It was noon, and the sky was overcast.
The gray clouds blocked out the sun, and even the heavens seemed to be helping to create the atmosphere of an impending storm.
At that moment, three figures appeared on the empty street.
The one in the middle was a middle-aged man.
He was dressed in rags, and in his hand was a stick-like weapon wrapped in rags. Step by step, he walked at a leisurely pace.
The two people who followed behind him were much more eye-catching than him. Oda Ai and Sasaki Akira were players after all. Their appearance and presence were very different from the normal characters in the scenario. Even though the system had adjusted their appearance to a certain extent, they were still very eye-catching.
The three of them walked on the widest main street in the middle of Linlu Town. Walking in the silent cold wind, they walked under the gazes of countless people who were hiding in the dark …
Whoosh!
Suddenly, there was the sound of wind breaking. It cut through the air and also cut through the suffocating atmosphere.
Ping!
Oda Ai was quick to react. She raised one hand and used her wrist guard to easily deflect the flying projectile.
But, this was just the beginning …
Before the first projectile hit the ground, the follow-up attack came.
In the blink of an eye, the three of them were surrounded by black dots that rained down from all directions.
There were darts, knives, needles, bullets … Every type of hidden weapon had its own unique speed, strength, and killing method.
Needless to say, some of the hidden weapons were even infused with gunpowder and would explode the moment they were parried. Some of the hidden weapons would split into two or more as they traveled. There were even things that could suddenly change their flight path.
Facing such a siege in a place with no cover, generally speaking, the only way to escape was to jump into the air.
However, the three people … stood where they were.
"Sick Sword …" At that moment, Sasaki Akira made his move. When he called out the name of the skill, he was also in a sickly state. "… Yuan Sha."
The moment he said that, the sword appeared.
In the next second, a transparent circular force field spread out with Sasaki Akira as the center, enveloping Oda Ai and the middle-aged man on the side.
It was unknown what the principle behind his [Sickness Sword — Circular Stop] was. His sword was clearly still in its sheath, but it was able to create a saturated sword energy force field that blocked all the hidden weapons outside of that "circle".
After this round of joint attacks, the three of them were actually completely unharmed.
"Ahhh!"
Unexpectedly, a few seconds later, another change occurred.
Then, a person flew out of a window on the second floor of a building by the roadside.
As soon as this person landed on the ground, more screams and the sound of weapons clashing could be heard.
"Hmph … So it's time for the dogs to bite each other …" Oda Ai looked at the figures flying out of the buildings and dark alleys. She already knew what was happening in places that she couldn't see.
Her conjecture was indeed correct. The current situation was a case of "black-on-black".
The group that took the lead to attack them was from the "Windhoof Society."
This sect, to put it bluntly … was an armed gang of thieves. The people in the gang were all good at hidden weapons and lightness skills. In terms of fair duels in broad daylight, they were not very strong, but in terms of assassination, ambush, and theft, their skills were not bad.
Last night, the number of martial artists killed by the Windhoof Society was much more than the Wild Tiger Gang. Of course … they killed basically all the small fries. They didn't kill many real masters.
Compared to the scheming and astute Tu Ji, the head of the Windshield Association was a bit more simple-minded. So much so that after that night of assassination, they had also suffered heavy losses. At noon today, they had a total of 30 people left.
With such strength, it was obviously difficult to deal with the "Sword Dance of the Grass".
Thus, the Windhoof Society thought of a simple and direct strategy that was very likely to work … Strike first and gain the upper hand.
They purposely chose an area not far from the town entrance to set up an ambush. Their plan was to be the first to strike and take away the people who were carrying the secret manual in one wave. Then, they would use their own sect's advantage in terms of lightness skills to take the things and quickly run away.
But they did not expect that the attack they had been preparing for a long time and was certain to succeed would be easily neutralized by their target. Not only that, Beggar's Sect, Ocean Dragon Sect, and White Plum Cult were the three sects that suffered the most from their ambush last night. They had already set up ambushes at the periphery. When the Windhoof Society made their move, the people from the other three sects came and surrounded them like dumplings.
The fight … ended very quickly.
Rather than a fight, it was more like a massacre.
One hundred and forty people killed thirty people. Moreover, it was a surprise attack. The latter could hold on for one or two minutes was already not bad.
After all the members of the Windshield Association were all lying flat on the ground, a black mass of people appeared from all over the streets and alleys, blocking the path of the three people.
They were led by three people as well.
The first person was a man with grey hair that reached his shoulders. He wore a light colored martial arts suit. Looking at his appearance, he was at least sixty years old, but his movements did not show any signs of old age.
This person was called Luo Can, the current leader of the Beggar's Sect.
As a sect with a long history, the Beggar's Sect had produced many outstanding heroes. Unfortunately, no matter if it was talent, martial arts, or wisdom, Luo Can was the kind that could not be ranked.
If there was anything worth praising about him, it would be … He had collected some incomplete martial arts from various places and successfully restored the lost martial arts of the Beggar's Sect, the "Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms" that had been lost for decades.
If it was a hundred years ago, this would not be a big deal. At that time, there were many martial arts of a higher level than the "Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms". But in this "Martial Arts Era", with this set of palm techniques, Luo Can could be ranked as one of the top masters in the world.
As for the second person …
This person's name was Gu Jiao Long. His clothes were ordinary, like those of a martial artist. But his appearance was very special. It could be said that he had the back of a tiger, the waist of a bear, and the features of a delicate face.
Yes, you did not see wrong, and I did not write wrong. He looked like that. Therefore, this young leader of the Ocean Dragon Sect had the nickname "Jade-faced Flood Dragon".
The Ocean Dragon Sect, as the name suggests, relied on the sea to make a living. It was half martial arts and half business. Different from other sects, the Ocean Dragon Sect had a "good relationship" with the government. This was because they would regularly provide some of the court officials and local officials with rare treasures and delicacies from the sea. Therefore, they obtained a lot of convenience.
In the coastal area of Jiangnan, the Ocean Dragon Sect could be said to be the dominant force. It was not an exaggeration to say that as long as it was within their sphere of influence, the illegal salt business could be done openly.
As for the martial arts of this sect … they were average. They did not have any superior martial arts, but the sect had a few fierce martial arts that could be considered passable in actual combat.
Finally, there was the third person.
It was a woman, a woman who was so fat that it was difficult to distinguish her gender.
Perhaps it was not strange now, but in that agricultural society, where material was relatively poor, it was quite rare to see a fat person who weighed one or two hundred pounds.
This female sect leader … or should I say … the female sect leader, was called Feng Meiyu. This name was given by herself when she grew up. When she was young, she did not have a name. It could be said that she had many names …
Perhaps no one would believe it, but this Feng sect leader, when she was fifteen years old, was the top hostess of a very famous brothel in the capital. At that time, her name was "Feng 'er".
At that time, Feng 'er was a beauty. Even though she was only a young girl, her precocious body had already conquered countless young masters in the capital.
Because she was a child picked up by the brothel's madam, she grew up in that kind of environment. Therefore, she did not seem to reject selling her body to live a good life.
But, one day, she changed.
A woman's change was usually related to a man, and Feng 'er was no exception.
When she was nineteen years old, she fell in love with a young master who came from a poor family. She loved his appearance, she loved his talent, and she loved every minute and every second that she spent with him. Even after many years, she still remembered that warmth.
However, this relationship soon ended with the young master's untimely death.
His death was not an accident. It was only because he was too close to Feng 'er, and the latter had the idea of redeeming herself. This was obviously something that some people did not want to see. And those "some people" were all people who could do anything in the capital. For them, killing a poor scholar was no different from killing an ant.
From that time on, although Feng 'er did not show any abnormalities on the surface, in fact, her heart was completely consumed by the flames of revenge.
She used her own methods to obtain some secret martial arts manuals and practiced them in secret.
Hatred was a terrible motivation, and it would not weaken with the passage of time. Instead, it would become stronger and stronger …
Under such motivation, no matter what a person did, it would be extremely efficient.
Three years later, Feng 'er completed her vengeance.
She only spent one night to kill all of her enemies and burned down the biggest brothel in the capital. She also skinned the procuress and hung her corpse on the memorial arch of the Flower Street.
After that night, Feng 'er disappeared.
More than ten years later, a sect called White Plum Sect appeared in Jianghu. Their sect leader was an extremely fat woman, who called herself Feng Meiyu.
Her obesity was not because she was lazy and gluttonous … It was because she lacked the most basic knowledge and skills. She relied on her own understanding and desperately practiced many different types of Internal Strength. In the end, it caused her meridians and Qi to become abnormal. After a few years, these abnormalities gradually appeared on her body.
Her obesity was the most direct manifestation. She had many other problems on her body, and they were all tormenting her. However, in the past ten years, even though she had visited many famous doctors and consulted many masters of the martial arts world, no one could cure her extreme symptoms of Qi Deviation.
Finally, the pain in her body caused her mental problems … She gave up on treatment and turned the pain into a new motivation. She turned killing into a way to release her stress, and turned her desire for power into her own painkiller … Just like that, the White Plum Sect was born.
"Beggar Sect … Ocean Dragon Sect … White Plum Sect …" When the three people and the gang members stood still, the middle-aged man slowly opened his mouth. "Look at this situation … Are you all working together?"
He guessed right. Due to the various things that happened last night, the strength of each sect had changed. After the three sects negotiated, they decided to work together to ensure the victory today.
"Don't talk nonsense!" Gu Jiaolong was thirty-two years old this year. He was at the age where he was hot-blooded. Usually, he was the boss in his own sect's territory, and he had already formed a habit. Therefore, his words could not be described as "hot-blooded" anymore, but rather "tyrannical". "Hand over the 'Sword Dance of the Grass', and I'll spare your life!"
"Oh?" The middle-aged man heard him, but his tone was still calm. "How do you know … that the 'Sword Dance of the Grass' is with me?"
Before Gu Jiaolong could answer, Luo Can continued, "'The murderer who killed sixty-three members of the Jiang Family will appear in Linlu Town on New Year's Eve with the' Sword Dance of the Grass'. He is about fifty years old, with a bamboo hat covering his face, and holding a weapon wrapped in rags … '" He repeated the information that had already spread throughout the Jianghu word for word. Then, he continued, "Now, except for the fact that it is not' night 'yet, you completely fit the description of this information." He paused for a moment and moved his gaze to Sasaki Akira. "Furthermore … we saw the kung fu of your subordinate just now … That must be the move from the 'Sword Dance of the Grass', right?"
Their speculation was reasonable. Sasaki Akira's' skill 'was miraculous in the eyes of a traditional martial artist, and it could be explained by' he learned it from the 'Sword Dance of the Grass'.
"Hmm … You have a point there, but there is something that I am not sure if you have thought about …" the middle-aged man replied calmly. "The 'information' that you mentioned seems to be a bit too accurate … isn't it?"
When he said that, the two players behind him did not react because they had already heard the whole story from the middle-aged man. However, Xu Huai Shang, Blade Runner, and Not a Scaredy Cat, who were hiding in the dark, heard what the middle-aged man said, and their expressions changed.
"So what?" Feng Meiyu stood there like a meatball. It was difficult for her to even speak. "Now that things have come to this, what is the point of saying all this? Are you trying to deny that the thing is with you? "
"I am not trying to deny anything …" the middle-aged man replied. "Instead, I am trying to admit something …"
"Aren't you trying to say … that you are the one who leaked the information?" Suddenly, another person's voice joined the conversation.
The crowd turned to the source of the voice, and they soon saw a person standing on the roof of a residential building.
"Feng Bujue!"
The moment Brother Jue appeared, the name was like a bullet that passed through the hearts of the other players.
"Hmm?" The middle-aged man's attention was also attracted by Brother Jue. He raised his head and used his finger to push up the brim of his bamboo hat. He glanced at Brother Jue. "You are …"
"Be careful …" Oda Ai's whisper entered the middle-aged man's ears. "This kid is hard to deal with …"
"Hey! Who do you think you are? "Two seconds later, Gu Jiaolong shouted at Brother Jue." Do you have the right to speak here? "
"Heh …" Feng Bujue chuckled and replied, "Young Master Gu, please calm down. I am only here to say a few things that might be of interest to all of you. I have no intention of interfering with all of you."
"We don't have time to listen to your story." Luo Can said, "I advise you to hurry …"
"Wait." Unexpectedly, the middle-aged man interrupted, "I would like to hear … what he has to say."
The moment he said this, the three leaders were stunned. The way they looked at Brother Jue changed subtly.
Of course, at this moment, they still didn't take this young face seriously. They were just wondering what the middle-aged man was planning.
"Heh heh … actually, I don't have much to say. I can finish it in a short while." Seeing that no one was interrupting him, Feng Bujue continued, "To put it simply … today's situation was planned by you." He looked at the middle-aged man and smiled. "If I'm not mistaken, you should be the Japanese ronin who didn't know the true value of the sword manual and pawned it at a low price at a pawnshop."
As he finished speaking, other than the middle-aged man, Oda Ai, and Sasaki Akira, everyone else's expression changed.
Feng Bujue didn't care and continued, "Actually, you knew the value of the sword dance kusanagi very well … That's why you used it as bait to set up this trap …" He paused for a second and continued, "First, you purposely let Jiang San get the sword dance kusanagi. Then, you created the massacre at the Jiang Castle and took the sword manual back. You knew that Duan Keyi would definitely come to avenge his disciple and investigate this matter to the end … Therefore, you used the name of the Diancang Faction to spread the news of the sword dance kusanagi.
"When people heard the news, they would naturally think that … this was something that the Diancang Faction found out, as if everything was logical.
"But when I heard about this, I felt that something was wrong …
"Let's not talk about how Sect Leader Duan and his disciples came to the conclusion that the murderer killed the whole family to steal the sword manual from a murder scene where there were no living people … Even if they believed that the murderer's motive was to steal something important and continued to investigate with this as a clue … The possibility of finding the so-called 'Japanese ronin' and 'pawnshop' was very slim.
"After that, the news that the sword dance kusanagi would appear on New Year's Eve made me completely certain … The murderer himself was the one who spread the news.
"Just like what you said … The description of the news was very specific and precise. Not only the time and place, but even your outfit was described perfectly."
At this point, Brother Jue could not help but laugh out loud. "Haha … The most ridiculous thing is that since this news has spread all over the martial arts world and attracted so many sects and people, then the 'person' in the news must have known about this … Under such circumstances, why would he appear at the time and place mentioned in the news? He knew that the whole martial arts world was ambushing him, so why would he still come to die? "
His question was obviously thrown at the few Sect Leaders and the other martial artists who were lurking around.
"So, there's only one truth." Feng Bujue raised his hand and pointed at the middle-aged man. "The person with the sword dance kusanagi … the person who spread the news … the person who created this situation through many calculations … doesn't think that he will die."
As he spoke, he turned around and looked at the three Sect Leaders. "The ones who will die … are you."
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