The setting sun gradually disappeared into the mountains. Outside the woods behind the temple, Ye Jingtang pushed his wheelchair forward slowly. The two guards following behind were chatting in a low voice:
"In the past, people in the martial arts world said privately that I was 'invincible in the ring and invincible in actual combat.' But now that things like this have happened, I'm afraid no one dares to say that anymore..."
"Yeah, I didn't expect that the master, who is usually friendly to others, would actually take action and kill so decisively..."
…
In front of her, Hua Qingzhi was sitting in a wheelchair. The afterglow of the setting sun shone on her slightly immature cheeks, turning her fair face red. She wanted to look back and speak several times, but finally gave up.
After Ye Jingtang left the scene of the crime, he could actually tell that something was wrong with Hua Qingzhi.
Hua Qingzhi is a young lady from a scholarly family. She has never left the house since she was a child. She values fame and integrity far more than women from the world. Moreover, even a woman from the world will blush for a long time if she accidentally comes into contact with her. Not to mention
Hua Qingzhi is shocked.
Night Jingtang was afraid that Hua Qingzhi, like those fierce women from scholarly families, would not be able to think about it when she went back, so she quietly pushed the wheelchair faster, opened a little distance, bowed slightly and said:
"Beware of that eunuch just now, he was a little careless, um..."
Hua Qingzhi knew that Ye Jingtang was unintentional. After all, Ye Jingtang really wanted to take advantage. With such a disparity in strength between the two, they could have done it openly and there was no need to use such little tricks. She responded softly:
"It's okay, it's just an accident. I didn't take it seriously. By the way, you secretly carved that line just now, right? Could it be Qinghe and the others..."
Ye Jingtang felt that Hua Qingzhi was really smart and nodded slightly:
"They should be waiting for me. I'll go see if they are injured."
Hua Qingzhi hadn't finished the painting she helped to draw, so she didn't say anything at the moment and ordered:
"Hua An, go to the carriage and help me pick up a shawl."
Seeing this, Ye Jingtang let go of his wheelchair and let Luzhu push it after catching up. He watched Hua Qingzhi leave. However, she saw Hua Qingzhi walking out a little and turned back. When she found him watching, she quickly turned back and made
Take a look at the scenery.
Ye Jingtang secretly shook his head, without further delay, he quickly arrived at the venue where the carriages and horses were parked.
It was getting dark, and most of the people who came to offer incense returned to the city. Because some officials were enforcing security near the mountains and forests, the coachmen all ran to wait in the distance, asking in low voices what happened in the mountains and forests.
Ye Jingtang came to the carriage and took a look, but found no trace of the two of them. He looked around and found a furry white head under the eaves of the temple, aiming at him.
Seeing this, Ye Jingtang took the shawl from the carriage, quietly jumped into the temple, followed the house where the pilgrims stayed temporarily, and came to an empty room near Niaoniao. After making sure that there was no one around, he opened the door
Knocked lightly on top.
Dong Dong~
The temporary rooms in the temple are relatively simple in furnishings, just a bed, table and chairs.
At this time, Fan Qinghe was still wearing black clothes, but his face towel was pulled down and hung around his neck. His plump buttocks were resting on a stool, and he was sitting sideways on the wooden bed. He was holding a silver needle in his hand and was doing acupuncture.
Yunli, who just had a strong injection, accidentally received two injections and was poisoned. Although he has practiced bathing in fire and is not afraid, the process of poisoning and then detoxification cannot be avoided. At this time, he is in the stage of poisoning.
Her cheeks were rosy and she looked a little listless while lying on the bed.
The black outer coat and chivalrous skirt underneath have been untied, and the blue bellyband embroidered with birds has been lifted up, revealing the fair southern hemisphere that is already somewhat large, as well as the perfect waist and abdomen with a waistcoat line.
There is a bruise mark on the waist.
Luo Ning was not here, and Fan Qinghe was obviously taking the position of the old lady at this time. His eyes were filled with distress, and he helped Xiao Yunli with needles to suppress the poison. When she heard the sound of knocking on the window, she quickly stopped her movements, covered herself with her body, and spoke in a low voice.
:
"I'm giving you an acupuncture, please don't come in."
Ye Jingtang heard that Yunli's breath was not stable and was about to go in. When he was reminded, he quickly stopped and said through the window:
"Is she okay?"
Zhe Yunli was dizzy due to the poison. When he heard the movement outside the window, he came back to his senses, tilted his head and said:
"Cousin Jing, I'm fine. I just took care of the five snake peak monsters, single-handedly, without letting Aunt Fan help me, but I forgot to engrave the words in the end..."
Ye Jingtang judged from the smell that he was just a little bit poisoned and nothing serious. He breathed a sigh of relief and responded:
"Don't worry, I've already filled in the words. How did you get poisoned? Those five monsters are very powerful?"
"No, it was absolutely foolproof, but that bandit leader was so shameless, kowtowed to beg for mercy, put a hidden weapon from behind, and tricked me..."
Seeing this, Fan Qinghe interjected:
"Don't be careless in the future. My cousin reminded you last time you shocked me. You can treat your opponent as a knight in words, but you must treat your opponent as a villain in your heart..."
Zhe Yunli was a little helpless: "Kneel down and kowtow to beg for mercy. If I didn't say a word, just cut without any care, it would be disrespectful to a knight. Who would have expected that the Beiliang barbarian would be so shameless. Cousin Jing, have you ever tasted this?
A loss?"
Night Terror Hall is quite experienced in this matter:
"When fighting with someone, you have to be careful when stopping. If I don't plan to kill, I won't hit the fatal point. If I plan to kill, I can either kill him with one blow so that the opponent has no chance to beg for mercy; or I can use more precise techniques to provoke the heart.
Places like the aorta.
"In this way, the opponent didn't seem to be seriously injured at the time and could still speak, but he was undoubtedly dead. I put away the knife and stopped to chat with him, which not only showed the style of a accomplished knight, but also did not suffer the disadvantage of being soft-hearted."
Zhe Yunli suddenly realized it and nodded gently:
"Cousin Jing is still good at pretending, I've learned from it."
"...?"
Ye Jingtang opened his mouth, taking it simply as a compliment, he shook his head and changed the topic with a smile:
"Just now in the woods, I met the twelve servants, coming from the Bishui Forest. I guess there is something weird in Bishui Forest. I'll go over and have a look later..."
When Zhe Yunli heard this, he immediately became energetic:
"I found out today that there is something wrong with the wood transported to the Queen Mother's garden. I will go with you."
Fan Qinghe did admire Xiao Yunli's insight, but there was always time to do things. She said seriously:
"You were just injured and the poison hasn't been cured yet. Why are you joining in the fun?"
Zhe Yunli wanted to sit up: "I'm fine, I'll finish it later."
"Lie down!"
Ye Jingtang knew that Xiao Yunli wanted to accumulate experience in the world, so he said softly:
"I'm just going to check on the situation. It'll only take a while. You need to recover from your injuries first, and we'll be together when we fight next time."
"Yes, he is so good at Qinggong, but you can't keep up. Take good care of yourself and try again next time. If you don't obey me again, I will file a complaint with your master wife when you get back."
Zhe Yunli felt a little annoyed when he saw this, but in the end he nodded slightly, lay down quietly, and let Fan Qinghe continue to inject the needle.
Night Terror Hall couldn't enter the house for fear of being bumped into by monks and pilgrims coming and going, so it was hard to stand at the door. After two more warnings, he quietly left and returned to the outside of the courtyard wall.
The sentry bird hidden under the eaves also fell down at this time, standing directly on the shoulder of Ye Jingtang, raising its big claws as if offering a treasure:
"Ji~"
Ye Jingtang was originally going to touch the bird, but when he raised his eyes, he saw a two-finger-thick black snake, which was caught by the bird and almost came to his face. He was so shocked that his shoulders shook, and he quickly touched the little broken bird.
Caught:
"Where did you catch it? What if I bite you?"
"grumble?"
Bird is a bit baffled - after all, it is a bird of prey, specialized in hunting snakes and rats. Doesn't it know better than humans whether the things on the diet are poisonous or not?
Ye Jingtang looked carefully and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that it was a non-venomous snake. Seeing the appearance of Niao Niao offering treasures, he knew that Niao Niao wanted him to help him grill the skewers. He shook his head and said:
"This is a temple. Killing is not appropriate. Let's keep a good watch first. I'll buy you a rabbit head to eat in the evening. There is a shop next to the Imperial College and it tastes particularly delicious."
"grumble!"
When the bird heard this, he was no longer interested in the underfed little broken snake. He immediately grabbed it and flew it to the side, threw it into the grass with one paw, and gave a cold "chirp!"
Ye Jingtang shook his head secretly, without disturbing Niaoniao, and quickly came to the sketching lawn with his shawl.
The sun set on the top of the mountain, and all the tourists who were here to watch the sunset left. There was only one painting left standing alone. Hua Qingzhi, dressed as a female student, was sitting in a wheelchair and carefully painting the scroll.
Ye Jingtang saw that it was almost dark after a delay, and he thought Hua Qingzhi would not be able to draw, but when he walked closer, he realized that Hua Qingzhi had just painted his portrait, which took him an estimated half an hour, and she helped Wang Dacheng paint it.
The treasure map was almost finished in the blink of an eye when he left, and a whole volume was filled with it.
When Ye Jingtang came to him, he was immediately shocked:
"Oh! Can you draw so fast?"
Hua Qingzhi put down the brush, took the personal seal from Lüzhu and sighed, stamping it on the corner of the spring scene:
"The Wang Guifei's writing is far from outstanding. In the end, it will probably just hang on the wall and collect dust. There is no need to waste too much thought..."
Ye Jingtang looked at the lifelike picture scroll, even the little child who was playing on the lawn just now was painted in it. Although it belongs to the freehand style, the brushwork is simple and the picture is hazy, but I can feel the expression of each little person in a few simple strokes, but I don't feel it in my heart.
This is a random drawing:
"Young lady is too self-effacing. As for your painting skills, I will never be able to catch up with her."
Hua Qingzhi felt that Ye Jingtang was marveling from the bottom of her heart, and her eyes were a little proud, so she picked up the scroll:
"Wang Jiwenming has to enter the palace to pay his respects to the noble concubine. Hua Ning, please send this painting back to the city first."
Ye Jingtang was about to enter the city and meet with the Qinglong Society. Naturally, he volunteered to take over the scroll:
"I'll go deliver it."
Hua Qingzhi naturally did not refuse this. After informing Wang Jiwen of the location of his residence, she watched Ye Jingtang leave quickly.
Tap tap tap~
After Ye Jingtang walked away, Hua Qingzhi's expression became strange again. She raised her hand to touch her cheek, took the carefully decorated portrait from the side of the painting table, and unfolded it to look at it.
Luzhu lay on the back of the wheelchair, looking at the heroic young man in the painting, his eyes filled with admiration:
"This painting is really good. Why didn't you show it to Hua An just now?"
"..."
Hua Qingzhi painted this painting in preparation for hanging it in the house as a souvenir after Ye Jingtang leaves in the future and never sees each other again. That's why she put so much effort into integrating almost everything in Ye Jingtang currently.
In the scroll.
This kind of painting mixed with personal emotions is naturally not easy for Ye Jingtang to see. After Hua Qingzhi looked at it carefully for a few times, she picked up a pen and added a line of small words in the blank space of the painting:
The southern and northern lands are so indistinct, so why bother asking about travel and possessions when we meet.
At this time, I'm just afraid that when you return, you will be separated by thousands of mountains and rivers.
…
——
When we got back to the city, it was already night.
Ye Jingtang dressed up as an ordinary guard and held a scroll in his hand. After arriving in the East City, he did not immediately run to the Bell Tower Street where the princes gathered, but first came to the vicinity of Chunman Tower.
After nightfall, the prosperity of Suijin Street has just begun. Many nightclubs are open, and the streets are full of lights, wine, and birds, and princes and nobles can be seen wandering around everywhere.
Ye Jingtang didn't come here to drink flower wine, so naturally he didn't pay attention to the pretty beauty upstairs. He went to the back alley first. As he passed various famous buildings, he could still hear chatter from inside the building:
"It is said that the scene was tragic. All five people were cut into pieces. It took a long time to fight for the rest, and there were still a few pieces that could not be found. The father-in-law in charge of the 12th Institute personally confirmed that it was the hero Hua Junchen and Hua who was responsible..."
"Tsk, tsk, this method is really cruel... No, killing Jianghu Xiaoxiao should be done vigorously and resolutely..."
"Speaking of the people in the Northern and Southern Jianghu who are so ruthless, it seems that the only one who is so ruthless is the Night Demon of the Southern Dynasties. After killing people and collecting the corpses, it is said that he can only use a shovel to shovel them. In my opinion, the hero Hua Junchenhua is not willing to give in too much. I'm afraid he will
Deserving of the title of 'Nanjingtang Beijunchen'..."
"Oh, this is too much. With Hua Daxia's current record, how can he be worthy of this title...
"Hua Daxia's swordsmanship is already among the best in Chengtian Mansion. Now that he has a record in the world, it should be no problem to be called 'Chengtian's No. 1 Sword'..."
…
Ye Jingtang was passing by the alley and felt a little sad when he heard all the idle people slandering Uncle Hua.
However, public opinion is not in his base and he cannot control it at all. At the moment, he can only temporarily blame Uncle Hua for taking the blame.
After walking for a while, Ye Jingtang discovered that there was an aura fluctuation in the darkness of the back alley of Chunmanlou. He immediately jumped up and came to the back of the wall just like last time, tapping on the wall.
Dong Dong~
On the other side of the wall, Lao Liu, the leader of the Qinglong Society, was leaning against the wall quietly with a bookcase at his feet. He was actually listening to the trivial chatter around him.
There was movement from behind the wall, and Old Liu knew that the killer had come back to deliver a report. He tilted his head slightly and asked hoarsely:
"Your Excellency, you are the Great Hero Hua Junchenhua from Chengtian Mansion?"
?
Ye Jingtang was stunned, fell silent for a moment, and asked vaguely:
"Why did Senior Liu say this?"
As soon as these words came out, Lao Liu, who had been the contactor for more than ten years, was immediately silenced.
When Hua Junchen was in his hometown, a target customer at a nearby dock died.
Yesterday Hua Junchen was drinking at Chunmanlou, and his target customer died.
Today Hua Junchen was wandering around Xixia Temple, and his target customer died again.
Hua Junchen's martial arts skills are probably in line with the strength of a killer. Even his style of killing thieves and bandits, not caring about money, and his desire to pass down famous swords are generally consistent with Hua Junchen's identity and character.
Now the dandy boys behind the wall all know that Hua Junchen killed him. Does the Qinglong Society know that?
After being speechless for a long time, Old Liu said:
"The Qinglong Society never asks where they are, and even if they know, they will keep it secret. No killer in the world has ever been betrayed by the Qinglong Society. You can rest assured on this.
"I say this just to remind you that an assassin whose true identity is known to everyone is the most failed assassin in the world. After all, wherever you go, there will be people guarding you, and they may even strike first.
"And if you see the truth, even if you find out the way to the palace, you won't be able to get the sword."
Ye Jingtang felt that his identity as a killer was well hidden, but he still nodded to these instructions:
"Teach me a lesson. I will definitely pay attention to it in the future."
Out of professionalism, Lao Liu, although Ye Jingtang did not admit or deny it, did not pursue further inquiries, took out the banknotes from the bookcase and threw them over the wall:
"This is a silver reward. According to the rules, the gang will take 20% of the water to maintain the operation of the gang. You will get four thousand taels."
Ye Jingtang knew that those who work on the platform must take a cut, and the underworld business only takes 20% to be honest, which is considered conscientious, so he did not say much at the moment and threw the money back:
"Are there any other errands?"
When Lao Liu heard this, he was helpless:
"You send out errands in the morning to kill people at night, and they come one after another every day. Even if Qinglong has so many errands, you can't be allowed to kill like this; according to your killing method, the imperial court will target the Qinglong Society in less than three to five days...
"
Night Terror Hall said:
"The people who were killed were all wanted criminals. The imperial court enjoyed the results and probably wouldn't have anything to do with it..."
"A big tree attracts wind, and if the court does not intervene, the rivers and lakes in Hudong Road will explode; no one knows whether someone is being hired by the Qinglong Society. If everyone in the rivers and lakes is in danger, the best solution is to destroy the Qinglong Society.
, and deal with the assassins from the source. If they are surrounded and suppressed by the entire Jianghu, the Qinglong Society will not be able to withstand it.
"You should rest for a while first, Qinglong will help you continue to investigate the matter, and the reward will be made up later."
Ye Jingtang saw that he was so quick in doing things that he was frightened to kill the Qinglong Club, so he was forced to take a vacation so that he could not ask for more errands, so he nodded and said:
"That's okay. If you have other errands that don't involve killing people, you can also arrange them. I'll be free as long as I'm free, and I'll do it if something comes my way."
The Qinglong Club is a professional killer organization, but it also accepts business such as spying on intelligence and stealing valuable treasures. Otherwise, it cannot support such a big gang just by killing people. After hearing this, I thought about it:
"There has been some news in the imperial court recently. It seems that they are refining elixirs. There are many people in the world asking for such information, and the prices they offer are high. If you can get useful information, Qinglong will pay for it. The price depends on the weight of the information."
Ye Jingtang nodded slightly, without saying much, and asked:
"Now that we have the news, how can we contact Mr. Liu?"
"If you want to see me, place a brick here in the afternoon and I will show up in an hour. Say goodbye."
"Goodbye."
…
——
The other side.
Bell Tower Street, Prince's Mansion.
Outside the brightly lit waterside pavilion in the back house of the prince's mansion, the guard bowed and stood quietly outside the door, reporting seriously:
"My subordinates went to see the scene. All five people were dismembered. Hua Junchen was among them covered in blood. Although the name of the Qinglong Society was engraved on the tree, Eunuch Xu had a sharp eye and saw the truth..."
…
In the gorgeously decorated waterside pavilion, the maid was warming a pot of wine.
The third prince Li Chong, dressed in ordinary clothes, was sitting on the soft couch on the terrace, holding a wine glass in his hand, looking at the moonlight over the imperial city.
Wang Jiwen held a folding fan and clapped his palms, walking up and down in front of him. After the guard finished reporting, he was puzzled and said:
"Hua Junchen was clearly meeting with Li Guangxian at his residence today, but why did he follow him to Xixia Temple inexplicably? I finally made a plan and lured Hua Qingzhi and the Five Snake Peak Monsters outside the city..."
Li Chong was not surprised at all by this outcome. After all, the cousin in front of him always acted like this, somewhere between smart and not smart. It could be called 'mostly smart', but he was still half a step away from being smart and capable.
"The Hua family is a well-known family after all. If you can make plans in secret, how can the Hua family not expect that someone will plot the plan secretly? The purpose of Hua Junchen's trip should be to protect his daughter and follow her on an outing. It is reasonable.
.”
"well……"
Wang Jiwen sat down next to him: "That's all. Anyway, only a few wanted criminals died, so let's treat them as murders for the people. Do you still have thieves who have entered the capital and can be lured over..."
The third prince was speechless. He put down his wine glass and turned around:
"There are more than twelve wanted thieves. But if you act like this, cousin, you will find the thieves regardless of manpower and material resources, and let Hua Junchen "do harm to the people." Let's not talk about whether the guards you arranged can capture Hua Junchen.
Qingzhi abducted him. It won’t take ten days and a half, but Hua Junchen will be able to fill the vacancy of the top ten masters and become the master of swordsmanship. Where are you from?"
Wang Jiwen was unhappy when he heard this:
"I am your cousin, how can I be from over there? Am I not paving the way for you in the future? It is said in military books that victory or defeat is a common thing for soldiers, and a saint will make mistakes every time he thinks about it..."
The third prince raised his hand slightly and interrupted his cousin:
"I don't blame you, it's just a matter of discussion. Unless you get Hua Junchen away, the escort you arrange will have no chance of saving the beauty."
Wang Jiwen also knew this and thought about it for a moment:
"How about I ask my father to be the host, give me some fame, and invite Hua Junchen to my house for dinner?"
The third prince said to this: "My uncle and Hua Junchen both grew up in Chengtian Mansion. One lived in the east of the city and the other lived in the west of the city. When they were young, they often fought in battles. Now, as the uncle of the state, the official worships the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
You look down on Hua Junchen who is not doing his job properly. You asked your uncle to treat Hua Junchen to a drink. This unclear weasel gives a chicken...cough, it's not appropriate."
Wang Jiwen knew that his father and Hua Junchen had a bad relationship, so he thought about it and said:
"It's simple. Mr. Li Guo loves wine and loves to grow old at night in the palace. My aunt seems to have two jars. You go into the palace and get one jar and send it out to my father. Then I will secretly tell Duke Li the news. With Li Guogong's temperament, he will definitely
Find a famous person to hold a banquet and invite my father to come and sit down.
"Li Guogong has a good relationship with Mr. Hua, and the Hua family has a close relationship with the Wang family. He was having a drink with my father, and knowing that Hua Junchen was in the city and not inviting him, it would easily make people careless, so he would definitely send out an invitation.
Hua Junchen couldn’t help but give Mr. Li some face..."
The third prince thought about it and felt that this move of ‘taking the father as the son’ was indeed quite clever. He nodded and said:
"But...but what if Hua Qingzhi also follows?"
Wang Jiwen waved his hand and said: "Elder Wine Shop, why is she following a young lady there? You can search again in the next two days to see if there are any decent bandits in the capital. Wait until the wine shop confirms Hua Qingzhi's location that day, and then drive the tiger to swallow her.
Wolf……"
While the two were discussing like this, there was a sudden noise outside the waterside pavilion, and a guard reported:
"Your Highness, a guard from Wanbao Tower sent a painting, saying it was for the prince."
Wang Jiwen didn't expect that Hua Qingzhi could help finish the painting after something like this happened, so he said:
"Bring it in. Junior Sister Hua is very kind in her work. We are sitting here scheming and scheming. It sounds like a sinister villain..."
?
Li Chong opened his mouth, not knowing how to comment, and finally just stopped talking...