Under night.
Ye Hongling tightened the reins suddenly, and the pure black horse under her seat neighed and raised its hooves, but the female warrior sat firmly on it. On her beautiful face, a pair of sword eyebrows were raised at the end, and her face was extremely solemn.
"Chief Commander..." Behind him, the fat and thin officer also stopped in surprise. Immediately, he faintly noticed that the spiritual elements of heaven and earth in front of him were fluctuating abnormally, and there was a faint feeling of suffocation in the distance.
However, that feeling only lasted for a moment and then disappeared without a trace, like an illusion.
Ye Hongling withdrew her gaze, only uttered the word "drive", and then turned into an arrow from the string again and rushed towards Banyue Villa.
The remaining officers looked at each other, secretly vigilant, and galloped towards the nearby buildings.
…
The mountain behind the villa, beside the stream.
Ji Ping'an looked at the "Eldest Young Master" who was lying on the edge of the river in a "lying forward" posture, frowned slightly and muttered:
"Why is it so crispy?"
On the ground, the "Cursed Killer" who was showing off his power not long ago had his eyes wide open, blood spilled from the corners of his mouth, and his dull eyes were full of fear and despair, as well as a trace of unwillingness that had not yet had time to explode.
A bloody hole opened in his satin robe on his back chest, and his heart was burned and carbonized, shrinking into a black mass.
The muscles were also burned, the blood was evaporated, and the air was still filled with the residual heat of the Lihuo blazing sun.
As for the huge scarecrow, it had been torn into two halves by the sword energy and was thrown to the ground not far away.
"It's been too long since I've used the sword, and I haven't controlled the strength well." Ji Ping'an felt the nearly dry spirit essence in the puppet's body, and said apologetically:
"Actually, I want to capture you alive..."
Ji Ping'an was also a little helpless.
According to his original plan, he would try to capture the other party alive and torture him for more information, but he underestimated his "evil reputation".
Zhu Xun dared to face the Great Zhou Imperial Master and launch an attack, but the "Cursed Killer Sanren", who had stronger reincarnation skills and a higher starting point than Zhu Xun, was as timid as a mouse.
He ran away for his life immediately. Faced with the "Devil Lord" who once single-handedly fought against Kyushu and killed countless masters with swords in Jieshan Mountain, he couldn't think of a single fight with him.
In Ji Ping'an's view, with the martial arts foundation of "Eldest Young Master Pei", even the "curses" that Curse Kill is best at are perfectly restrained, and he is not good at martial arts.
But you can also give it a try. But he is timid, and no matter how strong his martial arts foundation is, he can't display much of his strength.
What's more, what he faced was the sword that Master Li Yang had picked up again after hundreds of years of absence.
Of course, another important factor is that the "realm" of this puppet is higher than that of Ji Ping'an...
Under the same nine realms, a sword that consumes all the puppet's power can kill it.
"Another opportunity for torture has been wasted..." Ji Ping'an was disappointed, but he didn't expect that this lecherous guy would be so unintimidated.
However, there is not nothing to gain from the conversation just now.
"He said that he doesn't know more than I do... which means that every 'reborn person' may know almost the same information."
"At the same time, he mentioned different eras... How did he know about it? Did he know about it when he was 'reborn', or did he collect information recently, or even... have contact with other reborn people? For example... …Four Holy Religions?”
Ji Ping'an fell into thinking.
He did not forget that the "mage's broken body" that Pei secretly escorted was taken away by the Four Saints.
Who leaked the secret? It is not surprising that the eldest son of the Pei family knows this secret. Could it be that he has already had contact with the Four Holy Sects during these days?
After all, with the attitude he just showed, he seems to be no stranger to "talking" with other reborn people.
While his thoughts were ups and downs, Ji Ping'an's thoughts were divergent. However, with a sudden palpitation in his heart and a faint feeling of attention, he forcibly cut off his thoughts.
He turned to look northwest and frowned slightly. Putting away the bronze sword, he squatted down and quickly touched the corpse.
As expected, the second "Star Fragment" was found from the "Eldest Master's" chest.
At the moment he started, Ji Ping'an clearly noticed that the first fragment from "Zhu Xun" that he had thrown into the space bag was buzzing and trembling.
It seems to echo the one in my hand.
"Huh?"
Ji Ping'an was surprised, but this was not the time to check.
He picked up the fragments and put all the remaining items of the Sanren body into his arms, and then drove the mechanical puppet, which was about to run out of spiritual energy, to rush towards the mountains and forests to hide itself.
Immediately return the consciousness to the body.
In the villa, Ji Pingan, who was sitting cross-legged and meditating, opened his eyes, with strong tiredness on his face.
——Controlling a puppet consumes a lot of soul.
"Well... don't touch me..."
At this time, a soft thing in the arms began to squirm. The fainted saint turned her eyes and exhaled again, gradually regaining consciousness.
Feeling being hugged, he instinctively resisted. The sword stabbed at Ji Ping'an like a snake. Ji Ping'an narrowly avoided it by turning his head, and then slapped him again:
"Wake up!"
Yu Yu was stunned and opened his eyes. After seeing Ji Ping'an clearly, he suddenly thought:
"Where's the person? Where's that person?"
"..." Ji Ping'an sighed tiredly, raised his hand to put away the belt that served as a barrier, and tied it around his waist again. Just as he was about to speak, two figures suddenly rushed towards him from the front yard.
Huang He and Mu Yaoyao were both strong and strong. When they saw the ruined courtyard, they were stunned for a moment. The former said:
"Sir, the woods told us that a large group of people are charging towards us."
As a wood star official, one of his spells is to make nearby plants act as his "sentinels".
Ji Ping'an said "En", which was not surprising, and said:
"I have a premonition that it should be someone from the Demon Slayer Division. Let's evacuate immediately."
This scene appeared in the future picture he obtained during his previous divination.
Someone from the government?
Yu Yu was surprised and puzzled, and then looked at the hole in the ruins with some reluctance. She had not yet explored it.
But she also knew that it would be troublesome if she was blocked by the imperial court. After all, when it came to finding the "reborn person", the Great Zhou imperial court was not on the same side as the Daomen and Qin Tianjian.
Without any further delay, the four of them picked up the formation flags and other objects left on the ground and fled quickly.
…
Not long after they left, the sound of horse hooves approached outside the villa, and a large group of officials rushed in. Then they were shocked to find that there were many corpses scattered in the villa.
And it seems that they are not ordinary bankers, but martial artists.
"A person has just died, and it was the cultivator who killed him," the tall, thin official squatted down, opened the wound with his fingers, and said in a deep voice.
In the distance, a short, fat official came over carrying a corpse with vines tightly wrapped around its neck and a bruised face, and added:
"He is not an ordinary martial artist, he is a monk who knows the magic."
In the world of practitioners, the martial arts path is distinct from other paths.
The faces of the group of demon-slayers were ugly, and they suddenly felt a strong sense of familiarity.
As they walked deeper, they couldn't help but be speechless when they saw the backyard that was almost destroyed by the fighting.
"At least he has broken through the ninth realm, otherwise he wouldn't be able to fight like this." A bearded official said in a deep voice.
Houses collapsed, broken trees and ruins, especially the terrain, which was in various weird and twisted states, seemed to have experienced a fierce battle.
At this time, there was a sound of breaking wind in the distance.
Wearing a black cloak, black gauze wings on her head, a military attache's robe, and a black gold sword at her waist, Ye Hongling flew up with Qinggong and slowly fell down like a fallen leaf.
He was holding a bloody corpse in brocade clothes in his hands. As soon as he landed on the ground, his eyes swept over the surrounding ruins with a solemn expression.
"Chief Commander!" All the demon-slayers bowed their hands in salute.
Arriving outside the villa, the two parties split up.
Ye Hongling followed the remaining sword intent and went straight to the back mountain. She picked up a torn sack-like body by the stream and threw it on the ground. After listening to the report of a group of subordinates, she was silent for a while and said:
"It seems that someone attacked here not long ago, at least two people, one of whom is good at Taoist magic, and the other is more like a martial artist with a negative sword."
This conclusion is not difficult to deduce.
An officer looked at the impaled body on the ground in confusion: "Why does this person look familiar?"
Ye Hongling glanced at him and said, "This is the eldest son of the Pei family, a warrior who breaks the Seventh Army."
Young Master!
Hearing this, a group of officials were all stunned.
You know, the eldest son of the Pei family is also a well-known hero in Yuhang City. With the efforts of the family to cultivate him, he entered Poqi at a young age. He is the confirmed next head of the family. How could he be killed here?
And... Pochichi Wufu... Judging from the frightened and devoid of fighting expression on the corpse's face, it seemed that he had been greatly frightened during his lifetime.
Being able to make him escape and then be killed without resistance, doesn't it mean that the murderer is the strong one sitting in the well?
"Commander, come here quickly, there is a situation in the dungeon!"
At this time, an official who was exploring the ruins shouted, attracting everyone's attention.
Ye Hongling suppressed her emotions and took the lead into the ruins. She followed the opened hole and walked all the way into the "dungeon". Because it was underground, it was relatively well preserved.
With the help of the warm orange light emitted by the braziers on both sides of the corridor, Ye Hongling first caught a glimpse of the women in the cells on both sides, who were either dumbfounded and frightened, obviously mentally disturbed, or had been violated.
The female martial artist was startled, and then uncontrollable anger surged on her face. The hands hanging at her waist clenched tightly, and her joints made a crisp crackling sound.
The officials who followed behind him remained silent.
"Why is there such a dungeon in Pei's villa?" This thought arose in everyone's mind.
Although lynchings by large families are not uncommon in this world, even among the people, family rules and lynchings are the mainstream compared to official punishments.
But doing it in private is one thing, being exposed in the sun is another thing.
If Mrs. Pei commits such evil deeds, what will be done next?
Fortunately, they soon realized that this was not an issue that needed to be weighed.
"Pei Wei!"
Ye Hongling's footsteps suddenly stopped, her tone was incredulous, she stared at the cell at the end, and called out the name.
In the cell, the missing head of the Pei family, imprisoned by iron ropes, was lying on the ground, breathless.
His tall and burly body seemed to have been drained dry, his muscles were atrophied, his complexion was pale, his hair was half white, and his expression was withered...
Hearing the noise, he raised his eyelids with difficulty. The moment he saw Ye Hongling, his eyes glowed with hope. He opened his mouth and shouted in a hoarse voice:
"Kill...kill..."
However, he finally didn't have the strength to say that name, his eyes went black, and he fainted from exhaustion.
It caused a period of confusion, and just when everyone took Pei Wei out of the dungeon and returned to the ground, the thunderous sound of horse hooves was heard again outside the villa.
This time, a master named Pei arrived.
It sounds slow, but in fact it is only a little later than the Demon Slayer Division.
The leader, Pei Qian, who was holding a long sword, rushed in with murderous intent, only to see his father with a withered look, and his brother lying cold on the ground.
Most of the great pride in Pei Qian's chest was instantly deflated. His eyes were red, and he stumbled over with a hoarse voice:
"This...how could this happen..."
Ye Hongling shook his head, stabilized his emotions, gave a rough description of the situation, and said:
"The top priority is to send the head of the Pei family back to the city for medical treatment."
"Ah, that's right." Pei Qian woke up from his dream, picked up Pei Wei on his back, mounted his horse, and took the people back to Yuhang.
"Commander, the murderer's footsteps have disappeared and he is suspected of fleeing into the mountains." A policeman came back and reported.
Ye Hongling was silent for a moment and suddenly said:
"It's too late. There's no need to pursue him. Bring the people in the dungeon back to the Yamen. I'll go to the Pei family."
Her head felt as big as a bucket, and what she saw tonight felt like a mess. And if you want to find out the truth, you can only wait for Pei Wei to wake up.
"Chief Commander, are you really not going to pursue me anymore?"
An officer tested him and he felt that this was not the character of his boss.
Ye Hongling shook her head and suddenly laughed at herself:
"Is it useful to catch up?"
He vaguely guessed that the person who took action might be related to the mysterious warrior from before, or perhaps it was this person at all.
The other party was also interested in the cursed murder case, and was also similar to the Four Holy Sects who rushed to take action in front of the court.
More importantly, it was the sword intent that still frightened her even though it was far away.
"Can I... really be a match for someone who possesses that kind of sword power?"
Ye Hongling doubted herself and felt an even stronger awe towards Ji Ping'an.
…
…
It was already dark, but the lights in Pei's mansion were still brightly lit.
A large group of servants and maids have learned about the news in the mansion. Although they don't know the details, how can they still think about taking a rest?
In the inner hall of the long room, the elegant and dignified Li Xiangjun, wearing purple Luo Shang and a golden walking wave on his head, sat at the head of the table, feeling uneasy.
The beautiful woman held a corner of her dress with both hands, very hard, showing her inner uneasiness.
After leaving Yin Yang Academy, she did not drive out of the city and went to Banyue Villa.
It's not that she doesn't want to, but she knows very well that she is just a weak woman and has no force at her side. Going out of the city will only cause chaos.
In contrast, once the masters are mobilized out of the city, Pei's heart will definitely be upset. As the mistress, she must come back to take charge.
"Why is there no news yet?"
Li Xiangjun was upset. He glanced at the "table clock" on the table that was invented by the imperial master and only wealthy families could afford it. He couldn't help but say.
The talented girl Pei Qiuwei who was standing by her hurriedly stepped forward, took her mother's hand and comforted her:
"The mansion is far away from Zhuangzi. It takes a long time to go back and forth. How can it be so fast? Why don't you go and rest first? My daughter will wait here."
Li Xiangjun shook his head bitterly:
"What are you talking about? How can I get some rest at this time?"
Pei Qiuwei pursed her lips, knowing that her comfort was ineffective. She turned to look at "Mochou" sitting in the chair opposite, and said:
"My sister is weak, so it's better to go back first."
Xu Yuanyun, who was dressed in white and had a delicate appearance, shook her head:
For such a big thing, even if I can't help, I might as well accompany my aunt. "
As she spoke, she turned to look at the night outside the hall, her starry eyes twinkling, but she didn't know what she was thinking about.
In the dull and depressing atmosphere, time passed little by little, and suddenly there was a noise outside, which immediately attracted the attention of the three female family members in the hall.
Li Xiangjun hurriedly stood up and walked to the front of the hall in a few steps. He looked up nervously, only to see a servant running towards him with a lantern, looking panicked:
"Madam, the third young master and the others are back!"
"How?" Li Xiangjun asked anxiously.
The servant swallowed and said, "The third young master came back carrying the master on his back."
Li Xiangjun and Pei Qiuwei were overjoyed, and their mother and daughter burst into smiles: "My husband (father) is back?!"
Although Jian Zheng gave the revelation, Li Xiangjun still had many doubts in his heart, but he did not expect that it would actually come true.
The servant looked at the excited mother and daughter and said, "But the master looks haggard. He seems to have been seriously injured and is unconscious."
Pei's mother and daughter were shocked, and their mood fell from the peak of joy. Pei Qiuwei hurriedly comforted: "It's good to be alive... you can always recover from your injuries."
The servant took a breath and said, "The eldest son is also back with us..."
The mood of the mother and daughter improved again, with surprises on their faces. Unexpectedly, not only the old one was back, but the younger one was also found.
The servant breathed out and completed the second half of the sentence: "There is also the body of the eldest young master..."
There was a sudden silence in the inner hall. Xu Yuanyun stood in the corner and could clearly see the smiles on the faces of the mother and daughter froze. Pei Qiuwei was stunned on the spot, and Li Xiangjun's legs went weak. He was helped by the servant's quick eyes and hands:
"What did you say?!"
At this time, a group of people broke in from outside.
The leader was Pei Qian, who was carrying the head of the family, followed by Tie Sha, who was carrying the body. After that, there were a group of experts from the Pei family and a large group of officials from the Demon Slayer Division.
Li Xiangjun glanced at this scene for a moment, then fainted silently, causing a flurry of excitement.
…
Yin Yang Academy.
A "hermaphrodite" dismounted, pushed open the door and stepped into the palace. Then he walked along the corridor to the back and arrived at the building that imitated the Star Observation Tower in the Divine Capital.
Pick up a lantern and walk up the wooden stairs step by step.
In Yuhang City, the pavilion used to observe and record the stars is officially called the "Star Observation Deck".
There are seven floors in total, and it stands in the academy on a high ground, which is enough to overlook Yuhang.
When the young hermaphrodite stepped forward and pushed open the railing at the top of the observatory, he saw an old man with a white beard and white hair sitting cross-legged on the flat Bagua platform, wearing a strange robe.
"How's it going?"
Qin Tianjian opened his eyes and woke up from his meditation practice.
The Yin Yang person who was sent to Pei's family to wait for the news said respectfully:
"Reporting to Si Li, Pei's people have returned and brought back the body of the eldest son, the head of the family. It is said that when he arrived at the villa, he was like this..."
He described the information he obtained in detail.
Qin Tianjian was listening carefully and raised his eyebrows: "Did someone kill the eldest son of the Pei family?"
The latter said "yes" and said:
"I don't know where the murderer came from. Po Qi's martial artist was killed like this. Aren't you afraid that Pei will go crazy and take revenge?"
Qin Tianjian suddenly smiled and said:
"It's not necessarily hatred, maybe it's kindness?"
The hermaphrodite was at a loss and confused, but the old prisoner in front of him did not explain, and waved his hand to order him to rest.
After the people left, the star official made a brief deduction on his path to the strongest person in the world, and cast his eyes in a certain direction in the city, thoughtfully:
"Could it be the 'little guy' mentioned in Li Guofeng's letter? Do you want to go and meet him?"
…
Xici Hutong.
Under the old pear tree, the Master of Tianji Pavilion, wearing a round hat and dressed like an old man, sitting in a chair and resting with his eyes closed, suddenly raised his eyelids and looked in the direction of the closed courtyard door.
After a few breaths, there were footsteps approaching, and then a knock on the door.
After a while, the guards returned with an inconspicuous-looking man who couldn't make any splash in the crowd. The latter saluted and said, "I have met the Pavilion Master!"
Old Man Tianji said "Yes" and sat lazily in the rocking chair, with a fairy-like attitude that calculated everything: "But is there any movement over the Pei family?"
The latter was sincerely convinced: "The master of the pavilion had a clever plan and said that there might be a change today, and indeed it happened."
Old Man Tianji listened to a bunch of rainbow farts and said a little irritably:
"Let's get down to business."
"Yes." The latter did not dare to continue to boast.
When Pei was about to rush to Banyue Villa, he found that someone had arrived first, and there were dead bodies everywhere. The eldest son was killed, and he only told the story of rescuing the seriously injured Pei Wei.
The specific details are not known, but the outline of the incident is already clear... There are many people involved, and the movement back to the city is difficult to conceal. This matter cannot be suppressed after all, it will just spread sooner or later.
Old Man Tianji didn't care at first, but when he heard it, his expression changed obviously.
After the subordinates finished telling the whole story, they learned that someone had "quickly arrived". Under the calm face of this Tianji Pavilion Master, who was famous and had a high status in the world, his mind was in a state of confusion and it was difficult to calm down.
Recalling that not long ago, the "expert" who helped him break free from the shackles learned about the case of the curse killing technique from him, this evening, the Demon Slayer Division went out to arrest the person.
Within a few hours, the missing Pei family and his son were found. One of them was seriously injured, and the other Po Qi died...and this happened under the eyes of Ye Hongling, the murderess.
How could he not be surprised and shocked?
In comparison, the intelligence gathering ability that Tianji Pavilion was so proud of was so ridiculous.
"Is this his true strength?" Old Man Tianji whispered in his heart, becoming more and more in awe of Ji Pingan, and even felt it was unfathomable.
"Pavilion Master? Pavilion Master?" Seeing that the old man was distracted, his subordinates couldn't help calling softly.
Old Man Tianji came to his senses, waved his hand and said:
"Go ahead. Continue to keep an eye on Mr. Pei and report back when you have the results."
…
Qinhuai River.
As the night gets darker, the large groups of tourists disperse, but the section of the river that is the place for romance is still brightly lit.
The boats are filled with the sound of poetry, drinking, music, singing and dancing, as well as the noise of men and women laughing.
On the second floor, in the Nuan Pavilion, Xiang Ning stood alone in front of the window, looking at the river and river bank outside in trance.
The night wind blew in, and the almost transparent gauze clothes on her body trembled. She felt comfortable all over, but her face was full of anxiety.
As an experienced secret agent, she has not been detected in the past, but she has relied on her agility to avoid danger time and time again.
Only tonight, there was no warning at all, and the last words of the mysterious man made her think even more.
"Not only did she see my 'identity'... she even claimed to be an old friend..." Xiang Ning was a little distracted:
"Who is he? Whose will does he represent behind him?"
As a professional spy, she subconsciously ran through the forces in Yuhang City in her mind, but could not find a target that met the requirements.
"Well, since he is interested in Pei's case and I gave him directions to Banyue Villa, then we just have to wait and see what happens."
"Oh, I'm not afraid that you'll move, I'm just afraid that you won't move... The prerequisite is that I can come back alive."
Xiang Ning thought proudly that she had secretly observed the "cursed killer" and felt a strong crisis.
Based on the information provided by the Monster Clan's intelligence network in Yuhang City, she has already inferred:
If you want to deal with the people in Banyue Villa, it is safer to at least be a well monk.
"If you dare to threaten me, I'm not someone to be trifled with." Xiang Ning thought quietly:
"This trick is called borrowing a knife to kill, and it is also called the oriole behind."
Just as he was enjoying himself, there was a knock on the door, and then the maid walked in:
"Girl, Mr. Pei and the government officials are back."
Xiang Ning turned around, stared at the other person with deep eyes, and asked:
"Oh? How did it turn out?"
"The maid" said: "The head of the Pei family was seriously injured, and the eldest son of the Pei family died, but these have nothing to do with the Demon Slayer Division and the masters of the Pei family, but a mysterious and powerful person who took action first..."
The demon clan secret agent who possessed the maid told the news he had found out.
The smile on Xiang Ning's face froze, her pupils dilated, Xue Nui's chest rose and fell violently, and her heart was filled with intense shock and joy of surviving the disaster.
There is no doubt that the person who took action in advance was "him"...and I still doubted his strength. Now it seems...that my life has really gone through hell.
"Keep checking, I want to know the follow-up situation." Xiang Ning said.
The "maid" thanked her, then hesitated and asked, "Do you need to change your identity?"
Xiang Ning hesitated for a moment, remained silent for a long time, shook her head and said:
"No need for that yet."
…
Old Willow Street.
In the quiet and deserted alley, the blue bricks on the ground suddenly bulged and collapsed, as if there was an earth dragon walking around.
In the courtyard of Yi Jing Zhai, mud splashed like a fountain, pushing four people out of it.
Huang He landed lightly, and Mu Yaoyao sat down on the ground. She said "Ouch" and rubbed her butt with her lips pursed.
Yu Yu gasped for breath and held his knees, as if he was holding back the pain. When he saw Ji Pingan come out, he couldn't help but said: "Did you really kill that guy? Why didn't I see this saint?"
On the way, Ji Ping'an briefly talked about the matter, hiding the key parts, and only said that he had killed the "eldest young master".
"You were unconscious at the time, so of course you didn't see it." Ji Ping'an said confidently.
Yu Yu choked, and she looked suspicious. She felt that it was impossible to do it with Ji Ping'an's strength, but she couldn't find any evidence that he cheated.
Ji Ping'an's cultivation was seriously consumed and he would be exhausted. He said:
"Everyone go and have a rest first, and we'll talk about it later."
After saying that, he returned to the room first, closed the door, and eagerly took out two "star fragments."
At the moment when the two fast fragments were thrown on the floor at the same time, a sudden change occurred.
…
Correct typos first and then correct them
(End of chapter)
