From the Dragon and Tiger Cavalry to Hunting Sins and Becoming Saints

Chapter 131 Stopping People

"Friend, why don't you take a look first and then decide?"

The leader of the waterworks suppressed his anxiety and anger and said.

"No need to look, if I say it's not enough, then it's not enough."

Fu Que shook his head. He was just there to extort money. Even if the other party brought him a mountain of gold, he would still say it wasn't enough.

"Do you think this is enough?"

One of the hot-tempered Xuanjia Sect disciples couldn't contain himself any longer and drew his twin swords from his waist: "In this godforsaken place, we only have one patrol barge. You think you can make a fortune off us?"

Following his actions, the others also became restless, all looking at Fu Que with unfriendly expressions. The guards on his ship were also ready for battle, and the ship was even slightly tilted, with the crossbows pulled to the side, seemingly poised to fire first.

"Shut up!"

The captain of the medium-sized barge frowned and reprimanded, "Others are maintaining the safety of this waterway. We're just passing through, so it's only right and proper that we pay them a toll. What are you yelling about!"

After saying this, and ordering his men to put away their weapons, he spoke to Fu Que with a mix of soft and firm words:

"I left home in a hurry today and didn't bring much money with me. I understand my friend's dissatisfaction, but I really don't have any more money right now."

"I do have urgent business requiring me to pass through this waterway. How about this: I'll write a written agreement, you let us pass first, and later you can take this agreement to the Liuyun Chamber of Commerce's fishing ground branch to find me. I promise to pay you the rest of the tea money in full, how about that?"

Fu Que smiled. As expected of someone who started from scratch, relying solely on his own strength and the name of the Xuanjia Sect, he built a vast empire in a short period of time, and even managed to get in touch with the Tiger Cavalry.

This skillful use of both soft and hard tactics is truly remarkable. Just now, his hot-tempered confidant played the bad cop, and then he played the good cop. If Fu Que were a real bandit, he would have let the other party off the hook, but he wasn't.

After thinking for a moment, Fu Que turned around and looked behind him. The company commander of the 10th Company nodded slightly to him.

"Let me be frank, this waterway will not be open for the rest of this month, no matter who you are or what your reasons are, there will be no exceptions."

Having received a clear response, Fu Que shook his head and didn't take the exquisite box at all: "Since you're reasonable, turn the boat around and go back. I can pretend you were never here today."

After Fu Que finished speaking, more than a dozen people on the battle barge suddenly unleashed fluctuations of true qi. Sensing their auras, three or four of them were even at the mid-stage of Qi Refining. Moreover, each of them possessed a powerful aura, indicating that they were not ordinary Qi Refining martial artists, but rather martial artists with a solid foundation who could continue to advance.

On the medium-sized barge, he thought he had already flexed his muscles and offered incentives, thinking he should be able to pass through. But to his surprise, the other party remained unmoved. Before he could even get angry, more than a dozen auras suddenly erupted from the opposite ship, startling him.

Among them, several auras fluctuated, and his perception wasn't even one of apprehension, but rather a hint of fear. If they actually fought, he wasn't sure he could defeat any of them, and this was only the strength they displayed.

"Look, what do you think they're doing?"

The leader paused for a moment, then asked in a low voice.

"It's all about squeezing money out of people, what else could it be?"

The one who spoke was not the hot-tempered confidant who had spoken first, but another one, whose brows were furrowed so deeply that nasolabial folds appeared: "They probably recognized our ship and think that since we can join the Liuyun Merchant Guild, we must be very rich. They're thinking of detaining us so their families can ransom us."

"Either they want us to supply them with goods, like treasure fish, pills, and resources at low prices," the person on the far left blinked and said. "Some of these are special supplies that can't be bought in the regular market, and that's probably what they're after."

I don't think so.

The leader of the medium-sized barge shook his head.

"So, brother, what do you think?"

"Damn it, I was penniless back then, with nothing but a knife. I started out as a bandit. This is how you plant flags in a water stronghold."

The leader's expression was gloomy. He explained in a low voice, "This kind of show of force isn't something to be taken lightly. There have to be limits to this. Otherwise, if the officials are unhappy, they'll eliminate you in a heartbeat and replace you with someone more sensible."

The officials might not have time to pay attention to this kind of place, or they might not have the time or inclination to do so, but you have to be sensible. After all, people can run away, but can a water fortress run away?

But look at them, what are they saying? They want to block the waterways. Damn it, Yuntai Prefecture is a riverside place with crisscrossing waterways, and countless river bandits are entrenched there.

Have you ever heard of anyone daring to block the waterway? If you don't block the waterway, you can be a resident here. But if you block the waterway, what are you? Are you trying to create a country within a country in Da Zhao?

This was practically forcing the officials to send people to suppress them, but these people dared to say it and actually did it.

Moreover, their strength is too great. There are more than a dozen Qi Refining level martial artists on the surface, not to mention the others who may be there.

This godforsaken place can't support so many Qi-cultivating martial artists. Pills, martial arts, cultivation techniques, family members—each of these requires a lot of resources and wealth. How can a place that relies on plundering and robbing for a living maintain such a reputation?

As for trying to extort us or use our channels to obtain special supplies, I think with their considerable power, they shouldn't care about our paltry sums, much less our channels.

"Then I just don't understand."

The confidant on the far left scratched his head: "They're not after money, nor our channels, so why are they stopping us? It can't be...."

He stopped abruptly, a look of fear flashing in his eyes. The confidant looked at the leader and noticed that the leader's expression had also changed.

They heard in haste that Xuanjia Sect had been attacked. Judging from the information on the life tablet, it was undoubtedly the Chigu Sect. Because it was a notoriously ruthless demonic sect in Yuntai Prefecture, they hurriedly summoned their most elite guards and fast ships to provide support.

They were worried about the situation of their sect all the way, but forgot to think about why the Bone-Piercing Sect attacked the Xuanjia Sect, and even more so, how they managed to secretly gather enough manpower to wipe out the Xuanjia Sect without being noticed by many eyes and ears.

First, the sect was attacked, and then the fastest waterway to the sect was blocked. The people who blocked the waterway were extremely powerful, which left them no choice but to think carefully.

"May I ask why?"

After thinking for a moment, the leader calmed down and asked.

"No, in fact, speaking to you is already disobeying orders. Let's go now, before we change our minds."