"Clatter...clatter..." The sound of orderly hooves suddenly rang out in the middle of the night, indicating that there were more than a dozen horses. The disciples immediately became alert.
"Who goes here?" a disciple shouted.
"Gentlemen, please be patient. Our master is a merchant family from Jinling City. We are here specifically to escort the young lady back to her residence. We hope you will allow us to stay here." A fawning, hoarse old woman's voice rang out from outside the temple, quickly explaining her purpose.
Ouyang Zhen nodded, and his disciple opened the temple door: "Then please come in."
"Oh, thank you, heroes."
After saying this, the old woman bowed and helped a woman wearing a veiled hat into the room. The woman was adorned with exquisite jewelry and walked with graceful steps. Although her face was not visible, one could tell from her figure and clothes that she was a beautiful woman.
The woman slightly curtsied in Ouyang Zhen's direction, saying, "Thank you, great hero, for allowing me to rest here."
The sound was melodious and pleasant to the ear, and many disciples of Linghe Valley blushed on the spot, not daring to look closely.
She must be quite young, as it's unusual for her to be so tall.
Ouyang Zhen's expression was also very amiable: "Miss, you're too kind. Please go ahead."
Ouyang Feng, Ouyang Wan, and Yin Shihuai exchanged glances. Their family lived in Jinling City, which was not far from Yangzhou. With such a powerful family, and even their old servant being a second-rate martial arts master, they must be extremely prominent. How come Uncle Shangguan had never mentioned such a family before?
The three men stared at the woman, who seemed to sense something. She turned around and smiled slightly at them. Although she was wearing a veil, the three men knew she was smiling.
The woman and her servants sat down in a corner and quickly started a fire. Throughout the entire ordeal, the woman did not remove her veil, much to the disappointment of the Linghe Valley disciples.
"Junior brother, what do you think?"
"They are definitely not ordinary merchant families. It is rare for ordinary merchants to have such a highly skilled and well-organized guard team. If there are ten people protecting this young lady, then there must be even more at home. But it is common for people in the martial arts world to be unwilling to reveal their origins. Let's remain vigilant and observe the situation."
The group closed their eyes and pretended to sleep. The dilapidated temple was silent until the next morning. The group simply took their leave quietly and did not cause any further trouble.
Let's set off too.
Soon the group arrived at a small town, which was extremely quiet. When they reached a large banyan tree, hundreds of people, young and old, gathered there, holding silver coins and valuables, wanting to buy elixirs from two people who called themselves followers of the Silver Moon Holy Cult.
The Linghe Valley disciples' expressions changed drastically: "They are members of a cult."
"You audacious cult, daring to bewitch the people here!" Ouyang Zhen roared angrily, sweeping the hundreds of civilians to both sides with a wave of his palm.
“I am Ouyang Zhen, the master of Linghe Valley. I will never allow you to harm people and die.”
Upon seeing this, the two cult members' expressions changed drastically, and they ran away without caring about the money they had collected.
But Ouyang Feng and Yin Shihuai had already blocked his escape route, and Ouyang Zhen didn't need to make a move; they subdued him with their swords.
Who are you?
"Release the Holy Sect disciples."
“We gave them the money voluntarily, and you have no right to interfere with us.”
"The elixir, give me the elixir."
Seeing that the two were under control, the people panicked and started rioting at the Linghe Valley disciples.
"Absurd!" Ouyang Zhen swept the crazed people aside, while Ouyang Wan frowned and silently helped the elderly among them to their feet.
Then he said slowly, "Don't be fooled, there is no such thing as an elixir of immortality in this world."
Ouyang Zhen sneered, "Why don't you kill these two cult members quickly? When you're out in the world, never be soft-hearted."
Ouyang Feng and Yin Shihuai had never killed anyone before, and they were still young, so they couldn't bring themselves to do it.
Seeing this, Ouyang Zhen immediately ended the lives of the two cult disciples who were kneeling and begging for mercy: "It seems that Song Xia's womanly compassion has made you too cowardly. When facing cult disciples, you must kill them immediately."
The death of the two cult members caused the people present to feel as if the sky had fallen. However, due to Ouyang Zhen's imposing aura, they dared not cause any further trouble. But some who had been severely brainwashed were searching for so-called elixirs on the two corpses.
“These are all poisonous,” Ouyang Wan couldn’t help but advise, “Don’t eat them.”
"Nonsense, my uncle clearly recovered after taking an elixir of immortality."
"That's right, I saw it with my own eyes. These elixirs were made using immortal techniques. What do you know!"
Seeing that some people had already taken the medicine and put the elixir into their mouths, the remaining people couldn't resist any longer and began to crawl forward.
"How can you be so ungrateful! So-called immortal techniques are all illusions." The disciples of Linghe Valley were furious. In fact, they, who practiced martial arts, all knew that some substances, when combined, would produce certain reactions. Hundreds of years ago, Taoists had already discovered these strange phenomena, which were not so-called immortal techniques at all.
However, while they knew this, the ordinary people did not, and those who had been brainwashed by the cult would not listen even if explained to, which perfectly embodied the concept of "fooling the people."
"No need to explain to them. If you see cult members in the future, just kill them. Let's continue on our way."
Ouyang Feng and his two companions, still on horseback, looked back and sighed. This must be what Master's wife meant by "a long and arduous journey ahead"!
Just after they left, a young woman wearing a veil and an elderly woman came out of a house. The woman slightly adjusted her veil and said, "That senior disciple of Linghe Valley is indeed exceptionally talented."
The old woman gritted her teeth in hatred: "Huo Yang and Huo Mao are among the few outstanding young talents in the sect, yet they were defeated so easily by those two young men."
It's much easier to kill someone on the spot than to control them on the spot. This Linghe Valley really is full of geniuses!
"Holy Maiden, shall we attack them?"
"With Ouyang Zhen around, I'm afraid it won't be that easy."
"But if we don't act in time, they will become a major threat to our Holy Church once they grow up."
"Doesn't my mother-in-law believe me?"
"Your subordinate dares not."
"I know what I'm doing. These prestigious sects are holding a martial arts tournament soon, and they want their disciples to behave themselves. These so-called heroes are just looking for an opportunity to make a name for themselves!"
"Does our Holy Church fear these hypocritical so-called righteous people?"
The young woman sneered, "The cult leader's grand plan has failed, and you've ruined it?"
The elderly woman quickly lowered her head: "This old woman wouldn't dare."
“Mother-in-law, I’m not a child anymore. I don’t want you to talk back to me like this again.”
"Yes, Holy Maiden."
"Get up, don't delay the trip."
After traveling for half a month, Ouyang Feng and his companions witnessed all walks of life, and all three felt heavy-hearted.
In the past two weeks, they have also personally killed cult members. Seeing the fanaticism of the people, they felt really bad.
Moreover, besides cults, there are many martial arts practitioners who use their power to oppress the people. Some so-called righteous sects also handle matters with bias. Only now do they realize that not all righteous sects are like Linghe Valley, and not all people have a peaceful life like the people of Linghe City.
They thought the refugees who sought refuge in Linghe City were already miserable enough, but they didn't expect there were even more tragic cases outside.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
