The trees and the waterfall complemented each other, giving off the feeling of summer.
Li Zi Zhi brought his two fellow disciples down the mountain and arrived at a small town. The town was next to the river, and there were many boats parked at the pier.
Lanterns hung high, shining like stars in the sky. The sky was already dark, but there were still people coming and going on the stone pier, carrying goods back and forth. The footboard between the side of the ship and the pier was constantly moving up and down, emitting a 'yo yo' sound.
The pier was surrounded by the river, and there were very few houses on the streets. Most of the houses were inns, restaurants, teahouses, and rice shops.
Li Zi Zhi looked around cautiously, and after confirming that there was nothing suspicious, he walked forward.
Rice Shop
The waiter walked over and said, "Boss, they're here!"
"Who?" Guan You Shan's body trembled.
"The people from the monastery have come down." Guan You Shan stood up and said, "Quick, invite them in!"
In a few steps, he walked out of the door and saw three people standing there. One of them was familiar, it was the Daoist who used to collect grain. He wasn't familiar with the other two, but it seemed like the one in the middle was the one in charge.
"You are?"
"This is Li Zi Zhi, senior brother Li." The Daoist who used to collect grain spoke out, and Guan You Shan hurriedly invited him in. Li Zi Zhi looked at him and asked, "Is everything prepared?"
"Everything is prepared." Guan You Shan paused for a second before he smiled and said, "Sorry to trouble you to personally come down the mountain. According to the old rules, the farmers have to hand in their newly harvested wheat here."
"The harvest from the 300 mu and the newly added mu has been converted into 50 taels of silver. There's also rice and flour in half. All of them have been packed in a sack. There's a total of 80 dans. Please take a look!"
Li Zi Zhi looked at him seriously and smiled, "Let's go in and take a look."
When they reached the warehouse, it was getting late. A torch was lit and the waiter opened the door to take a look. The warehouse was considered clean, but there was a faint smell of rot.
He opened a sack and touched the flour. After licking it, he nodded his head in satisfaction, "It's indeed this year's flour."
Guan You Shan smiled and said, "I've been doing business with the monastery for five years. Furthermore, the monastery has recently added 500 mu of farmland. I've heard that there will be more farmland next year. How would I dare to do anything?"
"In the future, I still have to rely on the monastery to make a living."
When Li Zi Zhi heard this, he agreed with it. It was impossible for a Daoist to collect rent from each household. Hence, he had entrusted this steward's rice shop to deal with the tenants.
This process had been going on for 20 years. It couldn't be said that there were no problems, but at least they could accept each other. After checking, Li Zizhi exhaled. "Not bad, let's follow this."
"Taoist Master, please come in for a meal!" Guan Youshan heaved a sigh of relief, "Quick, serve the dishes and a jar of wine. I'll instruct the waiter to bring the sack to the carriage."
"Send it to the mountain first thing in the morning."
The three Taoists expressed their satisfaction. While they were talking, the tables in the middle of the hall had been set up. The waiter smiled and invited them in. The lights were on, and on the table were roasted pork chops. The brown skin was dripping with oil. There was also a piece of sliced beef, and the rest was dazzling. The aroma filled the air, and it was a feast.
The two juniors laughed, "Why is Boss Guan so generous today?"
As they spoke, they sat down and were about to start eating. Li Zi Zhi's face darkened as he waved his hands, "Wait a minute!"
The two juniors were puzzled, but stopped what they were doing. Li Zi Zhi then shouted, "Boss Guan, Guan Youshan?"
He shouted three times, but nobody responded. When he looked around, it was silent. The storeroom, the yard, and the stables were all dark.
"Something's not right!" The three of them felt that something was amiss and drew their swords. At this point, one of them sighed, "Why are you struggling? If you were to eat and drink, you'd be a hungry ghost!"
Just as he finished speaking, shadows flashed past and twenty silhouettes appeared. Although there were many of them, they were silent and orderly. Other than the sound of moving footsteps, there was only the sound of long sabers clashing together. A wave of baleful aura rushed over.
"Who are you?" Li Zi Zhi knew that these were not the men that Guan Youshan could gather, and shouted out.
"Kill!" The other party gave the order.
"Kill!" The twenty men charged forward, and both sides started fighting. The leader of the group, dressed in black, watched from behind without saying a word.
As soon as they clashed, the three Daoists realized that their opponents were not weak. They started to retreat, and one of the juniors waved his hand, "Blinding Light Technique."
"Peng" a bright light flashed before Li Zi Zhi's eyes. He tilted his body and thrust his sword forward. However, his opponent seemed to be prepared for this. Although he closed his eyes, he shouted out loud and swung his sword wildly.
Originally, it would have been fine if it was just one person, as there would always be an opening. However, with so many people slashing at the same time, one of the juniors took the opportunity to attack. He thrust his sword forward and pierced through the chest of one of the Daoists.
"Ah!" The man screamed out in pain as blood splattered everywhere. However, the others heard his screams and rushed forward to slash at him. This junior didn't have time to retract his sword before he was slashed three times. Two corpses fell to the ground.
Li Zi Zhi screamed out in pain as he charged forward. His sword pierced through one of the Daoists, and the sound of metal clashing could be heard. Li Zi Zhi was pushed back three feet, and a bloody wound appeared on his body. The remaining juniors were all slashed to death.
"Who are you people?" Li Zi Zhi gritted his teeth. The black robed man didn't reply. He waved his hands, and the five of them pounced forward. Their swords flashed as they moved in unison. Li Zi Zhi struggled with all his might, but was forced to retreat. Every now and then, he would be struck by a blade. Finally, he heard a shout, "Kill!"
Li Zi Zhi screamed out in pain. However, in the next moment, a blade flashed, and his screams stopped. His head flew off his neck.
The next day
The Sect Leader and several Elders walked past a dark alley, and saw several disciples with pale faces waiting for them. The Sect Leader asked, "Are they all inside?"
"Yes, they're all inside."
The Sect Leader and the Elders walked in, and saw that there were spots of blood on the doorstep. As they walked further, they saw several corpses lying on the mattresses.
Some of the mattresses had some blood on them, but they were still clean. It was obvious that they had been dead for some time. Some of the mattresses were dripping with blood, indicating that they hadn't been dead for long.
"This is our sect's sixth victim." The Sect Leader looked at the freshest corpse, and his face turned ashen, "Zhao Ning, what do you think?"
"The situation is very simple. The enemy has already launched an attack. First, they killed our disciples, and targeted our core members, in order to weaken us." Zhao Ning's face was ashen as he spoke.
"Have you found out who did it?"
"We're in a passive position, and can't find out anything. However, we can confirm that this was an attack by a Daoist sect. That's because when we tried to investigate, we were met with a Daoist sect's attack."
"This trace of Daoist power has been sent to the Patriarchs of Paradise. I'm sure we'll have an answer soon."
"Can we report this to the authorities, and request for reinforcements?" The Sect Leader asked. He didn't feel that asking for reinforcements from the authorities was something to be proud of.
"That's difficult. There aren't many soldiers in the county. Furthermore, there's no such thing as guarding against bandits for a thousand days. It's hard for the soldiers to stay here for more than a few days." Zhao Ning replied seriously, "Of course, the most important thing is that I'm afraid the authorities would reject us. If the enemy was a Daoist sect, they would have already bribed them."
"Let's give it a try. If there's nothing, then we'll talk." The Sect Leader then turned to Yu Yun Jun, "Where's Pei Zi Yun now? Hurry and get him to come back."
Yu Yun Jun replied, "He was in Dou An County the last time. He shouldn't be too far away now."
"Hurry him again, get him to come back quickly."
"Yes!" Yu Yun Jun replied.
A disciple was listening intently when the Sect Leader spoke, "Zhang Yin!"
The disciple hurriedly replied, "Here!"
"Get some men to wash all the blood off their bodies and sew up their wounds. Put on new clothes and place them in the coffins. Leave them in this hall for now."
"There's an array within this hall, and it will prevent them from rotting away. Once everything is done, we shall bury them."
"Yes!" The disciple replied.
Seeing the Sect Leader and Sect Elder leave, a few disciples walked up to them. Some of them boiled some hot water and used it to wash the corpses. The blood was then carried out. After washing the corpses, they used a needle to sew up their wounds. They then put on new clothes and placed them in the coffins. By the time the six corpses were done, it was already dusk.
Zhang Yin's expression did not look too good. One of the disciples consoled him, "Senior brother Zhang, it's normal for you to feel like vomiting. Let's not eat meat tonight."
Night fell and it was raining outside. Zhang Yin did not reply. He then forced himself to say, "I'm going back to rest. Don't call me for dinner. If I'm hungry, I'll go to the canteen and get something to eat."
As he spoke, he turned around and walked into the rain. Seeing that there was no one around, Zhang Yin began to descend the mountain, one step at a time. He walked along the mountain path until he reached the foot of the mountain. Wiping away the rainwater on his forehead, he turned around to look. In the distance, he could vaguely see buildings and lights.
At the foot of the mountain, there were three rooms for visitors to rest and shelter from the rain. At this point in time, there was no one around. Zhang Yin entered the room and stepped onto the brick floor. He could see the familiar faces of his fellow disciples in front of him. After all, they had known each other for five years. In the blink of an eye, they had been separated by life and death. It was like a nightmare. Zhang Yin stared blankly outside. The rain was not heavy, but it was still falling. Zhang Yin paused for some time before sighing, "Don't think about it. You're a spy. You knew this day would come."
"They're not your fellow disciples, even if you've known them for five years."
Taking a deep breath, Zhang Yin retrieved a talisman. With a single touch, a ray of light appeared on the talisman. In the blink of an eye, the light transformed into a human figure. Seeing this person, Zhang Yin cleared his mind and knelt down, "Disciple pays his respects to Elder Xu."
"Why did you contact me so urgently? What's the matter?" Elder Xu asked.
"I just heard news that Free Cloud Sect has contacted Pei Zi Yun. The last time they contacted him was in Dou An County. He's rushing back now."
"Pei Zi Yun, Dou An County!" Elder Xu's voice was filled with seriousness. It was obvious that Pei Zi Yun's name was still a threat to him. After pausing for sometime, he said, "I understand. Please wait for a while, I will give you an answer."
"Yes!"
As he spoke, the light from the talisman dissipated. Zhang Yin looked at the rain and felt a sense of security. He even mocked himself for not being able to bear it.
A few miles away, there was a small valley. A group of people were huddled together, building an altar. Although the altar was small, it was very intricate. There were many inscriptions on the altar, and flags were placed on it.
A few people were guiding the altar when they heard the news. Their faces sank, "Pei Zi Yun is coming back?"
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