The Sect Substitute

There are strong men on the water and Spirit Monster beneath it.

Lu Xinqing had no way to escape, whether in the sky or on the ground, unless he could sprout wings, so he had no choice but to obediently answer the questions.

Liang Qu recorded everything in the book.

He was used to writing down key information on paper and reviewing it from beginning to end, which made it easier to summarize clues and patterns than to just imagine them in his mind.

"Wait, you said earlier..."

Liang Qu circled two places with Wolf Hair brush and asked Lu Xinqing to explain them in detail.

Lu Xinqing broke out in a cold sweat on the spot, kowtowed repeatedly, and immediately spilled the beans, saying whatever came to mind.

Having gone underwater, Lu Xinqing dared not lie, but amidst his fear, he still hoped to minimize the exposure of his evil deeds in order to save his life.

To my surprise, Liang Qu had such keen insight. Lu Xinqing, a burly man in his thirties, stood in front of him as if he were naked.

No wonder others can become masters, while I can only be a bandit.

Lu Xinqing thought to himself.

Liang Qu reluctantly accepted Lu Xinqing's change in attitude.

The essence of reading is not about broadening one's knowledge, but about developing logical thinking.

Liang Qu hadn't been at the academy for very long, but the excellent education he had received in his previous life made his logical thinking ability far superior to that of ordinary people, so it wasn't difficult for him to find loopholes.

With the aid of Ear Consciousness Method, one can discern whether Lu Xinqing is "guilty-minded".

"What powerful forces are there in Hua Zhu County? Including those in the surrounding towns and villages, pick the most powerful ones."

"Power?" Lu Xinqing pondered. "In the past, there should have been three major Martial Arts School in the county, the Sand River Gang and the Zhen Yuan Escort Agency, right? Five of them were in a league of their own, and all of them had top- Wolf Smoke masters."

Later, it was said that rebels caused trouble, and several forces were completely defeated. The three major Martial Arts School all collapsed, with some fleeing and others scattering.

The Sand River Gang, with its large fleet, managed to escape and, upon their return, initially showed signs of dominating the scene. However, I heard that a few months ago, the Sand River Gang was also taken down, supposedly...

Lu Xinqing slightly raised his eyes to observe Liang Qu's reaction.

Liang Qu frowned. "Why are you looking at me? Keep talking!"

"They say... it was the government's doing. Several top fighters were all killed, and a large number of people were wiped out in the process. However, since the Black Water River canal transport couldn't function without the Sand River Gang, a portion of them were spared to maintain the transport, and not all of them were killed..."

Government officials, Sand River Gang?

Liang Qu connected the dots with the Whale Gang, calculated the timeline, and roughly guessed what had happened.

The Whale Gang incident led the River Conservancy Office to conduct a major purge of all the Fish Gang in Huaiyin Prefecture.

The Sand River Gang probably just happened to run into the line of fire, becoming some kind of Stance Training recorded in the annals.

"I've heard about the reason for their downfall. It's said that the leader of the Shahe Gang took a concubine in the spring, which caused this trouble!"

Liang Qu was taken aback. "What do you mean?"

Lu Xinqing got excited. "My lord, you don't know this, but that concubine was originally the sweetheart of a young master surnamed Liang. Who would have thought that the leader of the Shahe Gang would steal her away and force himself on her? The young master Liang, unable to have her, was furious and humiliated. How could the small Shahe Gang withstand that..."

"Fake."

Liang Qu rejected it outright.

"Fake?"

Lu Xinqing didn't believe it. The young man in front of him was of high rank and strong, but no matter how powerful he was, he was still an outsider. How could he know it was fake? However, due to the current situation, Lu Xinqing dared not refute it.

He muttered to himself, "Officials protect each other."

"Go on, which three Martial Arts School are the three most famous?"

"Panshan, the Zhu Family, and Qinghe."

"Qinghe?" Liang Qu asked, "Have you ever heard of someone named Pang Qinghe?"

"Pang Qinghe?" Lu Xinqing chewed twice, then his face showed realization. "Sir, you mean Master Pang, right? Master Pang was the original head of the Clear River Martial Hall Martial Arts School! He was very famous in our Hua Zhu County, a Wolf Smoke Martial Master, a great expert!"

"What about the Yan Family Martial Hall?"

"The Yan family? I think I've heard of them. They should be from Yellow Sand Town. The master had two sons, both Martial Master, but they also fell from grace later."

Anyway, most of the Martial Arts School in Hua Zhu County have closed down, and those with skills have all gone elsewhere. There are also far fewer merchant ships on the Black Water River.

After that, the number of river pirates increased, making merchant ships even more afraid to sail. It became increasingly difficult for the brothers to eat, and they only lost their minds when they saw you, sir.

Liang Qu nodded slightly, trying to sort out his thoughts.

Martial Arts School were a unique feature of the Da Shun Dynasty, and almost every county had one.

Whether a county is strong or not can be basically judged by how many large and small Martial Arts School Martial Arts School it has.

In essence, Martial Arts School are substitutes for sects.

When the Da Shun dynasty swept through the martial world, only a very few sects were able to retain their sect system, such as the Five Great True Lineages. The rest gradually evolved into various Martial Arts School.

Martial Arts School have many advantages. First, they are geared towards the general public, and most are in it for financial gain. The low entry barrier effectively expands the base of Martial Artist, and the large number of people at the grassroots level makes the benefits self-evident.

Secondly, the relationships between people in Martial Arts School are not close. Apprentices pay to learn skills, which is a business relationship. It is far less structured than a sect with a hierarchical system, making it easier for them to form a sense of identity after entering.

Martial Arts School are less likely to form local power, which effectively reduces the difficulty of centralizing power, thus reducing the pressure on ordinary people and further promoting population growth.

Furthermore, if one cannot establish influence, the platform provided will ultimately be limited. Most people will lay a solid foundation and then look forward to a larger platform. Where is that larger platform?

The Imperial Court!

River Conservancy Office, the Three Laws Department, the Demon Subduing Division, joining the army... there are many paths.

The imperial court is like a super-large sect, gathering all the talents in the world.

Therefore, Da Shun has always encouraged the development of Martial Arts School.

Hua Zhu County suffered a bloody massacre at the hands of the Ghost Mother Sect, Martial Arts School severely weakened. Most of its martial arts schools disappeared, and the corresponding support system and downstream structure gradually collapsed, consequently affecting the lives of the lower classes.

The strong men who used to make a living by delivering medicine and running errands lost their jobs and had to find other ways to make a living. Some of them started to have crooked ideas, and the number of river bandits, mountain bandits, and hooligans increased. The increased banditry would then affect trade, creating a vicious cycle.

The situation in Hua Zhu County is becoming increasingly clear.

"You used to be from the Pan Mountain Martial Hall?"

"How does the adult know this?"

Lu Xinqing was shocked. From the moment he met Liang Qu until now, he had never mentioned that he came from the Pan Mountain Martial Hall, nor had he ever shown his Four Extremities Skill!

"I have my own sources of information."

A sense of awe settled over Lu Xinqing, who felt that Liang Qu was mysterious and extraordinary, as if he had the ability to hear people's thoughts.

"Since you come from the Pan Mountain Martial Hall and are Four Gates Martial Master, why have you become a river bandit?"

The Four Gates Martial Master are no ordinary people. Those who are registered in the Martial Registry are considered masters in small towns.

take things too hard?

Lu Xinqing's expression froze. "It's true that I joined the Pan Mountain Martial Hall, but the Four Extremities Skill is only taught to direct disciples... I've wasted seven or eight years and still haven't been recognized, so I had no choice but to secretly... learn it by stealth..."

"You've got guts, you managed to escape?"

Lu Xinqing gave an awkward laugh.

Stealing martial arts skills is a major taboo; not only Hua Zhu County, but the surrounding counties would not tolerate him.

After the incident, Lu Xinqing originally intended to flee to other prefectures in one go, but he was short of money on the way, so he came up with a crooked idea to rob a boat on the Black Water River.

Unexpectedly, their first robbery resulted in a father and son returning to their hometown to get married, with a total of eight taels of betrothal money!

Having tasted success, and knowing that he would remain an unregistered resident elsewhere, Lu Xinqing decided to go all the way and became a masked river bandit on the Black Water River, making a living by robbing boats. He only robbed small boats, not large ones, earning him the nickname "Ghost Face Dragon."

"What about the father and son?"

"Dead."

"Dead?"

"No, no, no, sir, please don't misunderstand, I didn't kill him," Lu Xinqing quickly explained.

"I robbed them and then let them go. It wasn't until two days later that I found out they were robbed after their marriage was called off. They were so resentful that they robbed other people! Once you start robbing, you'll start again. They became river bandits too! But they weren't as clever as me. They were caught by the authorities in less than three months and sentenced to death!"

Liang Qu remained silent.

"Those who acquire wealth with human faces will not have enough even after ten years; those who acquire wealth with ghost faces will have more than enough in a single day."

"A blade of varying size, if in the hands of another, I fear that person; if in my own hand, that person fears me..."

Lu Xinqing pondered carefully, then nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes, that makes sense! The sir is a river bandit..."

Liang Qu glanced at him, Lu Xinqing cursed himself for being an idiot, then hurriedly prostrated himself on the ground. "A single conversation with you, sir, is worth more than ten years of study!"

After a while.

"Aren't there any women in your village?"

Awei went into the Water Stockade to investigate and found no one imprisoned inside.

"Women? No." Lu Xinqing shook his head. "Just a dozen or so of us brothers."

"Can you hold it in?"

"We usually go to town to handle these things. It might cost a little money, but it won't cost much."

Even if there were none in the village, I wouldn't let my brothers touch it, even if we encountered a ship hijacking.

Beautiful women are often Fugui, Fugui often brings power and influence. I'm afraid of causing trouble; if I open the door and can't control them, I'd rather not open it at all.

Lu Xinqing had his own reasons for being able to survive as a river bandit for more than three years.

However, as the saying goes, "He who walks by the river will eventually get his shoes wet," and not every survival principle applies to everyone.

One wrong move, and you're in this situation now.