Volume 2: Buddha's Hand Saves All Living Things, Subdues Demons and Attains Bodhi Chapter 78: Times can change, but is it hard to escape defeat?
The sun rises in the east every morning and the moon sets in the west every night.
Time passed quickly, and this thrilling and enchanting night was finally coming to an end.
Amid the crowing of cocks and barking of dogs, the blood on the long street had long been washed away, the scattered corpses had disappeared without a trace, and the broken swords and knives had all disappeared, as if nothing had ever happened and everything had been cleaned up thoroughly.
But is it really over?
Of course not.
※※※
"Tanghulu, delicious Tanghulu!"
"Sugar-roasted chestnuts, fragrant and sweet roasted chestnuts!"
…
Early in the morning, amid all kinds of noisy shouting, the lame butcher set up his butcher counter, opened his shop, carried half a slab of fat pork from the backyard, placed it in front of the butcher shop, and then greeted the passing vendors in a familiar manner.
The butcher was a young man with a dark complexion and a thin figure. He was wearing a dirty and greasy abdo and a coarse linen shirt. His trouser sleeves were rolled up and his shirt was half open, revealing his sturdy and strong chest. He looked out at the street with a pair of bright eyes.
"Aunt Liu, can I have a pound of spare ribs?"
The young man greeted people with a smile while facing the daylight, holding a knife in one hand and a whetstone in the other, rubbing the blade with it to make a series of sharp and crisp sounds.
The woman passing by raised her neck and looked at the meat on the table with some disdain, then rolled her eyes: "Tsk, who wants to eat this filthy stuff? There is a great philanthropist holding a banquet in Jinling City these days, and I want to eat the best fish, meat, and delicacies from the mountains and the sea."
The young man was not angry, but just smiled kindly.
Ever since he took over the butcher shop, he has been polite to everyone and has been very considerate to those neighbours who like to get a bargain. He always gives the correct weight, no matter how much.
Sixth Aunt walked away, and you could still hear a few sarcastic mutters from her mouth: "What a cripple, what a cripple, and what a fool. He smiles at everyone every day, and even smiles when others take advantage of him. Sooner or later, he will close down... It's a good thing I didn't marry my daughter to him."
The young man chopped bones and picked meat with the knife, as if he was used to it, but his lowered eyes were a little uneasy.
Because the Confucius Temple is not far away, there should be many traveling craftsmen there early in the morning, performing juggling or magic tricks on the street, but now, there is not a single one.
The young man, of course, is Li Muchan, and his current identity is just a butcher selling meat in the market, the lame Ah Si.
In the past three years, in addition to the identity of "Ghost Prince", he has many other identities in Jinling City.
As early as three years ago, when he took control of the Qinhuai River, he had already made up his mind and was waiting and planning for this day.
"Not successful?"
Seeing that none of the craftsmen showed up, Li Muchan already had a guess.
All dead.
Li Muchan sighed inwardly, it was still too much of a stretch.
Because all these arrangements are not perfect.
Among the seven dragon heads, the most unfathomable dragon head has not shown up yet. This person understands him, and may even have seen through all his preparations. It is likely that he did not not come, but was hiding in the dark, trying to crush his confidence, destroy the perfect trap one by one, and completely subdue him.
Li Muchan felt it was a great pity.
In fact, these people are all good. Although their martial arts skills are not yet advanced, they are so reckless and fearless in their pursuit of revenge due to the deep hatred for their blood feud that they even kill themselves. They are also cruel enough to even kill themselves.
But the most important thing is that she is very obedient, or in other words, she completes everything he assigns her very well.
These people did not obey Li Muchan, but only cooperated with him. Some of them even sneaked into Nanjing just to kill him, the "Seven Dragon Leaders". However, by chance, the two sides were able to join forces to fight against the "Green Dragon Society".
However, these people may have died, all dead, but he has not yet been defeated.
Even if those dragon heads could escape death, the traps and hidden weapons he set should be enough to take half of their lives. What's more, there is the "Money Gang" in the city eyeing them covetously. Given Shangguan Xiaoxian 's personality, he will definitely not let go of this great opportunity.
As for Yan Shisan and the word "ancestral hall" he mentioned, Li Muchan did not intend to find out the truth. This was his only friend, and he cherished him very much. Now that the situation was so critical, it would be even more impossible to put the other party in danger, not to mention that he still had some strength left.
It can also be seen that the Great Dragon Chief is very fond of Yan Shisan, which is much safer than being friends with him, the "Ghost Prince".
Suddenly, it started raining.
Dark clouds hung in the sky and lightning flashed.
In the gloomy sky, small drops of rain began to fall, one drop, two drops, three drops, four drops...
After a while, long and sad lines of rain hung under the eaves, the sky became frighteningly dark, and the pedestrians on the street fled in panic.
Li Muchan began to feel a little uneasy. As the saying goes, clouds follow dragons and winds follow tigers. Now the sky is covered with dark clouds and there are heavy winds and rain. This is really not a good sign.
He glanced at the street. The drugstore that had just opened its doors to welcome customers suddenly closed its doors and windows. The owner and his employees also retreated into the shop. Children passing by were jumping around, but were suddenly picked up by their parents and ran back home. There were also some maids and young ladies who were originally walking leisurely, but suddenly they retreated into the corner of the street like ghosts, without a sound.
In an instant, the bustling streets became eerily deserted, dead silent, with only heavy rain.
Li Muchan sighed and wiped his hands with his bib.
Times have changed and it is his turn.
Li Muchan looked into the wind and rain.
Suddenly, a lot of people came out from both ends of the long street.
On one end is the "Qinglong Society" led by the two dragon leaders, and on the other end is the "Jinqian Gang" headed by Shangguan Xiaoxian.
The two groups of people were confronting each other, and between them was a simple and deserted butcher shop.
Li Muchan suddenly understood that the two forces had temporarily put aside their hatred for each other at this time and worked together to eliminate his plans and arrangements, as they did not want to allow this "Ghost Prince" to rise completely.
He smiled bitterly: "It's too bullying."
Who could have thought that these two major forces that were powerful enough to dominate the world would actually deal with him alone.
Dark blue umbrellas and apricot yellow umbrellas were facing each other in the rain.
The second dragon head was dressed in white clothes as white as snow, and wore a dragon mask on his face. He said calmly: "He only wants your loyalty. As long as you come out, come over, everything that happened last night will be forgiven, and you will be completely close to the pinnacle of power in this martial arts world, and there will be no restrictions forever."
Li Muchan seemed not to be panicked at all, and asked with a smile: "What is the price?"
The second dragon head said: "Discard your own martial arts."
"Without martial arts, I would be useless." Shangguan Xiaoxian was dressed in red, holding a yellow paper umbrella, with flying black hair and smiling eyes. "Husband, do you have any way out? If not, come with me."
She is very curious.
In just less than a year, this man went from a small character to the most important figure in the "Green Dragon Society", the Demon Cult, and the "Money Gang". He also created a huge money empire with amazing wealth and the power to control an entire city. It is really hard to imagine.
So Shangguan Xiaoxian was very curious, and even expected that Li Muchan had a backup plan. She really wanted to see how far this man could go and how high he could climb.
And beneath the curiosity, there is also a kind of subtle sadness.
No matter how far this person goes or how high he climbs today, he will have no chance of winning under the siege of two major forces.
Li Muchan stood in the butcher shop, closed his eyes and let out a long breath. After all, his foundation was too shallow. He thought he could last for a few days, but it ended in one night: "Can I think about it?"
The second dragon head said calmly, "Sure, you can come out and think about it slowly."
Li Muchan smiled. It seemed that these people had already experienced his scheming and planning, and they didn't even dare to force their way into his little piece of land. In this case, even if the several dragon leaders were not dead, they would probably have suffered heavy losses. This battle was not without merit.
Li Muchan asked, "Is there a stool?"
Shangguan Xiaoxian waved his hand and said, "Set up a seat!"
In an instant, a gorgeous chair was placed in the middle of the street with a large umbrella over it.
With wind and rain blowing in his face, Li Muchan walked out, and at the same time took out a black box from under the butcher's counter. He walked into the heavy rain, and sat on a chair amidst a pair of squinting and fixed eyes.
"Then I'll think about it carefully!"
