Li Chengcheng walked out of the Five Cities Terracotta Division.

He put his hands on Li Jintang's shoulders, "Thank you, second brother." "He has always had a bad impression of Li Jintang, but if Li Jintang hadn't mediated today's matter, he wouldn't have come out so smoothly.

Li Jintang said, "You better go to Uncle Xie, although I am the city official of the Five Cities Soldiers and Horses, but I also have the Overseer's Mansion, the Mansion, and the Jinling Garrison, these people are all higher ranks than me, so you should be careful in the future." ”

Li Chengcheng understood what he meant, and didn't say much, he left directly, and before leaving, Li Jintang said, "You owe me a favor." ”

Li Qingcheng waved his hand, "Don't pay it back." ”

He did not go back to Li's house, but returned to the painting boat, Li Jinhua after learning that he was arrested by the government, worried and scared for a while, and saw him come back, a heart fell to the ground.

Li Chengcheng saw that her face was not bad, so he said, "The murderer who shot you has been killed by me." ”

Li Jinhua said, "Brother Li, there's no need to take risks because of me. I am very content to be able to come to Jinling with you. ”

"Since I promised Daddy Li, naturally I won't break my trust in him. What's more, they are coming at me, and if I don't kill them, there will be endless trouble in the future. Li Chengcheng looked at her affectionately and said, "Jin Bottle, my situation in Jinling is not as good as you think, bringing you here makes you worry and be afraid." ”

Li Jinhua said, "Being with you, even if you die, it's worth it." ”

Li Chengcheng feigned anger and said, "Don't talk this kind of nonsense in the future!"

The two talked, Li Jinhua's injury was not healed, his face showed a tired look, and Li Chengcheng ordered someone to take care of him and walked out of the painting boat.

Xiao Jinyan waited for him on the shore for a long time, and the first thing he said when they met was, "I have thought about it for a long time and feel that these things are strange." ”

Li Chengcheng asked, "How do you say this?"

Xiao Jinyan poured a glass of wine, handed it over, and analyzed, "Before we arrived in Jinling, we met the wooden card killer of the Red Star Hall, and hired you to kill yourself, at first I thought it was funny, but then when I thought about it, I always felt that something was wrong." ”

"What if it's a coincidence?"

"The Dragon and Tiger Hall, as well as the assassination of the Lingnan Sword Sect, can't be justified. Xiao Jinyan said, "Let's change the angle, if I am your third uncle and want to kill you, or don't let you be the head of the family, what will I do?"

Li Chengcheng thought for a moment and said, "Either secretly send someone to kill me, but this will inevitably make my father track it down, in this world, there are not many people who can kill me, it should not be difficult to find out to them." There is also a possibility that in the Council of Elders after the ancestor worship, this matter will be obstructed, and as long as more than six elders disagree, I will have to accept the challenge of inheriting the position of head of the family. ”

"What challenge?"

"There are nineteen members of the council of elders in the clan, and if more than one-third oppose it, I will have to compete with the people in the nineteen rooms. Of course, those who are in favor will not send people, but those who oppose can send the elites of the clan to fight with me. ”

"Regardless of life or death?"

"Regardless of life or death. ”

"How sure are you?"

Li Chengcheng said, "The Li family in Jinling, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, the three major sword servants I know, their martial arts are not weaker than mine, and there are still some swords in their hands, but most of these people are obedient to my father, but it is not excluded that there will be masters in other rooms." ”

"So that they can kill you openly according to the rules of the clan?"

"The position of the head of the Li family has never been so easy to deserve, and even our internal people can't figure it out, so how can we gain a foothold in the rivers and lakes, so this ancestral motto has always been adhered to. ”

Xiao Jinyan nodded, "In this way, the matter will be explained." He analyzed, "If I were Li Xiaoshu, I would definitely secretly contact the other elders and ask them to oppose you in the Council of Elders, as long as there are more than six people, it is enough for you to fail to succeed to the throne smoothly." ”

Li Qingcheng said, "I didn't think about this. ”

Xiao Jinyan smiled, "This is the reason why I came to Jinling, if it weren't for me, you wouldn't know how you would die, so remember to share half of my money in the future." ”

"Be serious!"

"Listen to my analysis. The Assassination of the Wooden Card Killer is intended to let you let your guard down, which can be left unattended. However, the matter of the Dragon Tiger Hall and the Lingnan Sword Sect has another deep meaning. Your third uncle knows that you have a relationship with Li Jinzhu, so he deliberately sent Longhutang to suppress Li Jinzhu, the purpose is to provoke you and make you go on a killing spree. As we all know, the Dragon Tiger Hall is your family's property, you destroyed the Dragon Tiger Hall because of a woman, and moved the interests of the clan, this is a taboo in your family, the third young master kills people indiscriminately regardless of the overall situation, if you become the head of the family, who else will be attached to your Li family in the future? Destroying your reputation in the Li family will make some people in the Council of Elders doubt your ability, this is one of them. ”

"The matter of killing the Lingnan Sword Sect, although the government did not say anything, but the entire rivers and lakes know that it was you Li Chengcheng who did it, after all, the Lingnan Sword Sect is a famous and decent family, and there are quite alliances in the rivers and lakes, before you have real evidence, you will kill your fellow people in the rivers and lakes with righteousness, which will affect your image in the rivers and lakes, the Li family is a martial arts family, and plays a role in maintaining justice and order in the rivers and lakes, but if the head of the family is a person who loves to kill, which sects will listen to the Li family in the future? This is the second. What's more, just after the assassination today, Zhao Ya got the news of the Lingnan Sword Sect, and Li Jintang would also appear in Wuyi Lane so coincidentally, do you think it's also a coincidence?"

"Some of the things we have come into the city, as well as every move, will spread all over the city in Jinling City, so from this point of view, it is natural that someone is secretly fueling the troubles. If you guess correctly, these are just smoke to confuse you, and the real fatal blow to you should be at the time of the great ancestor worship. ”

After listening to Xiao Jinyan's analysis, Li Tingcheng felt a chill in his back, after entering the city, he felt that it was his own territory and he could act with righteousness, and because of Li Jinhua's matter, the judgments and decisions he made were easy to be led by the nose.

"You have a point. ”

Xiao Jinyan said, "I can see these clearly, not only because I am smarter than you, but also because you are a fan of the authorities." ”

Li Chengcheng was speechless, "When is it, haven't you forgotten to step on me a few times?"

"I'll follow the two clues of the Red Star Hall and the Lingnan Sword Sect to investigate, you can't get in touch with the internal affairs of the Li family here, you still have to go home. ”

Li Tingcheng took a deep breath, gathered his thoughts, and said solemnly, "I, Li Chengcheng, am the luckiest friend of you in this life." When this is done, I will give you ten taels of silver. ”

Xiao Jinyan said, "Our friendship is worth this amount of money? I might as well go to the Red Star Hall and kill you, and there are forty-five taels!"

Laughing and laughing, Xiao Jinyan still advised, "Prepare for the worst, practice the sword well, it will work better than anything, all conspiracies and conspiracy have been exhausted, and in the end, it will be the sword in your hand that will speak." ”

Li Chengcheng admitted, but after he got the sword book of Allure, he studied all the way with Xiao Jinyan, but he never knew what to do, and those strange words were tantamount to heavenly books for the two of them. With his current martial arts cultivation, he is enough to rank in the heavenly list in the Xiaosheng rivers and lakes, but the rivers and lakes are too big, who knows which cave is there any goblins? Especially all the way west, the more he sees, the more he feels that the reputation of the rivers and lakes is really nothing, and the size of the reputation has nothing to do with the level of martial arts, and the masters of the heavenly list may die in the hands of the woodcutter who chops wood, such as Lu Qingfeng, who appeared in the Hidden Yang City, his sword is enough to kill the master of the upper realm of Zhixuan, but he is still unknown in the rivers and lakes.

Mysterious and unknown, it makes people feel awe.

Li Chengcheng no longer looked at no one, but began to face up to the environment he was in, and began to pay attention to all opponents, and the change in thinking was more important than practicing any peerless sword spectrum.

The mountain rain is coming, and the wind is full of buildings.

Jinling, which seems to be calm, is actually like a giant beast lurking in the dark, waiting for the opportunity to give him a fatal blow, conspiracy, and conspiracy, he has to face it. Rather than trusting no one and hiding on the Qinhuai River to fight alone, it is better to take advantage of the situation, he said to Xiao Jinyan, "I decided to take Li Jinhua home, and I will hand over this painting boat to you for the time being." ”

"It's fine. Remember, I'll let you do it for me. ”

"What's the matter?"

Xiao Jinyan pointed to the east, where was the location of the palace, Xiao Jinyan asked him to get a map of the palace, and after getting acquainted with it, find time to sneak in again.

"Got it. Li Chengcheng said, and then came another sentence, "There are too many women, don't guard and steal." ”

Xiao Jinyan said, "Do you think I'm that kind of person?

"I said this sentence for Yu Wenshuang. ”

......

A horse-drawn carriage stopped at Zen Wo Fang in the south of the city.

In the entire Shanhefang, there is only one family, and that is the Li family in Jinling. A two-zhang wide street, surrounded by hundreds of houses, stretches and joins each other.

The head of the four major families, with more than 10,000 clansmen, rich enough to rival the country, the head of martial arts, the sword collection of the world, the evergreen tree of officialdom, any name taken out, it is enough to make the world admire the Jinling Li family, from the outside, it looks like an ordinary rich family.

There is no golden plaque like the Imperial Sword Villa, and there is no towering city in the Tang Gate in Shuzhong, which is built by the mountains and rivers, and is built near the city, if people who understand feng shui see it, they will know that this continuous mansion, like Wolong, is coiled in the north of Jinling City, echoing with the imperial palace in the east of the city, and is an excellent feng shui treasure land.

Ancestral Hall, Ethnology, Martial Arts, Sword Tower, Library Pavilion, Guest House, distributed on both sides of the long street, hidden between the ancient pines and cypresses, do not appear luxurious, but also reveal a simple and heavy charm, away from the downtown in the city, quiet and profound.

This is the heritage of the family for hundreds of years.

Li Chengcheng's car appeared on the street, which caused quite a stir. This young master who "studied abroad" has been away from home for two years and finally returned.

"Third young master, I haven't seen you for a few years, but it makes me want to die. When you're free, let's have two drinks, I'll treat you!" a middle-aged man saw him and ran out of the street, smiling hippie.

Li Chengcheng smiled, "Li Qingguang, do you have money on you, aren't you afraid of being known by your wife?"

This person's surname is Li Qingguang, and he is a child of the clan in Jiufang, and his status in the clan is not high, but his fame is very great, because there is a Hedong lion in the family, and he often quarrels with his neighbors.

Li Qingguang straightened his chest and said, "If that Niangpi knows that I invite the third young master to dinner, I can't wait to open the gold box and let me use it casually." Besides, in the entire ninth room, who doesn't know that I, Li Qingguang, am talking about everything at home? My wife, I have cleaned up properly, and I have the final say on major matters in the family, and I say Shangdong, she will never dare to say Shangxi......"

Before the words fell, a woman stood at the door and shouted, "Li Qingguang asked you to buy vinegar, what are you doing on the street?"

Li Chengcheng said, "Big deal?"

Li Qingguang said, "Yes, eat dumplings at night, the top priority now is to buy vinegar!" and shouted again, "Stinky girl, what are you shouting? If you don't fight for three days, you went to the house to uncover the tiles, didn't you?"

As soon as the woman heard the fire, she walked out of the courtyard with a rolling pin, "It's against you!" As soon as she went out, she saw Li Tingcheng in the car, and even changed her face, "Yo, it turned out that the third young master is back, dead ghost, why are you stunned, why don't you hurry up and invite the third young master's house?"

"Sister-in-law, I'll go home first. ”

"Yes, yes. Come and play when you have time, the old man always talks about you!"

After that, he grabbed Li Qingguang's ear, "Let you scold me in front of the young master, let you scold, and get out of the house for me." ”

Along the way, people kept coming out to say hello, some shouted "Third Young Master", and some shouted "Young Master", the former is a child of the clan, and the latter is a child of the Changfang family. When passing by the clan school, some teenagers who had never seen Li Chengcheng stood at the door, pointing, as if they were respectful and afraid of this famous young man.

An old man who looked like a master paced out, "You little ghosts, if you don't go in to study, you will delay your progress, and no one will want to get out of school!"

When Li Tingcheng saw the old man, he turned over and got out of the car, and saluted the old man, "Nephew Li Tingcheng, I've seen my uncle!"

This old man's surname is Li Mengyang, once served as the supervisor of the country, is a famous place in the literary world of the dynasty, in the previous dynasty, the style of writing was weak, the pavilion style prevailed, he once mentioned "the restoration of the ancient style of the Han and Wei dynasties, the poetry of the Qin and Han dynasties", led a vigorous ancient literature movement. Li Mengyang has many students in the middle school, and after Zhishi, he has been teaching in clan studies, and he also taught Li Chengcheng in that year. For this teacher, Li Chengcheng is both respectful and afraid.

Li Mengyang looked up and down and said, "I haven't seen you for two years, have you ever fallen behind in your studies?"

In the past two years, Li Chengcheng's life has been precarious, where he has time to do learning, but this teacher has always been known for being strict and rigid, where he dares to contradict, and said: "Students dare not slack off." ”

Li Mengyang said, "Traveling thousands of miles, reading thousands of books, traveling in the mountains and rivers is not good, and don't dance knives and guns all day long, do not do your job, you must know that reading is the foundation of a family, and my Li family is a family with books and literature, you must not relax." ”

Li Chengcheng said in his heart that I would not participate in the imperial examination, and I could just read some idle books to cultivate my sentiments, but my mouth was full of promises.

"Come to the library early tomorrow morning, I want to test your knowledge. ”

Li Tingcheng's head was big when he heard it, but fortunately, when he saw the housekeeper Li Ruliang coming, he was relieved, said goodbye to the teacher, and greeted the housekeeper.

Steward Li said in a low voice, "Young Master, the master knows that you are in a bad mood when you go home. You have to be careful. Glancing at the carriage again, "It's ...... here."

Li Chengcheng said, "My confidant. ”

Steward Li said, "It's the one in Changzhou, right? At the moment, the old man is angry, why don't I arrange it in the guest house or the other courtyard first, and wait and then talk about it?"

"No need, I'll take her home. ”

Steward Li looked embarrassed, but seeing that Li Chengcheng insisted, he didn't dare to disobey, led the carriage, came to the gate, and asked him to wait and go in.

Not long after, Li Xiaohua came to the gate and saw Li Chengcheng, her face sank, "Do you still have the face to come back?"

Li Chengcheng said, "Dad!"

"Don't shout, everyone says yes, this Jinling Li family, I call you Dad!"

Li Chengcheng wanted to put Li Jinhua next, but when he saw Li Xiaohua's appearance, he couldn't help but be angry, so he turned around and led the carriage away.

Li Xiaohua saw it, and her anger became even greater, "If you have the ability, don't come back!"

Li Chengcheng didn't look back, and walked out, Steward Li even instructed Qingcao, and said in a low voice, "Don't let the young master go, let them live in another courtyard first." ”

Li Xiaohua said angrily, "One is missing, the other is disobedient and unfilial, I gave birth to two good children!"

"The old man is angry, the young master is still young and ignorant, I will go to persuade him at night. ”

"Ignorant?" Li Xiaohua said loudly, "That's it, you still want to inherit the position of the head of the family?"

The word "fart" unconsciously used internal force to float on the entire long street.

With that, turn around and go home, and close the door.

He whispered to Steward Li, "Tell Li Chengcheng that I will go to find him at night." And he admonished, "Don't let anyone know." ”

......

According to Zhao Ya, the person who revealed the whereabouts of the Lingnan Sword Sect to her subordinates is a frequent visitor on the Qinhuai River, this person does not have a regular business, and makes a living by renting out some ancestral properties in the city.

This kind of person, the most afraid of death, but also the easiest to deal with, in the evening, as soon as he went to the peony workshop, he was going to find the peony girl, but he saw a young man, sitting in the painting boat, looking at him with a smile, and suddenly his face was full of wariness.

"Who are you?"

"It doesn't matter who I am. ”

"Where's the Peony girl?"

Xiao Jinyan clapped his hands, and Peony was "threatened" by two sword servants with swords, and shouted, "Third master, save me!"

When the son surnamed Liu saw it, he was immediately annoyed, "You thieves, you dare to kidnap the peony girl, do you know that I Cui San said a word, and the people who are trembling in Jinling City will not let go?"

Such a big breath that even Li Chengcheng didn't dare to say this. ”

As soon as he said Li Chengcheng, Cui San immediately panicked and was about to jump off the ship to escape, but was stopped by the two, Xiao Jinyan asked, "What are you running?"

Cui Sandao, "It's hot, I want to go down to the river to swim for a while." ”

"Why, he killed someone in your house, and you're scared?"

"I, Cui San, am a man with the conscience of heaven and earth, one does not steal, and the other does not rob, what are you afraid of?"

Li Chengcheng waved his hand, and the two sword servants "charged" the peony down, and then heard an exclamation, followed by the sound of falling water.

Xiao Jinyan said, "The peony has sunk to the bottom of the river, if I ask you next, if you don't answer well, I will let you go down with her as a companion." ”

Cui San asked tremblingly, "What are you asking?"

"Last night, you told Peony about the people of the Lingnan Sword Sect renting your house, let me ask you, who instructed you to tell you this news?"

Cui San was confused, "What, I don't know what you said." ”

Xiao Jinyan said, "You are not honest. I like to deal with dishonest people. ”

He picked up a fruit knife, came to Cui San, and said to himself, "Do you gouge out your eyes first, or cut your tongue first?"

Cui Sanyi knelt down when he heard this, and said, "I said, I said!"