The Blade-Wielding Legend
Chapter 364 - 228: Raid on a Rainy Night

Chapter 364: Chapter 228: Raid on a Rainy Night

"General, General!"

A man in black hurried forward, nearly stumbling on the slick deck, and came before the old beggar, cupping his fists and bowing as he urgently said, "That river monster is fierce; poison might not drive it away."

The old beggar didn’t respond, only after the man in black called out again did he slowly turn his head and calmly look at the man, a faint red glint flickering in his eyes.

The man in black was not old, and as the old beggar’s gaze fell on him, he felt increasingly guilty and slowly lowered his head.

Oddly, the tension and fear seemed to vanish instead.

Only then did the old beggar speak indifferently, "Lin Silang, how many years have you followed me?"

The man in black immediately cupped his fists in reply, "Replying to the General, since you saved me, it has been ten years."

"Ten years..."

The old beggar sighed, "Time flows like water, too quickly; the boy of the past has grown into adulthood."

"Have you ever thought, the Great Xing Dynasty fell over a century ago, why would I still lead you to rebel?"

The young man in black solemnly said, "To show loyalty to the Emperor!"

"Bullshit!"

The old beggar spoke disdainfully, "Our lord hides in the mountains all day, he is not your father, why show him loyalty?"

The young man in black hesitated, "To repay a debt of gratitude?"

"Bullshit!"

The old beggar said coldly, "No matter how great the debt, risking life and death over so many years, it should have been repaid by now. If anything, the lord owes me more!"

The young man in black scratched his head, "Then... for what reason?"

The old beggar took a deep breath, stood up, and gazed into the distance,

"I once asked my father the same question, after all, I have never even seen what the Great Xing Dynasty was like!"

"Now, I can tell you the answer."

"We are the descendants of criminals, and you are all rootless mountain people, despised by everyone!"

"The Great Xuan Dynasty has been established for a hundred years; various forces have deep-rooted connections, and those who come and go in the court are always the same people. The rich stay rich, the poor stay poor; it’s hard to change."

"You can leave Longxiang Army, live as a commoner in peace, bullied by local gentry, exploited by officials, unable to study, without money to do business, generation after generation without hope of turning the tables!"

"Do you... accept that?"

"I refuse to accept it!"

The young man in black was clenching his teeth.

"We refuse to accept it too!"

All the men in black aboard the ship cupped their fists and bowed.

The old man’s voice was not loud, but it carried a certain power that reached everyone’s ears.

"The court sees us as rebels."

The old beggar humphed, "But Longxiang Army does the work of rebels! As long as you are in Longxiang Army, you won’t be the despicable commoners that everyone can bully. Princes and ministers, nobles and generals, do any of them actually have guts?!"

"Don’t look at those aristocratic families acting high and mighty; if we succeed, they will have to kneel at our feet, crying as they offer up their wives and daughters!"

"If you don’t succeed, one day, your descendants will!"

"If you’re scared, roll back to Yunyang to live as lowly commoners!"

"Are you afraid of dying?"

"Not afraid!"

The men in black roared angrily, their voices like a storm howling.

The distant river monster was startled and swam back and forth.

The old beggar nodded, looking towards the river monster with indifference, "It’s just a beast with Dao; you’re not even afraid of death, why fear it?"

On the ship, apart from these young men in black, there were three silent figures: a Confucian Scholar, an old Daoist, and a cold woman with a sword on her back.

The old beggar’s words could inspire the young, but to these few, it sounded like nonsense; their expressions unchanged, they surveyed their surroundings.

"Wen Daoist."

The old beggar suddenly spoke up, "The river monster has chains on its tail, with your extensive knowledge, can you tell which family’s technique this is?"

The old Confucian Scholar spoke in a hoarse voice, "The chains are covered with verdigris, ancient and not of this dynasty, they seem to be the work of Fang Xian Dao."

"Fang Xian Dao?"

The old beggar frowned, "A relic buried in the annals, any worth it had would have been absorbed by other Magic Veins long ago, could it still have a lineage?"

"Not necessarily."

The Confucian Scholar’s voice was hoarse, gazing into the distance, he pondered, "During the Qin and Han dynasties, Fang Xian Dao was flourishing; many emperors and nobles sought their help to lay hidden traps in their tombs."

"I’ve seen the secret manuals of the Tomb Guardian Beast lineage; Fang Xian Dao had a Secret Technique to capture demon beasts and suppress them in tombs, using strategic manipulation to raise tomb guardians."

The old beggar’s brows furrowed, "So the river monster has been alive since the Qin or Han dynasty?"

"Of course not."

The Confucian Scholar shook his head, "The Secret Technique of Fang Xian Dao has not been lost. I heard it was acquired by some among the craftsmen, who specialize in constructing graves for royals and nobles."

"Normally, this method involves raising the demon beast while alive and burying Soul Suppressing Nails within its body, so that once dead, it becomes a powerful beast ghost, continuing to guard the tomb."

"It seems this tomb has met with an accident. Moreover, the entrance is underwater. If you inquire among grave robbers, you should be able to find out its location."

"Oh, I see."

The old beggar lost interest upon hearing this, scoffing, "I thought those Tusi had grown a brain, knowing to use river monsters to block the riverways, cutting off supply transport; turns out it was just a fluke."

"Daoist, you are well-versed in Gu Technique; can you control this monster?"

The Confucian Scholar shook his head, "That’s impossible, using Gu in water is a technique of the Dan family magicians from Min State, never shared with outsiders."

"Then let it be."

The old beggar pondered, "What a pity, if we could control this monster, we could cut off the throat of Hubei and Sichuan. Liu Mei, when you have time later, have someone from the Gu lineage inquire for any news, see if the source of the monster can be found."

"Yes!"

The sword-bearing woman responded coldly.

Having said that, the old beggar looked again towards Xiling Gorge.

In the dark of night, a single point of light was exceptionally conspicuous on the mountainside.

The old beggar’s eyes showed a hint of mockery, "The men from the Captain Bureau think they can set up a trap to catch me, not realizing that we have been in hiding for years, would we not have our own spies inserted?"