Chapter 60 The Sound of the Flute

Chapter 60 The Sound of the Flute

Chapter 60 The Sound of the Flute
Qingfeng Village, in front of Juyi Tower.

Under the apricot-yellow flag, three hundred village guards were in neat formation, fully equipped with swords and guns.

Their clothes were still varied, but at least they had a cotton-padded jacket to keep out the cold. All of Cao Long's possessions that had been moldering in the warehouse were distributed. The food was also greatly improved, with three meals a day, meat for lunch, and a bowl of wine every five days.

Enough clothing, enough food, enough pay.

This is the treatment only given to the elite border troops of the Ming Dynasty.

The entire village has a brand new look.

Zhao Xia and Liu Dachui stood on the earthen platform in the training ground.

There were five or six mid-level leaders in the audience.

Liu Dachui took two steps forward and said loudly, "The chief has ordered that it is the New Year and we will temporarily stop training. We will take turns to rest for three days and not leave the village. We can drink and gamble, but the limit is midnight. Those who violate the village rules will be severely punished according to the rules."

The chief of the village is often elusive. Liu Dachui, as the third chief, is the leader most seen by ordinary village guards. With his rich experience in the underworld, he can also get along well with the lower-level soldiers.

At the same time as the treatment was improved, Qingfeng Village promulgated village rules that were more stringent than those of the military.

There were four relatively fresh heads hanging behind the parade ground. They were the fate of those who violated the village rules during the attack on Dongliu Village.

Liu Dachui laughed and said, "Disperse!"

After he finished speaking, he immediately jumped off the platform and went to gamble and drink surrounded by several village guards.

Zhao Xia walked down the earthen platform of the training ground alone, but saw a man coming forward and bowing.

"What's the matter?"

Chen Wu reported: "Miss Cheng Huan has been waiting in the mountain stronghold for three days and wants to see the stronghold leader."

Zhao Xia frowned slightly: "The village chief is in seclusion practicing, and will not see anyone, let her go back."

Chen Wu smiled bitterly and said, "That girl has a stubborn temper. She said she would never come down the mountain unless she saw the village leader."

Zhao Xia said coldly: "Then let her wait."

Chen Wu heard displeasure in the words, and he quickly nodded his head.

"Also, don't introduce any questionable people to the village chief in the future!"

Zhao Xia passed by him and said casually.

Chen Wu broke out in a cold sweat, and he finally understood where he went wrong.

"He only cared about pleasing the chief, but offended the second chief."

"She was very ferocious when she chopped people down. After all, she was a woman."

Zhao Xia returned to the Juyi Tower and pushed open the door. On the weapon rack was a large Xuanhua axe and a top-grade steel knife, both filled with murderous intent.

Whenever she returned to her room in the past, she would always carefully wipe the weapon given to her by Zhao Laodao several times.

But I'm not in the mood today.

Zhao Xia walked to the bedside.

In the bronze mirror.

The woman was tall, with a blooming mountain-like figure, and wore a moon-white robe.

Seven parts heroic and three parts delicate.

Unless you go to a clothing store and have it custom-made, it is very rare to find women's long skirts in her size.

Zhao Xia sighed, feeling upset for no reason.

In the first twenty years of her life, she longed for the world of martial arts described by her father, Zhao Laodao, with its brotherhood, swords, fighting side by side, and the joy of revenge.

Today, for the first time, she was bothered by her unusual height and the lack of suitable skirts.

Zhao Xia looked at the bronze mirror, untied his belt, and let his outer robe and undergarment slowly slide down his long, straight legs to the ground.

The smooth jade-like back is covered with floral embroidery.

An indigo five-clawed dragon soared upward along the spine, with its fangs and claws bared, almost occupying the entire back. From the back shoulders to the hips, from the side waist to the tail vertebrae, the green dragon protected the woman firmly.

Because her mother had a difficult labor, she was weak and sickly since childhood and almost didn't survive.

When she was twelve years old, Zhao Laodao met an old wandering monk, who said that Zhao Xiatian had a weak life and a weak destiny, and that she needed a tattoo of a young dragon on her back. The fates of both of them would be intertwined, and only by borrowing the dragon's luck and bringing great fortune could she be protected.

The old monk used a bowl to pound some unknown herb, and used a golden needle to tattoo a dragon on her back. As time passed and she grew taller, the dragon not only did not deform or fade, but was instead stretched by the skin to become a domineering five-clawed dragon.

"Young Master, I have something to report."

Zhao Xia was standing in front of the mirror with a worried look on her face when she suddenly heard a voice coming from outside. She quickly put on her robe, tied her belt, and opened the door. It was Liao Quan, an old brother from the Wild Wolf Gang. This man was always cautious and alert, and was promoted to be a small leader in charge of guarding the village gate and patrolling the mountain roads.

"What's the matter?" "A brother found a letter on the mountain path."

Zhao Xia took the envelope with red chicken feathers deliberately stuck on it, and saw the words "From the head of Qingfeng Village" written on the cover.

Zhao Xia chuckled and said, "I will personally deliver it to you, sir."

There is a wild bamboo forest to the north of Qingfengzhai.

Unlike the Zhuyan Courtyard where Qu Yang lived, the Nanzhu in Heimu Cliff had tall, full roots, straight and well-jointed.

This naturally formed wild bamboo forest has irregular density, and most of the branches are small and dense, unable to withstand wind and snow and are easily broken.

As soon as Zhao Xia walked out of the bamboo forest, he heard the melodious and clear sound of a flute, which came from far away and then near, sneaking in with the wind and sweeping away the dust in his heart. After those chaotic thoughts were resolved, the whole person seemed to become lighter.

She had heard this piece of music several times. Every time it was played, the adults would make breakthroughs in martial arts. Sometimes they would play it for a whole day and night.

"I guess the master only plays the flute when he is very happy."

Going further into the bamboo forest, there are hundreds of wooden stakes half-buried in the ground in front of you. Zhang Yu often practices his body movements here.

Behind the wooden stake array, there was a triangular thatched hut that could barely keep out the wind and snow. Next to the hut was a bamboo chair, on which sat a man in a black robe, with a purple flute at his lips and a conspicuous green jade ring on his left thumb, which was placed on the air hole.

The song is over.

Zhang Yu looked at the woman walking slowly towards him.

Just when he got closer, Zhao Xia felt the faint internal force floating in the sound of the flute. Although it had not yet taken shape, the ability to integrate internal strength with music required extremely high qualifications.

She asked, "Master, have you made any breakthroughs in your inner cultivation?"

Zhang Yu glanced at the green jade ring and nodded, "The Dan Jin is full, Zhou Rong is complete."

Zhao Xia smiled and said, "With your martial arts talent, it's only a matter of time before you reach the Armor Breaking Realm."

When Zhang Yu was still in the middle stage of Dan Jin, he could fight Peng Canghu, a strong man in Po Jia Realm, on equal terms. The two people of the same internal strength realm had huge differences in strength because of their different sword skills, body skills, physical strength, and six senses.

The internal strength realm is only a reference standard for strength, not a golden rule. Otherwise, the Huashan Sect, which has a century-old tradition, would not have caused a dispute over the sword and qi several decades ago.

But in general, internal strength is a more reliable standard and is also a standard that is generally accepted by people in the martial arts world.

Zhang Yu chuckled and said, "The Armor Breaking Stage can be seen. But there is still a difference between breaking one layer of armor and breaking five layers of armor."

In the Dan Jin realm, the use of internal energy is like flooding, wasteful and inefficient, and unable to form a combined force.

After reaching perfection in the Dan Jin realm, one can then 'gather the Qi into an arrow and break a point', which is regarded as a sign of entering the Po Jia realm.

This is a popular saying in the martial arts world, which compares the internal energy of the Dantian to an arrow, and the strength of the arrow can be judged by how many layers of armor it can penetrate.

Only by understanding the art of 'breaking armor' can one gather the five fingers together, clench them into a fist, and unleash the true power of internal strength.

He wanted to try the hardest way.

The two chatted about their experiences and insights in martial arts.

Zhao Xia was only one step away from perfecting her Dan Jin. She practiced a unique internal skill called "Blood Evil Sutra", which did not emphasize meditation and breathing, but rather felt the blood evil in actual combat, soared with fighting spirit, circulated her internal strength, and impacted her tendons, meridians, and joints.

"Sir, someone has placed this letter on the mountain trail and asked the patrol brothers to find it."

Influenced by the "Purifying Heart and Universal Good Mantra", Zhao Xia was distracted for a moment after arriving at the wild bamboo forest. He talked to Zhang Yu for a long time before he remembered that he was there to deliver a letter.

Zhang Yu opened the letter, read ten lines at a glance, and finished reading it quickly.

Zhao Xia asked, "What did the letter say?"

Zhang Yu saw the page of letter and handed it to her: "Long Lin will come to our door and will attack the mountain in the near future."

After reading the letter, Zhao Xia wondered, "Who is this person? Why did he tip us off? Is there any trickery involved?"

"do not know."

Zhang Yu put away the purple flute, picked up his sword, and said with a smile: "But after making such a commotion, I would be surprised if Long Lin didn't come. This battle will have to be fought sooner or later!"

Zhao Xia said solemnly, "So, the letter is true. The Dragon Scale Society will join forces with the Shennong Gang to deal with us. That's really troublesome. The Shennong Gang is good at using poison. Sir, what should we do?"

Zhang Yu thought for a moment and said, "We have just arrived at Qingfeng Village and we don't have much information. I will go down the mountain and find out more before making any plans."

Zhao Xia said quickly: "I will go down the mountain with you."

Zhang Yu shook his head and said, "The foundation has just been established, and people's hearts are not yet completely settled. I will feel at ease if you stay in the village."

Zhao Xia felt warm in his heart, and he said, "Don't worry, sir. I will definitely protect Qingfeng Village."

The two agreed and acted separately.

In the midst of wind and snow, a swordsman in a black robe rode out of Qingfeng Village alone.

(End of this chapter)