Cloud of the Qing Dynasty

Ma Guangyi looked at his splinted right hand motionlessly, and fell into a long silence.

Although he is not very literate, at least he has been in the arena for more than ten years, and he still has some ideas and insights. Of course he knows that only when the court is weak and corrupt, when turmoil is everywhere, and the people are struggling, people like him Only bandits and road bandits have room to survive. At other times, even three-year-old children know that officers and soldiers want to catch bandits.

Zhang Chi continued to persuade: "I'm a person who 'inquires'. I know a lot of information, so I won't lie to you. In the past year alone, more than a dozen forces like Heilongzhai in the Central Plains were destroyed by officers and soldiers. , Heilongzhai is located in a remote place, and has not been very publicized, so it has not become the target of officers and soldiers for the time being, but how could the imperial court allow Heilongzhai to occupy this mountain and become an extrajudicial place beyond the government's control?"

Ma Guangyi was silent for a long time, and finally sighed: "I know what you said, but this is the foundation I created for many years, how can I be reconciled... Besides, the villagers in Zhaizhong have settled here for many years, I really can't bear it Get them out of their homes."

"So what if you can't bear it? If you really wait until the army of officers and soldiers enters the mountain and comes to kill you, the head of the family will guard against danger. Maybe you can last for three to five days and kill dozens of people, but it is inevitable that the village will be destroyed in the end." The end of human death. At that time, regardless of men, women, old or young, even if they are not killed, I am afraid that they will not escape the fate of being sent to the frontier or sold as slaves at a low price." Zhang Chi said, "If the head of the village can lead the young and strong in the village to leave, withdraw This name of Heilongzhai, no matter the government or the people in the rivers and lakes, who will go to this remote place to make things difficult for a few villagers who are farming and hunting. If the master is really for their benefit, it is better to do it as soon as possible make a decision."

Ma Guangyi frowned and struggled. Heilongzhai, which had been built with painstaking efforts for many years, was asked to disband with a few words from the other party. Ma Guangyi was naturally unwilling in his heart, but he also knew that Zhang Chi was right. , Waiting for them is a dead end after all--he actually thought about this problem before, but he really didn't want to face the result, so he procrastinated day after day, but now the situation could no longer allow him to procrastinate any longer. After Mu Liuyun came in, he sat silently watching them all the time, which invisibly put a lot of psychological pressure on him. If he refused to cooperate, who knows what this evil star will do?

In fact, most of the people injured by Mu Liuyun before were slightly injured, and only a few were seriously injured. As long as they were treated in time, their lives would not be in danger. His second brother and a few brothers in the cottage They all died at the hands of Bai Ling, who Mu Liuyun wanted to chase and kill, but they wanted to protect. It's no wonder that he was blamed, but Ma Guangyi was still very depressed.

He always thought that even if his martial arts were not top-notch, he was at least number one in the south of the Five Ridges, but now he was beaten to the ground without any injuries by an unknown soldier from the Shangqing Palace. What face does this give him to gain a foothold in the arena in the future?

Could it be that since I haven't been out of the mountains for a few years, the Jianghu is no longer the Jianghu I know?

Seeing that he kept silent, Mu Liuyun showed a little impatient expression, and Zhang Chi urged after seeing this: "What is the master's plan, let's give an explanation quickly."

Ma Guangyi sighed, gritted his teeth and said, "After I settle down with these brothers who have been with me for many years, I will leave Southern Xinjiang. From then on, there will be no Black Dragon Village in the rivers and lakes."

Zhang Chi smiled with satisfaction: "It is also a blessing for the brothers in the village that the head of the family can understand righteousness so well."

"Skills are inferior to others, there is nothing to say." Ma Guangyi said with a frustrated face, "It's just that I am a little bit unwilling after all."

"Oh? What do you want?" Zhang Chi thought that the other party had come up with something to embarrass them, but Ma Guangyi just looked at Mu Liuyun with piercing eyes and said, "I just want to ask a question, and I hope you can answer it truthfully." —Who are you, exactly?”

Mu Liuyun gave him a puzzled look, and replied indifferently, "Didn't I say that?"

"Oh, that's right." Seeing Ma Guangyi's stiff face, Zhang Chi hurriedly smoothed things over, "Brother Mu is a senior student of Shangqing Gongxuan, and he is considered to be the younger brother of the Seventh Son of Shangqing."

"...It turns out that he is the younger brother of the Seventh Son of the Shangqing Dynasty. In this way, I am not wronged to lose." Ma Guangyi's expression suddenly relaxed, and he even had a smile on his face. The man poured tea and said heartily, "Brother Zhang Chi, Taoist Master Mu Liuyun, we are not friends this time, and I, Ma Guangyi, am not a person who holds grudges, so today I will toast the two of you with tea instead of wine. See you in Jianghu in the future, we are still friends."

"Brother Ma is really a straightforward person. Okay, I will make this friend with a cup of gratitude." Seeing that the other party was so kind, Zhang Chi took the teacup and drank it in one gulp, but Mu Liuyun still stood motionless. On the side, he looked at these two people who suddenly became brothers and sisters with some puzzlement.

***

After bidding farewell to Ma Guangyi and coming out, Zhang Chi asked Mu Liuyun, "How is it? Are you satisfied with the result of this treatment?"

"Well, that's pretty good." Mu Liuyun admired Zhang Chi a little bit, "Your eloquence is really good. You can persuade him to disband Heilongzhai with just a few words, and he can happily treat you as a friend."

"It's not all about eloquence. If you hadn't acted to convince them before, no matter how eloquent I am, it would be useless. In fact, Ma Guangyi is also a smart person. Anyway, things are already like this. Come on, let's turn an enemy into a friend, with such a heart and demeanor, it's no wonder that he can become the master of the Black Dragon Village."

"It turns out that's the case. It seems that I still have to learn." Mu Liuyun said, "It's just that we can't stay here forever. After we leave, will he go back on his word?"

"No, don't look at him as a bandit. This kind of people in the Jianghu are the most concerned about face. They even value face more than life. Even if they die, they will die sideways. If this kind of thing can be contradictory, it is nothing to say , From now on, he will never have the face to come out to see people again."

Mu Liuyun nodded: "Forget about that, let's go and see Bai Ling. I'm still a little concerned about why she poisoned people in the Shangqing Palace. You have so many ideas, maybe you can find a way to get her to speak up."

"Okay, I'll try." Of course Zhang Chi would not refuse, and walked with Mu Liuyun to the prison where Bai Ling was held.

Before they got close, they saw that the prison door had been opened wide, and a black figure rushed out with a whoosh.

Mu Liuyun's complexion changed, and he shouted: "Where are we going!" He started his lightness kung fu on his toes and chased after him.

The black figure was wearing night clothes, it was difficult to distinguish in the dark, and it seemed to be very familiar with the surrounding environment, circling among various rocks and trees, and disappeared from Mu Liuyun's sight several times Fortunately, Mu Liuyun has deep internal strength and is very good at listening to voices and distinguishing positions, so he was not fooled by him.

This chase and escape went on for almost a stick of incense, seeing that the distance between the two sides was getting closer and closer, but the black shadow fled into a small village that Mu Liuyun felt very familiar with.

Unknowingly, the man in black led him to Wugu Village.

Mu Liuyun saw the other party enter a room from a distance, and when he rushed to get up, the room was only pitch black, and there was no one in sight.

Mu Liuyun did not rush in, but once again restrained his mind, held his breath, and tried to find out the opponent's location by hearing.

There was no movement of living people in the house.

As for the place further away, it is full of excitement. It is already midnight, and every family in the village has returned to their houses to sleep. There are also dogs barking, pigs snorting, and chickens cooing in cages, and the man in black is completely invisible.

Mu Liuyun sighed in frustration, and now he had no choice but to go back to Heilongzhai first.

***

Zhang Chi's qinggong was not very good, so he didn't chase the man in black with Mu Liuyun, but stayed to check the scene.

When Mu Liuyun rushed back, the lights in Heilongzhai were already brightly lit, and some young people who were not injured in the previous fight were crowding around Ma Guangyi, lighting more than a dozen torches, and surrounding the door of the prison where Bai Ling was previously held. .

Zhang Chi was squatting on the ground looking at the two corpses. When he saw Mu Liuyun came back alone, he stood up and asked, "Did you catch up?"

"Well, I followed the man in black to Wugu Village, and I lost track of him." Mu Liuyun asked, "How is Bai Ling?"

"Killed." Zhang Chi gave an answer that didn't surprise him, and then squatted down to continue checking the wounds on the corpse.

Mu Liuyun also leaned over to watch. The people in Heilongzhai consciously gave him a very spacious position, and no one dared to stand next to him.

The two people who died on the ground were bandits from Heilongzhai. Zhang Chi asked them to guard Bai Ling at the gate of the prison, lest some vengeful people in the village secretly kill Bai Ling before they asked the necessary information. died.Zhang Chi also threatened them that if something happened to Bai Ling here, he would make the whole village look good, but he didn't expect that both of them were killed.

"The two men were standing together when they were killed. They were more than three steps apart, but before they could even call for help, their throats were cut. The perpetrators were either excellent in martial arts or very good at ambushes and assassinations. "Zhang Chi analyzed his judgment to the people present little by little, "It should be the latter that is more likely. If he is really good at martial arts, he won't run away in a hurry as soon as he heard Brother Mu's voice. And this also shows that this person knows how powerful Brother Mu is. Didn’t Brother Mu rarely come out to travel the world before? In other words, this person either knew Brother Mu a long time ago, or saw Brother Mu make a move before, and he knew that it was not Brother Mu. Brother's opponent, so I ran away in a hurry."