Chapter Twenty: The Dragon's Lament

  All along the way, I couldn't help but want to turn back and take a look. Liang Ze whispered, "Don't look back, we're being watched."

  Bihong couldn't help but feel a little strange and asked: "Being targeted? Are those assassins again?"

  Liang Tou'er nodded and said, "I felt something was strange yesterday. From the signboard of that inn to its decorations, everything looked a bit unusual, not like an ordinary inn. And today we just walked out of the door and saw our wanted posters, followed by several assassins, it's too coincidental. Now I understand, that Yanliu Inn might be under Li Linfu's influence."

  It wasn't until then that he suddenly realized, no wonder when they found this inn last night, Liang Tou'er didn't have a hint of joy, but instead had a serious face. But there was still some doubt, and asked: "Then why didn't they make a move on us last night?"

  Liáng Tuōér knew that his experience in the jianghu was insufficient, and he didn't mind the trouble. He patiently said: "Last night we came too suddenly, and since Qinhuai River is a place where officials like刺史 come to relax and have fun, if we make a move here, it will be difficult to calm things down. Why don't we wait another day? Let them relax their vigilance, and they can also prepare more fully. Today, the wanted notice has been posted, perhaps they have already colluded with the刺史 of Shengzhou. If we block the city gate again, at night, dispatching some yamen runners to search through each inn, it will be difficult for us to escape."

  After listening to Liang Ze's analysis, Bi Han also felt anxious and said: "Now there are people chasing us from behind. If the city gate is guarded by others again, we will really be unable to escape."

  Liáng Tuōér suddenly let out a cold laugh and said, "Who says we're going to escape? The past few days of continuous snowfall have made the roads slippery and difficult to travel. Once we leave the city, there's nowhere to escape to. Why not just play along with them? Follow me and you'll be fine."

  So the two followed Liang Ze and did not head towards the crowded streets, but instead followed the flow of people to the city gate. As they had guessed, there were three guards at the city gate, inspecting the passing pedestrians.

  "How can we get out of the city?" The wind seemed to have understood his idea a little.

  Liang Ze's smile, he took out two copper coins from his bosom. He clamped one between the middle fingers of his left hand, secretly manipulated his internal energy, hid his hand in his sleeve, aimed at a guard, and suddenly snapped his finger.

  All that was heard was a clear whistling sound of metal tearing through the air, followed by a dull hum from one of the guards. Then, one of the guards' eyes rolled back and he fell to the ground with a thud. The surrounding civilians were also shocked, never having thought that someone would dare to attack a guard in broad daylight. "Who did it?!" Two other guards quickly reacted, one kneeling down to check the fallen soldier's injuries, while the other looked up, scanning the crowd and trying to recall which direction the whistling sound had come from.

  Liáng stealthily changed his pace, moving swiftly and silently through the crowd like a fish in water. In just a few steps, he had already moved three zhang away. With another slight raise of his hand, this time the sound of the copper coin flying through the air was much softer, almost imperceptible. The squatting guard only felt a numbness at his waist before losing consciousness and falling to the ground.

  "What?!" The remaining guard looked at his two companions who had suddenly fallen to the ground, their lives hanging in the balance, and immediately panicked. He said, "Who is this reckless person, daring to attack an official of the imperial court? I'll go report this to the governor, you just wait and see." As he spoke, he didn't even bother to carefully check on the two men's conditions, and hastily ran off towards the governor's mansion to deliver the message.

  Liang Zei took another step back and reappeared in front of the two. He chuckled and said, "How's that? Now we can swagger out of the city with ease."

  Watching him with a divine technique, he was a bit dizzy. Liang Tou'er saw his wooden expression and couldn't help but laugh, pushing him and saying: "Don't be stunned, let's take advantage of this moment to leave the city quickly."

  After Liang Ze's commotion, a large crowd of onlookers gathered around the two fallen guards. A few people who appeared to be doctors from the jianghu community stepped forward to examine their condition. At the same time, some people were in a hurry to leave the city and didn't have time to watch the excitement, so the originally wide city gate was divided into two halves, with one side surrounded by a circle of onlookers and the other side being the crowd entering and exiting.

  "After leaving the city, Bi Han couldn't help but ask: 'Brother Liang, what did you do to those two guards?'"

  Liáng Stole the child knew that she was kind by nature and couldn't bear to harm anyone's life, so he smiled and said: "It's just that I used copper coins to hit the acupuncture points, temporarily knocking them out. There won't be any danger to their lives."

  After the three of them left the city, they headed west along the Qinhuai River. The bustling scene from earlier gradually became desolate and remote as they walked further away. Along the way, Su Wen asked several times where they were going, but Liang Ze remained silent.

  After walking for about another quarter of an hour, a lake suddenly appeared in front of me. The surrounding area was covered with thick snow, and the bay of clear water in the middle had a few more unusual and refreshing flavors. It was as if a bright pearl had fallen from the sky and was embedded in this smoky and rainy Jiangnan. In the center of the lake, there was an exquisite and delicate pavilion, and in front of the lake, there was a statue of a woman made of Han white jade. The woman was elegant and charming, a perfect example of a beauty from a water town, and I don't know which fairy she was modeled after.

  "Is this... Xiangtang Lake?" Su Feng looked at the statue, thinking carefully for a moment before barely remembering the name.

  "This statue is... Hai Shen Ruo?" Bi Han walked forward and took a closer look. She murmured, "In Zhuangzi's 'Nanhua Zhenjing', there is an anecdote about gazing out at the ocean with a sigh of admiration, which tells the story of He Bo, the river god of the Yellow River, meeting Hai Shen Ruo, the sea god, and only then realizing his own insignificance compared to the Yellow River. I never thought that the gods from this ancient myth would still have statues existing today."

  Liang Tou'er looked at Bi Han in surprise and said, "I didn't expect you to know these things. Since the rise of Buddhism and Taoism during the Han dynasty, the ancient beliefs have gradually declined. With temples and monasteries sprouting up everywhere, I'm afraid that even in the entire Jinling City, there may not be many people who know who this statue is worshiping."

  It's now the coldest winter, and there is snow everywhere. This place is located in the suburbs of Jinling City, and except for these three people, no one else has come here. The three of them looked at the statue, all with some emotions.

  Suddenly, Liang Ze turned around and said loudly: "The few friends who have been following behind, walking in the snow for so long, must be very cold. Why not show up?"

  As he listened to the wind, he was secretly shocked. On the one hand, the person behind him had been following for so long without his knowledge. On the other hand, he was also amazed that Liang Tou'er was not much older than himself, yet their abilities were vastly different. What made Su Feng even more surprised was that as soon as Liang Tou'er's voice fell, he heard the sound of "whooshing" clothes tearing through the air, and on the white snowy ground behind him, five black figures suddenly appeared.

  Liang Ze's expression remained unchanged, but his heart tightened slightly. He thought to himself: "Earlier, I only heard the footsteps of four people, so who is this extra person? Ordinary people don't have such profound light body skills, and when they land, there will be some imperfections. To deceive my ears and eyes, his internal strength must be incredibly powerful."

  The man in black walked two steps forward, his triangular eyes staring tightly at Liang Ze: "At a young age, your skills are not shallow."

  Liáng's momentum didn't weaken in the slightest, and he laughed loudly: "Your Excellency led the troops to follow us, I'm afraid it's not just to show off your junior, let's clarify things openly."

  The man in black laughed twice, his laughter full of disdain. "No matter which family's high-ranking disciple you are, if you're willing to leave, I'll give your master some face. The Blood Hidden Hall has never been soft on anyone it wants to kill." Looking at Liang Tou'er's fearless expression, the man in black also had some doubts. "Can this young man really emit sword energy as Ah Hu said? Entering the Innate Realm at such a young age? How is that possible? Most likely he was seeing things and mistook the sword light for sword energy."

  Xueyintang? Liang Tou'er's eyebrows furrowed slightly as he listened. This Xueyintang was renowned in the Jianghu, with a reputation that preceded them - everyone knew of their existence. As long as you were willing to pay the price, they could accomplish anything. Although they weren't welcomed by those on the righteous path, no one had ever discovered the location of their headquarters. Moreover, during the Tang Dynasty's western campaign against the Turks, Xueyintang had killed several Turkic generals, which was considered a meritorious act for the country. As a result, those on the righteous path turned a blind eye to their activities.

  Suī fēng hé bì hán zài tā shēn hòu, Liáng tōu ér tuì wú kě tuì, jí biàn zhī dào zì jǐ bù dí, hái shì huǎn huǎn chōu chū le yāo jiān de chún jun jiàn. Tā zhī qián de jīng gāng pī shǒu hé bái yī nǚ guǐ xiàng dòu shí huǐ le, yú shì suī fēng biàn jiāng jiè chún jun jiàn jiè tā. Cǐ cì de dí rén wú lùn gōng lì hái shì duì dí jīng yàn dū huì bǐ tā gāo hěn duō, tā bù gǎn tuō dà, zhǐ néng yòu shǒu chí jiàn.

  Looking at Liang Ze's slightly trembling long sword in his hand, the man in black laughed loudly: "You have injuries on your body and still dare to be so arrogant, you are really a newborn calf not afraid of tigers."

  Liang Tou'er secretly felt a bitter taste, his right arm was injured by the female ghost last time, and it could be seen that the bone was deep, and there was also a cold air entering the body. He had just managed to drive out the cold air from his body, simply bandaging it once, and barely being able to move. His left hand had only practiced a few sword moves, which were used as a last resort at critical moments, and were not suitable for fighting against an enemy.

  Heaving a sigh, Liang Zei steeled himself and prepared to meet them head-on.

  "A low, earth-shaking hum, like the descent of a million thunderbolts from the nine heavens, and also like the long whinnying of ten thousand war horses on the battlefield. It was as if the hand of a heavenly god covered the sky, and an endless, boundless pressure expanded outward, just like a divine dragon emerging into the world."

  Su Feng and the others were fine, but this voice was coming from behind them and wasn't directed at them. They just felt that when the sound wave passed by, everything spun around, their ears buzzed, and they couldn't tell which direction it came from. The five black-clothed men opposite them didn't fare as well. The one in the lead position suffered the most pressure, taking three steps back before letting out a muffled groan, with a thread of fresh blood flowing from the corner of his mouth, clearly having sustained some internal injuries.

  The other four fell directly to the ground, unable to stand firm. Two of them were so weak that they bled from their seven orifices and fell down, it was unclear whether they were dead or had fainted.

  The sound came and went quickly, and after a moment it retreated quietly. For a while, the cloud was light and the wind was gentle, as if nothing had happened. The man in black opened his eyes wide with surprise and said: "This is the Water Dragon Humming of the Murong family! Which senior, please show up."

  "It's an honor to meet you, I'm just a humble person below." A nine-word sentence, each word and phrase from afar to near, before the wind had even figured out its direction, suddenly felt a flash in front of my eyes, and there was an additional young man.

  This young man looked about the same age as Nangong Ling, wearing a sky-blue long shirt with his hair tied up in a bun. His body was surrounded by a halo of aqua blue light, like a dream. He was about eight feet tall, with a majestic and elegant demeanor, and an aura that was both gentle and powerful. He glanced at the man in black clothes lightly and said, "I am Murong Xuanfeng of the Murong family."

  Murong Xuan turned around and said to Liang Ze: "Brother Ze, you are injured, let me handle this matter."

  Liang Tou'er was taken aback, having previously heard the majestic roar, he had already guessed that it was someone from the Murong family who had arrived, but he didn't expect it to be the most renowned Murong Xuanfeng. And yet, he and Murong Xuanfeng were not acquainted before, but unexpectedly, the latter actually recognized him. Although there were some doubts, he still stepped aside.

  Murong Xuan gazed coldly at the black-clad man and said, "You can't even withstand a single Water Dragon Whistle from me. Do you still want to fight? These few people are guaranteed by my Murong family. If Blood Hiding Hall is not convinced, today they can try to see if they can kill me too."