Lin Lu Town, a hundred miles away from Shanhai Pass.
The town was not big. There was not even a government office. If someone wanted to file a lawsuit, they would have to go to Funing, which was dozens of miles away.
However, this town was not as small as Chang Lin Town. At least there was more than one inn, and there were many residents, shops, and merchants.
A few months ago, no one would have thought that this small border town would become the center of the entire martial arts world.
But now …
The heads of the big sects and clans, the famous people with special abilities, and even the experts who had lived in seclusion for many years … all of them had gathered here.
Their goal was the same, for one thing — the Sword Dance Scrolls.
The martial arts world was a strange place.
Here, anyone could pursue something that did not belong to them, as long as they had the ability.
The so-called morality, righteousness, and justice were often just excuses to facilitate people's actions.
To survive in the martial arts world, the most important thing was ability.
Righteousness without the support of ability was bullsh * t.
It was worse than bullsh * t.
Those with ability understood this principle. Therefore, they would only show off their bullsh * t when they needed it.
Duan Keyi was such a person.
Of course, in this incident, he was indeed somewhat reasonable.
According to his logic, since his disciple's entire family had been exterminated, it was only natural that he would seek revenge on the culprit. The Sword Dance Scrolls was stolen from Jiang San by the murderer, so it was reasonable for Duan Keyi to take it back. As for how it would be distributed after he got it back … since there was no one left in the Jiang family, it was reasonable for him, the master, to take over the sword manual.
In conclusion, Duan Keyi insisted on this theory. Even though it sounded far-fetched, it was more logical than the idea of 'whoever got it gets it.'
Unfortunately, even Duan Keyi understood that — the martial arts world was not a place for logic.
A person who had nothing could gain money, fame, status, and beauty here …
People who had everything they wanted could also lose everything here.
Was that logical?
Even if there was, there was probably only one person in a million who could understand this logic.
Therefore, Duan Keyi's logic was bullsh * t to others.
Even if Jiang San came back from the dead today, no one would admit that this sword manual was his, let alone Duan Keyi.
At the end of the day, this had always been a game of "whoever gets it gets it".
Then, among the people who came to participate in this game, who was the most eye-catching, or the most powerful?
So far, there were four of them.
The first person was Duan Keyi.
Jiang San was famous in the martial arts world for his "River Traversing Sword", while Duan Keyi, the "master" who taught him martial arts, was not famous for his swordsmanship. From this point … it could be seen that the latter's martial arts knowledge was profound.
In fact, the identity of "Jiang San's teacher" was not important. The titles of "Diancang Sect Leader" and "Cloud Explorer" were important, because they symbolized strength.
In this era, Diancang Sect was one of the most powerful and famous sects. Whether it was the number of disciples, the quality of their disciples, or the business and prestige in the Dao, it could be said to be outstanding. The man who was able to hold the position of "Sect Leader" of this sect, his martial arts and shrewdness … was really hard to predict.
On the basis of this "strength", combined with the "reasoning" from before, Duan Keyi naturally held a place among the four people.
Now, the second person …
Daoist Cotton.
Daoists usually used plants as their names, such as "Stone", "Plum", "Bamboo", "Spring", "Creek", and so on, to appear elegant and refined.
But the name "Daoist Cotton" … was indeed a bit strange.
From this name, not only did you not hear much elegance, you could even hear a bit of weakness.
However, this Daoist Cotton's martial arts were the complete opposite of his Daoist name.
No one knew where Daoist Cotton learned his martial arts, and no one knew which Daoist temple he came from. What people knew was that one day, a Daoist who used a sword suddenly appeared in the Jianghu. He used a jet-black heavy iron sword.
This sword was extremely blunt, as if it had not even been sharpened. However … countless experts had died under this blunt sword.
Daoist Cotton had never tasted defeat since he started roaming the Jianghu.
It was as if … whatever he wanted, he could get it. Whatever he wanted to do, he could do it.
Then, there was the third person.
Leng Yuqiu.
He should be the most mysterious of the four.
He had no friends, even though many people wanted to be his friends.
He also had no enemies, because those who became his enemies would quickly disappear from this world.
He spoke very little, as if speaking even one more word was a loss to him.
His deeds were also very few, because he kept a very low profile. And the most important manifestation of this "low profile" was that … he rarely left any survivors under his command.
A truly powerful killer was not the kind of person whose name would make you tremble in fear. Instead, it was the kind of person who clearly owed a debt of blood, but when he stood in front of you, you still knew nothing about him.
Leng Yuqiu was this kind of person.
Although he eventually became a character whose name shook the Jianghu, the difference between him and the others was that in the entire Jianghu, no one … no "living person" had seen his martial arts.
People could only look at his sword, which seemed to have never been unsheathed, and imagine how many souls had died under this sword, and the process of how these people had been killed.
It was only "imagination", because "probing" could turn you into one of those souls …
Then … finally, the last person of the four …
Wang Qiong.
This person was not a member of the Jianghu, but a businessman.
It was a pity that he did not have a name like "Qian Wan Wan" like many businessmen in literary works.
Of course, Wang Qiong was not his real name.
As a person who had been begging on the streets for as long as he could remember, the name he was called the most since childhood should be "Little Beggar" or "Stinky Beggar". As for what his parents called him, he would probably have to wait until he met them in the underworld to ask.
In short, the name "Wang Qiong" was given by himself, because he hoped that this name would always remind him of the taste of poverty.
Because he knew … that only those who had been poor would truly understand the value of money.
A person who was born rich and a person who became rich after spending half of his life in poverty would have a different understanding of money. It was like a person who was born healthy and a person who was born lame and was miraculously cured decades later … Their views on walking were absolutely different.
Wang Qiong … naturally belonged to the latter.
He used to be poorer than anyone else, so poor that he had to steal food from other people's houses and hide in a pigsty to keep warm. But now, he was richer than anyone else, so rich that he did not know how long it would take to spend all his money, so rich that he could buy anything …
The difference between Wang Qiong and the other three was that Wang Qiong was probably the safest competitor in this' game '. There was no need for him to put himself in danger. He could wait until the very end and use the most powerful and unique weapon in his hands — money — to obtain the final victory.
In fact, more than half of the people who gathered in Linlu Town were going to risk their lives for Wang Qiong …
These people were not very interested in the sword manual. Their thoughts were: What was the purpose of practicing martial arts and mingling in the Jianghu? Wasn't it because they wanted fame and wealth? After selling the sword manual to Wang Qiong, they would get a sum of money that they could never spend in their lifetime. Wasn't it the same as bypassing the complicated and dangerous process and directly reaching their ultimate goal?
Therefore, Wang Qiong, who did not belong to the Jianghu, was the one who had the highest chance of winning among the four … It had to be said that this was a kind of irony.
…
It was noon and the sun was shining brightly, but the snow on the ground had not melted.
The lobby of Ke Lai Pavilion was bustling with noise and excitement.
Other than the customers who were ordering tea and food, there was a large group of people who were going in and out … No one knew what they were busy with.
Normally, such a scene would only appear in the morning.
In a border town like this, most of the people who came here were the traveling merchants. When the sun rose, the customers who were in a hurry to get to their destinations would wake up. All kinds of people fought for tea and water, and fought to put their horses and mules on their carriages. During that time, the staff in the inn wished they could use their feet as their hands. It was the most chaotic time of the day.
However, since the news that the "Sword Dance of the Grass" would appear in Linlu Town on New Year's Eve spread, almost every inn in the town was busy from morning to night.
The managers of the inn were both happy and worried. They were happy because they were making a lot of money every day, but worried because they were afraid that the customers would cause trouble.
"Ah —"
On the afternoon of the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, a scream became the first drop of boiling oil in the pot of muddy water.
Along with the scream, there was the sound of a wooden window breaking and a person falling to the ground from a high place.
Soon, there was a corpse on the street in front of Ke Lai Pavilion.
The pedestrians on the street quickly gathered in a circle and watched from a certain distance. They were all talking at once.
Among the guests in the hall … some immediately ran out to take a look. Some sat in their original positions, as steady as Mount Tai, as if nothing had happened outside. There were also some who stood up at the first moment, but after thinking for a moment, they sat down again.
"The one who fell should be Beard Ma." Not long after, a square-faced man sitting at a square table facing the door said.
"Yes." An old man sitting next to him added, "The broken window belongs to Beard Ma's room."
The square-faced man said, "Beard Ma's martial arts are not weak."
"Not weak." The old man said, "Just based on the 'Double Death Palm', he could be ranked as a first-class master."
The square-faced man said, "But he's dead now."
The old man nodded, "Looks like he's dead."
The square-faced man said, "A person who's good at using palms was sent flying backwards like this and fell to his death through a broken window. What does that mean?"
The old man smiled, "It means that in that room, there's someone who's better at using palms than him."
The square-faced man said, "There aren't many people like that."
The old man said, "Not many."
The square-faced man said, "Dian Cang Sect Leader Duan Ke is also one."
The old man agreed, "Yes … with Sect Leader Duan's internal energy, he only needed to use force to break the technique and he could defeat Beard Ma."
The square-faced man said again, "Wild Tiger Sect Leader, 'Tiger Faced Arhat' Tu Ji … is also one."
The old man said, "Luohan Fighting Tiger Palm is indeed a notch better than the Double Shape Death Pressing Palm."
The square-faced man said again, "Beggar Sect Leader Luo Can is also one."
The old man said, "Since Sect Leader Luo has mastered the long-lost Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms … then he's definitely one."
At this point, the square-faced man shrugged his shoulders and smiled, "Uncle Liu, then … who do you think killed Beard Ma?"
Uncle Liu replied, "Young Master is smart. I'm sure you already have an answer in your heart. In my humble opinion … there's no need to say."
"Haha …" The square-faced man laughed again, "Uncle Liu, you're joking. My 'eyesight' isn't even half as good as yours. Just based on that hurried glance when Beard Ma fell … I might have made a mistake."
Uncle Liu was flattered by this' young master ', but he didn't show any joy, "Even if it was just a glance, young master must have already seen … that the killer was deliberately' using palms to suppress the enemy 'to hide his true identity, right?"
The young master's smile grew wider, "That's a person who uses a sword."
Uncle Liu said, "Yes."
The young master said, "Among the people who use swords, there aren't many who can use palms to kill Beard Ma."
Uncle Liu said, "There's only one person who fits this criteria and happens to live in this inn …"
Just when the two of them were talking to this point, at the entrance, a man and a woman bypassed the crowd and walked into the inn.
The man looked to be in his early twenties. He had sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes. He was handsome and carried a long sword on his back. The woman beside him was about the same age as him. She was also very beautiful and had a delicate face that made people want to love her tenderly.
The experienced people sitting in the lobby of the inn all had sharp eyes. With just one look, they could infer … that these two people were either lovers, siblings, or very close fellow disciples.
Although the man and woman didn't do anything intimate, from the distance between them, the frequency of their walk, and the tacit understanding between their gestures, it was enough to see that they were very close.
"Innkeeper, are there any rooms left?" The young man walked to the front of the counter in a few steps and asked the innkeeper.
The innkeeper reacted quickly. His attention instantly shifted from the dead body outside the door. Almost instinctively, he replied, "Uh … Dear customer, recently … the inn's rooms have been a little short …"
"I understand." The young man knew what the innkeeper meant, "We only need one room. As for the price … You can name it according to the 'current price'."
"Oh, okay, okay." The innkeeper of Ke Lai Xuan was very greedy and daring. Therefore, even though there was no explanation for the death outside the door, he immediately narrowed his eyes and smiled after hearing the young man's words.
He smiled and took out the bookkeeping book. He picked up a brush and started writing. As he wrote, he asked, "Young hero, please leave your name."
The young man replied in a very calm tone, "Huangfu Mingkang."
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