Chu Yiyi looked stern and said: "The use of smoke as a method of transmitting messages must be done by people in the underworld. Are there strong men from the underworld alliance on that mountain?"
Hua Bushi said: "It's not surprising. The Chang family brothers failed to stop us the day before yesterday, and the underworld alliance will not give up. They will definitely send many scouts along the way to keep an eye on our group's whereabouts. "
He suddenly smiled slightly and said: "Since they used such a clever method of transmitting messages, they must not be ordinary people. If the leader of the alliance, 'Ba Dao' Leng Lianshan, comes in person, I'm afraid there will be a fierce battle."
Chu Yiyi said: "Should we inform Master Wu and send someone to kill the underworld spies on the top of the mountain?"
Hua Bushi said: "That's not necessary. Our trip from Longchuan City is not a secret matter. Even if the underworld attacks, it is expected. Since Master Wu is in charge, how can he not be prepared? And that The purpose of the signal is to inform the gangsters ahead of us about our whereabouts. The signal has been sent, and even if we immediately send experts to remove the spies who are burning smoke on the top of the mountain to send the message, it will be of no use."
Chu Yiyi said: "Since the people in the underworld have discovered our whereabouts, they will probably attack us soon."
Hua Bushi said: "Yes, but our team has gathered masters from the four major sects in Guangdong, and is accompanied by a group of Jin Yiwei. Our strength is not weak. In addition, there are many Bai Dao sects behind us, most of whom are from the underworld." Even if Leng Badao comes in person, it will not be easy for a human opponent to fight and win."
Chu Yiyi said: "There are many mountains around here, which is convenient for ambush. If you go further south, you will enter the plains. The official road becomes flatter, and it will be more difficult for them to ambush."
Hua Bushi said: "I also expected that the Underworld Alliance would probably use the mountainous terrain to attack, but I don't know what strategy the leader of the Leng Alliance would use."
The cavalry continued to move forward, but the running speed had slowed down. It was probably because the masters of the four factions in the cavalry in front also discovered the message from someone in the underworld, so they increased their vigilance to avoid being ambushed.
Before I knew it, it was almost noon, and Longchuan City was gradually getting further away.
As the carriage was moving, I suddenly heard Meng Huan, who was sitting in front of the carriage, saying, "It's strange why the people from the various factions behind didn't catch up!"
Chu Yiyi said: "Really? They followed us out of Longchuan City, and they shouldn't give up so easily. Meng Huan, please check the movement."
At this time, the entire cavalry team stopped again. Wu Zhengdao and others must have noticed that the people behind them were missing, so they stopped and watched.
Meng Huan jumped off the carriage, put his ear close to the ground, listened attentively for a while, and said: "Ten miles away, the horses' hooves were messy, and there was the sound of fighting. They seemed to be attacked!"
Hua Bushi said: "I think the underworld alliance took action. It turns out that they want to remove the tail first and then deal with our team. It is a correct strategy."
Just listen to Meng Huan say again: "It seems that the fighting has stopped. Listening to the sound of horse hooves, they seem to be scattering."
Chu Yiyi was shocked when he heard this and said: "After the fight, the winner has been decided. There are twenty or thirty sects from all over Guangdong. Although they are a ragtag group, they have gathered at least a hundred people, including many Master, why were you defeated by the Underworld Alliance so quickly?"
Hua Bushi said: "It wouldn't be surprising if Leng Ba Dao came in person and defeated those people in a moment. What's more, those members of the sects only formed a temporary alliance and could not talk about working together. I was afraid that when Leng Lianshan saw him
If you show up, you will be defeated without a fight."
After a while, Meng Huan suddenly said: "No, a cavalry team has come in our direction, at least several hundred riders!"
It goes without saying that the people running over must be the underworld's men. After they scattered the people from each white sect, they gathered together and took advantage of the momentum to pursue the cavalry of the four sects.
There were no longer a handful of hundreds of riders and horses. After a while, not only Meng Huan, but everyone else heard the faint sound of horse hooves coming from behind, and could even see smoke rising from the distance.
With the current situation, it is an option to line up here to fight with the underworld men and horses who are chasing them. However, the terrain around here is flat and there is no danger to defend, and the underworld men and horses seem to have more people here.
Fighting head-on with them doesn't seem to be the best option.
At this time, someone at the front of the team suddenly heard shouting: "Disciples from all factions listen to the order, we are running at full speed to Nanquanzhuang, which is thirty miles ahead!"
The person who shouted was none other than Wu Zhengdao, the head of the "Nanhai Sect".
Then Wu Zhengdao said again: "Master Cao and Master Hua, please lead your nobles to follow us. The underworld thieves are coming fiercely. It will be very disadvantageous for us to meet the enemy here. As long as we get to Nanquanzhuang, we can take advantage of the danger and defend it.
Don’t worry there are too many of them!”
※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※Nanquanzhuang is not far from the official road, less than ten miles away, and is a hundred miles south of Longchuan City.
There is a large manor outside.
This village originally belonged to a large family with an ancient surname in Huizhou. During the troubled times, bandits were rampant everywhere. Most of the wealthy gentry families, in order to prevent bandits, would build the outer walls of their villages high and thick.
, organized Zhuang Yongzhuang to guard it, and Nanquanzhuang was no exception.
The village wall of Nanquan Village is more than two feet high, and there is a river several feet wide dug outside the village wall to protect the village. No matter who wants to attack the village, it will not be easy. However, when people from the four factions arrived in front of the village,
At that moment, the suspension bridge fell down, the village gate was wide open, and there was not even a single guard on the two-foot-high village wall.
Wu Zhengdao gave an order, and ten disciples of the "Nanhai Sect" rushed straight into the village. A moment later, they came out of the village and reported to the leader that no one could be found in the village. The entire Nanquan Village now
It is already an empty village.
This situation was beyond everyone's expectation. Wu Zhengdao originally planned to negotiate with the owner of the village, but now he didn't. Could it be that the family named Gu who lived here had moved away a few days ago?
Or did they all go out to avoid trouble after hearing the news that the underworld was coming?
Although the situation was quite strange, the pursuers of the Underworld Alliance were following closely behind, and there was no room for further thought. Everyone from the four major sects immediately entered the village on horseback. Cao Muyun and Hua Bushi also followed up with their subordinates.
Door.
This manor not only has a tall outer courtyard, but also has many houses inside the manor, at least fifty or sixty. However, all the houses and roads are now empty, without even a single person.
Hua Bushi sat in the carriage and looked out, with a thoughtful look on his face.
Zhu Hong jumped off his horse and walked into a house on the roadside. He quickly came out and reported: "There is no one in the house, but the tables, chairs and furniture are still there. It seems that the owner has not been away for a long time."
Hua Bushi asked: "Are there any signs of fighting in the house?" Zhu Hong said: "No, everything is as usual."
Hua Bushi nodded and stopped asking, but remained silent in deep thought.
As soon as the large group of people entered Nanquan Village, except for the disciples who were left to guard the village walls, the leaders of each faction gathered in the ancient ancestral hall in the middle of the village to discuss countermeasures.
This ancient ancestral hall is the tallest building in Nanquan Village. It is located in the middle of the village. The ancestral hall is surrounded by open space paved with blue bricks, making the environment very spacious. The space in the ancestral hall is also very spacious, with a
A large sandalwood table, with candlesticks and incense burners in front of it, was probably used to enshrine the rankings of ancestors of the ancient family. However, those rankings have been taken away, and now the table is empty.
Although there were more than a dozen chairs in the ancestral hall, except for Mr. Ma Da who sat in the corner, everyone else was standing in the hall. The gang of the Underworld Alliance arrived soon, but the courtyard in front of them was empty.
It's really weird. This is certainly not a good time to sit down and rest.
In addition to the masters of the four sects, Cao Muyun and Xue Yuan were also in the hall, and people from the "Evil Dog Sect" such as Hua Bushi, Hai Hongzhu and Chu Yiyi were also standing aside. Cao Muyun still had a charming look
with a smile, while Hua Bushi had a leisurely look on his face. Both of them were scheming people, and it was impossible to tell what they were thinking from the expressions on their faces.
"There's not even a ghost in Nanquan Village. It's so damn weird!" The person who said this was Yuan Gongyi. He had a curly beard, a rude appearance, and a loud voice, which caused a buzz in the ancestral hall.
Sound.
However, Master Huang Lian had a calm expression and whispered softly: "Amitabha, there are no traces of fighting around this village. I think the people in the village heard the news about the underworld's attack and went out to avoid trouble."
Yuan Gongyi said: "Have you gone to avoid disaster? I don't think so. It's possible that this village was robbed by strong men and all the people in the village were killed! Robbers will destroy the corpses and wipe out traces of the people who killed them. Just now I asked my disciples to search the surrounding area.
Houses, gold, silver, soft goods and other valuables were not seen at all.”
Zhong Bulao shook his head and said: "No way, no. Look at the tablets enshrined in this ancestral hall. All the tablets are missing. If the robbers looted them, they must have taken them with them when they left."
"
Wu Zhengdao coughed lightly and said: "Whether the villagers here were killed or went out to avoid trouble has nothing to do with us. The most urgent task now is to discuss how to defend this village and deal with the incoming underworld alliance.
Centaur and horse.”
Yuan Gongyi said: "What is there to discuss? After all, it is covered by water and soil, and we just have to fight with them. I don't believe that Leng Ba Dao can still have three heads and six arms, and can defeat many of us!"
Master Huang Lian recited the Buddha's name again and said: "Since we have to fight, please ask Brother Wu to make the decision, assign tasks, and deploy manpower to guard the enemy."
Wu Zhengdao lowered his head and thought for a while, then suddenly turned his face, cupped his hands to Cao Muyun, and said: "Master Cao, now we and other four sects are in danger, I beg you to join us in defending against the enemy. I wonder if Mr. Cao is willing."
Help?"
Although Cao Muyun was a martial arts master and was a disciple of the "Danxia Sect", his status was very noble after all. Even though most people in the world ignored the court's principles, Wu Zhengdao did not dare to give orders on his own.