Bai Hao came to the desk, lifted the purple sheep hair with slightly dry ink on the pen mountain, gently supported his wrist with one hand, and turned his handwriting with the other, and the three words "Cao Baiji" jumped on the paper.

He lifted the tough and white rice paper, smiled and asked, "Brother Geng, is that the name?"

Geng Jian's right hand clenched the hilt of the sword slightly, his sword eyes narrowed slightly, and he nodded calmly: "Hmm." I shouldn't have killed him with my last sword, does the city lord know the specific identity of this person?"

Bai Hao shook his head slightly, and the essence of the tiger's eyes flashed, and Geng Jian's subtle hand movements did not escape his eyes.

He said meaninglessly: "Brother Geng is really defeated at the hands of this person?"

Bai Hao's attitude towards Geng Jian was not friendly. In his eyes, they are all eating the monarch and doing things for the king, to put it mildly, who is not His Majesty's minions and lackeys, but Geng Jian in front of him does not have this kind of consciousness, and has always been outside this kind of identity cognition, pretending to be high.

Therefore, he didn't mind dampening this person's spirit, and asked with pretended worry: "Brother Geng, is his memory confused after being poisoned, how can you defeat a third-grade poison cultivator with your strength?"

The coldness in Geng Jian's eyes flashed, and he said in a stiff tone: "I'm not mistaken, Cao Baiji, the three-grade poison cultivator, and I'm ...... It was indeed defeated. ”

Geng Jian suppressed the emotions in his heart, raised his chin lightly, looked directly at Bai Hao and asked, "Does the city lord know or not know the identity of this person?"

Bai Hao deliberately didn't answer, and lowered his head to pick up the pen and write something.

In the spacious study, the display of the interior bookcase and the placement of the four treasures of the study room are not only full of antique historical taste, but also invisibly exude a noble atmosphere.

When the purple sheep swiped across the rice paper with ink, in the slight "rustling" sound that was even more prominent in the quiet, Bai Hao wrote words such as "Sanpin", "Poison Cultivation", and "Better than Geng Jian" on the tiled rice paper, around the name "Cao Baiji", and he did not mean to confirm it to Geng Jian this time.

Geng Jian's sword eyes were slightly flickering, he could easily see the content on the rice paper, this silent humiliation made the Taixu sword intent around him invisible, more and more condensed, and finally the sword domain became its own.

He seems to be targeting that name, and it seems to be targeting Bai Hao's silent actions. The rustling of the brushstrokes finally became much more difficult.

"City Lord?" Geng Jian asked with a chuckle.

His back was straight, standing opposite Bai Hao, and he was also in a black robe with gold threads.

The Hibiscus Dynasty regarded black as the precious, and gold as the imperial color.

Because of Bai Hao's status as a royal family member and the loyal supporter of the current emperor, he was rewarded with a black gold silk python robe to wear, and his power and status were fully demonstrated.

Geng Jian, who was standing opposite, was wearing a black hibiscus flower suit. This kind of clothing is called "hibiscus clothing", with black as the base color, and the hibiscus flowers on the corners are divided into three colors according to the power position, and the hibiscus flowers on Geng Jian's body are all outlined with gold threads, which not only represents his strength and merits in the heavenly hunt, but also represents his power position at the same level as Bai Hao, an important minister.

But that's what he is, he was born proud and self-controlled, and he still failed.

The sword cultivates the sword, and the pursuit of flying swords to take people's heads. Geng Jian didn't kill anyone this time, but he was poisoned by a huge amount of poison.

As long as he thought that he had debuted in the rivers and lakes for so many years, with the strength of the second-grade peak sword cultivation, he had lost to a third-grade poison cultivator, and the other party was obviously a newcomer in the rivers and lakes with a strange face, he felt that the air in the study was laughing at him.

Bai Hao's own qi was generated, resisting Geng Jian's sword domain, and he finished writing the last word "green", and then he lightly placed the brush on the cyan pen mountain.

"Brother Geng?" Bai Hao swept his eyes and shook his head to show that he didn't understand.

Geng Jian's mood fluctuated too much.

Bai Hao sat back on the pear blossom wooden circle chair, and said calmly and slowly: "There are too many unknown and mysterious scenery in this world, strange people and strange things, there is always an end to manpower, sometimes losing is losing, as long as he is not dead, how much can he do?

The inherent pride of the so-called genius, in Bai Hao's view, is the stubbornness of the brain.

Geng Jian didn't say a word, the atmosphere in the study continued to decline, Bai Hao didn't want things to be too stiff, patted the table, and ordered softly outside the door of the study: "Come in, tell the second gear head about the clues you have found." ”

"Yes. There was an overlapping sound outside the door, Hou Yiyong was in front, Ma Xiaoer was behind, bent down and bowed his head, and knelt quickly in front of the desk.

Geng Jian looked at the flattery of these lackeys, and was angry in his heart for no reason, and said coldly: "Stand up and say, don't delay time." ”

"Yes, Master Geng. Hou Yiyong stood up and pointed to Ma Xiaoer on the side and said, "Ma Xiaoer, he was the one he went to before, and he was responsible for contacting both sides. ”

Geng Jian chased Baicao Shi earlier, and later he was directly poisoned, so he didn't know much about the details.

His sword eyebrows frowned slightly, recalling the last intermittent memory, as if it was this man who had sent him to Suzaku City day and night with the remaining brothers of the Heavenly Hunt.

Geng Jian's face was slightly kind, and he hugged his fists and said, "Thank you for this brother's escort all the way." ”

Ma Xiaoer's mouth was grinning, and he was flattered and hurriedly waved his hand and said, "This is the responsibility of the small, Lord Geng has lifted it." ”

Geng Jian's eyebrows twitched, he didn't like this kind of flattery the most, and after a moment of conversation, he asked coldly, "Is my brother back?"

Geng Jie went to chase after Yu Xian at that time, and it stands to reason that he should also come to the study today.

Ma Xiaoer and Hou Yiyong glanced at each other, and said helplessly: "We are in a hurry, and there are only nine people who came back together, and Master Geng Jie has never returned." ”

"I remember that you also have bald eagles in Suzaku City. Geng Jie looked at Bai Hao and said.

Bai Hao shook his head, he would never ask about these little things, and his chin with a neat beard raised lightly at Hou Yiyong, signaling the other party to answer.

Hou Yiyong glared at Ma Xiaoer with a cold look, bowed down and walked forward quickly, took out a jade wrench engraved with hibiscus flowers from his arms, and held it in front of Geng Jian with both hands.

Geng Jian paused, and his arm calmly picked up the wrench and put it in his hand. It was his token, and he gave it to his only brother, who wore it with the same power as him in the Tenku.

Now, the jade wrench is back in his hand.

"Is he dead?" said Geng Jian's tone calmly.

Hou Yiyong replied in detail: "Ma Xiaoer specially explained before leaving, if Lord Geng Jie returns to the Iron Bone Village, ask him to come straight to Vermilion Bird City, but in the days when you are unconscious, we have not heard from him, considering that there are more than 200 kilometers between the two places, so we only used the bald eagle to ask the letter the day before yesterday, they sent someone to search the dense forest behind the cliff, and only this morning did they have a reply, the letter bluntly said that they can only vaguely judge the identity through the black clothes embroidered with hibiscus flowers and the items next to them, and specially brought this wrench...... ”

"No need to confirm anymore, it's him. ”

Geng Jian's brows furrowed, and his gaze crossed Hou Yiyong's shoulders to look at the world outside the crack in the door.

He thought that he could be regarded as a lonely man in this world, and said with a sneer: "When you embark on cultivation, your skills are not as good as others, and you will be buried wherever you die. ”

The complicated depression in his heart was difficult to show, Geng Jian moved a few steps lightly, left his back to everyone in the room, and said coldly: "Don't talk about this matter anymore, tell me what clues you have found about the person 'Cao Baiji'." ”

Ma Xiaoer didn't dare to slack off, and replied: "We asked Tiegu Zhai about this person in detail in the letter, and the reply mentioned that their village owner Lin Pan was also poisoned by this person before, and later this person was exposed, and he was detained by Tiegu Zhai all the time. ”

"Imprisoned?" Geng Jian's sword eyebrows furrowed, and he asked depressedly, "How strong are the few people in the Iron Bone Village?"

Ma Xiaoer replied: "The strength of the village master Lin Pan is the highest, and the four grades are cultivated. ”

Geng Jian shook his head and said: "Then it is impossible for them to catch this person, this person has a three-grade cultivation, and the strength of his true qi is even more rare in the world." ”

"Huh. Bai Hao chuckled lightly and asked the two of his subordinates, "If there is any other information, please tell it." Let Lord Geng judge and judge well. ”

Under the gaze of the city lord, Hou Yiyong showed a strong desire, and said quickly: "This matter and another thing that his subordinates have been following happen to get together. ”

"At that time, there was a caravan, and it happened to be in Iron Bone Village. And there is a high probability that there is an assassin in the caravan who was born in the Hidden Valley, and his name is Mu Qing. It was this person named Mu Qing and Cao Baiqi who fought to defeat both sides, so that Cao Baiqi was captured by the Iron Bone Village. ”

"Born in the Hidden Valley, the assassin Mu Qing. Geng Jian muttered, unable to sort out the deeper relationship for the time being.

He looked at Hou Yiyong and said, "Continue to talk about how this Cao Baiqi ran out later, and just happened to come to the dense forest." ”

Hou Yiyong nodded and said: "The letter replied that it was the day when the remnants of the former royal family were rounded up, the number of people in the village was not enough, and the defense was empty...... Adult poisoning. ”

"Is there still this kind of magic skill in this world?" Geng Jian asked with a look of doubt and surprise.

Hou Yiyong shook his head and said, "I really don't know. ”

Geng Jian is very talented in kendo cultivation, but when he analyzes the information, he really doesn't have much talent.

He tried hard to recall what Hou Yiyong had just said, and always felt that he had never been able to find any doubts from the content of the letter except for the words "magic skills".

So he said impatiently, "Tell me what you think, I don't need you to repeat the letter." ”

Hou Yiyong laughed softly: "This letter is just one side of the Iron Bone Village, and there are indeed several doubts in it. ”

"First, how did Cao Baiqi escape, the letter was vague and mentioned, only saying that it was a lack of manpower and internal air defense. ”

"The second is what happened in the dense forest, although the letter said that this Cao Baiqi used magic skills to absorb essence and blood to restore his strength, but except for Lord Geng, you personally encountered a poisonous cultivator who claimed to be 'Cao Baiqi', and the people in the Iron Bone Village actually did not encounter it personally or saw it with their own eyes. ”

"The third and most critical point in the letter, except for the mention at the end of the letter that Mu Qing saved their owner under the sword of the adult, it seems that he consciously covered up the traces of this person throughout the whole process. ”

Ma Xiaoer recalled the scene in the council hall and said angrily: "This person named 'Mu Qing' was in the council hall twice, and the last time he intentionally or unintentionally inquired about the specific identity of Lord Geng from the Iron Bone Village. ”

"Yes. Hou Yiyong raised his head with his chest straight, full confidence in his espionage analysis ability, and said seriously: "What I want to tell adults is that 'Cao Baiji' and 'Mu Qing' definitely have a deeper relationship. ”

"Wait. Geng Jian patted his head lightly, and only then did he turn around, raise the obsidian sword in his hand and shake it.

He looked at Hou Yiyong and the others and asked, "Under my sword, my obsidian sword did stab at that Cao Baiqi at the end, how did it become that Lin Pan?" I thought you got it back for me. ”

Hou Yiyong's eyes flashed, and he raised his head and said: "This is here, Mu Qing saved Lin Pan at the last moment, and said that he fought with that Cao Baiqi for a while, and Cao Baiqi shot the sword he didn't know where to get it at Lin Pan in order to get out, which is quite suspicious." ”

I saw Hou Yiyong's words with contempt, and continued: "The words in the reply letter of the Iron Bone Village about what Cao Baiqi did in the dense forest were actually obtained from Mu Qing's mouth, which no one else could corroborate for Mu Qing at that time, but because this Mu Qing saved Lin Pan several times, the group of mediocre men in the Iron Bone Village finally chose to believe unconditionally. ”

Hou Yiyong looked at the obsidian sword that had been picked up in Geng Jian's hand, and said softly: "Because Lord Geng and Cao Baiqi have fought each other, I want to take the liberty of asking a few questions. ”

"You ask. Geng Jian agreed softly.

"Have you ever seen this person use magic skills to suck essence blood?"

"Nope. ”

"What kind of face did this man look like when he fought with adults?"

"Young man, around twenty years old. ”

The muscles in Geng Jian's cheeks stiffened slightly, and when he talked about his age, he would clearly think that he had lost to such an unknown young junior.

His cheeks were hot, and he turned sideways and asked, "Did you notice anything wrong?"

"Yes!" Hou Yiyong said with a smile: "This Cao Baiqi was still an old man with a face over sixty years old when he was imprisoned, and when he arrived in the dense forest, he became a young man because of his magic skills?"

He continued: "Cao Baiqi did escape, but could he have magic skills? And if there really is that kind of magic skill in this world that can restore youth by sucking other people's essence and blood, I'm afraid everyone will have to fight for it a long time ago. ”

Geng Jian remembered what happened when he met his younger brother and his party after being poisoned, and his head was muddy at the time, but he did clearly remember that someone shouted "Old Man Cao".

He looked at Hou Yiyong with affirmation in his eyes and said, "Only Mu Qing has seen the other party use magic skills. ”

Hou Yiyong put his hand in his sleeve and said calmly: "Yes, in the eyes of those who do my job, people who can justify themselves do not mean that there is no problem, but there is nothing else to refute for the time being, on the contrary, Mu Qing, who has been in contact with Cao Baiji, is often very suspicious, I have a portrait here, please take a look." ”

A crumpled piece of drawing paper was lifted by Hou Yiyong to the corner, unfolded and dangled and erected in the air.

On the painting paper is a pair of = a young and handsome face, sword eyebrows and starry eyes, a high nose bridge, and thin lips, which is the Mu Qing in Ma Xiaoer's eyes, which has many more details than the one that Hou Yiyong let the coachman Zhang Anping identify.

"Hmph!" Geng Jian's eyes burst with sword intent, and his voice was like Jin Tie, "It's him!"

Hou Yiyong bent down and bowed his head, and replied softly: "His name is Mu Qing." ”