https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-438-The-Iron-Horse-Grand-Executioner-of-West-Ridge/12918802/
Chapter 439: Run!
Chapter 439: Run!
"The situation is indeed quite serious..."
Hu Ma sighed, not blaming Xiao Hong Tang for suddenly waking him up, but silently organizing the information he had just received in his mind. This led to an intangible feeling of pressure:
"The Grand Sacrifice in the Capital City and the first Great Purge seemed far more complex than I had imagined."
"On the surface, the last Great Purge was caused by the previous generation of reincarnates being too flashy, inviting trouble, and scaring the other reincarnates into being more discreet. But now it seems that it's also related to the reincarnates' struggle for Heavenly Destiny and the goal of slaughtering the Earth Deity..."
"However, with such an important goal and the opportunity gained at great cost, why is there such a severe information gap? Even I only heard about it from the Mountain Lord."
"..."
It would be reasonable if he alone was unaware, as he was still new, having arrived less than three years ago. So far, he had only met a number of reincarnates that could be counted on one hand.
But the fact that even the experienced reincarnates like White Wine Lady and Red Wine Lady didn't know anything made it strange.
Especially for Erguotou, an old hand who had dealt with the previous generation of reincarnates...
...Not to mention, if he knew how urgent the matter was, he wouldn't have hidden away, leisurely playing a life simulation game and saying that for reincarnates, this life's enjoyment and pleasure were the most important.
Then, things were getting scary.
The more he thought about it, the heavier his heart felt, and a sense of panic arose within him. He quickly made a decision: "This can't be delayed, and it's not something I can handle alone."
"It's of utmost urgency. I must return to Mingzhou immediately and have a thorough discussion with White Wine Lady and Brother Erguotou about these matters."
"Perhaps this is indeed a matter of life and death for the reincarnates..."
"..."
As these thoughts raced through his mind, he suddenly felt a mysterious tremor, and faintly, he heard a strange sound of panic and wailing in his ears, snapping him out of his deep contemplation.
Looking outside, he saw that even the large tree covering the entire courtyard was rustling as if trembling, and its branches were falling off one by one for no apparent reason.
"What's going on?"
Hu Ma frowned and looked up, only to see Xiao Hong Tang crouching by the window, staring outside with wide eyes, her small fists clenched tightly. She said, "There's a bad guy outside!"
"Hmm?"
Hu Ma sensed that something had just happened in the town, but Xiao Hong Tang's behavior puzzled him. "Xiao Hong Tang is naturally kind-hearted. Apart from enjoying blood food and beating up little ghosts, she has no other issues. Why would she say there's a bad guy outside?"
She rarely used such strong words, so was there something outside that she disliked? As he was pondering this, he suddenly heard the anxious voice of Old Abacus from behind the wall where he was: "Little Overseer, Little Overseer, are you in there?"
Hu Ma exhaled and recognized Old Abacus's voice coming from behind the house. There was a small window there, so he dragged a large armchair over, stood on it, and peered out through the window.
Sure enough, behind the mansion, in the stone-paved alley, Old Abacus was holding a compass and leading a donkey, with Ma Ye, looking listless, following beside him, stretching his neck and calling out softly.
Hu Ma asked, "How did you get here?"
Old Abacus was startled and looked up, only to see Hu Ma's face behind the small window, and he exclaimed in a panic, "Oh no, what happened to you?"
"Did the leader of the One Coin Sect detain you here?"
"..."
"It's not exactly a detention..."
Hu Ma explained, "She locked me in the room, and I was just learning something. What was that noise just now?"
"She locked you up?"
Old Abacus was stunned and said, "Looking at this little shaman's pure and chaste face, I never would've guessed she liked you, a pretty boy like that... No, this isn't the time to discuss that. Don't ask, let's just run."
"Run?"
Hu Ma was surprised. "Did you cause trouble?"
"What trouble could I cause? I might've scammed her out of a couple of blood food pills to nourish myself..."
Old Abacus hurriedly said, "They brought trouble upon themselves. I told you before that the One Coin Sect's arrogance would eventually cause problems, and now it has."
"The Executioner of West Ridge, Iron Horse, has personally led his men to eradicate them. They've sealed off the town and will launch a direct attack within three days."
"If we don't run now, we might not get another chance..."
"..."
"The Executioner of West Ridge?"
Hearing this name, Hu Ma's heart skipped a beat. How did he end up attracting the attention of the Executioner? He had been in the jianghu for so long and had never even seen the legendary Executioner! He felt both vindicated and shocked at the same time.
The reason for his mixed feelings was that without an emperor above, local governments across the land were keeping a low profile, biding their time. But the world hadn't fallen into chaos because the Ten Surnames were suppressing local unrest.
In the past, on the way to Anzhou, they encountered a den of bandits, and because they were too rowdy, they were directly killed by others. As for the One Coin Sect, they openly expelled the government officials, collected taxes, stockpiled food, and forged weapons and armor, far surpassing the bandits. It was only a matter of time before the Iron Horse, Grand Executioner of West Ridge, would be drawn to them.
What was surprising was that with the current uprising and rebellions, the One Coin Sect's influence shouldn't have been enough to attract the attention of the Iron Horse, Grand Executioner.
The Iron Horse, Grand Executioner, was not someone to be trifled with. The Ten Surnames secretly maintained the order of the world, and more importantly, they managed the people within the Dao Lineage. Their power relied on the executioners and the four Iron Horses, Grand Executioners, who were like the four Guardian Deities.
Under each of the four Iron Horses, Grand Executioners, there were countless junior magistrates, and under each junior magistrate, there were numerous clerks running errands. In truth, these clerks were the ones who did the actual work.
For example, in Mingzhou Prefecture, on the surface, the Scarlet Lantern Lady was the overlord, but in reality, it was Plum Alley that held the real power. However, even Plum Alley was only a junior magistrate in charge of Mingzhou City.
But now, the One Coin Sect had drawn the attention of the Iron Horse, Grand Executioner, and it was even the one who specialized in executions.
As he thought about this, he also considered the question of whether to leave or not.
Before seeing this painting, Hu Ma would have decided without hesitation to leave, as he was only seeking cultivation techniques and had no intention of joining the One Coin Sect's rebellion. But now, he hesitated.
The Non-Vegetarian Sect was established by Great Master Daliang, or rather, it was the legacy left behind by the previous generation of reincarnates who used the name of Great Master Daliang. There must be many secrets within that were of great importance to reincarnates, and this lead couldn't be abandoned lightly.
After listening to the instructions from the Great Crimson Robe, the most important thing was to obtain more information from the Non-Vegetarian Sect.
As he thought, he asked, "What's the situation now? Has the town been sealed off by them?"
"Then how do you plan to leave?"
"..."
"You carry me..."
Elder Abacus was anxious, his face pressed against the wall, and said, "The blockade outside is very tight. Those who tried to escape suffered heavy casualties. I estimate that only the Year-End Guardians can escape quickly. If you run away now, there might still be a glimmer of hope..."
"?"
Hu Ma was almost amused by Elder Abacus's words. He shook his head and said, "With my abilities, it's already difficult for me to escape on my own. Carrying you would be even more challenging..."
"Oh dear..."
Elder Abacus was startled and exclaimed, "Junior Overseer, don't be so ungrateful. You're planning to run away on your own?"
Hu Ma sighed and said, "Then there's no need to panic. There are still three days left, right? I'm learning some things right now. After I meet the leader of the One Coin Sect and understand the situation, I'll make a decision."
He jumped down from the grandmaster chair, turned towards the door, and was about to push it open. But suddenly, he hesitated and looked at the painting on the wall. He recalled the instructions from the Great Crimson Robe, who asked him to bring some kind of token...
However, he had just been splashed awake by Xiao Hong Tang, and he didn't have time to see what token was in the Life Spirit Temple. If it was truly important, he might have to return to the temple.
Since that was the case...
...He made up his mind, turned around, and reached for the painting. At this moment, his feelings were somewhat complicated, as if taking this painting meant accepting some of the karma left behind by the previous generation of reincarnates.
But in his urgency, he had no time for sentimentality. He reached out and took down the painting, carefully rolled it up, and placed it in Xiao Hong Tang's basket.
A subtle change occurred as he removed the painting, but it wasn't noticeable to Hu Ma. He merely took down a painting and didn't experience any other sensations.
However, in various places around the world, in a rural thatched cottage, in a grand hall in the city, in an armory filled with weapons and armor, or in a grass-covered tomb with a coffin containing dry bones, there were many similar paintings. These paintings were in the hands of different people, some of which hadn't seen the light of day for a long time. But in this moment, they suddenly glowed with spiritual light, astonishing many disciples of the Non-Vegetarian Sect.
...
...
"Keep it safe, this painting is very important."
Hu Ma instructed Xiao Hong Tang and even helped cover the basket with a cloth. Then, he took a deep breath and kicked open the locked door.
"Hey, where are you going to see that woman? Run!"
Elder Abacus, who was behind the house, heard Hu Ma's footsteps moving further away from the wall and anxiously called out, "If you don't run now, we might be considered rebels too. It doesn't matter if we're unlucky, but you can't drag our honest and straightforward Scarlet Lantern Lady into this..."
Seeing that Hu Ma wasn't paying attention, he could only stomp his feet in frustration and awkwardly turned to look at the horse, saying, "He won't listen to reason. Look..."
The horse took a deep breath and ignored him. It gazed at the gloomy sky, its face showing a look of bliss.
Elder Abacus was getting desperate. Why were these two so difficult to deal with?
(End of Chapter)
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