Chapter Fifteen: Ox Horn and Xiang Shui

  The Niujiaozi Mountain is not very large, running north-south for about 300 miles, and east-west for only a few dozen miles. However, this mountain road of just a few dozen miles has become the first barrier between Dongling and Dengzhou Prefecture. Dongling is considered a lower county because it is separated from Dengzhou Prefecture by two barriers: one is Niujiaozi Mountain, and the other is the Zhangshui River. After passing through Niujiaozi Mountain and continuing on for about 60 miles, you will encounter a large river, the Zhangshui River. The Zhangshui River is very wide, with its narrowest point being around three or four miles, and its widest point exceeding ten miles. Moreover, the water flows rapidly, making it one of the larger tributaries of the Wei River. The river is abundant with fish and shrimp, and there are many fishing villages along its banks. With a width of several miles and rapid currents, it can be said that this river is like a natural barrier.

  Niújiǎozi Mountain and Zhangshui River separate Dongling from Dengzhou Prefecture, making it a truly remote lower county.

  Now, Tiejun and his companions were walking on the rugged mountain road of Niujiaozigou Mountain.

  "It's said that Niujiaozi Mountain was once haunted by monsters in the early years, but later they were pacified by the imperial court and it was peaceful for many years. However, recently it has become unpeaceful again, a group of bandits have hidden in the mountains and often come out to rob passing merchants, so now we dare not spend the night in the mountains!"

  The motorcade entered the mountain, and the bodyguards invited by Che Xing surrounded the perimeter in the first time to guard. Che Xing's person in charge, Xu Lao Da, also came to Tie Jian's carriage and explained to him.

  Now, Tie Jun is the county lieutenant of Dongling County, and Niujiaozi Mountain can also be considered within the jurisdiction of Dongling County. To say that the banditry here should indeed fall under his supervision, but as soon as he thinks of those few bailiffs in the county, neither Tie Jun nor Xu Lao Da from Chehang dare to have such thoughts.

  "Xu Lao Da, this territory is also yours now. Do you know the details of this powerful man?!"

  "How would I know? Our company has encountered this three times, and each time we had to spend some money to resolve the disaster!"

  Xu Lao Da sighed and said, "They are still reasonable, after taking the money they won't give us trouble, so this road is still passable!"

  Tie Jun did not continue to ask, but just nodded slightly. As the newly appointed county lieutenant, it was already somewhat embarrassing for him to discuss this group of thieves in this situation. Not only had he failed to drive out the thieves, but he also needed the protection of the carriage guards to pass through Niujiaozhai Mountain, which was a humiliating thing for him.

  "It will be settled, as long as I absorb the yin and yang energy of separation and reunion, my martial arts skills are a bit higher, come to settle the problem here, just a group of thieves!"

  Through the gap in the car window curtains, looking at the distant green hills, Tie Jun secretly made up his mind.

  The horse-drawn carriage took a whole three hours to pass through the Niujiaozigou Mountain, and it was already pitch black outside. However, as soon as they exited the mountain, there was a town called Zhouwangji where merchants could rest. Old Xu was very familiar with this place, and as soon as they entered the town, someone came to greet them and led the carriage into an inn. The inn had already prepared everything for the travelers, including a separate small courtyard for them. Tie Jian was arranged to stay in the largest and cleanest upper room.

  After having a simple dinner with Old Xu, Old Xu bid farewell and left. In the spacious room, only Tie Zhuan was left alone.

  "What a disappointing day!"

  If he had some excitement about taking the post of county captain before, now all that's left is pressure, huge pressure coming at him, making him feel a little breathless.

  He sat by the table, lost in thought for a moment, then stood up, shook his head vigorously, opened the window, and a gust of cool wind came in, dissipating much of the depression in his chest.

  At this point, it's already late in the Zi hour. Whether it's Shaoyang Qigong or Chaotai Qigong, both require practice within a suitable time frame. Otherwise, not only will there be no effect, but there will also be great harm. However, the Xihuang War King Qigong passed down from the self-sealing god era doesn't have such requirements. In Chen Jiu's memory, Xihuang War King Qigong can be practiced at any time and has excellent effects. But that was an old account from 10,000 years ago. Before Tie Jian tried it, this qigong had no effect when practiced in the present world, and the heavenly energy absorbed in one breath almost made him suffocate.

  Undoubtedly, the Xī Huāng War King's qigong is several levels higher than Cháo Lǐ's qigong, but cultivating it is also extremely overbearing.

  The Shaoyang Qigong is also known as the Tidal Qigong. When practicing, one needs to capture the yuanqi that exists between heaven and earth, extract the needed yuanqi, and expel the unnecessary ones. This is what is called "tu na". However, the Xihuang War King's Qigong is different. This qigong does not pick and choose, it's like a giant blender that mixes all the yuanqi absorbed into the body, breaks them down, and reorganizes them into Xihuang War King's Qigong. Therefore, the progress of practicing this qigong far exceeds that of Tidal Qigong and Shaoyang Qigong, and its efficiency is also higher. However, the current heavenly yuanqi is impure and not as refined as it was in ancient times. In Chen Jiu's memory, when he practiced this qigong in the past, the feeling of absorbing a mouthful of yuanqi into his abdomen was extremely comfortable, like drinking a glass of fine wine. But now, when he practices, absorbing a mouthful of yuanqi into his body feels like sucking in a mixture of dirty water and urine, which is too painful. The tolerance required for the meridians is also very high. Of course, there are also methods within this qigong that nourish and stabilize the meridians, but they have also become outdated.

  "In any case, having one more qigong skill is a good thing!"

  Enhancing strength is the most fundamental function of qigong, whether it's Shaoyang qigong, Chaoxian qigong, or Xihuang Zhanwang qigong. They all aim to increase power as their ultimate goal. However, modern qigong is more refined and gentle, unlike the ancient era of sealing gods, where qigong was more effective. This is also related to the fact that people's physical constitution has become weaker over time. Compared to ancient times, humans are now much more fragile. Nevertheless, even if one cannot cultivate it, using it as a reference is not bad either. Moreover, it's not entirely impossible to cultivate, and if done gently, unlike Chen Jiuyi's intense cultivation millions of years ago, it might still be usable.

  Enduring the scorching pain in his right hand, Tie Jian spent an hour to complete a cycle of Xi Huang War King's Qigong, and only then did he let out a long sigh.

  He lifted his right hand, from the forearm to the fingers, were slightly red and trembling slightly, lightly grasped twice, feeling still somewhat powerless, he had no choice but to give up trying.

  "Alas, forget it for now. Let's wait till tomorrow to see the effect. According to Chen Jiu's memory, the effect of Xi Huang Zhan Wang Qi is excellent and takes effect quickly. Although I slowed down the speed, however..."

  BOOM!!

  Just as I was thinking about entering the room, a loud noise suddenly came from outside the house, causing the entire room to shake.

  "What's going on? Is it an earthquake?"

  A sense of foreboding rose in his heart, Tie Jian rushed out of the house door, and before he could even stand firm, he felt a violent tremor beneath his feet, followed by a series of thunderous roars that seemed to come from afar.

  "What's wrong? What happened?"

  It wasn't just him, the others in the inn also rushed out, some people didn't even wear their clothes properly, bare-chested and wearing shorts, they rushed out with a look of horror on their faces. Among them, several bodyguards with high martial arts skills jumped up and down, jumping onto the roof after a few jumps, looking towards the place where the sound came from.

  "It's terrible, hurry up and run, there is water, Zhang River has burst its banks!!"

  Several bodyguards just took a look and jumped down from the roof one by one, shouting loudly.

  Zhang River bursts its banks?

  Tie Jun was startled at first, and then felt a bit unbelievable, because Zhang Shui didn't have a dike at all!

  This place is remote and mountainous, with only a few small fishing villages around. For Dongling, Niujiao Mountain was the best dam. Who would build a dam in such a place? In Tie Jian's memory, this river had been formed for tens of thousands of years, although the water flow was rapid, it rarely overflowed, and even if it did, it wouldn't reach so far away. At most, during the summer flood season, the river would overflow one or two miles from the riverbank. What's going on? Is this just a coincidence?

  It's not yet the flood season and there is no wind or rain, so how can it be said that the Zhang River has burst its banks all of a sudden?

  Everyone in the house was in a state of panic, Tie Jun's eyebrows were tightly locked, the ground was still shaking, some people had already entered the room to pack their things, and more people were frantically running out with their personal belongings, not even taking their luggage.

  Tie Jun always felt a little puzzled, suddenly found that the sky was filled with dark clouds at some point, and the sound of thunder came from the clouds, but was covered by the distant roar of water.

  A terribly bad idea flashed through his mind, he rushed upstairs, grabbed a pillar and climbed onto the roof in an instant. Although his lightness kung fu was not good, this inn had at most three floors, with his agility, climbing onto the roof was not a big deal. On the rooftop, he saw the scene he least wanted to see.

  Ten miles away, the sky above the Zhangshui River was already filled with dark clouds, thunder shook the sky, and the Zhangshui River had completely risen. The white waves were like fierce horses galloping, rushing towards this side, the wave head was as high as five or six zhang, and it would soon rush to Zhouwang Village.

  "Mr. Iron, hurry up and go, if you don't leave now, it will be too late!"

  Although he didn't know what had happened, being a worldly-wise man, Old Xu couldn't care less about that anymore. He rushed out of the house with a small bundle in his arms and suddenly saw the iron tripod on the roof, startling him greatly, and shouted loudly.

  Invite him down.

  Tie Jun is the county lieutenant of Dongling County, with a proper official body, and he is also on the same road as him. If something really happens here, he will have no way to explain it when he returns.

  Tie Jun listened to his call, seemingly wanting to say something more, but looking at the increasingly dense waves, he finally sighed and jumped down from the roof of the house without saying a word. He followed the people who were leaving the inn, and by this time, Zhou Wangji had also become chaotic. Fortunately, Zhou Wangji was originally just a place for merchants to rest on their journey, so there weren't many actual residents. After discovering that something was amiss, they all rushed out in the first instance, but because there was no leader, it seemed very chaotic. Some ran east, some west, and quite a few fled towards the Zhang River like headless flies.