Mountains and Seas

Chapter 104: Hit the bamboo

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Zhu Li was not poisoned, nor was she bitten by a Gu.

He pretended to be listless, but in fact he was concentrating and on guard, quietly preparing for a fatal blow. If he killed the female assassin, Zhou Chenghui and Yanshan Taoist, who were both poisoned, would naturally not be able to escape his blade.

The female assassin who called herself Jiaer came flying with her two daggers flashing two cold lights. This girl looked pure and innocent, but she was ruthless when she attacked. She was much more ruthless and vicious than Zhou Chenghui. At least Zhou Chenghui's swords were not poisoned.

As for this young lady from Nanzhao, her dagger was blue in color, obviously coated with a strange and deadly poison.

Closer and closer, Zhu Li was like a python hiding in the dark, having already accumulated all his strength to attack. As soon as this girl rushed over, he would explode and would not leave any room for the other party.

But sometimes, man proposes, God disposes. When you are suffering, misfortunes come one after another, making you even more embarrassed and struggling desperately; when you finally have a chance to turn things around, an accident happens.

At this moment, a green light came flying from the side and got ahead of Zhu Li. With two "ding, ding" sounds, it knocked the two daggers in Jiaer's hands off course. The young lady Jiaer was so frightened that she retreated suddenly like a frightened deer, looking around in indescribable panic.

I have to say that this girl's body movements are pretty good. She moves forward and backward like the wind, as fast as lightning. After being frustrated in one attack, she immediately turns around to defend herself, causing Zhu Li to hold back all his strength but to no avail, and he almost suffered internal injuries.

Looking at Lady Nagar again, her eyes revealed outside the veil were filled with doubt and uncertainty. She held two daggers upside down, one in front and one behind, and looked around with great vigilance.

"Who dares to ruin the good deeds of my Wushen Cult?" After observing for a long time and still unable to find any trace of the enemy, Jiaer became anxious.

"Hahaha, hahaha" Under the night sky, bursts of laughter rose one after another. It seemed to be everywhere, and yet it seemed to be still around. However, no matter how hard you searched, you couldn't find the source of the sound.

"Girl, this old Taoist priest has a friendship with your Wushen Sect. Today, as long as you leave the antidote, you can leave." The voice was still erratic, but this person called himself an old Taoist priest. Could he be another Taoist priest? Zhu Li thought to himself that he did not have any good feelings towards Taoist priests at all.

Jiaer looked unhappy. Until now, she had not found out where this person was hiding. Even uglier were the old Taoist priest from Yanshan and Zhou Chenghui.

I thought there was only one Nanzhao witch in secret, but I didn't expect there was another master. The two assassins who took the lead turned their faces darker and darker, and turned into cold-blooded men.

Although Jiaer was unwilling, she was very smart. This man was obviously a great master. She couldn't even catch a glimpse of his shadow, so it was natural for the other party to take her life.

After only a moment's thought, he happily placed a jade bottle on the snow and said, "Senior, the antidote is already here. I'm leaving now."

The witch was so straightforward that Taoist priests from Yanshan and Zhou Chenghui, who were poisoned by the Gu, did not dare to move at all. Who knew whether the antidote was real or fake.

"Girl, don't play tricks on me. If the antidote you left behind can't save people, I don't mind taking action again, capturing you and sending you to someone else as a wife. Think it over carefully." The man in the dark threatened again.

Upon hearing this, the witch Jiaer's eyes, which had originally been somewhat cunning, suddenly became much more gloomy, and a trace of struggle appeared in her eyes, as if she was still unwilling. After thinking about it, she put away the previous jade bottle, took out another jade bottle, and placed it on the snow. As soon as she put it down, she immediately retreated without saying another word, and disappeared in the vast sea of snow in a blink of an eye.

As soon as Jiaer left, the Taoist priest Yanshan stepped forward, took the jade bottle, poured out a black pill, and swallowed it. Zhou Chenghui was no exception. He took the jade bottle from the Taoist priest and also swallowed a black pill.

The two of them took the pills and meditated to dissolve the effects of the medicine, seemingly completely forgetting Zhu Li's existence.

It sounds slow, but in fact it all happened in just a few breaths.

As the witch Jiaer retreated, a Taoist priest appeared. He had a high bun on his head and wore a coarse linen robe. He held two bamboo boards in one hand and a bamboo stick in the other. He walked leisurely to where Zhu Li and the other two were and said to Taoist priest Yanshan indifferently, "Who is Haichanzi to you?"

Upon hearing this, Taoist Yanshan suddenly opened his eyes, stood up quickly, put his sword behind his back and saluted, saying: "It is my master, the junior Dong Ningyang, thank you for your help."

Facing the respectful Dong Ningyang, the Taoist holding a bamboo, who looked to be in his thirties, but looked to be in his fifties upon closer inspection, said unhappily, "Hmph, Hai Chanzi is getting old and confused. I didn't expect that the disciples he taught also can't tell right from wrong."

Hearing that the other party dared to insult his master, Dong Ningyang suddenly showed a trace of anger on his face, and said coldly: "Senior, you can insult me, but if you dare to insult my master again, even if I know I can't win, I will fight you to the death."

"Oh, you, I really didn't see that." The Taoist holding the bamboo looked disdainful, and then said: "Am I wrong? Then I want to ask you, why did you come to kill Zhu Li?"

Dong Ningyang looked suspicious and said calmly, "Zhu Li plotted a rebellion and wantonly plundered the Hetao area, causing the people to be displaced and suffering. Shouldn't he be killed?"

"Hmph." The Taoist holding the bamboo snorted coldly and said, "The world is in chaos now, and the people are living in misery. First, Pang Xun rebelled, coerced the people, and ravaged the local area; then, Wang Xianzhi rose up in rebellion, causing chaos in the world and harming all directions."

"In the court, there are eunuchs like Tian Lingzi, Liu Jishu, and Wang Zhongxian, who are perverting the law and killing loyal officials. In the local areas, there are thieves like Li Guochang and Li Keyong, who are causing trouble for the people and ravaging the common people. Why don't you, Dong Ningyang, go and kill them?"

These words left Dong Ningyang speechless and gloomy. He devoted himself to practicing Taoism, and if it wasn't for his master's order, he wouldn't have cared about these worldly affairs. What's more, if he hadn't heard about these things from Taoist Chizhu, he would have known nothing about them.

Looking at the speechless Dong Ningyang, the old Taoist holding the bamboo said, "Zhu Li secretly attacked the Hetao area, and you, Dong Ningyang, jumped out like an anxious man, pretending to be for the country to eliminate traitors and eliminate harm for the people, but you took advantage of the situation and attacked secretly. Is this what a cultivator of my generation should do?"

Dong Ningyang moved his lips but ultimately said nothing. His sword strike was indeed an intentional sneak attack, and facts spoke louder than words.

Taoist Zhizhu glanced at him and sighed, "Then let me tell you what kind of person this person you are going to kill is. He rose from the grassroots, drifted in the war, defeated the rebellious Shatuo in the north, and recovered the lost Chang'an in the south."

"In more than three years, the Shuozhou area, which had a population of less than 30,000, was turned into a prosperous area with a population of more than 100,000. Even the Han people in the Hetao area are living much better now than they did under the rule of the Dangxiang people."

"Nowadays, refugees from all directions are flocking to Hetao and Shuoyun. Do you still want to kill such a person? I would like to ask, Hai Chanzi did this, is it not because he is old and confused, but what is it? Isn't he afraid that the reputation of your lineage will be ruined in an instant?"

How come there are only more than 100,000 people in Shuozhou? The words of the Taoist holding the bamboo made Zhu Li, who was standing aside, confused. Just the family members and neighbors of the Cao army that he had gathered from Chang'an, numbered more than 100,000. Add to that the influx of refugees from all directions that the Taoist mentioned, there should be more than 200,000 people. Why are there only more than 100,000 people now? Where did the rest of the population go? Zhu Li was a little puzzled.

Of course, he didn't know about this, which was understandable. He had been away from Shuozhou for nearly a year and a half. After all, Shuozhou was a lower state and could only support a population of more than 100,000, which was already the best it could do.

As for the rest of the population, Guo Qizuo settled some of them in Yunzhou; and he settled some more in the former Shanyu Protectorate that Wu Dao had conquered. Now in Shuoyun and other places under the control of Zhu Li, the Han population has exceeded 300,000. If the population of other ethnic groups is included, the number would be even higher. This does not include the endless stream of refugees who have flocked there in recent times.

"These are just one-sided statements from the senior. How can I believe them?" The Taoist's words made Dong Ningyang hesitate. However, he was unwilling to easily believe the Taoist holding the bamboo pole's words as he had his master's orders.

"Believe it or not, you just need to go to Yunshuo and take a look, then you will know," the old Taoist said indifferently.

"But how do I know that the senior is not deceiving me?"

"Hmph, the old Taoist hits the bamboo, a spit, a nail. The old Taoist's credibility is not comparable to that of Haichanzi and Lao Niubizi." The old Taoist holding the bamboo, should be hitting the bamboo, snorted coldly and said proudly.

Hitting the bamboo, Dong Ningyang frowned even more when he heard this, this was a senior master who was no less capable than his master. There were two very famous Taoists in Western Shu, one was Peng Xiao, the real one, and the other was He Wuyun, the bamboo hitter in front of him. The two had an inseparable friendship, which was comparable to the friendship between Guan Yu and Bao Bao.

Many people say that the art of beating bamboo was invented by people in the Song Dynasty, but the relevant records are vague.

However, there are records about Peng Xiao that he and Ji Zhuzi were good friends. Peng Xiao was a person from the Five Dynasties period. Can we assume that Ji Zhuzi was also a person from the Five Dynasties? As for which period of the Five Dynasties he was from, we will not go into details here.

Moreover, this man who struck the bamboo was extremely magical. All the records about him seemed to describe him as a god. It should be no problem for him to live to be a hundred or eighty years old.

It is certainly impossible for a senior master like Ji Zhuzi to deceive Dong Ningyang easily. After knowing the other party's identity, Dong Ningyang also understood that as long as this person was there, he would not be able to kill Zhu Li under this person's nose today no matter what.

Originally, he thought that Ji Zhuzi just saved him because he saw injustice, but from his words just now, he could tell that this was not the case. This person obviously came for Zhu Li, and saved him probably out of a sense of gratitude.