"The water flow here changes from rapid to slow, and passes around the city, just like a dragon lying on the beach. With such a treasure place, it is understandable that Zijun City is so prosperous and beautiful, and it deserves to be the first among the cities in Longbei."
Longzhou has a steep terrain and inconvenient transportation. Most transportation relies on water transportation. Liangjiang is the largest river in Longbei, and of course it is also the main transportation route in Longbei. Liangjiang passes through the southeast of Zijun City. The upper reaches are open and the water flow is slow, suitable for large ships. Further south is the canyon, and the water flow is very fast. You need to change the big ship into a small boat to travel back and forth. Zijun City has naturally become a natural transfer station. Merchant ships traveling from south to north will stop here. Over time, business here will prosper and the people will be rich and happy.
"The Taoist priest is right. This river is indeed a blessing to the people, but, alas..."
"Old man, it's a good thing, why are you sighing?" The elder was young, in his early twenties, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, and a very friendly face. He had a broad sword wrapped in a cloth across his leg. . The river was rushing and the boat was bumping, but he sat firmly on the bow of the boat, gesturing towards the shore with one hand, and counting with his fingers with the other hand.
"What the Taoist priest doesn't know is that the new county governor only drinks and has fun every day, indulges in sexual activities, and indulges his cronies. Since he took office, bandits have been rampant and the people are uneasy. Now he has received an official document from the state capital, ordering him to We went out to suppress the bandits, but we couldn't even raise an army." The boatman was the only one at the helm, with a miserable look on his face, and he spoke a lot without even taking a breath.
The Taoist priest comforted him: "Since the county guard didn't do anything, he reported it to the Heavenly Mansion and it will be dealt with naturally. I believe the order here will be restored soon. Please don't worry, father-in-law."
"It's not that simple." The boatman shook his head repeatedly, "People's livelihood is difficult, and it may be difficult to recover."
"How do you start talking about this?" The Taoist priest stopped his movements and was quite puzzled.
"I'm an old man who talks a lot. Let me tell you a story. Please don't take offense, Taoist Priest."
"It's no surprise. The journey is long and boring. It would be great if there are stories to listen to."
"This story is known to all children and adults in Zijun City. The Taoist Priest, who is an outsider, must not know it. It is said that a dragon once descended to the Liangjiang River and wreaked havoc, causing the river to churn, crashing merchant ships, destroying farmland, and making people miserable. Later, a local hero and warrior killed the dragon to put an end to the disaster. From then on, the mountains and rivers were safe and the world was at peace."
"This disaster caused by the dragon must be the flood. I wonder which master managed the flood here?" the Taoist priest interjected.
The boatman was stunned. He didn't expect anyone to have such an idea. Shouldn't practitioners be more interested in dragons?
The scene was cold for a while, and the boatman felt like he had something stuck in his throat, but he didn't know how to answer.
The Taoist priest understood that most people in the world did not have the opportunity or energy to study the truth and essence of things. It was normal for them not to know, so he explained, "There are no dragons in this world."
"Haha, if there are no cultivators like Taoist Master, then they are no more." The boatman's mouth trembled, not wanting to continue to argue about this matter. "But there is still a dragon in this story. It is said that this dragon carries five orbs, which belong to metal, wood, water, fire and earth. They are used as a magic weapon to suppress the luck of Zijun City. However, one of them has been lost at this time. Once luck breaks down, no matter how many county governors are replaced, it will be in vain."
"Then where is this orb?" The Taoist priest stood up.
"It's on you!" Before he could finish his words, the paddle had already hit the Taoist priest's face.
The Taoist priest remained motionless, waved his sleeves and robes, and threw out a thunderball, which exploded the boatman's oar. "This speedboat requires the combined efforts of four strong men to move. My father-in-law alone can drive the boat upstream. It is indeed not an ordinary person." .”
"Since you know I want to kill you, how dare you enter the siege?" The boatman whistled, and six shirtless men flew out from the bottom of the boat. They had ghost tattoos on their bodies and held strange weapons, oars, and poles in their hands. Iron hook, iron chisel...
The seven people formed a formation and caused the surrounding river water to form a current barrier, wrapping the boat and sinking it underwater.
The Taoist priest was not afraid in the face of danger and took out a talisman from his sleeve. The golden sword light wrapped the talisman and extended it to a length of three feet. He easily cut through the water curtain. Before the boatman and others could react, the sword light twisted the entire boat. Several enemies were cut into two pieces at the same time.
The seven of them discovered that their opponents were Xuanjing before they died. I wonder if they regret trusting others. Since the eradication of bandits, Taoist priests have often encountered such assassinations and ambushes along the way. It seems that the mastermind behind the bandits is very powerful.
The water surface surged, and the Taoist priest jumped from the river to the shore. There was a blue orb floating beside him. He got it when he wiped out the bandits. It could separate the river water and not a drop of water got on him.
"I still can't control the strength of the sword well. I thought I could leave the boat behind, but now I can only walk."
"The governor of Zijun City always feels that there is something wrong with him, so I should go check it out if I have the chance."
…
There are rolling mountains to the northwest of Zijun City, and there are many marching tents in some of the remote valleys. They are not military camps, but training grounds for bandit reserves.
These are all villagers kidnapped by nearby bandits. Some of them were captured, and others were tempted by the bandits to join voluntarily.
At this time, the two parties were fighting in the valley. The bandits were not surprised by this kind of thing and did not stop it.
There are many people on one side, but the average combat effectiveness is much lower. Only a few people in the front row fight bravely. Most of this group of people were captured and had difficulty getting used to the way of life here.
The people on the other side fought more fiercely, and Liu Qiming was among them. He thought he would become a bandit when he came here, but he didn't expect that he would have to train.
Do you need training to be a bandit? That's not something you can do just by picking up a weapon.
But even so, the villagers who were deceived became even more enthusiastic, always feeling that they were in the right place and that they would be able to stand out in the future.
Liu Qiming didn't want to go back to his old village. Even if he went back, he would have to make a name for himself first. Then those old guys would have to be afraid of him and they would have to listen to whatever he said.
During training on weekdays, it’s hard to know how long it takes to stand out. Today, there were people watching the game next to the school field. If he showed his outstanding performance, he might be selected directly. Liu Qiming was cruel, picked up a sharpened bamboo stick, squeezed to the front line of the fight between the two sides, and received several punches and kicks from unknown sources. He didn't even have time to wipe the blood from his face, and took the bamboo stick in his hand. Stab straight into the belly of the strong man in the front row of the opponent. Seeing that the strong man did not fall, he took out the bamboo stick and stabbed him four or five times. Blood spattered everywhere, and the strong man fell to the ground without making a sound.
Although these bandit reserves were fighting each other, they did not think of actually killing people at this time, and they were silent for a while.
The little leader on the hilltop in the distance watched this scene with great interest. He saw that although Liu Qiming was short in stature, he had a fierce temperament and was not afraid of death, so he was very useful. So he lined up the crowd and came to Liu Qiming, "Young man, you have done a good job. You don't need to live here now. You can follow me from now on."
