"In March, the grass grows and the warbler flies. "This is supposed to be the scenery in early spring, but in the north, it seems to have a natural solemnity.

In the distance, layers of black clouds gathered in the sky, and it seemed that a heavy snow was brewing. The north wind was howling, the cold was bone-chilling, the mountain peaks were bare, and the ground was congealed with broken ice ballast, and there was no account of early spring at all.

In the distance, a white horse was galloping on the road, and immediately there was a man who was tightly wrapped, and he seemed to be very young from the corners of his eyes, without a single wrinkle, and he carried a long sword that was also tightly wrapped in a white cloth.

The young man's body was lowered, hiding from the severe cold, the horse's nose kept spewing out clumps of white gas, I don't know how long it had been running, its hooves hit the ice on the ground, making a crisp clicking sound, it turned out to be four hooves with non-slip iron nails.

The horse's name is Wu Xueming, a native of Lin'an Mansion in Hangzhou, and a few years ago, he was forced to join the northern sect "Seven Killings" with his father for his livelihood.

The "Seven Killings" widely accepted people in the martial arts, but secretly colluded with the Jin State to kill patriots. At that time, the Jin State intended to go south, and deployed a detailed march route map, requiring the "Seven Killing Gates" to cooperate and infiltrate the city, and then the inside and outside should be combined to break the city.

Although he and his father did not read much, they knew that they could not do such a thing of treason against the enemy, and after a night of discussion, they decided to steal this map together and hand it over to the imperial court. But how can such an important map be guarded without a master, although the father and son are well prepared, the map was still found after it was in hand, after a desperate fight, and finally the father died, only Wu Xueming escaped with the map.

He has been running for more than half a month, this way the wind and food and sleeping, people are sleepy, horses are also lacking, fortunately has been thrown off the pursuers, he saw the front of the hillside under the green smoke, there is smoke there are people, he is happy in his heart, thinking that this weather is cold, a bowl of hot soup to warm up, so he rode to the hillside in front of him.

"Click-click-" A shrill sharpening sound of knives came slowly from the hillside.

After hearing the sound, he noticed something wrong, immediately retracted the reins of the horse, and walked according to the locks, and when he came closer, he saw a man in black rubbing a knife on the bare hillside.

"Phew-" Wu Xueming grabbed the horse and saw that the black-clothed man sharpening the knife had tattered clothes, his hair was scattered, and his face was stubble. The cold wind blew through the hole in his garment, and bulged his coat into a small tent, and he did not feel cold, and still sharpened a knife on the whetstone in his hand.

It was not so much a knife as a guillotine for the farmer's grass. And both the handle and the blade are covered with rust. When the blade rubs against the whetstone, it makes a piercing click.

"What are you doing?" Wu Xueming felt strange and couldn't help but be vigilant, with a solemnity in his eyes, he asked.

There are only two possibilities for a person who sharpens his knife in such weather, one is that he is a madman, and the other is that he is also a killer to stop him. And Wu Xueming is willing to believe that he is the first kind of person.

"Sharpen the knife. The man in black replied, not looking at his appearance, but his voice was very deep, just like this dim sky, low and cold.

"Nonsense, I ask you what you are sharpening your knife for?" Wu Xueming reached to his waist with his left hand, held the dagger hidden in his waist, and asked sharply.

"And so on. The man in black said, his voice was still cold, there was no emotional change, and the blunt knife in his hand was polished one after the other.

"Who are you waiting for?" Wu Xueming's two eyebrows were tightly wrinkled together, with his intuition, this person must not be simple. But he is not afraid, there are enough masters killed along the way, and he is not inferior to this one.

"Wait for the person I'm going to kill. "Humanity in black.

Wu Xueming's heart froze, it could be seen that he didn't look at himself, and then thought: "Vendettas abound on the rivers and lakes, I have already left the territory of the 'Seven Killing Gate', it stands to reason that no one will chase after me, and the news will not spread so quickly." ”

He was too tired along the way, and he preferred to believe that this person was not coming at him, and everything was his own delusion, so he asked, "Who are you going to kill?"

"Kill those who deserve to be killed. The man looked at the whetstone without squinting, still not looking at Wu Xueming at all.

"Who should be killed?" Wu Xueming asked.

"That's you. The man in black glanced at Wu Xueming rarely.

It's a blessing or a curse, and it's a disaster that can't be avoided. Since the moment when his father and son decided to steal the picture, perhaps they were destined to face the situation, Wu Xueming laughed, and suddenly felt heroic, and under the white bula covering his face, he revealed a young and handsome face, held the hilt of the sword with his backhand, and shouted: "So many nonsense, come on!"

The man in black didn't seem to be in a hurry to make a move, and still said unhurriedly: "Don't worry, wait." ”

The snow on the hillside was swept by the whistling north wind, rustling, and penetrating into the cracks of people's clothes.

Wu Xueming shouted: "What tricks are you going to play!"

The man in black said, "My knife hasn't been sharpened yet, you wait a minute." ”

The big battle is imminent, and it is actually a matter of waiting for people, Wu Xueming has encountered countless pursuers along the way, but he has never seen such an enemy, he knows that the other party may be wearing down his patience, and being impetuous is a taboo for soldiers, what he has to do at this time is to be calm.

He had ten thousand thoughts in his heart that he wanted to rush up and stab him to death, but morality did not allow him to do so, since he promised a duel, it must be fair, this is for the honor of a warrior.

"Boom, boom—" A cup of tea time passed, and the man in black was still sharpening his blunt knife.

Wu Xueming saw that the wind was getting stronger and stronger, and if it snowed, the road ahead would definitely be more difficult to walk, so he asked, "Okay?"

The man in black didn't answer.

Wu Xueming held back a breath and asked again: "Are you fighting or not?" Are you delaying time?"

The man in black spoke: "I have to sharpen the knife faster, otherwise it will affect my mood." ”

"Mood?" Wu Xueming said curiously.

"That's right, sharpen the knife, and when you start it for a while, cut it with a knife, just like cutting tofu, otherwise you will be troublesome and painful. The man in black said coldly.

Wu Xueming laughed when he heard this, jumped off the horse, tied the reins of the white horse to the tree, took out two steamed buns from the burden on the horse's back, sat on the ground and chewed them, and watched him sharpen his knife like this.

"If you don't have enough to eat, I have liquor and roast chicken by my side, eat more, I'm afraid I won't have a chance to eat again in the future." "Humanity in black.

Wu Xueming neither defended nor was he humble, silently came to the black-clothed man, glanced at the broken knife, leaned over and picked up a pot of wine and an oil bag beside him, turned around and sat back. Open the wine jug, a smell of wine in his face, he fled all the way, how many days and nights miss this taste, he really didn't dare, he was not afraid of the poison in the wine, raised his head and drank two big sips.

The man in black heard the sound and nodded imperceptibly.

Wu Xueming opened the oil packet, and there was a roast chicken inside, which was still warm. He took a bite of roast chicken and asked, "What's your name?"

The man in black replied, "Zhao Ke." ”

At the moment when these two words reached Wu Xueming's ears, his expression suddenly froze, and then returned to normal, he wiped the oil flowers on the corners of his mouth with his cuffs, and there was a touch of jealousy in his eyes: "Zhao Ke, you are Zhao Ke?"

Zhao Ke's name is not ordinary, the first master of the "Seven Kills Sect" Tianzi generation, he left the sect ten years ago to carry out a mission, and he didn't know when he appeared here, blocking his way.

Wu Xueming's hand holding the wine jug trembled involuntarily, and he also discovered this problem, so he took a big bite of the roast chicken to relieve this invisible fear in his heart.

The two of them were silent for a while.

A pot of white wine was all in his stomach, and the roast chicken was almost gnawed, Wu Xueming's body warmed up, felt the full strength of his body, waved his hand and threw the wine jug aside, and laughed: "It's really nice to be able to play with the No. 1 master of Tianzi!"

"No, you are wrong, you died at my hands. Zhao Ke's voice paused, and he said, "But you will also feel very happy." ”

Wu Xueming knew the way he spoke, tilted his head and asked, "Are you really that powerful?"

"I've been in the business for more than 30 years and I've never missed a beat. Zhao Ke picked up the knife and looked at it, touched the blade with his thumb, shook his head, seemed not very satisfied, and leaned over to sharpen it again.

Wu Xueming was silent, since he started to learn swords, he had heard the name of "Quick Knife" Zhao Ke, but he didn't expect to bump into him, I'm afraid it will be difficult to escape today, this may be his Jedi.

"Do you know why I've never missed?" Zhao Ke asked.

Wu Xueming was intimidated by his name and words, his voice was dumb, and he asked with a little bitterness, "Why?"

"Because I know in my heart what I can do and what I can't do, and I do what I can. Zhao Ke said lightly.

Wu Xueming's blood suddenly surged, he suddenly got up, threw the chicken bone in his hand on the ground, and shouted: "You understand? You understand what you are doing?"

Zhao Ke still didn't answer.

The fear in Wu Xueming's heart was dispelled by his hypocritical morality, and he patted his chest and said: "Do you know what what I mean? It is linked to the survival of the Great Song Dynasty and the lives of tens of millions of people! If the Great Song Dynasty dies, you will be a sinner!"

"I don't know, I'm just a killer and do what I have to do. Zhao Ke slowly got up and turned sideways to face Wu Xueming. He put his hands behind his back and said calmly: "You have finished eating, and my knife has been sharpened, come on." ”

Wu Xueming faced his long-famous predecessors, shouted, pulled out the long sword behind his backhand, danced a ball of sword flowers, and stabbed at Zhao Ke like a storm.

Zhao Ke saw that his moves were fancy, and there were eight changes in a sword stab, and with a swing of the sword, the sword would swing in the future.

Wu Xueming's move is called "Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea", there are eight kinds of back moves, which can be attacked and defended, at this time he was lightly broken by a knife, and even his body was taken to the left, he couldn't help but be surprised, the opportunity has been lost, if he made a move, then he still got it?

Zhao Ke was also deeply surprised when he saw that he had won the defeat and the change was extremely fast, and he raised his hand with a knife, and the swords intersected, choking, and sparks burst out. Wu Xueming was only shocked to the point that his hands were numb, his long sword could barely hold it, and his body was pushed back vigorously, watching his sword be cut out of a gap.

Rao is so, Wu Xueming still didn't let Zhao Ke have a chance to make a move, his left hand was raised, and a little golden light flew out from his waist, it was a golden dagger, flying to stab Zhao Ke's face, Zhao Ke saw that he was clever, and the moves were endless, sighed, as if there was a pity, and after blocking the dagger, he shouted: "Let you make three moves, which can be regarded as your morality." ”

There was a long roar, like a tiger descending from the mountain, the blunt knife broke the wind, and there was a faint dragon's roar. Wu Xueming's hair was blown to the back of his head, since he stepped into the rivers and lakes, he had never met a person with such deep internal strength, seeing that he was extremely domineering, he didn't dare to pick it up, the sword walked lightly, and he stabbed him behind with footwork.

Zhao Ke saw him dodging his edge, let go of his four fingers, and clasped the sword with his thumb alone, with a strange technique, the blunt knife was like a circle of light, surrounding the big points around his body, and in addition to defense, it was like a turntable, sweeping towards Wu Xueming.

Wu Xueming saw that his knife skills were strange, but he was not without flaws, and when he made moves, he often raised his wrist and lowered his thumb intentionally or unintentionally, thinking that his thumb was a dead hole!

Wu Xueming's eyes were quick and he stabbed towards the center of the aperture.

Zhao Ke saw the direction of his sword, raised his eyebrows, and the aperture danced more tightly.

"Zheng Zheng Zheng" passed three times, the long sword in Wu Xueming's hand was cut into three sections by the aperture, and he was also injured by internal force, his chest was sweet, and the mouthful of blood that had just gushed to his mouth was swallowed, and his left palm was pushed out and hit his chest.

Zhao Ke's left palm followed, and the two pushed and sent, Wu Xueming's body flew back like a straw, the blood in his chest was rolling, and his internal organs seemed to be torn apart.

Wu Xueming knew that he couldn't fight him no matter what, so he thought of a retreat strategy from the beginning, and the direction in which he flew backwards at this time was the direction of the white horse.

Wu Xueming didn't wait for his body to fall, he flew to the ground with one hand, jumped up on the horse, and cut the reins with a short sword in his right hand.

"Zhao Keman, Hu Ying. Wu Hook Frost Snow Ming. The silver saddle shines on the white horse. Rustling like a shooting star. ”

Zhao Ke saw that he was about to run, but he was also unexpected, snorted coldly, and pounced.

Wu Xueming covered his chest, seeing that he was extremely fast, he jumped a few steps to get closer, and the white horse also knew that the master's situation was very dangerous, so he flew with his four hooves and struggled to run down the hillside.

"What a brute!" Zhao Ke scolded, with a pair of meat feet alone, he ran three points faster than the white horse, looked at it kindly, waved out his big hand, pressed forward, and hit the horse's buttocks, and the strength was spitted, and the internal force penetrated the bones, and all the muscles and bones of the back half of the white horse were shattered, and the white horse screamed, and all four legs knelt on the ground, and Wu Xueming fell off the horse, and one person and one horse rolled down the mountain.

Wu Xueming's body stopped, lying on his back on the ground, his body had many broken bones, and he was also injured internally, and he could no longer stand up.

The snowflakes in the sky fell and fell on Wu Xueming's face, turning into drops of water, hitting his face cold, since he was a child, he had never observed snow so closely. But then, his vision was blocked by Zhao Ke's face.

"What do you have to say before you die?"

Wu Xueming's expression was relieved, and he smiled: "The skills are not as good as others, so there is nothing to say." His young face was unusually pale, and after saying these eight words, his mouth was like a fountain, and he vomited out two mouthfuls of blood, spraying his cheeks red, "Only...... It's just that I didn't send this picture on my body, which is a pity. ”

Zhao Ke raised the knife in his hand expressionlessly, and cut off Wu Xueming's head like a forage, and blood flowed all over the ground.

The snow is getting heavier and heavier, like a beautiful jade butterfly, annihilating Wu Xueming's body and creating a natural tomb for him, while Zhao Ke has long since gone, leaving only a string of shallow footprints.

A month later, Lin'an House.

"Xiangman Teahouse" is the largest teahouse in Lin'an City, where there are many fish and dragons, and traders and celebrities from all over the world like to drink tea and chat in the building, telling strange people and strange things.

At this time, two tea guests by the window were discussing a strange thing, which attracted the attention of countless people.

A person said: "Do you know, a strange thing happened yesterday, a person stopped the sedan chair of the right minister Li Gang on the street, saying that he wanted to meet the lord. Before and after the man was passed on by Lord Li Gang, the man took out a picture from his arms, and Lord Li Gang was very shocked when he saw the picture, and he wanted to invite him to go with the sedan chair. ”

Another person: "Li Gang's main anti-Jin, Corporal Lixian, presumably this person wants to vote for the country under the adult's account, what's so strange?"

The first person sighed: "But for some reason, the man said a few words, but he took out a golden dagger and wiped his neck, and committed suicide." ”

"Yes, yes, I also saw it, it was close at that time, and Master Li Gang also said that the person was a loyal person. A man at the next table answered.

Another person next to him came over and said, "The person who sent the picture seems to have said that he can't disobey his orders, and he is in a dilemma of loyalty and righteousness." ”

The whole building was talking about this strange thing, and they didn't figure out what the reason for the matter was, but when it came to the man's suicide, everyone sighed, and there was a sigh on their faces.

Dark clouds are rolling in the sky, and it looks like another heavy snowfall.

A guy leaned on the railing, shaking the white cloth in his hand, looking at the black clouds spreading in the sky, and muttered, "What's wrong with the ghost weather this year, it's still snowing at this time?"

After a while, large snowflakes fell from the cloudy sky, and the snow was filled, covering the entire Lin'an City.