Volume 2 Chapter 9: A Secluded Path Occasionally Gained
Lin Jianlan had some clues in his mind after listening to his narration. Nian Xiaoxia continued: "The murderer paused and whispered: 'I dare not.'"
Lin Jianlan was startled, and tightened his grip, then quickly loosened it and asked, "Does it hurt?"
Nian Xiaoxia said, "It doesn't hurt." He raised his head and said, "You are so smart, you must know who I am talking about."
Lin Jianlan exclaimed, "Ah!" and said in a deep voice, "It must be Elder Tang."
Nian Xiaoxia nodded and said, "Although I could only see their lower halves, I saw the man who harmed Grandpa slightly kneel down, as if he wanted to greet Elder Tang, and said, 'Mr. Lin..., why are you here?' Hey, this man has the same last name as you."
Lin Jianlan asked, "So Elder Tang's surname is Lin? This is a bit strange, but why would the murderer want to meet him?"
"Elder Tang hurriedly helped the man up. When the man saw him helping him, he stood up and said, 'Why are you hanging around here ? You'd better go back to your residence.' Elder Tang paced the ground for a few times and said, 'I'm afraid the killing of the old gang leader was not caused by the department. Although you are the second-in-command of the department, you cannot break the rules at will. Besides, your whereabouts were seen by the gang leader, so the responsibility lies with you. The Taoist priest is not a fool and will not let it go easily.'"
Lin Jianlan felt that it sounded familiar, and thought to himself, "He mentioned the department and the Taoist priest. It sounds like he is talking about the Dongdu Yukou Department, but Yun Mengzhen is the head of the department, and the man who killed the leader of the Nian Gang is the second-in-command. So who is Elder Tang?"
Then I heard Nian Xiaoxia say, "The man hesitated for a moment and said, 'Sir, are you going to tell the Taoist priest what happened tonight?' Elder Tang chuckled and said, 'How could I ruin your plans? But if it were someone else, even if you could get away with it, it would probably cause a big uproar. The people in Jianghu have been dissatisfied with the Yukou Division for a long time, and the situation is tense. If there is any change, they will surely cause a commotion and rise up to fight against the Yukou Division and the court. The responsibility lies with you tonight.'"
Lin Jianlan thought to himself, "What he said is right. Tang Zimu is an elder of the Beggars' Sect and has helped Taihu before. He must know what the Nian Gang Leader said about the various factions helping each other."
The young warrior said, "Although I am young, I can tell that Elder Tang is threatening him, so the man didn't speak for a long time. Elder Tang continued, 'I have heard for a long time that Guanshi Moyu is the second most important person in the company, but I just didn't have the chance to meet him. Now that I see you, it is true that even the vicissitudes of life cannot reduce your elegance. I just feel sorry that I cannot use such a talent as you. Please think carefully, he has already died down. If he can survive for a few more years, who will take over the power?'"
Lin Jianlan was shocked and thought, "What is Guanshi Moyu? It doesn't sound like a human name. The kid must have heard it wrong. But could this Tang Zimu be a member of the Yukousi?" A few years ago, the incident with Cao Shujian had caused unrest in the Kuangyi Gang. Thinking of the day when Lin Peng's blood was splattered in front of the hall, he still felt a lingering fear. If Tang Zimu was also like Cao Shujian, sneaking into the Beggar Gang in an attempt to subvert it... thinking of this, he shuddered.
Young Nian wrapped his blanket around Lin Jianlan and continued, "Are you cold? I'm almost done. Elder Tang saw him hesitate and said, 'I have a foolproof method for today's matter. I just need you to go to the office and get a weapon. I have my own way to deal with the people he sent to Hangzhou.' After that, he whispered a few words, and the two of them quickly left the house. I was so scared that I couldn't stand up. I quickly pushed away the cover on my body, rolled and crawled to the back window, and squatted in the bushes."
Lin Jianlan sighed, "It was really lucky. When the old leader heard that person coming, he felt something was wrong, so he probably kicked the quilt to the corner to cover you. It was also because you were too thin that they didn't notice you. I roughly know what happened next. If it was Dongdu Yukousi, it wouldn't be difficult to find a weapon like the one in Lei Kan's hand. Getting rid of the old leader and letting Lei Kan be a scapegoat is like killing two birds with one stone. But... I don't know what's going on with that bloody word."
While I was thinking, I heard someone crying beside me again, "They took weapons, and I don't know what they were doing in the house. There was no movement for a long time. Elder Tang lamented, 'He was poisoned, and you hit him hard. Even if you detoxify him now, he will die.' After a while, I heard Grandpa... He screamed, but his mouth seemed to be blocked by someone, and his voice was hoarse and he couldn't shout. The man seemed to be about to do something, but was stopped by Elder Tang, who said, 'Wait, let me see.' After a while, Elder Tang laughed slowly and said, 'It's just right, it's really a coincidence, one horizontal, one vertical, and one fold, and it was written by you yourself, isn't it the word thunder? I'm afraid you don't have the strength to erase it now.' Grandpa was already dying at this moment, and he said the word 'you' a few times before there was no movement."
Lin Jianlan suddenly realized that when he first saw the bloody words, there were traces of wiping next to them. It turned out that the leader Nian found that the bloody words he wrote with his own hands had fallen into a trap, and died of exhaustion before he could wipe them off. Suddenly he remembered something and asked, "You live together every night, and now you are suddenly not in the room. Doesn't he have any suspicions?"
Nian Xiaoxia said, "I saw them leave, and I didn't know where to go. My grandfather had been killed by them. If I didn't go back, they would know that I saw them, and they might even kill me. So I went back gropingly, but before I reached the door, I saw Elder Tang standing at the door, watching with a cold look in his eyes."
Lin Jianlan nodded and said, "Tang Zimu is indeed very careful. The murderer didn't know that the gang leader lived with you all the time, but he knew it very well. If this scam was exposed by a little beggar in the future, it would be very bad. How did you hide it from him?"
The young warrior wiped his nose with his sleeve and said, "I still pretended not to see, poked around with a stick, and walked in. I knew that grandpa was dead, but I still talked to myself, saying, 'It's too cold outside, grandpa, I want to sleep with you.' Then I fumbled around and touched the quilt in the corner, and said, 'Grandpa always doesn't cover himself with a quilt because he is good at martial arts.' I took the quilt and covered grandpa with it, then lay in grandpa's arms. His body was still warm, but it was getting colder and colder. I knew that Elder Tang was still outside the door to see if I knew anything, so I didn't dare to move. After a long time, I heard a breath outside the door, and the footsteps slowly went away. Then I dared to get up and touch grandpa, but he was already cold and hard..."
Lin Jianlan thought to himself, "Although he is young and looks only six or seven years old, he has been making a living in the mixed market since he was a child. He is quite smart and knows that he will be killed if he escapes. No one in the Beggar Gang can see that he is different. Even Tang Zimu has been deceived. He actually spent a night in that room leaning against a corpse. I wonder how scared he must have been. I don't know how he managed to get through the past few days. He must have been walking on thin ice every day. It's really pitiful." After thinking about it, he gently hugged him.
The young warrior poured out all the words that had been hidden in his heart for the past few days, and cried loudly on Lin Jianlan. After a long while, he stopped crying, and the fire had already gone out. The two of them stayed quietly on the tower until the east gradually brightened. Lin Jianlan saw that he had fallen asleep on his knees, and he kept calling "Grandpa". He immediately thought of how he looked when he first left his hometown. He was much older than him and missed his grandmother every day. But now he has grown up and ventured into the world alone.
Looking far away, he saw a round red sun rising slowly through the sparse woods in the distance outside the city wall. Lin Jianlan exhaled a breath of white air, and the scenery in the distance seemed to be covered with a layer of fog. He shook his head, woke up Nian Xiaoxia, and said, "Let's go back."
Nian Xiaoxia rubbed his eyes, looked around, held the bamboo stick in his hand again, and smiled at Lin Jianlan. Lin Jianlan's mouth curled up slightly, but he praised the boy for being smart. He knew that he had to pretend to be blind when he returned to the Beggars' Sect. He carried him on his shoulders again and jumped down. He heard Nian Xiaoxia ask in his ear: "How did you know?"
Lin Jianlan couldn't help but smile, and said, "Do you still remember that I saw you in the mourning hall and then took your hand out? If you were blind and someone suddenly held your hand, you should be panicked, but you looked normal, so I suspected that you could see. When I brought you here last night, you didn't burn yourself when you were warming yourself by the fire, and you sat in a perfect position, so I was 100% sure that you were not blind."
Nian Xiaoxia nodded and said, "That's right, no wonder you asked me if I have roasted a fire like this with Elder Tang."
Lin Jianlan said, "For things like the funeral hall, he will know what's going on once he thinks about it. But he has so many things to do right now that he has no time to think about it. In three days, Lei Kan will be treated as the villain who killed your grandfather in front of all the martial artists. I will come up with a solution before that day. You have to be careful, understand?"
Lin Jianlan felt relieved after hearing his "hmm". He carried him on his back and galloped all the way. Soon they returned to the headquarters.
Tang Zimu was outside welcoming fellow sect members who had just arrived. When he turned around and saw the two of them, he looked a little surprised and walked over quickly and said, "I thought the Beggars' Sect didn't treat you well enough, so Master Lin left without saying goodbye." He then said softly to Nian Xiaoxia, "How can you let the distinguished guests carry you? Come down quickly."
If I hadn't heard what happened that night from Nian Xiaoxia last night, I would have thought that Tang Zimu was gentle and amiable. But now I felt that his tone was very hypocritical. Lin Jianlan also smiled and said, "That's not a problem. I couldn't sleep last night, so I went out for a walk. Seeing that he was crying so sadly, I carried him out for a walk."
Tang Zimu nodded, looking at the two of them in deep thought. Seeing that Nian Xiaoxia's eyes were blank and a little red and swollen, he said, "This kid has only been with the leader for a few days, but he is very sentimental."
Lin Jianlan put Nian Xiaoxia down and said, "Go and have fun by yourself. If you are tired, take a nap."
Nian Xiaoxia nodded, pointed at the ground with his bamboo pole, and walked in slowly. Lin Jianlan looked at it for a while and turned back to say, "Brother Tang, has anyone from the Kuangyi Gang come?"
Tang Zimu said, "It seems that he hasn't come yet. Hangzhou is a long way from here. I'm afraid he can only . It seems that Master Lin and this child are very compatible."
Lin Jianlan sighed and said, "Indeed, this kid's experience is somewhat similar to mine." He then briefly talked about his experiences over the years and said, "It's just that he is much more miserable than me. When I saw him, I remembered the past, so I cared for him. Oh, by the way, he was brought back to the headquarters by the old gang leader, and he is blind, so I gave him a name, called Nian Xiaoxia, what do you think, Brother Tang?"
Tang Zimu nodded slightly and said, "I didn't expect that Master Lin, who is still so young, has experienced so many ups and downs in life. This name is very good, and Master Lin is very careful. I am ashamed of myself."
Lin Jianlan smiled and said, "No, no, your sect is busy with many affairs at the moment. The elders have to worry about the memorial service and arrange for so many disciples. It is understandable that they have no time to take care of him."
The two pretended to be polite for a while, and then Tang Zimu bowed and said goodbye. Lin Jianlan watched him busy from afar, feeling a little annoyed. If the people from the Kuangyi Gang arrived that day, there would be no time to discuss countermeasures. Would they attack during the memorial service that day? Wouldn't this embarrass the Beggars' Gang in front of everyone in the martial arts world?
Lin Jianlan stood there for a long time without any clue, but felt a little dizzy from thinking so much. He had to slowly walk back to the tent. He had not slept all night and felt a little sleepy. He fell to the ground and slept until lunch time when he woke up slowly. He heard faint voices coming from outside and couldn't help laughing at himself. He thought to himself that there were so many things that made him anxious, and he was still sleeping soundly here. So he straightened his clothes, lifted the curtain, and walked out.
The mourning shed was mostly empty yesterday, but now it is a bit crowded. There are still disciples of some status in the Beggar Gang constantly reporting in at the door. Judging from their names, most of them are the leaders of various sects who came to pay tribute in person. Lin Jianlan looked around and saw several seniors who went to the Kuangyi Gang to help that day, so he went to pay his respects to them one by one.
There were crowds of people in front of the temple, but no one from Lin Longqing came. Lin Jianlan slowly walked to the door of the somewhat dilapidated main hall and saw the warrior with the flute inside, but he couldn't guess where he came from. He stood there for a long time, and suddenly heard a loud announcement from outside: "The leader of the Jade Sword Sect is here to pay homage!"
Lin Jianlan suddenly felt his heart beating fast and looked back hurriedly. He saw a white flower pinned on Cao Shupeng's lapel and a dark brown suit. He was very handsome. He thought that Cao Shujian must have been very romantic when he was young. Many years after his death, Lin Hongfeng was still devoted to him and wanted to avenge him.
Looking back, he was the only one who came. He was somewhat disappointed and laughed to himself, "Lin Jianlan, Lin Jianlan, you are too silly. How could Yin Yin come with her uncle in such an occasion?" He turned around again, still casually looking at the clay warrior. After a moment, he heard footsteps approaching him. Looking back, he saw Cao Shupeng also looking inside, with a slight smile on his face, saying, "Why did the Kuangyi Clan send you to pay tribute? Although you are Lin Longqing's adopted son, you are not well-known in the martial arts world. Sending you here is a bit disrespectful to the Beggar Clan."
