I Killed Gods and Demons in Song Dynasty

Chapter 106 Dragon Pond

Li Qingyun leaned over and grabbed the jade pendant. He gently applied force and snapped the rope, then took it down and put it in his arms.

Then, he clasped his fists towards the people around him:
"Everyone, this is now the territory of the Changle Gang. If you are bullied or encounter any difficulties in the future, just report my name, Li Qingyun!"

As he spoke, he looked at the middle-aged woman with swollen cheeks and asked with a smile:

"How much 'head money' does Jinfengxiyulou charge you every month?"

The woman looked over here with a flushed face. The young man in front of her came forward like a god from heaven to help her out, just like a story of a hero saving a beauty on stage.

It was not until Li Qingyun asked again that she came back to her senses. She covered her swollen mouth and said incoherently:

"To answer the hero, they charge two taels of silver every month, and double it during festivals."

Is this... Is collecting protection fees so profitable?
In this alley alone, there are twenty or thirty prostitutes, earning dozens of taels of silver every month. The key is that this thing has no cost and is so easy that it is simply outrageous.

Li Qingyun was so angry that he couldn't help but kick the little leader a few times, making him scream heartbreakingly.

Then he looked around and said to the women:

"From today on, your down payment will be 500 coins, which must be paid to the Changle Gang on time every month.

"If the people from the Golden Wind and Drizzle Tower dare to come to collect the debt again, there is no need to resist. Take note of their appearance and report to us. I promise to pay you double within two days. Anyway, the Changle Gang is here to ensure that all the sisters will be safe and sound."

There was silence for a moment, and suddenly there was a burst of cheers and applause.

For women who could only earn a dozen or dozens of copper coins for each customer, the monthly down payment of two taels of silver was almost their income for half a month. After deducting daily expenses such as food, medical treatment and medicine, they could only barely make ends meet and had no surplus at all.

The Changle Gang cut off three quarters of their territory in one go, which was equivalent to removing a heavy burden from them. How could they not cheer?
Li Qingyun is certainly not a philanthropist who saves people from difficulty, and it is impossible for him not to collect protection fees. After all, he has a large group of people to support, and the protection provided by the Changle Gang is one of the necessary guarantees for these people to survive.

I can only say that the price is not cheap, but it is fair and reasonable.

Song Ke watched Li Qingyun's arrangements from the side, and once again discovered another side of his gang leader that was not well understood by others.

Although he is brave and fierce, and is always full of crazy and unruly thoughts; although he is ruthless and kills the enemies of Jinfengxiyu Tower again and again, under his cold appearance, he is a kind-hearted person at heart.

Whether it was protecting his brothers or shielding the weak, he never hesitated, and he always took the lead, taking all the responsibilities on himself and never passing them on to his subordinates.

The more Song Ke thought about it, the more he felt that it was his blessing to meet such a responsible boss. Only such a leader of Changle Gang was worthy of his desperate protection.

When Li Qingyun realized that he was being watched, his spiritual sense was suddenly touched. He looked at Song Ke and saw that he was looking at him with admiration. He remembered that this boy looked down on him before and couldn't help but laugh.

He waved his hand and said to Master Song:
"You bring your people to seize the territory like this. The upfront fee we ask for is one-fourth of the price of Jinfengxiyulou. Money is not a problem. The key is to spread your reputation. If you meet someone who is blind, just fight him. If you can't beat him, come to me."

After receiving the instructions, Song Ke did not ask Li Qingyun what he was going to do. He led his men to prepare for the battle and headed towards the next alley in a heroic and high-spirited manner.

The Changle Gang had been in decline for too long, and had always been cannibalized and bullied by other gangs. Today, they finally got a chance to raise their heads and turn things around.

At this moment, he felt as if a long-drought rain had finally come. He felt relaxed and refreshed, as if every cell in his body was cheering and his heart was filled with indescribable satisfaction and pleasure.

This feeling is like climbing over a mountain, and suddenly the view in front of me becomes clear, and all the injustice and oppression disappear.

Li Qingyun waited silently for Song Ke to leave. After the crowd of onlookers had dispersed, he let go of the little leader under his feet, dragged him to a secluded corner, took out the jade pendant and asked with a smile:
"This thing is Chen Jin's personal belongings. Where did you get it from?"

The little leader grimaced in pain, and was frightened and terrified. He quickly replied:
"My name is Wang Kuisheng, and I am one of the close followers of Chen Jin, the head of the Chen family. Chen Jin got the news this morning that he got into trouble with Kaifeng Prefecture, so he had to leave Bianliang City to avoid the limelight and couldn't come back for the time being, so... so..."

Li Qingyun sneered and completed the sentence for him:
"So you, the followers, thought that Chen Jin was doomed, so you looted his belongings, and then came to the Golden Wind and Rain Tower to make a fortune, and also planned to run away?"

Wang Kuisheng smiled bitterly:
"Chen Jin is a very stingy guy. I have served him for more than ten years and got nothing. It seems that Jinfengxiyu Tower is about to be closed down. I have elderly parents and young children to take care of, and I also... I have to think about the future."

It's true that when the tree falls, the monkeys scatter... Li Qingyun sighed in his heart, and then kicked Wang Kuisheng in the butt:
"Go away, and don't let me see you again on Changle Gang's territory."

Wang Kuisheng felt pain in his buttocks, but he kept thanking her as if he had been pardoned, then he crawled away.

Li Qingyun stood there, playing with the jade pendant in his hand, with an expression of serious thought on his face.

He had always had a guess in his mind, that is, the "Dragon Pool" that Xu Liang found in Jinfengxiyu Tower was not the truth, but Pang Yu deliberately put the blame on Chen Jin in order to find someone to take the blame and confuse the public.

Although this was just an unfounded inference, Li Qingyun always had an inexplicable feeling that his guess was almost right and that this matter was closely related to him.

He could not ignore the premonition from the divination, and he had to investigate it, but he had no clues.

Who would have thought that there would be such a coincidence in the world? He actually got Chen Jin's personal belongings at the right time. In this way, he could use his magical powers to find the other party in person and interrogate him.

Thinking of this, he didn't care about his slightly tired body and immediately began to divine Chen Jin's position.

……

At night, the wind howled and the drizzle fell.

On the refugee street north of Bianliang City, dilapidated earthen houses were crowded together, interspersed with simple sheds and tents, barely able to shelter from the wind and rain.

The muddy road was filled with ragged, skinny refugees.

Children were crying, women were moaning, and the old man was leaning helplessly against the wet earth wall. There was nothing but helplessness and despair in their eyes.

The air was filled with the smell of rotting food, mixed with the shadow of disease and death. These unregistered "untouchables" leaned on each other and tried to keep warm, but they still could not resist the cold wind at night. In the lonely night, Chen Jin wore a coarse and tattered jacket that he got from nowhere, hiding in the shadows of the corner, no different from a refugee.

His face was covered with mud. Even if the person who knew him best stood in front of him, he would not recognize that he was the boss of the Jinfengxiyue Tower who once called the shots in Bianliang City.

We will stay here for one night and leave the city early tomorrow morning. Whether it is the Liao Dynasty or the Western Xia Dynasty, we will leave as far as possible and never come back...

As a native of Bianliang, Chen Jin had never thought of leaving his hometown, but he did not dare to take any chances, because once he stopped, the hounds chasing him would smell the scent, and what would be waiting for him would be endless darkness.

He used to be a symbol of power, enjoying honor and wealth, but now, all this seems to be a mockery of fate. The life of luxury seems like a distant dream.

In the real world, pursuers are always around you, every corner may hide a deadly threat, and every shadow may be a death trap.

He is already a lost dog.

"Master Chen, are you all right?"

A voice was heard, echoing slowly in the deep night, like a ghost asking for death.

"who!"

Chen Jin was so frightened that his hair stood on end. Without thinking, he threw a punch back, which was accompanied by the sound of wind and thunder, crackling, and extremely fast.

After raising his hand, he used the force of his punch to bounce up and float in the opposite direction, showing no desire to fight.

This swing of the punch and the body movement were all the most ordinary moves in martial arts, but when used by Chen Jin, they were just right, experienced and decisive, without any sense of procrastination, and fully displayed the power of a master in the Qi Refining Realm.

He was certain that even someone with much better martial arts skills than him would be unable to stop him from leaving.

But the man blocked the fist lightly, then lowered his body and rushed into his arms as fast as a civet cat.

As soon as Chen Jin's legs left the ground, he felt a tightness around his waist and was held by a pair of strong arms. The next moment, he was thrown heavily to the ground.

boom!
Mud and water splashed everywhere, and Chen Jin felt as if his body was being crushed by a mountain. He was dazed and dizzy.

He looked up at the sky and saw dark clouds covering the moon and the stars disappearing.

Suddenly, a smiling young man appeared in the field of vision. He was not very handsome, but there was an unruly wildness in his brows. He was full of confidence and vitality, and had a charm that could not be ignored.

"It's you, Li Qingyun?"

Chen Jin's face was filled with shock. He had guessed countless possibilities of being caught up by the enemy killer, but he never expected that the Changle Gang would be the first to find him. "You... you are a warrior in the Soul Refining Realm? It turns out that you hid your strength that day in Zuiyang Tower... No wonder you were so arrogant at that time, and it was effortless for you to kill Tang Tiefeng."

The person who came was Li Qingyun. He sneered, stretched out his hand and slapped him twice on the chest. The Six Harmonies True Evil was everywhere, instantly sealing Chen Jin's twelve main meridians, making his whole body numb and itchy, unable to move.

Chen Jin was captured in one move. He felt hopeless and depressed, as if he had aged several years in an instant. He muttered:
"I didn't expect that you would also join Master Yu and work for him to kill me..."

This guy really had realized it long ago. He was indeed dragged out by Pang Yu to be a scapegoat... Li Qingyun narrowed his eyes slightly:
"You dressed up like this, not because you're afraid of being wanted by Kaifeng Prefecture, but to avoid being hunted by Pang Yu?"

Chen Jin wondered:
"You actually called him by his first name? You are not Master Yu's man, so why did you come to take me?"

Li Qingyun smiled evilly, with a hint of teasing and cunning in his eyes. He suddenly stretched out his hands and slapped Chen Jin four or five times:

"Now it's my turn to ask and you answer. If you tell the truth, I won't kill you tonight. But if you say another word of nonsense, I'll twist your nose off."

As he spoke, he used his steel-like fingers to gesture twice on Chen Jin's face, "Tell me, why did Pang Yu want to kill you?"

Chen Jin's cheeks were swollen and burning with pain. The humiliation in his heart was beyond measure, but he was an old man and survival was his instinct. After sensing the dangerous aura from Li Qingyun, he immediately answered honestly:
"He wanted me to take the blame for the good things he had done, and he was afraid that I would go to Kaifeng and say nonsense, so he sent people to kill me.

"Thanks to the fact that I had anticipated this day, I was able to trick the killer with a sleight of hand and a double, and thus escape with my life."

Li Qingyun nodded and asked:
"Is it about the Dragon Pond? What on earth is that?"

Chen Jin stared at Li Qingyun and said in disbelief:
"You know about the Dragon Pond? Yes, Situ Haiguang and Tang Tiefeng both died in your hands because they lost control of their demonic transformation. Even a fool can guess something."

Li Qingyun kicked him in the ass:
"Be honest, how can you talk like that? Tell me now!"

Chen Jin sighed:

"As far as I know, Master Yu has been running this Hualong Pond for two or three years. That place is the dirtiest and most filthy place in the world, and it must be balanced with the yang energy of living people. Therefore, Master Yu raises a large number of slaves there. Some of them are pariahs abducted from Wuyou Cave, and some are young and strong men kidnapped from the Beggars' Sect and Xiaoyao Tower.

“In addition, the water in the Dragon Transformation Pond needs the foul energy of the demon race to nourish it. Any demon race that comes into contact with it will mutate, and most of them will go crazy and die on the spot. Only a very small number can be barely controlled with some secret techniques.

"These monsters were acquired by Master Yu at a great cost. He wanted to make full use of them, but he had no suitable reason or channel, so he handed them over to us at the Golden Wind and Rain Tower to handle. Ninety percent of the money earned was taken away by Master Yu's people.

"Finally, Master Yu would occasionally trick some martial arts masters who were about to die into coming to the end of their lives to experience the Hualong Pool's effect of rejuvenation, under the pretext of helping them prolong their lives.

“But I know that they are actually some vicious and terrifying experiments, because anyone who has been immersed in the Dragon Transformation Pool will most likely turn into a vengeful spirit and become the nutrients in the pool. Those who are lucky enough not to die will gradually deviate from their original character and become perverse and violent. Their behavior will become more and more extreme, and they will often do irrational things.

"In fact, Situ Haiguang and Tang Tiefeng were not like this before they went to the Hualong Pond..."

……

(End of this chapter)