"Jiu Niang, are you really not tired?"
The afterglow of the setting sun dyed the entire Canglan River and half the sky a crimson red. With the evening glow filling the sky, Lin Ning shouldered the last two large wooden buckets and looked at Little Jiu Niang, who had been running around with him all day, asking with concern.
Jiu Niang's two little legs seemed to be equipped with a perpetual motion machine; she hopped and skipped without feeling the slightest bit of fatigue. Tilting her doll-like head to look at Lin Ning, she giggled, "I'm not tired at all, Brother-in-law!" She then grabbed a handful of small golden dates from the cloth bag hanging on her left side, reached out to hand them to Lin Ning, and smiled brilliantly: "Brother-in-law, eat! They're so sweet!"
Lin Ning smiled and said, "You eat them, I'll have some later..." Seeing that Jiu Niang still wanted to persuade him, Lin Ning pinched a golden date from her hand and tossed it into his mouth. He praised it loudly, saying, "It really is very sweet," and then said, "Jiu Niang, go back with Cui'er first and tell Aunt Chun not to wait for me. Once I finish delivering this load, I'll head back."
Jiu Niang refused, saying, "Brother-in-law is trying to chase me away again, I won't go! Besides, when I brought you your lunch at noon, I already told Aunt Chun."
Seeing that he couldn't persuade her and unwilling to be stern, Lin Ning said gently, "Then sit on the bucket lid, and I'll carry you down the mountain."
Hearing this, Jiu Niang was immediately tempted, though she still hesitated: "Will it be too heavy?"
Lin Ning smiled slightly: "It doesn't matter, Jiu Niang is too small, you won't weigh me down."
Jiu Niang was indeed still small and didn't think at all about why Lin Xiaoning, who had always been mediocre in martial arts and a complete fool, could suddenly display such astonishing power today, carrying water for an entire day without showing any fatigue.
One must know that even the group of half-grown lads tempering and strengthening their bones and muscles in the river today could never carry water back and forth along the mountain path for tens of li for an entire day.
Only masters like Fang Zhi and Hu Xiaoshan, who had barely stepped into the ranks of second-rate experts, could do that. When Cui'er saw Jiu Niang being helped by Lin Ning onto the lid of the front wooden bucket, and saw Lin Ning simply shift his position on the shoulder pole and lift them up with ease, walking along the steep and rugged mountain path with two buckets full of water that didn't even ripple, her eyes nearly popped out of her face.
This required a level of mastery over strength that could only be achieved through rigorous tempering; at the very least, even Cui'er herself might not be able to achieve this.
She possessed innate divine strength, and for her, carrying water was no different from carrying cotton.
However, she could not achieve such delicate control over her strength.
How could this be?
Cui'er watched with a strange expression as Lin Ning carried the two buckets of water and Jiu Niang gradually moved away. The sound of Jiu Niang's laughter, like silver bells, filled the valley, bringing a hint of warmth to the chilled Cui'er, who then hurriedly chased after them...
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Hall of Gathering Righteousness.
Dressed in black robes and a green shirt, Tian Wuniang sat on the tiger skin armchair with a calm expression and cool, aloof eyes. The other four leaders sat in two rows of chairs.
In the center of the hall, a middle-aged woman finally closed her mouth after speaking with a somewhat agitated expression for quite a while.
However, apart from Tian Wuniang, the expressions of the other four leaders were very solemn, even heavy.
How did Lin Ning manage to do it?
There was no doubt that he had never practiced martial arts diligently.
Especially after he wrote his will to go to Yulin City to assassinate Luo Cheng, which led to Tian Hu being mortally wounded, his every move had actually been under surveillance.
If not for this, it wouldn't have been such a coincidence that Zeng Niu discovered Lin Xiaoning when he was about to throw Jiu Niang into the Cliff of Contemplation...
Therefore, everyone was astonished by Lin Ning's sudden possession of such cultivation.
Everyone actually knew full well that Lin Ning had plotted to kill Tian Hu.
His crude scheme was no different from a laughingstock.
But regarding this matter, apart from heartache and regret, there was little the others could say, and even less they could do.
After all, Lin Ning's father, Lin Long, had indeed died saving Tian Hu, killed by the same person at the same location...
Even though the leaders' hearts were twisted like a knife, what else could they do?
If they felt this way, Tian Wuniang, who had been deeply loved by the Lin couple since childhood, was even more unable to act.
It was also because of this that after the Cliff of Contemplation incident, a tacit understanding formed among the five leaders of Qingyun Village: from then on, they would let Lin Ning fend for himself and keep him under strict surveillance...
They all thought that Lin Ning, having been caught in the act and having his mask torn off, would only become hysterical, but they never expected that he would deny it and even have a sudden awakening...
Originally, regardless of whether it was true or false, a good-for-nothing with no threat, even if he harbored evil thoughts, was not of much concern to everyone. As long as one person was arranged to watch him in the open and another in secret, there was no fear of him pulling any more bad tricks.
A piece of trash, whether for better or worse, is still a piece of trash.
But no one expected Lin Ning to suddenly display such cultivation.
If someone like this harbored evil intentions while staying in the mountain stronghold, the threat would be too great...
But if he had this level of cultivation, why was he beaten like that by Zeng Niu before?
Zeng Niu had yet to cross the threshold of a second-rate master...
This contradiction left everyone puzzled. The Second Boss, Fang Lin, said slowly: "The path of martial arts is profound and vast; it's hard to say what kind of fortune Ning Ge'er might have encountered. However, looking at it now, it's possible he was really just bluffing Little Jiu'er that day. A Niu also said later that Little Jiu Niang followed him on her own, and was not tricked by Ning Ge'er... Otherwise, given the strength Ning Ge'er displayed today, and according to what A Niu said about Little Jiu Niang struggling desperately in Ning Ge'er's arms, if he had truly harbored evil intentions, Little Jiu Niang would have had no chance to struggle, nor would she have been able to. Furthermore..."
Fang Lin shook his folding fan and said: "If Ning Ge'er truly harbored evil intentions, wouldn't his actions today be absurd? He should have hidden himself and waited for an opportunity to strike suddenly."
Hu Dashan scratched his head with his large hand and said: "It's truly hellish, how did Xiao Ning suddenly become a master?"
The Fourth Boss, Deng Xueniang, hesitated for a moment before saying to Tian Wuniang: "The Great Leader, this matter is strange and must be investigated. Plus... Xiao Ning... what if..."
Hearing this, Tian Wuniang opened her phoenix eyes, which had been narrowed in thought, and looked at the distant green mountains. Deep in her eyes, a hint of bitterness seemed to surface. Her husky voice said: "There is no need to be too concerned. Xiao Ning likely has no martial arts; he probably just ate Dragon Blood Rice for years and years, which increased his strength quite a bit. There are no shortcuts on the path of Martial Dao, no need to worry... Let's just wait and see."
After speaking, she waved her hand to dismiss the woman. Not wishing to dwell on this matter, Tian Wuniang said: "Uncle Chen sent word back that in three days, a merchant caravan will be coming out of Yulin City. It belongs to the Zhao family of the Qi State. Nominally, they are taking the official road, planning to cross the Canglan River by boat at the Luochao Slope Ancient Ferry to reach the Qin State. But in reality, they will pass through the Wild Boar Forest and then head to the Grassland via Yi Xian Tian."
The Wild Boar Forest is located in the northern part of Qingyun Village, a deep forest spanning hundreds of li, where fierce beasts roam, with wild boars being the most numerous.
And Yi Xian Tian is located thirty li to the west of Qingyun Village, serving as the boundary between the territories of Qingyun Village and another large stronghold, the Sand Sea Stronghold.
The towering Canglan Mountains stretch for a thousand li from east to west, with countless mountain strongholds of various sizes distributed throughout, the thirteen most powerful of which are the main ones.
Qingyun Village and Sand Sea Stronghold are two of the thirteen. After Tian Hu was mortally wounded, the Sand Sea Stronghold once raised an army to invade, attempting to annex Qingyun.
However, the Third Boss of the Sand Sea Stronghold, Sun Zhentian, one of their two first-rate experts, was killed by a single sword strike from Tian Wuniang. This chilled the Sand Sea to the bone, and they dared not invade again.
The two families have a deep connection...
Yi Xian Tian is a mountain path over ten li long but less than one zhang wide.
This place is the narrowest point of the Canglan Mountains from north to south.
However, the most miraculous part of nature's creation is that even the vast and mighty Canglan River passes through an underground stone cavern here.
Yi Xian Tian has actually formed a natural stone bridge.
Although there are occasional crashing waves, they have never submerged the stone bridge.
Therefore, although Yi Xian Tian is narrow, it is a "Heavenly Avenue"!
In the Central Plains World, to the west of the Canglan Mountains is Qin, to the south is Chu, and to the east is Qi.
And to the north of the thousand-li Canglan Mountains lies the vast Grassland.
The Grassland nation is called Cang, with the Grey Wolf as its totem.
Trade between the three Central Plains states not only requires taxes, but there are also many checkpoints, and the practice of extortion is the same now as it was in the past.
Although there are some profits, compared to smuggling to the Grassland, it is not worth mentioning.
A single smuggling trip to the Grassland yields profits of more than ten times.
However, the Qin, Chu, and Qi states strictly crack down on illicit trade with the Grassland, as this is a grave crime punishable by the extermination of the clan. The borders between Qin, Qi, and the Grassland are all guarded by heavy troops.
Therefore, Yi Xian Tian, which is close to Qingyun Village, is a road flowing with gold.
It is also the lifeline upon which Qingyun Village and Sand Sea Stronghold depend for survival.
The two major strongholds certainly would not take action at Yi Xian Tian; that would be a dead end, cutting themselves off from the world.
None of the families that dare to engage in smuggling to the Grassland are easy to deal with.
Regardless of whether it is Qingyun Village or Sand Sea Stronghold, although both have first-rate experts, if they dare to openly rob a merchant route at their own doorstep, the people behind those merchants might well be able to invite a Grandmaster to come out.
By then, the likes of Qingyun Village would have no way out other than to flee in embarrassment into the depths of the vast Canglan.
Therefore, since they cannot kill people and seize goods at their own doorstep, they can only take action on the road or in the Grassland.
Qingyun Village has been established for decades and has long had a complete set of channels and procedures.
"Uncle Chen," mentioned by Tian Wuniang, is an informant planted by Qingyun Village in Yulin City...
Hearing Tian Wuniang's words, the other four leaders immediately shifted their focus. Compared to such a major event, Lin Xiaoning, who had grown strong from "taking drugs" and was beaten up by Zeng Niu, who wasn't even a second-rate master, was not a major event at all.
The Fourth Boss, Deng Xueniang, heard this and said softly to Tian Wuniang: "The Great Leader, you suffered not-so-light injuries during the last expedition and haven't fully recovered yet. How can you go out to fight again? Behind the Zhao family of Yan Commandery stands the Blood Saber Sect, which dominates Yan Commandery and has at least three first-rate experts who have opened up the seventy-two major acupoints. The Blood Saber Sect Master, Yan Ke, is even a top-tier master ranked in the top ten of the Qi State's Tiger Ranking, only one step away from being a Grandmaster..."
The Fifth Boss, Zhou Li, smiled bitterly: "Fourth Sister, it's not that the Great Leader doesn't value her life, it's just that recently Sister Chun has been feeding Xiao Ning Dragon Blood Rice as if it were rice, and has almost fed him into a second-rate master. Uncle Sun is already having a headache over it. Now, the young lads in the stronghold are all vigorous and their martial arts are growing astonishingly, and they are in dire need of Dragon Blood Rice. The Great Leader has no other choice, right?"
As soon as these words were spoken, there was another silence in the Hall of Gathering Righteousness.
The Second Boss, Fang Lin, sighed deeply and looked at Tian Wuniang, who had a calm expression and cool, aloof eyes, and said with shame: "The Great Leader, it's hard on you..."
A large mountain stronghold with hundreds of people, all resting on Tian Wuniang's shoulders, was already difficult enough.
Add to that a complicated, troublesome, and completely irresponsible Lin Ning...
If it were them, these adults in their tens, just thinking about it would make their scalps tingle, let alone a young lady of only eighteen?
However, Tian Wuniang, who had been keeping her eyes lowered, slowly raised her eyelids. In her gaze, there was not the slightest hint of self-pity or weakness, only a sharp and awe-inspiring look.
It was as if those hardships had never appeared at all.
Her slightly husky voice said in a deep tone: "The Blood Saber Sect is not to be feared; Yan Ke is for me to handle. I will trouble Eighth Uncle to keep a close watch on the movements of the Zhao family's merchant caravan. Fifth Aunt, go to Doctor An and get the prepared poison. Third Uncle, stay in the stronghold to control the overall situation. Fourth Uncle, take the Green Saber Guard as the vanguard. For this battle, Fang Zhi, Hu Xiaoshan, Zhou Shi, and other elite disciples of the stronghold are permitted to follow the army on the expedition. After the battle, there will be rewards and punishments! I hope all leaders will not be slighted."
"Understood!"
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