Shi Hao turned his head and saw a woman standing quietly under a tree in the distance.
He looked at Du Yuejiao: "He should be waiting for you!"
Chapter 142 I Really Didn’t Recognize You
Du Yuejiao walked towards the woman and came under the tree. The woman pulled her away and whispered, "Yuejiao, why are you here? Where is your master?"
Du Yuejiao said: "Master is not here. I want to go out and see the world. I have already told Master about it."
The woman said: "The Jianghu is dangerous, it's not as easy as you think, you'd better go back early. The outside world is not like the Immortal Gate, you don't know how dangerous the people in the Jianghu are..."
Du Yuejiao nodded: "Uncle Master is right! If I hadn't been in the martial arts world, how would I know that people's hearts are unpredictable? Things like stealing from the employer, relying on the mountain to make a living, relying on the water to make a living, etc., I didn't dare to think about it before, but after entering the martial arts world, I realized that it was really like this."
The woman said: "This, this... Yue Jiao, listen to me..."
Du Yuejiao held her hand and said, "Uncle Master, don't worry. Everyone at the Red Hill Conference had their faces covered. I didn't recognize anyone."
The woman asked, "Really?"
Du Yuejiao nodded vigorously: "Yeah, I really didn't recognize it!"
The woman said: "Is that so..."
Du Yuejiao said: "I really didn't recognize him!"
The woman: “…”
Du Yuejiao continued to hold her hand: "So, Uncle Master, don't worry... I really, really didn't recognize you!"
The woman whispered, "Yue Jiao... what do you want?"
After a while, Du Yuejiao returned to Shi Hao with satisfaction.
Shi Hao looked at her and asked, "An acquaintance?"
Du Yuejiao nodded, "Yes, she is an acquaintance! She is very kind and promised to send me a branch of Fantasy Sea God Ganoderma next time. As for the Azure Vermilion Fruit, even she has only heard of this immortal material and has never seen it. As for the Vermilion Fruit, she can help get about ten kilograms first, which should not be a problem. She can't do anything more than that."
Shi Hao knew that even Zhuo Mulan would find it difficult to obtain the Phantom Sea Divine Ganoderma.
That woman paid a huge price to get Yue Jiao to keep it a secret for her. However, since she was able to secretly send out such immortal materials, it seemed that that woman was probably in charge of this area in Chongxian Sect.
I didn't expect that just by taking Yue Jiao on this trip, I could actually solve the problem of the Phantom Sea Divine Ganoderma.
However, the other party was in charge of immortal materials in Chongxian Sect, but he didn't know where to get the Blue Sea Vermilion Fruit.
No wonder when leaving Yuanshi Cave Heaven, Fairy Shengxuan specifically pointed out that this immortal material might be difficult to obtain and also gave an alternative plan.
However, this alternative plan would consume one hundred kilograms of red fruit, which was indeed a troublesome matter.
In the evening, a group of six of them were practicing in the mountains. They made a campfire and got some game.
He Guangtao knew more about the Bashan area and introduced: "The nine villages in Bashan are Goupan Village, Heshou Village, Shennong Village, Wu Village, Yinping Village, Jiming Village, Wudang Temple on Xieluo Mountain, Qinglong City built around the mountain with Qinglong Gorge as its base, and Gong Family who moved to Nangong Mountain three hundred years ago."
"Among them, Wudang Temple was listed as a side sect because it was unwilling to rely on Chongxian Sect. Well, actually, I am also an outer sect disciple of Wudang Temple, so I practice Taoist techniques and rely on private channels like the Hongqiu Society to obtain immortal materials."
"Because of the immortal materials being blocked by Chongxian Sect, there are no masters in Wudang Temple. The temple master, Chuan Daoren, is my senior brother. Like me, he is only at the seventh level. There are only more than 20 disciples in the temple, and there are barely a few at the eighth level. It was only after I left Wudang Temple that I was able to gather the immortal materials and reach the seventh level with the help of Hongqiu Society and some friends.
"Wu Village is one of the nine villages in Bashan Mountain. It is relatively mysterious. I don't know much about it. I heard that the village master has a sixth-grade cultivation, but I have never seen him. Wu Village does not interact with the outside world much and is basically isolated from the world. I heard that the Gong family in Nangong Mountain was also a martial arts family hundreds of years ago. Three hundred years ago, they changed their names and fled to Bashan Mountain and gradually declined."
Shi Hao nodded: "I have heard a little about the Gong family on Nangong Mountain. They run some silk business, but I didn't know they were originally a martial arts family."
The Gong family and Xiaohanshan City have a certain competitive relationship in business, so he knows something about it.
He Guangtao said: "The Gong family has its own martial arts, but I heard that the conditions for mastering it are quite harsh. The Gong family has many martial artists, and there are nearly a hundred who have entered the ranks, but they can't even produce a seventh-rank martial artist, and there are not even a few eighth-rank martial artists. Basically, they are all ninth-rank martial artists. I don't know if it's because there's a problem with the inheritance of their martial arts, or if there are other factors."
Shi Hao said: "Although there are no masters, a family can train dozens of warriors who are qualified, even if they are all ninth-grade, which is quite impressive. If we want to succeed, the participation of the Gong family is indispensable."
He Guangtao said: "I think the Gong family should be relatively easy to convince. Their foundation is there. The Hanyang Gang controlled the Han River, which was a heavy blow to them. It can be said that the Gong family's business is completely unable to continue."
"As for Goupan Village, Heshou Village, Yinping Village, etc., there is nothing much to say. There are only a few warriors in each village at most. The truly important one is Shennong Village among the six villages."
Among the nine villages in Bashan, Wudang Temple, Qinglong City and Gongjia cannot actually be considered as "villages".
The Qinglong City inside sounds like a loud name, but it is actually just like Xiaohan Mountain City. Many years ago, a large number of refugees fled here and gradually built a mountain city after settling down. Of course, there are some warriors, many hunters and able-bodied men in it, but their strength is extremely limited.
There are actually only six villages that can be truly considered as "villages". Wu Village is relatively mysterious, so let's not talk about it for now. He Guangtao only mentioned Shennong Village and emphasized that it seems that Shennong Village is the one with real strength among the six villages.
Hou Bomin is short in stature. Although he is only in his fifties, he always has a hunched back, which is the main reason why he looks extremely old after putting on the mask.
He chuckled and said, "The leader of Shennong Village, Jing Fude, is nearly seventy years old and has a sixth-rank cultivation. He has been in the martial arts world for more than thirty years and has the nickname 'Flying Tiger Legs'. This nickname has been with him since he was a seventh-rank cultivator until he became a sixth-rank cultivator."
"In his early years, he was daring and brave, and risked his life. Later, as he grew older, he was covered in injuries. It was difficult for him to make any progress in martial arts because of his injuries. In recent years, he has become afraid of death. However, his two sons have reached the seventh level of cultivation, and they have raised many farmhands and trained many farmhands."
"Among the six villages, Shennong Village is the strongest. Although Jing Fude is afraid of death after he grows old, he has become more tactful and respected in Bashan. Let's not talk about Wu Village for now. I'm afraid the other villages will follow him. Whether we can achieve anything after entering Bashan depends on the attitude of the 'Flying Tiger Leg' in the past, and the 'Hidden Tiger' now."
He Guangtao looked at Shi Hao and said, "Should we talk to this old man Jing first? If we can convince him, things will be much easier."
Shi Hao's mind moved quickly. He combined the Guigu method and the Seven Techniques of Yin Fu taught by Fairy Shengxuan, and compared them with reality.
He shook his head. "People like him have seen a lot of dangers in the martial arts world. Although they were brave and fearless when they were young, they are inevitably worried and hesitant when they are old. Although he has the strength of a sixth-rank warrior, he must have not fought with anyone for a long time, so his spirit has been prematurely drained."
"If we go find him now, he will just make excuses with words, neither agreeing nor objecting, which is a waste of time. We must first find someone who will clearly oppose the Hanyang Gang to increase our bargaining chips, and then use our power to go there, leaving him with little room for excuses."
"So, let's go to Wudang Temple first, and then to Gong Family. Wu Village is the variable among the Nine Villages. Because no one knows about it, we need to find out the movements of Wu Village in advance. After confirming the will of Wudang Temple and Gong Family, I will go to Wu Village first."
"If we can convince Wuzhai again, with the combined power of Wudang Temple, Gong Family, and Wuzhai, we will have a great chance of making Shennongzhai make up its mind to join forces with us to fight against the Hanyang Gang."
Hou Boming and He Guangtao looked at each other and nodded in unison.
Although they had just analyzed each village one by one, their thoughts were confused and they didn't know where to start. Now after hearing what Chong Yunzi said, they immediately felt that everything became clear step by step.
It was the first time for Du Yuejiao and Xu Xiaoyan to see Shi Hao demonstrate his personal leadership and ability to analyze the situation. For a moment, it was as if they were getting to know him all over again.
They looked at Shi Hao, only to see that his face was firm and his voice was clear. In fact, everyone can talk about things in a logical way, but making a real decision is not an easy thing.
The moment he made up his mind to help Bashan Jiuzhai fight against the Hanyang Gang, he began to push his decision forward step by step without hesitation. His determination and courage really impressed them.
On the other side, Shiitake was sitting on the grass, not looking very interested in what they were talking about.
She was carrying a small sack on her back. She put the sack down and took out small bottles. She opened the bottles and placed them on the grass. Centipedes, small snakes, scorpions and other tiny poisonous creatures were crawling around, which made the two women's scalps tingle.
The only thing was that they didn't want this woman, who looked so strange, to follow them.
Having made the decision, Shi Hao no longer hesitated.
At that moment, Shi Hao led them on a journey all night until they entered Bashan Mountain and arrived at Xieluo Mountain.
Xie Luo Mountain overlooks Shennongjia in the south and Xiangzhou in the east. A long time ago, it was once a well-known blessed land in Taoism. Unfortunately, after Chongxian Sect "led" Taoism, it was constantly suppressed. Up to now, other Taoist temples have been demolished or dispersed, and only the Wudang Temple is barely left.
Shi Hao followed He Guangtao to Wudang Temple, but saw the Taoists there were packing their bags and closing the doors, and it seemed that they were preparing to leave.
"Brother!" He Guangtao ran towards a middle-aged Taoist with a worried look on his face, "Where are you going?"
Chapter 143: With Yin and stillness, the shape is formed
The middle-aged Taoist was none other than the abbot of the Wudang Temple, Taoist Chuan. He was of medium build, and because he practiced Taoist techniques, he did not look very strong.
There was still some sharpness in his eyes, but his face looked indeed sad and helpless.
Seeing He Guangtao running over, he smiled bitterly and said, "Guangtao, why are you running over here?"
He Guangtao asked: "Brother, what are you going to do?"
Taoist Chuan whispered, "We are going to move away from Xieluo Mountain and move to another place, and then rebuild the Wudang Temple."
He Guangtao said: "Wudang Temple has been built in Xieluo Mountain for so many years, how can it be moved just like that?"
Chuan Daoren said: "You don't know..."
"Everyone knows this!" Shi Hao stepped forward with his hands behind his back, "They are just afraid."
Taoist Chuan looked over and saw that the young man was wearing a Taoist robe decorated with cranes, with a sword slung across his back, and he had an extraordinary bearing.
With every step he took, the attention of the Taoists around him was unknowingly attracted by him.
His voice was not loud, but it was full of sarcasm and ridicule in everyone's ears: "They are afraid of the Hanyang Gang, so they want to escape, saying they want to rebuild, but the whole world is like this, where can they rebuild
"It's just like a rat, preparing to hide here and there."
The Taoists listened to this. Some of them hung their heads in dejection and said nothing. Some of them angrily said, "What do you know? The Hanyang Gang is too strong..."
Shi Hao smiled and said, "That's right, the Hanyang Gang is too strong, and you are too weak, just like weaklings. It's better to escape as soon as possible. In fact, there is no point in escaping. It's better to die early and be reborn early. After all, in this era, there are evil everywhere. You can escape for a while, but can you escape for a lifetime?"
Daoist Chuan raised his eyebrows, but finally held back: "My dear little brother, this matter has nothing to do with you..."
Shi Hao laughed and said, "It has nothing to do with us?"
He pointed at He Guangtao, looked around, and said, "Brother He, we learned that Wudang Temple had encountered a powerful enemy and its foundation was in danger, so we went to great lengths to invite us to come and help Wudang Temple. We did not dare to delay and rushed here overnight just to fight side by side with Wudang Temple."
"But when we got here, you were already preparing to flee. Well, just leave and we will stay here to guard the Wudang Temple."
Taoist Chuan was stunned and could not speak for a long time. The other Taoists looked at them, some were moved, some puffed out their chests, and the depressed atmosphere just now was swept away.
The "Zhehe" chapter of "Guiguzi" says: When one moves with yang, virtue is generated; when one is still with yin, form is formed.
Guiguzi's technique is the technique of diplomacy and lobbying. "Those who move with yang" are masculine and positive, while "those who are still with yin" are gloomy and negative.
What this sentence means is that for masculine and positive people, you should not act recklessly with them, but instead use morality or principles to restrain and control them to avoid making mistakes.
For gloomy and negative people, big principles are of no use. They need to see real actions.
It is because, for such gloomy and negative people, they have actually thought a lot, but the more they think, the more afraid they become, and the more panic they become. No matter how you try to comfort such people, it is a waste of time. Instead, you need to use practical actions, visible and concrete help, to cheer them up and let them know that someone is standing with them.
Shi Hao stepped forward and came to the sealed hall, only to see that the door was tightly closed and sealed. He kicked it, breaking the seal and opening the door.
At the moment when everyone fell silent, his fierce kick caused the palace door to open with a bang, shocking everyone.
He stepped in, came to the statue of the Three Pure Ones, took out the incense, lit it with his finger knife, and bowed to the statue of the Three Pure Ones: "Grandpa Sanqing, don't worry, they are gone, but we are still here. Even if we risk our lives, we will stay here and protect this legacy left by Wudang Temple for hundreds of years.
"The Jianghu is full of dangers and evils. We want to show the world that even if there are many demons, the word chivalry has never been cut off."
This made everyone's blood boil. Someone shouted, "Master, we only have one life to lose, why don't we just stay here and fight those guys?" "Yes, they are not from Wudang Temple, but they are willing to do so much for Wudang Temple, what do we have to be afraid of?"
Under the excitement of the crowd, Daoist Chuan was no longer depressed and invited everyone into the back hall. He asked, "What is the name of this little brother?"
Shi Hao said: "My surname is Shi, and my Taoist name is Chongyunzi."
Daoist Chuan said, "It is true that the Hanyang Gang is strong, especially since they have been annexing many gangs in the upper reaches of the Han River recently. Many gangs have been forced to join them, and there are more and more masters. We are just a small Wudang Temple, it is like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, I am afraid it is difficult to resist, what should we do?"
Shi Hao said: "The Hanyang Gang is developing rapidly. Although it is powerful, its people are not united. Although the Bashan Jiuzhai is weak, as long as they work together, they may not be invincible. As long as the Taoist priest is determined to fight, he should first unite all the people who are willing to fight against the Hanyang Gang. I am willing to be a lobbyist for the Taoist priest and go to Nangong Mountain to talk with the Gong family."
"First, unite the forces of Wudang Temple, Nangong Mountain, and Qinglong City, and then join forces with the six strongholds. Gather the forces of the nine strongholds in Bashan, and then take a defensive position and wait for the enemy to tire themselves out. Even with the strength of the Hanyang Gang, there is nothing to fear."
With yin and stillness, the shape is formed! For the originally depressed Wudang Guan, there is no need for too much reasoning. The important thing is to take direct action and lead them.
Taoist Chuan originally had no idea. Now that the other party had taken on the important task of lobbying the various villages in order to protect Wudang Temple, he was grateful and immediately bowed to Shi Hao and the others and said, "Thank you for coming to help us. Regardless of whether we can defend Wudang Temple or not, we will never forget this kindness.
Shi Hao supported him and said, "Master, you are too polite. The world is in chaos and villains are everywhere. We must work together and unite as one to maintain peace and make a difference. We are all chivalrous men and we are just doing what we should do!"
The Taoists responded with a roar and their momentum was overwhelming.
On the other hand, Hou Boming, He Guangtao and others saw that Shi Hao's few words led to the rise of those who had already given up hope and were ready to abandon Wudang Temple and flee, and they were all convinced.
At that moment, the Wudang audience stopped packing, put the packages that had been packed back, cleaned the guest room, and let Shi Hao and his group stay there.
Shi Hao then asked Chuan Daoren about the internal situation of Bashan Jiuzhai. Although He Guangtao had told him a lot before, he still felt it was not enough, so he asked about the history of various places in Bashan Jiuzhai in detail.
From the lobbyist's perspective, it is important to understand the temperament and past of every lobbying target as much as possible.
—“Look back to see the past, and look forward to test the future; look back to know the past, and look forward to know the present; look back to know others, and look forward to know yourself!”
Know yourself and know your enemy, and you can fight a hundred battles without danger! This saying is not only applicable to military tactics, but also to lobbying.
—
Shi Hao went to Nangong Mountain with Chuan Dao Ren, and Du Yuejiao, the "Monkey Thief" Hou Bomin, and He Guangtao also followed them.
Shi Hao originally said that he would be the one to go, but when he really took action for the Wudang Temple, how could the Wudang Temple, which was aroused with fighting spirit, just stand by and watch
Taoist Chuan, who originally wanted to take everyone away from this place, now took the initiative to follow Shi Hao and go to Nangong Mountain together.
Xu Xiaoyan stayed, as she felt running around was boring.
Also left behind were the shiitake mushrooms.
At this moment, Xu Xiaoyan was lying on the grass at the back of Wudang Temple, bored, with one hand supporting her face, watching people fiddling with bottles and jars of mushrooms in the distance.
Xu Xiaoyan attended the Hongqiu meeting many times, but it was only at this meeting that she saw shiitake mushrooms.
If Xu Xiaoyan had seen a strange woman like her before, she would definitely have an impression of her.
Either this was Xianggu's first time attending the Hongqiu Club, or the two of them really had missed each other before.
As a girl, Xu Xiaoyan couldn't help but feel her scalp tingling when she saw the snakes and insects crawling out of the bottles and jars.