NOVEL FULL

Strange Stories

Chapter 81: Dividing the spoils of war

Chapter 81: Divide the spoils and return to the mountain (ask for monthly ticket) It was dark outside, with only a tiny lamp in the temple. The thin walls and wooden door were enough to keep out the howling wind and snow. Lin Jue held back, giving the warrior a break. Of course, just in case, even though he was seriously injured and dying, and was tied up, Lin Jue searched his body to make sure he had nothing with him. The things he found were placed aside, and the things that Senior Brother Seven had taken from him were also placed aside, forming a pile. There were a long sword, a crossbow, six darts, a blowgun, two cakes of poison smoke, a bag of lime, and a few taels of silver. These can also be considered as spoils of war. At this moment, Lin Jue looked at this man, and in a trance, he felt that he had some of the demeanor of the warrior he met on the mountain road more than half a year ago. He finally understood why two fearless soldiers could not take him down, and why the injured constables in the city still could not catch him. "Why did you come to us again? Is there someone behind the scenes?" Lin Jue asked. "What's there to ask..." "The loser should be aware of this and confess honestly."

"You cut off my source of income. For someone like me, what's the difference between that and taking my life?" The warrior replied weakly, spitting at the same time. "You win. Give me a quick death!" "That demon has been killed, and the big demon in the city has been eliminated. If you love money, you should cherish your life even more. You should stay away from us. Why would you risk killing us?" "Risk? Haha!" The warrior pulled at the wound on his body and spat out a burst of blood foam, "Ahem! You little Taoist priest, you are so arrogant. If it weren't for the gods intervening in human affairs, I would have been frozen all night. Not to mention that your senior brother was not here that day, even if your senior brother was here tonight, I could still kill you at night!" "..." Lin Jue turned around and saw the pile of things on the ground. If the Lord God had not reminded him, if the Lord God had not ordered him to wander outside in the middle of the night, with his limbs frozen stiff, it would have been very likely. Of course it's only very likely. Although the three of them were not very alert, their little fox was very alert. It was just that the snow and wind were too strong tonight. If he approached the temple, he might be discovered. The seventh brother could take out hidden weapons. Although warriors were good at fighting, if the three of them fought him in his prime, it was not impossible to win. It's just more difficult and risky. "Do you know who the god is who got rid of the big monster in the city?" "Isn't it Lord Yili?" "Then do you know whose temple this is?" "Isn't this Mr. Chen's temple?" "You really hid too well." Lin Jue turned and looked at the statue in the temple, "Take a good look, who is being worshipped in the temple now?" "..." The warrior turned his head away and didn't look, but he had already guessed it. "You've been hiding in the city?" "how……" "Did you see us perform a trick?"

"no?" "Are you here for our money?" "You cut off my source of income. This is just compensation to me," said the warrior. "..." Lin Jue looked at him and suddenly smiled: "I do not believe!" "Ahem... Believe it or not!" The warrior said weakly, "Don't send me to the county police. Even if you want to torture me, it shouldn't be those useless pigs and dogs!" "So, the city's police officers also have some interrogation techniques?" "You? The rules of the martial arts world..." "You are wrong. We are just Taoist priests, not people of the martial arts world." Lin Jue stood up and said calmly, "If you were killed in the fight, it would be fine, but now you are alive, how can we be willing to take another life for nothing? What's more, you took the initiative to come to us the first and second time and wanted to kill us. Now that you have lost, how can you negotiate terms in this world?" After Lin Jue finished speaking, he stopped talking. The warrior was so angry that he simply closed his eyes. Several people ignored him. The temple was illuminated by lights, and the fox was quite curious. It walked up to the pile of debris and sniffed it again and again. He first smelled lime, scratched it twice, and then smelled the poisonous smoke. His nose immediately wrinkled and he jumped back suddenly. Finally, he walked forward and came to the few taels of silver. He seemed to recognize this thing. He stretched out his claws and scratched it, pushing a few pieces of silver towards Lin Jue like a toy, then tilted his head and stared at him. "understood." Lin Jue picked up a few silver coins and gave them to his seventh senior brother, then picked up the warrior's sword and also picked up the scabbard. This sword looks ordinary, with no decorations and not many patterns on the scabbard. However, when you hold it, it feels very smooth. Although it is heavy, it is comfortable to hold, and it is easy to wield. You can tell at first glance that it is a sword made by an old craftsman. Then he picked up the dart. The design of these darts is also very reasonable, and the blades are very sharp. If used to dart against objects, they seem to be much better than the blade used by the bald man in gray robe that day. Lin Jue put it back and said to Senior Brother Seven, "What should we do with these things?" "Take whatever you like, and hand over the rest to the government." The seventh brother weighed a few pieces of silver and suddenly smiled, "But this way, it seems like we are dividing the spoils." "really……" Lin Jue thought this sword was a good sword. Unfortunately, he already had a Pudao, which was longer and easier to wield than a sword, but a sword was not a simple weapon and in most people's hands, it was not as powerful as a Pudao. So Lin Jue only took those few darts. Senior Brother Seven took the crossbow. The sword belonged to Junior Sister.

The money was just right for making new robes. It wasn't long before it was daybreak outside. Lin Jue and his junior sister were guarding the temple while Senior Brother Seven went to the county government office to call the police, including the messenger policeman named Pan Yi. On the way, Senior Brother Seven told them about the attack last night. After arriving, Lin Jue reminded them again: "The warrior who followed the bald grey-robed man a few months ago was him. Although he claimed to be here for wealth, please interrogate him to see if there is someone else behind this or if he has other purposes." "Master, do you suspect there is a real murderer behind this?" The leader of the police was looking at the ground outside the temple. He could clearly see traces of fire, which frightened him. "Nothing." Lin Jue was now standing at the gate of Lord Yili's temple. He was the one who exorcised the demon, so he naturally didn't dare to say anything. "It's always better to ask more clearly." "sure." "In a few days, one of our brothers may come down the mountain. If he passes by the city, he will come to the county government to ask about the results of the interrogation. I hope the squad leader can tell us the truth." "Of course." The squad leader bowed and said to him. "Why do you need to ask in person?" said the constable Pan Yi. "It's nothing for me to deliver a letter to you!" "That's too much trouble." "No trouble, no trouble." Pan Yi was very respectful and said repeatedly. It was nothing else but that ever since he drank that cup of tea and that pot of wine in Fuqiu Temple, he not only did not feel tired at all from running around for two days, but even for nearly half a month, whether he was working at home or practicing some skills, he felt full of energy and even his spirit was much better. He naturally knew the taste of it and did not tell the other constables. The police officers quickly left respectfully. Lin Jue and the other two returned to the temple, and each of them burned three incense sticks to the God to thank him for his reminder and help. Green smoke was curling up, covering the statue, but suddenly it seemed to be sucked in by someone and turned into a vortex of smoke, going straight into the statue's face and disappearing. Lin Jue was stunned. Is this considered a blessing from the gods? Lin Jue asked Taoist Yunhe and learned that this deity was originally a military general in ancient times, or possibly a cultivator who focused on the body rather than magic, and participated in the wars of succession of ancient dynasties. The change of dynasties on earth at that time often meant the distribution of interests and the rise and fall of status among cultivators, gods and monsters, and the gods would be involved. Some records about him can be found in some ancient historical books. Later, he became a god in heaven. Today, he should be regarded as the main god under the command of Emperor Yujian. …… Out of the city and all the way back to the mountains. The little junior sister was so happy to get a long sword that she held it in her hand all the way and refused to put it on the donkey's back. She would pull it out from time to time and swing it to cut the weeds and dead branches on the roadside. "We actually have swords in our Taoist temple, but we rarely use them." The seventh brother said, "The swords in the temple were bought from the blacksmith shop in this city. They may not be as good as this one." "Third Senior Brother seems to be able to use a sword." The younger sister said, "Seventh Senior Brother, tell me, if I ask Third Senior Brother to teach me swordsmanship, will he agree?" "Him? He can indeed use a sword. He was practicing swordplay before he came up the mountain." The seventh senior brother paused, revealing an amused look, "But his swordplay..." "What's wrong? Is it bad?"

"It's not that he's bad. Third Brother's swordsmanship can also be called unique. But he doesn't use the sword to kill people or fight. He uses the sword for performance and sword dancing." Seventh Brother said, "Before he went up the mountain, he was a famous sword dancing expert in their area." "This……" "There are some similarities." The seventh senior brother said, "He is a very idle person and likes to teach others. If you ask him to teach you swordsmanship, he will definitely not refuse. But when spring comes, he will definitely ask you to help him pick some peach and pine flowers to make wine. If you go down the mountain to buy, he will inevitably ask you to help him carry wine and do some errands." "What's this?" The little junior sister said in confusion that she loved working the most. Even if her senior brother didn't teach her swordsmanship, it would still be an interesting thing for him to ask her to run errands and do work. Return to the Taoist temple. The seventh senior brother reported to the master what happened last night, while Lin Jue took the eldest senior brother to count the money raised. As expected, the younger junior sister went to the third senior brother to ask to learn swordsmanship. "Eighteen taels and two cents..." The eldest brother was weighing the silver with a scale. "Thirteen thousand four hundred and forty-three copper coins." Lin Jue said, "It's a heavy pile. Brother Donkey must have worked hard." "Thank you for your hard work, too." The eldest brother looked thoughtful like an old farmer. Although it was the fourth aunt from the neighboring Jiandao Peak who became a god, those Taoist friends were simple-minded. They practiced and played in the mountains all day long. They couldn't even count, so how could they understand the expenses? Fortunately, they were smart. The smart thing was that they knew to ask the Taoist from Fuqiu Peak for help. So it’s still the eldest brother who has to worry about it. "More than expected, probably because of the Lantern Festival and your face, Junior Brother." The eldest brother put away the money and said. For an ordinary family, a few taels of silver would be enough to build a house. Even if you want to build a courtyard house in the village with white walls and green tiles, it won't cost much as long as you put in the effort and ask your neighbors for help. An ordinary country temple only needs one room. However, the temple needs to be modeled after the palace, which requires more work. It also requires making statues of the gods, which costs money. It also requires writing on the walls or on separate monuments the origins, merits, and ways of becoming gods, as well as recording who funded the construction of the temple or the names of all donors, which also costs money. Originally, the eldest brother thought that since the money raised was small, he would do most of the work himself and his neighbors like the villagers repairing their houses, and only hire others to help with a few skilled jobs. Now that he has more money, he can be much more relaxed. Of course, the Taoist priests in the temple still have to work. The eldest brother has a simple farmer's mindset. How can a farmer feel comfortable and at ease just leaving the repair of his house to others? And how can it be reasonable for a neighbor to build a house without doing anything? In this regard, although Lin Jue did not like working as much as his junior sister, he did not mind helping out. …… Back in the room, Lin Jue took out six darts. This is a kind of dart with a cloth, about the length of a palm, with a slender diamond-shaped head at the front, sharp and pointed, a pole at the back, and a ring at the back. When many people use it, they will tie a cloth strip on the ring to ensure the stability of the dart's flight. If the cloth strip is not tied, it will be more concealed. At the same time, it can also be held in the hand to make short thorns. It feels very heavy in my hand. Lin Jue stretched out his hand and a stream of spiritual power attached to it.

Then he looked left and right with the dart in his hand, and even looked at the little fox, but he couldn't bear to open either the door or the window, so he had to go out and bring back a wooden stake. A quick spell. Swoosh! Do! The dart flew out immediately, like a meteor, and hit the wooden stake. The dart head was almost completely inserted into it, and even the wooden stake was knocked down by the force. In terms of strength, it is even greater than that of the man in gray robe. This is mainly because this spell is a simplified version of the method of controlling objects. It uses incantations to replace the painstaking study of spells. In terms of strength, it does not test the attainments and proficiency in spells. The size of the force depends solely on the caster's magic power. The gray-robed man's Taoism is not as good as Lin Jue's. It’s just that he is very skilled and uses it very flexibly, and Lin Jue is far inferior to him in this respect. "Duo! Duo!" Two more darts flew out and pierced into the wooden stakes. Lin Jue also tried throwing the dart. "Snapped!" If it is given an initial velocity, the force will be even greater, but Lin Jue does not know how to use darts, so it is difficult to guarantee the accuracy. And he cannot adjust the flying direction of the blade in real time like the gray-robed man. But I am content. "Duo!" You know what, it’s quite fun. Much more fun than playing darts by yourself. Lin Jue couldn't help but smile, and he wanted to go outside Danxun County to talk to that group of strange monkeys again. (End of this chapter)