The sun gradually set in the west, turning from a warm yellow to a lazy orange.
Near the Jiangzuo Market, about 15 kilometers west of Jiangning, Ning Ji was watching a confrontation by the roadside with great interest.
This was a fork at the entrance of a village not far from the main road. More than 30 people stood on the threshing ground by the roadside, greeting each other with obscenities. Among these people, there were about a dozen or so people who had seen real blood. They were armed with swords and spears and were very lethal when they fought. The rest of them seemed to be young men from the nearby villages. They were armed with sticks, hoes, and other weapons. They were shouting to boost their morale.
As it was not far from the main road, many pedestrians were attracted by the scene and stopped to watch. Along the main road, by the nearby ponds, and on the ridges of the fields, there were people standing. A large escort team stopped their carriages, and dozens of strong escorts pointed at them from afar. Ning Ji stood at the fork of the field and watched the commotion. Occasionally, he shouted along with the people beside him, "Listen to my advice, let's fight."
He did not know why the two sides were fighting.
The two sides of the confrontation also hung their flags. On one side was Baofeng's "Earth" plate, and on the other side was the Resentment Society of the Eight Enforcers of the Chakravarti King. In fact, the heads of Shi Baofeng's "Heaven, Earth, and Man" and the eight generals of Chu Zhaonan's "Eight Enforcers" might not recognize them. This was just a small skirmish. However, after the flags were hung, the entire confrontation had a sense of ceremony and became a hot topic.
"Baofeng Ship is very rich, but in terms of fighting, it might not be comparable to the Eight Sufferings of Life of the Eight Enforcers …"
Some knowledgeable people from the Underworld discussed on the ridges of the fields. Ning Ji pricked up his ears to listen.
"Yes, yes. These people from the Great Radiant Sect drink the talisman water and don't care about their lives. Although Baofeng Ship has more money, it might not be able to gain the upper hand. "
Ning Ji jumped up and covered his mouth with his hands. "Stop arguing! Let's fight! "
It was indeed time for a fight to break out on the threshing ground. Both sides retreated a distance and each sent out a fighter, ready to fight.
From Lunzhuan King's' Grudge Society 'side, a skinny youth with an abnormal demeanor appeared. This person held a machete in his hand and had a ferocious glint in his eyes. He drank a bowl of talisman water and started to tremble in front of everyone. Soon after, he started to dance and stomp his feet to summon the gods. This person seemed to be the trump card of this village. After he started to tremble, everyone was extremely excited. Someone recognized him and said in the crowd, "Third Prince Nezha! It was the third prince, Nezha! The other side is going to suffer! "
"Nezha is holding a gun, right?" Ning Ji turned around and asked.
The man slapped Ning Ji's head. "What does a child like you know? The Third Prince is infamous here and has killed countless people on the battlefield! "
His slap was not lethal, so Ning Ji did not dodge. He turned around and ignored the fool. As for the other party saying that the 'Third Prince' had killed people on the battlefield, he did not doubt it. This person's demeanor seemed a bit inhumane. He belonged to the category of people who had a mental breakdown on the battlefield but survived. In the Huaxia Army, such people would be sent for psychological counseling to nip their problems in the bud. However, the person in front of him was clearly very dangerous. In a small village, it was no wonder that this group of people used him as a fighter.
During the process of 'summoning the gods', a well-proportioned boxer came out from Baofeng Ship. He was half a head taller than the murderer from the Grudge Society. He did not look very burly in his clothes. Facing the opponent who used a machete, this person only wrapped a few layers of oilcloth around his hands as gloves. A group of people on the side of the road saw his ordinary style and hissed. They felt that his imposing manner had been overwhelmed by the 'Third Prince'.
The people from Baofeng Ship were also very nervous. A few people showed concern in front of the boxer. Some people seemed to be holding a gun and came forward, but the boxer did not make a choice. This meant that the people under Baofeng Ship's banner were not very familiar with him. In the eyes of others, they had already lost 80%.
Ning Ji, however, was watching with interest.
The boxer's steps and movements were unusually calm, and the way he wrapped the oilcloth gloves was very experienced. After clenching his fists, his fists were bigger than an ordinary person's, and the edge of his fists was flat. In addition, when his sleeves were blown by the wind, the outline of his upper arm was revealed, which showed that this person had been practicing boxing since he was a child and had already reached a higher level. In the face of such a scene, his breathing was even and a little urgent, which was hidden in his natural demeanor, more or less revealed the fact that he had seen a lot of blood.
The two groups of people were talking about numbers and dueling in public. It was obvious that they wanted to show off their strength to the outside world. The 'Third Prince' shouted and jumped, and the boxer on his side also made an obeisance to the surrounding people, and the two sides quickly fought.
The "Third Prince", who had seen blood on the battlefield, was ruthless and violent. He rushed forward like a mad monkey. The opponent's boxer first retreated and dodged, so the "Third Prince" took the initiative to attack with his saber. He hacked at his opponent more than ten times, and the boxer dodged around the field. Several times, he appeared to be in a hurry and was in a difficult position. During the whole process, he only punched back three times as a deterrent, but he did not really hit his opponent.
Seeing the 'Third Prince' roaring and continuing to attack, Ning Ji, who was watching on the other side, sighed slightly. This person was very imposing when he went crazy, somewhat similar to the 'Miaodao' Shi Shuifang in Tongshan County, but his martial arts skills were not very amazing, which limited the upper limit of his performance. Compared to ordinary people who had not fought on the battlefield, this kind of ruthless lunatic was extremely frightening, but once he stabilized his position …
On the grain-threshing field, the "Third Prince" didn't stop after slashing with his saber. He fiercely kicked at his opponent's crotch. This should be a combination skill that he had planned beforehand. The upper part of the saber was not fierce, but the lower part of the kick was unexpected. According to the previous fight, the opponent should have dodged, but at this moment, the boxer took a step forward to meet the blade, twisted his legs, and the blade cut through the 'Third Prince's' shoulder. The 'Third Prince''s' footsteps were slanted, and the fierce 'Groin Lifting Kick' was caught by the boxer's legs, and then a fierce punch hit the 'Third Prince' 'face.
"Ah ah ah ah ah ah …"
The 'Third Prince''s' voice was ferocious and twisted. He waved the saber in his hand and staggered back, but the boxer had already approached him. After two moves, the boxer hit the side of the 'Third Prince's' face again, and then twisted the opponent's arm and cut it behind him. The 'Third Prince''s' saber hand was caught, and his footsteps were fast, like a monkey with a lame leg. The boxer hit his shoulder again, and two punches hit his face.
The 'Third Prince''s' right hand let go of the saber handle, and his left hand was about to catch the saber. With a crack, his right arm was broken by the opponent's fist. The boxer grabbed him, and punched him again and again. In the blink of an eye, the oilcloth boxing gloves were full of blood.
After a while, when the boxer let go of the 'Third Prince', the 'Third Prince' had already fallen in a pool of blood like a broken sack. His arm was broken, and his leg was not in good condition. His head and face were covered with blood, but his body was still twitching in the pool of blood, and it seemed that he wanted to stand up and continue fighting. Ning Ji guessed that he did not have long to live, but it was also a kind of relief.
"I'm 'Iron Fist' Ni Po! From Jizhou. " Under the setting sun, the boxer opened his arms and shouted to the crowd, "In two days, I will represent the King of Equality's Earth Flag to participate in the Five Direction Arena. At that time, please support me …"
The passersby saw that he was so heroic and heroic, and immediately burst into cheers and praises. After a while, Ning Ji heard people talking behind him.
"The Five Direction Arena is not easy to fight. It's a stage set up by 'Yama King' Zhou Shang. Fighting three rounds in a row is going to kill someone …"
"Sigh, young people are arrogant, and think that they're invincible just because they have some skills. I think they've been cheated by those people from Baofeng Ship … "
"Yes, yes. Yama King and those people really came out from the gates of hell. They're different from the Bodhisattva worshipers on the side of Chakravarti King. "
"They're still too young …"
Ning Ji curled his lips, shook his head, and walked toward the main road. The idiot who had just hit him on the head was among the discussions. After a day, he had already figured out the outline of many things in Jiangning. He was satisfied, and felt more open-minded about being patted on the head like a child.
If he had to give himself a nickname, he should be 'Long Aotian with Profound Self-Restraint'. Unfortunately, no one knew that yet.
The sun was setting. Ning Ji passed through the road and the crowd, heading east.
Jiangning —
Similar to the situation in Chengdu last year, after the news of the Heroes Conference spread, this ancient city was surrounded by a mix of crooks and honest folk.
But the situation was different. Last year in the southwest, many of the Huaxia veterans who had survived the battle with the Female Zhenrens were restrained by the army and did not show off to the outside world. Therefore, even if thousands of people from the Green Forest entered Chengdu, they would only participate in the orderly sports meet. This made Xiaoning Ji, who wanted to see the world in chaos, feel even more bored.
But in the current Jiangning, the Fairness Party's stance was like raising a poisonous insect. A large number of experienced subordinates were placed outside in batches, and they continued to fight in the name of the Five Great Kings. After the foreign powerhouses entered, the periphery of Jiangning was like a jungle, full of monsters baring their fangs and brandishing their claws.
Among them, there were certainly many people who were embroidered pillows with loud voices and weak footsteps. But there were also many who had killed, seen blood, gone to the battlefield, and survived. Perhaps their method of killing on the battlefield was not as systematic as the Huaxia army's, but to everyone, the blood and fear they felt, as well as the inhuman aura that brewed with it, were similar.
And the entire Fairness Party seemed to want to catalyze this kind of Asura aura once again. Not only did they set up a large arena for the Heroes' Assembly in Jiangning, a few of the factions within the Fairness Party had also privately set up various smaller arenas. Every day, they would send people onto the arena to fight. If anyone displayed astonishing skill in the arena, not only would they be able to take away the bountiful wealth set up by the arena master, they would also immediately be roped in and bribed by various factions. In the blink of an eye, they would become an important figure within the Fairness Party's army.
For the numerous Jianghu people who had lived their lives on the edge of a knife — including many figures within the Fairness Party — this was a path of advancement filled with risks and temptations.
For example, in the Five Arenas set up by the "King of Hell" Zhou Shang's faction in the city, anyone who could win three matches in a row on the arena would be able to take away a hundred taels of silver in front of everyone, and would also be roped in with generous conditions from all sides. And the moment the Heroes Conference began, all the factions within the city began to recruit soldiers and buy horses. He Wen had set up the "Three Rivers Arena", Shi Baofeng had the "Heavenly Treasure Arena", Gao Chang had the "Million Soldiers Arena", and Chu Zhaonan had the "Heaven Reaching Arena". Every day, each arena would produce a few experts who would become famous. And after these people were roped in by all sides, they would eventually enter the entire "Heroes Conference" and become the champion for one of the factions.
In Ning Ji's eyes, this barbaric, bloody, and chaotic situation was even more interesting than last year's Chengdu Conference, not to mention that behind the scenes of this martial arts competition, there might be even more complicated political struggles between the various factions of the Fairness Party — of course, he had no interest in politics, but he knew that the fighting would be even messier, and that was enough.
In the process of advancing like this, of course, he would occasionally discover a few truly eye-catching people, such as that "Iron Fist" Ni Po, or other eccentrics with amazing skills and extraordinary backgrounds. Compared to the various surviving swordsmen and villains on the battlefield, they were a bit more interesting.
This was a hobby he had inherited from his time in the army. Peeping … no, surveillance in the army had always been like this. Before the other party had noticed you, you had already discovered the other party's secret. In the future, when they fought, you would naturally have a higher chance of winning. Ning Ji was originally short, and when he followed Zheng Qiming, he was often arranged to be a scout to check on the enemy's whereabouts. Now, he had developed this habit of secretly peeping. The reason for this was that it was for the country and the people, and no one could say that this was a bad habit.
In addition, since he was young, he had been taught all kinds of martial arts knowledge, from Red to Watermelon to Chen Fan, and then to Du Sha to the various experts in the army camp. At this moment, he could verify many of the sayings about practicing martial arts from the people he spied on on the road. He saw through it, but didn't say it out loud, and found it a kind of pleasure.
When the setting sun completely turned orange-red, they were about ten miles away from Jiangning. Ning Ji was not in a hurry to enter the city today. He found a tributary that could be seen everywhere along the road, and for a moment, he saw traces of fish and frogs on the banks of a stream below, and went down to catch them.
At this time, the autumn had begun to deepen, and the weather was about to turn cold. Some of the frogs had already entered the mud and began to prepare for hibernation, but if he was lucky, he could still find traces of a few. Ning Ji turned around in the mud with his bare feet, caught a few frogs, and caught a fish. He heard sounds coming from the other side of the stream, and he searched along the way. He saw that in the stream upstream, there were also people catching fish. Because of Ning Ji's appearance, they were slightly stunned, and the fish ran away.
The person who appeared in the shallow water over there was the little monk that he had seen at the entrance of the courier station at noon. He saw that he had also caught two or three frogs, and stuffed them in his cloth bag, which was probably preparing for dinner. At this time, when he saw Ning Ji, he put his palms together and bowed. Ning Ji also put his palms together and said, "Ah Mi Tofu," before turning around and ignoring him.
This little baldy's martial arts foundation was quite good, and he should have been taught by a very powerful master. In a glimpse at noon, several big men reached out from behind to grab his shoulders, but he dodged them without turning his head. This was actually nothing for a master, but the most important thing was that Ning Ji only noticed his cultivation of footwork at that moment. In other words, before that, this little baldy showed that he was completely an ordinary person without martial arts. This kind of naturalness and restraint could not be taught by ordinary methods.
Of course, on the other hand, although he was drooling at the sight of the roast duck, he did not intend to use his martial arts to rob it. He did not get angry when he failed to beg for alms and was chased out by the waiter, which showed that he was also well-educated. And at this moment, when the originally docile people had become ferocious, this kind of education could be said to be "very good".
Therefore, when Ning Ji saw him, he was relatively more relaxed.
The two of them caught frogs and fish for a while. The little monk was bare-handed, and only caught a small fish and put it in his cloth bag. Ning Ji's harvest was good. Immediately, he went to the nearby soil slope and prepared to make a fire.
He put down the bag and medicine box on his back, took out a small iron pot from the bag, and prepared to set up the stove. At this time, most of the sunset had submerged the sky on the other side of the horizon, and the last rays of light shone through the woods. There were birds singing in the woods. Looking up, he saw the little monk standing in the water, holding his small cloth bag and looking at them with some envy.
Ning Ji also looked at the little monk's personal belongings. The monk's personal belongings were much simpler. Except for a small bag, the shoes he took off on the soil slope, and the small rice bowl he used to beg alms, he had nothing else. And it seemed that there was no iron pot in the small bag, which was far better than the two bags and the box he carried.
He thought for a moment and waved to the side, "Hey, little baldy."
The little monk ran over with the cloth bag.
"You don't even have a pot. Do you want to eat with us?"
"… Okay, okay." The little monk's face turned red, and he looked quite happy for a moment. Then he calmed down a little, put his palms together, and bowed, "I, I pay my respects."
"Go and collect firewood." Ning Ji had many friends, so he did not stand on ceremony at this moment. He casually waved his hand and sent the little monk to do his work. The little monk immediately nodded, "Okay." When he was about to leave, he handed over the bag in his hand and said, "I caught it. Here you are."
Ning Ji took the bag and saw the little monk run quickly toward the nearby forest. He slightly curled his lips.
"Aren't you afraid that I will leave after taking the things? Silly …"
After a while, the sky completely darkened. The two of them surrounded a big stone at the back of the slope, and made a fire. The little monk was very happy, and Ning Ji casually talked to him.
"Little baldy, why do you call yourself 'little monk'?"
"Sometimes my master calls himself 'old monk'. I said it doesn't matter if my name is' little monk 'or not."
"Oh. Your master is really something … "
"Haha …"
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