Chapter 671

It really was this Mendes!

After getting close to the Tulip just now, the Hook Order began to heat up and pointed out the direction.

Li Yan had already been suspicious; the technique of controlling the schools of fish just now was related to this Mendes.

Now it seemed, it was indeed so.

Li Yan really didn't understand Western techniques.

But he knew one thing: the rules of this world wouldn't change. No matter what sect or faction, they were all much the same.

As long as he interfered with the magic altar, he could interrupt his technique.

The Soul-Severing Flying Knives roared out, sword light flashing in the air, and with one rotation, blood splattered instantly.

That Mendes screamed and fell to the ground, his two palms severed cleanly.

Li Yan wasn't in a hurry to kill him.

For one, this person's identity was important, and he was very likely related to opium and the Jianmu organization; many things had to be asked clearly.

For another, the False False Yin Si mission he accepted wasn't just to get rid of this person, but also to figure out the origin of the foreign demons.

After cutting off Mendes's hands, Li Yan didn't say a word and rolled sideways.

There were still quite a few pirates outside the cabin, shooting with all kinds of muskets.

The firearms in their hands were strange and weird; some were already rusted, and the styles were all different. There were even broken goods they had assembled themselves, showing that they were things obtained in one sea battle and robbery after another. Compared to the standard firearms of the Great Xuan Dynasty, they were not just a little bit worse.

But even so, because of the large number of people, the gunfire was still continuous.

For a time, smoke rose everywhere, and wood chips exploded.

Because Li Yan had punctured the bottom of the ship, river water was also constantly surging up, and the cabin was in a mess.

Pulling open the flintlock pistol wrapped in oilcloth at his waist, Li Yan also prepared to use his gun to fight back.

But just at this moment, his brows frowned slightly, and he smelled a sulfur smell in his nose.

This smell didn't come from the muskets, but from behind him.

He turned around suddenly and aimed his gun at Mendes.

At this moment, this red-haired barbarian sorcerer's state had already become somewhat strange.

He was kneeling in the magic altar submerged by river water, his body twitching one by one, emitting faint black smoke.

The sulfur smell was exactly what was surging out from his body, and the whale oil lamps on the surrounding tables were also burning violently and abnormally.

Backlashed!

Li Yan saw the reason at once, and then his brows frowned slightly.

Many techniques and magic altars had to borrow the power of ghosts and gods to control the qi of the gang and evil to complete.

After losing control and being backlashed, one was often influenced or possessed by evil qi.

But the sulfur smell on this person was somewhat abnormally thick.

In a short time, it had already influenced the surrounding environment.

Not only were those whale oil lamps burning fiercely, but the coins, knives, and forks scattered in the water also began to float up slowly.

And that Mendes, his originally emerald-green eyes, had also completely turned pitch black.

Indifferent, violent...

Completely not the eyes that a human should have.

*Ji-li-gu-lu*, the opponent suddenly opened his mouth and said a passage.

Li Yan narrowed his eyes and raised his hand to pull the trigger directly.

How could he understand what the opponent was saying, but it definitely wasn't anything good.

*Boom! *

In an instant, countless scattered projectiles flew out.

His flintlock pistol, after being modified by a Jinzhou refining master, had greater power and was equipped with two types of magazines.

The single-head bullet had concentrated lethality, and the scattered shot had a large coverage area.

Coupled with the new gunpowder, in this confined space, it immediately presented terrifying power.

The thick wooden tables and cabinets fixed with angle iron in the cabin exploded almost instantly, and wood chips flew wildly.

The walls enclosed by wooden boards were beaten into honeycomb-shaped holes, and several pirates outside were also splattered with flesh and blood, flying out backward.

As for that Mendes, he exploded directly, leaving no corpse behind.

However, Li Yan didn't lower his vigilance.

After Mendes died, several strands of dense black smoke dispersed from his corpse.

It was a kind of yin evil qi, somewhat similar to the netherworld earth qi, but it emitted a thick sulfur smell.

These strands of black smoke rolled up and down; one wanted to pounce on Li Yan but was scared away by the qi of the "Dragon Snake Badge" and the arm guard "Thousand Thoughts," and the remaining ones roared out and drilled into the bodies of several pirates.

Their entire bodies trembled, their eyeballs turned black, and cold, crazy killing intent rose accordingly.

So difficult to deal with?

Li Yan didn't say a word and hooked onto the Hook Order.

He originally wanted to keep Mendes for interrogation, but since the opponent was already dead, there was no need to worry.

"Heaven has records, earth has guidelines, the False False Yin Si detains souls, mortals avoid!"

Following the chanting of the incantation, a violent wind suddenly rose in the surroundings, and darkness spread rapidly.

In the darkness, the sound of chains and armor rang out.

At the same time, it was accompanied by a kind of violent roar.

Speaking an unknown language, mixed with the roars of wild beasts, forming a strange echo.

Li Yan hurriedly pinched the formula and listened attentively.

His supernatural power could hear the language of ghosts and gods.

He didn't have time to display it just now, but at this moment, he heard it clearly.

"Is this a strand of demon qi?"

"Doesn't look like it, there's also incense qi."

"It should be a foreign demon god; catch it back first and then talk..."

The actions of the False False Yin Si soldiers and horses were very fast; in a few breaths, the darkness dissipated completely.

At this moment in the cabin, it was dead silent, with only the river water seeping out from the damaged ship hull.

Li Yan frowned slightly, hurriedly pinched the formula, and took a deep breath.

At the same time, footsteps came from above.

It was Lu San, who had used poisonous bees to finish off the pirates on the deck, and Sha Lifei and the others who rushed in.

"Little Brother Yan, what happened?"

Seeing the corpses all over the floor, Sha Lifei was shocked in his heart and hurriedly asked.

Li Yan said in a deep voice, "We've been tricked. These red-haired barbarians are bait; Kong Hui and Yu Wenhai are not on the ship. San'er, have the falcon rise and see if you can find any traces. Others, follow me to search and see if there are any clues on the ship..."

After assigning the tasks, everyone acted immediately.

After a search, they discovered that this Tulip was already seriously damaged, and many keel connections had rotted. Even if they didn't destroy it, it wouldn't have the ability to sail far at all and would have sunk halfway.

Clearly, using the Tulip to destroy the wharf and create chaos was a plan that had long been set.

Everyone had supernatural powers and soon discovered a large number of clues.

In a cabin that had been specially hidden, it was filled with boxes of opium...

In the secret room at the stern, there were Jianghu people who had been kidnapped and tortured, seemingly experimenting with opium, and they had all lost their breath...

In the secret compartment of the captain's cabin, there were letters that hadn't been burned in time...

At the same time, the falcon Lidong also flapped its wings and rose into the night sky.

But looking at the wharf, it was already a mess at this moment.

On the broken bluestone road of the wharf, muddy water flowed with oil flowers, the bamboo basket of the fried cake stall was overturned in the muddy water, the hard-dough buns stuffed with fermented bean curd were trampled into black mud, the "Flying Tiger Flag" of the Grain Gang was floating in the river water, and the flag corner was stuck with half a fried river shrimp...

"Ah~ my silk!"

The merchants who rushed over in a hurry wailed in the cargo pile, and the lake-blue Su silk had already been soaked with blood and mud...

The porter carrying the bag was pressed under the camphor wood box, and the half-cut lower leg exposed outside was twitching...

The cedar wooden door of the salt warehouse had been shattered into bamboo strips, the official salt bags were torn open by the air waves, the salt clerk wearing a number jacket was lying on his back, the opening on his chest was turning white meat, his right hand was still tightly clutching a blue cloth salt bucket, and even the donkey transporting salt had its belly broken and intestines flowing, with half its body embedded in the earth house...

Fortunately, in the distance were continuous workshops and factories.

That place hadn't been attacked, and accompanied by the noise, countless people raised torches to come and fight the disaster.

The falcon Lidong naturally didn't care about these.

It flapped its wings and circled in the night sky, searching the Jinmen wharf, Abacus City, and the surrounding river channels one by one.

Unfortunately, at this moment, even the river was in a mess, and it was impossible to find the enemies who had escaped...

……………

The next day, near noon.

More than two hundred li away from Jinmen was Tongzhou City.

This was the grain transport terminus of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.

There were multiple grain transport government offices in the city, such as the Grain Warehouse Governor of the second rank and the Vice Minister of the Grain Sitting Hall of the fifth rank, responsible for grain inspection, transfer, and storage management, affiliated with the Ministry of Revenue, specializing in the withdrawal of grain and pay for the Beijing army, so it was called the "Little Ministry of Revenue."

The grain from the south was transported to Tongzhou via the canal and then stored in the West Warehouse, South Warehouse, and Middle Warehouse.

The earth wharf outside the East Gate and the stone wharf outside the North Gate were the main unloading points.

And the grain could be transferred to Beijing via the Tonghui River.

It could be said that this was the granary of Beijing.

The sun at noon was fierce, making the Tonghui River surface shimmer with golden scales.

Grain boats lined up to pass through the Tongyun Bridge, the boatmen's work songs intertwined with the camel bells on the shore.

On the stone dam wharf, grain workers shouted with bare backs, and the wheels of the single-wheeled carts ground over the reed catkins in the cracks of the bluestone slabs.

Camel bells clinked as they swayed in from outside the New City Gate. Camel teams from Zhangjiawan carried Jingdezhen blue and white porcelain. Shops lined the streets, with goods from the north and south, and even Western merchants and overseas barbarian merchants. The liveliness was not inferior to Jinmen at all.

In an inn in the east of the city, the lattice window facing the street was half-open.

A middle-aged scholar leaned against the window, stroking a jade thumb ring.

His features were ordinary, and his temperament was also average; he looked no different from a down-and-out scholar.

Only when he glanced sideways did red light flicker in his pupils.

Opposite him sat another middle-aged scholar, his features sinister and his brows tightly locked.

He was none other than the Third Master of the Jinghai Gang, Yu Wenhai.

Compared to the Confucian scholar opposite, he was dressed gorgeously, and his bearing was also extraordinary, but he sat on only half the chair, his body straight, his head lowered, and he didn't even dare to move his chopsticks, clearly somewhat cautious.

"Master."

Looking at the Confucian scholar opposite, Yu Wenhai asked carefully, "Those things were a pity... If we had acted quickly, we might have been able to kill the Twelve Yuan Chen. Making such a big noise, I'm afraid the foundation in Jinmen is ruined."

The Confucian scholar opposite glanced at him lightly, "Why, are you reluctant?"

Yu Wenhai was shocked and hurriedly lowered his head, "Disciple knows he is wrong."

Still talking, how could he be reluctant?

Although he hadn't had any good intentions since he joined the Jinghai Gang, he had painstakingly laid out his layout over the years, roped in many powerful people, and relied on the power of the Jinghai Gang to completely control Jinmen.

Years of painstaking efforts were completely ruined.

Originally, he planned to gather experts and even move the army's firearms to deal with Li Yan and the others.

But Master directly played the card of the Tulip, which really made him unable to figure it out.

The Confucian scholar opposite was naturally the "Rotten Document Mr." Kong Hui, now renamed Kong Zizai.

"There's no chance for the Jizhou Cauldron."

Kong Zizai raised his hand to pick up a chopstick of white river vinegar fish, put it into his mouth, and while tasting it, said casually, "The Jizhou Cauldron will pass through the dragon vein the day after tomorrow. Those people already have suspicions, and the Commandant's Office and the Mystic Ritual Office will definitely send support. Killing them is useless."

"The chess game in Jinmen is already a dead end. Instead of losing it, it's better to play a greater role."

Yu Wenhai was somewhat confused and respectfully cupped his fists, "Please give me guidance, Master."

Kong Zizai looked at Tongzhou City outside the window, "News came from the capital that the Mystic Ritual Office already knows about the 'Jianmu' matter, and all major Mystic Sect orthodox sects are investigating. Many previous plans and layouts will have problems."

"Against the movement of the Dao, as long as it is used correctly, a dead end can also become a starting move."

"If we attack the workshops in Jinmen, at most some people will die, and it will also attract trouble from those chambers of commerce."

"Dumping the disaster onto those red-haired barbarians will make the imperial court raise its vigilance."

"Those large chambers of commerce of the Open Sea Sect in Minnan and Yuezhou collude with red-haired barbarians for private gain and also hide the situation of the Nanyang countries. Find an opportunity to reveal this intelligence to the local faction. They have been suppressed these days and will definitely not miss the opportunity."

"Master, brilliant!"

Yu Wenhai suddenly saw the light and hurriedly flattered, "The capital still needs Master to preside over it."

Kong Zizai's eyes suddenly became cold. While Yu Wenhai's entire body was soaked in sweat, he opened his mouth, "Don't sow discord. Zhao Qingxu is in the capital; he can do things I can't. Triggering court strife is also to help him."

Saying this, his eyes became complicated, "This time going to the capital, we must take Zhao Qingxu as the main one; don't cause trouble."

"News came from over there that the Qiankun Academy has discovered something extraordinary..."

Suddenly, the noise outside the restaurant fell silent.

Only to see dust rolling at the head of the Tongyun Bridge, and a large team of cavalry galloping past on the official road.

They were dressed in black, all members of the Commandant's Office, and the commoners along the way were so scared that they dodged one after another.

Not only that, but the troops from the Tongzhou Battalion also quickly entered the city, closing off street after street.

The leading Commandant's Office official strode out, his eyes full of killing intent:

"By the Emperor's decree, strictly investigate all barbarian merchants; those who dare to resist will be killed without mercy!"

As soon as the words fell, members of the Commandant's Office and garrison soldiers cooperated to rush into various shops to make arrests.

"Isn't this starting..."

In the private room, Kong Zizai smiled lightly, "Court strife, even the Emperor can't manage it. Let's go, they are still waiting in the capital."

After saying this, he stood up to pay the bill and took Yu Wenhai out of the inn.

A strange thing happened: at this time, the streets were full of soldiers, and important streets had set up checkpoints, but the two walked past swaggeringly, and everyone turned a blind eye to them, as if they were ghosts in broad daylight, leaving Tongzhou quickly...

…………

"Report to my lord, the people of the Jinghai Gang have all been thrown into the big prison."

"Zhou Kang of the Water Division Battalion committed suicide out of fear of crime..."

"Quite a few people in the workshop have become addicted. Those who were caught back said that the people who gave them opium asked them to believe in the Maitreya Sect..."

"Those related to Mendes in the Chamber of Commerce have all been arrested..."

In the main hall of the Jinmen Commandant's Office, Battalion Commander Tian listened to his subordinates' reports, only feeling his temples jumping with *peng peng*.

He didn't expect that even though he hurried, something still happened.

The shelling of the Sancha River wharf had already caused an uproar in the imperial court.

Coupled with the anti-tax riot at the Linqing Customs a few days ago, there would be no lack of fighting in the imperial court.

"These dog thieves, what exactly do they want to do?!"

Battalion Commander Tian was angry in his heart, slapped the table fiercely, and let his subordinates continue to handle the aftermath.

As for himself, he stood up quickly and came to the backyard of the Commandant's Office.

Li Yan and the others were all gathered here.

On the table in the room, it was piled with documents found on the Tulip.

Kong Shangzhao was holding the documents, watching while copying.

Li Yan really didn't expect that this alternative Confucian scholar brought from Luzhou had even learned foreign languages.

He picked up a page that had already been translated, and his face became solemn.

On it, it was written about the documents of Mendes communicating with others about techniques.

Barbatos, the seventy-two demon gods of Solomon...

(End of chapter)