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

Page 371

Jiang Ning shook his head. "No need, I can do it."

When the little beggar's clothes were removed, the scars all over his body were shocking.

Jiang Ning moved very gently, simultaneously channeling his inner energy to heal the little beggar's injuries.

Seeing this, Lin Pingzhi left the room. He returned after he had finished washing and was carrying a piece of clothing.

The little beggar's old clothes were dirty and smelly, and he couldn't wear them anymore.

After changing his clothes, the little beggar looked completely refreshed.

Linghu Chong and Lin Pingzhi couldn't help but sigh at the sight of the little beggar.

The little beggar was only seven or eight years old, still a child, yet he suffered undeservedly.

Linghu Chong then asked the little beggar some questions. When he learned that there were many other children like him, Linghu Chong looked at his severed arm and twisted leg, and a surge of anger welled up in his heart.

"Junior brother, shall we go now?"

Linghu Chong could no longer contain himself and wished he could draw his sword and charge at the Beggars' Sect branch right now.

Jiang Ning sat at the table, gently tapping the surface with his index finger.

After a while.

Jiang Ning shook his head. "It's still early, let's go tonight."

I learned from the little beggar's words that the daytime is when the beggars beg, and they only return to the Beggars' Sect branch at night. It's not night yet, so it would be difficult to find other children who have had the same experience as the little beggar.

Linghu Chong had no choice but to suppress his anger.

At this time, the inn also delivered food.

"Let's eat first, let's eat first."

Lin Pingzhi greeted him.

The food at the inn was delicious, but apart from the little beggar who ate with great relish, Jiang Ning and the other two didn't eat much.

night.

Jiang Ning stood up.

"Senior Brother, Junior Brother Lin, let's go."

Upon hearing his words, Linghu Chong immediately stood up and placed his sword at his waist.

The group left the inn and, led by the little beggar, arrived at the south of the city.

"Grandpa, this is the place."

The little beggar pointed to a very large building not far away and said.

The building's main gate was wide open, with several people guarding the entrance. Two stone lions stood guard on each side, and a flagpole stood next to the stone lion on the right, with the words "Beggars' Gang Yanping Prefecture Branch" written on it.

"Where do you usually stay inside after you're brought back at night?"

Jiang Ning asked.

The little beggar quickly replied, "There's a room to the right after you go inside; that's where we sleep."

Jiang Ning asked again, "Are they all together?"

The little beggar nodded repeatedly.

"What are you waiting for?"

With a clang, Linghu Chong drew his sword, pointing it at the Beggars' Sect branch not far away.

"Junior Brother Lin, you stay here and look after him."

Jiang Ning left Lin Pingzhi here to look after the little beggar for two reasons. First, Lin Pingzhi's martial arts skills were not top-notch, and it was unknown whether there were any experts in this branch of the Beggar Clan, so Lin Pingzhi might not be able to handle them. Second, it was unknown what the situation was inside, and if there were too many people inside, he might not be able to take care of the little beggar if a fight broke out. Therefore, he left Lin Pingzhi here.

Lin Pingzhi originally wanted to go in as well, but after hearing Jiang Ning's words, he nodded.

"Yes, senior brother."

Leaving Lin Pingzhi and the little beggar behind, Jiang Ning and Linghu Chong headed towards the Beggars' Sect branch.

The guards at the gate saw two people approaching, both carrying weapons, one of whom had even drawn a sword. The guards shouted angrily.

"Who goes there? Halt!"

However, their shouts had no effect. One of them strode towards them, and just as they were about to draw their swords, the man suddenly disappeared in a flash, leaving only the other man.

While the others were still wondering, the remaining person rushed forward. His movements were so fast that they couldn't react in time. In just a few swift motions, the men clutched their necks and collapsed.

After quickly dealing with the group, Linghu Chong glanced at their corpses, snorted, and walked past them into the room.

Chapter 496: Fury

"Envoy, this is the total revenue of my Yanping branch last year. Please take a look."

A middle-aged man spoke to the young man with a smile on his face, which had a hint of ingratiation.

The middle-aged man was dressed in tattered clothes, but he was very burly with muscular arms and eight cloth bags hanging from his waist.

This person is the leader of the Yanping branch of the Beggars' Sect.

Upon hearing the branch leader's words, the young man referred to as the envoy nodded, took the ledger handed to him, and flipped through it. After a short while, he frowned.

"Chief Xu, why did the Yanping branch pay so much less in taxes last year compared to previous years?"

The silver handed over by the Yanping Prefecture branch is now tens of thousands less than before, and such a large fluctuation makes the young man ask questions.

“The envoy is Rong Bing.”

Upon hearing this, Chief Xu remained calm and said, "Last year, my Yanping branch encountered some difficulties. I hope that after you return to the main headquarters, you will put in a good word for me."

"Should I put in a good word for you?"

Seeing that the other party only mentioned some difficulties without explaining what those difficulties were, the young man was very displeased, and his face fell. He was about to continue speaking when he suddenly stopped.

Because the other party had already handed over a silver note with 50,000 taels written on it.

Upon seeing the silver note, a strange light flashed in the young man's eyes. He accepted it without making a sound and said aloud.

"It seems that your Yanping branch is indeed facing some difficulties. I will explain this to the leader after I return to the main headquarters."

At this time, besides the young man and Chief Xu, there were several other people in the room, all of whom were other high-ranking members of the Yanping branch of the Beggars' Sect.

The group was overjoyed upon hearing this and said, "The envoy is merciful, we are grateful."

Chief Xu was also expressing his gratitude, but inwardly he was cursing.

'What's this talk about explaining to the gang leader? Isn't it just you and your son dividing the spoils?'

The young man is the Green Lotus Envoy, and there is also a White Lotus Envoy. Neither of them has the surname Xie, but they are both illegitimate sons of Xie Feng, the leader of the Beggars' Sect.

Originally, there were no positions like Green Lotus Envoy and White Lotus Envoy in the Beggars' Sect's hierarchy. These positions were created by Xie Feng specifically for his two illegitimate sons. Although Xie Feng did not openly acknowledge them, he took great care of these two illegitimate sons and even put them in charge of collecting the silver handed over by the various branch offices, which was a very lucrative business.

Some of the higher-ups in the Beggars' Sect knew that these two were Xie Feng's sons, so they dared not neglect them in the slightest.

Having accepted the 50,000 taels of silver notes, the Qinglian envoy felt a little happier and no longer maintained a stern expression, asking, "Have you prepared all the silver that needs to be handed over?"

Chief Xu quickly smiled and said, "Everything is ready. It has been packed into boxes and loaded onto the vehicle. The envoy can set off at any time."

The Azure Lotus Envoy nodded.

Chief Xu added, "It's rare for an envoy to come to Yanping Prefecture. Why not let him stay a few more days so that we can properly entertain him?"

The other high-ranking officials echoed, "Yes, envoy."

After saying that, Chief Xu clapped his hands, and several women who had been prepared beforehand walked out gracefully from the shadows, each one beautiful and radiant.

Upon hearing this, the Qinglian Envoy initially wanted to refuse, but after seeing these women, he couldn't continue speaking.

"Okay, then let's stay a few more days."

The Azure Lotus Envoy nodded.

Chief Xu and his companions laughed.

The two sides had a very pleasant conversation.

"By the way, Chief Xu."

The Azure Lotus Envoy suddenly said, "When I first arrived, I saw many little beggars going in and out of the room on the right. Is that where they live?"

Chief Xu asked, "Are they getting in the envoy's way?"

The place where those little beggars lived wasn't exactly dilapidated, but it wasn't much better either. When Chief Xu heard this, he assumed that the Azure Lotus Envoy disliked their treatment of the beggars.

The Azure Lotus Envoy said, "This is, after all, a branch of my Beggars' Sect. It would be bad if outsiders saw it. Let's take them somewhere else."

Upon hearing this, Chief Xu immediately understood.

“What the envoy says is true. I thought it would be good to keep them at the branch headquarters so I could keep an eye on them, but I didn’t think of this. I was careless. Don’t worry, envoy, I will have someone take them away right away.”

After saying this, Chief Xu was about to get up when some Beggar Clan disciples rushed in in a panic.

"Master!"

Upon seeing this disciple, Chief Xu frowned and asked, "What is it?"

The Beggar Clan disciple exclaimed in surprise, "Master, someone has broken in!"

"Did they call in?"

The others were immediately startled upon hearing this.

"who?"

"Master Xu asked sternly."

The Beggar Clan disciple said, "I don't know. That person claimed to be from the Huashan Sect, and he's killed many of our people in the outer courtyard."

"The Huashan Sect?"

Chief Xu was startled upon hearing this.

The Huashan Sect is in Shaanxi, thousands of miles away from here. How did the people from the Huashan Sect end up here?

"Are you sure that person is from the Huashan Sect? What's his name?"

Chief Xu frowned and asked.

The Beggar Clan disciple shook his head and said, "We don't know either. He only said that he was from the Huashan Sect. His swordsmanship was amazing. He killed many of our brothers, and no one could stop him."

"Master, Master."

Before the Beggar Clan disciple could finish speaking, another person entered.

“Someone took those dozens of little beggars away, and the brothers who were guarding them were all killed.”

Upon hearing this man's words, Chief Xu was startled.

The others looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Let's go out and take a look."

The Azure Lotus Envoy frowned, stood up, and said.

Chief Xu and the others nodded and gave the orders.

"Gather the brothers and head to the front yard. Let's see who dares to cause trouble at my Beggars' Sect branch!"

……

After entering the gate, Jiang Ning turned right and walked straight, where he saw a dilapidated house guarded by several members of the Beggars' Sect.

"who are you?"

Upon noticing that Jiang Ning's attire differed from theirs, the group immediately raised questions.

With a flash of sword light, a line of blood appeared on the necks of the men, and they collapsed to the ground, unable to get up.

Jiang Ning sheathed his sword, opened the door without stopping, and went inside. The scene he saw made his pupils shrink.

Inside the house lay dozens of children in tattered clothes.

These children were filthy, some had missing hands, some had missing feet, and some had no hands or feet at all.

Besides these injuries, they were all wounded, much like the little beggar Jiang Ning had rescued during the day.