Late winter, early spring.
It's almost dusk, and the snow is dancing wildly. The dark clouds hid murderous intent and swept across tens of thousands of miles south of the Yangtze River.
Schools are closed, markets are restricted, and curfews are brought forward. You are not allowed to go out without holding a lamp.
Qiu Shui paced back and forth in the room. He was so upset that he couldn't figure it out. Wasn't it just a murder case? As for the city-wide curfew? In my hometown in the north, there were some fights caused by quarrels with barbarians every year. Who didn't? Anyone who can do it will be left to dry in the desert. The common people are not surprised. They always feel that those who fight and kill are the fate of their own choice and do not deserve sympathy. But who would have thought that when we came here, such an incident would cause trouble in Manchester City.
Yan Feng walked in and told Qiu Shui: "Stay at home peacefully these two days, you've heard it, right? It's not a joke."
Qiu Shui: Brother, the person who must die must be a relative of the emperor, otherwise how could there be such a big fuss.
Yan Feng: No, the only one who died was an old man who was working late at night. The scary thing was the murderer.
Qiu Shui: Does this person have a great background?
Yan Feng: To me, this person is the most special existence.
Qiu Shui: Brother, I have nothing to do at home anyway. Please tell me in detail.
Yan Feng: Go help Lao Zhao make a pot to heat it up, and cut some salted duck eggs into the wine.
Qiu Shui: Okay, haha.
——————
"Do you know why I never mention my past?"
Qiu Shui shook his head.
Thirty years ago, I came here from the north like you, but I was escaping from my enemies. My ancestors made a lot of money in business. My father became addicted to gambling and offended the wrong people, so I had to leave. After traveling thousands of miles from the north to the south of the Yangtze River, my father thought that it was not safe to have money these days, so it would be better to have good skills to protect myself at critical moments, so he searched all over the world to find a master who could teach me some self-defense skills with guns and sticks. . The hard work paid off, and I actually hired such a person. This person was thirteen years older than me, and he was a powerful figure in those days. In the beginning, he just taught me because he took a fancy to the money my father gave me. What he taught me was also It was all superficial, but one night an enemy assassinated him. I happened to be light asleep, and when I heard the noise, the guy blocked his sword. Perhaps he was grateful to me, and he started teaching seriously from then on. I can.
Every knight who has become famous in the world has his own unique martial arts skills that he will not teach others even if he dies. Some are extremely light kung fu, and some are swordsmanship that cannot be approached by thirty or fifty people. It is normal to think about it. This kind of life-saving The reason for not passing on skills to outsiders is obvious, but these Jianghu people live with their heads tied to their belts, and few of them dare to get married and raise their own children. Most of the time, one person has enough to eat and the whole family is not hungry. Over time, these extraordinary martial arts will face the danger of being discontinued. However, no one wants to have their unparalleled martial arts pass into the earth one day without any inheritance. I think this is also the final result of my master. He was willing to teach me his original intention. He thought I was not bad at humanity and saved his life.
The only skill my master taught me is called "Overlord Jiangshan Leap", which is a kind of sword-wielding footwork. Rumor has it that it is a secret skill left behind by Xiang Yu, the overlord of Western Chu. This is of course a beautiful legend. However, this footwork only consists of three moves from beginning to end. Victory or defeat will be determined within three moves. In my lifetime, I have had more than sixty encounters with people, large and small. As you can see, I am still alive.
I'll show you again: You have to be optimistic, but I don't expect you to learn it, little boy.
Come on, Yan Feng gave Qiu Shui a demonstration, and a set of flowing moves flashed in front of Qiu Shui's eyes.
"You can become invincible in the world with just three moves? Is it so easy?"
"Hmph, easy? To learn the prerequisites for these three moves, I'm afraid you will be beyond your reach in any of them."
"It's not like what they said - if you want to practice this skill, you have to commit suicide first - right? Haha"
"It's ridiculous. People may not be able to practice it well. It's even harder if there are few objects. That's just a joke among the people."
"Oh, what are the conditions?"
"To put it simply, it means opening the pulse. It does not open the Ren and Du meridians as those charlatans call them. Those are all illusory things. What experts call opening the pulse actually refers to the three organs of the eyes, ears, and nose. If you want to call this For the three organs, the body's energy and spirit must be full and sufficient to a certain level. There are certain rules for daily diet, sleep, and exercise. In the long run, if the energy is sufficient, the three originally dull organs can be mobilized to a more sensitive level. , however, this is a very long stage. Some people will never be able to do it in their lifetime, and some people are born with this kind of pulse opening due to various factors such as the environment.
"Oh, I see." Qiu Shui nodded.
Next came the boring rote memorization. I also said that the three moves my master taught me were not sword techniques, but the footwork when using a knife. They were mainly about the secret of walking on two feet when using a knife. These three moves It is very contrary to the normal starting position of knife skills, so you must keep practicing until your feet can absorb it and digest it completely through muscle memory, so that it can be effective in actual combat. As for what kind of knife you are holding, whether you use your left hand or your right hand when drawing the knife is completely irrelevant. A layman only thinks that the knife in your hand rises and falls magically, and the grudges are cut off in an instant. In fact, the mystery lies in your feet. What a great effort.
"I see, I have learned a lesson." Qiu Shui murmured, but what does this have to do with this murder case?
"What's the hurry? We'll get there soon."
Master was my guiding light when I first entered the world, and he was also the fate I was destined to bear. At that time, the capital was full of flowers, singing and dancing. The emperor organized his ministers to hold an annual moon appreciation festival, inviting dignitaries and ladies from all over the country to come here to enjoy the moon. He set up a stage in Shengpingyuan for three days and three nights of singing and dancing performances, and even invited famous prostitutes from the Western Regions. , performing their specialty "Millennium Carol". You must know that in the hundreds of years since the Five Husties disrupted China, we and the Western Regions have never been as peaceful as they are now. There have been very few disputes in the capital for decades, and there is harmony among all factions, and petty thefts are rare.
Who would have thought that in such a prosperous time, a murder would happen, let alone under the eyes of the emperor. Everyone in the Privy Council was frightened. Everyone in front of the palace said that the commander had ordered the scene to be cordoned off. The person who died was Fan Lin'er, the top singer and dancer in the Dasheng Mansion. She was a celebrity in the emperor's eyes. No matter how many people spent their wealth, they could not see her beauty. This criminal must have tremendous courage and ability to sneak into the Dasheng Mansion controlled by officials to commit crimes.
The city gates were locked in those days, and no one who could breathe could leave the city. The Yushitai and the Privy Council mobilized 20,000 forbidden troops to conduct a thorough search. Less than half a day after Fan Lin'er's incident happened, a son of a general's family was assassinated again. The criminal was so arrogant that he placed the same incriminating evidence on both victims.
"A rich chrysanthemum".
A large and exaggerated chrysanthemum of wealth. right on the victim's chest.
At that time, the chrysanthemums are in full bloom, which is the best season for making Huaxiang cake. The investigators on the case speculated that the chrysanthemum had a certain meaning, which was not groundless, but they could not guess what the entanglement between the snitch, the two dead men, and the flower was.
The superiors urged that the murderer must be caught within three days, but it was not that easy. Since the murderer dared to take action, he was absolutely sure that he would not be caught. In the end, the matter fell through, you know? There was no such thing as a curfew in the city twenty years ago. It became more and more lively at night. It can be said that the curfew was set up just for this snitch.
"Brother Mochou, having said so much, is this old case related to our current case?" Does it have anything to do with you?
"In yesterday's case, the old man who died during the shift had a ridiculously large chrysanthemum on his body. Also, there was a tattoo of a chrysanthemum on my master's back. My master left without saying goodbye after two murders twenty years ago. I don’t know if what I said has anything to do with me. I also hope it is a coincidence, but I have never dared to mention this to anyone in the past twenty years. You are the only person who knows the whole story except me.
"So, Master, the old man is back again? There must be a demon when something goes wrong. Maybe he has some unknown old grudges. No one will kill people for no reason, and there is no point in doing so."
"That's what I say, but I've lived in fear these past few years, walking on thin ice. You won't understand that feeling."
"I know, it's just very depressing anyway. I can understand your feelings, Brother Mochou." So what should we do now.
"The yamen has changed several groups of people. Most of the new officials are about the same age as you, and they have never heard of these old stories. It is estimated that the martial law will be under martial law for only a few days. Ordinary people who commit crimes will have nowhere to escape, but everything must be done As I imagined, this case will become a cold case again."
"Let's not talk about the grudges in this case. There's really nothing to say about Master's martial arts skills."
"It's a pity that I'm such a bad person. I can't tell my disciples anything. Besides, if a man dares to do something, this sneaky behavior is really disgraceful."
"That said, maybe he has old grudges that others don't know about."
"Well, your views are unusual. If superficial people saw your views, they would probably say that you are excusing criminals."
"All I know is that there is no such thing as love without a reason, and the same goes for hate."
Well...there is no love or hate for no reason...
