The night is already dark.
Mu Xiaoxiang was sitting in a private room of a tavern.
The private room is very quiet and elegantly decorated.
The tavern is an old tavern in Changzhou with a very unique name called "Jieyoufang".
There are so many worries in the world, but wine can relieve them. The owner of the tavern is probably someone who has studied for several years, so he labeled a drinking place with such a meaningful name.
Not to mention, when some people arrive at this tavern, they suddenly feel that the wine here seems to have a special taste - it is true that you drink old wine in an old tavern.
But at this moment, what was placed in front of Mu Xiaoxiang was not wine, but a cup of tea.
The tea in the cup was steaming, and it was obvious that it had just been poured.
Drinking tea in a tavern is quite rare.
Mu Xiaoxiang, who looked slightly tired, exhaled a puff of lingering smoke and tapped her fingers on the glass pipe, looking thoughtful.
After the faint smoke, Mu Xiaoxiang's eyes looked forward.
There was a textile screen not far in front of him, and there was a person sitting vaguely behind the screen.
The candlelight in the private room was bright, making the man's figure double in size and reflected on the screen.
Mu Xiaoxiang looked at the person behind the screen with deep eyes.
Both seemed silent.
"Inviting me here deliberately, but letting me drink tea in the tavern, this kind of hospitality is novel." Mu Xiaoxiang, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke.
"Purple bamboo shoots from the south of the Yangtze River are better than wine." The person behind the screen also spoke. It was a man's voice: "Mr. Mu, please."
"Although the tea is good tea, it is not sincere enough, so I am not in the mood to drink it." Mu Xiaoxiang smoked a cigarette leisurely, shook his head slightly and said, "Besides, if I drink tea at this hour, I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep."
Although the man was separated by a screen, a pair of sharp eyes stared at Mu Xiaoxiang's face through the screen. Then he said calmly: "We are all sensible people. Even if I deliberately pretend to be confused, Mr. Mu doesn't have to be so concerned about it, right?"
Of course, Mu Xiaoxiang had already felt the other person's eyes, but he still looked calm and said: "I didn't mind. I just felt a little surprised. Although I knew your identity, I didn't know that there were people like you hiding their heads in the Red Mansion. Tail person."
"If you don't hide your head and tail, how can you belong to the same Red Mansion as Mr. Mu?" The man didn't pay attention to the sarcasm in Mu Xiaoxiang's mouth.
"That makes sense. As a killer, hiding one's head and tail is the most basic ability." Mu Xiaoxiang laughed, "So although I know your identity, the question of who you are is not that important. Yes, right?"
"It seems that Mr. Mu is not only good at using poison, but also likes to guess riddles." The man smiled and said: "To show my sincerity, I will give Mr. Mu a few hints - not only do we belong to the same sect, but we are also in the same rank. Famous. As for the rest, please allow me to keep a little secret, but I won’t tell you anything.”
"As I expected, you are also one of the ten people on the black list. Because the person who can appear in front of me now can never be someone outside the black list." Mu Xiaoxiang suddenly sighed softly and said: "The ten on the black list Although everyone is famous, what outsiders don’t know is that not all of them are familiar with each other, so even if I know your identity, I don’t actually know who you are, so your answer is basically It’s like no answer.”
"Although I know very well that Red Mansion is an existence that only cares about interests and no emotions. It doesn't matter whether you are familiar with it or not." He sighed again and said: "But I am a bit weird. I don't care about things that I feel bad about." I'm quite sensitive, so I really can't drink your cup of tea. And I also said that if I drink tea at this hour, I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep when I go back."
The man behind the screen smiled calmly and said: "Are Mr. Mu, who is ranked in the top three on the black list, afraid that he will not be able to sleep, or do he dare not drink?"
Mu Xiaoxiang also smiled slightly and said, "Your joke is not funny at all."
The man's tone was calm and gentle, "It's indeed not funny. In front of Mr. Mu, where in the world is there tea that you dare not drink?"
After saying these innocuous words, the figure on the screen raised a glass and drank alone. It was not known whether he drank wine or tea.
Mu Xiaoxiang said leisurely: "Are you going to say that others would never dare to drink my tea casually? Is that right?"
The man chuckled. It was no surprise that the other party guessed what he had not said, and said calmly: "That's right. If ordinary people drink Mr. Mu's tea casually, they will not only be unable to sleep, but will also be unable to sleep. woke up."
Mu Xiaoxiang raised the corner of her mouth and said straight to the point: "But he is not an ordinary person."
"Gongziyu." The man was silent for a while, and then suddenly mentioned the name, his tone obviously darkened, "The person who can escape unscathed from Mr. Mu, he should be the first person you have met since your debut in the world, right? ?”
Mu Xiaoxiang was silent for a while, then sighed softly, and said bluntly: "Who says otherwise? Although he and I just drank a bowl of tea with each other, I already know what this person is capable of, and I can no longer hide it. Dew comes to describe it.”
"He... can be said to be a pretty scary person." Mu Xiaoxiang added, her already tired face darkening a bit.
"He is indeed a person worthy of attention." The man's tone turned serious and said: "Now for this person, Honglou has paid a very heavy price. Mr. Mu must know this better than me."
Mu Xiaoxiang exhaled smoke and was noncommittal.
After a moment, he looked a little weird and said leisurely: "If you could have taken action when Cui Chuang took action, and the three of us had joined forces, the result might have been different, right?"
The man pondered: "But didn't Mr. Mu take action immediately?"
Mu Xiaoxiang's expression remained unchanged as she said, "I have no reason to take action because I didn't take the deal."
"And I can also guess the reason why you didn't take action, because you, like me, wanted to see the other party's access first." Mu Xiaoxiang blew out the smoke and said, "Because you also want to know who Gong Ziyu is. what kind of person."
The man said: "We do have the same reasons for not taking action. And now I know that Gong Ziyu is a person who is not easy to kill."
"So it seems that I made a wise choice not to take over the task hastily." Mu Xiaoxiang raised his eyebrows slightly.
The man was silent, and after a long time he said, "But your choice to appear there tonight was not a wise one."
"Because I took action later, right?"
"Yes. And it was a failed shot."
"I can explain that it was a purely personal action." Mu Xiaoxiang said with a gloomy face, "Do you know why I chose to take action at that time?"
"Because of me." The man replied directly without any thought: "Because you thought I would take action."
"But you didn't." Mu Xiaoxiang's eyes suddenly turned cold.
The man suddenly sighed: "I want to take action, but I can't."
Mu Xiaoxiang's expression changed slightly: "Now three of the ten people on the black list have been eliminated, and since you are also one of them, according to my feeling, even if you are not the two in front of me, your ranking will never be lower than Cui Chuang, so I have reason to believe that your martial arts are quite good. In that case, I want to know the reason why you can't take action."
The man said in a serious tone: "As you said, Gong Ziyu is a very scary person, so he was not alone at that time."
"Oh?" Mu Xiaoxiang's heart sank and she frowned: "So, he also has a backup plan in advance?"
"Yes, he is still a very troublesome back-up man." The man didn't mean to hide anything: "A person who doesn't seem to be anything special, but his martial arts should be on par with me, and more likely to be better than mine." He After a pause, he added: "And this person should be a new face in the world."
"It's really unexpected." Mu Xiaoxiang couldn't help feeling a chill down her spine, and sighed: "Why is a middleman in the world surrounded by so many unknown masters to help? Who is this Gong Ziyu?"
Mu Xiaoxiang's tone was a bit surprised and panicked, because Gong Ziyu made him deeply understand what "terrible" means. This fear comes from the bottom of his heart, because there is still a heart-breaking Gu in his body at this moment.
But Mu Xiaoxiang plans to never let anyone know about this matter, unless Gong Ziyu intends to publicize it.
As Mu Xiaoxiang himself said, Honglou is not only a ruthless and fearful existence towards outsiders, but also towards "his own people". Therefore, most of the reasons why they are not familiar with each other in the Red Mansion also stem from this.
The man poured himself another drink behind the screen. He had obviously sensed the shock in Mu Xiaoxiang's tone, but he did not think that the other party was exaggerating because he was equally shocked.
Throughout the establishment of the Red Mansion, although it has encountered very troublesome targets, there has never been a person like Gong Ziyu who has made the ten killers on the black list so frightened.
Gong Ziyu almost didn't expend much energy to get three of the ten people to be removed from the list, and he also made another person in the top three and an unknown person not to act rashly.
What makes the two assassins in the private room feel palpitated is that when they have such power, they are just middlemen in the world. Other than that, Hong Lou knew nothing about this middleman.
After silence, the man said: "A middleman with no specific background who makes a career in solving various problems for people. The troubles he took over naturally included many murderous businesses. Although his behavior was very weird, he never He failed, so after several years of obscurity, he gradually became famous in the world as a planner. This is all the information that Gong Ziyu can find in the world. "
After a slight pause, the man said in a solemn tone: "Perhaps it is because his specific situation is not known to the world, and the position of the middleman profession means that he has not made too many enemies in the world, so he can He is like a fish in the rivers and lakes. But judging from our two actions against him, Gong Ziyu is definitely more than a simple middleman. According to my guess, behind the years of wandering in the rivers and lakes, he must have formed a force that belongs to him. . But currently, his power does not have the conditions to surface."
As soon as he said these words, the pipe in Mu Xiaoxiang's hand couldn't help but trembled at the side of his mouth, and he vaguely felt a cold chill in his heart.
Although Mu Xiaoxiang somewhat appreciated the person's clear analysis from point to point, it was still Gong Ziyu who made his heart feel cold. Mu Xiaoxiang thought of one thing from the man's calm analysis.
That incident was nothing more than a sentence from Gong Ziyu's mouth: start a war with Honglou.
At that time, Mu Xiaoxiang only felt that this sentence was too arrogant. Even if Gong Ziyu had the power to reach the sky, how could he be an enemy of Honglou, who has assassins all over the world with his own strength?
Now after thinking calmly, Mu Xiaoxiang suddenly realized that if an unpredictable person like Gong Ziyu did not have a powerful force of his own to rely on, how could he say such an uncertain lie? ?
When Mu Xiaoxiang thought of this, a chill ran down his spine again, because he could already vaguely feel that the Red Mansion was about to face an unprecedented challenge, and the origin of this challenge was unknown!
As the killer of the Red Mansion and one of the ten people on the black list, he will inevitably become the opponent's target.
In other words, from the moment I faced Gong Ziyu tonight, I had become his target.
Mu Xiaoxiang was silent, and a strange thought suddenly crossed his mind. Although he is a killer, he has a very flexible mind.
If a killer can only use force but no brains, then he will not live long, let alone become a top killer.
And Mu Xiaoxiang is a thoughtful killer, so he vaguely felt that something was wrong.
——Gongzi Yu clearly had the opportunity to get rid of him, but he gave up for a reason that seemed far-fetched to him, just to have a life-betting game with him. Weird people often have weird behaviors, and Gong Ziyu is an eccentric person. So at that time, it seemed that there was nothing special about the bet between the two. But now that I think about it, given Gong Ziyu's eccentric yet calculating character, the seemingly simple bet seems to have something far more complicated inside. This vague but extremely uncomfortable feeling made Mu Xiaoxiang unable to grasp the key and puzzled for a moment.
This thought flashed through Mu Xiaoxiang's mind. He was only slightly alert, but then he didn't think about it any more. Because he knew very well that except for a few tentative encounters, he seemed to have no other weaknesses exposed to Gong Ziyu.
Now for Mu Xiaoxiang, the most important thing is to remove the heart-breaking Gu in his body as soon as possible. Only by releasing the imprisonment of his body can he have a chance to face Gong Ziyu again. Perhaps at that time, the questions in his heart can be solved.
However, just at this moment, an unknown fellow blacklist found him.
After a brief silence, Mu Xiaoxiang took a puff of cigarette, and continued the man's previous topic, saying: "If Gong Ziyu really has hidden political power, then Honglou will probably encounter a hard idea this time. Because he wanted to leave before he left. I have a message for Honglou, I wonder if you would be interested in hearing it?"
The man seemed a little surprised when he heard this: "It's really interesting. Is this why you didn't continue to fight for your lives?"
When Mu Xiaoxiang heard this, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It can be judged from the man's words that he did not realize that he had fallen into Gong Ziyu's way.
So his expression returned to calmness and he said calmly: "I will not risk my life with anyone before I officially receive the task of killing him."
"So, the reason why Gong Ziyu didn't take action with all his strength was just to ask you to say something?" The man's tone was a little interesting.
"That's right." Mu Xiaoxiang puffed out a puff of smoke, "That's why I said that Honglou is afraid of encountering a tough situation this time."
The man suddenly sneered and said indifferently: "But I don't know what he wants you to say?"
Mu Xiaoxiang raised his eyebrows, "Before I say this, let me guess at you first. Because although he didn't say it explicitly, I can feel that he said this to the Lord of the Red Mansion. .”
"Owner?" The man was really surprised this time, and then chuckled, "He really regards himself as a piece of food."
His words were full of disdain and contempt, so he smiled.
In the arena, if the Red Mansion is a knife hanging over the heads of countless people in the arena, then the owner of the Red Mansion is undoubtedly the invisible person holding the sword.
No one in the world knows who the real owner of the Red Mansion is. He is like a shadow hanging over the world. No one can see or touch it, but it makes countless people tremble and fear him.
The knife is sharp enough, but the person holding the knife is naturally even more terrifying.
But Mu Xiaoxiang didn't show any emotional change. He said calmly: "I understand what you mean. I thought so before. But after listening to what you just said, I have to pay attention to this issue again. "
"I have to admit that he is indeed a powerful person." The man's tone returned to calmness: "But if he wants to confront the original poster, it is just like a mayfly shaking a tree. It is just a dream."
Mu Xiaoxiang pondered for a moment and said: "Although the power of the Red Mansion is spread all over the world, the people who make up the basic power of the Red Mansion are not familiar with it. I believe you are also aware of this."
"Yes." The man nodded slightly behind the screen.
"And the power of the Red Mansion is not limited to the well-known ten people on the Black List. We are just one of those powers." Mu Xiaoxiang said.
The man didn't answer, but nodded slightly again.
Mu Xiaoxiang stared at the screen and continued: "Although I am ranked third on the black list, except for a few people, I am not familiar with the rest of them, and have never even met them. Naturally, that includes you.”
The man spoke in an understatement: "I wonder what Mr. Mu really wants to say?"
Mu Xiaoxiang smiled and said: "Although I don't know how many killers in this world belong to the Red Mansion, I still know one thing. This matter is about one person, a Red Mansion killer."
The man remained silent.
"I know that among the many killers in the Red Mansion, there is one person who is also a killer, but he has another identity. Although no one knows who he is, his nickname is very famous within the Red Mansion. That nickname is Fox eyes.”
The man still didn't speak, but the corner of his mouth behind the screen seemed to be slightly raised.
Mu Xiaoxiang continued to stare at the screen intently, "Fox Eyes, as the name suggests, means fox eyes. The fox is the most cunning of all animals. It is good at observation, accurate judgment, sensitive sense of smell and cunning. And the person with this nickname, In addition to occasionally taking on missions to kill people, he mostly performs duties similar to the characteristics of the fox, that is, supervision. He monitors the people in the Red Mansion and collects intelligence on the world. If the Red Mansion is the knife in the hands of the building owner, then the fox eyes It is equivalent to the building owner’s eyes, monitoring and monitoring all the situations in Jianghu and the Red Building for him.”
When Mu Xiaoxiang said this, he looked away and continued to smoke.
The person behind the screen pondered for a moment, and then said: "So Mr. Mu, you think that I am the fox eye?"
"I just said one thing that I know, and I didn't say that you are the one." Mu Xiaoxiang said calmly: "Even if there is, it is just a guess. Because I also said that the person who can find me at this time is definitely not the one in the Red Mansion. ordinary people."
"The analysis makes sense." The man gently stroked his hands behind the screen, "But if I say that I am not the person you guessed, would you think that is a lie?"
"That's not important." Mu Xiaoxiang shook his head, "The reason why I talked about Fox Eyes is because in the entire Red Mansion, only Fox Eyes should have more opportunities to contact the owner of the building."
"I understand. Mr. Mu wants Gong Ziyu's words to reach the original poster's ears directly." The man said, "If that's the case, why would Mr. Mu care about mentioning it in front of you?"
"Because even if you are not Fox Eyes, you are still a member of the Red Mansion." Mu Xiaoxiang said calmly: "So I think you should also know. After all, the fact that you can find me means that our current purpose is the same."
The man was silent for a moment, and then asked: "What did Gong Ziyu say?"
Mu Xiaoxiang slowly exhaled a puff of smoke, and then said: "He wants to go to war with Honglou."
Although the words were light and short, the meaning contained in them was very heavy.
Although the man had expected it, he still couldn't help but be a little surprised after hearing these words. After a moment of silence, he slowly said: "Master Mu, what do you think the host would think if he really heard this sentence?"
"I don't know. Because I have met the original poster only a few times, and although I have met him, I don't know who he is, so I can't make a judgment." Mu Xiaoxiang was very direct.
"He may find it funny, or he may find it surprising." The man suddenly sneered: "But he will definitely not take this matter to heart. Because since the establishment of the Red Mansion, no one has been so arrogant as to want to fight with the Red Mansion. Enemy." His tone suddenly became shrill, "Because a dead man doesn't have that chance."
Mu Xiaoxiang's heart sank slightly.
He finally reached out and picked up the cup of tea from years ago and drank it slowly.
A chill flowed from the throat into the stomach, and then spread from the stomach to the whole body.
The tea has gone cold.
He wasn't really thirsty, but wanted the cooled tea to calm him down.
Although the Red Mansion is the biggest darkness in the world, at this moment Mu Xiaoxiang vaguely feels that this darkness may be facing the challenge of a more secret and profound darkness.
He put down the tea cup, "So our current goal is to get rid of Gong Ziyu."
The man's voice was slow: "Although he is very difficult, he must die."
Mu Xiaoxiang suddenly said: "But before I receive the mission, I may not take action again."
"It doesn't matter." The man said calmly: "I know Mr. Mu has always had his own opinions, so I will not force others to do anything. But for your appearance here tonight, maybe one day you will give the original poster an explanation in person."
After a chuckle, Mu Xiaoxiang raised her eyebrows and said softly, "Although this place is elegant, I still smell a foxy smell."
The man chuckled, not knowing what he felt in his heart.
Mu Xiaoxiang exhaled the last puff of smoke, and then played with the glass pipe, "If you weren't Fox Eyes, then your cup of tea tonight would really have no taste. Because I don't really believe that the reason why you came to me is just to ask for money." To sum up tonight’s failed operation.”
The man suddenly smiled and said: "Master Mu, does he know why there is a black ranking in the Red Mansion?"
Mu Xiaoxiang also smiled back, "If there is ranking, there will be competition. Only with competition, the business of Red Mansion will be better. This problem is not difficult to understand."
"Yes, that seems to be the truth." The man nodded and said: "Although before meeting Gong Ziyu, the business in the Red Mansion had never failed, but it does not mean that no one has ever died, because those successful businesses were all in the Red Mansion. People sacrifice their lives for it. But compared to the success of the business, occasional losses can be ignored. This is why there are always ten people on the blacklist."
Mu Xiaoxiang finally couldn't help but darken her face.
He suddenly said coldly: "Because if a blacklist killer dies, another one will take his place."
"Mr. Mu is a smart man." The man said calmly: "So many times, personal principles may not be so important."
Mu Xiaoxiang regained her composure instantly and said with a smile: "Your cup of purple bamboo shoots suddenly makes me feel endless aftertaste."
The man's tone was still calm, "Drinking tea is better than drinking alcohol. Because alcohol can make people lose their judgment, but tea can make people sober."
Mu Xiaoxiang smiled and said nothing.
"It's getting late. Since Mr. Mu has had tea, please rest early to avoid having a bad sleep." The man stood up slowly, "But after tonight, because of the words Mr. Mu brought back, I believe A lot of people will be too excited to sleep."
Mu Xiaoxiang was still smiling.
The figure behind the screen gradually dimmed and then disappeared.
Mu Xiaoxiang still had a smile on her face, but the knuckles holding the glass pipe had turned white.
