Chapter 26: The Twelve Zodiac Signs
Opera House.
The world's number one killer organization, with a mysterious origin and unknown leader, is said to have lasted for hundreds of years.
There are four levels of killers in the building: Tian, Di, Xuan and Huang. As long as the money is in place, there is no one in the world that Xilinglou dare not kill.
This is the explicit information.
But in fact, all kinds of speculations about the current leader of Xilinglou have always pointed to one person - Yan Shifan, the son of Yan Song, the chief minister of the cabinet at that time.
There's just no evidence.
Others may just be suspicious, but Cao Jinxing is almost certain that the mastermind behind Xilinglou is Yan Shifan!
To maintain such a large organization, sufficient financial resources are necessary; to recruit so many powerful killers, sufficient manpower is needed.
There are only a handful of people in the entire Ming Dynasty who possess these two things and can achieve such a great success!
Among these people, the only one who needs to use this kind of organization to eliminate dissidents is Yan Shifan!
There are many righteous people in the underworld. Under such circumstances, if they did not have their own underworld forces, they would have died a thousand times already because of the series of dirty deeds done by Yan Song and his sons, such as persecuting loyal and good people and abusing power to harm the country!
It is logical and emotional that Yan Shifan and Xilinglou are inseparable.
"Why are you targeting me?"
Cao Jinxing frowned and thought: "Why did you target me? Could it be... that you want the Fire Turtle to extend Yan Song's life? Calculating his age, he is indeed almost seventy years old. This should be the most reliable guess... The problem is, if Jiajing knows that you dare to steal his things, it's not prolonging his life, it's courting death! This matter is top secret, who else would leak it? And leaked it to the Yan family... Pei Yangchun? Bai Yunxiu? That doesn't make sense... Wait! It can't be someone from the Ten Thousand Snake Cave... Damn!"
Cao Jinxing's face changed.
"I remember now. There is another leader in the Ten Thousand Snake Cave, Yang Qiancheng. He is just paralyzed in both legs, but he is not dead..."
Cao Jinxing secretly cursed himself as an idiot.
I actually missed him!
But how could he be related to Xilinglou...
"It's useless to think about these things now. When the rain stops, we must send a message to Pei Yangchun and ask him to kill Yang Qiancheng! Every failure makes us wiser. We must be more decisive in doing things next time..."
He looked up at the sky, and big raindrops hit his face. "Looks like I'll have to brave the rain tonight. Very good, Xilinglou, Yan Shifan... We'll settle this account slowly later."
He jumped on his horse, pulled the reins and rushed out of the post station.
There was heavy rain and loud thunder and lightning.
The Arabian horse ran wildly in the rain with thunder and lightning. The rain washed away the hoof prints and Cao Jinxing disappeared like a ghost.
Three quarters of an hour later.
Three figures wearing straw raincoats appeared in the post station. They stood motionless around the corpse, with zodiac masks on their faces, representing a dragon, a sheep, and a dog.
The Xuanzi killer group in Xilinglou——"The Twelve Zodiac Signs".
"No matter how fast you try, you'll still be a step too late. You underestimated him by killing him with one sword." Long said.
"Now we've alerted the enemy. I'm afraid it won't be so easy to succeed." Yang sighed.
"There's nothing we can do. The young master is in a hurry. Near Lu'an Prefecture, Xuan Ba is already considered a master. I didn't expect that this man is so amazing." The dog followed.
"How is it?" Long looked at the dog: "Can you still find his location?"
The dog snorted and shook his head helplessly: "In this kind of weather, and after so much time, there is nothing I can do. Besides, he is riding a Ferghana horse. Even if we know the direction, who can catch up with him?"
Yang thought for a moment and said, "Then we can only set an ambush. There are countless routes back to Beijing, but only a few to enter."
"Um."
Long nodded: "Use the 'Invisible Falcon' to send a message to the capital, and inform the others to go out. We must get the Fire Turtle before he returns to the Pacification Office!"
"yes!"
…
He ran for more than a hundred miles in the rain.
Cao Jinxing walked away from the main road and took a detour to a remote town. There was only one inn in the town, called "Laifu Inn".
“This name gives me a sense of security.”
Cao Jinxing retracted his gaze, knocked on the door to wake up the waiter, and before he changed his expression, he threw out a silver ingot, and the waiter immediately smiled.
"Feed the horses and ask for another room upstairs."
"Okay, I will prepare some good fodder!"
Money makes the world go round.
Once the money is in place, the service will naturally improve.
The waiter said, "Sir, you have been walking in the rain at night, and your clothes are soaked. Why don't I boil some hot water for you to take a bath, and then heat a pot of wine to drive away the cold."
“That’s thoughtful.”
There are only a few hundred households in this remote area. Xilinglou probably doesn't even bother to place spies there. In addition, the heavy rain has washed away all the traces, so it is much safer than in a town.
The waiter was very efficient. He first took Cao Jin into the room, prepared hot water, wine and food for him, and served him attentively and attentively.
Cao Jinxing gave the waiter another piece of silver as a tip. The waiter thanked him repeatedly, nodded and bowed, and then left.
Cao Jinxing took a hot bath, and Xuanyuan Fourteen in his skin joined in the fun.
It learned the Tummo Samadhi and had the power of Milarepa. It was not affected by the heavy rain, and its skin and body were very dry.
After finishing his meal, Cao Jinxing changed into a light long gown and lay down on the bed: "Looking for someone in the rain is like looking for a needle in a haystack. If I were them, I would set up an ambush on the road they must pass through and wait for them to tire themselves out. Tonight, I should be able to sleep well..."
Cao Jinxing felt relieved and touched Xuanyuan Shisi's head: "Shisi, keep an eye on him for me. I'm going to sleep first."
"Meow~"
Xuanyuan Fourteen was very energetic. He was unable to help against the White Dragon Gu before, but now that he had a place to use his skills, he nestled under Cao Jinxing's neck with his ears perked up and was on guard.
I slept until dawn.
The next morning, the rain stopped.
Cao Jinxing went downstairs to have breakfast and called the waiter from last night: "Is there anyone in this town who can carve? How is the carving?"
"have."
The waiter smiled and said, "Sir, you are asking the right person. There is a master named Jia in our town. It is said that he learned from the jade carving master Lu Zigang. The things he carves are so lifelike that they can be mistaken for the real thing. Many nobles nearby come to ask for jade."
Cao Jinxing raised his eyebrows: "It is said?"
The guy smiled awkwardly: "That's what he said himself..."
"No problem."
Cao Jinxing said: "It doesn't matter whether he is good or not, as long as he can carve something that satisfies me. Invite him for me, and you will definitely get some benefits."
"Yes, I'll go and call you right away!"
Knowing how generous Cao Jinxing was, the guy rushed out.
Soon, a thin middle-aged man was called in, carrying a box containing jade materials and carving tools.
Without saying a word, Cao Jinxing took out the cold jade box, opened the lid, and pointed at the red turtle shell inside: "You can use whatever means you want , but carve one similar to this one for me."
He took out another ingot of gold and said, "As long as you satisfy me, these are all yours."
The guy's eyes widened immediately.
The middle-aged man was also breathing rapidly.
Cao Jinxing added: "Hurry up."
"good!"
The middle-aged man's eyes turned red, and he rolled up his sleeves and was ready to get into action. He would get angry if anyone tried to stop him.
Two hours later.
Cao Jinxing got the finished product.
I have to say that if someone dares to call himself a disciple of the "Jade Carving Master", he must be quite capable.
This tortoise shell is carved from bloodstone, with billions of details added. At first glance, it looks bright red, with clear textures, and is almost exactly like the real thing.
"very good."
Cao Jinxing was very satisfied: "The gold is yours."
The middle-aged man still couldn't believe it.
Cao Jinxing had already stood up, carrying the dry food he had bought, and got on his horse, riding back to the capital...
