The Wheel-Turning Master.

Chapter 20: Bloody Banquet

It got dark especially early today.

Dark clouds hung low, but there was no wind. The sky was so muggy that even the chirping of cicadas was feeble.

After leaving Baicaotang, Lin Bai passed by Mu Zhen’s steamed bun shop.

The door was closed and there was no light. The two minions were standing guard in the distance, slapping themselves constantly, as if to drive away mosquitoes.

Lin Bai ignored him and went straight home.

After waiting for an hour, he changed into coarse cloth clothes, put on a bamboo hat, a straw raincoat, and went out with his face covered.

The street was pitch black with only a few pedestrians, and Lin Bai avoided them all.

Go out of the alley and onto the street, heading southwest.

They walked cautiously, stopping and starting, and finally arrived outside Ren Biao's manor.

Although the manor was built in the poor northern city, it covered a vast area and was extremely luxurious with rockery, ponds, carved beams and painted buildings.

Every brick and tile here was plundered by Ren Biao over many years and built with the blood and sweat of the people of North City. This place is a place of entertainment.

Lin Bai looked at the manor gate from afar. Red lanterns were lit there and guests came to celebrate the birthday one after another.

Ren Biao stood at the door to welcome guests, his face flushed.

This was not the place to fight. Firstly, it was too far away; secondly, there were too many people. It was not that he was afraid of accidentally hurting someone, but that he was afraid of missing the target, which made Ren Biao alert.

Although he could go forward and kill him, he had to be cautious in case there were experts in the manor.

This is not cowardice.

Lin Bai observed for a while, then left carefully, preparing to go to another place to investigate.

It's always a good idea to err on the side of caution.

Sure enough, after walking around the manor, there were seventeen secret sentries just outside the manor.

This was nothing to worry about. Lin Bai carefully avoided it and came to the gate of the manor to continue observing the visitor.

Those who came to celebrate the birthday were all dressed in gorgeous clothes, but their status should not be high, because Ren Biao, who came to greet the guests, just bowed without much respect.

After a while, a carriage arrived. Before the passengers got off, Ren Biao immediately trotted to greet them, bent his waist, and looked very charming.

"Elder Tong?" Lin Bai frowned in thought.

However, it was not the case. A middle-aged man in fine clothes got off the carriage. Everyone at the door saluted and called him the county magistrate.

At this moment, the wind suddenly blew and a flash of lightning appeared in the sky.

Ren Biao bent down and led the county magistrate into the manor, no longer paying attention to the subsequent guests.

After a while, the rain turned from sparse to heavy, stirring up a fishy smell of earth on the ground.

Lin Bai pressed his hat and came to a wall. He listened to the noise inside, then jumped up to the top of the wall.

The manor was decorated with red lanterns and people were coming and going. Although it was raining non-stop, it could not hide the festive mood.

A stage was set up in the open space in front of the hall, and an opera was being performed in the rain.

Because it was a thunderstorm, Lin Bai did not dare to hide in the tree. He just lay on the wall, silently waiting for an opportunity.

After a long time, the rain became heavier and the thunder continued.

Lin Bai was caught in the rain, and the scene brought back his emotions. He sighed:
"Was it pouring rain last night, and I waded across the river; or was it a light rain under the apricot blossoms, and I walked on a muddy path?"

Seeing the prosperous manor, and the dilapidated houses in the distance clearly visible during the lightning, Lin Bai sighed again:
"Was the place I arrived at yesterday a prosperous place with many houses and gates, or a small and simple place with a humble and unspeakable appearance?"

Hearing the singing and dancing of birds and the hustle and bustle of the manor, Lin Bai sighed again:

"I don't know if I was singing quietly and telling stories yesterday, or if I was chattering and making a lot of noise."

Lin Bai thought for a while, and only remembered that he had been running all the way last night, and seemed to have forgotten all the details. The more he thought about it, the more itchy he felt. He just hoped to wait until this matter was over before going to Mu Zhen for advice.

Putting aside all distractions, Lin Bai focused his attention.

The brightest place in the hall, where the crowd gathered, was where Ren Biao's mother was.

In the corridor outside, there were quite a few thugs drinking and gambling.

There was nothing unusual. At the beginning of the hour of Hai, the guests gradually left.

After waiting for another half an hour, the rain still did not stop, so the county magistrate said goodbye. Ren Biao personally held an umbrella to see him off, showing great respect.

Lin Bai was just waiting for the dog magistrate to leave! The magistrate walked steadily and drank a lot. It was obvious that he had internal strength. Lin Bai didn't want to fight him two at once.

After waiting quietly for a quarter of an hour, Ren Biao came back.

Lin Bai climbed down from the wall, practiced Wuji Gong, and the coldness on his body disappeared.

The flying knife from his sleeve fell into his hand, and he silently counted the distance.

"It's raining, I may not be able to complete the 200 steps..." Lin Bai put strength into his arms, and the flying knife was as fast as lightning, breaking through the rain curtain!

Ren Biao had a smile on his face and was talking to his followers when he suddenly heard the sound of breaking wind and immediately dodged.

But the flying knife arrived in the blink of an eye, heading towards his heart. Ren Biao was unable to dodge and was hit in the left shoulder.

Ren Biao had really been on the edge of a knife for many years. He didn't even look at the wound. He directly grabbed the henchman who was holding an umbrella for him, protected him in front of him, and shouted towards the direction where the flying knife came from: "Which friend is here? Why don't you show yourself?"

With this shout, before the follower behind Ren Biao could react, he saw a dark shadow rushing towards him from a distance.

The man was wearing a straw hat and a raincoat, holding a knife in his hand. He ran at an extremely fast speed, like thunder, and in a blink of an eye he was a hundred steps away.

Ren Biao was very sure that he was no match for this man.

"Someone! Come quickly!"

Although Ren Biao was drenched by the rain, he still felt his throat dry. He wondered when he had provoked such a vicious person who would come to his house on his birthday.

Just as he was looking for an opportunity to escape, he saw a cold star flying out of the assassin's hand.

This time the flying knife was faster than before. Under the light of the big red lantern, the flying knife took on a blood-red color, and looked like a blood line in the pouring rain.

Ren Biao knew that he could not escape anymore, so he held the man holding the umbrella in front of him to use as a human shield.

In a flash, the flying knife arrived. It pierced through the meat shield like a whirlwind and pierced through Ren Biao's palm, thus removing the force of the flying knife.

Ren Biao was terrified and felt a piercing pain in his palm. He looked up and saw the assassin holding a hatchet, his feet breaking through the stone slabs, stirring up rain water, and already ten steps away.

"Good man! If you have something to say..."

Before he could finish his begging for mercy, the assassin leaped up, raised his sword and slashed it diagonally, with a momentum like splitting mountains and cutting through seas.

Ren Biao turned around and tried to escape, but it was too late. The hatchet pierced his neck like a hot knife into oil, slashing down diagonally.

A loud thunderclap sounded, the light was blinding, and Ren Biao was split into two pieces. The raindrops that fell were all blood red.

The assassin did not stop at all and did not use any flying knives. He just took the hatchet and rushed forward, killing another six or seven people immediately.

The members of the Qinglong Gang finally came to their senses and rushed forward to besiege the assassin.

The assassin was extremely calm, and only sought to strike the nearest opponent. It was not apparent that he had advanced swordsmanship, but his hands and feet were extremely swift, and he danced with the sword like a silver snake dancing on fire, causing a pool of blood immediately.

In just a short while, many people with broken arms and legs were lying on the ground, and the rest of the gang members did not dare to move forward no matter what.

Lin Bai also stopped, holding the hatchet upside down, pressed down his hat, and looked around at everyone.

When the people from the Qinglong Gang met the gaze that was like that of the Demon Lord, they quickly retreated and no one dared to step forward.

It's almost time to go. Lin Bai looked at the mutilated corpses on the ground and felt very satisfied.

But today he had thrown two flying knives, and hadn't picked them up yet... Lin Bai didn't want to create any more trouble, and since he couldn't be found by following the flying knives, he didn't pick them up.

Without hesitation, he climbed up the wall along the original route and headed towards the northern city wall.

In the dark and rainy night, Lin Bai walked around once, made sure no one was following him, walked around again, and then returned home with extreme caution.

Change out your wet clothes and throw them into the washtub.

He washed himself with water, dried his hair, poured himself a cup of cold tea, and sat down without lighting the oil lamp, thinking about his shortcomings today.

After more than half an hour, there was a knock on the door.

It was like beating a drum, actually drowning out the sound of the rain.

(End of this chapter)