Volume 2 Chapter 5: Wandering without Changing Color
But Tang Zimu changed his tone and said angrily, "Since Master Lin came to the gang at night, it can't be concealed. The old gang leader was killed by Lei Kan, who had been with you for more than 20 days. He killed the gang leader and fled far away. Now that Master Lin knows the reason why we captured him, I believe he will not stand up for that guy, right?"
Lin Jianlan was about to answer when Tang Zimu glanced at him coldly. He said in a deep voice, "Otherwise, you will offend the old leader's spirit in heaven and the entire Beggars' Sect!"
Lin Jianlan sighed and said, "The old gang leader came to the Kuangyi Gang to rescue them and discuss the big plan with my adoptive father. I was still young at that time, but I can still remember his voice, appearance and smile clearly. Alas, let me burn a stick of incense to him first."
The people in the Beggars' Sect had long heard that he had been protecting Lei Kan, and they all felt aggrieved. But when they saw him burning incense in front of the coffin with such respect and a very sad look, and it didn't seem like he was faking it, they couldn't help but feel puzzled.
After Lin Jianlan finished his memorial service, he turned around and Tang Zimu said, "The death of the old leader should have been announced to fellow martial artists, but the gang is leaderless and the matter is undecided. Firstly, we are afraid that the news will leak out and Lei Kan will escape. Secondly, the Beggars' Sect has been very powerful in recent years, and the imperial court has long intended to eliminate it. We are afraid that they will make things difficult for us if they find out."
Seeing that Diao Beidou remained silent, Lin Jianlan recalled that Elder Qi was personally checking the city gates. He was a little surprised that the Beggars' Sect was being led by this unknown young man, but he did not ask any more questions. He said calmly, "I knew that your sect was the best at spreading news, but I did not expect that you were also very good at blocking news. If your sect had told my adoptive father the reason earlier, perhaps we would not have to go through so much trouble. With the friendship between the Kuangyi Sect and your sect, my adoptive father would have personally tied him up and sent him to Chang'an."
Tang Zimu looked directly at Lin Jianlan and said, "It's not too late now. Elder Qi will probably be done in a little while. As long as Master Lin doesn't stop us from avenging the old leader, we can do it."
Lin Jianlan didn't look at him, but walked up to Diao Beidou and said, "Of course. If your gang doesn't want to find the real murderer who killed the old gang leader, what does it have to do with me if a Beggar Gang disciple is wrongly killed? Why would I stop it?"
Diao Beidou was shocked and said in a trembling voice: "Mr. Lin! What do you mean by this?"
Lin Jianlan said: "I thought what I said couldn't be clearer. If your gang just wants to find a scapegoat to fool you..."
Before he could finish, Diao Beidou angrily said, "Mr. Lin, you are too much of a bully. Even though you are a young master of the Kuangyi Gang, you should not speak nonsense here. We are obsessed with revenge for our leader and we have been trying to capture the thief who killed our leader since Hangzhou. If you hadn't stopped us, we would have succeeded. How can you say we are fooling around?"
Lin Jianlan said solemnly: "Master Diao is loyal and courageous, and I really admire him." After that, he turned around and looked directly at the big word "甸" and said: "Facing the old leader's heroic spirit, all the heroes of the Beggars' Sect must sincerely want to capture the murderer. If there is anyone who takes advantage of the opportunity to have ulterior motives, I am afraid that the old leader will not let him go even if he is in heaven!"
He always seemed to be smiling, but at this moment his voice suddenly turned cold, and everyone shuddered. Diao Beidou said firmly: "Of course!"
Lin Jianlan looked at Tang Zimu, who felt that his gaze was like lightning, but he raised his eyes to meet his and said, "Of course." Seeing that the two elders Tang and Diao had expressed their opinions, everyone nodded in agreement.
Lin Jianlan said, "In that case, I would like to ask you a few questions. According to what you said, Lei Kan killed the old gang leader. Let me ask you, his martial arts skills are mediocre, and he couldn't even take a few moves under Zhu the Dharma Protector. The old gang leader is far superior to Zhu the Dharma Protector. How did he succeed?"
Everyone was stunned. Tang Zimu said, "The old gang leader trusted him very much and regarded him as his confidant. Naturally, he took advantage of the old gang leader's unpreparedness to attack. This... most of the people in my gang can testify to this."
Seeing that he was speaking reluctantly, Lin Jianlan did not answer and continued, "Since he killed the old leader and fled far away, why didn't he hide his identity to avoid being hunted down, or seek refuge with the imperial court to seek wealth and honor? Instead, he traveled thousands of miles from Hangzhou all the way back to Chang'an?"
Before anyone else could answer, Lin Jianlan continued, "If he wanted to go to Chang'an, he could have used some time to bypass Luoyang City. He knew that Luoyang City must be full of Beggar Clan disciples waiting to capture him, so why did he rush to see the old leader who had been dead for more than 20 days?"
These questions were so powerful that the Beggars' Sect leaders were unable to answer them. After a while, Tang Zimu said, "Perhaps he has some unspeakable secrets." He chuckled and said, "This guy tricked Master Lin into speaking for him. He is quite capable. Although Master Lin is very skilled in martial arts, his experience in the martial arts world is somewhat shallow in my opinion."
Diao Beidou frowned and said, "Elder Tang, what Master Lin said seems to make some sense. Zhu the Dharma Protector once sent a pigeon saying that Lei Kan didn't seem to know that the old leader had been murdered..."
Tang Zimu said calmly, "Protector Zhu failed to capture the thief, so he should be punished according to the gang rules. It seems that you don't want to avenge the gang leader. If it wasn't Lei Kan, how do you explain the bloody words on the ground?"
Seeing that he was yelling at Diao Beidou and showed no respect when mentioning Protector Zhu, Lin Jianlan felt a little unfair for them. He thought to himself, "This Elder Tang is not much older than me. I wonder what ability he has to be an elder and yet he is so rude to his seniors! What is he talking about the blood word? I wonder what's going on." There was a look of confusion on his face and his eyes looked straight at Tang Zimu.
But Diao Beidou said, "Elder Tang is now intent on avenging the old gang leader, so his words are a bit harsh, but we don't mind. In fact, his character is something that several of us elders, including the old gang leader when he was alive, admired."
His words made Lin Jianlan respectful and said, "I have also heard from my foster father that the bell on the long staff must have been added with great merit. It seems that this Elder Tang is a hero of the green forest. Can you tell me about it?"
Diao Beidou said: "Elder Tang was not originally a member of the Beggars' Sect, and it was purely accidental that he met the old leader. His family has been in business for generations, and once he encountered a robbery and was fortunately rescued by the old leader, so he escaped with his life. Therefore, he often had contacts with the old leader later. We beggars hate people who look down on others and are unkind to their wealth the most. But Elder Tang is different from them. Since he took over the ancestral business, he has opened a porridge stall every day, and he just wishes he could help the poor in the world." After he said this, his eyes revealed admiration.
Lin Jianlan was born in poverty, and he and his grandmother had a very hard life when he was young. Although he had not yet fallen to the point of being a beggar, he knew the pain very well in his heart. He thought to himself, "I usually see rich families only open a porridge shop once during the New Year and other festivals. Although this person inherited a rich family business, it is not easy for him to persist day after day."
Diao Beidou added: "The old leader got along very well with him. When he mentioned the Taihu refugees to him, Elder Tang generously donated more than one million taels of silver. Although this silver is of little use to the Beggars' Sect, if it can help the kind and weak, wouldn't it be a great achievement?"
Lin Jianlan was shocked and thought to himself, "When we were in Sanyuan City before, Uncle Qing received a letter from the gang saying that the Taihu Volunteer Army suddenly received a lot of funding. They sent someone to investigate and only said that it came from the Beggars' Gang. Uncle Qing has always wondered how the Beggars' Gang got so much money. It turns out that it came from him." He couldn't help but look at Tang Zimu carefully and thought to himself, "It seems that this person is very cunning. I wonder what he is planning."
Diao Beidou said, "This year, there was a severe drought in Jiannan Dao, but the imperial court could not provide money. Instead, they renovated several temples and palaces. I guess that whore gave all the money to her favorite monks and Taoist priests. At that time, Elder Tang's family had no savings. He was straightforward and simply dismissed the slaves and sold the house. He collected some money and sent it to our Jiannan Dao branch, entrusting the brothers there to help the victims. The whole gang admired him very much, so even though he didn't know any martial arts, the old leader allowed him to hang nine bells to show that the mission of the Beggar Gang is to do its best to help the poor brothers in the world."
Lin Jianlan raised his lips slightly, remembering that he had heard people talk about using money to seek fame, which was similar. He thought to himself, "It turns out that it was just bought with money. I wonder when the Beggars' Sect will be able to use money to exchange for the position of elder. "
Diao Beidou seemed to see through his thoughts and said, "Master Lin, I know I feel a little disdainful and think that his position in our gang is just bought with money, but if it were you, would you be able to give away all your wealth without saying a word and turn yourself from a wealthy man into a beggar?" After asking, he smiled and said, "To be honest, if it were me, I would absolutely be reluctant to do so. Master Lin, if you ask the brothers in our Beggar Gang this question, I'm afraid most of them will answer in the same way."
When he asked this, Lin Jianlan was speechless. He asked himself in his heart, "Yes, this action, let alone others, even I myself would have to think twice. I would definitely not let it go like this person. He spent a lot of money. His magnanimity should not be underestimated. You are just relying on Uncle Qing's name to make a living. How can you look down on others so easily? It is really wrong!"
Tang Zimu smiled and said, "Master Diao always brings up these unworthy things. My parents died early and I never married. If the masters of the Beggars' Sect had relied on their own abilities, who could not easily enjoy wealth and glory? But they are willing to be the leaders of the poor in the world, which makes me admire them very much. Besides, I just envy the free coming and going style of the Beggars' Sect." After that, he said in a sad voice, "I happened to pass by there at that time. It was really a barren land with no people in a few cities. Selling children and daughters was still considered good. There is an old saying that goes 'exchange children for food, and split bones for cooking'. I still don't believe it. But I saw it clearly during that trip. It was horrible. Alas, although I have to eat bran and vegetables now, it is still much better than those victims."
Seeing that he didn't speak like a businessman all the year round, but rather like a scholar who was concerned about the country and the people, Lin Jianlan cupped his hands and said, "Elder Tang has a broad mind, which really makes this junior admire him."
Tang Zimu smiled and said, "It seems that Master Lin is not much younger than me, so there is no need to call yourself a junior to me. We can just treat each other as equals. There is no such thing as so many rules in the Beggars' Sect."
Lin Jianlan smiled at him and said, "Then I will call you Brother Tang. It seems that Brother Tang is in charge of the Beggars' Sect now. I wonder if the old leader's coffin has been buried yet?"
Mentioning Nian Yongshou, Tang Zimu's face was filled with grief and anger again. "Alas, he has already been buried. A mourning hall has been set up in the Chang'an headquarters. Elders Wang and Sheng are there to arrange things. They are just waiting to capture the murderer so that they can offer blood sacrifice to the heroic spirit of the old leader."
Diao Beidou clapped his hands and said, "We have no choice but to block the news. The leader of the Beggars' Sect died at the hands of a traitor with low martial arts skills, and this murderer has not been captured yet. If this gets out, people in the martial arts world will laugh at our Beggars' Sect for being incompetent!"
But then he heard a loud noise outside, and a moment later a man rushed in, with disheveled hair and beard, sharp eyes and a face full of anger. It was Elder Qi Fan who was at the city gate in the evening. When he saw Lin Jianlan here, he was stunned for a moment, and then he suddenly realized something. The staff in his hand made a "clang" sound, and the cloth wrapped outside fell off, and it turned out to be a long sword pointing directly at Lin Jianlan!
Qi Fan must have failed to find Lei Kan and returned empty-handed. He then saw the young man in the Luoyang branch, who must be the young master Lin Jianlan of the Kuangyi Gang mentioned in Zhu Chenghong's letter. He was naturally furious and laughed, "Master Lin really makes me admire him. He is a member of the Lin Gang, but such a delicate person is willing to pretend to be that guy's follower and servant to hide it from me!"
Lin Jianlan was just glad that Lei Kan had escaped, but he caught a glimpse of the scar on the long sword and asked in surprise, "Could it be that Elder Qi has already met Lei Kan?"
Qi Fan laughed loudly and said, "Mr. Lin is so generous that he gave away the horse and the luggage. If it weren't for the greedy shop owner who was lazy and didn't give the horse away, I would have really lost track of you two. That guy would rather take my sword than try his best to escape from the city. I guess he has an appointment with Mr. Lin, right ?"
Qi Fan trapped Lei Kan in the house at that time, but he had no intention of killing him on the spot. He just wanted to capture him and bring him to the gang to make a great contribution.
Lei Kan knew that his martial arts skills were inferior to Qi Fan's and he might die on the spot if he put up a bit of resistance, so he said nothing and let Qi Fan walk out of the house with a sword pointed at his back .
Qi Fan thought he had succeeded, but unexpectedly Lei Kan came out of the room, and closed the door despite being hit by a sword, and then used the long stick in his hand to lock the door from the outside, but his abdomen was pierced by the sword, and he gritted his teeth and tightened his belt. When he entered the yard, he saw the two horses were still in the yard, and the owner was frightened and pale. Lei Kan ignored him, took a horse, endured the pain, climbed on the horse, and ran towards the west gate.
That room was deliberately chosen by Lin Jianlan. It didn't even have a window. Qi Fan knocked on the door for a long time before the owner opened the door tremblingly. Lei Kan had already escaped and disappeared.
Qi Fan had a high opinion of himself and did not bring any disciples with him this time. Instead, he let the man escape. When questioned, the shop owner Fang Dao Lei Kan went west. Qi Fan knew that he was stabbed deeply by the sword and it would be difficult for him to catch him alone in the dark night, so he angrily returned to the gang to report and discuss the matter further.
Lin Jianlan became more and more certain that Lei Kan was wronged, and he deeply regretted that he had thought the matter was too simple when he was intercepted in Hangzhou that day, and he did not send a letter back to the headquarters. Now seeing the shocking blood on the sword, he wondered where Lei Kan was injured and whether it was serious.
