The reputation of Liangshan Liu Mo was indeed often mentioned in the martial world, but so far no one had seen the true appearance of their members. Those who fell into the hands of Liangshan Liu Mo's members were not killed, but suffered an even worse fate, being tortured and tormented. Most victims suffered mental disorders as a result, some even committed suicide after.
Not many of the surviving victims were then able to describe the characteristics of these demons to anyone else. The name Ma Yaolun or Ma Yongtao was never mentioned, and only a few know the surnames of Liangshan Liu Mo members.
Jinshui still couldn't use his legs properly. He could only wait on the cart, guarding the unconscious Ma Yaolun, as well as preparing his inner energy to deal with those Yongjun Hui people if they come to him.
"Huan Jiaozheng," Ma Yongtao called quite loudly, averting Huan Jiaozheng's eyes from Jinshui.
"Who are you?" Huan Jiaozheng asked Ma Yongtao. "Apparently you have good qinggong skills."
"Did I ever say my qinggong was bad?" Ma Yongtao asked back at him. "Huan Jiaozheng, you still owe me one antidote. I've been waiting patiently since earlier, but you're busy bothering these ladies, and you start to make me anxious."
"I need these ladies to lend me the silver fan for a bit, you may help me ask them nicely," Huan Jiaozheng said to him. "If they are willing to lend me the fan, I will also provide the antidote and forget about everything your father did."
"You want me to make a trade?" Ma Yongtao pointed at himself. "Alright," he then turned to Shen Xiru. "Guniang, can you lend me that silver fan for a moment please?"
Shen Xiru glanced at Jinshui who sat on the cart before asking Jiaping for a package. Jiaping handed it to her without saying much. Inside the package was a white folding fan, an object that was delicately made and looked beautiful.
"This thing doesn't cost a penny for xiaomei, instead it brings trouble to all of us," Shen Xiru handed the fan to Ma Yongtao. "Gongzi is his friend, xiaomei can entrust this fan to you for sure."
Shen Xiru was able to recognize Jinshui even though his current appearance was completely different from when he came to Chunjie Kezhan a few weeks ago. Shen Xiru didn't know Ma Yongtao, but she saw the young man coming with Jinshui. She trusted him enough to give the fan to.
"It just so happens that the weapon I use is also this kind of fan," Ma Yongtao accepted the fan, then took out his own folding fan, fiddling with it in his hand. "Exactly the same," he said, "I don't know which one is the fan Huan Menzhu wants."
The two folding fans in his hand were not the same. The fan handed by Shen Xiru was a white steel fan, while Ma Yongtao's weapon was simply made from bamboo. The colors were not similar also.
"Do you still want the antidote or not?" Huan Jiaozheng asked, his eyes fell on the white steel fan, obviously really wanted it, even to the point of forgetting to maintain his reputation as the respected leader of the Yongjun Hui. If the fan was still in the hands of Shen Xiru and her sisters, he would still think twice before seizing it, but if the fan was in the hands of an obscure young man, he could still find excuses to snatch it.
Huan Jiaozheng really wanted Zhang Zheliang's relics which were rumored to be the key to the existence of the yin shou yang zhang manual and other valuables. The news of the appearance of the Yumen descendants recently made him very uneasy, unable to sleep well and he was frightened, worried that the descendants would collect old debts on him. His own abilities were limited, his original twenty-four bodyguards were all gone, and even the allies who were with him attacking Yumen headquarters no longer cared about him.
"Of course, I need an antidote," said Ma Yongtao quickly, "but you need to take this fan from my hand."
He was still fiddling with the two folding fans in his hand, pretending to drop the white steel fan and simultaneously losing balance as he was about to pick it up, giving Huan Jiaozheng the chance to step forward and try to grab him.
But of course, Ma Yongtao didn't let Huan Jiaozheng get his coveted object so easily. One signature move of the ghostly palm was played by him, and the fan had returned to his hand. He had also stepped to Huan Jiaozheng's side and fiddled with the fan right in front of his face.
Shen Xiru shook her head with a smile and stepped back with Jiaping, giving those who clashed moves more space. At the same time, she also held the sword vigilantly, apparently recognizing the signature move Ma Yongtao had just played and immediately suspected his identity.
Ma Yongtao's one hand still couldn't be fully used and he couldn't play his ghostly palm perfectly. However, the ghostly palm was indeed a special ability. The wounded hand and moves that weren't played perfectly were instead created a cover of the origin of his signature art. Ma Yongtao changed his moves momentarily, making his opponent think that he had studied several arts but none of them were mastered properly.
Ma Yongtao sometimes looked shrewd and sometimes showed weakness. This kind of action was to show himself as someone who was not very experienced in actual fights. Huan Jiaozheng didn't know this young man, couldn't guess the origin of his martial ability, and Ma Yongtao really played with him with the fan in his hand, making him very curious and more and more eager to get the white steel fan.
The fight between the two made the twelve Yongjun Hui members watching uneasy. Some had intended to come forward to help their leader deal with this young man of unknown origin. But they knew Huan Jiaozheng's character. Huan Jiaozheng did not like his weakness exposed in front of the enemy.
"Master Huan, a hundred moves have passed, you still can't touch me. If this news were to get out to the martial world, it would be extremely embarrassing," Ma Yongtao exclaimed mockingly, slightly exaggerating their fight. "The leader of Yongjun Hui can't even handle a wuming xiaozi, should your Yongjun Hui just be disbanded?" wuming xiaozi meant someone with no name.
"Who the hell are you?" Huan Jiaozheng was very curious. "What relation do you have with the Yumen Jiao?"
"Yumen Jiao was destroyed ten years ago, only eight descendants remain," Ma Yongtao said carelessly. "Do I have any resemblance to any of them?"
"I heard that their leader Hua Jinshui is young and capable, but he wields a demonic sword," Huan Jiaozheng said. "If you were Hua Jinshui, you should have pulled out a sword since the beginning. As for the other descendants, I don't think their ability is that good, should have fallen by themselves before thirty moves passes. You were able to survive until now, mostly due to luck alone."
"Thank you for complimenting a skilled person," Ma Yongtao replied, "my luck is good too thanks to Huan Menzhu."
Ma Yongtao again appeared to be caught off guard, then in a dignified manner, he moved beside Huan Jiaozheng. It wasn't clear what direction he was moving in, suddenly the arrow quivers on Huan Jiaozheng's back spilled onto the ground, the arrows all scattering. Ma Yongtao picked up three sticks, and with one uninjured hand he aimed at the three unwary Yongjun Hui members.
"Enough messing around," Ma Yongtao said, "Master Huan, your men had been hit by my poisoned arrows, do you want to take out the antidote or not?"
Three Yongjun Hui members who were hit by the arrows fell to the ground, still conscious but screaming in pain. Huan Jiaozheng was of course very annoyed to see his followers hurt in this way. He realized he had already underestimated Ma Yongtao and turned out his opponent was not an ordinary person. The fact that until now Huan Jiaozeng had still not been able to guess the identity of that young man made him even more irritated.
"Who are you?" he asked again.
"My surname and name have never been changed. The name is Liangshan Mojun Ma Yongtao. Have you heard of me?" Ma Yongtao replied in a loud voice.
"Ma Yongtao?" Of course, Huan Jiaozheng had heard of the second member of Liangshan Liu Mo, but he didn't expect that the appearance didn't resemble a demon head at all, instead, he had the appearance of a young scholar. "You are the one called Liangshan Mojun?"
The guests in the small teashop all fled at the mention of Liangshan Liu Mo's name. Shen Xiru and Jiaping looked at each other, both of them couldn't believe that the second member of Liangshan was a young man who didn't look the slightest bit ruthless. The Yongjun Hui members who were still standing straight looked shocked and alert, but also in disbelief.
"Liangshan Mojun is at the very least in his forties, how can he still be a young man in his twenties?" Huan Jiaozheng also couldn't believe what he heard. "If you want to scare me, you should look for a more appropriate disguise. Mentioning Liangshan Mojun's name doesn't seem to serve that purpose."
"I told you, my surname and name have never been changed, nor have my nicknames changed. I am Liangshan Mojun, it's up to you to believe it, or deceive it."
Huan Jiaozheng paused, trying to think clearly before giving another answer. He wanted the white steel fan in Ma Yongtao's hand, but hearing the name mentioned by the young man made him worried about the truth. He did not want the seizure of the fan to be the start of enmity with Liangshan Liu Mo, a band of demons who had quite a horrible reputation.
"I almost forgot," Ma Yongtao suddenly said, "several years ago Huan Menzhu once invited our dajie laoda Mengpo to Nanyang, then handed someone over to her. At that time dajie laoda wanted to take me, but I was busy and didn't have time to come and see Huan Menzhu. But later I got to know the person who was handed over to us. She was an old madam, and she had been bothered by Huan Menzhu for quite a while."
Huan Jiaozheng's invitation to Liangshan Liu Mo eleven years ago was a secret. Besides the members of Liangshan Liu Mo, Huan Jiaozheng was the only one alive to know about handling Gu Chenhui.
Huan Jiaozheng's face immediately turned pale, realizing that the young man in front of him really wasn't just making up an identity.
"Huan Menzhu is the leader of the Yongjun Hui, an organization that is said to be pure and eternally prioritizing the warrior spirit," Ma Yongtao continued, "Huan Menzhu shouldn't trouble an old madam and befriend a group of demons. And of course, you shouldn't get involved in fighting over an inheritance."
Huan Jiaozheng looked at his three men who couldn't help but groan in pain as they rolled on the ground. He then also looked at the unconscious Ma Yaolun. Unexpectedly, he didn't get the chance to see that madman suffer for three days and three nights. Now, his own followers were in pain instead.
"I can forget about the fan," he finally said. "But that crazy father of yours has already killed many of our members, he shouldn't be pardoned, only seeing as you are devoted enough to him I can still consider. It doesn't matter if you are Liangshan Mojun or Ci Xiong Yi Shen, if you who replace him accept death, maybe I Huan Jiaozheng will only consider letting him go."
"I do," Ma Yongtao only thought for a few seconds before issuing this answer. "Let go of my father, then you want to torture or kill me whatever."
"Brother, it seems unnecessary."
The last voice belonged to a man who had just arrived, sounding like someone who was drunk. This man was around fifty years old, what was most striking was that he only had one eye left. He did not come alone, but with another middle-aged man who carried a spear in his hand which was also used as a substitute for one of his legs.
"One life is exchanged for one life, too good for Master Huan," said the one-legged man in his cheerful tone.
Jinshui immediately recognized the one-eyed and one-legged who had just arrived as Lao Diaoyan and Lao Guishou, the two main bodyguards of Yumen traitor Wang Ruan Ya who had agreed to pledge alliance to him and Huang Yu a while ago as Yumen members.
The one-legged man Lao Guishou approached Huan Jiaozheng and circled around him for a while. Huan Jiaozheng didn't know the one-legged man, and as leader of an organization in the martial world, he shouldn't attack a disabled man. He didn't do anything and Lao Guishou returned to his brother Lao Diaoyan's side.
The one-eyed man suddenly stretched out his hand, then threw something at Ma Yongtao. A bottle, it must be an antidote, Ma Yongtao reflexively caught it. Huan Jiaozheng glared at him for a moment, clearly knowing that the bottle was his. Apparently, when the one-legged man was circling earlier, he had snatched the bottle from Huan Jiaozheng's pocket without him realizing it.
"There are three men here you can use to check if the contents of that bottle are the antidote or not," the one-legged said quickly. "We also don't intend to help anyone, just want to offer one exchange with Ma Gongzi."
Ma Yongtao kept the antidote. "Exchange? I think you have the wrong person," he said. "I am Liangshan Mojun Ma Yongtao, I did not ask for this antidote. You two gave it to me without me asking. I don't think it can be considered a debt of gratitude or anything like that. I don't think I would like to help trading anything."
"It's okay, "the one-eyed man said, laughing. He didn't look the least bit offended by Ma Yongtao's attitude.
"Lao Huan, it is said that you have some kind of valuable treasure," the one-legged man suddenly said to Huan Jiaozheng, "how about tomorrow night I go and steal that precious treasure from you?"
Huan Jiaozheng looked at him coldly. This one-legged man was a cripple, just now he stole something from him because he wasn't careful. Now that he was blatantly mentioning that he was about to steal things, naturally, he was asking Huan Jiaozheng to be careful. With his physical condition, there would be no second chance.
"There are only useless things in my place, stealing it would only give you trouble," Huan Jiaozheng said haughtily, "my people will definitely be happy to finish you off until there's nothing left of you."
"How about we make a bet?" asked the one-legged man. "Whoever loses cannot touch the white fan in Ma Gongzi's hands forever, nor can they know the secrets in it."
"If Huan Menzhu loses, then he must immediately return to Nanyang City, forever no longer allowed to interfere in the struggle for the relics of Liangtian Jian Shen Zhang Zheliang," added the one-eyed man.
"Based on what should I bet with you two?" Huan Jiaozheng asked. "I don't know you, nor do I have any business…."
His words had not finished yet, he had already covered his mouth and his face changed greatly. Lao Diaoyan showed him a scroll that looked shabby, and he recognized it.
"What is your relationship with him?" Huan Jiaozheng asked immediately, his voice slightly strained.
"There is no relationship anymore," Lao Guishou replied, his tone turned sharper. "We know who Huan Menzhu wants to deal with upon snatching the treasure left by Liangtian Jian Shen, and that we came today is to hinder."
"Huan Menzhu has lived comfortably for the past ten years, and we are a bit unhappy," Lao Diaoyan continued, putting the scroll back in his hands, "it's time for Huan Menzhu to pay his long overdue debts."
Huan Jiaozheng was already completely pale in the face, even Ma Yongtao couldn't understand why the one-eyed and one-legged men could suddenly appear here and suppress the leader Yongjun Hui to such a level.
Ma Yongtao saw that the two men who had just arrived could take care of Huan Jiaozheng. Now his only concern was making sure the antidote could save his father. He took three pills from the bottle, then quickly approached the three Yongjun Hui members who were still rolling on the ground, pulled arrows from their bodies, and forced them to swallow the pills. His movements were very visible and precise, no one could get in his way, and in no time he was already back on his feet, playing with the bottle in his hand while waiting for the drug's reaction.
Huan Jiaozheng's face was pale, witnessing the demon head's shrewdness made him shrink even more. He knew if he were to forcefully seize the fan now it would only be embarrassing to himself.
"Alright," Huan Jiaozheng said to Lao Diaoyan and Lao Guishou, "I'll give you three days, if you don't succeed then you must immediately seclude yourself, forget all kinds of debts, and stop meddling in any matters in the martial world. But if you two can steal even one of my treasures, I Huan Jiaozheng won't take that fan anymore."
"Not only you, but all members of the Yongjun Hui too," Lao Diaoyan added. Huan Jiaozheng's words carried a certain meaning, he didn't want to be trapped. "You don't interfere, nor can you ask your people or anyone to interfere, only then it's quite fair."
Huan Jiaozheng was pissed off, and could only curse inwardly. "Three days," he said again to the one-legged and one-eyed men. "I hope you don't disappoint me."
The people of Yongjun Hui left. The three men who had been hit by the poison arrow were supported by their comrades, still in pain but not dead. Ma Yongtao didn't care about anyone anymore and went straight to his father on the cart.
He didn't kill Huan Jiaozheng today, but next time he would definitely hunt him down with the other Liangshan Liu Mo members.
"Erwei Zhanglao, the members of Yongjun Hui can't be said to be few in number," Shen Xiru said to Lao Diaoyan and Lao Guishou. "You two report first before stealing something from his place, Huan Jiaozheng will definitely tighten the guard. Don't you think betting like this is too detrimental?"
"Who said we were going to Huan Menzhu's place?" Lao Diaoyan replied, his voice sounding drunk again.
"If you don't go to his place, do you want to go directly to Nanyang City?" Shen Xiru asked again. "I don't think three days would be enough."
"We already have our own plans. You'll see," said Lao Guishou, his sharp voice had also disappeared and returned to cheerfulness.
"After all, we won't lose anything if we lose, we would only have to return to your village early to herd buffalo and goats, and don't meddle in the martial world anymore," continued his friend. "We are old, it's okay to return to our hometown, be ordinary people and take care of wife and children."