A thousand enlightenments in one night, starting from being a menial apprentice.

Chapter 364 Secret Passage
Ma Wentao, the doorman of Yuanshun Escort Agency, rushed to the backyard of the agency like a monkey as soon as Duan Rong and Xiao Yu entered the agency and informed Ruan Fengshan of the matter.

After Ruan Fengshan learned about it, he immediately ordered the guards in the backyard to try their best to stop Duan Rong and Xiao Yu. But if they really couldn't stop them, they should not fight and just let them in.

Then he called over four or five capable spies and asked them to follow Duan Rong and Xiao Yu from a distance to determine the approximate scope of their activities at any time.

After doing all this, Ruan Fengshan immediately went into the sealed warehouse in the backyard, followed the secret passage of the sealed warehouse in the backyard, and walked into the mandala secret room that had been expanded next to the sealed warehouse in the past three years.

Inside the secret room of the mandala, there are statues of the Five Gods and an altar.

Ruan Fengshan hurriedly walked through the secret room of the mandala and turned a hidden mechanism on the stone wall. Then the stone wall in front of him trembled slightly, and with a rumbling sound, a stone door opened in front of him.

Ruan Fengshan stepped over the stone door and walked into the secret passage. He reached out and twisted something in the secret passage, and the stone door behind him slammed shut again.

Ruan Fengshan walked forward in the secret passage illuminated by candlelight, his face livid. This secret passage led to the county government office and was connected to another secret room under the backyard of the county government office.

Ruan Fengshan is the leader of the Xian Gu branch of the Filthy Blood Cult.

Although Sun Qian was the county magistrate of Xiangu County on paper, he was also a member of the Filthy Blood Cult. The order given to him by the Yuanyang Hall of the Filthy Blood Cult was to build Xiangu County into an impregnable stronghold.

The two men started out doing their own things, but Sun Qian was an outsider after all, and he couldn't really understand many of the deeper situations in Xiangu County. In this regard, he needed the help of Ruan Fengshan, the local tyrant.

So, starting from the second year, the two began to work together.

I don’t know how many conspiracies they had, but they were all planned out after discussing them all night long in that not-so-big secret room under the county government office.

At this time, it was the time when the afternoon changes from Shen to You, and Sun Qian was sitting there, reviewing official documents.

His eye sockets were sunken and the fatigue on his face seemed to have penetrated deep into his bones.

Over the past three years, he has lost a lot of weight due to worrying about the affairs of the Filthy Blood Cult and the official business of the county government.

Fortunately, he had Ruan Fengshan as his capable assistant. He managed to survive these three years and basically pulled the team together. Now, in Xiangu County, the Filthy Blood Cult's influence can be found almost everywhere. His three years of hard work finally paid off.

Sun Qian was reading the official documents sent down from the Governor's Office to various counties demanding the payment of money, grain and taxes. He rubbed his temples and took a sip of the ginseng tea at hand. At this moment, the sound of crisp bells suddenly rang out from the cupboard in the corner.

Sun Qian frowned. It was still daytime, why did Ruan Fengshan come to the secret room to find him? Could something have happened again?

Sun Qian closed the document, struggled to get up, turned around the screen behind him, and came to the bed where he was resting.

Sun Qian walked to a place under the side of the bed, reached out and twisted it gently. There was a clicking sound, and the middle of the bed actually bulged up.

Sun Qian lifted the bedding and leaned down through a hole in the middle of the bed.

After Sun Qian's figure disappeared, the bed board returned to its original appearance.

In the secret room under the backyard of the government office, Ruan Fengshan sat on a rather simple wooden chair with a changing expression on his face.

Not long after he rang the bell, footsteps were heard on the other staircase in the secret room.

After a while, a figure walked out from the darkness of the stairs. It was Sun Qian, who looked exhausted.

Sun Qian walked down the stairs, looked at Ruan Fengshan who was sitting there, and asked bluntly: "What happened? Why are you looking for me at this time?"

Both of them are capable people. When they talk about things, they always get straight to the point and rarely use polite words.

“Big Brother!” As soon as Ruan Fengshan saw Sun Qian coming out, he immediately stood up, clasped his fists, and called out, then said, “Duan Rong and Xiao Yu are back!”

"Duan Rong? Xiao Yu?" Sun Qian's brows were twisted into a shape of a "川" (river).

Although the incident with Xiao Zongting happened half a month ago, Ruan Fengshan had already told Sun Qian that he had a daughter, Xiao Yu, and a disciple, Duan Rong, who was a registered disciple of the sect.

Ruan Fengshan said: "Yes. We just entered Xiangu County this afternoon."

"Can you confirm their identities? Are they outer disciples, or registered disciples who were dismissed?" Sun Qian walked to a wooden chair with heavy steps, and said as he sat down.

Ruan Fengshan said: "There is no definite news yet."

"Based on your understanding of them, what do you think?" Sun Qian looked at Ruan Fengshan and asked.

Ruan Fengshan hesitated for a moment and said, "Xiao Yu may not be sure, but the one called Duan Rong should be able to advance to an outer sect disciple."

Ruan Fengshan's basis was naturally Duan Rong's talent for cultivation. In just one year, he went from being a menial disciple to achieving the great perfection of the inner breath realm. At this moment, his mind still flashed back to the amazing battle between Duan Rong and Tao Rong in front of the county government office at the Elite Selection Meeting three years ago!
When Sun Qian heard this, the fatigue on his face seemed to deepen. If they were the registered disciples who were dismissed, they would just surround and kill them.

If it was an outer disciple, it would be a bit tricky.

If a newly promoted outer disciple was killed upon returning home, it would likely trigger a thorough investigation by the sect.

The leader of Yuanyang Hall, Ge Qinglei, gave him the order to build Xiangu County into an impregnable stronghold. In the past three years, this place has only begun to show results, and many places still need to be strengthened and improved, and it is far from the time to show it.

More than a month ago, he wrote a detailed proposal to Ge Qinglei. In it, he wrote about his management purpose for the Xiangu County stronghold in the next few years: build high walls, store up food, and prepare for war and wait for the right time.

Ge Qinglei praised his proposal highly and said that he would apply to the headquarters of the Filthy Blood Sect to give him rewards and further resource support.

Sun Qian was naturally overjoyed when he received Ge Qinglei's reply. The award that needed to be applied for from the headquarters was not of an ordinary level.

Moreover, the further resource support that Ge Qinglei mentioned was probably also the support from the headquarters. If the Xiangu County stronghold was directly assigned to the leadership of the headquarters, then his rank in the Filthy Blood Sect would be directly raised by two levels, and he would be almost on the same level as the hall master Ge Qinglei!
After Sun Qian pondered for a moment, he suddenly said, "Send a message to the hall first, and ask them to confirm the identities of the two people through the government office. If it is really as you expected, Xiao Yu can be killed. As for Duan Rong, if he is really an outer sect disciple, think of a way to scare him and make him retreat."

Ruan Fengshan's eyes flickered as he pondered Sun Qian's strategy. He basically thought it was feasible. Xiao Zongting was already dead. Even if Duan Rong had some connection with the Xiao family, if Xiao Yu also died, he could set up a trap to scare him. He wouldn't risk his life for the Xiao family.

At this moment, a bell hanging in the corner of the secret room suddenly began to ring.

Ruan Fengshan glanced sideways and found that it was the bell of the secret passage he came from. He stood up suddenly, with a bad premonition in his heart.

Ruan Fengshan quickly walked to a stone wall and pressed a hidden mechanism. With a sound, the stone door in front of him trembled and then opened by itself.

I saw a short boy standing behind the stone door.

This young man was the leader of the group of spies he sent out.

When Ruan Fengshan saw the young man, he frowned and asked, "What happened?"

The young man looked embarrassed and said, "We lost him."

"What?! Lost him?" Ruan Fengshan was shocked.

Ruan Fengshan thought that Duan Rong and Xiao Yu had done something out of the ordinary, and the young man came to report it. To be honest, even if Duan Rong and Xiao Yu broke into the backyard of the escort agency, he would not find it strange at all. After all, the person who died was Xiao Yu's father!

The hatred for killing his father is irreconcilable! But he never expected that these spies he personally selected and trained would actually be lost. Even if he himself was caught by these four or five people from a distance, it would be difficult to get rid of them.

"How did you lose me?" Ruan Fengshan asked with a grim face.

The young man said: "We were discovered and all of us were knocked unconscious."

Ruan Fengshan remained silent, but the horror in his heart was even greater. They were all discovered and knocked unconscious.

These spies were equipped with special equipment, and he had carefully trained them with great effort. They were not only very skilled in martial arts, but also very good at hiding. Who on earth could have locked them all? Could there be someone behind Duan Rong and Xiao Yu? !
Ruan Fengshan didn't think Duan Rong and Xiao Yu had such ability.

"Go ahead." Ruan Fengshan shouted coldly at the young man.

The young man turned and left as if relieved.

After the young man left, the stone door closed with a loud bang.

Ruan Fengshan turned his head and looked at Sun Qian and said, "They are at most at the first or second level of the True Qi Realm. Those spies followed them from different directions. I asked them to just lock on to their approximate location. However, they were all knocked out anyway."

As Ruan Fengshan spoke, his expression turned extremely ugly.

Sun Qian asked: "Do you suspect there is someone behind this?"

"Maybe." Ruan Fengshan's eyes wavered slightly.

Sun Qian said: "It may be that they have some special means."

"Special means?"

Sun Qian said: "We should still follow the strategy we just used. Even if there is someone behind them, we can force him out. If that person is unwilling to show up, it means he is unwilling to get involved. Then there will be no trouble between the two sides."

Ruan Fengshan nodded. After three years of getting along with him, he found that Sun Qian's greatest strength was his ability to make decisions, which might be the reason why he was sent to Xiangu County.

"Oh, by the way." Sun Qian said, "Tomorrow's dinner will go on as usual, right?"

Ruan Fengshan's face flashed with embarrassment. Now, Yuanshun Escort Agency was expected to be closely watched by Duan Rong and Xiao Yu. However, how to deal with them would have to wait until their identities were confirmed from the hall before they could decide.

In the next two or three days, Ruan Fengshan could only stay out of the spotlight to avoid a direct conflict with Xiao Yu, Duan Rong and the others.

"How about postponing it for a few days?" Ruan Fengshan said tentatively.

Sun Qian chuckled and said, "Why? Two rookies who just came out to the martial arts world scared you like this. I think we should proceed as usual and let all the brothers come so that we can discuss it. Besides, we are thirteen masters of the True Qi Realm. If we gather together, are we afraid of these two?"

Ruan Fengshan thought about it for a moment after hearing this. Sun Qian was right. After confirming the identities of Duan Rong and Xiao Yu, the next action would require the cooperation of all the brothers. It would be more appropriate to discuss it first.

Ruan Fengshan said, "Okay then. But let's change the location. Instead of going to the altar next to the sealed warehouse of my Yuanshun Escort Agency, let's go to the secret altar in Wei Yutian's old courtyard."

Sun Qian's eyes flickered slightly, and he said, "Okay. Find someone to inform the brothers."

"it is good!"

It was just dawn, and people were already swaying in the street stalls, and steam was rising...

Duan Rong crouched in a corner, huddled up like a quail.

In fact, he was not cold. Having reached the state of great perfection in the Qi realm, he was no longer afraid of the severe cold.

But in such weather, a ragged little beggar must be very cold.

Duan Rong huddled up and dozed off, but his spiritual awareness had already been opened, covering the surrounding streets.

Duan Rong lay there until 9:00 in the morning, when the sun was already high in the sky, and then he slowly got up.

There was a little beggar like this on the street, but no one cared about him. People walked past where he was lying and walked away from him.

Duan Rong stood up and walked alone along the alley, yawning. His head was covered with grease and his face was covered with scabies. People he met along the way avoided him and walked along the other side of the alley.

Duan Rong walked along the alley until he came near the teahouse, then he lay down in a place in the alley not far from the teahouse where the sun could reach.

The sun shone on his body, making him feel warm, and Duan Rong almost fell asleep.

In my previous life, I worked like a beast of burden for half of my life, working myself to death every day, just to earn enough money to make a living.

In this life, he had an opportunity and he couldn't waste it. He practiced hard every day. When he thought about it, it seemed that his life was no different from his previous life.

He suddenly felt that those so-called successful people were also trapped in their own success, just like he was trapped in this opportunity in this life.

If it weren't for the dream of immortality that was still hanging on his shoulders, he really wanted to just lie down and die.

He had only been a beggar for half a day, but he felt so good.

However, Duan Rong still cheered up.

At this time, the number of customers in the teahouse would gradually increase. The teahouse was a sea of information, and this was a good time for him to get information.

Duan Rong instantly used his spiritual sense to cover the entire teahouse.

As time went by, the number of guests in the teahouse increased, including people of all kinds of identities.

In fact, this way of obtaining information is quite tiring.

Because three years ago, every time Duan Rong came to the teahouse to inquire about news, he would just glance over a lot of information, because he lived in Xiangu County and he already knew a lot of things.

But now it was different, he hadn't been back for three years. No matter what those people talked about, no matter how big or small, he had to listen carefully.

This situation is like watching dozens or hundreds of movies at the same time, and you have to carefully read and understand the plot information of each one.

So, after an hour, Duan Rong was already a little tired.

However, his gains in this hour were also huge.

Duan Rong really didn't expect that Xiangu County had undergone such great changes in the past three years. All major forces had been looted.

This new county magistrate is truly an all-powerful person!
(End of this chapter)