The author

Chapter 200 Li Guanyi and the Sword Maniac

Pang Shuiyun.

One of the twenty-four generals of the Taiping Army and one of the chief strategists.

One of the five great men of the previous generation.

Known as Feifeng.

Li Guanyi knew this famous general and strategist very well. Pang Shuiyun smiled and said, "Today is a long night, young master, why don't you follow me for a while? If there is anything you don't understand, you can chat with me."

Li Guan nodded. When he lowered his eyes, he saw that the silver-haired girl had gone somewhere and was hiding. Knowing that as a disciple of the Astronomy School, Yaoguang seemed to deliberately avoid some people, Li Guan just said calmly, "Please come in, sir."

Pang Shuiyun smiled and nodded.

He and Li Guanyi walked together on this quiet road in the night.

Li Guanyi told Pang Shuiyun a rough outline of his plan. Pang Shuiyun said in a gentle tone, "Your plan is simple, but also direct and effective. All I can do is to give it a push. As for Zhenbei City, because of Chen Dingye, the power structure here is a product of checks and balances among all parties."

"After tonight, Zhenbei City will undergo earth-shaking changes."

"The general desires the rights to this mighty city."

"The forces of the three parties, namely, the military honor, the aristocratic family, and the military school, are intertwined, so there is the possibility of winning over, suppressing, and dividing. Zhenbei City is like a treasure. There will be conflicts around this city, and where there are conflicts, there will be room for people like us to play."

"But this backup plan cannot be used now."

"If we come with the momentum, the leverage we have over the two generals will make them turn to us. But at this moment, you are just a knight-errant, and I am just a teacher. They will just make up their minds and sink the two of us into the river."

Pang Shuiyun smiled and said, "So, Zhenbeicheng's backhand looks sweet and delicious, but it is poisonous. Let's leave it here today."

Li Guanyi said: "Sir, what do you think we should do?"

Pang Shuiyun stroked his beard and said gently, "To be honest, I am not from the military school. I know nothing about military battle formations and tactics. I am not as good as many of my colleagues. When it comes to discussing the remaining strategies of kings and hegemons and the key points of reliance, I seem to be one day better."

"Given the current situation, there is only one word - [go]."

"The forces here will experience great changes. Young Master, if you stay here, you will be stuck. The seeds have been planted, and it will take several years for them to sprout and grow. Before that, you should go to Tianxia."

"But you can't leave today."

"Right now, the entire Zhenbei City is in the most tense state."

"It seems relaxed, but it is extremely dangerous to go from the inside to the outside. Let him be tense for a few days, and suddenly, it will be very relaxed. That will be the chance for the young master to leave here..." Pang Shuiyun and Li Guanyi moved forward all the way, and after analyzing the situation in Zhenbei City, they had arrived at the Xue Family Bank.

In Xue's bank, Xue Zhaoji and others were getting anxious. Li Guanyi sacrificed his life for the sake of his life. Now all the plans were realized. The cavalry of Yue Family Army galloped away, and the soldiers of Zhenbei City were mobilized inside. Everything was as expected, but Li Guanyi didn't know what was going on.

Just when Xue Zhaoji couldn't help but want to mobilize the Xue family to take a look, a laugh came: "Don't worry, everyone, Li Guanyi is fine."

Xue Zhaoji was overjoyed, turned around and looked, and sure enough, he saw the young Taoist walking towards him.

Although his face was a little pale, he was in high spirits and was not injured. He was relieved. Then Xue Zhaoji saw that there was a gentle old man next to Li Guanyi with a puzzled look. The old man smiled slightly and said:

"My surname is Pang, and I am a clerk under the Young Master's command."

Xue Zhaoji did not think much about it, but just called for people to come. Li Guanyi changed his clothes and took a bath. There were wounds on his body, but none of them were deep and the bleeding had stopped. Li Guanyi changed into clean clothes, but still tied his hair with a wooden hairpin. When he came out, Xue Zhaoji had already prepared medicinal wine, snacks and the like.

Pang Shuiyun looked at Li Guanyi and said gently:

"I heard that the young master has an estate called Changfeng Tower. I wonder if you could show it to me."

Li Guan nodded, and Xue Zhaoji naturally told Pang Shuiyun everything about Changfeng Tower. He originally thought that this elegant old man did not understand this kind of intelligence organization, so there was a bit of boasting in his words. However, he never expected that Pang Shuiyun only asked a few simple questions, which made Xue Zhaoji find it difficult to answer.

He pondered again and asked a few more questions.

Xue Zhaoji, an old man with a firm mind and who had experienced many hardships, was sweating on his face. Pang Shuiyun looked at Li Guanyi and smiled, "Young Master, if you don't think I am overstepping my authority, can I renovate the Changfeng Tower?"

Li Guanyi believes in leaving professional matters to professionals and said cheerfully:

"Just do it yourself, Mr. Pang!"

Pang Shuiyun smiled and nodded.

Li Guanyi was extremely tired today. Now that he had relaxed, his strong body needed a lot of energy. He ate enough high-energy food for twenty people by himself. After those things went into his stomach, they were quickly consumed by his strong internal organs.

Some bruises appeared on the skin and then slowly disappeared.

The intense fatigue made Li Guanyi fall asleep quickly.

While he was sleeping, he vaguely felt that his window was pried open from the outside.

Then a silver-haired girl who had disappeared on the way came in.

Li Guanyi's vigilance just rose up and then dissipated. He fell asleep with his eyes closed. When he woke up, the sunlight from outside had poured in through the gaps in his trance, shining on Li Guanyi's face, making it warm.

Li Guanyi turned over, but did not see Yaoguang. He frowned. Was it just his illusion yesterday? While thinking, he came out of the house, washed up, ate food, and strolled out. The security outside was much stricter than usual.

The city lord has been directly imprisoned by the three generals.

All the former confidants of the City Lord's Mansion were brought out and beheaded. Their crimes were read out and the people cheered.

Li Guanyi took a look, turned around and went back, resting for several days.

Pang Shuiyun restructured the specifications of the entire Changfeng Tower. Compared with the pure underworld intelligence organization and the commercial intelligence organization that Mr. Xue is good at, after the restructuring, it is more like a professional scout spy organization.

The young man looked at those strict divisions, styles, and a very subtle point——

Extreme efficiency brings considerable savings.

Compared with the past, we saved at least 30%.

Pang Shuiyun’s answer to this is:

"After all, the lord is very poor." Seeing the young man dumbfounded, the old strategist with white hair smiled with a nostalgic feeling: "The lord always thinks of himself as an old farmer, so he will definitely find ways to save some money when he can."

"Of course, using spies is not without spending money. If the army has no intelligence, it is like being blind. The loss is more than just the small amount of money spent on using spies."

During this period of time, Pang Shuiyun has been mobilizing forces to do something unknown.

On the one hand, many rumors were spread.

On the other hand, Li Guanyi's actions were exaggerated to make him famous. One day, the young man went out to keep an appointment to meet Ji Yanzhong. He arrived a little early and went to a teahouse to wait.

There was a storyteller in the teahouse, and he banged the gavel and talked about what happened in the city lord's mansion a few days ago. He talked about the treacherous heroes in the martial arts world, the Yuwen family, and how cruel the city lord was. He also talked about how the young hero went to the banquet alone in order to expose the treachery of the Ying state.

He also rescued Yue's army outside the city. He was brave and resourceful, and was an extraordinary person despite his young age.

He spoke eloquently and enthusiastically, and was very eloquent, which attracted the tea guests around to listen subconsciously. Finally, the old storyteller slammed the gavel in his hand heavily on the table, making a loud bang, which made people tremble in their hearts.

The storyteller sat on top of it, glanced over, and said loudly:
"Who do you think this man is? He is the one who killed the treacherous prime minister in Jiangzhou City, showed off his power in Guanyi City, and fought all over the Central Plains, Jiangnan, the Western Regions, and the desert with a halberd. He is a man from Qinwu County, a unicorn in troubled times, and Li Guanyi of the Li family!"

The audience cheered.

Copper coins were thrown all over the floor.

The storyteller continued: "Let's talk about Li Guanyi..."

On the second floor, Li Guanyi, who was killing time and waiting to meet Ji Yanzhong, wanted to jump off the building with his face covered. Pang Shuiyun said that fame actually has enormous power. If you don't occupy it, others will occupy it, so you might as well eat up the fame first.

The three generals in this city did things, but they were not willing to talk about them openly.

Then let us take over this reputation.

The young man was surprised and asked him if he shouldn't hide.
Pang Shuiyun laughed and said, "Only heroes can attract heroes. If you want to live in seclusion in the mountains, you should hide it. Otherwise, you must have a great reputation. If you want to achieve great things, how can you be restrained?"

"You don't have any fame in the world. Why would those famous scholars, writers, and military officers who are thousands of miles away come here? If you rely on yourself to look for them one by one, how long will it take to find them?"

"If the world's number one general goes to war, his reputation alone will be enough to shock the world."

He advised again, "The morale of the three armies can be taken away, and the heart of the general can be taken away. Therefore, the morale of the army is sharp in the morning, lazy during the day, and retreating in the evening. A good general avoids the sharpness of the army and strikes the lazy and retreating army. This is how to control the morale. Treat chaos with order and treat uproar with calm. This is how to control the heart."

"If there are famous generals in the army and they have great reputations throughout the country, the morale of the three armies will be high."

"Young Master, it will take time to build up your reputation, so you should start as soon as possible."

"Don't wait until you need this reputation in the future and find out you don't have it. It will be too late then."

The counselor hesitated for a moment, but still gave a deeper reason:
"Besides, when the young master returns with his troops one day, it will be considered an "invasion of the State of Chen" no matter what."

"In the eyes of the people, is it easier for a righteous hero who was forced to leave his homeland and now comes back to save the world to win the hearts of the people? Or is it easier for a vicious wanted criminal to come here with a cavalry? This is self-evident."

"This move is to win the hearts and minds of the people."

"Fake reputations and the like are all fake. Making the people feel good about the young master is the real thing."

Pang Shuiyun spoke in a gentle tone and tried to explain things as clearly as possible.

But he was still worried that the young master, who was only fifteen years old, did not understand the importance of these things.

His tone was a little heavy, and he used the method of provoking, saying: "You are willing to set foot in the world. Since you have the heart to shoulder the responsibility of this world, can't you bear these little false reputations?"

But he never expected that the young man over there just thought about it and then said calmly:

"What you said, sir, is that he who wins the hearts of the people wins the world."

"Leave everything to the sir."

Pang Shuiyun was stunned, surprised at what this boy of only fourteen or fifteen said. He also felt that compared with the Marshal's carefree and carefree demeanor, this young man was more calm and composed. So he bowed slightly and said:

"I always understand why Pojun chose you."

Li Guanyi just let him go and directly agreed to all of Pang Shuiyun's withdrawals of money. In the end, he even told Xue Zhaoji directly that if Pang Shuiyun needed money, he didn't need to tell him and Pang could just go and get it himself.

Xue Zhaoji didn't know and just sighed at this young owner of the building.

According to the words of the old master Xue, he is a man who is obsessed with money.

But at this time, there was no trace of greed for money, only the unrestrained and chivalrous spirit could be seen. Changfeng Tower and Liufeng Huixue Tower had already started to make a profit, and he actually gave all of them to Pang Shuiyun. He himself had so much silver and treasures, but he did not take a single cent.

There are hundreds of beautiful virgins in Liufeng Huixue Tower, but he doesn't look at any of them.

He doesn't love money or sex, and only practices swordplay and martial arts. He usually plays the zither and whistles. Such a person has great ambitions.

While Li Guanyi was drinking tea, he looked at the scenery outside. At this time, it seemed that another guest came up. A gentle and calm old voice said, "My friend, is there anyone here? If you don't mind, can I sit here too?"

Li Guanyi withdrew his gaze and looked over.

He was a gentle old man.

He was dressed in a blue shirt, with white hair falling to his waist. Although he was old, one could tell that he must have been handsome and had a calm temperament when he was young.

He does not have a sword on his waist like the martial artists.

Just a willow branch.

Therefore, it is unforgettable at first sight.

Just look at Li Guanyi like this.

Li Guanyi retracted his gaze and said with a smile: "This is not my family's business, please have a seat, old man." The tall old man in green also sat down, ordered a pot of tea, and drank it by himself with his back straight. Although he was clearly drinking tea, he had a heroic and calm manner as if he was drinking wine.

In the box behind the old man, Siming grinned.

They arrived at Zhenbei City a long time ago.

The formation outside Zhenbei City is extremely complex and powerful, but Siming had left more than one "tunnel" for himself, so he sneaked here in a roundabout way. However, Yaoguang usually followed Li Guanyi, so Siming could not lock their position.

In the past two days, the little girl finally let go of Li Guanyi.

The sword maniac went upstairs directly without even waiting.

Siming sighed, asked for a plate of peanuts, and ate them slowly, while pricking up his ears to listen to the conversation over there.

If Sima Ming's realm and means were to be hidden, Li Guanyi's mediocre Yin-Yang skills would definitely not be able to discover it. The old man in green was sitting opposite the young man, drinking by himself.

He seemed to be listening to the storyteller, and saw that Li Guanyi seemed to be just looking outside.

The old man in green with a willow branch on his waist smiled and asked, "Young friend, you don't seem to like the storyteller's story? Do you think that Li Guanyi is not a young hero?"

Li Guanyi grinned.

Having said that, can I say that I am very capable?

Li Guanyi felt that what he had done in the past few days was actually a risk.

Using oneself as a pawn is not the best strategy like Po Jun, it is really embarrassing.

Li Guanyi looked at the old man, and for some reason, he did not have much guard. After thinking for a while, he simply put the pine-patterned ancient sword on the table and asked with a smile: "Old man, do you know martial arts?"

The old man in green touched his willow branch and smiled: "Yes."

"I just know a little bit of swordsmanship."

The bronze tripod did not react.

Just like meeting ordinary people.

Li Guanyi said, "I have some martial arts skills, so I know that person in the story. Well, what he did was too radical and risky. Although he succeeded, a lot of it was due to luck. If he failed, I'm afraid he would be seriously injured."

The young man took a sip of tea, reflected on himself, and said to himself: "I used myself as a pawn, underestimated the enemy and rushed forward recklessly. Although I managed to escape in the end, it was just a coincidence. How can such a person be called a hero?"

The blue-shirted sword maniac admired it with his eyes and said with a smile:
"Oh? I didn't realize you have such high standards."

"Tell me, what does it look like to be a hero in your eyes?"

Jian Kuang poured a cup of tea for Li Guanyi and pushed it over to him with his hand.

Li Guanyi said: "There are so many heroes in the world, how can I list them all?"

Sword Maniac Murong Longtu smiled and said, "Just tell me, let's talk about the biggest one."

Li Guanyi picked up the tea, drank it in big gulps, thought for a moment, and said cheerfully, "If we talk about the battlefield, he is the best general in the world, invincible in infantry against infantry, his cavalry can defeat the Iron Pagoda and the Khan of the grassland, and his navy can defeat the elite of the State of Chen."

"Considered a hero."

"Duke Taiping, Yue Shuai Pengwu, is brave and good at fighting, loyal to the world, and a hero."

"As for the martial arts world, the sword maniac Murong Longtu fought all over the world with a long sword and never lost. In a rage, he defeated the armies of Ying and Chen. He formed an army by himself and was a martial arts hero. He also led the 18 states in the south of the Yangtze River and broke away from the Chen State."

"He is loyal and righteous, and his martial arts are unparalleled. He is a hero!"

Sima Ming grinned and glanced at the old Xuan Guifa.

The black tortoise looked amazed.

Old Siming grinned and muttered, "It's over, it's over."

"Flattery never wears out, but this kid doesn't even know that this old man is a sword maniac. This thing can't even be considered flattery."

"When Li Guanyi fought his way out of Jiangzhou City, this old man liked this kid very much."

"This kid caused a big scene in the City Lord's Mansion a few days ago, and even drank with four Grandmasters. He was not at all inferior in momentum, and even threatened the Grand Elder of the Yin Yang Rotating Sect."

"With this one more time, wow, this old man must like this kid very much."

Not to mention Sima Ming's exclamation.

The Green Shirt Sword Maniac just said gently:
"Although the Sword Madman is famous, he is not as famous as the legend in the martial arts world, right?"

When Li Guan thought of the man in green robe, he answered frankly, "The level of martial arts cannot determine whether one is a hero or not. The Green Robe Immortal Master takes human life lightly, and Senior Dao Zong has no interest in the secular world. Although they are both outstanding martial artists, they are not heroes!"

"Even if one's martial arts skills are low, if one dares to draw the sword against a strong man in this world, he is still a hero."

"How can a mere warrior who resists two nations not be a hero?!"

The old man in green robes suddenly laughed out loud: "Hahahaha, good, good, good!"

He laughed heartily and felt extremely happy.

Finally, after drinking tea, he said, "Good child, good child, I wonder what kind of person can give birth to a child like you..."

The old man sighed for a long time and asked, "How are your parents?"

Li Guanyi was silent for a long time, then said, "My parents have passed away."

The old man said nothing.

Li Guanyi pressed his palm against his chest and said softly, "But my father opened a way for me, and my mother protected me for eleven years..." The young man lowered his eyes, and there seemed to be a bird singing in his heart, and then the image of the blue phoenix bird began to circle.

The eyes of the green-shirted sword maniac froze. His martial arts level was so high. He just looked at his great-grandson sitting there with his eyes lowered. There was a teardrop mole in the corner of his eye, just like his granddaughter's. His black hair was slightly raised, and the blue phoenix bird image was dancing gently around him.

Even such a fierce warrior felt the pain in his heart as if it were being stabbed by a knife at this moment.

He unconsciously slowed down his tone and said, "Your parents must think highly of you."

Li Guanyi smiled and replied, "I know my father's martial arts, and I also know my mother's zither..." The old man in green waved his hand and asked the singing girl to come over. She put down the zither and said with a smile, "I also want to hear how your zither sounds."

The young Taoist smiled and said, "Okay, I'm waiting for someone anyway."

Li Guanyi tuned the strings and played the piano calmly. Murong Longtu just listened to the melodious music. The young man lowered his eyes, his black hair fluttering slightly. In the sound of the piano, the black hair on his temples fell down, and the teardrop mole at the corner of his eye was just the same as what he saw that year.

Such a warrior was in a daze for a long time.

Li Guanyi played the zither once, and saw a message coming from afar, saying that Ji Yanzhong had arrived at the agreed place. The young man came back to his senses, put down the zither, and said with a smile: "Senior, I have something else to do today. If we are destined to meet again in the future, we will meet again."

"I don't know why, but I always feel that you look very familiar, old man."

Li Guanyi took out the money from his pocket and put it on the table.

Then he pressed the window slightly and flew down into the air. He left quickly. Siming rushed out and looked at the absent-minded and quiet old man in green. He said, "Hey, hey, hey, old man, what's wrong with you?"

The sword maniac seemed extremely sad.

He sighed deeply and said, "I feel very relieved to see this child today."

Siming nodded, and said as if he had expected it: "I know you have set your sights on this boy. Only this boy is worthy of you teaching him martial arts."

The old man in green robes was just like an ordinary old man, watching the young man walk away.

Then he asked Siming casually:

"What were the origins of the four Grandmasters that day?"

? ! ! !
Sima Ming paused slightly.

He slowly raised his eyes and saw the old man sitting there, his white hair slightly raised at the temples, his eyes still fixed on the back of the young man over there.

A long time passed.

Siming grinned, thinking that the four guys over there were in trouble.

Then he replied: "The Angry Scale Dragon King, the Angry Sword Immortal of Kunlun Mountain."

"Master of the Motian Sect."

"And the Great Elder of the Yin Yang Rotation Sect."

Murong Longtu nodded, and then said: "You are wrong, old friend."

Siming was stunned.

The old man lowered his eyes and said calmly: "I mean."

The sword maniac in green put down the teacup and looked at Siming. The old sword maniac's eyes were calm, and there seemed to be a trace of blood in his lead-gray eyes. In an instant, the sky seemed to lose its color, and only the sword maniac's figure occupied the sky and the earth. He asked:

"Where is their sect?"

(End of this chapter)