"Yu Hai" is a rare large lake in the Gobi Desert, with vast waves of smoke and mist, lush green grass and trees everywhere, it is the core of the southern route of the Hanhai, where prosperity and splendor converge.

  As soon as they entered the "fish sea", the steam came rushing towards them, giving Meng Qi and others who had been dry in the Gobi for several days a feeling of their skin being moisturized. Although this was still drier than the Central Plains, it was much better than the endless sand and gravel along the way!

  "Hmm, every time I come to Fish Sea, I don't want to leave." Zhongya Xue pointed at the stone castle beside the lake, where houses were densely packed, with a lively atmosphere and people from all over, including those dressed in Central Plains attire, desert travelers, Western Region girls with bright hats and clothes, as well as bold and fiery Hu women. The air was thick with worldly energy, making every traveler who came from the Gobi Desert feel like they had instantly returned to the "world of humans". No wonder Zhongya Xue would say that once you come, you don't want to leave.

  Meng Qi had also been traveling through the vast ocean for many days, where it was either desolate and uninhabited or infested with bandits who were rough and cruel. Now standing outside the Fish Sea City, gazing at the worldly red dust inside, he suddenly felt a sense of enchantment. If what came before was hell, then this place was indeed the Pure Land of Buddhism!

  He has a calm and peaceful mind, and his understanding of the realm of clarity and purity, as well as the falling dust, has reached a new level. No wonder the disciples of the great sect emphasize going out to travel, experiencing worldly affairs, broadening their knowledge, and tempering their minds. If they don't do so, their later years will be lacking in their understanding of the world, their comprehension of human nature, and their grasp of principles.

  Zhongya She "knew" Meng Qi, the two of them were just out of their tribe, going to the vast sea to make a name for themselves. They jumped off their horses and waved their whips, saying: "Bai Ba has long admired the style of the Central Plains, many buildings in the Fish Sea are imitations of it, and it's called 'Little Jiangdong'."

  Bai Ba Zheng is the master of Fish Sea, a high-ranking expert who has opened nine orifices. He has extensive connections and good relations with several major bandit leaders. Otherwise, with his strength, it would be impossible for him to occupy Fish Sea, this prosperous land. Not to mention those four or five bandit leaders who dominate the outer seas, even someone like Yuan Meng Zhi is enough to make him drink a pot of wine. Moreover, there are several half-step outsiders seeking to gain a foothold in the power struggle of the outer seas, ambitious and eager to be on par with Ze Ye Luo and others.

  This point Meng Qi agreed that the buildings in the city were not those yellow mud-stone styles, but white walls and black tiles, with many houses standing together, similar to Jiangdong.

  However, Shaolin is located in Jiangbei, and Xuan Bei took the two out of the temple and headed west again. Therefore, Meng Qi had never been to Jiangdong, and he judged solely based on what he had heard.

  Of course, in Meng Qi's view, the prosperity of Yuhai is no less than that of the big cities along the way, but it is much smaller in terms of city scale.

  Yuan Mengzhi and others have brought Zhenhui into the city, and the remaining Ma bandits also entered one after another. However, they had a large cavalry, and it was too conspicuous to enter the city all at once. Moreover, without "external support" and reception, they only selected a dozen or so masters, while the rest set up camps in various places in the oasis.

  Zhong Ya She had no such worries, previously with Wang Hong in a battle, he fell into an ambush and suffered a great defeat, plus several masters, only about ten people were left, it's better to bring all the brothers into the city, let them enjoy the prosperity of the fish sea, vent their frustrations on women, dispel the unease after failure, and revive the morale.

  Leading the horse, entering the gate, the air is thick with dust and smells of incense, sweat, animal hide, and the scent of a young girl.

  Meng Qi followed behind Zhong Ya's back, quietly contemplating the bustling streets and alleys, just like a poor young man who had just entered the big city for the first time.

  "Hey, isn't this the Meng family's eldest son? How come there are only a few of you brothers left?" A voice full of sarcasm brought Meng Qi back to his senses, and he saw that opposite him was a burly man with a dozen or so people surrounding him, wearing a sword at his waist, with his chest bare, revealing thick black hair.

  "It's all thanks to the great King Wang."

  Meng Qi smiled secretly and asked coldly: "Eldest Master, is he Wang Hong?"

  "Yes." Zhong Ya Xi's eyes were fixed on Wang Hong, his reply casual, but if not for the rules of the Fish Sea, he would have attacked him right now.

  As soon as the words fell, he saw Meng Qi dash out, his left hand stretching out with a sword, like a spirit snake emerging from a cave, at an odd angle and extremely fast, stabbing towards Wang Hong's throat.

  Wang Hong did not expect the opponent to make a sudden move, and almost failed to react in time. Fortunately, he was also a master of the six senses, accustomed to bloodshed at the tip of his knife, very sensitive to killing intent, and had strong ability to capture movements, which allowed him to dodge Meng Qi's long sword by tilting his head and draw out his horse-slaying saber.

  His neck was also scratched by a long sword, and a blood mark appeared, with fresh blood flowing out.

  Not to mention Wang Hong, even Zhong Ya Xi was startled, he knew that the newly promoted horse thief Xiaoming brothers were eager to make a name for themselves and wouldn't care about rules, but their momentum was too strong! The opponent was a master of six holes, this was a sea of fish!

  After this incident, Meng Qi's image was thoroughly established in the hearts of Zhong Ya and others, don't easily provoke him, he can do anything!

  "Hey, Xiao Meng brothers, slow down!" Zhong Ya shouted immediately, killing Wang Hong was his long-cherished wish, but it's not worth offending the powerful master of Yuhai, Bai Baozheng.

  Meng Qi sheathed his sword and stood still, while Wang Hong and his men drew out various weapons, seemingly about to rush forward and engage in a fierce battle.

  Wang Hong was also unwilling to offend the master of Yuhai, and with great effort suppressed the spark in his heart. He looked at Zhong Ya and said: "Zhong Da Zhangjia, what do you mean?"

  Zhong Ya Xi looked at him with a pleased expression, and smiled: "My younger brother Meng just joined us and isn't familiar with the rules yet, please forgive him, Wang Da Zhang Jia."

  Just joined the partnership? Wang Hong and others seemed to have also guessed Meng Qi's "identity", and they became vigilant in their hearts. They had to be extremely careful when resting tonight, as this unscrupulous guy who didn't follow rules might make a sneak attack in the middle of the night.

  The small disturbance and the sound of swords being drawn alarmed the people in the nearby wine house, and Yuan Mengzhi, with his emerald eyes and light yellow beard, turned to look down at the street below.

  "Big brother, what's going on?" a young man with a white cloth wrapped around his head and deep facial features asked, gripping his single-edged sword in confusion.

  Yuan Menger smiled carelessly and said: "A newcomer who has just joined the partnership caused a conflict, truly doesn't understand the rules."

  He always gives people a kind of arrogant feeling that things are nothing.

  "At first, you were like this too, big brother." The young man relaxed his eyebrows and chuckled.

  Yuán Mèng Zhī was originally a bandit played by Mèng Qí, who left his tribe to pursue wealth, women and power. He became notorious for being reckless and only cared about gaining fame quickly as a bandit leader. His first battle took place in this very Fish Market, where he openly killed a six-senses bandit leader on the street before leaving without a care for any potential pursuit by the ruler of the Fish Market. Of course, there were pursuits, but he counter-killed them all.

  Yuan Mengzhi thus became a meteoric figure, swiftly becoming a notorious horse thief in the vast ocean of people, leading a band of several hundred men.

  But now Yuan Mengzhi is even more arrogant, but he has lost his initial momentum, and Luo Ju has already "taught" him the rules.

  Yuan Mengzhi looked at the back of Meng Qi below, his eyes filled with memories of himself from years ago. He didn't examine it closely, and instead turned around to smile: "Dumei, you seem to be like that too."

  They were all under his command, seven aperture masters. This time, when delivering the hostages to Evil Ridge, it was impossible to bring such a large team, so he left his deputy and several six or seven aperture masters in Che Li, in charge of the overall situation, only allowing Du Mo and about ten ordinary aperture masters to follow, which was also his confidence in his own strength.

  "It's good that I met Big Brother, otherwise I wouldn't have known where to die." Du Mo said sincerely. People who don't follow the rules always live a hard life, unless they have solid strength and power as their backing.

  He paused for a moment, then turned and asked: "Big brother, are we leaving Yuhai tomorrow?"

  "No, let's stay for a few more days." Yuan Menger said calmly, "After passing through the Fish Sea, it is the Greedy River. The terrain there is complex and it is easy to get lost. Anyway, what should come will come. We'll wait in the Fish Sea for five days. If time runs out, we'll kill people and leave, and hide in Che Chui."

  The reason why the route "Guan Yue - Yu Hai - Tan Han" is not convenient for Meng Qi and others to escape is that the terrain is simple, with vast deserts and no place to hide. Even if they are careless for a moment and let them escape, they can still catch up and kill them at leisure. However, when they arrive at Tanhan, where there are more canyons and other landforms, not only is there a danger of being ambushed, but it is also difficult to search for people. Moreover, near Tanhan, there is a treacherous terrain that even the pursuers dare not enter rashly.

  Yu Mengzhi knew that he was no match for An Guoxie, and that he had to be prepared for the worst. He couldn't afford to underestimate anyone who could kill An Guoxie, no matter how coincidental or unexpected it might seem. He had to make sure he was ready for a prolonged battle and not get caught off guard.

  Moreover, the ambush period is not comparable to the outside world, it belongs to the category of human power, ordinary ambushes and killings, as long as they are unexpected, can have a good effect, for example, when crossing the canyon, encountering giant rocks falling on both sides, that is a dangerous situation.

  Yuan Mèng Zhī had always been decisive and acted alone, but now he didn't dare to have any opinions. He smiled and said: "Big brother, shouldn't we give the other side a chance to save us?"

  Yuan Menger thought for a moment, then said with a hint of hesitation: "Since we've arrived at the Fish Sea, I should pay my respects to the Lord of White Barracks. Why don't we invite him to gather all the brothers in the nearby area and have a joyful reunion?"

  The more chaotic the situation, the greater the opportunity for the opponent to make a move. Moreover, those guys who have been following their own team all along should also be made aware that they are not ignorant, and it's best if they keep a distance from themselves after drinking with them, and then get out of the way!

  "Yes, big brother, I'll go and handle it now." They all quickly agreed.

  Yuan Menger nodded and suddenly remembered something: "Is that little monk still the same?"

  "Yes, he can eat and drink and sleep, not afraid of anything. I'm worried that 'he' might be a decoy..." Dou Mo furrowed his brow and said, "Only when he occasionally goes into a daze and shouts about wanting to find his master and senior brother do I think he's like a hostage."

  Yuan Meng hesitated for a moment before saying: "No matter, the news from the other side has been transmitted, and the battle is still ongoing, thoroughly infiltrating the vast ocean."

  …………

  Because of the large number of people, Zhong Ya splurged on a courtyard and then let his brothers go out to enjoy themselves with the money they earned from selling knives.

  Meng Qi stayed quietly in his room, digesting the worldly understanding he had just gained.

  Knock knock knock, Gu Changqing knocked on the door.

  "Come on in, why so flustered?" Meng Qi chuckled and teased.

  Gu Changqing helplessly said: "It's those two female bandits again, they're too unrestrained and clingy, I can barely tolerate it."

  Among the bandits, although there are not many women, they do exist. Once they go out to rob, perhaps today will be their last day. In this state, those with strong abilities are better off, as they always have a goal to strive for. Those who are slightly weaker often live in a state of mediocrity, thinking that since death can come at any moment, they might as well indulge in the pleasures of life, including romantic and sexual relationships, without worrying about the consequences.

  In the group of bandits led by Zhong Ya, there were three female bandits. Gong Sha Yue was his exclusive concubine and no one dared to touch her. The other two were quite open-minded and often used romantic relationships to ease their emotions. Jie Er Ai was particularly fond of handsome men, and compared to those rough bandits, Meng Qi and Gu Changqing with their fair skin were naturally very popular.

  "It's not that you don't have enough self-control, just say it if you want." Meng Qi teased.

  Gu Changqing turned his head and looked outside, with a look of determination to protect his chastity: "Coming, coming, I'll hide first, you be careful."

  "Don't worry, I have a plan." Meng Qi said nonchalantly.