Just half an hour ago, this strange man in blue was still on the other side of Xixuan, and had just stepped into the ruined temple where a small setback had occurred last night.
The ruined temple was dirty and messy, full of traces of fighting. The curtains were torn down, iron pots and unburned firewood were scattered on the ground. There was a faint trace of blood among the messy footsteps outside the temple, going deep into the woods.
It snowed in Western Xinjiang not long ago. The snow melted and the ground became soft, leaving deep and shallow traces. He walked out of the ruined temple, followed the horseshoes and ruts on the ground, and imagined that in the quiet and dark night, a carriage had stopped here. When the people waiting were waiting, he started walking again, one car, a group of people, and the west. The scene in Xuan downtown is exactly the same.
However, as he was walking, he suddenly realized that something was wrong. He stopped and took a few steps back, only to find that a pair of faint footprints had branched off to another place. The steps were not big and showed panic.
He looked at the direction the carriage was traveling, turned around, and chose another path.
Half an hour later, he arrived here.
As soon as they got off, they saw an adult man with blood on his waist and a gloomy face, and a skinny child with a muddy face and a knife in one hand.
The two stood face to face, keeping a close distance. Behind them, there were four children of average size lying on the ground. There was no movement, and their life and death were unknown.
Anyone can easily judge this scene, especially when the little boy suddenly shouted to him: "Brother, help!" His eyes were black and white, pitiful, and his voice and the hand holding the knife trembled slightly because of fear and panic.
The man frowned slightly and immediately moved, quickly and accurately avoiding the fireball falling from above his head, and walked towards the little boy. When the little boy saw the savior, the light of hope appeared in his innocent eyes, and he was about to shed tears of excitement. But before the tears fell, he suddenly retreated quickly in the flash of lightning and hit the red-hot iron. On the railing, he was so hot that his whole body twitched and he almost shed tears of despair.
He never expected that the man would walk up to him with a gentle and worried face, but suddenly attack him.
He held his almost broken left hand, his face slightly twisted with anger: "What are you doing!"
The man played with the knife that was taken from his hand, still looking caring: "It's too dangerous for children to play with knives. Big brother will keep it safe for you first."
He was angry and aggrieved: "The eldest brother took away my knife, and I can't protect myself. If you help me deal with this little brother first, then it doesn't matter if I give the knife to the eldest brother."
The man was thinking: "Why do you think I will help you? Don't you think that this little brother and I already know each other and are on the same road?"
The little boy shook his head, with a pair of dark and translucent eyes, clever and clever: "No, the elder brother doesn't know this little brother. The way you come down to look at him shows that you don't know him."
The man nodded, feeling that what he said made sense: "You know a lot at a young age, so do you think I know you?"
The little boy tilted his head, as if thinking: "Oh, does big brother know me?"
The man also imitated him and tilted his head, smiling softly and affectionately, like an elder brother who was about to buy candied haws for him: "Of course I know you, little~crow~"
When the little boy heard the last three words, his pupils shrank suddenly, revealing a fierce and gloomy gaze that he had never seen before. The face that was full of childlike innocence instantly turned into a sinister and terrifying one, and even the original child's voice turned into a deep adult man's. The voice was indescribably weird and terrifying: "Who are you?"
"Guess? If you guess it right, I'll tell you."
The man's sword flashed and he struck suddenly.
The crow ducked sideways. He was short and moved very fast, but he was still pressed and suppressed by the man step by step. He was almost unable to retreat.
"Damn it!" How could this person know his identity? What's even more frightening is that he seems to know his martial arts skills, which makes him unable to move at all. And he has been walking in the world for many years and has never known such a person.
Another stab. If he continued like this, he would not only turn into a dead crow, but also a roasted crow. He could only make a dangerous move, ignore the sharp knife on his shoulder, jump up, and kick the wooden board above his head. The wooden planks that had been burnt to a crisp clattered loudly. The crow turned around and leaned on the wall with his right foot, swishing through the sea of fire like a black arrow, crossing the hole and disappearing without a trace.
"See you later!" A voice came from far away.
The man did not go forward to pursue him, but immediately turned around, lifted up the two children with his left hand, and pulled out a soft sword from his waist with his right hand. The soft sword was as thin as cicada wings, like a gentle lake, but the moment the soft sword left his waist , the sword light surged like a full moon river, the tide surged, bursting down the embankment, breaking through the blazing fire above.
Without waiting for him to greet him, Wujiang picked up the other two children and flew up with him at the same time, and swept outward through the gap opened by the sword energy.
The two of them landed in an alley not far from Zhu's house. The man looked back: "Go first..."
He paused suddenly.
The red door, the white wall, the sky behind him was full of fire, as if it was about to burn through the sky. Wujiang stood in the firelight, his clothes were slightly disheveled, his hair was a little messy, and his skin, face, and tools were curled up because of the fire. The wind blowing through the alley in the afternoon blew gently, and the mottled crispy skin fell off one after another, revealing a fair face, with green mountains in the distance, white clouds and flowing water, and the fragrance of April.
"It turns out it's you, little white flower."
…
Wujiang was sitting in the general's mansion, confirming that the child's life was not in danger. The previous child had also been properly taken care of and given medicine for injuries. Her hair was tied up hastily before being taken care of. After explaining what she knew about the situation, she prepared to leave. But he was stopped by a man.
She had seen this man before. On the first day she came to Xixuan, he picked a melon for her at a melon stall. However, she never thought that she would meet again in Zhu's house, nor did she expect that he had a connection with the General's Mansion and his skills. Remarkable.
The man said: "I still have something to do, little Baihua."
Wujiang didn't know why he always called himself Xiaobaihua. After waking up, he never wore white clothes, but he didn't ask any more questions and just replied: "Thank you for saving me. My name is Chuiyan."
Unexpectedly, the man actually looked happy after hearing this, and raised his eyebrows lightly, "What a coincidence, your name is Chuiyan, and my name is Xiliu."
Wujiang didn't know what the coincidence was, but he instinctively did not want to have too much interaction or involvement with the people in the General's Mansion: "I have told you all the ins and outs of the whole matter, and I have to ask the General's Mansion to investigate the rest."
But he chuckled and shook his head slightly: "That's not the case. I just want to ask you where you live and let the people from the General's Mansion take you back."
Wujiang stood up: "Thank you, don't bother the General's Mansion, I can go back by myself." He took a few steps, thought of something, and stepped back, "That kid, you called him Crow, who is he?"
He took a chair for her and said, "Did you know that there is a killer list among the four countries?"
Wujiang glanced at the fox fur mahogany chair, sat down and shook his head.
He found a comfortable position: "Do you know about Jiuxiuge in Jianghu?"
Wujiang still shook his head.
He was not annoyed by her "ignorance" at all, and patiently explained: "Jiuxiuge is an organization that specializes in collecting information about the court, and has mastered countless secrets, ranging from palace secrets to Jianghu legends. Do you want to Whatever you know, you can spend money to buy, or whatever you don’t want others to know, you can also spend money to redeem. The gratifying thing is that they are very trustworthy in their work, as long as you have money. Legend has it that the heroes of Jianghu and the Four Kingdoms The monarch has spent a lot of money to buy or redeem a lot of information, so..."
"So Jiuxiu Pavilion is very rich." Wujiang continued.
He was happy: "You got the point! But in addition to being rich, they also set up a killer list. The killer list is a killer list given by Jiuxiuge based on the intelligence they collected. According to the number of people they killed The more people are killed, or the higher the status of the person killed, the better the martial arts, and the harder it is to kill, the higher the ranking will be. Killer Crow is ranked seventh on the list. .”
Wujiang showed a hint of surprise: "Ranked seventh among the four countries, so his martial arts must be considered very powerful? At least he can be ranked seventh among killers."
He gently pushed a cup of tea to Wujiang's hand and said: "It's not that the better the martial arts, the higher the ranking. Of course, anyone who can be a killer will have good martial arts, but killing people not only relies on martial arts, but also relies on resourcefulness and patience. , relying on your intelligence network, the more intelligence you have, the stronger your analytical ability, the more appropriate the location and timing, the higher the success rate. Some people are good at ambush, some are good at using poison, some are good at disguise, and some are born with a good skin. , a smile can make people fascinated and lose resistance. These have nothing to do with martial arts. Killer Crow is born with an innocent child-like look and will never grow up, making people unsuspecting. Although he succeeds repeatedly, his martial arts is not necessarily better than his ranking. The 10th Silver Wing is high.”
Wujiang was puzzled: "The killer has a secretive identity. Jiuxiuge exposes their identity and ranking like this. For example, letting people know that the killer Crow is a child. This will make people wary of children, which is very detrimental to Crow. If all the killers were revealed like this, wouldn't they form a team to destroy Jiuxiu Pavilion?"
"This is exactly what I'm going to say next." He changed his posture and moved closer to her, "Jiuxiuge can stand firm in the world, so it naturally understands the rules of the world. There are only names on the list, and no information about the killer will be revealed. Any information or name is just a code name, it can be anyone, any identity, any face. I know that Killer Crow is a boy. I learned about it by chance not long ago, and it was not revealed by Jiu Xiuge. Jiu Xiuge should not have revealed it. Never reveal, for example, that the name of a domesticated killer will never appear on their list.”
"Domestic killer?" For some reason, Wujiang's heart suddenly trembled when he heard these four words.
"This is another point I want to explain to you that seventh on the killer list is not seventh among killers in martial arts. The killers on this list are only free killers in the world, and do not include domestic killers. Domestic killers are loyal to a certain person. An organization or a person who swears loyalty to the death and follows them absolutely. Their identity is very confidential and will not appear on the killer list. Freelance killers are more like a profession, like wine sellers, wine sellers and meat sellers, and they sell people's heads to make money. To make a living. The higher they rank on the list, the greater their reputation, and the higher the price. So not only do they not hate this list, but they also like it. Not only do they like it, they also try their best to get in. If they one day If they don’t want to do it anymore, they can quit at any time without anyone stopping them, as long as they can hide their identity and avoid being chased by their enemies, but it is said that very few people die happily.”
While she was talking, Xiliu saw that she hadn't taken a sip of the tea in her hand: "Don't like tea?"
Wujiang glanced at the red and transparent Dahongpao: "I'm not thirsty."
"Are you going to leave again after hearing this?" He stood up with her.
"It's getting late, it's time for dinner at the General's Mansion."
"Would you like to stay and eat together?"
She shook her head slightly: "Someone is waiting for me at home."
"Really." The corners of his mouth curved slightly, and he nodded goodbye: "See you later, then."
As soon as Wujiang left, Yanwu came back, leaning against the door with his arms folded, half-smiling: "Xiaoxi, Xiaoxi, I never thought you would be here today." Youzi sighed for a while, picked up a stool and came up to him as if he didn't deserve a beating. , looked at it carefully: "Supposedly, this face is not bad. The nose is a nose, and the eyes are eyes. When I was a child, I was very popular with girls. How come I stayed in the mountains and forests for seventeen years, and then I came out and there was no market at all." Yanwu glanced at the untouched Dahongpao on the table, "Not only did he not find out his address, he didn't even have the charm to greet the girl for a sip of tea."
He did not refute, but seemed to be immersed in himself: "Her hands are very white and tender, like a newborn baby, without any flaws."
Yanwu's eyes widened and he couldn't believe it: "It's over, it's over. I haven't been around women for seventeen years, and now I'm so perverted and indecent?"
He didn't care and was fascinated: "She doesn't seem to understand the affairs of the world at all, like a little girl who is just starting out."
Yanwu hates iron but doesn't like steel: "Didn't that old man on the mountain tell you before you went down the mountain that the women down the mountain pretend to be pigs and eat tigers?"
He seemed unable to hear: "She doesn't want to see children being bullied, she is very soft-hearted."
Yanwu was heartbroken: "Soft-hearted? Didn't you hear how those people described her, 'Vicious thoughts, ruthless attacks, perverted methods, and anxious temperament', but having said that, there are many soft-hearted women in the world. From the daughters of traffickers and lackeys, to the noble ladies of Xiaojiabiyu, to the princesses of Wangting County, most women feel heartbroken not only when they see their children suffer, but also when they see the little white rabbit with sprained legs. Xiaoxi, you have still gone through too much. Not much. When I finish this work, I will take you to experience it."
He narrowed his eyes slightly: "She is very contradictory and interesting."
"Huh?" Yanwu was really defeated by him: "Where is the contradiction... Where is the fun..."
His slender fingers tapped the armrest rhythmically, his fingertips caressing the wood. The wood was smooth and delicate. His eyes dimmed slightly: "Her hands are very beautiful. It is impossible for a martial artist to have such beautiful hands."
Yanwu understood immediately and spread out his hands. The palms and fingertips were covered with hard calluses: "Every weapon and every kind of martial arts will leave its own mark on the hands, even if you are a lady, you have been practicing all year round." There will be calluses on the sides of the fingers when writing. Even if you are pampered and do nothing, you will never be as delicate as a child."
He picked up the tea cup on the table and rubbed the rim with his fingertips: "It seems that he is not familiar with the world, but his behavior is cautious and leak-proof, and he is wary of the outside world."
Yanwu looked at the cup of tea in his hand: "I didn't drink a sip. Being so vigilant is not like my first time in the world. But if I hadn't been in the world for the first time, how could I not know the killer list? Even if I didn't know the killer list, I wouldn't know how to build a pavilion for a long time." "
His eyes turned slightly and fell on the blood-stained cotton cloth in the corner: "She was soft-hearted. She gave the soaked coat to the unconscious child in the fire, but she was also cold-hearted. Her ears were cut off at the root, and the knife blade was fast and cruel. There was no hesitation.”
Yanwu's eyes gradually deepened: "Such a steady hand doesn't seem like it's the first time she's attacked someone. How is her martial arts?"
He shook his head: "I haven't seen her do anything with my own eyes, but her Qinggong is pretty good."
Yanwu said: "I'll send someone to check."
But he raised his hand: "No need, just focus on checking up on the child. She shouldn't have much to do with it."
Yanwu glanced at him, his eyes curled up, and he suddenly felt interesting: "That's right, she's probably just a nosy heroine who appeared out of nowhere."
He and the heroine are interesting, very interesting!
