Zongwu: Aspiring to be the mastermind behind the scenes

Chapter 193 The Truth Behind the Murder, The Flying Knife Reappears
"Lu...Lu Xiaofeng?"

Qi Zimu was greatly surprised.

"Sect Leader Qi, it is indeed me!"

Lu Xiaofeng stroked his beard and said with a smile.

Qi Zimu hurriedly tried to wrest the long sword back, but Lu Xiaofeng's two fingers were like an iron fortress, firmly gripping the sword. No matter how much force he used, he could not budge it in the slightest.

Being face-to-face with a grandmaster at such close range is obviously extremely dangerous.

Qi Zimu made a decision instantly, discarding his longsword, retreating several steps, and returning to Master Ji's side.

Master Ji was also astonished.

Both Yi Jue and Lu Xiaofeng are exceptional individuals capable of fighting opponents of higher levels.

Even when facing Yi Jue alone, with Qi Zimu supporting him from the side and secretly poisoning him to affect his condition by taking advantage of Yi Jue's underestimation, he was still somewhat unable to cope.

What's more, there's also Lu Xiaofeng.

Master Ji immediately felt the urge to retreat.

But considering the plans those people behind him were going to carry out that night, he ultimately didn't leave.

Qi Zimu felt a little safer standing next to Master Ji, and quickly asked, "Lu Xiaofeng, what are you doing here?"

"That's the question I should be asking you!"

Lu Xiaofeng tossed aside his longsword and said, "According to the Alliance Leader's orders, all participants in tonight's operation are strictly prohibited from leaking information. May I ask, Sect Leader Qi, what brings you to this place?"
Could it be that Master Ji leaked the information in advance?

Before any response could be received, he said to himself, "No, no, no, the Alliance Leader has assigned a monk and a Taoist priest to each person as surveillance. It's probably impossible to transmit information under their watchful eyes."

So, I have another guess... Actually, you had already devised this plan, but it just so happened that Zuo Lengchan proposed the decapitation operation, so you joined in as well.”

Master Ji nodded and said, "That's right. We originally planned to wait a few days until the rumors and situation in the military camp became more and more dangerous before proposing the decapitation plan to Zuo Lengchan. But we didn't expect that Zuo Lengchan would think of this first, which saved us trouble."

"So, the rumors circulating in the military camp are largely your doing? Even the killing of the Iron Blood Hall Master was for this reason?"

Qi Zimu was surprised but not flustered: "Why does Master Lu think that I killed the Iron Blood Hall Master?"

"The leader of the Iron Blood Hall is strong and heavy, and the arrow wounds on his body are not too serious. Even if the treatment time was delayed because the doctor went to treat others first, it is impossible for him to die so easily."

Moreover, after his death, I accompanied the Iron Blood Hall to examine his body. Although we found no signs of torture, we did discover some signs of poisoning.

Lu Xiaofeng said, "At that time, the wounded soldiers' camp was full of people, and almost no one heard the noise when the Iron Blood Hall Master was killed, so most people thought he died from his injuries... But there is another possibility, that is, he was killed without any resistance."

Before this, there was another person who was killed in this way: Bai Tianhui, who died in the Sun family residence.

He was killed by you too, right?
Because no one heard any noise at the time, and the person died without resistance despite being tortured, people believed that the person who killed him must have been a grandmaster martial artist who was proficient in extremely exquisite pressure point techniques.

Even though Yin Jiuyou later revealed the truth, it didn't have much of an impact. In fact, under Zuo Lengchan's manipulation, it became nothing more than a rumor.

But why assume the killer is the stronger party? Why not consider the opposite: if the victim were weak, wouldn't they be able to do the same thing?!

As Lu Xiaofeng spoke, she looked intently at Qi Zimu.

The Dissolving Power Technique uses highly poisonous substances to neutralize a martial artist's internal energy.

Although its effectiveness was extremely limited when facing a master-level expert like Gui Haiyi.

However, Guihai Yidao himself was already very powerful, with pure and refined true qi, surpassing even ordinary grandmasters.

Even ordinary innate martial artists are completely unable to compare with him.

Bai Tianhui encountered Qi Zimu, who used the Dissolving Power Technique to dissolve all the internal energy in his body.

All his strength vanished, leaving him barely equivalent to a post-natal martial artist.

Such strength is naturally extremely weak in front of Qi Zimu.

Therefore, people saw a martial artist with almost no signs of resistance die tragically in the Sun family mansion.

Qi Zimu's purpose, just as Yin Jiuyou said, was to kill people to practice his skills.

After all, he had only recently learned this Dissolving Power Technique. Without finding someone to practice with, how could he identify and fill in the gaps in his knowledge and make progress?
The main purpose of killing the leader of the Iron Blood Hall was to facilitate the implementation of the plan, increase the intensity of rumors within the alliance camp, and thus put pressure on Zuo Lengchan.

In this way, Zuo Lengchan was able to risk agreeing when Master Ji proposed the decapitation plan.

However, no one expected that Zuo Lengchan himself possessed such courage.

Before they even had a chance to show up, they had already come up with a decapitation plan on their own.

Therefore, all the master strategist needs to do is go with the flow and revise the plan accordingly.

Furthermore, since the two had already formulated a plan, under the surveillance of the monk and the Taoist priest, Master Ji only needed to give a signal to let Qi Zimu know that the plan had been launched, so that they could cooperate in the operation.

This is why Qi Zimu is here.

Of course, there is a third purpose hidden behind all these actions.

That was to complete the mysterious organization's assessment, eliminate other prospective members, and thus allow Qi Zimu to obtain the status of a formal member of the organization.

Bai Tianhui of Sanhumen.

The leader of the Iron Blood Hall.

In reality, they were all prospective members of the organization.

Also among the organization's prospective members are the sect leader and gang leader of the Holy Hand Sect and the Pegasus Gang.

However, they had already perished in a sea of ​​fire during their previous operation.

There are two other faction leaders who are also prospective members, but neither of them is a Grandmaster, so they are not considered a threat by Qi Zimu.

Tonight's operation is not only to help Qi Zimu avenge his parents, but also to eliminate Yi Jue, the biggest threat in the assessment mission.

And... to promote Qi Zimu to the position of leader of the alliance, and then occupy Blackwood Cliff after taking it over.

In this way, he could not only complete the assessment task, but also help the Yuan Kingdom behind him to establish a foothold in the Ming Kingdom's territory.

It is certainly not easy to accomplish so many goals overnight.

Especially regarding the point of 'recommending Qi Zimu to the position,' the first thing to do is to remove the person who originally occupied the position of leader of the alliance.

In response, the Yuan Dynasty provided substantial support.

Before arriving here, Qi Zimu did another thing: he went to find reinforcements.

"Good good!"

Qi Zimu clapped his hands repeatedly and exclaimed, "As expected of the famous detective Lu Xiaofeng, you found out the truth so quickly. Although I didn't really intend to hide it now... Alright, you've been rambling on for so long, the poison in Yi Jue's body should be almost cured by now, right?"

While Lu Xiaofeng was explaining his reasoning in a rambling manner, Guihai Yidao remained silent, using his internal energy to expel the poison.

It's true that most of it has been removed now. The remaining amount has little impact. Once we get back, we can properly regulate our breathing and completely eliminate it.

"Oh? Since you knew my purpose, why didn't you stop me?"

"Because we do need some time... to wait for reinforcements!"

"What? Reinforcements?"

Lu Xiaofeng was shocked.

No sooner had the words been spoken than the sound of whistling wind came from the darkness, and two figures appeared on the breeze, quickly coming into view.

They were two burly men with full beards, disheveled hair, and shoulder-length robes.

"Mongol!"

Lu Xiaofeng frowned and demanded, "You actually colluded with the Yuan Kingdom?!"

"Hehe..." Qi Zimu gave a sinister laugh.

A burly man spoke up: "That guy is Yi Jue? How is he still alive? And why is there another person? Blood Blade Ancestor, what are you doing?"

Master Ji hurriedly said, "Commander, Yi Jue's strength is no less than mine, and he also has the Demon Blade to aid him, so we haven't been able to defeat him for the time being. As for the other person... is he Lu Xiaofeng?"

"Lu Xiaofeng?"

Another burly man said, "We've heard of him too. He's a rising star among the younger generation of the Ming Dynasty. Since we've run into him today, let's just eliminate him as well!" The two burly men looked at Lu Xiaofeng and Guihai Yidao, and a fierce killing intent burst forth.

In the distant darkness.

Standing atop a hill, Zhao Min asked, "What's the situation?"

Ah Da, standing beside him, said, "The First Commander and the Second Commander have gone ahead first. It looks like a fight is about to break out."

"Humph!"

Zhao Min couldn't help but sneer: "What a bunch of opportunists who try to steal the fruits from me and my father! They actually went there without any subordinates or attendants, taking such a risk, aren't they afraid of being killed instead?!"

Even so, she knew that it was almost impossible.

Because those two were truly powerful.

After she sent the message back to the Yuan Kingdom, her father, Prince Ruyang, secretly reported the matter to the Yuan Emperor.

After the mysterious organization suddenly appeared, many forces in the Yuan Kingdom made some moves, wanting to send people into the mysterious organization to obtain the Yellow Millet Pill.

Emperor Yuan actually knew this.

But he didn't dare to stop it; in fact, he himself was one of the participants.

Unexpectedly, while he and most others had made no progress at all, the Prince of Ruyang had such a huge gain.

With their secret support, the Moon Shadow Sect was just one step away from becoming a formal member of that mysterious organization.

This is naturally a very good thing.

Moreover, this matter has now become connected with Blackwood Cliff.

Emperor Yuan immediately sent people to provide support and ordered the Prince of Ruyang to cooperate.

It also implies picking peaches.

However, this comes at a price.

Anyone who follows the situation in the Yuan Dynasty will know that the Prince of Ruyang has recently gained a considerable number of troops.

Since the mysterious organization and the Yellow Millet Elixir are related to rejuvenation, Emperor Yuan naturally had to send his most trusted people.

These were the two burly men.

Their true identities are actually orphans secretly collected and raised by the Yuan Dynasty royal family. They are named Meng Da and Meng Er, and serve as the commanders among the palace guards, specifically responsible for protecting the Yuan emperor.

Both of them are incredibly powerful, possessing the cultivation level of a Second Flower Grandmaster.

Although now, the two of them have abandoned their subordinates and rushed there first, which seems somewhat arrogant.

But Zhao Min didn't think that the two of them would be defeated by Lu Xiaofeng and Yi Jue.

After all, according to Yuan Kingdom's intelligence, Yi Jue and Lu Xiaofeng had both recently broken through to the Grandmaster realm.

The difference between a Grandmaster of the First Flower and a Grandmaster of the Second Flower is greater than the difference between a Grandmaster of the Innate Realm and a Grandmaster.

Even a prodigy who can fight a Grandmaster at the Innate Realm may not be able to defeat a Second Flower Grandmaster when he is at the First Flower Grandmaster level.

At least that's how Zhao Min thinks it should be.

But Lu Xiaofeng and Guihai Yidao didn't think so.

They could still sense the pressure the other was putting on them, and they knew that both of them were Grandmasters of the Second Flower Realm.

But instead, a fighting spirit rose within him.

Lu Xiaofeng showed no fear, and even asked with a smile, "I would like to ask, besides the two of them, are there any other reinforcements?"

"Hmph! Of course there are more!" Qi Zimu shouted.

Lu Xiaofeng shook his head: "I'm not asking you, I'm asking... Brother Li!"

A figure in white quietly emerged from the night.

Two long strands of hair fluttered in the wind across her forehead.

Her eyes were deep and unfathomable, and the fine wrinkles did not show any signs of aging, but rather added to her mature charm.

He held a palm-sized throwing knife in his hand.

"As he said, they have reinforcements behind them."

Li Xunhuan smiled and said, "However, it should take about 15 minutes to get here."

"Li Xunhuan?"

When Meng Da saw him, he smiled and said, "Another Ming Dynasty prodigy? Very well, today I will bury you all here, so that you will not become a great threat to my Yuan Dynasty in the future!"

Li Xunhuan was not afraid at all and said, "I have long heard that Meng Da and Meng Er are two iron walls beside the Yuan Emperor, but I don't know if your iron walls can block this flying knife in my hand?"

"You should definitely give it a try!"

Meng Da's body surged with true energy, and his eyes, like a hawk eyeing its prey, fixed intently on Li Xunhuan.

Li Xunhuan smiled faintly, but a hint of murderous intent flashed in his eyes.

The throwing knife in his hand disappeared in the next instant.

However, a throwing knife had already been inserted into Mengda's throat.

The speed is unbelievable.

None of the people present witnessed the process in between.

Just a moment ago, the knife was still in Li Xunhuan's hand.

The next instant, it was already inserted into Mengda's throat.

The intermediate process seems to completely disappear.

Even Monta didn't notice.

But by the time he realized it, his death had already arrived.

His eyes widened involuntarily.

Finally, he exclaimed from the bottom of his heart, "So fast... the throwing knife..."

thump!
The sound of the body falling to the ground startled everyone.

"Big brother!"

Meng Er roared and hurriedly helped Meng Da's body up. Only when he felt the warmth gradually dissipate did he realize that his elder brother was truly dead.

A pair of eyes instantly fixed on Li Xunhuan.

An endless murderous intent and hatred seemed to seep out from those eyes.

"Little Li Flying Dagger... What a fine Little Li Flying Dagger! Die!"

He used his Second Flower Grandmaster cultivation to its fullest extent, even ignoring the damage to his internal meridians as he activated his true energy.

This allowed him to arrive a few steps in front of Li Xunhuan in the blink of an eye.

In the blink of an eye, he could smash Li Xunhuan's head with his iron palms.

To avenge his elder brother.

But when the next blink of an eye actually arrives, Meng Er simply cannot do that.

Because a figure had already appeared before him.

Two fingers extended, like an iron wall, blocking him.

"Lu Xiaofeng!"

"It's down!"

(End of this chapter)