Martial Arts Crossover: It All Started with Hijacking Li Canghai

"There's no rush yet."

Qin Han touched the coarse cloth wrapped around his ribs; the wound had scabbed over. He had been practicing the Dragon God Technique all night, but his true energy hadn't recovered much; he had mainly been healing.

Su Quan is a woman with deep thoughts. The fact that she took the scriptures from Ao Bai's mansion and did not return to Shenlong Island to report back shows that she had already planned her escape route.

Such a person wouldn't be foolish enough to let Hong Antong's people block him.

The news from Zhili may not be true.

I do need to go to Shandong.

I can't stay away from Shu for too long. I'll take care of Su Kui's matter along the way without delay.

"Let's go to Shandong first."

The carriage changed direction and headed southeast along the official road.

three days later.

About a hundred li east of Jinan Prefecture lies a city of moderate size.

The words "Laiyang" were hanging at the city gate, but most of the paint had peeled off.

Qin Han instructed the driver to head straight for the largest inn in the city.

Fulai Inn is a three-story building with a stable in the backyard.

Upon seeing that the visitor was well-dressed and had two maids with him, the innkeeper immediately vacated the upper room on the second floor without saying a word.

After settling in, Qin Han asked the two girls to go out and buy some changes of clothes.

They left the capital in a hurry, and the two maids were still wearing the clothes they wore on the estate. They hadn't complained about anything along the way.

He was the only one left in the room.

Qin Han pushed open the window facing the street, called out to the waiter, ordered a pot of wine, poured himself a cup, and leaned against the window frame to drink it slowly.

The lobby downstairs was noisy.

Several tables were pushed together, and seven or eight martial arts practitioners carrying swords and knives sat there.

Each of them was flushed and their voices were louder than the last.

"Have you heard? A new courtesan has arrived at the Hundred Flowers Brothel in the west of the city!"

"What's with the name 'White Peony'? I've lived for over thirty years and never seen anything so beautiful."

"Get lost! You've been in the mountains for thirty years, how many women could you have seen? Besides, that Peony girl is an artist, not a prostitute!"

A bearded swordsman slammed his fist on the table.

"Last month, the wealthy Liu from the east of the city spent three thousand taels of silver to stay overnight. Guess what happened?"

"What's wrong?"

"He was carried out that very night. Both his legs were ruined, his kneecaps were broken. When they carried him out, his mouth was stuffed with a cloth, and he couldn't even scream."

A moment of silence fell over the table.

"Master Liu employs over a dozen guards, two of whom are top-notch fighters. Yet he still couldn't see who did it."

"Did the courtesan do it herself?"

"It shouldn't be. I reckon some expert made a move in secret. Anyway, Master Liu moved out the very next day, faster than a rabbit."

Qin Han held his wine cup without moving.

His attention wasn't on the courtesan, but rather on a swordsman in the corner who hadn't uttered a word.

This person sat at the end of the group, dressed similarly to the others, and was also drinking and chewing peanuts.

But his breathing rhythm was off.

The aura of an ordinary swordsman in the martial arts world is rough and unrestrained, but this person's breathing is long and even, carrying a very subtle chilling aura.

Yes, I've practiced.

Moreover, Qin and Han were very familiar with that approach.

The martial arts of the Divine Dragon Cult.

Qin Han finished the wine in his cup and put it down.

Su Quan is not actually in Zhili.

The two men in black he interrogated said they had seen Su Quan in Baoding, but the Shenlong Cult members appeared near a brothel in a small town in Laiyang, Shandong.

Hong Antong sent out more than one group of people.

The swordsman in this corner, pretending to be a swordsman, is either lying in wait or trying to lure someone in.

Su Quan's feint attack?

Or is Hong Antong setting up the network?

Qin Han went through both possibilities in his mind.

Suddenly, a stunningly beautiful courtesan of unknown origin appeared at the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, the kind of mysterious expert who could cripple a person without batting an eye.

This matter seems strange from any angle.

The swordsman from the Divine Dragon Cult downstairs suddenly stood up, picked up his sword, and walked out.

As I walked to the door, I glanced back at the lobby, my gaze quickly sweeping towards the second floor.

Qin and Han had long since withdrawn their attention.

The man went out the door and turned into the alley across the street.

Qin Han smiled and took a sip of wine.

This wine doesn't taste very good; it's not as good as the wine brewed by Cheng Mei from his family.

As the sun began to set, Da Shuang'er and Xiao Shuang'er returned.

Each of them carried a stack of fabric, and Da Shuang'er also bought some ointment and external wound powder.

Xiao Shuang'er had a package of oil paper in her arms. When she opened it, she found several hot dishes, which were obviously local specialties. She had packed them up, and steam was still rising from them.

"Young master, the fabrics from the silk shops in the city are quite good. I've also made two outfits for you."

Da Shuang'er put the things down and rubbed her cuffs.

The two sisters changed into silk skirts made in the Jiangnan region.

Da Shuang'er's outfit was light blue, which accentuated her slender waist.

Xiao Shuang'er was wearing a pale yellow dress, and her cheeks still had two specks of rouge from the market.

Qin Han glanced at it a few more times, and for some reason, four words suddenly popped into his mind.

Ehuang and Nüying.

The two sisters usually dressed as maids, which Qin Han didn't particularly like. But today, with this change, the two maids were indeed quite eye-catching.

"nice."

The older sister, Da Shuang'er, lowered her face first, her ear tips turning red.

Xiao Shuang'er was more generous, turning around to let her young master see the whole thing.

Qin Han set out the local specialties on the table and invited the two of them to sit down and eat.

They started eating and talking at the same time.

"I'm going out tonight. You all stay at the inn and keep the doors locked."

Da Shuang'er paused for a moment with her chopsticks.

"Where are you going, young master?"

"There is a Hundred Flowers Pavilion in the west of the city."

Xiao Shuang'er blinked twice while biting her chopsticks, and pouted her little lips.

"Young master, are you going to visit a brothel?"

Qin Han glanced at her with amusement.

Xiao Shuang'er immediately pulled her head back, muttering something unintelligible.

Da Shuang'er didn't ask why; she had figured out the pattern after following Qin Han for so long.

When the young master says he's going out to do something, he means it and he won't explain further.

After all, there was no reason why she and her sister couldn't compare to the girls in the brothel; the young master must have had his own business to attend to.

"Please be careful in all matters, young master."

into the night.

The lanterns in Laiyang City lit up one after another, with the western part of the city being noticeably brighter than other areas.

The Hundred Flowers Pavilion is three stories high, with upturned eaves and corners covered with red lanterns, making it look like a ball of fire burning in mid-air when viewed from afar.

Two burly men greeted guests with their hands clasped at the entrance. There were many people coming and going, mostly local merchants and wealthy households.

Qin Han changed into a black brocade robe, made slight alterations to his appearance, and stood at the tea stall diagonally opposite, ordering a bowl of tea.

Let's not go in yet.

I gazed at the roof of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion for a while.

At the top of the third floor, there is a window that is half open, and light shines out from inside.

A pot of white peonies sat on the windowsill, swaying gently in the night breeze.

The atmosphere behind that window was very faint.

So faint as to be almost imperceptible.

However, the Qin and Han Grandmasters' senses detected the extremely subtle fluctuations.

This is something that ordinary courtesans wouldn't have.

He put down his teacup, got up, and walked towards the Hundred Flowers Pavilion.