Volume 1: The Jianghu is the main thing, who is the guest? Chapter 1: Old Temple, Night Rain, Jianghu
With a "boom", the pale cold lightning tore through the thick rain curtain. Among the rain lines hanging under the eaves, a dark knife-like light suddenly lit up, illuminating an old signboard stained with oil.
Xu's Butcher Shop.
The rain came suddenly, and pedestrians on the street ran for their lives, some taking shelter from the rain, some cursing. Naughty children jumped around, yellow dogs barked, and the shouting of waiters on both sides of the long street added a bit of life to this part of the city.
The butcher removes the bones and picks out the tendons, peels the meat and sorts it. The knife follows the meat and the blade follows the knife. In a short while, half a pig's leg weighing over a hundred pounds is processed by the butcher and is ready for the buyers under the eaves to choose the best piece.
"My goodness, Laojiu, your boning skills are getting better and better."
"That's fucking neat."
"Cut me a pound of minced pork, half fat and half lean."
…
The boss greeted everyone one by one, and the greasy knife in his hand cut very quickly. With a single stroke of the blade and a flick of the tip of the knife, pieces of fat or lean meat were easily cut off, wrapped in lotus leaves and handed out.
The rain was getting heavier, and the number of customers coming and going in front of the meat counter was getting fewer and fewer.
Seeing that the stall was about to close, Xu Jiu suddenly swung the knife used to cut meat and chop bones.
With a sound of "ding dang", a coin with ancient charm flew in lightly from the eaves, landed on the meat table, and kept buzzing, emitting a ball of eye-catching golden light.
A pair of black boots followed him into the butcher's shop.
"I heard there's a man with a very fast sword in your area, is he here?"
The man was wearing a rain hat, a grey shirt and tight leggings that highlighted the slender and strong outlines of his calves. His voice was unhurried and sounded very light.
Without even looking up, Xu Jiu said, "You've come to the wrong place. I only sell meat here. I don't know anything about swordsmanship."
The man whispered, "Change to your sword."
Xu Jiu turned a deaf ear to him, his rough right hand covered with grease still picking up the bones, but the "tick-tick" sound of rain under the eaves became extremely clear at this moment, like the ticking of a clock.
With every sound, Xu Jiu's right hand changed a little. The originally pale flesh gradually became like cast iron, revealing his tendons and bones.
The ancient coin's rotation had slowed down, and just at the moment of lying down, a ball of dazzling light flew out from Xu Jiu's sleeve on the meat table, as fast as a snake, and bit the intruder's throat while moving.
He didn't even look as the sword was already flying, as if he could tell the opponent's height and throat by just the sound.
There is a sword hidden in the sleeve.
The sword light shone, also illuminating the pair of eyes under the bamboo hat.
The sword flashed so fast that it seemed like it was about to take someone's life, but the man suddenly stepped on one foot and flew into the air. He walked out of the butcher shop, out of the eaves, and flew backwards into the rain.
Xu Jiu pressed the butcher block with one hand, and his fat body, which was full of excess fat, was surprisingly light. He jumped up and down like a bouncing meat ball. The sword flashed and chased after him. His eyes were ferocious, and he laughed fiercely, "Is it fast enough?"
With a loud bang, there was another thunder.
Under the lightning, a gray knife light appeared again and was pulled out from the waist of the visitor. As fast as lightning, raindrops scattered on the blade, and from a distance it looked like flowing clouds and flying mist, dragging a cold light in the rain.
A sharp knife flew out from the air.
The man held a knife in his right hand and a scabbard in his left hand. The cold knife was flying across the air, and the scabbard was pushed forward, and the mouth of the scabbard instantly took in the deadly sword.
In an instant, the sharp edge was retracted, the two men crossed each other, and with a "swish", the cold sword returned to the sheath.
Xu Jiu staggered and steadied his sword, his eyes wide open, his lips moving, as if he wanted to say something.
But before he could finish his words, a cloud of blood mist gushed out from the right side of his neck, blooming in the rain and staining half of his cheek red.
※※※
An old temple, dilapidated and run-down. The unburned firewood in the temple still emits its last remaining warmth, warming the beggars beside the fire and the statue that has stood there for who knows how many years.
There was a heavy rain outside the temple, but a gray shadow suddenly came and walked in.
Rolling...
The bleeding head fell to the ground, covered with a layer of dust, and landed in front of the beggar.
Dao Twelve took off his hat, grabbed the wild rabbit that had been roasting by the fire for a long time, sat on the ground, took big bites of it, chewed it delicately, and ate slowly and leisurely.
The old beggar suddenly opened his eyes and stared at the head that was so close that it was still warm. He brushed away the messy hair on his forehead, then took out a bag of silver from the haystack under him and said coldly, "Are you hurt?"
I saw blood oozing from the right side of Dao Twelve's waist and abdomen.
The man could not only use a sword, but also a knife. He only blocked the sword, but did not block the boning knife in Xu Jiu's hand.
But with one injured and one dead, this deal is a sure win.
The old beggar saw that Dao Twelve was only concerned with eating the meat, and he picked up Xu Jiu's head, which was still open-eyed, and laughed, "The life of this traitor has finally been saved."
Finally, he reached out his hand and took out an ancient token from his bosom, stood up with a serious face, and said to Dao Twelve: "The devil has no form, and is almighty. I am the only one who can rule the heavens and the earth. In compliance with the order of the deputy leader, Dao Twelve obeys your orders. From today on, you will be officially promoted from a disciple of our sect to one of the four guardians, and be given the title of 'Thunder Envoy', responsible for coordinating the affairs of the Holy Sect's eastward expansion..."
Halfway through his words, Dao Twelve raised his pair of knife-like narrow and cold eyes and asked curiously, "Thunder Envoy? Water, fire, wind and thunder, ranked fourth? What about the previous 'Thunder Envoy'? I heard that he was a very powerful character."
The old beggar was interrupted, and a look of displeasure and anger appeared on his face. He shouted, "Why don't you accept the order?"
Upon hearing this, Dao Twelve slowly sucked a piece of bone and threw it away. Then, under the old beggar's fiery eyes, he took the dark token.
Then the old beggar said gloomily, "The last Thunder Envoy died at the hands of the Azure Dragon Society. I hope you won't follow in his footsteps."
Dao Twelve glanced at the rain outside, squinted his eyes, and smiled like a fox: "How did he die?"
The old beggar snorted coldly: "It was because of a woman that my whereabouts were exposed."
"Woman?" Dao Twelve was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, his shoulders shaking with laughter, "What a big joke."
When he finished laughing and looked back, there was nothing in front of him. There was no beggar at all.
Outside the temple, the sky was dark and windy and rainy.
But at this moment, the half-open temple door suddenly exploded, and a figure flew backwards in the flying wood chips, knocking the extinguished fire into a ball of sparks.
It turned out to be the old beggar who had just left.
In a split second, a gleam of light flashed in Dao Twelve's eyes. He flipped up his hat and quickly blocked the flying ashes that were flying towards his face. Then he kicked off the ground and soared into the sky, intending to escape.
But the moment he flew into the air, he heard the terrifying sound of breaking air from all directions, and hidden weapons flashing with cold light were even more numerous than the violent storm, coming towards him head on.
Iron nails, flying needles, caltrops, darts, meteor darts, flying knives, flying guns...
In the blink of an eye, he had identified more than a dozen famous hidden weapons in the martial arts world and was horrified.
Seeing that there was no way to avoid it, Dao Twelve made a prompt decision and turned back. He rushed out like a meteor and grabbed the old beggar, hoping to use him to block the overwhelming hidden weapons.
The sound of shattering tiles, the sound of wooden pillars colliding , the sound of hidden weapons breaking through the air, and the strange cry of Dao Twelve as he took a breath, at this moment, were mixed together by the wind and rain, turning into a thrilling scene.
But Dao Twelve's face suddenly turned pale, so pale that it seemed as if there was no trace of blood, and his eyes also turned red.
It was because the old beggar who fell in turned around and revealed a strange face, an ugly and terrifying old woman; her face was full of spots, her one eye was shining with cold light, and there was a huge blue mark on half of her face. She was three times uglier than a ghost, and she was showing a triumphant sneer.
"hey-hey."
Hearing the low laugh, Dao Twelve suddenly felt a sharp pain. A dagger had stabbed into his abdomen. After a moment of pain, he was hit by several hidden weapons in the back. He screamed and rolled out.
The dust has settled.
He raised his head with difficulty, his eyes were bloodshot, and asked in a hoarse voice: "Who... who are you?"
The old woman took off her tattered clothes and did not respond. Instead, she said respectfully to the person outside the door, "Master, I am glad to have fulfilled your order."
In the dark and rainy night, a voice that was difficult to tell whether male or female floated in: "Ahem...very good."
Dao Twelve struggled to look, and with the help of the flickering lightning, he could vaguely see shadowy figures in the rain. They were all dressed in black, wearing rain hats, with swords on their backs, and they had cold eyes full of murderous intent, like a group of soul-snatching ghosts.
The leader was wrapped in a black cloak, and the most eye-catching thing was a hideous and strange green mask looming under the brim of his hat, which was mysterious and unpredictable.
Dao Twelve understood immediately, his eyes widened, and he said hoarsely: "Qinglong Society!"
After he finished speaking, his head drooped and he was no longer able to breathe.
The hall master stepped in, set up a pile of firewood, and waited until the fire was brighter. He glanced at Dao Twelve's body and ordered, "Search!"
The old woman did not dare to delay upon hearing this, and hurriedly walked to the corpse. Just as she was about to feel around, she suddenly saw a venomous snake-like knife light rising from the dark. Just as she was turning over the corpse, the knife light had already flown from under Dao Twelve's body into the air.
Well……
Now it was the old woman's turn to stare with eyes wide open. Her vision blurred, and she staggered and fell to the ground, holding her throat. She looked at Dao Twelve who had come back to life in disbelief, opened her mouth, and then her head tilted, and she died.
With one strike of the sword, he succeeded. Without hesitation, Dao Twelve's eyes flashed with a cold light. He turned over on the ground like a fish leaping into the air, and slashed directly at the Grand Master of the Qinglong Society who was close at hand with his single sword.
The hall master narrowed his eyes and smiled, still coughing twice slowly: "Ahem, it's really not simple... Very good!"
"Die!"
Knife Twelve slashed out with one blow.
But when the sharp knife landed on the hall master's right shoulder, not a single drop of blood spilled out, and there wasn't even a wound under his torn clothes.
Dao Twelve was completely moved this time, his face changed suddenly, and he asked in a lost voice: "Tongzi Gong?"
“Know what you are talking about!”
The hall master tilted his head and praised, then lifted his cloak like a cloud and stood between the two men, murderous intent rising.
Dao Twelve was startled for a moment, and hurriedly drew his sword to defend himself, but he immediately felt a tremendous force attacking his chest, and the steel sword in his hand shattered into pieces. He fell to the ground, coughing up blood.
The hall master slowly put his hands down.
There was no flesh or bones on those hands, because they were wearing a pair of gloves woven from ice silkworm silk from the Western Regions. They were one of the rare treasures in the martial arts world and were invulnerable to swords and guns, and were not afraid of water or fire.
Looking at Dao Twelve again, his internal organs were shattered and he could not escape death.
"Disperse!"
The hall master uttered a word.
All the figures in the rain disappeared into the night like ghosts.
Without even looking at the corpse at his feet, the hall master picked up a token from the ground and smiled softly: "Demon Cult?"
However, just as he was taking a closer look, a reckless man carrying a book box suddenly rushed into the temple.
This was a scholar, looking down and out, who came in despite the rain, his gray shirt, which had been washed only to turn white, was mostly soaked, like a drowned chicken. He wiped the rain off his sleeves in a panic, while greeting, "The wind and rain are too strong, sorry to bother you, hope you..."
But when the scholar saw the situation inside the temple clearly, his eyelids twitched and he was startled.
What’s even more bizarre is that the dead person on the ground looks exactly like him. It’s really like seeing a ghost.
The air was frozen and the atmosphere was weird.
Without time to think, the scholar turned around and ran.
"goodbye!"
