Chapter 128: Song Rufeng's Sudden Task and the Black Shop

The city gates were tightly shut, and the area outside the city had already been cleared.

On the city walls were disciples of the Tianyuan Sect and cultivators from various families led by the Ke clan.

Below the city were hundreds of people in tattered clothes, looking like beggars.

The two sides stood in a standoff, the atmosphere heavy.

Heng Xian silently sized these people up and discovered that they not only carried killing intent but also a certain bandit-like air.

Were they fierce bandits or... mountain brigands?

Curiously, he glanced at the disheveled man sitting on a soft couch at the very back and opened the Profound Yellow Heavenly Hexagram: "What is the cultivation level of that long-haired leader at the back?"

Hexagram answer: 【Judging from the fluctuations in his aura, he is at the Yuan Dan Initial Realm!】

Heng Xian rubbed his nose; if it was the Yuan Dan Realm, that was Song Rufeng's business.

At this moment, Ye Xiaoyao, under the instruction of his master Song Rufeng, shouted loudly: "Is that the Righteous Hero Gang down there?"

The hundreds of people below fell into a silence.

Ye Xiaoyao was stunned for a moment and shouted again: "I asked if you are the Righteous Hero Gang!"

A bald man beside the disheveled man replied coldly: "Don't use that high-pitched voice when talking to us; who do you think you're talking to?"

Ye Xiaoyao had no choice but to wave his sleeves and chuckle: "Fine, may I ask if you are the Righteous Hero Gang?"

The bald man sneered: "We are your grandfathers!"

"Uh..." Ye Xiaoyao had never encountered such a situation and was instantly stunned, not knowing whether to curse back or reason with them.

Seeing this, Ke Zhenhai immediately stepped forward and cursed: "Damn your grandmother, the Tianyuan Sect disciples are right here, you bastards, watch your tone!"

The hundreds of people below exchanged glances and fell silent again for a while.

The bald man laughed: "Old Ke, you've certainly hired some good help. You old dog, aren't you afraid we'll ransack your home?"

Ke Zhenhai, despite his fat body and full suit of armor, actually jumped up and cursed: "You bunch of dogs, people from a great sect have arrived, and you still dare to be so arrogant, this is simply outrageous!"

The bald man was about to speak again when the disheveled man on the soft couch suddenly stood up lazily, patted him, and walked forward with his hands tucked into his sleeves. He walked all the way to the front of the formation and then casually cupped his hands: "Fellow Daoists of the Tianyuan Sect, greetings, I am Baoyu!"

His voice was also somewhat languid, and his name was even more mismatched with his physique and appearance.

Song Rufeng spoke indifferently: "Greetings!"

Baoyu said: "The Tianyuan Sect has arrived, and as small cultivators from the wilderness, we naturally must show respect. Just hand over Zheng Lun, who insulted the sister of our Second Leader, and we will never come again!"

"Swish—"

Almost everyone looked at Song Rufeng.

Especially the Zheng family, whose expressions were incredibly tense.

Song Rufeng remained expressionless for a long while before saying: "Presumptuous, since you know of the Tianyuan Sect, you still dare to set conditions?"

This sentence was said very flatly, yet it carried an indescribable sense of superiority and arrogance.

The leader Baoyu's face turned gloomy, and his hundreds of subordinates simultaneously drew their blades and spiritual weapons.

"Clang—"

The Tianyuan Sect disciples and the Weiwu County family disciples also drew their spiritual weapons one after another.

Both sides were at daggers drawn, waiting only for a command.

Yet at this very moment, Song Rufeng suddenly turned his head to look at Heng Xian, a strange smile on his face: "Junior Nephew, you cut off the fox demon's arm with one sword last night, showing extraordinary combat power, and being able to see through the demon miasma realm shows your methods and abilities are one in ten thousand!"

The crowd fell silent, none of them understanding what Song Rufeng meant by suddenly praising Heng Xian at this time; the time and place were all wrong!

Heng Xian immediately cupped his hands: "Uncle Master, you flatter me!"

"I rarely praise people, but you are one. Having a third-generation disciple like you is a blessing for the Tianyuan Sect, so..."

Song Rufeng said: "I am giving you a task!"

Heng Xian said indifferently: "Please speak, Uncle Master!"

Song Rufeng said: "According to Junior Brother Ke, these people live under Wolf Head Mountain, three hundred miles to the southwest, in the Hundred-Mile Withered Marsh.

Recently, their main force came to harass Weiwu County, but the old and weak are in their lair. Your Uncle Master Ke's daughter and the young girls from the city have also been sent there. You are to set off immediately and go to rescue them!"

"Understood!" Heng Xian didn't say another word and turned to leave.

"Hey! That..."

Song Rufeng reached out a hand, swallowing a bellyful of threats and inducements, almost suffering internal injuries.

He never expected Heng Xian to agree so readily.

"Uh..." Ma Buyin, Lin Shuyu, and the others looked at each other in dismay.

By this time, Heng Xian had already flown into the city and exited through another gate.

Once outside the city, he looked back and saw that the two sides were already fighting in front of the gate. The sky and the ground were full of people, the sound of weapons clashing traveled from afar, and the air itself seemed distorted!

Heng Xian scratched his chin; even without the Heavenly Hexagram, he knew that this old guy sending him away suddenly meant no good!

A great battle was about to begin, so why would he have the leisure to deal with him?!

However, since he was openly giving him a chance to slack off, let them fight; he was going on a "publicly funded vacation."

Rescuing young girls?

Heng Xian looked toward the southwest and flew off on his sword.

Three hundred miles was not far, but at the speed of the Qi Sea Realm, it would take nearly half a day.

Fortunately, the main force of the Righteous Hero Gang had been entangled here at Weiwu City and likely wouldn't return, so there was plenty of time.

Heng Xian hurried for a while and slowed down for a while. When he estimated he was still a few dozen miles away, a light rain suddenly began to fall from the sky, pattering down and feeling quite cold on his body.

He scanned the area below and happened to see a small town, where a "Wine" sign was swaying, very eye-catching.

He landed and walked into the tavern.

The tavern's business was very bleak; there was only one table with three local old men drinking clear wine and chatting over peanuts.

The waiter came up, wiping the table with enthusiasm: "What would you like, guest?"

Heng Xian sat down and waved his hand: "Three bowls of burning knife liquor, ten pounds of cooked beef!"

Damn! He actually found the feeling of Wu Song on Jingyang Ridge.

"We don't have that!" the waiter said.

Heng Xian was stunned: "Then what do you have?"

The waiter said: "You're from out of town, right? We don't raise cattle here, only marsh sand sheep meat, and our home-brewed 'Three-Cup Fall'!"

Heng Xian nodded: "Then bring ten pounds of sliced cooked mutton and three cups of Three-Cup Fall!"

"Coming right up!" The waiter went to the back kitchen and brought the wine and food in the blink of an eye.

Heng Xian watched the rain outside while eating the mutton.

Just then, he heard the three old men at the next table chatting:

"That new group of thieves in the Hundred-Mile Withered Marsh is indeed righteous!"

"That's right! This month they've sent the third batch of grain to help us!"

"I heard the First Leader and the Third Leader took people to rob the wealthy again; they've been gone for a month or two!"

"I hope nothing happens to them! It's rare to see such righteous thieves!"

Heng Xian found it strange; this group of thieves, were they actually good thieves?

He picked up the wine to drink, then paused slightly; the wine was wrong!

The *Purple Star Eight Desolations Sword God Way*, his main cultivation technique, was naturally sensitive to poisons and spiritual matters.

A black shop?

He glanced sideways and found the waiter hiding in a dark corner, secretly looking over.

Interesting!

He immediately opened the "Profound Yellow Heavenly Hexagram": "What poison is in the wine, and is there an antidote?"

Hexagram answer: 【This is Spirit-Dulling Powder, effective against cultivators below the Yuan Dan Realm; those who consume it will have no consciousness for an hour.

The host has the antidote himself!】

Heng Xian then remembered that Nangong Liluo had also given him Spirit-Dulling Powder, so he immediately took out the antidote and quietly swallowed it.

Then he drank the wine in large gulps, acting as if he hadn't noticed a thing.

Soon, he "fell" onto the table, swaying.

Not long after, several sets of footsteps approached; besides the waiter, there were others.

Several people worked together to lift Heng Xian, sent him to a room, then left and closed the door.

Heng Xian was somewhat surprised; what kind of trick was this?

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 129 =====