Volume 1 Chapter 23: Battle of the Forest
Lin Longqing was shocked and thought, "This man's martial arts is amazing. Although I only used 80% of my strength, if anyone else had been hit by my palm, their heart would have been broken, but he was still talking and laughing." But the man smiled and said, "Boss, wait a minute. To be honest, I am not from the Yukou Division! I am just an idle person who is not in the martial arts world or officialdom."
Lin Longqing said: "If that's the case, what's your intention in sending the letter? How do you know that there has been a change in the Kuang Yi Gang?"
The man smiled and said, "Boss Lin knows the answer well, why ask me? I just can't stand the tyranny of the imperial court and its interference in the affairs of the martial arts world. I have good intentions. If you continue to pester me, I'm afraid the imperial court will attack the Kuangyi Gang in the next few days. It's better to go back early to avoid any unpredictable things happening."
Lin Longqing said: "Since you are unwilling to show your true face, how can I trust you?"
The man sighed and said, "It's up to the leader to decide whether to believe it or not. Well, you will know if you go to the Jiangning branch. I'm leaving now. I hope the leader won't see me off so far this time." After saying that, he turned around and hurried away. He disappeared into the night in an instant and was never seen again.
Seeing this, Lin Longqing thought to himself, "From what he said, I'm afraid the Jiangning branch has met with an accident. I don't know how Brother Yue is doing. It's really worrying." He stopped chasing him, and there was no time to pack up that night. He locked the door and rushed to the Jiangning branch at night.
Along the way, Lin Longqing was suspicious of the man in black. He had hit him that night, but he just coughed a few times, and it seemed that he was not seriously injured. Although he only used 80% of his strength, now he thought that the man must not have used his full strength; and the man was also very comfortable in his moves, and he always had a leisurely style. He deliberately tried to test his martial arts, and he also wanted to compete, otherwise he would not have led him to catch up. The more he analyzed, the more he felt that the man's martial arts was not inferior to his own, but in the fight, he could see that he was not a senior master he was familiar with, and his martial arts were not the same as those of Shaolin, Shushan and other famous masters. He also said that he was not a man of the rivers and lakes, nor a man of the officialdom, which was really suspicious, but he took the risk to come to deliver a letter, but it showed good intentions, which was really hard to guess.
Arriving in Jiangning, Lin Longqing felt a bloody smell rushing towards him as soon as he entered the branch hall. He secretly shouted "not good" and flew in. When he entered the door, Lin Longqing covered his eyes with his hands. The tragic scene was unbearable to watch. He slowly opened his eyes and saw corpses everywhere in the hall. Lin Longqing sighed and covered his mouth and nose with a cloth. He slowly checked and saw that all the brothers died in the fight. They were all covered with scars, some with broken bones and cracked tendons, and some with a faint smell of fishy smell. It was probably because the weapons were poisoned and killed them. He searched the branch hall carefully from top to bottom, but no one was alive. Yue Lingfeng and his deputy were missing. Lin Longqing lit a torch and set it on fire inside and outside. He walked out of the hall and looked back. The Jiangning branch hall was already a sea of fire with thick smoke, and his eyes were already bloodshot. Just as he was about to rush back to the main hall, he heard a faint noise coming from behind a bush nearby. He climbed over the woods and saw a man crawling on his head turned towards the Jiangning branch, staring at the fire. It was Li Yuanzhong, the deputy head of the Jiangning branch. A trail of blood stretched from his body to the distance, and it was obvious that he was seriously injured and crawling here from a distance. Lin Longqing hurriedly stepped forward, squatted down and turned him over, but almost shed tears. He saw a dagger without a handle penetrated into Li Yuanzhong's abdomen, cutting a huge wound. The blood was flowing non-stop, and his internal organs were vaguely visible.
Li Yuanzhong was not familiar with the person who helped him up, so he tried to break free. However, he saw Lin Longqing taking off his mask and said with tears in his eyes: "Master Li, it's me." Li Yuanzhong saw Lin Longqing was very excited, and tremblingly said: "Master, Master, you are back! I... failed to guard this branch hall well, and let the court's dogs thieves..." Before he finished speaking, he had a violent coughing fit. Lin Longqing hurriedly put his hand on his back and slowly injected his true energy. Master Li shook his head and said: "Master, I can't do it anymore. They hit me with a palm and stabbed me with a sword. They thought I was dead, so I lay there motionless. Later, they left, and I slowly crawled back by myself, hoping that there were still brothers inside who could come out alive to report to the headquarters..."
Lin Longqing asked: "Where is Hall Master Yue? Why are you the only one here?"
Li Yuanzhong said, "Years ago, Hall Master Yue noticed that people from the Yukou Division were gathering here. He was afraid that they were targeting the main hall, so he went to the main hall to report the news. Later, he stayed behind to guard the main hall and asked us to be careful...but..." Lin Longqing nodded and said, "Brother Li, don't say anymore. The Jiangning branch has never lost the prestige of our Kuangyi Gang. I will take you to heal your wounds. You hold on for a while." After he was about to stand up, he saw Li Yuanzhong holding the corner of his clothes tightly with both hands, and said excitedly, "I won't go, Gang Master, I can't do it anymore. I want to tell you, where are our 24 branches located? Only the people in the main hall and ourselves know about it. The branch hall is not publicized. We have to change the location of the branch hall from time to time every three to five years, just because we are afraid... just afraid... that someone will do something bad... But boss, do you know? Our... the branch halls in Bianzhou and Yongzhou... and us... were all... overnight... The whereabouts of the two hall masters have not been found until now... I tell you... in our gang... there are... there are... traitors..." The voice gradually became smaller and there was no sound anymore, but the two eyes kept staring, as if there was endless hatred.
Lin Longqing slowly put his hands over Li Yuanzhong's eyes and wiped them away. Two lines of tears finally flowed from his red eyes.
Lin Longqing gently picked up Li Yuanzhong's body, turned around and placed him in the Jiangning branch which was already a sea of fire. After thinking for a moment, he took out something from his pocket and threw it into the fire. The object instantly flew straight into the sky with a "swoosh" sound, exploded in the air with a puff of red smoke, and then quickly ran away.
Lin Longqing ran out of Jiangning and rushed to Hangzhou. Along the way, the tragic scene of the Jiangning branch kept appearing in his eyes. Thinking that Lin Hongfeng might be covered in wounds and was trying hard to confront the foreign enemies, and that Lin Jianlan did not know martial arts but was being chased by the people of the Yukousi, he did not bother to stop and rest on the road and just ran as fast as he could.
When he entered the main hall, he was mistaken by Chief Chen as a government official who had fought with him. Although he looked indifferent to everyone, he was actually very happy to see that everyone was safe. He put down a big stone and was in the mood to ask Lin Jianlan about his well-being. Seeing that all the brothers were concentrating on guarding against foreign enemies, he suppressed the fact that the Jiangning branch hall had been destroyed in his heart, fearing that everyone would lose morale because of this. At this moment, his sincerity was distorted by Lin Hongfeng, and he was really sad and angry.
Doctor Cheng frowned slightly when he saw Lin Hongfeng was determined to do what he wanted. He advised slowly, "Madam Cao, now is not a good time to seek revenge with the enemy at hand. Don't act rashly and disregard the safety of the entire gang."
Upon hearing this, Lin Hongfeng became furious and said, "I thought it was a coincidence that he came here at this moment and that he had ulterior motives, but you defended him and even said that I ignored the entire gang. Without him, would the entire Kuangyi Gang be a bunch of useless people who can't defeat those masters of the Yukousi?" After saying this, his face flushed, but his lips were unusually white.
Doctor Cheng said hurriedly, "Hongfeng, I was wrong, but the Kuangyi Gang has always been very self-important. This time, they did not invite fellow martial artists to help them. The two branches near Chang'an were annihilated overnight, which shows that the Yukou Division has sent out top-notch masters. The presence of the gang leader is at least a strong support. Since he has this intention, why should we refuse him? Just listen to me."
Lin Hongfeng stared at Lin Longqing and said, "Anyone can do it, but he can't. The hatred for killing your husband is irreconcilable. He himself said that he doesn't want to have anything to do with the Kuangyi Gang anymore. How can I ask him to help me!" Everyone saw that the situation was frozen. Even Mrs. Cao didn't listen to the advice of Doctor Cheng, who was of such a status, and no one said anything else.
But a man outside staggered into the hall, shouting, blood still dripping from his left arm, and a plum blossom dart nailed to his right shoulder that he hadn't taken off in time. As soon as he came in, he fell to the ground, gasping for breath, "I'm coming, hurry up and save Chief Chen, Master Yue..." After saying that, he fainted, and it was obvious that he had internal injuries. Everyone was startled and anxious, but more than half of them blamed Lin Hongfeng in their hearts, saying, "It's the critical moment for the survival of the Kuangyi Gang, but Madam Cao rejected the good intentions of the gang leader and only cared about holding a grudge for the past. It's really wrong."
At this time, Lin Hongfeng did not expect that the foreign enemy would arrive as soon as he said, and he hated that the enemy came at the wrong time. Seeing that the person who reported the news was seriously injured, he was afraid that the enemy was quite powerful and the outer defense line could only hold for a while. For a moment, he didn't know what to do.
Doctor Cheng stepped forward and advised: "Hongfeng, put aside the grudges within the gang for the time being and unite against the enemy. If the Kuangyi Gang is in trouble today, what can you still get for Yin Yin?" When Yin Yin was mentioned, Lin Hongfeng said deflatedly: "Well, let's not bother with him at this time! Oh, Doctor Cheng, let's get out quickly." After that, he stopped and ran out of the hall.
Lin Longqing did not have time to say much at this time. After all, he was concerned about the safety of the Kuang Yi Gang. He said to Lin Jianlan, "Be careful," and followed. In an instant, everyone in the hall went to meet the enemy, and left without a trace, except for the two children left inside.
Everyone hurried to the outside of the headquarters, but they heard no noise outside, only a few faint sounds of weapons colliding. Lin Longqing's heart sank, knowing that the brothers outside the headquarters might have met with accidents, and there were probably only a few left who were still struggling to hold on. Thinking of this, he quickened his pace and jumped out of the door. Sure enough, he saw that the thirty or forty people responsible for the outer defense were all lying on the ground, their lives unknown. Yue Lingfeng was fighting with someone with a sword, but he was already at a disadvantage. There were still a dozen people standing around, some of them were also injured, and it was obvious that the brothers of the headquarters had fought with them for life and death. Further away, there were hundreds of people dressed as officers and soldiers standing densely, holding bows and arrows, and they were ready.
Qin Tianxiong had already helped Chen to his feet. He saw blood seeping from the corner of his mouth and a large cut on his neck from which blood was gushing out. He was obviously dead, but he heard him say intermittently, "Be careful, their weapons are poisoned." He smiled again and said, "Brother Qin, I didn't let anyone... point a sword at you... lead them in..." After that, his head sank down and he was no longer breathing. Qin Tianxiong was filled with grief. He put Chen's body down again, took a big step, walked forward, and said angrily, "You dogs from the Yukou Division, today I will make you pay for the lives of the brothers of the Kuangyi Gang!"
But then he heard someone in the crowd opposite say in a sarcastic voice: "It's not that easy to take our lives, but it's not difficult to reunite with your good brother. Let me give you a ride." As soon as the words fell, a man slowly walked out. He had a pointed chin and a slender figure, but was extremely thin, like a bamboo pole, with very long upper arms. Maybe because of his tall stature, he had a hunched back and his arms hung down almost to his knees.
Qin Tianxiong saw that he looked strange, so he didn't dare to underestimate him. He secretly took a deep breath and said, "Your grandfather doesn't kill nameless people. Tell me your name!"
The man grinned strangely and said, "I'm just a nobody. I joined the Yukousi and abandoned fame. If you must ask, I will tell you that you will die at the hands of Hebao in a while!" After that, he flashed forward. Qin Tianxiong was puzzled: "Hebao? What kind of crappy name is this?" But he saw that the man had a thin glove on his hand, and it seemed that he was also fighting unarmed, but he did not pounce on him. He made a feint with his left hand and swept to the right. Qin Tianxiong quickly turned to the right and slapped the man with both palms.
But he heard Lin Longqing say "be careful" and something came to his ear, hitting his neck but was stopped by something. Qin Tianxiong looked closely and found that it was a small branch that had hit an inconspicuous thin thread. The thin thread was made of unknown material. When it encountered an obstacle, it did not stop and kept circling around the branch several times. With a "snap" sound, the branch was cut off and fell to the ground.
Qin Tianxiong suddenly realized in his heart: "It turns out that this 'Purse' is holding this thin thread in both hands. It is not easy to detect. I am afraid that Brother Chen was killed by him!" He was very quick-witted and quickly jumped to a small tree next to him. With one hand, he exerted force and the tree, which was as thick as a child's wrist, was broken instantly. He returned to the man and said, "Come and learn from me again!" After that, a tree danced in the wind and hit the man head-on.
The man's weapon was discovered by Lin Longqing, but he heard someone behind him say, "Back off, your weapon can't handle this reckless man!" The man called "Hebao" seemed to be very obedient and quickly retreated, but Qin Tianxiong walked around him and said, "Want to leave? That's not that easy. Pay for Brother Chen's life!"
Seeing that Qin Tianxiong was already handling the situation quite well and had the upper hand, Lin Longqing was no longer worried. At this moment, other people also started fighting with the people from the Yukou Division. Looking back, he saw two people with very familiar faces, pointing and talking beside him, looking sneaky. It turned out to be the two brothers Ding Lei and Ding Shui. Now that he had returned to his original appearance, the two of them naturally could not recognize him. He thought to himself, "I don't know when these two people got involved with the Dongdu Yukou Division." But he saw Yue Lingfeng still fighting with that person. He was already exhausted. He stumbled and his shoulder was immediately swept by the opponent's whisk. His long sword fell to the ground with a "clang". He shouted "not good" in his heart, flew up and blocked Yue Lingfeng, and said in a deep voice, "It's not easy for Brother Yue to hold on until now. Go down and rest for a while!"
