Chapter 225

Before dawn, Wu Yongchao heard someone knocking on the door. He went out to look and saw a beautiful young lady standing in front of the door.

It was so late at night, and suddenly a young lady came to knock on the door, looking so beautiful and smiling so sweetly—this looked like……

It looked like it was drawn.

This was carefully drawn by Li Banfeng. To deceive ordinary people, it would definitely pass, but Wu Yongchao was a fourth-layer residential cultivator and was also known for his painting skills. Using this method to deceive him was really lacking.

The young lady handed two sacks and a letter to Wu Yongchao. After reading the letter, Wu Yongchao asked the young lady: "Where did the Fort Master go? For such an important matter, why did he send you to deliver the letter?"

The young lady covered her mouth and smiled, saying nothing.

Because Li Banfeng hadn't drawn a mouth for her.

……

The next day, Wu Yongchao tucked the two sacks under his arm, quietly left Tiemenbao, and went to a nearby village.

Li Banfeng had stated very clearly in the letter that there were people monitoring nearby, from in front of Tiemenbao all the way to the village; there were people monitoring the whole way.

This was a common method used by the Jiang Xiang Gang. Don't look at how calm Tiemenbao was; in fact, there were 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.

Arriving at the village, Wu Yongchao changed into coarse cloth clothes, put on a tattered felt hat, bought a wheelbarrow from a carpenter's house, and went to a farmer's house to buy two sacks of rice.

He pushed the rice back with the wheelbarrow. When he was still more than five miles away from the fort, a man wearing a cloth shirt and a straw hat walked over with a smile.

"Brother, where are you in such a hurry to go?"

Wu Yongchao lowered his head and said: "I'm selling rice."

"How much a jin?"

"Three dollars." Wu Yongchao deliberately reported a very high price.

"Can I see the quality?"

The man wearing the straw hat didn't wait for Wu Yongchao to speak and directly took out a dagger to pierce the sack.

He grabbed a handful of white rice and twisted it in his hand; the rice grains turned into powder.

"The quality of the white rice is not bad, and three dollars isn't expensive. I'll buy it." The man wearing the straw hat took out two ocean dollars and placed them on the cart.

"I'm not selling." Wu Yongchao shook his head, took the money, and wanted to return it to the straw-hat man.

The straw-hat man smiled: "You took the money, which means you accepted the money. Since the money is accepted, the business is done. You say you're not selling now; it's already too late."

"I just won't sell to you!" Residential cultivators were not eloquent and were unwilling to argue with others. Wu Yongchao threw the ocean dollars aside and pushed the cart forward.

The straw-hat man suddenly stretched out his leg and kicked the wheel of the wheelbarrow into pieces.

The cart overturned, and the sacks fell to the ground.

Wu Yongchao's face flushed red, and he said angrily: "You're bullying people!"

"Young man, you can't say it like that. You're selling rice, I give you money to buy your rice, and you throw my money on the ground. Who exactly is bullying whom?"

Wu Yongchao took a stance, wanting to fight the straw-hat man.

The straw-hat man gave a whistle, and over a dozen people sprang out from both sides of the road.

"Little brother, do you really want to fight? It's just a business deal; why be so serious?"

"I'll fight you to the death!" Wu Yongchao fought with the dozen or so people.

His cultivation was higher than the others, but worse than the straw-hat man's. Under the siege of over a dozen people, Wu Yongchao suffered minor injuries and used the "Homeward Arrow" technique to run back to Tiemenbao.

This was Li Banfeng's instruction: he had to fight a battle with the other side, but he had to preserve his own life.

The straw-hat man took off his straw hat, collected the ocean dollars, and smiled: "I gave him money and he didn't want it. Now it's even worse—no rice and no money. He really lost out big."

Someone beside him asked: "Hall Master, how should we dispose of this rice?"

"Keep it. Don't you need to eat?" The straw-hat man was none other than the Hall Master of Huangtu Bridge, Han Jinwei.

Han Jinwei looked toward Tiemenbao and said to his subordinates: "Did you see that? This kid's cultivation isn't low, and for two sacks of rice, he already risked his life.

Life in Tiemenbao isn't easy; otherwise, they wouldn't be at war with bandits. They are about to run out of food in the fort. If we trap them for another two days, they will definitely be obedient."

Han Jinwei ordered people to keep the grain safe and went to a nearby farmhouse to continue squatting.

This farmhouse was rented by them. Looking out from inside, the view was wide, and looking in from outside, it didn't look conspicuous at all.

This was a very suitable place for monitoring and ambushing.

No matter where they went, the disciples of the Jiang Xiang Gang could always find a suitable foothold; this was truly a proper method.

Han Jinwei told everyone: "Remember, we only want the item, not human lives. I came here this time to talk things over with Tiemenbao; try not to resort to force with them."

……

A fortune teller, wearing dark glasses and holding a blind man's cane, walked along the small path toward Tiemenbao.

A man stepped forward to stop the fortune teller and asked: "What are you doing?"

The fortune teller smiled humbly: "Fortune telling, measuring characters."

"Is that so?" There were many people in the Jiang Xiang Gang who came from the background of fortune telling and face reading. This Jiang Xiang Gang disciple was named Zhu Youduan. He looked carefully at this fortune teller; his various tools were quite professional.

"Where are you going to tell fortunes?"

"I heard people say that Tiemenbao is ahead, and that place is good for doing business."

"It's not good to do business there now; they can't even eat, so don't go over there."

The fortune teller smiled: "Thank you for the reminder."

This was just a perfunctory remark. Since he had come from so far away to do business, how could he not go just because of one word from you?

The fortune teller continued to walk toward Tiemenbao. Zhu Youduan stepped forward and pulled him back: "I told you not to go; why don't you listen?"

The fortune teller panicked: "I'm walking my own path; does it have anything to do with you? What are you……"

Slap!

Zhu Youduan slapped the fortune teller: "Get lost. If you don't listen to advice again, it won't just be a slap."

The fortune teller covered his face and left.

After walking a few miles, he sat by the side of the road and cried with grievance.

"What kind of thing is this? I'm doing business, what does it have to do with him? Hitting me……"

After crying for a moment, confirming that the people following him had left, the fortune teller touched his blind man's cane and used a hook to send a message to He Jiaqing.

"The Jiang Xiang Gang has surrounded Tiemenbao. Should we move before them, or wait until they succeed and then snatch the spoils?"

Jiang Xiang Gang?

He Jiaqing smiled: "These bastards also came to join the fun. Who leaked the news?"

"They won't let merchants enter the gate. If they keep surrounding it like this, those residential cultivators in Tiemenbao won't have food to eat."

He Jiaqing looked disdainful: "So many years have passed, and the Jiang Xiang Gang still uses this method."

"I want to find someone in charge to talk. They hit me, and their hands were quite heavy."

"Old Wan, what is your cultivation, what haven't you experienced? Lu Dongjun, that bird-man, was so annoying, didn't you endure him too?

Let's not lower ourselves to their level. You just watch what their situation is; don't be in a hurry to make a move."

"I listen to you."

……

The Hall Master of Huangtu Bridge, Han Jinwei, was sleeping soundly in the farmhouse.

The Jiang Xiang Gang was a medium-sized gang in Puluo Province, and in terms of strength, it was much stronger than Flying Eagle Mountain.

Han Jinwei knew Tiemenbao was easy to defend and hard to attack, so he didn't attack the gate, only sealed the road.

The residential cultivators of Tiemenbao had to purchase food and drink from merchants outside, and they each bought their own.

Residential cultivators were unwilling to add trouble to others. If one family ran out of food, they were too embarrassed to beg from others. With this technique of "strengthening the walls and clearing the fields," it wouldn't take a month to make Tiemenbao surrender without a fight.

Sleeping until after six in the evening, Han Jinwei felt uneasy.

He seemed to hear some movement.

Having climbed and crawled in the Jianghu for many years, Han Jinwei was very cautious. He immediately came outside the door and found that the six subordinates who had been guarding the courtyard were gone.

Something happened!

The people were gone, and he didn't see any corpses. He found some bloodstains on the ground and also saw a damaged sack.

The white rice in the sack was scattered all over the ground. In the middle of the white rice was a piece of white paper.

Unfolding the white paper, two lines of words were written on it:

To buy rice, you must pay money,

If you have no money, use your life to trade.

Han Jinwei was furious. His nose grew larger, the tip of his nose turned black, and he sniffed the scent on the letter paper.

He was a fifth-layer body cultivator; his original body was human, and his transformation was a wolf.

Relying on this scent, Han Jinwei chased out the door, sniffing all the way, and chased to the outside of Tiemenbao.

The steam gate was closed.

Wu Yongchao stood on the lintel, looked at Han Jinwei, and smiled: "Are you here to deliver the rice money? Our Fort Master said, two sacks of rice, six lives—the money is paid enough, we don't need the change.

If the rice isn't enough to eat, I can sell you some more; we'll use the old price."

Han Jinwei gritted his teeth at Wu Yongchao, his two eyes glowing green.

He didn't know how Wu Yongchao had killed his six subordinates without him noticing at all.

Not only did he not know, but Wu Yongchao himself didn't know either; he didn't kill the people, he was only responsible for delivering the rice.

He didn't know that Li Banfeng's key was hidden in the sack that delivered the rice.

At this moment, Li Banfeng was standing behind the steam gate, waiting for Han Jinwei to launch a frontal assault.

Han Jinwei really had an impulse to gather his men and launch a frontal assault on the gate.

But he suppressed this fire, knowing that Tiemenbao was prepared, and also knowing the consequences of launching a frontal assault on the gate.

Being able to become a Hall Master in the Jiang Xiang Gang, Han Jinwei could endure this temporary anger, and he left.

It didn't matter that he left; Li Banfeng had the mood to accompany him in circling around.

That same evening, Han Jinwei ordered the brothers of each branch to be careful and vigilant, kill anyone from Tiemenbao on sight, and keep their eyes open even when sleeping.

Is keeping eyes open enough?

Li Banfeng had long since walked the nearby roads familiarly, captured two Jiang Xiang Gang disciples alive, interrogated them, and in one night, sorted out all the branches of the Huangtu Bridge Hall clearly.

Over the next three days, he took a few fourth-layer residential cultivators and visited each branch. Three days passed, and each branch had casualties—five or six in the most, two or three in the least.

The fortune teller hid in the dark and sent the news to He Jiaqing.

He Jiaqing sneered.

This wasn't a problem that could be solved by being careful and vigilant; residential cultivators had the talent to make people ignore them, making them impossible to guard against.

A frontal assault wouldn't gain any advantage, and "strengthening the walls and clearing the fields" was even more of a waste of effort; Tiemenbao simply didn't buy that.

Xiao Zhenggong, you have stayed in the Outer Province for too long and know too little about Tiemenbao. Letting someone like Han Jinwei come will never accomplish anything.

However, this group of residential cultivators in Tiemenbao also had changes and were not quite the same as before.

……

Ten days later, Han Jinwei wanted to leave.

He couldn't not leave; nearly half of the brothers in the hall were lost.

The residential cultivators of Tiemenbao went out to buy rice and vegetables every day, and sometimes they even deliberately swayed in front of his eyes. Every time Han Jinwei made a move, he couldn't catch this group of residential cultivators, while people were killed on his side every night.

If this continued, the Huangtu Bridge Hall would be finished.

Han Jinwei didn't dare to ask Xiao Zhenggong for instructions and took the remaining brothers, preparing to retreat to Huangtu Bridge.

Wanting to leave? It wasn't that easy.

Passing by Flying Eagle Mountain, Han Jinwei suddenly heard a melodious singing voice.

"Outside the long pavilion, beside the ancient road, fragrant grass reaches the sky,

The evening wind brushes the willows, the flute sound is residual, mountains beyond the grave mountains."

Who is singing?

Why does this singing make people so irritable?

Han Jinwei's cultivation was high enough that hearing this singing only made him irritable.

His subordinates didn't have enough cultivation; the third-layer cultivators felt dizzy, the second-layer cultivators squatted by the roadside vomiting, and the first-layer cultivators lay on the ground twitching incessantly.

"Hurry up!" Han Jinwei realized he had been ambushed and ordered them to leave Flying Eagle Mountain immediately.

Want to leave?

How could it be that easy?

Li Banfeng often came to Flying Eagle Mountain and was very familiar with the environment here. He could bring the Wife's power out of the residence and also knew where to set an ambush.

Over a hundred residential cultivators sprang out from the mountain forest, killing anyone they saw.

They had plugged their ears beforehand and were not affected by the singing.

With the strong support and cooperation of the Flying Eagle Mountain bandits, their combat power had been greatly exercised, and this time their strike was very steady and accurate.

Stone men, clay figures, and paper figures charged in front to lead the charge.

Third and fourth-layer residential cultivators followed closely behind as the backbone.

First and second-layer residential cultivators wove back and forth to catch those who slipped through the net.

Less than ten minutes after the battle began, the entire Huangtu Bridge Hall, except for Hall Master Han Jinwei, a Deputy Hall Master, and a Helmsman who escaped, was completely wiped out.

Li Banfeng stood at the foot of the mountain, continuing to sing—"mountains beyond the grave mountains"—this line was very fitting.

The souls of the dead were gathered by Li Banfeng beside him, and when no one was paying attention, he sent them all into the Portable Dwelling.

"Wife, time to eat!"

"Hey sweetheart, you really cherish me; the dishes today are truly not bad."

"Precious Wife, you must remember the Jiang Xiang Gang's kindness in the future. Whether it's selling vegetables or delivering goods, their sincerity is impeccable."

……

The fortune teller sent news to He Jiaqing in a village house:

"Tiemenbao set an ambush on Flying Eagle Mountain; I'm afraid the Huangtu Bridge Hall is gone."

"Tiemenbao took the initiative to strike?" He Jiaqing frowned tightly. "This doesn't seem like their temperament; there's something fishy about this."

"I also think there's something fishy. It's best to go to their fort and investigate."

He Jiaqing pondered for a moment and said: "I suspect the Jiang Xiang Gang won't let it go. Old Wan, you just watch the show; don't act rashly."

PS: I don't know what song Banfeng will sing when he meets He Jiaqing one day.

(End of Chapter)