In an alley off East Street inside the city, Chen Ling'er grew increasingly worried.
"Daoist Priest Qingyuan, are you really confident you can deal with that fiend?"
She had briefly tested her skills against Zhang Qingyuan last night. Although she was no match for him, she was no match for that fiend either.
So Chen Ling'er could not judge Zhang Qingyuan's abilities. If he was no match for the Black Lotus Sect fiend either, wouldn't the two of them simply be throwing their lives away by rashly coming here?
Zhang Qingyuan strode ahead, turning back to smile at her with powerful confidence.
"Don't worry. I haven't fought many people, but I have confidence in my own strength."
Chen Ling'er was still uneasy, torn over whether to urge him to go back.
"By the way, what kind of organization is the Black Lotus Sect?"
"Huh? Oh." Coming to her senses, Chen Ling'er explained, "The Black Lotus Sect originated in Sichuan and Shu. Its leader claimed to be the black lotus of the demon realm descended into the world. It had countless followers who burned, killed, plundered, and committed every evil imaginable.
"The imperial court once sent troops to wipe them out, but some fish slipped through the net in the end.
"Over the past dozen years or so, those fish that escaped the net have scattered across the land, inciting commoners and notorious bandits to join their sect, intending to rebel."
Zhang Qingyuan nodded. In this era, setting up organizations like evil cults and pyramid schemes could hardly have been easier. The common people were ignorant, and all sorts of sects formed a tangled web.
All someone had to do was claim to be some heavenly god descended to earth, and commoners would believe them without question.
The White Lotus Sect during the Qing dynasty in his previous life had been just like that. Its followers firmly believed that once they joined, the sect leader would bestow divine skills upon them, making them impervious to blades and spears.
The Black Lotus Sect was hardly any better. Evil cults all deserved to be wiped out.
The two wound through turn after turn and entered an alley. Chen Ling'er looked around and told Zhang Qingyuan, "This is it."
"Which house?"
"The third one at the far end. Yesterday, I saw that fiend come here and enter the third house."
"Then hasn't this place been exposed? Why wouldn't he run after you discovered him?" Zhang Qingyuan said, somewhat helplessly.
"No, no, no, I wasn't exposed. I was waiting three alleys away, like a farmer by a stump waiting for a rabbit..."
As her voice grew quieter and quieter, Zhang Qingyuan understood what she meant.
Although Chen Ling'er had discovered the Black Lotus Sect's foothold in Qingfeng County, she had not acted rashly.
There was bound to be more than one person in that courtyard. She was also worried about being a lamb walking into a tiger's jaws, so she had waited three alleys away for someone to come out alone.
She simply had not expected that even with only one person, she would still be no match.
"Wait here. I'll go scout things out."
"Mm. Be careful."
Zhang Qingyuan leaped onto the wall, then used his lightness skill to jump onto the roof.
Standing below, Chen Ling'er could not help praising him. "What a fine lightness skill!"
She had never expected Daoist Priest Qingyuan's lightness skill to be so good. It seemed his martial arts were not bad either. She hoped he could succeed.
Chen Ling'er now had a little more confidence in Zhang Qingyuan.
Stepping across the roof tiles, Zhang Qingyuan soon reached the courtyard Chen Ling'er had mentioned.
Looking down from the rooftop, Zhang Qingyuan thought, Damn, are all evil cultists this rich?
It was a large compound with three successive courtyards, complete with a goldfish pond and vats of lotuses.
In the third courtyard, several Black Lotus Sect disciples in robes bearing black lotuses stood guard.
Zhang Qingyuan leaped into the compound and began making his way inward from the first courtyard.
The first courtyard belonged to the outer disciples, and there were not many people there. Following the sounds, Zhang Qingyuan came to the window of a side room.
Peering through a gap, he saw six or seven Black Lotus Sect disciples gambling at pai gow.
He slipped into the second courtyard. There were still no guards outside, and the rooms were empty too.
It seemed the important figures lived in the third courtyard.
He reached the entrance to the third courtyard when he suddenly heard sobbing from the side courtyard on the right.
Zhang Qingyuan frowned slightly and vaulted over the wall into the side courtyard. Two Black Lotus Sect disciples were standing guard inside. They were just about to shout at the sight of someone entering when cold light flashed, and a sword cut appeared across both their throats at once.
Even as they died, they had not seen when this man had drawn his sword.
Zhang Qingyuan certainly would not explain the mystery in their minds.
The old Daoist priest had spent so many years studying martial arts. Although the swordsmanship he created still had room for improvement from "Zhang Sanfeng's" perspective, that was Zhang Sanfeng. In Old Zhang's eyes, how many martial arts could be called perfect?
In ordinary people's eyes, the martial arts his bargain master had created were first-rate.
It was like how a hundred million was so far beyond ordinary people's reach that they could not even glimpse its dust, yet in the eyes of a certain richest man, a hundred million was merely a small goal.
His bargain master's martial arts were the same. After obtaining the Zhang Sanfeng template, Zhang Qingyuan could see their strengths, but also their flaws.
Yet to others, swordsmanship like this was enough to be called peerless.
Different heights brought different perspectives.
The two Black Lotus Sect disciples passed away silently, without making a sound.
Zhang Qingyuan approached the window, the sobbing continuing without pause.
He found a key on a corpse, then rose and unlocked the door.
"Ah!!!"
"Shh."
Seven young women were locked inside, all sixteen or seventeen years old and pretty, wearing only bellybands and underpants. Scratches and finger marks covered their arms and legs. Seeing someone enter, they screamed and huddled together.
The women's hair was disheveled and their faces grimy, their eyes swimming with tears.
They were about to scream at the sight of someone entering, but Zhang Qingyuan hurriedly stopped them.
Seeing that the newcomer was not from the Black Lotus Sect, and noticing the bodies by the door, the girls realized he had come to rescue them.
Zhang Qingyuan stepped inside, his heart troubled as he looked at these abused girls.
Since ancient times, those who raped, molested, and trafficked women and children had been the most detestable!
"Were you all abducted by the fiends of the Black Lotus Sect?"
The girl at the front nodded fearfully.
Zhang Qingyuan took a deep breath, trying to make himself look a little kinder.
"Don't be afraid. I'm here to rescue you."
"Daoist priest, benefactor, please get us out of here! My father is a wealthy merchant in the south of the city. I'll definitely have him give you lots of money."
"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid." Zhang Qingyuan comforted them, then asked, "Are you all from the city?"
The girls all nodded. The girl who had called herself a wealthy merchant's daughter said, "We're all from Qingfeng County. They captured us half a month ago..."
"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. Tell me who captured you, and how many people are inside."
"We don't know about the front courtyard. We only know there are two people in the main rooms of the rear courtyard. One calls himself the Black Lotus Holy Envoy, and the other calls himself the Black Lotus Dharma Protector. They captured us mainly to serve as cultivation furnaces for that Black Lotus Holy Envoy to heal his injuries... sob...
"We refused, and they've already abused two of our sisters to death."
"Hiss..."
Zhang Qingyuan clenched his fists. As someone from twenty-first-century China who had grown up beneath the red flag, how could he bear to see this?
"Don't be afraid. I'll definitely get you out."
He stood up, feeling a stifling pressure in his chest.
In his previous life, whenever he saw news online about child trafficking or the rape of women, he would always leave a few curses in the comments.
Many netizens cursed too, wishing they could rush over and pummel the culprits with fists and feet.
Earth had already developed into a modern society, yet such lawless acts still could not be avoided.
All the more so in this world, where even more darkness lurked in places unseen.
Looking at these girls in the bloom of youth, he knew ancient times were different from modern times. Women in this era valued chastity above everything else.
Even if he rescued them all today, their lives afterward would probably still be difficult.
People pointing fingers and gossiping would inevitably be unavoidable. If they could not take it...
Zhang Qingyuan's blood surged in an instant, fury blazing inside him.
Men of honor were often found among the dog butchers. Right now, he had no other thought: he only wanted to kill every last one of those people, and the crueler the means, the better!