Chapter 12: The Legendary Master

  Lu Zhongwei was taken aback.

  He originally thought that Hao Fenglou was so confident, he must have some skills, maybe this person is a master's son, or maybe he's a high-ranking official from somewhere. Lu Zhong's mouth was full of murderous intent, but his palms were sweating profusely, yet unexpectedly, the man actually cried out for help!

  Lu Zhong's eyes flashed with a cold light as he bellowed, "You can shout until your throat is hoarse, but no one will come to save you. Take action!"

  Four or five people suddenly appeared, blocking all the entrances and exits of Hao Feng Building. Everyone took out a dagger, revealing a ferocious expression.

  Hao Feng Lou said: "Beautiful sister, if you don't come out again, they will succeed. If I am killed by them, you can't hide either."

  In an instant, a white shadow burst in through the window.

  A white-clad figure floated in, skin as pale as snow. A precious sword flashed through the air, leaving a trail of startled birds behind. The figure's shadow followed the wooden shavings like a sharp arrow, and under the flashing blade's edge, Lu Zhong's body was instantly submerged.

  Hmph...

  Lu Zhongding froze, staring incredulously at the cold and beautiful woman in front of him. He never could have imagined that there was indeed someone hiding outside the window, and what's more, a master. His chest had already been pierced by a long sword, he was caught off guard, and his shock was quickly overwhelmed by intense pain.

  The beautiful sister did not hesitate much, drew her sword out, and a blood arrow also sprayed out with it.

  Several other Lu Zhong's party members were also shocked, and they only reacted after a while, their eyes turned red, abandoning Hao Feng Lou, they charged towards the beauty with their daggers.

  This beauty was fearless and majestic, her long sword flying about, her sleeves also fluttering with the motion, her movements so swift that Hao Feng Lou's eyes could hardly keep up.

  "Hurry, hurry, someone come! Wang Da Xia, you've finally arrived, hurry and save the beauty! Wang Da Xia's martial arts skills are unmatched, his students have always admired him greatly, hurry and take action..."

  Several of Lu Zhong's party members were under great pressure, and with the previous lesson in mind, they feared that someone would kill again, their minds wandering as they trembled with this beauty, yet they had to divide their attention to watch the doors and windows.

  The American's sword light became more and more rapid, like a multitude of stars twinkling, clashing with four or five daggers. A flustered Lu Zhongdang suddenly let out an "ah" sound, ultimately unable to dodge the American's longsword, being directly stabbed in the waist and abdomen, falling to the ground.

  Clang...... Another dagger was knocked flying by a long sword, and its owner's chest burst forth with blood.

  ……

  A pot of tea's work, the whole room was in a mess, seven or eight corpses fell into the blood pool.

  The beauty sheathed her sword, panting slightly, with cherry lips exuding a fragrant orchid scent.

  Hao Feng Lou stepped forward, thumbs up and said: "No fight no deal, may I ask the beautiful sister's name."

  The beauty was very cold and said: "How did you know I was outside?"

  Hao Fenglou sighed, "Since these people are Jin Yiwei, then you must be the assassin of Yan Wang. Zhenjiang is a crucial city, and if it's not taken, the suppression of the rebellion will not succeed. I've long heard that Yan Wang is cunning... wise beyond ordinary people, so he must have made arrangements. When Lü Zhong invited me out for wine, you must have been bursting with curiosity, wondering whether I'm in cahoots with them and what we would discuss secretly. Of course, you had to come and investigate before feeling at ease."

  The beauty's face was frozen, as if all her thoughts had been guessed by Hao Feng Lou. In fact, she also suspected that Hao Feng Lou might be someone sent by the imperial court, and seeing Lu Zhong inviting him, perhaps there was some secret, so he followed secretly.

  Who would have thought that in the end, Lu Zhongtu was forced to appear and wanted to kill Hao Fenglou to silence him. Originally, she didn't want to get involved and was about to leave, but then Hao Fenglou shouted "Beautiful sister, save me!" She suddenly realized her whereabouts had been exposed, so she had no choice but to reveal herself.

  It turns out now that he was actually deceived by Hao Feng Lou and ended up saving his life for nothing.

  However, Hao Feng Lou's quick wit made her admire him a little, and she said calmly: "You can call me Ling Xue."

  Hao Feng Lou smiled and said: "Ling Xue sister, you really are Yan Wang's spy?"

  Ling Xue suddenly trembled and frowned, saying: "I'm injured."

  "Where..." Hao Feng Lou was startled and couldn't help but think in his heart, all the gods in heaven, this time we can't afford to have any unexpected events.

  Ling Xue's face had a few hints of anger and annoyance, her voice cold as she said: "Just now, I was cut by a dagger with a small wound, but I didn't expect the dagger to be coated with anesthetic."

  Her words were indeed true, her body was somewhat soft, and even the sword was almost unable to be grasped. She said: "With such a big commotion, their party members will definitely come, this is a dragon's lair, we must leave as soon as possible, otherwise when the time comes there will definitely be pursuers, if we don't leave now it will be too late."

  Hao Feng Lou only then realized that the crisis had not been lifted, and couldn't help but comfort himself: "After all, they didn't get the imperial court's instructions, so they wouldn't dare to be so reckless and hasty. If there are one or two pursuers, it would already be a good thing. Yes, we should hurry back to the Lu family. Once we return to the Lu family, they won't dare to act rashly."

  Ling Xue said: "Even if one more comes, we will surely die. I'm injured, can you hold on?"

  Hao Feng Lou's old face turned red and he said, "If the person who came is not over fifteen years old, I'm still very confident. That... this young master specializes in treating all kinds of disobedience in primary school students..."

  At this time, the sky was already late, and the two of them did not dare to go out from the front door, so they broke through the window. The street almost couldn't see anyone's shadow, but occasionally you could see officials and soldiers with torches. Ling Xue was able to hold on at first, but later on, even walking made her feel weak and soft.

  Hao Feng Lou had no choice but to accompany her, avoiding the patrolling officers and gazing out at the desolate, ink-black streets.

  It seems that danger is approaching at any moment, Ling Xue furrowed her brow and said: "If it were still early in the day, there would be many people here and we could blend in, but now it's midnight and they are experts in tracking and chasing. I'm afraid...it will be difficult to escape unscathed, you go first."

  Hao Fenglou hesitated for a moment, having the urge to make a quick escape and also wanting to shamelessly say that on this day next year, he would definitely offer incense to his sister. However, he coughed and instead said insincerely: "If we're going to leave, let's go together; after all, you've saved my life."

  Ling Xue looked at Hao Feng Lou with a hint of surprise, clearly not expecting that a bookworm like him would have such "brotherly spirit".

  ………

  Walked for a while.

  Hao Feng Lou's expression was still relaxed, and he couldn't help but ask in a low voice: "Ling Xue sister, why did the King of Yan want you to be the scout?"

  “……”

  "Having served as a scout, will there be rewards and recognition in the future?"

  “……”

  "Is your goal to win over Master Lu, the garrison commander of Zhenjiang..."

  Ling Xue said, "Can't you just shut up? I'm getting dizzy." As she spoke, she found herself being supported by Hao Feng Lou, who was intimately close to her. Despite his cold exterior, he felt a little embarrassed in his heart.

  Hao Feng Lou chuckled and said with a silly expression: "Can I say one more thing before shutting up?"

  “……”

  Hao Feng Lou suddenly stopped, released Ling Xue, put his hands behind his back, narrowed his eyes, and looked at the dark night sky and the empty long street. He laughed loudly, with a carefree demeanor, and said in a clear voice: "Friend, since you've already come, why hide? You might as well show yourself. We each have our own goals, I see that your skills are not ordinary, perhaps I'll spare your life."

  Having said that...

  Hao Feng Lou stood still, a cold smile on his face, and said: "What's wrong, don't dare to show up?"

  Ling Xue vigilantly looked towards the thick night sky, thinking there was someone in the darkness, and suddenly became alert.

  After a long time, there was no movement or sound, Hao Feng Lou hastily pulled Ling Xue and said, "Let's go quickly."

  They walked for another moment.

  Hao Fenglou suddenly stopped and stood still, gazing coldly at the dark alleyway with a sneer, saying: "Friend, you think this little three-legged cat kung fu is enough to make you a master?"

  Still no news.

  Hao Feng Lou couldn't help but curse, saying: "These Brocade Guards are really lazy."

  Ling Xue was suddenly speechless, seemingly having guessed a little something, but her head felt dizzy and she didn't respond.

  After turning a few corners, for the third time, Hao Feng Lou said with his hands behind his back and full of energy: "I've long heard that during the Hongwu era, the Brocade Guards were highly skilled and had many formidable characters. But now it seems that they're just a bunch of drunkards and gluttons. What are you hiding for? Come out! Hiding and sneaking around, what kind of hero is that?"

  Dozens of feet away, a man wearing night-traveling clothes let out a loud "hiss", his hair standing on end.

  After the incident at Ruchunfang, dozens of people gathered immediately. Everyone saw many corpses lying horizontally and vertically, their faces as pale as earth. They knew that this time they were attacked by a mastermind. With Lu Zhongyi dead, everyone couldn't explain it, so dozens of people split up to chase in different directions. Fortunately, judging from the bloodstains on a dagger, the opponent should be injured. Their daggers often had anesthetic drugs on them. Everyone guessed that this sneak must not have run far. Although the opponent was formidable, they were wounded after all, and it shouldn't be difficult to deal with them.

  The man who chased here was named Ma Tang. Ma Tang's movements were quick and agile, and after a long pursuit, he finally found some suspicious footprints.

  He didn't dare to make any rash moves, but instead decided to tail him for a while. Knowing that the other party was an expert, Ma Tang also didn't dare to get too close and quietly followed behind, keeping a distance of several dozen feet.

  "With my skills as a horseman, and being so cautious, I was still discovered even though we were dozens of feet apart. This person, isn't he a master? But shouldn't he have been poisoned by the anesthetic?" Ma Tang's palms suddenly became sweaty.

  He sensed a killing aura, reminiscent of the heyday of the Brocade Guards, when even from tens of meters away, they could detect someone tailing them. At most, there wouldn't be more than ten people who could do this, and every single one of them was an extremely formidable figure renowned throughout the Imperial Army and various guards.

  "It's said that some internal family masters can hurt their enemies by plucking a leaf, if their internal energy reaches a certain level and their senses become extremely sharp, they can even detect a fallen leaf from 100 meters away." Ma Tang thought to himself, adding a few more points of reverence to this majestic voice, thinking: "Could it be that this person is indeed one of those top-notch masters? It's true, otherwise, how could he still be so full of energy after being poisoned? It's clear that the poison didn't harm him in the slightest."

  At this time, Hao Fenglou laughed and said: "How about it, are you still not willing to come out? Do you think your little Southern Fist skill can deceive me? If you don't show up again, I'll have to be impolite."

  Boom...... Ma Tang's mind buzzed: "He... how did he know I'm the backbone of the Southern School, this person is so terrifying?"

  Ma Tang's face turned pale, and he finally appeared in a trembling manner.

  Hao Feng Lou saw him, his eyes narrowed slightly, standing still, as if the sky was falling and the earth was cracking, it seemed that nothing could move him. He glanced at Ma Tang with a light and casual gaze, saying: "Since you're here, I suppose you're also acting on orders. Everyone has their own mission, so when the time comes to make a move, there's no need for courtesy. Now, where is your sword?"

  Ma Tang felt his back was soaked with cold sweat, his Adam's apple rolled, and he didn't dare to breathe.

  Hao Fenglou smiled and said, "You didn't bring any? I've always disliked it when my opponents are unarmed. In that case, this sword is a gift to you, come."

  Hao Feng Lou drew out the slender sword from Ling Xue's waist with a whoosh, weighed it in his hand for a few moments, and then casually tossed the long sword aside.

  “……”

  An inch longer, an inch more dangerous. This is the eternal truth. Ma Tang was also considered half a master, how could he not know? Now the opponent was full of confidence and actually handed his sword to Ma Tang, wanting to fight empty-handed. Ma Tang saw him call himself "old man" again, and vaguely looked at his age which didn't seem that old, and couldn't help but think: "Everyone knows that internal family masters who reach a certain level can return to youth, even if they are over 60 years old, they look like young people. Today, I actually stumbled upon it."

  "Come and get it!" Hao Feng Lou said lightly.

  Ma Tang was so frightened that his hair stood on end, and he subconsciously retreated. He saw Hao Fenglou approaching him with a leisurely stroll, as if taking a walk in the garden. His psychological defenses suddenly collapsed.

  Life is at stake, what mission can be managed at this time? Ma Tang didn't say a word and ran away immediately. Because he ran too fast, his foot slipped and he fell to the ground with a thud. However, behind him, the cold wind was getting stronger, as if that master had approached, and the opponent's fist wind had already reached the back of his neck. He didn't dare look back, and in an instant, he disappeared from sight.

  Ling Xue was stunned, and when Ma Tang appeared, her heart tightened again. Hao Feng Lou looked like a bookworm with no strength to tie a chicken, and she had just been poisoned, so if the other party made trouble now, her life would be in danger. But unexpectedly, the instructor beside her dispatched the opponent with just a few words.

  Ling Xue's gaze at Hao Feng Lou had a hint of added respect.

  Hao Feng Lou thought to himself: "This kind of flashy trick, originally used to deceive girls, who would have thought that nowadays even men need to be deceived. Master, you can rest assured and go, your disciple has already made our 'Romantic Saint' technique flourish, it's now effective on both men and women."

  Wiping away the cold sweat on his forehead, he whispered: "I'm so scared, fortunately the other side was frightened for a while."

  "Hurry up."