Sword Roaring in the Sky

Chapter 19: The Scorpio Cult works for Mao Zonggang, the commander of the Imperial Guard
Sun Yanwan didn't take the sword, saying, "Brother, you don't have a good sword, so you can keep this Demon-Slaying Sword. It's Hu Fengwei's personal weapon, and its scabbard is too ornate and will attract attention, making it easy to recognize. Brother, you should get another scabbard to save a lot of trouble."

Sun Yanwan originally fell in love with this sword because of its gorgeous blade and the ebony sheath inlaid with many gold and silver threads. Later, when he learned that the Hu family was a powerful family in the martial arts world and that their ancestor was a grandmaster, he no longer wanted to keep the sword.

I gave the Demon-Slaying Sword to my eldest brother, and took off the valuable decorations on the scabbard myself, so that I could do both without any delay.

Zhang Qingxi and his disciple Zhang Yuanqiao went down the mountain in a hurry. He remembered that his master had a quarrel with his uncle and took him down the mountain in a hurry without packing anything. Not to mention any weapons, he didn't even have much money, so he chose Taiyi Temple, a desolate Taoist temple, to stay temporarily.

This Demon-Slaying Sword was of varying lengths, weights, and proportions, perfectly suiting his hand. He pondered for a moment, then smiled and said, "I do lack a sword. Since Junior Brother is so generous in giving it to me, I will gladly accept it."

"Second Junior Brother is right. I'll return this scabbard to you and I'll make you another one."

The two brothers were busy for half the night, killing and saving people, and were a little tired, so they separated and returned to their rooms.

Sun Yanwan casually tossed the scabbard into the corner of the room, looked at the two "great fortune protagonists," and thought to himself, "I can't teach them the Ziwu Sutra, so I'll teach them the Hunyuan Posture tomorrow."

Although he was exhausted and tired today, Sun Yanwan still practiced the Ziwu Meridian. The true energy flowed in the newly opened meridians, and it was very lively.

After practicing for more than two hours, he finally fell asleep with his clothes on.

Zhang Yuanqiao was on his way quickly, leading seventy or eighty strong men from the Tianshe Gang.

It was easy for him to subdue the Tianshe Gang. He killed several Tianshe Gang leaders who were guilty of heinous crimes and refused to submit, appointed a docile gang leader, and set a monthly offering. He easily turned the Tianshe Gang into a peripheral force of Taiyi Temple, and selected this group of young and strong men to come back and do the hard labor to repair Taiyi Temple.

Zhang Yuanqiao was surprised to see the town near Taiyi Temple from afar. With ruins and scorching fire still burning, he used his lightness skills to break into the town. After a quick look around, he was sure that some gangsters had taken action and killed the people in the town.

He was worried about his two disciples, so he left behind the members of the Tianshe Gang he brought back and asked them to clean up the fire scene first. He used his lightness skills and headed straight for Taiyi Temple.

As soon as Zhang Yuanqiao entered Taiyi Temple, he heard the second disciple slowly teaching martial arts: "This Hunyuan Posture requires you to hold your head high and your chest in, and your back straight..."

Sun Yanwan was instructing two children when he suddenly saw his master return. He hurriedly called out, "Big Brother, Master is back." He rushed forward a few steps and asked, "Master, would you like some hot water?"

"Lin Jing, go boil some water for the Patriarch."

"Zhang Faner, go prepare the vegetarian meal quickly. Just put the noodles I prepared yesterday in the steamer."

The two little ones were like spinning tops at his beck and call. Zhang Yuanqiao was about to ask, "Why are there two more children in the temple?" Zhang Qingxi also came out to greet the master and told him everything that had happened recently, not hiding any details.

After listening to this, Zhang Yuanqiao pondered for a moment and said, "The Taoist temple can afford to raise two more Taoist children, so why not keep them?"

"When I went to subdue the Sky Snake Gang, I happened to hear some rumors."

"There's been a turmoil in the officialdom of the Dalang Dynasty, involving a major case that's expected to kill dozens of high-ranking officials." "I heard the Scorpio Cult is working for Mao Zonggang, the commander of the Imperial Guards, so they must be involved."

"However, I have heard that the Scorpio Cult's leader, although not from a prominent family, is a decent person and has a good reputation in the martial arts world. How could he do such a thing as slaughtering innocent people? It is quite strange."

Sun Yanwan was completely bewildered by what he heard and thought to himself, "Master's problem with speaking incoherently is too serious. Apart from knowing that Tianxie taught Yulin Guard Commander Mao Zonggang how to do things, there's no other useful information!"

With Zhang Yuanqiao's return, both Zhang Qingxi and Sun Yanwan felt reassured. Knowing his two disciples were fine, Zhang Yuanqiao put his worries to rest and said, "I've brought back dozens of members of the Sky Snake Gang. From now on, we won't have to do the repairs to the Taoist temple. We can let them do it."

"Qingxi, Yanwan, go call those people over and arrange things for them."

Sun Yanwan was the happiest one. As a time traveler, he was not willing to do rough labor. He volunteered, "Why do you need Senior Brother for this? Master, you just came back and need someone to serve you. Let Senior Brother accompany you. I can go alone."

"My disciple and my senior brother dug a pit beside the stream to draw water in, making it very convenient for bathing. We also prepared a brand new Taoist robe for Master to change into after bathing."

Zhang Yuanqiao was greatly relieved and said in a gentle voice, "Go, my disciple!"

Sun Yanwan rode a sturdy horse straight to the small town at the foot of the mountain. From afar, he saw the town filled with smoke and devoid of any intact houses, and sighed inwardly. Entering the town, he saw dozens of young men wandering around bored. Although Zhang Yuanqiao had told them to clean up the fire, the natives of this world lacked the agility of cattle and horses. They were only too lazy and no one was working.

Sun Yanwan shouted, "I am the second disciple of Master Zhang of Taiyi Temple. Are you all from the Heavenly Snake Gang? Follow me up the mountain."

Although the members of the Tianshe Gang saw that Sun Yanwan was young, they did not dare to take him lightly.

After all, Zhang Yuanqiao had used extremely cruel methods to subdue the Tianshe Gang. Those who refused to submit, refused to obey, and were not smart enough were gone. They all responded and came closer.

Just as Sun Yanwan was about to lead his men up the mountain, he heard an old voice calling out, "Young Taoist Priest, Trouble Qingshan requests an audience."

Sun Yanwan was slightly startled. He looked in the direction of the sound and saw an old man bowing outside the town.

The old man looked quite exhausted, as if he had not slept well for several days. His robe was very dirty and even had blood stains on it.

Lao Ai was also beside the old man. He had an impression of this queen in black. Her whip skills were very fancy. It was the first time he saw Lao Ai take action. He couldn't tell who had better martial arts skills between her and Hu Fengwei, Miao Youxiu, or the eldest senior brother. He thought they were all about the same.

Of course, Zhang Qingxi then used his actions to tell him that the eldest brother was the eldest brother, and he cut Lao Ai's long whip in half with one move.

The two were still very far apart, but the old man's voice was as if it was right next to his ear, without any loud shouting. It was obvious that his internal strength was extraordinary. It was hard to say whether he could be compared with Hu Fengwei, Miao Youxiu, and his own senior brother, but he was definitely stronger than him.

Sun Yanwan felt a little uneasy and a little bit afraid, but he mustered up his courage and shouted, "But is it the Scorpio leader?"

(End of this chapter)