When Dong Cheng saw that Meng Xiu was not afraid in the face of danger, and was still talking and laughing freely in the face of so many of them, Dong Cheng couldn't help but feel that something was wrong.
But seeing the arrow on the string, things had reached this point, and naturally he could not retreat. He straightened his chest more and more, clenched the spear in his hand, and was secretly on guard in his heart.
"Okay, let's talk about what's going on now."
Meng Xiuyuan glanced at the group of men in front of him and saw that although each of them was holding a weapon, it was obvious that they did not have much advanced kung fu and they were probably not from the martial arts world.
What's more, there are seven or eight people among them who, although they have the same fierce and determined expressions, are thin and short, which is obviously caused by long-term malnutrition.
Meng Xiuyuan, who was used to killing evil thieves and bandits, couldn't help but feel a little pity for them when he saw such a group of novices.
It's just that the world is difficult and they really can't survive anymore, so they come out to do this business of robbing families and homes.
Sure enough, as soon as Meng Xiuyuan walked in a little closer, many of those people panicked, and immediately raised their swords and spears and gestured at Meng Xiuyuan and shouted:
"Boy, stop!"
"Yes, just stand there and don't come any closer!"
"Don't play tricks, otherwise don't blame me for being ruthless!"
As he spoke, he waved the weapon in his hand as a threat. But he didn't expect that because he was not strong enough and was not proficient in using the weapon, his movements were erratic, either as if he was about to throw the weapon away, or as if he was about to hurt himself.
.
Seeing their appearance, Meng Xiu couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Boy, why are you laughing? Are you looking down on us?!"
Seeing Meng Xiuyuan like this, everyone on the opposite side couldn't help but feel a little ashamed and angry, and shouted at Meng Xiuyuan pretending to be ferocious.
Meng Xiuyuan shook his head when he heard the sound, and did not speak to them. He just thought to himself that when he took action later, he should not make a killing move, but should subdue them all and identify them carefully.
Perhaps many of this group of people are fighting for their lives for the first time and have never done any evil in the past.
They are all poor miserable people. If you can save one more, save one more.
When the leading boatman Dong Cheng saw this situation, he felt very depressed. He could only scold everyone behind him in a low voice not to make any more noise. Then he turned his head and said to Meng Xiuyuan seriously:
"Sir, please clarify your identity so that we can talk about the next thing."
Meng Xiuyuan looked calm when he heard this, and objected to him and said:
"Didn't I tell you when you asked just now?
Why don't you tell me your identity so that I can know how to deal with you."
Dong Cheng frowned and slammed the end of the spear onto the ground. With a "clang" sound, it actually smashed a seaside rock. It was obvious that he was very strong.
Using this as a deterrent, he said to Meng Xiuyuan in a deep voice:
"Sir, if you don't know how to praise me, do you still think you can deceive me?
There were imperial officers and soldiers and rebel armies gathering near Zhoushan. It was just when the battle was about to begin. Not to mention the arrival of outsiders, even the rich locals who had some food and spare money had already fled.
You said you came here to enjoy the scenery, and you have so much silver in your pocket, who would believe it?"
Meng Xiuyuan was stunned when he heard this. He was in a hurry when he came, but he didn't hear the news. He didn't know which rebel army was actually going to fight the Yuan army at this time.
When Dong Cheng saw that Meng Xiuyuan was silent, he thought he had suppressed him, and then he spoke sharply:
"Quickly, tell me honestly what your identity is.
Are you a scum working for the Tatars, or are you a Tatar who can speak Chinese?"
After hearing what he said, Meng Xiuyuan's heart lit up and he couldn't help but ask:
"If I am not a Tatar and I have not done anything for the Tatars, then why are you not making things difficult for me?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? I asked you to tell me honestly and I didn't ask you to ask me questions in turn!
Just one more word and I’ll pick you!”
Dong Cheng was made a little anxious by Meng Xiuyuan. He raised his spear and pointed the tip of the spear directly at Meng Xiuyuan's throat.
But it was at this moment that Meng Xiuyuan confirmed his identity.
For a moment, Dong Cheng's eyes blurred and his hand hurt, and he saw that the spear in his hand had been held in Meng Xiuyuan's hand.
When he saw that the handsome young man in front of him had such martial arts skills, he couldn't help but feel a chill in his back, and felt that today might be a bad day.
But unexpectedly, Meng Xiuyuan had no intention of taking action. He just asked him with slight interest:
"Who taught you your marksmanship?
Are you guys the rebel army under the command of the Ming Cult?"
Dong Cheng became increasingly panicked when his identity was revealed, but he did not want to sit still and wait for death. He quickly took a spear from the accomplice next to him and continued to confront Meng Xiuyuan in the same posture as before.
Meng Xiu saw the situation and was a little bit dumbfounded.
As soon as Dong Cheng raised his gun, Meng Xiuyuan recognized it at a glance. It was the marksmanship that Meng Xiuyuan taught Zhu Yuanzhang, Ji Fei and his group.
If there were no accidents, the identity of the group of people in front of him would naturally be self-evident.
However, he never expected that the average quality of the Mingjiao Army would be so low, worse than ordinary bandits, and he couldn't help but worry about them.
However, seeing that the people opposite him were so frightened that they were all sweating, he felt that now was not the time to think too much about this. It was more important to resolve the misunderstanding first.
Meng Xiuyuan immediately said nothing, only took a few steps back, shook the spear in his hand, and immediately used it.
The same spear, in Meng Xiuyuan's hands, was naturally ten times more powerful than when Dong Cheng used it just now, and more than a hundred times more powerful.
I could see that his movements were wide open and closed, and even though he didn't seem to be exerting much strength, he felt sharp and sharp.
Two feet away, everyone watching Meng Xiuyuan's spear dance felt numb and painful all over, as if they had been pricked by needles.
"How do you know this prairie fire spear technique... Are you also a brother in our religion?
Which branch are you from, and which marshal are you affiliated with?
We have been operating here for a long time, but we have not received any notification that some church members are here to do business?"
When Dong Cheng saw Meng Xiuyuan's marksmanship, he was surprised and admired, but he was also completely relieved.
But he was confused, seeing that Meng Xiuyuan didn't look like a disciple of the Ming Cult, so he couldn't help but ask questions one after another.
"A prairie fire marksmanship... A single spark can start a prairie fire. Tsk, you guys gave me a good name. It's much better than I thought."
Meng Xiuyuan heard the sound and sighed sincerely. He had actually thought about the name of this marksmanship for many years, but he had never been able to find one that was so pleasing to the ears and could understand the meaning.
Obviously, the wisdom of the masses is infinite.
Dong Cheng didn't understand the meaning of Meng Xiuyuan's words, but seeing that Meng Xiuyuan had such martial arts skills, he didn't want to fight with them, so he naturally stopped treating him as an enemy and hurriedly came forward to apologize to Meng Xiuyuan.
"Sir, I think you are a senior in the teaching. It's not convenient to reveal your identity here, so we won't ask any more questions.
I offended a lot due to the misunderstanding just now, and I hope you can forgive me."
When Meng Xiuyuan heard this, he would not embarrass them, and waved his hand to indicate that the matter was over.
When everyone in front of them saw this, they felt as if they were being pardoned and no longer dared to say anything. They hurriedly called Meng Xiuyuan to board the boat, hoping to send him back as soon as possible.
On the way back, Meng Xiuyuan was still riding Dong Cheng's small boat, and it was still calm.
But the difference is that this time Dong Cheng seemed very silent, but Meng Xiuyuan kept asking him questions.
"Which rebel army are you from, and whose subordinates are you?"
"Senior, we all come from the Huaibei branch and are subordinates of Duke Wu.
The commander above me is called Liu Zhengming, do you know me, senior?"
When Dong Cheng heard this, he immediately replied seriously to Meng Xiuyuan.
Meng Xiuyuan shook his head when he heard the sound. Of course he had never heard of Liu Zhengming.
But this Dong Cheng said he was a Mingjiao from Huaibei. Meng Xiuyuan felt a little familiar and couldn't help but ask:
"Do you recognize people like Xu Da and Deng Yu?"
When Dong Cheng heard what Meng Xiuyuan said, he was immediately shocked and hurriedly replied to Meng Xiuyuan:
"I don't dare to say that I know them, but I have heard of General Xu and General Deng.
They are just like us, General Ji, and they are also able men under Wu Guogong."
Meng Xiuyuan was stunned when he heard this, and couldn't help but asked Dong Cheng again:
"The 'General Ji' you are talking about is not called Ji Fei, right?"
Dong Cheng nodded quickly when he heard this, his voice became more and more guilty, and he asked Meng Xiuyuan carefully:
"Senior, do you know General Ji?"
Meng Xiuyuan couldn't help but smile and sighed:
“Although we haven’t seen each other for many years, we do know each other.
I just didn’t expect that he would do so well and become a general already.”
When Dong Cheng heard this, he was not sure whether Meng Xiuyuan's words were true or false. After all, he had all guesses about Meng Xiuyuan's identity.
However, just in case, he became more and more respectful towards Meng Xiuyuan and did not dare to show any slightness.
Meng Xiuyuan, on the other hand, secretly sighed in his heart, as expected, things are unpredictable.
Only ten years had passed, and the fringe disciple of the Haisha Gang who knelt in front of him and begged him to point out a way out was already an unattainable general in the eyes of others.
The coincidence among them can't help but make people sigh.
After a long while, Meng Xiuyuan opened his mouth again and asked Dong Cheng:
"Are those people behind you just now new to Christianity?
Don’t you train them well and then let them go to the battlefield?”
When Dong Cheng heard what Meng Xiuyuan said, his dark face couldn't help but blush. He thought of the behavior of his brothers just now, which was indeed a bit embarrassing.
However, after asking this question, Dong Cheng increasingly concluded that Meng Xiuyuan must not be a master in any branch, but should be from the Western Region Chief Teacher, which is why he is so unclear about the grassroots matters.
He swallowed his saliva and organized his words for a long time, then opened his mouth and replied to Meng Xiuyuan:
"What our seniors have taught us is that they are indeed a little behind, and it's because we were negligent in our training.
However, most of the new people we recruit from various branches are actually like this.
After all, if they were not desperate, how many people would be willing to risk beheading to join our Mingjiao to fight against the Tatars?
They all come from poor families, so naturally they are not that strong.
Coupled with the recent emergency of the war, the newly recruited people really don't have much opportunity to practice them.
I brought them to this "Ghost Flower Island" today because I saw you alone, senior, and wanted to take this opportunity to train them.
Otherwise, if you really go to the battlefield and haven’t seen the blood, you will really be stepping in to die..."
Speaking of this, Dong Cheng's voice was a little sad. Obviously, these new soldiers under his command were not the first batch he had led.
When Meng Xiuyuan heard what he said, he couldn't help but feel some sympathy in his heart, and secretly thought that these were indeed true words.
In the troubled times at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, let alone practicing martial arts, even if they could afford to eat, they were all lucky.
But it was these poor people who did not have enough to eat and had never practiced martial arts, who contributed a large part of the strength of the anti-yuan movement.
After that, Meng Xiuyuan didn't ask Dong Cheng any more important questions, he just chatted casually to pass the time.
During the process, Meng Xiuyuan learned that Dong Cheng was an elite from the bottom of the Ming Cult and was sent to the seaside of Zhoushan as a vanguard to familiarize himself with the environment and search for information.
By the time the ship docked again, it was completely dark.
Meng Xiuyuan originally wanted to leave, but before landing, Dong Cheng said that their General Ji was in a nearby village. Since Meng Xiuyuan was familiar with General Ji, it was better to go and meet him.
Although I don't know if Dong Cheng wanted to test his identity, but after hearing what he said, Meng Xiuyuan felt that what he said did make some sense.
Since there is no need to take a detour, there is nothing wrong with visiting old acquaintances.
Meng Xiuyuan was indeed a little curious as to how Ji Fei, who obviously had no great abilities, got the title of "general".
So, Meng Xiuyuan followed Dong Cheng and ran all the way in the night, until midnight, when he arrived at an inconspicuous village.
Little did they know that this village was loose on the outside and tight on the inside. As soon as the two of them entered the village, several people immediately came out of the darkness and pointed their spears at them to ask for their identities.
It wasn't until Dong Cheng spoke and his voice was recognized that he let the two of them in.
With Dong Cheng's rank, it was a bit difficult to meet General Ji Fei directly. After reporting to him, the two of them waited in a side house in the village for a long time before someone came to inform him that they could meet him.
During this period, Meng Xiuyuan was not in a hurry. He just followed the rules and sat quietly and waited. He had never had any formal contact with the grassroots of the Ming Cult, so he was very curious about their behavior and wanted to see it with his own eyes.
In this way, when Meng Xiuyuan was led to the courtyard in the center of the village, the night was already very dark. But when he pushed the door open and entered the main house of the courtyard, he saw that it was very lively inside.
Only the sound of shouting and shouting was heard. There were more than ten people sitting in the room, still drinking wine in the middle of the night. They were all so drunk that their eyes were blurred and their faces were flushed.
Looking around, I can see that this house, which looks nothing out of the ordinary, is well decorated. It has splendid carvings and porcelain screens. Even if it is not as luxurious as Hongmei Villa, it is definitely not what an ordinary farmhouse should look like.
Looking at the dining table, the fish and meat are gathered together, and the cups and plates are overlapped. Not to mention delicacies, it is still a big meal.
"Who is it, what's the matter, why are you disturbing us so late..."
A fierce man with a scar on his face at the table saw Meng Xiuyuan pushing the door open and asked impatiently.
Meng Xiuyuan ignored him, but looked straight at Ji Fei, who was sitting in the front seat and was already a little confused from drinking, and said:
"Ji Fei, I didn't expect you to be doing well.
Your life is really nourishing."
As soon as Meng Xiuyuan said this, everyone present was furious. They stood up, swaying left and right, drew their swords, and shouted at Meng Xiuyuan:
"How dare you, who are you? How dare you call General Ji by his first name?!"
Naturally, such a trivial matter could not affect Meng Xiuyuan. At this time, he was still looking at Ji Fei indifferently. Seeing that his body was much fatter and bloated than five years ago, he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed in his heart.
A moment later, when everyone present was about to come up to teach Meng Xiuyuan a lesson, Ji Fei, who was originally looking confused, finally rubbed his eyes and saw Meng Xiuyuan's appearance clearly.
Immediately, the impatience in his eyes quickly disappeared, and was replaced by surprise and fear.
"Meng Shaoxia?! Meng Shaoxia, why did you come to see me suddenly, and you didn't want anyone to just say something to me so that I could go and greet you..."
Damn you, what are you doing?
This is my benefactor, Meng Shaoxia of the Wudang Purple Sky Divine Sword, you idiots..."
Na Ji Fei scolded and pushed away the men around him, while staggering towards Meng Xiuyuan in such a hurry. During this period, he tripped on a stool and almost fell to the ground, but he still did not dare to stop and rolled on the ground.
Arriving in front of Meng Xiuyuan.
"Meng Shaoxia, I was just about to ask someone to invite you. I've run into a big problem, and you can only help me..."
While Ji Fei was speaking, he spat a mouthful of wine at Meng Xiuyuan. Meng Xiuyuan couldn't help but frown when he heard this, and forced him to take a few steps back and sit down on a stool with a wave of his hand.
"If you have any questions, let's wait until you sober up tomorrow to talk about it."
Meng Xiuyuan left a cold voice and turned to leave.
When Ji Fei saw this, he did not dare to be angry and quickly ordered his men to clean up a good guest room for Meng Xiuyuan to rest.
Meng Xiuyuan thought about the friendship in the past and did not want to see Ji Fei continue like this, so he simply stayed the night and thought of giving him a few words of advice when he sobered up.
Early the next morning, Ji Fei sent someone to invite Meng Xiuyuan.
At this time, although Ji Fei was still drunk, he was basically conscious.
After Feng Cha apologized to Meng Xiuyuan sincerely, before Meng Xiuyuan could ask him a question, he urgently complained to Meng Xiuyuan:
"Meng Shaoxia, you don't know, I've been very unlucky recently, and I've been targeted by a master of martial arts.
That man was extremely skilled in martial arts, but he misunderstood me, and even the masters I invited from other places couldn't deal with it.
Only a god-like figure like you can help me survive this disaster..."
Coincidentally, as if to confirm Ji Fei's words, while the two were chatting, a burst of noisy and panicked sounds came from outside.
Ji Fei subconsciously trembled and wanted to run. But when he saw Meng Xiuyuan sitting next to him, he immediately gained confidence.
He moved the stool closer to Meng Xiuyuan, then picked up the tea cup and took a sip of tea in a leisurely manner.
On the side, Meng Xiuyuan heard what Ji Fei said. Although he didn't feel that he had to help him, he was willing to hear the reason, so he sat quietly and waited for the man to come to the door.
Unexpectedly, a moment later, the door of the house burst open, followed by a familiar voice from Meng Xiuyuan.
"Thief, do you think I can't find you by hiding here?!"
The next moment, a pale yellow figure floated in with a sword and flew straight towards Na Ji.
When he was almost in front of him, the man suddenly stopped and revealed a surprised and beautiful face:
"Meng...Meng Shaoxia, why are you here?"
Meng Xiuyuan was also a little surprised. He let out a breath, looked at the man and said softly: