deltrittennovels #280 - Negotiations on a rainy night
#280 - Negotiations on a rainy night
The next day.
It wasn't even dawn yet.
Liang Jin and his party had already arrived at the docks outside Qingzhou City.
A large river flowed past Qingzhou City, stretching into the distance.
This river was called the Xuan River, spanning across most of the Great Qian Dynasty.
The Xuan River had thriving water transport, with many ships traveling on the river, day and night.
Taking a boat from the Xuan River to Minzhou was faster.
Liang Jin still had a decisive battle with the Sect Leader of the Senluo Sect in two days, so he chose to travel to Minzhou by water.
He didn't bring many people on this trip.
He only brought Jiang Lengxue, Lu Qiannan, and Miao Yuanzheng.
Besides that, Liang Jin also called on Zhao Bao.
Moreover, Liang Jin kept his movements secret this time. The group arrived at the docks before dawn, ready to depart.
The five boarded the boat, ready to set off.
Suddenly, a voice was heard:
"Boatman! Wait a moment!"
Everyone looked towards the sound.
They saw a figure running towards them from under Qingzhou City in the distance.
At this time, there was no longer the scene of countless refugees gathering under Qingzhou City as before.
As the Taiping Road widely distributed talisman water, most of the refugees chose to return to their hometowns after being cured.
Now, there were probably only a few hundred refugees still under Qingzhou City.
And this figure was running from the refugee gathering place, obviously one of the refugees.
As they got closer.
Everyone could see clearly that it was a man carrying an old woman with white hair.
Although the man was carrying someone, he ran with great strides.
In just a few blinks of an eye, he had already run to the dock.
"This person is a martial artist!"
Seeing this, Miao Yuanzheng couldn't help but reach for the Cold Moon Treasure Saber on his back.
Liang Jin waved his hand, signaling Miao Yuanzheng not to be so nervous.
Of course, he also saw that the man was a martial artist.
Especially, a martial artist in the Fifth Rank Realm!
At this time, the man was asking the boatmen:
"Boatman, can you give us a ride?"
"Name your price, if I don't have enough money, I can work for you."
The boatmen frowned, about to refuse.
Liang Jin opened his mouth and said:
"We are going to Minzhou, if it's along the way, we can take you for a ride."
The man was overjoyed when he heard this:
"It's along the way! It's along the way!"
"We are going to Minzhou!"
Immediately, the man carried the old woman onto the boat.
The boatman poled the boat, and the boat left the dock, heading downstream along the river.
The man carried the old woman into the cabin and carefully sat her down.
He raised his head, ready to ask for some food.
But when the man saw the people in the cabin clearly, he couldn't help but be stunned.
Although the people on the boat were all wearing plain clothes, the man still recognized two of them.
One was Lu Qiannan, and the other was Miao Yuanzheng.
These two were both high-level figures of the Taiping Road, often showing their faces when distributing talisman water. Most of the refugees knew these two faces.
When the man saw Lu Qiannan and Miao Yuanzheng's respectful appearance towards Liang Jin, how could he not know Liang Jin's identity?
That was the Great Virtuous Teacher, someone he couldn't afford to offend.
The old woman said in surprise:
"Son, these kind people are giving us a ride, why are you saying such things?"
The man whispered solemnly:
"Mother, if I'm not mistaken, this person is probably... the Great Virtuous Teacher!"
"We should not take their boat."
The white-haired old woman was stunned when she heard this, and looked at Liang Jin in surprise.
Afterwards, she hurriedly and tremblingly wanted to bow down to Liang Jin.
Liang Jin gently raised his hand, and a burst of internal force was casually generated, steadily holding the old woman up so that she could not bow down.
"Old lady, there's no need to be like this."
"Healing the sick and saving people is the will of the Yellow Heaven, and it is also what I should do."
Liang Jin said.
He could see that there were still some small scars that were healing and scabbing on the old woman's face.
These kinds of scars often appear on the faces of people who have just recovered from the plague, and are the marks left after the original pustules have subsided.
This made Liang Jin know that this old woman must have drunk the talisman water of the Taiping Road, so this bow was to thank him for the grace of saving her life.
The old woman couldn't bow down, she could only gratefully say:
"The Great Virtuous Teacher is really a good person!"
"Not only did you save me, but you also saved thousands of people!"
"If it weren't for you, I don't know how many people would have died!"
Liang Jin smiled and signaled the boatman to give the old woman and the man some food.
This made the mother and son feel grateful again.
It was gradually getting brighter.
The thick fog on the river gradually dissipated.
Liang Jin walked out of the cabin and could see the other merchant ships on the wide river.
The boat continued to move forward.
By the evening, the boat had already left Qingzhou and entered Minzhou.
… … … …
"Whirr!"
It was raining again in Qingzhou at night.
It is said that spring rain is as precious as oil, quietly entering the night with the wind.
The rain was fine and dense, like smoke and mist, giving the night a hazy veil.
On this bleak and cold spring rainy night, it was difficult to see pedestrians on the official road.
But at this time, a group of people was riding horses, traveling in the rain.
In the rainy night, a single light was shining brightly in front.
As the crowd rode closer, they gradually saw that it was a roadside inn.
The crowd came to the entrance of the inn and reined in their horses, dismounting one after another.
However, almost everyone just stood around the inn, seemingly on guard.
Only one person pushed open the door of the inn and entered it.
Inside the inn, a square table had already been set up.
An oil lamp was lit on the table, and there was also a jar of wine and three empty bowls.
And a middle-aged swordsman was sitting at the table.
His face was calm as water, his eyes were deep, and he was wearing a wide cyan and white robe.
A simple yet dignified scabbard held an ancient longsword at his waist, its hilt bearing the marks of countless battles and years of weathering.
This man was none other than Wang Daizhen, the Sect Leader of the Senluo Sect.
Besides Wang Daizhen, there was no one else in this humble roadside inn.
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Wang Daizhen sat at the table, his gaze lifting to meet the newcomer.
"You've come," Wang Daizhen said in a deep voice.
The newcomer closed the door, shutting out the wind and rain.
He removed his bamboo hat and raincoat, then sat down at the table.
The newcomer was over sixty years old, but still as strong as a lion.
His clothes stirred gently without any wind, revealing an aura of power and presence.
Time had etched deep lines on his face, but his eyes were as sharp as a hawk's.
This man was none other than Di Moyu, the Sect Leader of the Guiyi Sect.
Who would have thought...
That the Sect Leaders of the Guiyi Sect and the Senluo Sect, two factions in Qingzhou that were sworn enemies, would meet in a roadside inn on this rainy night.
Di Moyu strode forward and sat down at the table.
His eyes stared directly at Wang Daizhen, his displeasure unmasked.
He seemed ready to leave at the slightest disagreement.
Wang Daizhen picked up a wine jar and poured two bowls of wine.
As he poured, he said:
"Right now, Qingzhou City is crawling with spies from the Taiping Dao."
"If we enter the city, we'll be noticed immediately."
"You know, those Taiping Dao people are reckless and audacious; they're capable of anything."
"So, I had to change the meeting place to here."
He pushed a bowl of wine towards Di Moyu, the Sect Leader of the Guiyi Sect.
Di Moyu remained unmoved, simply staring coldly at Wang Daizhen.
Wang Daizhen continued, expressionless:
"I've heard that Ruian Earl, your backer in the court, has been quite unhappy recently."
"He's been implicated in a murder case, and even his daughter, Consort Zhang, has been convicted and banished to the Cold Palace."
"If your master is having a hard time, I'm afraid the Guiyi Sect's days are numbered too."
Hearing this, Di Moyu finally let out a cold snort.
As he snorted, the wine in the bowl in front of him actually jumped, countless droplets rising half a foot before falling back into the bowl.
Di Moyu said in a deep voice:
"Han Guozhang, your backer in the Senluo Sect, probably isn't too happy either, is he?"
"Now that the Yang family, that money tree, has fallen, how will Han Guozhang maintain his connections in the court?"
"I've also heard that the Emperor has moved out of the palace and into a new residence, so Consort Han is probably out of favor too, right?"
"Especially the fiercest dog under Han Guozhang, which is your Senluo Sect; you've suffered heavy casualties recently, with elders dying and the Vice Sect Leader killed."
"And you're actually going to challenge the Great Teacher, I think once you die, your Senluo Sect won't be far from falling apart."
Wang Daizhen's eyes flashed with anger upon hearing this.
Although he didn't make any movements, the flame of the oil lamp on the table flickered without any wind, as if it would go out at any moment.
The flickering flame also made the light in the inn dim and uncertain.
The expressions of the two Sect Leaders also seemed unpredictable in this environment.
Finally.
The flame suddenly stabilized and continued to burn brightly.
Wang Daizhen said calmly:
"Sect Leader Di should know the principle of 'if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold'."
"This Qingzhou is originally the territory of our two factions."
"If my Senluo Sect is destroyed, which faction does Sect Leader Di think will be the next to fall?"
Di Moyu narrowed his eyes slightly, still staring at Wang Daizhen without answering.
Wang Daizhen continued:
"I might as well tell Sect Leader Di what's on my mind: I'm not confident in challenging the Great Teacher."
"The Great Teacher's martial arts are too high; I only have a 20% chance of winning if I duel him."
Di Moyu frowned slightly.
He didn't know how high the Great Teacher's martial arts were.
But he was very clear that the Great Teacher was able to suppress the Senluo Sect, which was originally evenly matched with the Guiyi Sect, to the point of facing destruction.
That Great Teacher dared to destroy the Yang family, but was able to survive the confrontation with the Qingzhou government, the army, and the Six Doors, and even succeed.
Just these things alone, Di Moyu himself wouldn't even dare to think about.
But since the Great Teacher could do it, it showed that his abilities were terrifying.
"Then why are you going to die?" Di Moyu finally asked.
Wang Daizhen smiled slightly:
"It's just a matter of turning a desperate situation into a chance for survival."
"Sect Leader Di, you and I should have a bright future, not just rely on brute force like those Taiping Dao mud legs."
"My Senluo Sect has already suffered a great loss of vitality, so it certainly can't threaten your Guiyi Sect anymore."
"In the future, this Qingzhou should be ruled by your Guiyi Sect, not by that Taiping Dao."
"Especially..."
Speaking of this, Wang Daizhen paused, revealing a meaningful smile:
"The people behind you and I don't want us to continue fighting each other."
"They can shake hands and make peace, so why should we, the subordinates, fight to the death?"
Di Moyu frowned upon hearing this.
He knew that Wang Daizhen was right.
Ruian Earl and Han Guozhang had already shaken hands and made peace.
These two opponents, who had fought fiercely in the court, had also begun to let bygones be bygones and band together to keep warm due to the changing situation.
Then what reason did the subordinates have to continue fighting?
Only...
If that was all there was to it, then Di Moyu might not be willing to let it go!