Linlu Town is a hundred miles away from Shanhaiguan.
This town is not big, and there is not even a government office in the town. If someone wants to file a lawsuit, they have to go to Funing, which is dozens of miles away, to file a lawsuit.
But this town is not as small as Cangling Town. At least there is more than one inn here, and there are many residents, shops and businessmen in the town.
A few months ago, no one could have imagined that this small border town would become the center of the entire martial arts world.
And now...
The brains of high-ranking sects, long-established strangers, and even worldly masters who have been hiding in the world for many years...have all gathered here.
Their purpose is the same, just for one thing.
Jianghu is a wonderful place.
Here, anyone can pursue something that does not belong to them, as long as they have the ability...
The so-called morality and justice are often just excuses to facilitate people's behavior.
The most important thing to gain a foothold in the world is strength.
Morality without the support of strength is bullshit.
Worse than bullshit.
Strong people all understand this truth, so they will only show that shit when they need it.
Duan Keyi is also this kind of person.
Of course, in this incident, he did hold some truth.
According to his logic, it is logical for him to seek revenge from the real murderer after his apprentice was wiped out. The murderer took "Sword Dance Notes" from Jiang San, and Duan Ke also took it back.
, which is also very reasonable. As for how to distribute it after taking it back... Since there is no one left in the Jiang family, it makes sense for him, the master, to take over the sword manual.
In short, Duan Ke also insists on this theory. Even if it sounds a bit far-fetched, it is more reasonable than the thinking of "whoever gets it gets it."
It's a pity that even Duan Keyi himself understands that Jianghu has never been a place of reason.
People who have nothing can get money, reputation, status, beauty...
People who have everything can lose everything here.
Does this make sense?
Even if there are, I am afraid that only one person in a million can understand this truth.
Therefore, Duan Keyi's little bit of truth is bullshit in the eyes of others.
Even if Jiang San comes back from the dead today, no one will admit that this sword manual is his, let alone you, Duan Keyi?
After all, this is always a game of "who gets it, who gets it".
So, among the people participating in this game, who are the most eye-catching or the most powerful?
At present, it seems that there are four people.
The first person is none other than Duan Keyi.
Jiang San is famous in the martial arts world for his "Hengjiang Sword", but Duan Keyi, the "master" who taught him martial arts, is not famous for his swordsmanship. From this point... we can already see the latter's vast knowledge of martial arts.
In fact, the identity of "Jiang San's mentor" is not important. The titles of "Head of Dian Cang" and "Tan Yun Xia Ke" are important, because they symbolize strength.
In this era, the Diancang Sect is one of the most powerful and famous sects. It can be said to be outstanding in terms of the number and quality of its disciples, as well as its business and prestige in Taoism. It can be said that it is the "head" of this sect.
The martial arts and city government of a man in this position are really hard to fathom.
On the basis of this "strength" and combined with the previous "principle", Duan Ke also deserves a place among the four.
Now, let’s talk about the second person...
Cotton Taoist.
Taoist priests often use vegetation as names, such as "stone, plum, bamboo, spring, stream", etc., to appear elegant and free from dust.
But the title "Mian Taoist"... is indeed a bit strange.
From this name, you can not only hear a lot of elegance, but also a bit of weakness.
However, this Taoist's martial arts are completely opposite to his Taoist name.
No one knows where Taoist Mian learned his martial arts, and no one knows which Taoist temple he was a monk in. What people know is that one day, a sword-wielding Taoist suddenly appeared in the world.
A jet black dark iron heavy sword.
This sword is extremely blunt, as if it has not even opened its edge. But... countless masters have died under this blunt sword.
Traveling all over the world, Mian Taoist people have never failed.
It seems that... he can get what he wants, and what he wants to do can be done.
Then, there is the third person.
Cold as autumn.
This should be the most mysterious of the four.
He has no friends, although many people want to be his friends.
He also has no enemies, because those who become his enemies will soon disappear from this world.
He spoke very little, as if any more words he spoke would be a loss to him.
He has very few deeds because he is very low-key; and the most important manifestation of this "low-key" is... he rarely leaves anyone alive under his command.
A truly powerful murderer is not the kind of person who scares you when you hear his name; he is the kind of person who clearly has a lot of blood debt, but when he stands in front of you, you still know nothing about him.
Leng Yuqiu is this kind of person.
Although he eventually became a famous character in the world, the difference from others is that no one in the entire martial arts world... or should we say "living person" has ever seen his martial arts.
People can only look at his sword that seems to have never been unsheathed, and imagine how many dead souls have been under this sword, and the process by which these people were taken away from their lives.
It's just "imagination", because "temptation" may make you become one of those dead souls...
So... finally, let’s talk about the remaining one among the four...
Wang Qiong.
This man is not a martial artist, but a businessman.
It is a pity that he does not have a name like "Qian Million" like many businessmen in literary works.
Of course, Wang Qiong is not his real name either.
As a person who has been living on the streets begging for as long as he can remember, the names he has been called the most since childhood are probably "little beggar" or "stinky beggar". As for what his parents call him, they may have to wait until he reaches Jiuquan.
I can only ask them when I meet them later.
In short, the word "Wang Qiong" was chosen by himself. He hoped that this name could always remind him of the taste of poverty.
Because he knows...Only those who have been poor can truly understand the value of money.
A person who is born rich has a different understanding of money than a person who has spent half his life in poverty before becoming rich. It is like a person who is born healthy and a person who is born lame and becomes miraculously rich after a few decades.
Generally cured people... have absolutely different views on walking.
Wang Qiong...naturally belongs to the latter.
He was once poorer than anyone else. He was so poor that he robbed dogs from other people's yards to eat, and was so poor that he hid in a pigsty to keep warm. But now he is richer than anyone else. He is so rich that even if he wants to spend all his money, he doesn't know how long it will take.
Being rich enough to buy anything...
Different from the three mentioned before, Wang Qiong should be the safest competitor in this "game"; because he has no need to take risks... He can wait until the end, and use
The most powerful and unique weapon in his hand is money, to obtain the final victory.
In fact, more than half of the people who gathered in Linlu Town this time were working for Wang Qiong...
These people are not very interested in sword manuals. Their thoughts are: What is the purpose of practicing martial arts and wandering around in the world? Don't they just want fame and fortune? After selling the sword manuals to Wang Qiong, they will get a sum of money and spend it for the rest of their lives.
Isn’t endless money equivalent to bypassing the complicated and dangerous process and directly reaching the ultimate goal?
Therefore, Wang Qiong, who does not belong to the world at all, is the one with the greatest chance of winning among the four... I have to say that this is an irony.
…………
At noon, the sun was shining brightly, but the snow on the ground still hadn't melted.
The lobby of "Ke Lai Xuan" seemed very lively.
In addition to those customers who wanted tea and food, there were also a large group of people coming in and out, coming and going... I don't know what they were busy with.
This scene would only appear in the morning on weekdays.
In border towns like this, the most frequent business travelers are the business travelers; when it gets dark, the guests who are in a hurry to leave all get up. All kinds of people are vying for tea and water, and are vying to bring their mules.
The horse was hitched to the cart; during that time, the clerk in the store wanted to lift up his two feet and use them as his hands. It was the most chaotic time of the day.
However, since the news spread that "Jian Wu Cao Ji" will appear in Linlu Town on New Year's Eve, almost every inn in this town is busy from morning to night.
The shopkeepers of the inn also had mixed feelings. They were happy that they were making money every day, but they were worried... because they were worried that the guests would cause trouble.
"ah"
No, on the afternoon of the 29th of the twelfth lunar month, a scream became the first drop of boiling oil to burst into the pot of muddy water.
At the same time as the screams, there was a burst of broken wooden windows and the sound of a person falling from a height to the ground.
Soon, another body appeared on the street in front of Ke Laixuan.
Pedestrians on the street quickly gathered in circles, watching from a certain distance, and talking in various directions.
Among the guests in the lobby... some immediately ran out to take a look; some sat in their original positions, as steady as a mountain, as if nothing happened outside; and some stood up immediately, but after thinking for a moment
, and sat down again.
"The one who fell down must be Ma Dabeard." Not long after, a square-faced man sitting at a square table facing the door said.
"Hmm." An old man sitting next to him continued, "The broken window is from Ma Dabeard's room."
The square-faced man said: "Ma Dabeard's martial arts is not weak."
"Not weak." The old man said: "With just the 'double-shaped life-saving palm' in his hand, he can be ranked among the first-class masters."
The square-faced man said: "But he is dead now."
The old man nodded: "It seems he is dead."
The square-faced man said: "A man who is good at using palms is beaten backwards and falls to his death through a broken window. What does it mean?"
The old man smiled: "It means there is someone in that guest room who is better at using his hands than him."
The square-faced man said: "There are not many people like that."
The old man said: "Not much."
The square-faced man said: "Duan Ke, the leader of Dian Cang, is one of them."
The old man agreed: "Hmm... with the internal strength of Master Duan, he can defeat the bearded horse simply by using force over skill."
The square-faced man added: "The leader of the Kuanghu Gang, the 'Tiger Faced Arhat' Tu Ji... can be counted as one."
The old man said: "The Arhat's Tiger Palm is indeed better than the double-shaped life-stimulating palm."
The square-faced man said again: "Luo Can, the leader of the Beggar Clan, naturally counts as one."
The old man said: "Since Gang Leader Luo has practiced the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms that have been lost for many years...then he must be counted among them."
At this point, the square-faced man shrugged and smiled: "Uncle Liu, who do you think... killed Ma Dabeard?"
Uncle Liu replied: "The young master is smart and must already have the answer in his heart. In my humble opinion... I might as well not tell you."
"Haha..." The square-faced man laughed again, "Uncle Liu is joking, my 'eyesight' is not half as good as yours. Just based on the quick glance when the bearded horse fell... maybe I was wrong.
Woolen cloth."
Uncle Liu was complimented by this "young master", but he didn't show any joy: "Even if it was just a glance, the young master must have seen that... the murderer deliberately concealed his true identity by 'controlling the enemy', right?
"
The smile on the young master's face grew wider: "That's a man who uses a sword."
Liu Bodao: "Yes."
The young master said: "Among those who use swords, there are not many who can kill a bearded horse with palm skills."
Liu Bodao: "There is only one person who meets this condition and happens to live in this inn..."
Just as the conversation between these two people was progressing, there was a man and a woman on the other side of the door, bypassing the crowd and walking into the store.
The man looked to be in his early twenties, with sharp eyebrows and starry eyes, handsome appearance, and a long sword on his back; the girl next to him was about the same age and had a very iconic appearance, with a cute and cute face.
face.
The old gangsters sitting in the lobby of the hotel all had venomous eyes. With just one glance, they could deduce...these two people were either lovers, brothers and sisters, or very close senior fellow apprentices.
Although the man and woman did not make any intimate gestures, the distance they kept between them, the frequency of their walks, and the tacit understanding shown in their gestures were enough to show that their relationship was quite close.
"Shopkeeper, are there any guest rooms?" The young man walked to the counter in a few steps, faced the shopkeeper, and asked.
The shopkeeper's reaction was also very quick. His attention instantly shifted back from the dead body outside the door, and he replied almost instinctively: "Uh... Sir, recently... the guest room in the shop has been a bit...
nervous……"
"I understand." The young man knew what the shopkeeper meant, "We only need one room. As for the price... you pay according to the 'current price'."
"Hey~ Okay." The shopkeeper of Ke Laixuan is very greedy for money and very courageous. Therefore, even if there is no explanation for the life of the person outside the door, he still narrowed his eyes immediately after hearing the young man's words.
The eyes smiled.
He just smiled and took out the accounting book, picked up the writing brush and started writing. While writing, he asked: "This young hero, please leave your name."
The young man replied in a very calm tone: "Huangfu Mingkang." (To be continued.)
