Chapter 210: Strange Beast

The land of Hubei and Hunan has many barbarian descendants.

But the so-called barbarians are also ancient descendants of the Shenzhou.

For example, in the ancient land of Jingchu, there were the Miao barbarians, rumored to be descendants of the Nine Li of Chiyou, and later Yu conquered the Three Miao, who were listed as the Four Crimes.

As mentioned in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas": In the southwest, there is the State of Ba. Taihao gave birth to Xianniao, Xianniao gave birth to Chengli, Chengli gave birth to Houzhao, and Houzhao was the first to be the Ba people.

The "Bantu Barbarians" among the ancient Ba people participated in the war when King Wu conquered Zhou and made contributions, and also participated in the war when Han destroyed Qin.

Another important "Lin Jun Barbarian" was destroyed by Qin, and later the Ba Commandery was established, with the Ba clan as the lords of the barbarians, who served the Qin women for generations.

And the "Bantu Barbarians" and "Lin Jun Barbarians" are important components of today's Tujia people...

Ba and Chu have never been inseparable.

Li Yan came from a previous life and naturally didn't care about these things.

He was just somewhat strange—how did these two groups of people get together?

You must know, it is still the Tusi system. Ethnic minorities everywhere have Tusi and Tu officials, with autonomous territories.

It is the so-called "Han do not enter the caves, barbarians do not leave the borders."

Of course, with the development of the times, it is no longer so strict.

He was in Shangjin Town and bought things in a grocery store opened by an old Tujia man, and there were many Tujia people living in Yunyang City.

But for these two groups of people to walk together, it is absolutely not simple.

Li Yan gave a look, and the crowd hid even more carefully.

That barbarian occultist with disheveled hair and a face full of tattoos was clearly the leader of the group. As soon as he walked into the forest, he said sternly:

"Bring him up!"

Immediately, someone was pushed out from the crowd.

This person was dressed very strangely: inside was a black cloth hunting suit, but outside was a red Daoist robe embroidered with Bagua.

It was an occultist of the Meishan Sect!

Seeing this, the crowd understood immediately.

This Meishan Sect occultist had a full beard, looked strong, and should have been a majestic man, but at this moment, he was extremely embarrassed.

Not only was his clothing messy, but he was also covered in bloodstains, and after being pushed out, he stumbled and fell to the ground.

"Have you thought it through?"

The barbarian occultist asked with cold eyes.

The Meishan Sect man didn't reply, spitting out a mouthful of blood foam fiercely.

"Hmph!"

The barbarian occultist snorted coldly, "Your Meishan lineage is also considered a descendant of the Nine Li. Why are you so obsessed? Could it be that the 'Opening of Meishan' during the Song Dynasty already broke your knees?"

"Pah!"

That Meishan Sect occultist said angrily, "Demons and monsters, stop pretending here. Kill or cut as you please!"

Just then, a Han man holding a sharp weapon behind sighed, shook his head, and said, "Mr. Tian, you are confused."

"The current imperial court is tyrannical, corrupt officials are rampant, and the people have no way to live. We are also Han people, but we are forced to hide in the mountains."

"Even so, the imperial court still won't let us go."

"Now there is no way back. If you help us, the Heavenly Lord Tian Sheng Gong will be resurrected, and the gods will descend to the world, which will definitely overthrow the tyrannical rule of the imperial court..."

"I pah!"

The Meishan Sect man was full of blood and cursed angrily, "What kind of character is your Lord Lord Tian Sheng Sect? Don't I know?"

"Those mountain people hiding in the mountains, their lives are hanging by a thread, and they are exploited by you even more than by the imperial court. The current Lord Lord Tian Sheng Sect has long become a place for hiding dirt and filth!"

"I know what you are afraid of."

"The imperial court established Yunyang Prefecture and treats the mountain people well—anyone can see that. You spread rumors in the mountains, slander them, and even lead riots, purely because you are afraid of losing your foothold!"

"And you, don't think I don't know you are subordinates of the Tusi. Changing the Tusi system to direct government rule and unifying the Shenzhou is the general trend. You are purely afraid of losing your own power!"

"Once war starts, how many commoners will be displaced."

"Dividing into Han and barbarian, but right and wrong cannot be divided!"

Good man!

Li Yan saw this and couldn't help but secretly admire in his heart.

Hearing these words, he knew the cause and effect.

It was still related to the current chaos in Yunyang Prefecture.

The land of Hubei and Hunan was not only the hinterland of the Shenzhou but also a major grain-producing province, but the situation was also extremely complex.

Changing the Tusi system to direct government rule and gathering mountain people were all policies of the imperial court.

Only when this place was stable could the Shenzhou be stable.

But these two policies would undoubtedly touch the interests of many people, and all kinds of chaos arose because of this.

The Lord Lord Tian Sheng Sect and those Tusi had clearly already colluded.

Listening to them, they wanted to resurrect the Heavenly Lord Tian Sheng Gong?

Could it be that they wanted to bring him back to life?

But listening to it, it wasn't that simple...

Just then, Lin Yu behind him tugged at his clothes.

Li Yan looked back and saw that this fat man was already tearful, full of determination, and bowed and begged in a low voice: "Save him!"

Looking at the others, they all nodded sternly.

Whether it was Wang Wang Daoxuan, Sha Hearing Sha Lifei, or Lu San, although they were all people of the martial world who didn't want to get too involved with the imperial court, they were all moved by the righteousness of this Meishan Sect man.

Li Yan didn't talk nonsense, nodded slightly, and said in a low voice:

"Wait for the opportunity!"

And on the opposite side, those people were clearly angered by the Meishan Sect man's words and kicked him to the ground fiercely.

One of the barbarian men picked up a scimitar and said fiercely, "This person doesn't know what's good for him; let's just kill him!"

The leading barbarian occultist hesitated but nodded.

Li Yan saw this and knew he couldn't wait any longer.

Although using traps to kill was the most convenient, in order to save people, he could only appear in advance.

"I'll lure the enemy; you all provide cover on the side!"

After giving instructions, Li Yan leaped out.

"Who is it?!"

Hearing the sound of wind, those people were immediately alert.

Only to see a black-clothed youth dart out from the gloomy dense forest, holding a long blade, with a fair face, striding forward in the moonlight.

Li Yan used the illusionary movement technique, as if shrinking the ground into an inch, pulled out his long blade with a clatter, and said coldly: "All of

"Where did this brat come from!"

A man from the Lord Lord Tian Sheng Sect saw this, cursed, and then leaped out, charging toward Li Yan.

The others just watched coldly, clearly having great confidence in this man.

This man's kung fu was indeed not bad; wind rose at his feet, his body like a thunderbolt. Before he was even close, he shook his right shoulder, and his long spear whistled out. "Yang Family Pear Blossom Spear?"

Li Yan's expression didn't change, and his steps didn't stop.

This Yang Family Pear Blossom Spear had nothing to do with the Yang Family Generals; it was created by Yang Yang Miaozhen, the wife of the Red Jacket Army leader in the late Southern Song Dynasty.

This spear technique was very famous: its advance was sharp, its retreat swift, its momentum perilous, its rhythm short, and it was as immovable as a mountain, widely circulated throughout the Qilu region.

When this man held the spear, he gripped the base, making the thrust very long and moving like a thunderclap. This thrust was a surprise attack, the signature move of the Pear Blossom Spear.

Once blocked, a "rain of pear blossoms" would follow.

He clearly saw Li Yan holding a long saber and wanted to use the length of the spear technique to suppress the shortness of his weapon, hoping to end the battle in a few moves.

The opponent did indeed have some skill, having already stepped into the Dark Energy realm.

But to deal with Li Yan, it was far from enough!

Facing this startling thrust, Li Yan's body flashed, Dark Energy exploded beneath his feet, and he simultaneously shifted his shoulder.

Whoosh!

The sharp spear blade grazed three inches from his chest.

!.

And Li Yan had already closed the distance in an instant.

Oh no!

The man's scalp tingled, and he was about to turn sideways to pull back his spear.

However, it was already too late.

Li Yan slashed horizontally with his saber, not even looking, and continued walking.

Behind him, half of the man's neck had been severed, his head hanging to one side, fresh blood spraying as he collapsed to the ground.

"The target is tough, attack together!"

When the others saw this, they let out a roar of rage.

Immediately, five or six people leaped out, some wielding sabers, others holding swords, surrounding Li Yan from all sides.

That they could come here to carry out a secret mission meant they were clearly carefully selected experts, basically all having stepped into Dark Energy.

Outnumbered, they naturally had to adopt a surrounding formation.

Buzz, buzz, buzz!

However, before they could even make a move, the sound of flapping wings rang out all around, and a dense swarm of poisonous bees came rushing in.

"Ah—!"

Several people were immediately stung and screamed repeatedly.

These poisonous bees were nurtured by the Demon Gourd; although they didn't count as spiritual insects and had no cultivation, they were somewhat tainted with demon qi, and their venom was quite potent.

Once stung, even a man of iron couldn't stand it.

Whatever surrounding circle they had became a joke.

Li Yan naturally wouldn't miss the opportunity; his feet were like the wind, his saber light flickering as he slashed left, swept horizontally, and scanned right, directly finishing off three people.

"They have more people!"

"We'll hold them off, quickly summon the corpse!"

In a corner of the ferry, they finally found the ship Han Kun mentioned.

This ship was not small, with a boat pavilion and white sails, so it couldn't be called exquisite, but even if it rained on the way, they would no longer fear it.

An old man sat at the bow, wearing a bamboo hat, fishing leisurely, while several boatmen were busy cleaning the deck.

"This senior..."

Just as Li Yan walked over to ask, the old man spoke hurriedly in a low voice, "Do you have the hand-token?"

Upon seeing the hand-token Han Kun gave Li Yan, the old man immediately said in a low voice, "Don't say much, get on the ship immediately; we'll talk after we leave the ferry."

Li Yan and the others understood immediately, remained silent, brought their luggage onto the ship, and then ducked into the boat pavilion to wait.

"Raise the sails, let's go!"

With a shout from the old man, the wooden ship slowly left the ferry...

And just as they left, Chen Chen Yuanqing ran to the East River Ferry with a face full of anger, looking around and cursing:

"This Lin Yu is truly bold and rotten to the core!"

Recommending a book.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 208 =====

But the oddity lay here: they had been robbed for several years in a row, and even the tribute destined for the capital had been robbed clean.

Anyone could see that this was a thief crying "thief."

The root of this matter was a policy proposed by the current emperor some years ago: "Changing the Tusi system to direct government rule," ending the Tusi system and having the imperial court send people to manage it.

Because of this, Tusi everywhere were filled with righteous indignation, begging in memorials and bribing court officials with heavy gold to plead for them.

In short, it had been dragged out and never accomplished.

And this robbery of tax grain was clearly an expression of dissatisfaction.

"This Yunyang Prefecture has a thousand threads..."

Wang Wang Daoxuan and Li Yan looked at each other, both shaking their heads slightly, and walked toward an alley near the Government Office.

That was where the Commandant's Office was located.

The Commandant's Office had a fierce reputation. Not to mention wine houses or tea houses, even ordinary people were unwilling to live nearby; most were owned by members of the Commandant's Office.

At the entrance, Li Yan asked someone to report for them.

Very quickly, a tall, red-faced man strode out, bowed sternly, "Greetings, Little Hero Li."

Li Yan had seen this person before; he was Company Commander Wang under Battalion Commander Huang. He was from Jiaozhou, skilled in using double blades, extremely brave, and could be considered a confidant of Battalion Commander Huang.

Li Yan poked his head and looked, "Battalion Commander Huang is not here?"

Company Commander Wang shook his head, "Battalion Commander has caught a cold in the mountains and is now sick at home; he is not in the office."

"However, you two can rest assured; your matter has already been ordered by the Battalion Commander to be handled. I have already verified it with Chang'an, and it can be revoked; it will be done by tomorrow, and official documents will be sent to various places."

"Many thanks!"

Li Yan bowed in thanks and asked casually, "Is the Battalion Commander alright?"

Company Commander Wang said meaningfully, "It's not a major illness; perhaps after this period passes, he will be fine."

"Oh."

Li Yan understood immediately and bowed to leave.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 206 =====

On the path where the two were advancing, the mud on the ground suddenly splashed, and a head covered in scales drilled out, opening a mouth full of fangs.

Splat!

One person was immediately bitten into two pieces, and before the remaining person could react, a giant scaly tail whistled out from the mud, directly striking his chest.

Accompanied by the crisp sound of bone cracking, the man flew seven or eight meters away, crashed into a tree, and then fell heavily, moving no more...

(End of chapter)