Chapter 198: Shi Laoyezi, Shizhuoyun, and the Yellow Flower Bee

Yu Liancheng sent the Evil Gambler away and headed south along the Min River River.

Although he did not have a beauty like Xiaoxiannv to accompany him on this journey, he still lived quite comfortably. This was because Shenxi Daozhang of Emei Mountain was grateful to Yu Liancheng for helping him out of a predicament in the forbidden area and for sending away the "Evil Gambler" Xuanyuan Sanguang, so he had already taken care of everything for him in advance.

Whether it was clothing, food, housing, or transportation, everything was the best in the world, so it was naturally very comfortable.

Of course, he was not idle either, his mind immersed in the Five Ultimates Divine Art.

This Five Ultimates Divine Art was similar to the Great Brightness Canon; it recorded many supreme divine arts, and any one of them was a top-tier martial art. An ordinary person would likely exhaust their entire life's energy just learning one of them.

Fortunately, Yu Liancheng's talent for martial arts was extraordinary, and even though there were many obscure and inexplicable parts, he naturally solved them after just a moment of deep thought.

Before he knew it, he had arrived at Xuzhou. The land in Sichuan was rich in products and the people were prosperous, and the scenery was naturally different from the barren Northwest region.

The river water rolled and surged, flowing endlessly.

Yu Liancheng stood with his hands behind his back, but he did not call for a boat, for he knew that Shenxi Daozhang had already arranged everything for him properly.

Sure enough, a brand-new black-awning boat sailed over. The boatman, wearing a coir raincoat and a bamboo hat, waved and called out: "May I ask if you are Young Master Yu? A guest has already chartered this boat for you."

"Sorry for the trouble."

Yu Liancheng naturally would not refuse; with a tap of his toes, he swept onto the black-awning boat like a flying immortal.

The boatman could not help but brighten up and said: "Young Master Yu has such handsome skills."

Yu Liancheng laughed: "But when it comes to water skills, I may not necessarily be better than you, old man."

This boatman had a head of silver hair and a face full of the vicissitudes of life; at first glance, he was just an ordinary old man.

But as he stood on this small black-awning boat, his figure did not sway in the slightest, as if his feet had taken root.

When rowing, he seemed no different from an ordinary boatman, but if one looked closely, one would find that with a light push, the old man had already rowed a great distance.

This not only required very clever rowing techniques but also required very profound Internal Force.

"Hee hee, at least you have some discernment. My grandfather is..."

Besides the white-haired boatman, there was a young girl of fifteen or sixteen on the boat. Her eyes were large, lively, and spirited. In her fair and tender little hands, she was grabbing a handful of lotus seeds, eating them while looking up and down at Yu Liancheng.

"Yun Gu, stop eating lotus seeds. If you eat too many, your heart will turn bitter," the white-haired boatman interrupted the girl's words in a loud voice.

"Then I won't eat them." The girl walked up to Yu Liancheng with her fair, tender bare feet, smiling, and stretched out her palm: "Do you want to eat some lotus seeds?"

Yu Liancheng said: "Many thanks."

The little girl said: "How many do you want?"

Yu Liancheng said: "I will eat however many you give me."

The little girl smiled and said: "If I give them all to you, aren't you afraid your heart will be bitter after eating them?"

Yu Liancheng also laughed: "It doesn't matter if it's a little bitter. My martial arts have always been quite good, so when my heart is bitter, I find others to have fun with."

"You are really interesting. By the way, my name is Shizhuoyun," the little girl said with a smile. "As for my grandfather, you can call him Shilaotou."

"So it is Shi Laoyezi and Miss Shi. Yu Liancheng pays his respects."

Yu Liancheng had always been very polite, and today was naturally no exception.

He could certainly tell that Shi Laoyezi was an extraordinary person of the world and a martial arts expert, but since the other party did not want to say more, he naturally would not ask.

And this Miss Shi had nimble hands and light footsteps, so he imagined her hidden weapon skills and lightness skills were both quite good.

The sky was azure, the river water was golden, and the scenery on both sides of the Changjiang was as picturesque as a painting.

Yu Liancheng sat on the black-awning boat, admiring the scenery on both banks, and did not feel bored at all.

What's more, the little girl named Shizhuoyun beside him was also very interesting and easy on the eyes.

The boat traveled for two days without realizing it.

Shizhuoyun blinked her eyes and smiled: "Ahead is Wuxia."

"Is this the 'Wushan Twelve Peaks' that are the most dangerous in the world? Every time I read that eternal masterpiece by the 'Transcendent Immortal'—'The monkeys on both banks cry incessantly, the light boat has already passed ten thousand mountains'—I have always wanted to come here and take a look," Yu Liancheng said, gazing into the distance.

"It's just a pity..." Shizhuoyun sighed softly.

But her bright eyes darted around, and her oval face revealed an eager expression, as if she could not wait.

"Pity what?" Yu Liancheng asked curiously.

Shizhuoyun smiled and said: "You will know soon."

The river current ahead gradually became rapid, but there were more boats on the river. And on the mast of every boat, a strip of yellow silk was hung.

Suddenly, someone on the shore blew a conch, which resounded through the four mountains.

The four mountains echoed, the torrents slapped the shore, and dozens of melon-skin speedboats suddenly surged up from both sides. On each boat were six or seven big men with yellow turbans wrapped around their heads; some held ghost-head blades, some held high red-tasseled spears, and they charged over with roars.

Shizhuoyun smiled and said: "Do you know what the pity is now?"

Yu Liancheng said: "It is a pity that such a good place is occupied by pirates and water bandits. And..."

Shizhuoyun said: "And?"

Yu Liancheng said: "And to mobilize such a large formation, it is clearly not for ordinary business, but specifically for a certain matter or a certain person... If I am not mistaken, that person is me."

Shizhuoyun clapped her hands and laughed: "You are truly very clever."

Not only were the two young people not anxious, but Shi Laoyezi also did not change his expression. He looked up: "Coming here on the way, it is just right to see these juniors; they are becoming more and more unscrupulous now."

At this time, a big man on a speedboat roared: "You brats on the boat, give up your lives!"

"Haha, there is also a little lady, I want to..."

Before the words were finished, Shizhuoyun suddenly chuckled: "Don't be fierce, don't be fierce, I will treat you to lotus seeds."

Her fair and tender slender hands flicked, and the two leading brawny men roared, covering their faces with their hands, blood flowing from between their fingers.

The big men immediately shouted: "Everyone be careful, this woman has very powerful hidden weapons."

Shizhuoyun giggled: "It seems you like eating lotus seeds very much. I will give you another handful."

Her hands flicked again, and another handful of lotus seeds scattered like raindrops, but they were not dried lotus seeds; they were Iron lotus seeds.

Seeing those big men exclaiming one after another, some immediately had blood all over their faces, some had their weapons knocked out of their hands, but more than half of them still charged up.

And at this moment, that ordinary-looking Shilaotou exuded a fierce aura.

He let out a cold snort, and with a thunderous sweep of his long pole, he sent the three of them flying, crashing into the mountain rocks far away, their brains and viscera splattered on the ground.

The long pole thrust out again, actually piercing through the body of a man who had leaped up; the long pole hoisted the blood-drenched corpse, a sight truly terrifying and shocking, displaying incomparable divine might.

"Haha, Shi Laoyezi, Miss Shi, your martial arts are both quite good, but if you want to compare with me, you are still a bit lacking," Yu Liancheng laughed.

Shizhuoyun and Shi Laoyezi immediately turned their gazes over.

Shizhuoyun made a face and said, "I don't believe it, you're just bragging; if you have the ability, show us."

Although Shi Laoyezi did not speak, he was thinking much the same thing in his heart.

"The two of you, cover your ears; I won't use my hands, I'll use my mouth."

Although Shizhuoyun and Shi Laoyezi did not know what he meant, they still did as he said.

At this moment, quite a few water bandits had already rowed toward the small boat.

Yu Liancheng took a light breath and suddenly let out a soft whistle; the whistling sound was clear, high, and peerless, like a dragon's chant or a phoenix's cry, making people's eardrums feel as if they were about to split.

Even though Shizhuoyun and Shizhuoyun were highly skilled in martial arts and had been prepared, their ears were still buzzing at this moment, let alone that group of unprepared water bandits whose martial arts were far inferior.

One could only hear the sound of "plop" after "plop" ringing incessantly; except for a few leaders with slightly deeper internal force, the ordinary water bandits all let out a cry, as if drunk, and fell backward into the water, bubbling a few times before there was no more movement.

"What deep Internal Force, what high-level sound technique," a light appeared in Shi Laoyezi's eyes.

Shizhuoyun shook her head: "This move of yours is indeed very powerful, but it didn't hurt others, and first it hurt your companions; my lotus seeds are still more practical."

"Hmm, that is also well said," Yu Liancheng actually nodded: "Since that is the case, I can only make up for my mistake with merit."

He suddenly unleashed his light-body technique, his whole person seeming to transform into a black stream of light.

This stream of light seemed to carry ominousness and curses; wherever it passed, there was immediately a chorus of screams and wails.

And after this stream of light left, the boats were destroyed and people died, leaving only the river water dyed red.

"Truly the waves of the Changjiang push the waves ahead, but this old man cannot lose too much."

Shilaotou let out a soft whistle, his figure already leaping out, the boat oar in his hand dancing as if it were a long halberd, sweeping across like thunder, often able to smash a person's head until it burst open like a watermelon.

Wherever he passed, it was likewise a scene of devastation.

If one had not seen it with one's own eyes, who would believe that this old man, who appeared to have nothing but silver hair, possessed such terrifying martial arts cultivation.

"Grandpa, Yu Liancheng, you two are so cunning."

Seeing such a tragic scene, Shizhuoyun was not afraid like an ordinary woman; instead, her beautiful eyes shone brightly, as if she had encountered some fun game.

Her figure unfolded, and the lotus seeds in her hand were continuously thrown out, causing a chorus of screams.

It was just a pity that her Internal Force was a notch lower, and the lethality of the lotus seeds was insufficient, far worse than the other two.

"The wind is tight! Retreat!"

It was unknown who shouted this.

These hundreds of water bandits were actually driven back by these three people and fled in a sorry state, leaving behind only the river full of blood-red.

"The underlings can be spared, but the leader cannot leave."

Yu Liancheng's eyes flashed, and he was too lazy to chase these small underlings. His gaze locked onto a man in yellow clothes.

This person wore yellow clothes and a yellow turban, his beard as stiff as Iron, truly a towering man.

At this moment, he only wished his parents had given him two fewer legs.

He had originally thought this was a simple business transaction, but he did not expect to provoke two terrifying fellows.

"Where are you going!"

A "bang" was heard, and a long pole was fiercely thrust in front of the man in yellow clothes.

It turned out the man in yellow was too afraid of Yu Liancheng and had inadvertently run into the area where Shi Laoyezi was.

"Senior Shi, spare my life; I truly did not know Senior Shi was on the boat, otherwise, even with the courage of the heavens, I would not have dared to make a move," the man in yellow clothes trembled all over, not daring to flee.

Shilaotou had already walked over slowly and sneered: "In the Edo, who doesn't know the 'Yellow Flower Bee Nest of the Changjiang' and their great skill at killing and arson? You usually do big business and big deals; you want this old man's life, and this old man dares not refuse."

The man in yellow clothes was already breaking out in a cold sweat: "This junior dares not, this junior dares not."

Shilaotou let out a cold snort and said to Yu Liancheng, who had already arrived: "They came for you, and you contributed the most in this sweep of the Yellow Flower Bees; this person is left to you to deal with."

The man in yellow clothes begged repeatedly: "Spare my life, spare my life, I am willing to reveal..."

Before he had even finished speaking, he had already fallen backward, a blood hole appearing on his forehead.

Yu Liancheng looked at his own fingers and said indifferently: "There is no need to talk about such boring things."

Shilaotou looked deeply at Yu Liancheng and said: "Get on the boat, we should go."

"Good."

The three of them left, and the notorious "Yellow Flower Bee Nest of the Changjiang" collapsed and scattered, no longer possessing its former prestige.

The covered boat drifted along the river, with Shilaotou standing at the bow poling the boat, looking as if he had once again become an ordinary boatman.

Yu Liancheng also seemed to have become a young master touring the mountains and waters, with a smile on his face, appreciating the scenery on both banks.

Shizhuoyun, however, stared at Yu Liancheng without blinking.

Yu Liancheng laughed: "Miss Shi, I might as well tell you, there is already a little girl named Zhang Jing who likes me, and I like her very much too. If you have already fallen for me and insist on marrying me, you can only be a concubine and call her sister."

"Full of nonsense, I don't believe 'Xiaoxiannv' would like you," Shizhuoyun's face turned red, she spat, and added: "And I won't either."

She was someone who mixed in the Edo; how could she not have heard of the reputation of Xiaoxiannv? She was the most famous swordswoman among the younger generation.

Yu Liancheng said: "Then why are you looking at me like that?"

"I'm just curious, with martial arts like yours, why are you not famous at all."

"Actually, in a few days, you might just hear about it," Yu Liancheng shrugged.

The events that happened at the Back Mountain of Emei were enough to shake the Edo.

It was just that the time for it to ferment was too short, and it could not yet spread far.

"Then what are you going to do now?"

"I'm going to find a hypocrite and cause some trouble, and while I'm at it, show off a bit to boost my reputation. By the time Miss Shi hears my name again, I will already be famous throughout the world."

Shilaotou suddenly turned his head: "Are you going to find Jiang Biehe?"

Yu Liancheng nodded.

Shilaotou was silent for a long while, then suddenly began to sing loudly.

The singing came drifting on the wind, and what he was singing was actually:

"The Jiangnan Hero has high-level tricks, a package of poison wrapped in honey. It tastes sweet as honey in the mouth, but burns like fire once swallowed. Oh no! Oh no! Oh no! All the heroes under heaven have been led astray..."

PS: 8,000 words updated, requesting monthly votes, still owe fifteen chapters.