All Heavens: From Joy of Life to The Great Feng Night Watchman

In the original timeline, Ming Qingcheng eventually joined the Jiangnan Water Village, changed his name to Xia Qifei after taking his mother's surname, and successfully inherited the position of village chief.

Because of his deep-seated hatred for the Ming family, he eventually succeeded in taking revenge with Fan Xian's support and took over the management of the Ming family for Fan Xian.

Li Chang'an was not only interested in Xia Qifei's status as an illegitimate son of the Ming family, which would help him control the Imperial Treasury in the future, but he also had his eye on the Jiangnan Water Village.

The Jiangnan Water Villages, similar to Liangshan Marsh in the Water Margin, were places where people made a living by robbing and plundering without any initial investment.

These easily defensible and difficult-to-attack hidden and dangerous places are ideal for gathering crowds to rebel and for raising troops.

After subduing Xia Qifei, you can secretly raise an elite force here, capable of supporting both infantry and naval forces.

"Has the Seventh Young Master of the Ming family been captured by you?"

Upon hearing the name of the Seventh Young Master of the Ming Family, the man immediately nodded vigorously, "Actually, the chieftain and the Ming family don't get along well either. We've robbed the Ming family of their things, so we have a grudge!"

"But Young Master Ming Qingda is offering a lot more, a full 50,000 taels of gold, in exchange for Ming Qingcheng's head!"

"We used dozens of our best men and finally caught that kid. He's in the water village dungeon now."

"But that kid was a tough nut to crack. His body was covered with neat, dense marks from knife cuts and axe strokes, which made the chieftain and the old elder grin at him."

Li Chang'an grinned, because he knew those injuries were inflicted by his older brother, Ming Qingda, since childhood.

Li Chang'an still vividly remembers the Ming family's sadistic and perverse tendencies, let alone their treatment of illegitimate children like Ming Qingcheng.

"So, your chieftain has already decided to take on disciples?"

The man looked at Li Chang'an in surprise, "Young Master is truly a genius! Seventh Young Master Ming has excellent potential, is courageous and tough. The old chieftain greatly admires him."

"The old temple keeper doesn't quite agree yet. He says that these people from wealthy families will eventually accept the offer of amnesty and won't be loyal to the village."

It seems that the matter of Ming Qingcheng cannot be delayed. We must intercept and subdue him immediately, and let him develop quietly in Jiangnan.

"Alright, no need to ask anymore. Let him lead the way, we'll wipe out this water stronghold tonight."

According to Emperor Qing's decree to suppress martial arts, Li Chang'an was to eliminate martial arts masters who disobeyed the court. This could be considered as killing on imperial orders.

That night.

Led by the prisoner, Li Chang'an and his group boarded a small boat and found the Jiangnan Water Village amidst the dense network of waterways.

Just as we were about to disembark, we encountered a patrol boat from the water fortress.

"Listen up, you people on the ship! You are surrounded! Lay down your weapons and submit to inspection immediately!"

Upon hearing this, Xing Yusen was furious. How dare they steal my lines!

"Listen up, pirates on board! You are surrounded!"

Lay down your weapons and release the hostages—this is your only way out!

Chapter 53 Slaying a Ninth-Rank Official! Saving Ming Qingcheng!

The twelve interconnected docks in the Jiangnan region and related waters.

This is the official name of the Jiangnan Water Village. I don't know why the bandits chose such a formal name.

The water villages mainly make a living on the intricate network of waterways in Jiangnan, and their passenger and freight transport depends on their whims.

The clandestine salt and horse trading businesses required the protection of the water fortress, and protection fees were, of course, mandatory.

Later, Xia Qifei also cultivated relationships with government officials, gaining influence in both the legal and illegal worlds, and gradually cleaned his name, demonstrating that Xia Qifei was indeed a talented individual.

Upon hearing Xing Yusen's counter-threat, the bandits instantly flew into a rage.

This is their territory in Jiangnan Water Village, and someone dares to be so arrogant.

"Come aboard!"

At a command from the water fortress boat, several rope hooks were immediately attached to the gunwale of Li Chang'an's boat.

As the bandits drew closer, Xing Yusen sneered, "Come on! Come on, let me chop you up!"

Xing Yusen, who was originally the chief constable of the Ministry of Justice, had arrested countless robbers and bandits and did not take a few petty thieves on patrol seriously.

Six petty thieves successfully boarded Li Chang'an's ship.

Upon reaching the deck, they were greeted by a variety of weapons from the Shadow Guards, and the thieves were all killed before they even saw their leader.

The prisoner said to Xing Yusen tremblingly, "Great hero, you don't have to kill them. I'm the fifth-ranking person in the stronghold, and they're very afraid of me."

Xing Yusen said coldly, "Enough nonsense. Killing a few petty thieves is all for the sake of the people!"

The prisoner said respectfully, "Great hero, you are righteous and honorable. I deserve to die."

Guided by the captured Fifth Leader, the twelve men successfully landed on the island where the water fortress was located.

Because of the prisoner's status in the water fortress, the group passed through the fortress's multiple layers of defenses without any trouble.

It's not impossible to just charge in, but if the bandit leader and the old retainer take the opportunity to escape, it will only complicate matters.

After a large group of people entered the hall, they saw several leaders discussing something.

Upon seeing the Fifth Master, one of the burly men immediately shouted, "Fifth Master, you're finally back!"

"Has the Deadly Scholar been killed? Who are these people you brought with you?"

Before the Fifth Master could answer, Zhao Gao's figure suddenly flashed and appeared in front of the man!

For Zhao Gao, a peak ninth-rank martial artist, ambushing a lower eighth-rank martial artist was an easy task.

By the time the warrior discovered Zhao Gao, Zhao Gao had already ripped out his heart.

Immediately afterwards, Li Chang'an used his lightness skill to leap out of the courtyard and head towards the back mountain.

He wanted to practice on that old, ninth-rank elder, but finding a ninth-rank opponent wasn't easy.

The Fifth Master of the Water Village had already clearly explained the old retainer's residence, and Li Chang'an quickly found the small courtyard.

Li Chang'an stood on the roof of the small courtyard, completely unaware of the old temple inside. Li Chang'an shot out a sword aura, tearing off a large section of the roof!

Completely unaware, the old elder, despite his best efforts to dodge, was still stabbed in the abdomen by the sword energy.

"who!"

"True energy is being released outwards... Could it be a Grandmaster in person?!"

The old eunuch's voice was filled with fear!

He was quietly cultivating his mind when he suddenly felt a massive outward release of true energy!

The old retainer, well over sixty years old, clutched his bleeding abdomen with one hand and held a gleaming ring-pommel sword in the other.

The old retainer has an eighth-grade talent in martial arts, but he's a stubborn old man who refuses to submit to the imperial court and would rather die than be a bandit.

In the original timeline, after Fan Xian subdued the Jiangnan Water Village, he sent Shadow to kill the old man because he was so stubborn.

Since the old retainer was too old and still so stubborn, Li Chang'an had already made up his mind to just kill him.

Li Chang'an did not disguise himself during the night, and the old guard was clearly frightened by Li Chang'an's youth.

"You are not from the Jiangnan Road underworld. There could not be such a young ninth-rank official in Jiangnan Road. Who exactly are you?"

Li Chang'an said coldly, "A ninth-rank official is quite a figure. I'll let you die knowing why. We've come to Zhenwu by imperial decree!"

Upon hearing that he had been ordered to suppress the Wu, the old guard suddenly laughed, "So it was a master from the Yongwang Mansion of the Qing Kingdom. No wonder he has such miraculous martial arts skills!"

"You've been killing your way all the way to Jiangnan Road, leaving countless heads rolling in the air, yet you still managed to find me."

Li Chang'an was somewhat surprised. Could this old retainer have some hidden identity? "The Prince Yong's Mansion does not accept surrender."

The old man roared, "I was born a man of the Great Western Kingdom, and I will die a ghost of the Great Western Kingdom. Surrendering to the Qing Kingdom is absolutely impossible!"

The Western Kingdom, a small country that was destroyed by the Southern Qing a few years ago, no wonder this person is so stubborn, it turns out he was a general of the Western Kingdom.

This is perfect! Killing him would be even more justifiable, and we could also steal the treasured manuals from him.

To cultivate to the ninth rank, one needs both martial arts talent and a treasured manual; neither is dispensable.

"laugh!"

As Li Chang'an spoke, another sword aura shot out from his fingertips, piercing towards the old elder's head.

The old retainer was still quite agile and managed to dodge the fatal blow, but the sword energy still severed one of his ears.

Once the Six Meridians Divine Sword is mastered, there is absolutely no way to dodge this move.

Ignoring his pain, the old retainer brandished his ring-pommel sword and approached Li Chang'an.

The masters among the ninth rank are indeed extraordinary; every move they make is filled with powerful true energy and cannot be ignored.

Although the old retainer's swordsmanship was exquisite in every move, Li Chang'an's Tianshan Plum Blossom Hand was even more ingenious.

With ample support from the Northern Darkness True Qi, the Tianshan Plum Blossom Hand technique seemed to handle the sharp ring-pommel sword with ease!

After more than a dozen moves, the old retainer, relying on the sharpness of his weapon, could not gain any advantage and was shocked!

The expert in front of us, who is at the lower ninth rank, is not only excessively young, but his palm technique is also incredibly unpredictable!

After another ten moves, Li Chang'an had become familiar with the old master's swordsmanship, and his moves suddenly changed, his palm wind becoming exceptionally fierce.

"Snapped!"

With a loud bang, Li Chang'an used the Yangge Tianjun move to knock away the old elder's ring-headed sword, and then struck him in the chest with six or seven palms in succession.

The old elder coughed up blood and collapsed to the ground. Li Chang'an picked up the ring-pommel sword and severed the old elder's head with one stroke.