The crying sound covered the conversation between Senior Sister Hong Miao and the old man in gray. Xi Heng rubbed his ears and tried to hear clearly, but he could hear nothing.
"It's too far away..."
A moment later, she saw the old man in gray put away his sword and left with the child in his arms.
The sound of swords stopped, and the only sounds around were the crackling of fire and the occasional sound of buildings collapsing.
Xi Heng continued to stay where he was, waiting for the senior sister to leave.
However, Senior Sister Hong Miao had been waiting in the courtyard between the fire scenes for nearly two minutes and was still standing there.
"..."
Why aren't you leaving yet, Senior Sister?
After all, why did she suddenly appear here?
Xi Heng had a vague guess in his mind.
Just as I had some thoughts in my mind, my senior sister suddenly asked calmly:
"Junior sister, those people have gone far away, isn't it time to show up?"
The night wind carried the sound to Xi Heng's ears, causing the girl hiding in the dark to tremble all over.
She hesitated whether to hide for a while, but then she remembered that there was no need to bother with her senior sister, so she sighed and walked out from behind the ruins of the stable.
Xi Heng rolled up his sleeves to cover the bloodstains on his lower arm and the back of his hand.
She walked out reluctantly and asked, "Senior sister, did you come here with me secretly?"
Hong Miao nodded gently and said as a matter of course: "I heard someone leave the courtyard late at night, and came to such a dangerous place, so of course I had to follow and take a look."
Afterwards, she looked around and asked doubtfully, "Junior sister, is there something you need to do here?"
"It's not necessary." Xi Heng waved his bloody hands: "We're done, let's go back."
She didn't really want her senior sister to see what she was doing in the stable, as it might cause some misunderstandings.
"Taking the opportunity to seek revenge?" Hong Miao guessed when she saw the blood on Xi Heng's hands.
"No."
"But you're covered in blood..."
"There's only a little blood on my palm, not on my clothes." After Xi Heng denied it, he saw that his senior sister was still curious, so he changed the subject:
"Come to think of it, why did Senior Sister show up to help that old man fight the enemy?"
"I have some grudges against the Tianliang Army and don't want them to succeed smoothly." The other party answered simply.
"Grudge?"
"It happened three years ago, let's not talk about it." Hong Miao came to Xi Heng's side and curiously turned back to the previous topic: "Just now I heard you making some strange noises in this studio, what were you doing?"
"No, nothing." Xi Heng walked over and tried to pull his senior sister away.
"Don't you want me to see?" Hong Miao sighed, but she didn't continue to approach the stable without knowing the tact. She just stared at Xi Heng with a deep gaze for a while and said softly:
"Junior sister, there are really many secrets."
This slightly narrowed gaze, coupled with the strange soft voice, made Xi Heng's body slightly numb.
"It's not really a secret. It's just some preparation for tomorrow's battle." Xi Heng left first.
Hong Miao followed closely and said with a faint smile:
"Such a disaster happened tonight, but you think the martial arts competition will be held normally tomorrow?"
"It shouldn't have spread to the martial arts conference yet, right?" Xi Heng recognized the location: "Maybe."
Hong Miao chuckled a few times, exhaled slowly, looked up at the doomsday-like scene of the sea of fire around her, and nodded gently:
"Yeah, you never know."
"A few days ago, the city seemed to be peaceful and stable, but in the past two or three days, such a disaster has occurred. The world is really unpredictable."
"Not only Huangmeishan, the Tianliang Army in the south has also sent spies. Several big families in the city have been destroyed, and the government is also inevitably affected by the fire." She didn't think much and said easily: "The city is about to be in chaos."
"Today is already a mess..."
"It will be even more chaotic." Hong Miao raised her head and gestured with her hand:
"Look here, the middle city that is suffering from the fire seems to be quite large, but compared to the entire Jinshi City, it is not that big either."
"This fire will only burn down the homes of a few thousand people, but the disorder after the disaster will affect far more people."
"Also, it is said that the Tianliang Army in the south is preparing a large army and will attack us soon..." Hong Miao patted Xi Heng on the shoulder: "It's time for you to think carefully about where to go after leaving Jianyuan and Jinshi City."
……
Chapter 27: The Righteous Assembly
tomorrow.
Although a fire swept through the central city, the so-called No. 1 Martial Arts Conference in Jinshi City was still held as usual.
In the morning at the Sword Academy, Senior Sister Hong Miao persuaded Xi Heng again that it would be better not to go, but she had already made sufficient preparations in the sea of fire yesterday, and now she naturally had to continue to abide by her promise and go to the martial arts competition to fight with the people from Qingsong Sword Hall.
There was a disaster-stricken area on the road from the Sword Academy to the Martial Arts Conference. Many figures looked ashen and sat slumped on both sides of the street.
All daily necessities stores that originally sold breakfast, meals, clothing and apparel were closed, and the streets were filled with the chilly autumn wind.
The victims subconsciously wrapped themselves in clothes, but they all got up in a hurry in the middle of the night, and the clothes they wore were mostly thin and cold. Even if they curled up into a ball, they could not keep out the invading cold.
The fire has been extinguished, and the long blue smoke is rising into the sky, as if connecting the world to heaven.
Although the flames have been extinguished, all the property has been burned down, and the houses that provided shelter from the wind and rain have been reduced to ruins and ashes.
People looked at the ruins of the buildings around them, mostly in silence.
Xi Heng walked past this place and then crossed two alleys.
Because she had a sword with her, she encountered no danger along the way.
Not long after, they arrived at the martial arts competition again.
Senior Sister Hong Miao did not accompany her today. As the person in charge of the Hongxian Sword Academy, she naturally needed to stay in the academy to handle affairs and sort out relationships when such a big event happened in the outside world.
Xi Heng entered from the side door and sat down in the reserve seat just like yesterday.
Looking around, it seems that there are more people coming to the martial arts tournament today than yesterday.
The seats for the elders of the martial arts halls in front of the stage were almost full, and many martial artists in different clothing accompanied them. Tea was served and white steam was floating in the air.
Most people had serious expressions, as if they were standing before an important decision.
Some sword-wielding warriors with green scarves tied on their heads also sat in the audience seats, accompanied by some people in black robes.
Various figures entered the martial arts venue. Xi Heng looked at their postures and movements and realized that these people were basically all warriors.
They filled the audience seats, whispering to each other, but none of them were willing to disturb the silence that enveloped the entire venue.
Xi Heng made a quick count and found that there were nearly a thousand warriors in the venue, and judging from their postures and physiques, they were at least at the Ming Jin level.
"strangeness……"
It seemed that most of the warriors in the entire Jinshi City gathered here.
And today's atmosphere is different from that of yesterday's simple fighting match.
The tea served to the elders of various martial arts schools in front of the stage gradually cooled down, and no one took a sip.
In the audience seats at the back, most people were talking in low voices in groups of three or four.
Only Xi Heng sat alone in the preparation seat, looking around, still a little confused about the current situation.
Overnight, the martial arts tournament seemed to have undergone considerable changes.
Moreover, the scene no longer looked like a place for a martial arts competition, but more like a venue for a martial arts conference.
Xi Heng felt a little uneasy. Should he run away first?
Not long after, someone came onto the stage. This person was not the host of yesterday's fight, but Zhang Luoyi, who had participated in various disputes among martial artists before.
"Why is it her again..."
The bad feeling became more and more obvious.
“Almost everyone is here.”
Zhang Luoyi's voice on the stage was not loud, but it could be heard by everyone.
"You are all well-known figures in Jinshi City, so I won't waste any more words today."
"All of you, martial arts masters, wanderers, and sects around Jinshi City, have come here today in response to the call. Do you want to join our Huangmeishan Army to achieve great martial arts? Or do you want to continue to stay in this city and live a miserable life?"
After the words were spoken, no one answered.
Zhang Luoyi continued, "With your strength and skills, it would be easy for you to become rich and powerful in our land of Hailu. Why do you have to be exploited by the imperial court and the wealthy families?"
"Don't you know? Those so-called dignitaries eat the money we earn from teaching martial arts, but they regard us martial artists as thorns in their eyes and as soon as we don't pay the slightest tribute, they come to dig up old accounts and set new rules, extorting us layer by layer and wanting to take advantage of us. This is draining the pond to catch fish!"
"Some people have hanged themselves, some have been thrown into prison, some have lost their wives and children. I'm sure you've all heard of this, or even experienced it yourself."
"Warriors are respected in Hailu. As long as you enter my Huangmei Mountain, all these past grievances will be gone!"
When the voice was heard, some warriors around sighed.
Jinsha, who was in the middle of the elders' seats on the stage, clapped his hands and slammed the table with a loud voice:
"We are the Golden Sand Palm, from the Yi Huangmei Mountain!"
The response was so crisp and clear, obviously it was agreed upon in advance and was used now to boost the atmosphere.
Xi Heng looked around at the increasingly strange atmosphere and thought silently in his heart.
"Good!" There was another voice from the other side: "The Three Righteous Spears also follow the righteousness!"
"Capture the Swallow Palm together!"
……
Since the Jinsha Palm Martial Arts School, dozens of nearby martial arts schools, both large and small, have expressed their stances one after another.
Xi Heng saw that the people sitting in the reserve seats around him stood up one by one, and he moved his seat slightly.
How did the original martial arts competition suddenly become a righteousness conference... Xi Heng was really confused, as she had not received any news before.
Before long, the voices of righteousness gradually subsided.
Zhang Luoyi saw the scene and said:
"When I killed the official yesterday, I asked him why he wanted to exploit our martial arts school and sect and force us into poverty. Let me hear what he said--"
"That official pig actually said: 'The sage said, without a gentleman, one cannot rule the barbarians, and without a barbarian, one cannot raise a gentleman. This is natural and has been so since ancient times.'"
"Just because they study literature, they are gentlemen, and we practice martial arts, we are savages!" Zhang Luoyi said in a loud voice.
"You all have blood in your body, who can tolerate such words?"
Just as he finished speaking, a dark brown cloth bag was suddenly thrown out from behind the stage, landed on the martial arts stage and was cut open by Zhang Luoyi's sword.
A sword flashed with a cold light, and the contents of the bag rolled out. It was a gray-green, chubby head with loose hair.
The head turned several times on the ground, and the scattered blood stuck to the surface of the martial arts stage.
"This man is the captain of Jinshi City. All the wronged warriors were arrested and imprisoned by him! I, Huangmeishan, sent people to kill him last night and broke into the prison to release dozens of wronged warriors! They can testify here!"
Zhang Luoyi waved his hand and pointed in one direction, and dozens of people there cheered and agreed.
She then continued, "I invite you all to come to our Hailu land in Huangmei Mountain. Later, we will counterattack Jinshi City, kill the dog officials, cut off their heads and hang them on the city wall!"
"..."
Many martial artists in Jinshi City looked at each other, with hesitation in their eyes.
Gradually, the elders of the larger martial arts schools sitting at the tables in front of the stage expressed their attitudes, and most of them were willing to join the Huangmeishan Army.
Xi Heng stood aside and already understood that there would be no martial arts competition today.
This venue was requisitioned by the warriors of Huangmei Mountain as the venue for the Congyi Conference. They gathered most of the warriors in Jinshi City and excluded Hongxian Sword Academy.
So Xi Heng came here again for unknown reasons and watched such an uprising gathering.
