Chapter 231: Interest Exchange

The contents of the letter were very important.

It mainly mentioned two things.

The first was to have the old beggar prepare. The reason was that the Social Order soldiers of Yunyang Prefecture had been frequently entering the Jingchu mountain region to search during this period, which had seriously disrupted their plans.

The Longxiang Army and the Heavenly Saint Sect had gathered a group of experts, planning to find an opportunity to sneak into Yunyang Prefecture and use a new type of gunpowder to blow up the Chenghuangmiao.

The second concerned them.

The letter did not mention the "Thunderclap Fire Scripture," but it said that a spy from the Unlike Yichang Battalion had provided intelligence: the Dharma-lineage Zhushan Sect of Unlike Yichang would dispatch experts to start performing rituals tomorrow to suppress and kill the river monster.

The Mystic Sect orthodox schools and various Dharma-lineages all had specialized rituals for suppressing and killing spirits and monsters, but the ritual would last at least three days, and they would also need to summon soldiers and deploy a net of heaven and earth. By then, the Commandant's Office would also send boats to bring back the original Company Commander.

If they wanted to make a move, they could only take advantage of tonight!

The original Company Commander had released a falcon back to the Battalion to pass the message, but he had not expected that the first ones to be provoked would be the Longxiang Army.

Li Yan shook his head and said, "I think Company Commander Yuan should stop thinking about meritorious service for now. With a great battle looming, if you can't ferret out the mole, I'm afraid you'll all be in trouble."

"It's more than just trouble."

Company Commander Yuan's expression was gloomy as he said, "The brothers we sent into the Tusi City have been in contact with the local tribes for years, and their speech and customs are exactly the same. Now that most of them have been lost, someone must have leaked the secret!"

As he spoke, his tone became dejected again, "The other party's status must not be low. My mission this time has been unsuccessful, and I'm afraid I'll be held accountable after I return."

"That's not necessarily true."

Li Yan said indifferently, "With so many Longxiang Army elites outside the cave, plus the remnants of the Green Forest mountain bandits and several fugitive evil cultivators, it can be considered as offsetting merits and faults."

"And there is this piece of intelligence. If it can be deployed in advance, not only can the Yunyang Chenghuangmiao be spared from disaster, but perhaps a few more wanted criminals can be captured."

Company Commander Yuan was stunned for a moment, then remained silent for a long time before opening his mouth to say, "Li Shaoxia... what do you want?"

Li Yan's meaning between the lines was clearly that he wanted him to take all the credit and use this to turn the situation around.

If he had these merits and captured the mole, perhaps he would not only avoid punishment but also be promoted.

But their relationship was only average, and Li Yan was no pushover.

Being so generous, he must have something to ask for.

Li Yan was not in a hurry to speak, but glanced to the side.

The boatman nearby was also a shrewd person. Seeing this, he immediately drove the boatmen to other places. Such things were things they didn't even dare to listen to.

Only then did Li Yan speak in a deep voice: "Company Commander Yuan, we can be considered to have experienced life and death together, so I won't hide some things anymore."

"The matter of the new type of gunpowder is no longer a secret. You have also seen that even those chaotic bandits and evil cultivators have the equipment in their hands. If we happen to run into them, it will be hard to deal with..."

Upon hearing this, Company Commander Yuan's expression changed slightly, and he hurriedly shook his head, saying, "This is a taboo of the imperial court. The Unlike Yichang Battalion only has two divine fire guns. Every time ammunition is used, it must be registered and approved by the thousand-household seal."

"I am of low rank and small position, so I can't get this."

"Company Commander, you are joking."

Li Yan said calmly, "To tell you the truth, I have received some news that not only chaotic bandits, but also some forces in the martial world, and even noble families, are secretly producing this item."

"This matter cannot be blocked. Among the court officials, there are many clever people who probably have already thought of a way."

Company Commander Yuan's pupils shrank, "What way?"

To be honest, he was also curious in his heart.

How did this Li Yan have more news and channels than himself?

Li Yan said indifferently, "Control the spiritual objects used to make gunpowder!"

When he was in Chang'an, the treasure-seeker Zhao Zhao Lu Zi had given him a piece of coal essence and mentioned that the Li family and the imperial court's troops had already sealed off the coal mines in northern Shaanxi.

That place was exactly where coal essence was most abundant.

He hadn't cared before, but after these events, he clearly understood that the imperial court had long known it couldn't be controlled, so it had tightened its grip on spiritual objects in advance.

Making the new type of gunpowder could not be separated from the two heavenly spiritual treasures of "coal essence" and "red saltpeter." I'm afraid the imperial court had long secretly sent people to search for them.

"Control spiritual objects?"

Company Commander Yuan nodded in agreement, "That is indeed a way. The divine fire gun has impressive power, but it can only serve as a deterrent to deal with experts."

"Without gunpowder, it is useless."

Thinking of this, he frowned and said, "I can't get these things. What exactly does Li Shaoxia want?"

Li Yan said in a deep voice, "Those noble families who have obtained firearms, besides protecting themselves, mostly want to use them for opening the seas."

"But according to imperial law, privately storing this item is a grave crime, equivalent to treason, not to mention large-scale use. Do you think they will allow this handle to remain?"

Company Commander Yuan was also a shrewd person. Upon hearing this, he immediately understood, "These people have considerable influence in the court and will certainly push the imperial court to grant amnesty."

Speaking of this, he also understood completely, "Li Shaoxia also wants this right, which I'm afraid I cannot do."

"No hurry."

Li Yan smiled, "Company Commander, you just need to pay attention to this matter. When the imperial court makes a move, we will find a way."

"Sometimes once this opening is broken, it will leak everywhere."

"Good!"

Company Commander Yuan agreed without hesitation.

His understanding of the court was far deeper than Li Yan's, and he knew that what the other party said was correct; this kind of thing could not be blocked at all.

A single prohibition could not stop those noble families.

Once some forces were allowed, other forces would follow.

The Commandant's Office was a force directly under the Emperor; how could it be left behind?

Making things convenient when the time came would not be a problem.

Seeing that Li Yan had reached an agreement, the happiest one was undoubtedly Sha Lifei, who smiled and cupped his hands, "For this matter, I will have to trouble you, Company Commander..."

As he spoke, he lightly patted his own mouth, "Look at me, I said the wrong thing again. I should call you Thousand-Household Commander!"

Company Commander Yuan was stunned, then solemnly cupped his hands, "Thank you all!"

After reaching an agreement, both sides were in a good mood.

Li Yan also felt some emotion in his heart.

The Commandant's Office monitored the martial world with the goal of keeping it stable and avoiding the chaos of people gathering to rebel at a single command.

Iron-blooded means certainly existed, and interest exchanges were also indispensable.

For example, the Divine Fist Society was a product of interest exchange. At the very least, if martial arts schools and escort agencies everywhere wanted to do business peacefully, they couldn't do without the imperial court's recognition.

But this interest exchange also depended on the person.

Back then at the Xianyang mass grave, they told Chang Xuan important news, allowing the other party to be promoted to Thousand-Household Commander, and only used some silver to dismiss them...

In Shangjin City, Huang Wenzhong, the Thousand-Household Commander of the Yunyang Battalion, initially wanted to use official authority to suppress them, but later Li Yan did not give an inch, finally helping Lu San eliminate the wanted order...

And now, they could actually get Company Commander Yuan to help get the right to use firearms...

It was the same with the Tai Xuan Orthodox Sect.

From being high and mighty, to now needing to borrow their strength.

Walking step by step, their strength had improved, and they finally had the qualifications to negotiate with others!

Company Commander Yuan naturally did not know what Li Yan was thinking. He held the letter, looking left and right under the firelight, sometimes frowning, sometimes lost in thought, clearly thinking about how to use this item to break the situation.

Li Yan and the others continued to pack up the spoils of war.

Lu San took a liking to the old beggar's erhu, having learned it for two days back at Manchuan Pass, so he asked for it to be his own Dharma artifact.

This item was a bit like Li Yan's Cloud Thunder Divine Drum, also capable of casting spells through sound, but the difference was that this item's sound was better at communicating with spirits.

So back then at the Yan family mansion, the old beggar had played the erhu to drive the poisonous snakes to attack.

In Lu San's hands, its power was even greater.

Besides that, a precious sword was hidden in the long handle of the erhu, sharp and tough, also possessing a little power to break evil.

The old Daoist who controlled the human-skin puppets had nothing but worthless odds and ends on him; I'm afraid most of his wealth had been invested in those human-skin puppets.

Sha Lifei, on the other hand, chuckled and put away the gongs and drums, happily saying, "Brother Yan has the drum, Brother Lu San has the erhu, and I'll beat the gong. Walking the martial world, we can just pretend to be a drum and music troupe."

Li Yan laughed dumbly. Seeing Sha Lifei about to flip open the old scholar's bamboo box, he hurriedly stopped him, "Don't touch it randomly, it's full of Gu insects and Gu poison!"

Sha Lifei's face turned pale, and he hurriedly retracted his hand.

"Brother Lu San, get ready."

Li Yan said, then placed the bamboo box at the entrance of the cave.

Lu San understood and immediately patted the demon gourd.

Originally, the demon gourd could have shown great power in tonight's encounter, but outside there was a violent storm, and the poisonous bee swarm couldn't fly steadily even if dispatched, so it simply wasn't used. And these Gu insects and Gu poison were all food for the demon gourd.

Buzz buzz buzz!

Dense swarms of poisonous bees flew out.

Li Yan casually split the bottom of the bamboo box with a saber.

In an instant, all kinds of strange and eerie insects surged out.

Some were similar to spiders but had scorpion tails...

Some were as small as rice grains, jumping around on the ground...

And some were similar to horsehair worms, twisting into a ball as soon as they came out...

Buzz!

The poisonous bee swarm surged up instantly, flying up and down, eating those Gu insects clean, and even drilling into the wooden box to break the unopened bottle caps.

Regardless of whether they were Gu insects or poisonous powder inside, they were all eaten clean.

Li Yan and the others knew nothing about Gu arts and could only handle them with this crude method, which could also increase the toxicity of the poisonous bees.

The old scholar was clearly of a cunning and vicious nature; even in the crevices of the books, Gu insects were hidden, but they were also cleared out.

!.

After thoroughly cleaning it up, Li Yan picked up the books.

There were three books in total.

One was called "Classic of a Thousand Grasses and Hundred Insects," which was the inheritance of the Xiangxi Gu grandmothers. It not only contained methods for making and releasing Gu but also explained a lot of knowledge about herbs and insects.

Gu arts were inseparable from the environment. They were more prevalent in places like the Xiangxi jungles, the hundred mountains of Lingnan, Yungui, and Nanyang.

Not only did one need someone to teach, but one also had to learn from a young age.

Li Yan and the others were too busy with their own inheritance to learn, but flipping through them in their spare time could still broaden their horizons.

The second book was interesting, called "Talks on the Netherworld."

This book was written by a Mystic Sect person of the Confucian school during the Song Dynasty, collecting and recording many strange tales of the Mystic Sect. Some were facts, while others were quite bizarre, and even they, as people of the Mystic Sect, felt they were absurd.

The last book was a booklet with no name written on it.

Li Yan flipped through it for a few glances, and his expression immediately became solemn.

This was a secret technique from the "Immortal Treasury of Zhao Changsheng"!

The name of the secret technique was "Plague God Zhao Changsheng Method," which involved using oneself as a Gu vessel, refining forty-nine types of evil Gu, placing them in the body, and then hiding in a damp, dark place like a zombie.

On a daily basis, one had to worship a demon god named "Wen Jiu" morning and evening. Every first and fifteenth day of the lunar month, one had to leave the hiding place to drink human blood to feed the Gu insects in the body.

Of course, there was a faster way.

That was to hold human sacrifices and lewd rituals!

It also depicted the appearance of the demon god Wen Jiu for visualization and worship. Its body was like a human's, wearing red clothes and barefoot, but its head was similar to a camel's.

It was clearly a type of demon.

Accompanying this longevity method were several vicious techniques, all of which were brutal Gu arts. The methods described made Li Yan's back feel cold.

Without any hesitation, Li Yan told Sha Lifei and the others, then directly threw the book into the campfire to ignite it.

He did not fear killing, but the techniques described made one's hair stand on end. No wonder the Mystic Sect wanted to ban them; such things should not appear in the world.

Looking at the book reduced to ashes, Li Yan felt no joy.

Although the book was old, it looked to be only a dozen years old.

It seemed that the "Immortal Treasury of Zhao Changsheng" was still secretly passed down from generation to generation among the people. How many remnant copies had been transcribed now, no one knew...

"Everyone, travel safely!"

Company Commander Yuan solemnly cupped his hands.

Before dawn the next day, the heavy rain had stopped. Li Yan could not wait for the river to be navigable, so he planned to head to Zigui County along the mountain road.

As for Company Commander Yuan, he had to plan for his own future.

And those boatmen had shifty eyes, not daring to look around.

They were all locals, and Li Yan was afraid that he wouldn't understand the villagers' local dialect if he went, so he wanted to hire a guide.

But after seeing his methods last night, who would dare to run around with him?

They could only hire someone after reaching Zigui County.

Sha Lifei raised his eyebrows and cupped his hands, "Thousand-Household Commander Yuan, I wish you success!"

"Hahaha... easy to say!"

Yuan Kejian's heart also swelled with heroism, no longer hiding his ambition.

Watching the figures of Li Yan and the others gradually disappear into the mountain forest, Yuan Kejian turned around and looked at the boatmen, his expression becoming cold and stern:

"Everyone, some things you must have heard."

"You have no choice now. Either be wanted by the imperial court and drift in the martial world, or follow me to seek wealth!"

The rain had just cleared, and the mountain road was extremely difficult to walk.

Not only was the mud underfoot, but some parts of the mountain path had been washed away by mudslides, so they could only crawl along the cliffs.

From Unlike Yichang to Zigui, it took less than half a day by boat.

But walking along the mountain ridges, it took them a full day and a half.

Of course, the scenery along the way was also beautiful.

They climbed over a hillside and saw a giant rock standing on the riverbank opposite, dozens of feet high, with the momentum of a thousand-fathom cliff. In the setting sun, reflected by the evening glow, it looked like the character shapes of a shadow play from afar, vivid and lifelike...

This was the famous Dengying Gorge.

Bypassing Dengying Gorge, one could see a row of steep stone walls towering above the peaks, overlooking the bright moon and turbulent currents. Below the sheer cliff, nine mountain ridges hung down, like nine dragons entering the water, majestic and spectacular. This was the famous Huang Niu Gorge.

At this moment, the moon was on the mountaintop, the bright moon on the river was fragmented, and on the pitch-black mountaintop in the distance, there were actually faint flickers of spiritual light.

"Treasure!"

Sha Lifei saw it, and his eyes lit up instantly.

Lu San immediately released the falcon, and after it circled once and returned, it chirped in his ear, and Lu San's expression also became strange.

"It's a treasure, and it's coal essence!"

"There's coal essence here!"

Sha Lifei became interested as soon as he heard this.

The crowd quickened their pace and came to the forest near Huang Niu Gorge to observe.

Only to see several spiritual lights like fireflies dancing up and down between the crevices of the Huang Niu giant rock, buzzing, each the size of a fist.

Their speed was extremely fast, even leaving afterimages in the eyes.

"What to do?"

Sha Lifei asked in a low voice, full of urgency.

"Cold mix!"

Li Yan shook his head, "This thing is not easy to catch. Without the means of a treasure-seeker, be careful of being blown to death."

"And looking at the quantity, it's not much, not worth the effort."

He understood in his heart that Huang Niu Gorge did not look like it had coal mines, but there were probably remnants of ancient trilobite fossils.

Although "coal essence" was dangerous, it was also extremely timid. Seeming to sense their approach, it swooped into the stone wall and disappeared.

Never mind Sha Lifei, Wang Daoxuan also felt some regret watching, stroking his beard and shaking his head, "The art of treasure-seeking is complex and varied, and it is different everywhere. To learn it, one cannot do without ten or more years of study."

"But for things like 'coal essence,' the method of taking the treasure is fixed. If we could learn it, we wouldn't be so anxious when we encounter this thing again."

"It was my mistake."

Li Yan also felt some regret, "I forgot to ask Brother Zhao Zhao Lu Zi at the time. I'll see if I can find him when I return to Unlike Yichang City."

Night travel in the mountains could not do without some wild beasts and lonely ghosts.

Li Yan occasionally cast the "North Emperor Body Protection Curse," and the wild beasts fled, while the lonely ghosts hid underground.

Finally, in the early morning of another day, they climbed up the hillside.

In the morning mist, an earthen city stood on the plain below...

From the beginning of the book until now, I haven't rested for a day, my state has declined a bit, and the update is a bit messy. To ensure quality, there will be two updates until Sunday, saving manuscripts to adjust my state.

(End of this chapter) ===== CHAPTER 232 =====