Mysterious Martial Arts: The Record of the Swordsman

Chapter 293: A Solitary Stranger

The ancient city of Chong'an has a winding route, and there seems to be a hidden vein from north to south, starting from Sheji Altar and Guanghua Temple in the north and ending at Shanchuan Altar and Xilin Temple in the south. In between, there is a stream that gradually disappears in the densely packed streets and alleys, which are tit-for-tat with each other and refuse to give in.

It seems that since the day this ancient city was built, folk temples have been struggling with the official system, persistently struggling for the special power to communicate with heaven and earth. The two have become increasingly entangled, even to the point of being entangled with each other and unable to separate.

At this time, as night fell, a team of men in black robes and green boots were walking around the river from the north, following the distinct path of cloth flags and burning sandalwood outside the houses on both sides. Every step the team took sounded light and strange, above the dust.

In this atmosphere, Tian Qingwen could only follow Xiao Shitou anxiously. When she passed the Altar of Land and Grain, she looked at where Zhao Erguan's residence was, while looking around for Hong Wendi's figure, constantly worrying about being a traitor with ulterior motives.

The source of her nervousness was that these people, young and old, with their heads covered, were all caught up in some kind of religious frenzy. The flames from the burning thorns illuminated the way ahead, the thick fog from the sandalwood obscured the view, and countless firewood sticks were lit with incense and candles. The candles were held high by the crowd and turned into flames in the sacred and secret chanting, attracting all eyes.

Tian Qingwen vaguely realized that at this moment, she was facing the "change" that Hong Wendi mentioned, but she could not live among the crowd as peacefully as Xiao Shitou, nor could she find a way to break through the siege and bring the news to Wuyi Mountain.

"Master, be merciful, Master, please save me..."

"Master, be merciful, Master, please save me..."

"Master, be merciful, Master, please save me..."

Led by the eldest brother Qiu Jiuzhang, believers of all ages and genders were chanting the Jingchi Heart Mantra, praying for divine power to descend upon them. As a result, their steps as they walked through the streets and alleys became more determined, shaking the flags and wine signs along the streets, the window frames and door lintels, and shocking the brackets and carved beams, ditches and ponds in the ancient city.

As they got closer and closer to the central axis of Chong'an Ancient City, the entire county was as quiet as if it was asleep, without making any unnecessary sounds. Senior Brother Qiu Jiuzhang slowly raised his hand to stop the team from moving forward, and looked solemnly at the edge of the night.

It was an old government office that was dilapidated and almost in ruins. The air was filled with a rotten, old, decadent and desolate atmosphere, accompanied by the hoarse and unpleasant chirping of insects and birds. From time to time, a few strands of chill were poured out from the air, and then they hovered uneasily over the ancient city, glaring at them across the flowing water.

There seemed to be the sound of wild foxes digging through graves and prying up stone slabs next to one's ears, but no one paid attention to it at the moment. No one noticed that at the same time, many exquisitely tailor-made sedan chairs had quietly moved from the end of the team and blended into the believers.

The figure of the second senior brother Chen Henggui quietly appeared in front of the team, with firewood sticks and candlelight shining from all directions, so among the low-hanging curtains and the locked cardinals, one could vaguely see the figure of a person sitting as upright as a mountain, with his eyes lowered as if he was extremely sleepy, and as if he was carefully pondering the various sins in the world.

"Grandmaster, be merciful. Grandmaster, please save us!"

Senior Brother Qiu Jiuzhang recited the mantra once again, but this time, in addition to his wishes and hopes, his words also contained a bit of firm belief. It seemed that no matter if there were landslides or tsunamis, he could still recite aloud, "Only before heaven and earth, this principle existed first," and resolutely walked at the front of the crowd.

When Tian Qingwen saw the team suddenly stop, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He stretched out his hand to grab the corner of the clothes of Xiao Shitou who was walking forward stupidly, but he only tore off a piece of soap-colored cloth and could not stop Xiao Shitou's steps at all.

Little Shitou, whose waist-length figure was as tall as a person's, emerged from the crowd and unexpectedly walked to the front of the crowd.

This was unexpected to everyone, but the moment Xiao Shitou stopped and turned around, everyone saw that Xiao Shitou's originally childish and innocent appearance suddenly added a touch of heroic spirit.

Tian Qingwen felt lost, but suddenly he realized something.

This temperament is difficult to describe. Qiu Jiuzhang could only understand it as what Mencius said, "Even if there are tens of thousands of people against me, I will go forward." But it was somewhat surprising to see it in such a child. Then he naturally speculated that it was the child's imitative habit, and determined that Xiao Shitou must have a close adult like this around him to enable him to learn so vividly.

"Shi Zhongyu, what are you doing standing in front?"

Ignoring Qiu Jiuzhang's questioning, Xiao Shitou's already short figure became even shorter as he bent his left leg slightly and bent his right arm inward.

"Stop here and don't go any further."

As if in response to Xiao Shitou's words, thick smoke suddenly billowed out of the abandoned government office separated by a river, pouring down like a waterfall, and then glittering flames exploded from it, turning into an even larger candle that lit up the sky, far exceeding the firewood sticks and candles held by the people in black robes and green boots.

In the pitch-black night, someone vaguely saw a figure hiding on the roof of an old building in the government office. An older person muttered that the building seemed to be called "Qingxian Building" in the early years, but it was haunted by ghosts and monsters, and no one had set foot there for many years.

So the story of ghosts and monsters came to life on paper.

“…Is that a ghost?”

"No, more like a human..."

"That place... is often haunted!"

Second Brother Chen Henggui was a butcher by trade, and he obviously didn't believe these rumors, so he shouted angrily.

"Nonsense, what do you mean by human-like? That's a human!"

Then he strode towards the small stone and slapped it with anger, trying to sweep away the troublesome stone in front of him, but the small stone shook and it looked like green pines and cypresses, or dragons and tigers crouching. It made people feel that this was not a roadside stone, but a rock hidden deep under the soil.

With a thunderous splash, the uncontrollable water splashed onto the shore, soaking several people who were unable to dodge. The tall and mighty man was easily knocked over by the small stone and thrown into the cold water, struggling to get ashore.

As if an illusion emerged, Xiao Shitou was still in the strange posture with his left leg slightly bent and his right arm bent inward. However, no one dared to underestimate his ability at this moment. Only his senior brother Qiu Jiuzhang had a helpless look on his round face and said coldly.

"Shi Zhongyu, you are an outsider. I believed you at first, but now it seems that you really don't understand this Chong'an County—"

"Do you know how Qiu, who is honored to be the chief teacher of the Jingqi Sect, can be so worthy of being the chief teacher of the Jingqi Sect?"

Little Stone said expressionlessly: "Then do you understand?"

Qiu Jiuzhang sneered and said, "I understand! The canal next to you today was built by my ancestors, so they naturally know more about it than you do."

Qiu Jiuzhang said that according to the "Qiu Family Genealogy" of Chong'an in his family, Zhao Yan, the magistrate of the early Song Dynasty, suffered from drought and was eager to seek talents. He searched for talents everywhere. He found Qiu Chun, a wise man who was well versed in geomancy and geography, in Likou, Langu. The man was called "Qiu the Immortal" and visited him three times to discuss how to solve the problem of frequent fires in drought-stricken fields.

Qiu Chun was moved by this and led Zhao Yan to the top of Suanni Rock on the West Mountain to point out the situation. He made it clear that the ancient tomb of Hanba had been broken and was hiding in a ghost cave somewhere outside the city. If they wanted to break it, they must divert the stream from the west and pass through the middle city and ten miles to the south. They also had to destroy tombs and let the stream flow through horizontally - this was the strategy of diverting the stream through the city to "control fire with water".

In the end, Zhao Yan, the magistrate of Chong'an County, was happy to do it and overcame all objections. In the end, according to the "Chong'an Chronicles", "When the Duke arrived, he examined the land and measured its suitability. He built a canal to divert the water from the west, passing through the middle city and ten miles south. He made the graves fall and turned more than 10,000 acres of fertile land into fertile land."

Facing the little stone who refused to budge, Qiu Jiuzhang seemed to have said everything he wanted to say, and his sigh turned into the last sentence.

"I know a lot more. But since you are so stubborn, that's enough."

He turned back to look for Tian Qingwen, but found that she had disappeared. After a slight movement of his cheeks, he raised his hand and waved it, and then he heard bursts of strange noises from the sedan chair, one after another, like popping beans and breaking bamboo.

Little Stone looked intently. The firewood and candles around him were moving without wind, and a foul smell was quietly flowing with them. It seemed that the god in the sedan chair was waking up from the steady state of sitting like a mountain, slowly reviving his stiff limbs, sniffing the wonderful air of the human world that he had not seen for a long time, and slowly crawling out of the narrow circle of limitations...

………………

Across the water, a raging fire had already started on the dilapidated building of the abandoned government office. However, this time, Hong Wendi returned with something to start the fire, and it was obvious that he had more and more in-depth plans.

The oil spilled, the fire started, everything happened so naturally, but even though it was a tragic scene of burning to ashes, the female ghost singing the sad ballad never showed up.

Even though the kerosene had splashed along the wooden board and burned onto the thin coffin board, Hong Wendi only saw the spider web dust being picked up by the burning wind and transformed into crystal clear flames, like traces of tears dried by the wind, which had finally lost their meaning of existence in the world.

The thin wooden coffin was about to be filled to the bottom as the flames licked it, but Hong Wendi took the initiative to turn his eyes away, not wanting to disturb the deceased who had not been able to rest in peace for many years, at least to leave her with a glorious and dignified last moment before her death.

Jiang Wen once told him that the older one gets in the martial arts world, the less courageous one becomes, because there are always some coincidences in the world that, in hindsight, seem like the manipulation of ghosts and gods. As time goes by, one will naturally be afraid of this and that. But in the final analysis, it is all because neither virtue nor talent can support one's knowledge and experience.

The best way at this time is to not look or think about it - "If you see nothing in the end, respect ghosts and gods and stay away from them."

Ghosts and gods are bound to exist in the heart, Hong Wendi deeply agrees with this.

For example, today, since County Magistrate Guan wanted to see a conflict between the rioters and the government, Hong Wendi simply created a new conflict from which no one could stay out. Only by completely disrupting the plans of both sides could he, an outsider, have a chance of winning.

Hong Wendi stood on the dangerous building and once again looked at the shadowy Chong'an County. On the central axis of the county, on the other side of the water vein, many officials and yamen runners were hiding. They were fully armed and hiding in the corners of the streets, constantly observing the actions of the Jingqi Sect on the opposite side. Their swords were already unsheathed, but they used an extremely humble attitude to constantly restrain their instinctive wildness.

But now, no matter what their original plans were, they have been disrupted by the fire in the abandoned government office, and they are beginning to become confused.

Previously, the magistrate Guan Shengjun ordered them to defend half of the city with a false front and a strong back, and to capture anyone who crossed the line without error. He also told them that they would be rewarded with a great deed after tonight, and that no matter where they had been based or what their hearts were, as long as they did as he said and bought time, they would be forgiven for their past mistakes and would also be guaranteed wealth and glory.

But this sudden fire brought all kinds of uncertainty and confusion to their future. If they let the fire in the city catch fire and harm innocent people, even the county lord would not be able to bear the responsibility. So their steps began to hesitate, and finally, after looking at each other, they all let go of their knives and staggered towards the direction of the lone candle...

On the dangerous building illuminated by a single candle in the night, Hong Wendi smiled slightly, jumped down from the dangerous building, and fell into a cold pond full of duckweed and water splashes. The green duckweed opened and closed in an instant, without even leaving a trace.

Every life-and-death test is a valuable experience. The lucky escape that night told Hong Wendi that there was a secret waterway leading to the outside world in the abandoned government office. After his analysis and research, he found that the road was in the unremarkable pond in the courtyard of the government office. However, no one knew who built this secret passage and why it was connected to the ancient canal of Chong'an County.

Hong Wendi disappeared in the abandoned government office, and soon reappeared in the depths of a dark and gloomy water area, surrounded by lotus leaves and reed roots. Many Chong'an bearded toads could be seen swimming around leisurely, and even passed through Hong Wendi's cheeks and neck. The purple-red skin and black conical thorns brought a strange, cold and slippery touch, which made people feel creepy.

On top of the Water Gate Tower, two camp officers and soldiers were looking into the distance nervously, their foreheads covered with cold sweat. They did not notice the rippling water not far away at all, which was obviously different from the one cut by the bearded toad.

After two muffled sounds, Hong Wendi was already standing alone on the water gate in his ill-fitting camp soldier uniform, relying on the precious time difference he had gained in the chaos, waiting for the unexpected event that County Magistrate Guan Shengjun had mentioned.

That is to say, when all the people in the city are transferred to guard against the Jingqi Sect, there will be garrisoning due to the shortage of manpower; or the current situation where the garrison at Shuimen is better than nothing is what Guan Shengjun wants to see.

Soon, just as Hong Wendi had expected, on the inky black water, a row of ships with inspection brands on them approached in the fog. When you got close, you could see green paint decorated with red hooks. However, apart from the occasional sound of oars, the boats were completely wrapped in black sails and there was no sound of people. No one could see anything inside from the outside.

"…Is this the troop transport ship that the county magistrate mentioned passing by during the rotation?"

Hong Wendi did not ask any questions because he did not understand the secret code or the password. He just watched quietly as thirty or forty boats were lined up on the Chongyang River and stationed on the dark river surface. There was still no noise, and his ears were filled with the noisy and rising sound of frogs.

The other side neither advanced nor retreated, as if waiting for some signal, Hong Wendi thought to himself, looking up at the night sky, he saw several large stars leaping up in the east, forming a winding dragon body. In the center, there was a huge fire burning, reflecting a hazy shape, as if the entire sky was sinking downwards, and suddenly there was a violent collapse in a remote place that had never been recorded in the twelve-point field.

But the shaking of this collapse came not only from the sky, but also from under his feet. The moment Hong Wendi came to his senses, he instantly encountered the greatest and most dangerous disaster and crisis in his life...

　I want to die from working overtime

　　(End of this chapter)