Chapter 16 First meeting

　　In the valleys between Changyin mountains, the streams flow slowly southwards, with crystal clear water and fish leaping out of the water from time to time.

　　On the roadside full of flowers and grass, two horses gallop one after another. There are few passersby on the road, so they ride freely.

　　The scenery changes from mountain forests and meadows to open wilderness, and then to towns and cities. With Shen Huan's local police identity, their entry is smooth.

　　After more than ten days, they arrive at a small county called San Shi, with three towns inside. It is said that none of them are wealthy.

　　In front of them is the city of Jiushan, with scattered households outside the city walls and sparse families inside. Unlike other places where walls are touching each other, roads are touching each other, houses are touching each other, the official road here is just a gravel road. The alleys extending from the official road are even worse, with even less gravel on the ground. There are few soldiers on patrol here, most of whom are in the vicinity of the town.

　　Zhou Ge looks around and sighs, "This place is much poorer than Binri City."

　　Then he looks at Shen Huan and asks, "Brother Shen, what is the purpose of taking me to this place?"

　　"You remember what I told you before."

　　"Yeah, look more and talk less. So Brother Shen..."

　　"The shortest way goes through here. The northeast direction is another five days to Nanci County, and more than half a month to Beici County."

　　"Oh... So today..."

　　"Let's rest in the city."

　　After saying that, they dismount and lead their horses into the city.

　　After walking for 4 kilometers, they enter the central part of the town, where there are more people and more shops. Actually, if you look closely, there are still quite a few closed doors.

　　Shen Huan knows the town very well and takes a few turns before arriving at a guesthouse. The guesthouse has a very old signboard with the words "Sun Family Inn". The door curtain has a triangular flagpole with a "food" sign on one side and a "lodging" sign on the other side.

　　Looking inside, they see that there are no guests in the restaurant. The little waiter is sleeping on his feet, and the innkeeper is closing his eyes to rest. Two woodcutters deliver firewood to the backyard without even saying hello to the innkeeper.

　　Before entering the inn, a group of people come from the road. In front is a sedan chair, but there is no one inside it. The sedan chair is being carried along with the procession. Looking at their clothing and appearance, it is obvious that they are local wealthy families.

　　Behind the sedan chair are several burly men. Each of them is sturdy and beefy, indicating that they eat well and have plenty of strength. Each of them holds a one-meter-long club about as thick as a child's arm.

　　After the burly men comes a group of maidservants. Their clothing is better than that of ordinary families.

　　At the end of the procession are two men. One of them is tall with many pockmarks on his face. He wears a waist sword and looks dignified. The other one has a round face and a round belly. He doesn't wear his clothes properly and exposes his belly. He holds a staff with a crescent-shaped top in his hand. Zhou Ge looked carefully, it was not like the Taoist costume mentioned in the book, nor like the wizard costume worn by his aunt.

　　The procession slowly marches forward without any signs of hurry.

　　"Shen Huan, those two are..."

　　"The disciples of the third generation of the Flying Star Sect. Their clothes are Flying Star robes. Zhou, I'll show you something interesting."

　　After the procession has passed halfway, Shen Huan coughs lightly.

　　The two disciples look around and see Shen Huan. The taller one shrinks back a bit, kicks the buttocks of the person next to him, and then mingles with the other side of the procession.

　　The round-faced one is about to curse, but seeing the person in front of him, he immediately smiles and hurries forward a few steps. He says, "Who did I think it was? It's Brother Shen! What wind has brought you here? Hehehehe..."

　　"What? You're not welcome?"

　　"How dare I! My courage is pretty much like a dog's. I would never think that way. Who is this..."

　　"A friend."

　　"Oh, a friend of Shen Brother's, a distinguished guest. Today, all food and drink is on me. Please come inside; Sun the innkeeper, today I'm treating." He shouts loudly.

　　By now, the procession has passed by and the people inside have woken up.

　　Sun the innkeeper bows and comes out, saying, "Please come inside, three esteemed guests."

　　The round-faced one still has a smile on his face and says, "Brother Shen and your friend are here. Please come in, please come in..."

　　"Am I not good enough?" Shen Huan teases.

　　"No, no."

　　"So you're in a hurry? Where to?"

　　"Today, Mr. Wei is happy, so he has ordered a fire sacrifice at the Five-Star Temple to pray for longevity and good health, so that he won't be afflicted by any diseases. So we two have to follow him."

　　"He prays for longevity and good health, but how will the people of the county survive? Is your master Xiang Qiu here? Does he still hate me?"

　　"No, no. We are all timid. "

　　"Do you remember everything I said?"

　　"Yes! I remember it clearly. Now, the slaves of Mr. Wei's family are very well-behaved, and so are we."

　　"Pfft, neither you nor your Senior brother Li Sheng are good people. Wei Dacai is also a man who frequently buys assassinations. He has done plenty of that sort of thing."

　　"We have changed, we really have..."

　　"Really? Let me ask the magistrate and the governor about it."

　　Just as he is about to take a step, Li Zong grabs his thigh and holds on tightly.

　　"Don't, don't... Shen Brother, please don't go. I'm afraid, we're all afraid..."

　　"There is one thing we are afraid of. OK, let's go then. Don't delay the sacrifice."

　　"Can't we chat for a bit longer?"

　　Suddenly, Shen Huan remembers something and says, "Let's chat for a few more minutes then. I want to ask you, has Master Haoyun come here before?"

　　At this moment, Li Zong really wants to smack his mouth for talking too much. "No, no. I haven't seen him in a while. He might have gone to Beici County again. Why don't you go there and take a look? Brother Shen, I'm leaving first. Brother Shen, see you later." After saying that, he walked forward slowly and then looked back a few times. He walked quickly like a rabbit and followed the procession.

　　Zhou Ge couldn't help but laugh at how funny it was: "Shen Huan, what did you ever do to them?"

　　"I helped the Magistrate of the County defeat the Flying Star Sect at the Five-Star Temple. Apart from Xiang Qiu and his two disciples, none of them survived."

　　"Weren't they arrested?"

　　"At that time, I was still an unruly person. The Magistrate of the County said not to take their lives, so I spared them."

　　"Is the Magistrate of the County afraid of the people from the Five-Star Temple?"

　　"The person just now was named Li Zong. He has a senior disciple named Li Sheng. They are the third generation disciples. Their master is Xiang Qiu, who wears a Feixing robe with five stars, which means he is a second generation disciple of the Flying Star Sect. The first generation disciples wear a robe with seven stars. The three of them are associated with a wealthy man named Wei, who has been causing trouble in this area. Why didn't I dare to kill them? You can imagine the reason behind it. Without Bai Liang, they would have died several times over."

　　Zhou Ge didn't expect that Bai Liang's influence was so great. Only his disciples could make the Magistrate of the County feel so difficult. Besides, it seemed that Shen Huan had a grudge against the Flying Star Sect. Without asking any more questions, he slightly nodded and said in a low voice, "I've seen enough."

　　"There will be a day for reckoning. Let's go inside the inn."

　　The two handed their horse reins to the inn boy and stepped inside Sun's Inn. They ordered some food and drink, then packed their belongings, filled their water bottles, and went to rest in their room.

　　The next morning, they settled their meal account and led their horses onward.

　　On the way, Zhou Ge said, "Shen Brother, can you take me to Huajun County?"

　　"We need to go east!"

　　The two didn't go to Nanci County, but instead turned towards Northeast China.