Chapter 209: The So-Called Jianghu

A very large, very thin black cloth wrapped Zhou Qingqing and her son, leaving only a small opening for breathing and observation.

This was a new Ghost-Blocking Robe that Li Lin had made by dismantling two old ones and having Huang Qi sew them together; its main feature was its size, making it more convenient for concealment.

Zhou Qingqing squatted in the grass, holding her son in her arms.

At this moment, Little Hua was still asleep; his mother's warm embrace and the relative quiet made the child feel no threat.

Naturally, he slept soundly.

Zhou Qingqing was somewhat afraid, and after Li Lin left, the paper figures around them stood rigidly motionless, still pinkish-purple with red blush painted on their faces, looking extremely terrifying in the dim yellow glow of the fire's fading light.

Then, the light of the fire slowly faded out.

It became even more terrifying.

Zhou Qingqing covered up that small opening.

Outside the forest, Ji Feng, accompanied by his wife, daughter, and a group of disciples, had already chased to the edge of the official road, totaling more than twenty people.

Unlike ordinary people, martial artists have abundant vital energy; although there were only twenty-plus people, they were all experts, and the 'Blood Qi' fields they generated, mixed together, were enough to keep the wild ghosts from approaching.

Of course, they could not stay in the wild for too long; every night consumed their Blood Qi, so after staying in the wild for several days, as their Blood Qi declined, they too would be attacked by wild ghosts.

Ji Feng, using the moonlight, looked at the 'traces' on the ground, then turned his gaze to the woods on the right side of the official road, saying, "That suspected paper figure procession must have hidden inside; they might even be lying in ambush there. Everyone must be careful, do not run about, and do not stray more than ten zhang from others."

Everyone nodded.

At this moment, Ji Feng suddenly turned his head, looking back the way they came.

Another group of people and horses was approaching from there.

He thought it was the Tianyi Sect, but found instead a group of people dressed in black; some faces were familiar, mainly because they had crossed paths in the city over the past few days, but their origins were unclear.

Before Ji Feng could speak, he heard the sound of hooves coming from behind again.

Another group ran over, followed by yet another group.

Before long, seven groups had appeared on the surface; each group had at least a dozen companions, and two or three groups numbered over thirty or forty people.

This was only what was visible; in the shadows, or hidden behind, there were even more people.

It was estimated that all the Jianghu people of Yuecheng had come here.

The moonlight that night was very bright; with the eyesight of Jianghu people, under such conditions, their field of vision was almost like daylight.

Although there were many people on the official road and horses occasionally neighed, it was actually quite quiet; besides that, there were no other sounds.

Even the chirping of insects had vanished.

Among these people, the Qingcheng Sect and the Tianyi Sect were the most conspicuous.

Ji Feng was too lazy to bother with the others; he led his people to approach An Xin, after all, the Tianyi Sect had a good reputation, making the danger relatively low amidst such chaos.

"Young hero An, there are quite a lot of people this time," Ji Feng said somewhat helplessly.

An Xin smiled, "More than just a lot; every famous sect in the entire Jianghu has arrived."

He looked towards the side of the official road behind them, "The Shaolin and Zhenwu Sects are hiding right behind, and everyone has covered their faces; they are just waiting to pick up the scraps."

Ji Feng frowned, "How do you know?"

"The Yang energy of the Buddhist sect can be smelled from three streets away," An Xin chuckled, "As for the Zhenwu Sect, even with their faces covered, that air of aloofness and detachment radiating from their very posture, as if the whole world owes them a favor, makes them the easiest to recognize."

Ji Feng couldn't help but laugh heartily.

Their voices carried out, and many people looked at them.

Now, only the two of them dared to speak out loud.

At this moment, a group of face-covered black-clad men walked from behind the official road; they rode tall, powerful horses, arrived not far from the Tianyi Sect members, and then tore off the black scarves from their faces.

The leading man had long, flowing beard and an immortal-like demeanor; he clasped his fists and said, "Young hero An overstates it; this old Daoist is deeply honored."

"I said you were full of sourness, and now you're happy about it."

"In this world, only the Confucians and our Daoist sect can be called 'sour'; this is inherently a good thing."

An Xin sighed helplessly, "Still as shameless as ever."

The Daoist stroked his beard, smiling without speaking.

The Daoist seemed to want to say something else, but at that moment, a scream suddenly rang out.

Everyone looked over and saw that someone had fallen on the official road not far from them.

The injured person rolled a few times on the ground clutching his lower back, and then his breath ceased.

"Sixth Brother, Sixth Brother!"

A group of face-covered black-clad men surrounded him, shouting loudly.

Everyone immediately became alert.

Ji Feng frowned and said, "We haven't even truly found that paper figure procession yet, and people are already turning on each other."

An Xin sneered, "This is what the so-called Jianghu has always been like."

The Daoist looked into the distance and said, "Actually, this old Daoist believes we do not need so many people to fight over that Lapis Lazuli Jade Box; fewer people would be better."

An Xin and Ji Feng turned their gazes toward him.

The old Daoist continued, "I think keeping just four teams would suffice."

"Which four?" Ji Feng asked.

"Qingcheng, Tianyi, Zhenwu, and Shaolin."

These were the four strongest sects among these Jianghu people.

An Xin felt this proposal was feasible.

Ji Feng thought for a while and asked, "When only four teams remain, how will the distribution be decided?"

"Naturally, it will go to the one with virtue!"

"What is virtue?" Ji Feng asked.

"That will become clear in time."

Ji Feng nodded, compared the numbers on both sides, estimated their respective strengths, and finally nodded lightly.

"I agree as well; Daoist Xuanfeng's proposal is excellent."

Xuanfengzi was naturally extremely satisfied and was about to speak when he was interrupted.

For at that moment, the group of black-clad men whose comrades had died suddenly rushed over; the leader pointed at Xuanfengzi and cursed, "You of Zhenwu Sect! How dare you sneak around like a villain, using a concealment technique to kill our Sixth Brother! We will not rest until Zhenwu is destroyed!"

With that, the group drew their blades and charged forward.

The thirty-plus members of Zhenwu Sect were by no means weak.

They immediately counterattacked, and the two sides naturally began fighting, the scene instantly becoming extremely chaotic.

Zhenwu Sect possessed superior strength, but the enemy seemed to have even more numbers, so for the moment it was a stalemate.

Xuanfengzi sent a palm strike that knocked back the black-clad man before him, then turned his head and shouted, "Young Hero An, Sect Master Ji, please lend your aid!"

But his expression froze, for he realized those two were already far away from him.

And getting farther still.

Not only Qingcheng Sect and Tianyi Gate, but other sects were also watching the spectacle.

Some even had their hands resting on their weapons.

They were simply waiting for the two sides to exhaust each other before they would enter the fray to snatch some profit.

Xuanfengzi sensed the situation was turning unfavorable; while the black-clad men were formidable, they posed little threat to Zhenwu Sect, yet even if they won, they would be fatigued and suffer significant loss of vital energy, causing their strength to drop considerably in the short term. By the time the wolves surrounding them pounced, the situation would be dire indeed.

Just then, from a group beside the official road, another person suddenly screamed in agony.

Everyone's gaze turned that way, and they saw yet another person clutching his kidney, rolling on the ground.

Xuanfengzi grew furious; he immediately understood the 'vile' tactic of the sneak attack: the enemy wanted more people to turn hostile toward Zhenwu Sect.

At that moment, a quick idea sprang to his mind, and he shouted, "Well done, Great Master Kurong! Shaolin and Zhenwu join forces; clear these people away first, and the rest will be easy to handle."

Upon hearing this, all the martial artists in the Jianghu leaped backward and hid in the woods.

Even Tianyi Gate and Qingcheng Sect took cover.

Xuanfeng gazed at the thirty-plus black-clad men before him, a flash of killing intent appearing in his eyes.

"Fellow disciples, unleash your full strength; kill this entire group first, then we too shall hide in the woods."

(End of this chapter)