The hall was brightly lit, and the lanterns under the eaves swayed gently in the wind. Under the long eaves, several beautiful maids carried wine and dishes and walked slowly across the mottled ground with lotus steps and entered the hall.
A candle stood in the middle of the round table. The maids put down the dishes and drinks one by one. The bearded man on the side rolled up his sleeves, took the wine pot and poured some wine for the first person.
"Protector, I wonder when I can join the sect?"
"Maybe in some time."
The leading man was tall and thin, with a long face and short beard. He wore a loose black robe which made him look even thinner. He took the cup but did not clink glasses with the other party, but just took a sip.
"Now that the Ming Zun is busy, all the trivial matters in the sect will be taken care of by the four of us Dharma protectors. You can join the sect, but the offerings here will need to be increased a little bit."
He put down the cup, suddenly reached out and pulled the maid who was pouring wine for him to sit in his arms. The bearded man on the side forced a smile, quickly took back the hanging wine and drank it himself.
"That's right, that's right, the offerings must be sent to the mountain, but..."
Da Han's tone was a little hesitant, and he paused, "Protector, can you lower the limit for women? There are children of the right age in the area, but we dare not arrest too many. We are afraid that they will attract the attention of the government. We will have to run away, and there will not be enough time."
This big man with a curly beard has a sturdy figure and a strong internal strength. When it comes to the name of "Huantian Divine Fist" in the underworld, everyone knows his name, Jiang Liying. I can't say that he is extraordinary, but he is at a first-class level.
But now, in front of the other person, he was like a domesticated dog and didn't dare to speak loudly.
Over there, the tall, thin, short-bearded man who was called the protector pinched the maid's cheek, leaned over and kissed her, then put his arm around the girl's slender waist, without even looking at Jiang Liying next to him, and simply replied.
"That's your business."
"yes."
Jiang Liying glanced at the maid in the other man's arms, sighed and turned his face away. This maid would not live long after tonight. It's not that he felt sorry for her. After all, he bought her with his own money. She was different from those caught outside. Her appearance and figure were carefully selected.
But he was the only one in the entire gang who knew the identity of the man in front of him. Every month, a fixed amount of offerings would be given to him personally, who would escort them to the mountains, and then bring down a group of women whose bodies were only skin and bones or whose bodies were incomplete, and bury them.
Even if there were some who were not dead, their blood, flesh and essence had been basically sucked dry, and it would be difficult for them to survive more than two days after going down the mountain. Jiang Liying did not dare to resist. He was originally just a street thug in the north. If it were not for the coincidence that he was noticed and supported by the other party, it would be difficult for him to enjoy the rich and prosperous life today.
In the martial arts world, his Hun Tian Divine Fist was also a martial art bestowed upon him by others at will. It is said that if one can enter the sect, one can learn real immortal magic.
Over the past decade or so, they have done their best to help the Qihuo Sect, and even sent gang warriors from various locations to station outside the sect for use by the sect's senior leaders.
However, during these three years, he had also heard some rumors outside, especially from his subordinates who were still alive in the Chang'an garrison, who told him that there were still immortal masters in this world. Two masters of the Qihuo Sect in Chang'an City, one was killed, and the other was captured by the Qinghe Duke of the Sui Dynasty, which seemed to have noticed them.
Jiang Liying then decided to get rid of this identity as soon as possible, join the sect and become a cultivator, so that his life would not be in danger.
His thoughts wandered for a moment, and when he came back to his senses, he was about to speak again and ask about matters concerning the monastic life when he suddenly heard footsteps outside the door. Seven of his men were standing at the stone steps outside the hall, as if they had something important to report.
"Go ahead." The guardian waved his hand.
"Protector, please wait a moment." Jiang Liying apologized, bowed his majestic body and left the seat. When he reached the door, he straightened his back and stood on the stone steps like a mountain, sweeping his majestic eyes over the seven people below.
"Is there any distinguished guest at the meeting?!"
Among the seven people, the tall man looked around and saw that no one spoke, so he walked forward with a smile and said, "Boss, we were originally going to the brothel to play, but... Boss, look at what this is."
In his hands, a long sword with a black shark scabbard and a ruby handle was presented. The sword head was finely carved, and gold-plated lines could be vaguely seen inside. At just one glance, Jiang Liying felt that it was no ordinary object.
He grabbed the sword and when he grasped the hilt, he suddenly stopped and looked towards the hall with the corner of his eyes.
"If I offer the sword to you, I may be able to join the sect safely."
He turned his eyes, called the seven people in front of him to come closer, and lowered his voice.
"How did you get this sword?"
"Boss, we are going to the brothel today, on the way..."
To make a long story short, lanterns were swaying in the mansion, and dogs were barking occasionally. Outside, a thin mist was spreading along the ground, and the sound of copper bells could be heard echoing in the mist from far and near.
An old donkey shook its mane and exhaled heavily. Lu Liangsheng sat horizontally on the donkey's back and walked slowly through the long street. At a certain moment, he shook his wide sleeves and waved his sword finger, as if writing words in the air.
…
In the mansion, Jiang Liying briefly listened to the report from his men and said, "There will be a reward tomorrow." He waved them away, strode back to the hall with the sword in his hand, and clasped his hands.
"Protector, I got a magical weapon by chance a few days ago. Today, the Protector is here, so I'll give it to you."
"Haha, the magic weapons in this world are nothing but ordinary weapons to me who practice Taoism..."
The tall, thin, short-bearded protector suddenly stopped talking, his eyes suddenly opened, he pushed the maid in his arms aside, stood up, looked at the long sword in Jiang Liying's hand, and subconsciously took a step back.
"Where did this sword come from?"
At this time, the seven people who left the hall were congratulating each other. The tall man who presented the sword suddenly felt itchy on his body. He rubbed his chest, lowered his head, and let out a light exclamation.
"When did I tattoo this word?"
The six people tilted their heads to look at his chest and laughed, "He must have gotten it tattooed when he was drunk. Who would tattoo something like that for no reason? It's just like the person being executed on the execution ground with a sign saying "beheaded" stuck on his neck. Hahaha!"
Amidst the laughter, the six people suddenly stopped laughing. They also felt an itch in their chests. They scratched it twice and quickly tore open their clothes. They saw a big "behead" word written in ink in the middle of their chests.
Not only the seven people in the courtyard, but some guards in the mansion were also itching unbearably. They tore off their clothes, and the word "behead" was also visible on their chests.
"What's going on?" "Where did this word come from?"
"It can't be erased. It wasn't written with ink."
"Could it be a magic trick? But we haven't provoked any gods before, have we?"
As he spoke, he felt a sense of uneasiness that spread from the soles of his feet to the back of his neck. He subconsciously raised his head and looked at the night sky.
In the hall of the mansion, the tall, thin, short-bearded guardian took two steps back, distanced himself from Jiang Liying, and shouted, "This is a magic sword, a magic weapon for cultivators. Someone is here to find us!"
"ah?"
Jiang Liying's eyes widened and he uttered a brief sound, and the sword in his hand suddenly bounced back.
clang—
The sword was unsheathed, and the ancient patterns on the sword surface moved. It drew a black shadow and rushed out to hang over the courtyard. In an instant, the sword body was lit with a light blue light, filling everyone's vision.
A cold moon appeared on the sword's surface, and a majestic voice resounded.
"The gangsters in the Jianghu rely on the Qihuo Sect to do evil things. They are regarded as human demons and act on behalf of the human government—"
Outside the courtyard, the sound of the copper bell stopped abruptly. Lu Liangsheng, who was riding horizontally on the donkey's back, drew the last heavy stroke and a word "kill" took shape in the air, shining brightly.
The moment the words came out of Fa Yan's thin lips, the same words fell simultaneously with the moon hanging high in the courtyard.
"-cut!!!"
Everyone in the courtyard stared blankly at the magic sword hanging in the air, standing there. The guardian's hair stood on end, and when he heard the magic sound of the word "kill" falling, he cast a spell and rushed straight to the roof.
The moment the tiles were broken, the high-hanging magic sword fell into the courtyard right before his sight. The next moment, sword energy filled his eyes, and visible sword energy ripples were madly spreading everywhere. The seven people closest to the fallen sword had their flesh and blood torn apart and scattered all over the ground. The eaves that it touched were split apart, and the tilted eaves columns fell to the ground together.
Jiang Liying summoned up his tremendous inner strength to resist, but when he came into contact with the rapidly coming sword energy, there was a slight "puff" sound, and the next second, he was torn into two halves in front of the maid's eyes, and flew to the left and right, dragging his colorful internal organs.
After a few breaths, the only people who could move in the mansion were some maids and servants. They stood up crying and tremblingly walked out of the hall. Outside, there was human flesh and blood everywhere, shattered all over the ground. There was no intact body of anyone with the word "beheaded" on their body.
The long sword that was inserted in the yard had disappeared at some point, leaving only a wisp of smoke and dust that was carried away into the night.
The night sky was dotted with stars and the moon. The guardian who escaped from the compound ran and jumped on the rooftops. He looked at the city wall in the distance, exerted force with his feet, and jumped high into the sky.
On the city wall, the patrolling soldiers vaguely heard the sound of robes fluttering in the wind. When they raised their eyes, they saw a figure flying through the cold moonlight like an immortal and out of the city.
"Is that a person?" "I'm afraid it's a hermit..."
"We are so lucky to see this, we must burn a stick of incense."
The next moment, a whooshing sound passed by rapidly in the night sky above their heads, and right in the sight of the soldiers on the city wall, it went straight after the "immortal" they were talking about.
"That must be the immortal weapon of an immortal!"
The moment someone said something, the 'immortal' was pierced through with a "puff" sound. He let out a painful scream and fell straight down in the moonlight like a bird that was shot.
There was total silence on the city wall.
"This immortal seems to be... dead... right?"