Chapter 103: Village
Facing the rising sun, Qin Ziling quickly arrived at Hantie Dean's Office.
When Qin Ziling stepped into Hantie's academy, there were many people surrounding the place where apprentices in the outer courtyard practiced martial arts.
In the middle of the human wall, Bao Yingjun was lying on the ground with a bruised face and nose. Wu Cheng had his elbow pressed across his chest. Half of his face was swollen and he looked quite hideous.
"Boy, call Master Wu!"
"You, you call me Master Bao first!"
"Fuck!" Upon hearing that, Wu Cheng clenched his left fist and punched Bao Yingjun in the stomach.
"Cough cough!" Bao Yingjun immediately started coughing violently and curled up.
"Senior Brother Qin is here!" Someone shouted, and the onlookers dispersed. However, Wu Cheng did not let go of Bao Yingjun. Instead, he turned his head and looked at Qin Ziling with a hint of sarcasm and provocation in his eyes. There were still three or five of Nangong Yue's followers who did not disperse. Instead, like Wu Cheng, they turned their heads and looked at Qin Ziling with sarcasm.
Qin Ziling glanced at Bao Yingjun, then retracted his gaze. With a calm face, he walked across the large training ground as if nothing had happened and headed towards the place where the inner courtyard disciples practiced.
"Did you see that, kid? Your senior brother Qin doesn't dare to stand up for you. Just call me Master Wu and I will let you go!" Wu Cheng said with a smug look on his face when he saw this.
The other apprentices had different expressions when they saw this. Some were angry, while others looked at Qin Ziling's back with disdain and sarcasm.
"What a coward, what a coward!" Luo Yuke whispered to Mu Xuan beside her, with disdain and contempt written all over her face.
"Junior Brother Qin is indeed a bit cowardly, but you should still persuade Nangong Yue when you have time. Is it fun to bully people like this?" Mu Xuan said coldly.
"What does this have to do with me? Besides, Qin Ziling is an inner courtyard disciple, and Wu Cheng is an outer courtyard apprentice. He doesn't even have the courage to shout at him, so who can he blame?" Luo Yuke said with disdain.
Mu Xuan was speechless after being refuted. She turned around and shouted at Wu Cheng angrily: "Wu Cheng, are you done yet? Why don't you let go!"
"Hey, okay, Pastor Sister, I'll let go right now!" Wu Cheng saw Mu Xuan shouting at him, and replied with a fake smile, then slowly let go and stood up.
When he stood up, he kicked Bao Yingjun in the butt and cursed, "Stay away from me next time!"
Seeing this, Mu Xuan was so angry that her face turned blue. It took her a while to suppress her anger. She strode up to Qin Ziling and said in a low voice, "Are you still a man? Since you agreed to take care of Bao Yingjun, and seeing him being bullied like this, don't you even have the courage to say a word or two for him?"
"He doesn't need me to speak for him. He can handle his own problems!" Qin Ziling replied calmly, as if Mu Xuan was saying that others are not men, not talking about him.
"You..." Mu Xuan was furious when she heard that, then stamped her feet and said, "I'm convinced by you. Master Zuo and Brother Zheng are waiting for you in the backyard. Come with me to meet them."
After saying that, Mu Xuan threw her black ponytail, twisted her waist, and walked straight to the backyard.
Qin Ziling smiled indifferently when he saw this, then followed Mu Xuan and walked towards the backyard at a leisurely pace.
"Bah, you're still a boastful martial arts apprentice!" Wu Cheng rubbed his nose with his hand and curled his lips in disdain.
"That's right!" Several other apprentices in Wu Cheng's group nodded in agreement with disdain.
No one noticed that when Bao Yingjun looked at Qin Ziling's back, his gaze was not one of reproach but of passion, filled with crazy admiration .
"Happy New Year, Master Zuo. Ziling wishes you a happy new year!" After entering the backyard, Qin Ziling bowed to Zuo Leshen politely.
"Yes!" Zuo Le nodded, and then said: "This is your first time to help pick Qinghan Snow Lotus Grass. This Qinghan Snow Lotus Grass is a main medicinal ingredient for making Xuanhan Iron Chicken Secret Pills. The main production area is Beizhenzhou. In the past, I mostly asked people to buy it from there .
However, in recent years, there have been rebellions in Beizhen Province, and there have been years of war. In addition, the distance from Xiyun Province to Beizhen Province is long. The world has been bad in recent years, with bandits everywhere, and the roads are not peaceful, so this procurement route was cut off.
Fortunately, a few years ago, I discovered a secret place where Qinghan Snow Lotus Grass grows. In recent years, I have secretly sent Xinghan and Muxuan to collect it. The world is not peaceful now, and your practical ability is not bad, so I specially called you this year, so that you can have an extra helper. "
Qin Ziling immediately understood and said seriously, "Thank you Master Zuo for your trust. I will definitely keep this secret."
"Well, I still trust your character, otherwise I wouldn't have specially called you." Zuo Le nodded and continued: "You two must obey Xinghan's arrangements on this journey."
"Yes!" Qin Ziling and Mu Xuan replied seriously.
"Okay, you guys go ahead, but be careful on the road. If you really encounter danger, you can put the Qinghan Snow Lotus Grass aside first. Life is the most important thing." Zuo Le said.
"Master Zuo, don't worry. We will be careful." Zheng Xinghan and the other two bowed to Zuo Le, then turned and left the backyard.
The origin of Qinghan Snow Lotus Grass is in the east of Fangqiao City. The three of them left from the east gate.
The majestic and undulating Wuyang Mountains are like a giant dragon lying on the land outside East City, stretching all the way to the distant horizon.
Because of the existence of the Wuyang Mountains, the terrain outside the east city is very different from that outside the west city.
Most of the land outside East City is mountainous, with mountains of all sizes almost connected to each other.
This kind of place is not only a good place for birds, beasts, poisonous snakes and insects to grow and reproduce, but also a good place for bandits to hide and develop.
The capital of Xiyun Prefecture is located in the east, and the main access to the capital is outside the east city.
In previous years, the world was peaceful and there were no problems. Travelers and merchants only needed to be on guard against the ferocious birds, beasts, poisonous snakes and insects that appeared from time to time.
But now the world is not peaceful, and many bandits have set their sights on this area, where there are many mountains for living and hiding, and where many travelers and merchants move around.
Therefore, now, only the area about ten miles outside the East City is relatively safe. Bandits are becoming increasingly rampant beyond ten miles, and traveling merchants dare not travel without bodyguards.
"Song Haichuan, the head escort of Xingchang Escort Agency, is a close friend of Master Zuo. He has to escort the escort to the prefecture many times every year. He told Master Zuo that in recent years, there are many more bandit gangs on this road outside the East City.
Groups like the Blood Cloud Village have only emerged in recent years and have huge appetites. Once their conditions are not met, they will start a massacre with bloody and cruel methods.
The defenders in the city tried several times to wipe out the Blood Cloud Village, but they were hiding deep in the mountains, occupying a dangerous terrain, and there were many skilled and powerful men in the village. After several failures, they no longer sent troops into the mountains to wipe out the village.
This time we are going to a mountain near Gaitong County. On the way, we need to pass through the territories controlled by several bandit gangs, including the Xueyun Village.
But there are only three of us, and we are traveling light. As long as we try to take some mountain roads and small paths to avoid them, there will generally be no problem. If you really encounter them, don't say anything and let me handle everything. "After leaving the East Gate and walking on the flat and wide official road, Zheng Xinghan looked at the undulating mountains in front of him and said solemnly.
Xiyunzhou has eight counties under its jurisdiction, and Fangqiao City is a small county at the bottom of the ranking. Apart from the county seat, it only has two counties under its jurisdiction, one is Gaitong County and the other is Chenglin County.
"Okay!" Qin Ziling nodded calmly.
“But if you really encounter danger, Junior Brother Qin, you must not be cowardly and retreat! It’s different outside than in the martial arts gym. Once a real fight breaks out, it will be a fight to the death. It’s not like you can be safe if you retreat or give in.” Mu Xuan glanced at Qin Ziling, hesitated, and said.
"Mu Xuan, stop talking nonsense!" Zheng Xinghan said with a slightly gloomy face.
"It's okay, Senior Brother Zheng." Qin Ziling smiled and pulled Zheng Xinghan, then looked at Mu Xuan and said, "Don't worry, Sister Pastor, I know what's going on."
"It's not that I'm worried about you, it's just that you behaved too cowardly in the martial arts gym just now!" Mu Xuan said.
Qin Ziling smiled when he heard this and did not refute.
Bao Yingjun looks like an honest man, but he is actually a little venomous snake. He may even be secretly trained by him and turn into a dragon one day. In the future, Wu Cheng and others will have to suffer. Why would they need his help?
Besides, with his current hidden strength, let alone Wu Chengcheng, even if Nangong Yue really made him lose his patience one day, he could just crush him to death if he wanted to. Why would he bother to fight for face in front of others for the time being?
"What's going on?" Zheng Xinghan asked with a frown.
Mu Xuan roughly recounted what happened just now, and after finishing, he couldn't help but angrily said: "Senior Brother, tell me, is Junior Brother Qin too cowardly?"
"Forget it. If Junior Brother Qin takes the lead, it will only make things more complicated. I will have a good talk with Nangong Yue later." Zheng Xinghan said with a wry smile.
"I get angry when I speak of Nangong Yue. The museum has been open for several days, but he hasn't come to wish Master Zuo a happy new year! There are rumors outside that Nangong Yue is very likely to switch to the Lin family. If that's true, Master Zuo will be furious!" Mu Xuan became more and more annoyed when she saw Zheng Xinghan mentioned Nangong Yue .
"Don't spread such groundless rumors!" Zheng Xinghan said with a gloomy face.
"I know, but it's been so many days since the New Year. What does it mean that he doesn't come to wish Master Zuo a happy new year? Master Zuo has cultivated him as his own son. Others can come late, but he can't!" Mu Xuan said.
"Maybe something happened at home. Anyway, don't make random guesses about such things." Zheng Xinghan said.
Mu Xuan snorted coldly upon hearing this, stopped talking, and continued on his way.
After walking about ten miles, the surroundings began to become desolate. Most of the fields were abandoned and overgrown with dead grass. No one took care of them, and most of the people in the villages were deserted.
Only around some villages built on mountains or rivers are there still some people living and fertile fields.
“Those villages were basically built by some local big families. The people around them attached themselves to them and formed a force of their own in this chaotic world with their own sphere of influence.
These villages are not necessarily guarded by strong men, but they are located near mountains and water, have wall outposts, and many traps are set up around them. The people in the villages are also very united, making them difficult to attack. Even if they are attacked, there will be heavy casualties.
Therefore, bandits usually don't plan to attack these villages. For large villages like Xujiabao and Zhouzhuang, where there are powerful masters of Huajin and many private soldiers stationed, not only do bandits dare not attack them, but even the big figures in the county city have to give them some respect.
We are generally safe when we pass through the areas covered by these village forces."
Zheng Xinghan pointed to a village not far away that was built on a river network and backed by a small hill, and explained to Qin Ziling.
"Did Master Zuo also build a stockade outside the city?" Qin Ziling asked with an moved heart when he heard this.
