Chapter 154

"Yes, Feng Feng Shixiong."

Luo Faqing's face flushed red, and he dared not speak again.

Within the Shangshan Dharma lineage, there were also many factions.

His Master was also an outlier back then.

He was devoted to eliminating demons and defending the Dao. To suppress evil spirits, he sacrificed his life, and the key was that he didn't gain any benefits, being cursed by the local people and mocked and squeezed by his fellow disciples.

Later, it was Feng Feng Shixiong Yue Fachong who turned the situation around step by step.

First, he ensured that his fellow disciples had no worries about food and clothing, and later, not only did they come to the Princely Mansion to become guests, but he also allowed the disciples of their lineage to hold their heads high.

Luo Faqing respected him like an elder brother, so how could he dare to say more.

For a time, the atmosphere in the room was oppressive.

Seeing his appearance, Yue Fachong's expression softened slightly, and he said in a deep voice, "Among the several Junior Brothers, only you have the best aptitude. Do not go astray because of womanly kindness."

"Hmm."

Luo Faqing nodded silently.

Yue Fachong smiled indifferently. "In the future, when you see more, you will understand. Do not mention this matter again. I heard that you recently asked Zen Master Zhikong to endorse the sale of a batch of sarira?"

Luo Faqing's expression was awkward. "It was the spoils of war from last time. Those people were quite righteous and gave me a share, thinking I could sell it for more money..."

"What are you afraid of? I didn't say it was wrong."

Yue Fachong smiled, "Knowing how to leverage the situation for profit is what it means to be grown up. Everyone has selfishness; it is not a bad thing."

"If you cannot even take care of yourself, no matter how good your words are, how can you protect others?"

"As for those few, you can associate with them if you wish."

"The Night-Crying Lang is not important. Behind them is Luo Mingzi of the Law Enforcement Hall. Calling the Night-Crying Lang last time was nothing more than wanting to beat my Shangshan lineage. There is no need to pay attention to it."

"Yes, Feng Feng Shixiong."

Luo Faqing breathed a sigh of relief, then hesitated for a moment. "Feng Feng Shixiong, I heard a piece of news: Qiao Sanhu has secretly come to Chang'an."

Yue Fachong's eyes immediately turned cold. "What did he come here for?"

Luo Faqing replied, "I heard he wants to cooperate with the Fire Bear Gang to participate in the Drum King Assembly and compete for a spot."

Seeing Yue Fachong's face sink like water, Luo Faqing cupped his hands. "Feng Feng Shixiong, forgive me for being blunt, but Qiao Sanhu has already crossed the line."

"This person has become increasingly greedy over the years. The things he has done have already damaged the reputation of Shangshan, and he will cause big trouble sooner or later."

"Even if he is Master's only son..."

Speaking of this, Luo Faqing was already a bit angry. "When Master was alive, he didn't dare to act recklessly."

"As soon as Master left, he revealed his true nature, acting recklessly outside in the name of your cousin, Feng Feng Shixiong, making you clean up his mess time and time again. If this continues, something will happen sooner or later."

"Enough, stop talking!"

Yue Fachong took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "Go and send a message, telling him to get out of Chang'an immediately. Otherwise, I will not care about his affairs in the future!"

"Yes, Feng Feng Shixiong."

Luo Faqing nodded with a solemn expression.

He knew that for his Feng Feng Shixiong to say this, it was already very rare...

…………

The further south you go in Changancheng, the poorer it gets.

And the southwest of the city is a completely impoverished area.

When the Golden Tent Wolf Kingdom attacked Chang'an, it was from here that they breached the city.

Thousands of trebuchets, bowl-mouth cannons, followed by grassland shaman witches, Tibetan esoteric god-monks, and in the front were the Golden Wolf Eagle warriors.

It took only one day for Chang'an to be captured.

Tens of thousands of Chang'an soldiers and civilians were killed or injured, and the southwest of the city was completely reduced to ruins. Countless corpses were piled up and burned here, the corpse flames soaring into the sky, not extinguishing for several days.

For a long time, this was a place of fierce evil where vengeful spirits ran rampant. After the founding of the Great Xuan Dynasty, the Tai Xuan Orthodox Sect spent several years, plus a Zen Master of great virtue built a temple to suppress it with a Nirvana Golden Body, before peace was restored.

Those who lived here were naturally not wealthy people.

The original layout of the market had been completely destroyed, and the poor commoners used mud bricks for walls and straw for roofs to build large and small residential houses.

Because there was no planning, plus the chaotic construction by later arrivals, the entire southwest of the city was like a chaotic maze.

Here, both drinking water and drainage were problems.

On ordinary days, they drank turbid well water, latrines were built randomly, the air was mixed with the smell of feces and urine, and whenever it rained, sewage was everywhere.

The notorious Fire Bear Gang was located here.

The gang leader, Xiong Baodong, was from the North City and could be considered a scion of an official family, but he chose to rise here.

The reason was simple: poverty breeds crime.

When people can't even survive, who cares about your laws.

A bowl of wine, a mouthful of meat, could be worth a life!

Luo Faqing walked with long strides, his expression gloomy.

He had never liked this place.

It wasn't because it was dirty and chaotic, but because it would stir up bad memories.

Master died in a similar place.

And the reason for his death was also ridiculous.

He helped people drive away evil for free, but his magic artifact was stolen by nearby commoners and exchanged for half a bag of rice and a string of coins, and Master died because of this.

He still clearly remembered that Feng Feng Shixiong Yue Fachong skinned that family alive that night, his eyes blood-red, roaring at them, "Some people are born lowly and are not worth helping!"

However, whenever he thought of this, Wang Daoxuan's peaceful eyes would inexplicably appear in his mind.

Thinking of this, Luo Faqing sighed.

He felt that his mind was already a bit chaotic.

Unknowingly, the front suddenly opened up.

This was a martial arts hall of considerable size. Bare-chested, sturdy men were practicing boxing in the courtyard, all of them sweating and steaming with heat.

Beside it were carriage and horse shops, porters in tattered clothes working, and there were many men with fierce expressions walking around.

This was the base of the Fire Bear Gang.

Changancheng was a mixture of dragons and snakes, and every trade and industry had people behind it. Trying to intervene was simply harder than ascending to heaven.

What the Fire Bear Gang chose was to snatch food from the mouths of people in the martial world. Relying on the lives of the commoners in the slums, they managed to snatch a bowl of rice from the hands of carriage guilds, porter guilds, and even the Cao Gang.

This was the reason for the grudge with the Five Elements.

Similarly, this Fire Bear Gang, which had a stinking reputation outside, had a status far exceeding the official government in the hearts of the poor commoners in the southwest.

Although the Fire Bear Gang also exploited them,

at least it gave them a mouthful of food.

"Daoist Luo, you have come."

Before Luo Faqing even got close, members of the Fire Bear Gang came to greet him, nodding and bowing, their faces full of flattery.

They knew that even their gang leader, Xiong Baodong, was respectful to these high-level experts from the Dharma lineage.

"Take me to see Xiong Baodong."

Luo Faqing's expression was gloomy, and he spoke without any courtesy.

"Hahaha..."

Hearing that Luo Faqing had come, Xiong Baodong laughed heartily and strode out, "Daoist Luo is a rare guest. Since you have come to the door today, you must give Xiong some face and let me entertain you properly."

Luo Faqing gave a cold glance, "I have come to find Qiao Sanhu."

"Old Feng Feng Shixiong Qiao."

Xiong Baodong lied with his eyes open, shaking his head, "It has been a while since he came to Changancheng, why would he come to me..."

"Hmph!"

Luo Faqing gave a cold snort, directly interrupting his words, "Feng Feng Shixiong Yue wants me to pass a message to him."

Hearing that it was Yue Fachong's intention, Xiong Baodong gave an awkward smile, raised his hand and laughed, "Eh~ we are all our own people, why make things so stiff? Daoist Luo, please."

The two entered the courtyard. When they were about to reach the backyard, Xiong Baodong waved his hand, letting his subordinates all retreat, and then led Luo Faqing into the courtyard.

A person was sitting in the courtyard, drinking tea.

His forehead was broad, his features were prominent, his eyes were narrow and his lips were thick, one eye large and one eye small. Seeing Luo Faqing enter, he only gave a faint glance.

"Hmph!" Seeing this Qiao Sanhu, Luo Faqing felt angry in his heart.

This person was born with the appearance of a white tiger. When Master was alive, he had already vaguely sensed it and taught him many times, but unfortunately, he still went astray.

Seeing his attitude, Luo Faqing was too lazy to talk nonsense, and said in a deep voice, "Feng Feng Shixiong wants you to withdraw from Chang'an immediately, and do not act recklessly in Fengyang either, otherwise I will no longer care about your mess!"

"Ho."

Qiao Sanhu sneered, "What great prestige. Luo Faqing, when my father picked you up back then, you were as thin as a mud monkey. I didn't expect you to be so arrogant now."

"Stop bringing up Master!"

Hearing this, Luo Faqing was even more furious, "If Master were still alive and knew you had become like this, he would be the first to crush you to death."

"That is all I have to say, take care of yourself!"

Having said this, he shook his clothes and turned to leave.

……

"Tsk tsk tsk..."

!.

Watching Luo Faqing's figure disappear, Xiong Baodong shook his head, "Aiya, we are all our own people, why make it like this."

"This Mr. Yue is also... Master's son, taking care of him a bit more is justifiable everywhere. Besides, the things Old Feng Feng Shixiong Qiao sent up the mountain cannot be fake..."

"Stop trying to sow discord here!"

Qiao Sanhu laughed and scolded, "I am not a little brat, I won't fall for your tricks. Keep your mind on dealing with others."

"That is true."

Having his intentions pointed out, Xiong Baodong was not panicked at all. He gave a thumbs up and praised, "Old Feng Feng Shixiong Qiao is worthy of being the Tiger of Fengyang. High!"

Although that was the case, Qiao Sanhu was scolded by Luo Faqing and lost face, and he also had anger in his heart. He gave a cold snort, "If it weren't for the fact that we still need to pull the tiger skin of the Shangshan Dharma lineage over at Manchuan Pass, I wouldn't even bother with these ungrateful scumbags."

Xiong Baodong sighed, "This is what it means to be under someone else's roof and have to bow your head. If Old Feng Feng Shixiong Qiao had awakened his divine ability back then, you would have long since become the Feng Feng Shixiong. Where would this Yue Fachong have the chance to be so prestigious?"

"But Old Feng Feng Shixiong is also tough."

Xiong Baodong pulled his chair closer, his greed and curiosity undisguised, "The Lu family is a big household in Shangluo. Others didn't dare to move, but Old Feng Feng Shixiong was able to swallow it in one bite. You've made a fortune this time, right..."

"Big household?"

Qiao Sanhu gave a cold snort, "I say they are all empty shells, do you believe me?"

"This old thing is also cunning. He had many fields and shops, but the valuable ones were sold by him long ago. I bought a pile at a low price, but they are stuck in my hands. I can only sell them slowly in the future, barely managing to earn a little less."

"Oh?"

Xiong Baodong immediately understood, "The old thing had already arranged an escape route?"

Qiao Sanhu cursed, "This old thing is extremely insidious. The things were just sold to me, and the next day the whole family ran away without a trace."

"I didn't even react before I was left holding the bag, and he left behind a bunch of collateral branches of the Lu family to play the rogue and argue with me."

"It really pissed me off..."

"Hahaha, Old Feng Feng Shixiong will spare them?"

"Hmph, once Lu Kang is dead, people will leave and tea will cool. Who else will care about them? I killed a few, and they stopped making noise."

"However, the eldest son of the Lu family is a fool. I heard he took the money and returned to Chang'an, looking everywhere for someone to take over a few brothels in Pingkang Lane, intending to live a carefree life from now on."

Xiong Baodong was happy, "Then shouldn't we entertain him properly?"

"Of course!"

Qiao Sanhu took a deep breath, "That is all my money!"

"Feng Feng Shixiong Xiong, you are familiar with Changancheng, I will leave this matter to you. After we get it back, we brothers will split it in half."

Xiong Baodong was happy, "Easy to say, but after all, he is the former Left Canzheng, we cannot be too hard, otherwise it will cause trouble, and it will be hard to explain to the official side."

"I know a few 'Anzuozi' from the Bee Sect. They are first-class at setting up traps. Even veteran Jianghu people will fall for it. I guarantee we will hollow out this eldest young master of the Lu family completely!"

"Hahaha..."

The two agreed and looked at each other and smiled.

But then, Xiong Baodong's expression became serious, "Having said that, this matter is not a problem, the real trouble is at the Drum King Assembly."

"A while ago, did you hear about the Du family?"

"I heard."

Qiao Sanhu laughed, "Set up for twenty years, almost had their family destroyed. Sure enough, the methods of the Maitreya Sect are more ruthless."

Xiong Baodong nodded, "The Du family is not important. After this incident, they are afraid of the backlash of good fortune and have decided to withdraw from the Li family's fleet."

"The adult behind me plans to intervene, but some people in the Li family are hard to talk to, pushing back and obstructing, just not wanting us to join."

"The adult came up with an idea. The Li family also has disciples of the Dharma lineage. As long as we win the spot this time and give it to him, and the adult mediates from the side, this matter will be done!"

As he spoke, he clicked his tongue and shook his head, "In these two years, I have received a lot of news. That group of people who went to sea are all making a fortune."

"But the sea is dangerous. If you are not careful, you will lose your family fortune. The Li family has already opened the route. We just need to join the fleet and follow them for two years, and maybe we can stand on our own."

"Hmph, what mystic, money is the most powerful magic!"

"With money, can't we brothers walk sideways?"

"That is true."

Qiao Sanhu also nodded in agreement and said in a deep voice, "Over the years, I haven't been staying in Manchuan Pass for nothing. I have made friends with several high-level experts from the Ezhou Mystic Sect."

"This time they will also come, but they know nothing about the custom of the God Tower, so I can only ask Feng Feng Shixiong Xiong for help."

"Rest assured, I have already made arrangements."

Xiong Baodong laughed heartily and then shouted, "Guo Ai!"

At the order, several men walked into the backyard, all of them looking fierce, with tattoos on their chests and daggers and short axes tucked into their waists.

But the leader was a man as thin as a bamboo pole, with a goat beard, his dead-fish eyes full of indifference.

Xiong Baodong introduced with a smile, "This Feng Feng Shixiong Guo is a famous ruthless person from the Guanzhong road in the past, a 'Ge Nian' eater."

"There are some Jianghu performers in Changancheng who also understand the techniques of the Mystic Sect. If we gather them, we won't lose to the others."

"Guo Ai, how is the matter going?"

The dead-fish-eyed man cupped his hands, "The reward given by the gang leader is high, and those people have all agreed, except for a leatherworker who is dead set against it."

"But his craftsmanship is indispensable."

"Not agreeing?"

Xiong Baodong touched his head, "Find a way to make him agree!"

"Yes, Gang Leader!"

The dead-fish-eyed man nodded and led his people to turn and leave.

…………

Xuanyi Lane, Baofeng Pawnshop.

"Has that senior not returned yet?"

Under the high counter, Li Yan asked.

"I already told you no!"

The newly arrived appraiser said impatiently, "He left a note and never came back. Who the hell knows where he went!"

"Speak more politely!"

Li Yan's eyes narrowed slightly, and his fierce aura was instantly revealed, scaring the appraiser into shutting his mouth.

He gave a cold snort and turned to leave.

He came here naturally to find that Feng Feng Shixiong "Shadow".

Although it was a connection introduced by Luo Mingzi, he had helped after all, and the situation that night was clearly not right.

Luo Mingzi had not returned, and the Night-Crying Lang had no friendship with this person, so Li Yan came to visit and search, but he was never there.

That was a lone traveler. If something happened because he helped him, he had to know, so he could repay this debt of gratitude.

"Where are you running!"

Just as he stepped out, he saw a great chaos on the street.

A young man with disheveled hair and a face full of blood was fleeing for his life.

Li Yan was stunned, grabbed him, and said in a deep voice:

"Hei Dan, it's me, don't be afraid!"

The young man with a face full of blood was none other than Hei Dan, the playmate who had followed behind him since childhood at Li Family Fort...

(End of chapter)