Beyond Grave Mound Mountain
Before dawn, Wu Yongchao heard someone knocking on the door. When he went out, he saw a beautiful young woman standing in front of the door.
It's so late at night, and suddenly a girl knocks on the door. She's so pretty, and her smile is so sweet—she's obviously...
It's obviously drawn.
This was meticulously drawn by Li Banfeng; it could easily fool ordinary people, but Wu Yongchao was a four-story House Cultivator and was known for his painting skills. Using this method to deceive him was really a bit lacking.
The young woman handed two burlap sacks and a letter to Wu Yongchao. After reading the letter, Wu Yongchao asked the woman, "Where is the lord of the fortress? Why would he send you to deliver such an important message?"
The girl covered her mouth and laughed, without saying a word.
Because Li Banfeng didn't draw her mouth.
The next day, Wu Yongchao quietly left Iron Gate Fort with two burlap sacks in his pocket and went to a nearby village.
Li Banfeng made it very clear in his letter that there were people monitoring the area, from the front of the Iron Gate Fort all the way to the village.
This is a common tactic used by Jiang Xiang Gang. Don't be fooled by the calm and peaceful atmosphere at Iron Gate Fort; there are actually plenty of people watching nearby.
Just like the Yu Family Cloth Shop back then, nothing could be seen on the surface, but in fact a branch was hidden nearby.
Upon arriving in the village, Wu Yongchao changed into coarse cloth clothes, put on a tattered felt hat, bought a wheelbarrow from a carpenter, and then went to a farmer's house to buy two sacks of rice.
He was pushing a wheelbarrow carrying rice back home. When he was still more than five miles from the fort, a man wearing a cloth shirt and a straw hat walked over with a smile.
"Brother, where are you headed in such a hurry?"
Wu Yongchao lowered his head and said, "I sell rice."
"How much per pound?"
"Three yuan." Wu Yongchao deliberately quoted a high price.
"Can I take a look at the goods?"
Before Wu Yongchao could speak, the man wearing a straw hat pulled out a dagger and slit the sack.
He grabbed a handful of white rice, rubbed it between his fingers, and the rice grains turned into powder.
"The rice looks good, and three yuan isn't expensive. I'll buy it." The man wearing a straw hat took out two silver dollars and put them on the cart.
"I'm not selling." Wu Yongchao shook his head, took the money, and was about to return it to the man in the straw hat.
The man in the straw hat laughed and said, "If you take the money, that means you've received it. Once you've received the money, the deal is done. It's too late for you to say you won't sell now."
"I won't sell to you!" House Cultivator wasn't good with words and didn't want to argue with anyone. Wu Yongchao threw the money aside and pushed the cart forward.
The man in the straw hat suddenly stretched out his leg and kicked the wheel of the unicycle to pieces.
The car overturned, and the sacks fell to the ground.
Wu Yongchao flushed red, and he angrily retorted, "You're bullying me!"
"Young man, you can't say that. You're a rice seller, I gave you money to buy your rice, and you threw my money on the ground. Who's bullying whom here?"
Wu Yongchao got into a fighting stance, ready to fight the man in the straw hat.
The man in the straw hat gave a whistle, and more than a dozen people rushed out from both sides of the road.
"Young man, are you really going to fight? It's just a business deal, why take it so seriously?"
"I'll fight you to the death!" Wu Yongchao and more than a dozen people started fighting.
His cultivation level was higher than the others, but lower than that of the straw hat man. Under the attack of more than a dozen people, Wu Yongchao suffered minor injuries and used his Homesickness Like An Arrow technique to run back to Iron Gate Fort.
This was Li Banfeng's order: he had to fight the other side, but he had to save his own life.
The man in the straw hat took off his hat, put away the silver dollar, and laughed, "He wouldn't take the money, but now he's got nothing—no rice, no money. He's really lost out."
A man nearby asked, "Hall Master, what should we do with this rice?"
"Keep it, don't you need to eat?" The man in the straw hat was Han Jinwei, the Hall Master Yellow Earth Bridge.
Han Jinwei looked towards the direction of Iron Gate Fort and said to his men, "See that? This kid's cultivation is quite high. He's risked his life for two bags of rice."
Life is tough at Iron Gate Fort, otherwise they wouldn't be fighting the bandits. They're almost out of food. If we keep them trapped for two more days, they'll definitely behave themselves.
Han Jinwei instructed his men to store the grain and then went to a nearby farmhouse to continue his vigil.
They rented this farmhouse. From the inside out, the view is expansive, but from the outside in, it's quite unremarkable.
This is an excellent location for surveillance and ambushes.
No matter where they go, Jiang Xiang Gang's disciples can always find a suitable place to stay; this is truly a legitimate method.
Han Jinwei said to everyone, "Remember, we only want the goods, not people. I'm here to talk to Iron Gate Fort, so let's try to avoid a major conflict with them."
A fortune teller, wearing sunglasses and carrying Blind Man's Cane, walked along the path toward Iron Gate Fort.
A man stepped forward and stopped the fortune teller, asking, "What do you do?"
The fortune teller smiled humbly and said, "I tell fortunes and interpret characters."
"Is that so?" Many people in the Jiang Xiang Gang were fortune tellers and physiognomists. This Jiang Xiang Gang disciple was named Zhu Youduan. He looked at the fortune teller carefully and found that his tools were quite professional.
"Where did you go to have your fortune told?"
"I heard that Iron Gate Fort is just ahead, and that's a good place to do business."
"It's not easy to do business there now. They can't even afford to eat. You shouldn't go there anymore."
The fortune teller smiled and said, "Thank you for reminding me."
That's just a perfunctory remark. People come all this way to do business; how could they possibly stop just because of one sentence?
The fortune teller continued walking towards Iron Gate Fort, Zhu Youduan stepped forward and grabbed him. "I told you not to go, why didn't you listen?"
The fortune teller panicked and said, "I'm just walking my own path, what's it to you? What are you doing...?"
Snap!
Zhu Youduan slapped the fortune teller across the face. "Get lost. If you don't listen to advice, you'll get more than just a slap."
The fortune teller covered his face and left.
After walking a few miles, he sat down by the roadside and started crying with a wronged expression.
"What kind of nonsense is this? I was just doing business, what did that do to him that he hit me..."
After crying for a while, the person who had been following him was indeed gone. The fortune teller touched the Blind Man's Cane and used the hook to send a message to He Jiaqing.
"Jiang Xiang Gang has surrounded Iron Gate Fort. Should we strike first, or wait until they succeed and then intercept them?"
Jiang Xiang Gang?
He Jiaqing laughed, "These bastards are joining in the fun too. Who leaked the news?"
"If they don't let the merchants in, and they keep surrounding them like this, those House Cultivator Iron Gate Fort won't have anything to eat."
He Jiaqing said with disdain, "After all these years, Jiang Xiang Gang still uses the same methods."
"I wanted to talk to the person in charge, but they slapped me, and it was pretty hard."
"Old Wan, what level of cultivation do you have? What haven't you experienced? Lu Dongjun is such an annoying guy, but you still managed to get through it."
Let's not stoop to their level. Observe their situation first, and don't rush into action.
"I'll listen to you."
Han Jinwei, the Hall Master Yellow Earth Bridge, was soundly asleep in his farmhouse.
Jiang Xiang Gang is a mid-level gang in Pro State, but in terms of strength, it is far stronger than Flying Eagle Mountain.
Han Jinwei knew that Iron Gate Fort was easy to defend but difficult to attack, so he did not attack the gate, but only blocked the road.
In Iron Gate Fort, every House Cultivator, food, and daily necessities from outside merchants, and each household bought their own supplies.
House Cultivator didn't want to trouble others. If his family ran out of food, he was too embarrassed to ask others for it. With this scorched-earth strategy, he could make Iron Gate Fort surrender without a fight in less than a month.
Around 6 p. m., Han Jinwei felt uneasy.
He seemed to hear some noise.
Having spent many years navigating the treacherous world of martial arts, Han Jinwei was extremely cautious. He immediately went outside and discovered that the six subordinates who had been guarding the courtyard were gone.
Something's happened!
The person was gone, and there was no body. He found some bloodstains on the ground, as well as a torn burlap sack.
The white rice from the sack was scattered all over the ground, and in the middle of the rice was a piece of white paper.
Upon unfolding the white paper, two lines of text were written on it:
To buy rice, you have to pay.
If you have no money, you'll risk your life.
Han Jinwei was furious. His nose swelled up and the tip turned black. He smelled the scent on the letter.
He is a fifth-level body cultivator; his original form was human, but his Shapeshifting is a wolf.
Following this scent, Han Jinwei chased after the enemy outside, sniffing all the way to the gate of Iron Gate Fort.
The steam door was closed.
Wu Yongchao stood on the lintel, looking at Han Jinwei, and laughed, "You've come to pay for the rice, haven't you? Our lord said, two bags of rice, six lives. You've already paid enough; the change is fine."
If you don't have enough rice, I'll sell you some more, and we'll stick to the old price.
Han Jinwei gritted his teeth at Wu Yongchao, his eyes gleaming with a green light.
He had no idea how Wu Yongchao had killed six of his men without him noticing.
Not only did he not know, but Wu Yongchao himself also did not know that he had not killed the person; he was only responsible for delivering the rice.
He didn't know that Li Banfeng's key was hidden in the sack of rice being delivered.
At this moment, Li Banfeng stood behind the steam gate, waiting for Han Jinwei to launch a strong attack.
Han Jinwei acted on impulse, gathered his men, and launched a strong attack on the gate.
But he suppressed his anger. He knew that Iron Gate Fort was prepared and he also knew the consequences of a direct assault on the gate.
Having become Hall Master in Jiang Xiang Gang, Han Jinwei was able to swallow his anger and leave.
It doesn't matter if he leaves; Li Banfeng is in the mood to deal with him.
That evening, Han Jinwei ordered all the brothers in each branch to be on high alert and to kill anyone they encountered from Iron Gate Fort without mercy, even if they had to sleep with their eyes open.
Just keep your eyes open?
Li Banfeng had long been familiar with the roads nearby. He captured two Jiang Xiang Gang disciples, interrogated them, and in one night, he had a clear understanding of all the branches of the Yellow Earth Bridge Hall.
Over the next three days, he led several fourth-level House Cultivator to visit various branch strongholds. After three days, each branch stronghold suffered casualties, ranging from five or six to two or three.
The fortune teller, hiding in the shadows, relayed the information to He Jiaqing.
He Jiaqing sneered.
This is not a problem that can be solved by being careful and vigilant. The House Cultivator has a talent that is easy to overlook and impossible to guard against.
A direct assault won't gain you any advantage, and a scorched-earth policy is futile; Iron Gate Fort simply won't cooperate.
Xiao Zhengong, you've been in Outer State for too long and know too little about Iron Gate Fort. Sending someone like Han Jinwei here will accomplish nothing.
However, the group of House Cultivator in Iron Gate Fort have also changed; they are not quite the same as before.
Ten days later, Han Jinwei decided to leave.
They had no choice but to leave, as nearly half of the brothers in the branch had been lost.
The House Cultivator from Iron Gate Fort go out to buy rice and vegetables every day, and sometimes they even deliberately loiter under his nose. Every time Han Jinwei takes action, he can't catch these House Cultivators, while people are killed on his side every night.
If this continues, the Yellow Earth Bridge will be finished.
Han Jinwei did not dare to ask Xiao Zhengong for instructions, and led the remaining brothers to prepare to retreat to Yellow Earth Bridge.
Leaving isn't that easy.
While passing by Flying Eagle Mountain, Han Jinwei suddenly heard a melodious song.
Outside the long pavilion, along the ancient road, fragrant grasses stretch to the horizon.
The evening breeze rustles the willows, the flute's melody fades, and beyond the Grave Mound Mountains.
Who is singing?
Why is this singing so irritating?
Han Jinwei's cultivation level was high enough that he only felt irritated by the singing.
The subordinates' cultivation levels were insufficient; the third-level cultivator felt dizzy, the second-level cultivator squatted by the roadside and vomited, and the first-level cultivator lay on the ground convulsing.
"Hurry up!" Han Jinwei realized they had been ambushed and ordered his men to leave Flying Eagle Mountain immediately.
Want to leave?
Is it that easy?
Li Banfeng frequently visits Flying Eagle Mountain and is very familiar with the environment. He can bring his Wife's power out of the house and knows where to set up an ambush.
More than a hundred House Cultivator burst out of the mountains and forests, killing anyone they saw.
They plugged their ears beforehand and were not affected by the singing.
With the strong support and cooperation of the bandits from Flying Eagle Mountain, their combat strength has been greatly improved, and this time their attack was very steady and accurate.
Stone Man, Clay Figure, and paper figures led the way.
The House Cultivator followed closely behind as the mainstay.
The House Cultivator were carried out on both the first and second floors, catching any stray holes.
Within ten minutes of engaging in battle, only the Hall Master Han Jinwei, a deputy Hall Master, and a Sub-Gang Leader escaped from the entire Yellow Earth Bridge Hall; the rest were all wiped out.
Li Banfeng stood at the foot of the mountain and continued singing, "The Grave Mound Mountain," a line that was quite fitting for the occasion.
The souls of the dead were gathered around Li Banfeng, and when no one was looking, they were all sent into his Portable Abode.
"My Wife, time for your meal!"
"Oh, my darling, you always dote on your Little Slave like this. The dishes today are truly excellent."
"My dear Wife, you must remember Jiang Xiang Gang's kindness from now on. Whether it's selling vegetables or delivering goods, his sincerity is beyond question."
The fortune teller delivered a message to He Jiaqing from a village house:
"Iron Gate Fort has set up an ambush at Flying Eagle Mountain. The Yellow Earth Bridge branch is probably gone."
"Iron Gate Fort took the initiative to attack?" He Jiaqing frowned. "This doesn't seem like their nature. Something's fishy about this."
"I also think something's fishy. We should go and investigate their fortress."
He Jiaqing pondered for a moment and said, "I estimate that Jiang Xiang Gang will not give up. Lao Wan, you just watch the show and don't make any rash moves."
P. S.: I wonder what song Ban Feng will sing when I meet He Jiaqing someday.