After a night of turmoil, Hongling Villa has returned to calm in the eyes of outsiders. Chu Hao has disappeared from the sight of the people. The owner of the village is still Chu Zhengning but with an additional head. Everything in the village is as usual, as if nothing happened.
happened before.
The people in the Jianghu who came to congratulate understood this. After all, if a family scandal like this got too big, it would become a laughing stock. It would be enough to discuss things like dividing property and settling old scores behind closed doors. If you want to gain a foothold in the Jianghu, you still have to deal with it in a low-key manner and maintain it.
Surface harmony.
Seeing that nothing happened at Hongling Villa and the ship was anchored three miles away, he set sail again.
As for socializing with Lu Ya, there is no need. Night Jingtang will get rid of Duan Shengji. Once Duan Shengji dies, Yazhou will definitely have a new leader. Now that Chu Hao is gone, the only choice is the remaining
Selected by experts.
Lu Ya has been training hard in the mountains for seven years. Although she can't beat Chu Hao, she can defeat Chu Zhengning with one stick. She is definitely not a bastard in the world. She is also young. It is only a matter of time before she becomes the leader.
Ye Jingtang helped to stand up. Whether Lu Ya thought about it or not, people in the world would assume that Ye Jingtang was his background. For this reason, no one would compete with Lu Ya for the leading position in Yazhou.
Lu Ya received such a favor, even if she didn't come to visit her to express her gratitude, she still had to remember this favor. This was something that everyone knew very well.
If the Night Terror Hall came to remind people to return the favor again, it would feel wrong, so they just left.
The next morning, on the green river between the steep mountain walls, the boat slowly moved down the river.
In the room on the boathouse, Ye Jingtang had already put on his robe, sat cross-legged with his knees bent and closed his eyes, concentrating on recovering the injury on his shoulder as quickly as possible.
Yesterday I just exerted too much force and suppressed the bleeding from the wound that was almost healed. Through the treatment of medicine and bathing in fire, the serious problem is now gone. It is estimated that it will not take a few days to fully recover.
Pei Xiangjun had nothing to do when he got up. The space in the room was too small for exercise, so he rested his head on Ye Jingtang's lap and read through a miscellaneous book in his hand.
The book is of course the Tears of the Chivalrous Girl collected by Ye Jingtang. Pei Xiangjun is not in the habit of reading casual books, so he is not very interested in the love and romance in it, so he was reading it.
However, unlike Luo Ning, Luo Ning skipped the exciting plot and focused on the heart-wrenching scenes of love between a man and a woman.
Pei Xiangjun, on the other hand, skipped the serious scenes and focused on the flashy sex scenes, imagining in his mind how Ning'er would be tortured like this.
After the two were silent for an unknown amount of time, a slight noise suddenly came from outside.
Dong Dong...
Ye Jingtang opened his eyes and looked out the window, only to see Fan Qinghe falling silently into the river, and then he touched the blue waves towards the river bank.
Yesterday, Master Xuanji and Fan Qinghe took turns watching the jackdaws. At this time, they thought it was Fan Qinghe who was watching. When they reacted, the jackdaws must have turned back.
Seeing this, Ye Jingtang picked up the Chilong Knife on the table, silently jumped out of the window, chased behind Fan Qinghe, and asked:
"The crow flew away?"
Fan Qinghe stared ahead, not paying attention to what was behind her. Ye Jingtang suddenly touched her and startled her. After looking back, she motioned to the distance:
"It's just flying to the southeast. Just let me follow you. You can continue to rest."
Ye Jingtang had a rest last night and was very energetic at this time. He didn't want to worry about Fan Qinghe going out alone to follow the clues, so he walked in front of him:
"If the other party dares to follow him, he must be prepared. It will be safer if I go with you."
Fan Qinghe didn't say anything about this. He jumped onto the cliff after a few ups and downs. After a brief glance, he found the jackdaw that had already flown away, and then chased after it...
——
The outskirts of Banan Town.
After the wind and snow, a thin layer of snow accumulated in the pine forests in the mountains.
Shen Lin carried a bamboo box on his back and walked slowly on the snow, dressing up like a herbalist digging for medicinal materials in the mountains. From time to time he would stop under the pine trees, sweep away the snow, and bury some small objects.
Chen Lingtong was carrying a large basket filled with various sundries. He was looking behind him, his eyes a little unclear.
Next to Chen Lingtong was a man carrying a big gun, named Wang Chong, who was the leader of Duanbeiya. His position was similar to that of Song Chi. They were both the top thugs under the leader, also known as the red stick.
Wang Chong learned from Duan Shengji that this mysterious old man was the chief protector of Qianji Sect and was considered a powerful figure in the entire Beiliang Jianghu. His eyes were naturally respectful and he spoke:
"The master is recovering from his injuries and may not be able to show up until three to five days later. He specially sent Wang to assist Mr. Wang. The master said that Night Terror Hall will definitely go to Duanbeiya. The old man can try here first. It would be best to kill him on the spot. If you don’t want to lose it, there’s no need to force it. If you go to Duanbei Cliff, the leader will provide you with the greatest help...”
Shen Lin had already discovered that Ye Jingtang had an injury on his left shoulder at Hongling Villa. At this time, when he heard that Duan Shengji was also recovering from his injury, he knew that the two of them must have had a conflict outside. This time Ye Jingtang came to Yazhou, Even if we are not here to check the hidden piles in Beiliang, we are still involved in the affairs of the world, and we have to clean up Duan Shengji.
Shen Lin and Duanshengji did not have any personal relationship. They only temporarily cooperated here because they were both from Beiliang and served the country together. Seeing Wang Chong say this, he said:
"Yejingtang is a close official of the Emperor of the Southern Dynasty. If he is allowed to go to Duanbei Cliff, no matter how justified the Duan leader's reasons are, he will definitely be retaliated by the court, which will be detrimental to future actions. The best solution at present is to stay outside. Assassination, and then I took over the whole thing, and the mastermind behind the scenes was put on King Zuo Xian, leaving the Duan leader to stay out of the matter.
"Only you, as the swordsman, can hardly kill Ye Jingtang. However, I can trap Ye Jingtang and injure him. It's not a big problem. You guys immediately sent a message and asked Master Duan to come and finish it off in person."
When Chen Lingtong saw this, he handed the large basket to Wang Chong and ran out immediately.
Wang Chong followed behind, patiently listening to Shen Lin's explanation of various arrangements...
——
Jackdaws flew along the mountains and fields to the southeast.
Night Jingtang was afraid of arousing the enemy, so he didn't chase it too close. He was about half a mile away from the jackdaw, and he tried to hide himself as much as possible on the road.
Tracking jackdaws is far more troublesome than tracking people. After all, jackdaws are in the sky and leave no traces as they move forward. They are silent and silent. It is clear whether there is anything within a few miles. When birds come, they can only be driven away, making it difficult to track them.
Last row.
If Ye Jingtang wants to track it, he can only stick to the ground and follow the woods and climb mountains and ridges without making any movement. The process can be said to be quite tiring.
Fortunately, Fan Qinghe's combat effectiveness was slightly inferior, but his dexterity skills were astonishing, and his perception was also naturally sharp. He relied on his good hearing to capture the location of jackdaws, and he walked through the snow forest for a long time without losing his target.
The two of them chased each other for nearly a hundred miles to the southeast, from the county town to a town in the southern part of Bayang County.
The town is not small in size, with thousands of households, the official road runs through it, and there is a large escort office in the center.
After the jackdaw flew into the escort office, it entered a window in the backyard.
Seeing this, Ye Jingtang knew that he had found the target. He first looked around the escort agency and found that they were all normal escorts. There was no sign of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Then he and Fan Qinghe sneaked in and groped along the roof. Within a moment,
Just then I heard the conversation in the room:
"The boat has already set off and is going down the river. If nothing happens, it will arrive at the Lanhekou Pier tomorrow morning. Now you can arrange a team to wait there, hang up the Beiya flag, put some prohibited items in the car, and wait for the boat to arrive.
Just set off and come back..."
"What if Night Terror Hall doesn't notice and doesn't follow?"
"When unloading the ship, I accidentally let a few pieces of cargo fall out, and then acted sneakily and hid them quickly. If the Night Terror Hall cannot figure out the problem, it is not worthy of becoming the chief officer of the Black Yamen..."
"Okay, I'll go right away..."
…
Ye Jingtang lay on the roof and listened carefully, and saw that the two unknown opponents below finally did not drive the tiger to devour the wolf, but instead used the tactic of inviting them to the urn.
However, judging from the aura, the two people in the room were not very skilled in martial arts and were probably not the masterminds. So he did not alert the enemy, but secretly eavesdropped.
Squeak——
Soon, the conversation stopped and the door was opened. A man in his thirties came out. After looking around, he quickly walked into a room behind the escort agency.
There were no windows on all sides of the room, and there were several bodyguards guarding the room at all times. The Night Terror Hall could only tell by the sound that there was a cellar inside.
After the man went in and rummaged for a while, he came out with a wooden box and handed it over to the bodyguard and began to give instructions:
"Take these to Lanhekou Pier..."
Night Terror Hall deduced from this information that there should be a lot of prohibited items in the cellar, and it was probably a smuggling den.
At present, he didn't even know the identity of his opponent, and it was hard to alert him, so he wrote down the clues first.
While he was observing the back of the escort agency, a man walked out of the room where he had just been talking.
The man was dressed as an ordinary Jianghu person. He looked to be under thirty years old and had a rather elegant temperament. He was holding a food box in his right hand.
Ye Jingtang was lying on the ridge of the roof, and was slightly startled when he saw the man's face - there was a fight at Hongling Villa yesterday, and all the distinguished guests in the main hall ran out, and about forty people were standing under the eaves.
Although he didn't pay special attention, it was inevitable to take a glance. At this time, he recalled carefully that there seemed to be such an elegant young man in the crowd, standing behind an old man dressed as a businessman.
Thinking of this, Ye Jingtang suddenly understood why he was targeted last night, and immediately gave Fan Qinghe a wink. After the young man walked out from behind the escort agency with the food box, he and Fan Qinghe quietly
Followed...
——
Behind Banan Town, there is a continuous mountain forest, which is full of pine, cypress, nanmu, etc. It is not a natural forest, but a forest farm specially maintained by past dynasties, so that in the event of a war, local materials can be used to manufacture ordnance, while Yun'an City builds palaces.
Timber is also cut down here and then floated directly along the Qingjiang River to the capital.
The forest farm is all mountainous, and the ups and downs are not too steep. Because it is managed by forest officials and private logging is prohibited, there are no human traces in the forest farm, and it is not difficult to follow a well-planned road.
The Night Terror Hall followed the young man silently through the snow-covered mountain forest. After walking for more than thirty miles, he came to a pine forest.
The pine forest grows on a gentle half-slope. The ground is covered with thick pine needles, which are soft and slippery when stepped on. Except for the trunks, there are no other trees blocking the view.
Ye Jingtang followed the young man to the depths of the pine forest. In the distance, he could see two bamboo baskets placed in the pine forest, and there was no one else around.
When the young man saw the basket, he trotted over quickly, shouting along the way:
"Master?"
Ye Jingtang and Fan Qinghe leaned against two pine trees and listened carefully. They were sure that there were two more people on the hillside, so they raised their hands to indicate that they wanted to go around the side of the hillside.
But what I didn't expect was that Ye Jingtang silently walked diagonally upwards. As soon as he walked no more than three feet away, he heard a voice:
Boom~
Then came "Boom boom boom..."
There were sounds like countless bow strings being tightened, and snow foam could be seen being bounced around, but nothing could be seen.
There are no birds or animals in the pine forest, and it is as quiet as a dead land. Although the sudden movement is not obvious, it is enough to attract the attention of everyone in the forest.
The young man carrying the food box was shaken. He looked at his feet first, probably thinking that he had triggered the trap that the master had finally set, but he immediately reacted, dropped the food box and rushed towards the hillside.
Ye Jingtang's figure stopped abruptly, holding the handle of the knife behind his waist, paying attention to all the sounds around him, and being wary of hidden weapons following closely behind.
But after the noise, no hidden weapon flew out.
Fan Qinghe paused behind him and looked down. He could see that Ye Jingtang's raised left foot was half hanging on the ground. The hem of his robe had been cut off quickly. There were blood beads on the front of his calf, along the thin threads like spider silk.
The line slides to both sides.
The filaments were translucent silvery white in the dark light in the pine forest, and with the white snow on the ground, it was basically invisible unless it was stained with blood. If it could cut through the robe and scratch the flesh without stopping, it could only be silver silk.
Fan Qinghe's heart skipped a beat, knowing that the two of them might have come to the wrong place, so he whispered:
"This trap is unusual. Don't move around and return the way you came."
Seeing this, Ye Jingtang slowly retracted his left foot to avoid breaking the thin thread, stepped on his own footprints and retreated to Fan Qinghe, and said:
"Go back the way you came?"
Fan Qinghe frowned, took out a handkerchief from his arms, used Ye Jingtang's height as a reference, and threw it out with dark force according to the height of his neck.
Phew~
As a result, the handkerchief fluttering forward flew out, split into two, and then became four pieces.
Ye Jingtang frowned when he saw this. After all, he had only practiced the Golden Scales for a few days, and it was of no use. The Jade Bones could not protect the arteries in his neck. If he accidentally touched it, he would definitely have to drink a pot.
"The woods are full of silver silk. The trigger just now is to activate the mechanism, and the next step is to interlock and kill. The person coming here is definitely a master, and he is coming for you. He knows you very well, so don't move around.
Follow my command..."
呲呲
While Fan Qinghe was talking, there was another movement on the hillside.
Ye Jingtang turned around and saw overwhelming white smoke rising from the top of the mountain forest and slowly pressing down.
When Fan Qinghe saw this scene, his face turned slightly pale:
"Oh no, it's the Kirigakure Seven Jue Formations of Senji Sect."
Ye Jingtang took out a face towel and tied it over his mouth and nose. Seeing Fan Qinghe's eyes solemn, he asked:
"What are the Kirigakure Seven Jue Formations?"
Fan Qinghe leaned behind Ye Jingtang and carefully observed the clues around him:
"The formation created by Zhongsun Jin, one of the four saints, has seven elements: fog, thunder, silk, needle, poison, poison, and knife. The fog blocks the sight, the thunder disrupts the sense of hearing, the silk hurts the body and skin, and the needle nails the eye bones.
, the poison disrupts the mind and injures the internal organs. Among them, the eye of the formation is the sword hand, which wanders between the formations. It relies on the geographical location to make sneak attacks, and can also control the traps in the formation according to the enemy's conditions. Since the formation appeared, no one has walked out alive.
Pass."
Ye Jingtang didn't know much about these evil ways in Beiliang that didn't respect martial ethics. Seeing that Fan Qinghe said it was so serious, he frowned and said:
“What should I watch out for now?”
"The fog is black feather grass mixed with snow moth scales. You can't avoid it, but it can't hurt you and me for the time being. Don't touch anything, especially be careful of small insects. I will slowly break the mechanism. As long as the trap is not triggered, the knife hand will not
Dare to get close rashly."
Ye Jingtang nodded slightly, no longer disturbing Fan Qinghe's thoughts, and pressed the handle of the knife to pay attention to all the disturbances around him...