Lin Jianlan thanked him repeatedly, but smiled bitterly in his heart: "What do I need a broken sword for..." He could only hold the two pieces of iron in his hands, bowed to the people around him and said: "Since I have already lost, I have no reason to linger in your gang, and I will not ask the people in the Kuangyi Gang about the whereabouts of the former gang leader and several hall masters. I will take my leave now."
Cao Yinyin's eyes flickered with coldness, and he said, "Deputy Gang Leader, please see me off. If Master Lin can ignore the previous relationship, then our gang will welcome you as a distinguished guest who has not yet arrived."
Hearing that her voice was still cold, Lin Jianlan wanted to ask her: "The Kuang Yi Gang has lost 30% to 40% of its essence at this moment. Are you trying to win me over by saying this? What do you think?" She moved her mouth but said nothing. She sighed, turned around and walked out the door, and Qin Tianxiong quickly followed.
The two of them were silent until they reached the entrance of the dense forest. Lin Jianlan felt that the fight just now was unreasonable. He stopped suddenly and heard the footsteps behind him stop without taking an extra step. He turned around and said, "Deputy Gang Leader Qin."
Qin Tianxiong still had a seemingly honest and cheerful smile, but the taste was completely different from before. Lin Jianlan was stunned and asked: "Why is the same person completely different?"
Qin Tianxiong didn't expect him to say this, and was stunned for a moment, then said calmly: "It's just eight words, 'When you are in the arena, you have no choice.' But you are still the same as before, which is rare." At this point, he clasped his fists and said: "I can only send you here, goodbye for now."
Lin Jianlan said "Oh" in confusion and watched him turn and walk away. He recalled the days when they often argued with each other during martial arts training and secretly often felt sorry for him for not being able to comprehend the next level. Today, it seems that all of that was just an act. The profound martial arts in the world may still be solved, but the human heart can never be guessed.
The crossing was already quiet. Lin Jianlan looked back at the headquarters of the Kuang Yi Gang hidden in the dense forest for a long time before he turned around silently and said to the iron sword in his hand, "Broken Sword, Broken Sword, could she know my intention today? Alas, I'm stupid again. I can't tell the importance of each other. If I can defeat her by chance, she will just lose face, but maybe I will know the whereabouts of Uncle Qing." He smiled bitterly and said, "Whether she knows or not, you can't say." He weighed the two pieces of iron in his hands again and slowly walked forward.
But he heard a slight "crack" sound under his feet, as if he stepped on a dead branch. After walking a few more steps, Lin Jianlan suddenly stopped, raised his head and looked around. Seeing green shade everywhere, he looked at the ground carefully again and walked back. He walked to the place where the slight sound was made, squatted down and looked carefully, and suddenly froze there.
A strand of soft black hair fell in the dust, and had not been blown away, only gently fluttering. Lin Jianlan used his hand to push the hair, and saw that it was held down by a hairpin, which had just been broken in two by him. He picked up the upper part of the hairpin and looked at it carefully. He saw three peach blossoms carved on the head, two of which had already bloomed, and one was in bud, which was very lifelike. At the lower end was a thin round wooden stick, which, although it fell into the dust, still emitted a black luster. It must be that Lu Man loved it very much and often wore it on her temples.
Thinking back to how Lu Man had used all her strength to help him, and if he had not dodged in time, Madam Wan would have scratched her beautiful face with a bloody mark, but he had sent her away. Lin Jianlan felt extremely regretful. Seeing that the hairpin was broken again, he had to pick up the lower end and put them together. Although the joints were right, he was afraid that he could no longer put them together.
As he was fiddling with it, he felt a strong wind and sand. The strand of hair on the ground was blown by the wind and was about to be blown off the ground. He hurriedly grabbed the strand of hair in his hand. When the wind passed, Lin Jianlan squatted there with two broken swords, two broken hairpins and a strand of hair in his hands. He felt like a fool in his heart, but he was reluctant to throw them away.
Lin Jianlan sighed and stood up. The sun flashed and he noticed something glowing on the ground not far away. He was curious again and walked a few steps and squatted again. He looked for a while and felt deeply moved. He thought to himself, "It turns out that it is worth it to break the sword and admit defeat in public."
There were dozens of Taiyin needles scattered on the ground. They were thrown by Lu Man for the first time when Madam Wan was about to attack. It was not unusual for them to be scattered here, but there were several of them that were broken in the middle, as if they were cut in half. Lu Man's internal strength was average, and the Taiyin needles were as thin as cow hair, so how could they make a sound when they hit Madam Wan's sword? At that time, Lu Man looked at his hands with a strange expression, but he could not have thought that it was Cao Yinyin who drew his sword again, and hit Lu Man's Taiyin needles at the same time, hitting Madam Wan's sword, which was why several of them were cut in half.
And with her character, if she had known that Sister Man would save me, she would not have helped. This was also a coincidence. She quickly put the silver sword in her sleeve, but she did not see a single thing. Thinking of this, Lin Jianlan took out a handkerchief from his sleeve, put all the objects in his hand on it, and carefully picked up the needles on the ground and put them in the handkerchief. These were all rags that others did not care about, but to him, each one was like a treasure. Although he secretly laughed at himself like a child, he still wrapped himself tightly and slowly walked away from the headquarters of the Kuangyi Gang.
After a while, two people quietly walked out of the dense forest. They were Cao Yinyin and Qin Tianxiong. Even though Lin Jianlan was no longer visible, she was still staring in that direction in a daze. Qin Tianxiong said softly, "Do you want me to arrange for someone to investigate the origins of that woman and the whereabouts of Wan Xiu?"
Cao Yinyin shook her head and said coldly, "Wan Xiu is about my age. I met him when I was very young. Later, I heard that he was seriously ill. This time, according to Madam Wan, he is missing. It is very likely that he died outside. It is a foregone conclusion that Wan Jianhong will go against us this time. I don't bother to win him over and find his daughter for him. I don't have that much kindness. As for the woman, Madam Wan once said that she was from the Nanhai School."
Qin Tianxiong said: "Although the Nanhai Sect now lives in a small corner and doesn't go out much, it used to have a bad reputation. The female disciples there were all good at attracting bees and butterflies. It seems today that they have known each other for a long time..."
Cao Yinyin waved her hand to signal him not to say anything more. She pondered for a while and said, "I heard that they call each other brother and sister. I'm afraid Master Lin didn't mean it. But the woman is indeed as you said. People's hearts are hard to predict. You can arrange a reliable person to find out."
Qin Tianxiong nodded and asked, "How do you feel about today's fight, young lady?"
When Cao Yinyin mentioned this, his face suddenly melted like ice in the spring breeze, revealing a little smile and saying: "The injury he had since childhood actually helped him. He also has some talent, and his internal strength has improved a lot. The ice and fire in the furnace mental method is not something that everyone can comprehend and practice. You should have seen just now that his body shape and footwork were not affected by the Six Snow Mysterious Art. It must be that his inner Zhoutian was affected by the outside world and spontaneously adjusted the yin and yang. But he seems to be quite confused about this. Obviously, he has not explored his internal strength enough."
Qin Tianxiong said: "I'm afraid he will understand it after thinking about it for a while when he returns."
Cao Yinyin hesitated for a moment, bit her lips, and her lips immediately turned pink. She said, "Prepare some good medicine for the wounds and have someone send it to where he is."
Qin Tianxiong was a little surprised and asked, "Miss, have you decided yet?"
Cao Yinyin lowered her head and said, "I'm afraid we can't settle it so soon. If there's a chance, we need to meet again..." Her voice gradually faded. Qin Tianxiong stepped forward with a worried look on his face, and then comforted her, "You'd better be cautious. After all, it concerns your whole life. If you want it to be as I wish, why not..."
But Cao Yinyin shook her head and walked back silently. Qin Tianxiong looked at her thoughtfully as she turned into the door. He sighed and whistled softly. In a moment, someone came out of the jungle. Seeing that it was Qin Tianxiong, he was about to greet him. Qin Tianxiong waved his hand and said, "We are all brothers from the gang. No need to be polite. Send two capable people to Yujianmen to greet Madam Cao and tell them that I will be waiting for her at Yijian Pavilion at noon tomorrow. I have something important to discuss with her."
The man had long been accustomed to this and didn't ask too many questions. He responded and hurriedly disappeared into the forest. Qin Tianxiong then slowly walked into the main hall. In the past, matters concerning medicinal materials were all taken care of by Doctor Cheng, and he didn't need to worry too much about them. But now the situation was unstable and everything was pending, and he had to arrange these trivial matters himself, so he had to go to the warehouse.
Lin Jianlan returned to Hangzhou City, but he was wandering aimlessly. Cao Yinyin never told him the whereabouts of Lin Longqing and others, and Wan Xiu was in trouble and her life or death was unknown. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but say to himself: "It's gratifying that Sister Man came at this time. She is smart and knowledgeable. Maybe she can help me with some advice. It's a pity that I drove her away and never asked her why she came to the headquarters of the Kuangyi Gang. Now I don't know where she is resting."
Looking around, the street was crowded with people. Lu Man had left the Kuang Yi Gang headquarters a long time ago. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack to find her. However, if I missed today, I really didn't know when I would see her again. I expressed my regret. Thinking of this, I suddenly had an idea and thought to myself, "Sister Man is so beautiful. I'm afraid there are not many women like her in Hangzhou. If I ask along the way from the city gate here, I should be able to find her."
Although this method was a little clumsy, it was practical. Lu Mansheng was extremely beautiful. Lin Jianlan only asked two vendors, one of whom had an impression of her and asked, "Are you talking about the girl in the yellow shirt?"
Lin Jianlan nodded quickly and said, "Yes, you look very pretty when you smile."
The vendor said, "I don't know what she looks like when she smiles. She is naturally pretty, but she seems to be in a very bad mood. There is also a pale-faced scholar next to her who keeps talking to her. She went over there, but she has been gone for more than an hour."
After hearing what the vendor said, Lin Jianlan felt his heart suddenly heavy. He forced a smile and thanked him, then he went in the direction he pointed. It took him another half an hour to finally arrive at an inn. Although the decoration was elegant, it looked very deserted. The waiter at the door saw someone looking in and was very smart. He immediately walked up to Lin Jianlan and asked, "Sir, are you staying at the inn?"
Lin Jianlan hurriedly shook his hand and said, "No, I'm here to look for someone." Seeing the waiter's unhappy expression, he quickly stuffed a few copper coins into his hand. The waiter's expression changed again, secretly put the copper coins into his arms, and asked with a smile, "Who are you looking for, sir?"
Lin Jianlan said: "It was a girl in a yellow shirt, who looked..."
The waiter's eyes lit up and he said, "She's very pretty, isn't she? Yes, yes, she lives in the room on the east side of the second floor. I'll take you up there!"
Lin Jianlan couldn't help but smile and said, "No need to lead the way. I'll go up by myself. Don't let anyone disturb us." He originally wanted to be quiet, fearing that the waiter would be curious and come to disturb them by bringing tea or water. But after saying this, he felt that what he said was inappropriate, and he coughed dryly and blushed slightly. The waiter was used to this kind of thing and thought that Lin Jianlan was just an ordinary playboy who came out for a tryst. He hurriedly "understood" and said, "Please rest assured no one else is staying on the second floor."
Lin Jianlan could not say anything more, so he hurried up the stairs and walked towards the room at the east end. Before he reached there, he heard a "crack" sound from inside, as if some porcelain had fallen to the ground. The waiter hurriedly went up a few steps of the stairs, but ran down again, sticking out his tongue, and suddenly remembered that a man and a woman had stayed overnight. He thought to himself, "Oh no, these people who came later were here to catch an adulterer, and now they are fighting. I can't go up and intervene, so I just guard the door and catch them and the teapot that accompanies us later."
Lin Jianlan stood outside the door, as if stunned by the sound of shattering. It took him a while to come back to his senses, and he heard Lu Man's trembling voice: "Get out!"
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a sound of footsteps approaching hurriedly. The door creaked open, and the two people inside were stunned. Bai Zongping never thought that Lin Jianlan could find this place. Lin Jianlan nodded slightly and said "Brother Bai", then looked inside, and saw a pile of teapot fragments on the ground, with tea leaves and tea spilling everywhere. Lu Man looked even more angry, with a strand of hair on her temples that she had not had time to tidy up, as if the two of them had been arguing since they came back from the Kuang Yi Gang.
Lin Jianlan hesitated for a moment, then called down, "Waiter, make another pot of good tea and bring it up." Then he squeezed past Bai Zongping and entered the room, saying, "It's not easy to find this place."
Bai Zongping was standing at the door. When he saw him walk in, he was about to leave in a huff. However, he was worried about him getting along with Lu Man, so he could only stand at the door awkwardly, not saying a word.
The waiter hurriedly brought up the teapot and teacups, and neatly swept up the debris and stains on the floor. He raised his eyes to peek at the three people, and seeing that they all had unfriendly expressions, he quickly turned around and walked out, closing the door. He was secretly shocked and said, "Sure enough, they are here to catch an adulterer. They are so frivolous at such a young age. How disgraceful?" However, when he thought of Lu Man's beauty, he couldn't help but feel a little envious. He sighed and started to prepare for the door again.