It was dark, and outside Caojiazhuang, located in the center of Junshan Island, nearly 100 Cao clan people gathered under the stone archway, holding hoes, shovels and other farm tools. There were also many Jianghu guests standing in front of them with swords, led by Lin Yulian, the young master of Hutou Mountain, who spontaneously came to help the Cao family.

Although the Cao family's more than 100 men are holding farm tools, their momentum is obviously much stronger than the Jianghu rangers in front, and the Jianghu family that has been inherited for hundreds of years, the imprint of the martial artist is deeply rooted in the bone marrow, even if the crabs have been sold for ten years, the Cao family is still the Cao family, which is by no means comparable to ordinary cottage gangs.

The memorial arch is built on a white stone avenue leading to the square in front of the island, and at the end of the road stand more than 30 men dressed in black, each holding a sword in his hand and not moving like a mountain, in the night like a statue of impermanence, among which there are Zheng Yushan and Chang Shijian's figures.

Most of the Jianghu people who came to help the Cao family were young warriors who had been taken care of by the Cao family or had a good relationship nearby, and the strongest was only the young Hutou Mountain who was also a wealthy family in Chudi, and his enthusiasm could not make up for the gap in hard power, and he was a little flustered now.

Lin Yuzhen is the first person of the younger generation in Chudi, and he is also the leader who helped the Cao family to support the field this time, and his face is obviously ugly at this time.

Lin Yuzhen dared to find Chen Daozi to fight alone, he was very confident in his own strength, but self-confidence is self-confidence, the rivers and lakes are not children's homes. It was a battle with Chen Daozi and Xu Buling, and at most he lost and lost face. Zheng Yushan is not as powerful as Chen Daozi, but now he is real, and if he is not careful, he will die on the spot. No matter how confident Lin Yuzhen was, he was not confident that he could kill Zheng Yushan unscathed in a life-and-death fight.

Fortunately, the Eagle Tower did not come directly to kill the door, and at this time there was no intention of doing anything, just standing a hundred steps away and waiting quietly.

The young men of the Cao family have arrived, and the two Cao brothers who are in charge have not yet appeared. In order not to cause misunderstanding or be affected by the pond fish, they all stood in the far away low mountains and forests to watch.

Xu Buling and Ning Qing hurried to the vicinity of Caojiazhuang at night, passing by a pavilion, and there were a few people in the pavilion who were watching the excitement, and they were talking in a whisper:

"I'm afraid the Cao family is finished this time......"

"Many of Zheng Yushan's friends died at the hands of the imperial court, and today he took the lead in coming, and he will definitely not give up......"

"I heard that the Cao family became the eagle dog of the court, why didn't you call the officers and soldiers over......

"The boat gang should have been greeted, the ferries were stopped, the island was only allowed to go out and not enter, and the catch was not allowed to pass at all. Besides, it's useless to catch a hundred or ten quickly, Zheng Yushan can kill it alone, it still depends on the Cao family itself......"

……

Xu Buling heard these conversations and looked at Ning Qingye, who was in a hurry next to him:

"Miss Ning, do you know about Song Ying?"

Ning Qingye's face was solemn, and he went to the big archway from the hidden place, and said softly:

"I heard that it was Cao Qujian's unfilial son, who was originally the young master of the Cao family, and later took refuge in the government. Cao's seniors seem to have withdrawn from the rivers and lakes because of this matter, and I don't know the specifics. However, Cao Lao's predecessors are by no means lackeys of the imperial court, they are highly respected in the rivers and lakes, and the people in the rivers and lakes solve the affairs of the rivers and lakes themselves, even if they have the ability to call the government for help today, they will not do that. ”

Xu Buling shook his head slightly when he heard this. There has always been a clear distinction between the rivers and lakes and the imperial court, and some people in the rivers and lakes were arrested and tortured, and they would rather die than cooperate with the government, and even did not disclose the information of their opponents. To put it mildly, this is called the rules and integrity of the rivers and lakes, but the reason for the formation of this rule is nothing more than that most of the forces in the rivers and lakes are not clean, smuggling, committing murder, collecting protection money, etc., and the little money earned by opening a martial arts hall dart is not big at all.

And the means of making a living for the people in the rivers and lakes is precisely what the imperial court strictly prohibits, and taking refuge in the government to tell the truth is to cut off the wealth of the people in the rivers and lakes, and it is too normal to be retaliated against and kill the whole family, and this rule has been formed over time.

Of course, the imperial court is not all on the right side, there are not a few corrupt officials who loot the people's fat and people's cream, and there are more people in the rivers and lakes who have the world in their hearts, and it is not wrong not to compromise with corrupt officials.

Xu Buling thought for a while and said, "I am also a member of the imperial court, and I can't treat all the people who cooperate with the imperial court as lackeys. ”

Ning Qingye shook his head: "People in the rivers and lakes have criminal records and can't be officials, and most of the people who can fly Huang Teng are treacherous betrayal of relatives and friends to make meritorious contributions, and their own people killing their own people are far more vicious than the officials of the imperial court, what is this called a lackey?" ”

Xu Buling thought for a while: "If you want to take refuge in the imperial court and soar, you don't necessarily have to sell your friends, and you can sell your hue." ”

“……”

Ning Qingye obviously didn't have the heart to let Xu Buling flirt at this time, and said seriously: "Jianghu people who defect to the imperial court will inevitably be treacherous, just like me, I have killed the wolf guard, if the friend who knows about this matter defects to the imperial court and becomes an official, will he arrest me or not?" Arresting me is treacherous, not arresting me is disloyal to the court and dereliction of duty, and I am not a person inside and outside. Therefore, the affairs of the people in the rivers and lakes have always been solved by themselves, and if Cao's predecessors find the government as a backer, they will betray their relatives in the rivers and lakes. ”

This explanation is in place, Xu Buling nodded: "In this way, the rivers and lakes are not interesting." ”

Ning Qingye had never said much, so he didn't delve into this issue, and stopped near the archway.

Xu Buling didn't want to show his face yet, so he stood behind a big tree and watched the development of things.

Hundreds of people stood under the archway, the quiet pin drop could be heard, only the occasional crisp sound of torches,

It took about half an hour for the crowd to split their ways. Cao Quyi, the second leader of the Cao family, walked out of the Zhuangzi in a robe outside the staff, holding a sword box in his hand, still smiling with a pleasant face, walked to the front of the crowd, and said to everyone in the Eagle Tower:

"You have been waiting for a long time, my brother is not feeling well, and it is inconvenient to see guests. I heard that Zheng Zhangmen came to ask for a string of sword spikes, my Cao family has retreated from the rivers and lakes, keeping the sword to destroy the heavens, this family heirloom Zhan Lu sword, I will hand it over to you, and I hope that Zheng Zhangmen can find a good master for him. ”

As soon as these words came out, the audience was noisy, and even everyone in the Eagle Tower was a little stunned, and they exchanged heads and ears with each other, and Chang Shijian was even more hot.

Lin Yuzhen was directly anxious, turned around and began to block: "Senior Cao, you must not, how can this sword be given to a group of thieves in the rivers and lakes......"

Xu Buling's reaction to everyone's reaction is not surprising, Zhan Lu, Chengying, Zhao Dan and other famous swords, there are few in the whole world, the sword on his waist is the king of Su and Princess Su searched all over the world and spent a lot of effort to get it, the four major sword families have Cao Lu and two families, the sword of the Zhu family was confiscated by the imperial court and hidden in the inner treasury of the Son of Heaven, and the Tang family has not succeeded for more than 100 years, which shows how valuable it is.

Hitting the Eagle Tower just to ask for a string of sword spikes, the Cao family directly handed over the swords, obviously too polite, even Ning Qingye couldn't stand it, and said softly:

"This sword has been offered in the ancestral hall of the Cao family for hundreds of years, and the successive heads of the family are reluctant to use it as a weapon, how can they just hand it over?"

Xu Buling picked up his sword and looked at it: "Do you want it?" ”

Ning Qingye was stunned for a moment, frowned and said: "The sword can only live up to its prestige when it meets a good master, where can I afford it, I don't dare to take it if I give it to me." ”

Xu Buling felt the same, chuckled and didn't say much.