In the third year of Xianping, March twenty-six. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

It was still dark, the birds had not yet left their nests, and the roosters were still napping. It was a good time to sleep, but there were some things that made some people in the rivers and lakes unable to rest.

In a large mansion in the north of the city that is luxuriously decorated and covers an area of more than one acre, there is a martial arts arena in the middle of the entrance, and there is a lobby after passing through. Behind the screen in the lobby, there is a small hall, in which a middle-aged man and a young man are sitting in the main and secondary positions, discussing important matters.

The middle-aged man's face was haggard, but there was still a trace of pride between his eyebrows, and he was listening to the young man report on the information found overnight, and outside the door, there were two gangs from the Yangdaomen. They had all slept all night and were running around half of the city, one of them already with his eyelids closed, and the other snoring softly with his eyes open.

According to the informant, he took charge of Mingyue Lou six years ago, and three years later, Mingyue Lou has grown from a small wine shop to the largest restaurant in Yangzhou, which also has an inn, and now the shopkeeper Huang Dong on the table has a very harmonious relationship with the government. But according to the informant's understanding, behind it is actually Sikong Lone's wandering relationship, Yangzhou Governor County has come and gone for several times, and the reason why Mingyue Tower is still standing is in this Sikong Lone. ”

"How did you not know this before?"

On the chair, Jin Youde, who was caressing his long beard and looking haggard, asked the young man sitting next to him.

Tonight, no, it should be last night, he has listened to all kinds of news that his disciples heard, each of which is enough news to overturn the entire Yangzhou martial arts, but it came out last night, and the place where the news was released was the most important gathering place of Yangzhou intelligence - Mingyue Tower.

There are many wealthy merchants and nobles in this bright moon building, the price of the first floor is mediocre, the higher the price is higher, and the sixth floor is usually only provided for people with meritorious reputation. A few years ago, Yangzhou had a champion, and he also chartered the guests of the six-story banquet of the Mingyue Building. Now this Mingyue Building can be said to be the first floor in Yangzhou, and a lot of news is gathered here, plus many drunken guests have gaffes, hundreds of servants in this building may be exposed to these news. In the ears of those who have a heart, these news are information that can be exchanged for real money, so most of the Yangzhou martial arts have eyeliner stationed in the Mingyue Building, specifically for the transmission of information for various sects, but now it has been found out that the boss of the Mingyue Building turned out to be the junior brother of Yang Shuo, the master of the Xingtang Hall of the Cao Gang, which makes Jin Youde, the leader of the Yangzhou Jiangbei Martial Arts Group, not worried?

Why did the information come out when his eldest son, Jin Zhicheng, was seriously injured by Nangong Jun of the Cao Gang? Why did it only come out after Li Zhou's death? Who was behind this? Since Jin Youde could not find the answers to these questions, he could only speculate -- this was deliberately disseminated by someone, and if this was the case, then it was difficult to decide whether this information was true or false.

"This ...... I don't know why, yesterday the shopkeeper Huang was open and honest to everyone in Mingyue Building, announcing that the Sikong Gu who suddenly appeared was the real master, or the junior brother of Yang Shuo of the Cao Gang, and his shopkeeper Huang was just an errand who acted on behalf of him......"

"In the past few days, Yangzhou has not been peaceful. ”

Jin Youde didn't let the young man continue, and the hand that stroked the beard slowly fell, and finally grabbed it on the arm of the chair. Jin Youde's heart was in turmoil, even when he was overwhelmed by the Xincao Gang led by Li Zhou, Jin Youde's heart was like water. When he learned that he wanted to secure his foothold in Yangzhou for Shenmen, the pressure he felt, and the hesitation and helplessness he endured may not be better than now.

"What does Master mean?" the young man didn't know.

Jin Youde smiled, he still had to stabilize his mind, these hundreds of people raised the knife door, after all, he had to resist on his shoulders, and he couldn't collapse now. Jin Youde cleared his throat and asked his favorite disciple, "What is Mingyue Tower to us?"

"An intelligence-gathering ......" A glimmer of light flashed in the young man's eyes, he already knew what Jin Youde meant in his words, and after understanding it, the young man's tiredness was swept away, and only cold sweat kept coming out.

Jin Youde squinted his eyes and said: "Although Li Zhou is dead, but there is a Yang Shuo's junior brother Sikong Gu, I am afraid that they have a plan or not, we only find out now, I am afraid that they have already fallen into the trap." ”

Under the guidance of the master, the young man suddenly understood the key, and his voice trembled a little: "If Mingyue Tower is from the Cao Gang, then this information ......."

Jin Youde smiled bitterly and said: "It doesn't matter to us whether the information is true or not, even if this Sikong Gu has the ability to reach the sky? Is our enemy the boss of Mingyue Tower? Yesterday Cheng'er was afraid that he was calculated, and we were targeted by others." ”

"The man behind Sikong Lonely...... Is it the Cao Gang?"

"Li Zhou has been killed, of course it is still the Cao Gang to deal with us, but it is by no means a bitter method, Sikong Gu is afraid that it is just a chess piece. ”

The young man nodded and said, "Then ......"

Jin Youde stroked his long beard, finally shook his head, and sighed: "I don't know, the situation in Yangzhou is already chaotic." You ...... at night No, get out of town at once and go to the docks to find our people. We must rush to Luoyang as soon as possible to inform the owner of Yangmen and make the current situation in Yangzhou clear, and I Yangdaomen may be in danger now. Also, those informants in Mingyue Tower quickly cut off contact, and we are afraid that our bottom has been completely explored, and those informants are useless, and it is useless to keep them. ”

"This ......"

The young man's eyes widened, he really didn't expect that the master would actually abandon the intelligence network that he had worked so hard to manage for many years.

Jin Youde thought that the apprentice didn't understand what he meant, and shouted: "Lu Song, you are stupid, people have already revealed the news to us, this is the next horse, we are afraid that we have been wasted in Yangzhou all these years." Just walked away, I felt sorry for the Yang Sect Master. Therefore, this matter has to be decided by the Yang Sect Master himself. ”

Lu Song's face was full of frustration, and he knew that his master's heart was as chaotic as his own, and he did not necessarily need to withdraw from Yangzhou immediately? Where is the enemy so terrible? But he still whispered a few words of yes and bowed to leave.

Looking at his best apprentice through the early morning sun, Jin Youde collapsed on the chair like mud. When he saw Lu Song's appearance, he already knew that the apprentice still hadn't seen the strength of the opponent in this chess game, although the Cao Gang had lost Li Zhou, Nangong Jun and Yang Shuo were still there, where could they catch them all? Now there was another Sikong Gu who suddenly joined the chess game, which had disrupted all his arrangements.

Jin Youde covered his heart, and his mind was full of the name of that young man. Who is he? Who does Mingyue Tower serve? Is it impossible for the Cao Gang? Mingyue Lou is a strong son, and it will not be used at this time, otherwise how could Li Zhou die? Could it be a secret chess move by the Yang Sect Master? This is even more impossible. Is it the Jiangnan League? No, the Cao Gang did not join the Jiangnan League, and it has always been a matter of imminent separation, so that he can gain a firm foothold in Yangzhou, and besides, in addition to cheapening us, the Jiangnan League will not benefit us at all, but may also lead us to completely drive the Cao Gang out of Yangzhou......

So, who is the person behind the scenes?

The first rays of sunlight in the morning had already fallen in the courtyard, but Kim Youde had no idea of trying to reach out and touch it. He now felt his head swelling and weak.

"Sir. ”

A familiar voice came from behind him, and Jin Youde also woke up from his contemplation, it was his wife's voice, barely supporting his body slumped in the chair, but saw that his wife had gone around in front of him.

"Cheng'er is awake, go see him, right?" It seemed that seeing Jin Youde's haggard appearance, Mrs. Jin's face was a little more sad, "You haven't slept all night, can you go and rest after watching Cheng'er?"

There was a hint of pleading in Madame's words, is she really haggard now? Jin Youde knows that his wife rarely shows this kind of face on weekdays, and she rarely uses a pleading tone to herself. I remember the last time I saw this face, it was when Mrs. beat Cheng'er after Cheng'er was in trouble in Mingyue Tower.

Do I also look like a child? Jin Youde really wanted to lean on his wife's arms now, but looking at his wife's sad face, he had to stand up and say in his heart: "At the beginning, I was not afraid, didn't I? I remember that when I first entered Yangzhou with my wife ten years ago, I was also confused, but as the two children of Cheng'er and Xin'er grew up, Yangdaomen was also deeply rooted in Yangzhou.

Thinking of this, Jin Youde wanted to make a relaxed appearance and dispel the worries of the woman who had accompanied him for most of his life, but when the words came to his mouth, he naturally revealed his true intentions: "Madame also took care of Cheng'er for a night, why don't you go and rest first, I will go to rest later." You also know that these days the knife door ......"

"After I married you, I have already withdrawn from this Jianghu, you have nothing to do with me about the affairs of the Jianghu, I just want you and Cheng'er and Xin'er to be okay. Master, go see Cheng'er, Cheng'er seems to have something to say to you. ”

Mrs. Kim smiled at Kim Youdeok, a gentleness that Kim Youde rarely saw, although Mrs. Jin also had a haggard look between her brows that she had almost never seen.

"Were you comforted instead?"

Jin Youde smiled bitterly in his heart, so he had to nod and walked to the backyard with his wife.

Jin Youde asked, "What did the doctor say?"

Cheng'er didn't hurt her muscles and bones, but almost all of her organs were injured by internal force, and she was afraid that she would have to stay in bed for a while. ”

"That's fine. ”

"The child is injured like this, are you still applauding?" Mrs. Jin raised her eyebrows, and wanted to pull Jin Youde's ears, but when she saw her husband's haggard appearance, she couldn't bear it, and finally could only snort softly.

Jin Youde saw that his wife showed his usual temperament again, and most of the sorrow in his heart disappeared inexplicably, and said: "How can anyone who walks the rivers and lakes not get hurt, this kid is not good at learning arts, and he has received little lessons, and this time he has been taught a lesson, which is beneficial and harmless to him." ”

"Yes, yes, you're right......"

In front of Jin Zhicheng's door, Mrs. Jin stopped, and Jin Youde wondered: "Why doesn't Mrs. go in with me?"

"Cheng'er seems to have something to say to you alone, and this doctor also let him go to rest. ”

Jin Youde nodded and said, "Then the lady should also go and rest." ”

"I'll go to see Xin'er, and I'll go and rest, and you won't be too reluctant. ”

"Go ahead. ”

After Mrs. Jin smiled at Jin Youde, she turned around and walked to the wing room on the other side. Jin Youde couldn't help but sigh that he was indeed fortunate to be able to marry such a wife. It is precisely because of such a good wife who takes care of the idle chores in the mansion for herself, and she teaches her children, that she can do her best to raise the affairs of the knife gate. Jin Youde couldn't help touching his earlobe, while thinking: "If Mrs. is as gentle as she is today, then I, Jin, will really be the ninth generation of virtue", while pushing open the door that was gently closed by Mrs. Jin.

Jin Zhicheng, who was seriously injured by Nangong Jun yesterday, was lying on the soft collapse covered with more than ten layers of velvet, and the moment Jin Youde pushed the door open, Jin Zhicheng turned his head slightly and looked at his father and walked to his collapse.

"Your mother said, do you have something you want to say to your father alone?"

Although his child was seriously injured, Jin Youde still insisted on the majesty of being a father.

"Dad, let's raise the knife door, it's difficult. ”

Jin Youde said with a smile: "My father knows better than you about our Daomen, this difficulty has already come." Yesterday's incident with you is afraid that it is just the beginning. ”

"The child did not provoke ......"

Jin Youde looked at his own child with pity, and his tone couldn't help but soften: "Dad knows, like Dad, you are not very bold, how can you take the initiative to provoke that 'thunderbolt'?"

Jin Zhicheng saw that his father was not angry because of his own affairs, so he straightened his head, looked at the curtain next to the bed and said, "Dad...... Aren't you afraid?"

"What are you afraid of? After Li Zhou's death, why should the Cao Gang be afraid?"

Jin Youde didn't want Jin Zhicheng to know what kind of danger Yang Daomen was in now, but he heard Jin Zhicheng say: "That...... Lonely and not to be underestimated. ”

"Oh, why did Cheng'er say this, that Sikong Gu is just the boss of Mingyue Tower, and there must be a master behind him. ”

Jin Youde's expression tightened, and he immediately pulled over a chair and sat down to listen to his son slowly finish what he wanted to say.

"Whether there is a master behind him, the child doesn't know, but I'm afraid that Sikong Lone is not just Mingyue Tower. Sikong Gu, he is by no means a person without martial arts, no, I'm afraid he is extremely strong in martial arts. ”

"Why?"

Jin Youde specially escorted Jin Zhicheng back yesterday, they said that what Sikong Gu did after entering the door was clear, and Jin Youde even asked several people, and the explanations they got were almost the same. It's nothing more than Sikong Gu telling everyone that he is the boss of Mingyue Tower, and talking nonsense about those moves. Jin Youde disagreed, if he said that he was a martial arts master after hearing these moves, then those storytellers in front of him were the best in the world.

"Yesterday, he recognized Nangong Jun and our moves. ”

Jin Youde said with a smile: "Cheng'er is too worried, he just knows the names of these martial arts, if this is a detailed study of our martial arts, a person who doesn't know martial arts can also do it, not to mention, listening to our people, that kid is frivolous and casual, I'm afraid he really doesn't know martial arts, I'm afraid he's talking nonsense." Even if he could, it wouldn't be much higher, not to mention, if he really had peerless martial arts, why would he move out of the official mansion to stop the fight?"

"No, father, that's what worries the child. Jin Zhicheng's voice became hoarse, "This Sikong Gu can recognize our 'knife splitting Huashan' style." ”

Jin Youde exclaimed: "Our 'sword splitting Huashan'? do you mean the style that was improved for my father?"

"Yes, the 'knife splitting Huashan' style is a style in the 'Overlord Knife Technique', it is a vertical split, and the father teaches the child is improved by the father, and the three styles are all horizontal splits, but Sikong Gu can recognize it, doesn't Dad think it's strange?"

Jin Youde's eyes widened, he knew very well that it was not surprising that the moves in the rivers and lakes were recognized, but the improved moves could still be recognized by a person, and this person was bound to have a deep martial arts foundation, if this person had no martial arts...... Then he has at least read these classics, but if he really reads these classics, the moves he said yesterday are not nonsense, this kind of person, really don't know martial arts?

Jin Youde almost jumped up from his chair, stared at Jin Zhicheng, who was looking at him sideways, and asked, "Cheng'er, are you really sure that this Sikong Gu recognized that style?"

Jin Zhicheng affirmed: "At that time, the child heard it really clearly, this Sikong Gu said clearly, it was a 'horizontal split', not a 'vertical split'. ”

After hearing this, Jin Youde no longer talked to Jin Zhicheng about yesterday's events, but only comforted Jin Zhicheng a few words, told him to take care of his injuries, and left the room.

When he stepped out of the door, Jin Youde made a decision, this Sikong Gu must be removed, Sikong Gu is definitely not a person in the Divine Gate, that is the enemy. If Sikong Gu's martial arts skills can really reach the level of distinguishing and analyzing the "Sword Splitting Huashan" that took him three months to improve, then he must not leave it in trouble. But is it possible that Sikong Gu just memorized the wrong number of martial arts?

When Jin Youde stood outside the door of Jin Zhicheng's room and sorted out every vein in his mind, he saw his wife running from the small hall in a panic.

"Madame, you ......"

Madame interrupted her husband and shouted at him:

"Xin'er is gone! He only left a note, as if he was going to avenge Cheng'er!"

Kim Youde's eyes widened and he grinned, not knowing what to say for a moment.

At this time in Yangzhou, the sky is just bright, the city gate is closed, and there are cars and horses and boats waiting to enter the city outside the city gate, and under the root of the city wall half a mile away from the city gate, Jin Youde's most beloved disciple Lu Song wears a hat and looks around sneakily.

When those officers and soldiers turned around, Lu Song jumped over, the city wall was about two or three zhang high, Lu Song's light skills were not high, so he stepped on the protruding masonry of the city wall and used his strength to climb the city wall.

As soon as he landed outside the city, Lu Song saw a man dressed similarly to himself: wearing a black hat, a short black coat, and a long knife with the logo of Yangdaomen hanging from his waist, the only difference was that he was wearing wooden shoes and he was wearing cloth shoes.

Lu Song was slightly surprised, naturally put his hand on the hilt of the knife, and asked in a low voice, "Who are you?"

Before the words fell, the man in black who was dressed similarly to himself attacked him, and that style was Jin Youde's improved "knife splitting Huashan". Lu Song naturally knew in his heart that this trick was broken, although he was surprised by the identity of the person who came, but how could he not fight before the battle?

But the moment Lu Song pulled the knife out, his gaze fell vertically, and the whole person lost consciousness in an instant.

Behind Lu Song, there was another person dressed similarly to him, the only difference was still the pair of wooden shoes.

Seeing the big head tumbling on the ground, the black-clothed man who used the "knife to split Huashan" attacked directly in front of Lu Song's head, he put the knife back into the sheath, and his movements were smooth, after all, all this was under their control. In fact, he's just putting on a show.

The two black-clothed men nodded at the same time, put Lu Song's head in a sack together, returned to the city, jumped up to the city wall, and then disappeared into Yangzhou City like the wind in the suspicious eyes of the officers and soldiers.

The officer and soldier who saw them rubbed his eyes and asked his companion, "Did you see anything just now?"

The companion did not answer him, but only responded with a roll of the eyes.

The officer and soldier rubbed their eyes again and muttered, "Don't you hit the evil ...... today."

In the small attic in the backyard of Mingyue Building, Liu Sanbian was woken up by the little scholar Ah Yue.

"Ah Yue...... Don't make a fuss......" Liu Sanbian rubbed his hazy eyes, patted Ah Yue's little face and said.

Ah Yue puffed up his face and said, "The sun is three poles! Xiao Langjun, Lao Zhang Du and that Sikong Gu have been away for an hour, don't you still want to go to that temple in the west of the city?"

When Liu San heard this, he exclaimed, "Ah, what time is it?" ”

"The time has passed, and now is the time, but Xiao Langjun refused to rest earlier last night. ”

Ah Yue counted the little master, and handed over the sorted clothes, and after Xiao Langjun took it a little sluggishly, he urged: "Xiao Langjun, hurry up!"

At the urging of Ah Yue, after Liu Sanbian dressed and dined, he took the boat prepared for him by Huang Dong, the "acting shopkeeper" of Mingyue Tower, while the two servants and thugs of Mingyue Tower stood at the bow and stern of the boat.

"This is the great scenery of Yangzhou City, I'm going to lose them!"

Ah Yue smiled and said, "I don't know who was the one who almost fell into the water yesterday?"

"Okay, Ah Yue, do you dare to laugh at me? Did you tell them about it? Believe it or not, I tickle you?"

As he spoke, Xiao Langjun stretched out his two hands to Ah Yue's squeaky nest.

"It's not me, Xiao Langjun, don't make trouble...... Ha ha...... Don't make a fuss, the boat is capsizing...... Hee-hee......"

The sound of the master and servant laughing and playing spread in this not wide or narrow river, and the pedestrians on the bank did not look sideways, but they could only see two men in short clothes standing in the bow and stern of the boat, and a captain was rocking.

"It's a lot of fun. ”

In the darkness of the street corner, a man who only showed his shadow had gathered on the boat.

"I don't know, they can be so happy in a while, haha, hahaha!"

The man's voice was muffled, but the laughter also drew the eyes of countless passers-by to the darkness, but by the time the first pedestrian's eyes fell on this street corner, the man had long since disappeared.

On the eaves, the man smiled strangely.

"Revenge...... Let's start with you, the boy......"