Suddenly, a whistling sound arrived from behind.
In the flash of lightning and sparks, the Red Clothed big man, who had already regained his senses, relied on over thirty years of jianghu experience to detect the chilling killing intent from behind. He decisively abandoned his offensive, turned sideways, and blocked the incoming Sword Light.
Xue Qing had arrived!
Following the landing of the middle-aged man in white, lethal moves followed one after another. The Red Clothed big man was no pushover, but forced by such a sharp offensive, he could only struggle to respond.
In one encounter, the two people recognized their opponent.
Head of the Fifth Hall of the Red Robe Cult, Grasshopper Step, Sha Qing!
Leader of the West Mountain Island of the Righteousness Alliance, Lone Frost Swordsman, Xue Qing!
After several rounds of clashing, Sha Qing knew deep down that he was by no means Xue Qing's opponent. He wanted to seek interference from those Minions to give himself a chance to counterattack, but glancing at the situation to the side, he saw that the other five people had already been subdued and were unable to move.
In a panic, he used the soul-bewitching powder again, hoping to buy himself time, but it was easily dodged by Xue Qing, who once again pressed forward with a densely packed Sword Formation.
Sha Qing could not avoid it and stumbled, falling backward. His heart tightened, feeling that he was finished this time.
Seeing this situation, Xue Qing also breathed a sigh of relief, holding the frost-chilling Ice Sword as he walked forward slowly.
However, before he had taken two steps, an unexpected event occurred. Xue Qing suddenly felt blood surging up, spat blood, and his whole body began to tremble. He used his left hand to protect his heart meridian and had to stop, feeling uncomfortable.
Damn it! Why did it flare up at this time!
The opportunity in an instant was seized by Sha Qing. With a toss of sand and a sweeping kick to cover Xue Qing's face, he fled at high speed.
Xue Qing was held back by his own cold disease and could not defend against the sudden toss of sand. With sand in his eyes, by the time he opened them again, the massive body of Sha Qing had already vanished without a trace.
"Xue Qing! You sickly weakling! And that youngster, next time, I will come back to clean you up! Hahaha!!!" The size of the cave caused that arrogant and wild sound to echo continuously in his ears.
"Grasshopper Step, Sha Qing! Next time, you won't be so lucky." Xue Qing gritted his teeth in hatred.
Looking again at the blue-clad Youth lying on the ground not far away, he could not help but shake his head, a flash of disappointment appearing in his gaze.
……
When he opened his eyes again, Jiang Yichen found himself lying in a simple thatched hut. He vaguely heard several people talking outside. He shook his dizzy head, strove to make himself sober, and then stood up from the bed, swaying as he walked toward the source of the sound outside the room.
Pushing open the room door, Jiang Yichen, who had been muddled, was instantly startled awake. Just a moment ago, he could only hear the discussion of a few people, but seeing the formation outside, there were dozens of people. His pupils were filled with the people before him.
It was originally no big deal, but after this large group of people heard the creaking sound of the door opening, they all kept silent and turned their heads to look at the Youth standing at the door of the hut. It really made Jiang Yichen feel shy and tremble.
"Hehe! Chen'er, you finally woke up!" A profound and rough voice broke the silence. At the same time, a middle-aged big man wearing luxurious silk ribbon and sporting a beard could be seen waving at Jiang Yichen, "Come, come over here."
"Uncle Ren." Jiang Yichen felt very uncomfortable in front of so many people and walked sheepishly to Yi Zhongren's side.
"Hehe! Good lad, not bad." Yi Zhongren lightly patted Jiang Yichen's shoulder, encouragingly pushing him in front of everyone as he said, "This time, catching the Red Robe Cult's spy and finding their station on the island, I will record a merit for you. Yin Niang came to lobby me that day, insisting that I take you off the island to gain experience. I didn't dare to agree before, but now it seems you are indeed worth cultivating."
"No!" As soon as the words fell, a familiar and cold voice rang out. Xue Qing shook his head at Yi Zhongren, "Not to mention that Chen'er's health is originally weak and his consumption disease has not yet recovered. It is also for this reason that he has not yet found a suitable Internal Energy Cultivation Method to build a foundation. When facing an enemy, he is indecisive, and in a life-and-death Showdown, he is soft-hearted. How can he leave the island with such a weak body, no Internal Energy, and lack of decisiveness? Not to mention helping the old man."
The people around were silent, all somewhat agreeing with Xue Qing's statement. Jiang Yichen also knew deep down that he had been soft-hearted in the Mine Cave and was countered by the enemy. If not for Xue Qing arriving in time, he would likely have died at the hands of the enemy. Currently, he lowered his head and did not speak.
"Hey, Old Xue, Chen'er is still young after all, and his jianghu experience is insufficient." Yi Zhongren was a bit dissatisfied with Xue Qing's opposition, but before he could continue, Xue Qing immediately interrupted him.
"Yes, Chen'er is still young! Only sixteen years of age, and now he talks about leaving the island to help the old man; that is truly a huge joke. He does not just have insufficient jianghu experience, he has absolutely no jianghu experience at all. As for martial arts, it cannot be considered good. He should be tempered on the island for another two or three years to strengthen his weaknesses before talking about leaving the island for experience; that would not be too late." Xue Qing's words did not show any mercy, directly retorting to Yi Zhongren and criticizing Jiang Yichen as useless, but in the end, he still expressed his intention to protect Jiang Yichen.
Everyone was silent. Although Xue Qing spoke too directly, every word was reasonable. Jiang Yichen was still so young, his health was poor, and he had no jianghu experience; it would be extremely difficult for him to help the old man after leaving the island.
"That's right, I also agree with Xue Qing's view. It is untimely for Chen'er to leave the island now." Liu Yiheng, who was on the side, spoke up.
"Mm, Old Xue is right."
"Chen'er is indeed too young."
……
When someone spoke, others followed suit. It was obviously an overwhelming advantage to disagree with Jiang Yichen leaving the island.
"Uncle Ren, Xin'er also wants to follow Brother Yichen off the island!" Zhang Yuxin saw that everyone held opposing opinions and originally wanted to support Jiang Yichen, but she blurted this out, making Yi Zhongren feel embarrassed for a moment.
"Xin'er, don't be naughty. Alright, alright! Old Xue, you went a bit too far, and everyone else should stop expressing opinions. How about this: I will only take Chen'er to Gusu and provide a few pieces of Information as guidance, without giving any other help. As for how he gets to the Chrysanthemum Garden to find the old man, it will depend entirely on his own ability. If he cannot find the old man within twenty days, I will have someone bring him back. If he finds the old man, whether he stays or leaves will be decided by the old man. How about that, Old Xue, everyone?" Yi Zhongren was furious, but he still tried hard to stabilize his emotions.
Although in terms of power and Status, Yi Zhongren was far above Xue Qing, for the past ten-plus years, West Mountain Island had been managed and guarded by Xue Qing himself. Xue Qing's dedication to West Mountain Island was naturally incomparable, so he had enough respect for Xue Qing.
Since the old man had been brought up, Xue Qing could not say anything more. He simply agreed, and the remaining people did not dare to say more. The matter was thus decided.
Jiang Yichen finally obtained the opportunity to leave the island. He had originally thought this was something naturally achieved. Although he could not ignore the concern and protection Xue Qing and everyone had for him, such a direct negation inevitably made him feel a sense of loss. After all, he had no intention of leaving the island at first, but under Yin Niang's persuasion, his young heart could no longer be calm. He wanted to find his parents, he wanted to roam the Jianghu with his sword! But the matter here had poured a bucket of cold water on him, leaving him disheartened.
After the episode of determining whether Jiang Yichen would follow, Yi Zhongren and Xue Qing continued to discuss the previous matters with everyone.
After the Showdown with Sha Qing in the Mine Cave, Xue Qing brought Jiang Yichen out and rejoined the reinforcements sent by Yi Zhongren. After tying up those Minions and interrogating them, there were no further discoveries. As for Grasshopper Step Sha Qing, he was even harder to track, likely having escaped the island using a boat prepared in advance.
The abandoned Mine Cave was indeed the base for the Red Robe Cult's spies. The fact that the Red Robe Cult could infiltrate so many spies was also related to their selection of people. Out of ten people, nine were refugees and laborers they had captured, who had no skills at all, let alone martial arts. Dressing them as Marketplace villagers naturally made it easy to mix in. If there were no major actions, they would not expose themselves. These people only acted as cover and did small chores like keeping watch, not participating in much else, so even if they were caught, there was no loss.
The real spies were the one or two who were agile and had some ability. After mixing into the island, they were responsible for getting a clear picture of the island's detailed situation and drawing maps. Generally, after leaving the cave, they would return every three days to report the latest progress to their leader, Grasshopper Step Sha Qing, and then Sha Qing would summarize the Information and pass it outside the island. If it was late, it would be no more than five days. If they did not return after five days, Sha Qing would personally go out to investigate the situation. If he detected danger, he would immediately withdraw, and these Minions could naturally be abandoned and ignored by him.
As for why such a dangerous Target as Sha Qing could infiltrate the island without being detected, one reason was that the opponent might have infiltrated at night, and the second was that since the Village on West Mountain Island was established, they had lived in peace for twenty-five years. The lack of Guards and the laxity of comfortable days had led to the occurrence of the last two spy incidents.
What made everyone's nerves tense and deeply worried was that the Red Robe Cult's time on the island this time had been over half a month, and there was no way to know how much Information Sha Qing had already sent out.
After the first spy appeared, Yi Zhongren had planned to transfer some manpower from outside the island to help first. However, the situation with the Red Robe Cult spies this time was obviously more serious. The location of West Mountain Island and the situation on the island had likely been leaked. But West Mountain Island had been operated for over twenty years; finding another paradise and relocating a large number of people was by no means something that could be done overnight.
A layer of gloom covered everyone's hearts. In the coming days, they did not know how many unexpected events would arrive...
At dusk, amidst the farewell gazes of everyone, Jiang Yichen, along with the manpower brought by Yi Zhongren and the fifteen people from the Righteousness Alliance helping to leave the island, departed from the Ferry Crossing of West Mountain Island, heading toward Gusu.
……
The young do not know jianghu matters, the Nine Provinces and Four Seas are for you to roam.
Whether it is a blessing or a curse, only heaven knows; with clear songs and wine, do not break your heart.
2017.07.27 Second revision!
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