Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 65 Tianying Master
Just then, the old man suddenly opened his eyes, and a gust of wind from his fist came towards Zhou Zhao.

Zhou Zhao moved swiftly to the side, and the large blue stone she had been sitting on shattered into pieces out of thin air.

"Impressive skills! Ye Xuan is dead, and you are the new head of the Xuanwu Hall?"

Zhou Zhao suppressed her inner admiration and remained extremely vigilant. She considered herself to be quite skilled in martial arts, but the person before her possessed unfathomable power, and she was unlikely to be a match for him at present.

No wonder Qianmian repeatedly emphasized that the inner city was completely different from the outer city.

"I am Qin Tianying. Have you had breakfast yet? I made some flatbread this morning. I learned this skill from my mother when I was young. It's truly a coincidence that you've come here for the first time."

The white-bearded old man spoke with a kind smile. He was clearly a very cheerful person, with more wrinkles around his eyes than others.

In the few days since Zhou Zhao came to Tianying City, Qin Tianying was the kindest person she had ever met.

If we ignore the fact that he slaughtered his entire family of over forty people, tried to kill her over a mere disagreement, and even planned to massacre the entire city ten days later.

"City Lord, Zhou Zhao has come today with important matters to report. They concern Hall Master Qi of the Tianji Hall, and also a piece of tortoise shell..."

A meaningful glint flashed in Qin Tianying's eyes, but her smile remained unchanged. "Come in and have breakfast first."

As he spoke, he opened the fence gate of the small courtyard. As if hearing a noise, several chickens emerged from the pile of firewood on the side of the courtyard and paced back and forth, chattering.

Qin Tianying ignored Zhou Zhao's thoughts and turned to enter the main room.

The house remained extremely simple. In the center of the main room stood a long dining table with nine sets of bowls and cups. To the right of the main room was the kitchen, where a small fire burned under a hanging pot, simmering millet porridge that emitted a faint, pleasant aroma.

Just as Zhou Zhao was hesitating about whether to help distribute the porridge, he heard a commotion coming from the courtyard gate.

Qin Tianying didn't even look outside before calling out, "Yaoguang, it's your turn to be on duty today. You distribute the porridge to everyone, and don't forget the Xuanwu Hall Master's portion."

As he spoke, he pointed to the very end of the long table, gesturing for Zhou Zhao to sit down.

"You sit there. Whatever it is, we can talk about it after breakfast. Eating is the most important thing in the world."

Qin Tianying remained kind and approachable, like an ordinary old man from a farming family.

Upon hearing the name Yao Guang, Zhou Zhao looked towards the entrance and, sure enough, saw Qianmian standing in the crowd.

He put the mask back on, and his aura was completely different from when he was Zhu Li. If Zhu Li was a good sword, then the person in front of him was a divine weapon.

Even getting a fraction of an inch closer to him carries the risk of having your throat slit.

"Yes, Master. I brought some Pear Blossom White wine today, newly brewed this year. Although it's still a bit pale, it has a certain elegance to it."

Qin Tianying laughed heartily upon hearing this, "What do I, an old geezer, need for elegance? Your fancy wine is perfect for entertaining young ladies."

Upon hearing this, Qianmian looked Zhou Zhao up and down. "The new leader of the Xuanwu Hall? Ye Xuan is dead?"

As he spoke, without waiting for Zhou Zhao's reply, he went straight to serve the porridge. This way of doing things was exactly the same as Qin Tianying's.

Everyone took their seats in turn. Qin Tianying didn't mention Liu Huang, so Zhou Zhao remained silent, leaving him to sit quietly in a corner. It was best not to eat the pancakes Qin Tianying had baked; eating them would only bring bad luck.

Zhou Zhao pondered, curiously observing everyone.

Based on the seating arrangement and the list of names Qianmian had given her beforehand, the leader of the Tian Shu Hall should be a beautiful woman dressed in a pale yellow dress. She was strikingly beautiful, with a pair of golden hairpins in the shape of hibiscus flowers adorning her forehead, and a gold bracelet made of intertwined gold thread on her wrist, making her look extremely luxurious. Beside her lay a short sword, its scabbard inlaid with green gemstones.

She glanced at Zhou Zhao's chest, then smiled contemptuously and turned to look at Qianmian, who was serving porridge in the kitchen.

No… Zhou Zhao felt deeply offended!
The head of Tianxuan Hall was a young man with a face as sharp as if carved by a knife and axe. He had a square face, and Zhou Zhao thought that if his head were chopped off and put into a food box, it might fit perfectly. Every horizontal and vertical stroke was as straight as if it had been drawn with ink.

This man was a master of the knife. Zhou Zhao became even more vigilant as he listened to his almost non-existent breathing.

Master Qi of Tianji Hall had been blown to bits, and his seat was now empty.

Then there's Tianquan, whose leader is an old man. His temples bulge outwards, his eyes are extremely sharp, and his hands are like eagle claws. He doesn't carry any weapons. Besides Qianmian, he's the only one carrying food.

It was a plate of crispy fish and a jar of pickled plums.

The head of Yuheng Hall was a young woman in her early twenties. She had rosy lips and white teeth, and her eyes were exceptionally bright and lively, like a cunning little fox from the mountains. She was whispering something in the ear of the head of Kaiyang Hall, who was also a talented young man in his early twenties.

He had thick eyebrows and big eyes, with a red mole between his eyebrows. He had a gentleman's sword at his side. Anyone who saw him would say that he was a righteous young hero.

Zhou Zhao watched, and couldn't help but mutter to himself.

What's going on! Everyone in the inner city of Tianying City seems like a good person, but she and Liu Huang are more abnormal than any of them. They're practically screaming "murderer" and "shameless bandit" on their faces.

It's truly a reversal of fortunes.

After Zhou Zhao finished reading, Qianmian brought over the porridge and distributed it to everyone. Finally, he sat down in the second-to-last seat at the table, right next to Zhou Zhao.

During the meal, the room was completely silent; even Yuheng and Kaiyang remained silent.

Zhou Zhao guessed that this was probably a rule set by Qin Tianying, so he kept quiet, picked up the steamed bun and took a bite. It was surprisingly delicious.

If Qin Tianying hadn't been a bandit leader here, he could have opened a famous pastry shop in Chang'an, the kind with queues stretching for miles.

Everyone, whether they liked it or not, ate every last grain of rice. Zhou Zhao followed suit and also ate everything clean.

Qin Tianying wiped his mouth before breaking the silence, "Tianji isn't here, has something happened?"

Zhou Zhao immediately cupped his hands and repeated what he had said earlier in the underground cave.

"Master Tianji has not returned all night, and the Bei'an County army was mobilized last night... My master was so anxious about this that he passed away. I was worried that something might go wrong, so I came to report to the city lord immediately. Since it involves the imperial court, Zhou Zhao dares not act on his own. I ask the city lord for guidance."

"The treasure of Yuyang came from a tomb. Among the treasures was a tortoise shell. Before my master passed away, he told me that I needed to inform the city lord about this."

Qin Tianying remained calm, his expression not changing even upon hearing the words "tortoise shell." He stroked his white beard, seemingly lost in thought.

"The Dai army now all obey Zhao Yizhou's orders. Zhao Yizhou has a special status. Although he is now an official of Dai, he actually obeys the orders of Chang'an. Why did they have to act now? I'm afraid the source is still Chen Qifu."

The speaker was the head of Tianquan Hall. His voice was somewhat aged, but his breathing was smooth and strong, no less than that of a young person.

Chen Qifu was arrested and taken to Chang'an by the imperial court because of the "Six Paths Heavenly Book". This time, Zhao Yizhou took the Yuyang treasure, most likely because of the tortoise shell.

"Lord, why don't I, along with Yaoguang, lead the people from the twelve outer strongholds to go together..."