The Beauty and the Swordsman

Early the next morning, Kuang Ye took Chen Gui down the mountain.

He said he was going to the bank to withdraw silver, and even asked several disciples to help carry it.

With her major concerns settled, Pei Lingyou skipped class with Ren Wofei and Zhao Xingxing, and spent time with Pingping playing mahjong in the house.

But the troubles of the world don't seem to disappear; they just shift.

Pei Lingyou had barely settled down for a day when new trouble came knocking on her door.

While Kuang Ye and Chen Gui were busy going down the mountain to get the silver, Shou Mo stayed in the mountain to direct his disciples to work in the fields.

Every year around this time, as winter approaches, the disciples of Tongchen Sect go to the farmland around Huaguang Mountain to collect straw.

Some of it was used for firewood to keep warm during the winter, and some was used as fertilizer to soak the fields.

Tongchen Sect has long resided on Huaguang Mountain, and its leaders over the generations have accumulated a considerable amount of property, including many farmlands, orchards, and forests that were reclaimed from wasteland by previous leaders and elders.

For many years, Tongchen Sect has carefully managed its fields, some of which are planted with grains and vegetables for the disciples to eat.

Some are rented out at low prices to poor tenants in the vicinity, helping them make a living.

All the farmland is legally registered; the only disputed piece of land is the one adjacent to Qingfeng Mountain.

The field covers about a hundred acres, with fertile soil, flat terrain without depressions or slopes, and is close to a river, making it convenient for water diversion and drainage. It is a rare and excellent fertile field.

The problem is that this field is too good, which often attracts the jealousy of Qingfeng Mountain, which is located in the neighboring area.

Compared to the majestic and beautiful Huaguang Mountain, Qingfeng Mountain is at best a low hill with sparse trees, thin grass, and sparse fields.

A sect that occupies the mountain calls itself "Qingfeng Daoist". They build Taoist temples, wear Taoist robes, and claim to practice Taoist martial arts. In reality, they are a group of good-for-nothings who use the name of Taoism to justify their existence.

Fortunately, they knew they weren't very capable, so they didn't commit any major evils and were considered the lowest-ranking "rogues" in the underworld.

They had been eyeing the fertile land belonging to the Tongchen Sect for a long time, and had secretly moved the boundary markers of the land several times, encroaching on one foot today and another ten feet tomorrow.

Tongchen Sect is kind to people, and successive sect leaders have strictly forbidden causing trouble. Therefore, the disciples always turn a blind eye and just bear with it.

Unexpectedly, when Shoumo and the disciples of Tongchen Sect arrived at the fertile field, they were shocked to find that the boundary markers had been moved right under their noses.

Nearly 100 acres of fertile land, and the people of Qingfeng Mountain have stolen 70 or 80 acres of it at some point.

Shoumo was furious and argued with the people of Qingfeng Mountain about it.

The elders of Tongchen Sect are in seclusion for cultivation year-round, and no one dares to disturb them.

With the sect leader Kuang Ye absent, Chen Gui, who oversees the sect's rules, is also not here.

The disciples were extremely anxious, not knowing who to turn to for help.

In the end, they all thought of Pei Lingyou without prior agreement.

Everyone had this strange feeling that without Kuang Ye, she was the one in charge, completely forgetting that she was a member of the Hun Tian Gang and was just there for an advanced training course.

The disciples hurriedly found Pei Lingyou, who was playing mahjong in the room.

Upon hearing that Shoumo and the other disciples of Tongchen Sect had been bullied, Pei Lingyou jumped onto a stool, placed her feet on the edge of the table, threw the mahjong tiles on the ground with a "thud," and cursed:

"Which bastard is so blind as to dare bully my turf?!"

She immediately led Pingping and the others to the border between Huaguang Mountain and Qingfeng Mountain.

In the fields, Shoumo and a large group of Tongchen Sect disciples were furious at the moved boundary marker, but there was nothing they could do.

Across from them, a group of oddly dressed Taoists from Qingfeng Mountain watched with a nonchalant, smug expression.

Shoumo and his group tried to reason with them, but for every word they said, the guys from Qingfeng Mountain cursed them ten times.

Shoumo wanted to move the boundary marker back, but the people from Qingfeng Mountain immediately started throwing buckets of excrement out, splattering Shoumo's shoes and clothes with filth.

Shoumo suggested that they simply follow the rules of the martial arts world, determine the winner through a martial arts contest, and let the winner decide the location of the boundary marker.

The people from Qingfeng Mountain immediately lay down on the ground, looking like they were saying, "If you dare touch me, I'll extort you to death."

This scoundrel's attitude infuriated the Tongchen Sect disciples, who were so angry they were practically fuming, yet they couldn't utter a single word as they pointed at the other side.

There was no other way; the Tongchen Sect had strict rules, and disciples were strictly forbidden from using foul language.

The disciples never swore and never argued.

The people of Qingfeng Mountain took advantage of this and bullied these honest gentlemen.

Others may revere the Tongchen Sect, the most prestigious and righteous sect in the martial arts world, but the people of Qingfeng Mountain, who have been neighbors for a long time, know best how easy it is to bully these gentlemen.

Over the years, they have stolen fields, vegetables, farm tools, and damaged new seedlings, taking advantage of the Tongchen Sect quite a bit.

Arguing with them is pointless; they won't listen to reason and it will only make you look bad.

If we leave them alone, they'll take advantage of us from time to time, making us furious.

Even Kuang Ye sometimes sighed:

"Tigers are easy to catch, but lice are hard to get rid of..."

Today, Shoumo decided that he could no longer tolerate this and would seek justice for the Tongchen Sect. He shouted:

"Then let's report it to the authorities! Go to the government office to check the land records!"

People in the martial arts world don't like dealing with the imperial court, so for Shoumo to say that he would take the initiative to go to the government office means he really had no other choice.

To everyone's surprise, the group of guys opposite, who called themselves Qingfeng Daoren, immediately started making exaggerated noises and shouts:

"Oh, oh, oh, so you're going to report us to the authorities? The Tongchen Sect, the big boss of the martial arts world, so even crying won't stop you from seeking help!"

"So it turns out you were the ones colluding most with the imperial court!"

"Let's report it to the authorities then. It'll be a good opportunity for the whole martial arts world to see just how capable the Tongchen Sect is, with the imperial court as their backer!"

"You..." Shoumo stomped his foot in anger, racking his brains but still unable to think of a proper insult, when he heard Pei Lingyou shout from mid-air:

"Damn it! Why are you wasting your breath talking to them!"

As the words were spoken, four figures moved with lightning speed, brushing past Shoumo and rushing directly into the crowd of Qingfeng Mountain on the opposite side.

Pei Lingyou, along with Ren Wofei, Zhao Xingxing, and her junior sister Pingping, attacked anyone they saw without saying a word.

Pei Lingyou has robbed the military supplies and has not yet resealed her acupoints. Now that she has internal energy, her martial arts skills are extraordinary.

Although Ren Wofei and Zhao Xingxing had their acupoints sealed, the two cooperated well and held their own against one opponent.

Pingping wielded her two golden maces with a swift, powerful motion.

Although she is petite, she has a fierce aura. As expected of Pei Lingyou's junior sister, she fights without regard for her life.

Especially those two little hammers, which look cute, like fairy wands, are actually made of solid iron. One hit and the other person is basically off to meet the fairy.

Before Shoumo could even see clearly, the people of Qingfeng Mountain began to howl and scream, and in the blink of an eye, a whole group of them collapsed.

Pei Lingyou habitually focused her gaze on the strongest individuals in the crowd.

Two punches knocked him down, three punches injured him, four punches crippled him, and before the fifth punch even landed, Shoumo was terrified and rushed over to break up the fight:

"No, no, no, don't cause a death."

Pei Lingyou then gave up.

Although Shoumo was afraid that she would cause a big problem, he felt extremely happy to see the Qingfeng Mountain people, who had been arrogant and shameless just now, lying on the ground in a mess, groaning in pain.

When no one was looking, he secretly kicked her a few more times.

Pei Lingyou didn't even bother bringing the Crimson Jade Fox Bone Slash; her fists and feet were enough. After finishing, she stretched her wrists, looking like she had called it a day, and glanced down at the Green Peak Daoists scattered on the ground:

"Hmph, on my turf, no one dares to be more arrogant than me!"

No one thought this was wrong.

Pei Lingyou forgot that this was not the territory of the Hun Tian Gang, and Shou Mo and the disciples of the Tong Chen Sect also forgot that she was not a member of the Tong Chen Sect at all.

The Taoist priests on the ground dared not speak.

As early as when the Tongchen Sect started its advanced training program, they had heard that Hunshi Pei was here, and they were determined not to provoke him.

Unexpectedly, Pei Lingyou actually came to stand up for them when they were just bullying the Tongchen Sect.

Everyone only dared to look at Pei Lingyou with resentful eyes.

At this moment, Pingping, holding two golden maces, seemed somewhat unsatisfied:

"Senior Sister, I've only just warmed up!"

Pei Lingyou walked over and put her arm around Pingping's shoulder, squinting as she surveyed the crowd on the ground, then casually pointed to a few:

"Look at those guys, still glaring at each other. They're obviously not convinced! Go ahead and beat them into submission."

Pingping, upon receiving the order, happily responded, and the two iron hammers struck each other joyfully, making a loud "bang," like little ants wielding thunder hammers as they charged forward.

The people from Qingfeng Mountain had only heard of the notorious troublemaker Pei before, but had never dealt with him. They never expected that they would be beaten up after falling to the ground.

According to the rules of the martial arts world, once they have been defeated, they cannot be beaten again; that would be considered unsportsmanlike.

Unexpectedly, after Pingping finished greeting everyone a second time with the hammer, Pei Lingyou went over and patted Ren Wofei on the shoulder, saying:

"Those guys are so ugly, they make me angry. Go and fix their faces."

After Ren Wofei finished his fight, limping along, Pei Lingyou called Zhao Xingxing to the stage again. This time, the reason was that the people from Qingfeng Mountain were lying in a mess, not neatly, and not very aesthetically pleasing.

The fourth reason was why they were left suspended in mid-air when they were knocked down, crushing the straw.

The fifth time was a complaint that manure had soiled the "exquisite and precious" withered leaves in the fields.

The sixth time...

The seventh time...

It wasn't until everyone from Qingfeng Mountain had swollen heads like pigs, requiring their own parents to drip blood for them to recognize them, that Shoumo and the disciples of Tongchen Sect couldn't bear it and stepped forward to persuade them to stop, and only then did Pei Lingyou truly stop.

She smiled slightly and walked around the group of people from Qingfeng Mountain. Anyone who glanced at her trembled, and anyone who walked next to her was intimidated.

She glanced at the boundary marker that had been moved around, kicked it aside, picked up a twig from the ground, walked to the boundary of the truly fertile land that had been encroached upon by Qingfeng Mountain, stuck it into the ground, and said with a forced smile:

"From today onwards, anyone who dares to cross this branch on Qingfeng Mountain will be beaten by me. For every inch they cross, I'll beat them that many times. Clear the area now!"

The people of Qingfeng Mountain dared not utter a word. They had never heard of being beaten in "times" before, and before they could even finish cursing in their hearts, they saw Pei Lingyou stand with her hands on her hips, slowly counting something:

"one two three……"

Seeing that things were not going well, everyone gritted their teeth and struggled to their feet, helping each other along as they scrambled towards the tree branches at the edge of the border.

Despite their best efforts, a few slow runners still fell behind and received several slaps on the back of the head from Pei Lingyou.

The land that hadn't been reclaimed for years was resolved so swiftly and efficiently in less than fifteen minutes.

The people of Qingfeng Mountain were trembling with fear, not daring to cross the boundary line again. When the wind blew, they instinctively tried to protect the branch that Pei Lingyou had casually stuck in the ground, wishing they could build a stone wall to enclose the branch.

These scenes amazed, impressed, and delighted the disciples of Tongchen Sect.

Pei Lingyou smiled, her words carrying a hidden meaning:

"This is nothing!"

The disciples of Tongchen Sect thought she was going to fight again, so they all surrounded her and tried to persuade her to stop.

Shoumo was also afraid that Pei Lingyou's personality would cause some big trouble again. Now that Kuangye was not around, he was afraid that no one would be there to cover for him. However, Pei Lingyou just raised her wicked and smug eyebrows at Shoumo and said nothing.

By mid-afternoon, some of the people from Qingfeng Mountain who had sustained minor injuries were able to get out of bed.

Seeing their fellow disciples who were too injured to get out of bed, the group could only grit their teeth and grit their teeth as they went down the mountain to buy medicine for their injuries.

Pei Lingyou was already waiting at the entrance of the clinic.

She changed into tattered clothes, messed up her hair, and mixed mud with leftover sugar cakes that Pingping had eaten, smearing it on her face as scars to cover her appearance.

She sat at the entrance of the clinic closest to Qingfeng Mountain and the city, dangling a broken bowl in her hand.

And you know what? I actually received a few coins that afternoon.

The clinic was close to the city gate and the main road, with many people coming and going. Before long, she had earned more than forty coins in her bowl, which was much better than collecting protection money in Nuomi Lane.

Looking at the bowl overflowing with copper coins, Pei Lingyou couldn't help but fall into deep thought:

Damn, did I choose the wrong industry?

Is there really such a quick way to make money?