A Long Grind to Daoist Monarch-Chapter 106 - 98: Thunderous Breath, Heart of Iron (Part 2)

Now I almost got punched to death!

No wonder he's the big brother leading the Red Eyebrow!

In this lifetime, I've only suffered losses at the hands of Ninghai Zen!

"Lao Wu, how impressive you are! Covered in blood, how many people have you killed? This night in Black River County, you all have made quite a mess of it."

Lao Dao's eyes were as bright as two torches, fiercely exerting force, causing his Qi Blood to surge and emanate intense heat.

"Big Brother, after you left, the spirit of the Red Eyebrow scattered, we were defeated terribly, surrounded beneath the Chaotian Sect, many brothers had no way to escape, either drowned in the Nu Yun River or got beheaded!"

The Eight-armed Ape suddenly looked up, his eyes turning red, filled with tears, as he took two steps forward and knelt down:

"Third Brother! Do you remember? Upon hearing you were injured, he personally led thirty brothers to break through the formation to save you, but was shot dead by the Gai Tianbo of Pai Bang with two Divine Arm Crossbows!

And Sixth Brother, he respected you so much and was killed with a spear by Ye Zhenxiang of Yihai Prefecture, his head hung at the city gates for days, unable to close his eyes even in death!

Seventh Sister…"

Blood Vajra angrily shouted to stop:

"Enough! Lao Wu, are you trying to break Big Brother's heart?

The name of the Heaven-defying Saber resounds so brightly, so generous and righteous!

Back then, when we took up the banner of the Red Eyebrow, Big Brother led us to gather in Fulong Mountain, defeating all the bandit camps and establishing a mighty reputation!

Our tragic defeat ten years ago was not Big Brother's fault, nor yours or mine!"

The Eight-armed Ape, despite appearing as a crude brute, was in fact thoughtful and perceptive.

Seeing that after all these years, Big Brother Heaven-defying Saber's skills were still so formidable, he quickly played the emotional card:

"Big Brother, listen to my explanation, I, Second Brother, and Lao Si had no other choice either.

Everyone was truly desperate! The Pai Bang took advantage of the chaos to hunt us down, and even the Ghostwriters from Yihai Prefecture came to take a slice of the pie, so many brothers had their heads cut off just for reward money!

Fulong Mountain spans three thousand miles north to south, leaving us Red Eyebrow no room to survive!"

Lao Dao, standing at the gate of Tongwen Hall like a grand mountain, moved his face slightly, his lips parted but produced no sound.

"Big Brother! You know my background, a poor family with many mouths to feed. They couldn't afford us, so I was sent to the mountain to become a novice monk, fetching water and chopping wood in the temple, working hard just for a bowl of hot rice soup!"

Blood Vajra stood with his hands at his sides, respectfully at the bottom of the steps, his words sincere and heartfelt:

"Those wealthy families donate hundreds of taels of Incense Money every year, and the Great Monk lends it out as Interest Money, with two hundred coins of principal rolling over a year or so into four hundred and thirty-eight coins.

The head in charge of the Longevity Vault calls it 'Incense Money', the principal is 'capability', and the interest is 'blessing'.

He always says, take the capability, bring back the blessing!

Yet not many good folks can be seen, as they can't pay back the rolling interest, they have to mortgage all their land and children!

All their hard-earned money fattening those monks into pigs full of oil!"

Lao Dao remained silent, the seven chairs of the Red Eyebrow Hall of Justice, aside from the Third Brother Divine Arm Spear born into a high family, untouched by hardship, all other leaders had their own bitter and tragic pasts.

Or phrased differently, under the Dragon Court's rule in the Red County Divine Land, many common folk live such laborious lives.

If not born to good fortune, becoming one of the top three classes, they would live as oxen and horses all their lives.

"I fawned over the kitchen master, washing his feet and wiping his backside, just to secretly learn a martial art… I liked a girl in the village, she came to offer incense twice a year, her braids were long and black, her eyes like the clear stream below the mountain… such a fine girl, yet she was defiled in the temple by the Temple Monk, her parents dared not speak, hurriedly marrying her to a village fool."

Blood Vajra's temple pulsated, black scales grew from beneath his skin, as he looked up at Heaven-defying Saber, his eyes conflicted with respect and fear.

"Big Brother, I know you have a good heart, wanting to uphold some rules of the world, but it's useless!

Once up the mountain, you're a thief! Once in the wilderness, you're a bandit! As a bandit, you must kill!

The many Red Eyebrow brothers of Fulong Mountain, nearly ten thousand strong, could they survive solely off the farmers' fields?

All of them are practitioners, they eat, the horses chew, what else can they do if not plunder?

Big Brother, just from the one Shande Temple I was at, the gold and silver we grabbed there, we could do nothing but live off it for years!"

Lao Dao's cold iron face seemed to show a trace of movement.

The Eight-armed Ape noticed the change, overjoyed, moved on his knees up the steps, steadying himself with his hands:

"Big Brother, I and Second Brother really disappointed you, failing to uphold the justice you spoke of.

But without this, the brothers would have no way to survive, only to die on Fulong Mountain!

Fortunately, you're still alive. If you lead us, maybe we could revive the Red Eyebrow!"

Blood Vajra knew this was Lao Wu's delaying tactic, waiting for that Demon King to rise, to come to Black River County and enjoy a blood sacrifice of ten thousand people.

By then, even an extra Heaven-defying Saber wouldn't make a difference!

"Lao Wu, you are a renowned hero of Green Forest Dao in Yihai Prefecture, your wife had an affair with a village rogue, your big brother pretended not to know, but you couldn't stand the humiliation and stabbed the rogue to death, running to Fulong Mountain as a bearer.

You're sentimentally loyal, distributing most of the gold and silver you got to your men, which is why everyone respects you and is willing to follow you."

Listening to his once sworn brother's lament, Lao Dao stepped down and helped the towering Eight-armed Ape up, his tone softening:

"You're fond of competing with others, always striving for victory, once lost badly sparring with a master of a Martial Arts Hall, then that night led your men to seize his family, claiming to admire his skills and invite him to the mountain…"