Devouring Evil Martial Arts, Eliminating Demons from All Heavens

Chapter 161 The Assassin, A Strange Mind
The monks, seeing that the battle was over, were still unable to recover for a long time.

That swordsmanship was something they had never witnessed before in their lives.

The one wielding this sword was actually just a young man.

Moreover, he is an easily angered, impulsive young man who lacks the demeanor of a master as one might imagine.

Oh, by the way, Tian Jushi is also a young man.

Xiahou Feishan turned around and looked straight at Chu Tianshu.

"I'm already under your command, can't you let me rest a little longer?"

Chu Tianshu handed the handprint to Zen Master Miaokong, then walked to the water vat and scooped up a ladle of water.

"Okay, have some water first."

Chu Tianshu said, "The mountain range where the Southern Shaolin Temple is located is called Qingyuan Mountain, and also Quanshan Mountain, because there are many springs on the mountain."

"This is all spring water that the monks carried back early in the morning, absorbing the brilliance of the rising sun, making it sweet and refreshing."

Xiahou Feishan said, "It's water drawn from the wild, and it hasn't been boiled yet?"

Despite saying that, he took the ladle and gulped it down.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he swallowed the water, his stomach rumbled like a frog, revealing his hunger.

Xiahou Feishan immediately felt a little uncomfortable.

Fortunately, his face was already flushed from Chu Tianshu's beating, so there was little to see anything unusual about him at this moment.

Master Miaokong smiled slightly and gave the monk next to him a wink.

A monk ran away and soon brought in a plate of vegetarian chicken.

Because we're hosting wealthy businessmen, the kitchen has been stocking up on extra snacks and vegetarian dishes lately.

This vegetarian chicken is actually a type of soy product, similar to dried tofu, but with a firmer texture. Each piece is round and thick, with a golden color.

After cooling, you can eat it directly with your hands; it has a unique flavor.

After eating a few pieces, Xiahou Feishan noticed that all the monks were watching him, and he immediately couldn't eat anymore. He said, "Ask away."

Chu Tianshu sat to the side and first glanced at the monks.

"Your doors and roofs have been smashed by this Brother Xiahou. Aren't you going to repair them right away? Do you want to sleep in the open tonight?"

The monks scattered in a panic, leaving only a few senior monks of the Miao generation behind.

Zen Master Miaokong first asked, "You said you came to find someone, who are you looking for?"

Because Chu Tianshu had three questions, and Zen Master Miaokong asked one of them, it was not counted as one of the three questions.

Xiahou Feishan had no time to dwell on those things at the moment, and simply said, "I'm here to find that assassin who specializes in killing assassins."

Miao Kong exclaimed in surprise, "It's him!"

Chu Tianshu asked curiously, "Who is it?"

He has been learning a lot lately, but he has also distinguished between what is important and what is not. Of course, he cannot possibly browse through every detail of the news in the martial arts world.

Miao Kong explained it to him.

The profession of assassin is to operate in the shadows, ideally appearing and disappearing without a trace, killing with a single blow.

In such an industry, it's naturally not convenient to become famous.

But assassins are human too, especially highly skilled assassins, who often have stronger desires and want to have their own reputation.

As a result, in the martial arts world, many self-proclaimed powerful assassins developed the habit of leaving behind their own tokens.

Black plum blossoms, half-cut monk's robes, blood bells, white jade snails... they were everywhere.

Assassins who succeed in gaining fame command even higher prices.

Of course, they are also more likely to be targeted, and there are many cases of famous assassins being ambushed and killed.

Some assassins became more cautious as a result, while others became even more arrogant, raising their prices higher and higher.

The token should have been given only after the crime was accomplished, but someone changed it to giving a warning before the murder.

Ten years ago, Pang Baozhu, a powerful figure in the martial arts world of western Sichuan, received a message from the King of Hell, who claimed that he would take his life within three days.

Lord Pang's 49-move Returning Wind and Dancing Willow Sword Technique was deeply rooted in the true teachings of the Bashan Sword Sect, making him a first-rate master who had long been famous in the martial arts world.

Faced with the "Death warrant," he remained fearless and secretly invited a large number of friends to capture the owner of the warrant alive.

Unexpectedly, the first friend who arrived at his house that day struck him through the heart with a single move.

This friend was actually the person who issued the "King of Hell's Decree" in disguise.

The moment this person killed Lord Pang, a sword also pierced through from behind Lord Pang's corpse, taking the life of this person.

According to those who were present at the time, the swordsman looked to be only in his twenties.

After "Yan Wang Tie" died, his body turned ashen and withered, as if all his life force had been extinguished by that sword.

For the next ten years, wherever a notorious assassin was known, this swordsman seemed to be a constant presence.

To date, perhaps fifty or sixty renowned assassins have died by his sword.

But to this day, no one knows the swordsman's name or why he specifically targets these assassins.

He seemed to be neither seeking fame nor fortune, nor did he appear to be a chivalrous or passionate individual; he was utterly mysterious.

Zen Master Miaokong said, "Second Young Master actually recognizes this person?"

Xiahou Feishan said, "I met him half a year ago when I was chasing Yin Feng Dao Po."

"Back then, Chen Zuqi wanted to recruit Yin Feng Dao Po, but she refused. However, her three unworthy disciples were tempted, stole half of her secret manual, and severely injured her before joining the Japanese pirates."

"The Yin Feng Dao Po wanted revenge, but she was also afraid of the Japanese pirates' power. She kidnapped dozens of young girls and used their virginity to cultivate a demon bat."

"I killed the old woman, but the demon bat escaped and was cleaved in two by that man's sword."

Zen Master Miaokong smiled and said, "So it is the camaraderie of fighting side by side."

"No."

Xiahou Feishan said, "I saw that his swordsmanship was unique, and I was tempted to challenge him, but I was defeated."

"Because of this battle, I sensed the divine intent of his swordsmanship, and guessed that he must be the swordsman who specializes in killing assassins." Miao Kong was slightly speechless.

The Venerable Master Miaogao asked, "Then why are you looking for him, and why have you come to our Southern Shaolin Temple?"

"After I was defeated, I saw the murderous aura emanating from his swordsmanship and guessed that although he did not kill me, he must have a target he wanted to kill. So I asked him."

Xiahou Feishan continued, "He said my swordsmanship is good, and in terms of swordsmanship in this era, I can be ranked among the top five. However, the two most famous people in the martial arts world today are not known for their swordsmanship."

The monk Miaogao said, "In the martial arts world of the Central Plains, the most skilled are the abbot of Shaolin Temple on Mount Song and the leader of Wudang Mountain on Mount Tai. The leader of Wudang Mountain is famous for his swordsmanship."

Miao Ji said, "Those two may not be able to defeat the leader of the Demonic Sect."

Chu Tianshu laughed and said, "The person he was referring to must be Lord Liuyun and Pirate King."

Master Miaokong had already guessed it, and seeing his two fellow disciples only realizing it now, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Lord Liuyun and Chen Zuqi were both well-known top masters.

However, because of their complicated identities, they are sometimes excluded from discussions among martial arts practitioners.

But what the Southern Shaolin Temple is fighting against is precisely this kind of power.

"The Lord of Liuyun Mansion is said to know thirty-seven kinds of extraordinary skills and arts, and his knowledge is the most extensive. The Pirate King used a knife when he was young and an axe when he was in his prime, but I don't know what he does now."

Xiahou Feishan said, "That man said he was going to find those two people and try to kill them."

"And four months ago, I learned that Lord Liuyun had indeed been assassinated."

Zen Master Miaokong exclaimed in surprise, "Is this really true?! There has never been any such rumor in the martial arts world."

"Although that person didn't succeed, he did manage to escape."

Xiahou Feishan sneered, "How could Liuyun Prefecture allow such news to spread and damage its own reputation?"

Master Miaokong took a deep breath and did not ask how Xiahou Manor knew about it when the news was being kept secret.

Although the four great martial arts families were far inferior to the Southern Shaolin in terms of power and scale, they were still formidable forces.

Their intelligence network was certainly not as extensive as that of the Southern Shaolin Temple, which covered the entire Fujian province.

However, they are deeply entrenched and have cultivated relationships with the most influential forces in each generation.

When the emperor wanted to recruit Xiahou Feishan into the Six Doors, it certainly wasn't because he dreamed of Xiahou Feishan's heroic figure; there must have been channels to communicate with him.

“In these four months, he has not made another move against Liuyun Mansion. I think he probably tried once and realized that he couldn’t kill him, so he turned to Chen Zuqi instead.”

Xiahou Feishan subconsciously reached for his waist with his left hand, but his scabbard was gone and the sword was destroyed, so he only managed to grasp empty air.

"For the past two months, I haven't been able to stay at home, so I've been studying swordsmanship and thinking about it over and over again."

"If I were to fight him to the death, his sword technique might not necessarily diminish my killing intent after killing me; on the contrary, it is very likely to stimulate new moves."

"So I came to find him, for a life-or-death battle, to teach him a new way to kill."

Chen Zuqi's whereabouts are unpredictable, and that swordsman is even harder to find.

The Southern Shaolin Temple has been making great strides lately, raising its banner to resist the Japanese pirates.

Xiahou Feishan felt that he might find some clues here, so he came to take a look.

As a result, he wandered around recklessly and encountered Chu Tianshu.

Chu Tianshu didn't quite understand his thought process and said, "If you want to contribute to the fight against the Japanese pirates, why don't you find that person and go with him to assassinate him?"

The idea that he would come up with new tactics is merely Xiahou Feishan's own conjecture and may not be true.

It's really reckless to throw your life away just to gamble on this new tactic.

"I had no intention of dying in the fight against the Japanese pirates."

Xiahou Feishan said blankly, "I just want to find a quick way to die, and that person's swordsmanship is the most suitable for killing that I have ever seen in my life."

Chu Tianshu asked in confusion, "Huh?"

Zen Master Miaokong rolled his eyes.

In the last two months... has anything major happened at Xiahou Manor in the last two months?

There's only one thing: the eldest son of the Xiahou family got married.

It is said that the marriage was arranged personally by Master Xiahou, who also presented the betrothal gifts.

The woman's family were also martial arts practitioners, and she and Young Master Xiahou were childhood sweethearts.

A thought seemed to flash through Zen Master Miaokong's mind, but it was still unclear. He murmured, "Your brother is getting married, and the bride..."

Xiahou Feishan suddenly stood up, staring intently at the old monk, as if trying to cut off his words with his gaze.

He then turned to look at Chu Tianshu: "If I work for you, can I beat up my colleagues?"

Master Miaokong came to his senses, uttered "Amitabha," and felt extremely embarrassed.

“A monk should not be so talkative. I will go and see if my fellow monk needs any help.”

The old monks left one after another.

Having observed this from the sidelines, Chu Tianshu had guessed a thing or two.

Xiahou Feishan slumped down.

"It seems you all guessed as much. If Ying'er is unwilling, I can take her out, but..."

The young man in black was deathly pale. "I've only been away for a few years, but in her heart, my brother is now just as important as me."

"It's all the old man's fault. If he had arranged the marriage for me, Ying'er would most likely have agreed."

After listening to these few sentences, Chu Tianshu already felt that these people were all very mysterious.

"Don't think about things that will make you sad, since you're working for me now anyway!"

Chu Tianshu waved his hand decisively, interrupting the other person's thoughts.

"I have read in the Southern Shaolin scriptures that the so-called top masters must have the divine will of martial arts."

"But the Southern Shaolin Temple has no records on how to cultivate this kind of thing."

"You've mastered the divine intent of swordsmanship, haven't you? Tell me about your experience back then."

(End of this chapter)