Chapter 47: He is either a devil or a god

  Lu Guoyong arrived at the city gate and saw those so-called cannons, which made him grit his teeth in anger. What kind of thing is this? The most primitive weapon, not even found in museums, was actually made by that Yingtian Long, and it was used so successfully. Is this still human? A ghost? A god? Or his own destined nemesis?

  The thing under the city wall is called a catapult, but instead of shooting stones, it shoots stone-made cannonballs. In the landmine warfare, there are also stone mines. And there's a famous saying: Can't this flying stone kill people too?

  His second brother Hong San was killed by a stone blast, who would believe it if he told others.

  Lu Guoyong admitted that he was defeated and could not defeat Ying Tianlong. Even if you broke his so-called "big gun", he would still have other methods. Your thinking can never keep up with his thinking. As soon as you think of a way to deal with him, before you use it, he has already thought of another idea. The best way to fight against this kind of person is to kill him. If you can't kill him, then cooperate with him. There is no other path to take besides these two options.

  Lu Guoyong straightened his body, looking at Ying Tianlong from top to bottom. His inner anger slowly turned into admiration. In terms of age, he was more than a decade older than him, and in terms of experience, he had also been through the ups and downs of life, having seen all sorts of people, but never one with such courage and intelligence as his opponent. It would be great to work with him, but the question was whether he could unite with himself.

  Luo Guoyong let out a long sigh, hadn't he already extended an olive branch? Throwing another one wouldn't make a difference. He should thank Tianlong for understanding the code of brotherhood in the jianghu world; otherwise, he would have become a prisoner by now, and the master of "Heifengying" would be surnamed Ying instead.

  Lu Guoyong put on a smiling face at this thought, although this smile was not much better than crying, but he still smiled.

  "Indeed, Ying Xiong is a rare talent in the world. I admit defeat. You withdraw your troops first, and I agree to your two conditions."

  Ying Tianlong smiled, this was his heartfelt smile.

  This round should be a complete victory for Tianlong.

  A grand celebration was held in the Whirlwind Camp, with everyone attending except those on guard duty. Lin Wei opened up Li Kui's private storage room hidden in a cave and found it filled with all sorts of food and drink. There were piles of white liquor, and even if they drank two bottles every day, it would take Li Kui and his eight generals decades to finish them off.

  As for other things, there are countless canned goods, compressed food, instant noodles, and cured meats. Ying Tianlong said to bring them all out, today we will hold a celebration meeting, those who have made achievements will be heavily rewarded, with plenty of wine and meat, today we will learn from the heroes of Liangshan, drinking big bowls of wine and eating large pieces of meat.

  The celebration was unforgettable, not just because of the abundance of food and drink, but also due to a speech by Ying Tianlong. He pointed at the mountainous pile of wine and said: "Today, I've made a small fortune, and this wine wasn't sent by Luo Guoyong. What I want to say is not about how we won a great victory, or how 'Whirlwind Camp' finally got to show off for the first time; nor is it about how Luo Guoyong started providing fresh water, so 'Whirlwind Camp' will never have to worry about drinking water again. Seeing Li Jiao's private warehouse reminds me of the greatest corrupt official in the Qing dynasty - He Shen. Who is He Shen? Many brothers here know that he was an extraordinary figure; his official positions were numerous, and I'll count them for you: he concurrently held multiple posts, was enfeoffed as a first-class duke, served as Grand Secretary, Minister of War, Minister of Revenue, Minister of Justice, Minister of Rites, and Director of the Imperial Household Department, among others. He was extremely trusted by the emperor, with unparalleled power and influence in the Qing dynasty."

  He paused, looking around at the crowd who were listening to him with great interest, and continued: "This He Shen was also one of the biggest corrupt officials in ancient China. After the death of Emperor Qianlong, Emperor Jiaqing announced He Shen's twenty major crimes and immediately ordered his arrest. After confiscation, the total value of He Shen's property reached an astonishing amount, equivalent to 1.1 billion taels of silver, which was equal to the Qing government's revenue for fifteen years. That's why there is a saying: 'He Shen fell down, Jiaqing ate well.'"

  "Compared to He Shen, Li Jiaxiang is nothing. He Shen embezzled so much money throughout his life, what was the result? He was given a death sentence by Emperor Jiaqing and all his property was confiscated. Our Li Daxian accumulated so many things, what was the result again? He was blown to pieces by the people he trusted most. People just don't have eyes in the front and back of their heads, if only Li Jiaxiang could have shared his wealth with his brothers and shared life and death together, enjoying riches and honor together, he wouldn't have ended up being blown into a pulp."

  The crows and sparrows under the platform are silent.

  "I'd rather die than be a person like that, I know my own worth. Isn't there a saying: 'Fate has half a dou, don't think about getting a sheng.' That's not yours to take, even if you do, it'll come back out eventually. What I want is people's hearts, unity among the masses, only then can we defeat Luo Guo Xing. Otherwise, what makes you think you can fight against others, head-on? Go dream on."

  Ying Tianlong raised his wine cup: "Today we will learn from the heroes of Liangshan, drink big bowls of wine and eat large pieces of meat. We won't leave until we're drunk. After tonight, tomorrow brothers will have things to do again, enter the mountain to cut wood and build ships. Come on, cheers."

  "Charge! Charge!" The shout shook heaven and earth.

  At the celebration party, apart from indulging in feasting and drinking, people were not idle either. "Flying Fairy" Jiao Feng led a group of girls to perform the "Flying Dance", which brought about thunderous applause from the audience. As soon as the dance ended, everyone was reluctant to stop, and Second Brother Qin Ming said: "Miss Jiao Feng's martial arts skills are exceptional, let's invite her to do another one, how about it?"

  Everyone naturally cheered loudly.

  Jiao Feng didn't decline, and instead walked out with a big smile, struck a pose, and used her dan tian energy to perform a light skill. As she danced, her bright red dress fluttered open, like a red flame rolling and burning on the stage. The audience below watched in a daze.

  Ying Tianlong looked at her, this beautiful and strong woman was a mystery to him, an unsolvable mystery. Why did she come here, and why could she keep herself clean and independent in the tiger's den, going solo, who dared not touch her, this itself was an incredible question.

  Ying Tianlong recalled a conversation with Xi Mei, Jiao Feng would not take over the bar, her mind was not on this. Would such a beautiful and capable woman waste her life in this godforsaken place?

  What does this mean? Is Jiao Feng also thinking of a way to escape? Is that possible?

  Then Lao Da Lin Wei performed a martial arts routine, with the funeral staff in his hand flying up and down, pointing east and hitting west, it was quite impressive. When he finished, he put away his stance. The audience below applauded again.

  Yin Tao's qigong attracted the attention of the whole audience. He took out a deck of cards, placed it in his hand and spread them out, then had someone set up a wooden pillar ten steps away from him. With a wave of his hand, the cards flew out one by one, embedding themselves into the pillar, with some going as deep as one-third of their length. The audience gasped in shock, wondering what would happen if they were to hit a person's body.

  Among the cheers, Yin Tao said: "This is nothing, our master is truly formidable, palm smashing bricks, using real qigong, and all the brothers who came with me have seen it with their own eyes."

  Everyone shouted out loud, asking the master of the house to perform a piece.

  Ying Tianlong walked onto the stage, clasped his fists and said: "Fourth brother was being serious, there's nothing so mysterious about it. However, anyone who has practiced hard qigong knows that when one focuses their mind on a certain part of the body, it will produce an instantaneous burst of power that transcends the norm. Fourth brother's performance just now belonged to this category. Eldest brother, bring me a brick."

  Lin Wei handed a brick he had personally fired in the "Whirlwind Camp" over to Ying Tianlong.

  With a burst of energy from Tian Long's hands, the brick was split into two pieces. He casually discarded one piece and placed the other in his palm, stroking it with his hand as he spoke: "Qigong is essentially a method of physical and mental exercise that uses adjusting the mind, adjusting breathing, and adjusting the body as its means to achieve the goals of preventing illness, treating disease, strengthening the body, prolonging life, and developing potential. Adjusting the mind refers to controlling mental activity, adjusting breathing refers to controlling respiratory movement, and adjusting the body refers to controlling posture and movement. These three adjustments are the basic methods of qigong exercise and are the three essential elements or fundamental norms of the study of qigong."

  As he came to the crowd, the half brick in his palm was still intact. Ying Tianlong called a brother to come and take the brick, but when that person stretched out his hand, there was no whole brick there, only a pile of powder.

  People were stunned.

  After a while, the scene suddenly burst into thunderous applause, which can be described as endless.

  Everyone in the "Whirlwind Camp" looked at their own master with a respectful and unbelievable gaze, until now they seemed to have just understood why he was able to make such a shocking leap on the sea. Why Li Jiao died without anyone daring to come out and compete. Why Ying Tianlong could become the master of the camp. Why the invincible Luo Guoyong would admit defeat helplessly. All these whys were proven by the unbelievable facts before their eyes.

  Good heavens, what kind of person am I dealing with? He's either a devil or a god, a heavenly deity.

  Wang Qing, sitting in the audience, thought strangely.