Inside a wooden house in a small fishing village in the southeast bay, more than ten people seemed to be waiting anxiously for something. No one spoke; apart from the occasional dull clinking sound of teacups and lids as someone picked them up to drink, there was only the intermittent, faint sound of someone sighing.
Suddenly, heavy footsteps sounded from outside the door, coming from afar and drawing near, becoming increasingly clear. Someone was running over.
Da Niu looked up abruptly, glanced at the village chief, and stood up to rush toward the room door. Just as he reached out his hand, a loud bang was heard as the door was kicked open, nearly hitting Da Niu.
A young man, shaped like a half-cut black tower, tried to rush in but stumbled. Da Niu hurriedly reached out to support him. The young man was panting, already exhausted.
"They're here..." It was clear he hadn't caught his breath yet; his chest heaved violently as he gasped for air, "Ying, Ying Kou..."
"No rush, speak slowly."
A steady voice sounded, intending to use its own composure to soothe the nervous atmosphere in the room and dilute the anxious emotion brought by the young man.
The young man struggled to calm the panic in his heart and the involuntary, rapid panting after his mad dash.
"That group of cold-blooded Ying Kou bandits is heading our way! They are less than ten li away; they will be able to sneak into our village in less than the time it takes to burn a stick of incense!" The young man finished his words in one breath.
"Ah! The Ying Kou are here to kill, we won't survive!"
"It's over, it's over, those Ying Kou are heartless; they don't even spare the old, the young, or the women!"
"Village Chief, Great Hero Lin, what should we do?"
……
Although the people in the room were gathered here and had all mentally prepared for this, when the nightmare truly descended, everyone still revealed a panicked expression, unable to suppress the fear in their hearts for those life-taking jackals.
"Have you discovered how many people are coming?" That steady voice sounded again. The voice was not loud, but in such a noisy environment, it allowed everyone to hear it clearly.
"Da Zhuang, Xiao Shi, and I can confirm there are at least thirty of them. In the distance, there are shadows, not seen clearly, but there are about ten more figures," the young man replied.
"Ah! So many Ying Kou have come!"
"This time, it's truly over..."
Sounds of questioning, terror, despair, and sighing filled this space, which did not appear large.
"Quiet! Everyone be quiet, listen to me for a moment!" An old voice sounded. The authority of the old village chief in the village was self-evident, and everyone soon quieted down.
"Great Hero Lin, Madam Lin, this great calamity is something the people in the village are afraid they cannot avoid. You two have high martial arts; take your young son and escape quickly. Although we are without the strength to truss a chicken, perhaps we can still confuse the opponent's line of sight and buy you some time. Hurry and go!" The old village chief said earnestly to the man beside him, who was dressed as a fisherman in white clothes with sword-like eyebrows and a tiger-like face, and the woman beside him holding an infant.
The man in white was named Lin Zhaoyan, and the woman beside him, also in white clothes with her long hair tied up, dignified and beautiful, was his wife, Madam Lin, Ning Sufang.
Never had they expected the old village chief to make such a decision. Once these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the room instantly became quiet and desperate.
"Old village chief, what are you saying? We have already made arrangements beforehand, so let's act according to the original plan." Lin Zhaoyan refused decisively, his voice still steady and powerful.
"Great Hero Lin, why must you do this! Your chances of surviving are much greater than us fishermen who don't know martial arts. Do not miss the opportunity, leave quickly." The old village chief shook his hands like a rattle, not agreeing with Lin Zhaoyan's decision.
"Old village chief, what are you saying? Two years ago, I, Lin, fell into hard times and brought my wife here. If it weren't for you and the villagers helping us righteously, teaching us fishing skills to make a living, and giving us a place to settle down, I'm afraid we would still be living a wandering life to this day. From that time on, we have been a part of this fishing village. This time, facing the calamity of the bandits, it is our duty to help the village solve its problems.
Old village chief, fellow villagers, there is not much time left. Let's do as we discussed beforehand. The bandits are coming from land, and there are no boats on the sea. If you take the boats out to sea, you will definitely have a glimmer of hope. My wife and I will go to intercept those bandits and buy you more time."
Lin Zhaoyan changed his expression and said firmly, his tone so determined that it was impossible to resist.
The people in the room were already teary-eyed upon hearing this. They were extremely simple fishermen; they would not speak big words or empty words, only using actions to express their sincere gratitude in their hearts.
More than ten people simultaneously knelt on the ground. Lin Zhaoyan only managed to stop the old village chief, but was helpless against the others around him.
"Fellow villagers, you are really making me feel ashamed." After saying this, Lin Zhaoyan was about to kneel with his wife beside him to return the gesture.
"Great Hero Lin, Madam Lin, you deserve this kneeling, you deserve it!" The old village chief's trembling hands held both Lin Zhaoyan and Ning Sufang at the same time, stubbornly kneeling and kowtowing. Seeing they could not refuse, the two had no choice but to accept it.
"My wife and I still have one thing to entrust to everyone, and I hope you will not refuse." This time, it was Ning Sufang who spoke.
"Madam Lin, please speak," the old village chief said.
"I hope you can take my poor child with you when you leave. If you can find a place where no one disturbs you to live in seclusion, away from the hustle and bustle, that would be best. If not, in the future, please never let him set foot in Jianghu... No, as long as he can live well, then everything will be fine." Madam Lin handed out the infant in her arms, her eyes already blurred with tears.
Beside her, Lin Zhaoyan stepped forward, placed his hands on his wife's shoulders, and looked at everyone with a pleading gaze.
At this moment, everyone's gaze finally focused on the little life that had just turned a month old. The child had caught a cough in the past few days, and it happened that the rumors of the Ying Kou bandits massacring nearby villages arrived. Everyone's thoughts were on guarding against the bandits, and they had indeed neglected the child. Looking at him now, the child appeared very well-behaved in his mother's arms. Apart from a few barely audible light coughs, he neither cried nor made a fuss, which could not help but evoke pity.
"Madam Lin, you are too modest. You and your husband are risking your lives for our entire village. Taking care of your young son is our duty. Rest assured, besides you, there are thirteen other households in this fishing village. As long as one person is alive, we will definitely ensure your son's life is safe! If I am lucky enough to survive, I will definitely raise your son to adulthood. Of course, I believe that with your strength, you will definitely be able to find us and reunite with us." The old village chief took the infant in the swaddling clothes with full love.
The old village chief's opinion naturally represented the opinion of the whole village. The heads of each household in the room all echoed in agreement, patting their chests to guarantee that they would spare no effort to take good care of this little boy.
"Everything is entrusted to you, fellow villagers." The couple bowed to the villagers to thank them.
"May I ask what your son's full name is?" The old village chief asked.
"Just call him Chen'er." But Ning Sufang shook her head, not knowing if she hadn't given the child a full name yet or if she didn't want to say, "Village Chief, if my husband and I fail to reunite with you, please do not tell him our names."
The old village chief was stunned upon hearing this, suddenly remembering the scene of first meeting this couple two years ago. He did not say anything more and nodded in agreement.
"Let him carry this jade pendant with him; it can be considered a small memento from us." Ning Sufang took out a jade pendant from her bosom, engraved with the two characters "Chen Yuan," and put it into the swaddling clothes of the infant. As she spoke, her cheeks were already covered with tear stains.
After this matter was settled, everyone acted according to the previous plan. The thirteen households in the village boarded three fishing boats that had been prepared long ago and left, while the Lin couple picked up their spear and swords and headed in the direction from which the Ying Kou bandits were coming.
They easily dealt with a few scouts and led the opponent in the opposite direction of the fishing village.
At this time, by the reed marsh.
The Lin couple was falling into the encirclement of twelve Ying Kou bandits. Compared to the easy defeat of the scouts one by one, this time, facing the twelve people who cooperated tacitly and responded to each other, the Lin couple also felt great pressure. However, the two stood back to back, and the cooperation of this spear and dual swords left the bandits with no way to start.
Suddenly, a harsh whistling sound rang out. The bandits who were still surrounding the two seemed to have received some instructions and quickly scattered.
Only to see the direction from which the sound came, it was as if a dark cloud was passing by, and in an instant, half the sky turned black.
Looking closely, it was densely packed Ying Kou hidden weapons—shuriken, overwhelming and unstoppable. Just one look made one feel suffocated.
With the spear in hand, a move of "Dragon King's Break" seemed to have a dragon's roar, shaking the clouds and grass and trees.
Lin Zhaoyan used attack as defense, forming an unshakable barrier three chi in front of the couple, keeping thousands of shuriken at bay.
With dual swords in hand, the sun and moon accompanied the dragon.
Following Lin Zhaoyan, Ning Sufang was quick-eyed and fast-handed, sealing gaps and plugging leaks, ensuring the safety of the two.
The two responded quickly, either knocking them down or dodging, making each hidden weapon fail.
Who would have thought that after the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, the hidden weapon offensive not only did not weaken in the slightest, but instead became even more intense and faster.
Even though the couple had high martial arts, in this rush, there were inevitably fish that escaped the net, leaving them overwhelmed.
Lin Zhaoyan, in the end, while protecting his wife, was caught off guard, and his left arm was cut open.
Poison!
Lin Zhaoyan's heart tightened, and he quickly sealed the meridians of his left forearm to prevent the poison from attacking his heart.
His heart was shocked. Just these hidden weapons, if compared to a mountain, would not be an exaggeration. If they were all quenched with poison, the bandits had gone to such great lengths, with such deep and ruthless intentions, it could be said they were determined to win!
As if their purpose had been achieved, the shuriken offensive only continued for a moment longer before there was no more sound.
"Brother Yan!" The couple were connected in heart and mind. Ning Sufang clearly detected Lin Zhaoyan's injury and the fluctuation in his heart, and asked with concern.
"It's fine," Lin Zhaoyan said, lightly patting Ning Sufang's arm to comfort her.
"Hahaha, hahaha!" A hearty laughter sounded from far to near. "I really didn't expect that I would meet the Great Hero Lin, known as the first divine spear of Zhongzhou, and the Heroine Ning, who is good at using the sun and moon dual swords, here. I have heard of your great names for a long time, and seeing you today, the combination of spear and sword can actually reach such a level. Admirable, admirable."
A man in black wearing a black mask covering most of his face appeared before the two. Behind him were about twenty Ying Kou ninjas, and blocking behind the two were the twelve bandits from before.
"Oh, it also really surprised me that you know our situation so clearly?" Facing such a formation, Lin Zhaoyan remained calm and speculated on the other's intentions.
"Hehe, Great Hero Lin is overthinking. In the words of Zhongzhou, meeting you two is truly fate. As for why I knew everything so clearly when I first saw you, it just corresponds to that old saying in Zhongzhou: 'Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated,'" the man in black explained.
"So that's how it is." Hearing the subtext of the man in black, Lin Zhaoyan had already concluded that the other party was not coming for him, but his brows were even more tightly locked, and anger rose from his heart. He retorted, "It's a pity that a few years ago, when the Ying Kou suffered a flood, Zhongzhou helped with all its strength. You are really just a white-eyed wolf!"
"Great Hero Lin, you have already been poisoned by the 'Soft Tendon Heart-Eating Powder' quenched on the shuriken. Although you sealed your meridians in time, the combat power of you two is not what it used to be. If you get excited and open your meridians, there is an even greater danger of dying on the spot," the man in black reminded kindly.
"You also know that times change. Now in Zhongzhou, the imperial court is gradually falling, chivalry among the common folk no longer exists, the people are suffering, and the luck of Zhongzhou has reached its twilight. I see that you and Heroine Ning are both rare talents, not like those ants. Why not join our Ying Kou and plot the grand plan of the world together? I will immediately remove this poison for you, how about that?" The man in black continued, actually having the intention to recruit them.
The Lin couple smiled at each other upon hearing this, reading the thoughts in each other's hearts.
Never leave or abandon, life and death together!
"Ants? To speak of slaughtering the innocent so grandiosely! Surrender? What a pipe dream!" Lin Zhaoyan stared at the man in black, a flash of ruthlessness in his eyes, which then became deep and determined.
Under his gaze, the man in black could not help but feel fearful in his heart. He was originally a person who was decisive in killing, so seeing this, he no longer insisted and waved his hand to signal everyone to attack.
Only to see the couple with no fear in their eyes, their fingers intertwined, the spear standing tall, the dual swords competing in brilliance, meeting the enemy and rushing up!
"Those who offend our Zhongzhou, even if they are far away, must be punished!"
2017.7.22! Today I learned something new. It is reported that only a small part of the Ying Kou in the Ming Dynasty were islanders. Therefore, it is clarified here that this book uses 【Ying Kou】 to refer to the bandits and Japanese people, meaning "Ying Kou bandits," which is the people on that "seahorse" island next to the Great Heavenly Dynasty.
2018.3.17 【Eighth time】 modification and polishing.
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