"From today on, everyone in the city will have to pay taxes! Head tax!"

The government is like a madman before destruction, forcing people to live in an impossible situation.

The Yellow River Gang took advantage of the situation to expand, and its influence spread throughout the county. It colluded with the Yellow River Cult outside, and its influence spread across thirteen provinces. With such a large force, the government did not care at all. All its energy was focused on suppressing the rebellious victims.

Changxin City became even more desolate.

Since killing Old Man Luo from Beihe Martial Arts School, the Yellow River Gang has become more and more reckless. Their spies are everywhere in the city. Even the county magistrate has become their man. Officials who cannot contact the Yellow River Cult have joined the Yellow River Gang. Anyone with a little status has a position in the Yellow River Gang. It looks like the end of a dynasty.

These people are not stupid. They wear the clothes of government officials during the day and are members of the Yellow River Gang at night. They bet on both sides, so no matter what the final result is, they are the winners.

The drought lasted for three years and there were victims everywhere.

The situation is getting more and more tense, not only in the Northern Yue Kingdom, but also in the Yu Kingdom in the south. It is purgatory everywhere, and there is no pure land.

Chen Hen also joined the Yellow River Gang and became a doctor in the gang.

This identity was obtained by his sister Chen Yuan with great favors, and Chen Hen had no choice but to refuse. In three years, his health improved slightly, but he still couldn't practice martial arts.

In three years, two more consciousnesses appeared in his mind.

Each of the five consciousnesses has its own area of ​​expertise. Chen Hen was able to pass the Yellow River Gang's doctor assessment thanks to the help of the brains in his mind.

"Zhao Kun, the Yellow River Gang, and the Demonic Cult."

Farmyard.

Chen Hen used a pestle to pound the medicinal materials inside, and red light flashed in his eyes from time to time.

Over the past three years, the hatred in his heart did not dissipate with the passage of time. Instead, it accumulated in his heart and became even stronger.

"What are you thinking about?"

Chen Yuan wrapped the bandage and looked at her dazed brother, a trace of worry flashing in her eyes. In the past three years, her strength has improved a lot, and she can already participate in the middle-level affairs of the Yellow River Gang. Through these news, she learned more information that she had not seen before.

The time for the Yellow River Sect to rise is getting closer and closer. Even though the Yellow River Sect is now in its heyday, once it really starts a rebellion, it is hard to say what the result will be. This is a job that will cost you your head. Usually, when everyone is sharing money, they are talking and laughing, but once it involves fundamental interests, they will become enemies to the death.

But they have nowhere else to go now.

I definitely can't go back to Yu State. I heard that there is chaos there, with many rebels attacking cities and seizing lands, and there are also people from the underworld mixed in. If you are not careful, you will lose your life. Now staying in the Yellow River Gang, although it is a bit dangerous, at least you can survive.

"Nothing, just"

"You two are here? That's great. It saves me the trouble of looking for them one by one."

A voice came from outside, interrupting the conversation between the siblings. Cheng Xiong, the leader of the Yellow River Gang, pushed the door open and came in.

"Boss."

Chen Yuan wanted to get up, but before she could move, Cheng Xiong pushed her back. With a bright smile on his face, he pulled a chair and sat down next to the brother and sister.

"Just take a good rest if you are injured."

Chen Hen sat silently by the side pounding the medicine without saying a word.

Cheng Xiong didn't care. He first simply asked about Chen Yuan's injuries, and then asked about Chen Hen's recent recovery. It was as if he was an old friend coming to visit.

But Chen Yuan doesn't think so.

He had seen Cheng Xiong's brutal side, and he knew better than anyone how terrifying this gang leader was. It was this man who ordered the killing of Old Man Luo from the martial arts hall and his family. No one was spared, regardless of the moral principles of the underworld.

"I remember that you two siblings are from the Yu Kingdom, right?"

Cheng Xiong suddenly asked.

After these words were spoken, both the brother and sister became alert and did not reply.

"Don't be nervous. I came here this time to tell you good news." Cheng Xiong laughed loudly, and then took out two copper tokens from his arms. These were the identity tokens of the formal disciples of the Yellow River Sect, only one level lower than Cheng Xiong, the incense master.

"After hearing about what happened to you two, the church decided to help you get revenge and eliminate those hypocrites in Yu State."

After saying this, without waiting for the siblings to respond, he placed the token on the table, stood up and walked out. This was Cheng Xiong's habit, he never listened to his subordinates' opinions when doing things.

"You two should prepare yourself and follow me south in three days."

The courtyard fell silent.

Neither the brother nor the sister said anything. They had not expected that the Yellow River Cult had such great ambitions. They had begun to spy on the Yu Kingdom before they had even taken over the Beiyue Kingdom. As the pawns pushed out, the two of them were definitely the most dangerous. Everyone in the Yu Kingdom would regard them as traitors.

"Don't go. I'll go alone. If something unexpected happens..."

"Can you escape?"

Chen Hen interrupted his sister and looked at her Chen Yuan seriously for the first time.

Chen Yuan fell silent for a moment. She looked at the two tokens on the table and realized that this matter was not something she could decide at all.

The thought in my mind popped up again.

I can't stay in the Yellow River Gang anymore.

Three days later.

Cheng Xiong, along with a group of carefully selected subordinates, sneaked into the State of Yu together with the Chen siblings.

At this time, the state of Yu had completely lost its former prosperity. Bones were exposed in the wild, and no roosters crowed for thousands of miles. Looking around, there were abandoned villages everywhere, black smoke was curling, and the sounds of jackals and hyenas were constantly heard from the wild forest. The Ping'an Inn where the two siblings had stayed had been burned to ruins by the fire. Only some broken bricks and tiles were left. The walls that had not collapsed were pitch black, and the bones buried under the charred soil could still be vaguely seen.

"Are all the people in this place dead?"

A Yellow River Sect master squatted on the ground, scratched the ground twice with the machete in his hand, and found a corpse that had been eaten by wild beasts.

"There must be someone alive."

Cheng Xiong's original plan was to take the Chen siblings and sweep across the Yu Kingdom martial arts world in the name of revenge, and then take advantage of the situation to expand and establish a separatist regime. However, judging from the current situation, the situation in Yu Kingdom is worse than they expected, and the details may need to be adjusted.

"Let's go. We'll stay here for one night and go to Sand City tomorrow."

Shacheng is the northernmost county city of Yu State. Like Changxin City where the Yellow River Sect is located, it is a border city. Cheng Xiong has been here once before and knows the general location.

No words were spoken that night.

At dusk the next day, the group entered the Sand City quietly.

This most prosperous city in the north of Yu State was now unusually desolate, with few living people in the city. The occasional passers-by had lifeless eyes, like zombies, with skinny bodies that could be blown down by a gust of wind. In the dark corners of the street lay cold, hard corpses, who knew how long they had been dead, and no one had cleaned them up.

Most of the soldiers guarding the city were gone, and the remaining ones were old, weak, sick and disabled. Half a month ago, a self-proclaimed king named King Qi plundered Sand City. The lord of Sand City fled with the masters in the city overnight, leaving the old and weak in the city to be plundered by the thieves.

The Sand City they saw now was a dead city after the thieves wreaked havoc.

If left unattended, a plague will break out soon, and the people still in the city will die one after another, turning the city into a desolate place.

"Boss, the situation is worse than we thought."

Qi Wan told the news he had heard. Their previous target was the Golden Knife King of Sand City. They wanted to kill him by seeking revenge in the martial arts world, and then use the Golden Knife King's wealth to recruit soldiers and secretly expand their power. But now, let alone the Golden Knife King, there are not many living people in the city. Compared with developing power, their most important problem should be survival.

The dry food brought from the Yellow River Gang is almost finished.

"What was your Chen family's reputation like in the past?"

It is definitely not possible to go back. If he fails to handle this matter, the leader will not let him go. Cheng Xiong's eyes flickered, and he looked at the Chen siblings who had been silent beside him.

Now that we have brought the people here, it is natural to make the most of them.

After all, they are people from Beiyue Kingdom, and many things are most appropriately done by the Chen siblings.

"Before being exterminated by the Demon Cult, they had some reputation."

"what you up to?"

The brother and sister spoke at the same time.

"Master was murdered by a villain. We disciples have returned after completing our studies and naturally want to avenge Master and rebuild the sect." Cheng Xiong already had a plan in mind, but he still needed a reason, a reason to integrate into the Yu Kingdom.

Gang vendettas are a very useful excuse.

The status of Beiyue State is definitely not good. When it was weak, no one cared about it. But once it became big, it would definitely be rejected by the people of Yu State. Don't underestimate the rejection of a country when facing foreign enemies.

"Sect?"

"Chen Quan Sect."

"My father is good at using swords."

"Then call it Chen Dao Men."

The ideas in Cheng Xiong's mind became more and more complete. He had been a gang leader and had all the necessary vision.

"What about food?"

Qi Wan asked the question that concerned him most. Like Cheng Xiong, Qi Wan was an important member of the Yellow River Cult. He was the deputy incense master, responsible for the supplies in the Changxin City area, and was Cheng Xiong's right-hand man.

"There are still some civilians in the city. The bandits have done all kinds of evil things, and this is not a big deal."

There was a hint of cruelty in Cheng Xiong's eyes.

They have never been good people. In this world, good people don't live long.

"Let Protector Chen handle this matter." Cheng Xiong set his eyes on the Chen siblings, and everyone else also looked over.

Chen Yuan nodded silently.

She didn't dare to refuse. Even if she could escape, her brother Chen Hen couldn't escape. Cheng Xiong chose to bring them both here in order to use Chen Hen to threaten her.

Chen Hen silently clenched his fists, and the hatred in his heart grew stronger.

A few days later.

"The Southwestern Hero Chen Zhenghe? It seems there is such a person."

After going through the initial difficulties, Cheng Xiong and his group finally gained a foothold in Sand City. The window period after the rampage of bandits gave them an opportunity to develop.

This group of people, using the reputation of being the heroes of the southwest, started to establish their own school and recruit many talented people.

The resource problem was also alleviated by the efforts of Vice-Hallmaster Qi Wan and Chen Yuan. However, there were more bones buried in secret. (End of this chapter)