Deng Liang thought about it and nodded, "That's true! But Xiong Wanghu is very famous now, and many people from Xishu have gone to seek him out. My father and I guessed that Shi Zhongyun might be you, so we came to see you. You are one of us, and if you want to become big, we will definitely stand on your side."
"But if you leave Bashan, I'm afraid we will also contact Xiong Wanghu."
Shi Hao whispered, "We must make contact, but you must not invest your money. Just keep this information to yourself, and don't tell anyone for now. Xiong Wanghu, like Huang Facai, is related to Hong Leichi, and is most likely a member of the Demon Sect."
Deng Liang's face immediately changed, and he asked in surprise: "Brother Hao, is this news true?"
Shi Hao said: "You also said that we are all family, why should I lie to you? This is a method used by the Demon Sect. Huang Facai has committed many evil deeds and is cruel and ruthless. When he has done all the bad things, Xiong Wanghu will stand up and lead everyone to overthrow him. On the one hand, Huang Facai has cleared away all the obstacles that Xiong Wanghu may encounter in the future, and on the other hand, Xiong Wanghu uses this righteous act to win over the people's hearts."
"You can see that before this, the two sides of the Han River were a mess, with different gangs and factions not subordinate to each other. Huang Facai occupied the territory by force, but he was not popular. After this turn, Xiong Wanghu has accepted both the territory and the people. If Bashan Jiuzhai had not fought desperately to stop the Hanyang Gang, Hanshui and Bashan would now be under the control of Xiong Wanghu."
Deng Liang was horrified when he heard this. It was the first time he knew there was such a practice.
He smiled bitterly and said, "If Xiong Wanghu is really a member of the Demon Sect, then we would never dare to put our lives and property on such a person. Fortunately, you have defended Bashan, otherwise, Xishu would be in danger. Brother Hao, are you really going to reconsider? You are the only one we can trust."
Shi Hao shook his head and said, "To be honest, I have considered it before! But the division between Bashan and Hanshui is a fact, and after this battle, I have a better understanding of where I am currently lacking."
"To be frank, I don't have enough strength and reputation right now. With the strength of the sixth rank, I can probably build a gang in a county or city, but I still don't have enough to develop further."
"And reputation. The reason why Xiong Wanghu was able to achieve success in one fell swoop is that he has persisted for many years and built up an excellent reputation. By the way, I also need your help on this point. After you go back, remember to help me promote it more."
Deng Liang patted his chest and promised: "Brother Hao, don't worry. When I go back, I will ask everyone to help spread the word so that more people will know that Brother Hao, you have great magical powers, unparalleled strength, and superb martial arts..."
Shi Hao said, "No, no, no! Don't advertise your martial arts skills randomly. It will be bad if you provoke powerful enemies that I can't defeat. The martial arts skills should be weakened. The key is the righteous act. Just tell everyone about my 'righteous act' of not being able to stand the evil deeds of the Hanyang Gang, helping the various villages in Bashan to fight against the Hanyang Gang, and then leaving without saying goodbye and keeping my merits and fame."
Deng Liang said: "I understand, I understand! I will definitely let everyone know how the hero 'Shi Chongyun' is 'hiding his merits and fame', and you can put this on me."
At that moment, Shi Hao took Deng Liang to meet with Gong Muhong, Chuan Daoren, He Guangtao, Yan Zhuxia and others.
Knowing that it was the young master of Yuanrong Chamber of Commerce who was here in person, everyone naturally did not dare to neglect him.
Deng Liang also promised everyone that in addition to further expanding the business dealings between the two sides, he would also support the construction and development of the militia in Bashan with money and grain.
"Everyone, just rest assured!" Deng Liang said, "Master Zhongyun has always been a man of great integrity. What he has entrusted to us is the business of our Yuanrong Chamber of Commerce."
Shi Hao thought to himself, this kid is really smart.
—
After Deng Liang left, Gong Muhong and others once again tried their best to retain Shi Hao.
For them, without Shi Chongyun, there would be no Bashan Jiuzhai today. So while they are extremely grateful, they also want to ask him to stay and lead Bashan Jiuzhai.
This is also a kind of psychology. The more successful Shi Chongyun is in retiring, the more grateful they are for his great kindness, and at the same time they admire his chivalrous act of drawing his sword to help.
Unfortunately, Shi Chongyun refused to stay.
In desperation, they had to hold a grand banquet, and for a moment, everyone came forward to bow and toast.
They saw how Master Shi planned and worked so hard to help them defeat the Hanyang Gang and save Bashan, but he just walked away without any hesitation afterwards, which made them feel that he was a very righteous man.
Even those who had suspected him of having ulterior motives in the past felt ashamed at this moment and stepped forward to toast and apologize.
At that moment, Shi Hao stayed here for another night.
After leaving Yuanshi Dongtian, he rested for three or four days in the villa of Jinghua Shuiyue Tower, then went to Hongqiu Meeting, and then went to Bashan to unite with Bashan Jiuzhai to fight against Hanyang Gang.
Along the way, more than ten days have passed without me noticing. Tonight, we have just entered August, and there is only half a month left until the full moon night of this month.
The first day of August is the Wind Festival in Taoism and the Tianyi Festival in folk religion.
According to legend, Huangdi consulted Qi Bo for medical advice on this day and wrote the "Huangdi Neijing".
The words "Qi" and "Huang" in "Qi Huang's Art" refer to Qi Bo and Huang Di.
That morning, the Bashan Mountains were shrouded in mist, but there were crowds of people at the foot of Nangong Mountain.
In Jiuzhaigou, countless people rushed here when they heard that Master was leaving.
Many of them even arrived in the middle of the night, fearing that the master would leave too early and they would not be able to see him off in time.
Faced with the constant pleas from warriors and common people all over the mountains to stay, Shi Hao waved his hand and left with Du Yuejiao, Hou Boming and Xianggu.
Gong Muhong looked at Shi Zhongyun's graceful back as he left and sighed, "Whether he's leaping or diving, he's truly a latent dragon!"
The name of Master Chongyun, the "Hidden Dragon", thus spread throughout the world!
Chapter 168: The devil’s lair: Taibai Pool!
The closer you get to Changbai Mountain, the more you can feel the bloodiness and brutality of the barbarian army.
Many villages were massacred. Many of them had not actually joined the rebel army against the barbarian court, but were killed by the barbarian army to claim credit, and the entire village was massacred.
Some villages were burned down, with corpses covered in ashes, while others were empty, like ghost villages, with the bodies of the people dragged to the surrounding mass graves and buried at random.
There were mass graves everywhere, to the point where there was one in every village.
A long time ago, Changbai Mountain was also called Taiyi Mountain. According to Taoist legend, Taiyi Zhenren practiced here, hence the name.
Although the uprising here has been suppressed and Fu Shiyuan has escaped with his few remaining troops, the barbarian army still sent troops to garrison in the surrounding towns and set up checkpoints everywhere.
However, Shi Hao, Du Yuejiao, Hou Boming and Xianggu, who were either sixth or seventh rank, crossed the mountains and rivers directly to avoid the barbarian army checkpoints, so they did not have too much to worry about.
Although this was the main stronghold for Fu Shiyuan's uprising against the barbarians, the rebel army at that time mainly occupied Wugong Peak and the important towns around it, not the main peak of Changbai Mountain.
Shi Hao and his three companions arrived at the foot of the main peak of Changbai Mountain. They looked up and saw the towering Changbai Mountain.
Changbai Mountain is the highest peak of the Qinling Mountains. Just standing at the foot of the mountain, one can feel its danger and magnificence.
"Are there really red Bi Luo fruits here?" Du Yuejiao looked doubtful.
Changbai Mountain is quite famous in history. If there really was such a thing on the mountain, it would have been discovered long ago.
So her suspicion was not unfounded.
Shiitake nodded vigorously: "Yes! Yes!"
Shi Hao asked: "What preparations do we need to make?"
Xianggu tilted his head and thought for a while, then whispered, "Is there any way to... drive away ghosts?"
Shi Hao, Du Yuejiao and Hou Bomin all turned their heads to look at her.
Du Yuejiao felt creepy: "Are you serious?" Xianggu thought about it and nodded seriously.
Shi Hao looked up at the top of the mountain: "How about... we just leave?" He thought it would be safer to collect 100 kilograms of red fruits.
Du Yuejiao whispered: "Yeah!" She also felt that it would be safer to collect the red fruits.
The two turned around to leave, but Xianggu suddenly pounced and hugged Shi Hao's feet: "No!"
Shi Hao dragged her two steps, then stopped helplessly: "Ms. Mushroom, what on earth is on the mountain?"
Xianggu whispered: "Nothing much... just a few more ghosts!"
Is this nothing
Du Yuejiao was a little angry when she saw her hugging her lover's thigh.
She has never liked mushrooms, thinking they are dirty and matte-colored all the time.
Now she is still clinging to Master's thigh.
She couldn't help but ask, "Why do you want us to go with you so much?"
Xianggu said aggrievedly: "There are Soul-Separation Tears in it... That's the immortal material I want for advancement."
Du Yuejiao asked doubtfully: "Is there such a magical material? Why have I never heard of it?" He couldn't help but look at Hou Boming.
Hou Bomin chuckled and said, "The world is so big that there are all kinds of strange things. Some of the immortal materials needed by unorthodox sects are strange in themselves. It's understandable that someone needs such things."
Shi Hao said helplessly: "Forget it, let's go and take a look." After all, when he was in Bashan, mushrooms helped him a lot.
If Xianggu had not taken the lead in getting rid of Zhao Xuanding of "Dingdingxia Pass", they might not have won so easily.
Shiitake continued to hug his thighs: "Yeah! Yeah!"
Du Yuejiao bit her lip... Are you still hugging me
Having made the decision, the four of them started to climb the mountain.
On the other side of Changbai Mountain, on the mountainside, a group of barbarians dragged corpses out of the carriages that were pulled up the mountain.
The bodies were neatly laid out on the ground, there were more than a hundred of them.
These corpses were all civilians from outside the mountain. There were no elderly people among them, but there were many children.
Most of them died by knives and guns, and there was fear on everyone's face. Among them was a woman who was holding her child tightly in her arms, with scars all over her body.
Even though she was dead, no one could separate the child from her arms.
There was a long spear, which pierced both the mother and the child.
The men in the surrounding villages and towns were either killed as rebels or taken away as able-bodied men, so the majority of the corpses were women and children.
—A young man, about twenty years old, wearing a brocade robe.
He has a narrow forehead, a long and pointed chin, and very thick eyebrows. One can tell at a glance that he is not of Chinese descent.
He has a sturdy build, with muscular arms, and it is obvious that he has practiced some powerful external skills.
There was another old man next to him. He had a head full of white hair. His hair was very long and tied back like a ponytail.
After putting down the body, the barbarians quickly retreated.
The young man in brocade robe waved his hand, and four strong men carried a large tripod and placed it among the corpses.
Although the tripod was only one person tall, it was very large. The four strong men were obviously martial artists who practiced external skills, but they also took great pains to lift it here.
They put down the big tripod, and there were eight rivets between the lid and the mouth of the tripod.
The four strong men carefully removed the rivets, then turned and ran.
Bang! The round lid of the tripod flew up under a powerful impact.
The lid of the tripod tumbled in the air, and when it reached a certain height it fell down, and with a bang, it hit the ground.
The young men, the old men and the barbarians retreated and looked at the mouth of the cauldron.
The young man and the old man remained calm, but the barbaric soldiers who had killed people like crazy in the past now looked quite uncomfortable, even a little panicked.
Something crawled out from the cauldron.
A deafening roar was heard, startling the birds within a ten-mile radius and causing the wild beasts to flee.
"What's that sound?" Du Yuejiao asked in fear.
Hou Bomin listened attentively: "It sounds like the roar of a human, but also like the roar of a wild beast."
The sound seemed to come from the other side of the mountain, making them feel as if the entire mountain was shaking with the roar.
They were silent for a moment, and the roar quickly died away again.
Shi Hao said: "Maybe it's the echo caused by wild beasts? Or it could be the sound of strong wind blowing through the wind cave." He couldn't make too many judgments and could only make a rough guess.
After a pause, he said, "In any case, we should be careful."
Changbai Mountain is very high, and it was not until the evening that they arrived at Taibai Pool on the mountainside.
"Tomorrow... tomorrow we'll go up the mountain again." Xianggu whispered, "Maybe it will be better during the day."
Du Yuejiao couldn't help but ask, "What does this 'a little better' mean?"
Xianggu nodded vigorously, looking as if she was encouraging herself: "It's just a little better."
Du Yuejiao muttered, "It's the same as if I didn't say anything."
Shi Hao smiled and said, "Anyway, we should leave after daybreak. When we reach the top of the mountain, we must be careful."
Holding a pipe in hand, Hou Bomin said with a smile, "Of course we have to be careful, but the question is what should we be careful about?"
But no one answered this.
Just because we don't know what to be careful about, it makes people feel uneasy.
Although the moon has risen, it is only a crescent.
After they left Bashan, although they traveled day and night, it still took them four days.
It is now the fifth day of August, and there are only ten days left until the Mid-Autumn Festival when the full moon comes.
The moonlight was not bright enough, making the mirror-like surface of Taibai Pond appear much darker.
The night sky was covered with clouds and fog tonight, and even though they were on the mountainside, they couldn't see many stars.
They found a place to light a bonfire, ate some dry food, and then took turns to keep watch and rest.