Blade Runner's reaction was within Leng Yuqiu's expectations, but his strength … was far beyond the opponent's estimation.
Leng Yuqiu did not intend to draw his sword against the two people in front of him because he did not think it was necessary.
However, the moment Childe Jian's hand touched the hilt of the sword, the moment his fighting spirit and sword spirit burst out from his eyes, Leng Yuqiu's expression … changed.
Leng Yuqiu instinctively took a step back, and when he realized it, his hand was already holding the sword.
"How is this possible?" At that moment, Leng Yuqiu's mind flashed with confusion and shock.
But before he could think about it, Blade Runner had already made his move.
Ping!
The blades of the swords collided rapidly in the air.
Anyone who could see this confrontation clearly would be amazed by the strength and speed of both sides.
However, the sound of this collision … was neither loud nor heavy.
The sound was like two glasses gently touching each other, light and gentle.
After this collision, Childe Jian and Leng Yuqiu's expressions changed abruptly, and they each took a few steps back.
"So that's how it is …" Leng Yuqiu immediately thought to himself, "I can't detect his internal energy not because his internal energy is weak … but because his technique is unique and cannot be detected."
"Are you kidding me … This guy is so strong? Or is this the average level of the NPCs in this scenario world? "Childe Jian was also surprised.
"I haven't asked for your name …" Leng Yuqiu rarely took the initiative to ask for someone's name, but this time was obviously an exception.
"Huangfu Mingkang." Childe Jian reported his real name word for word. His real name did not sound out of place in this Wuxia world.
"Okay." Leng Yuqiu did not say his name, nor did he ask whether the other party knew him. He just said, "Okay." Then he sheathed his sword and took out a banknote from his pocket. "I'll pay for it."
As he said that, he reached out and handed over the banknote.
However, Childe Jian did not take it.
"No need," Blade Runner said coldly. "We have the money."
What he meant was, "We're talking about reason in this matter. As long as you're willing to compensate, it's fine. As for the money … it doesn't matter whether you give it or not."
"But I think it's better to compensate you." Leng Yuqiu didn't withdraw her hand. "Just do me a favor."
What he meant was, for me, this matter is only over after I give you the money. Otherwise, I will feel like I owe someone something.
"Alright then." Childe Jian quickly understood what the NPC meant. At the same time, he also realized that … when he decided to draw his sword, he had already missed the opportunity to cooperate with this NPC. Now, he could only accept the money, end this matter, and accept the fact that the NPC would continue to maintain a neutral relationship with him.
Hence, the two players from Pugilistic World took the money and left the second floor. They immediately went to the shopkeeper to change rooms.
In the process of negotiating with the innkeeper, they learned who Leng Yuqiu was and what role he played in this incident.
But now, it was too late for them to lament their poor ability to deal with NPCs.
…
On the other hand, in Wang Qiong's mansion.
The aroma of grains, the smell of cotton wool, the smell of straw and firewood, and a trace of burnt smell mixed together and drifted in the room.
Wang Qiong sat comfortably on the kang bed, eating pastries and drinking hot tea.
Most people who saw him for the first time would think that he was just an ordinary farmer. They would never think that he was a living god of wealth who could rival a country.
"Master." Cheng Wei's voice came from outside the door.
He stood at the door with his back ramrod straight. Even though no one was looking at him, when he said the two words "Manor Lord", he still maintained a solemn and respectful expression.
"Come in," Wang Qiong answered casually. When he spoke, the food in his mouth was still not finished.
"Yes." Cheng Wei answered and then opened the door curtain to enter the room.
"What did the midwife say?" Wang Qiong knew what Cheng Wei was here to report, so he asked directly.
"Replying to the Manor Lord, there's no doubt about it." Cheng Wei also gave a straightforward answer.
"Hmm …" Wang Qiong nodded. After a few seconds of silence, he asked again, "Cheng Wei, what do you think?"
Cheng Wei was stunned. "You mean …" He really did not know what this question was about.
"For this woman, I used a lot of money, time, and connections … You know it all." Wang Qiong continued, "Aren't you curious at all about why I did it?"
Cheng Wei lowered his head and answered, "Master, as servants, we shouldn't ask things that we shouldn't …"
"Hey …" Wang Qiong waved his hand and interrupted him. "Now it's not you asking me, it's me asking you." He paused for half a second. "What do you think … Just say it."
This question was not easy to answer.
Although Cheng Wei had always been at Wang Qiong's beck and call, he knew very little about this woman's matters.
"In my humble opinion …" After a moment of consideration, Cheng Wei replied, "Master, are you planning to marry this girl?"
Although this conjecture sounded superficial at first, it was actually very reliable.
Indeed, Wang Qiong did not lack women, but "lovers" and "wives" were two different things.
Wang Qiong was over forty years old and had never officially married. He had also never spent so much effort on a woman. Moreover, he had specially arranged for a midwife to verify the identity of the woman.
Based on all these clues, Cheng Wei came to this conclusion.
"Haha …" Wang Qiong laughed. "That makes sense …" He paused. "But it's not right."
"Then …" Cheng Wei proposed another hypothesis. "Is it to give her to someone else?"
Wang Qiong smiled and shook his head. "You're half right."
"I'm not smart, please enlighten me." Cheng Wei stopped guessing. A smart subordinate knew when to stop asking questions, even if it was his master who asked him to.
"I want her to help me kill someone," Wang Qiong continued.
Cheng Wei's eyes flickered. "Is her martial arts very good?"
"Not at all," Wang Qiong said. "In the martial arts world … she's only third-rate."
Cheng Wei said, "But the money you've spent on her is enough to hire at least ten first-rate masters to work for you."
Wang Qiong said, "Haha … but the person I want her to kill, even if I hire twenty first-rate masters, they won't be able to return."
Cheng Wei was silent.
Logically speaking, he should ask, "Who is it?"
But he did not ask. He did not dare to ask and did not want to know.
But Wang Qiong wanted him to know. "Why don't you ask who it is?"
Cheng Wei said, "I … don't dare."
Wang Qiong said, "Haha … that means you've already guessed a little."
Cheng Wei could not deny it. "Yes."
Wang Qiong said, "But I want you to know 100%, not just a little."
Cheng Wei said, "Thank you for your trust." He had no other choice but to accept.
Wang Qiong said, "The person I want to kill is the current emperor."
Even though Cheng Wei had already faintly anticipated that he would hear such an answer, when he heard it, his mind still buzzed. The enormous pressure instantly caused his stomach to churn. "May I ask … why, Manor Lord?"
Wang Qiong said, "Because he wants to kill me."
Cheng Wei nodded. He did not ask how he knew. He knew very well that Wang Qiong would find a way to find out …
So, if Wang Qiong said that the emperor wanted to kill him, then the emperor wanted to kill him.
"Why hasn't he made his move yet?" Cheng Wei asked.
This was indeed a problem … if the emperor wanted to kill someone, why would he wait?
Wang Qiong snorted. "Hmph … he has already made his move." He clenched his right fist and said angrily, "And … he's one step ahead of me."
Cheng Wei heard this and his expression changed. "You mean … his assassins have already made their move?"
Wang Qiong said, "Not only that, they're already in front of me."
"Master!" Cheng Wei heard this and his face turned pale. He knelt on the ground. "Are you suspecting that I …"
"Hey, I'm not talking about you …" Wang Qiong showed an impatient expression. He turned his head and said, "Don't panic, stand up and talk."
Cheng Wei wiped the cold sweat off his face and stood up again. After calming down a little, he thought for a moment and said, "Then you're talking about … that 'Zhang San'?"
"He is indeed in cahoots with the assassins, but his mission has already been completed." Wang Qiong said as he stuffed another piece of cake into his mouth.
Cheng Wei did not understand. "Master … who exactly is the assassin?"
Wang Qiong shrugged. "It's that woman."
Before he said this, Cheng Wei did not understand. After he said this, Cheng Wei was even more confused.
"You don't understand, right?" Wang Qiong said, "I'll tell you, and you'll understand."
Cheng Wei clasped his hands together. "Please speak, Master."
Wang Qiong used tea to wash away the remaining cake in his mouth. He cleared his throat and organized his thoughts. "First, let me ask you … do you know of 'Catoptric Deflection'?"
"I don't know." Cheng Wei shook his head.
Although he was once a member of the jianghu, after following Wang Qiong for so many years, Cheng Wei's relationship with the jianghu had long since faded. Unless Wang Qiong gave him instructions, he would not purposely try to find out or understand the more secretive information.
"Those are four assassins." After a short pause, Wang Qiong continued, "Four assassins that few people know of, but never fail."
This was a very high evaluation of him.
For an assassin, "few people know of" was more terrifying than "never fail".
"Legend has it that each of these four people has a unique ability that is unparalleled in the world." Wang Qiong said, "And these four abilities are … 'Mirror's' disguise, 'Flower's' beauty, 'Water's' inner strength, and 'Moon''s' qinggong."
"Disguise?" Cheng Wei reacted quickly. "Could it be that 'Zhang San' is …"
"Yes, he is' Mirror '." Wang Qiong continued, "The woman he sent is' Flower '."
He pursed his lips, as if he was savoring the taste of the dessert he had just eaten. After a short silence, he spoke again. "And 'Flower' is the only one among the four who has the chance to kill the emperor."
When he heard this, Cheng Wei gradually caught up with Wang Qiong's train of thought. "This is the reason why the villa master spared no expense in capturing her?"
"Yes." Wang Qiong nodded. "If you want to kill the emperor, you have to find 'Flower' … 'Catoptric Deflection', 'Catoptric Deflection', these four people are not easy to find, but half a month ago, due to a strange incident, I accidentally discovered 'Flower's' whereabouts." He looked up at Cheng Wei. "That incident … you should know about it as well."
"Half a month ago …" Cheng Wei muttered, "Are you referring to … the incident where King Yu 'hunted a fox and met an immortal'?"
Not many people knew about the incident he mentioned, because it was not a 'matter of the pugilistic world', nor was it a 'matter of the court'. If one had to categorize it, it would probably be considered a romantic story …
The overall plot was not complicated. It was about a rather powerful prince who 'accidentally' met a 'fairy' who was as beautiful as a flower and devastatingly beautiful when he went out to hunt. Then, he 'invited' the beauty back to his mansion and treated her with courtesy, treating her as a distinguished guest, hoping that one day, he would be able to move the beauty's heart.
Of course, there were many logical problems in this story, but there were two main problems. First, even if King Yu was blinded by lust, the people around him should have understood … This woman's appearance was very strange, and her background was unknown. How could he bring her back to his mansion? Second, even if everyone accepted that kind of setting, how difficult would it be for a prince to monopolize a common woman? No matter what, he would not fall into the rhythm of a spare tire chasing after a goddess, right?
In short, the illogical parts were quite prominent, and this also greatly reduced the authenticity of this story. It was just that … in that era, communication was basically done by shouting, word of mouth, and erroneous rumors. In the end, there were many stories that changed beyond recognition. There were also stories that were even more ridiculous than this. Therefore, not many people knew about this story, and there were not many people who questioned it.
Until … this story reached Wang Qiong's ears.
Wang Qiong's information network was spread throughout the pugilistic world, the court, and the common people …
Therefore, he could know many things that others would never know in their lifetime, and he could also make many speculations that others would never think of.
Even though Wang Qiong wasn't a hundred percent sure, he was at least fifty percent sure that the "fairy" who was a guest in Prince Yu's Mansion was the "flower" in Catoptric Deflection and Prince Yu was her target.
When he deduced to this point, Wang Qiong immediately used his connections and prepared to carry out a mission to 'kidnap a woman from King Yu's mansion'.
Wang Qiong knew that once King Yu died, that woman would disappear without a trace. An assassin like her would definitely disappear the moment she completed her mission. Therefore, he had to be fast. He had to find that woman as soon as possible, or else he might miss this rare and only chance.
Hence, he found the Four Absolutes of Elm Mountain. Those four people might not be the best candidates, but they were the most suitable choices at that time.
However, almost ten days had passed since the four people left, and the person who brought 'flower' to Wang Qiong in the end was not the Four Absolutes of Elm Mountain, but 'Jing'.
"I … still don't understand." Cheng Wei thought about it for a while before he said, "According to what you said, both Jing and Hua are here to kill you?"
"Yes," Wang Qiong said.
"But you were the one who sent someone to bring 'flower' back," Cheng Wei said, "And … isn't her target King Yu?"
"Her target … from the very beginning, has been me." Wang Qiong said with a pause between each word.
Hearing this sentence, Cheng Wei's train of thought was disrupted again. He followed the Villa Master's words and reorganized everything. Finally, after a full three minutes, he came to a realization. "Then the matter of Feather King's' Hunting the Fox Immortal '… was arranged by the Emperor?"
"You finally figured it out." Wang Qiong nodded. "I said that the Emperor wants to kill me, but to kill me, Wang Qiong … it won't be that easy. He knows very well that the moment I sense his killing intent, I will immediately take action and strike first to gain the upper hand.
"Once he figured this out, he set up this trap …
"Only the emperor can make a prince act for him.
"That play was made for me to see, because only I could see that 'Flower Is Going to Assassinate Feather King' from that play.
"And I … have indeed fallen into the trap."
Cheng Wei followed Wang Qiong's train of thought and continued, "And that 'mirror' … should be a kind of 'safeguard'. If there were no accidents, he wouldn't have to take action. But obviously … an accident happened."
"Hmm …" Wang Qiong replied, "Legend has it that 'flower' can charm all the men in the world. As long as they look at her, they will be completely charmed by her. Some of them will even be willing to be killed by her. So, even though she only has third-rate martial arts, she has never failed … "He paused." Although I told the Four Unique of Elm Mountain not to let any men check the appearance of the 'goods' and not to look at her during the journey, I think … they probably didn't do it. "
His deduction was very accurate. When they kidnapped the flower from the prince's mansion, the leader of the Four Unique, Zou Ting, who was also the 'big brother', really didn't look at the 'goods' from the beginning to the end. He, who had the highest martial arts among the Four Unique, was in charge of bringing up the rear while the 'goods' were brought away by the other three.
The problem lay with their third brother. He was quite lecherous and often went to brothels. However, this kind of person still thought that he had good self-control. It was as if he, who was like a dog in front of ordinary women, would turn into a state of calmness in front of a real beauty.
Things changed just like that. When the third brother saw the 'flowers' appearance, the second brother, Zhu Cheng, who was disguised by 'mirror', knew that this person couldn't be left alive. Otherwise, it would be bad. So, before Zou Ting met up with them, he killed the third brother.
Regarding this, the fourth sister didn't have much to say. The third brother did ask for his own death.
As for what happened after Zou Ting rushed to Mi Shen Tavern, it was just like what was written before … His third brother's death had piqued his curiosity. The difference between Zou Ting and his third brother was that the third brother thought he was a person with strong willpower, but Zou Ting was indeed a person with strong willpower.
Unfortunately, after seeing the 'flowers', Zou Ting's heart was in a mess.
He started to think about his mission …
Of course, Wang Qiong wouldn't tell him that he wanted this woman to kill the emperor. He used a simpler reason — he wanted to sleep with this woman.
It was simple and persuasive. However, after Zou Ting saw the woman, this reason and this purpose became an extremely unstable factor.
The beauty of the 'flowers' was enough for a man like Zou Ting to give up a huge reward and give her freedom … His purpose was only to occupy an inch of space in her heart.
When this thought became clearer and more resolute, Zou Ting lost his life.
At this point, there was no need for Jing to continue pretending … It was reasonable to kill the third brother, but to kill Zou Ting … the real Zhu Cheng didn't have such high martial arts.
So, he went all the way and killed the Four Peerless of Yu Ling. He burned these people and the innocent people in the inn together. Then, he personally delivered the 'flowers' to Wang Qiong.
"Heightslord …" After Cheng Wei figured out the whole thing, he took the opportunity to flatter Wang Qiong, "… I admire your great foresight …"
"Ha …" Wang Qiong laughed, "If it was really a great foresight, I would have figured it out when I was talking to Jing." He rested his chin on one hand and grabbed another piece of cake, "But in fact … when you told me that she was' still a virgin ', I just managed to sort out my thoughts."
"Uh …" Cheng Wei was confused again, "Oh right, I don't know … What does it have to do with whether the woman is a virgin or not?"
Wang Qiong said, "I know a few things about the Catoptric Deflection, such as … the four of them are biological siblings …"
When he said this, another question in Cheng Wei's mind, "Why didn't Jing fall for the flower", was solved.
"For example … the flower has never let any man have her …" Wang Qiong was still talking, "Or … other than his voice and appearance, Jing can also imitate other people's martial arts and even his inner strength is exactly the same …" He casually gave a few examples and didn't finish talking. Then, he brought the topic back to the original topic, "In short, considering King Feather's character … there is nothing more convincing about the identity of the 'flower'."
With this reminder, Cheng Wei also came to his senses … That Feather King was famous for his lecherous nature. People called him the Demon King of Flowers and the Demon King of Flowers. Basically, he wouldn't let go of any woman that was slightly beautiful. It was abnormal that the woman who was kidnapped from his residence was still a virgin.
"Hmm …" Cheng Wei muttered, "Now … I understand everything." He paused for half a second and continued, "Since you already know that the other party is here to kill you, it's easy to deal with … I'll arrange a group of strong men … Of course, they'll all be women … Immediately go and get rid of the 'flower' …"
"Wait." Wang Qiong interrupted him, "Who said we're going to kill her?"
Cheng Wei was stunned again, "You … You mean … Lock her up first?"
Wang Qiong picked up the teacup and drank a big mouthful of tea. He rinsed his mouth with the tea and then got down from the kang bed, "No need. I'll go and talk to her first."
"What?" Cheng Wei almost shouted out these two words, but he held it back in the end.
"Manor Master …" Cheng Wei said, "Didn't you just say … When a man sees the appearance of the 'flower' …"
"Heh …" Wang Qiong laughed, "I didn't say that. It's a 'legend'." He put his hands behind his back, "That kind of nonsense … I don't believe it."
"But …" Cheng Wei looked worried, "The Four Absolutes of Yu Ling …"
"Hahaha …" Wang Qiong laughed out loud, "They are them, and I am me. I'm certain that the legend is fake, and I'm going to check it out now."
Cheng Wei said, "What if …"
Wang Qiong smiled and shook his head. He turned around and walked out of the house as he said, "What if it's true? So what if I die because of this legend?"
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