Volume 6: Overseas Chapter 280: Old acquaintance, now a powerful enemy
At the edge of the jungle, a narrow gap is hidden among the hanging vines.
The five men, torches in hand, stared at the downed signal, their faces gleaming in the flickering light, illuminating their features and giving their rough skin an oily sheen.
"Strange, could it be that it's been broken because it's been left for too long?"
It turned out that none of them had seen the urgent figure.
But when they thought that there might be strangers sneaking into the island, the five people did not dare to hesitate. They turned around and went into the narrow crack and went straight into the mountain.
But they didn't realize that right above their heads, two figures were like ghosts, looking down at them and following them.
The group walked about a hundred feet in one breath, and the mountain in front of them suddenly opened up, revealing a secluded valley.
The valley is lush with vegetation and blooming flowers. There are pavilions and towers in the woods, winding paths and clear springs, making it look like a paradise.
The five of them walked along the path until they finally crossed a small bridge. Across the bridge lay a moderately large market. Just as the woman had described, it housed not only inns and taverns but also brothels and gambling dens—everything was available.
What surprised Li Muchan even more was that this market was actually modeled after a street market in Luoyang City, and it was exactly the same.
Especially the name of the brothel, Cuifanglou.
This is where Lin Xianer and Shangguan Xiaoxian lived back then.
But the whole market was deserted and empty, with no one around and it was so quiet that it looked like a ghost market.
"Why are you so flustered?"
A voice suddenly floated out from the depths of the market.
But at the end there was a small pavilion with a person sitting in it.
The five people said cautiously: "Master, there are strangers sneaking into the island."
"Stranger?" The man, with his back to the crowd, said with a smile like a night owl, "Alas, here come some more to die... Did you see who they are?"
The leader of the five was a large, bearded man with a sturdy build. Upon hearing this, he quickly said, "We only saw a ship anchored on the shore. We wanted to send a signal to inform the brothers on the island, but it seemed to have broken down and fell down mid-flight. So we hurried back to report."
The man in the pavilion hummed, and was about to speak, but his shoulders suddenly trembled, and then he laughed strangely, and said in a dark tone: "Fool, you've already brought someone in."
As he spoke, the man turned around, his eyes as sharp as a sword, staring straight at the figure behind the five people.
"It is a great honor for our distinguished guest to visit our island..." The man clapped his hands and stood up. However, midway through his words, his eyes were already fixed on the two swords in Li Muchan's hands. "Gah... you actually took them off."
In the pavilion at the end of the market, a middle-aged man in a gray-black robe was looking at Li Muchan with raised eyebrows and squinted eyes, like a vulture looking down at its prey.
The man had no eyebrows and beard, a gloomy face, a sword wound on the corner of his forehead, a pointed jaw, slightly short eyes, a white band on his forehead, and a long sword with a black sheath slung around his waist, with murderous intent hidden in the sheath.
Li Muchan didn't bother to talk nonsense and went straight to the point: "What's your name?"
The middle-aged swordsman said calmly, "Although I am from Fuso, I have a teacher from the Central Plains. Later, my teacher gave me a name, Liu San."
Li Muchan sneered, "What a ridiculous name! Do you have two other brothers ahead of you?"
The middle-aged swordsman's cheek twitched, his eyes gleaming fiercely. "That's right, but we are not three, but seven brothers."
"Seven? Huh," Li Muchan asked again, "Who is your master?"
Liu San held his sword in hand and walked slowly out of the pavilion, saying coldly, "You are so rude! Now that you know my name, why don't you just tell me yours?"
Li Muchan smiled and said, "Li Muchan."
Liu San paused in his tracks, stopping at the market. He frowned and asked, "Are you the ghost prince from the Central Plains martial arts world?"
Li Muchan nodded, and at the same time he snapped his fingers. The five men beside him immediately stood still, motionless, with horror on their faces. Their acupoints had been sealed.
"Now, can you tell me who your master is?" he continued to ask.
After hearing his name Li Muchan, Liu San's expression became subtle and weird. He was smiling on the outside but not on the inside. He looked like he was smiling, but he looked like he wanted to eat someone.
Liu San said softly, "Why bother asking? My master is also in this sea area. If you can get past me, you'll naturally be able to see him... Also, my master has already instructed us to pass on a message to Li Muchan if we encounter him."
Li Muchan planted his two swords in the ground, stood with his arms folded, and asked casually, as if he was taking a leisurely stroll, "What are you talking about? Tell me."
"He asked us to speak," Liu San narrowed his eyes and spoke slowly, gazing at Li Muchan. "Li Muchan, how are you?"
"How are you?"
Li Muchan repeated it softly twice, and his eyes changed.
The implication of this person's words clearly showed that he was an old acquaintance of his.
Old acquaintance?
Li Muchan took a deep breath, and his mind couldn't help but begin to emerge with the enemies and friends he had encountered in the past, as well as people who were neither enemies nor friends, but had had intersections with him.
Up to now, all the opponents he met were either defeated or dead, not to mention his friends.
And someone who had crossed paths with me before, and who was so powerful and yet so hidden...
To be honest, Li Muchan couldn't remember when he had met such a person.
Could it be that some of the past enemies faked their deaths?
But looking at those powerful and great enemies, they were either killed without a burial place or torn to pieces without a complete body. There is absolutely no possibility of faking death.
Moreover, since the other party was able to accept Liu San as his disciple, he must be quite old.
"Old monster, or an old acquaintance."
Li Muchan looked towards Cuifang Tower for some unknown reason. His calm expression gradually became strange and his eyes widened a little.
He suddenly thought of someone, someone who had been dead for many years, but he had never seen the other person's body.
Moreover, this person was neither an enemy nor a friend, but a chance acquaintance whom he met only because of one of his absurd behaviors.
This is a very inconspicuous person, disliked by everyone and everyone.
Thinking of this person, Li Muchan's eyelids twitched.
He looked back at the middle-aged swordsman across from him and asked with a hint of doubt, "Is it him?"
Liu San grinned, "It seems that you already have the answer in your mind."
A somewhat blurry figure immediately emerged in Li Muchan's mind.
He was a skinny old man with a hunched body. He wore a gray robe and had white hair on his head. There was a dead look on his face all day long, and his eyes were bulging out, making him look like a corpse.
This person, who had been dead since the beginning of everything, was still alive?
The corpse collector in the Hundred Flowers Forest back then.
This person is actually a top master who is hiding his true abilities?
The more Li Muchan thought about it, the clearer the man's figure and appearance became. Even his every move, every word and deed, and his sloppy and funny appearance back then reappeared before his eyes.
If anyone could deceive him, it could only be someone who had crossed paths with him before his rise to power.
Li Muchan raised an eyebrow, paced around for a while, and finally said with a half-smile, "So that old fellow isn't dead... Alas, it seems he hid in Luoyang back then for other reasons. Was it for Shangguan Xiaoxian, or for the Flying Swordsman? Haha, he's so happy that he's almost out of his mind, and he still likes to make trouble."
Li Muchan asked again: "Is that all? Is there anything else?"
Liu San clapped his hands and said, "You are indeed clever. My master also said that if you can guess who he is, I will give you another word."
Li Muchan asked with a smile: "What?"
Liu San chuckled and said, "His surname is Zhu. I asked you to kneel down and listen."
Li Muchan sighed softly, "It doesn't matter if he's not dead. If I come here, he will definitely die."
