Who among the gangsters wants to fall in love?

Chapter 367: Ghost in Summer

The waves hit the rocks, making loud noises.

Xiao Yuanmu and Guan Yunshu were standing on the boat, the hull swaying with the waves. When they heard what was said, they both looked over with their eyes slightly fixed, thinking to themselves, is it Wen Wuzheng who is here?
This guy ranked them randomly. Now that we meet him, we have to give him a warning.

The arrow tower had become a ruin. The disciples holding bows fled in all directions. They used their Qinggong skills to stand on a high place and looked towards Zhao Wumian with a horrified expression.

Hearing the middle-aged man's voice at this moment, they should have felt reassured, but they did not look at ease. Instead, someone could not help but give a reminder.

"Deputy Palace Master, be careful... don't get beaten to death."

?

Zhao Wumian glanced sideways and saw a man in brocade clothes with a big belly coming hurriedly. The way he walked didn't show that he knew any martial arts.

How can a person who doesn't know martial arts become the second-in-command of the three sects and six schools?
The deputy palace master had sweat on his forehead. He was out of breath and sweating profusely after running just a few steps. He looked extremely terrified and knelt down to Zhao Wumian as soon as he came up.

“I didn’t know that the Marquis was coming here. I’m sorry for not welcoming you in person. I’m sorry for not welcoming you in person…” The Deputy Palace Master did not even bother to wipe the sweat off his face as he prostrated himself, causing everyone around him to frown.

After all, he is the second in command of the three sects and six schools. Where is his integrity? At this moment, many people outside are kneeling. If they enter the house, they dare not even think about it.

Guan Yunshu and Xiao Yuanmu looked at each other and frowned. Most people in the martial arts world don't like those who are materialistic.

Xiao Yuanmu recalled for a few seconds and whispered to Guan Yunshu:

"I have never met Wen Wuzheng, but I have met the deputy palace master once. He is a man with decent martial arts skills. After all, there must be someone to make decisions outside the Jade Palace. Usually, the deputy palace master would take Wen Wuzheng's place... Now it seems that the deputy palace master has been replaced?"

Guan Yunshu had never been to the East Sea before and didn't know the Jade Palace. He just shook his head and replied with a stereotype,
"For a frivolous sect that is involved in gossip, finding such a mercenary person as its second-in-command is a perfect match..."

Zhao Wumian came here to seek cooperation, not to pick a fight. Seeing the second-in-command kneeling down so decisively, he had to worry about the reputation of the Jade Palace. He couldn't help but raise his hand.

"That's too much. Let's go to the island and talk about the criminal who impersonated me..."

The deputy palace master looked up at Zhao Wumian with an expression of great joy, "Okay, okay!"

Zhao Wumian was accustomed to seeing how most martial arts masters faced life and death with a calm demeanor, and then seeing the deputy palace master's fluctuating emotions, he was a little uncomfortable for a moment.

The two girls used their Qinggong skills to fly over and went to the island together. The deputy palace master looked back at the two girls, then whispered to the disciple who tried to stop Zhao Wumian:

"Fine clothes, a strong horse, a beautiful woman with a sword in hand, that's the Marquis of Weiming... Yesterday, the gangster came to visit with a big, burly man, how could that be the Marquis of Weiming? If that happened yesterday, you could stop him without any problem, but if you were unlucky and stopped the real Marquis of Weiming, that would be a big problem, which means that the Marquis is very generous...

Be more careful in the future, call me first when something happens, and don't act on your own."

Zhao Wumian wanted to say that this was just a stereotype, and he was not that lustful, but it seemed that he always brought beautiful girls with him every time he traveled.

I'm afraid that the deputy palace master identified his identity not by the token or martial arts, but by Guan Yunshu behind him.

The little nun was a Buddhist disciple with an excellent reputation. The only blemish was that she seemed to have violated the rules and regulations and had an unclear relationship with the Weiming Hou of the court...

It was midsummer and the sun was still scorching even in the afternoon. Fortunately, the vegetation was lush and green on both sides. Walking under the shade of the trees and smelling the sea air, I felt quite comfortable.

The deputy palace master introduced Zhao Wumian in the middle of the conversation. His name was Hua Xiuwen, and his parents gave him this name because they wanted him to pass the imperial examinations since he was young. Unfortunately, he took the exams for twenty years and failed to even pass the exam to become a juren. It was by chance that he came to the Jade Palace, was appreciated by the palace master, and inherited the position of deputy palace master.

He didn't have to go out and fight. In the past, most of the verdicts, biographies, and other fancy things about the heroes of the martial arts world were compiled by him.

It was he who came up with Zhao Wumian's verdict of 'the sword leans against the blue sky, the flute leans against the building, the shadows of the clouds are leisurely, the shadows of the cranes are leisurely'.

To put it bluntly, the Jade Palace can be divided into two factions, civil and military. The leader of the civil faction is Hua Xiuwen, who is in charge of the affairs of the martial arts world.

The leader of the martial arts faction is naturally Wen Wuzheng.

No wonder he doesn't know martial arts.

Xiao Yuanmu frowned slightly and said, "As far as I know, "The Jingzheng Peerless List" and "The Records of Mountains, Seas, Lakes and Sky" were all written by Wen Wuzheng. Is he pushing all these jobs to you now?"

Hua Xiuwen looked at Xiao Yuanmu with a bit of confusion, not understanding why Zhao Wumian had such a little girl with him, but he still answered respectfully:

"The Palace Master's martial arts skills are becoming more and more profound. Rather than managing the sect, you should focus on your own martial arts... Since your mind is no longer here, you should find someone to share the burden."

"Where is the former deputy palace master?"

"You mean Old Xie? After he stepped down as deputy palace master, he traveled around the world and there has been no news since then."

After a few casual chats and walking for half a day, we finally arrived at the Jade Palace Martial Arts Arena.

Hua Xiuwen said: "I was not present when the murder took place. The specific circumstances should be discussed between the elders and the Marquis..."

The training grounds of various sects are mostly the same, striving to be spacious. However, this huge training ground has few disciples. There are only a few elders standing in the shade chatting with each other with cold tones.

"That damned thug wanted to see the Palace Master, but for some reason he suddenly disguised himself as Marquis Weiming and even harmed my disciple..."

"Fuck him, he is a coward! It's a pity that the Palace Master is not here. Alas, a country needs good generals in times of crisis. If we had a Nine Bells and more Wu Kui, how could we let him get away with such a rash move..."

After Zhao Wumian heard a few words, the elders noticed them and hurried forward, all of them bowed, with a slightly suspicious tone, "Is it really Marquis Weiming?"

Even though the disciples had reported the news, they still hesitated because they were afraid of the ropes after being bitten once. It was only when they saw Guan Yunshu beside Zhao Wumian that they felt relieved.

The man with such a pretty and charming girl by his side must be Wei Ming Hou.

Zhao Wumian: ...

Zhao Wumian raised his hand casually, "Let's get straight to business. What's the specific situation?"

Zhao Wumian was well-known for his ability to get back at any loss he suffered. He was on the rise and there was basically nothing he could not handle. Several elders looked at him and told him everything they knew. The leader let out a "Pooh" sound.

"That villain's disguise skills are extremely advanced. We have never seen the Marquis, but we saw that he had a token of good workmanship. We also thought that in today's martial arts world, who would dare to act in the identity of the Marquis? That's why we lost our guard for a moment and let him go to the island. As soon as the villain arrived, he said he wanted to ask the Palace Master about the Nine Bells..."

As they spoke, someone secretly glanced at Zhao Wumian. They had kept the disciple's murder a secret, and it happened yesterday, so Zhao Wumian should not know about it... Then, could it be that he came here to escape from the world?
They tried to evade the question, "My Lord, you must know that the matter of the Sheath of Retreat has been making a lot of noise recently, and many people in the martial arts world want to come here to ask questions, but how can we know any clues about the Nine Bells?"

Zhao Wumian saw through their prevarication and waved his hand casually, "Wen Wuzheng knows the clues to the Sheath of the Recluse, and that's why I'm here too."

The expressions of several elders froze slightly and they looked at him in surprise... No, where did you get the clues from?
Zhao Wumian smiled lightly, "Is Wen Wuzheng on the island?"

The elders looked at each other and smiled bitterly:

"If the Palace Master was on the island, how could he sit and watch that villain kill my disciples? In fact, we dare not neglect the Marquis, so we let him wait on the island for a few days and discuss it with the Palace Master when he returns to the island.
But the villain had no patience, saying, 'No one in the world is worthy of him waiting, if you want to wait, you have to pay the price', so he killed a disciple and left, leaving a message that he would visit again soon, and if he still didn't see the palace master, he would kill again..."

At the end, the elder's tone became a little colder. He turned and went to a room behind the martial arts field, only to see a corpse covered with white cloth in the room. It was obviously the innocent disciple who died tragically.

Corpses tend to stink easily in the summer, so this morgue is located in a remote area, with no lights on and ice cubes placed on the morgue. The light is dim, and there are no windows. Only a ray of sunlight comes in through the open door.

But everyone present was used to seeing corpses, so they walked straight forward. The little nun walked at the end and gently pushed the door back, leaving it ajar.

Zhao Wumian lifted the white cloth and looked at the corpse. The man acted quickly and efficiently, chopping off the head directly. The cut was smooth, as if it was done with a magic weapon.

"What weapon does he use?" Zhao Wumian asked.

"No weapons were used." The elder said in a slightly horrified tone, "The man just waved his hand casually, and the head fell to the ground..."

Zhao Wumian frowned and looked sideways, "Silk thread?"

Zhao Wumian was also able to kill people from a distance, but the most he could do was rely on his powerful internal energy to shatter ordinary people's internal organs. But to want to use his internal energy to cut off people's heads was pure wishful thinking.

Even if he has already gone beyond the scope of ordinary warriors, he can be considered half a cultivator, right?

But if you use silk threads that are invisible to the naked eye, then that is normal and it can also be classified as a hidden weapon.

The elder shook his head. "No, my martial arts skills are inferior to the Marquis, but we are not so bad that we can't even tell that he used a hidden weapon."

"That may not be the case..." Zhao Wumian pondered for a moment and looked at Xiao Yuanmu, "What do you think?"

Xiao Yuanmu waved a round fan and flicked his fingers, and a small hole appeared on the beam with a "pop" sound.

"Killing people from a distance, I was able to do it in my prime, but I just relied on my internal energy to cut off the head, and the cut was as sharp as a mirror..." Xiao Yuanmu pondered for a moment, frowning slightly, "My internal energy is extremely condensed, so it can be as sharp as a knife."

After the words fell, Zhao Wumian and Xiao Yuanmu were both stunned... Isn't this the root cause of Xiao Yuanmu's serious injury?

The internal energy has condensed into a mist state, almost turning into water...which results in the inability of Qi and blood to keep up with the internal energy, causing an imbalance of yin and yang in the body.

If this villain and Xiao Yuanmu followed the same path, with their internal energy condensed, then why was he fine? Why was he safe and sound?
Does he have a secret method that can solve the problem of imbalance between yin and yang in the body?
Hiss! Zhao Wumian's spirits perked up, and the annoyance in his heart about being impersonated suddenly turned into surprise.

He looked at Xiao Yuanmu, and Xiao Yuanmu was also looking at him. They were obviously thinking the same thing, and they could see the joy in each other's eyes.

Only Guan Yunshu didn't care whether Xiao Yuanmu was dead or alive. After looking at the corpse for a few times, she frowned slightly.
“Why did that villain have to disguise himself as Zhao Wumian? Could it be that he has no interest in Wen Wuzheng at all and just wants to find a way to lure Zhao Wumian... Since that man is such a powerful martial artist and difficult for you to detect, he may not have left the Jade Palace at all, but has been waiting for you..." As soon as the words fell, the morgue was suddenly dead silent, with the sound of a howling wind. Several elders felt the cold wind blowing through their collars and trouser legs and shivered.

Hua Xiuwen, a scholar who didn't know martial arts, was sweating all over...

Although the morgue was dark and gloomy, he did not find it eerie when he was with Wei Minghou. But at this moment, he always felt that a ghost would appear in the dark corner at any time.

"Why are you scaring yourself..."

Hua Xiuwen turned around and was about to leave the morgue which seemed a little strange, but just as he reached the door, a sudden gust of cold wind blew past, and the door closed with a click, and the room was instantly dark.

Hua Xiuwen felt cold all over, and suddenly got goose bumps all over his body. He stepped back repeatedly and collapsed to the ground. His legs were trembling, and he no longer had the courage to open the door.

But before he could exclaim, Zhao Wumian frowned, lifted his cloak, grasped the hilt of the knife behind his waist, and said slowly: "Who is causing trouble here?"

If that villain could really condense his inner energy to the point of killing people from a distance, he must be a martial arts master without a doubt. Xiao Yuanmu was seriously injured and had not yet recovered. It was normal for a nun who was in harmony with nature and could not sense anything.

But Zhao Wumian was certain that at the moment the door was locked, someone entered the morgue and hid in the dark. However, the person's martial arts skills were so high that Zhao Wumian had not yet recovered, so he could not tell the exact location for a moment.

The visitor seemed to be an expert assassin. He did not reveal any murderous intent or hostility, otherwise he would have been exposed long ago.

Hua Xiuwen's face turned pale, and he almost rolled and crawled to Zhao Wumian's side, trembling. But out of the corner of his eye, he saw another pair of shoes on the side of Zhao Wumian's boots under his cloak...

Whose shoes!?

So close! ?
"Be careful..."

The words have not yet fallen.

Choke——

The shrill sound of a knife being drawn suddenly rang out in the morgue, and a ghost really appeared in the darkness. The friction between the blade and the scabbard produced a spark that illuminated the room for a moment, followed by a flash of knife light that passed by in a flash.

Everyone in the room was so frightened that their hair stood on end.

Guan Yunshu frowned, and with one palm, he slapped back, making a big hole in the wall of the morgue. The summer light outside rushed into the morgue through the hole, but the scene before them was beyond everyone's expectations.

A charming woman dressed in black and with a beautiful face stood on tiptoe beside Zhao Wumian, lifted his chin with one hand and pressed her pink lips against his, while her other small hand pressed against the back of Zhao Wumian's hand, holding the knife, pointing it diagonally downward at Hua Xiuwen, with the tip of the knife less than three inches away from Hua Xiuwen's neck.

Guan Yunshu was slightly startled, and his tone was slightly surprised, "Shen Xiangge!?"

boo~
Shen Xiangge stood on tiptoe and offered a sweet kiss. Hearing this, her pretty face tilted back slightly, making a very crisp sound. Her peerless face was cold as she glanced at Hua Xiuwen.
"What are you yelling for? It's so noisy! I finally got to see my lover. If you yell again, you'll be beheaded."

After he finished speaking, Shen Xiangge took Zhao Wumian's right hand that was holding the knife, sheathed the knife neatly, hugged Zhao Wumian tightly, rested his chin on his shoulder, and smiled like a winner towards Guan Yunshu and Xiao Yuanmu.

"It's been a long time since we last met."

After that, Shen Xiangge looked at Zhao Wumian, her beautiful eyes shining, and she stretched out her tone, "My Lord, you didn't expect it to be me, did you?"

Shen Xiangge hugged Zhao Wumian so tightly that the plump lapels of his clothes had already been squeezed flat.

Zhao Wumian had already noticed Shen Xiangge's identity when she approached him, but he didn't expect her to kiss him in public...

Among all the girls Zhao Wumian knows, Shen Xiangge is the least like an ordinary woman... There is no trace of shyness or reserve in her.

But looking at this pretty face that was so happy, how could Zhao Wumian blame her? He was too surprised to even have time.

Hua Xiuwen was just a scholar, how could he bear such a shock? The tip of the knife passed by his neck and he had a close call between life and death. He didn't even get to see what Shen Xiangge looked like before his head tilted and he fainted.

As Hua Xiuwen fainted, the dazed elders around him finally reacted and shouted angrily, "Witch..."

Zhao Wumian glanced at them from the side, and their tone softened instantly. They stammered, "My Lord, this... um, Miss Shen, did they disguise themselves as you, kill my disciples, and lure you here?"

The superb disguise technique, the devil woman who kills people without blinking an eye... these are indeed things that Shen Xiangge could possibly do.

But Zhao Wumian still shook his head.

"What nonsense is this? If it was in the past, she might have treated human life as worthless, but now she definitely won't..."

Why not now? Because Zhao Wumian didn't want her to do this.

Shen Xiangge smiled upon hearing this, hugged Zhao Wumian and jumped happily a few times on the spot, then said with a smile:

"Don't make blind guesses. The one who disguised himself as you is the grassland shaman Tian. I found some clues about him before and followed him all the way to Huating, but found that he came to the Jade Palace... But the interesting thing is that he didn't disguise himself, and he didn't have any token in his hand, but these chickens and dogs still mistook him for you..."

"Psychedelic magic?" Xiao Yuanmu, who had been silent the whole time, finally spoke up. "If it's Shamantian, then it wouldn't be surprising..."

There are many evil techniques in shamanism, and hallucination is one of them. To put it simply, it is the inner energy contained in words that can hypnotize people, but it can only hypnotize people temporarily. In essence, it is actually a kind of sonic power.

It's just that this sonic skill is useless, the learning requirements are harsh, and the effect is quite mediocre. Even if Shamantian uses it himself, it is impossible to work on the masters of the unity of man and nature and the martial arts masters.

It is tasteless to eat and a pity to throw away. It is just a toy in front of masters, but it is more than enough to deal with people from the Jade Palace.

The elders looked at each other in bewilderment, and then heard Shen Xiangge tap Zhao Wumian's lips with his finger and said with a silly smile:

"When the shaman picked up a stone from the roadside, these people regarded it as a token. They looked him up and down and treated him with great respect. You have no idea how funny that scene was. Later, when the time limit of the sonic power was about to expire, there was no sign of Wen Wuzheng, so the shaman killed people and left, forcing Wen Wuzheng to show up."

Several elders felt embarrassed and their faces turned red.

Shen Xiangge moved closer to Zhao Wumian, and whispered as if a man and a woman were talking in private:

"I thought that since he dared to use your identity to defraud others, you must come to investigate, so I will wait for you here~"

After saying that, Shen Xiangge pursed her lips and kissed Zhao Wumian on the mouth, which made Guan Yunshu's eyes twitch.
"You have no shame... Since you knew someone was using his identity, why didn't you follow them?"

Shen Xiangge curled her lips and said, "Because I am a narrow-minded woman who only has my lover in my mind, the investigation of the case will be left to the nun, and I will just be close to the Marquis."

Guan Yunshu raised his eyebrows slightly, then sneered, "You are indeed a narrow-minded and foolish woman."

However, this was only half of the reason. The other half was that Shamantian had discovered Shen Xiangge who was following him secretly at that time, so he left. In essence, he wanted to ambush and kill her.

Only Shen Xiangge would be stupid to step into the trap on his own initiative, and this is why it ended in such a mess.

"This narrow-minded and foolish woman has gained a lot and knows a lot of things." Shen Xiangge put his arms around Zhao Wumian's neck, rested his chin on his shoulder, looked at Guan Yunshu with a provocative smile.

"For example, Shamantian came here with White Wolf as his helper. For another example, he wanted to find the wrong Jinboshan furnace. For another example... he seemed to be seriously injured and kept spitting blood from time to time... I wonder if our little nun has any information?"

Guan Yunshu frowned. Being provoked like this, there was no way she would admit defeat. She was just about to take out the Sheath to have a good talk with the woman, and at the same time annoy this evil woman by mentioning that Zhao Wumian came to save her, but was interrupted by Zhao Wumian.

"Why are you quarreling in someone else's sect's headquarters..." Zhao Wumian looked at the elders and wanted to bow and say that his wife was rude, but Shen Xiangge was holding him tightly, and bowing would seem too frivolous, so he could only say:

"Today's incident is most likely what Xiang Ge said. Even if it was the Rong people who caused the trouble, I should not refuse... I will avenge this disciple for you. As for your Palace Master Wen Wuzheng, is he in the sect right now? I am here to cooperate sincerely, so why not let him meet me?"

Zhao Wumian spoke harshly, and the elders looked at each other and shook their heads.

"Since the Marquis knows that the Palace Master knows the clues about the Sheath, we can no longer cover it up and add to the jokes... The Palace Master has not been heard from since he left the World Beyond. Not to mention the Marquis, we are also very worried. However, since it concerns the Nine Bells, we can't help the Palace Master. We can only wait on the island, but we never thought that the Rong people would come..."

Xiao Yuanmu would save face for Zhao Wumian outside, and would not argue with Shen Xiangge like a foolish woman in the countryside. Upon hearing this, she walked up to Zhao Wumian and said:
"If Wen Wuzheng really managed to snatch the Sheath of Seclusion, he probably wouldn't dare to return to the sect, for fear that Guiyi and Mo Jingxue would come looking for him... He is probably recuperating somewhere at the moment, or maybe he is taking advantage of this time to comprehend the Nine Bells and use it to break through. It would be difficult to find him."

Zhao Wumian had the same guess, and he was afraid that he would get nothing if he continued to wait in the Jade Palace.

This time he went to the island openly, and the news would surely reach Shaman Tian's ears. He would not dare to come in a hurry... If he comes again, he will definitely be fully prepared.

Cults like Shamanism have some mysterious and mysterious techniques...

If it was an encounter battle, Zhao Wumian was confident that he could win, but if it was a positional battle, wouldn't that be purely using one's own weakness to attack the enemy's strength?

He just waited foolishly in the Jade Palace while Shamantian was preparing to kill him... This wasn't arrogance, this was pure stupidity.

Therefore, Zhao Wumian pondered for a moment and then bowed slightly to the elder.

"I come here with sincerity this time. If Palace Master Wen returns to the sect, I will trouble you to pass the message to him. As for Shamantian, I will find a way to kill him. I will try to bring Shamantian's head with me next time to offer sacrifice to the spirit of this tragically dead disciple."

When the elders heard this, they knew that Marquis Weiming was determined to leave, and they couldn't help but bow in greeting.

"Thank you, Lord Marquis... It is said in the martial arts world that you are as powerful as a startled wild goose, and can turn into a dragon with the help of the wind. We all thought that you must be a rebellious person, but now that we have seen you, we know what it means to be as beautiful as jade on the road... Take care."

Zhao Wumian smiled and left in a good mood.

(End of this chapter)