It was dawn. The wind and rain stopped in the early hours of the morning. When the people who stayed at the land temple came out of the hall, the sky outside was clear. Everyone set off. The caravan left some firewood and supplies in the wooden shed next to the temple for the later comers to use. Zhang Yuan watched Ji Haoran and his family of three leave with the caravan. According to the scholar, he was forced to go to Guangyuan Prefecture to seek refuge with relatives because of a change in his family. And Qing'an County, where Zhang Yuan was going, was not on the same road as the other party. So they parted ways here. Although everyone met by chance.
But because of what happened last night, Ji Haoran and his wife thanked Zhang Yuan profusely. They said goodbye reluctantly. Zhang Yuan watched the long caravan go farther and farther, then got on his horse and continued his journey. He galloped all the way and arrived at Qing'an County in the afternoon. Qing'an County is more than 300 miles away from Linhe County. The former belongs to Shangxian County, with a larger population than Linhe County and more prosperous. When Zhang Yuan arrived, there was a long queue at the city gate! He got off his horse and followed the team, paying the entrance fee in a proper manner. Zhang Yuan noticed that there was a row of reward notices posted on the wall outside the city gate. One of the notices aroused his interest. The target of this reward notice was a group of strong men called "Black Mountain Bandits". This reminded Zhang Yuan of the group of black-clothed men he killed last night. He searched the leader for a token. The word "mountain" was engraved on it! Zhang Yuan suspected that he had killed a group of Black Mountain Bandits. The reason why it was called a group was because the reward notice contained words such as "brutal and bloodthirsty", "rampant lawlessness" and "large numbers" to describe the Black Mountain Bandits. As long as you can provide relevant clues about the Black Mountain Bandits, you can get a high reward from the Qing'an County Government. But Zhang Yuan will definitely not get it. All the salvation is over.
Leading his mount, Zhang Yuan entered the county town through the city gate. There were shops on both sides of the street, and merchants and travelers were rubbing shoulders with each other. The sounds of shouting, calling, hawking, and noise were heard one after another, showing a prosperous scene. Zhang Yuan walked among the crowd for a while, and then found an inn on the street to stay. After settling down, he took a hot bath in the room first. Because he chose an expensive upper room, the service was quite thoughtful. After taking a bath, he asked the waiter to take away the bathtub, and Zhang Yuan closed the door and began to take a detailed inventory of last night's gains. As a result, he found that he had looted more than 1,300 taels of silver from the group of black-clothed men! In addition to silver and money, the biggest gain was undoubtedly the "Blood Evil Palm" secret book. Zhang Yuan read this martial arts secret book from beginning to end. As for the secret book itself, its texture and material are not comparable to ordinary handwritten copies. The content inside is illustrated with pictures and texts, recording the training methods and martial arts moves of "Blood Evil Palm", and there are a lot of annotations. Zhang Yuan was secretly shocked when he saw it. Because the requirements for practicing "Blood Evil Palm" are quite high. First of all, the most basic requirement for entry is the second-level dark power, and only men can practice it, and it is best to have a body without yang! The first step of practice is to collect the heart and blood of four kinds of beasts: tiger, leopard, bear and pig. There are many more conditions later. In contrast, "Rock Pillar Skill", which requires the purchase of medicinal materials to soak in medicinal baths to assist in practice, is completely on a different level. It is a real krypton gold martial arts. But the power of "Blood Evil Palm" is amazing. After practicing it, it can not only ignite blood and burn the enemy's internal organs, but also has a strong killing effect on weirdness. This palm method can even be combined with the Burning Blood Art to further enhance its power! It is more than one level higher than the Shocking Wave Palm that Zhang Yuan has mastered. This makes Zhang Yuan quite excited. However, although he was tempted, he kept the secret book close to his body after reading it, without any intention of practicing it. Zhang Yuan was ordered to come to Qing'an County. With a mission in hand, how could he have the mind to study new martial arts! When night fell, Zhang Yuan left the inn. Carrying his bag, he strolled around this completely unfamiliar county town. He walked and looked, his eyes roaming around. Zhang Yuan stopped until he found a secret mark.
The secret mark was marked under a column, and it looked like a graffiti by a naughty child. It was easy to overlook it if you didn't pay attention. And this column belonged to a three-story restaurant. Because it was dinner time, the restaurant was bustling with people and business was booming, and the lobby was almost full. Zhang Yuan went in and asked, and was arranged by the waiter to sit in a corner. Only this double table was still empty. Zhang Yuan didn't care, and casually ordered a few dishes from the "dish list" hanging behind the counter. He ordered another pot of rice wine. After sending the waiter away, Zhang Yuan took a pair of chopsticks and placed them on the table, and then put a teacup upside down. Then he waited quietly. Before Zhang Yuan could wait for the food and wine to arrive, a middle-aged man with ordinary appearance sat down opposite him, bowed and said: "Young man, can you help me share the table?" Zhang Yuan glanced at the other person: "There are guests." The middle-aged man asked: "Where are the guests from?" Zhang Yuan smiled: "By water." The middle-aged man asked again: "What kind of ship is it?" Zhang Yuan tapped the table with his fingers twice: "Go with the flow." The middle-aged man's eyes fixed: "I am Zhan Peng, may I ask your name?" Zhang Yuan nodded: "Zhang Yuan from the War Hall." Although Zhang Yuan came to Qing'an County alone, there are spies from the Whale Gang here to pick him up. What he just said to the other party was the incision, which is the gang code. If it matches, it is one of us, if it doesn't match, we will kill! Zhan Peng said solemnly: "So it's Master Zhang Xiang in person, should we talk somewhere else?" "Let's eat something first." Zhang Yuan waved his hand: "I just came here and haven't had dinner yet." "Sorry." Zhan Peng apologized: "You can order whatever you want, I'll treat you to this meal!" Zhang Yuan did not comment. When the wine and food came, he politely invited the other party to eat together.
As a result, Zhan Peng said that he had already eaten. Zhang Yuan did not force him, and ate heartily on his own. After eating and drinking, the two left the restaurant and found a private room in a nearby teahouse. Then they started to talk business. Zhang Yuan came to this strange county this time, and his main task was to kill people. The target's name was Zhao Rongbin, nicknamed "Qing'an Tiger". He not only had a deep relationship with Meng Hu, the leader of the Linhe County Tiger Gang, but was also said to be a distant relative. The Whale Gang received reliable information that Zhao Rongbin had participated in the attack on the merchant ship belonging to the Linhe Branch. This was the purpose of Zhang Yuan's appearance in Qing'an today. He came to fight tigers! —— I would like to ask for monthly ticket support at the end of the month, thank you everyone!
