Chapter 26

The atmosphere of the jianghu created by Zhang Lin had completely captivated the hearts and minds of the audience.

Especially hearing him say that what he was telling was a past that even the people of the Old Nine Gates themselves did not know.

The crowd was even more excited; didn't this mean this was the first public reveal of Heibei Laoliu's life?

Yin Yin Nanfeng, upon hearing this, looked at Zhang Yueshan with curiosity.

"Adjutant Zhang, you have met Heibei Laoliu; do you really not know about his time in the Northwest?"

Zhang Yueshan shook his head, "The Upper Three Gates have always stayed out of jianghu affairs, and I haven't met this Heibei Laoliu many times."

"Besides, those years were turbulent; if he was the number one blade-wielder of a Northwest gang, why would he run to Old Changsha?"

"I estimate he must have committed a crime in the Northwest and was rejected by his gang!"

"Heibei Laoliu would certainly never tell others about such a past."

Yin Yin Nanfeng nodded; from Zhang Yueshan's words, she also didn't feel there was anything unique about Heibei Laoliu.

At this time, they heard Zhang Lin continue: "Heibei Laoliu was very unwelcome in Old Changsha."

"Because his demeanor was entirely that of a Northwest man: silent, reticent, and not interacting with anyone."

"He tomb-raided just to make money, all by himself, and took no apprentices."

"People in the business all said Heibei Laoliu had paranoid delusions, feeling that if anyone else was present while tomb-raiding, they would surely plot against him from behind."

"Actually, these people were right; this is the discipline of a top-tier blade-wielder."

"Never trust anyone, and never leave your back to an enemy."

"Heibei Laoliu only survived the brutal Northwest blade-wielder associations by adhering to this principle."

"Although he was cautious while tomb-raiding, there was one thing that puzzled people in the business."

"That is, Heibei Laoliu, who had always been a lone wolf, had a soft spot for an old prostitute in Old Changsha."

"Back then, when the old prostitute was sold off, Heibei Laoliu went to the meeting alone with his blade and snatched her out."

"This is also the origin of his nickname, the Wanderer!"

Hearing this, while the crowd understood why Heibei Laoliu was called the Wanderer, they also felt a vague sense of discomfort.

Because in most people's hearts, a wanderer corresponds to a handsome man.

And what should be associated with a wanderer is a beauty of the jianghu, not an old prostitute!

Such a combination makes people feel very uncomfortable inside!

This is probably the reason why people are born liking to fantasize about beautiful things.

Zhang Lin, seeing that everyone's expressions were a bit awkward, smiled inwardly.

Heibei Laoliu at this time was indeed hard to understand.

But if this group of people knew about his time in the Northwest.

And then looked back at this story of the Wanderer and the old prostitute, they would have different feelings!

……

"Heibei Laoliu seems to be a person with many painful pasts."

"So he often smoked opium; after smoking, he would enter a state of madness."

"Every night at midnight, he would practice his blade until he was exhausted."

"During the day, he would shrink into a corner, looking indeed like a madman."

"At such times, only his blade and that old prostitute accompanied him."

"It seems they were simply in mutual need of each other; as for anything else, there is no way to guess."

"Everyone knows Heibei Laoliu's blade is fast, but they don't know that his blade technique has a special name: Falling Rain!"

"The Falling Rain blade technique can split a tiny raindrop in two with a single strike!"

Just at this moment, Zhang Yueshan, hearing of the Falling Rain blade technique, suddenly changed his expression.

He muttered to himself: "Falling Rain blade technique... it can't be..."

"Heibei Laoliu, could it be him?"

Yin Yin Nanfeng, on the side, asked curiously: "Adjutant Zhang, what did you think of? You're so excited."

After a long while, Zhang Yueshan said: "You don't know, the Falling Rain blade technique, in those years, only one person mastered it."

"That is the number one blade-wielder of the Northwest Gelao Society, named Li Tiansong."

Li Tiansong?

This name was very unfamiliar to Yin Yin Nanfeng.

Zhang Yueshan continued: "Li Tiansong was an abandoned baby, picked up by a hall master of the Gelao Society on the river beach."

"This hall master felt that this was a child sent by heaven, and since the hall master's surname was Li, he named him Li Tiansong."

"At that time, warlords were entrenched everywhere in the Xia Kingdom, and gangs were numerous."

"Under these circumstances, Li Tiansong's great name was known to many, precisely because he had mastered the Falling Rain blade technique."

Yin Yin Nanfeng was also attracted by Zhang Yueshan's words and couldn't help but ask: "Since that is the case, Li Tiansong had such high talent and was the hall master's foster son; logically, he would have continued working in the Gelao Society."

"Why did he later go to Old Changsha alone, and even erase his own past?"

Zhang Yueshan shook his head and said: "I only know that the Gelao Society later erupted into internal strife, with hall masters falling into a chaotic war to compete for the position of the main leader."

"And Li Tiansong disappeared during this chaotic war; no one knows where he went."

"Now it seems he actually hid his identity and went to Old Changsha."

"And this past, which even people in the jianghu don't know, this storyteller seems to know very clearly!"

After Zhang Yueshan finished speaking, he heard Zhang Lin also tell of Heibei Laoliu's origins.

Just as he guessed, Heibei Laoliu was indeed the missing Li Tiansong!

…….

"In those years, Heibei Laoliu, that is, Li Tiansong, had a Falling Rain blade technique that could guarantee his status in the Gelao Society."

"And those who practiced the Falling Rain blade technique to perfection could dance their blades on a rainy day; with one strike, they could split the light, falling raindrops in two."

"Not everyone can do this; to dance such a blade, one must have immense arm strength!"

"Precisely because of Li Tiansong's blade technique, he was drafted into the 'Golden Lead' of the Gelao Society."

The audience heard the term "Golden Lead" for the first time and didn't know what it was for.

Zhang Lin explained: "This Golden Lead is actually a tradition among the gangs in the Jinshajiang area."

"Surrounding the Jinshajiang, for thousands of years, there has been one thing that cannot be bypassed: gold."

"Some areas in the Jinshajiang were rich in gold content, and in that era, they were mostly occupied by gangs."

"Gangs would press-gang laborers everywhere to pan for gold in the Jinshajiang; in short, that past was extremely bloody and dark."

"But with so many gangs, there would naturally be competition for the gold-producing areas."

"Fights between gangs over gold happened from time to time."

"In order not to let this chaotic war continue and cause large-scale casualties."

"After final discussions among the major gangs, it was decided that the gold-panning areas would be re-divided every year."

"And the standard for division was a life-and-death duel!"

"This group of people participating in the life-and-death duel was called the Golden Lead, meaning that if they won, the gold would be led to them!"

Hearing this, some audience members couldn't help but feel a chill down their spines.

Zhang Lin's short dozen sentences displayed a cruel, bloody world filled with gangs to them.

Zhang Lin spoke very briefly: for gold, gangs had to engage in life-and-death duels.

But in reality, this life-and-death duel was a situation where only one person could live!

Everyone drafted into the "Golden Lead" had to be prepared for death.

How great must the temptation be to make people willingly engage in a life-and-death duel?

At this time, they heard Zhang Lin continue: "Heibei Laoliu was drafted into the Golden Lead to participate in the annual life-and-death duel."

"But there was no fear on his face like there was on the others."

"Heibei Laoliu's blade had long since become one with him."

"Falling Rain is not only the name of the blade technique; the blades carried by this group of Golden Leads were also called Falling Rain."

"This type of blade has a thick back and a thin edge, all made of hundred-tempered refined steel, making it incomparably sharp."

"It can easily split a person in two from any angle!"

"The duel Heibei Laoliu participated in involved twenty people sent by the gangs."

"But in this kind of great slaughter, no matter how many people participate, only one person can return alive; this person is the sole winner!"

Hearing this, the crowd probably knew the result.

Heibei Laoliu must have been the winner of this great slaughter!

Otherwise, he wouldn't have appeared in Old Changsha unscathed!

As for running away on the way to the life-and-death duel?

That was even more impossible!

In that era, once you joined a gang, you were a gang member for life.

Unless you died, you could never leave the gang for the rest of your life.

Running away was treason, and the gang would deal with defectors using the most primitive and cruel punishments!

For this reason, some audience members began to ask Zhang Lin.

"Mr. Zhang, Heibei Laoliu must have won the life-and-death duel, right?"

"What reward is there for winning the life-and-death duel for the gang?"

"I think it must be gold; without a heavy reward, who would be willing to risk their life?"

Facing these questions, Zhang Lin replied: "Indeed, the winner's reward is gold!"

"It is crates upon crates of the highest quality ox-head gold!"

"No need for refining; just opening the crate is enough to blind a person's eyes with the massive amount of gold!"

"However, all the twists and turns in Heibei Laoliu's life also stemmed from after this life-and-death duel."

The crowd, upon hearing this, all stopped heckling and turned to listen intently.

Heibei Laoliu's past was indeed completely different from the temperament of the Lower Three Gates!

What he experienced seemed more real and more cruel.

It was easier to bring the audience into a jianghu they had never encountered before!

"The venue for this great slaughter was a natural stone platform by the river."

"The platform was large enough to hold dozens of people, and it was known as the God Platform."

"Everyone can imagine: on one side, the raging Jinshajiang, and on the other, a life-and-death duel with flesh and blood flying."

"Such a scene, you only need to see it once to never forget it in this lifetime!"

At this time, Zhang Yueshan in the second-floor box couldn't help but nod.

This made Yin Yin Nanfeng curious: "What are you nodding for? Don't tell me you've seen this great slaughter?"

Zhang Yueshan let out a long sigh: "I actually have seen it!"

"Just like the storyteller said, you only need to see it once, and you'll never forget it in this life."

"Back then, when Fo Ye went to the Northwest, because of his fame, he was invited by the Northwest gangs to serve as a witness for the great slaughter."

"I followed Fo Ye and was fortunate enough to see one."

"It was flesh and blood flying in the true sense! The Falling Rain blades in the hands of the Golden Leads, wherever they went, severed limbs covered the ground."

"Severed hands and feet were scattered all over the God Platform."

"You don't know, the God Platform wasn't completely flat; there was a depression in the middle."

"During the great slaughter, the blood shed by these Golden Leads would all collect in the depression of the God Platform."

"It formed a blood pit; every time someone stepped on it, blood would splash out, and the mixed-in bits of flesh could even spray onto the surrounding spectators."

Everything Zhang Yueshan described made Yin Yin Nanfeng feel physically uncomfortable.

This kind of primitive slaughter is the most cruel and bloody!

No wonder Zhang Lin said you wouldn't forget it after seeing it once.

It's not that you can't forget it; it's that you'd probably have nightmares every single day!

……

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