The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun

Page 59

"Junior brother."

Laudenuo called out from behind, but Tao Jun had already caught up by then, and he couldn't help but shake his head.

Since the other party has appeared now, he is not a person with high martial arts skills, but just an ordinary bandit. Shu Qi will not be in trouble if he chases after him.

Laudenau began searching the mountain stronghold alone.

For some reason, the rain kept getting heavier and heavier, and outside it was pouring rain, with raindrops the size of marbles falling down.

In the pitch-black mountains, a bandit stronghold remained silent, save for the occasional flash of lightning that illuminated the land and revealed the corpses.

When Laudenau searched the houses one by one, he found no remaining bandits; at this point, there was still one house in front of him.

Squeak!

Upon opening the door, instead of the expected empty room, a strong smell of blood filled the air.

Laudenau approached the house and found several bandits' corpses lying on the ground. There were no wounds on their bodies, except for a knife wound on their neck, which clearly indicated that they had been killed with a single blow.

Ok?

Laudenau's eyes narrowed.

Their fellow disciples hadn't even reached this place before.

Who killed the people here?

Such a clean and efficient technique must belong to a master.

Laudenau suddenly felt something was wrong, and his eyelids began to twitch violently.

The physical abnormalities horrified Laudenau.

Whenever he exhibits this symptom, it signifies that something unfavorable to him has been discovered.

Laudenau turned to leave without hesitation.

"Second Senior Brother, where are you going?"

Just as Laudenau turned around, a voice rang out behind him.

The voice was very familiar, but as the rain grew louder, it was drowned out and Laudenau couldn't hear it clearly.

Laudenau's body trembled, and he slowly turned his head to see a figure standing at the door with a knife in his hand, just looking at him.

The wind howled, making the newcomer's clothes flutter, and the rain poured down harder. The darkness made it impossible for Laudenau to make out the newcomer's features.

Boom!

A bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating the earth in an instant, and the face of the newcomer came into clear view.

Laudenau's pupils contracted sharply.

Chapter 93: Second Senior Brother, It's Time to Set Off

"Junior brother?"

Laudenau cried out in surprise.

"Why are you here?"

Upon seeing that it was Jiang Ning, Laudenuo's sixth sense went off like crazy, and he subconsciously sensed that danger was rapidly approaching.

Jiang Ning looked at him, stepped into the room, and walked step by step toward Lao Denuo with a smile on his face: "I've come to send my second senior brother on his way."

On the road?

Laudenau's pupils constricted, and he exclaimed, "You want to kill me?"

Jiang Ning smiled and said, "It's already quite obvious, isn't it?"

Laudenau's face was filled with shock and anger, his heart pounding. He said, "You've harmed your fellow disciples, aren't you afraid Master will find out? He won't let you off if he finds out!"

"hehe."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ning chuckled and said, "It was my master who sent me to kill you."

what?

Laudenau's expression changed, and he looked at Jiang Ning in disbelief.

"why?"

Jiang Ning chuckled and said, "Do you really think your master knows nothing? Do you really think we don't know you're a spy sent by the Songshan Sect?"

Jiang Ning still wore that smile, but to Laudenuo at that moment, it filled him with extraordinary fear.

As Jiang Ning drew closer to Laudenuo, his tone grew increasingly menacing, and Laudenuo could clearly sense the killing intent emanating from him.

Laudenau kept backing away, listening to Jiang Ning's words, his shock and horror were beyond words.

"Second Senior Brother, there's no need to look around anymore. Senior Brother Shi Daizi and the others aren't here right now, and Senior Brother Tao Jun was lured away by me earlier. They won't be back anytime soon, and you shouldn't even think about running away. You know my methods. If I want to kill you, you can't escape."

Laudenau stared at Jiang Ning in shock and anger. He had just gone through a fierce battle, and his physical strength and internal energy were greatly depleted. In addition, he had not rested much in the past few days, and his physical strength was already starting to give out. His strength was already lower than Jiang Ning's, and now he was like a lamb to the slaughter.

Whoosh!

Laudenau's expression hardened, and he threw the sword in his hand, making a gesture as if he was about to fight to the death, but the next second he was heading towards the window.

when!

Bang!

Laudenau was kicked back, and the sword he threw at Jiang Ning was also deflected by Jiang Ning with a casual slash.

Laudenau looked at Jiang Ning in shock and anger, and asked, "When did Yue Buqun find out that I was an inside agent sent by Zuo Lengchan?"

Jiang Ning approached Laudenuo and smiled at him, saying, "From the first day you arrived..."

Laudenau looked shocked and said incredulously, "Impossible! If he knew back then, why didn't Yue Buqun kill me? Why did he keep me alive all these years?"

Jiang Ning said, "Keeping you alive is still useful because we need you to keep the Songshan Sect and Zuo Lengchan in check, but now you're useless and can die."

Laudenau was both shocked and furious: "You deliberately staged this bandit-suppression operation just to kill me?"

"hehe."

Jiang Ning chuckled and shook his head gently: "Alright, Second Senior Brother, it's time to get going."

After saying that, Jiang Ning's smile vanished, and he looked at Laudenuo expressionlessly. With a flick of his wrist, a flash of light appeared on his blade.

puff!

Laudenau clutched his neck, staring wide-eyed at Jiang Ning, making unconscious hoarse noises.

His throat was completely severed by Jiang Ning with a single stroke.

Blood seeped through the gaps between Laudenau's fingers, forming a pool of blood on the ground.

Jiang Ning had already left by then.

……

When Jiang Ning returned, he still did not attract the attention of Lin Pingzhi and the others.

His location was only a few dozen miles away from Laudenuo's, and a round trip would only be a hundred miles or so. He could make the round trip in about an hour by riding at full speed. Including the time it would take him to go up the mountain, kill Laudenuo, and come down, it would take him a little over two hours to complete the task.

Before this, Jiang Ning had specifically told Lin Pingzhi and the others that he was going to cultivate his internal energy in his room, so no one went looking for him during this time, and no one noticed that he had left.

Now that Lao Denuo is dead, the Huashan Sect is temporarily out of Zuo Lengchan's sight. In the coming period, the Huashan Sect must develop rapidly. By the time Zuo Lengchan realizes what's happening, the overall strength of the Huashan Sect will have already improved by a level.

Linghu Chong's group has probably finished clearing out the bandits, and Lao Denuo's group has also been almost completely wiped out. Only his group is left with one last bandit. Once Jiang Ning finishes clearing out the last bandit den tomorrow, they can return to Mount Hua.

This anti-bandit operation was planned by Jiang Ning from beginning to end.

Jiang Ning had already conceived of this plan when Yue Buqun revealed to him that he wanted to kill Lao Denuo. Yue Buqun provided the locations of these mountain strongholds, and he arranged the plan and details.

Since the Huashan Sect suffered a severe decline in its membership, it has been in a state of stagnation. Apart from Linghu Chong, few disciples left the mountain. After the sword-qi conflict, the Huashan Sect closed its mountain for a considerable period of time. Even though Yue Buqun earned the title of Gentleman Sword outside, he only had a good reputation in the martial arts world and his influence was far less than before.

Jiangning's move was aimed at eradicating these bandit strongholds entrenched in various parts of the four prefectures and eliminating these scourges for the people.

Secondly, it aims to revitalize the reputation of the Huashan School in Shaanxi, letting the people of Shaanxi know of its existence.

Thirdly, it serves as a deterrent to those who seek to undermine it. What the Qingcheng Sect did in Hanzhong last time was the first time, but it won't be the last. The Huashan Sect is now asserting its sovereignty and warning other forces that are eager to challenge it. If they dare to spread their influence in Shaanxi in the same way as the Qingcheng Sect did before, then they shouldn't blame the Huashan Sect for being impolite.

As for killing Laudenau, it was just a side effect. To think that they would go to the trouble of orchestrating an operation specifically to kill him to cover it up is giving him too much credit.

Originally, Yue Buqun was inclined to kill Lao Denuo directly, but Jiang Ning had a different idea.

Laudenau's strength is considerable; it would be a waste not to make good use of it.

Jiang Ning had Yue Buqun use the Zixia Divine Skill as bait to lure Lao Denuo into a trap. To prevent Lao Denuo from feeling that he couldn't compete with him and Linghu Chong and giving up, Jiang Ning even created a system where the first, second, and third place winners would receive a certain amount of the Zixia Divine Skill.

If Laudenau wants to obtain more of the Zixia Manual, he will inevitably work hard, and his enthusiasm and participation will be no less than that of Jiang Ning and Linghu Chong.

To achieve the highest possible ranking, Laodenuo would not slack off and would inevitably keep moving forward without stopping, eliminating one stronghold after another, which would be a drain on his physical strength and internal energy.

Jiang Ning set the endpoint of his bandit-suppression route very close to the endpoint of his own route. He learned about Lao Denuo's progress from the villagers of Huaming Village. He deliberately reduced his efficiency and kept a small gap with Lao Denuo. When Lao Denuo reached the last mountain stronghold, Jiang Ning would personally go to the stronghold he had just destroyed to wait for him.

After another fierce battle, Lao Denuo's body must not be in normal condition. He was no match for Jiang Ning to begin with, and with his physical and internal energy greatly depleted, it was even less likely that he could escape Jiang Ning's grasp. After Jiang Ning lured away Tao Jun, the last Huashan disciple by his side, Lao Denuo's life and death were completely in Jiang Ning's hands.

Lao Denuo died at Jiang Ning's hands. Even in the last moment before his death, he was still contributing his last bit of energy to the Huashan Sect. He died only after Jiang Ning had used up all his remaining value.

The entire process was orchestrated by Jiang Ning; Yue Buqun only provided some technical support and the locations of the bandit strongholds.

When Mount Hua was unable to maintain its strength, Yue Buqun would capture thieves and suppress bandits to exchange for rewards from the government. Through his long-term investigation, he had already memorized most of the bandit strongholds in various parts of Shaanxi.

Whenever the sect's funds ran out, Yue Buqun would randomly select a bandit stronghold to suppress the bandits, and this continued for many years.

Chapter 94: I will burn the Purple Cloud Divine Skill for him.

It can be said that Yue Buqun witnessed Jiang Ning's plan firsthand.

Such a plan may not be considered particularly brilliant, but it is comprehensive, appropriate, and takes into account all aspects.

Most importantly, Jiangning is taking the right path, not resorting to underhanded tactics.

He was alarmed by the ruthlessness Jiang Ning displayed, but more than anything, he was gratified.

For him and for the Huashan Sect, the more amazing Jiang Ning's performance was, the more pleasantly surprised he would be.

He has the means, the strength, the sentiment, the determination, and most importantly, the heart to uphold justice.

With such a disciple, there's no need for further words; master and disciple will work together to develop the Huashan Sect.

If even someone like him can't lead the Huashan Sect to prosperity, then there's nothing more to say about Yue Buqun.

Four days later.

Jiang Ning, along with Lin Pingzhi and the others, wiped out the last bandit stronghold and returned to Mount Hua.

After this operation, the banditry in the four prefectures of Hanzhong, Xi'an, Fengxiang, and Pingliang was eradicated, and the reputation of the Huashan Sect was once again established, bringing it into the public eye.

At this moment, the disciples of Mount Hua, who had been down the mountain for many days, stood neatly in the training ground. Jiang Ning and Linghu Chong stood in front of them, and a corpse covered with a white cloth lay across their faces.

Lao Denuo was the only one who died in this operation. Most of the other Huashan disciples were injured, many with minor injuries, and only a few with more serious injuries. However, they were generally not seriously injured or disabled and would recover after a period of rest.

Yue Buqun looked at the disciples present with satisfaction and said, "You have done a very good job in this operation. You have eliminated these scourges for the people of the four prefectures and brought them security."

As he spoke, Yue Buqun looked at the corpse covered by a white cloth on the ground and sighed.

"I was surprised by Denuo's death. I thought Denuo's progress in suppressing the bandits would be the slowest among the three. I didn't expect that although Denuo was old, his desire to benefit the people was no less than that of the others."

After Tao Jun and his men returned from chasing the bandits, they couldn't find Lao Denuo. So they searched all over the bandit stronghold and found Lao Denuo's body in that house.

Because Laudenau died so suddenly, they had no idea what had happened. Based on the deduction of one of the wise men, they deduced that Laudenau had been ambushed by bandits hiding in the house and then escaped.

It's simply because Laudenuo is too old. For the past half month, he has been busy suppressing bandits everywhere, going from one bandit stronghold to the next without much rest. Even young people like Tao Jun are finding it hard to withstand this high intensity.

Even though Laudenuo was quite strong, his body couldn't withstand such exertion. He was stronger than his fellow disciples, but he couldn't be superhuman. Especially since the last bandit stronghold was stronger than the previous five, they had to exert a lot of effort to succeed. Given Laudenuo's physical exhaustion during this period, coupled with the intense battle beforehand, it was possible that he might have been ambushed by one of the bandits hiding in a house when he was careless after clearing out a few hidden bandits in that dark environment.

Yue Buqun sighed again and said, "Although De Nuo is the oldest among you, he has been a disciple for quite some time. He has always worked diligently and conscientiously for the Huashan Sect, which I have all witnessed. It is just that I did not expect him to die in this operation. But his sacrifice was for the people of Shaanxi, so you don't need to be too sad. His death was worthwhile. Not only him, but we should also be prepared to sacrifice ourselves for the righteous path at any time."

"Yes, Master!"

Lu Dayou, Liang Fa, and the other disciples of Mount Hua spoke solemnly.

After setting the tone for this incident, Yue Buqun began to reward those who had contributed.

"In this operation, Linghu Chong's team was the first to wipe out the bandits' lair; his team was number one."