Excessive ferocity due to caution

Heavy snow.

The salt that was scattered everywhere eventually turned into a blanket of goose feathers.

The State of Lu is located in the north, and it is currently the dead of winter.

A group of people dressed in thin black clothes stood on the white mountaintop, watching the people entering and leaving Tongyin Pass in the distance, and remained silent.

The leader was a woman wearing a red gauze dress and carrying a sword.

She has a beautiful face and a cold demeanor.

She blooms like a snow lotus, yet she stands alone, not for anyone in the world.

A man in black came rushing from the distant, heavy snow behind him, carrying a sword.

"Lord Hongyu, Lord Fan has already entered the territory of the State of Lu."

"Should we...continue following them?"

Red Fish said calmly:

"certainly."

Her subordinates remained silent for a moment, somewhat puzzled:

"I have a question... Now that Lord Fan has already taken action, wouldn't it be somewhat redundant for us to go to the State of Lu?"

"Lord Fan is the greatest swordsman in the world, and also the most ruthless and cold-blooded person. He only has eyes for the sword, and his actions are incredibly decisive. Sending him to hunt down the Ghostly Scholar will be a sure thing..."

Red Fish did not answer his question; her gaze pierced through the vast snowstorm before her, becoming somewhat hazy.

...

A few days ago.

The Golden Palace of the State of Qi.

The red fish walked three hundred meters outside the palace, removing its long sword and clothes.

After being thoroughly searched by the palace maids, she put her clothes back on and went to the palace to meet the elderly King Qi on the dragon throne.

"Why has Your Majesty summoned me?"

Red Fish knelt on one knee, looking respectful.

King Qi slowly opened his eyes, his gaze filled with supreme majesty.

"The red fish is here?"

"Rise."

The red fish is flat-bottomed.

King Qi continued:

"I want you to take the 'Shadow Raven' organization, cultivated by the imperial court, to the State of Lu to find the ghostly scholar Su Xingcan... and kill him!"

Red Fish looked down at the floor of the Golden Palace, remained silent for a moment, and then whispered:

"Here you are."

King Qi looked at the red fish and said with a forced smile:

"You must find this very strange..."

"Why did I send out the Shadow Raven Organization after sending out Fan Qingxue...?"

"It seems like a lot of unnecessary work, doesn't it?"

The red fish's eyes gleamed:

"Does Your Majesty want the Red Fish... to do something else?"

King Qi laughed heartily:

"You're... clever."

"But I don't know if they're loyal."

Red Fish immediately knelt on one knee and declared firmly:

"Red Fish is absolutely loyal to Your Majesty, and the three thousand Shadow Crow warriors are at Your Majesty's command!"

"I'd go through fire and water for you!"

Upon seeing this, the King of Qi waved his dragon robe:

"good!"

"Red Fish, listen up!"

"I... require you to take the Shadow Crow's assassins and keep an eye on Fan Qingxue for me!"

"If he releases the ghostly scholar Su Xingcan, you will help me eliminate both of them!"

The red fish's pupils contracted slightly.

Seeing that she did not immediately accept the imperial decree, the King of Qi raised an eyebrow slightly:

"What's wrong?"

"You don't want to?"

Red Fish hurriedly said:

"Red Fish, receive the imperial decree!"

King Qi slowly descended the steps. The red curtains on the side of the hall fluttered in the wind, like a sea of ​​blood churning, and the three hundred candles in the hall flickered unpredictably...

He slowly placed his hand on Red Fish's shoulder.

The tone was meaningful:

"I know you are Fan Qingxue's disciple, whom he raised himself, and that you have deep feelings for him... That's why I'm sending you to keep an eye on him for me!"

"If Fan Qingxue had not 'betrayed' me, then he would naturally not have had to die."

Although the red fish has a cold personality, it is actually quite clever.

She understood what the King of Qi was saying.

—As long as the Ghost and God Book is dead, Fan Qingxue will not have to die.

So she immediately bowed to the King of Qi and said:

"Red Fish... will certainly live up to Your Majesty's expectations!"

...

"The State of Lu is far from the State of Qi, the journey is arduous, and the world is a mixed bag..."

"Furthermore, the Ghostly Scholar is full of cunning schemes, and many admire him; Fan Qingxue alone may not be able to handle him!"

"To ensure everything goes smoothly, His Majesty has dispatched us to secretly assist Fan Qingxue in eliminating the Ghostly Scholar!"

Hongyu, who rarely speaks, unusually offered a few words of explanation to his subordinates today.

Then, the group vanished like ghosts in the biting winter wind...

now.

Within the territory of the State of Lu.

In that inn on the outskirts of Peicheng, everyone was drinking and having fun, noisily boasting and joking with each other, and freely discussing how the secret of the Seven Constellations of the Azure Dragon was finally about to be revealed in the martial world.

Everyone is paying close attention to the secret of the Azure Dragon Seven Constellations this time. The courts of different countries have issued decrees that anyone who can bring the Azure Dragon Seven Constellations back to their country will be granted the title of Marquis of Ten Thousand Households, regardless of their background or age, and will also be given an additional thousand acres of fertile land and ten thousand taels of gold!

Where there are advantages, there will inevitably be people.

Most people who roam the martial arts world do so not because they enjoy it, but because they are forced into it.

Carefree and at ease?

No.

There are very few truly carefree and unrestrained people in the martial arts world.

A more accurate description would be "wandering and displacement".

Now that the imperial court has issued an edict, even ordinary people can rise to high positions, so of course they will not let such a great opportunity pass them by!

A 100% profit margin can drive people crazy.

What's more, it's a business that's extremely profitable?

In an instant, the martial world was in turmoil, and countless heroes rose up and flocked to the State of Lu!

"The once-in-a-millennium celestial phenomenon of the 'Seven Stars Alignment' is about to occur, and the location of the Azure Dragon's seven constellations will be revealed on the star chart. At that time, there will inevitably be a bloody storm, with the various schools of thought vying for power..."

"I heard that even Fan Qingxue, the greatest swordsman in the world, has come to the State of Lu..."

"Hiss—Fan Qingxue is here too? Really?"

"It's true, but it seems it's not for the Azure Dragon Seven Constellations, but for someone else."

"Who?"

"The Ghostly Scholar!"

"Isn't the Ghostly Scholar the Grand Tutor of the State of Qi?"

"He is the Imperial Advisor, second only to the Emperor! But for some reason... the Ghostly Scholar actually defected from Qi and came to Lu."

"The State of Qi is the most powerful among the six states. Every year, the kings of the other states have to pay tribute to the Qi Dynasty. How could the King of Qi, with his authority, tolerate his own state advisor betraying him?"

"This Fan Qingxue... must be here to kill the ghost-spirited scholar..."

The group ate, drank, and chatted.

Zhao Yi and Su Qingyao sat in a corner of the inn, sipping some wine and feeling the biting winter wind outside the window.

Actually, the snow scene outside the inn is very beautiful.

A stone bridge, a snow-covered forest, and a frozen river.

Both of them changed into ancient costumes.

He was dressed in a velvet robe.

Zhao Yi has already met the Ghostly Scholar.

He sat down on the other side of the inn, also turning his head to look at the snow outside the window.

Zhao Yi did not immediately strike up a conversation.

Because the timing was not right.

The basic condition for building trust with a smart person is that... your actions should never appear deliberate.

So Zhao Yi and Su Qingyao just drank and enjoyed the snow.

The atmosphere at the inn was quite nice.

Until a group of men in black wearing straw hats burst in from outside the door.

They carried with them the biting wind and snow, and a murderous intent.

As soon as they entered the inn, the temperature inside immediately dropped considerably.

"Checking in at a hotel."

The leader of the men in black spoke to the bowing and scraping waiter in front of him.

The waiter and the accountant exchanged a glance, then the waiter said apologetically:

"We are truly sorry, sir, but all the rooms in our inn are already fully booked..."

The man in black said coldly:

"Why don't we just get rid of those people?"

The waiter's expression stiffened slightly.

His palms, gripping the rag, were sweating profusely.

Although he didn't know martial arts, he could still feel the tense killing intent in the air of the inn.

At this point, he was caught in a dilemma: agreeing or refusing was not an option.

The waiter was extremely wary of these江湖人 (jianghu people), the more famous they were, the more ruthless they were... If he wasn't careful, he could very well end up with his head separated from his body!

What should I do?

The waiter's forehead was covered in sweat.

Fortunately, at this moment, some other martial arts figures in the inn also stepped forward!

"Where did this stray dog ​​come from?"

"I only need a sip of my drink, and you buzz around my ear like a fly, it's so annoying... Get lost if you have nothing else to do!"

"Otherwise, my nine-ringed longsword isn't something to be trifled with!"

A burly man with tiger-like eyes and a hooked nose brandished a long knife in his hand, his face cold.

However, the man in black was not intimidated by his words, and only gave him a cold glance.

The next moment, the man in black suddenly launched an attack!

Suddenly, a dart shot out from his hand!

call out!

The dart produced a terrifying sonic boom in mid-air.

Before the burly man could react, the dart had already pierced through his skull!

He stared in disbelief at the man in black, blood slowly dripping from his forehead.

boom!

The burly man collapsed to the ground...

This move completely shocked the other diners in the inn!

"The Realm of Tiger's Roar and Dragon's Cry!"

Someone exclaimed in surprise.

During the Warring States period, most people practiced ancient martial arts.

Ancient martial arts are not simply about physical training; they involve many complex and varied branches.

For example, swordsmanship, knife skills, and other martial arts.

It also includes internal energy cultivation techniques, etc...

In this martial arts world, there are strict distinctions between different levels of internal energy cultivation techniques and martial arts realms, which include:

— Acquired Realm, Innate Realm, Tiger Roar and Dragon Cry Realm, Heaven-Reaching Mortal Realm (Half-Step Great Misfortune), Vast Qi Realm (Quasi-Great Misfortune), Unity of Heaven and Man Realm (Great Misfortune).

It can be said that almost all the variations in ancient martial arts are driven by internal energy.

Therefore, the cultivation of internal strength is of utmost importance!

With the Great Zhou Dynasty splitting apart and the Warring States period beginning, martial artists at the Tiger Roar and Dragon Cry realm were already rare masters in the martial arts world.

Although there are many of them, they account for a small percentage.

As the man in black made his move, everyone in the inn who had been eager to stand up and spar with him could only pretend to stretch and slouch back down...

After killing the burly man, the leader of the men in black did not cease his fighting stance. Instead, he looked with a somewhat solemn expression at a man and a woman in a distant corner.

Some people in the inn realized what was happening and hurriedly looked in the direction the man in black was looking.

To their astonishment, they saw that the hidden weapon shot by the man in black, after piercing the burly man's head, was easily caught by the slender woman with two fingers and placed in her palm to play with...

The strangely handsome man sitting opposite the slender woman kept his head turned to look out the window, seemingly indifferent to everything that had just happened...

P.S.: I have a lot of social engagements with relatives today, sorry!!

This one is over 3000.

I'll write another 3000 later.

Try to write more!

Happy Dragon Boat Festival, my darlings!