The carriages rumbled and the horses neighed.
Around midnight, a group of six large carriages and dozens of horses wound their way through the road on the side of Tongshan County. Half of the team was made up of knights, and there were also some on foot to protect them. Although they looked travel-worn, each of them carried a weapon, and the front and back of the team were indistinctly integrated as one. It was already the imposing manner of a large escort team or even a noble family traveling in this world.
Yan Yunzhi lifted the curtain from the carriage at the front of the group and swept her gaze across the low and dilapidated city walls of Tongshan County. She raised her eyebrows slightly. "The Jianghu says that the Li family of Tongshan County is like a fierce tiger crouching in the river and has the image of an ambitious and ruthless person. From this city wall, I can't see it … Could there be some mystery behind it?"
This year, the seventeen-year-old girl had an oval face. Her eyebrows were like the moon and her voice was clear. Although she was not old, her tone already had a hint of calmness after being honed. Looking inside through the lifted curtain, one could see that she was wearing a fitting light black dress. There were two short swords within reach. She had the aura of a valiant Jianghu woman.
"That's why we won't enter Tongshan."
The person who answered was a middle-aged man in a blue robe on a tall horse beside the carriage. This person looked to be in his forties and was tall. He held the reins of the horse in one hand and a book in the other. He did not look at the road and flipped through the words in the book. He looked like a scholar who served as an advisor in a large family. However, as the horse moved forward, one could occasionally see the words "Kunlun Sword Shadow" on the cover of the book in his hand. Only then did they know that it was a popular wuxia book.
"The Jianghu says that the Li family is like a fierce tiger crouching in the river. There are two meanings. The first was that Li Yanfeng was good at seizing opportunities, and his methods were swift and fierce. The original Li Clan was nothing more than a martial artist in the end, but just by borrowing this great change, he cleaned up the various large and small clans in the vicinity of Mount Tongshan, seizing the opportunity to rise up. We say that the world is in chaos now, so he naturally has the image of an ambitious and ruthless person. "
The middle-aged man in a blue robe flipped through the book as he spoke.
"But there's another meaning in this, which is more or less a little narrow. Yunzhi, everyone in the world knows what the Li family's martial arts are. What do you think Li Yanfeng will think when he hears that? "
Yan Yunzhi blinked her eyes and understood. "Big and Small Monkey Fists, White Ape Arms …"
"That's right." The blue-clothed middle-aged man laughed. "When the Female Enlightened Master came, it was difficult for everyone to resist. The Li Family persisted in resisting the Jin, unwilling to surrender. But in the end, they just pulled the surrounding people to hide in the mountains and then cleaned up the surrounding large clans one by one. When it came to killing female Daoists, Li Yanfeng had never killed one before. Tiger Crouching Mountain … At first, there were people who mocked him for calling himself king when there was no tiger in the mountain. This time, you can't say anything like a ferocious tiger in front of the Li family. "
"Looks like the Li Clan likes to be monkeys." Yan Yunzhi revealed a smile at the corner of her mouth, but it quickly disappeared.
"Although others may be mocking us, the Li family's teachings are not to be underestimated." The blue-robed, middle-aged man on horseback flipped a page of the book. "White Ape's arms are good at exerting force. It's fine if you have seen it and know what it's like. But the Little and Little Monkey Fists are agile and ingenious. They complement your family's Tanggong Sword quite well. We came here this time to discuss the business of borrowing the road. Secondly, it's because you want to broaden your horizons. So when we meet later, you must not be careless. You must know that many times in the pugilistic world, kindness is a word, and hatred is also a word. "
The girl on the carriage nodded. "Second Uncle is right. Yunzhi understands."
"En." The blue-robed middle-aged man also nodded. Then he glanced at the city wall beside him and said, "As for this city wall … the Li Clan has only been in charge of Tongshan for a mere year. They have to recruit soldiers for Liu Guangshi and plunder all kinds of good things to transport to the southwest. How much can they keep? The remaining things will naturally be transported back to their home and built a big house. As for the Tongshan city wall, it's normal that they have no money to repair the place that was burned in the fire. It's not surprising. "
As the two spoke to this point, the winding road ahead gradually separated from Tongshan County and turned west. It was late July. The uneven trees by the side of the road were gradually dyed with yellow leaves. The villages and farmlands also appeared bleak. Occasionally, they would meet a passerby dressed in rags. When they saw this extravagant carriage, most of them hid by the side of the road to avoid it.
After traveling for a while, they arrived at a small market at the foot of the mountain. Not long after passing through the market, the road up the mountain widened. In the distance, they could even see large flags and red silk fluttering. In the distance, a group of people came to welcome them.
This was naturally the Li Clan's people. The two sides met on the road, fought with each other, and gathered together. Yan Yunzhi tied her sword to her waist and also got off the carriage. Under the blue-robed middle-aged man's lead, she met the Li Clan people and bowed one by one.
Before they came this time, they knew that Li Yanfeng had already led a team to Jiangning. Another two important generals of the Li Clan had led people to the battlefield in Jiangbei. However, they had been operating in Tongshan for a long time and had made a name for themselves in the Jianghu. Over the years, there had been many experts in the Jianghu who had sought refuge in the Li Clan. In the welcoming party this time, apart from Li Ruoque's elder, Li Ruoyao, who was currently in charge of Tongshan, there were also several skilled Jianghu villains accompanying them. For example, "Miaodao" Shi Shuifang, "Benevolent Hand" Monk Cixin, "Lightning Whip" Wu Cheng, and the others, they were either guests or stewards of the Li Clan. This time, they all came out to welcome them.
"Second Master of the Yan Clan and Heroine Yunshui have come from afar. The Li Clan is honored by your presence. Please forgive us for not coming out to welcome you."
The one who came out to greet them was the old Li Ruoyao. He was originally the "Monkey King" Li Ruoque's clan brother. He was rather old and had a high status. As soon as he said this, the blue-robed middle-aged man hurriedly stepped forward. "We wouldn't dare, we wouldn't dare. Third Master Li is a leading figure in the Jianghu and a person of virtue and prestige. The Yan Clan is passing through Tongshan this time and originally wanted to go up the mountain to pay a visit to Third Master. How would we dare to let Third Master Li come out to welcome us? We have sinned, sinned …"
The two sides exchanged greetings and exchanged pleasantries. Their manners were awe-inspiring. In fact, if it was more than ten years ago, meeting in the Jianghu wouldn't be so particular. However, in recent years, various kinds of Jianghu had become popular. When the two sides spoke these words, it became natural. After a while, the two sides who had exchanged greetings were happy and went up the mountain hand in hand.
Yan Yunzhi already had some understanding of the Li Clan's situation before coming. During the process of going up the mountain hand in hand, Second Uncle Yan Tiehe, nicknamed "Wind Chasing Sword", introduced him to her during the conversation.
For example, Shi Shuifang, nicknamed "Miaodao", was proficient in Miaojiang's Circle Knife Technique. His knife skills were fierce and strange. It was said that he had offended Ba Dao in Miaojiang but didn't die. His martial arts skills were extraordinary.
Monk Cixin, nicknamed "Great Mercy Hand", was once a famous fierce person in the Jiangnan area. His hand skills were quite good. It was said that he killed people with the strength of his palms. Those who were hit by his palms would have their internal organs crushed, but the skin and flesh on the outside would hardly be injured. According to Yan Tiehe's words of praise, "This is the power of the 'Hitting the Cow Through the Mountain's Internal Palm Force."
As for "Lightning Whip" Wu Cheng, he didn't practice the Kung Fu of the whip. Instead, he practiced the extremely fast Kung Fu of the leg. It was said that when he practiced, he would make five or six people throw wooden stakes at him from different directions. With a single kick of his leg, he could even break the five or six wooden stakes one by one. This meant that his Kung Fu of the leg was not only fast, but also extremely destructive. It was terrifying and extremely frightening.
Yan Yunzhi remembered it and nodded her head.
Along the way, although the crowd also complimented her, nicknamed "Cloud Water Sword", for a while, most of the time, their gazes and topics didn't stop on her.
In the past two years, the Jurchens had wreaked havoc and the world was in chaos. Now that the Wu Dynasty had fallen apart, it was already an era of heroes. The Yan family was also a branch of the Lulin that had participated in the resistance against the Jin. The Tangong Sword Style passed down in the family was proficient in concealment and assassination. When the Jurchens came, it was said that Yan Yunzhi's father, Yan Taiwei, had even assassinated two Jurchens and was famous in the Lulin. As for Yan Yunzhi, because she had killed two Jurchens at a young age, she received the nickname "Cloud Water Sword". Of course, as to whether this rumor was true or not, naturally no one present would question it.
There were two main reasons why the Li family received the Yan family so grandly. One of them was that the Yan family had a clansman named Yan Daolun who listened to Liu Guangshi's orders. It was said that his position among the various advisors was quite high. The other reason was that Yan Taiwei had once been friends with a Lulin tyrant called Shi Baofeng. The two had once promised to form a marriage. This time, Yan Tiehe brought Yan Yunzhi east precisely to Jiangning to finalize this marriage.
And Shi Baofeng was currently one of the leaders of the Fairness Party, whose power and influence had swept through Jiangnan. Together with He Wen, Gao Chang, Xu Zhaonan, and Zhou Shang, they were known as the Five Tigers of the Fairness Party.
Once this marriage was formed, the Yan family's status would immediately rise, and they would become important figures with direct access to the highest levels of power in the Fairness Party. Although the future of the Fairness Party was not clear in the present world's situation, and perhaps some people didn't dare to rashly associate with the Fairness Party, on the other hand, there was naturally no one who dared to look down on such a power.
Yan Yunzhi was actually somewhat displeased when the group occasionally brought up the marriage. However, she had already grown accustomed to an expressionless and solemn expression over the past two years. She was also surrounded by seniors, so she only walked forward and didn't say much.
After a while, the group arrived at the Li family's Castle Wu, which occupied quite a bit of land. The plaza and road in front of Castle Wu had already been swept clean. There were quite a few villagers watching the liveliness and gesticulating. The colorful silk on the surrounding flagpoles fluttered in the wind, giving off a rather extravagant style. Yan Yunzhi's gaze swept across the people around her. The clothes of the villagers here were much cleaner than those she had seen on the way. She also seemed to inadvertently see a few smiles. It was clear that the Li family had taken good care of the villagers' lives here. This was rather similar to the Yan family's style. It seemed that Li Yanfeng could be considered a good family head.
The Yan family practiced the Tangong Sword and were proficient in the art of assassins. Thus, they naturally had their own way of observing the environment and understanding the general trend from small clues. Yan Yunzhi had experienced the calamity of war and life and death, so she was more sensitive and mature towards these matters. At this moment, her gaze swept across the area. As she neared the entrance, her eyebrows slightly twitched. That was because there was a gaze in the crowd of onlookers that suddenly caused her to pause for a moment.
It was from the back of the crowd. It seemed to be a rather good-looking young man. He stretched his neck and tiptoed as he looked over curiously.
She frowned, and when she looked again, that gaze had already disappeared.
Why did she notice it …
It shouldn't be malice …
…
Her footsteps paused for a moment. Then, her uncle waved his hand at her, telling her to follow him in. In a moment, she could watch the Li family's monkey fist martial arts practice as they welcomed the guests.
Her cheeks slightly heated up. She furrowed her brows, and with a somewhat fierce gaze, she walked into the extravagant Li family's entrance …
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
