Xiaoyaomen won the first battle and hundreds of Japanese pirates were wiped out, but Ren Xiaoyao couldn't be happy. Although the Central Plains martial arts factions did not suffer too many casualties this time, with less than fifty casualties, they defeated a Japanese bandit of nearly 500 people. The result was not small. However, after Ren Xiaoyao and other martial arts people returned, they found that none of the group that started out at the beginning, namely the people from Laughing Moon Song, Fifth Line and Jade Immortal Pavilion, came back.
Ren Xiaoyao couldn't help but panic, so he sent out his troops and began to search carefully, but still found nothing.
Tang Zhong of the Dragon Sword Society was also very worried, because one of his important subordinates, Ananda, who was also the most skilled martial artist in the Dragon Sword Society, never came back after their separation last night.
Although Tang Zhong concluded that Ananda was definitely still alive, he had not come back yet, so he was probably in trouble. Tang Zhong knew that Ananda was very powerful in martial arts. If he was not a top martial arts master, he would usually not be able to resist him. However, after these several battles with the Japanese pirates, Tang Zhong also discovered that the Japanese pirates were also full of masters, and they were a mixed bag, with all kinds of masters.
What everyone didn't expect was that the prefect's daughter, Miss Hong Yaqiu, was actually a disciple of the Fire Evil Sect. But there is one thing that Tang Zhong still doesn't understand. Why do the big figures of the Japanese pirates keep saying that Miss Hong is from the temple? What is her relationship with the temple?
Tang Zhong couldn't figure it out for a while, because on the surface, Miss Hong had no direct connection with the temple. This was the most troublesome problem.
Of course, since Miss Hong can be a disciple of the Fire Evil Sect, it is not unusual for her to have private contacts with the temple. However, according to Tang Zhong's private observation, it seems that the new Lord of the Temple, Sheng Zhiqiang, does not know about this matter at all.
Because this matter was of great importance, even though all the martial arts people involved in the operation knew about it, no one dared to speak out about it. Master Hong has a special status, and he also has the support of Eunuch Shi from Dongchang. These martial arts sects obviously know Dongchang's style and know that if they go against Dongchang, no matter whether they are people in the court or martial arts heroes, they will never fall behind. Therefore, no one dared to publicize this matter until Ren Xiaoyao and other martial arts giants spoke.
Ren Xiaoyao also felt that this matter had become very difficult because he had a good relationship with Mr. Hong. But if he came to tell the truth now, I'm afraid Master Hong wouldn't believe it. In this way, not only will his relationship with Mr. Hong become extremely awkward, but it may even cause the covenant between Mr. Hong and Xiaoyao Sect to become empty talk again.
Although the court is determined to fight against the Japanese pirates, if Lord Hong cannot work together with the various martial arts factions, it will be difficult for them to achieve great things.
Ren Xiaoyao felt that things were getting more and more chaotic, like a mess with no clue at all.
The temple suddenly turned an enemy into a friend, and the new leader Sheng Zhiqiang actually became the leader of the anti-Japanese alliance; and Master Meiyun turned a friend into an enemy again, and became a big murder weapon for the Japanese pirates. Coupled with the special status of Miss Hong Yaqiu Hong, if any of these things are not handled well, it may directly lead to the failure of this anti-Japanese mission.
Ren Xiaoyao didn't expect how things could become so complicated and troublesome, so he could only find Tang Mugong secretly to discuss it.
Now, he couldn't believe anyone but only Tang Mugong.
This anti-Japanese righteous act was originally called by the two major sects, but now that there are many people who seem like friends but not friends, and who seem like enemies but not enemies, they consciously have to be more careful.
"Brother Mu Gong? What do you think about this matter?" Ren Xiaoyao asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Miss Hong?"
"In my opinion, there may be a misunderstanding." Tang Mugong replied.
"But we can't go to the Hong Mansion to verify this matter in person. If we meet Mr. Hong, we don't know how to speak?" Ren Xiaoyao was confused.
"This matter should be clarified sooner rather than later. This matter must be clarified as soon as possible, otherwise there will be greater chaos." Tang Mugong said very urgently.
"Yes! That's why I came to you to discuss this matter!" Ren Xiaoyao also said anxiously.
"Also, does the Pavilion Master know who the person who showed us the way yesterday was?" Tang Mugong still couldn't let go of this question, so he raised it first.
"I was just wondering." Ren Xiaoyao said this, naturally he didn't know.
"This time, all the demons and monsters gathered together, and it became more and more lively." Tang Mugong said with a wry smile.
"I wonder what happened to the fifth line and the others, why did they suddenly disappear!" Ren Xiaoyao began to worry about the fifth line and others again.
"Pavilion Master Ren, don't worry. These great swordsmen have experienced many battles and nothing will happen to them! What I'm worried about now is that Master Meiyun is still here. How did Master Meiyun suddenly change into a chess piece of Ghost Daozi?" Tang Mugong was even more dissatisfied. Explain.
"However, I seem to have suddenly understood." Ren Xiaoyao thought for a moment and then said slowly.
"Understand what?"
"Perhaps! The matter of Master Shitai was originally a back-up that Ghost Daozi left for him. In fact, he may have been planning this matter since the battle in the capital. It's just that the old ghost feels that his trump card has not yet been used. , so I kept a secret in the capital." Ren Xiaoyao explained.
Tang Mugong didn't understand yet, so he thought for a while, and then suddenly realized something important, so he had to ask in a low voice: "Could it be that before the capital, all the people of the Emei sect were hit with soul-fixing needles? Among them... ...Including the master?" Although Tang Mugong asked this question, even he himself could not believe that this was the truth.
"Now it seems that this is the only reasonable explanation?"
"But if the old ghost could control Shitai a long time ago, why did he still instruct Shitai to jump off the cliff instead of fighting to the death with you and me?" Tang Mugong asked.
"If you can explain this problem, you can understand all the secrets of the Emei Sect. Maybe, based on my guess, it may be because the master's will is too strong. Even though Gui Daozi has the soul-fixing needle, he cannot completely control the master." Ren Xiaoyao deduced.
"It's possible." Tang Mugong couldn't help but believe Ren Xiaoyao's conclusion now.
"Master, my disciple Jishan wants to see you!"
"Oh! Come in!"
"Master, according to the report from the spies, the remaining Japanese pirates have indeed withdrawn from Nanfeng Cliff to the sea, but only Hong... Dead Water Fairy is missing." Huang Jishan came in and reported. Huang Jishan paused when he spoke. Even he couldn't figure out whether the Dead Water Fairy was Miss Hong Yaqiu?
"Did the Japanese pirates ever find out?" Ren Xiaoyao asked.
"No, if my disciple inquires in person, he will never be discovered." Huang Jishan replied.
"Very good! Just let these little shrimps go! The big fish is still behind." Ren Xiaoyao's expression suddenly became decisive.
"Then there is another one? How should we deal with it?" Huang Jishan asked.
Both Ren Xiaoyao and Tang Mugong knew which "one" he was talking about, and this "one" was also the most troublesome. A single move could affect the whole body. There was no foolproof plan, so they didn't dare to move. However, if they are ignored, it is very likely to cause serious damage to them again.
"You should step back first! Let me think about it!" Ren Xiaoyao said.
"Yes, Master!" Huang Jishan said, and just as he was about to retreat, he was stopped by Ren Xiaoyao: "That's right! Over at Yumu Village, you have to be more careful and have a bright mind."
"Disciple Sun understands."
Huang Jishan had just left when a black dog suddenly appeared at the door. Ren Xiaoyao was about to go back to the house when he suddenly felt that the black dog looked very familiar, so he immediately turned around.
"Brother Mu Gong, look!"
"What's the matter?" Tang Mugong said, and then he also saw the black dog. There was a letter in his dog's mouth.
Just as Ren Xiaoyao was about to go over, the black dog stepped back sharply, dropped the letter, and ran away.
Ren Xiaoyao and Tang Mugong then stepped forward to open the map, only to see that there was no letter inside, but only a hand-drawn map.
"Hanshui Valley! It seems that this expert is one step ahead of us." Ren Xiaoyao immediately understood the meaning of the map.
"Then let's go rescue people quickly!"
Although there was not a word on the map, Ren Xiaoyao recognized this place as the Hanshui Valley that few people went to.
"Ariel, quickly gather the troops and follow me out." Ren Xiaoyao ordered loudly.
In order to keep it secret, Ren Xiaoyao and Tang Mugong just urgently ordered their men to gather their troops, but they did not say what they were going to do, nor did they show the map to the public to avoid leaking the news.
Sheng Zhiqiang didn't know what Xiaoyao Sect and Tang Sect were doing. Not long after he came back, he wanted to go out again, so he had to send someone secretly to keep an eye on them.
After the Tang Sect and Xiaoyao Sect teams went out respectively, the people from Tang Zhong and the Dragon Sword Society slowly followed.
But they didn't follow too closely, because they knew that there must be other spies behind these two teams.
"Master, why don't we follow closely?" Long Fuzhang asked.
"The mantis flies at the cicada, but the oriole is behind! What we want to follow is not the people from Tang Clan and Xiaoyao Clan, but the people following them." Tang Zhong replied.
Perhaps his subordinates will never understand Tang Zhong's thoughts. Or, it could be said that his subordinates' brains simply couldn't keep up and they couldn't imagine that Tang Zhong was as comprehensive as he was.
"The one following them?"
When the Long brothers were curious, they saw a group of people and followed them quietly, but they didn't see where this group of people came from. There were only four people in this group. They didn't go far before they were immediately divided into two teams. One way we still followed the main road, but the other way turned into a forest path.
"What do they want to do?" Long Fusheng asked.
"Follow me and take a look. You'll find out soon. Brother Long, the two who go up the mountain will be left to you. Brother Long, let's go to Cold Water Valley." Tang Zhong ordered.
"Yes! I'll follow right away. I just hope Ananda is safe and sound!" After Long Fuzhang finished speaking, he immediately left the mountain.
Tang Zhong took Xiao Hei with him, but he didn't follow too closely, for fear that there would be another group of people following behind them.
They had Xiao Hei with them, so they were not afraid of getting lost. What's more, they actually knew that the destination of Ren Xiaoyao's trip was Hanshui Valley, because this news was sent by Tang Zhong.
After Ananda disappeared, Tang Zhong quickly found Ananda's location with Xiao Hei. But after discovering that they were trapped, their Dragon Sword Society had too few manpower, so they had no choice but to come back and ask for help from Ren Xiaoyao and Tang Mugong.
However, once Xiaoyaomen's troops are dispatched, they will definitely attract the attention of their enemies.
Tang Zhong now even discovered that it was impossible to tell whether the martial arts people around him were humans or ghosts.
It's like every tree and plant is at war, and there is no one you can trust except yourself.
