Chapter Seventy-Five

  Tang Yin was also worried that if the elected leader of the alliance was too popular and capable, and managed the You Xia Alliance too well, would it still be possible to disband the alliance after the Inverse Flow was defeated? If the alliance were allowed to continue existing and growing in strength, wouldn't it soon become a force that could rival the imperial court? That would be an even greater threat than the Inverse Flow, and not worth the cost.

  Through conversation with Su An and observing the reactions of many travelers present, Tang Yin had already made up his mind that no matter whether Zhang Dong could become the alliance leader or not, at least he absolutely couldn't let Zhou Kuan from Baihuitang take the position of alliance leader.

  Tang Yin wanted to ask more about the various factions, but Sui An was not interested in this topic and kept steering the conversation towards Tang Yin's business dealings. It was clear that he had come to chat with Tang Yin on purpose, hoping to gain some benefits for himself and see if he could get a share of the profits.

  Tang Yin had seen many people like this before and was quite disgusted. He responded with a few words, then stopped chatting. Su An, on the other hand, kept asking questions nonstop, but when he saw Tang Yin's displeased expression, Jiang Fan and others understood and stood up one after another, saying: "Young master, we should leave."

  "Alright!" Tang Yin nodded and smiled at Wei An, saying: "Wei brother, we'll meet again someday!" After finishing speaking, he didn't care about Wei An's reaction and walked out in big strides.

  Watching Tang Yin and his group leave, Su An was stunned for a while before reacting. After spending half the day talking, he didn't gain any benefits, feeling both angry and embarrassed. He heavily slapped the table and said to the surrounding crowd of travelers: "I think this Xingfeng Hall doesn't seem to be doing legitimate business either, maybe they're just a group of bandits!"

  Just now he was still talking and laughing with Tang Yan, like a bosom friend, but as soon as Tang Yan left, he firmly accused them of being bandits. This is the duplicity of a wandering knight, two-faced and treacherous.

  Laiyang, an important town in Lingnan Commandery.

  Laiyang is a medium-sized city, not very large in area. The total population of the whole city and surrounding areas is around 2 million. There is little agriculture, but handicrafts are well-developed, commerce is thriving, and it is located on the must-pass road between Fengdi and Ningdi. A large part of the helmets and military uniforms currently worn by the Wind Army are produced in Laiyang.

  When Tang Yin and his party arrived in Laiyang, the place was much more lively than usual. The gathering of wind people and youxia chose to be near Laiyang, which also boosted the commerce of Laiyang invisibly. Not only did a large number of youxia rush into the city, but merchants who smelled business opportunities also rushed over in large numbers. For a time, the scene inside Laiyang City was unprecedented, with bustling crowds and merchant teams visible everywhere.

  The location of the You Xia gathering is in Wan Zhong Gou, twenty miles southwest of Lai Yang. It's said that this place was once an ancient battlefield. When the first Feng Wang expanded outward, he fought against his enemies here and many people died. Even now, the Feng people living nearby still have a legend that at night, you can hear the mournful cries of the ten thousand ghosts.

  Of course, rumors are just rumors, and most wanderers don't believe in this set.

  After entering the city, Tang Yin did not want to disturb the local government and did not stay at the inn. He planned to find a guest house first. However, it was too difficult to find a guest house in Laiyang now. All the large and small guest houses in the city were overcrowded. Tang Yin and his group entered the city in the morning and strolled until afternoon but couldn't find a guest house that could accommodate them.

  On the street, as far as the eye could see were tourists and merchants. Tang Yin was getting more and more annoyed, he sat on his horse looking around, and found that not far away from the road there was a large inn with a wide facade, just outside the hitching posts for horses were over a dozen, the first floor's wine shop was bustling, and from time to time wafted out the aroma of food.

  Tang Yin said to Shangguan Yuanwu beside him, "Yuanwu, we will stay in this inn." He didn't use a consulting tone, but a definite one.

  When going out, Shangguan Yuanwu was always in charge of the money. He understood Tang Yin's meaning and nodded, saying: "Yes! Young Master!"

  Tang Yin and his entourage entered the inn, and as soon as they approached, a waiter came forward with a smile and asked, "What can I get for you gentlemen?"

  "We'll take the inn!" said Shangguan Yuanwu.

  The fellow shook his head apologetically and said, "Sorry, sir, all the rooms in our inn are fully occupied..." As expected, Officer Yuan Wu didn't bother to say more and turned around to walk to the counter, looking at a middle-aged man who was keeping accounts, asking, "Are you the owner of this inn?"

  At the sound of the voice, the middle-aged man put down his account book, raised his head and looked at Shangguan Yuanwu in confusion.

  Shangguan Yuanwu put the package he was carrying on the counter, making a loud clanging sound. He took out a silver ingot weighing ten taels from the package and pushed it in front of the shopkeeper, saying: "We are seven people, we want to stay at your inn."

  The shopkeeper looked at the silver ingot, then glanced at Officer Yuan Wu, and finally his gaze fell on the clerk. The clerk hastily explained: "Shopkeeper, I've already told him that the guest room is full, but this officer didn't listen to me..."

  The shopkeeper's words were unequal, and Officer Yuan Wu took out another silver ingot, saying: "Just two rooms will do."

  The shopkeeper smiled wryly and said, "Not to mention two rooms, there isn't even one room available. My store has been fully booked for several days already."

  "Thirty taels of silver for two rooms!"

  "Sir, this isn't a matter of how much money, it's just that our store really doesn't have..."

  Before he could finish speaking, with two slaps, Xiang Yuwu slapped out another two silver ingots. This time, the silver on the counter was as much as fifty taels.

  Not to mention the fellow on the side who was stunned, even the experienced shopkeeper was stunned. He couldn't help but steal a glance at Shangguan Yuanwu, then look again at Tang Yin and others behind him, secretly taking a deep breath. Although these people were dressed in ordinary clothes, the temperament that flowed out of their bodies was extraordinary. Moreover, they casually took out 50 taels of silver, without even blinking an eye, definitely not ordinary people.

  The shopkeeper, intimidated by Shangguan Yuanwu's aura, remained silent for a moment before saying, "Alright, sir, I'll think of a way." He then called his assistant over and whispered to him for a while. Turning back to Shangguan Yuanwu, he said, "Sir, our guest rooms are indeed fully booked, and it's not our policy to turn away customers. Would you and your companions be willing to make do with the servant's quarters temporarily? I'll have my assistants vacate two rooms for you."

  Shangguan Yuanwu was very dissatisfied with this answer, his eyebrows raised, just about to speak, Tang Yin walked up and patted his shoulder, smiling and saying: "Alright, the shopkeeper has his difficulties too, as long as we have a place to stay it's fine."

  Tang Yin spoke up, and Shangguan Yuanwu stopped arguing, nodding his head: "Yes! Young Master!"

  After strolling around for half a day, Tang Yin and his group finally managed to find a place to settle down by throwing money around. Then, several people sat down at an empty table on the first floor of the hall, letting the waiter bring up wine and dishes.

  The craftsmanship of this inn is not bad, and the taste of the dishes is also authentic, with a full flavor. Tang Yan ate while looking out at the tourists outside the window, shaking his head and muttering: "I didn't expect that there would be so many wandering knights in my country, but every time the martial arts edict is issued, the number of registered knights can be counted on one hand!" Moreover, they are all some weak shrimp soldiers and crab generals. This is what makes Tang Yan most annoyed.

  Cheng Jin said: "You Xia has always considered himself noble and would rather starve or freeze than work for the imperial court."

  Shangguan Yuanwu retorted, "In fact, wandering knights look down on the imperial court from the bottom of their hearts. They think that dying for the imperial court is equivalent to being its hawk dog, and it's something people despise."

  "Hmph!" Tang Yin sneered and said with a sharp gaze: "The likes of you, death is not worth mourning!"

  That night, Tang Yin and others stayed at the inn. Originally, everyone planned to let Tang Yin live in one room by himself, while the others shared another room, but Tang Yin was not so particular and dragged the Shangguan brothers into his own room.

  The next day, as soon as it was dawn, Tang Yin was woken up by the noise outside. He frowned and got out of bed, pushed open the window, and looked out to see that there were many people on the street, all walking in one direction, pointing and talking about something.

  "What's going on?" Upper Guan Yuanwu and Upper Guan Yuanbiao, still sleepy-eyed, also walked to the window and looked out.

  "Who knows." Tang Yin mumbled sleeplessly, grabbed his clothes and put them on, shook his head and said: "Let's go out and take a look too."

  Tang Yin's trip to Laiyang had an important purpose - to see the excitement. Now that there is excitement, he certainly doesn't want to miss it.

  Shangguan brothers hastily put on their clothes and followed Tang Yin out of the room. As soon as they came out, the door next to them also opened, and Jiang Fan, Cheng Jin, Ah San, and Ah Si walked out from inside.

  Tang Yin beckoned them over and asked, "Do you know what's going on outside?"

  Cheng Jin shook his head and said: "I heard that Xiang is dead, but I'm not sure what happened."

  Is someone dead? Tang Yin furrowed his brow, as many wandering warriors had gathered in Laiyang, it was normal for them to engage in armed combat, and the death of one person was nothing out of the ordinary. Unable to understand the underlying reason, he stopped asking questions and silently quickened his pace.

  Outside the inn, Tang Yin and others followed the crowd to the east of the city. Before long, they approached the East Gate of Laiyang. Here, more people gathered, a dense black mass, with at least hundreds of people. Everyone looked up, occasionally pointing towards the top of the city wall, whispering to each other.

  Following everyone's line of sight, Tang Yin and others also looked up, and after seeing clearly, everyone gasped.

  Above the city gate, a corpse was hung, with tattered clothes and numerous holes of various sizes, covered in blood, resembling a bloody gourd. He had been stabbed through the chest with one knife and nailed to the city wall. Below the corpse's feet, a long strip of cloth was also hung, with a line of large red characters written in blood: "The position of the alliance leader must be obtained, those who have different ambitions will be hanged here as a corpse!"

  It can be seen from this line of words that the murderer must be one of the competitors for the position of alliance leader, and the deceased is likely to be someone who opposed him as the alliance leader.

  "It's Li Huo! That is the Branch Master of the Holy Hall, Li Huo!" Someone in the crowd shouted out the deceased's name and identity, causing the onlookers to erupt into a commotion.

  The deputy of the temple was actually killed by someone, and the murderer even hung the body on the city gate. This is undoubtedly a public provocation to the temple!