Chapter 658: Hell Flower Appears

When their identities were exposed, the four people on the ground trembled and lowered their heads.

Li Yan said in a deep voice: “Master Chen knows him?”

“I’ve heard of this person.”

Chen San replied, “They are a troupe from Wuqiao, Jizhou. They hang out along the Huitong River. They are quite famous. I heard they had a conflict with another troupe and asked someone to mediate.”

As he said this, he sneered, “I don’t know what kind of courage you have to collude with the evildoer to rebel!”

“rebellion?!”

As soon as these words came out, Yang Laohai on the ground suddenly raised his head and gritted his teeth and said, “We are all fellow warriors. I am defeated, so I am defeated. You can kill me or chop me up as you like. Don’t talk nonsense!”

It’s no wonder that he was anxious. Murder and treason are two completely different things.

One is that everyone is responsible for his own actions, and the worst that can happen is that there will be a scar on the bowl.

But treason will implicate relatives, and countless people will suffer.

“Yoho, I don’t think you’ll cry until you see the coffin!”

Chen San was amused, his eyes full of sarcasm, “This is the famous Twelve Yuanchen, use your dog brain to think about it, if it is just an ordinary Jianghu matter, why do they need to take action? To tell you the truth, the Duwei Division and the Xuan Priest have already been dispatched, this matter is far from your interference.”

“Twelve Yuanchen?!”

The old man on the ground was stunned for a moment, looked at Li Yan and the others in disbelief, and said in a trembling voice: “How could it be you, that’s not what he said…”

Seeing his panic-stricken look, Li Yan was not surprised.

This old man’s level of Taoism is at most one level.

Although the methods seem fancy, they are actually just a combination of simple illusion and the Xicai Sect’s heritage.

It’s hard to fool laymen, but when you meet them, they can see through it at a glance.

Thinking of this, Li Yan said expressionlessly: “It seems that you have also been fooled. You might as well make this matter clear. This will not only redeem you, but also prevent you from being used as a scapegoat by others.”

However, when the old man on the ground heard it, he gritted his teeth and said nothing.

Looking at this character, Li Yan already knew what was going on and winked at Chen San next to him.

“Somebody come!”

Chen San understood what he meant and roared, “They are so stubborn! Execute those three kids right here!”

“Yes, helmsman!”

Immediately, several men from the Cao Gang drew their knives and walked over viciously.

“master!”

“Spare me, it has nothing to do with us!”

The three children were so frightened that their faces turned pale and they cried for their parents.

Li Yan just watched coldly from the side.

Once you set foot on the road of martial arts, you are no longer an innocent person.

These three little bastards killed and burned people without blinking an eye, and there must be many innocent souls killed by them.

The bodies of a large number of people from Baohua Bookstore and Meng Mansion were still kept in the funeral room of the government office.

No matter what the reason for his fall into the underworld, he will not show the slightest mercy.

“Shut up!”

Yang Laohai, who was lying on the ground with veins all over his face, cursed: “I told you when I drank blood wine and brought you in that this day would come sooner or later. After you eat meat and play with women, don’t give in when your head is chopped off!”

“I can’t escape this, I might as well die like a man!”

He spoke passionately, but the three disciples did not buy it at all.

“fart!”

“You old man, that’s easy for you to say!”

“It’s all for the sake of protecting your son. Don’t drag us down…”

Under the knife’s edge, the three disciples began to speak out everything.

“Foolish!”

Yang Laohai wanted to bite these three little guys to death, but he couldn’t struggle and could only sigh.

Chen San struck while the iron was hot and finally pried open the old man’s mouth.

“We are here to see Zhang Qiu because we heard that when our senior brother was getting old, he took in a few disciples named Kong and they became very successful, so we came here to ask for help…”

After listening to his story, Li Yan and others also understood the cause and effect.

The birth of Xicaimen runs through the history of China.

Although it gradually formed a system after the “Bai Xi” of the Han Dynasty and the “San Yue” of the Tang and Song Dynasties, its history is much longer.

The origin of martial arts comes from hunting by ancient tribal ancestors, and the same is true for acrobatics.

Its shadow can be vaguely seen in throwing javelins, throwing knives, climbing, and taming animals.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the princes fought for hegemony and the trend of “supporting scholars” prevailed. Among the retainers were both petty thieves and warriors and strongmen with special skills.

These people are the prototypes of Xicaimen.

Today, it has become an important force in the underworld.

According to the classification of the underworld, they belong to the “cai” and “gua” among jin, Pi, cai and gua.

Although Lu Dongbin is regarded as the ancestor of Taoism, it is considered a side sect in Taoism.

Study the “technique” instead of practicing the Tao.

Xicaimen is spread all over China, with sects of all sizes spread across the country, mainly concentrated in Puyang and Zhoukou in Yuzhou, Linquan in Huizhou, Jianhu in Suzhou, and Liaocheng in Luzhou.

Wuqiao in Jizhou is one of the best.

The kids over there started practicing martial arts at a young age.

After they became adults, they formed opera troupes and traveled far and wide.

It can be said that he was born into the world of martial arts.

Not only was Yang Laohai born in Wuqiao, he was also a sorcerer who knew a lot of illusions and secret techniques. Naturally, he was doing very well. Every year when he returned to his hometown, there was a constant stream of visitors.

But people in his hometown didn’t know that the old man had already gone astray. He didn’t care about the hard-earned money from performing. Instead, he secretly accepted jobs to kill people and rob them to make money.

However, everything has a price.

Doing this kind of business again and again will inevitably lead to injuries.

It’s easy when you’re young, but when you’re old, you’re no longer able to do it.

What’s more troublesome is that when he was young, he only cared about his own happiness, and the elderly in his family doted on him too much, so that his only son became a troublemaker, a scoundrel who brought harm to the neighbors, did a lot of evil things, and couldn’t even stay in his hometown.

That’s all, and it’s easy to say.

Yang Laohai has saved a lot of money, so he could move to another place and become a rich man.

However, his son was a spendthrift, not only did he squander the family fortune, but he also owed the casino a large sum of money. A group of mysterious people caught hold of this and blackmailed him.

Over the years, Yang Laohai and his apprentices have been committing crimes everywhere, all under the instigation of others.

Making money is only one of the concerns. What is more worrying is that the Yang family’s only child will be wiped out.

“What a joke!”

Chen San’s face was full of sarcasm. “See, you are also a ruthless person who doesn’t care about your head. You are clearly stuck in a horse stake. Why don’t you think about breaking the situation?”

“Hahaha~”

Yang Laohai smiled sadly, “How can it be that simple?”

“That group of people are highly skilled and ruthless, and they also drugged us. If we don’t take the medicine within a few days, we will be anxious and feel like we are in purgatory. We can’t even bring ourselves to fight…”

As he was speaking, the two young disciples next to him began to behave strangely.

First, he broke out in cold sweat, and then his body twitched unnaturally, as if he was holding back something.

But soon, they couldn’t hold on any longer. “My fellow heroes, we know everything about this old man. You can ask us anything you want. We are addicted to drugs. Let us… let us take a puff…”

As he spoke, tears and snot were already streaming down his face.

Take a puff?
Li Yan frowned and his voice turned cold, “What are you smoking?”

“It’s the drugs those people gave us.” Yang Laohai also showed similar symptoms at this time. He gritted his teeth, his forehead full of blue veins: “Everyone, let us take a sip, otherwise these three brats can’t bear it and will bite their tongues off.”

Li Yan sniffed, “Where is the thing?”

“Right…right at the Hejin Inn…”

At this time, Yang Laohai also had sweat on his forehead.

“Take a few people and go get it!”

Chen San also noticed something was wrong and immediately asked his men to get something.

Soon, the men’s bags were brought in.

Yang Laohai and his three apprentices knelt on the ground like dogs, their hands trembling as they each took out a box from their bags. When they opened them, they found some dark brown paste inside. The surface was sticky and smelled of stale urine.

They stuffed it into their pipes and then lay on the ground puffing away.

All the previous symptoms disappeared, and the expressions were all as if they were floating in ecstasy.

“This…what is this?”

The people around looked horrified.

Yang Laohai is a sorcerer. Even though he is old, his mental will is strong enough.

His three little disciples must have gone through a lot of hardships to be able to master such outstanding bone-shrinking skills.

How come I have no resistance to this thing?
Li Yan, on the other hand, had a gloomy and cold expression on his face.

opium!

He didn’t expect that this harmful thing would appear.

At this moment, there were already quite a few people gathered around.

The Kong family father and son also gathered nearby to watch the fun.

Seeing this, the young scholar Kong Shangzhao looked thoughtful, and walked over again under everyone’s gaze, pinched some opium with his hands, and rubbed it in his hands, “This seems to be… a rice bag flower.”

Wang Daoxuan also looked solemn, “Master Kong, do you know this thing?”

Li Yan was also a little curious.

This was definitely opium, but it was the first time he had heard the name “Rice Nanghua”.

“I’ve read it in a book.”

Kong Shangzhao nodded, raised his head and said: “This product is produced in the Western Regions and was introduced to the Central Plains during the Six Dynasties. The Old Book of Tang once recorded that the Fulin Kingdom presented it as a tribute, and the Tang Dynasty poet Guo Zhen also wrote a poem called “Rice Bag Flower”…”

“It blooms in vain, but its fruit has never helped the people. It laughs at the wheat and millet in the fields, and never hears the sound of stringed instruments in its youth. Originally, this plant was used for viewing. Many literati praised its beauty, and some doctors also used it as medicine…”

“During the Song Dynasty, this substance was considered a good tonic. The ‘Yingsu Soup’ mentioned in Su Shi’s poem was this substance. It was also made into ‘Buddha Congee’ and ‘Fish Cake’ for consumption…”

As he spoke, his expression became serious, “I’ve also heard one thing.”

“During the time of the Golden Horde, the Records of India recorded that in the 23rd year of Yuan Jing, the Privy Councilor Toghto Temur led his army to conquer India and saw that opium had a strange power, which could communicate with the underworld and confuse people’s minds.”

“I remember the original words were like this. Opium is called Paramita’s Tears in Sanskrit. Its flowers are as red as blood, and its fruit is like a poppy sac. When it is cut open, it turns out to be black oil. The evil monks of India used it with corpse oil and human bones to make a faint fragrance. When you smell it, you will see a fantasy world of immortals and gods, which will last for three days…”

“The captured evil monk Narayan confessed that opium paste can be used to make ‘ghost soldiers’. Take a dying person and inject the paste into him for three days, and he will be able to fight even after death, and will be invulnerable to swords and guns…”

“The Golden Horde wanted to use this to train its soldiers, but it was never done.”

When Chen San heard this, he felt the hair on his back stand on end and his voice trembled:
“You mean, it’s the remnants of the Golden Horde who are behind this?”

He was not afraid, but excited.

If we can really capture the remnants of the Golden Horde, it will be a huge achievement.

A hundred years have passed since the establishment of the Great Xuan Dynasty, but the fear that the Golden Horde Wolf Kingdom brought to China has not dissipated.

There are many bizarre legends related to it in the countryside.

Even the rebellion in the northern border decades ago involved the remnants of the Golden Horde.

“I’m afraid it’s not that simple…”

Li Yan shook his head slightly, inexplicably feeling that there was another reason for this matter.

Thinking of this, he said in a deep voice: “Tell me, who is the traitor in the mansion?”

When this was said, no one else was surprised.

Wang Daoxuan had just obtained Xu Fu’s bamboo slips, and not many people knew about it.

Moreover, the other party lured the snake out of its hole first, and then sent someone directly to Wang Daoxuan’s room. There must be someone who tipped off the situation and acted as an insider.

The four masters and apprentices of Yang Laohai on the ground had recovered after taking a few puffs of opium. Their eyes were dull and their pupils were dilated. They had no strength to resist and opened their mouths to speak.

However, before they could say anything, a figure suddenly turned around and ran out the door.

It turned out to be a middle-aged man from the Chen Mansion.

Li Yan recognized him; he was the gardener in the mansion.

But there were Cao Gang disciples guarding outside the door of Chen’s house, and the gardener was just an ordinary person, so how could he escape?

After running a few steps, he was grabbed by the neck by a man from the Cao Gang and pressed to the ground.

Chen San’s eyes were full of murderous intent. “Tell me who ordered this. I will leave your body intact and not bring harm to your family.”

Placing spies in the mansion has touched his weak spot.

“Master Chen, please spare my life…”

The gardener was so frightened that he fell to his knees and kowtowed repeatedly, “I didn’t know it was so serious. It was Wang, the temple priest of Ren Fengzi Temple, who gave me 20 taels of silver to pay off his gambling debts and asked me to inquire about this matter.”

“Ren Fengzi Temple, let’s go!”

Chen San immediately gave the order and led many of his Cao Gang brothers out.

After Li Yan found out the location, he directly used the armor horse technique, walked on the water, and galloped in the strong wind, arriving at the Ren Fengzi Temple first.

Although this madman was suspected to be one of the Eight Immortals, the temple was only built by the people to commemorate him. No one knew where the place where he really ascended to heaven was.

When Chen San and others arrived, only Li Yan was left looking at the temple engulfed in flames.

“People have run away.”

Li Yan shook his head slightly and looked at the dark canal in the distance.

“Chen San, report this matter immediately.”

“Let the Commander-in-Chief investigate those Japanese and red-haired foreigners to see if anyone is doing this again.”

“This matter is definitely not that simple…”

…………

The next morning, Li Yan and others boarded the ship and left.

That “Mr. Rotten Copy” Kong Hui is also a taboo in the Kong family. After all these years of reincarnation, he is probably long gone from the Kong family. If he stays any longer, he won’t be able to find out anything.

It was people like Yang Laohai who provided some information.

Those who set up the trap to trap his son,
Right in Tianjin!

This time, Li Yan and his party took the boat, which was arranged by Chen San himself.

Everyone on the boat was from the Cao Gang, so naturally no one would provoke them along the way.

All the pirates and road bullies should be kept away from them.

This also allowed Li Yan to see the power of the Cao Gang.

Compared to the Paijiao, the Cao Gang was closer to the imperial court, so the Northern Canal was basically ruled by the Cao Gang, and the Paijiao could not even get in with a small sampan.

After a day’s sail, it was almost dusk.

Li Yan was meditating in the cabin when he heard the Cao Gang disciples on the deck outside respectfully saying, “Everyone, we have arrived in Linqing.”

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately stood up and walked out.

As the saying goes, things change over time.

The fortunes of China changed over time, with the decline of the divine capital Luoyang and the rise of other cities.

For example, the city of Linqing is now more famous than Jinan.

“The richest county in Qi, the most prosperous in the two capitals”, this is what it means…

(End of this chapter)