Gou Zai Xianwu Wenjing Search for Opportunities

evening.

Lin Yuan and Hu Cai arrived at the main hall of Li Shi's house. The two were dressed in close-fitting clothes, with leg wraps, tight belts, and hand guards. They even carried a face mask in their pockets, which they could wear if needed.

Inside the hall sat three constables from the pavilions and two members of the Li family, one of whom was Li Si from the Outer Martial Arts Hall.

Li Si was in the early stage of the Bone Forging Realm, just entering the ranks of ninth-grade martial artists. He held the identity of a bronze-level retainer in the Li family mansion and also worked as a steward in the outer martial arts hall. He occasionally took on some business introduced by acquaintances, and his life was quite comfortable.

His cultivation level was the highest among everyone, so he was obviously there to keep order and naturally received the most silver.

Lin Yuan and his companion bowed to the crowd before taking their seats.

Li Shi began by saying, "This dragon whisker and golden bud is our Li family's business! Those bastards from the Black Snake Gang always overstep their bounds, not only stealing the goods but also killing members of the caravan. They..."

I thought I could get away with it quietly, but this time I'm going to seize the opportunity and take both the people and the goods. I'll see what the village head has to say later...

However, everyone should be careful. These people have been in the underworld for many years. Sun Jingang is in the mid-stage of Body Tempering Realm and knows the Black Snake Fist and Black Snake Knife Technique. He also has six or seven junior subordinates who are in the early stages of learning martial arts, as well as a group of henchmen who don't know martial arts.

You don't need to worry, we have Martial Master Deacon Li here, and we also have martial artists like you and me who have completed body tempering..."

Li Shi glanced around at the crowd and noticed that only Zhao Sheng and one of the Li family's thieves were still in the mid-stage of Body Tempering. He then saw that Hu Cai had already reached the Perfect Body Tempering stage, surpassing him, and even Lin Yuan was in the late stage, surpassing Zhao Sheng and just catching up. He immediately glanced at Zhao Sheng, feeling a sense of comparison, and said irritably:

"Dog, go and get the broadsword and two pieces of armor to distribute among everyone."

"Yes, Uncle." Zhao Sheng didn't mind and immediately distributed the swords and armor to everyone.

Everyone was dressed neatly.

"It's about time, let's go!"

Just then, a doorman came to report that a young man named Wu Yong had arrived.

Li Shi had heard Zhao Sheng mention this person and found it rather strange, because Wu Yong was indeed from the powerful Wu family. However, his family was somewhat special, and he had an unreliable father, so he had no choice but to seek refuge in the Li family to learn martial arts. Li Shi couldn't help but wonder why he was involved in this fighting and killing.

However, Li Shi was happy to bring him on board. Having someone with connections would bring many advantages later on and would make others more wary: "Quickly, invite him in!"

Zhao Sheng immediately prepared a broadsword and two pieces of light armor for Wu Yong. After they were dressed, the group went to the stables in the front yard.

"Mount up!" Li Shi waved his hand, and servants brought over the well-fed horses, most of which had just been borrowed from the pavilion.

Lin Yuan and Hu Cai exchanged a glance; neither of them had studied this before, so they really didn't know how.

Wu Yong, on the other hand, mounted his horse with agility, and even Zhao Sheng leaped onto his horse in one go, as he had practiced in the pavilion.

Li Shi looked at the two of them and laughed, "I forgot, you two haven't learned to ride horses yet. How about this, you two ride slowly and follow behind us."

So Lin Yuan had no choice but to follow their example and mount his horse.

The group left the mansion through the side gate, avoiding the crowds, and ran wildly towards Yubei Village.

To avoid falling off, Lin Yuan had to squeeze the horse's belly tightly and grip the mane with both hands. If he hadn't practiced martial arts for more than half a year, he really wouldn't have been able to ride steadily.

If you want to climb the ladder, you have to learn everything.

Hu Cai wasn't much better off either; he was also trying his best to persevere, but the two of them could only ride on horseback, and they weren't very good at controlling their speed, so the horses slowed down as they ran.

Wu Yong and Zhao Sheng, on the other hand, seemed relaxed and carefree. They deliberately slowed down to wait for the two of them, which caused them to fall behind the main group.

Li Shi brought these guys along with the intention of training them, but he didn't expect them to be the first to lead the way. Seeing that they were lagging behind, he didn't mind. After telling Zhao Sheng the agreed meeting place, he led the group ahead.

……

Willow head on the moon, after dusk.

Lin Yuan and his three companions finally arrived at the agreed location before dark, a small mountain valley ten miles north of Yubei Village, but there was no one around.

"Where are they?" Zhao Sheng asked.

"I don't know!" The three looked at each other in bewilderment.

"They haven't finished fighting, have they?" Hu Cai asked in surprise.

Lin Yuan gritted his teeth and sighed, realizing he probably wouldn't earn much money this time: "This time it was my fault. I'll have to learn how to ride a horse more."

Just then, a figure flashed out. It was Li Shi: "What are you muttering about on horseback? Hurry up and get off, hide in the horse's tether. We'll walk the rest of the way when it gets dark."

According to Li Shi's plan, they were to launch a surprise attack under the moonlight after dark, once the Black Snake Gang members were asleep, in order to prevent them from setting fire to the tea.

The four men tied up their horses and arrived at the gathering place, where someone was waiting for them. It seemed this had been arranged in advance.

Li Shi whispered a few words to the man, then addressed the crowd: "This tea is more precious than their lives. Be careful when you make your move. Keep your eyes open when you swing your knives. It's okay if they all escape, but don't ruin the tea..."

Everyone nodded in agreement; they were all there to earn extra money and wouldn't turn down money.

As darkness fell, the group waited for an hour.

At this moment, the silver moon hangs obliquely, its light filling the sky and turning the earth silvery-white.

"That's about enough, let's go. No talking on the way, and walk quietly!"

Li Shi and his accomplices led the group off, while Lin Yuan and the others kept silent and followed quietly.

Half an hour later, they found a house a few miles east of Yubei Village. This was originally Zhao Jingang's private residence, a secluded place where they could hide people and goods.

The house was built on a steep cliff, with steep cliffs on three sides, making it difficult to climb; only one side was accessible.

Since Zhao Jingang was arrested, the Zhao family's house was ransacked, and the place has long been abandoned. However, there is a secret room under the house, which Sun Jingang occupied and hid the goods inside.

Under the cover of night, the group climbed over the wall into the front yard, where they found it dilapidated and abandoned for a long time.

The spring nights were still a bit chilly, and no one was out walking around at that time.

The person who was there to meet them gestured and pointed to the location.

The goods were in a secret room in the backyard. There were guards in the house in the front yard, but no lights were on. So the group quietly bypassed the front yard and came to the back yard.

The people in the front yard were sleeping soundly, and no one noticed; they had little vigilance or discipline.

At this moment, a dim yellow oil lamp was lit in the main house in the backyard, and there were about ten people gambling inside.

Li Shi gave the signal, and two constables broke down the door and entered, with Li Si following closely behind.

Lin Yuan and the other three stayed outside to block the doors and windows, and each of them took turns guarding a spot.

Soon, the sounds of candlelight and swords filled the room, creating chaos. Several people jumped out of the window and escaped.

Lin Yuan had been hiding by the window. When he saw someone jump out, he was overjoyed and immediately slashed at them with his sword.

This time, his strength was far greater than when he killed the bandits last time. Even though he hadn't practiced knife skills, his strength and speed were sufficient.

The man was in mid-air and had nowhere to put his weight on. The broadsword instantly slashed at his waist, and he cried out and fell to the ground.

Lin Yuan immediately followed up with two more strikes. This time, he intentionally tested whether the mirror could absorb the vengeful spirit of the person he had just killed. As he struck, he moved closer, fearing the spirit would dissipate prematurely. He quickly placed his hand on the man's forehead and said to Hu Cai behind him, "Senior Brother Hu, protect me!"

"They're here! Is Junior Brother alright?" Hu Cai and Zhao Sheng had just killed a henchman when they heard Lin Yuan shout, and they immediately came over to protect him.

Seeing that Hu Cai was protecting him, Lin Yuan immediately closed his eyes and focused on his sea of ​​consciousness. Before he could even summon the mirror to work, he discovered that there was a small person in the mirror.

It was the very person he had just killed.

He didn't have time to think, and immediately opened his eyes, exclaiming in no more than five breaths, "All done!"

The massacre was quickly quelled in less than fifteen minutes. The group of henchmen in the front yard, hearing the commotion and seeing that the people in the back yard had been either killed or captured alive, scattered like birds and beasts.

Lin Yuan and his three companions killed three men and captured two others alive. They then stopped pursuing the enemy, assigning Hu Cai and Wu Yong, who were the most skilled in martial arts, to guard the front yard, while Lin Yuan and Zhao Sheng continued to guard the back yard. The four of them guarded the entrances and exits, keeping watch and preventing anyone from setting fires or blocking the gates.

Fifteen minutes later, Li Shi came out: "The tea is all here, this trip wasn't in vain! Two of you four stay and guard the front yard..."

"Uncle, Senior Brother Hu and Senior Brother Wu are guarding the front yard," Zhao Sheng said.

"Hey, not bad." Li Shi laughed heartily. "Lin Yuan, you're good at accounting and bookkeeping, go in and check the tea supplies."

"Okay!"

Lin Yuan accepted the order and entered the house, where he found three or five Black Snake Gang disciples who had been captured alive, tied up. He glanced around and saw neither Sun Jingang among the living nor the dead.

He's obviously not here tonight; his trusted men are just keeping watch.

Lin Yuan arrived at the underground secret room and found packets of oiled paper tea bags piled up, filling half of the room.

An ounce of gold for an ounce of tea, how much the hell would that cost!