She had always been eloquent, and she showed no mercy at this moment. Because Madam Wan had once locked her up in a dungeon, her tone was disrespectful to Madam Wan. Her words irritated Madam Wan so much that her face suddenly changed and she said with trembling lips, "Girl, what do you know? Ah Xiu..."
Lin Jianlan sighed, "Sister Man, there are many inside stories that you don't know. Ah Xiu has been seriously ill and weak since she was a child. She can't be away from anyone for a moment. If she gets lost and no one takes care of her, she will most likely be in danger..." Having said this, she could no longer speak and could only forcefully hold back the tears that welled up in her eyes.
Lu Man was speechless for a moment, thinking back to how tired Wan Xiu was when she sent them out that day, and how Wan Jianhong and his wife almost imprisoned them to death for that golden-crowned clam. It was true that she was seriously ill and incurable. She stared at Lin Jianlan for a while and saw that he seemed to have grown a little taller. Perhaps because he had been wandering alone since they separated, he was now a mature young man. His clothes were stained with blood, and his face had lost its usual bright smile. She felt that there was something she couldn't say, and after hesitating for a long time, she made up her mind and asked, "Madam Wan, forgive me for being so presumptuous, but does Miss Wan... well, have... a crush on my brother?"
Lin Jianlan's face immediately turned red, and he did not answer. Madam Wan turned her head away and said bitterly, "If not for this, why would Ah Xiu go to deliver a letter to someone else in the rain late at night?"
Seeing that neither of them denied it, Lu Man's heart tightened. She looked up and saw the mourning woman in silver behind Lin Jianlan. She bit her lips slightly and her face became paler, but she still looked as if it had nothing to do with her. She couldn't help but smile bitterly and said, "Brother, it's easy for you to die today. If Miss Wan is lucky enough to come back one day, and knows that you died because of her, wouldn't it be a hundred times more painful? In my eyes, you are not someone who gives up easily. You have never even made an effort to find Miss Wan. Why do you believe what Madam Wan said?"
Madam Wan looked around and saw that Bai Zongping was quite dissatisfied. He might not help Lu Man with all his strength if a fight broke out. If Cao Yinyin wanted to stop them, she would not have released herself and Lin Jianlan earlier. She felt that her chances of winning had increased greatly. She snorted and said, "It's his business whether to believe it or not. I can't believe that this kid makes several girls worry about him. But I don't even think highly of the little girl from the Nanhai School!" After that, she still swung her sword at Lin Jianlan.
She came from a famous family and had been married to Wan Jianhong for many years, so her swordsmanship was quite good. Moreover, Lin Jianlan still had his back to her and had no intention of dodging. Just as she was about to stab him, she saw a pale yellow figure flash by the side, and she waved her sword with a startle in her heart, so she withdrew the sword and waved it around. With a few subtle sounds, dozens of Taiyin needles were swept to the ground by her.
Lu Man was still smiling, and said, "Madam, don't be so unreasonable. He is my sworn brother, so naturally I have to worry about him. Although I can't beat you, I am confident that I can stop you from hurting my brother." After that, she pulled out a soft whip from her waist and swung it gently. Although she had a smile on her face, she did not dare to underestimate the enemy. She stared at Madam Wan's every move with a very serious look.
Madam Wan was stopped several times and her heart was burning with anxiety. She calmed down and said to herself, "If she keeps stopping me, it will be difficult for me to do it. It is better to get rid of her first and then avenge Ah Xiu." Thinking of this, she still stabbed at Lin Jianlan with a sword. Lu Man really twisted her body and rushed forward, waving her whip to save her, but she saw that the tip of the sword suddenly turned and stabbed Lu Man's wrist holding the whip. Although she withdrew her hand in time and did not get cut, she still felt a pain, probably because she was injured by the sword energy.
At this moment, Madam Wan's sword moves were opening and closing in all directions, and the sword energy continued to shoot at Lu Man like an arc, with a charm of "endless long rainbow". Although Lu Man was unable to parry, she did not stop talking, dodging and saying: "I said the old lady was unreasonable, so you got angry? I'm afraid I'll say something even more unpleasant!"
Madam Wan snorted coldly, but her men showed no mercy. Then she heard Lu Man say, "As a mother, have you ever thought about why Miss Wan didn't want to go home? Why did she go to inform Master Lin late at night? She is so kind-hearted. How sad must she be to have such cruel and heartless parents like you? If it were me, I wouldn't want to go back and watch you do bad things again!"
This really angered Madam Wan, and her moves became more fierce. The sword almost pierced Lu Man's temples. Lu Man hurriedly turned her head and a lock of long hair fell. Madam Wan's left hand grabbed her right elbow like a hook. Lu Man dodged sideways and swung the whip towards Madam Wan's left hand, but she was not afraid. Instead, she reached out to grab the tail of the whip and said hurriedly: "Ouch, it's poisonous, don't grab it!"
Madam Wan hastily withdrew her hand, but heard Lu Man giggle and say, "I was just playing with the whip, how could it be poisonous?"
Mrs. Wan was furious at her provocation and attacked again. Lu Man moved swiftly and said in a tender voice, "I think I hit the nail on the head, so I know you have bad intentions! Besides, you didn't discipline your daughter well, and she eloped at night like someone else and got lost. Now you come to take someone else's life. Aren't you ashamed?"
Women from the Jianghu often go out and about, and no one takes it seriously. However, Wan Xiu was frail and sickly, so she had always been kept in the boudoir like a lady from a noble family. For her to stay overnight in a man's room was an extremely embarrassing thing no matter what. When Mrs. Wan heard this, it was like hearing Lu Man say that Wan Xiu was a lewd and obscene person. She felt a "buzzing" in her head, and a heat burned from her forehead to her ears. After a pause for a moment, the long sword in her hand attacked Lu Man like a madman.
But before she could attack, someone had stood in front of Lu Man without knowing when. Although he stood with his back to Madam Wan's frantic sword, he seemed to have eyes on his back. He held the long sword and bent his elbows behind his back. Lu Man had already stayed where she was. Amid the clinking of swords, Lin Jianlan's face sank as he said, "Sister Man, thank you for worrying about me, but you can't slander Ah Xiu... I don't want you to save me, so go away."
When Lu Man saw him rushing to the battlefield between the two and shielding her from the sword, she was extremely happy, thinking that he finally understood and no longer wanted to die in vain. She didn't expect him to say such words. Her face turned pale and her lips trembled for a long time. She gritted her teeth and ran away without saying a word. Bai Zongping was still standing at the edge of the forest. Although he couldn't hear the conversation between the two clearly, he guessed a little when he saw Lu Man flying away. He glared at Lin Jianlan with hatred and chased after Lu Man.
Lin Jianlan stared blankly at Lu Manben's disappearing figure, but he was still unconsciously moving his sword behind him to rebound Madam Wan's sword moves.
Mrs. Wan saw that he suddenly started to resist. Although he was injured in the chest, for some reason he was still so fluent in his moves. No matter what she did, she could not penetrate the sword net behind Lin Jianlan. She was already exhausted . She thought to herself, "Jianhong once said that this kid was still a country boy who knew nothing in Liaodong. It's only been a few years, how come he has made such progress? He is so good from behind, I'm afraid he won't have a chance to attack from the front." The thought of this made her more anxious. She gritted her teeth, quietly picked up a few sleeve darts from her sleeve with her left hand, and threw them at the vital part of Lin Jianlan's back with all her strength.
She was quite powerful and close to Lin Jianlan. If she hadn't taken precautions, she would have been safe. However, Lin Jianlan suddenly disappeared. The sleeve darts flew into the air and were nailed to the tree in front of them. Madam Wan was horrified and asked, "How...how did you see that?"
Lin Jianlan had landed in front of the right hand at this moment, and said with a wry smile: "Madam Wan, most people are used to holding a sword with one hand, and all their minds are focused on this hand. When I was trying to block your sword move just now, I suddenly felt the force weakened, which means you have to divide your attention and strength to use on your left hand. You don't have a second weapon, so you can only use hidden weapons. It's not difficult to dodge in advance."
Madam Wan gritted her teeth and said, "But I was lucky to guess right. Today, no matter what, I will not let you leave this forest alive!" After that, she raised her sword and went forward again. But she heard a sound of wind beside her. An extremely thin white rope broke through the air and came, wrapped around the sword in her hand, turning several times very quickly, and then slowly stopped. No one knew what it was made of, but it could not be cut.
The object dangling at one end of the white rope was still the silver dagger, while the other end was tightly held in Cao Yinyin's hand, which was a silver long sword, the same length as an ordinary sword. In the main hall, Cao Yinyin used the dagger to deflect Madam Wan's sword. When Lin Jianlan saw her take out this weapon again, he thought to himself, "That night, I heard the leader of the black team say that Yinyin's swordsmanship was created by a famous master, named 'Double Snow'. These two swords look so cold, they must have been specially made for her."
Madam Wan was stopped several times and angrily asked, "Are you going to regret it, girl?"
Cao Yinyin said coldly, "I never promised you anything. Your daughter's illness and death had nothing to do with Master Lin. He just gave in, but you, as an elder, are like a mad dog, biting at random. Not to mention in front of the Kuangyi Gang headquarters, even if it happened in other places, I would not care about it."
Madam Wan said, "Don't bring up the Kuang Yi Gang. I don't know what conspiracy you two used to force Lin Longqing away. What good intentions do you have in being so attentive to his adopted son?"
Cao Yinyin snorted coldly, and a very sarcastic smile appeared on her lips. She said, "Whether I used conspiracy or real ability, everyone present can see it. You, the wife of the head of the Jinzhou branch, don't need to guess. Maybe I shouldn't use this title anymore. It won't be long before you are the wife of the leader of a gang, right?"
Lin Jianlan thought to himself, "From what she said, she beat Uncle Qing with her real ability. How...how is this possible?" Seeing the crowd behind Cao Yinyin surging, a man came out and said in a deep voice, "Wan Jianhong has started a new business in Chang'an. Everyone knows what he is thinking. People in the martial arts world are free to come and go. I am afraid it is not appropriate for me to go and congratulate him in person when he starts a gang. I can only say take care. Sister-in-law, please go back."
Madam Wan had been secretly planning with Wan Jianhong, Doctor Cheng and others, and now that she was exposed, she looked extremely embarrassed. She saw that there were many onlookers from the Kuangyi Gang in Linzhong, and that everyone in the gang knew that Cao Yinyin had been gifted since childhood. Now that she spoke up for Lin Jianlan, she was afraid that she would not be able to get any benefits, so she could only think about it slowly. Thinking of this, she said bitterly: "If you have the ability, protect this kid for the rest of your life!" After that, she stomped her feet and left.
Lin Jianlan opened his mouth to shout, but he didn't know what to say. Every time he thought of Wan Xiu, his heart ached. What's more, Madam Wan, the pain of losing her daughter would be impossible to make up for, so it would be better to let her hate him like this.
Looking back, he saw the man beside Cao Yinyin. His bold and honest aura was no longer seen. He only felt very steady and trustworthy. He was afraid that this was his true face. He and Uncle Qing had been deceived by his rough appearance for a long time. Lin Jianlan couldn't help but smile bitterly and stepped forward and said, "Protector Qin."
Qin Tianxiong smiled calmly and said, "Just now I saw from afar that Master Lin's body movements were very exquisite. It is indeed a waste of talent for him to practice martial arts under me."
Lin Jianlan thought of the past, although he had doubts about his teachings, they had always been close. Among the few people he knew, apart from Yue Lingfeng, he loved to get along with Qin Tianxiong the most. Now he was being so polite and courteous like a stranger. He felt sad and thought to himself, "Today's Qin Tianxiong is not the Qin Tianxiong of the past."
Qin Tianxiong saw that he was silent, but he didn't mind. He smiled and said, "I heard that Master Lin has been detained in Chang'an since he left the Kuangyi Gang. He came all the way to Hangzhou and arrived at the Kuangyi Gang headquarters. I'm afraid it's not as simple as just walking around the door? It's not convenient to talk here, why don't you invite him into the gang to have a chat."
Lin Jianlan heard him speak in a lukewarm tone, which was very different from his previous rough and careless words without any scheming. He sighed in his heart that it was true that one could not judge a person by his appearance, and thought to himself: "Why do you have to be so hypocritical? Don't you know why I'm here?" Thinking of this, he became a little angry and said, "Thanks to Protector Qin for inviting me. I won't be polite." After that, he threw the long sword in his hand to the feet of a bystander with a "whoosh", said "thank you" and walked back to the Kuang Yi Gang Hall.
He was very familiar with the layout of the hall. He was leading the way, followed by Cao Yinyin and others. Cao Yinyin still had no expression on her face, while Qin Tianxiong had a smile on his face. The gang members who were patrolling in groups of three or two stole a glance at these people. Although they did not dare to speak for Lin Jianlan, they were still happy for him when they saw that he had escaped the old lady's pursuit.
The man who borrowed the sword was surrounded and questioned by many people. He hesitated for a long time before shyly saying, "I just felt a figure flash in front of me. I don't know when he took the sword away." Those people were disappointed with this lackluster description, and they all dispersed with a snort.
Soon the three of them arrived at the Kuang Yi Hall, only to see many more people inside. Some of them had never been seen before, while some were hall masters that Lin Jianlan had met on his way to Jiangnan when he was a teenager. Tie Song was among them.
Everyone sat down again. Lin Jianlan saw that Qin Tianxiong was sitting in the position where Doctor Cheng used to sit. He looked calm, as if he was supposed to sit there. He thought to himself, this is no wonder. Qin Tianxiong was probably the only one who made the great contribution to the return of Lin Hongfeng and her daughter to the Kuangyi Gang. He just didn't know what the situation was like that day. Uncle Qing was actually captured by them.