Li Daoxuan had chosen Gudu Ferry in Yongji as the place to confiscate these men's weapons for a very concrete and practical reason, one that had nothing to do with impulse and everything to do with distance and control.
Quite simply, Gudu Ferry in Yongji had already entered his field of vision.
Measured in a straight line, the distance from Gao Family Village to Dragon Gate Ferry was sixty-five kilometers, while the distance to Gudu Ferry in Yongji was only fifty-seven. When Li Daoxuan had extended his power to establish the Yellow River Bridge at Dragon Gate Ferry, Yongji Ferry had long since fallen within his reach as well. The only reason he had not acted there earlier was because his reach had been stretched too wide, his resources spread thin, and he could not afford to attend to every single point at once.
That was all.
His followers, however, had no way of knowing this.
But now, it was time for them to understand.
The moment Li Daoxuan spoke, a quiet confidence settled over his followers. With renewed resolve, they began leading the five thousand ragged bandits forward, advancing slowly toward Gudu Ferry in Yongji.
In order to avoid causing trouble for the common people, Xing Honglang deliberately claimed that they needed to evade the imperial army, guiding the mass of men through desolate paths and abandoned stretches of land. Along the way, she kept them firmly under control, preventing them from harassing even a single upright civilian.
As they pressed onward, the outline of Gudu Ferry in Yongji gradually appeared ahead of them, growing clearer with every step.
At that moment, the Dao Xuan Tianzun's puppet let out a soft chuckle and said, "There's no need to coddle these people anymore. You can be more forceful now."
Hearing this, his followers straightened their backs and lifted their spirits.
Within the rebel ranks, Cui Shan Hu, their self-styled leader, also began to feel a surge of vigor. After walking for so long and putting a good distance between himself and Xicheng Mountain, he had already fallen into the familiar state of "forgetting the pain once the wound healed." The memory of being beaten senseless by Cao Wenzhao faded into the background, replaced by arrogance. He put on the airs of a leader, stretched out his arm, and pointed toward a water fortress visible in the distance, laughing loudly as he shouted, "Look, brothers. There's a big water fortress ahead. I can see people moving around inside. Doesn't that look like a rich place? We can make a huge haul!"
"Rob what, you idiot!" Xing Honglang snapped angrily. "That's my fortress!"
Cui Shan Hu sneered. "Huh? Boss Xing, you're a salt smuggler, yet you built yourself a water fortress for defense? Isn't that just begging the imperial court to come down on you?"
He still clearly remembered how Wang Jiayin had grown too ambitious, no longer content to roam as a bandit, insisting on declaring himself king in Hequ County and defending the county seat like a legitimate ruler. The result had been inevitable. The authorities hunted him down without mercy, and sure enough, he was now dead.
At this time, the six hundred members of the Gao Family Village militia had quietly fallen back, putting some distance between themselves and the five thousand men. This maneuver had been carried out discreetly ever since the Dao Xuan Tianzun issued his command. Because the rebels marched in a chaotic, disorderly mass, none of them noticed the shift.
By now, the water fortress loomed close, and everyone arrived at the open ground outside its walls.
Xing Honglang suddenly turned around and raised her hand high. Her three hundred cavalry and three hundred infantry halted at once, stopping in perfect unison and standing as still as carved statues.
This abrupt action startled Cui Shan Hu and the five thousand men behind him. Many froze where they stood. Cui Shan Hu hastily widened the distance between himself and Xing Honglang, retreating into the middle of his own people, and ordered his last hundred loyal subordinates to close ranks around him for protection. With his voice booming, he shouted, "Boss Xing, what the hell are you doing?"
Xing Honglang replied loudly, "Cui Shan Hu, weren't you just asking whether I was afraid of the imperial army coming to besiege my fortress? Let me tell you clearly. I'm not afraid."
Cui Shan Hu's heart skipped a beat. "Could it be that you've also surrendered to the imperial army?"
Xing Honglang burst into laughter. "Me, Xing Honglang of Yongji, surrendering to the imperial army? Do you only know how to spew filth? Can't you say a single sensible thing?"
Cui Shan Hu frowned and asked, "Then what do you mean by this?"
Behind him, the five thousand disorganized rebels quietly began to draw closer, instinctively gathering at his back.
Xing Honglang raised her voice and declared, "I'll tell you now the best way to avoid being surrounded and wiped out by the authorities. That way is…"
She deliberately dragged out the final word, letting the tension stretch until everyone strained their ears to listen. Then she shouted, loud and clear, "Stop burning, killing, and looting. Stop doing evil. Become good people, and seek a new life."
Cui Shan Hu stared blankly. "What?"
He rubbed his ears, half convinced that he had misheard. "Damn it, Xing Honglang. You're a salt smuggler. Why are you suddenly talking like some sanctimonious old monk, spouting nonsense about virtue and goodness?"
From the watchtower of the water fortress, a bald head poked out. Zhan Seng looked down and said, "Amitabha. To speak of a monk's compassion in such crude terms makes this poor monk quite displeased."
"Shut up!" Cui Shan Hu roared. "Where did this stupid monk come from? Do you believe I won't chop you into pieces?"
"Goodness, goodness," Zhan Seng replied calmly.
He was a monk, and he sought no quarrels. Even when threatened, he did not argue back, merely repeating his quiet invocation.
Xing Honglang took over once more, shouting, "I met you under Xicheng Mountain not to help you continue burning villages and slaughtering people, but to make you fools put down your weapons and change your ways. I know every one of you is a vicious ruffian, not easily persuaded by words. But listen carefully. I am fiercer than any of you. From today onward, every single one of you will obey without exception. Anyone who dares utter even one word of defiance, I will summon the Dao Xuan Tianzun to crush him into a paste of flesh and bone."
Standing to the side, Gao Chuwu whispered, awed, "Wow. My wife just became terrifying."
Lao Nanfeng let out a soft laugh and said, "With people like this, you have to be fierce. If you try to be polite and reason with them, they'll draw their blades and cut you down. Only by being fiercer than them can you make them submit."
"Hahahaha!" Cui Shan Hu laughed uproariously. "Xing Honglang, what kind of act are you putting on? Look at how few men you have, just a handful of weaklings, and you dare threaten me? Open your eyes and take a good look. These five thousand men, whose orders do you think they'll follow, yours or mine?"
At his laughter, the hundred-plus loyal subordinates behind him stepped forward together, striking intimidating poses. The five thousand wandering rebels, stirred by his words, also shouted toward Xing Honglang several times in a show of bravado.
Cui Shan Hu continued, full of arrogance, "Not only will I refuse to change my ways, I'll make an example out of you. I'll chop this ugly woman to pieces right now, then loot this broken-down water fortress clean. Hahaha. Brothers, who's with me?"
His hundred loyal followers shouted first, "We are!"
The five thousand men hesitated. To follow or not to follow? The temptation to follow was strong.
Just as they were still wavering, Xing Honglang sneered coldly. "Very well, Cui Shan Hu. You may die now."
Cui Shan Hu scoffed. "Oh? I'd like to see how you plan to…"
Before he could finish the sentence, the clouds above suddenly split apart. A colossal golden hand descended from the heavens, accompanied by roaring wind and thunder, crashing downward with an earth-shaking sound.
Boom!
The massive palm slammed straight down onto Cui Shan Hu's head, engulfing him and his hundred-plus loyal subordinates in an instant, pressing them into the ground with a dull, crushing impact.
The earth trembled violently, mountains and ground quaking together.
Then the immense hand lifted again, swiftly withdrawing back into the sky.
All that remained on the ground was a vast, pulpy smear of flesh and blood.
The five thousand rebels behind them screamed in terror. Some immediately pissed themselves. Others were so frightened that they lost control of their bowels, a foul stench spreading through the air.
Those at the front stumbled backward in panic, while those at the rear turned and fled.
They did not get far.
The colossal golden hand descended once more, slamming down with a thunderous crash across their escape route.
With no path left, their legs gave out. One by one, they collapsed to their knees, trembling on the ground.