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"Whoosh!"
Feeling the terrifying pressure capable of destroying everything, Dongfang Bubai's eyes sparkled with light. With her hair flying, she gracefully dove into the dense forest, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
"The mountains remain unchanged, and the waters flow long. We will meet again soon, Ye Master..."
Hah!
Lowering his head to look at a flower-embroidered needle in his palm, Ye Kai revealed a faint smile. Although this Eastern Beauty was much stronger than he had imagined, she had not yet reached the Grandmaster Realm.
She was merely between a Master and a Grandmaster, but with her ghostly speed, almost everyone in the martial world would have to bow down in admiration.
With the information about Yilin Nizi in Ye Kai's hands, he had no worries about whether Eastern Beauty would come.
Though he didn't know if there was an 'Unrestrained Monk' in this world, he hadn't deliberately sent anyone to search for one, but it should exist.
Moreover, with his interference, her attention toward Linghu Chong would be minimal.
As for Tian Boguang, who had also leaped out using the shockwave just now, Ye Kai had already lost interest. That guy would likely head to Hengshan City anyway.
"Thank you for your assistance, senior! I am deeply grateful!" Linghu Chong forced himself to bow despite his numerous injuries, gritting his teeth as he did so.
"Mm!"
Ye Kai looked deeply at this grateful young man and waved his hand. "Enough, get up. In fact, this Sect has some ties with your Huashan. It's just that time is unforgiving; a hundred years have passed in a flash..."
Some ties with Huashan?
Why has my master never mentioned this?
This person could rival the Demon Cult Leader Dongfang Bubai and even drive her back; it was clear that his age could not possibly be as young as he appeared!
Before Linghu Chong could ponder further, Ye Kai frowned and glanced in the direction Tian Boguang had just fled. He sneered, "It seems we won't have to sleep rough in the wilderness tonight!"
Half an hour later.
Lin Pingzhi rode ahead of the caravan to scout the path, while Linghu Chong similarly stopped his tall steed beside the carriage. "Senior, I know this area well. If it were just me, I wouldn't choose this route because it leads into Black Wind Stronghold. Normally, this is the path that Knockoff bandits take to raid transport caravans carrying goods and supplies."
"Look, although this road isn't wide enough, it can definitely accommodate a single-wheeled cart, and the grass and underbrush have been mostly flattened. Clearly, it's a route frequently traveled by people."
With the sound of hooves approaching, Lin Pingzhi returned. "Master, the mountain path ahead is rugged. If we want to enter the mountains, it won't be easy, especially with your two carriages. Now I understand why the soldiers from nearby cities haven't come to eliminate Black Wind Stronghold."
"Haha, Brother Lin, you may not know that this road doesn't lead directly to Knockoff. In fact, beneath Black Wind Stronghold lies a perilous area that must be crossed before entering Knockoff. The troops can only reach that point."
"That mountain pass is extremely treacherous; it's a place where one man can hold off a thousand. When the soldiers arrive there, they can't deploy effectively, and all siege tactics become useless. At one point, Black Wind Stronghold was so audacious that they raided Government tax silver, prompting a military crackdown. They managed to fend off several sieges thanks to that checkpoint."
"Later on, someone leaked this information, and the court dispatched elite members of the Jinyiwei to enter the mountains. However, the leader of Black Wind Stronghold is an extremely cunning person. When the court's experts arrived, he abandoned his stronghold and fled; once they retreated, he returned."
"This has happened three times now. Each time Jinyiwei and the soldiers attempted to suppress them, it only resulted in wasted resources and effort. Eventually, Black Wind Stronghold established itself here as the largest blight within three hundred miles."
"How could such a thing happen multiple times?"
Upon hearing this, Ye Kai immediately understood the implications and shook his head with a smile. "Logically speaking, Jinyiwei should have a high success rate in such matters, especially with their skilled members. The so-called treacherous terrain shouldn't pose much of a challenge for them. But since they've repeatedly allowed the leader of Black Wind Stronghold to escape and return, it seems he must have some collusion with officials."
"What? Master, you mean the court and bandits... How could they possibly work together?" Lin Pingzhi looked incredulous as if he had seen a ghost.
"Actually, I didn't believe it at first either. But just recently, I personally captured a bandit who unexpectedly revealed everything during interrogation," Linghu Chong said solemnly.
Initially, he had shared Lin Pingzhi's disbelief. However, as he pieced together fragmented information over time, he began to uncover some clues. Yet when he realized that the truth might indeed align with his suspicions, he still felt anger and sorrow within.
Though he was a person of the martial world and the eldest disciple of Huashan Sect, he had never abandoned his principles of chivalry over these years.
Now that he understood the situation here and had an experienced senior by his side, how could he easily let this group of blights go?
"Hahaha! Ping Zhi! Chongzi! You are both new to the martial world and lack experience. Moreover, you mostly know about martial affairs but are unaware of government matters."
"If our sect were local officials in charge of a district and bandits stole government tax silver—if they took three parts, I would report ten; if they took one part, I would still report ten; even losses from previous years would be blamed on the robbers."
"If that robber had been a bit more sensible, taking fifty percent of the tax silver to smooth things over, it wouldn't matter how they plundered the common people. Just having eyes from the Government watching them would already be extremely beneficial for them."
"Look at this; the officials' corruption has caused a huge deficit. If they were to rob him every three to five years, not only could they fill the gap, but they could also pocket the silver meant for the court..."
"Hey, if you are willing to cooperate with the Government's robbers like this, how could the provincial officials not take advantage? If it were This Sect, they might even deliberately hand over the tax silver to Black Wind Stronghold for them to steal!"
Ye Kai stepped forward, gazing at the dark mountains ahead, his eyes glinting coldly. "If the soldiers come to suppress them, it wouldn't be worth mobilizing thirty to fifty thousand troops just to eliminate a mere Knockoff."
"But if there are too few people and they can't break through the stockade gate, they'll have to call in skilled members of the Jinyiwei from elsewhere. However, for the Jinyiwei to operate here, they would need local officials' cooperation, and unfortunately, the Government has secret ties with Gao Ping Stockade."
"So even if many Jinyiwei come, unless they sneak in and secretly open the stockade gate, it will inevitably end in failure."
"How could this be? The Government... no, how could the court allow this?" The two were already dumbfounded by Ye Kai's words.
Ye Kai glanced at the two who were truly dazed and smiled again. "Of course, the court wouldn't allow this. But those in power can do so. Since Black Wind Stronghold has caused great harm and has repeatedly robbed tax silver, facing such a great evil, it's clear that both officials and soldiers have failed in their duties!"
"In the end, these local officials will surely wait until Black Wind Stronghold has been thoroughly fattened up before striking them down from behind. This way, they can claim a great achievement while also seizing the wealth accumulated from years of robbery by Black Wind Stronghold. Isn't that killing two birds with one stone?"
"Moreover, since Black Wind Stronghold is deeply hated among the common people, once they are eliminated, it will surely bring great satisfaction. The common folk won't know any better; they'll just be grateful to Kaysinna Avenue and think that some official is a good person. Hahaha..."
After Ye Kai finished speaking, Lin Pingzhi and Linghu Chong were left utterly stunned, their minds turning to mush as they struggled to comprehend what had just been said.
After all, they were just two young men from the Jianghu and had little experience with such matters.
But in modern times, facing such situations was nothing new for Ye Kai; especially not here.
As soon as Linghu Chong opened his mouth, he was already able to guess most of it.
At that moment, Ye Yi suddenly burst into laughter. "Hahaha! No wonder they're officials while we are commoners! We sell ourselves out and still help them count their money! I could never pull off such tricks; if it were Ye Er instead, he'd probably do it even better!"
Ye Er calmly glanced at the two foolish youths. He said little, but his calm demeanor spoke volumes.
"Master, does the court really not know about these matters? Do they just let them run wild?" Lin Pingzhi couldn't hold back any longer, his face flushed with anger.
"Yes, senior, why is that?" Linghu Chong asked, his mind momentarily blank.
Ye Kai shook his head, a glimmer of cold light flashing in his eyes. "Hmph, there's nothing difficult to explain. As long as the court exists and there aren't enough people rising up in rebellion, the Ming Court will still be in control. However, the power struggles in the court are not simply 'black and white'; otherwise, chaos would have erupted long ago."
"Alright, let's put this question aside for now. What we need to do is wipe out the Black Wind Stronghold."
Of course, Ye Kai had a few more things he wanted to say.
That was, this group of bandits from the Black Wind Stronghold had already been digging their own graves.
Because most of the people from the village where they had just gotten married had long since joined the Black Wind Stronghold. They weren't there for the excitement; they were eyeing their carriages and horses, looking to rob them.
Yet these people thought their methods were concealed when they had already been detected by the Multifunctional Detector.
Moreover, there was a faint halo glowing on that mountain peak, which piqued his curiosity even more.
"Ping Zhi, Chongzi, when we arrive at the Black Wind Stronghold, it will be up to you two. If you don't manage to wipe out the Black Wind Stronghold and this Sect has to step in..."
Ye Kai's words might have been lost on the two inexperienced youths, but Ye Yi and Ye Er along with Alice and the other women all laughed. Some had flushed faces while others covered their mouths in amusement, casting strange glances at the two.
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