Chapter 3 Chapter 2 Mr. Yangming
Jing Li, Yan Heng, Tong Jing, Hu Linglan, Lian Feihong and other three cavalry reunited in the suburbs, and the five horses walked parallel on the official road, heading back to Luling County.
After the vicious fight with Shu Wang's men in the city before, followed by the intense pursuit, the five of them exhausted a lot of energy.At this moment, the mood is relaxed, and the fatigue of the body is gradually emerging, so the five riders walk slowly.
They were very annoyed when they failed to catch up with the two fleeing villains, and they were not in the mood to talk on the way.Even Tong Jing, who talked the most, fell silent at the moment.
In the previous battle, Tong Jing was almost hit by the spring sleeve arrow of Bolongshu King's disciple, and the arrow was poisoned.The other party's martial arts were obviously not as good as her own, but she was almost killed by him--thinking of this, Tong Jing was shocked and angry, and hated such assassination methods.
She looked at Lian Feihong who was riding beside her.This was the second time he had saved her with a throwing knife.Recalling the incomparable power when she practiced Feihong's "Eight Great Skills" just now, Tong Jing immediately changed her view of this strange old man and added a little more respect.
"Thank you." Tong Jing thanked Lian Feihong in a low voice.
It was the first time that Mr. Feihong got Tong Jing's kind words, and he was actually very excited, but now he just smiled and nodded.I saw that his face was a little wrinkled, his eyes were not as bright as usual, and his expression seemed rather tired.
Jing Li also noticed Lian Feihong's appearance, thinking that the former leader of Kongtong killed eight people in a row just now, and then took the lead in riding his horse to track down the enemy leader, exhausting a lot of physical strength.After all, Lian Feihong is already in his early 60s, and he himself admitted before that he was gradually regressing because of his age. It seems that his biggest weakness is that he cannot fight for a long time in terms of strength.
After all, Lian Feihong has lived in Kansai for a long time, and has been galloping on horseback since she was a child. Although she is tired, riding a horse is still very easy.He didn't even take the reins, and took out the iron fan on his belt at this moment to wipe away the blood stains after killing the enemy.
Shimadzu Hu Linglan on the other side did the same, wiping the Nodachi with a paper—she had killed five people before, and there was a lot of blood on the blade.She threw away the paper that had been wiped with the knife, and the red-dyed paper floated on the road with the wind.
Hu Linglan returned the long knife to the scabbard which was hanging beside the saddle, walked back to look behind her, and said to her companion, "Look here."
I saw the car behind, which was only pulled by a skinny horse, was slowly following behind Jing Li a few dozen steps away.The six accompanying Confucian scholars rode with swords, and closely guarded the carriage.
The six of them were all staring at Jing Lie and the others in front of them all the time, with alert expressions in their eyes, and their left hands were pressed on the saber at their waists from time to time.The car kept a distance from Wu Qi.
"Really..." Tong Jing laughed: "If I really do it, I will kill them all by myself! These nerds, I really don't know what they are thinking..."
"Don't talk nonsense." Yan Heng refuted her.
These scholars may have indeed learned several sets of sword techniques, but in the eyes of genuine martial arts experts, such a posture of guarding their swords is indeed a bit ridiculous; When the Confucian scholar was guarding the carriage, he showed a look and aura that were not afraid of death.It was definitely not forced.
They all addressed the man in the carriage as "Sir."
——To be able to teach such a student, what kind of person is this "sir"?
The gate of Luling City is in sight.At this time, Jing Li and the others saw a large group of people gathered in front of the city gate, at first glance they may not be hundreds.The whole county was like a ghost town before, but now it is so noisy.
The group of people saw Jing Li and the others coming back from a distance, and suddenly became agitated violently, dancing and shouting loudly.The distance is still far away, and I can't hear what they are calling.
"Could it be... the enemy's backup is attacking the city again?"
As soon as Lian Feihong said, the other four also looked at each other, and immediately entered the battle alert.
The five knights drew their swords at the same time, reflecting white light under the afternoon sun.The twenty horseshoes accelerated together, the dirt flew up, and they rushed towards the city gate.
The crowd gathered outside the door were all ordinary people, both men and women, old and young, and Jing Li Wuqi hurriedly stopped in front of them.
"What happened?" Yan Heng hurriedly asked, "Did the thief come to kill again?"
The hundred or so people knelt down towards the five of them together.
"Great! The knights are back!" one of the county residents shouted with tears.
Another person said like weeping: "We are afraid that some of you will go away like this, and we will be miserable in Luling!"
Yan Heng slowly put away the "Still Life Sword".He recalled the scene where two hundred people looked at him reverently when he tested his sword at the "Wuli Wang Pavilion" in Guanxian County.
He jumped off the saddle and said to everyone: "Get up! Don't kneel!" He also helped an old county citizen up with his own hands.
Jing Li, Hu Linglan and Lian Feihong put their knives back into their sheaths.But they just glanced at these people coldly, their expressions were dignified, and they didn't say a word.
"Hmph, do you think they really thank us?" Tong Jing stretched out the "Still Life Left Sword" from the saddle, pointing at the crowd: "They are just afraid, the bloody debt will be settled on their own heads!"
"Quiet! You are not allowed to say that!" Yan Heng scolded her with a frown.
"I'm just telling the truth!" Tong Jing waved her sword and said louder: "Did you forget the two corpses hanging on the flagpole? Didn't they also stand up for this county? These people let the corpses hang , no one dares to take it down!"
All the county residents were ashamed when they heard this, and they lowered their heads with blushing faces.
Yan Heng thought of the miserable corpses of the two "Seven Heroes of Southern Jiangxi", and knew that Tong Jing was right, so he couldn't speak anymore.
Both sides in front of the city gate fell silent for a while.Many county residents dare not even look directly at Jing Li and five people, let alone speak.
The carriage in the back arrived at this time, accompanied by Liuqi Confucian scholars.When the crowd saw such a shabby car, and those few polite Confucian scholars who carried swords, they felt very strange and whispered to each other, trying to guess who they were.
"Huh, riding in a car is really tiring."
The door curtain of the carriage was drawn aside.The tall and thin Wang Shouren stepped out of the car with his head down, supporting the crown, and stretched his waist toward the sky.
"Magistrate Wang?"
There were shouts from the crowd.Many pairs of unbelievable eyes widened, all looking at this unattractive middle-aged Confucian.
"It's really... really Lord Wang!" The county residents seemed to be boiling a pot of oil, and hundreds of people shouted loudly.
"Master Wang is back!"
They didn't pay any attention to Yan Heng and the others, they just rushed over and surrounded Wang Shouren.Several Confucian scholars were taken aback, but it was too late to stop them.Many of the county residents knelt down at Wang Shouren's feet.
"My God, let Lord Wang come back and save us in Luling County!" "I'm not dreaming, am I? When Lord Wang comes back, everything will be easy!" "So those knights were all sent by Lord Wang? "
Everyone shouted at each other, feeling very excited.
Jing Li and the others were very surprised when they saw this scene.Yan Heng, in particular, was even more curious about this "Mr. Yangming".
"What's the matter?" Lian Feihong was not annoyed that he was mistaken for someone else's subordinate, and asked strangely, "Is he a living Bodhisattva?"
More people rushed out of the city to meet Wang Shouren because of these cries. In a blink of an eye, there were two or three hundred people inside and outside the city gate, and the city gate was blocked.
It turned out that when Wang Shouren was in charge of the Ministry of War, he offended Liu Jin, a treacherous eunuch with great power because of his blunt words, and was relegated to Longchang, Guizhou. He was reappointed by the imperial court, and the first appointment was to come to Luling, Jiangxi Province as the county magistrate.
Since then, Wang Shouren has been promoted and transferred many times. Last year, he was promoted to the Shaoqing of Nanjing Taipu Temple.Although this official position is in charge of horse administration in name, it is actually a false title with a position but no power.Wang Shouren was unhappy, so he kept procrastinating taking office, and took time to travel and give lectures this year.Because I passed by Jiangxi, I went back to Luling along the way, wanting to check the situation of the old place.
"Okay, okay." Wang Shouren comforted the county residents calmly, while he was already secretly observing the crowd.He noticed that only a minority of the county residents were young and strong, and many of them were dressed in rags, and they already knew something was wrong.
The six disciples shouted hoarsely for a long time before the crowd calmed down.
"I heard that many people died in the county today. Take me to have a look." Wang Shouren said calmly.
Everyone agreed repeatedly, and surrounded Mr. Wang and walked towards the city gate.
"No!" At this moment, there was a sharp cry, Jing Li was still sitting high on the saddle, waving the gleaming Japanese sword, the county people were frightened for a moment when they saw his power.
Wang Shouren's disciples were also startled, thinking that this strange man in barbarian attire with a fierce and wild appearance was about to make trouble, and held their sword hilts one by one.
Among them, Zhu Heng, the oldest disciple, scolded angrily: "Sir, you are going to enter the city, how dare you, a villager from the mountains, obstruct you?"
"Idiot!" Lian Feihong on the other side urged the horse to kick up its front hooves, scaring everyone back.He then laughed angrily: "We want to prevent more people from dying!"
Jing Li put the Japanese knife back into its sheath, and said calmly: "The place where the battle was fought just now is full of poison. If you want to die, don't approach it casually."
Only then did everyone suddenly realize.
Wang Shouren arched his fist and said: "Jing Xia, I see that you have rich experience in the world, and you must have a way to deal with it. Thank you."
Jing Li got off his horse and nodded to Wang Shouren: "Sir, you're welcome."
——Jing Lie was arrogant and arrogant even towards King Ning's cronies, but this Lord Wang made him involuntarily polite, and he himself didn't know why.
Jing Li then led Yan Heng and the other four into the city, leading the horses.Wang Shouren and the crowd followed behind.
Entering the street, Wang Shouren sighed and shook his head when he saw many dilapidated shops and houses on both sides of the road.
——Sigh, I have only been away for about a year, and I have become like this again... It's really a person who went to politics...
When we arrived at the small square where we fought fiercely before, we saw dozens of corpses piled up and down under the flagpole, which was shocking.
The surviving Bolongshu King disciple who was injured by Lian Feihong before was hit by an iron fist and was still lying unconscious on the ground.Lian Feihong stepped forward to inspect him and made sure that his clothes were not stained with poisonous powder, so he pulled the prisoner out, ordered the county people to tie him up, and pulled out a flying knife to stop the bleeding on his calf.
Jing Li looked at it for a long time, and said to Wang Shouren: "Most of these dry people died under the extremely poisonous powder. Now, the poison is scattered around there, no matter the corpse or the ground. If the skin is slightly stained, they will die at any time. Save."
"What should we do with it?" Wang Shouren looked at the pile of dead bodies, with a look of pity in his eyes.
"First, people try to fetch as much water as possible, and sprinkle it on the dead body and the ground to prevent the poison powder from dispersing, and to dilute the poison." Jing Li said, "When the washing is almost done, quickly wrap the dead body in a thick cloth and transport it out of the city." To bury him, the deeper the grave, the better."
Jing Li looked around the square, sighed and said, "Even so, the poison will still be sucked into the soil, and I'm afraid it won't completely dissolve in a year or so. This place must be fenced off, and people and animals are strictly prohibited from approaching."
Wang Shouren ordered the county people to do so, and even told them to wrap their hands, mouth and nose with coarse cloth for safety.
At this time, Jing Li bypassed the poisonous place in the square, returned to the restaurant where the previous fierce battle was fought, and retrieved the weapons left inside.The corpse of a Bolongshu king's disciple was lying on the dining table, Jing Li pulled out the mandarin duck dart knife from the dead body, and wiped the blood stains with the five-color robe worn by the corpse.
Accompanied by his disciples and several county residents, Wang Shouren followed in.When he saw the strangely dressed corpses, he couldn't help shaking his head: "To kill the enemy and escape, to use such a vicious method, and to cause such a huge disaster, these people are obviously not ordinary bandits. Who are they?"
"I also want to know." Jing Li shrugged: "We only arrived an hour or two earlier than you, and we don't know anything, and we have already fought with them. I only know that they claim to be Wudang faction, what kind of wave Disciple under the Throne of Dragon Art."
As soon as the word "Bolongshu King" was uttered, several county residents beside him stiffened and stared in fear.
Both Wang Shouren and Jing Li noticed this change in expression. The county residents seemed to have a strong fear of this wave of dragon art kings and knew that something was unusual.Especially Jing Li, thinking of the group of lunatics who appeared from all over the city earlier, he felt that things were very strange.
"What are you doing?" Someone outside shouted loudly: "Why do so many people come out and gather? Are you rebelling?"
I saw a fat man appearing in the distance, separated from the crowd, surrounded by a dozen Baojia and Daobi officials, who shouted impatiently, and the county people bowed their heads to avoid it.
This fat man is Xu Hongde, the current county magistrate of Luling. Although he is not wearing an official uniform at the moment, everyone recognizes him just by his loud voice.
Xu Hongde looked at the county residents left and right, and kept scolding: "There are so many people gathering together for no reason, do you know that I can punish you for the crime of gathering crowds to cause chaos?" There were so many dead bodies, I was speechless for a while.
Tong Jing, who was standing beside him, sneered disdainfully: "Hey, what an official, the thieves entered the city before, but I didn't see you coming out."
This word reached Xu Hongde's ears, he glared at Miss Tong angrily, he saw that she looked strange, she was dressed as a traveler from other places, and she had a long sword on her waist, he was not sure about her details, so he didn't dare attack.
Xu Hongde took a closer look at the corpses, saw that most of them were disciples of King Bolongshu wearing five-color robes, he was so startled that he took a few steps back and wanted to be supported by Baojia.
"This... this... who did this..." He said and looked at Tong Jing again, as well as Hu Linglan, Lian Feihong and Yan Heng who were beside her, and all of them were weird Jiang Hu people Dress up, and even more brazenly carry all kinds of fierce weapons.
——This is... bad... catastrophe is imminent...
Wang Shouren brought his disciples to Xu Hongde.Xu Hongde was wondering who it was, a Baojia beside him had recognized him and hurriedly reported him.
"Hello, Mr. Xu." Wang Shouren bowed his hands.Although his official rank was much higher than that of County Magistrate Xu, his tone was not the slightest bit arrogant.When saluting, Wang Shouren did not forget to look at the other party carefully.
Xu Hongde hastily also said the ceremony.Wang Shouren, known as "Mr. Yangming", is a great contemporary Confucian. Since his enlightenment in Longchang and his comeback, he has actively opened forums to teach the study of mind and nature. There are many students, and he is already very famous; how quickly he rose in the officialdom , Where has Xu Hongde never heard of this name?
Wang Shouren was promoted to the post of fourth-rank Shaoqing, Xu Hongde was only a seventh-rank county magistrate, and when he saluted, he bent so low that his head almost touched the ground.Wang Shouren gently supported him, but Xu Hongde still didn't dare to look directly at him.
——Such a big man suddenly appeared in his own domain, Xu Hongde was very frightened, and thought to himself: Could it be that someone has read my book on it, so he specially sent this Wang Yangming to find my fault?
Wang Shouren has been an official for a long time, and he knew what Xu Hongde was thinking just by looking at Xu Hongde's face, so he explained calmly: "I am going to Nanjing to take up the post, but I just stopped by to visit old acquaintances." , but in the end it was not the superior directly under the Luling County Magistrate, who still kept his words polite.
"It's rare that Mr. Wang came to this county as a guest, but unfortunately, he encountered bandits who came to make trouble and kill people. It's really impolite..." Xu Hongde said while rolling his eyes, thinking about how to explain the matter away: "Oh, Mr. Wang. Unbeknownst to everyone, there has been an epidemic in Luling area recently, and the farmland has failed in harvest, so more and more criminals gather together to become thieves..."
"The harvest in the farmland is poor, but you eat too much." Tong Jing teased again: "The material of your clothes is very high-quality. And the jade pendant around your waist is not small."
"Bold!" A civil official under Xu Hongde scolded angrily: "Looking at how you dress up, you are not a good citizen. How dare you be rude to the county magistrate?"
"They..." Wang Shouren thought for a moment, "...they are my friends."
Tong Jing and Wang Shouren were strangers to each other, but Wang Shouren considered himself a friend from the moment he opened his mouth. Usually, if someone was so close to each other, Tong Jing would be displeased; but when she looked at Wang Shouren, she didn't feel unhappy. It is not bad that this gentleman considers him a friend.
The official was silent when he heard it.Xu Hongde didn't know what to say, he just smiled awkwardly.
Wang Shouren had already noticed Tong Jing said these things, but he didn't say anything about it.Wang Shouren's appearance is ordinary, and he looks thin like a farmer who plows the fields. His keenness and shrewdness are often underestimated.
Wang Shouren guessed that the county magistrate Xu probably had something to do with the thief, and wanted to get something out of him.But at the same time, he hoped that someone could talk to the county residents and ask about Nabo Longshu King.
"Jing Xia." Wang Shouren seized the opportunity, turned to Jing Li and said: "Wang, go to the government office first, talk to Mr. Xu, please help Mr. Xu's subordinates, and direct everyone to clean up the corpses." He turned to the youngest Huang Xuan, a student of the school, said: "You also stay and help."
Jing Li understood Wang Shouren's thoughts from Wang Shouren's eyes: Wang Shouren wanted to pester the magistrate Xu, so Jing Li and the others would have the opportunity to ask the people in the county what happened.
Jing Li immediately bowed his hands to Wang Shouren: "This is easy to handle." At the same time, the corner of his mouth smiled slightly.Seeing Jing Li's smile, Wang Shouren responded with a smile as the two of them shared their hearts.
Wang Shouren took Xu Hongde's hand immediately: "My lord, please." Xu Hongde didn't have time to order his subordinates to monitor Jing Lie and the others, so he was led by Wang Shouren to the direction of the county government.
At this moment, Yan Heng saw that the large group of people present looked at the back of the two with reverent and hopeful eyes.
Naturally, this look was not for the current county magistrate.
The whole of Luling County gradually became lively in the afternoon, and it was no longer the cold and dead silence that it was when Jing Li and the others first entered the city in the morning. More and more people gathered in the city. It turned out that not only the city residents came out, but also farmers from the neighboring villages. When they heard that Lord Wang Shouren had come to Luling again, they all came to the city to inquire, hoping to catch a glimpse of Lord Wang.Many of them still hold the fruits from their farms and want to give them to adults by hand. The five people from Jing Lie and Huang Xuan, a young Confucian scholar, were walking on the street together, and they saw people gathering in small groups and chatting everywhere.Several teahouses took the opportunity to open their doors for people to gather together. Several carts, covered with several layers of cloth, arrived in the street, and it was the corpses collected from the other side of the square to be taken out of the city for burial.When the county residents saw those strong men with cloths wrapped around their mouths and noses struggling to push their wooden carts approaching, they ran away in panic. Jing Li and the others stood by the side of the street, watching the wooden carts pass by without saying a word. Another corpse cart came again, and this time it was only covered with a thin layer of cloth, and several clothes of the deceased could be seen.Tong Jing recognized that it was the four people from the restaurant who were killed by King Shu's men.Tong Jing stepped forward and lifted the cloth to have a look. I saw the proprietress of the restaurant lying on the top, with a tragic bloody mouth on her body.Although her eyes were closed, her face was twisted and wrinkled, and the fear before death still remained.Tong Jing couldn't help crying. Among the three people pushing the cart, one of them was a boy dressed as a farmer, who was about the same age as Tong Jing.He was very surprised to see this little heroine with a sword crying because of several unknown dead people, and scratched her hair in puzzlement. "What... are their names?..." When Tong Jing asked, her fingers firmly grasped the hilt of the "Still Life Sword" at her waist. "It's Boss Zeng, whose full name is Zeng Ji; his wife's maiden name is Li..." The boy stammered and replied, "There are two shop assistants, one is Li's younger brother Ah San, and the other is Chen Er... What are you asking for?..." Tong Jing murmured these names over and over again for a while, and only after she had memorized them firmly did she answer the boy: "I want to know whom to avenge." He said, walking back to his companion. The boy stared in surprise, and stood blankly watching Tong Jing wait for a few knights to walk down the street.The boy said to his two companions: "Push first, I have something to do." He left the car and followed behind those people. Jing Li and the six of them continued to look around on the street.Everywhere they went, the people who had gathered and chatted hurriedly dispersed to avoid them. No one dared to approach these strangers of unknown origin and armed with swords and weapons all over their bodies. Huang Xuan sensed the aura of Jing Li and the other five people, and was unwilling to show weakness. When walking on the road, she held her chest high and held the scabbard on her belt with her left hand.Seeing him like this, Tong Jing couldn't help shaking her head and laughing. "Look." Hu Linglan pointed to the street corner. I saw a person sitting blankly by the ditch by the wall, with a sunken face, blank eyes, and a suit of clothes that had been worn for an unknown amount of time. They were dirty and torn. They were the "living corpses" that had appeared before. The six of them walked along the street for a while, and occasionally saw such a "living corpse" lying or sitting on the side of the street, and no one paid attention to it. Huang Xuan covered her mouth and nose in surprise: "Could it be true what Master Xu said, that there is really a disease in the city?" "No, these people are not sick." Yan Heng replied.He remembered how he felt after being plotted against by the white-faced man Han Sidao and sucked a small amount of "Fangxiansan"; later, he saw these "living corpses" desperately snatching the medicine package, and guessed that they must have taken it for a long time in such a state. Caused by similar drugs. "They took the medicine of Bolongshu King." Huang Xuan was even more shocked when she heard this: "Not only does this person have a strange name, but he also has such a profound knowledge of using poison and medicine. Obviously, he is not an ordinary bandit!" He looked at Jing Lie and others while talking, and thought in his heart: They are only five people, but it is not easy to kill dozens of villains on the other side... "Brother Yan..." Huang Xuan looked at Yan Heng's attire, paying special attention to the shape of the pair of "Male and Female Dragon and Tiger Swords". "...Are you from the martial arts world?" "My younger brother learned from the Sichuan Qingcheng Sword School." Yan Heng arched his hands and replied respectfully.This Huang Xuan is only in her early twenties, in fact it doesn't matter how old Yan Heng is. "Qingcheng faction, I've heard of it." Huang Xuan thought for a while: "It seems that at the end of last year..." Yan Heng's face tightened, and he nodded heavily.Unexpectedly, the misfortune of the master's school has spread all over the world, even these literati have heard of it. Huang Xuan sighed and said: "You martial arts practitioners fight and kill each other all day long, fighting for strength and victory. You waste your life so much, I really don't understand why you are practicing so hard..." Yan Heng and his friends were very displeased when they heard this.Especially Tong Jing was full of anger. Yan Heng was very unconvinced, he didn't want to dedicate himself to pursuing martial arts, but he was said to be worthless by such a feeble scholar, so he asked him: "Brother Huang, what about you and Master Wang?" "Of course it is to learn the way of a saint!" Huang Xuan raised her head and raised her chest to answer, her expression seemed to be blaming Yan Heng, she didn't even understand such a simple truth. "Establish the heart of heaven and earth, spread benevolence and righteousness, distinguish between good and evil, and create a peaceful world!" Huang Xuan's slogans, in fact, any rotten scholar who is taking the imperial examination will read a lot; but when he spits out, his tone is extremely sincere, his face is not pretentious, and his posture and demeanor really exude an aura of shouldering the world . Yan Heng looked at it and frightened him for a moment.He thought, this Huang Xuan is so young, this kind of demeanor is by no means spontaneous, it must have been infected by a very close person - just like he himself was influenced by his master He Zisheng. ——That Mr. Yangming is really not an ordinary person.Ordinary people don't aspire to be saints. At this time, there was a shadow beside Huang Xuan, and he pulled out the sword from Huang Xuan's waist.Huang Xuan still stayed on the spot, and the sword edge was quickly and accurately retracted into the sheath, pulling out and inserting, the technique was so fast that Huang Xuan, a layman, was completely unable to make any defensive reactions. Huang Xuan first saw that the saber had returned to its place, then raised her head, and saw that the person who drew the sword was Jing Li. Huang Xuan held down the hilt of the sword and glared at Jing Li angrily: "What are you doing?" "It's nothing..." Jing Li smiled: "I just want to know, if the dozens of soldiers and dozens of knives of the Dragon King are in front of you at this moment, how will you 'open the world of peace'? It's up to you The 'way of the sage'? Or the sword on your waist?" Huang Xuan blushed: "Your courage is just to show off your strength for a while. To truly get rid of evil and preserve good, you have to work hard from people's hearts!" "Brother Huang, I really haven't learned your knowledge, but there is one thing I don't understand..." Yan Heng said: "The villain is right in front of your eyes. Does what you say work? Use your sacred teaching to educate him , wait for him to reform and do good? Before he becomes a good person, I don’t know how many people’s lives will be killed by him, and how will these lives be counted?” Huang Xuan was at a loss for words for a moment.He has not been studying under Wang Shouren's school for a long time, although he usually likes to argue about the principles of governing the world, but it doesn't seem to work against these warriors. He looked at those people on the street who were addicted to "Fangxiansan", they all looked like walking corpses, as if they were about to breathe their last breath at any time, and they were all killed by that wave of Dragon Art King.Facing such a heinous crime, Huang Xuan felt that the principles she was familiar with everyday could no longer be so powerful... But he was still unconvinced, and pointed at the people on the street: "Okay, if, as you said, your swords can usher in true peace, then please take a look: why are everyone so afraid of you? " Yan Heng looked over, and sure enough, wherever he looked, the county residents immediately looked away. "Hmph..." Tong Jing frowned: "I was expecting us to come back outside the city gate before, but when we really came back, we avoided us again! We were the ones who beat the wicked away!" Yan Heng thought again about the two hundred people at the "Wuli Wang Pavilion".Their eyes are also terrified... ——"These mortals are not equal to us." He suddenly understood: the people are afraid, because in their eyes, we are different. "Master told us just now to find an opportunity to ask these county residents." Huang Xuan looked at Jing Li with a hint of challenge in his eyes: "Then ask now." Jing Li scratched the beard on his chin, thought for a while, laughed again, and whispered a few words in Hu Linglan and Lian Feihong's ears. After hearing this, Lian Feihong seemed excited, nodded with a smile, and was still gearing up; Hu Linglan frowned, then reluctantly took off the longbow on her back, and pulled out a feathered arrow from her quiver. This action of hers made everyone on the street step back even more.Huang Xuan was very curious. "Here we come." Lian Feihong smiled, suddenly withdrew his palm from the back of his waist, raised his arm and shook his wrist, a throwing knife with a red scarf whizzed and flew out into the air! Where the flying knife went, everyone lowered their heads in panic and dodged. Lian Feihong's "Soul Sending Flying Blade" really used skillful strength, it was different from the usual strong direct attack, but flew flat along an arc.Hu Linglan aimed at the flying red shadow, bent her bow and let it go, the powerful arrow "swished" out of the sky, the second shot came first, and hit the red scarf! The cluster tip pierced the knife scarf, continued to fly with the knife, and nailed the knife to the pillar of a house several feet away! When everyone was still dumbfounded, Lian Feihong also swung out his left hand, and another red scarf throwing knife flew away in a different arc! No one saw when Hu Linglan hit the second arrow.Her tall body and her posture of drawing the bow and shooting upwards are extremely beautiful, she put her finger lightly, another arrow turned into a black shadow, shot into the red scarf in the air, and nailed the knife to another house farther away! This magical skill of intercepting flying knives in the air caused everyone on the street to stretch their necks and start to gather around.Children, especially, crowded to the front of the crowd with great curiosity. The boy who had talked with Tong Jing before also stood in the forefront, very excited to see, clenched his fists tightly with both hands. ——If, I also have such ability... "Okay!" Lian Feihong was excited to play. This time, he drew a throwing knife in each of his left and right hands, but before sending it out, he tossed it in his hand for a while to attract people's expectations. Hu Linglan also drew two arrows this time, one was put on the longbow, and the other was held by the little finger and ring finger of her right hand, and then she drew half the bow. Lian Feihong let out a soft chirp, and threw the saber with his right hand first, and after a pause, the saber with his left hand immediately shot. The two knives flew in different routes on the left and right. I saw that Hu Linglan seemed to shoot an arrow quickly without taking aim, and then quickly hit another arrow, and pulled the bow full with all her strength to release the string! The scarves of the two knives were each nailed to the walls of the houses on both sides by arrows, and the distance between the front and the back was only a blink of an eye. The people who watched this time couldn't bear it any longer and cheered.The children in front laughed loudly. "It's more difficult this time!" Lian Feihong yelled, the fifth throwing knife was thrown from the scabbard at the back of his waist without any preparatory action, and this time it didn't turn around in an arc, but moved forward in a straight line Lasing, the speed is much faster than before! The way Hu Linglan drew the arrow from the skin was as fast as a shadow.At this moment, she furrowed her brows tightly, biting her lower lip, and her mind was abnormally focused. ——Damn old man, you want to test me! The flying knife was about to be nailed into the high hanging wooden signboard of a rice shop in the distance.But just when the tip of the knife reached a foot in front of the wood, the red cloth scarf was pulled violently by a sharp force, bringing the knife up! Feathered arrows were strung with knife scarves, and passed through the iron ring used to hang the signboard impartially, and the shaft of the arrow continued to rotate in the ring! This kind of criterion is far beyond everyone's imagination, and people applaud.Huang Xuan's mouth was wide open.Tong Jing and Yan Heng couldn't help applauding. Hu Linglan didn't care about it at all, she just lowered her longbow lightly. ——She has practiced archery for many years, for shooting people, not for juggling. At this time, everyone's eyes fell on Lian Feihong again.But Mr. Feihong turned around, patted the empty scabbard behind his waist, spread his hands and shook his head and said, "It's all used up." Jing Li saw that the county residents were elated, so he clapped his hands and said, "I've seen all the moves. Then, folks and elders, who will tell us what happened in the county? Who is the Dragon King?" When the county residents heard "Bolongshu King", they came back to reality from the upsurge of watching the excitement, and once again shrank their necks and let go without a word.Jing Li still couldn't open their mouths, and couldn't help feeling a little disappointed. "Everyone, don't be afraid!" Huang Xuan raised her arms high and said loudly at this time: "I am Mr. Wang Yangming's disciple! Mr. Wang Yangming ordered me to ask everyone. If you have any questions, just tell me. I will tell Mr. Wang Yangming truthfully. Help the county out of trouble!" Upon hearing the word "Wang Yangming", the crowd who were about to walk away stopped at the same time, turned around, and began to gather around Huang Xuan.But they stared at each other, and no one dared to speak first. "Hmph, our tricks are useless." Lian Feihong said unconvinced: "Then Mr. Wang is not a god, why do these people come back as soon as they hear his name?" A country old man standing nearby heard Lian Feihong's words, grinned open most of his missing teeth, and vigorously leaned on the crutch in his hand.He didn't care who he was facing, and boldly yelled at Lian Feihong: "Of course! Although Lord Wang has only been the magistrate here for ten months, he has done a lot for us! He taught the people to help each other and stopped the plague; he recruited Baojia again to prevent thieves; even his own Wu Sha is all on board, bearing the exorbitant taxes and tyranny suppressed by the top, but he doesn't take a single thing from our people! He is simply a living saint, the great benefactor of our Luling County! Who do we trust if we don't believe him?" As soon as the old man finished speaking, other county residents stood together to support him, and their timid eyes became bold. Seeing their changes, Yan Heng once again felt the extraordinaryness of this Mr. Yangming. Jing Li was silent for a while.Seeing Huang Xuan surrounded by trusting county residents, he sighed and shook his head, and reluctantly said to this young frail Confucian scholar: "It was you who won."
Xue Jiuniu vigorously lifted the heavy door bolt and threw it aside, and pushed open the long-closed temple door with both hands. A musty smell came from inside the door. Jing Li and his companions stepped into the temple.Sunshine came in from the door, and he saw that the front and rear of the temple were in chaos, the incense burners and tables were all destroyed and overturned, the walls and the ground inside were covered with sewage, and crooked spells were written everywhere with red paint. Look at those runes The shape of the text is exactly the text of material transfer. On both sides of the temple gate, there were eighteen kinds of weapons racks, and the knives, guns, halberds and sticks were all broken and abandoned on the ground. Jing Li looked up, and saw the statue of Prince Guan sitting high in the middle, whose head was beheaded and replaced with a pig's head. The pig's head had been left for an unknown number of days, and it had rotted into a gray-black color. It was almost eaten by insects. Only the skull remains.There are chisel marks all over the body of the statue, and the arm that originally held the "Qinglong Yanyue Dao" was also cut off, and red paint like blood was splashed on it.The statues of Guan Ping and Zhou Cang who served on the left and right were also cut to pieces. There was a stench of defecation in the temple, and rats were running around. Both Tong Jing and Hu Linglan couldn't help but covered their noses and walked out.Seeing this scene, Yan Heng and Lian Feihong couldn't help clenching their fists -- as warriors, they were naturally angry when they saw the place where the warriors worshiped were defaced and humiliated. "This...was also done by the Dragon King?" Huang Xuan asked. Xue Jiuniu nodded and replied, "All the temples in the city have suffered like this." He was the boy who had talked with Tong Jing earlier. Jing Li stepped forward and bent down.It turned out that Prince Guan's severed head was still on the ground, he carefully picked it up, wiped off the stains and dust, held it in his arms, and then led everyone out of the Prince Guan Temple. Dozens of county residents gathered outside the temple.This is in the east of the county seat. In front of the temple is an open space with a big locust tree growing. The scenery is very beautiful.Jing Li and the others sat under the tree, using a few stones as stools. The county residents brought a lot of cakes and cakes. Although they were rough, the five warriors were already hungry after a round of fighting and going back and forth, so they began to munch on the spot. Especially Tong Jing, who came to Jiangxi Province, eats dry food, has not touched dessert for a long time, and now there are red bean buns, although the stuffing is only a little, but still eat with relish. “这个波龙术王，大概在大半年前来了庐陵，一来就带着上百人，光天白日之下公然就杀入县城来。他们第一天干的第一件事，就是把住在这儿的磨刀师寒石子先生掳走了。他到现在还是生死不知。” 说话的薛九牛，本来是城外村子的农家子弟，但常常出入县城打粗工帮闲，故此对这事情知之甚详。 县民最初还以为，这伙剧盗只为找寒石子磨兵刃，得了他之后就不会停留在这穷地方；哪料波龙术王却从此盘踞庐陵不去，更强占了县城外青原山上的“清莲寺”作巢穴。 “他们把寺里的住持觉恩禅师跟二十几个僧人尽都杀光，听说还掳掠了附近村镇许多民女，囚在寺里奸淫，真是罪孽深重！”一名老乡民说得激动，闭目双手合什。 波龙术王一伙部众，初来时就已有过百人，这大半年来又招聚了不少信徒弟子，县民猜想已经增加了一倍。 一个在酒馆当店小二的县民说：“那些混蛋，平日来城里喝酒时，我偷听他们交谈，口音都不相同，看来是在外省不同地方结伙，再流窜来江西。” 波龙术王座下如果真的有二百人以上，今天虽然折了几十人，仍是势力极众。黄璇听了，脸容不免紧张。 练飞虹却似乎半点没把人数放在心上：“今天逃走那两个，是他们的头目吧？像他们这样的人物，还有多少个？” 那店小二想了一想：“我招呼过的共有四个。早上来那两个，我听过他们互相称呼，年轻的姓韩，年长那个是外族人，叫鄂儿罕。这两人最常带着人来县城抢掠敲诈。另外两个是一男一女，却很少来。” “我记得！”薛九牛插口：“那男的不多说话，也没在城里杀过人。他不穿术王弟子的古怪衣服，乍看还以为不是一伙的呢。但是我看见其他人都很怕他。” 薛九牛这时瞧一瞧虎玲兰，又说：“至于那女匪人，跟这位女侠几乎一般的高壮，带的也是大刀子。有次她在城里骑马乱冲，把个孩子给撞死了，竟然还在呵呵大笑，心肠端的狠毒！”他说时拳头都握紧了。 “连小孩也杀？”童静又惊又怒：“这还算是女人——不，还算是人吗？” 县民都沉痛地低下头来。燕横看见他们这样子，渐渐体谅百姓何以对武人如此恐惧。 荆裂则在盘算：假如另外这两人的武功都不在那懂“太极剑”的鄂儿罕之下，眼前是四名高手头目与二百人马，再加上不知底蕴的波龙术王，非常不容易对付…… “那波龙术王本人呢？你们有见过吗？”荆裂又问。 一提到这名字，县民的身体总禁不住一阵哆嗦，让荆裂他们都感到了那深深的恐惧。 “只有……第一天来掳走寒石子先生时，我们才看见他亲自来了一次。”薛九牛比较胆大，率先开口描述。他伸高手掌，在自己头上方比一比：“他身子高大得吓人，可是有点瘦削……头颅光秃秃像颗鸟蛋，但他那副样子，半点儿不会让你想起和尚。尤其是那对眼睛……不知怎么说，总之就……不像人……” 他身边的同乡也都点头同意。 这一句“不像人”，加上县民的神情，令童静脸色有些发白。 ——他们就好像在说着鬼怪一样…… “还有。”那店小二伸出三根指头，划过自己的左边脸颊：“他这儿有刺花，是三行小字，就跟庙里的鬼符咒一个模样。” 这特征跟叶辰渊和桂丹雷都相似。荆裂和燕横心里就更肯定，这波龙术王极可能真是武当派的人。 ——那句“武当派波龙术王”不是假的…… 波龙术王一众人马声势如此浩大，就连原来集结在吉安府各处的山贼也都要避开，不敢再在县城一带作买卖，只敢打庐陵县以外乡镇的主意。由于术王部众肆虐，县里越来越难维生，许多庐陵的青壮也就索性上山落草，又令贼祸更深。这是为何像横溪村那等穷地方也有山贼之患，全都是波龙术王逼出来的。 “哼，要不是我年纪小，家里老妈又哭着求我，我也……”薛九牛说时看一看荆裂他们，才醒觉起来住口。 荆裂打量这小子，虽然只十四、五岁年纪，一脸稚气，但长得身高手长，身体颇是扎实，要说上山入伙当匪盗，也不嫌早。 其他县民听薛九牛这么说也无责怪，似乎对县里年轻小伙子抛弃农具落草而去，早就见怪不怪。 先前合什念佛那个老乡民，这时又向黄璇诉苦：“王大人在时，得他挡住了各种无理摊派杂税，又治好了瘟疫，我县才有了口生气，年轻人都安份着，盗贼少了许多；自从他调官之后，这两年再无人为我们百姓出力，上边的横征暴敛又再压下来，我们这些耕田的，吃也吃不饱，日子本就苦得不得了；如今竟来了这等恶煞，三朝两天就进出村子城镇，爱抢就抢，爱杀就杀，县令官府全不过问，再这样子下去，真不晓得我们还能活多久了！” 老乡民说时眼眶含着泪，其他县民许多亦已哭了出来。 “官府也不过问？”练飞虹听到这里，疑惑地搔搔白发：“这些波龙术王弟子，并非寻常山贼可比，那徐县令自然不敢妄想靠县里的民兵保甲去讨伐；可是这么大伙人集结横行民间，杀人如麻，强占山寺，如此大的事情，小小一个县令也不可能瞒得过去啊。他却没有上报府里，请求调官兵来征剿，这着实有点奇怪……” “有什么奇怪？你没看那徐县令的样子吗？”童静不齿地说：“九成是收受了波龙术王的好处！” 县民听了猛地点头。 “老先生的意思是，单凭姓徐这小官，包庇不下这等狂徒。”黄璇在一旁解释。他常听老师说官场之事，对这等贪污勾当也有所知：“没有更上边的人点头，这种血钱，徐县令是不敢收的。” “城里那许多活死人呢？又是怎么回事？”荆裂问。 “他们都吃了术王弟子卖的'仿仙散'。”老乡民沉痛地说，果然与燕横猜想的一样。 原来术王弟子到来不久，就在县城里派“仿仙散”，说是仙药圣品，能让人忘忧，兼能提神强身。最初都是城里的浮滑浪子和妓女服用，后来一些富家子弟也染上了此恶习。这“仿仙散”效用确能令人亢奋愉快，但渐渐就要越吃越多，药瘾一发作就痛苦莫名，吃久了又因份量太多而心神伤损，整个人痴呆迟钝。 术王弟子后来把“仿仙散”的价钱抬得高高，那些上了药瘾的人，什么家财都变卖，甚至抢劫偷盗，都是为了求取服药后飘飘欲仙的快感。最后家当卖光了，又被药搞坏身体，连偷抢也无力，就只有躺在街上慢慢等死。 “那些术王弟子一进城，他们就像蚂蚁般全爬过去求药。”老乡民说：“有时术王弟子就抛几包'仿仙散'出去，看他们争夺厮打取乐，甚至赌博哪一个抢得到手……这毒药，把人们从里到外榨得干干净净，已不知道害得多少人家破人亡！” 荆裂他们听了，才恍然明白之前发生的事情。比起用剧毒杀人，这迷药“仿仙散”又是波龙术王另一样厉害玩意儿，更且害人于无形，祸连更广。 童静虽出身帮会之家，这样恶毒的榨取方法也是首次听闻，甚是惊讶。 “可是我不明白……”她问：“以波龙术王的武力，在这县里本来就予取予携，要拿些什么，晃一晃刀子就有了，还用得着这种方法敲诈钱财吗？” “这位姑娘可真聪慧。” 一把声音在人群后头响起来，一看原来正是王守仁，带着五个门生出现在这关王庙之外。 众县民纷纷让开一条道路，又兴奋地大呼王大人之名。王守仁立时着令他们噤声，指了一指空地外。只见远远站着几个保甲，正在街上看着这边，显然是徐县令派来监视的。 “不打紧。他们毕竟也是本县的子弟。”王守仁微笑安抚县民。那几名保甲朝这边的王大人略一点头，也没过来干涉。 王守仁从人丛里走过来大树下，坐在黄璇让出的石头上。 荆裂看着他微笑说：“我还以为你在县衙脱不了身呢。” 王守仁耸耸肩：“我官阶好歹也比他高几级，我要自己出来城里走走看，他阻不了。” 黄璇正要向老师复述刚才所听，但王守仁挥手止住：“我听那徐洪德的辩解，就已经猜得出个大概。刚才有个保甲也跟我说了一点关于那术王的事。详细的之后再告诉我。” 童静得到王守仁称赞很是欢喜，笑着问他：“大人，波龙术王卖那'仿仙散'，你想是为了什么呢？” “我还不敢肯定。”王守仁想到那迷药对庐陵百姓造成了多大的戕害，就把笑容收起来：“但我猜想，这事情必然关连其他人物。” 荆裂听了马上就明白：“大人是说，官府无人出手讨伐这术王，就是跟此事有关？” 王守仁毕竟是朝廷命官，这种事当着众多百姓不能宣之于口，只有沉默不语。但所有人都看得出这正合他所想。 围在大树四周的县民此刻都不说话了，一个个低下头来，神色沮丧。 “大家怎么了？”黄璇不禁问。 先前最多说话那个老乡民，深吸了一口气，好像想鼓起勇气说什么，但欲言又止，最后把话吞回肚子里。 黄璇又看着薛九牛。这个小伙子想了一想，终于还是开口： “王大人，我们都知道你爱民如子，可是你在这儿，手里没有一兵一卒，那波龙术王一伙人又厉害又疯癫……我们是怕，任王大人的才干，也帮不了我们吧？” 他所说确实切中要害。面对如此凶残无道的大群恶徒，非有实在的力量不行。王守仁即使上奏朝廷，也不知能否调动官军到来——本朝对军权控制甚严，官军出动都非有朝廷指派的太监作监军不可。即能调兵来，已不知是何月何日。这波龙术王刚丧失大队弟子，日内必定前来报复，远水又如何救得近火？ 黄璇想起先前与荆裂和燕横的辩论。他看一看挂在自己腰上那柄剑，一时皱眉无语。 这时众多县民又把目光投落在荆裂五人身上。他们的眼神中既有所盼望，但又充满了不安恐惧。 “我知道你们在想什么。”荆裂这时用船桨撑着站了起来，左手臂弯仍然抱着关王爷的头像。“可是有一件事得说清楚在先：今天我们初来乍到，不知就里就跟波龙术王的弟子打起来，杀了他们许多人，假如我们就此离去，你们还可以推诿说我们是不认识的外来人。不错，他们仍是会非常愤怒。也许会杀一把人来泄愤。但也仅此而已，对方只会忙着追击我们。” 荆裂伸出船桨，指一指在场的百姓。 “可是如果我们留下来帮你们抵抗，那就完全是另一回事了。这一战必然激烈，最后假如我们败了，波龙术王的报复将更激烈十倍。说不定会来个大屠城——我说的是把你们一个一个，男女老少，全部杀光。这样的事情，那些疯子完全做得出来，这一点大家也很清楚。你们心里有这样的觉悟吗？” 荆裂的话有如尖针，刺进每一个县民的心里。虽是盛夏的午后，人人感到一阵寒意。即使当中有的县民早被波龙术王杀害了亲眷，极欲有人代为出头报仇，但一想到要将同乡邻里的性命都押上去，也就不敢开口。 百姓同时瞧着王大人——此刻就只有对王守仁的信任，能够将他们团结起来。 王守仁看着那一双双期盼的无助眼睛。他明白放在面前的，是一个多么艰险困难的责任。 可是王守仁一生，面对艰难，从没有躲避过一次。 “伯安誓与庐陵百姓共生死，同抗妖邪。” 荆裂五人看见王守仁说时眼目散发的凛然正气，不禁动容。 六个门生为能拜得这样的老师而自豪。 许多县民激动得流泪。薛九牛与一群年轻的同伴，更是感到血气翻腾。 王守仁此时瞧向荆裂五人。 “几位愿将性命，暂借我王阳明一用吗？” ——他这次不以名字自称，而用讲学的外号，意思是并非以朝廷大官的地位去征用他们。 ——而是以一个“士”的身份，向荆裂五人平坐相求。 练飞虹抚摸着左手上的铁片拳套，笑嘻嘻地回答：“才打了一半的架，我习惯一定要打完它。” 虎玲兰则把野太刀架在肩上：“我早说了，这是跟'物丹'的因缘，躲不了的。” 童静带点激动地握住“静物剑”剑柄：“曾老板四口人命，我……”说着就有些哽咽。 燕横热血上涌，不知该说什么，只是向王守仁拱拱手，有力地点了点头。 荆裂直视王守仁的眼睛良久。 ——一个将要去南京赴任的大官，将在朝廷有一番大作为，却为曾经管过不够一年的一个小县，甘愿将生命跟仕途都押上去，跟一群杀人狂魔对抗？荆裂从没听过，世上有这样的官。 “荆某这生人，从没想过要把性命交到谁手上。”他再次展露那轻风般的微笑：“不过将我的刀暂借给你，还是可以的。” 王守仁也笑了。 ——他看得出荆裂此人野性难驯；但一旦他对你信任，就会是最可靠的盟友。 王守仁这时招招手，把那几名一直监视他的保甲召过来。 “你们已经听到我要干什么吧？”王守仁问。 保甲本身也不过是庐陵县的乡村壮丁子弟，在更替服役之外，平日也是务农。这几个人互相看着，想了一想，就朝王守仁拱手说：“我们愿供王大人驱策。” 王守仁点点头，马上肃然下令：“你们去集合一些壮丁，去县衙带徐洪德回家，日夜看守，不得让徐家上下主仆任何一人离开半步，以防范他向贼匪通风报信。” 几个保甲一听瞪大了眼睛——软禁县令大人，可落得谋反的大罪。 “不用担心，万事有我扛着。”王守仁知道他们的顾虑，马上说：“就算最后有人问罪，也不会算到你们头上。”他随即命三个门生，陪同保甲去指挥队伍，拘禁县令徐洪德。 王守仁并非江西省府的直辖命官，如此私捕县令，将来如无徐洪德的确实罪证，随时会被问罪，非只乌纱不保那么简单。他此举显然就把自己前途安危都押上了，全没把名位放在心上。 荆裂看见王大人一旦下了决心，办起事来决断利落，手段霹雳，非一般文官可比，更知道对他信任绝对没错。 ——此人要是生逢乱世，必成名将。 王守仁又马上安排人手，往县城外四方的道路上作戒哨，如波龙术王的队伍再来袭，也可预早防范。 县民知道要与凶恶妖人对抗，既兴奋又是慌张，只有王大人那镇定如止水的脸容，能让他们心神稍宁。 “还有一个条件。”荆裂这时却又说。 众人紧张地皱眉看着他。 荆裂走上前，将怀中的关王头像，塞到薛九牛手里。 “你们要把这关王庙修好。否则他不保佑我们打胜仗的啊。” 庐陵县民听了恍然，心头一宽，发出平日难得听见的笑声。 “你刚才说，王大人手上没有一兵一卒吗？”荆裂对薛九牛说：“你错了。” 他露出每次面对挑战时都会挂上的笑容。 “现在，有五个了。”
The whole of Luling County gradually became lively in the afternoon, and it was no longer the cold and dead silence that it was when Jing Li and the others first entered the city in the morning. More and more people gathered in the city. It turned out that not only the city residents came out, but also farmers from the neighboring villages. When they heard that Lord Wang Shouren had come to Luling again, they all came to the city to inquire, hoping to catch a glimpse of Lord Wang.Many of them still hold the fruits from their farms and want to give them to adults by hand. The five people from Jing Lie and Huang Xuan, a young Confucian scholar, were walking on the street together, and they saw people gathering in small groups and chatting everywhere.Several teahouses took the opportunity to open their doors for people to gather together. Several carts, covered with several layers of cloth, arrived in the street, and it was the corpses collected from the other side of the square to be taken out of the city for burial.When the county residents saw those strong men with cloths wrapped around their mouths and noses struggling to push their wooden carts approaching, they ran away in panic. Jing Li and the others stood by the side of the street, watching the wooden carts pass by without saying a word. Another corpse cart came again, and this time it was only covered with a thin layer of cloth, and several clothes of the deceased could be seen.Tong Jing recognized that it was the four people from the restaurant who were killed by King Shu's men.Tong Jing stepped forward and lifted the cloth to have a look. I saw the proprietress of the restaurant lying on the top, with a tragic bloody mouth on her body.Although her eyes were closed, her face was twisted and wrinkled, and the fear before death still remained.Tong Jing couldn't help crying. Among the three people pushing the cart, one of them was a boy dressed as a farmer, who was about the same age as Tong Jing.He was very surprised to see this little heroine with a sword crying because of several unknown dead people, and scratched her hair in puzzlement. "What... are their names?..." When Tong Jing asked, her fingers firmly grasped the hilt of the "Still Life Sword" at her waist. "It's Boss Zeng, whose full name is Zeng Ji; his wife's maiden name is Li..." The boy stammered and replied, "There are two shop assistants, one is Li's younger brother Ah San, and the other is Chen Er... What are you asking for?..." Tong Jing murmured these names over and over again for a while, and only after she had memorized them firmly did she answer the boy: "I want to know whom to avenge." He said, walking back to his companion. The boy stared in surprise, and stood blankly watching Tong Jing wait for a few knights to walk down the street.The boy said to his two companions: "Push first, I have something to do." He left the car and followed behind those people. Jing Li and the six of them continued to look around on the street.Everywhere they went, the people who had gathered and chatted hurriedly dispersed to avoid them. No one dared to approach these strangers of unknown origin and armed with swords and weapons all over their bodies. Huang Xuan sensed the aura of Jing Li and the other five people, and was unwilling to show weakness. When walking on the road, she held her chest high and held the scabbard on her belt with her left hand.Seeing him like this, Tong Jing couldn't help shaking her head and laughing. "Look." Hu Linglan pointed to the street corner. I saw a person sitting blankly by the ditch by the wall, with a sunken face, blank eyes, and a suit of clothes that had been worn for an unknown amount of time. They were dirty and torn. They were the "living corpses" that had appeared before. The six of them walked along the street for a while, and occasionally saw such a "living corpse" lying or sitting on the side of the street, and no one paid attention to it. Huang Xuan covered her mouth and nose in surprise: "Could it be true what Master Xu said, that there is really a disease in the city?" "No, these people are not sick." Yan Heng replied.He remembered how he felt after being plotted against by the white-faced man Han Sidao and sucked a small amount of "Fangxiansan"; later, he saw these "living corpses" desperately snatching the medicine package, and guessed that they must have taken it for a long time in such a state. Caused by similar drugs. "They took the medicine of Bolongshu King." Huang Xuan was even more shocked when she heard this: "Not only does this person have a strange name, but he also has such a profound knowledge of using poison and medicine. Obviously, he is not an ordinary bandit!" He looked at Jing Lie and others while talking, and thought in his heart: They are only five people, but it is not easy to kill dozens of villains on the other side... "Brother Yan..." Huang Xuan looked at Yan Heng's attire, paying special attention to the shape of the pair of "Male and Female Dragon and Tiger Swords". "...Are you from the martial arts world?" "My younger brother learned from the Sichuan Qingcheng Sword School." Yan Heng arched his hands and replied respectfully.This Huang Xuan is only in her early twenties, in fact it doesn't matter how old Yan Heng is. "Qingcheng faction, I've heard of it." Huang Xuan thought for a while: "It seems that at the end of last year..." Yan Heng's face tightened, and he nodded heavily.Unexpectedly, the misfortune of the master's school has spread all over the world, even these literati have heard of it. Huang Xuan sighed and said: "You martial arts practitioners fight and kill each other all day long, fighting for strength and victory. You waste your life so much, I really don't understand why you are practicing so hard..." Yan Heng and his friends were very displeased when they heard this.Especially Tong Jing was full of anger. Yan Heng was very unconvinced, he didn't want to dedicate himself to pursuing martial arts, but he was said to be worthless by such a feeble scholar, so he asked him: "Brother Huang, what about you and Master Wang?" "Of course it is to learn the way of a saint!" Huang Xuan raised her head and raised her chest to answer, her expression seemed to be blaming Yan Heng, she didn't even understand such a simple truth. "Establish the heart of heaven and earth, spread benevolence and righteousness, distinguish between good and evil, and create a peaceful world!" Huang Xuan's slogans, in fact, any rotten scholar who is taking the imperial examination will read a lot; but when he spits out, his tone is extremely sincere, his face is not pretentious, and his posture and demeanor really exude an aura of shouldering the world . Yan Heng looked at it and frightened him for a moment.He thought, this Huang Xuan is so young, this kind of demeanor is by no means spontaneous, it must have been infected by a very close person - just like he himself was influenced by his master He Zisheng. ——That Mr. Yangming is really not an ordinary person.Ordinary people don't aspire to be saints. At this time, there was a shadow beside Huang Xuan, and he pulled out the sword from Huang Xuan's waist.Huang Xuan still stayed on the spot, and the sword edge was quickly and accurately retracted into the sheath, pulling out and inserting, the technique was so fast that Huang Xuan, a layman, was completely unable to make any defensive reactions. Huang Xuan first saw that the saber had returned to its place, then raised her head, and saw that the person who drew the sword was Jing Li. Huang Xuan held down the hilt of the sword and glared at Jing Li angrily: "What are you doing?" "It's nothing..." Jing Li smiled: "I just want to know, if the dozens of soldiers and dozens of knives of the Dragon King are in front of you at this moment, how will you 'open the world of peace'? It's up to you The 'way of the sage'? Or the sword on your waist?" Huang Xuan blushed: "Your courage is just to show off your strength for a while. To truly get rid of evil and preserve good, you have to work hard from people's hearts!" "Brother Huang, I really haven't learned your knowledge, but there is one thing I don't understand..." Yan Heng said: "The villain is right in front of your eyes. Does what you say work? Use your sacred teaching to educate him , wait for him to reform and do good? Before he becomes a good person, I don’t know how many people’s lives will be killed by him, and how will these lives be counted?” Huang Xuan was at a loss for words for a moment.He has not been studying under Wang Shouren's school for a long time, although he usually likes to argue about the principles of governing the world, but it doesn't seem to work against these warriors. He looked at those people on the street who were addicted to "Fangxiansan", they all looked like walking corpses, as if they were about to breathe their last breath at any time, and they were all killed by that wave of Dragon Art King.Facing such a heinous crime, Huang Xuan felt that the principles she was familiar with everyday could no longer be so powerful... But he was still unconvinced, and pointed at the people on the street: "Okay, if, as you said, your swords can usher in true peace, then please take a look: why are everyone so afraid of you? " Yan Heng looked over, and sure enough, wherever he looked, the county residents immediately looked away. "Hmph..." Tong Jing frowned: "I was expecting us to come back outside the city gate before, but when we really came back, we avoided us again! We were the ones who beat the wicked away!" Yan Heng thought again about the two hundred people at the "Wuli Wang Pavilion".Their eyes are also terrified... ——"These mortals are not equal to us." He suddenly understood: the people are afraid, because in their eyes, we are different. "Master told us just now to find an opportunity to ask these county residents." Huang Xuan looked at Jing Li with a hint of challenge in his eyes: "Then ask now." Jing Li scratched the beard on his chin, thought for a while, laughed again, and whispered a few words in Hu Linglan and Lian Feihong's ears. After hearing this, Lian Feihong seemed excited, nodded with a smile, and was still gearing up; Hu Linglan frowned, then reluctantly took off the longbow on her back, and pulled out a feathered arrow from her quiver. This action of hers made everyone on the street step back even more.Huang Xuan was very curious. "Here we come." Lian Feihong smiled, suddenly withdrew his palm from the back of his waist, raised his arm and shook his wrist, a throwing knife with a red scarf whizzed and flew out into the air! Where the flying knife went, everyone lowered their heads in panic and dodged. Lian Feihong's "Soul Sending Flying Blade" really used skillful strength, it was different from the usual strong direct attack, but flew flat along an arc.Hu Linglan aimed at the flying red shadow, bent her bow and let it go, the powerful arrow "swished" out of the sky, the second shot came first, and hit the red scarf! The cluster tip pierced the knife scarf, continued to fly with the knife, and nailed the knife to the pillar of a house several feet away! When everyone was still dumbfounded, Lian Feihong also swung out his left hand, and another red scarf throwing knife flew away in a different arc! No one saw when Hu Linglan hit the second arrow.Her tall body and her posture of drawing the bow and shooting upwards are extremely beautiful, she put her finger lightly, another arrow turned into a black shadow, shot into the red scarf in the air, and nailed the knife to another house farther away! This magical skill of intercepting flying knives in the air caused everyone on the street to stretch their necks and start to gather around.Children, especially, crowded to the front of the crowd with great curiosity. The boy who had talked with Tong Jing before also stood in the forefront, very excited to see, clenched his fists tightly with both hands. ——If, I also have such ability... "Okay!" Lian Feihong was excited to play. This time, he drew a throwing knife in each of his left and right hands, but before sending it out, he tossed it in his hand for a while to attract people's expectations. Hu Linglan also drew two arrows this time, one was put on the longbow, and the other was held by the little finger and ring finger of her right hand, and then she drew half the bow. Lian Feihong let out a soft chirp, and threw the saber with his right hand first, and after a pause, the saber with his left hand immediately shot. The two knives flew in different routes on the left and right. I saw that Hu Linglan seemed to shoot an arrow quickly without taking aim, and then quickly hit another arrow, and pulled the bow full with all her strength to release the string! The scarves of the two knives were each nailed to the walls of the houses on both sides by arrows, and the distance between the front and the back was only a blink of an eye. The people who watched this time couldn't bear it any longer and cheered.The children in front laughed loudly. "It's more difficult this time!" Lian Feihong yelled, the fifth throwing knife was thrown from the scabbard at the back of his waist without any preparatory action, and this time it didn't turn around in an arc, but moved forward in a straight line Lasing, the speed is much faster than before! The way Hu Linglan drew the arrow from the skin was as fast as a shadow.At this moment, she furrowed her brows tightly, biting her lower lip, and her mind was abnormally focused. ——Damn old man, you want to test me! The flying knife was about to be nailed into the high hanging wooden signboard of a rice shop in the distance.But just when the tip of the knife reached a foot in front of the wood, the red cloth scarf was pulled violently by a sharp force, bringing the knife up! Feathered arrows were strung with knife scarves, and passed through the iron ring used to hang the signboard impartially, and the shaft of the arrow continued to rotate in the ring! This kind of criterion is far beyond everyone's imagination, and people applaud.Huang Xuan's mouth was wide open.Tong Jing and Yan Heng couldn't help applauding. Hu Linglan didn't care about it at all, she just lowered her longbow lightly. ——She has practiced archery for many years, for shooting people, not for juggling. At this time, everyone's eyes fell on Lian Feihong again.But Mr. Feihong turned around, patted the empty scabbard behind his waist, spread his hands and shook his head and said, "It's all used up." Jing Li saw that the county residents were elated, so he clapped his hands and said, "I've seen all the moves. Then, folks and elders, who will tell us what happened in the county? Who is the Dragon King?" When the county residents heard "Bolongshu King", they came back to reality from the upsurge of watching the excitement, and once again shrank their necks and let go without a word.Jing Li still couldn't open their mouths, and couldn't help feeling a little disappointed. "Everyone, don't be afraid!" Huang Xuan raised her arms high and said loudly at this time: "I am Mr. Wang Yangming's disciple! Mr. Wang Yangming ordered me to ask everyone. If you have any questions, just tell me. I will tell Mr. Wang Yangming truthfully. Help the county out of trouble!" Upon hearing the word "Wang Yangming", the crowd who were about to walk away stopped at the same time, turned around, and began to gather around Huang Xuan.But they stared at each other, and no one dared to speak first. "Hmph, our tricks are useless." Lian Feihong said unconvinced: "Then Mr. Wang is not a god, why do these people come back as soon as they hear his name?" A country old man standing nearby heard Lian Feihong's words, grinned open most of his missing teeth, and vigorously leaned on the crutch in his hand.He didn't care who he was facing, and boldly yelled at Lian Feihong: "Of course! Although Lord Wang has only been the magistrate here for ten months, he has done a lot for us! He taught the people to help each other and stopped the plague; he recruited Baojia again to prevent thieves; even his own Wu Sha is all on board, bearing the exorbitant taxes and tyranny suppressed by the top, but he doesn't take a single thing from our people! He is simply a living saint, the great benefactor of our Luling County! Who do we trust if we don't believe him?" As soon as the old man finished speaking, other county residents stood together to support him, and their timid eyes became bold. Seeing their changes, Yan Heng once again felt the extraordinaryness of this Mr. Yangming. Jing Li was silent for a while.Seeing Huang Xuan surrounded by trusting county residents, he sighed and shook his head, and reluctantly said to this young frail Confucian scholar: "It was you who won."
Xue Jiuniu vigorously lifted the heavy door bolt and threw it aside, and pushed open the long-closed temple door with both hands. A musty smell came from inside the door. Jing Li and his companions stepped into the temple.Sunshine came in from the door, and he saw that the front and rear of the temple were in chaos, the incense burners and tables were all destroyed and overturned, the walls and the ground inside were covered with sewage, and crooked spells were written everywhere with red paint. Look at those runes The shape of the text is exactly the text of material transfer. On both sides of the temple gate, there were eighteen kinds of weapons racks, and the knives, guns, halberds and sticks were all broken and abandoned on the ground. Jing Li looked up, and saw the statue of Prince Guan sitting high in the middle, whose head was beheaded and replaced with a pig's head. The pig's head had been left for an unknown number of days, and it had rotted into a gray-black color. It was almost eaten by insects. Only the skull remains.There are chisel marks all over the body of the statue, and the arm that originally held the "Qinglong Yanyue Dao" was also cut off, and red paint like blood was splashed on it.The statues of Guan Ping and Zhou Cang who served on the left and right were also cut to pieces. There was a stench of defecation in the temple, and rats were running around. Both Tong Jing and Hu Linglan couldn't help but covered their noses and walked out.Seeing this scene, Yan Heng and Lian Feihong couldn't help clenching their fists -- as warriors, they were naturally angry when they saw the place where the warriors worshiped were defaced and humiliated. "This...was also done by the Dragon King?" Huang Xuan asked. Xue Jiuniu nodded and replied, "All the temples in the city have suffered like this." He was the boy who had talked with Tong Jing earlier. Jing Li stepped forward and bent down.It turned out that Prince Guan's severed head was still on the ground, he carefully picked it up, wiped off the stains and dust, held it in his arms, and then led everyone out of the Prince Guan Temple. Dozens of county residents gathered outside the temple.This is in the east of the county seat. In front of the temple is an open space with a big locust tree growing. The scenery is very beautiful.Jing Li and the others sat under the tree, using a few stones as stools. The county residents brought a lot of cakes and cakes. Although they were rough, the five warriors were already hungry after a round of fighting and going back and forth, so they began to munch on the spot. Especially Tong Jing, who came to Jiangxi Province, eats dry food, has not touched dessert for a long time, and now there are red bean buns, although the stuffing is only a little, but still eat with relish. “这个波龙术王，大概在大半年前来了庐陵，一来就带着上百人，光天白日之下公然就杀入县城来。他们第一天干的第一件事，就是把住在这儿的磨刀师寒石子先生掳走了。他到现在还是生死不知。” 说话的薛九牛，本来是城外村子的农家子弟，但常常出入县城打粗工帮闲，故此对这事情知之甚详。 县民最初还以为，这伙剧盗只为找寒石子磨兵刃，得了他之后就不会停留在这穷地方；哪料波龙术王却从此盘踞庐陵不去，更强占了县城外青原山上的“清莲寺”作巢穴。 “他们把寺里的住持觉恩禅师跟二十几个僧人尽都杀光，听说还掳掠了附近村镇许多民女，囚在寺里奸淫，真是罪孽深重！”一名老乡民说得激动，闭目双手合什。 波龙术王一伙部众，初来时就已有过百人，这大半年来又招聚了不少信徒弟子，县民猜想已经增加了一倍。 一个在酒馆当店小二的县民说：“那些混蛋，平日来城里喝酒时，我偷听他们交谈，口音都不相同，看来是在外省不同地方结伙，再流窜来江西。” 波龙术王座下如果真的有二百人以上，今天虽然折了几十人，仍是势力极众。黄璇听了，脸容不免紧张。 练飞虹却似乎半点没把人数放在心上：“今天逃走那两个，是他们的头目吧？像他们这样的人物，还有多少个？” 那店小二想了一想：“我招呼过的共有四个。早上来那两个，我听过他们互相称呼，年轻的姓韩，年长那个是外族人，叫鄂儿罕。这两人最常带着人来县城抢掠敲诈。另外两个是一男一女，却很少来。” “我记得！”薛九牛插口：“那男的不多说话，也没在城里杀过人。他不穿术王弟子的古怪衣服，乍看还以为不是一伙的呢。但是我看见其他人都很怕他。” 薛九牛这时瞧一瞧虎玲兰，又说：“至于那女匪人，跟这位女侠几乎一般的高壮，带的也是大刀子。有次她在城里骑马乱冲，把个孩子给撞死了，竟然还在呵呵大笑，心肠端的狠毒！”他说时拳头都握紧了。 “连小孩也杀？”童静又惊又怒：“这还算是女人——不，还算是人吗？” 县民都沉痛地低下头来。燕横看见他们这样子，渐渐体谅百姓何以对武人如此恐惧。 荆裂则在盘算：假如另外这两人的武功都不在那懂“太极剑”的鄂儿罕之下，眼前是四名高手头目与二百人马，再加上不知底蕴的波龙术王，非常不容易对付…… “那波龙术王本人呢？你们有见过吗？”荆裂又问。 一提到这名字，县民的身体总禁不住一阵哆嗦，让荆裂他们都感到了那深深的恐惧。 “只有……第一天来掳走寒石子先生时，我们才看见他亲自来了一次。”薛九牛比较胆大，率先开口描述。他伸高手掌，在自己头上方比一比：“他身子高大得吓人，可是有点瘦削……头颅光秃秃像颗鸟蛋，但他那副样子，半点儿不会让你想起和尚。尤其是那对眼睛……不知怎么说，总之就……不像人……” 他身边的同乡也都点头同意。 这一句“不像人”，加上县民的神情，令童静脸色有些发白。 ——他们就好像在说着鬼怪一样…… “还有。”那店小二伸出三根指头，划过自己的左边脸颊：“他这儿有刺花，是三行小字，就跟庙里的鬼符咒一个模样。” 这特征跟叶辰渊和桂丹雷都相似。荆裂和燕横心里就更肯定，这波龙术王极可能真是武当派的人。 ——那句“武当派波龙术王”不是假的…… 波龙术王一众人马声势如此浩大，就连原来集结在吉安府各处的山贼也都要避开，不敢再在县城一带作买卖，只敢打庐陵县以外乡镇的主意。由于术王部众肆虐，县里越来越难维生，许多庐陵的青壮也就索性上山落草，又令贼祸更深。这是为何像横溪村那等穷地方也有山贼之患，全都是波龙术王逼出来的。 “哼，要不是我年纪小，家里老妈又哭着求我，我也……”薛九牛说时看一看荆裂他们，才醒觉起来住口。 荆裂打量这小子，虽然只十四、五岁年纪，一脸稚气，但长得身高手长，身体颇是扎实，要说上山入伙当匪盗，也不嫌早。 其他县民听薛九牛这么说也无责怪，似乎对县里年轻小伙子抛弃农具落草而去，早就见怪不怪。 先前合什念佛那个老乡民，这时又向黄璇诉苦：“王大人在时，得他挡住了各种无理摊派杂税，又治好了瘟疫，我县才有了口生气，年轻人都安份着，盗贼少了许多；自从他调官之后，这两年再无人为我们百姓出力，上边的横征暴敛又再压下来，我们这些耕田的，吃也吃不饱，日子本就苦得不得了；如今竟来了这等恶煞，三朝两天就进出村子城镇，爱抢就抢，爱杀就杀，县令官府全不过问，再这样子下去，真不晓得我们还能活多久了！” 老乡民说时眼眶含着泪，其他县民许多亦已哭了出来。 “官府也不过问？”练飞虹听到这里，疑惑地搔搔白发：“这些波龙术王弟子，并非寻常山贼可比，那徐县令自然不敢妄想靠县里的民兵保甲去讨伐；可是这么大伙人集结横行民间，杀人如麻，强占山寺，如此大的事情，小小一个县令也不可能瞒得过去啊。他却没有上报府里，请求调官兵来征剿，这着实有点奇怪……” “有什么奇怪？你没看那徐县令的样子吗？”童静不齿地说：“九成是收受了波龙术王的好处！” 县民听了猛地点头。 “老先生的意思是，单凭姓徐这小官，包庇不下这等狂徒。”黄璇在一旁解释。他常听老师说官场之事，对这等贪污勾当也有所知：“没有更上边的人点头，这种血钱，徐县令是不敢收的。” “城里那许多活死人呢？又是怎么回事？”荆裂问。 “他们都吃了术王弟子卖的'仿仙散'。”老乡民沉痛地说，果然与燕横猜想的一样。 原来术王弟子到来不久，就在县城里派“仿仙散”，说是仙药圣品，能让人忘忧，兼能提神强身。最初都是城里的浮滑浪子和妓女服用，后来一些富家子弟也染上了此恶习。这“仿仙散”效用确能令人亢奋愉快，但渐渐就要越吃越多，药瘾一发作就痛苦莫名，吃久了又因份量太多而心神伤损，整个人痴呆迟钝。 术王弟子后来把“仿仙散”的价钱抬得高高，那些上了药瘾的人，什么家财都变卖，甚至抢劫偷盗，都是为了求取服药后飘飘欲仙的快感。最后家当卖光了，又被药搞坏身体，连偷抢也无力，就只有躺在街上慢慢等死。 “那些术王弟子一进城，他们就像蚂蚁般全爬过去求药。”老乡民说：“有时术王弟子就抛几包'仿仙散'出去，看他们争夺厮打取乐，甚至赌博哪一个抢得到手……这毒药，把人们从里到外榨得干干净净，已不知道害得多少人家破人亡！” 荆裂他们听了，才恍然明白之前发生的事情。比起用剧毒杀人，这迷药“仿仙散”又是波龙术王另一样厉害玩意儿，更且害人于无形，祸连更广。 童静虽出身帮会之家，这样恶毒的榨取方法也是首次听闻，甚是惊讶。 “可是我不明白……”她问：“以波龙术王的武力，在这县里本来就予取予携，要拿些什么，晃一晃刀子就有了，还用得着这种方法敲诈钱财吗？” “这位姑娘可真聪慧。” 一把声音在人群后头响起来，一看原来正是王守仁，带着五个门生出现在这关王庙之外。 众县民纷纷让开一条道路，又兴奋地大呼王大人之名。王守仁立时着令他们噤声，指了一指空地外。只见远远站着几个保甲，正在街上看着这边，显然是徐县令派来监视的。 “不打紧。他们毕竟也是本县的子弟。”王守仁微笑安抚县民。那几名保甲朝这边的王大人略一点头，也没过来干涉。 王守仁从人丛里走过来大树下，坐在黄璇让出的石头上。 荆裂看着他微笑说：“我还以为你在县衙脱不了身呢。” 王守仁耸耸肩：“我官阶好歹也比他高几级，我要自己出来城里走走看，他阻不了。” 黄璇正要向老师复述刚才所听，但王守仁挥手止住：“我听那徐洪德的辩解，就已经猜得出个大概。刚才有个保甲也跟我说了一点关于那术王的事。详细的之后再告诉我。” 童静得到王守仁称赞很是欢喜，笑着问他：“大人，波龙术王卖那'仿仙散'，你想是为了什么呢？” “我还不敢肯定。”王守仁想到那迷药对庐陵百姓造成了多大的戕害，就把笑容收起来：“但我猜想，这事情必然关连其他人物。” 荆裂听了马上就明白：“大人是说，官府无人出手讨伐这术王，就是跟此事有关？” 王守仁毕竟是朝廷命官，这种事当着众多百姓不能宣之于口，只有沉默不语。但所有人都看得出这正合他所想。 围在大树四周的县民此刻都不说话了，一个个低下头来，神色沮丧。 “大家怎么了？”黄璇不禁问。 先前最多说话那个老乡民，深吸了一口气，好像想鼓起勇气说什么，但欲言又止，最后把话吞回肚子里。 黄璇又看着薛九牛。这个小伙子想了一想，终于还是开口： “王大人，我们都知道你爱民如子，可是你在这儿，手里没有一兵一卒，那波龙术王一伙人又厉害又疯癫……我们是怕，任王大人的才干，也帮不了我们吧？” 他所说确实切中要害。面对如此凶残无道的大群恶徒，非有实在的力量不行。王守仁即使上奏朝廷，也不知能否调动官军到来——本朝对军权控制甚严，官军出动都非有朝廷指派的太监作监军不可。即能调兵来，已不知是何月何日。这波龙术王刚丧失大队弟子，日内必定前来报复，远水又如何救得近火？ 黄璇想起先前与荆裂和燕横的辩论。他看一看挂在自己腰上那柄剑，一时皱眉无语。 这时众多县民又把目光投落在荆裂五人身上。他们的眼神中既有所盼望，但又充满了不安恐惧。 “我知道你们在想什么。”荆裂这时用船桨撑着站了起来，左手臂弯仍然抱着关王爷的头像。“可是有一件事得说清楚在先：今天我们初来乍到，不知就里就跟波龙术王的弟子打起来，杀了他们许多人，假如我们就此离去，你们还可以推诿说我们是不认识的外来人。不错，他们仍是会非常愤怒。也许会杀一把人来泄愤。但也仅此而已，对方只会忙着追击我们。” 荆裂伸出船桨，指一指在场的百姓。 “可是如果我们留下来帮你们抵抗，那就完全是另一回事了。这一战必然激烈，最后假如我们败了，波龙术王的报复将更激烈十倍。说不定会来个大屠城——我说的是把你们一个一个，男女老少，全部杀光。这样的事情，那些疯子完全做得出来，这一点大家也很清楚。你们心里有这样的觉悟吗？” 荆裂的话有如尖针，刺进每一个县民的心里。虽是盛夏的午后，人人感到一阵寒意。即使当中有的县民早被波龙术王杀害了亲眷，极欲有人代为出头报仇，但一想到要将同乡邻里的性命都押上去，也就不敢开口。 百姓同时瞧着王大人——此刻就只有对王守仁的信任，能够将他们团结起来。 王守仁看着那一双双期盼的无助眼睛。他明白放在面前的，是一个多么艰险困难的责任。 可是王守仁一生，面对艰难，从没有躲避过一次。 “伯安誓与庐陵百姓共生死，同抗妖邪。” 荆裂五人看见王守仁说时眼目散发的凛然正气，不禁动容。 六个门生为能拜得这样的老师而自豪。 许多县民激动得流泪。薛九牛与一群年轻的同伴，更是感到血气翻腾。 王守仁此时瞧向荆裂五人。 “几位愿将性命，暂借我王阳明一用吗？” ——他这次不以名字自称，而用讲学的外号，意思是并非以朝廷大官的地位去征用他们。 ——而是以一个“士”的身份，向荆裂五人平坐相求。 练飞虹抚摸着左手上的铁片拳套，笑嘻嘻地回答：“才打了一半的架，我习惯一定要打完它。” 虎玲兰则把野太刀架在肩上：“我早说了，这是跟'物丹'的因缘，躲不了的。” 童静带点激动地握住“静物剑”剑柄：“曾老板四口人命，我……”说着就有些哽咽。 燕横热血上涌，不知该说什么，只是向王守仁拱拱手，有力地点了点头。 荆裂直视王守仁的眼睛良久。 ——一个将要去南京赴任的大官，将在朝廷有一番大作为，却为曾经管过不够一年的一个小县，甘愿将生命跟仕途都押上去，跟一群杀人狂魔对抗？荆裂从没听过，世上有这样的官。 “荆某这生人，从没想过要把性命交到谁手上。”他再次展露那轻风般的微笑：“不过将我的刀暂借给你，还是可以的。” 王守仁也笑了。 ——他看得出荆裂此人野性难驯；但一旦他对你信任，就会是最可靠的盟友。 王守仁这时招招手，把那几名一直监视他的保甲召过来。 “你们已经听到我要干什么吧？”王守仁问。 保甲本身也不过是庐陵县的乡村壮丁子弟，在更替服役之外，平日也是务农。这几个人互相看着，想了一想，就朝王守仁拱手说：“我们愿供王大人驱策。” 王守仁点点头，马上肃然下令：“你们去集合一些壮丁，去县衙带徐洪德回家，日夜看守，不得让徐家上下主仆任何一人离开半步，以防范他向贼匪通风报信。” 几个保甲一听瞪大了眼睛——软禁县令大人，可落得谋反的大罪。 “不用担心，万事有我扛着。”王守仁知道他们的顾虑，马上说：“就算最后有人问罪，也不会算到你们头上。”他随即命三个门生，陪同保甲去指挥队伍，拘禁县令徐洪德。 王守仁并非江西省府的直辖命官，如此私捕县令，将来如无徐洪德的确实罪证，随时会被问罪，非只乌纱不保那么简单。他此举显然就把自己前途安危都押上了，全没把名位放在心上。 荆裂看见王大人一旦下了决心，办起事来决断利落，手段霹雳，非一般文官可比，更知道对他信任绝对没错。 ——此人要是生逢乱世，必成名将。 王守仁又马上安排人手，往县城外四方的道路上作戒哨，如波龙术王的队伍再来袭，也可预早防范。 县民知道要与凶恶妖人对抗，既兴奋又是慌张，只有王大人那镇定如止水的脸容，能让他们心神稍宁。 “还有一个条件。”荆裂这时却又说。 众人紧张地皱眉看着他。 荆裂走上前，将怀中的关王头像，塞到薛九牛手里。 “你们要把这关王庙修好。否则他不保佑我们打胜仗的啊。” 庐陵县民听了恍然，心头一宽，发出平日难得听见的笑声。 “你刚才说，王大人手上没有一兵一卒吗？”荆裂对薛九牛说：“你错了。” 他露出每次面对挑战时都会挂上的笑容。 “现在，有五个了。”