In the thick of winter, plum blossoms are in full bloom.
The Wanmei Mountain Villa in Gusu has layers of plum trees all over the mountains and plains, like a huge wave burning into the sky, it is very magnificent.
In the snowy plum forest, a young man in white clothes pointed his sword at the chasing maid. His eyes were as cold as the sword in his hand.
The maid knelt on the spot and could only watch the young man put away his sword and leave.
When Ximen Chuixue drew his sword, he would drink blood and return it, but that was only after he killed his first person at the age of fourteen.
At this time, he was only eleven years old and just a taciturn young man from a wealthy family.
He left the maid behind in order to meet someone, someone of his own age.
The man stood in the middle of the plum forest. His face was not as cold as Ximen Chuixue, and the smile at the corner of his mouth was full of warmth. However, his narrow eyes could only be seen accidentally.
When Ximen Chuixue saw the young man, she didn't say anything. She put away the dagger she usually used for training, picked up a branch, and walked to the young man.
At some point, the young man had a branch in his hand. The two of them were cold and hot, and without saying anything, they fought together using the branch as a sword.
If there were any masters of swordsmanship present at this time, they would definitely be amazed by the swordsmanship of these two young men.
Because even a master who has been immersed in swordsmanship for more than ten years will never be able to use the exquisite swordsmanship in the hands of two young men!
Ordinary famous masters will never be able to teach such swordsmanship!
Ximen Chuixue was the main attacker, and the young man with a warm smile was the main defender. Ximen Chuixue attacked with seventeen swords. He wanted to attack with the eighteenth sword, but the opponent finally turned his defense into an attack.
The branch in his hand seemed to change, but also seemed not to change. After five strikes, the sixth sword landed on Ximen Chuixue's throat.
Ximen Chuixue clenched her fists and said nothing.
The young man said: "Two months ago, you could only attack with fourteen swords and defend until the third sword. You are making great progress."
Ximen Chuixue has an arrogant personality, and he has the capital to be arrogant, because as early as when he was ten years old, the family could no longer hire a famous master who could teach him swordsmanship.
Some so-called swordsmanship masters talked loudly and danced with swords in front of him, but they would be attracted by him in public when he pointed out the flaws in their swordsmanship.
No one wants to be known about the flaws in his swordsmanship, so no one is willing to teach him swordsmanship.
Ximen Chuixue's swordsmanship was developed by himself. If he is honest with the sword, he will be loyal to the sword. A person who is so arrogant that only the sword is left in his heart will definitely not be abandoned by the sword.
However, all his pride was completely shattered two months ago when he met the young master from the prefect's family in front of him.
Just as the young man in front of him said, he could only attack with fourteen swords and defend until the third sword!
Even after two months of hard training, there is only a slight improvement, but the opponent is still far from giving his best.
The young man seemed to have come here just to humiliate Ximen Chuixue. After he was defeated, he turned around and left without saying a single word.
But Ximen Chuixue was very happy. He knew that he had a goal to chase, instead of being a self-admired person who was devoted to the sword and excelled at it.
This young man was also the first friend he recognized.
…
The governor of Suzhou was an extremely honest official, always upholding justice for the people and managing the local area so that they could live and work in peace and contentment.
However, there is a saying that good people are not rewarded, and misfortune will last for thousands of years.
If you want to be a good person and an upright official, you have to give something in this dirty world.
When Ximen Chuixue was thirteen years old, she personally visited the son of the prefect's family.
In the middle of winter in the twelfth lunar month, when government affairs are quiet, the prefect and his family like to live in an old house outside the city.
What was Ximen Chuixue thinking about when he was riding his horse on the road?
He was thinking about the competition with Xu Changqing, the prefect's son, three months ago.
He attacked twenty swords and defended twelve.
This does not seem to have improved much compared to two years ago, but the prefect's son is also improving day by day...
Ximen Chuixue still didn't expect to defeat the opponent this time, but he was confident that if he attacked with more swords, the more he attacked, the greater the chance of victory would be.
However, the fire in front of him pulled him back from the duel of swordsmanship.
It was the old house of the prefect's family that started the fire. The flames were filled with the smell of burning wood, metal, and human bodies...
Ximen Chuixue stood at the door and watched the fire. No one escaped from the fire, so he went in.
He saw corpses all over the place, all of them servants of the prefect's family, as well as the prefect and his wife. Most of them had been burned beyond recognition, and they could only be identified from the remaining jewelry.
Ximen Chuixue felt a little sad, a good official would never live long.
As the fire burned more and more fiercely, he still did not leave, but rushed into the backyard, where there were signs of a fierce fight.
In some places with large pools of blood, corpses should have been lying. However, those corpses were gone, and the killers did not leave any companions behind.
In the room belonging to the prefect, there was the body of a young man, standing in the middle of the concierge. The palm of his hand was on fire and he was holding it empty. There was a short sword on the ground.
The fire licked the ends of Ximen Chuixue's hair. He took one last look at the corpse, performed first-class Qinggong and left the prefect's old residence.
While riding on the horse, Ximen Chuixue said to herself, "I will avenge your family's revenge for you."
Starting from the age of fourteen, Ximen Chuixue would leave the village four times a year, and each time he would kill someone. Everyone he killed had a reason to kill.
He didn't kill many people, but they were all very important. Seven years later, he was already the top swordsman. On the surface, there were only five people like him who could be as famous as him.
There is Huo Xiu, the richest man in the world, Dugu Yihe, the head of Emei, Zen Master Dabei, the abbot of Shaolin, Mu Taoist, the elder of Wudang, and Ye Gucheng, the leader of Baiyun City on Feixian Island in the South China Sea.
…
One day, a man with four eyebrows came to Wanmei Villa and threatened to burn his village and the plum trees all over the mountain.
Ximen Chuixue smiled in a rare way, and even asked the other party to light a fire as he pleased, and also pointed out the woodshed and the warehouse where the laxative diesel was stored.
The man with four eyebrows looked stunned, then frowned, and was speechless. He came to ask Ximen Chuixue for help.
Ximen Chuixue was willing to let the other party burn the house because he regarded this man as a friend. A swordsman like him didn't have many friends. If he did, then burning down a mere Wanmei Villa was nothing.
Therefore, he had no intention of rejecting the invitation from the man with four eyebrows from the beginning, just to tease him.
When Ximen Chuixue left Zhuangzi, the man walking in front had only two eyebrows left.
Lu Xiaofeng, a strange man who is famous for his four eyebrows, is willing to be teased by his friends like this.
He was in a happy mood and was going to take Ximen Chuixue to meet another strange man - Hua Manlou, a man who although his eyes were blind, his heart was not blind and he loved life.
When I walked out of Zhuangzi, I passed by the old mansion of the prefect that was burned down seven years ago. At this time, another Zhuangzi had been built here. It was said that the real estate belonged to the richest man Huo Xiu.
Ximen Chuixue suddenly said: "I did you this favor, but you also have to do me a favor."
Lu Xiaofeng asked: "A peerless swordsman like you also needs help?"
"At least I'm not good at investigating crimes."
Lu Xiaofeng looked at Zhuangzi in front of her and said, "That case of the prefect's murder seven years ago?"