Lu Gang glanced sideways at him. "Let's hear it."
Xu Zishuai was never one to be serious. He loved to clown around and mingle among women, but he truly was full of clever, crafty ideas.
Every year on their master's and mistress's birthdays, he always managed to come up with some new novelty that delighted everyone.
"A couple of days ago, I took a bounty notice from the authorities. It said there's a bandit stronghold about a hundred and twenty li east of Pingyang Town, with over twenty men. Since Junior Brother Liang was close to breaking through, I wasn't in any rush to go. I thought I'd wait until he made his breakthrough and take him along to draw some blood."
Liang Qu looked up in surprise. He hadn't expected this to involve him at all.
Xiang Changsong wore a bitter expression. "Senior Brother Xu loves doing this sort of thing—taking new junior brothers out to get a taste of blood. Back then, he dragged me out to wipe out a bandit den three hundred li away. On the way back, I spent half the day bouncing on horseback, exhausted and sick to my stomach, nearly throwing up."
Pausing, he leaned in toward Liang Qu's ear and whispered right in front of everyone, "I heard Fifth Senior Sister was taken along once too. When she got back, she wailed and bawled, and Master grounded Senior Brother Xu for a whole month."
"Ahem! What nonsense are you spouting? Wasn't that all for your own good?" Xu Zishuai coughed into a loose fist. "As martial practitioners, how can one be called a martial practitioner without seeing blood? Doesn't Master always say that martial practitioners seize life through martial force..."
"Cut the crap and get on with it."
"My idea is this: since the mountain ghost at the River God Sacrifice was drawn in by the presence of people and the bloody scent of large livestock, can't we do the same thing again?
"Bring that band of bandits over. They're all desperate outlaws anyway—raping, looting, and pillaging. The authorities want their heads on a pike. We can sacrifice them in blood right on the spot. Maybe that'll lure the snake out of its hole. Human blood qi is vastly stronger than livestock qi; nothing attracts mountain spirits and demonic fiends better.
"Once a mountain ghost appears, we'll have a lead. We can see where it goes and what it does.
"If they've been trained, following them will naturally lead us to their lair. If they haven't been trained, there must be someone watching nearby. And if no one is watching and they haven't been trained either, it just proves we were flattering ourselves and overthinking things. How about it?"
"Where would the blood sacrifice take place?"
"Fahua Temple! My gut tells me that ruined temple is no ordinary place. The big mountain ghost vanished there, too, so let's assume that's our target!"
Everyone present fell into deep thought.
Hu Qi was the first to ask, "The bandits are over a hundred li away. Isn't that too far? If we want the blood sacrifice to be effective enough, we'll need at least a dozen or so people, won't we?"
"That's right, but we still have plenty of time. Judging by when Master left, if the Shuimu Cult truly intends to make a move, they'll wait at least until the trouble on Master's side reaches a fever pitch and he's thoroughly tied down. That means we should still have a cushion of three to four days, which is plenty."
Xu Zishuai's words sounded somewhat unfilial, as if he didn't care about Master Yang's safety in the slightest.
In truth, however, if something truly happened to a Tiger Hunter grand martial master like Yang Dongxiong, all they could do was gawk uselessly; not getting in the way was the best help they could offer.
Besides, they had faith in their master.
Though the tiger was old, its might endured!
Seeing everyone still deep in thought, Xu Zishuai said, "None of you have a better idea anyway, right? We're martial practitioners, not imperial secret agents; peeling back layers to investigate cases really isn't our forte.
"In short, my suggestion is to keep it simple and brutal. Otherwise, if they succeed, at least several hundred people will die. How could anyone live in peace after that?"
The simultaneous death of several hundred people would be a massive blow to the prestige of the local powers.
For the greatest 'powerhouse,' the Yang Family Martial Hall, it would be especially devastating.
On top of that, countless commoners would flee their homes. All the years of development in Pingyang Town would go down the drain, with their very foundation overturned.
"Then we'll do as you said," Lu Gang decided, bringing his hand down to seal the matter. "As for Yixing, the hour is late. Tomorrow, I'll find two martial practitioners I know and have them stay there for a period. To outsiders, it won't arouse too much suspicion, and it'll serve as an answer to the village elders."
"Thank you, Senior Brother Lu."
Lu Gang's arrangement truly gave Liang Qu—who had come seeking help—both substance and face.
"Just watch me, Senior Brother Lu! But someone needs to come with me. With so many living bandits, I'm afraid I can't keep an eye on them all by myself."
"Junior Brother Liang's spiritual weapon will be finished in the next two days. I need to stay and oversee it, and he needs to stay to draw blood and shape its nature. Junior Brother Xiang's strength is a bit lower—he's only at the third barrier, not quite enough to guard the martial hall—so let him go with you."
Xiang Changsong promptly declared, "I have no problem with that."
"Mm. I leave it to you two, Junior Brother Xu, Junior Brother Xiang. If this business with the Shuimu Cult is real and we successfully nip it in the bud, then regardless of whether the county magistrate is genuinely involved or in league with them, we'll surely receive a lavish reward from the imperial court. It might even reach the imperial ears."
Reach the imperial ears!
Everyone present felt their blood surge with excitement, because it truly was possible!
The last time the Shuimu Cult appeared, Taizu was enraged, and rivers of blood flowed.
This time might not be on the same scale as before, but with the precedent of Taizu's fury hanging over it, the affair was still exceptionally heinous and warranted serious imperial attention. The rewards certainly would not be meager.
Although saving Pingyang Town and the surrounding villages stemmed primarily from their own sense of morality—none of them wanted to see their home plunged into misery, turned into a living purgatory, or have their familiar friends and family threatened with death—having a reward on top of doing the deed was naturally the best outcome.
Sitting among the crowd, Liang Qu's thoughts were a turbulent tangle.
When he encountered the mountain ghost in Yixing, he had joked that it looked like wholesale livestock farming. He hadn't expected his words to come true—it really fucking was wholesale breeding!
It was just that the feed was a bit costly in human lives.
Sacrificing a hundred people to produce a single Galloping Steed martial master was nothing short of draining the pond to catch the fish.
It was akin to severing logistics in battle, forcing soldiers into a fight to the death with their backs to the water, or even slaughtering the cavalry's warhorses. Such actions could only come from an organization like the Shuimu Cult, which cared nothing for consequences and sought only vengeance against Dashun.
After all, they were a bunch of relics and diehards of the fallen dynasty who felt their privileges had been stripped away. Nothing outrageous or appalling they did would be surprising.
With their plans settled, Xiang Changsong and Xu Zishuai wasted no time. They went to Yang Manor to borrow horses and rode through the night toward the bandit stronghold.
A hundred li was no short distance, and twenty-some people would require rented carriages to bring back. They had to seize every moment, make the trip swiftly, and compress the journey to two days if possible.
Lu Gang stood up. "The forging of the spiritual weapon is progressing faster than I expected. Junior Brother Liang, come by my place tomorrow at noon. I'll need fresh blood from the weapon's master to shape its nature."
Liang Qu nodded. He knew there was such a step in forging a spiritual weapon: splashing the master's fresh blood during the casting to shape the weapon's 'nature.'
This method was not the traditional concept of recognizing a master; there was no such thing.
A spiritual weapon possessed a spirit, and since it had a spirit, it possessed a temperament. Those with fiery tempers wielded fierce weapons, while those of gentle disposition wielded pliable weapons.
When their natures aligned, the weapon naturally answered like an extension of one's own arm.
If their natures clashed, it was not catastrophic—it did not harm the weapon's quality—it simply wouldn't feel quite as smooth when executing martial arts techniques.
Adding the master's blood during forging aligned their dispositions. Unless a drastic catastrophe occurred to cause a profound shift in the master's temperament later on, the weapon and wielder would always remain in harmony.
After the other senior brothers departed, Hu Qi told Liang Qu to stay. When he returned, he held a short rod and a small booklet in his hands.
"Junior Brother Liang, this Bow Jin Method is a technique for circulating qi, blood, and jin force. Once mastered, your jin force will burst forth like drawing a bowstring and releasing an arrow. It is extremely suited to your aptitude, and paired with Ape Fist, your strikes will gain thirty percent more power. Read through it once, commit it to memory, and then begin practicing."
All the senior and junior brothers had tasks to attend to, and Hu Qi was going to put his junior brother through special training.
If a true conflict erupted with the Shuimu Cult, Liang Qu would inevitably be swept into it. His combat power had to be raised as quickly as possible so he could protect himself.
Chapter 72