing showed no reaction whatsoever, his expression remaining calm as if he had known the news all along.

"A wise bird chooses a good tree to perch on; my Xu family must also survive. Second brother, inform Ma San and the others to begin their operation against the Qin family. This time, I will seize all of the Qin family's assets!"

"yes!"