Late at night, the lights in Zhang Mansion were on and off.
There was a knock on Zhang Shu's door. Zhang Shu, who had not slept too deeply, stood up and asked, "Who is it?"
I just heard a voice coming from the door: "An old friend has arrived."
Zhang Shu hurriedly stepped forward to open the door, and saw the man in front of him wearing a bamboo hat, dusty and dusty, and said repeatedly: "I feel sorry for the journey at starry night. I will arrange for someone to take you down to have a rest. We will discuss other matters tomorrow."
But the man said: "You can't wait for anything. If you wait until tomorrow, I'm afraid it will be too late."
Zhang Shu led the man to the study and said, "It's just a long journey, so let's fix it first."
"It's okay, life is too short to just spend it resting." The man was still resolute.
Zhang Shu knew this person's character well and did not insist on persuading him anymore, so he said: "I know I can't defeat you, so tonight the people on the second and second floors should start looking around where my Zhang family hides the iron ore. That will be useful."
After listening to Zhang Shu's words, the man drank a cup of tea, then went out and jumped into the night, leaving only a white back, and disappeared in an instant, as if the man had never appeared at all.
The people on the second and second floors were exploring the Zhang family's properties and warehouses where goods were stored one after another throughout Eling City, without realizing that the danger was coming.
However, the people on the second and second floors still had two brushes. After some investigation, they set their sights on the stone quarry in the west of the city, thinking that it was the only place where the Zhang family could store so much iron ore.
So the leader recalled the people who were looking around, and after gathering together, they rushed towards the stone quarry in the west of the city.
On the long street, a group of people were walking in a hurry, the swords in their hands were cold and shining, and from time to time, light flashed on the walls beside the street.
Just when the group of people thought they were about to discover the secret of the Zhang family and moved forward faster, a person fell from the sky and landed slowly in front of everyone. He blocked the way, but did not speak. He stood with his back wearing a bamboo hat, and could vaguely see the He held a long knife.
The people on the second and second floors were stunned for a moment, then became arrogant after seeing that there was only one person on the other side.
"Damn it! Don't you have eyes? Didn't you see the people on the second and second floors doing business? Why don't you retreat quickly, lest you lose your life." The person who spoke was the leader of the second and second floor killers, known as "Sleeve" in the world. Jia Shu, who was struck by the sword, and the people behind him are all masters who have become famous in the world.
After Jia Shu finished speaking, when he saw that the man was still silent, he started to feel a little nervous. He didn't dare to step forward rashly, so he turned around and shouted to the 'killer' behind him: "Tong Zhuang, come on!"
Upon hearing this, Zhuang Tong stepped forward and shouted at the man: "Who are you, kid? Tell me your name. Grandpa's trump card will not kill an unknown person."
After Zhuang Tong finished speaking, the man still didn't move.
Zhuang Tong felt that he had been insulted. He thought that his name of "Killer" was quite famous in the world. His trump card was so perfect that most masters would not dare to ignore his existence. Unexpectedly, the man did not kill him directly. He took it seriously, so he became furious and used his mace to kill the man.
When Zhuang Tong came behind the man, the man suddenly turned around. The look from the gently fluttering tulle of his bamboo hat frightened Zhuang Tong. Zhuang Tong stopped in time and did not step forward again. He only felt that the look in his eyes was incomparable. The coldness, staring at oneself as if concentrating on death, is really terrifying.
Seeing Zhuang Tong stop suddenly, Jia Shu shouted at Zhuang Tong: "Zhuang Tong, what are you doing? Show your trump card and make a quick decision. Don't delay the business."
When Zhuang Tong heard Jia Shu's shout, he calmed down and rushed forward. He was about to reach the man, thinking that the man was just bluffing and not worth mentioning.
Just when Zhuang Tong thought he was holding a handful of garlic, the man did not know when he pulled out the knife. It should be said that he pulled out the knife at lightning speed. He held the handle of the knife with both hands and slashed diagonally towards Zhuang Tong. The knife shined brightly in an instant. The bright light flashed out, surrounded by an unreasonable wind, and headed towards Zhuang Tong. Zhuang Tong quickly blocked it with his mace, but still underestimated the domineering sword intent, and the mace in his hand broke into two pieces. Zhuang Tong felt a rush of heat on his neck without any pain at all. When he reached out and touched it, it was his own blood. Looking at the man again, I saw that the man had put away his knife and was standing in front of him, motionless, looking at a dead man.
Zhuang Tong then fell to the ground and died on the street.
Before Jia Shu and others could see clearly what was happening, they saw Zhuang Tong lying on the ground lifeless. Looking at the man again, he didn't seem to move at all except turning around.
Someone behind him said: "This is a fucking magic trick. How can the dignified killer not even have a chance to take action? It's impossible. I'm afraid it's not Zhuang Tong who is teasing us." Then he shouted a few times towards Zhuang Tong's body. Only when there was no movement did you know something was wrong.
When everyone was surprised, the man said: "Don't waste time. An inch of time is worth an inch of gold. An inch of gold cannot buy an inch of time. Let's go together."
I think this sentence should be the last piece of advice these killers on the second and second floors will hear in this world.
Jia Shu and the other twelve people looked at the man in front of them, with murderous intent in their eyes. They showed their weapons and rushed forward to fight with the man.
The man was still calm and composed, and drew his sword to deal with it. For a moment, the swords and swords were scattered in all directions on the narrow street, dust was everywhere, and a scream was bound to come from wherever the sword light went, which was in line with the joke of a child with one sword.
After a short and brutal fight, all the people on the second and second floors were annihilated, and the thirteen corpses lay quietly on the cold street. The man turned and left, slowly chanting "One inch of time, one inch of gold," Money cannot buy time." Then he disappeared into the darkness of the long street.
On the second floor, Yan Zefa and Yan Erliang waited until midnight. Jia Shu and others who had been sent out had not yet returned, and they had an ominous premonition in their hearts.
Yan Zefa said to Yan Erliang at this time: "Why haven't you come back yet? Could something have happened?"
Yan Erliang said calmly: "No, the elite killers sent out this time are the elite killers from the second and second floors. The leader, Jia Shu, the sword in the sleeve, and Zhuang Tong, the killer, are both well-known figures in the world. The eleven people behind them should not be underestimated, little Eling should not have anyone who can stop them."
"That's good." Yan Zefa finally relaxed a little.
Yan Erliang looked at the tired Yan Zefa and said with concern: "Father, it's getting late now. You should go down and rest for a while. I'll guard here."
Yan Zefa was already exhausted. After hearing what Yan Erliang said, he no longer insisted on waiting and went down to rest.
It was almost dawn, but the thirteen killers still hadn't returned. After all, Yan Erliang couldn't sit still anymore. She didn't close her eyes all night, and she immediately called the four maids and ordered them to go out to see what happened.
Just as the four of them were about to go out, they suddenly heard someone shouting on the street outside: "Murder! Kill! Many people died on the street in front!"
When Yan Erliang and the four maids heard this, they realized that something was wrong. Yan Erliang had no time to think, so he personally led the four maids to the long street.
When we arrived at the long street, people were already crowding around us, all talking about the tragic situation in front of us.
The four maids opened a path from the crowd. Yan Erliang walked up and looked at the corpses on the ground. His whole body went numb. The corpses of Jia Shu and others were lying on the ground.
Looking at the corpses on the ground, there was only one scar on each of them, and they were all fatally wounded. The wound looked like a knife wound, and each wound also exuded a cold and cold charm.
Qin Yin, one of the four maids, said: "Master, it seems that they all died from a very advanced and terrifying sword technique. It seems that someone deliberately blocked my second and second floors."
Yan Erliang didn't speak. He took one more look at the corpses and then turned away.
Back on the second floor, Yan Zefa also got up and was waiting for Yan Erliang at the door. When he saw Yan Erliang approaching with a serious face, he hurriedly stepped forward and asked, "How is the situation?"
Yan Erliang shook his head and said: "It seems that the Zhang family has been underestimated. All the people sent out are gone. It seems that the Zhang family must have found some hidden master to come and act secretly, otherwise... "
Yan Zefa was surprised when he heard this. He really couldn't think of any other masters in Eling City.
At this time, Seyu said to Yan Erliang from the side: "Could it be Li Chouxin? He killed Gang Yida before. If we talk about being a master, he can be considered a master."
Yan Erliang shook his head, "Impossible. Although Li Chouxin's swordsmanship is transcendent, the swordsmanship he left behind last night is real. This kind of swordsmanship would not have been able to achieve such a level without the accumulation of time. It cannot be Li Chouxin."
Yan Zefa realized the seriousness of the matter and ran to Hu Jin's mansion early in the morning and told Hu Jin what happened on the street.
Hu Jin said angrily: "It seems that the Zhang family is determined to make things difficult for us. It seems it's time to make some moves."
The two began to discuss in the hall.
In Zhang Mansion, everything is calm.
However, Zhang Rao got up unusually early today, changing his usual behavior.
Zhang Rao listened to the servants' story about the long street and found Zhang Shu.
"Father, have you heard about what happened last night?" After Zhang Rao asked Zhang Shu, he noticed the man standing next to Zhang Shu.
I saw that man dressed in white, with a slender figure and a lean look. His face was covered with vicissitudes of life. Some beards of different lengths connected from one earlobe to the other. He held a long hand in his chest. Dao, he looked listless and in his forties.
Zhang Shu smiled and said, "How could you not know? Everything is under my father's control." After speaking, he turned to look at the man behind him.
"Father, who is this?" Zhang Rao asked curiously.
Zhang Shu began to introduce solemnly: "This is the 'Story of Time' who has been hiding in the world for a long time. The swordsman of Time is Cun Guangyin. However, he is said to be hiding in the world, but he has always been connected with his father. This time he is also for Father only allowed time to return to the world in order to ensure that nothing went wrong. The deaths of thirteen masters on the second and second floors last night on the street were all caused by time."
"What's the story of Guangyin? It's weird, I've never heard of it." Zhang Rao looked at Cun Guangyin curiously.
At this moment, Cun Guangyin spoke rarely: "This is a sad story. Everyone who has seen time is no longer alive. In the eyes of time, an inch of sword meaning is an inch of time, and an inch of time is a human life. People are often used to letting time go by, but they don’t know that life goes by with time. Only when you are truly facing death do you know how precious time is.”
Zhang Rao was confused after hearing this and said: "Weird, what a weirdo."
But Zhang Shu said: "Asshole, don't be rude to Mr. Guangyin."
Cun Guangyin said: "It doesn't matter, the young master is straightforward and in line with Guangyin's temperament."
Zhang Shu said: "I'm afraid Eling will be uneasy these days, so I'll have to trouble Mr. Guangyin."
He turned to Zhang Rao and said, "Mr. Guangyin will follow you from today on. You must listen to Mr. Guangyin in everything, otherwise it will be too late if something goes wrong."
Zhang Rao looked at Cun Guangyin and said, "I understand, father."
So Zhang Rao took his time and left.
On the way back to his room, Zhang Rao couldn't help but ask: "Mr. Guangyin, what exactly is the story of Guangyin? What I just said should be literal, right? Is there an unforgettable past event in it?"
Cun Guangyin suddenly withdrew his eyes, was stunned for a moment, and said: "Young master is indeed sharp and intelligent. Yes, there is indeed a past, otherwise there would be no story about Guangyin."
"Why don't you continue talking and listen to it?" Zhang Rao continued to ask.
Cun Guangyin said: "It's okay not to mention the old things in the past. If there is a fate in the future, the young master will know about it."
Zhang Rao originally thought that he would not refuse, but unexpectedly, he was suddenly stunned.
Zhang Rao didn't ask any more questions. He went back to the room and took some silver before going out, so he said to Cun Guangyin: "Mr. Guangyin, today I will take you to see a man. This man is a master of swordsmanship. He is probably as good as you." .”
Cun Guangyin was curious, but did not ask further questions, and followed Zhang Rao to Sanmiao Hall.
When they arrived at Sanmiao Hall, Zhang Rao saw from a distance that Li Chouxin and Ziyun and Zhu Yan, disguised as Ziwei and Zhu Wei in the store, were already open and doing business, so he walked straight towards Sanmiao Hall.
Cun Guangyin, who was following behind, was puzzled, wondering why a master of swordsmanship would settle down in a medicine shop, but he followed anyway.
"Brother Chou Xin, I'm here to see you! Why don't you hurry up and greet me!" Zhang Rao shouted loudly before he even reached the door.
Li Chouxin looked outside the door and saw it was Zhang Rao, and said, "If you have anything to welcome, Mr. Zhang can just come in. If you are sick, Chouxin will help you heal yourself."
Ziyun and Zhu Yan heard this and secretly laughed a few times.
Zhang Rao said, "How heartless you are. You expect me to be sick so that I can give you money, right?"
Li Chouxin changed the subject: "What's wrong, Mr. Zhang? I see that you are in high spirits so early in the morning. Is there something good going on?"
Zhang Rao said, "Brother Chouxin, please stop pretending to be confused. I think Brother Chouxin already knows what happened last night."
Li Chouxin smiled and expressed his acquiescence.
Zhang Rao continued: "Brother Chou Xin, if it hadn't been for your help earlier, my Zhang family wouldn't have been able to respond so quickly. I have to thank you! But today I want to introduce someone to you. No, no, it's Let me tell you a story—the story of time.”
After listening to Zhang Rao's words, Li Chouxin looked at the person behind Zhang Rao. From the appearance, he looked like a middle-aged man who had not yet woken up. However, Li Chouxin could tell from the knife in his arms that this man was definitely not simple. So he said: "Come in and talk."
Zhang Rao shook his head and said, "Brother Chou Xin, I don't know if you have time. How about we go to the second and second floors to have a chat later?"
Li Chouxin glanced at Zhang Rao. Zhang Rao was smiling evilly and he understood Zhang Rao's intention. It seemed that he wanted to demonstrate on the second and second floors.
"It's too obvious for you. I advise you not to be so arrogant!" Li Chouxin said to Zhang Rao.
But Li Chouxin went on to say: "That's good, at least it will make others dare not look down on your Zhang family anymore. But it's still early, so why not come in and help. Yesterday, a new batch of herbs arrived. Wait until these herbs are placed." It’s never too late to go.”
When Zhang Rao heard this, he ran to help, but Cun Guangyin kept standing at the door, leaning against the door frame with his knife in his arms, as if he was asleep.
After a lot of fussing, it was almost noon. The two of them simply cleaned up and headed to the second and second floors with a little time.
Arriving on the second floor, Qinyin was surprised when she saw the three of them, but she politely invited them in and prepared food and drinks.
The three of them started talking while drinking.
Qinyin immediately spread the news that Zhang Rao had brought people to the second and second floors to Yan Erliang.
Yan Erliang was angry at first, but then he regained his composure: "Go and watch for me and see what they say."
Qinyin heard the words and did as he was told, so he went down and asked Seyu to hold the guqin and go to the private room for three people.
Qinyin and Seyu entered the room. Qinyin stepped forward and said, "The host heard that Mr. Zhang and Mr. Chouxin were coming, and specially arranged for Seyu to come here to play the piano to cheer you up. I hope you three will not refuse."
"Thank you so much, host, for your kindness. I'll be disrespectful later." After Zhang Rao said that, Qinyin withdrew, leaving Seyu playing the piano aside.
Zhang Rao winked at Li Chouxin and said, that means that he knew that Yan Erliang had called him to monitor us. In this case, he was not afraid of letting them know.
So Zhang Rao began to introduce Qin Guangyang to Li Chouxin.
"Brother Chou Xin, this is what I call Cun Guangyin, also known as the Time Swordsman." Zhang Rao also deliberately amplified his voice to let Se Yu on the side hear him clearly.
Li Chouxin looked at Cun Guangyin and said in surprise: "It turns out that you are the story of Guangyin. I have heard rumors about you in my early years. It is a pleasure to meet you today!"
After Zhang Rao heard what Li Chouxin said, he asked, "What? You actually know, then why didn't you tell me this morning?"
Li Chouxin said: "There are many people and noisy people on the street, so it is not a place for chatting."
"Since you have heard my name, tell me about it." Cun Guangyin didn't believe that the young man in front of him knew his story, so he asked.
"In the early years, I heard that there was no swordsman named Cun Guangyin in the world, only a blacksmith named Cun Guangyin." As soon as Li Chouxin finished speaking, Cun Guangyin's eyes suddenly trembled.
"Keep talking." Cun Guangyin said after drinking a glass of wine.
"It is said that at that time, a young lady from a wealthy family got acquainted with Cun Guangyin by chance, and the two began to fall in love. However, the woman's family objected, and the woman was eventually betrothed to another man. However, this man had evil intentions. , knowing that the woman he loved deeply was a blacksmith, so he used that woman as a threat, and set up a dead end to make Cun Guangyang pay the price." Li Chouxin just finished speaking and looked at Cun Guangyin, only to see that Cun Guangyin seemed to be Falling into the past with tears in my eyes.
"Go on, what's the dead end?" Zhang Rao urged.
"The man actually hung his wife on the edge of the cliff, tied one end to a stone with a rope, and threaded the rope into a box near the stone. He smeared the rope in the box with gravy and placed some food in the box. Two mice who have been hungry for many days are allowed to eat the rope. On the other hand, someone sends a message to Cun Guangyang at the bottom of the mountain. If the rope is not broken when they come from the bottom of the mountain, the two of them will be satisfied."
"This person is really bad." Zhang Rao on the side also started complaining.
"After Cun Guangyin found out, he rushed up the mountain desperately, and was teased and teased by the man's men along the way. But when he finally reached the top of the mountain, the rope was not broken after all, so Cun Guangyin walked towards the rope, but at this moment the rope was broken. Suddenly disconnected, Cun Guangyin couldn't react in time, so he watched his beloved fall off the cliff. People around him were laughing at Cun Guangyin. Cun Guangyin knew that he couldn't fight them at the moment, and he couldn't bear the humiliation and grief. He jumped into the cliff, but luckily Cun Guangyin didn't die, and his lover died beside him. Cun Guangyin was extremely grieved, holding the body in pain, but decided to bury it." Li Chouxin said here, and then looked towards Cun Guangyin, Cun Guangyin seemed to be experiencing it all over again, crying while drinking, and said: "I blame myself for being too slow."
"Is it gone?" Zhang Rao asked.
"While digging a hole to bury her, Cun Guangyin accidentally dug out a black iron sword and sword skills. After burying her lover, she practiced hard under the cliff and vowed to avenge her lover."
"No, this is just the conjecture of people outside. I just dug out a knife at that time, and there is no bullshit sword technique. I figured out that sword technique myself." Cun Guangyin suddenly interrupted.
Li Chouxin continued: "A year later, after Cun Guangyin mastered the Guangyin Sword Technique, he bid farewell to the deceased, finally got out of the bottom of the cliff, and went straight to that family to carry out crazy revenge, so there was the "Four Suburbs of Beijing" that shocked the world at that time. "The murder of seventeen members of the family", in which all forty-seven members of that family were spared, a total of forty-seven stabbings, which is horrifying, but we don't know who the murderer is, and it has become an unsolved case until now. Later, it spread around the world. This is what the time swordsman said." After Li Chouxin finished speaking, he drank a glass of wine.
"I prefer the story of Time to The Time Swordsman, because the story always makes people nostalgic and reminds people that every inch of time is worth an inch of gold, but an inch of gold cannot buy an inch of time."
After Zhang Rao heard the whole story, he immediately admired the little time in front of him and raised his drink to propose a toast.
And Li Chouxin also said: "I'm sorry for mentioning my brother's past again."
"That's all, it's just the past." Cun Guangyin said.
After listening to Se Yu, he knew that this person was the swordsman who killed people last night, so he went out to tell Yan Erliang everything on the pretext that the performance was over.
But the three of them drank to their heart's content in the room.
Zhang Rao asked again: "Then where did the Time Swordsman come from?"
Cun Guangyin no longer concealed anything and said: "After killing people, I wandered around the world and became a bounty killer. But my rule is that every inch of time equals an inch of gold. An inch of gold cannot buy an inch of time. That is to say, if you kill someone, you have to pay a gold. I buy time because I have my own principles. No matter how high the reward is for killing people who shouldn't be killed, they can't buy an inch of my time. This is the origin of the real time swordsman."
After Li Chouxin and Zhang Rao listened, they had another drink with Cun Guangyin.
Cun Guangyin continued to sigh: "It's just that everything is like a cloud of smoke. After all, it can't compete with time. It would be better to say that an inch of time and an inch of heart cannot buy an inch of time." After speaking, he sighed.
When Yan Erliang found out about Cun Guangyin, he said: "This is a bit difficult to handle. No one has a way to deal with Cun Guangyin. After all, everyone who has seen the Cun Guangyin sword technique is dead. Now I just hope that Li Chouxin will not become the Zhang family." people."
After Yan Erliang finished speaking, he decided to find a time to win over Li Chouxin. Perhaps Li Chouxin was the only opponent who could win in a short time.
