Chapter 8 Chapter Seven: Four Assassins

The Ma Pai Gang, which specializes in horse trading and land freight in Chengdu, although its headquarters is not as grand as the Minjiang Gang, the courtyard building is also very tall.The main entrance of the front yard is extraordinarily high and wide, naturally for the convenience of carriages and horses entering and exiting.Just like the general name of the Minjiang Gang, of course the headquarters of the Ma Pai Gang cannot bear the name plaque of the Jianghu Gang, but only the word "Ji Ji". Beside the gate stood two big men with horse cards holding sticks.When they saw this seventeen-year-old boy standing in front of the door with a long cloth bag in his hand, they didn't show any expressions of surprise.

Yan Heng looked at the door, then at the two big men.His face was red. ——Because he was ready to fight at any time, and his brain was full of blood. The big man on the left looked at Yan Heng a few times, then immediately handed over the stick in his hand to his companion, and walked forward with bare hands to salute. "This must be benefactor!" ——Benefactor? Yan Heng was greatly surprised.But he tried to stay calm. "Call that Cai Tianshou out." He was actually quite nervous, but he tried his best to keep his voice steady.After the last "Wuli Wangting", he has learned how to deal with this kind of situation. "If he doesn't come out, I'll go in and look for him."

"The lord and my son have been waiting inside for a long time. Benefactor, please follow me in." The big man cupped his hands, and immediately asked his companions to go in and pass the news. — What trick? ... Yan Heng was originally full of anger, but now he didn't know how to explode.He decided to follow the big man inside first. Only when he reached the center of the front yard, a group of people had already run out of the big house inside.Yan Heng is ready to draw his sword at any time. He saw Cai Tianshou at first sight.Although Cai Tianshou's face was still bruised and swollen, he had changed into new clothes, and he looked like a noble son.As soon as Yan Heng saw him, Aunt Wang's desperate cry sounded again in his mind, as if he saw the resentful eyes of Tong Jing and the Minjiang gang members.Yan Heng's eyes seemed to spark.

"Grandmother!" Cai Tianshou knelt down towards Yan Heng on the spot. A man in his fifties next to him is his father, Cai Kun, the leader of the Mapai Gang.Cai Kun, who was born as a horse thief, was much thicker in appearance than his son, with a very strong body, but he also looked like a rich man in his clothes.Cai Kun immediately bowed deeply to Yan Heng. "So it was this young hero who saved my son!" Cai Kun said excitedly. "No wonder! No wonder! You can tell at a glance that it must be a young hero from a famous martial arts family!" Cai Tianshou cried bitterly: "If it wasn't for my benefactor to save me, I would have been taken into the lair of the Minjiang gang, and I would have been cut into pieces! I really don't know how to repay this kindness!"

"Stop pretending!" Yan Heng yelled furiously, and the "Dragon Thorn" wrapped in cloth pointed forward and pointed at his face. "Your crying face fooled me too much! You deserve to die!" Cai's father and son and the gang behind them all looked stunned. "This... why..." Cai Kun said hastily. "Ah... I see! It must be those sons of the Minjiang gang who are spreading rumors and lying!" "You guys are the ones lying, right?" Yan Heng sneered. "I've heard about it! Rape and murder, even a child of a few years old! I've seen Aunt Wang with my own eyes!"

"Why do young heroes believe this rumor so easily?" Cai Kun's face turned pale. "I've heard people in the city say that, it's nothing but nonsense! Yes, that coppersmith Wang Ayong was indeed beaten to death by my unscrupulous subordinates..." He slapped his face hard as he spoke. On Cai Tianshou's cheek.Cai Tianshou took the slap hard and didn't grunt. "Isn't that an admission?" Yan Heng glared at Cai Tianshou. "Murder to kill!" "Wait!" Cai Kun said again: "Please let me, the old man, finish talking first." Although Cai Kun's face was rough, his facial features were as correct as his son's, and his eyes were also extremely sincere. "Although this unworthy son's behavior is a bit improper, he is not a big villain. It's just that his greedy and lustful temperament can't be changed..."

Cai Kun helped his son up, and looked at his swollen face with pity. "The thing is like this: Tianshou didn't know that Wang's wife at first, but met him several times on the west street of the city. My son is not bad-looking, and there are a few ingots of silver in his purse, so maybe he fell in love with that Wang's wife. She took the initiative to hook up, and even lied that she was a widow... I couldn't resist the temptation, so I got confused with her... "It was only later that Tianshou found out that she was Wang Ayong's wife, so he broke off contact with her, and even paid her a lot of money, hoping not to make things worse. But Wang Ayong had already heard some rumors and felt very jealous. I often drink away my worries.

"One night, Wang Ayong got drunk when he came home, so he quarreled with his wife. The woman was probably abandoned by my son, and she was unhappy. When the quarrel was heated, she slipped her mouth and said Admitting to the affair with my son. When Wang Ayong heard this while drunk, he was even more furious. He picked up a copper hammer and chased his wife in the house. Wang Ayong killed his own son by mistake, and became even more insane. He arrested his wife and crushed him to death. "Wang Ayong was so red-eyed, he didn't do it, he kept going, and immediately came to Tianshou again. It happened that Tianshou was looking for pleasure in Huajie Liuxiang, and he found him... Wang Ayong couldn't help but raised the blood-stained hammer. He was about to attack Tianshou narrowly escaped him, but Wang Ayong still refused to give up. Fortunately, several gang members who accompanied Tianshou stopped him. They originally wanted to subdue him, but Wang Ayong killed his wife and children after drinking. It was like a crazy tiger. These subordinates beat him to death in self-defense in the midst of the chaos... Each of them broke a lot of bones that night. We can see how dangerous the situation was at that time, and we had no choice but to . If you don’t believe me, please take a look.”

Cai Kun pointed back as he spoke.Among those gang members, some of their limbs were still wrapped with cloth and splints. "What about Aunt Wang? What do you say?" Yan Heng was surprised when he heard this completely different statement, and didn't quite believe it. "That old woman killed her whole family overnight, especially her little grandson. It's really pitiful... Originally, my unworthy son was indeed at fault for this matter, but it's not enough to die. The subordinates I helped were all for the sake of It was a mistake to protect him..." Cai Kun sighed and said: "Cai has promised long ago, arranged for their family to be buried, and also compensated her with three hundred taels of silver. She took the money and thought it was worthless , came again to ask for more. Alas, there are few things about money and money, but I, the leader of a certain Cai gang, has hundreds of disciples, and what I control them is faith. Does this make me have face? I couldn't help but added another sentence to her two hundred taels: "Mother-in-law, you are going to be old for a hundred years, and my Horse Card Gang will also cover it." She heard it, thinking that I meant to harm her, and was shocked I will find my opponent, the Minjiang Gang, as a backer."

When Yan Heng heard this, he immediately thought of the "Wuliting Martial Arts Fight", which was also a local personal grievance, and it was not surprising that it turned into a confrontation between two groups of people. Cai Kun went on to say: "The Minjiang gang always loves to trouble my gang, but this time they got Aunt Wang, and they treated it as a treasure, so they made up rumors that my son killed the whole family. In fact, they wanted to use this excuse to weaken the prestige of my gang. , take the opportunity to expand our power. If we are not careful, they will arrest Tianshou."

"That's right, Engong!" Cai Tianshou also said, "Especially the daughter of the head of the Minjiang gang, who is aggressive and addicted, and often fights with our gang members for no reason; once she harassed boxers from other places who came to Chengdu to sell martial arts, I stopped her in public on the street, she has a grudge against me, and she wants to take this opportunity to harm me this time! God pity, I have to be saved in time by my benefactor!" Saying this, she bowed again. What Cai Tianshou said does match the character of Tong Jing that Yan Heng met.Yan Heng couldn't help being puzzled. He thought about it carefully, and the two sides' statements were completely different, but both seemed reasonable.For Yan Heng, the Minjiang Gang and the Mapai Gang are ordinary gangs on the rivers and lakes, and he really can't tell which one is more reliable. Seeing that Yan Heng was still puzzled, Cai Kun pulled his son and said, "Look at Tianshou. Although I was born in the Jianghu with a knife, I have never taught him martial arts. If he can't write, he can't do martial arts." , just loves to play by nature. Look at his appearance, benefactor, is this a tricky person who can kill children of how old?" Yan Heng looked at Cai Tianshou carefully again, thinking that it is indeed not the same.Before he saw Cai Tianshou's frail appearance, he couldn't help interfering. Yan Heng thought again: Since I arrived at the headquarters of the Mapai Gang, they haven't guarded against me at all, it doesn't seem like they are cheating... "If Eunuch still doesn't believe it..." Cai Kun thought for a while. "How about this? I'll send someone to invite Aunt Wang, people from the Minjiang Gang, and some neighbors of the Wang family on Dongdatong Street, to come and confront the benefactor in front of him, and ask him to be an arbitrator, how about it?" Yan Heng just wanted to make amends for his mistakes, never thought about being an arbitrator, and felt extremely nervous.But he thought again, this matter is about human life, and it cannot be ignored, so it can only be resolved in this way, so he nodded in agreement. As soon as Cai Kun gave an order, the gang rushed out of the gate of the courtyard and went out to invite people. "I'm afraid I'll have to wait for a long time to persuade them to come here. It's too late for my benefactor to stand here and blow the wind." Cai Tianshou said, "Actually, my family has already prepared a banquet to welcome benefactor at any time. Why don't you ask your benefactor first?" Go into the house and have a glass of water and wine, have some snacks, and wait." Yan Heng looked at these horse brand gangs, and at a glance, he knew that there were no half masters.This kind of Jianghu people, forgive him for sending people to ambush in the house, it will definitely be difficult to deal with him.Yan Heng also agreed.Cai and his son happily led him into the house.
As soon as he heard the news that Chen Tong had brought back, Jiang Yunlan immediately put on his old sword with a sharkskin sheath, and picked up the armored gloves that looked like animal claws, ready to put them on. "You really don't want me to go?" Ye Chenyuan sat at the side of the room, closed his eyes and meditated, and said without opening them. "It would be too ridiculous for my deputy to take action in such a matter." Jiang Yunlan smiled with a noseless and scarred face, which had a feral and ferocious taste.He untied the belt of the Iron Armor Claw, put his left hand in, and said at the same time: "We have the opportunity to ambush this time. And this is revenge, we will not abide by the number of people in the duel competition. If the deputy head comes, there is damage your reputation." "Then at least let me choose someone myself." Ye Chenyuan opened his sharp eyes and took a look at the thirty or so elites of "Bing Crow Dao" who had gathered in the room. "Shi Hong!" Ye Chenyuan shouted.A disciple with a mandarin duck and ax in the crowd stepped forward in response.This Shi Hong was the young Wudang martial artist who single-handedly killed Qingcheng senior elder Chen Hongli not long ago.He has a thin and pale face and looks like a scholar, but he has a pair of strange weapons in his hands, which has long been known among Wudang disciples as being weird and difficult.Shi Hong is only twenty-seven years old this year, and the dead Xi Zhaoping are both the hope of Wudang's new generation. "Huyanda!" "Yes!" The one who shouted and stepped out was a disciple slightly older than Shi Hong, with a black turban and a beard.He is a descendant of Hu Yanzan, a famous general in the early Northern Song Dynasty, and it seems that he has indeed inherited the power of a soldier.Like Ye Chenyuan, he specializes in double swords, but the sword he uses is wider and shorter, and instead of being crossed on his back, he is placed flat on his lower back, with two hilts protruding from the left and right sides of his waist. "Li Shanyang!" The third person was the tallest and strongest, and he took a step forward, already dimming the light cast on Ye Chenyuan's body.On the left side of Li Shanyang's solid and dark face, there is a row of spell tattoos, extending from the ear to the side of the neck, until it is hidden in the collar.What he uses is a big and long two-handed simple knife. The central guard of the knife is in the shape of a "卍" barb, which has the function of locking the enemy's weapons. Of course Jiang Yunlan knew that the three selected by Ye Chenyuan belonged to the most elite in this expeditionary army.He smiled at the deputy head. "The three of you follow all instructions from Junior Brother Jiang." Ye Chenyuan said coldly, pointing to the jar behind Xi Zhaoping's ashes. "Bring back that man's head and sacrifice it to our five fellow heroes." The three of them responded in unison: "Yes!" Jiang Yunlan put on the iron armor claws, moved his sharp five fingers, and made sure that he could move flexibly, then nodded to Ye Chenyuan, and led Shi Hong and the other three and Chen Tong out.
When Liu Renying saw the five figures in all black walking out of the "Fenglai Inn" at night, she couldn't help feeling strange. ——At this time, there is no way out of the city, where are they going? ... Liu Renying had been sitting in the tavern opposite the inn for a long time, monitoring the Wudang faction for any special movements.Seeing that the five Wudang people had already walked out of a street, he immediately put down the copper coins to pay the bill, and went out to follow them. Liu Renying and younger brother Liu Renyan are a pair of twin brothers, they look average.It's just that my younger brother used a double-cut chain gun, and he used a double-ended short flower gun. At this moment, he put the gun in a wooden huqin box and carried it behind his back. He was dressed like a wandering musician. Liu Renying hangs those five figures from a distance, thinking in her heart: They must be going to fight somewhere in the city, otherwise why are they all carrying weapons?Are there any enemies of Wudang in Chengdu?And how many people will be dispatched... Could it be that our Xingzang was discovered by them?Want to ask us to test the martial arts of the Emei Sect? ... Thinking of this possibility, Liu Renying couldn't help but feel a little anxious, and focused all her attention not to follow along.He paid attention to the five people, walking one after the other, obviously one of them was leading the way. He remembered that not long ago, a man in a black shirt entered the "Fenglai Inn", and he might be the one who led the way, a spy.It is more likely that the Emei faction will be targeted. The five people didn't pause, nor did they look back.It seems like they don't worry about being followed. The five turned a street corner, but Liu Renying couldn't see them.He hurried forward with light steps, hid behind the corner wall, cautiously and slowly raised his head to look around. "Have you followed enough?" Upon hearing this, Liu Renying's spine stood on end. He quickly took off the piano case on his back and lifted it up. bang.The broad blade of Pu Dao slashed at the corner of the wall violently, cutting three inches into the brick wall. Wood fragments from the piano box burst out from behind the wall—Liu Renying just used the box to block the blade in time. His right hand holds the flower gun shaft in the broken piano case. But before he even had time to make a move, another figure rushed across the corner of the wall. Two gray and black swords.A slash hit Liu Renying's right arm.The other went straight into the heart. With this speed, even if she was not attacked by surprise, the young Liu Renying would not be able to escape. The "Still Life Twin Swords" in Hu Yanda's hand quickly retracted silently.A spray of blood sprayed the wall. Li Shanyang also easily pulled out the simple knife from the corner.He didn't need to inspect it, and he knew that the blade was not damaged in the slightest. Jiang Yunlan and Shi Hong walked back slowly from the middle of the street at this moment.Chen Tong was squatting on the eaves in the corner - the one who found someone following him was of course him, a disciple of "The Way of the First Snake". The five looked coldly at Liu Renying who was slowly falling down.And the short gun he still held in his hand. "Emei." Shi Hong said. "I don't have time to pay attention to it," Jiang Yunlan said. "It's important to concentrate on finishing this matter first." Chen Tong jumped down and landed silently. On the way to the "Xiangyun Inn", the five of them left behind Liu Renying who hadn't died yet. So they couldn't see that before his death, Liu Renying used his own blood to draw half a crooked Tai Chi symbol on the wall. ——After not enough time for a cup of tea, Yanagi Hitohiko, who was about to take over the monitoring, found the body of his brother still warm. Yuanyang Yue, also known as "Antler Knife" or "Sun Moon Qiankun Sword", is a strange short weapon with a strange shape. When it comes out, it must be in pairs, so it is called "Mandarin Duck".Each part of the weapon has a name, which are antlers, snake body, hyacinth eye, fish tail, and bear back. The Yuanyang Yue has a total of four points, nine sharp edges, and thirteen fronts in total, so it is officially called "Four Points, Nine Blades and Thirteen Fronts Ziwu Yuanyang Yue".Because there are so many blades, and they have to be used left and right at the same time, it is easy to injure yourself between swinging and flipping, so this kind of strange weapon is very difficult to learn; It is extremely difficult for the enemy to guard against it.Due to the short attack distance, the requirements for footwork and bodywork are extremely high. Pudao, also known as "two-handed belt", is a long-handled civilian weapon between short-handed and long-handed. Usually, the total length is about five feet (150 cm), and the blade and handle account for half of it. , the blade is wide and the blade is thin, and the main force is chopping. Because the long handle is easy to use with both hands, it is very powerful. Pu Dao emerged in the Song Dynasty (there are many records and descriptions about Pu Dao in the novel). According to research, the possession of military weapons and long soldiers was forbidden among the people at that time. For the convenience of self-defense, ordinary civilians used ordinary agricultural knives with long handles. Power as a long weapon gradually evolved into the standard of simple knives.At the end of the Qing Dynasty, when the Taiping Army rebelled, its soldiers used Pu Dao in large quantities, so it was also called "Tai Ping Dao" at that time. <illustration>