Chapter 1850: Chapter 432: You’d Better Kneel When Speaking to Me_3
"Hero can walk away, but our lives are definitely in peril. We beg you, hero, save us!"
Ah San frowned and said, "What do you mean? Why don’t you come with us?"
The waiter said, "Hero, you seem like someone who roams the Jianghu, moving freely. We, the uncle and nephew, have no skills, and even if we follow you, we probably won’t survive long. We don’t want to burden you."
Ah San frowned and said, "How about I give you some silver coins, and you escape?"
"Well, without cause, we can’t take silver coins from you, hero. Besides, we have dozens of family members in Guancheng Prefecture; we may escape as monks, but not the temple. It’s impossible to flee with the entire family."
"If this Red Turban Army can’t capture us, they might harm our relatives!"
Ah San frowned and said, "This won’t work, that won’t work; what do you want?"
"They want us to deal with this trouble."
Just when Ah San couldn’t understand what the other party meant, Chen Jie spoke up, and Ah San frowned, "Deal with it? How to deal with it? Slaughter the Red Turban Army base and kill them all?"
Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper and staff were terrified; indeed, he was a God of slaughter.
Thinking this, Chen Jie then said, "No need for such trouble; did you see those government officials?"
Ah San paused, looked back, and said, "Hey, where are they?"
Chen Jie said, "Where else would they go? Naturally, they’ve gone to call for backup."
Ah San said, "Aren’t they government soldiers?"
Chen Jie said, "Who can tell the difference between officials and bandits? Relax, wait; they’ll return. Waiter, bring two pounds of lamb; your boiled lamb is quite good."
The waiter, hearing this, looked at Chen Jie and said, "Yes, alright."
But after saying that, he kindly reminded, "You’d best prepare; this Red Turban Army is formidable and very unreasonable. Be careful."
Upon hearing this, Chen Jie laughed slightly, "Alright, I understand. Thank you for the reminder."
At this point, Chen Jie asked the waiter to bring the dishes and then continued eating, Zhao Ya worried somewhat, "Will we invite unintended trouble like this?"
Chen Jie said, "No worries; if children are disobedient, they need a good spanking!"
With that, Chen Jie continued to eat heartily, waiting.
Ah Da, Ah Er, and Ah San looked at Chen Jie, and weren’t worried because they knew Chen Jiusi’s strength; not to mention Chen Jiusi, even they could make these minor Red Turban Army soldiers feel hopeless.
Thinking this, they continued eating.
About an hour passed, and Chen Jie and others were well-fed and suddenly heard a sound from afar.
"Just in front."
In the next moment, they saw dust swirling on the mountain path, followed by a group of horsemen rushing over.
These horsemen were still dressed in common civilian clothes, only having tied a Red Turban on their heads.
Identifying their status, leading them was a burly man with some martial skills, seemingly a leader-level figure.
This group, about one or two hundred people, quickly surrounded the grass hut.
Chen Jie calmly sipped tea, even as these men entirely encircled the hut; he remained unmoved.
At this point, a group of Red Turban Army soldiers looked around inside and saw two corpses on the ground.
Then they quickly returned to report, "Chiliarch, Lord, these are our brothers."
The Chiliarch, upon hearing this, angrily retorted, "How bold! Who dares to harm Zoroastrian Sect people, I must see what deity they are!"
With that, he directly rode over with his men into the courtyard.
Chen Jie still sat there, steadily drinking tea, while Du Xiong said, "Should I dispatch them? No more than an hour for one or two hundred people."
Chen Jie said, "We’re all brothers; why be so ruthless!"
Speaking this way, Chen Jie continued, "Who’s the head amongst you?"
Upon hearing this, someone stood up and looked at Chen Jie, saying, "Our Chiliarch, Lord, is here; you’re blind as a dog."
Chen Jie, upon hearing this, said, "Du Xiong, test him."
Du Xiong immediately responded, "Sailing on a fiery boat, I roam freely across the lakes and seas!"
Upon hearing this, the underling was confused and commanded, "What rubbish, seize him!"
But just as he spoke, the Chiliarch, sitting on horseback, suddenly paused and immediately responded, "Divine fire burns world thieves; a spring breeze returns again."
"Dare I ask, how many sticks?"
Du Xiong glanced at Chen Jie, "A disciple of the sect."
Chen Jie said, "Reply to him."
"Seven sticks burn the affairs of the world."
The Chiliarch frowned, "May I ask your honor?"
Chen Jie waved and threw out a token, bearing the image of a Fierce Tiger swallowing the world.
The Chiliarch was startled, and Chen Jie spoke, "Still think it’s fake?"
"Or has your Haozhou division refused to obey headquarters, seeking its own path!"
"I dare not!"
At this moment, the Chiliarch directly dismounted, kneeling, claiming he dare not.
Earlier, Du Xiong employed phrases only known to official disciples of the Zoroastrian Sect, combining poetry to verify internal status, and later confirming identity.
The Chiliarch asked, "How many sticks burned?"
This serves as a secret inside the Zoroastrian Sect to confirm identity; the highest is the Sect Hierarch, burning nine sticks, followed by Venerable burning eight, then the Dharma King burning seven.
Upon hearing Chen Jie was an elder, the Chiliarch didn’t believe it; then Chen Jie presented the Dharma King token given by Liu Futong.
This token contains the Zoroastrian Sect’s cryptic text, a Martial Arts Treasure, incomprehensible to outsiders, but once a Zoroastrian Sect disciple sees it, they immediately recognize it.
And this token is impossible to counterfeit, serving as the most reliable credential.
However, Chen Jie seemed overly young, and considering the remaining three renowned Dharma Kings, Chen Jie being a man couldn’t be Han Miaozhen; Duozhi Fox was a middle-aged scholar, the age didn’t match; nor could he be Descending Mountain Tiger Du Zundao, hence further doubt remained.
But at this point, Chen Jie presented a remark of reproach, suggesting if you see me not worshiping, it’s either suspicion of me or your Haozhou division intends to go independent.
Knowing that, while Zhu Chongba at this time backed by Shaolin had a large force, his quick development of rebel army leveraged one crucial factor, embodying the Red Turban Army name, that is the Zoroastrian Sect’s name.
Otherwise, there would be far fewer followers in rebellion.
So Chen Jie’s words frightened the Chiliarch into kneeling and pleading.
He dared not create such trouble for his Lord.
At this moment, with the Chiliarch kneeling, the accompanying Red Turban soldiers were stunned, not understanding the situation.
Why did their leader kneel to this person!
One by one, they exchanged confused looks, but the earlier arrogance faded instantly, replaced by humility and respect.
And the shopkeeper and waiter hiding inside, afraid to emerge, were utterly flabbergasted.
This situation, why did the other side kneel?
Quickly, the waiter reacted, "Uncle, this person is likely a higher-up in the Zoroastrian Sect."
The shopkeeper, equally shocked, said, "Can’t be! Such individuals wouldn’t come to our shabby little inn. By the way, were our attitudes respectful?"
The waiter said, "Mm-hmm, respectful enough, hopefully not angering the noble."
The shopkeeper hushed thoughtfully, contemplating how they couldn’t afford to provoke the Red Turban Army, even less the Zoroastrian Sect.
Following Han Shantong’s battle at Wending Mountain and releasing the phrase, "Do not say the stone man has one eye, when the Yellow River moves, the world will turn."
Rebellions sprang across the land, and due to the Zoroastrian Sect’s affinity for wearing the Red Turban, others emulated them, tying on Red Turbans to quickly rally troops.
Hence, common folk collectively referred to them as the Red Turban Army.
And additional Zoroastrian Sect disciples arrived locally, trained rigorously as elite soldiers, expanding forces.
Bandits, vagrants, starving refugees, all taken in, tying on a Red Turban, instantly becoming Red Turban Army.
Thus, the Zoroastrian Sect includes Red Turban Army, but not all Red Turban Army are Zoroastrian Sect, typically the Zoroastrian Sect disciples lead them.
For instance, this Chiliarch previously was a small leader locally, now transformed into a Chiliarch.
So in the eyes of locals, the Zoroastrian Sect is far mightier than the Red Turban Army.
And truly, the Red Turban Army is inconsistent, whereas Zoroastrian Sect disciples are meticulously selected.
The shopkeeper and waiter finally grasped why these people weren’t afraid of the Red Turban Army, even arrogant; retrospectively, how laughable, the Red Turban Army are their subordinates, lackeys.
How could a leader fear their subordinates!
