The Southern Xinjiang bandit leader Jingxu had no suspicion at first, and followed the "Southern Xinjiang garrison" who came to report the news to rush to rescue Fu Zhicheng. As he walked, the experienced old bandit discovered a problem - the guide seemed to be leading him to the place where the bandits often "ring the bell".

Such places are often found in the mountains of the southwest. The terrain is extremely complex and it is a natural maze. Unless you are a local expert, you will have no way to find your way in. There are many holes underground, and people in the mountains can lie in ambush and appear and disappear at will.

The mountain bandits usually try to lure people into the place first, and then block the entrance to rob and kill them. They are very accurate in robbing people in this kind of place, and they are specifically used to deal with some famous bodyguards and gangs. In slang, it is called "ringing the bell".

Although Jingxu ran in a hurry, his mind was still in a mess. When he got close, he was startled and realized that it was a "bell cover". A layer of cold sweat broke out on his back. He suddenly stopped and questioned the "South Xinjiang garrison" who led the way. However, in just a few words, he had already revealed many loopholes. The leader suddenly jumped up and wanted to hurt people. After being restrained by the bandits, he actually committed suicide by taking poison.

Jingxu was shocked and immediately ordered his men to return. On the way, they met two brothers from the village who were covered in blood. Only then did they realize that their nest had been destroyed. When they hurried back, all they saw were broken tiles and charred corpses on the ground.

Ten years of accumulation, reduced to ashes overnight.

"Brother!" A bandit with an embarrassed face staggered over and grabbed Jingxu's arm, "Secret passage, don't panic, we still have a secret passage!"

The southwest is mountainous, and most of the bandits have three burrows. There are many secret passages in the mountains that they can use for escaping underground.

If an enemy comes up the mountain to attack, the people on the mountain can just make a feint and escape through the secret passage to the Ten Thousand Mountains. Even the black eagle in the sky cannot catch the rolling rat.

When the other bandits heard this, their eyes lit up.

Jingxu shook his head, his expression wooden, without any sign of joy.

He watched helplessly as his men happily searched for the secret passage in the hope of a lucky break - he knew in his heart that the secret passage was useless.

If the other party had just gone up the mountain and killed people with real guns and knives, most of the people on the mountain would have been able to escape through the secret passages, and the foundation of the mountain stronghold would not have been shaken anyway. However, they actually burned the mountain.

Even Kuai Lantu didn't know what he had burned with the fire.

Jingxu stood there for a long time. Suddenly, a sharp cry broke out not far away. He heard the people who were searching for the secret passage shouting in despair: "The secret passage has collapsed!"

The big bandit leader closed his eyes—as expected.

In this unremarkable secret room at the foot of the mountain, what is stored is not real gold and silver like the one in Xingzilin, but purple gold.

The purple gold that the court delegated to the local garrisons was not enough for even the Black Iron Camp, not to mention the southern Xinjiang garrisons. Fu Zhicheng certainly had his own way. Kuai Lantu received a secret report and learned that Fu Zhicheng had a close relationship with the big bandit leader Jingxu Taoist, but he didn't know that Jingxu Taoist was actually the "shopkeeper" who smuggled the purple gold for Fu Zhicheng.

The business of mountain bandits is to rob and plunder. Jingxu contacted the black market on behalf of Fu Zhicheng to smuggle purple gold. It was impossible for him to take advantage of it, but he considered himself not greedy and only kept 10% each time. Fu Zhicheng knew about this and had always acquiesced.

Just before this, Jingxu had just delivered the latest batch of purple gold to the garrison in southern Xinjiang. He had just about 10% of the purple gold left in his secret room at the foot of the mountain. Unexpectedly, it became a death warrant. After it was ignited, it blew up the secret passage in the mountain and killed all the people in the entire village.

Is this a coincidence? Could this be a coincidence?

Jingxu remembered that a long time ago, someone told him that "gentlemen are guided by righteousness, villains are guided by profit, and those who come together because of profit will eventually disperse because of profit." He and Fu Zhicheng came together because of profit, and now that his true colors have been exposed, Fu Zhicheng could of course easily abandon him. There were bandits all over the mountain, and if they could get rid of one Jingxu, they could still support countless more.

One of his men came forward and cried, "Brother, let's dig up the secret passage. There might be people alive."

Jingxu stood there indifferently and just shook his head.

“Brother!”

There were cries everywhere, and Jingxu suddenly shouted, "Enough!"

All the survivors stood on the scorched earth and looked at him.

"Come with me." Jingxu's eyes gradually turned red, like a ferocious beast ready to devour people. He lowered his voice very low and gritted his teeth, "Fu Zhicheng is unkind, don't blame me for being unjust - after so many years, do you really think I can't deal with him?"

"There are many mountains and mountain strongholds in southern Xinjiang. These mountain bandits form their own system and do not act independently. As far as we know, there are three major bandit leaders." In the bandit den of Xingzilin, Chang Geng took out a sheepskin map that seemed to have been torn apart and showed it to Gu Yun. The markings on it were extremely complex, including terrain, climate, what kind of roads, what kind of vehicles and horses can be used, etc.

Gu Yun had seen such drawings in Jiangnan before, and he was sure that they were definitely the work of Linyuan Pavilion. Under the oil lamp, he looked at Chang Geng thoughtfully, but said nothing, motioning him to continue.

Gu Yun mixed 3,000 Black Iron Army soldiers into the caravan heading south for home, and sneaked in late at night using smoke signals. When Kuai Lantu's guards besieged Fu Zhicheng on the top of Xingzilin Mountain, they dropped from the sky. Twenty or so aerial assassins, Black Eagles, took control of the dog-eat-dog mountain. The Black Armor and Black Cavalry were divided into two groups, cutting off the tens of thousands of Southern Xinjiang garrison troops at the foot of the mountain into several sections.

The commander was captured, the Black Iron Camp arrived in person, and the Southern Border garrison was large in number and powerful, but they were like a group of sheep that would not resist and were dealt with by Gu Yun.

When a commander leads his troops not to kill but to boost their courage, no matter how fierce and powerful the army following him is, they will become a cart of sheep.

However, before the fight in Xingzilin was over, Chang Geng brought another piece of news.

Chang Geng: "The forces of these three bandit leaders divided Southern Xinjiang into three parts. They usually live in peace and control the bandits in their own territory. They are all more or less connected with the garrison in Southern Xinjiang. The most special one among them is Taoist Jingxu in the far north."

Shen Yi asked: "Why is this person special? Is he the most powerful? Or is he the closest to Fu Zhicheng?"

Chang Geng: "Because he smuggled purple gold for General Fu."

Gu Yun's eyelids jumped, and he suddenly raised his head: "How do you know? What on earth are you doing in the southwest this time?"

Four years ago, when Monk Liangran led him to Jiangnan, Gu Yun already had a vague guess in his heart. Linyuan Pavilion was far away from the rivers and lakes, and it was impossible for it to monitor the exchanges between loyal officials in the court. The reason why they were able to discover the disaster of the dragon in the East China Sea was probably because they were tracking the black market purple gold among the people.

Chang Geng smiled softly, and seemed unwilling to say more. He only said: "People in the martial arts world have their own ways. Godfather, don't worry."

Gu Yun raised his hand to stop him from speaking, and said with a gloomy face: "You should know what crime it is to smuggle purple gold in our dynasty - if caught, you will be killed. There are all kinds of desperate criminals on the purple gold black market. A gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall. Do you understand?"

Shen Yi was so embarrassed listening to this that he wished he could make Gu Shuai blush. When he was lecturing others, he was so righteous and eloquent, as if the smuggling of purple gold had nothing to do with him!

Chang Geng didn't argue with him, nor did he get angry with him. He just looked at him with a half-smile, and his face clearly showed an expression of "I know all about your affairs, but I can't tell you because there are outsiders here."

Gu Yun was stunned at first, but then he came to his senses immediately and thought, "What? This little bastard has also found out about me?"

Chang Geng held Gu Yun's hand and said, "Foster father, don't be angry so quickly. Listen to me first."

Chang Geng placed his hand on the back of Gu Yun's hand. His palm was warm, with distinct joints. He squeezed it gently as if he were grabbing a baby bird, and let go immediately. However, for some reason, a strange smell came out.

Gu Yun suddenly felt a little awkward. Friends and brothers had a close relationship, and there was nothing wrong with hugging, shaking hands, playing around, or even hugging and kissing. There weren't so many false formalities between military generals, especially among the ranks. But this action was too "sticky". Gu Yun's fingers couldn't help but move slightly, and he forgot what he wanted to say just now.

Chang Geng said calmly, "Just now, Ge Chen sent me a message using a wooden bird, saying that Jingxu's mountaintop was burned down."

Gu Yun: "...Ge Chen?"

Chang Geng: "That's Fatty Ge."

Gu Yun glanced at Sun Jiao. Ever since Kuai Lantu died and Fu Zhicheng was arrested, Lord Sun had become a weak and pitiful little quail. Apart from trembling, he could do nothing else. Gu Yun had someone look after him.

This will become clear if you think about it for a moment.

Fu Zhicheng knew the whereabouts of Gu Yun and the others long ago. If he really wanted to distance himself from the bandits, why would he do it at this critical moment? Isn't that killing people to silence them without even confessing?

Thinking back to Sun Jiao's stupid look of "Governor Kuai and I have already colluded" from beginning to end, it is really clear at a glance - it is obvious that the Ministry of War wanted to forcibly promote the drum-beating order, and Kuai Lantu wanted to get rid of Fu Zhicheng, so the two sides hit it off and instigated the bandits and Fu Zhicheng to fight each other in front of Marquis Anding. By then, no matter how much Gu Yun wanted to protect Fu Zhicheng, he would not be able to reverse right and wrong.

The wicked person who set fire to the mountain was most likely Kuai Lantu.

But Kuai Lantu could not have known the true relationship between Jingxu and Fu Zhicheng, otherwise he would not have burned the mountain. Even if the fact that Kuai Lantu colluded with the bandits was obvious, this crime would not necessarily put the Southwest Governor and Southern Xinjiang Commander to death. If Kuai Lantu knew that Fu Zhicheng smuggled Zi Liujin through Jingxu, he would never have been so careless to burn the evidence for them - smuggling Zi Liujin was treason, and killing ten Fu Zhichengs was enough.

"There are generally three sources of purple gold on the black market," Chang Geng said in detail. "The first is from the official reserve. Although the law is strict, there are always rats who take risks for personal gain and steal the official reserve purple gold, adulterate it and resell it to the public. The second is from black diggers, who are those who risk their lives to go outside the Great Wall to find purple gold mines and dig them back at the risk of their lives. The third is from overseas. The reason why we made a special trip to investigate this line is because the ultimate source of this purple gold is Southeast Asia."

Gu Yun suddenly sat up straight: "Are you sure?"

Chang Geng nodded silently.

Shen Yi's expression also turned serious.

They all knew that purple gold was not produced in Southeast Asia.

The purple gold from overseas that flows into the black market in Daliang is traded directly with foreigners. It is connected through fixed lines and fixed people. It will not be transferred from others due to complications. The risk is too high.

If there really is someone who uses Nanyang as a cover to control the black market of purple gold in the southwest from a distance of eight feet, then the person behind it is taking such a big risk and hiding so deeply, it is definitely not just a simple purchase and sale of purple gold.

Chang Geng: "Nanyang is not within our borders. We have limited capabilities. We have sent people to Nanyang several times, but all returned in vain. This is one thing. There is also the Taoist Jingxu who has not appeared yet. Foster father, I think when a fierce bandit can get access to purple gold, he will never think of getting a mountain to cultivate puppets and open up wasteland to grow crops."

After listening to this, Gu Yun pondered for a moment, then stood up and blew a long whistle. A black eagle silently descended from the sky and landed in front of Gu Yun.

Gu Yun frowned slightly, and issued three military orders in a row.

"Two teams of Black Eagle scouts, take this map and find out the locations of the three major bandit leaders in southern Xinjiang at night, and capture the bandit leaders first!"

"Detain the Nanzhong Governor's Defense Team and thoroughly investigate who gave Kuai Lantu the idea to use this method to instigate Fu Zhicheng and the bandits."

"Interrogate Fu Zhicheng, Ji Ping, you go."

Everyone followed the order. After Gu Yun finished speaking, he narrowed his eyes involuntarily. Before Shen Yi even noticed anything was wrong, Chang Geng had already grabbed him and said, "Foster father, did you... bring your medicine? It's almost dawn, why don't you take a rest first?"

Shen Yi came back to his senses when he heard the word "medicine". At the same time, he felt a little strange. Chang Geng's eyes seemed to be always glued to Gu Yun, and he could detect any disturbance at the first time.

Gu Yun habitually wanted to deny it.

Chang Geng said, "I haven't tried the acupuncture method that Miss Chen gave me last time. This matter may not be over yet. I'm afraid it will change again. My foster father asked me to try it."

Gu Yun then remembered that Chang Geng already knew about it, and there was no point in hiding it any longer. He said, "I'll go lie down in the back for a while," and acquiesced to him following him.

Chang Geng carried a set of silver needles, some common medicines, a few small coins, and a few books in his bag. Gu Yun had discovered that this child looked decent at first glance, but in fact, he only had two sets of clothes to change back and forth. He couldn't figure it out no matter how hard he tried. When he was a child, Chang Geng had to use all kinds of martial arts to go out to the market, why did he refuse to stay in the capital and have to suffer all the hardships in the world?

One month and two months are fresh, but are four years also fresh?

Chang Geng had given acupuncture to many people, but now facing Gu Yun alone, he felt nervous for no reason. He had never felt this way even when he first learned acupuncture from Miss Chen and put it on himself. He could not help but wash his hands repeatedly, almost washing off a layer of skin, until Gu Yun could not bear it anymore and urged, "Miss Chen taught you for a long time, and you only taught you how to wash your hands?"

Chang Geng swallowed his saliva, his voice a little tense, and asked cautiously: "Godfather, can you lie on my lap?"

Gu Yun didn't think there was anything wrong with it. It wasn't a young lady's leg, so he just lay there. However, he wanted to ask "Can you do it?" But he was afraid of adding pressure to Chang Geng, a half-baked doctor, so he held it back and thought calmly, "Just go for it. It won't kill me anyway."

He was prepared to get a few injections into his skin, but Chang Geng was not as weak as he thought. He felt almost nothing when the needles went into his acupuncture points. After a while, the familiar headache came back. He didn't know if it was Gu Yun's psychological effect, but he felt much better.

Gu Yun relaxed, but couldn't help asking, "Why do you follow Linyuan Pavilion through thick and thin?"

If you really want to serve your country, you should return to the capital and become a prince. Why is a prince like you following those reckless people in Linyuan Pavilion to investigate the Purple Flowing Gold?

Chang Geng paused, but did not stop his movements. He politely refused, "I have not asked you, godfather, where the poisonous injury to your ears and eyes came from."

Gu Yun: “…”

Chang Geng smiled, thinking he had stopped him, but a moment later, Gu Yun suddenly said calmly: "When I was a child, the old marquis took me to the battlefield in the northern border, and I was scratched by the barbarians' poisonous arrows."

Chang Geng: “…”

Gu Yun: "I'm done, it's your turn."

Gu Yun was an expert at pretending to be a wolf, a bear, or a grandson. He would say something expressionlessly, mixing truth with lies, all depending on his mood. There was basically no clue to be found. Chang Geng could only rely on his intuition to think that there must be something fishy in his words.

"I... I want to take a look," Chang Geng said, "Master Liao Ran once told me that if you have the world in your heart, the troubles as big as the mountains are just a small part of it. Mountains, rivers, seas, all living things, if you look at others often, you can see yourself by lowering your head. If you have never taken care of a seriously ill or dying person, you will think that the scratches on your skin are serious injuries. If you have never swallowed a mouthful of yellow sand and gravel, you will always think that the war is just a majestic shadow. If you have never eaten coarse food, isn't 'the people's livelihood is difficult' just a complaint without any reason?"

Gu Yun opened his eyes and looked at him.

Gu Yun's eyes gradually regained focus under the effect of the drug. Chang Geng dodged slightly at first, then calmed down and faced him calmly. However, he still couldn't look into Gu Yun's eyes for long. After looking at them for too long, it felt like there was a golden box on his chest that couldn't dissipate heat, burning and scorching. His back was numb, and he subconsciously crossed his legs and almost couldn't sit still.

Gu Yun suddenly asked: "Your teacher's last name is Zhong, Zhong Chan, right?"

Chang Geng was slightly stunned.

"General of the Cavalry, unrivaled in the world in riding and shooting. More than a decade ago, he was convicted for defying the late emperor and deceiving his superiors. The entire court of civil and military officials pleaded for him, and in the end he was only dismissed from office instead of being imprisoned. After that, he disappeared without a trace. When the Western Regions rebelled, the late emperor was in a panic and wanted to restore the old general, but he couldn't find him," Gu Yun sighed, "As soon as you shot the arrow, I knew it was his teachings - no wonder the people I sent out often lost him, is he still strong?"

Chang Geng responded.

Gu Yun remained silent for a long time.

He didn't tell Chang Geng that Zhong Chan had been his teacher a long time ago. Was it a coincidence or intentional that Linyuan Pavilion introduced Chang Geng to him?

He couldn't help but feel a little excited - would the little prince he had raised from a toddler of ten grow up to be a pillar of the country?

Gu Yun gradually fell asleep while thinking about random things. He was drowsy and felt as if someone touched his face.

When he woke up again, it was already daybreak. He pushed away the thin blanket that someone had put on him and asked in a deep voice, "What's the matter?"

Xuan Ying at the door: "General, the three bandit leaders gathered overnight and formed a mob rebel army near the Nandu River estuary..."

Gu Yun frowned.

"They have more than ten Baihongs and dozens of heavy armors. If I am not mistaken, these rioters also have 'Eagles' in their hands."