Martial Arts Longevity Begins with the Equipment Slot

Chapter 44 Nameless Ferry Crossing, Blood Ravens Soaring

At 3:45 PM, a gentle breeze blew through the Qinglan Mountains.

Chen Yu walked briskly close to the ground, his body swaying strangely from side to side, like a bamboo viper moving through the grass.

This is the effect of the "Snake-like Body Movement Technique": focusing on tracking without leaving a trace.

The snake moves without leaving a trace, and the grass lies silently.

The four-carriage black tarpaulin ahead was bumping along the rugged mountain road.

The tire tracks varied in depth, clearly indicating an enormous load.

The bronze bells hanging on the carriage shafts were eerily silent, probably because they were covered by thick cotton wool.

Chen Yu's serpentine movements kept him in a blind spot.

As the carriage turned left, he pressed himself against the right-hand mountain wall.

As the carriage turned right, he slid into the ditch on the left.

He was like a leech, keeping a distance of seven zhang from the carriage.

This is a delicate balance between the range of a bow and arrow and the range of hearing.

They followed closely all the way to a deserted ferry crossing outside Sunset City.

"Slurp!"

Chen Yu twisted his body and spiraled upwards along a wind-eroded hillside, reaching the top of the hill in three breaths.

From here, he could overlook the entire ferry crossing without revealing his position.

It was already early 11 PM, and the fog on the river was so thick that it couldn't be dispersed, like the chaos at the beginning of time.

Thirty feet away, Han Feilong's black tarpaulin finally came to a stop.

Soon, the sound of oars could be heard from below.

"Squeak, squeak."

A small, fast boat emerged from the fog.

A man in a straw raincoat and bamboo hat stood at the bow of the boat, holding a lantern in his hand.

The lampshade is painted with a three-legged crow, which is the secret mark of the Cold Crow Sect.

The small boat stopped under an old camphor tree ten zhang away.

The boat curtain remained motionless; there were people inside, but they never showed themselves.

Han Feilong jumped out of the carriage, took out three copper coins from his pocket, and tapped them on the camphor tree to make sounds of varying lengths.

"Bang bang, bang—"

"Bang Bang Bang."

Two short, one long, then three more short.

The boat curtain was suddenly lifted, and a figure leaped onto the shore.

Chen Yu could see everything clearly from above.

The man who came out was a hunched old man, leaning on a jujube wood cane, coughing incessantly, as if he were on his last legs.

But when he landed on the shore, he was so steady that not a single speck of dust was kicked up, clearly indicating that he was a martial arts master who was keeping his skills hidden.

"Master Xu."

Han Feilong's voice was filled with both flattery and fear.

"The goods are in the wagon: eighty Burmese iron scimitars, fifty iron-rimmed bows, and..." he lowered his voice, "twenty divine crossbows."

Xu Lingyan slowly raised his hand.

His fingers peeked out from his sleeve, his skin a deathly gray.

The nails were three inches long, jet black, with a dark red sheen at the edges.

Those are traces left from years of soaking in human blood.

"The Divine Crossbow," Xu Lingyan's voice was icy cold, "the Iron Anchor Society requested thirty, why are there only twenty?"

Cold sweat beaded on Han Feilong's forehead.

"Reporting to the Master, the last ten crosses were targeted by undercover agents of the Criminal Law Hall, so we had no choice but to... abandon them."

"Abandoned?"

Xu Lingyan's black robe trembled slightly, as if he were smiling.

"Ten divine crossbows are enough to wipe out a village."

"Do you know that the messengers of the Anchor Society are waiting at Old Dragon Head in three days? If one is missing, one of our members will be sacrificed?"

Han Feilong looked troubled.

"Please forgive me, Master! Give my master five more days, and I'm sure he can find a way to gather the funds..."

"never mind."

Xu Lingyan coughed and waved his hand.

"Inspect the goods first."

Two boatmen got off the carriage and carried out a paulownia wood box.

Pry open the copper lock, and a chilling glint immediately appears in the moonlight.

Xu Lingyan's withered fingers traced the blade, then suddenly flicked his finger.

"Buzz—"

The sound of the blade was clear and resonant, like the roar of a dragon and the howl of a tiger.

"A fine knife."

"But that's not all I want."

Xu Lingyan pulled a sheepskin map from his sleeve and slowly unfolded it in the moonlight.

"I want the genuine armor-piercing cones from the blueprints, not the replicas."

Han Feilong's expression changed slightly: "Master, this...this is a top secret of the Sword Forging Manor..."

"So the price tripled."

Xu Lingyan took out a silver note from his pocket and waved it in the lamplight.

"Datong Money Shop's 'flying money' is redeemable on the spot, and it's fair and honest with everyone, young and old."

Chen Yu could see it clearly from the hillside.

The stamp on the banknote bore the three large characters "Iron Anchor Society"!

"Take this 1,000 taels as a deposit first. Go back and ask your master if he can get it. If he can, you will naturally receive your share of the profits."

Han Feilong accepted the money and bowed deeply.

"Congratulations, Master! With the Iron Anchor Society's assistance, your sect... is poised for great prosperity!"

"Daxing?"

Xu Lingyan sneered.

"The anchor will only provide fifty warships and ten thousand taels of silver. What's that enough?"

He suddenly turned around, revealing a pair of blood-red eyes beneath his black robe.

"What my Raven Cult wants is... the entire Yunzhou!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Yu's pupils suddenly contracted.

Good heavens, how arrogant!

This is no longer just ordinary weapons smuggling.

This is... the prelude to rebellion!

"Three years ago, my sect discovered... the remains of the Raven God beyond the Great Wall."

Xu Lingyan's voice became low and deep, like chanting scriptures.

"That is a statue... nested in human bones and pooled in human blood."

"It told me that to be resurrected, I need... thirty thousand souls."

Han Feilong's breathing quickened: "So... the mutiny in Guiyan City..."

"It's just... the source of the sacrifices."

Xu Lingyan chuckled strangely.

"In the midst of the war on the three sides, not only soldiers died, but also... civilians, refugees, displaced people, and 30,000 lives were within easy reach."

Han Feilong took a step back, his boot heel sinking into the mud with a sucking sound.

"If things continue like this, what will become of our Sunset City?"

"Sunset City will become a nursery."

"My church, in alliance with other forces, caused the deaths of 20,000 soldiers in Guiyan City outside the pass."

"At that time, the refugees will flee south, and Sunset City will have no choice but to open its gates to accept them."

"Among the refugees, nestlings were planted in the streets and alleys of Sunset City; they sprouted in three months, blossomed in six months, and in nine months..."

Xu Lingyan's pupils locked onto Han Feilong.

"result."

Han Feilong felt increasingly cold inside.

He decided to do two more jobs at most, save enough money, and then leave Sunset City.

The entire Yunzhou will surely descend into chaos in the future; staying here means facing a slim chance of survival.

"Weren't you seen along the way, were you?"

Xu Lingyan turned his head and asked.

He knew Han Feilong was an experienced man.

He often did shady business selling weapons for his master, but he was never discovered, which shows how careful and cautious he was.

But Xu Lingyan was still worried.

Even the most skilled veterans make mistakes.

To ensure absolute safety in every transaction, you still have to rely on your own actions.

He walked to the ferry and looked at the flock of blood-eyed crows circling on the river.

"These children are the eyes of the Raven God."

He reached out his hand, and a blood-eyed raven landed, pecking at the remaining bloodstains on his fingertips.

"What they see, the crow god also sees."

"What they smelled, the Raven God also smelled..."

On the hillside, Chen Yu was counting his breaths.

The twelfth time.

From the moment Xu Lingyan uttered the phrase "thirty thousand living souls," he never changed his posture.

Originally, I just wanted to follow Han Feilong to see what was going on, but I didn't expect to hear so much explosive news.

"The leader of the Cold Crow Sect is so arrogant; he's definitely not someone to be trifled with. It would be better to avoid his sharp edge for now."

Chen Yu wanted to retreat first and make further plans later.

But at this moment he dared not make any rash moves.

He wasn't sure if he could see those things on the other side.

A blood-eyed raven flew in from below, its stiff wings drawing a sluggish arc in the night.

It didn't utter a sound, it just hovered silently.

After circling in the air three times without finding anything, it turned around and returned.

On its return flight, a sharp cry suddenly ripped through the night sky.

"Gah—!"

The blood-eyed crow suddenly turned its head and stared straight at the hillside.