After Jiang Haiyang died, Shi Jinghong and Li Tianmu said goodbye and left Ningbo Mansion. In order to express his gratitude to Wang Baihu, Li Tianmu did not leave in a hurry. He invited Wang Baihu out and had a meal at the most upscale local restaurant. That night
He stayed at the Jinyiwei branch and planned to return to Liaodong the next day.
At the second watch, Li Tianmu was practicing his sword in the courtyard. A guard came over and said, "Master Li, there is an old man who claims to be Elder Li of the Beggar Clan. He wants to see you."
Li Tianmu was startled, thinking: "Why did he come here?" He said: "Invite him here."
After a while, Elder Li came down to the courtyard under the guidance of the guard. Li Tianmu clasped his fists and said, "Elder Li, I'm polite. Please sit in the room."
The two of them entered the room. Li Tianmu put his right hand on the guest chair and said, "Elder Li, please take a seat."
Elder Li hummed and sat down on the guest chair. Li Tianmu picked up the teapot, poured a glass of water, handed it to Elder Li, and said, "This is not a good tea. Elder Li will just take a sip."
Elder Li took the cup, put it on the table, and said, "I'm not here to drink tea. It doesn't matter whether the tea is good or bad."
Li Tianmu sat beside the bed and asked, "Has Vice Gang Leader Qi been buried in peace?"
Elder Li hummed and said, "I have already buried Brother Qi."
Li Tianmu said: "That day, Deputy Gang Leader Qi took me to Qixialing to pay homage to Brother Geng. Mai Xiong, the head of the Mai Sect, led dozens of disciples to set up an ambush around Brother Geng's graveyard, hoping to do harm to me. Fortunately, Deputy Qi
The gang leader came to the rescue, and I escaped. I am very grateful to the deputy gang leader Qi, but I never thought that the murderer who killed Brother Geng and his family was actually him." He sighed, and then said: "This is really unpredictable.
.”
Elder Li snorted and said: "Li Tianmu, Li Tianmu, you used the word "hero" in vain, you are a complete fool, and you asked Shi Jinghong to take advantage of you."
Li Tianmu frowned, feeling displeased in his heart. He felt that Elder Li was a righteous person, so he looked at him high, and then he did not get angry. He suppressed his anger and said pleasantly: "Elder Li, I am not being used by Master Shi, but I am.
It's because you don't want to accept the fact that Deputy Gang Leader Qi killed Brother Geng. I know you have a relationship with Deputy Gang Leader Qi, but it's understandable that you don't want to believe that your good friend is a sycophant.
"Although Deputy Gang Leader Qi has died, the Jade-Faced Demon Fox is still there. I have to rush back to Liaodong to help defend Shenyang City and help the court resist the Tatars. I have no time to look for the Jade-Faced Demon Fox. If Elder Li still wants to complain about Deputy Gang Leader Qi,
You can find the Jade-Faced Demon Fox, and then you will naturally know who Deputy Gang Leader Qi is, is he loyal or traitorous, is he a gentleman or a villain?"
Elder Li said: "Do you even have to say this? I have sent people around to find out the whereabouts of the jade-faced demon fox. Li Tianmu, I said you were taken advantage of by that boy Shi Jinghong. It seems you don't believe it. There is an important thing. Yesterday
In the Juyi Hall, Brother Qi would rather die than tell the truth. If Brother Qi tells the truth, you will know that there is no way Brother Qi can hook up with the jade-faced demon fox.
"This matter is related to Brother Qi's face. If I tell it, I will be sorry for my friend. But in order to save Brother Qi's life and clear his unfair grievance, I have to say it." He sighed and said: "But
Before I could say anything, I was stopped by Brother Qi, and I didn’t say anything in the end.”
Li Tianmu said: "What is this important matter? Can Elder Li tell me?"
Elder Li said: "In order to prevent you from continuing to be confused, help me avenge Brother Qi. Even if I can't feel sorry for Brother Qi, I have to tell this secret.
"Brother Qi and I were friends more than thirty years ago. At that time, we traveled together in the world, punishing rape and eradicating evil. One year, we learned that the ten Yueyang brothers were lawless and misbehaving in the Huguang area, so they came to visit us and wanted to kill them.
We eradicated them and after a bloody battle, we killed all ten Yueyang brothers, but we were also seriously injured and almost both died on the spot.
"It was in that battle that Brother Qi's lower body was injured and he could no longer do that with women. Brother Qi was only in his early twenties at that time. How could he bear it? Brother Qi was so miserable that he gave up on himself and drank all day long.
He was so drunk that he remained depressed for more than two years before he came out of the shadows and regained his strength.
"Brother Qi didn't want others to know about this, so in order to hide it from others, he married a wife and made his wife a widow for the rest of his life. This is why Brother Qi has no heirs. Brother Qi often says it in front of me
, saying that he felt sorry for his wife.
"Li Tianmu, think carefully with your elm head, how could Brother Qi hook up with the jade-faced demon fox? Isn't this nonsense?"
Li Tianmu was startled and said: "That night, Mr. Tian used the soul-taking method to force the jade-faced demon fox to confess the truth. I saw it with my own eyes. This... what on earth is going on? If what Elder Li said is true, Qi
It’s really impossible for the deputy gang leader to hook up with the jade-faced demon fox, but how could Mr. Tian’s soul-stirring technique go wrong? It’s also impossible.”
Elder Li said: "The problem must lie with the person named Tian. I estimate that Shi Jinghong, the Jade-faced Demon Fox, and the person named Tian colluded to lure you into the game and put on this good show for you. They are so deliberate. No wonder you
Will be fooled."
Li Tianmu was a little confused and asked: "Elder Li, you said this was a trap set by Shi Jinghong. Then I don't understand why Shi Jinghong wanted to harm Deputy Gang Leader Qi. Is there any enmity between them? What is his motive?"
Elder Li said: "Not long ago, Shi Huang was assassinated, seriously injured, and almost lost his life. At the critical moment, he wanted to violate the ancestral system and pass the throne to Shi Jinghong, which was strongly opposed by Elder Geng. Elder Geng proposed to let Brother Qi
Temporarily act as the leader of the gang, and then convene the leaders from all over the country to elect a successor to the gang leader.
"No matter in terms of qualifications, virtue, ability, or martial arts, in our gang, except for Shi Huang, no one can match Brother Qi. He is the best candidate to succeed Shi Huang.
"Shi Huang was lucky enough to escape the disaster, but he is bound to die. He wants to remove all obstacles and help his son take the throne during his lifetime. Brother Qi is an obstacle for Shi Jinghong to succeed as the leader of the gang, and Brother Geng is also an obstacle for him.
"Brother Qi, Elder Zhong, and I all suspect that Brother Geng was killed by the Shi family, but there is no evidence. Many brothers in the gang also guessed the same, but they didn't dare to say it. Brother Qi has no intention of competing with Shi Jinghong.
As the leader of the gang, he already wanted to retire, but it was a pity that he was a step too late. Before he could retire, he was killed by the Shi family father and son.
"You asked Brother Qi to lead the way to pay homage to Brother Geng, vowing to avenge Brother Geng. Later Brother Qi talked about this matter with me, and I asked him: 'Why didn't I tell you that Brother Geng was probably killed by the Shi family's father and son?
?' Brother Qi said: 'Li Tianmu is not Shi Huang's opponent. If he proves that Brother Geng was indeed murdered by the Shi family's father and son, Li Tianmu will definitely go to Shi Huang desperately. By then, he will not only be unable to avenge Brother Geng's death.
If I have a big hatred, I will take my own life as well. In this way, I will harm Li Tianmu. 'Li Tianmu, think about it carefully and don't let others take advantage of you again."
Li Tianmu carefully studied Elder Li's words to determine whether they were true or false. He pondered for a while and said, "Shi Jinghong is Shi Huang's son. Why shouldn't Shi Huang pass the throne to Shi Jinghong? Why did Brother Geng object? Just now you said Shi
It goes against the ancestral system to pass the throne to Shi Jinghong, but what is the ancestral system?"
Elder Li said: "Li Tianmu, you don't know something about this, but you are not a member of our gang, no wonder you don't know. Many gangs in the world follow the family inheritance system, that is, after the father dies, the son succeeds, but our Beggar Gang
different.
"During the Southern Song Dynasty, our Beggar Clan had a great leader. This man's surname was Hong. Not only was he highly skilled in martial arts, he was one of the Four Saints in the world. He was also a good person and could be said to be both virtuous and artistic.
"The Hong gang leader had no heirs, so he passed the position of gang leader to his disciples. Hong gang leader didn't want the Beggar Gang to become someone's family, so he established the ancestral rule of 'passing on the virtuous but not to the sons'. This has been
It has been used for hundreds of years.
"Shi Jinghong is Shi Huang's son. He is not qualified to succeed the gang leader at all. Shi Huang wants to violate the ancestral system. How can Brother Geng agree? Perhaps it is because of his fierce opposition to this that it led to the fatal disaster."
Li Tianmu thought for a while and said: "Elder Li, according to what you said, Shi Huang and his son are indeed under serious suspicion. If it is really them and his son who killed Brother Geng and used me to force Deputy Gang Leader Qi to death, I will be shattered to pieces.
, and have to fight to the death with them.
"The top priority now is to find the Jade-faced Demon Fox as soon as possible and find out whether she was ordered by Shi Jinghong to frame Deputy Gang Leader Qi. We also need to find the young master named Tian and find out whether he is an accomplice of Shi Jinghong.
"I have some friendship with Lord Luo, the commander of the Jin Yiwei. I will ask Lord Luo to help find the jade-faced demon fox and Mr. Tian."
Elder Li stood up and said, "That's it, I'll take my leave."
After Elder Li left, Li Tianmu had no intention of practicing anymore. He lay on the bed, looked at the ceiling, and fell into deep thought, thinking: "If what Elder Li said is true, how can I be worthy of Deputy Gang Leader Qi? The sinister world stems from the sinister human heart.
, Even if poisonous insects have thousands of threads and hundreds of legs, how can they be as terrifying as the human heart?"
That night, Li Tianmu suffered from insomnia and did not fall asleep until dawn. After getting up and washing up, he left Ningbo Mansion and went to the capital to seek help from Luo Sigong.
Passing by Hangzhou Prefecture that afternoon, I thought to myself: "Does the Beggar Clan have an ancestral system of 'passing on the virtuous but not to the descendants'? This needs to be clarified. We cannot just listen to Elder Li's words. If there is no such ancestral system, Li
The elder’s words are not trustworthy. Xu Qianhu is the commander of the Zhejiang Jinyi Guards. He has lived in Hangzhou all year round and has contacts with many people in the Beggar Clan. He should know about this matter. I will ask him."
I made up my mind and drove my horse into the city. I hadn't had lunch yet, and I was hungry. I saw a restaurant near the east gate. I tied my horse to a tree, went in to tip it, climbed to the second floor, and found a table by the window.
I sat down at a free table, ordered some food and drinks, and while waiting for the waiter to bring the food, I accidentally glanced out the window.
Opposite was a bank, and a young man in shorts and a steel knife was seen walking out of the bank. It was Tian Hui. There was a car parked in front of the bank, and several shop assistants were carrying two heavy
Tian Hui carried the silver box into the car and drove away.
Li Tianmu thought to himself: "It's like walking through iron shoes and finding nowhere. It takes no effort to get here. I didn't expect to meet him here. It seems that there is a lot of silver in those two silver boxes. These silver liang Tian Hui are
How did you get it? Did Shi Jinghong give it to him?"
Li Tianmu jumped out of the window and followed Tian Hui to find out.