I Possess a Scroll of Demon-Subduing Records

Chapter 378 You want to massacre the city? I haven't left yet!

While Lin Yi and Wang Wei were discussing undercover work and organizational structure, Qingshui County was also greeted with their bloody morning.

Many town residents, upon seeing the words on the city wall and the corpses beneath it, felt their hearts surge with emotion.

The name "Green Gang" was etched into the hearts of many people at that moment, like a ray of dawn piercing through the darkness.

People watched the bloody scene as if on a pilgrimage, no one daring to speak, the silence seemingly brewing something.

The sound of orderly hooves, like thunder, came from afar and broke the peace of Qingshui County. The quick-witted people knew that something was wrong and quickly ran away, not daring to stay there any longer.

Before long, a black wave surged in from afar, only stopping slowly at the foot of the city wall. It turned out to be cavalrymen clad in armor and armed with weapons.

A rough count suggests there are probably around three thousand people.

The fighting power of these three thousand cavalrymen might even be stronger than that of the thirty thousand soldiers led by Xiao Yue.

Xiao Yue's troops were mostly infantry, with only five hundred cavalry. These three thousand cavalrymen, on the other hand, were strong and well-equipped, and their imposing presence was astonishing, clearly indicating that they were elite troops.

Such a force should be under the command of a prefectural governor, yet the sense of oppression it brought to a small county town was astonishing.

The leading general was also a middle-aged, burly man with broad shoulders and a thick waist.

His name was He Peng. He was originally from the Helan clan. Emperor Xiaowen reformed the system and made the Hu people Sinicize, so the Helan clan changed their surname to He.

Although he changed his surname, He Peng still took pride in his Hu (non-Han) bloodline, and his three thousand elite cavalrymen were all Hu people.

Today, we were escorting the Grand Sacrifice on a tour of Qin Prefecture when we encountered a messenger on the way, who asked for help. We then learned that something had happened in Qingshui County.

Thinking that his nephew He Zhang was in Qingshui County, he became extremely anxious and led his elite troops to Qingshui County.

But when he arrived, all he saw was a patch of bright red.

With such a major incident occurring in Qingshui County, He Zhang is probably in grave danger.

He Peng was naturally furious. He searched carefully among the more than one hundred heads, and only felt relieved when he did not see his nephew.

"Send the order to drive everyone in the city here. The Green and Red Gang is so arrogant and domineering; I will make them pay the price!"

The price, of course, is blood for blood. These two so-called Heartless Swordsmen and Killing Taoists dared to lay a hand on them, the noble Hu people. So don't blame him for wielding his sword against all Han people.

He's determined to slaughter this city today.

What price are you planning to make them pay?

A somber voice suddenly came from behind. He Peng was startled, turned around, and asked in surprise, "High Priest, what brings you here?"

Suddenly, a huge gray wolf emerged from the army formation. The wolf was the size of a bull, and a gray-robed man sat on it.

His gray robe completely covered his figure, with only his withered right hand, which held the scepter, showing.

He wore a wolf mask, and through the hollows in his eyes, one could see his sharp gaze. He Peng trembled and lowered his head.

The Northern Wei Dynasty was composed of five major tribes, but the largest tribe was the Xianbei tribe, which held four of the eight high priests' positions.

These are the White Wolf Grand Sacrifice, the Gray Wolf Grand Sacrifice, the Azure Wolf Grand Sacrifice, and the Dragon Wolf Grand Sacrifice.

The other four major tribes each have a grand sacrifice: the Tiger-Catching Grand Sacrifice, the Leopard Grand Sacrifice, the Snake-Manipulating Grand Sacrifice, and the Black Eagle Grand Sacrifice.

Among the eight high priests, the Grey Wolf High Priest is the most brutal and ruthless, which is why He Peng is not afraid of him.

"What would you have done if I hadn't come?"

The Grey Wolf High Priest's voice was deep and resonant, like a wolf's low growl before it erupts in anger.

He Peng knew perfectly well that the Grey Wolf High Priest was already dissatisfied with him, so he quickly explained, "This humble general only wanted to coerce the demons of the Green and Red Gang to come out, not really to massacre the city."

When you're navigating the world, you have to know when to back down.

“If the Green and Red Gang members dared to kill, they wouldn’t stay here. They’re not stupid, and they won’t be coerced by you. You’re just doing this to vent your anger, right?”

The Grey Wolf High Priest's voice carried a hint of mockery, and He Peng broke out in a cold sweat, no longer daring to try any clever tricks.

Those who can become high priests are all experienced elders.

Trying to outsmart this old monster is just too naive.

"Your Excellency, please forgive me. I only resorted to this desperate measure because my nephew has disappeared in Qingshui County. He is my deceased brother's only bloodline, and I can't help but worry about him."

Upon hearing this, the High Priest of the Grey Wolf nodded in understanding and said, "You don't need to worry, he's right there, you see."

Following the guidance of the Grey Wolf High Priest, He Peng quickly found He Zhang.

To be precise, it's He Zhang sauce.

Because it had already turned into sauce, even his own uncle didn't recognize it.

But with the guidance of the Grey Wolf High Priest, there's no way things will go wrong.

Seeing his nephew's tragic death, He Peng's eyes widened, and his heart surged with murderous intent.

He wanted to slaughter the city and pay for his nephew's death.

The high priest of the gray wolf, seeing through his thoughts, said indifferently, "Even vicious wolves will not kill prey they don't eat."

"If you follow the guidance of the gods and intend to kill someone, it won't be very successful."

He Peng clenched his fists tightly. He knew that the High Priest was once again implying that he was not allowed to massacre the city. If he insisted on doing so, he could do it, but the consequences would be unimaginable.

At this point, he could only endure it for the time being.

"Thank you for your guidance, High Priest. I only ask that you give me one hundred cavalrymen to escort my nephew's body back to his mother. The rest of the escort duties can be handled by my deputy, Lu Yuan."

Lu Yuan also adopted the Han surname, originally Bu Liugu, and was a skilled warrior.

"can."

The High Priest of Grey Wolf agreed. Watching He Peng leave with his men, he chuckled lightly. He didn't investigate much in Qingshui County, but simply ordered the bodies to be buried and the city wall to be smashed before calmly leaving with his men.

It seems he came here only to collect corpses.

He was to travel south, then turn east, to intercept a Southern Qi army.

The appearance of this Southern Qi army was quite inexplicable; they had actually attacked from Hanzhong Commandery.

For a long time, Hanzhong Commandery has mainly focused on defense. The city's defense forces were indeed formidable, but they lacked offensive capabilities. They had few cavalry and relied entirely on infantry.

While defending a city is an advantage, conquering and seizing territory is very difficult.

Because the Hanzhong defense line had not been attacked for a long time, the Northern Wei's defense was also very loose. They were drinking in broad daylight, neglecting training and indulging in pleasure, and were no longer the mighty army they once were.

When the Southern Qi army attacked, the highest-ranking general had just taken Five-Stone Powder and was in high spirits.

The Five-Stone Powder was originally a pastime for the refined and elegant scholars of the Central Plains. Later, as the Han Chinese migrated south, these high-end items, once enjoyed by the Han people, naturally ended up in the hands of the non-Han people.

This was no good thing. The guard was still in a trance when he was sent flying by the broadsword and died on the spot.

Subsequently, the Southern Qi army roamed the territory of Qin Prefecture. The Grey Wolf Grand Priest happened to be dealing with the increasingly rampant Green and Red Gang in Qin Prefecture, so he was also ordered to wipe out this isolated Southern Qi army.

Although the clues to the Green and Red Gang were right in front of him, the Grey Wolf Grand Priest decided to deal with the matter of the Southern Qi Lone Army first.

Compared to the destruction caused by this army, the Green and Red Gang is nothing more than a minor ailment.

He wasn't worried about the people from Qingshui County; someone would naturally deal with them afterward.

On the other side, not long after He Peng and his hundred riders left, he sent scouts back to investigate. After confirming that the Grey Wolf High Priest had left, He Peng left two men to guard He Zhang's body, while he led the others to attack Qingshui County again.

Because of his status as the High Priest of the Grey Wolf, he couldn't openly defy him, but he had to kill everyone in this city.

"Zhang'er, just wait, I'll send those people down to be buried with you right away."

Just as He Peng was thinking this, a Taoist priest suddenly appeared in front of the official road.

The Taoist priest looked young, standing with his hands behind his back in the middle of the road. Seeing so many soldiers, he didn't retreat, clearly blocking the way.

He Peng was furious and ordered, "Run him over!"

The cavalrymen accelerated, intending to ram the Taoist priest in front of them, but the priest suddenly let out a roar that was like thunder, causing the soldiers and horses in the front ranks to bleed from their seven orifices and fall over in an instant.

The rest were much the same; the tiger's roar startled the horses so much that they dared not go forward, some fell, and some died.

The Taoist blocking the way was none other than Lin Yi.

After he pulled Wang Wei to hide in the grove, he didn't go far at all.

He had watched some war dramas, so he naturally learned some lessons from them.

What if the Northern Wei court sends people to massacre the city indiscriminately after he has started such a killing spree in Qingshui County?

This is not impossible. Since he has foreseen it, he naturally cannot sit idly by.

So, he and Wang Wei both stayed.

Wang Wei had never seen anyone so audacious; after killing someone, they still wanted to ambush reinforcements.

Are we besieging the city and attacking reinforcements?

The problem is you're all alone!

Subsequent events proved Lin Yi's fears to be true; He Peng indeed intended to massacre the city.

Wang Wei immediately became nervous; these were three thousand cavalrymen!

Even if they stood still, it would take him a long time to kill them, let alone those people who looked like elite warriors who could fight and win.

However, he couldn't bring himself to let He Peng massacre the city.

At that moment, Wang Wei even wrote his will.

As a result, the Grey Wolf Grand Priest appeared.

He became even more nervous.

The Grey Wolf Grand Sacrifice—that's a grand sacrifice, equivalent to a first-grade cultivator.

Even without sealing his cultivation, he couldn't defeat the Grand Priest, let alone now that he's just a mortal.

Rushing out would be suicide; they couldn't even achieve their initial plan of capturing the leader first.

Fortunately, the Grey Wolf High Priest was still a decent human being and didn't let He Peng massacre the city. Seeing He Peng leave, the Grey Wolf High Priest also left with his men, and Wang Wei finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Lin Yi, however, insisted on staying, saying he wanted to observe the situation further.

At first, Wang Wei thought Lin Yi was overthinking things, but when He Peng and his men appeared, he was truly impressed.

This fellow Daoist is truly a talent!

Perhaps with his addition, the Green Gang could undergo a qualitative change.