Volume 2 The third chapter of the clever fight to eliminate the desire to fight
At this time, Lei Kan had been hit on the legs and shoulders by the Beggar Gang disciples. He staggered several times and was already on the verge of collapse. When Lin Jianlan arrived at the formation, he saw Zhu Chenghong sweeping a "Sweeping Thousands of Troops" towards Lei Kan's neck. Lin Jianlan's heart trembled, and he used all his strength to swing the stick away with his palm. Then he supported Lei Kan, but heard him whisper: "Mr. Lin, I am truly... sent by the gang leader... and I don't know what happened. I was labeled a 'traitor'." He was already out of breath after saying this.
When Zhu Chenghong saw Lin Jianlan suddenly jump into the formation to rescue Lei Kan, he was surprised at first, then his eyes lit up and he said sternly: "It seems that Master Lin wants to take care of the affairs ?"
Lin Jianlan said, "I am sorry for the offence. I saw that the senior was ready to kill. If I had arrived a step later, he would not have survived. Zhu, the guardian, I am really sorry. I was entrusted by my adoptive father and I have something important to ask this person. It is difficult to hand it over to the Beggars' Sect!"
Zhu Chenghong said: "It would not be excessive to kill this man a thousand times or ten thousand times. Master Lin, if you protect him, you will be the enemy of our entire Beggars' Sect. Now all the sects are helping each other and fighting against the court together. Master Lin, please do not ruin the harmony between our two sects!"
Lin Jianlan said: "Since we have an alliance, you should tell me what happened to the Beggars' Sect. I will inform my foster father. How can you kill him without saying anything?"
Zhu Chenghong hesitated for a long time before saying, "I'm sorry I can't tell you! I know that Master Lin is a martial artist, and Master Lin must be young and promising, but you are no match for the Beggars' Sect's snake-catching formation. If you insist on interfering with our internal affairs, I won't be able to explain to Master Lin if you get hurt!"
Lin Jianlan had never seen such a scene before. He took a deep breath and said with concentration: "Junior knows, but I will still try my best. Sorry!" After that, he gathered the strength of both hands, and it was hard to tell whether it was a boxing or a palm technique. Zhu Chenghong stomped his feet, sighed, and pulled the staffs to both sides, but they turned into two two-foot-long short staffs, which came up with the wind from the staffs.
Lin Jianlan only wanted to try to lead Lei Kan out of the formation and did not want to have too much conflict with the Beggars' Sect, so he dodged backwards, but he heard two "swish" sounds behind him. It turned out that there were Beggars' Sect disciples in the outer circle who were stabbing him with their staffs. He hurriedly ducked to avoid Zhu Chenghong's two sticks, turned around and changed his moves to point at the two men's staffs and flicked them twice. The two men suddenly felt their long staffs tremble and could hardly hold them steadily. Their wrists felt numb and sore. They did not expect that Lin Jianlan's two finger flicks were so powerful. Fortunately, Zhu Chenghong's staff wind came again, and the two disciples continued to move forward with the formation, but they still looked at Lin Jianlan frequently. They did not expect that he had such cultivation at such a young age, and they all looked horrified.
However, they did not know that Lin Jianlan had been practicing diligently every day since he came down from Baiyun Mountain. In addition to his good talent, his internal strength had made considerable progress. Moreover, he practiced both Yin and Yang techniques together, and combined water and fire into one furnace. It was like climbing an extremely steep peak. If one was not careful, one would go astray and fall into the abyss. However, if one could combine them with skill, he would make a great step forward and his power would be extraordinary.
Lin Jianlan tried out the finger technique and was delighted to see that it was so powerful. He turned around and saw Zhu Chenghong using the "Double Dragon Playing with a Pearl" move, which was a "scissor" move, with two staffs coming towards him with great force. The two of them fought back and forth, all circling around Lei Kan. Lei Kan himself could not leave the formation, and he did not dare to move, so he could only stand still in the formation, feeling the figures dancing in front of him, and the palm wind and staff wind coming from the side, hitting his face and causing a dull pain.
Zhu Chenghong saw that he couldn't defeat a young man after a long time, and 70% of Lin Jianlan's moves were evasive. If this continued, they would be stuck in this battle for several hours. He was extremely anxious. While fighting, he thought, but saw that Lei Kan was at a loss in the formation. He whistled, changed his moves with his double sticks, and stabbed at Lei Kan.
Lin Jianlan secretly cried out in his heart that something was wrong, and rushed over quickly. He slapped Lei Kan aside with one hand, and with his other hand, he turned his palm into a hook and quickly grabbed the head of the staff. However, Zhu Chenghong withdrew his two staffs, turned around and pressed towards Lei Kan again. He no longer fought Lin Jianlan head-on, and only used the pair of staffs to attack Lei Kan.
The Beggar Gang disciples had already seen through Zhu Chenghong's intention, and they moved faster and faster, but slowly moved inward, waiting for Lei Kan to retreat within the range of the bamboo stick before they could take action.
Lin Jianlan was very passive at this time. Seeing that the encirclement was gradually tightening, Lei Kan was almost forced into a corner with no place to stand. If he took his safety into consideration, both of them would be exhausted sooner or later. He made up his mind secretly, and hurriedly exerted his strength with his feet, and soared upwards with the "Crane's Cry in the Sky" from the Dongliu Cloud Step.
Hearing a few whistling sounds all around, the outer circle of Beggar Gang disciples flew over. With the sound of a bell, dozens of long staffs pressed down. Lin Jianlan flipped in the air and his toes touched a staff. The Beggar Gang disciple felt a sinking in his hand and hurriedly tried his best to lift it, but it became light. Lin Jianlan disappeared in an instant and was unable to control the momentum of the long staff. With a dull "bang", it collided with the long staff in the hand of a Beggar Gang disciple opposite him. Both staffs were blown away and fell to the ground several feet away. The two had lost their strength in the air and fell down together, but Lin Jianlan had already moved to the other long staff.
The disciple remembered what happened just now, and did not try to lift it up, but instead pulled it down. Lin Jianlan smiled and stomped his feet hard. The disciple suddenly felt as if he was holding a heavy burden in his hands, and he could no longer hold on to it, and fell down with the stick.
With three people missing, a gap suddenly appeared in the net of staffs in the air. Lin Jianlan whistled clearly and flipped up again. Just as he was about to make the gap bigger, he saw that the outer circle of the formation below had become as small as possible. The shadows of the staffs overlapped, as if to crush Lei Kan. However, Zhu Chenghong had already gathered all his strength and chopped at Lei Kan's ribs.
Lin Jianlan shouted hurriedly: "Protector Zhu, take it!"
Although the bells inside and outside the snake catching formation rang continuously, they still could not cover up the shout. Zhu Chenghong looked up hurriedly, only to see two objects the size of copper coins breaking through the air with a sharp sound. He was startled and withdrew his two staffs into one. He exerted his strength in his right hand and grabbed in the air, but felt that the strength was just right. When the object reached his hand, it was already exhausted, as if it was placed gently in his hand, it did not look like a hidden weapon or the like.
Zhu Chenghong turned the object in his hand slightly, his face was shocked, he looked up and saw Lin Jianlan had landed gracefully, standing in front of Lei Kan, smiling. The Beggars' Sect disciples next to him were still eager to try, Zhu Chenghong sighed, slammed his long staff on the ground, and shouted: "Stop!"
Everyone was stunned, but they didn't dare to ask more questions. Seeing Zhu Chenghong's pale face, he waved his hand and said, "Withdraw!" Although the disciples didn't understand why, they still withdrew immediately and were behind him in a moment. Zhu Chenghong bowed and said, "We are not good at martial arts, so we are no match for Master Lin. I have no intention of stopping you. Please go!"
Lei Kan glanced at Lin Jianlan, but didn't know why Zhu Chenghong suddenly changed his mind. He clasped his fists and said, "I don't know what misunderstanding has occurred. Since Protector Zhu is determined not to tell me, I have to go back to Chang'an to meet with Gang Leader Nian and make a decision. Things will eventually come to light. If I have offended you in any way today, I will apologize to Protector Zhu someday!" After that, he walked out of the crowd, led the horse over, turned over and jumped.
Zhu Chenghong was stunned when he heard this and said, "Hey? You really don't know?"
Lei Kan turned around and asked, "What does Zhu Protector mean?"
Zhu Chenghong shook his head and said, "In that case, you can go. With Master Lin protecting you all the way, I hope you can reach the headquarters safely!" He then said to Lin Jianlan, "Master Lin is indeed a rare talent. He is worthy of being chosen by Gang Leader Lin. There are many dangers ahead. If you want to protect him, you will become an enemy of the entire Beggar Gang. You must think it over carefully." After saying that, he moved to the side, and the Beggar Gang disciples behind him also moved aside to make way for him.
Lin Jianlan jumped on his horse, grateful to Zhu Chenghong for not pestering him any more, but he could not thank him in person, lest other members of the Beggars' Sect misunderstand him. He bowed slightly, urged his horse on, and rode away.
Seeing the two figures gradually going away, although the disciples knew that Lin Jianlan was a very powerful martial artist, they felt that he might not be able to break out of the snake catching formation. They were all very puzzled and asked questions one after another.
Zhu Chenghong said nothing more, only sighing to the crowd: " It is my incompetence that I failed to capture this traitor. I will report to the elders of the headquarters later to apologize. It has nothing to do with you. You can disperse now."
Everyone said, "What are you saying, Protector Zhu? We, the Beggars' Sect, are united as one. If there is any punishment from the headquarters, we will bear it together." Everyone wanted to persuade him, but saw that Zhu Chenghong had a serious expression and did not answer, so they left.
After the disciples dispersed, the street was bustling with people. Zhu Chenghong stood alone on the long street, slowly lowered his head to examine the object in his hand, which turned out to be two copper bells. He didn't know when Lin Jianlan took them away, and he and the others didn't even notice. As the guardian of the Beggar Gang with eight bells, it was such a shame to have someone take away the symbol of his status. The other party was actually a junior who had just started out in the martial arts world. He was afraid that he would lose face in front of the disciples.
Lin Jianlan never showed off, but when the crisis came, he threw it back in a gamble that he could let them out, which really gave himself enough face.
Zhu Chenghong hung the bell back on the end of his stick and walked slowly away, leaning on the ground. He looked no different from an ordinary old and frail beggar and was instantly lost in the vast crowd.
Lin Jianlan and Lei Kan left Hangzhou City, but they were both worried and silent. After riding for a while, Lei Kan reined in his horse and said, "Mr. Lin, I'm afraid something happened at the headquarters . They misunderstood me. There will be people from our gang chasing me on the road. The gang leader and I have agreed to meet your foster father at the Xianlai Restaurant in Chang'an City on the 24th of this month. You...you don't have to have any conflicts with our gang because of me. Even if they capture me and take me back to the headquarters, everything will be settled after I meet the gang leader."
Lin Jianlan said, "I heard from Uncle Qing that your gang has ten branches, and there are countless halls under them. If something big happens, everyone in the underworld should have heard about it. But this time, no one has leaked the slightest bit of information about what happened. They just secretly sent a message to the branch to arrest you. This is too strange!"
Seeing Lei Kan remained silent, Lin Jianlan continued, "Besides, you should have known from our previous fight that Zhu's moves were all lethal. It seems that the order from the headquarters is to kill him on the spot if he cannot be captured. I am afraid that even if you surrender, you will not be able to see Gang Leader Nian alive."
Lei Kan lowered his head and sighed for a while, knowing that Lin Jianlan was right, and was speechless for a moment.
Lin Jianlan said: "Our top priority is to rush to Chang'an. First, we must try to avoid the Beggars' Sect and not take the official road anymore. Second, we must quickly get the news. There is no time to waste. It is useless to sigh here. Let's get on the road."
Lei Kan nodded and urged his horse to go slowly. Lin Jianlan stared at his back and pondered for a while before he shouted "Go" and hurried on. He had made up his mind secretly. Although Lei Kan seemed to have been wronged, he did not bring any letters or evidence from Nian Yongshou here. He only sent messages verbally. Zhu Chenghong seemed very angry when he saw him, and it did not seem like he was faking it. If Lei Kan really did something evil and defected from the gang, his rash help would make the Kuangyi Gang and the Beggar Gang at odds for nothing. He must keep a close eye on him along the way and make plans after arriving in Chang'an.
The two of them only took small roads along the way, and stayed in remote rural inns. If they were closer to a town, they would ask someone to buy some dry food for the journey from the city, and randomly choose a secluded place to rest. Although it was hard, they were fortunately able to avoid the eyes and ears of the Beggars' Sect, so they were safe. However, it was difficult to get information. Although they could ask people to go into the city to inquire, they were not people in the martial arts world after all, and could not describe it clearly. The only thing that could be confirmed was that along the way from Hangzhou, there were suddenly more Beggars' Sect disciples in various towns.
After walking for several days, they saw that the small road they were taking gradually merged into the official road. Lin Jianlan and Lei Kan reined in their horses and stood far away on the side of the road. They saw that more and more people were walking on the road. From afar, they realized that they had arrived in Luoyang, the Eastern Capital, where there was a branch of the Beggars' Gang, second only to the headquarters in Chang'an.
Lei Kan turned around and said, "Master Lin, we have been taking a detour all the way, which has delayed us for a long time. The city of Dongdu is huge. If we continue to take a detour, I am afraid we will not be able to reach Chang'an as agreed."
Lin Jianlan also had a serious expression on his face. He pulled Lei Kan over and said, "You are right. I am afraid that we have no choice but to venture into the city. Firstly, we don't have to take a detour, and secondly, we will definitely be able to get some information. However, this is where the second largest branch of the Beggars' Sect is located, and it is on the only way to Chang'an. Your sect must have prepared to 'entertain' you and me well!"
Lei Kan smiled bitterly and said, "I am a member of the Beggars' Sect in life and a ghost of the Beggars' Sect in death. What does it matter if I die? But if I delay Master Lin's business, I will be unworthy of the trust of my leader. In this case, I have no choice but to venture into this dangerous place!"
The gate of Luoyang city was very tall and majestic. There were only a few Beggar Gang disciples squatting under the wall. Whenever there were passers-by, a few of them would surround them and beg for food, which was very unsightly.
The city guard at the gate looked at the beggars and said, "It's really strange these days. Beggars are guarding our gate for us!"
Another said, "I asked the brothers at the South Gate yesterday, and they were also a bunch of beggars squatting at the city gate begging. It would be great if they could guard the gate for us, but it's a pity that we can't pay them."
The two men burst into laughter, but they did not notice that these beggars had very sharp eyes and would look up and down every time someone came in.
