"Hmm!" Shi Hao also fell silent. After a while, he slowly said, "But a single spark can start a prairie fire!"
Chapter 49: Do What You Should Do
Shi Hao knew very well that in every era of change of dynasties, the first wave of troops to rise up would ultimately be the "pioneers of the king."
They can create a huge momentum and shake the world, but the final victory often does not belong to them.
A lean camel is bigger than a horse. Even though the people at the bottom of society are already living in poverty, even though the Barbarian Court has now reached a dead end like a chariot full of potholes, the first wave of resistance is still like a praying mantis with its arms raised, trying in vain to block the way of the chariot.
Even if the chariot was at the end of its strength, it could easily crush them to pieces.
But in this world, there are some things that someone has to start doing... and then everyone will follow.
Fu Shiyuan was the first person to raise the flag and shout to everyone to "Follow me".
Shi Hao thought quickly in his mind and realized that the matter of the "Stone of the Gods" had caused a series of chain reactions.
The tide of change is rolling forward and cannot be stopped.
After leaving the city, we saw the warriors from the Six Gates leading a group of soldiers and escorting some people back to the city.
These warriors had blood on their swords and were showing off their might. The common people along the way all avoided them and dared not say a word.
"Father," Xu Xiaoyan asked an old man on the roadside, "what happened there?"
The old man sighed, "What else could it be? The royal family in the city had their eyes on Mr. Li's fields, and one of Mr. Li's servants was instigated by the constables to accuse his master of colluding with bandits, so the guys from the Six Gates arrested the whole family."
"Poor Mr. Li's two sons were also martial artists who had entered the martial arts ranks. They were no match for the people from the Six Gates, so they were killed along with many young men from the Li family."
When Shi Hao looked, he saw many women, children and the elderly in shackles, crying along the way, being pushed and pulled by officers and soldiers into the city.
Shi Hao remained silent. This kind of thing had never stopped, and he was powerless to do anything about it.
But he must not do nothing in this era.
He couldn't save these people, but he had to do something.
—
That night, they stayed in an inn in a town outside the city.
When it got dark, the moon rose.
It has only been a few days since the full moon night. Although the moon tonight is no longer as round, it is slightly fuller.
It’s just that there are dark clouds in the sky, making the moonlight always seem not clear enough.
Xu Xiaoyan was sleeping in her room. The room was dark except for the dim moonlight on the windowsill.
Suddenly, she opened her eyes and stood up.
Her delicate body floated to the window, she pushed it open a little and looked out.
I saw a figure leaping over the wall.
She muttered, "This person—"
He didn't say anything else.
She lay back in bed and tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.
—It was not until it was pitch black outside, the moonlight was dim, and the sky was still dark that a strong and rapid wind blew outside.
There was a faint sound coming from the next room.
Only then did she fall asleep peacefully.
When it was bright, she got up and went to the street.
Suddenly, the town was in chaos, with soldiers and officers checking everywhere.
Xu Xiaoyan returned to the second floor of the inn, saw Shi Hao leaving the room, and stretched.
Then he looked at her and asked, "What happened outside? Why is it so noisy?"
Xu Xiaoyan smiled and said, "It seems that a big case has happened in the city, and the officers and soldiers are looking for the murderer."
Shi Hao said: "Is that so!"
The two packed up and left the inn, but were soon stopped by several constables.
The leading constable shouted, "You are not from this county? Where are you from? Do you have a pass?"
Shi Hao said, "Here it is!" and took out the pass... This was the one he always carried with him.
The Barbarian Court has extremely strict control over ordinary people. If you appear in other places without a pass, you are very likely to be arrested and imprisoned.
However, these days, travel permits are easy to forge, so they can only be used by ordinary people who don’t have much ability.
The captain took the pass and looked at it casually... For a Jianghu person, this kind of thing is nothing, as they can carry several copies with them. Therefore, he did not look at it seriously, but just looked at the young man and girl in front of him carefully.
"Have you ever practiced martial arts?" asked the captain.
Shi Hao said: "I understand a little bit."
The captain frowned and asked, "Which sect?"
Shi Hao replied: "An outer sect disciple of Mingkun Temple in Jin County!"
The captain of the police said coldly, "Is that so?" He suddenly made a move and hit Shi Hao's chest with a palm.
Shi Hao flipped his hands, and with a snap, his palms collided. He stood still, but the captain shook his head.
The captain snorted and handed the pass back: "Let's go!"
Shi Hao took the pass and left with the girl.
A constable nearby said, "Captain Chen, that kid just now..."
The head constable said, "The internal force of the Taoist sect is not the same as that of the murderer last night."
He raised his head and murmured, "What a trouble! Dozens of lives were lost overnight, and the victims were members of the royal family in the county... In this world, these criminals are becoming more and more arrogant."
Shi Hao and Xu Xiaoyan left the town and walked on the road. Xu Xiaoyan stood sideways with her hands behind her back, circling around him.
Shi Hao looked at her in confusion: "What's wrong?"
Xu Xiaoyan asked: "How many people were killed?"
Shi Hao looked innocent: "How many people did you kill?"
Xu Xiaoyan smiled softly and said, "How many members of that barbarian family in the city did you kill?"
Shi Hao thought for a moment and said, "I can't remember clearly, but I remember that I didn't kill the woman or the child!"
Xu Xiaoyan pursed her lips and said, "You favor boys over girls. Why can men be killed but women can't? Do you look down on women?"
Shi Hao looked at her: "Fuck! Is this boxing?"
Xu Xiaoyan said: "What? What boxing?"
Shi Hao smiled and said, "Nothing... nothing!"
Xu Xiaoyan said suspiciously, "You killed so many people, it's impossible that there were no traces left. The killing method, the residual energy, etc., can all give us clues. The captain's attack just now was obviously to test your internal strength to see if you are on the same path as the murderer.
"Why did he let you go so easily!"
Shi Hao smiled and said, "Because the 'murderer' and I are not of the same kind."
Xu Xiaoyan said, "Is that so... Take this!" She suddenly jumped into the air and kicked Shi Hao in the chest.
The kick was swift and fierce. Shi Hao raised his hand and blocked it three inches away from her foot, and blocked it with a snap.
The next moment, Xu Xiaoyan's figure was like a flying swallow around him, with a series of attacks and many phantoms.
Shi Hao was secretly surprised at her strange movements, but he did not back down.
He used his fingers as swords and used mysterious footwork to attack her.
The two figures intertwined with each other, each faster than the other. During the fight, Xu Xiaoyan spun around and kicked, but was intercepted by him. She flew backwards with her hands behind her, a beautiful "White Crane Spreads Its Wings" move.
Shi Hao turned around, pointed his sword to intercept, and then took a few more moves.
The figure of the retreating girl disappeared. In Shi Hao's eyes, Xu Xiaoyan's ghostly figure was wandering and changing unpredictably.
Suddenly, the girl floated back lightly, and said in surprise: "This is impossible, you have the inner strength of Taoism... Are you really from Chongxian Sect?" She showed a "disgusting" expression.
Shi Hao laughed and said, "It is the internal force of the Taoist sect, but it is definitely not from the Chongxian sect! If I were from the Chongxian sect, why would I help those anti-barbarian heroes to seize the Sealing God Stone?"
Xu Xiaoyan breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good! It almost made me sick."
Then he opened his eyes wide again: "But it's still not right, you know the evil shadow disguise technique, that night, the Ghost Extreme Sect's man recognized that you were using the Black Lotus Realm martial arts, but now you are using the Taoist internal force?"
She looked at Shi Hao and said hesitantly, "Are you really the person who showed up that night?"
Shi Hao smiled and said, "You were so confident that I was that person, why are you doubting me now?"
Xu Xiaoyan murmured, "But it doesn't make sense. I've never encountered anything like this before."
Shi Hao said: "Your internal strength actually has the foundation of the seventh rank. That's not bad, it's obviously the cultivation of the Taoist school, but it's extremely feminine, and the way you use it is closer to the magic school's martial arts. In my opinion, it's also very strange."
Xu Xiaoyan is certainly not practicing both Taoism and magic!
Shi Hao has both Taoist and demonic foundations in his body, and he uses the martial arts corresponding to these two foundations respectively.
Therefore, when he used Taoist martial arts, no one would think that he was related to the Demon Sect. When he used the Demon Sect's skills, there was no trace of Taoist internal strength.
As for Xu Xiaoyan, he was obviously also practicing Taoist internal energy.
But in Shi Hao's opinion, she was too feminine. Her martial arts were like the "Broken Veins and Burning Heart Finger", "Soul Chasing and Soul Locking Step", and "Purple Vortex Sword Technique" taught by the Fire Charm Girl, which were strange and unpredictable... and their methods were similar.
In a sense, she could be considered to be practicing both Taoism and magic... using the inner strength of Taoism to activate the martial arts moves of magic.
Of course, although Xu Xiaoyan's "dual cultivation of Taoism and magic" is extremely rare, it is theoretically possible.
It is horrifying that something like him exists, with two completely different and even opposite foundations coexisting in his body at the same time. It can be said that there has never been anyone like him before and there will probably never be anyone like him again.
Xu Xiaoyan had his own secrets, and although she was extremely curious, she didn't dare to interrogate him.
So she proudly put her hands behind her back, walked around him, and said with a grin, "You look older than me. If you have been practicing since childhood like me, then you have practiced two or three years longer than me. Your skills are about the same as mine, right? Hehe, it seems that your talent is just like this."
Shi Hao smiled slightly and did not attack her.
If I tell her that he has only practiced for a month, she won’t believe it
Xu Xiaoyan pulled him: "Let's go, I'll take you to a place."
Shi Hao asked: "Where are we going?"
Xu Xiaoyan smiled and said, "A place where you can get all kinds of information, a place where 'unorthodox methods' gather. But there are two types of people who are never allowed to go to that kind of place."
Shi Hao asked: "Which two types of people?"
Xu Xiaoyan said: "One is from Chongxian Sect, and the other is from Demon Sect."
Shi Hao said: "But don't you also have a connection with the Demon Sect?"
Xu Xiaoyan smiled and said, "Although we have a connection, I am not from the Demon Sect. In terms of foundation, I am a member of the Taoist Sect. By the way, when you get there, don't use the Demon Sect's skills. Those guys are very sensitive."
Chapter 50: Secret Meeting at Red Hill
Shi Hao followed Xu Xiaoyan all the way to a place called Yechanlin.
Although it is daytime, the forest is filled with fog today. There are ghost lights floating around, which makes it feel quite eerie.
Shi Hao even had an eerie feeling as if he had arrived in the underworld.
Xu Xiaoyan walked in front of him, her bun swaying slightly, and she shook her long thick braids: "Calculating the time, I can just make it!"
Shi Hao smiled and said, "So, you were originally planning to come to this place, and that's why you took me to wander around the surrounding counties, but because you believed that I was from the Demon Sect, you were always thinking about leaving me behind and coming here by yourself?"
Xu Xiaoyan glanced back at him and said, "I didn't bring you with me. You were the one who pestered me."
Shi Hao said: "Yes! Yes! Isn't it enough for me to be shameless?" He didn't bother with her about this matter.
Many little foxes appeared around and ran forward.
Xu Xiaoyan said: "Follow them!"
They chased the little foxes deep into the woods.
Arriving at a dense forest, Shi Hao saw several masks and several straight gowns of different colors on the trees.
The mask looked like an ordinary Lantern Festival mask, using the forms of some characters or demons from mythological stories.