The Blade-Wielding Legend
Chapter 306 - 198 The Undercurrent Begins to Show_2

Chapter 306: Chapter 198 The Undercurrent Begins to Show_2

Huang Qianhu, standing by, saw and seemed to guess what they were thinking. He calmly opened his mouth, "Don’t worry, apart from the remnants of the Heavenly Saint Sect, no harm will come to the elderly or children; they will be arranged to live in a specially opened Refugee Village."

"The land there is fertile and the environment is much better than here. As long as they cultivate the land peacefully and do not associate with the Heavenly Saint Sect, they can live peacefully until old age."

Wang Daoxuan, however, shook his head slightly, "Although the mountains and forests are dangerous, there is no one to control them. The common people are not livestock, and it’s not enough just to have food to eat. Moreover, if their forebears are beheaded, the hatred will only be buried in their hearts."

"All the hatred will be scattered by time!"

Huang Qianhu’s expression did not change, he said coldly, "Under the whole sky, is it not the king’s land? If they had stayed quietly in the mountains, that would be one thing, but some people are restless, and will ultimately be used as pawns."

"If they had stayed peacefully in the mountains, the case in Shangjin City would not have occurred!"

Wang Daoxuan sighed and said no more.

Lv San hesitated for a moment, then said, "Can’t we just catch the evildoers?"

"No."

Huang Qianhu shook his head directly, "Some villains are best at bewitching people with ghosts and Gu. This place is certainly a stronghold of the Heavenly Saint Sect."

"My office is here just to arrest people. If things get bigger in the future, it will be the army that comes, and the entire village will be razed to the ground, not a blade of grass left!"

Seemingly not wanting to say more to the others, he quickened his pace and ordered in a deep voice: "Release the guard dogs, search carefully!"

The Captain Bureau had brought several guard dogs up the mountain, but their mouths were muzzled, and they had been trained not to make a sound.

Woof woof woof!

As soon as the muzzles were removed, they let out a chaotic barking.

They were leading ferocious dogs, searching all over the village.

Soon, they made a discovery.

"Sir, there’s a secret passage here!"

"The people inside have fainted!"

"Get them all out!"

Inside a large house near the pond, the men from the Captain Bureau found a secret passage that had been completely hollowed out underneath, with many people working inside.

As the things inside were carried out one by one, not just Li Yan, but everyone else’s complexion changed dramatically.

Charcoal, saltpetre, sulfur, animal fat...

This was clearly a gunpowder production site, and while it was just ordinary black gunpowder, the amount was truly astonishing—enough to blow up the entire Shangjin City.

In another house on the other side of the pond, there was an area for making firearms, with not only ordinary explosive packs but also some extremely precise firearms, such as fiery oil carts and fire thorns.

"Goodness, so it was here!"

Huang Qianhu’s eyes were filled with surprise, and even Liu Hundred Households standing nearby was trembling with excitement, exclaiming, "Sir, in all the states of Shaanxi, Yu, Hubei, and Hunan, gunpowder is leaking into the black market, and we have never been able to trace the source. We might have stumbled upon a big fish..."

Upon hearing this, Li Yan and the others exchanged glances.

The case of the ancient tomb gunpowder in Chang’an City, the people from the Captain Bureau had never been able to find the source. It turned out to be in this Jing Chu Mountain area.

This was getting serious.

You should know that making gunpowder isn’t easy; manpower is just one part, and many materials have to be transported back from other states.

Distributing for sale in other states would also involve passing through numerous checkpoints.

How many people were involved in this?

Just thinking about it was hair-raising...

Seeing this, Li Yan made up his mind completely.

He absolutely could not wade into these muddy waters any longer!

He activated Yang Jue and wandered around the village.

Finally, he stopped in front of the village’s ancestral hall.

Inside the ancestral hall, torches blazed fiercely, with quite a few soldiers searching. The Captain Bureau’s men were also leading guard dogs all over the place.

Here, Li Yan, with his Divine Skills, could not smell a trace of anything.

However, the Hook Paper started to grow warm.

He walked in, unconcerned.

"Mr. Li, good to see you!"

Several soldiers and men from the Captain Bureau nodded in greeting immediately.

Although Li Yan’s cooperation with Huang Qianhu was temporary, and there had been some friction, his capabilities were respected by everyone.

"Found anything?"

Li Yan asked casually, pretending to be calm.

A young man from the Captain Bureau stepped forward and said with a bow, "Mr. Li, this is the village’s ancestral hall. According to the inscription on the stele, they are from the Lu family of Yu State. They relocated here during the turmoil of the Song and Jin wars."

"Moreover, they piously worship Heavenly Saint."

With that, he pointed inside the ancestral hall.

Li Yan looked up and saw a Divine Statue standing tall on the shrine in the ancestral hall. It was a rather tall figure, with raised eyebrows, deep-set features, long whiskers falling to the chest, and an aura of dominance.

Looking at the facial features, there seemed to be some foreign lineage.

What’s more crucial was that this so-called "Heavenly Saint" was dressed in a ceremonial robe and crown, embroidered with the sun, moon, and stars.

This is a specification only available to an emperor.

"Really asking for death..."

Upon seeing this, Li Yan couldn’t help but shake his head slightly.

"Indeed asking for death!" Huang Qianhu also walked in, his face darkening as he saw the Divine Statue, "I’ve long heard that the Heavenly Saint Sect worships the dead as Divine Lords, attempting to regather their forces and cause chaos."

"Hmph, alive they were beheaded, dead they’re worthless!"

"It’s not him I’m talking about."

Li Yan shook his head slightly, and when he approached the pillar of the shrine, his long blade suddenly trembled and with a thrust, pierced into the pillar.

Bang!

The wood splinters burst apart, and a figure leapt out, bald and robed in black— it was that fleeing monk, putting in great effort.

The opponent was also cunning.

Ordinary people would hide in cellars or inside Divine Statues, but he hollowed out the shrine’s pillar, and who knows what method he used, he was able to evade detection from hunting dogs and Divine Skills.

If it weren’t for the Hook Paper heating up, Li Yan truly wouldn’t have found this person.

"Cur seeks death!"

The monk, upon being found, was immediately enraged.

His martial skills were extraordinary, clearly having reached the peak of Hidden Energy. With several palms, he sent the surrounding soldiers flying, crashing into walls, spurting fresh blood from their mouths.

"Vigorous Vajra Palm?"

Huang Qianhu scoffed coldly, his hand swiped, and with a clanking sound, he surprisingly pulled out a flexible sword. Its blade danced like snow and frost, ready to rush forward and confront the enemy.

Li Yan, of course, had already struck with his blade.

He used craftiness, as if weaving through space.

At that moment, the hardworking monk suddenly took a copper pipe from his bosom and yanked on the iron chain attached to it.

Damn it!

Li Yan’s scalp exploded, he quickly dodged, and also took the opportunity to kick Huang Qianhu, who was following closely behind, sending him flying.

It was the Netherworld Fire Pistol!

He had obtained two before, naturally knowing their power.

After using them all up, he even disassembled them, hoping to recreate them or find the method of their creation.

However, the mechanism inside was not only ingeniously made, but the formula for phosphorus fire and fats were also unclear.

Unexpectedly, he encountered it again here.

As for Huang Qianhu, whether Lv San could escape the warrant, he still needed this man’s help, Li Yan naturally wouldn’t let him die.

His kick was so strong that Huang Qianhu flew directly backwards, hitting a pillar, getting so dizzy that he saw stars.

But just as he was about to curse in anger, his heart was shocked.

Whoosh~

The scalding Flowing Fire spewed out, grease splattered everywhere, even burning brightly when splashed on the ground, smoke billowing.

Huang Qianhu was startled and quickly hid behind a pillar.

The hardworking monk, seeing several people escaping and a large number of soldiers yet to arrive outside the shrine, clenched his teeth, his eyes filled with determination.

He untied the incense bag at his waist, took out a shriveled heart, and placed it to his mouth with a fierce inhale.

In a flash, a mighty yin wind howled.

A visible purple smoke surged from the heart and was inhaled into his mouth.

"heehee... hahaha!"

It seemed as if a woman’s eerie laughter echoed in the wind.

At the same time, the hardworking monk’s body trembled, his head swaying unnaturally back and forth, blood vessels bursting in his eyes, completely turning blood red.

Swoosh!

His figure flashed, with astonishingly quick movement, instantly reaching next to the wall, grabbing a fainted soldier.

With one motion, his hand broke through the soldier’s chest and abdomen, grabbed the wildly beating heart, and inhaled lightly at it.

Blood and vapor transformed into a red mist, all of them pouring into his mouth, the eerie aura on his body growing stronger.

"Demon!"

Huang Qianhu’s scalp went numb as he watched.

On the other side, Li Yan already held the Hook Paper, concurrently forming an incantation with his hands, intoning solemnly, "Heaven has its cycles, earth has its guidelines, Yin Bureau captures souls, living people keep away!"

Instantly, the yin wind ceased.

A formless force rose from the ground, and the entire shrine immediately turned cold and chilling, all the firelights extinguished.

In complete darkness within the shrine, Li Yan felt the surrounding noise vanish in an instant, as if in the state of meditating.

Clatter clatter... the sound of chains was heard.

At this moment, everyone could hear it.

Simultaneously in the darkness, the hardworking monk’s mouth produced a sharp woman’s voice, followed by the sounds of chains disappearing...