Chapter 17: Rescuing the Gang Leader
Yi Dan made a big fuss after the Knife Sharpening Gang Martial Arts Conference. At this time, in Yongyi Villa, martial arts people from all walks of life also broke up unhappily.
Li Xian stood in the courtyard, saw that He Rang had caught Ouyang Yucheng and escorted him in. But he didn't see Yi Dan come back, so he stepped forward and asked He Rang, "Elder He, have you seen the inferior disciple?"
"Hmph, you still dare to mention her to me, if it weren't for your Lixian hero's face, I would have skinned her and cramped a long time ago," He Rang said angrily.
"Yes, yes, it's all because the sect disciples have no way, and it's not okay to compensate Elder He in the next place, Elder Wanghe, you have a lot, don't worry about her," Li Xian said again and again.
"Hmph, discipline and discipline well in the future, don't bring it out again and be embarrassed," He Rang reprimanded.
"Yes, yes, may I ask Elder He, can you hand her over to me to take back to discipline?" asked Lixian.
"I didn't arrest her, she's gone, you can find it yourself," He Rang waved his hand and turned to leave.
Hearing this, Li Xian hurriedly ran out to look for a circle, but Yi Dan was nowhere to be seen. He guessed that Yi Dan might have returned to the inn, so he decided to go back to the inn in Youzhou City to wait for her first.
After a while, Yi Dan really returned to the inn dejectedly, and after Li Xian saw her, the big stone in his heart finally fell, so he asked: "Dan'er, you shouldn't be in the limelight today, how can you be worthy of your dead father?"
When Yi Dan heard this, he asked, "Master, how did my father and mother die?"
Li Xian knew very well in his heart that the person who killed Yi Dan's family was the royal family of Daliang today, even if he added Miao Qiuyu and Li Qiu, he could not help her avenge, but it made her feel sad, in this case, why bother to tell him the truth?
The eccentric Yi Dan, seeing that the master was a little evasive every time she mentioned this matter, she seemed to notice something, so she asked, "Yes, Master, are you hiding something from me?"
"What's the matter, you girl is nosy, you really shouldn't be in the limelight today, now you have offended the group of people who sharpen the knife to help He, I look at this Youzhou City, let's not stay too long, hurry up and pack up our things in a while, let's go back to Lingxi Valley" Li Xian reproached.
"Where am I in the limelight?" Yi Dan argued.
"Dare to say it. Today, in front of heroes from all walks of life in the world, you accused Na Herang of colluding with the Khitans, which is a great crime of betraying the country. Hey, it's also my fault that I and your sister, who usually spoiled you, so that you developed a character that is not afraid of heaven and earth," Lixian reprimanded.
"I'm really not talking nonsense. Master, do you remember that last night, I went out for a stroll? Later, I happened to meet that Ouyang Daxia, and I didn't know that he was the leader of the Knife Sharpening Gang at that time. We followed a group of Khitans together, went to the woods outside the city, and saw them holding a secret meeting. I heard them say that their Khitan emperor was busy attacking what party, Murowei and Bohai Sea, and he had no time to look south for the time being. He let the Khitan secretly communicate, with the cooperation of the Khitan warriors, find an opportunity to cooperate with the outside and give Youzhou to the Khitan Kingdom, and then the Khitan Emperor, and then crown him as the King of Yan" Yi Dan said slowly one by one.
When Li Xian heard this, his eyes widened, and he asked in shock, "Is this really the case?"
"Of course, when have I ever lied to you, Master? But Master, you don't have to worry, what about this Yan King, then He Rang will definitely not be able to do it, because they said that He Rang will be eliminated after the matter is completed."
Li Xian slapped the table and said angrily: "Hmph, this He Rang, I used to respect him as a good man, but I didn't expect him to betray the country for glory and betray his ancestors, I really regret that I was blind before"
"Master, don't be so angry, we are not emperors, who belongs to Youzhou, it has nothing to do with us, it's just that I just think that this He Rang is a bit unfair, he should be a good man and a good man, since he dares to do it, why don't you dare to admit it?" Yi Dan said what he said in his heart.
"How do you know that Youzhou is important to the entire Central Plains. Yanshan in the north of Youzhou is a natural barrier to block the Khitan people in the north, if you lose Youzhou, the Central Plains will no longer be in danger to defend, and the Khitan iron horse will go south, it will be a horse Pingchuan. When the time comes, there will be corpses all over the field and rivers of blood. Those who are powerful can put away the gold and silver, pat their butts softly and leave, and the most unlucky are only innocent ordinary people," Li Xian said with emotion.
"Master, don't be too anxious, haven't this happened yet" Yi Dan saw that Lixian's expression was solemn, so he comforted.
"If it happens, what's the deal?"
"Master, now that Ouyang Daxia has been arrested by He Rang, I don't know what he will do to Ouyang Daxia? Let's hurry up and find a way to save him, right?" Yi Dan said.
"How can you save it? That Yongyi Villa, but the headquarters of the Knife Grinding Gang, we are not familiar with it at all. Unless someone can lead the way, and maybe there's a chance ahead, don't even think about it," Rixian said.
Yi Dan's eyes rolled, and he had an idea, and then said, "Eh, there is." Master, do you remember today's martial arts conference, that righteous elder Mao Sanzhen? This person seems to be quite righteous, and he doesn't seem to be in the same league as Na He Rang, so we might as well go to him for help? What do you think?"
"Well, this is a good solution, Elder Mao lives in Yongyi Villa, if he is willing to help, then it is very suitable," Li Xian said.
"Why don't you wait here first, Master, I'll go and persuade the righteous elder, let's find a way to save Ouyang Daxia together, how about it?" Yi Dan suggested.
"No, how can I rest assured that you are alone in the tiger's den?" said Lixian.
"It's okay Master, after such a fuss during the day, I guess they all know that I am your apprentice. If I miss, you can still come and save me, I believe they will more or less give you a little face," Yi Dan suggested.
"It's okay, if there are too many people, I'm afraid it will startle the snake. You made a big fuss at the martial arts conference today, I believe that Elder Mao should be impressed by you, maybe you go to him, you are more sure," Li Xian said.
"Well, that's what I think too," Yi Dan said.
"It is said that the five elders before Tingfeng Hall were divided: virtue, righteousness, loyalty, benevolence, and law, and those who did not live in Yongyi Villa had four courtyards in the southeast, south, northwest, and northwest, and the righteous elders were ranked second, and they should live in the south courtyard. However, I don't know if this is still the case, you have to be more careful and adapt to everything. Don't act on your own when you find out the news, come back and tell me, let's go together," said Lixian.
"Well, don't worry, Master, I'll be careful," Yi Dan said.
Li Xian looked at the red handprints on Yi Dan's face and asked distressedly, "How is it?
"It doesn't hurt," Yi Dan replied.
"It's all the master's fault, it's your fault, don't you go to your heart, okay?" Li Xian comforted.
"It's okay Master, I know you're all for my good, I didn't take it to heart," Yi Dan said.
"Well, that's good, Master is only afraid that something will happen to you, otherwise it will be difficult to explain" Li Xian said to himself.
"Master, then I'll go," Yi Dan said.
"Okay, remember to be careful, don't fight with them, if you can't find out, you'll come back, let's find another way, do you hear?"
"Okay, goodbye, Master"
After Yi Dan said goodbye to Lixian, he quietly returned to the outside of Yongyi Villa. At this time, it was already dark, Yi Dan glanced around and saw that there was no one, so he used light skills to carefully jump over the wall and enter the village. After entering the village, she dodged the disciples of the Knife Sharpening Gang who patrolled back and forth, and went straight to the courtyard to the south.
When he arrived to the south, Yi Dan found that outside the gates of all the houses, there were disciples of the Sharpening Knife Gang guarding them, and they could not enter through the gate at all. So she jumped up to the roof of the house, lifted the tiles and looked down. Sure enough, it was the righteous elder Mao Sanzhen in the house, and it seemed that the righteous elder was put under house arrest by them.
So Yi Dan picked up more tiles, and gently pried open the wooden slats that carried the tiles with his sword, and soon, he pried a large hole in the roof. She wrapped the nine-section whip around the beam of the room, and slowly slid down the room with the nine-section whip.
At this time, Mao Sanzhen was closing his eyes and meditating cross-legged on the couch. Yi Dan came to him and called out softly, "Elder Mao..."
Mao Sanzhen heard the shouts beside him, opened his eyes, and recognized Yi Dan at a glance, so he asked happily: "Girl, aren't you the girl who was with the Ouyang Gang Leader at the martial arts conference today?
Yi Dan didn't speak, he looked up and pointed to the roof, Mao Sanzhen also looked up, and said, "The girl really has the ability, I don't know what the girl came to find Mao?"
"I want to ask Elder Mao for advice, how can I rescue Ouyang Daxia?" Yi Dan said in a low voice.
"The Ouyang gang leader is locked up in the dungeon below the middle courtyard, and I am also under house arrest here. Hey, I'm so ashamed, I didn't expect that now, my Knife Sharpening Gang would fight like this."
"Is the middle courtyard the one at the back of the compound?" Yi Dan asked in a low voice.
"Exactly," Mao Sanzhen replied.
"Okay, then I'll find a way to save Ouyang Daxia," Yi Dan said.
"Girl, how can you go alone? The dungeon in the middle courtyard is full of organs, and if no one leads the way, outsiders will not be able to enter at all," Mao Sanzhen said.
"Is Elder Mao willing to go forward together to rescue Ouyang Daxia?" Yi Dan asked.
"Ouyang Gang Leader is the gang leader of my Knife Sharpening Gang, rescuing the gang leader, naturally it is my Mao Sanzhen's duty, I was meditating just now, I was thinking about how to rescue the gang leader, I didn't expect that at this moment, the girl you are here, it is really the blessing of the old hall master" Mao Sanzhen said.
"That's great, Elder Mao, what should we do?" Yi Dan asked.
"This villa is now firmly controlled by He Rang and those Khitan warriors, and it is heavily guarded. It's definitely not okay to break in, you're responsible for luring people away for a while, and I'll knock them out, without further ado, let's do it."
"Do you want me to invite my master to come to the rescue together?" Yi Dan asked.
"It's too late, I'm afraid they will attack the helper tonight, let's rescue as soon as possible," Mao Sanzhen said.
"Okay, then ask Elder Mao to lead the way," Yi Dan said.
Mao Sanzhen limped to the door and looked, then looked at the hole in the roof and said, "Let's go up."
Yi Dan nodded, and the two flew up from the roof.
At that time, Tingfeng Hall was the eyes and ears of the Tang Dynasty, and Yongyi Villa was also built according to the royal specifications. East, south, west and north, the four courtyards, the middle courtyard in the middle of the arch guards, the four squares, the main and secondary are distinct, the pavilions and pavilions, the scattered and magnificent. Since the only requirement of the imperial court for Tingfeng Hall is loyalty, among the five elders, the loyal elders have always been concurrently served by the hall master. The middle court was the center of power, so it was once the residence of the head of the hall or the elders of the faithful church. And He Rang took advantage of the gangmaster's move to the south, swaggeringly occupied the middle courtyard, and regarded himself as the helper.
Underneath the middle courtyard, a symbol of power, there is a hidden dungeon. Ouyang Yucheng was locked in a huge iron cage under this dungeon, and his hands were locked with iron chains, tied to the thick iron rods of the iron cages on both sides.
At this time, the secret door leading to the dungeon opened with a bang, and He Rang and Ji Daoyong walked in together. Ji Daoyong held the wine, meat and food in his hand and put it on the table in his cell. Ouyang Yucheng glanced at him, and without saying a word, grabbed the roast chicken thighs and wine on the table and ate them in a big gulp.
"Gang Leader Ouyang, you still eat so deliciously, aren't you afraid that this food is poisonous?"
Ouyang Yucheng said while eating his meal heartily: "I am now a prisoner of your subordinates, if you want to kill me, it is not an easy matter, why bother?
"Okay, it's straightforward enough, it's refreshing enough, then I'll be a little more cheerful, as long as you write out the mantra of the blade palm and give it to me, and I'll let you out after I finish practicing, what do you think?"
"Only a three-year-old child will believe your nonsense," Ouyang Yucheng said as he ate.
"This blade palm was originally my Tingfeng Hall, a martial art passed down from generation to generation, and I am now the leader of the Knife Sharpening Gang, and it is only natural that you write to me."
"You are the self-proclaimed gang leader, who can obey you in the martial arts of the world?" Ouyang Yucheng asked.
"The winner is the king, and the loser is Kou. I've already won you, who in the gang dares to disagree?I advise you to write it out, now I'm going to pinch you to death, it's as easy as pinching an ant to death, don't ask for it," He Rang threatened
Ouyang Yucheng continued to eat and ignored He Rang. He Rangyi pointed to Ji Daoyong next to him, put the pen and paper at Ouyang Yucheng's feet, and said: "I have put the paper and pen here for you, when you think about it, write it to me when you want, I have time to wait, don't you want to waste it with me."
After that, He Rang turned around and just wanted to leave. Ouyang Yucheng was moved and shouted, "Wait"
He Rang turned around, Ouyang Yucheng raised his hand, shook the chain in his hand, and said, "You tied me with this thing, how can I write?"
He Rang thought for a while, and then said to Ji Daoyong next to him: "Unlock him"
The chains and handcuffs in Yu Ouyang Yucheng's hands were all untied. He Rang asked, "Gang Leader Ouyang, since I have unshackled you, now you should write down the heart mantra of the blade palm, right?"
Ouyang Yucheng saw that as soon as his hands were out of trouble, he immediately grabbed Ji Daoyong's neck on the side, withdrew from the iron cage, and confronted He Rang.
He Rang said casually: "Hey, I'm careless, I really shouldn't believe your words"
"This is called a soldier who is not tired of cheating, I didn't learn it from you, hurry up and let me out, otherwise I will be rude to him" Ouyang Yucheng said.
He Rang replied unhurriedly: "Even if you pinch him, will I care about him?"
Ji Daoyong heard He Rang's words, and said a little angrily: "Brother He, I have done so many things for you, and you actually..."
Ouyang Yucheng heard Ji Daoyong's words, and then remembered the purpose of his coming to Youzhou this time, so he asked: "He Rang, did the old hall master poison and kill him, tell me quickly, there are only three of us here, don't you dare to admit it?"
He Rang raised his head and replied triumphantly, "So what?"
"You wolf-hearted thing, he is your father-in-law, he is as kind to you as a mountain, how can you do it?" Ouyang Yucheng reprimanded.
"Who told him to say that he would not pass on the blade palm to me, and he intended to pass on the position of the gang leader to you, I have been listening to the wind hall for more than 20 years, and I should be the successor to the hall master, where am I not as good as you little bastard?" He Rang scolded rudely.
"Your kindness will be revenge, wolf ambition, nothing good will end"
"Do you know, when I was full of enthusiasm, how much I wanted to do something big for Tingfeng Tang? But he, Qin Zhengao, pressed me everywhere and didn't let me display my talents. Fortunately, Zhu Wen usurped the Tang Dynasty and the world was in chaos, Qin Zhengao was like a stone in a pit, smelly and hard, and refused to bow to Zhu Wen, so I had this opportunity to turn the tables," He Rang said proudly.
"So, did the imperial court order you to do this?" asked Ouyang Yucheng.
"You don't care who instigated it, since he Qin Zhengao doesn't trust me and refuses to pass on the position of hall master to me, then I will simply ruin everything he has worked so hard to manage. But now seeing that the iron cavalry of the Khitans is about to level the north, the next wave of troops to the south is just around the corner. As long as I lead the world's largest gang to vote for them, I will be able to restore the former glory of my Tingfeng Hall in one fell swoop. When the time comes, all the brothers in the gang will enjoy the glory and wealth, and the high-ranking officials will always be much better than this sharpening of knives and striking iron, isn't it? I am much more far-sighted than his Qin Zhengao's gaze," He Rang said.
"You traitorous bastard, the old hall master really misjudged you at the beginning," Ouyang Yucheng reprimanded.
"When I poisoned him, I just wanted him to be tortured slowly, and when he couldn't stand it anymore, he would obediently write the mind of the blade palm. Hmph, I didn't expect to be rescued by you, and it ruined my good deeds," He Rang said.
"This is called man is not as good as heaven, you are destined not to get all this"
"It was indeed my mistake to let him run away in the first place, but this time it will be difficult for you to fly with your wings inserted," He Rang said.
"Hmph, then it depends on whether you have the ability to do this" After saying that, Ouyang Yucheng pushed away Ji Daoyong with one palm, and used his strength to boost his strength, preparing to use his blade palm. But as soon as he was lucky, he found that his abdomen was cramping and his limbs were sore, so he asked suspiciously, "You poisoned your food?"
He Rang laughed and said, "Haha, haha, I just told you, the food is poisonous, but you don't believe it"
"Despicable and shameless," He Rang scolded.
"That's what it's called, soldiers don't get tired of cheating, and what you just learned is just scratching the surface," He Rang said proudly.
At this time, Ouyang Yucheng reached out and dug his throat, and slapped his stomach with his palm, wanting to spit out the food. Seeing this, He Rang said coldly: "It's useless, the poison of the five-year-old slow-decaying grass will drill into the throat, even if you spit out last year's food, it's useless."
When Ouyang Yucheng heard this, it was the poison of the five-year-old slow decaying grass, his eyes widened, and he took a step back nervously. Because he knew that this five-year-old slow decaying grass was a mysterious poisonous weed from a foreign land, and no one in Middle-earth knew the way to detoxify. At the beginning, Qin Zhengao, the former hall master, was also poisoned by the five-year-old slow-decaying grass, and slowly died of exhaustion within five years.
"Despicable and shameless, even if I die, I will never write my heart to you," Ouyang Yucheng reprimanded.
"It doesn't matter if you don't write, once you die, no one in this world will know this blade anymore, and in the future, no one in the gang will pose a threat to me, but I can watch you slowly and little by little torture to death, that's enough, haha, haha" He Rang said proudly.
At this time, Yi Dan, under the guidance of Mao Sanzhen, found the entrance to the dungeon in the dark grid of the middle courtyard. The two of them came down the entrance, knocked the two guards at the door to the ground, and broke in.
Mao Sanzhen saw that Ouyang Yucheng, He Rang, and Ji Daoyong were all there, so he shouted: "Helper, we are here to save you"
Yi Dan also followed behind and ran over together. At this time, He Rang turned around, pointed at Mao Sanzhen, and shouted: "Mao Sanzhen, I read the battle of the Great Virtue Sect thirteen years ago, and you saved my life, so I didn't embarrass you today, why did you do against me everywhere?"
"Phew, my Mao Sanzhen was blind back then, so I saved you, a wolf-hearted thing, if I knew it, I would have let Huang Yuetian slap you to death" Mao Sanzhen reprimanded He Rang.
At this time, Yi Dan stepped forward from the side, stepped forward to help Ouyang Yucheng, and asked, "Ouyang Daxia, are you okay?"
"I've been poisoned by the five-year-old slow decay grass, I can't do my luck, I'm already a wasted person, you guys go quickly, leave me alone" Ouyang Yucheng said.
"No, how can I leave you alone? We're here to save you," Yi Dan said.
Ouyang Yu pressed his hand on his abdomen, endured the pain, and said weakly: "I met the girl Pingshui, but the girl sacrificed her life to save her, this friendship, I Ouyang Yu deserve it..."
"It's all this time, don't say so much, go out first" So, Yi Dan helped Ouyang Yucheng and retreated to the gate of the dungeon.
"Don't want to escape, it's all my people here, don't hurry up and arrest it" He Rang yelled, wanting to stop him. But Mao Sanzhen on the side, raised the big knife with his right hand, picked up the whetstone with his left hand, put the blade on the whetstone, and kept polishing it back and forth, making a "bang" sound, and his eyes stared at He Rang viciously. This is the unique provocation method of the Knife Sharpening Gang, indicating that they can't bear it anymore and are about to make a move.
"Mao Sanzhen, if you stop it again, I will cripple your other leg," He Rang roared.
"It depends on whether you have the ability to do this," Mao Sanzhen said while sharpening his knife.
He Rang pounced on Mao Sanzhen, and Mao Sanzhen smashed the whetstone in his hand at He Rang. After He Rang quickly avoided it, he picked up the nine-ring broadsword on the ground and slashed at Mao Sanzhen.
Yi Dan took the opportunity to help Ouyang Yucheng and walked towards the exit. Ji Daoyong raised the whetstone and chased forward, Yi Dan hurriedly turned around and threw out the nine-section whip in his hand, using "whipping the old cow and sweeping the sheep", and so on, Ji Daoyong quickly swung a few times. Ji Daoyong also reacted, and the whetstone in his hand and the saber on his waist had been knocked to the ground. His face, neck, and hands were all bloodstained by the whip, and there was no room to fight back.
Ji Daoyong watched Yi Dan and helped Ouyang Yucheng out of the dungeon, his mood could only be described as "beyond the reach of the whip".
Mao Sanzhen also fought and retreated, because the dungeon was small, He Rang had no chance to detour behind him and attack his lower plate. In this way, the kung fu of the two is comparable.
After a while, Yi Dan helped Ouyang Yucheng to retreat to the lobby of the middle courtyard on the ground. Yi Dan put Ouyang Yucheng on the ground and said, "Ouyang Daxia, you rest here first, and I'll help Elder Mao."
At this time, Li Xian, who was waiting for news in the Youzhou Inn, was anxious when he saw that Yi Dan had not come back for a long time. So he picked up his sword and went straight to Yongyi Villa in the direction of Youzhoutai.
Yi Dan put Ouyang Yucheng in the lobby of the middle courtyard, and wanted to go down to meet Mao Sanzhen, at this time Mao Sanzhen had already retreated from the narrow dungeon stairs, and He Rang and Ji Daoyong also followed closely behind and came to the middle courtyard hall.
Yi Dan looked out from the window in the lobby, and the outside were all disciples of the Knife Grinding Gang and Khitan warriors, if he went out, he would be throwing himself into the net, but He Rang and Ji Dao were pressing forward step by step, and they really didn't know what to do. He Rang said: "Up and down this Yongyi Villa, they are all my people, you can't fly with wings, don't hurry up and catch it."
At this time, Mao Sanzhen brandished a big knife, polished it on the whetstone, and confronted He Rang. Yi Dan asked Mao Sanzhen, "Elder Mao, what should I do now?"
Mao Sanzhen commanded: "You go to your left, retreat to the bottom, and then squat down and push away the third brick in the corner, where there is a secret passage, leading directly to Youzhou Terrace."
So, according to Mao Sanzhen's guidance, Yi Dan really pushed away the third brick, and a large piece of the wall automatically opened, and a secret passage more than half a person high appeared inside.
Yi Dan helped Ouyang Yucheng and entered the secret passage, after Mao Sanzhen slapped Ji Daoyong to He Rang, taking advantage of the confusion between the two, he quickly retreated into the secret passage, quickly twisted the secret passage mechanism, and the secret passage was locked from the inside.
He Rang pushed Ji Daoyong away, and hurriedly ran over to slap a brick vigorously, but the door of the secret passage couldn't be opened. So he said to Ji Daoyong: "Why don't you go out with me to chase after me"
After Ji Daoyong nodded again and again, he opened the gate of the Central Plains and chased out.
Yi Dan and Mao Sanzhen worked together to help Ouyang Yucheng, who was poisoned. The three of them walked quickly through the dark and narrow tunnel, and after a while, they came to the end of the tunnel. Mao Sanzhen was familiar with the terrain, so he groped his way up to the ladder in front of him, pushed the stone slab above his head to the top, and then slapped it out, seeing that a large hole about three feet in radius was revealed on the top, and above the hole was a starry night.
Mao Sanzhen jumped up first, and then asked Yi Dan to push below, and he dragged Ouyang Yucheng up on top. Then Yi Dan also jumped up, Yi Dan looked around, this is the Youzhou Terrace at night.
At this time, the sky is full of bright stars, and the gentle breeze unique to the summer mountain forest at night blows the rustling of leaves. Suddenly I felt a lot cooler.
It was a beautiful May night, but the three of them were in no mood to enjoy the picturesque scenery. Yi Dan and Mao Sanzhen supported Ouyang Yucheng left and right, and retreated down the mountain road in the night. At this time, not far away, in the Yongyi Villa, He Rang chased out with a group of Khitan warriors and disciples of the Sharpening Knife Gang with torches. Yi Dan and Mao Sanzhen quickened their pace, but after all, Ouyang Yucheng was poisoned, and his qi and blood were weak, and the three of them still did not run past He Rang and the others.
Seeing that they were getting closer and closer, at this time, Li Xian had already hurried towards the mountain, and after a while, he saw a torch in the direction of Youzhou Terrace, so he hastened his pace and hurried over.