The hills of different postures rise and fall intermittently in this verdant field, and the terraced fields gracefully turn gracefully in the hills. As the sun sets, the hard-working farmers are busy in the fields. At the end of the southern plain, it looks like a river bay, densely wrapped in a large area of dark green woods, with faint green tiles and smoke curling above.

Zhenguan strode ahead, raised his finger and said, "There is a town in front." It was getting late, and it seemed that there was no way to buy horses. We went to the town for the night, and after recovering our spirits, we went to the cattle market early tomorrow morning to buy horses, and rushed to Chaotian Fort in one go. ”

The three of them crossed the "Confluence Town" Shimen archway, entered the street, and looked left and right to find the inn. An inn with a "Shuanghekou Inn" signboard is noisy and lively. Ling Kong said: "Master, let's do it! It's so lively, it must be very good." ”

Zhen nodded his head, and the three of them went straight into the inn, and a fourteen or fifteen-year-old Qingxiu Xiaoer greeted him attentively, and said in a word: "Are you guests eating or lodging? There is no private room for dinner, and there are two empty tables in the lobby; Ling Kong smiled and said, "We also eat and live in the store." Xiao Er said happily: "Okay, everyone, please eat first, and when you are done, I will take you to the guest room." ”

This is not a big inn, and the tables and chairs are quite old, but because it is located on the bank of the two rivers, the location is quite good, and the people of the rivers and lakes like to stay here. Zhenguan master and apprentice sat on the table and found that they could see the river view and the green mountains from afar, and they also liked it very much. At the moment, they ordered a pot of wine and six dishes of dishes, and the three of them were hungry in the morning, and they poured themselves and ate at the same time.

There are eight tables in this lobby, and all but one on the north side is empty. There are a few tables of diners who are in high spirits, red-faced and red-eared guessing orders, and swear words. There are four men sitting at the adjacent table in the east, and there are blades next to the table, and they are people in the rivers and lakes at a glance, and these four people do not seem to be very noisy, and they raise their glasses from time to time to make a drink, and occasionally say a few words of gossip. Suddenly, I heard a person say: "Have you ever heard: Chaotian Fort has been picked!"

As soon as these words came out, it was like a bolt from the blue for Zhenguan's master and apprentice, following the prestige, but he saw that it was a strong man in blue who was in his thirties who spoke. A slightly chubby black-faced man said: "The little brother also vaguely heard about it, but I don't know if it's true or not." The other two men at the same table also looked at the strong man in blue in surprise, "Brother Li, where did this news come from? exactly?"

The man surnamed Li looked a little proud, slowly took a sip of wine, glanced at the three companions one by one, and said, "It's true! Liao San told me this afternoon." It is said that in the past two days, the wharf has been chaotic, the cargo ships have gathered like a mountain, and the delivery people cannot deliver the goods, and they do not know who to find to receive the goods. A person who claimed to be from the Tang Sect came to the dock to speak, saying that Chaotian Fort was theirs, and the dock would still be under their control in the future. At present, they have broken through Chaotian Fort and are chasing and killing Fang Zhiju, there are not enough people on the dock to organize normal dock business, and they need to suspend freight. said that it would not be able to wait for a few days, and then it would be possible to resume normal freight transportation in addition to that side. ”

The black-faced man opened his eyes with doubt, "That Chaotian Fort is strong and strong, and the castle is also very strong, how can you let the Tang Sect pick it?" The surnamed Li said: "The specific situation, Liao San and they don't know very well, they only heard that the Tang Sect united with the Sanjiang Gang and captured Chaotian Fort in three days." Unable to deliver the goods, they returned with the goods, and I happened to meet them at the dock in the afternoon and told me the news. ”

A thin young man at the same table sighed: "Oh, what a pity! I heard that the lord of the Fang Castle is a very good person, and he doesn't want to suffer such a tragedy, which is really sighing!"

Another said: "Whatever! Other people's grievances and grievances are none of our business." We drink!"

Zhenguan's master and apprentice were dumbfounded when they heard it, and it took a while to come to their senses, and Zhenguan's hand holding the chopsticks was trembling slightly. Ling Xiao stood up, approached the man surnamed Li, hugged his fists and asked, "Dare to ask this Brother Li, do you know where the lord of the Fang Fort fled?"

The man surnamed Li raised his head, glanced at Ling Xiao with a fearful gaze, and saw that he was a long-standing young man of twenty-three or four, with a rectangular face, a straight nose and thin lips, and a modest complexion. As for the whereabouts of the lord of the castle, I don't know. You'd better go to Gongzhou to inquire in person. ”

Ling Xiao said: "Okay." Thank you! I wonder if you can buy horses in this town?" At this time, Zhenguan and Ling Kong also walked over, and looked at the man surnamed Li with anxious and eager eyes.

The man surnamed Li said: "If it's late today, how can you still buy horses? You might as well rest for one night, and tomorrow I will personally take you to the horse market to buy horses, okay?"

Zhenguan said eagerly: "We want to leave immediately." I wonder if you have any horses for sale, and we are willing to buy them at a high price. ”

The thin young man interjected and asked, "Dare to ask this Taoist leader's surname, what is the relationship with the lord of the Fang Fort?" Zhenguan heard his words of appreciating Fang Zhiju, and he had a good impression of this person, so he did not hide it, "Poor Dao Qingcheng Mountain Zhenguan, that Fang Bao Lord is the junior disciple of the poor Dao. The thin young man was in awe, stood up and arched his hand: "It turns out that you are the head of Qingcheng Mountain Zhenguan, disrespectful, disrespectful! There is a bad horse under it, if the head of Zhenguan does not give up, please ride it!"

The diners at the rest of the tables had just heard the news from the man surnamed Li, and they had been listening attentively. Now I heard that this ruddy-faced yellow-robed Taoist was the head of Qingcheng, and he was in an uproar, and he stood up one after another, clasping his fists and saluting. A yellow-faced man in his forties also shouted, "I also have a horse!" For a time, seven or eight men were willing to borrow horses, and none of them would accept silver taels. Master Zhenguan was grateful, borrowed three horses at the moment, and hurriedly rode out of Confluence Town, hurrying out of the starry night.

After traveling more than 30 miles, I arrived at a market. The sound of swift horses' hooves "tapping and tapping" hit the bluestone slabs of the streets, breaking the silence of the town. A vague figure on the street in front of him suddenly rushed out, and his voice was excited: "The person who came is Zhenguan's head and his party!" The three of them hurriedly slowed down their horses, looked at the comer vigilantly, and looked at the faint red light from the lanterns hanging on both sides of the street, but seeing that it was a lean young man, Zhenguan said in a deep voice: "Exactly! Your Excellency is ......."

The man reined in the horse in front of Zhenguan, turned over and got off the horse, his figure looked quite neat, and he saluted: "Hou Shaofei, a disciple of the Qiankun Hall of Chaotian Fort, has come to report to his seniors! Here is a letter from the master of Fangbao, please read it yourself!" As he spoke, he took out a letter from his bosom and handed it to Zhenguan.

Zhenguan took the letter, turned over and dismounted, walked quickly to the lantern on the side of the street, and opened the letter, but saw that it read: "Senior brother in charge: Brother in charge of the sect neglected, causing the rise of the Tang Sect, I am ashamed to regret it! The Tang Sect united with the masters of the Chu Xiang League and besieged my Chaotian Fort for three days, and the fort was broken only before it was broken. It was difficult to protect the family when the Brother's Fear Fort was broken, so Tianjin had taken six disciples to protect Ling's younger siblings and Ling's nephews and nieces, and withdrew from the dark passage and went to Qingcheng Mountain along the dark line. The younger brother is afraid that Tianjin and the others will not be able to keep them well, so I implore the senior brother to catch up with them along the dark line and bring them back to Qingcheng Mountain safely. ”

Zhenguan's face turned pale, his hands trembled slightly, and asked, "When did this letter come from?" Hou Shaofei said: "Yesterday afternoon." I am ordered to deliver this letter to you personally, and the younger generation will not dare to go too far, for fear of missing it with you, so I have to wait on this necessary road. I heard that now that Chaotian Fort has been breached, and the Lord of Fangbao has been defeated and left the Divine Arm City, I am anxious and want to rush to the Divine Arm City immediately. ”

Zhenguan pondered for a moment and said, "We have heard about it too. You go, take care!" Hou Shaofei hugged his fists, turned over his horse, and galloped out of the town.

Zhenguan also jumped on his horse and shouted, "Let's go quickly!" out of the town and galloped northwest. While controlling the horse, Ling Kong asked, "Master, what does the letter say?" Zhenguan turned around and said, "Hey, it's hard to say! We have to hurry to Jiangdian Town!"

※※※

"Quick...... Ordered to close the fort gates...... Master Yin ...... The enemy is coming......" shouted a bloodied young man running through the gate.

A tidal wave of people flocked to Chaotian Fort, shouting and killing shook the heavens and the earth. "Gurrah...... With a heavy bang, the gray-painted iron door closed, blocking the shouts of killing outside the high-walled iron gate. Arrows rained down from the wall in a roar of arrows, 'Ah...... Ah......h

"Withdraw!" Tang Lifeng immediately made a decision, the tide of the crowd eased, and withdrew from the land of a stone's throw, densely covered with the slopes outside Chaotian Castle.

"Smack!" the celadon tea bowl fell to the floor of the marble-paved hall, shattering piece by piece.

"What's going on?" asked the squares sternly.

"Just now, dozens of enemies suddenly poured out on the dock, and they will kill anyone when they see them!" Yin Tianjin wiped a bead of sweat the size of a sassafras bean, "Before the outer three halls could react, hundreds of people had already fallen! Even Hall Master Xie was sacrificed!"

"Huh?!" Fang Qiju looked surprised, his eyes wide open.

"Cui Hao of the dog day!" Yin Tianjin's teeth itched with hatred, "Hall Master Xie was organizing everyone to resist, Cui Hao suddenly drew his sword and killed Hall Master Xie, leading seven disciples to rebel. The beggar gang broke the rudder and shouted that Hanako also fell into the well, leading his dozens of Hanako to take the opportunity to make trouble. There were 20 or 30 enemies with particularly high martial skills, and they killed more than 40 or 50 of our brothers in the blink of an eye! There were also dozens of people from the Tang Sect who shot dozens of our brothers with secret weapons! The brothers could not resist and had to retreat to the fort. ”

"Let's go, let's see!" Fang Qiju quickly regained his composure and strode out.

Fang Qun stood on the arrow tower above the fort gate, took out his binoculars and glanced at the periphery. The docks and checkpoints along the coast were all lost, and their own people had already fled cleanly. More than 1,000 enemies were murderously scattered all over the slopes outside the fort, surrounded by water. Fang Zhiju recognized that the Ganxing gang leader of the Sanjiang Gang was directing the gang to prepare for the next round of attacks, and shouted loudly: "Ganxing! Fang Mou treats you well, why do you ignore the morality of the rivers and lakes and collude with the Tang Sect to attack my Chaotian Fort!"

A man in black in his forties came out of the crowd and laughed: "Do you know who Lao Tzu is? Let you die! Lao Tzu's real surname is Tang Mingxing, and he is the deputy leader of my Tang Sect Liaison Group! Hahaha!"

Fang Shiju sighed heavily, his heart was cold, and he muttered to himself: "I see!"

Tang Xing sneered: "Fang Zhiju, you have been calling for wind and rain here all these years, and you have been powerful, but I didn't expect that there will be today! Now, your end has come! Acquaintances, open the fort gate early, kneel and surrender, we can consider sparing your dog's life! Otherwise, after the fort is broken, we will kill you and leave you behind!"

Fang Qi laughed back, "Hahaha! You dog!

A black-bearded old man stepped out of the crowd and said loudly: "Fang Zhi Ju, Tang Lifeng, the head of the Tang Sect Outer Group! Thirty years ago, you so-called famous and decent people used despicable means to kill my Tang Sect disciples and steal my Tang Sect property! Now, it is time for you to pay for your blood debts and blood! The people in the fort listen: My Tang Sect is only going to recapture my Tang Gate's Chaotian Fort and kill the culprit Fang Zhi Ju! The gang members who do not want to be enemies of our Tang Sect should immediately lay down their weapons and stop resisting, this elder will not blame the past, and will not harm you in the slightest! If you don't listen to the advice, there is no need to resist, and wait until the fort is broken...... Hum...... Hugh blames Elder Ben's men for being ruthless!"

Fang Zhiju sneered: "Tang Lifeng! Don't bewitch the crowd there! I, Brother Chaotianbao, how can I be confused by you? Let the horse come over! Fang Mou will accompany him to the end!"

Tang Lifeng said loudly: "Brothers, Chaotian Castle brothers, stop working hard for Fang Kind Gathering! As long as you abandon the darkness and turn to the light, Elder Ben promises, and he will never treat you badly! Just that Fang Xiang Gathering, a powerful and domineering person, what is worth working for him? You can ask him, thirty years ago, Chaotian Fort was my Tang Sect's!"

Most of the young people in the fort didn't know that the entanglement between the Tang Sect and Qingcheng and other martial arts sects in the past was just now frightened by the Tang Sect's overwhelming killing, and they were shocked;

Fang Zhi gathered his heart and secretly thought: This Tang Lifeng is a powerful footstep! A few words can confuse the hearts of our army and disintegrate the fighting spirit of our gang! But you have to cheer up and win this verbal battle first!

At that moment, he said loudly: "Elder Tang's words are not bad! Thirty years ago, Chaotian Fort was indeed the Tang Sect's!" The young gang members heard the castle master's own admittance, looked at each other, and looked at Fang Xiangju in disbelief.

"Do you know, why Chaotian Fort is now under the command of my Qingcheng? That's because back then, the Tang Sect was flying and domineering, and it was a disaster for the martial arts, no matter whether it was black or white, once they offended the Tang Sect or affected the interests of the Tang Sect, they would all be brutally killed! Just imagine, how can such an act be worthy of having Chaotian Castle ......?"

Tang Xing interrupted Fang Zhiju's words and said loudly: "Nonsense! Your Qingcheng faction forcibly seized my Chaotian Castle, but you slandered my Tang Sect in those evil words! My Tang Sect disciple treats others with self-denial and kindness to others, you can ask your friends in the rivers and lakes, is this the case? Now you have turned the world upside down, and you say that we are flying high, how can this be reasonable!"

Fang Shiju sneered: "That's because you haven't gained power all these years......

A tall man in a red dress in his thirties walked out of the crowd and pointed at Fang Zhiju angrily: "You are only flying and domineering! Nepotism! Think of me, Cui Hao, over the years, I have been loyal to Chaotian Fort! In terms of martial arts and ability, which point is not better than Xie Lingyu? But because I am not a member of the Qingcheng faction, no matter how hard I try, you never take me to heart and never regard me as your own! I believe that this is not the sorrow of me Cui Hao alone! Most of the brothers in the castle believe that they also feel the same way as me! Brothers, why bother to work for the gathering of the square......s!

Fang Zhiju's eyes widened angrily, as if he was about to burst into flames, and he scolded with his fingers: "Cui Hao! You are a despicable villain, and you still have a face to show your eyes! You betrayed Chaotian Castle! Kill Lord Xie Tang! In the blink of an eye, hundreds of brothers in the castle were left on the spot! As a disloyal and unrighteous person like you, dare to come out and talk to Fang Mou about what kind of loyalty? Bastard thing! If I really want to take you to heart, Fang Mou's head, I'm afraid that he would have been sacrificed to the enemy by your dog thing a long time ago!"

Cui Hao saw that the gathering momentum was compelling, and he was ashamed, so he was so frightened that he hurriedly retreated to his own formation.

Tang Lifeng was sober-minded, and he didn't want to be dragged away by Fang Kind Gathering, so he shouted: "Fang Class Gathering! Since you personally admit that Chaotian Fort is indeed my Tang Sect's own, but it has been forcibly occupied for decades, isn't this a bandit act? Shouldn't this kind of behavior be spurned by the people of the rivers and lakes, and everyone will be punished?"

Fang Zhi Zheng said: "Elder Tang's words are wrong! Heaven and earth are treasures, and the virtuous live in it! Whether it is the former Xiao Lao Fort Lord, or our Fang Zhi Ju, since he took charge of Chaotian Fort, he has been law-abiding and honest in business. I ask myself that I have never indiscriminately killed innocent people, bullied the weak, and never harmed the morality of the rivers and lakes! Now it is you, the Tang Sect, who have come to provoke trouble again! I would like to advise you not to go your own way and repeat the mistakes of the past!"

Tang Lifeng said angrily: "Fang Zhi gathers! Elder Ben will not have a senseless war of words with you! Now you are a turtle in the urn, waiting to die!"

Hundreds of gangsters rushed to the castle with rattan shields in their hands, carrying ladders and shouting. The rain of arrows fell in the sky, and in the screams of "ahh Flying knives, sleeve arrows, poisonous sand, money darts, projectiles, and thistles were scattered on the wall like a storm, and many Chaotian Fort gangs hung up their colors. The rest of the Tang Men gang members hugged one after another, and more than a dozen gangs carried huge trees and rushed to the fort gate, "dong dong dong" slammed into the iron gate, but the iron door was one foot thick, and the hinge was also strong and abnormal, and it could not be opened at all, only falling mud crumbs. A rain of arrows and hidden weapons struck the dozen or so gangsters, shooting them like hedgehogs.

It was getting late, the river breeze was whistling, and dozens of torches were blown into light and darkness. Fang Zhiju personally stood on the arrow tower, commanding the gang, calmly fighting back against the enemy, the Tang Sect gang attacked several times, and it was difficult to shake, and dozens of disciples were damaged.

"Boom!" an arrow pierced the night sky, striking at Fang Ju's chest like lightning.

Fang Zhiju pushed away the person beside him, slid his steps, and the arrows roared past him, and with a "grab" sound, he pierced into the brick wall behind him, almost half a foot!

A tall middle-aged thin man with a long sword hanging from his waist, holding a strong bow in his hand, stood proudly in front of the crowd, squinting at the square gathering on the arrow tower.

"Good kung fu!, who is your Excellency?" exclaimed Fang Zhiju.

"Point Cangyu Huantie!" the slender man replied coldly, although the voice was not very loud, everyone could hear it clearly.

"Point Cangyu Huantie?" Fang Zhiju almost couldn't believe his ears, "Ten years ago, the famous Cangshan swordsman Yu Daxia!" The slender man arched his hand and said: "I don't dare to be the word 'hero'!

Fang Zhiju arched his hand and said: "Yu Daxia, you and I belong to the same Daomen, and we have always lived in harmony, why do you want to help the Tang Sect?"

Yu Huantie sneered: "That's because it's a person from the Chu Xiang League!"