Longzang

Chapter 179 You've All Been Sold Out
The masked knight rode a black horse far larger than any ordinary horse, slowly entering the center of Quliu Town. Along the way, there were several skeptical monks, but they were all crushed into cylindrical pieces of flesh. Such bizarre deaths chilled even seasoned thieves, who stood silently in the street, not daring to move.

One by one, the knights began their march towards key locations throughout Quliu Town. Each of these knights possessed a profound aura and unfathomable strength, inspiring awe in all who beheld them.

The lead ghost-faced knight arrived in the center of town, glanced at the four large characters "Lying Flat Inn" in front of him, and then his gaze shifted to the innkeeper at the entrance of the inn.

The shopkeeper's fat face jiggled as he forced a smile that looked more like a grimace. He wanted to slap himself a few times; why had he come out to watch the show in the first place? Now he'd been targeted by this jinx who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

Although the shopkeeper had never heard of the Zhan Tian Gang, his keen eyesight allowed him to discern that the Ghost-Faced Knight's cultivation was unfathomable and his Dao power nearly inexhaustible. Among those unfortunate souls were several formidable fighters; otherwise, they wouldn't have dared to challenge him at this moment.

But all those who jumped out were silently crushed into fleshy pillars, without even a chance to escape. Such brutal methods terrified the shopkeeper. Now that he was being targeted by this ruthless man, he almost had a premonition that he would become a fleshy pillar in the next moment, so his legs went weak and he almost collapsed to the ground.

Only then did the shopkeeper realize that his usually proud skills of social maneuvering and adaptability were utterly useless. At this moment, his cultivation and spiritual power were the only things he could rely on.

The masked knight stared at him for a while before saying, "Li Zhi mentioned you to me."

"Li...Li Zhi?" The shopkeeper finally remembered the person. So that poor wretch had hooked up with this guy in front of him?! Why didn't you say so earlier!

The masked knight said, "I'll give you the time it takes for an incense stick to burn to pack all your valuables, then bring all your men and come with us. Oh, Brother Li also instructed you to bring all your storybooks."

The shopkeeper nodded repeatedly, knowing that his life was not in danger, and immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

The masked knight added, "Also, don't leave the inn later."

Having said that, the masked knight turned and headed southwest. The next moment, the entire town of Quliu suddenly changed, and a pure realm descended upon the mortal world!

Countless dark green wisps rose up, and many people instantly collapsed to the ground, writhing and screaming in agony. Their bodies were covered as if scalding with hot oil, constantly emitting black smoke. Every now and then, green wisps would emerge, only to be followed by screams as they were burned into white smoke.

The masked knights silently moved through Quliu Town, stabbing to death all those who collapsed, their bodies emitting green aura. Some struggled in their dying moments, their robes falling to the ground, revealing the true faces of the witch tribe.

The screams were especially loud in the western district. Several powerful Wu clan warriors with profound auras rose into the air, roaring angrily and unleashing their terrifying cultivation at the late stage of the Dao Foundation Realm to provoke the Ghost-Faced Knight.

These powerful members of the Witch Clan were strong enough to roam freely in Quliu Town, and their simultaneous appearance shocked countless residents. This was the strength of the Witch Clan in Quliu Town; this was the foundation of their power!

However, before they could make a move, a pagoda shadow flashed by in the air, and at the same time, a thin, bright ray of light wrapped around the bodies of several powerful members of the witch clan and disappeared in a flash.

Several powerful members of the Witch Clan froze instantly. In that instant, the Ghost-Faced Knight arrived on horseback, a green sprout emerging from his head.

The Ghost Knight pointed his spear into the air, and several powerful members of the Witch Clan screamed in agony as they were crushed into fleshy pillars in mid-air, right before the eyes of countless people in the town!
The entire town of Quliu was silent.

It's unclear which cultivator threw their weapon on the ground first, but more and more people followed suit, placing their weapons and even magical artifacts on the ground, allowing the warriors of the Battle Heaven Gang to collect them.

Although a few highly skilled cultivators realized that the powerful members of the Witch Clan had actually died from the pagoda and the flashing blades, this only intensified the despair. The Ghost-Faced Knight was already considered invincible, and now two more like him had joined the fray.

Next, the War Knight killed the witch clan members among the townspeople one by one. Then, the Ghost-Faced Knight flew into the air and said in a deep voice, "Listen up, everyone, you are all mine now! Those who don't want to die have a moment to pack their valuables. We will set off in a quarter of an hour."

After a pause, the masked knight raised his voice: "Let me tell you frankly, I have sold you all to the immortals of the Northwest Realm! Once you get there, how the immortals treat you is up to you! Now you only have two paths before you: either go live in the Realm, or die here!"

The townspeople exchanged bewildered glances, sensing something was amiss, yet unable to quite put their finger on it. Go to the borderlands? Wasn't that going off to enjoy a life of luxury?
Apart from a very few wealthy caravan owners and shopkeepers, everyone else gradually began to see a hint of surprise.

The masked knight continued, "Even thieves have their code of honor. Our Zhan Tian Gang is only doing this flesh trade; we're only charging you a head fee. Your valuables and belongings remain yours; we won't take a single penny."

This extinguished the will to resist among all the wealthy people.

Many of the bandits dismounted and began piling up firewood and sprinkling oil throughout the town. They also sprinkled a strange black powder on rooftops and inside houses. Another group of bandits searched all the dwellings of the witch clan, taking all their valuables and loading them onto carts.

A moment later, groups of humans carrying bundles and driving carts gradually left Quliu Town, with only a very few attempting to resist or escape.

But regardless of their skill in concealment or escape, none of them could withstand a single move from the surrounding knights. Moreover, each knight possessed a unique style, with no two alike; several magical swords appeared, each with its own mysteries. The knights were extremely ruthless, leaving no survivors. They slaughtered dozens, until no one dared to resist anymore.

The Xu family mansion remained tightly shut, even the watchtower was empty, and not a single person could be seen.

An hour later, the last group of people left Quliu Town and embarked on the road to the northwest border. Soon after, flames rose up in Quliu Town, and in the blink of an eye, this once-great city that could hold 100,000 people was engulfed in flames.

The most intact building in town was the Lying Flat Inn, and it was burning the fiercest, with flames several meters higher than the surrounding buildings. From a distance, it was clear that the Lying Flat Inn was on fire.

The innkeeper walked in the procession, turning back every few steps, his eyes filled with reluctance, his fat face trembling. Fortunately, the inn's valuables were already being carried by several waiters and cooks; most of their possessions had been moved. The innkeeper himself carried a huge, square backpack that looked extremely heavy.

But he absolutely refused to let anyone share the burden, not even let anyone touch it. This bag was full of the latest storybooks, weighing well over a hundred pounds!
The legendary swordsman Li Zhi, also known as the Immortal Li, specifically requested this storybook, and the Ghost-Faced Knight came specifically to deliver it, demonstrating the importance of Li Shangxian to this Ghost-Faced Knight. The innkeeper's intuition told him that whether or not the Lying Flat Inn could be reopened in the realm might depend on these storybooks.

Wei Yuan rode at the back of the procession, looking at the more than 80,000 people traveling north, feeling very satisfied.

Just then, he suddenly heard Bao Yun's voice: "Junior brother, your spending is getting bigger and bigger!"

Wei Yuan turned his head and saw Bao Yun's small face faintly appearing in the air beside him, with a half-smile, less than a foot away! Such close proximity immediately put immense pressure on Wei Yuan.

Bao Yun's stunningly beautiful face vanished instantly, and even Wei Yuan couldn't sense her presence. This put even more pressure on Wei Yuan.

Wei Yuan tried calling out, "Senior Sister?"

"I'm not here."

Wei Yuan scratched his head and asked cautiously, "Senior Sister... are you angry?"

"of course not!"

So that's it... Although Wei Yuan didn't know why she was angry, he still said, "I was wrong, I will definitely correct it next time."

Bao Yun snorted and said, "Then tell me, what did you do wrong?"

"We don't know yet, but there are definitely errors or omissions."

"You're so glib! I'm not telling you!"

Wei Yuan said, "Then I will come to ask for your guidance again after Senior Sister has calmed down."

I'm still so angry!

Hearing this, Wei Yuan breathed a sigh of relief; he had managed to appease most of the situation. He could save the remaining half for later.

All of these are not found in historical records; they all come from storybooks.

As the ancient sages said, "Read ten thousand books and travel ten thousand miles." There are only a few hundred classics, and the so-called "ten thousand books" must mostly consist of miscellaneous books, including vernacular stories.

The sage has not deceived me.

Of course, Wei Yuan only dared to think these things in his heart. If Zhang Sheng found out, he would be punished. Wei Yuan even thought of a reason for the punishment for Zhang Sheng: misinterpreting the words of the sage.

For some reason, Wei Yuan felt that since arriving in the Western Regions, he seemed to be getting closer and closer to cleaning house. In his frustration, he even considered pulling up tree branches. But at this time, Wei Yuan was unaware that celestial beings possessed spirits, and those with spirits had tempers.

Two days later, a troop of Western Jin border troops stopped outside Quliu Town.

The vanguard officer rode up to the central army carriage and said, "Lord Yuan, something seems amiss ahead."

The carriage door opened, and a scholar with a refined and upright appearance stepped out. He had a short beard and looked to be in his early thirties. He walked slowly forward, each step covering several feet, and in the blink of an eye, they arrived outside Quliu Town.

Looking at the vast town before him, now reduced to scorched earth with only a few charred wooden pillars remaining, Yuan Qingyan's face turned ashen, his hands trembling slightly as he said in a cold voice, "Good, very good! This is meant to give me a show of force! A town of 100,000 people, burned down with a single fire, what a grand gesture!"

In the entire town, only a few large houses in the north remained intact and stood out prominently.

"Who lives there?" Yuan Qingyan asked.

"Reporting to Your Excellency, this is the Xu family residence in Ningxi."

Yuan Qingyan glanced at the ruins and said, "The houses are burned, and there are very few corpses. In some places, embers are still burning, so this fire won't last more than three days. The tens of thousands of people who are migrating will certainly not be moving quickly. Immediately send out scouts in all directions to search 800 li ahead. I want to know who is so bold as to plunder the people under my jurisdiction!"

The deputy commander then said, "Lord Yuan, why don't you rest at the Xu family's house today?"

Yuan Qingzhi said, "No, let's set up camp here. I'll sleep in the carriage tonight."

(End of this chapter)