Urbaner Blumentraum - Kapitel 176
The man in the center gently tapped the dragon-shaped armrest of the rosewood chair with his fingers. After a moment of contemplation, he slowly said, "Let Ye handle this matter."
"You mean... Night?" The other person seemed incredulous and asked blankly.
"Isn't Ye already... dead?" the third person asked hesitantly.
The man in the middle shook his head slightly and snorted softly, "Legends shouldn't be taken at face value!"
"You mean, this matter should be handled by Ye Lai—if he were still alive?" someone asked cautiously. "This is a matter of great importance..."
"Only Ye can handle this matter, and handle it well." The middle man's voice was slightly dazed, as if he had remembered something, and then he sighed imperceptibly.
The Sky Over the Martial World is Clear - Part One: The Sky Over the Martial World is Clear - Chapter Six (2)
From Guiming Prefecture to Minhua County, the Hulan River and Longchou Rock are not the only routes, but they are the shortest. However, the mountains here are steep, the cliffs are towering, the river is turbulent, and the current is rapid, making it very difficult and dangerous to travel by both river and land. Therefore, except in very special circumstances, few travelers or boats use this route.
Below the cliffs of Longchou Rock lies a treacherous shoal.
The beach was covered with coarse sand and gravel, and the reeds grew very lushly. The river water was somewhat turbid, roaring and crashing against the rocks on the shore, making a booming sound. The yellowish foam was washed away by the rushing river before it could accumulate.
The narrow river was shrouded in mist and fog, carrying a hazy water vapor. Reeds swayed beneath the opposite cliffs, as if concealing countless armored soldiers.
The sky was somewhat gloomy, with low-hanging gray clouds that completely obscured the sun, leaving only a hazy, dim yellow glow.
Feng Xuese stood with his hands behind his back on a huge rock by the riverbank. The river wind blew, making his white clothes flutter and look free and unrestrained, as if he wanted to ride the wind away.
Zhu Huihui stood on the other side of the treacherous shoal, his stomach filled with wind, and he was so angry he rolled his eyes. Damn it, it was almost raining, and this old man Feng was still going crazy on the rock. He wasn't afraid of the wind and rain, so why did he have to drag him down with him?!
He grumbled inwardly while glaring at the water. He'd been having such bad luck lately; he'd been taken hostage by this old man Feng, and Hua Hua had been held captive as a "pig" by that scarlet-robed monk!
Although Zhu Huihui was cunning and shrewd, he was nothing more than a street thug. How could he possibly fight against seasoned veterans like Feng Xuese and the Scarlet-Clad Monk? Under the threat of sharp blades, this cowardly man, afraid of both death and pain, confessed everything. He thought that after this, he would be out of trouble, and that the heroes and masters would spare his life. But who would have thought that Feng Xuese would force him to return to the same place, back to this nightmarish beach once again?
After waiting for a long time, Feng Xuese still showed no sign of leaving. Zhu Huihui wanted to remind him, but didn't dare to—this old man Feng's sword was no joke.
Yesterday, I passed through a grove of trees and saw a rich young man harassing a girl. As a result, Grandpa Feng chopped off his ear. Actually, all that rich young man did was push the girl to the ground and tear her clothes; at most, he'd have to pay her for a new outfit. What a big deal! Last time, in some town—I think—I even pinched the mayor's chubby daughter's butt. If Grandpa Feng found out, he'd chop off my hand!
Yeah! Grandpa Feng is too violent. Staying with him, I'll probably lose my hands, legs, and head sooner or later...
Lost in thought, a shadow suddenly appeared before him, and Feng Xuese was already standing in front of him.
Zhu Huihui immediately put on a beaming smile: "Great hero, what are your orders?"
Feng Xuese asked, "Is this the place you're talking about?"
"It's right here!" Zhu Huihui said obsequiously. "Our boat was hiding in the reeds over there, and we could see everything clearly. Right where you were standing, a man in black stabbed a bearded man in the heart with a whip, and another man sliced off his head with a knife. When the head fell into the river, his eyes and lips were still moving, as if he wanted to say something..." He imitated the movement of the head falling into the river, his beard and eyebrows trembling, and couldn't help but shudder.
Feng Xuese frowned slightly. According to this rascal, the situation was extremely tragic, but... why were there no clues at all?
He had searched the riverbank twice, but apart from gravel, weeds, and animal remains, he could find no trace of the massacre.
There were no corpses, no bones, and certainly no blood or bits of flesh—only a month had passed since the killing. Could the great power of nature wash away all the evil so cleanly?
Moreover, this place is just sparsely populated, not uninhabited. As this rogue said, there were at least eighty or a hundred skeletons of men, women, and children on the riverbank at that time. Why has no one discovered or reported them for more than a month?
The Sky Over the Martial World is Clear - Part One: The Sky Over the Martial World is Clear - Chapter Six (3)
Moreover, who were those people who were massacred? Nearly a hundred people couldn't have appeared out of thin air at Longchou Rock on the Hulan River, but according to the news from Jietianshui Island, no one in the nearby prefectures and counties had ever seen such a group of people.
Right now, Nishino En is using the power of Blazing Sky to have people investigate the ships that have passed by over the past month. If they still can't find any clues, then they can only conclude that this scoundrel is lying again, or at least exaggerating...
Zhu Huihui, however, didn't think so much. With her hands on her hips, striking a poet's pose, she gazed at the surging river and exclaimed, "Confucius, standing by the river, said: 'How wonderful it would be to have a boat!'"
Despite being illiterate, he couldn't hide his ignorance and would ramble on and on every now and then! Feng Xuese glanced at him indifferently and said, "Imitate the way that black-clad assassin beheads people."
"Ah? Yes!" Zhu Huihui said respectfully, "At that time, he held the knife handle with both hands like this, turned his wrists like this, and slashed the blade like this, and the head flew off..." He bent his knees and twisted his body, his hands as if holding a knife, and slashed into the air.
Feng Xuese hummed in agreement. This was a move from the Yanmen Six Harmonies Saber Technique called "Unrecognizable to Family Members," not exactly a sect secret technique, but widely circulated in the martial arts world.
This rascal has a good memory. Even when he was scared out of his wits, he could still remember this move and imitate it with the correct movements and positions. Although it was a bit awkward, it was still quite an achievement.
Of course, someone who knows a half-baked light-foot skill called "Flowing Light and Regret" might also be half-baked at "Not Recognizing One's Family"—if that's the case, then it proves that this rascal has been lying all along, and he'll have to see what kind of tricks this kid is up to!
Zhu Huihui herself also felt something was wrong, and looked around on the riverbank: "Strange, why is there nothing here?"
Although he was terrified at the time, everything he saw was deeply etched in his mind. Now, being there in person, without the tension and fear of that day, all the details came to mind.
He parted a clump of tall wormwood and said in bewilderment, "There was clearly a woman's arm left in this ditch, with a jade bracelet on her wrist, but now it's gone!"
He kicked a tree twice: "I remember an ear flew up there, and the pearl pendant on the earring was hanging on a branch. Where did it go? Did a bird carry it away?"
He kicked away another stone: "There used to be a finger that fell into a crevice here, wearing a huge gold ring, but it's gone now!"
Feng Xuese had been watching him fussing around with indifference, but when she caught sight of the stones he had kicked aside, her expression suddenly changed slightly. She walked over and examined them carefully before instructing, "Turn over all the stones in this area!"
Zhu Huihui complained, "No way? Hero! There are stones everywhere here..." Then, with a cynical mind, he added, "Don't listen to my nonsense. Jade bracelets, pearl pendants, gold rings—they've all been stolen long ago. Look, I haven't found anything!"
Feng Xuese didn't waste any words with him. He simply placed his hand on the sword at his waist, gently pushed the hilt with his thumb, and "Xuese" made a "clang" sound as it was drawn an inch from its sheath.
The sound was more effective than anything else, and Zhu Huihui immediately shut up, resignedly bending down to hug the stone.
The stones on the riverbank varied in size. He turned over about a hundred of them before Fengxuese finally said, "That's enough!"
Zhu Huihui straightened up, wiping his sweat and panting, "Look, hero! There's really nothing under the rock! We're too late; someone got there first! Alas! What a pity about those jewels and ornaments; we could have exchanged them for so many delicious things in the city!" Then he and Huahua could have eaten and bought whatever they wanted…
"Look at that pathetic little thing, all you know is eating. If a person spends too much time with pigs, will they become like a pig too?" Feng Xuese thought to herself, a small smile playing on her lips. "Who said no?" she said.
"Huh? Where is it?" Zhu Huihui looked around aimlessly.
“Those stones!” Feng Xuese said calmly.