It was late at night, and a large boat was slowly sailing on the river. The water on the river is dense and white. Looking from a distance, only the white light emitted from the lantern on the bow of the ship was still clear.
There is a bright full moon hanging in the sky. The full moon is reflected in the center of the river, which is quite interesting. At this time, Xiao Yunfan was not in the mood to appreciate this wonderful scene. Because his right eyelid kept beating, his heart felt like a bug caught in a spider's web. Seeing the colorful spider crawling towards him step by step, he felt uneasy and helpless.
Suddenly, he opened his eyes and turned over to sit up. He reached out and lit the oil lamp. Bean-sized lights quickly filled the cabin and shone on his face, causing fine beads of sweat to slowly slide down his forehead. Panting heavily, he grasped the hilt of the sword beside the bed and slowly drew out the sword. The cold light of the sword was dazzling, and it was the sword in his hand that made him feel safe.
Xiao Yunfan looked at the sword for a long time. Then the window pane was slowly pushed open, and the cool moonlight poured in, making the small room bright. The night wind blew and scattered his hair. He looked out the window and pondered: "Could something happen to Brother Luo?"
This thought was like a dove, constantly circling in his mind, making him increasingly uneasy. After finally waiting until dawn, he hastily packed up and bowed, said a few words to his second maid, and then left the boat and headed for Chengdu.
When we got to the shore, a row of willows swayed in the wind, and there was an endless stream of pedestrians on the road. After walking north along the road for twenty miles, we came to a small town. He had a hearty meal first, then went to the market to buy a horse, asked someone about the way to Chengdu, and set off in a hurry.
At dusk, we actually rushed from Gong County to Yibin. When he was short of people and horses, he randomly picked an inn to stay. After washing my feet, I fell asleep. When I woke up, it was already three o'clock in the morning.
He opened his mouth and yawned, then jumped out of bed and walked towards the window. Opening the window and looking out, the street was crowded and very lively. From east to west, more than a dozen shops line up. The shouts of vendors in front of the stalls along the street came one after another, and everyone was beaming with joy, as if they had endless energy.
Suddenly, he saw four unkempt beggars in the crowd, and the one walking in front was Zhang Chengyun.
Xiao Yunfan thought in his heart and said happily: "There is a way of meeting enemies on a narrow road. You, Zhang Chengyun, almost killed your Grandpa Xiao last time in Zhongnan Mountain. Thanks to your Grandpa, I am blessed with good fortune. As the saying goes, it is not a gentleman not to retaliate when you have a grudge. I won't let you do it this time. You old boy, you have to suffer a little, and I, the Jade Lion, will be your grandson."
He quickly put on his long robe, shouldered his long sword, went out through the window, tiptoed, and landed lightly on the tiles of the opposite roof. The streets are crowded with people, so it's not a good time to start. Zhang Chengyun and his three disciples walked from east to west, turned around the intersection, and walked into an alley to the south.
Although Xiao Yunfan's lightness skills were not as good as before, it was very easy to follow the four of them. After the four people walked into the alley, they stopped in front of the gate of a courtyard. A disciple reached out and grabbed a shiny copper door knocker and knocked three times. People inside asked: "Who are you honoring by burning incense at Yetai?"
What the insider said was an indictment of the Beggar Clan. Whenever there is a secret gathering in the world that requires communication, there is a set of code words for one's own people to prevent outsiders from seeing through. When communicating with each other, they have to do some testing.
The disciple said loudly: "Guan Gong Qin Qiong Yang Jiao Ai."
The person in the door asked again: "The clouds follow the tiger, the wind follows the dragon, who is the most powerful in the world?"
The disciple said: "The sky is strong, the evil is on the earth, yin and yang take over the good fortune."
The person inside the door heard that the other party's words were correct, so he slowly opened the door latch, leaned out and said with a smile: "Come in, four of you." The four of them walked around the screen wall and walked into the patio. Xiao Yunfan regained his strength and jumped out, hiding himself on an old locust tree with lush branches and looking down.
A gravel path in the courtyard leads directly to the main room, with flower gardens on both sides of the gravel path. Two white paper lanterns hung outside the hall, swaying in the wind. Under the eaves stood two beggars in ragged clothes. There were more than a dozen beggars drinking and punching in the courtyard.
When Xiao Yunfan saw Zhang Chengyun and his disciples entering the house with the man, he ducked out, slid out like a bat, and landed lightly on the roof of the hall. He carefully lifted up a tile and looked inside. Zhang Chengyun sat on the Taishi chair at the bottom, with the other three disciples standing behind him. Sitting opposite him was a middle-aged man in a blue shirt.
Zhang Chengyun said with a smile: "Brother Hao, you are well and well. Now you live here and enjoy happiness, I really envy you!"
This middle-aged man in blue shirt is the apprentice of Uncle Zhang Chengyun. His name is Hao Siming. Although he is one level lower than Zhang Chengyun, he is a prominent figure in Sichuan.
Hao Siming was originally from Yibin, so he replied in Sichuan dialect: "Brother, don't make fun of me. I can't compare with you. You are the popular person in front of the gang leader, so you insist on getting it. If senior brother sneezes, Sichuan will be like this." It’s going to rain.”
Zhang Chengyun laughed and said: "No wonder you kid can make a lot of money. You can say that you are white even if you have a black mouth." Hao Siming held his belly and laughed and said: "Senior Brother Zhang, you have always waited for nothing at Sanbaodian. , If the business is not urgent, let me be the host to fulfill the friendship of the landlord."
Zhang Chengyun told him the truth and waved his hand for the three disciples to guard the door. With a wink at Hao Siming, Hao Siming also asked his left and right disciples to retreat, leaving him alone in the hall.
Zhang Chengyun said seriously: "To be honest, brother, I have something important to do when I come to Shuzhong this time. The old gang leader told me to bring it to Elder Cheng. Elder Cheng was not in Chengdu a few days ago, so he must have other matters to deal with. I'm looking for a way to communicate. It felt inappropriate to give it to his subordinates, so I asked my brother to submit it on his behalf."
Hao Siming hesitated and said: "This...I'm afraid..." Zhang Chengyun took out a yellow envelope from his arms, stood up and walked to Hao Siming. Hao Siming stood up to take it when Zhang Chengyun reached out with five fingers on his right hand and pointed at Hao Siming's chest as fast as lightning.
Firstly, Hao Siming was not prepared, and secondly, Zhang Chengyun's martial arts was much better than him. The important point on his chest was immediately hit by the opponent. He was shocked and said loudly: "Brother Zhang... what do you mean?" Zhang Chengyun's face was covered with a layer of frost. He took two steps forward and raised his hand. Hit him in the neck. Hao Siming rolled his eyes, foamed at the mouth, and fainted immediately. Zhang Chengyun took out a roll of beef tendon rope from a gray pocket on his back and tied him up tightly.
When Xiao Yunfan saw this, he couldn't help but wonder: "Why does this transportation deal with one of our own people? It's really strange."
At this moment, Zhang Chengyun walked to the door, opened it, took out a letter, and pulled out the pages. He loudly said to the disciples outside the door: "According to the gang leader's instructions, take the imperial stake. Who is the biggest among you except Hao Siming?"
A skinny young man in the courtyard raised his hands and said: "Return to the elder, this villain is a close confidant of Hall Hao." Zhang Chengyun winked at the disciples on his left and right and said: "Take it." The two beggars took action from the left and right, and pounced on the young man. Pushed down to the ground. The young man kept saying in fear: "I don't know what the villain did that caused the elder to treat me like this?" The other beggars in the courtyard also looked at each other and were at a loss.
Zhang Chengyun stepped forward, pointed at the man and shouted coldly: "This man is close to Hao Siming, and he is a thorn in the side of the court. Go and tell all the leading disciples in Yibin to come here to see me."
The disciples were shocked when they heard what he said. They didn't expect that Hall Master Hao was actually from the imperial court. They had mixed feelings in their hearts and stood there blankly. Zhang Chengyun took out a knife and cut off the young man's ear. The young man screamed like a pig and fainted.
He held up the bloody ear and yelled loudly with a fierce look in his eyes: "You are fucking deaf. How dare you not listen to me? Why don't you go quickly."
Seeing this scene, all the beggars felt anxious and fled through the door one after another. Zhang Chengyun's eyes fell on a disciple with a scar on his face, and he said calmly: "Daozi, you and Baimao showed Hao Siming to me. Douzi put flowers to inform Elder Liu and the others."
Within half an hour, most of Hao Siming's men arrived and stood waiting in the courtyard. Liu Wanting also appeared in this house. Zhang and Liu sat separately in the hall. Liu Wanting picked up a cigarette rod, lit the tobacco in the pot with hot coals, and started smoking. The hall was filled with smoke.
Zhang Chengyun touched his chin and said with a smile: "Brother Liu, if we take Hao Siming this time, Cheng Lixin will have a broken arm. Cheng Lixin will not have the final say on matters on the ground in Shuzhong from now on."
Liu Wanting blew out the smoke and said leisurely: "This old ghost Cheng Lixin always has trouble with me. This time you can be considered as venting your anger on my brother's behalf."
Zhang Chengyun reached out and picked up the tea bowl, took a sip, wiped his mouth, laughed and said: "Brother Liu, since Hao Siming is in our hands, I will use some methods to get him to get involved with Lao Cheng. Elder Qi will be here then." , even though he has a long mouth all over his body, he can’t even explain it.”
Liu Wanting was overjoyed when he heard what he said. Suddenly he narrowed his eyes and stared at Zhang Chengyun and said: "Good brother, it's rare for you to think so thoughtfully. You must have some agenda for helping my brother like this. Why don't you just tell me?"
Zhang Chengyun coughed twice, stretched out three fingers and said: "As the ancients said, brothers should settle accounts clearly. From now on, brothers will pay 30% of the money collected from the ground in Shuzhong." When Liu Wanting heard this, he became furious. He knocked the cigarette ashes on the soles of his feet and pressed the cigarette stem on the table with a snap. Staring at Zhang Chengyun for a long time, he said coldly: "You are too greedy."
Zhang Chengyun touched his chin and said with a smile: "Brother Liu, I will help you pull out the thorn in your side. Thirty percent of the money is really not much."
Liu Wanting lowered his head, snorted two cold breaths from his nose, clenched his fists, thought about it again, and sat down. He gritted his teeth and said, "Okay! That's it."
Xiao Yunfan smiled slightly when he saw this, and thought to himself: "I thought these two people were inseparable from each other and had a close friendship. It seems that in their eyes, father and mother are not as close as this money! Since they don't trust each other, then It’s much easier to deal with the beggar gang.”
