Volume 2 Chapter 6: Protecting the Will
While he was thinking, he heard Elder Qi say proudly, "That bastard probably won't go far. If you, Mr. Lin, consider your father 's friendship with our Beggars' Sect, you can lead the way to the place where you agreed to meet. Otherwise, he will die in the wilderness, and the Beggars' Sect will just not be able to take his head for the blood sacrifice!"
Tang Zimu said slowly, "Elder Qi, please put down your sword first." Seeing Qi Fan put down his sword, he turned to Lin Jianlan and said, "Mr. Lin, I advise you to take us to the meeting place you agreed on. If you don't want to reveal it, you are a martial arts master, and you are the adopted son of Gang Leader Lin. You can come and go in the Beggar Gang branch, and we will definitely not stop you or hurt you. But we have nothing else in the Beggar Gang, but many disciples. If I gather the disciples of the branch to search for Lei Kan from the west gate, it won't take many hours to find him. Maybe one of the disciples is eager for revenge, and his life will be in danger."
Although his words were threatening, Lin Jianlan knew that he was telling the truth. It seemed that Lei Kan was seriously injured. Even if he managed to escape the search, his life would probably be hanging by a thread, not to mention that he could take him to Chang'an by himself.
Thinking of this, Lin Jianlan said, "In this case, I will take you to the meeting place. Just promise me one thing. When you see Lei Kan, I will persuade him. He is already injured, so you can't use force on him. You need someone to treat him immediately."
Qi Fan said angrily: "You are pushing it too far!"
Tang Zimu shook his head and said with a smile: "I trust Master Lin, please lead the way!"
When they left the west gate, there were already Beggars' Sect disciples holding torches to light the way. Lin Jianlan's heart trembled, and he hurried westward. Because Tang Zimu didn't know martial arts, they couldn't use Qinggong, so they just quickened their pace slightly, but Tang Zimu was already a little out of breath.
After walking for about an hour, they saw a small valley not far away. It was not very obvious in the dark night. Lin Jianlan stopped and said softly, "Brother Tang, if you trust me, please let me go alone. I will let you down with my long whistle."
Qi Fan was about to stop him, but heard Tang Zimu say, "Mr. Lin will definitely not do anything that goes against the friendship between the two gangs. Please do as you please! Someone, get the stretcher ready!" He looked very calm under the firelight.
Lin Jianlan admired in his heart. Although he had only met two elders, Qi Fan and Diao Beidou, he felt that they were either too honest or had impatient and violent temperaments. They were not as tactful and appropriate as the young Tang Zimu in handling things. No wonder Nian Yongshou valued him so much.
Lin Jianlan rushed into the valley and looked around. He heard a faint panting sound in a bush behind the moonlight. He hurried forward and pushed aside the branches. It was Lei Kan. His belly was already bloody. When he saw Lin Jianlan, he said with difficulty: "Mr. Lin, I'm afraid I can't take you to the appointment with my gang leader."
Seeing that he still hadn't found out about the Nian Gang leader, Lin Jianlan sighed, took out a pill from his arms, crushed it and poured it into Lei Kan's mouth, and then passed some of his true energy to him. He then looked directly at Lei Kan and said, "Brother Lei, can you trust me?"
Lei Kan was puzzled when he heard him ask this question. After a while, he replied, "Master Lin, you have gone to the trouble of offending the Beggars' Sect to protect me. If I don't trust you, who else can I trust?"
Lin Jianlan said, "Then just listen to what I have to say and don't interrupt. Outside this valley, all the people are from the Luoyang branch of the Beggars' Sect. I led them here."
Lei Kan was startled and tried to stand up, but Lin Jianlan held his shoulder firmly. Just as he was about to speak, he remembered his instructions and closed his mouth again. He just looked at Lin Jianlan in the moonlight, his eyes sparkling, his lips slightly parted, and said word by word: "The leader of the Nian gang was killed after you left Chang'an!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Jianlan felt the shoulder that he held tightly with both hands shaking violently. Lei Kan's eyes widened, and after a long while he spit out blood with a "wow".
Lin Jianlan passed some of his true energy and stared at Lei Kan again, saying, "The whole Beggar Gang believes that the leader of the Nian Gang was killed by you, but I am traveling with you all the way. I believe that there is something fishy about this matter. I am afraid that someone wants you to be a scapegoat. Now you are injured. Although I can take you to escape, your life is in danger. Sooner or later, you will be caught up by them. I made an agreement with them that I will bring them here, not to hurt your life, but to treat your injuries and take you to Chang'an. I will also accompany you all the way to ensure that you are safe. What do you think?"
Lei Kan said: "Now that things have come to this, what else can I do? It's just a matter of death. I just can't avenge the old leader..."
Lin Jianlan smiled and said, "Since you trust me, I will let them come. Brother Lei, as long as you have the green mountains, you will not be afraid of lack of firewood. Remember this! I was too confident along the way. I firmly believed that it was just a small misunderstanding and I could solve it myself. I didn't expect that the Beggars' Sect would hide such a big thing. I will find an opportunity to send a letter back to the sect to discuss with my adoptive father."
The Beggars' Sect waited outside for a long time, but saw no movement. Qi Fan said anxiously, "This is a vast wilderness. There may be other exits in the valley. If they sneak away, it will be very bad."
Tang Zimu smiled and said, "Absolutely not, Lin Jianlan is not stupid." The implication was that Qi Fan was a little unwise. Although Qi Fan was angry, he seemed not to dare to do anything to Tang Zimu. He stepped aside awkwardly, but heard a long howl from the valley, clear, cold and distant, stretching endlessly. The sound was very faint at first, but became louder and louder as it went on.
Tang Zimu couldn't help but show admiration in his eyes and said: "Lin Jianlan has such a high level of cultivation at such a young age, he is indeed a great man!" Glancing to the side, he saw Qi Fan with an unconvinced look and eager to try, and smiled and said: "Elder Qi, I'm afraid that the gang leader has the highest internal strength cultivation. We can't lose to him!"
Qi Fan's face was indeed filled with excitement, and he also let out a long howl, like the cry of a crane. He stood among the disciples of the Beggar Gang. His voice was naturally deafening, and attracted praises from everyone. Qi Fan also looked very pleased.
Tang Zimu said seriously: "Since Lin Jianlan has given the order, let's go in. Don't take action when you see Lei Kan. Heal his wounds first as agreed and then make a decision!" After that, he waved his hand, and everyone meandered into the valley. They saw Lin Jianlan supporting a man with a tired expression. It was Lei Kan who was stabbed by Qi Fan.
Seeing that all the Beggars' Sect disciples followed Tang Zimu's instructions, Lin Longqing, although with a look of resentment in his eyes, still helped Lei Kan onto the stretcher. Someone had already brought medicine and clean linen to bandage the wound. Fang turned around and clasped his fists to Tang Zimu and said, "Thank you, Brother Tang! I have another request, I hope Brother Tang will agree!"
Tang Zimu said: "It is thanks to Master Lin that we were able to get this person. There is no need to talk about thanking or not, but it is okay to talk."
Lin Jianlan said, "To be honest, the old leader's death this time may be related to something my adoptive father entrusted to me privately a few days ago. I cannot stand idly by and watch. I intend to escort Lei Kan to Chang'an with all of you. First, to investigate it clearly, and second, to personally pay tribute to the old leader's heroic spirit and express my grief on behalf of my adoptive father."
Tang Zimu's eyes flashed coldly, and he looked Lin Jianlan up and down. He suddenly smiled, slowly walked to his side, and whispered sideways: "Less trouble is worse than more trouble. Master Lin is such a cold person, how can you not understand this truth?"
Although there was no wind in the valley, Lin Jianlan felt a chill in his heart when he heard this. He turned around and glanced at Tang Zimu. He saw that although he had a smile on his face, his eyes were extremely cold and ruthless, which was very different from the compassionate expression he had when he was talking about the refugees just now.
Lin Jianlan thought to himself: "Although the old leader seems careless, he is not the kind of person who judges people by money. Tang Zimu spent all his money to join the Beggar Gang, so he must have some ability to convince the old leader. He may not understand what I asked in the branch just now. Maybe he knows the strangeness of it better than I do, but he is trying every means to cover it up and stop it. In his eyes, Brother life is like a grass root." The more he thought about it, the more he felt that Tang Zimu's mind was unpredictable.
Lin Jianlan turned around and saw Diao Beidou standing far away giving orders, while Qi Fan was following not far behind him and looking over here. He smiled inwardly, turned around and said, "I have long admired Elder Qi's frank and upright character. I have learned a lot from hearing that long roar just now. I thought it was just a small misunderstanding along the way, but I didn't expect it to be such a big deal. I was really reckless. If I have offended you, please don't blame me, old hero." After saying that, he bowed.
Qi Fan had little contact with him originally, but he was slightly upset with Lin Jianlan because he stopped the Beggars' Sect from capturing Lei Kan. Now that Lin Jianlan personally led them to find the person and spoke so kindly to him, the anger in his heart had long since subsided. To be fair, he really admired the young man in front of him, so he smiled and said, "It's all misunderstandings, it's good to resolve them!"
Lin Jianlan said with a sad face: "In the underworld, the most feared thing is a traitor in the gang. A few years ago, my adoptive father was framed and forced to leave the gang and hide for three years before he cleared his name. The Kuangyi Gang was almost unable to recover. Although I have not experienced the pain in person, I have a deep understanding of it. "
Qi Fan had also heard Nian Yongshou talk about this matter. When he mentioned it now, he felt that it was somewhat similar to the current situation of the Beggars' Sect. He nodded repeatedly and said, "That's right."
Lin Jianlan sighed and said, "Well, to be honest, my adoptive father has been investigating an incident that happened more than ten years ago. He thought that only a large gang like the Beggars' Sect with disciples all over the world could be trusted, so he asked the old leader to find out. When Lei Kan came to our gang, he also said that he had some clues. Who knew that the old leader was killed when he left the gang. I am not talented, but I always feel that this matter may be related to my adoptive father's past. I just told Elder Tang that I want to go to Chang'an to pay tribute together, and by the way, work with your gang to explore the truth, but who knew..." When he said this, he looked back and saw Tang Zimu looking quite uncomfortable not far away, but he couldn't stop him from speaking. He laughed in his heart, turned around again and made a look of regret, and said nothing to Qi Fan.
Qi Fan saw him looking towards Elder Tang, hesitant to speak, and immediately understood. He patted Lin Jianlan on the shoulder and said, "Just go with us this time. I'll take care of everything. I'll talk to Elder Tang about it."
Lin Jianlan said: "Thank you, Elder Qi. Sigh, but if this causes disagreements among the elders..."
Qi Fan frowned and said, "You don't need to worry about this. No matter what, it is your good intention to go and pay tribute. Besides, we will immediately call on fellow martial artists when we return to the headquarters, and there will be no shortage of people going to pay tribute by then."
Lin Jianlan hurriedly bowed and said, "Thank you so much, Elder Qi!" Then he walked to the stretcher and leaned over to squeeze Lei Kan's hand.
Lei Kan had lost too much blood and his mind was a little dizzy. When he saw Lin Jianlan smiling at him in the moonlight, he felt an inexplicable trust in this young man for some reason. He slightly relaxed his brows and fell asleep.
Lin Jianlan exhaled softly, and heard Tang Zimu whisper, "Does Mr. Lin have to go to Chang'an?"
Lin Jianlan heard that his voice was soft but very cold. Although he was not good at martial arts, he felt an unknown pressure. He didn't know when he walked behind him. Lin Jianlan didn't turn around, but just looked at Lei Kan and said, "Is there something in Chang'an that is inconvenient for me to see, so Brother Tang doesn't want me to go?"
Tang Zimu chuckled softly and said, "What's the point of traveling a long way and being tired? Mr. Lin, who practices martial arts, naturally doesn't care. You are a VIP of the Beggars' Sect. If you want to go, I will do my best." After that, he walked away leisurely and said in front of Diao Beidou, "Since Lei Kan has been captured, it is not advisable to stay in the branch for long. Elder Qi and I will take some disciples to escort him back to Chang'an overnight, and then we will arrange to post a notice to fellow martial artists." He whispered something in Diao Beidou's ear, only to see Diao Beidou show admiration on his face. He then turned his head to look in the direction of Luoyang City, nodded repeatedly, and turned away.
Lin Jianlan thought: "This Elder Diao seems to be a very honest person. He admires Tang Zimu very much and obeys all his arrangements."
After Tang Zimu gave the instructions, he came over to Lin Jianlan and said, "Mr. Lin, let's go." After that, he whistled in the distance, and a Beggar Gang disciple came running over, holding the horse that Lin Jianlan was riding. Hanging on the horse's back were the personal belongings that he and Lei Kan had stored in the room of the inn, including the long staff that Lei Kan rarely left his hand.
Lin Jianlan was extremely surprised, thinking, "It seems that he had already expected that I would go with him, so he asked someone to bring my and Lei Kan's belongings in advance. Why did he say that to stop me?" He glanced at Tang Zimu and saw that he was smiling. It was really difficult to guess what he meant, so he had to take the reins and clasped his fists, saying, "Brother Tang is really a prophet, which is really admirable."
The three of them each led their horses and jumped on them. The four disciples carried the stretcher out of the valley and saw a carriage parked on the side of the road. Next to it was Diao Beidou who had just left. They must have thought that this was what he had prepared in accordance with Tang Zimu's arrangements.
Two people immediately jumped out of the car, picked up Lei Kan, helped him into the car, and immediately sat back at the door. Lin Jianlan saw that they all had weapons on their waists. Although he didn't see any weapons, they were all quite skilled, and it was obvious that they were afraid that Lei Kan would escape.
Tang Zimu did not dismount, but bowed and said, "We Beggars' Sect should not be so extravagant, which would be unworthy of our poor brothers. However, escorting Lei Kan is a very important matter, and we should not delay on the road any longer. This is a temporary measure, and I will bear all the responsibility. After I avenge the old leader, I will take the blame."
