Chapter 283 Storyteller

Chapter 283 Storyteller

Chapter 283 Storyteller

It was cloudy and rainy in late May.

On the west road of Yanping Prefecture in Fujian Province, there is a mountain forest within a radius of 20 to 30 miles with no houses or people. However, there is a small wine shed in the forest. It has been open for more than ten years and the business is pretty good. It can be seen that the owner has a unique vision.

The official road leading to Jiangxi passes through the forest from here.

Merchants traveling from Jiangxi to Fujian could simply sail eastward, but those traveling from Fujian to Jiangxi had to go upstream. Especially in May and June when the water level was high, it was often more difficult to get twice the result with half the effort, and boats were not as convenient as land transportation.

In the corner, there sat an old man and a young boy, but they only ordered two pots of tea.

They were Lao Denuo and Yue Lingshan who had received a message from Yue Buqun and were heading to Hengshan to meet him.

The girl in green frowned slightly and said nothing, her heart was like the weather in the south in May, covered with a layer of gloom. It was the first time for her to face the bloody storm in the martial arts world. Those swords and sabers were not the trials and competitions between the brothers of Huashan Sect, but would actually take away lives.

"Junior Sister, don't worry about it. He should also go to Hengshan."

Yue Lingshan raised her head, her face slightly red: "Second Brother, what are you talking about?"

Lao Denuo is a spy from Songshan Sect and is well-informed. He knows that Liu Zhengfeng's retreat is related to an elder of the Demon Cult. Since Zhang Yu is a member of the Demon Cult and is now in the South, he will most likely be involved.

"I thought...it seems that Senior Brother was overthinking it. It's nothing, nothing..."

Yue Lingshan waited for a moment, but couldn't help but ask in a low voice: "Second Brother, how did you know he would go to Hengshan?"

A smile appeared on Lao Denuo's face. "I guessed it. On June 6, Uncle Liu's Golden Plate Washing Hands Conference is a martial arts event. Whether it is the orthodox or the devil sect, I'm afraid they all want to join in the fun."

Yue Lingshan muttered, "So it was just a guess."

Lao Denuo asked with a smile: "Little Junior Sister, do you want him to go to Hengshan?"

Yue Lingshan touched the "scar" on her face. Even after leaving Fuzhou Prefecture, she did not take off the mask. She only felt regretful. After parting in the tavern that day, the two of them left in a hurry for fear of attracting the attention of the Qingcheng Sect. They never met again after that.

She sighed softly, feeling the tea was slightly bitter, and didn't know what to say for a moment.

People were coming and going in the wine tent.

"Drive! Drive!"

Six carriages with double shafts passed through the woods, leaving deep ruts on the official road.

More than fifty men in green robes followed the carriage. They wore conical hats, grass skirts and hemp shoes. They were under the banner of the Qingcheng Sect and were able to run rampant in the southern martial arts world.

In addition to merchants, there are many well-informed people in the tavern. Moreover, the Qingcheng Sect has marched out of Sichuan in large numbers, with its troops divided into ten groups, turning the Fuwei Escort Agency upside down. It was kept secret before, but now that the news has spread, it is hard for people in the martial arts world not to know about it.

The middle-aged man said to the young man sitting at the same table.

"The long-armed man on horseback is our eldest disciple, Hou Renying. He is only in his early thirties, but he has already mastered the true art of Songfeng Swordsmanship. His skills are very strong, and the title of one of the Four Beauties of Qingcheng was probably earned by him."

The young man also had an iron sword in his hand. He looked at the majestic Qingcheng Sect's disciple riding a tall horse on the official road and said enviously, "That's incredible! Only a big sect can learn top-notch martial arts."

"If you can successfully join the Hengshan Sect this time, it will be no worse than the Qingcheng Sect."

"Uncle, will Hengshan Sect take me in?"

The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment and then said, "With your uncle Chang's letter, it should be fine."

At this time, a man who looked like a scholar stood by and slammed the table in anger and shouted.

"The leader of the righteous sect in Sichuan, a peaceful and quiet blessed land, killed an entire family for no reason, killing innocent people indiscriminately, causing rivers of blood. How is this behavior different from the evil sect? What's so great about him? Take such a vicious person as an example, be careful not to corrupt the people who come after you."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the wine shed looked over.

The middle-aged man took a quick glance and saw that the scholar had a single sword tied around his waist, so he couldn't tell his true background. He knew that what he had just said was just to teach the younger generation, and he had no intention of judging the feud between Qingcheng Sect and Fuwei Escort Agency. He remained silent and even held back the young man who wanted to argue.

They didn't say anything, but there were other supporters of the Qingcheng Sect in the wine shed.

"You can't say that."

The scholar asked back: "What should I say?"

The silk robe merchant laughed and said, "The Qingcheng Sect avenged its founder Chang Qingzi, so they destroyed the Fuwei Escort Agency. It was reasonable and well-founded."

Back then, Chang Qingzi challenged Lin Yuantu and died of depression after being defeated. Neither side publicized the matter in the martial arts world, and only a small group of people knew the whole story.

People in the martial arts world only thought that geniuses were envied by heaven. Chang Qingzi, who was known as "the best swordsman west of the Three Gorges", died young for unknown reasons.

This time, in order to find a legitimate excuse for the Qingcheng Sect's actions, Yu Canghai did not hesitate to send people to publicize the matter in the martial arts world so that everyone knew about it.

The scholar sneered: "You are so deliberate and use such despicable means, and you call this reasonable and well-founded?"

The merchant chuckled and said, "Despicable? In order to seek revenge, King Gou Jian of Yue sent his wife to eat excrement and slept on firewood and tasted gall. Isn't that despicable?"

The scholar frowned and said, "How can this be confused?"

"What's the difference? Chang Qingzi was defeated by Lin Yuantu and died as a result. The revenge for the master is like the revenge for the father. How can I not take revenge?"

The scholar was very angry and laughed: "According to what you said, it is wrong to wipe out the entire Lin family?"

The merchant refused to respond directly to who was right and who was wrong, but instead discussed who was stronger and who was weaker. "Back then, Lin Yuantu used the 72-stroke Sword Technique to establish the Fuwei Escort Agency, and was invincible in both the underworld and the white world. Even the leader of the Qingcheng Sect was defeated by him. This shows that the Lin family's martial arts skills are not inferior to others."

"Why are the descendants of the Lin family so weak?"

The scholar frowned and asked, "What do you think?"

The merchant laughed and said, "It's because the descendants of the Lin family are lazy and arrogant. They obviously have the best martial arts inherited from their family, but they don't know how to practice them. They just rely on the merits of their ancestors to make money. Now they can't defeat the Qingcheng Sect, so they let others destroy their sect. Although it's pitiful, it's not without hate."

These words immediately resonated with many people.

The middle-aged man nodded frequently. As a low-level person like him, the martial arts he practiced were diverse and not refined enough to teach the younger generations at home. He could only use countless favors, lose face, beg for favors, and find ways to get his children into a famous and upright sect.

The Lin family has a mountain of gold, but they are unwilling to work hard to become stronger. Their martial arts are no match for their former defeated opponents. They really... deserve it!
"boom!"

The scholar became angry and stood up angrily.

"That's nonsense! We are ashamed to live under the same roof with you guys!"

Having said that, he picked up his package, left the tavern, and headed towards the official road.

The fat merchant seemed open-minded. He just smiled, drank half a pot of wine, and then got up and left.

The travelers who were traveling back and forth in the wine tavern were whispering to each other. What surprised Yue Lingshan was that they did not show much sympathy for the Fuwei Escort Agency in their conversations. Instead, they tended to applaud the ruthless style of the Qingcheng Sect, as if Yu Canghai was the King Goujian of Yue who endured humiliation and defeated Wu and returned.

Laudenuo shook his head and said, "What a weird thing!"

Yue Lingshan asked, "Second Senior Brother also finds it strange?"

Laudeno looked at the fat merchant's back gradually disappearing on the official road.

"It's strange. Look at that merchant, he's dressed in luxurious clothes, but he has no companions and is traveling alone. And that scholar is even stranger. How can he, who reads books of sages, know so much about the affairs of the underworld?"

Weird!
The two looked at each other, called the waiter to settle the bill, and followed quietly.

Before they had walked half a mile, they saw the thin scholar and the fat merchant walking away, one in front and the other behind, less than ten steps apart. Although they did not speak, it was obvious that they knew each other. After walking another three miles, the two men got off the official road and turned into the dense forest next to them.

"Meeting Hero Hou."

Five silver cars were parked in a row.

Dozens of men in green robes and bamboo hats sat cross-legged on the ground, drinking water and eating dry food. They looked extremely well-trained.

The Qingcheng faction’s troops were resting in the forest.

"Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Fang."

Hou Renying took out four silver ingots and handed them over, saying that the silver was well spent.

The thin scholar said with some embarrassment: "Your sect has already paid the money to the sect."

Hou Renying still stuffed the silver into the two men and said with a smile: "Mr. Fang Yuan, you are worrying too much. Let's put things in perspective. Anyway, I will charge you this price for each lecture."

He did not feel sorry for the money at all, after all, it was all looted from the Fuwei Escort Agency. This was only the Fuzhou Prefecture Headquarters. Although the other nine branches did not have as much money, it was not a small amount either. In terms of money, it was equivalent to the accumulation of Songfeng Temple for decades.

The fat merchant nudged his brother with his elbow and said with a smile, "Thank you, Mr. Hou. I will be honored to refuse your gift."

The three of them were chatting happily in the woods, which shocked Yue Lingshan, who was hiding in the dark and watching them.

Lao Denuo was not surprised and whispered, "They should be storytellers. Yu Canghai is really deliberate and has made careful arrangements from beginning to end. It is amazing. The Lin family is not wronged to lose to such an opponent."

“Storytellers? There are people who specialize in making up rumors and causing trouble?” Yue Lingshan had never heard of him before. She just felt that she had broadened her horizons on this trip.

Lao Denuo chuckled and said, "In the martial arts world, little sister, you still have a lot to experience."

What is Jianghu? It is a lawless place beyond the control of government.

The world is vast, with all kinds of people, and martial arts is not the only path forward.

Cats have their ways, and mice have their ways.

These two brothers named Fang belonged to an organization called "Storytellers".

There are many storytellers in the sect. They have mediocre martial arts skills and are not good at fighting, but they like to travel around, stir up trouble, and create publicity. They have secretly cooperated closely with many famous and upright sects.

For example, the direct descendant of a certain martial arts family killed 28 bandits and saved hundreds of ordinary people, and was nicknamed "Hero So-and-so".

If this news were spread through normal word of mouth in the martial arts world, even if the noble family told everyone they met, it would probably take a year or two for outsiders to know about it, let alone become famous in the entire martial arts world.

Besides, as time went on, the martial arts family would feel embarrassed to always talk about the good things their children had done for the people.

At this time, this organization called "Storytellers" is needed to use its gang members spread all over the world to spread the news quickly like a plague.

As the saying goes, good news never travels far, but bad news travels a thousand miles.

'Storytellers' usually work closely with Orthodox sects where demand is high.

(End of this chapter)