Nanping Kingdom is also known as Jingnan, Huojing, Gui, and Xiazhou. It has Shu Kingdom to the west, Chu Kingdom to the south, the Central Plains to the north and the Later Zhou Dynasty, and the Southern Tang Dynasty to the east. It is located in the gap between various countries, and can be in a corner, and the whole country
Lai Nanping King Gao Jixing's tactics of war or peace.
From the initial distant friendship and close attack, it was changed to surrendering to various countries. Due to the small territory and weak strength, in order to obtain financial rewards, they had to pay homage to various dynasties that proclaimed themselves emperors.
However, the treasury was empty. Due to its location at the strategic point between the north and the south, envoys from the Southern Han Dynasty, Fujian Dynasty, Chu, Shu and other countries who passed through the palace were often invited to stay in the palace, and the property that was paid tribute to the Central Plains Dynasty was robbed and put into their own treasury.
When a country begged for something, he would accept it if it was too much. If it was not enough, he would beat him. If he couldn't beat him, he would return the property and apologize. As a result, all the countries called Gao Jixing and his son Gao Congjie "high rogues".
When Gao Baorong succeeded to the throne, he still followed his ancestors' policy of professing vassalage to the country. At this time, the Later Zhou Dynasty emerged, and the Southern Tang Dynasty took advantage of the civil strife in the Chu region to destroy the Chu State. Gao Baorong took advantage of the mutual restraint between the Later Zhou Dynasty and the Southern Tang Dynasty to suppress Chu.
Between the two countries, there is little hope.
As the saying goes, Jingnan is a small and poor country, and it is located in a waterway fortress. Water thieves have emerged in response to the situation, and merchants from the north and the south have suffered greatly. On this day, a passenger ship from the middle of Sichuan docked at a famous place in Xiazhou
Call Zhouzhuang Ferry.
A man in a light blue shirt got off the boat. He was nearly forty years old, thin and looked quite capable. As soon as this man got off the ferry, a man in well-dressed clothes came up to him, bowed and smiled.
He said: "I see Hall Master Mo."
Hall Master Mo said "Hmm" and looked slightly displeased. Seeing this, the pretending man thought that Hall Master Mo must have a bad trip, so he didn't dare to say anything and followed behind Hall Master Mo cautiously.
Hall Master Mo walked for a while, stopped and said to the well-dressed man: "This time when I went to Shu, I wanted to get the "Lady of Guo Kingdom's Spring Outing", but unexpectedly there were many guards in the Shu capital palace, so I couldn't get it...
This time the gift to congratulate the alliance leader could not be found, it seems that the post of enshrinement can only be achieved in the coming year."
"But you can't use gold, silver, jewelry and other common things to congratulate, and let the alliance leader look down upon it... It will be an auspicious day in a few days, but there is no backup plan. Go back to the hall and tell the brothers if you have any calligraphy, painting or elegant things on hand.
The treasure..."
At this time, a young man of eighteen or nineteen years old walked up not far away. He was dressed in green clothes, with a bag tied to his shoulders and holding a long sword. Hall Master Mo's eyes lit up, he paused, and then whispered to the well-dressed man next to him.
He said: "You go back to the helm first. I will talk to you later when I go back." Before the man could answer, he followed the young man away.
The Zhouzhuang Ferry was quite large, with many ships passing by, and the inns by the ferry were doing a good business. It was getting dark, so the young man wanted to stay at the ferry. After inquiring about two inns, he finally found one with "
After finding a room at the signature inn "Ping'an Inn" and requesting an upper room, I sat down at a table in the front hall and ordered some wine and food.
Hall Master Mo waited for the young man to sit down, then he approached the table and raised his hands: "This little brother, can you borrow a seat?"
The young man looked around and saw that the inn was not very big. There were six tables in the front hall, all of which were occupied. He nodded, picked up the long sword lying on the table, and placed it on the bench next to him.
Hallmaster surnamed Mo cupped his hands: "Thank you very much, little brother."
He sat down opposite the young man and called the waiter over to order some food and drinks. Looking at the young man's slightly melancholy expression, the hall master named Mo clasped his fists and said: "My surname is Mo. I am the second eldest child in my family. I am known as Mo Er. I don't know about my little brother."
What’s your surname?”
The young man glanced at Mo Er, hesitated for a moment, and returned the favor: "Xiao Keluo Xiaoyao, I have met Mr. Mo."
It turned out that this young man was Luo Xiaoyao. That day he and Wu Wangbo learned about Ming Wu's origin at Liuling Mountain. They returned to Fangzhou General Pavilion to discuss with everyone and decided that Hua Qianxing and the two elders in the pavilion would go there first.
Jingnan looks for Mingwu.
Watching the unconscious Luo Hanshui every day, he was filled with sadness, and even decided to go to Jingnan to look for Mingwu. Weng Mu and others did not deliberately stop him, thinking that Luo Xiaoyao had reached the state of return to his true state, so he went
It’s possible to practice a bit.
He has no enemies in the world, he is a respectful man, and he will not cause trouble. Moreover, as the son of Luo Hanshui, it is only natural for him to seek medical treatment for his father. Weng and Fang will not spoil his mood.
, agreed, and wanted to let the arrow guards accompany him, but Luo Xiaoyao refused, so Weng and Fang had no choice but to comply with his wishes.
It was getting late when we arrived at Zhouzhuang Ferry in Xiazhou, so we looked for an inn to stay, hoping to visit nearby temples tomorrow to find out where the monks were. When we came to the inn's front hall to have dinner, we didn't expect this man who called himself Mo Er to come and join us at the table.
Although Luo Xiaoyao's skills now look like he has returned to his true state, he has actually reached the level of spiritual consciousness. He can also see that Mo Er's skills are not weak, and he seems to be approaching the level of spiritual consciousness. Seeing that he looks kind-hearted, he thinks to himself
If you are not familiar with the place, you can make friends and ask about the surrounding temples, so you can tell them their names according to the facts.
"It turns out to be Brother Luo, and Mo Er is lucky to meet you." Mo Er smiled, glanced at the long sword on the bench, and said: "Looking at Brother Luo's attire, I think he is a kid from a famous gang...
Can you tell me?"
Although Luo Xiaoyao was inexperienced, all the elders of his sect were veterans of the martial arts world, but they also heard that the sect was dangerous. When they met for the first time, Mo Er asked about the origins of his sect. He was wary of himself, but he thought that Mo Er was a spiritual being.
With his cultivation level, it is difficult to hide his cultivation level. He hesitated for a moment and responded: "Xiao Ke has learned a little bit about self-defense. Mr. Mo is laughing at it."
Mo Er heard what he said and knew that Luo Xiaoyao was wary, so he smiled and said to the waiter who had just delivered the food and drinks to the two of them: "Waiter, take a jar of good wine and boil it and send it to me."
Come."
The waiter in the shop quickly responded "Okay" and went to the counter to get a jar of wine, warmed it up and put it on the table for two people.
"Mo does not have a good time without wine at every meal. Brother Luo, please don't laugh at me. Come, if we have a chance to dine at the same table, Mo will treat Brother Luo to a sip, haha..." He looked very heroic.
Luo Xiaoyao had been accustomed to seeing Wu Wangbo, Hua Qianxing and others drinking in a bold manner since he was a child. When he saw Mo Er inviting him, his tone was very straightforward and his guard relaxed. He was originally worried about Luo Hanshui's injury, and he also drank alcohol.
He thought that if he didn't drink too much, he would be fine, so he nodded. When Mo Er saw this, he chuckled, filled the wine bowl, and the two started chatting while drinking.
After a while, a jar of five kilograms of fine wine was finished. Mo Er was about to have another jar, but Luo Xiaoyao declined. Naturally, this wine was not as drunk as Tongbao Pavilion's Return. Even if he drank one or two more jars, it would be fine, but
Luo Xiaoyao is not a cup-grubber, not to mention that he will be looking for Mingwu tomorrow, so he refuses.
When Mo Er saw this, he didn't force himself, so he stood up, took out the money and called the waiter to pay the bill. Luo Xiaoyao naturally would not accept favors easily. When the two of them gave in, Mo Er accidentally moved his right hand to the waiter. The bench was kicked over, and the long sword fell to the ground and slid out more than a foot away from the table. Mo Er quickly leaned over to pick it up, but took advantage of the situation and dodged into the courtyard of the store with the sword.
Luo Xiaoyao was stunned for a moment, then came back to his senses, pushed away the waiter standing in front of him, and rushed forward, but Mo Er had already jumped onto the roof. Without thinking, he jumped up and caught up with the roof, but when he saw Mo Er His body was like lightning, and he was already flying through the air towards the ferry.
How could Luo Xiaoyao let him escape? He shouted softly and jumped after him. At the same time, he struck out with the palm of "Xingma Xingyun". The distance between the two of them in mid-air was nearly five feet. Mo Er felt a Qi attack behind him and fell to the ground. He avoided it, regained his feet, and soared into the sky like an eagle, stepping on the ship six or seven feet in length.
When Luo Xiaoyao saw him falling to the ground, he also jumped down. Unexpectedly, Mo Er was so good at lightness kung fu that he jumped into the air and flew away. In an instant, he was on the boat by the ferry. When Luo Xiaoyao chased him to the shore, Mo Er The second station stood on the cabin that was more than twenty feet away and laughed loudly, "Brother Luo, I'm sorry."
After saying that, he hoisted up the sail mast, kicked off the mast with his feet, and plunged into the river. However, he saw water splashing on the river surface, and after a while ripples, it returned to calm, and there was no trace of it. Even though Luo Xiaoyao was not weak in skills, he was not good at water. For a moment, I looked at the river, dumbfounded.
Thinking about Weng Mu and Fang Yuan's instructions to be careful of dangers in the world before leaving, they unexpectedly lost the "Water Dragon's Song" just one day after leaving home. They couldn't laugh or cry in their hearts, and they were also annoyed at their own carelessness.
In desperation, he had to return to the inn. The shopkeeper and the waiters in the shop saw him flying over the walls and knew he was a figure in the world. When they saw him walking in front of them, their feet were trembling. Before Luo Xiaoyao asked, the shopkeeper swallowed his saliva and said, He stammered and said: "That thief... we are not familiar with it either, please sir, please don't..."
Luo Xiaoyao was careless on his own, so naturally he would not anger others. Before the store owner finished speaking, he waved his hand: "It was Xiao Ke who was negligent. It has nothing to do with my father-in-law, but this thief seems to be familiar with the terrain and has good water skills... …But do you know the origin?”
Seeing his calm expression, the shopkeeper calmed down and said, "I think your guest knows how this world works... Hey, these thieves often harm passing merchants, either robbing or stealing. Once they succeed, they sneak into the water and don't know where they are. The same goes for the guest house." There is nothing we can do against them."
Luo Xiaoyao heard his answer was wrong, shook his head and smiled bitterly: "From the tone of my father-in-law, it seems that there is more than one thief?"
"These water thieves either use boats to intercept and rob openly in the river, or follow them to land and steal secretly. They appear at various ferry crossings, making it difficult to guard against..."
"Have you ever heard of the whereabouts of these water thieves?"
"How can I know, but... I just heard from the words of business travelers who stayed in the hotel in the past, these water thieves seem to be... what are they called..."
The waiter at the shop next to him continued: "Last time, a guest had his property stolen. He seemed to be looking for someone to go to the "Xingdao Alliance" to ask for it. Maybe this water thief is a member of the "Xingdao Alliance"..."
"Xingdao League? Walking the Way for Heaven? This name is a bit interesting..." Luo Xiaoyao secretly smiled bitterly. The sinister human heart mentioned by Elder Xindaoweng and others should refer to these words of walking the Way for Heaven, but secretly they are stealing and abducting. A kind of Jianghu figure.
However, he calmed down and guessed that the "Xingdao Alliance" mentioned by the waiter in the shop should be Mo Er's place. Now that he knows the gang he belongs to, he will have a chance to find the "Water Dragon Yin", which is the key to the shopkeeper.
He cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, father-in-law, for telling me."
After saying that, he went back to his room in the courtyard. The shopkeeper was very grateful, turned around and said to the waiter: "Serve this young guest well, and I will refund the guest's accommodation fee tomorrow." He must have been involved in water thieves before.
I lost a lot of money.
Returning to the room on the second floor, my mind couldn't calm down for a while. I just meditated and did the exercises and adjusted my breath to calm my mind. Suddenly I heard someone walking in the corridor, a "creak" sound, and someone entered the room on the right, followed by a slightly hoarse voice.
A voice sounded: "Brother Shang, if I can get the enshrinement position this time, I will definitely recommend Brother Shang to the leader of the alliance to be the leader of the branch hall."
Then another person replied: "Thank you very much, Master Lin, for your support. Shang You is deeply grateful, but..."
"Brother Shang, you don't have to be polite. You and I are from the same hometown. Besides, if it weren't for Brother Shang's help this time, we would definitely not be able to get this sword. There is no need to be polite between you and me." The man who was called Hall Master Lin interrupted.
"Precious sword? I can't get it?" Luo Xiaoyao was shocked when he heard this, and thought to himself, could these two people be in the same group as the water thief Mo Er? He couldn't help but listen carefully.
"This sword was still worn by General Qian Niuwei of the Tang Dynasty more than a hundred years ago. I heard that it was paid tribute by the Persians..." Hall Master Lin chuckled lightly, and then heard a "Cang Rang", thinking it was Hall Master Lin.
Draw out the sword and admire it.
"It is indeed a good sword. The blade is radiant with cold light and shaped like a crescent moon. It is not as generous as the Central Plains sword, but it is as light as a sword. Good, good. If it weren't for the alliance leader's birthday party, I would be reluctant to give it to him, hehe
, even if I can't get the enshrinement position, I think I can use this sword to ask Brother Wei Shang, the leader of the alliance, for the position of branch leader."
"It is absolutely impossible. Shang You is not covetous about the position of the branch master. He only hopes to be able to repay his kindness by being by Hall Master Lin's side."
"How can I be so foreign? Brother Shang went to the academy to study, thousands of miles away. Naturally, I didn't know that your father was sick. As a countryman and a martial artist, helping to collect medicines is just a trivial matter. Why should Brother Xiang take it to heart?
, has helped me with many things over the past year, so don’t mention such trivial matters again in the future, haha..." Hall Master Lin laughed lightly, probably because he was afraid of affecting others.
"Oh, by the way, if I hadn't brought Brother Shang with me this time, I wouldn't have seen Brother Shang's skills. I didn't expect that Brother Shang had left home for five or six years and learned such a skill...Brother Shang only said that the academy is in Shaanxi
But they didn’t tell me the name of the academy, why?”
The person called Shang You seemed to hesitate, and it took three breaths before he answered: "The sect has rules, and it is not convenient for Shang You to tell me. I hope Hall Master Lin can forgive me."
"Isn't this strange? Now that the academy is open to accept disciples, but the disciples are not allowed to report where they left their master, how can there be an academy with such rules?"
Luo Xiaoyao's heart skipped a beat. When he heard Shang You's name, he felt it sounded familiar, because there was a disciple who left Taibai Academy six years ago and was also named Shang You. He didn't think much of it when he heard it just now. Now he heard him mention it.
Following the rules of the sect, he vaguely guessed that Shang You was the disciple that Uncle Min Zhenghua liked. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart. He didn't expect to meet him here. Thinking of Mo Er's seizure of the sword, he started to worry about it.
Hall Master Lin Xu Shi Shangyou didn't answer, and he felt it was hard to force him, so he chuckled and said: "Haha, everyone in the world has his own sect rules. This... is considered normal. It's getting late, Brother Shang, take a rest early.
Let's take a boat back to Jiangling Mansion early tomorrow morning." After Shangyou said "hello", there was a sound of opening the door, thinking that he had gone to his room.
Shangyou entered the room, and just as he closed the door, he heard a gentle knock on the door. He thought that Hall Master Lin had forgotten something to explain, so he turned around and opened the door, only to see a weak man standing outside the door.
The young man was looking at him with a smile, his face seemed familiar.
In the midst of doubt, he saw the young man's index finger on his right hand twirling in the air, and his hand gesture instantly blossomed like a flower. It was exactly the "flower blooming" technique in Taibai Academy's Luoying swordsmanship.
Shang You immediately recognized who the person was and said in surprise, "Little senior brother..."
He entered the academy half a year later than Luo Xiaoyao. Although he is five years older than Luo Xiaoyao, according to the rules of the academy, he has to call him Senior Brother Luo Xiaoyao.
Luo Xiaoyao chuckled and said, "We haven't seen each other for six years. I thought my junior brother had forgotten me."
Shang You quickly turned sideways and said: "Junior brother, how could I forget? Little senior brother smiled, please come in quickly."
Luo Xiaoyao entered the room, Shang You hurriedly looked out and saw no one in the corridor, so he closed the door, called Luo Xiaoyao to sit down, and said in a low voice: "Why are you here, little senior brother? Uncle Chu is here too.
?"
When Shang You left the academy, Chu Nanfeng had not yet taken over the post of mountain chief from Jiang Wuya, but Shang You treated him as a master.
"Master is not traveling with me, but I am traveling alone from the mountains. I happened to stay at this inn. I overheard my senior brother's voice and came looking for him."
Shang You said "Oh", suddenly noticed something, his face turned slightly red and said: "I think my junior brother is already in the realm of spiritual thoughts, otherwise how could he hear me..."
It was not Haishi at this time, and it was June. Many people staying in the inn were not asleep, so there was naturally some noise. In addition, the partition wall was very thick, so ordinary people could not hear what Shang You and Hall Master Lin were saying in the room.
Xindao Luo Xiaoyao must have guessed that he joined the gang. Thinking of robbing someone else's sword with Hall Master Lin this time, he naturally blushed.
Luo Xiaoyao seemed to have realized something, and smiled and said: "This is not the place to talk. The night is nice tonight, why don't we go for a walk outside by the river?"
Shang You also felt that it made sense and said: "Then just follow what the little senior brother said, junior brother, I will go next door to say hello."
Luo Xiaoyao thought that he would definitely get to know Hall Master Lin tomorrow, so it would be a good thing for Shang You to go and say hello at this time, lest Hall Master Lin would get suspicious, so he nodded.
Hall Master Lin hadn't rested yet when he heard someone entering Shang You's room next door. Still in shock, he heard Shang You's voice coming from outside the door: "Mr. Lin, I met a classmate from the academy and wanted to go for a walk by the river...
...Excuse me for disturbing your rest, sir.”
Thinking that they were talking in the corridor, Shang You couldn't address himself as the hall master. Seeing that he didn't knock on the door, hall master Lin probably didn't want to show off his politeness, so he responded: "Brother Shang, let's go and talk about our friendship as classmates.
Just come back soon."
Shang You responded and left the store with Luo Xiaoyao. At this time, the night was bright and clear, the breeze blew across the river, and the moon reflected in the river rippled with the water waves, shining brightly.
Luo Xiaoyao faced the cool breeze on the river and said to Shang You: "I overheard my junior brother's conversation. It seems that my junior brother has joined the alliance. Is it convenient for me to inform you?"
Shang You's face suddenly turned red. Although the moonlight was bright, he couldn't see it. "A few years ago, my father fell off his horse and was dragged dozens of feet by the frightened horse. Fortunately, he met the master of Lin Yilin who was returning home. Seeing this, he stopped. He frightened the horse, saved my father, and collected medicine to help my father heal his injuries..."
"After I returned to my hometown, Hall Master Lin went to another place. Two years ago, Hall Master Lin came back to his hometown and thought it was a pity that I had learned but not used it. He invited me to come to Jingnan to help him. He said that the Xingdao Alliance needed manpower and my father's life was at stake. It can be regarded as being saved by him, so..."
Luo Xiaoyao sighed in his heart. His father Luo Hanshui was seriously injured now. If he could find Mingwuwei and Luo Hanshui to cure the "desolate soul disaster", even if he was asked to follow Mingwuji's family and become a monk, he would agree. Hearing this, he nodded and said : "The kindness of a drop of water should be repaid by a spring of water, let alone the kindness of saving my father. As a son of man, this is what I should do."
Now that he learned that Shang You's gang was the "Xingdao Alliance", he paused and then went directly to the topic, "Has the junior brother ever recognized a person named Mo Er? His lightness skills and water properties are both extraordinary... "
"Mo Er?" Shang You was confused for a moment: "But he is in his forties, has a short beard, and looks lean?"
Seeing Luo Xiaoyao nodding, Shang You was surprised and asked, "Could it be that my junior brother was tricked by this person?" He thought he knew the character of the person Luo Xiaoyao was asking about, but he guessed right.
Luo Xiaoyao looked embarrassed and told him about the "Shuilonglin" being taken away. Shang You smiled bitterly after hearing this: "This man's real name is Mo Busan. He is the leader of the Xingyu Hall Xiazhou Hall in the alliance. He is good at light kung fu, especially The art of escaping is known as flying to the sky and escaping from the earth."
"Don't be kind? Don't be evil... Haha, that's true." Luo Xiaoyao smiled bitterly.
"This Xingdao Alliance has only been established for three years. There are three halls in the alliance, Xingyu Hall, which is responsible for water routes, and... Xiaofeng Hall, headed by Lin Yilin, is responsible for land routes, and there is Fengming. Hall, I have never met the hall master. I heard that they are all female members, who specialize in protecting the alliance leader..."
"Oh? How old is this alliance leader? What is his name?"
"I have never met the alliance leader. I heard from Hall Master Lin that his surname is Yu, and even Hall Master Lin doesn't know his name. He is very handsome, and his age...his twentieth birthday will be in a few days."
"Only twenty years old?" Luo Xiaoyao was shocked. He originally thought that the alliance leader could control these water thieves and mountain bandits with the skills of the spiritual realm. His martial arts should at least be in the realm of holding pills. Otherwise, how could he convince the crowd? But with his master Chu Nan Feng is a genius who only entered the realm of holding pills in his forties. This alliance leader is so young, so he must not have a high level of cultivation, so he asked suspiciously: "How is the martial arts of this alliance leader with the surname Yu?"
"I heard from Hall Master Lin that from the perspective of Qi, he was only in the realm of returning to the true state, but I have never seen him take action. It was the two great masters of Divine Mind Realm around him and the guards of Fengming Hall who attacked Jingnan three years ago. The water thieves and mountain thieves in the territory were conquered and a Xingdao Alliance was established to steal, rob and defraud the property of passing merchants."
"Then the Jingnan government doesn't care?" Luo Xiaoyao asked curiously.
"The victims are all business travelers from other places. The government is too many and ineffective. Even if it is the past money of various imperial courts, the Xingdao Alliance will not miss it."
Luo Xiaoyao was speechless for a moment. He had also heard about the style of the three generations of the Gao family of the Nanping King of Jingnan Kingdom. They asked for rewards for their submissions, and also waited for opportunities to rob tributes. Unexpectedly, this Taoist Alliance was also like this. They not only robbed merchants' property, but also robbed tributes from various courts. He also dared to take it without fail, and the power of Xindao Alliance should not be underestimated.