bookbashuk Chapter 46 Secrets
Chapter 46 Secrets
Yan Tiansheng asked Yang Silang which general's servant he was, and upon learning that he was under Ruan Mingyuan's command, a look of regret appeared on his face.
"Brother, I shouldn't have said that."
"Commander Ruan is a good man, but he's just a garrison commander. He rarely gets to go to the battlefield, and he doesn't have any elite troops under his command. How can he possibly achieve any military merits?"
"If you trust me, I'll introduce you to a great man. With your skills as a martial arts expert, once you join the army, you'll immediately become a powerful battalion commander. You'll have plenty of opportunities to earn merit, and you might even become a centurion or garrison commander."
Yang Silang smiled and shook his head, politely declining, saying that his ambitions lay elsewhere.
Seeing that he was truly unwilling, Yan Tiansheng stopped trying to persuade him.
The group exchanged some insights on martial arts practice.
As a result, jar after jar of wine was served, and the atmosphere gradually became lively.
Yang Silang raised his cup in return to Ma Qianli and Yan Tiansheng, saying that if it weren't for the two elder brothers and all the brothers fighting on the front lines and pacifying the bandits led by Hong Tatian, our Gongzhou Prefecture would not be enjoying peace now...
He pointed to himself and Wang Daniu.
Back then, my brother and I went to war with the army. We worked as porters in the supply depot, transporting supplies. When the deputy commander suffered a great defeat and the entire army was wiped out, we barely managed to survive by carrying the supplies for Commander Ruan.
Two thousand porters and laborers went together.
Only about twenty people escaped back; almost all the others who went out with them were sent to Yiling County, and now their bones are probably rotten to the bone. It's truly a sad and lamentable situation.
Upon hearing this, Ma Qianli and Yan Tiansheng's expressions changed.
So you two are the righteous people who were commended by the government! You are truly heroes!
Hey bro, you two were the ones who killed those six guys back then, right?
That General Ruan doesn't seem like someone who can lift a knife.
Yang Silang smiled but remained silent.
Having all fought against the bandits together, Ma and Yan became even more enthusiastic, recounting their experiences in quelling the bandits.
Ma Qianli said that the core members of the bandits were mostly military men infiltrated by the Chen state, making them very difficult to deal with, and that the initial battle was very difficult. Yan Tiansheng secretly said that it was not certain whether the Hongtatian captured by the army in the end was real or not, and that the great bandit might have already escaped.
It is also said that the army of Hong Tatian is very strange. In half a year, it destroyed many villages and took many people hostage, including capturing many soldiers and porters. However, when it was defeated, it only had a few thousand people. The army did not expand.
What happened to those who were taken prisoner? Were they killed or buried?
Unfortunately, they were never seen alive or dead. During the interrogation, all that was known was that a "strategist" by Hong Tatian's side had taken everyone away, and their whereabouts remained unknown.
The strategist was not captured, which became an unsolved case.
This was actually the source of confusion for Yang Silang and the other porters from the Sanshui Guild.
When the camp fell, despite the chaos, the number of dead was actually countable. Most of the soldiers, porters, and laborers were probably captured, and judging by human nature, there must have been quite a few who were willing to surrender.
Based on this calculation, a considerable number of people must have survived all the upheavals, even if they were bandits with a dishonorable identity.
However, since the collapse of the city was quelled, almost none of the people who were lost back then have ever returned to Gongzhou Prefecture, which is very strange.
"Hiccup..." Long Yi, who had been drinking and carousing, suddenly interjected. "Or maybe it was eaten by a demon beast?"
Ma Qianli laughed and asked, "Instructor, what kind of monster can eat so many people?"
Long Yi raised his hand and lifted the black blindfold covering his head.
"The world is so vast, what kind of monsters don't exist?"
"Look, this is what happened when the monster blinded me..."
Looking around, everyone saw that where the eyes had been was a deep hole, with skin inside that was a strange purple color. Upon closer inspection, the purple color seemed to be alive, wriggling and slowly expanding in all directions.
Yang Si only watched for a few breaths before suddenly feeling a chill, as if he had been marked by some evil. He quickly looked down and saw that Wang Daniu's face had turned pale, while the others had sweat on their foreheads.
Long Yi looked as if he had played a prank, and seeing everyone's expressions change, he finally removed his blindfold with satisfaction.
"Ah..." The girls sitting next to Long Yiyan finally realized what was happening, their faces pale with fright as they collapsed to the ground.
boom!
Long Yi collapsed onto the table, drooling three feet away; he was clearly drunk.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. For some reason, being stared at by that blind man had sobered them up, and they no longer enjoyed drinking.
So everyone chatted awkwardly for a few minutes, then hastily dispersed, practically fleeing downstairs.
Yang Silang paid the bill with a heavy heart, spending a total of five taels of silver: two taels for food and drink, two taels for the girl, and one tael as a token of respect for her.
That dragon deserves to be blinded.
-
The next day.
In the martial arts hall.
The group was still practicing their boxing.
Having learned their lesson, Ma Qianli, Yan Tiansheng, and the others dared not wear iron armor again. Instead, they obediently wore plain clothes and short jackets, and lined up with Wang Daniu and the other servants in two rows to practice long fist.
However, everyone seemed a little distracted, their eyes glancing toward a corner of the wall where Long Yi stood with his hands behind his back, Yang Silang beside him. Everyone knew that the instructor was about to impart the Iron Bone Martial Arts' ultimate technique.
Everyone felt an itch to find out more.
Unfortunately, no one dared to approach, or they would receive a special beating from Coach Long, which was quite painful.
Perhaps it was because he had invited four girls yesterday that Yang Silang was so generous with his money, and today Long Yi was all smiles and in a good mood.
A row of weapons was placed in the corner: a knife, a gun, a bow, a hammer, and a shield.
"Kid, you used to practice Changquan, with its own style of splitting, striking, drilling, cannoning, and horizontal punches."
"Today, I will teach you the corresponding weapons for each style of boxing. With a foundation in boxing, you can then learn the basic moves of these weapons naturally and in no time."
"Then, based on mastering the weapons, you can apply that knowledge to your boxing form."
"In addition, for the long stance you used to practice, you just need to keep practicing."
"There are many ways to learn a bone-strengthening stance. You can buy an Iron Man and I will teach you a set of striking techniques to strengthen your bones. You can also spend money to find some sparring partners to strike all parts of your body. But simply put, it means getting beaten up more often."
Yang Silang was somewhat bewildered.
"Instructor, are there no new training methods for boxing?"
Long Yiyan chuckled.
"There are advanced training methods for Long Fist, but those are for the Grand Martial Master level. They require training the five internal organs to be as solid as steel plates, commonly known as steel organs."
"At that stage, one practices the Five Elements Long Fist, using the fist stance to correspond to the Five Elements, nourishing the internal organs, and ultimately making the five internal organs a unified whole."
"I'll teach you when you become an Iron Bone Martial Master."
Yang Silang's eyes were somewhat suspicious—Instructor, don't try to fool me. You're just an Iron Bone Martial Master. How could you teach me such profound things?
Long Yi seemed to know what he was thinking, and he glared at him with a sneer.
"Kid, what's wrong? You think I can't do it?"
"Back in the day, if I hadn't been killed by those demonic beasts..."
He seemed to have thought of something, his words stopped abruptly, his expression turned hostile as he picked up a knife and kicked it, leaving Yang Silang with a stick in his hand.
"Go to your room, I've prepared a suit of iron armor for you there."
"Teaching you weapons is simpler and more effective. I'll take some knives and spears and practice slashing at you every morning and afternoon, and you'll get the hang of it..."
"Today I'll teach you that every inch shorter is an inch more dangerous!"
Yang was greatly alarmed. "They're coming again?"
After a while.
He walked out of the house, already dressed in a full set of iron armor. The armor was incredibly heavy, weighing over eighty pounds, but it was exquisitely made of fine iron plates, covering almost his entire body, leaving only a slit for his eyes, and even had a visor.
Perhaps, they won't be beaten too badly?
Yang Silang picked up his stick, turned around, his expression changed, and he ran away as fast as he could!
His staff was only eyebrow-length, and it wasn't even as tall as a person.
Old Deng, facing him, brandished his ten-foot-long spear, shouted "Don't run!", and thrust it forward fiercely.
"Good lad, I'm in a good mood today, so I'll teach you a lesson based on your skill level!"
Yang Silang cursed inwardly, "Wasn't that a knife you were holding just now?"
Why are you carrying a ten-foot-long spear?
You're a real scoundrel...