Who among the gangsters wants to fall in love?

Chapter 9 Bloodstained River Bend

In the early morning, the snow was like flying foam, layer upon layer. Smoke rose from Hequ Town. Although it was a border town, it was crowded with people. There was an endless stream of carriages on the wide official road. Looking closely, the carriages were filled with black coal.

After the beginning of winter, the demand for coal across the country reached an extreme level. Coal mines in Shanxi started working at dawn to barely meet the demand.

The miners work at least six hours a day. If they meet a conscientious coal boss, they will get their daily wages and two meals a day. But if they meet an unscrupulous one... let alone wages, it would be great if they could just give them a few steamed buns and white porridge every day.

Zhao Wumian dismounted his white horse at the city gate and looked around. There were indeed quite a few people from the martial arts world holding swords and wearing bamboo hats. The martial arts culture was really prevalent and their faces could not be seen... He could buy some bamboo hats to wear later, otherwise it would be a bit incongruous to see refugees in such a miserable state riding horses.

The guard at the gate lazily held his spear in his arms, not even checking the pass. He just looked at Zhao Wumian for a few times and waved his hand to let him enter the city, warning him casually, "You are carrying a sword and riding a horse, are you a gangster? This is the territory of King Jin, don't cause trouble, otherwise you will attract the ghost leader under King Jin, and you will be worse off than dead."

Zhao Wumian came back to his senses, "Ghost Leader?"

"Tsk! Why are you asking so many questions? Hurry into the city and don't block the road." The guard was a little impatient.

Zhao Wumian shook his head slightly, took a few steps to the side to make room, and took out the silver from Wang Changzhi's pocket, stuffed it into the guard's pocket, and said with a smile: "I am a refugee from the north. I heard there is a mine in Hequ. I wonder if they are hiring? The world is not peaceful, and my savings are almost gone. I want to find a way to make a living."

The guard shook his head and smiled, lowering his voice: "Well, it's a few miles south of the city. But brother, I advise you to find another job. The Hequ Mine is under the jurisdiction of Sixth Master, and he is a man who eats people without leaving any bones."

"Elaborate."

South of Hequ, a wide official road runs through a small mine. Jin is mountainous and roads are difficult to build. The fact that there is a wide official road here shows that the court attaches great importance to this place.

Hequ Mine is one of the nine famous mines in Shanxi Province and is also Liu Ye’s private site. No one knows what Liu Ye’s name is, and he has been called this name since his debut.

The mine is dotted with dark cave entrances. From time to time, miners dressed in thin cloth and covered in black can be seen pushing carts to carry coal out of the caves. Occasionally, miners collapse to the ground due to exhaustion, and then you can hear the supervisors' curses and whipping sounds.

Not far from the mine, there was a manor nestled in the mountains and beside the water. The Sixth Master sat in the hall of the manor, holding a cup of tea and asking the servants around him, "Has the distinguished guest from Xiao Xitian not arrived yet?"

"No, but as usual, we should be able to arrive before noon."

"Oh, the three major factions in the martial arts world, no matter how high their status is, they still have to use my coal to survive the winter." The Sixth Master was a middle-aged man wearing a brocade robe. He took a sip of hot tea and asked, "Has the coal from King Jin been delivered on time?"

There is a pure white spear hanging in the middle of the main hall. I don’t know what material it is made of. The blade is dark. Maybe this Sixth Master also knows some martial arts?

"A letter came this morning and arrived at Prince Jin's Mansion yesterday." The servant beside him said, and took out a list from his sleeve and handed it to the Sixth Master with both hands, "This is the recipe written by the young lady herself. The young lady means that the miners still eat too much. She heard that there are many masters in Guixuan Valley who can practice martial arts by eating vegetables every day, so our miners should be able to replenish their physical strength by eating vegetables, and it can also reduce costs, so let her buy a few more pieces of jewelry."

Sixth Master took the list, looked at it for a few seconds, and put it aside. "Let's wait until spring. We recently bought several hundred strong men. Let's use them up this winter first and then she can do whatever she wants."

Before he finished speaking, the guards outside shouted, "Master, someone wants to discuss business with you."

"There are so many people who want to do business with me. Should I meet every one of them? Get them out of here!" Sixth Master waved his right arm impatiently.

"The person who came said that he is a disciple of Guixuan Valley."

Sixth Master was slightly startled, and then his expression became slightly delighted. Although Guixuan Valley was not one of the three major sects, it was also one of the six major sects, and its influence in the martial arts world was not light... The money earned from just selling coal to Jin was still not enough.

"Bring in the distinguished guest."

Zhao Wumian stood tall in front of the manor. At this moment, he had changed out of his dirty cloth clothes and put on a black robe and a hat that covered his face, leaving even his chin exposed. He was not afraid that anyone would recognize his identity.

White Snake was standing under a tree at the gate of the manor, carrying large and small bags of supplies on her back, and eating the fodder that Zhao Wumian had bought for her.

Time was tight, Zhao Wumian didn't want to delay, it would be best to solve this matter within ten minutes, so he took out the token Luo Chaoyan gave him and gestured to the guard at the door, "People from Guixuan Valley, the snow is heavy this year. I am here on behalf of the valley, and I want to discuss the coal business with your Sixth Master."

The guards at the door had never seen the Guixuan Valley token, but they could not make the decision on the matter, so they hurriedly reported to the Sixth Master. Soon someone led Zhao Wumian to the main hall.

Zhao Wumian looked around along the way, memorizing the terrain to facilitate his escape later.

Soon he was led into a luxurious hall, where a middle-aged man in brocade robes, with an imposing manner, sat at the top of the seat, surrounded by six guards.

The Sixth Master smiled and asked in a gentle voice, "Did the distinguished guest come from Guixuan Valley?"

Zhao Wumian took out the token and gestured.

When the Sixth Master saw the token, he was suddenly surprised. He had obviously seen the world. "True disciple? You are…"

Before he finished speaking, Zhao Wumian suddenly threw the token to Sixth Master.

Mr. Liu was startled and subconsciously reached out to catch the token, but out of the corner of his eye he saw a flash of white light.

choke!
But Zhao Wumian raised his right hand, and the blade was unsheathed. The guards around him only saw a flash of cold light, like a touch of moonlight gently passing by. Puff!

By the time the guards reacted, the black-clothed man's long sword had already stabbed straight into Sixth Master's shoulder. The force of the thrust caused Sixth Master to crash into the armchair under his crotch, and stuck it straight into the wall of the hall. Blood splattered on the spot. The huge force even knocked over the pure white spear on the wall, causing it to tumble to the ground.

It is the use of knife that brings out the "Spring and Autumn Drunken Moon".

"Be bold!"

The guard immediately drew his sword, but saw the man in black lift his boots and hook the spear on the ground. The next moment, there was a sound of breaking wind, and the spear went straight into the abdomen of the guard closest to him, nailing him to the wall like Sixth Master. He vomited blood, his head tilted, and he died on the spot.

"Anyone who approaches without permission is just like this person." Zhao Wumian said coldly, then stretched out his free right arm, extended his palm backwards, and caught the falling token.

The guards around were frightened and didn't dare to step forward. After all, he was just a guard of a mine owner, not a martial arts master from a prestigious sect.

Only at this moment did Sixth Master feel a sharp pain in his shoulder and groaned in pain.

Zhao Wumian did not give him a chance to beg for mercy, and asked coldly: "Are the villagers of Jiangpan Village here with you?"

"Jiang, Jiangpan Village?" The Sixth Master was sweating profusely from the pain, but his life was in Zhao Wumian's hands, so he dared not say much and answered repeatedly, "Yes, yes, I just bought nearly a hundred people from Wang Changzhi yesterday. If you want them, I'll give them to you!"

Sixth Master is the local tyrant. If we kill him and set the people free, they will still have difficulty surviving in the winter without jobs. It is impossible for Zhao Wumian to stay here, so the most straightforward method is to threaten him.

Zhao Wumian drew out his long knife, but before Sixth Master could breathe a sigh of relief, he suddenly felt a piercing pain in his thigh, which made him scream in an instant. It turned out that Zhao Wumian raised the knife and stabbed his thigh again. The sound of broken leg bones could be vaguely heard, and then he saw Zhao Wumian stuffed a pill into his mouth while he was screaming.

"I don't ask for much, just an increase in your treatment. You can certainly pretend to be nice and play some tricks after I leave, but you'd better pray that I die here today, otherwise I will come here to reminisce with you at any time in the future." Zhao Wumian sheathed the knife, "This knife will cripple one of your legs to prevent you from having the illusion that you can escape from my hands. At the same time, it will feed you the elixir. You can also guess what it is."

Fighting against landlords for the sake of the people was what our ancestors did in the previous life, and Zhao Wumian is just inheriting the idea now.

That was a medicine for treating internal injuries. Luo Chaoyan gave it to him when he came. It was just right for using now.

He walked up to the frightened guard, pulled out the pure white spear, shook off the blood, and weighed it for a while, "What is this spear called?"

Master Liu covered the bleeding wound, sweating profusely and coughing continuously, but the pill melted in his mouth. He could only force a smile and dared not say anything bad. "Bi Bo, it is a gift from the King of Jin to my father in his early years. If you want it, just take it."

He calmly mentioned the title of King of Jin, wanting to see how the uninvited guest would react... He had been running the coal mine for many years, and was well connected in both the black and white worlds, with extensive connections. How could a foolish young man be so blind as to come to him to seek justice? Whenever he encountered a problem, he could always solve it by mentioning the title of King of Jin... But this time he was disappointed.

"Thank you, goodbye." Zhao Wumian, holding a spear, politely clasped his fists towards the Sixth Master lying on the ground, then turned and left.

The corner of Sixth Master's eye twitched, but he didn't dare to breathe.

The guards in the manor who rushed over after hearing the noise, did not dare to stop him without the order of the Sixth Master... How much is the monthly salary? What's the point of playing with your life?

When Zhao Wumian walked out of the manor and saw White Snake still chewing grass, he heaved a sigh of relief... He had thought there would be a bloody battle, but it seemed that the majority of people knew how to act.

This time it didn't even take five minutes, it was fast enough.

Zhao Wumian walked to the side of the horse and tied the spear to the side of the horse with a black rope. Suddenly, a voice that made his scalp tingle came from behind him.

"Young master stay."

choke!
Zhao Wumian drew his sword from its sheath, and the sword flew backwards like a swimming dragon, like a streak of silver-white silk. Strong winds blew in all directions, and the snow on the branches nearby fell in a rustling sound, like countless falling pear blossoms, blocking Zhao Wumian's sight. Only a few strands of black hair fell out of thin air... and didn't cut anything.

Zhao Wumian waved his sleeves violently, shaking away the white snow. Then he saw a young woman with calf-length black hair and dressed in monk's clothes looking up at him less than twenty steps away from him.

The woman was very beautiful, but her expression was extremely indifferent, as if she was a bystander who was not involved in the matter.

"Nun?" Zhao Wumian frowned.

"Yunshu is indeed a nun from Xiaoxitian." The nun who called herself 'Yunshu' raised her palm and saluted towards Zhao Wumian, "Sir..."

"Goodbye! I'll go to Xiaoxitian to pay the incense money when I have time!" Before the nun raised her head, she saw Zhao Wumian jump on his horse and ride away immediately. He had no intention of talking to her at all.

The nun tilted her head slightly, but did not chase him. Instead, she asked loudly, "Young Master, Yun Shu cannot see your intention. May I ask who you are?"

"I am Wang Changzhi from Qinfeng Village! I will hold a grand banquet in the village one day to welcome our distinguished guests!"

(End of this chapter)