The sky over the rivers and lakes is very clear

Chapter 21

"Tang Lin, the chief镖头 (bodyguard/escort) of Donglin镖局 (escort agency), killed thirty-three people of the镖局 while they were having a meal in the dining hall, and then chopped off his own head with his sword."

This information was gathered by my friend Fang Jianwu on his mission from Tianshui Island, and it is absolutely correct.

A sudden light shone in Maple Snow's heart.

If the people from Donglin Escort Agency were on the ship at the time, could the tragedy at Donglin Escort Agency be related to this massacre?

Furthermore, he had personally witnessed the brazen methods of killing the villagers on their corpses in Half-Moon Village. While he couldn't be entirely certain that the black-clad assassins he killed outside Yanhe Pagoda were the same people who massacred Half-Moon Village, their methods were identical, suggesting a connection. And this petty rascal, who was temporarily staying at Yanhe Pagoda at the time, was one of the witnesses to the massacre, hiding on the wooden boat.

The five horrific cases, though different in method of killing—some involving weapons, some clearly poisoning, and some staged suicides—were all cases of wiping out entire families. The killer was arrogant, seemingly unconcerned about arousing suspicion, but very careful not to leave any survivors.

For this reason, he has always believed that there is some necessary connection between these cases—if people in these places were passengers on that ship, then that is the common point among these cases.

The Sky Over the Martial World is Clear - Part One: The Sky Over the Martial World is Clear - Chapter Six (5)

Do you remember anyone else?

Zhu Huihui tilted her head, thought carefully for a while, and finally shook her head: "I can't remember! Most people on the ship were seasick, some vomited, some had headaches, so they rarely spoke."

Feng Xuese nodded.

It doesn't matter if you can't remember clearly. Just send someone to investigate thoroughly: among the five families involved in the massacres—Donglin Escort Agency, Wuque Village, Banyue Village, the Zhou family of Wanjiangji, and the old man surnamed Sun—who had traveled a long distance a month ago, traveling by boat down the Hulan River from Minhua County? Although no one survived in these five locations, if anyone witnessed the riverbank massacre, they would likely have mentioned it in their conversations. Such news always spreads quickly and will eventually reach other people's ears.

If the investigation confirms his deduction, then the five cases and the riverbank massacre can truly be attributed to one case!

Beyond Longchou Rock lies Jimo Ridge; beyond that lies Guying Ravine; a plank bridge leads to Pobei Mountain; beyond Pobei Mountain, one ascends the official road connecting the four provinces and nine prefectures and thirty-six counties of the northern frontier, the western border, the eastern region, the central region, and the southern region.

A rugged path, hidden among the wild grass.

On both sides are towering cliffs and steep peaks, and below are surging waves and thick fog shrouding the river. Maple leaves and snow colors climb up the steep Longchou Rock, and white clothes appear and disappear among the green forest and white fog.

The mountain wind was strong, causing the thick mountain fog to gather and disperse intermittently. When it gathered, everything was a white blur, and when it dispersed, the steep mountain walls became visible. Zhu Huihui followed behind him, using both hands and feet, her heart pounding with fear, lest she lose her footing and fall into the ravine and lose her life.

Seeing that Feng Xuese had already rounded the bend in the mountain ahead and his figure had been hidden by the cliff, Zhu Huihui became anxious and shouted, "Hero, please slow down, I can't keep up!"

Not being able to keep up isn't a big deal; the real fear is that he'll falsely accuse me of trying to escape and then attack me with his sword—well, actually, it's not that I don't want to escape, but firstly, his martial arts skills are too high, and I definitely can't escape like this; secondly, before I left, that scarlet-robed monk detained Hua Hua, saying that if I tried anything funny, he would kill Hua Hua and braise her. So, I have to go back with this Master Feng no matter what, and then redeem Hua Hua.

Unable to hear Feng Xuese's reply, he had no choice but to speed up his climb. Finally reaching the top of the mountain, he saw Feng Xuese standing under a tree, hands behind his back, gazing into the distance. He couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief and sat down on the ground: He had finally caught up with him!

The terrain here is very high. Feng Xuese looked at the dark clouds piling up on the horizon and frowned slightly: "You're too slow! If we can't cross Broken Stele Mountain before dark, we'll have to spend the night on the mountain."

"I'm not actually that slow, it's you who's too fast!" Zhu Huihui asked with a bitter face, "Hero, why do we have to climb the mountain? Wouldn't it be much easier to take a boat on the Hulan River?"

The maple leaves, white as snow, remained silent and aloof.

He certainly didn't need to tell this rogue, because he suspected that the assassins and the dead had likely walked along this road to Longchou Rock—if such a large number of dead and assassins came by water, there should be boats near the riverbank, and more than one.

However, Zhu Huihui's account never mentions seeing any other ships...

This old man had always been short-tempered and didn't like to talk to people, but Zhu Huihui didn't mind. After sitting on the ground panting for a while, he got up again, broke off a branch from a nearby tree, plucked off the leaves, held it in his hand to compare the thickness, and felt that it was just right for him, so he immediately became happy.

Seeing that his breathing had calmed down, Feng Xuese resumed her steps.

Zhu Huihui followed behind with her cane, and walking became much easier. Feeling pleased with herself, she started singing loudly.

First, she strained her throat and sang: "The crescent moon shines through the clouds, little sister sits by the window, her delicate eyebrows and fluffy eyes make brother's heart sweet." Then, she suddenly switched to a high-pitched female voice: "The crescent moon shines through the clouds, I sit by the window, brother's sly eyes outside the wall make my heart flutter."

He was singing a folk song he'd picked up somewhere as he walked, trying to find joy in his misery, when he didn't notice he'd stepped on a pebble, slipped, and rolled down a steep slope.

The Sky Over the Martial World is Clear - Part One: The Sky Over the Martial World is Clear - Chapter Six (6)

Zhu Huihui cried out "Ouch!" and threw down his crutch, frantically grabbing at something to steady himself. Unfortunately, there wasn't even a thorny tree or a protruding rock nearby, and the surrounding vegetation couldn't support his weight. He was doomed! If he fell, he'd be crippled if not killed…

In his fear, he suddenly felt a tight grip on his arm; a fair hand grasped his wrist.

That hand was strong, with long, slender fingers, glossy, neatly trimmed nails, and fair, delicate skin. A section of snow-white sleeve covered the wrist, and looking up from the sleeve, there was a handsome and dashing face, with two striking, sword-like eyebrows, deep black eyes like stars in a summer night sky, a high nose, and beautiful, thin lips like the petals of a wild rose blooming on the edge of a cliff...

Looking at that noble and handsome face, Zhu Huihui suddenly felt uneasy, experiencing for the first time in her life a feeling similar to being ashamed of herself.

This was the first time he'd seen Maple Snow at such close range! Before, he'd never allowed himself to come within three feet of him. Hmm, although this guy had a bad temper and would draw his sword at the drop of a hat, he… was really quite handsome…

Looking down at Zhu Huihui's dark face, Feng Xuese frowned again.

This kid is so dirty. His face looks like it's never been washed properly; every time you look at him, his face is covered in mud. There's a layer of grime on his neck, obscuring his skin's natural color. And his hand—his wrist is so thin, and from his fingers all the way down to his arm where his sleeve slips down, it's all grime-covered and dirty…

He's probably never taken a bath in his entire life, right? It's really not easy for him to get himself so dirty!

It's even more remarkable that I had the courage to grab his wrist, given how dirty he was!

Maple Snow gripped the rock with two fingers, exerted a little force, and her body soared into the air, carrying Zhu Huihui down to the mountaintop, before dropping him to the ground.

Zhu Huihui sat on the ground, comforting the frightened little heart while saying, "Hero, thank you for saving my life!"

Feng Xuese hummed in agreement, took out a snow-white silk handkerchief from her bosom, wiped her hands, and then released her palm, sending the handkerchief flying away on the wind.

Zhu Huihui watched the handkerchief fall to the bottom of the cliff, pouted somewhat aggrievedly, and silently followed behind him again. This time, she dared not be overconfident and obediently took one step at a time, but her pace slowed down even more.

Feng Xue Se finally lost her patience and said, "Use your lightness skill!" Although it was a mediocre lightness skill, it was still faster than ordinary speed.

"How do you use it?" Everyone says he has some kind of "Lingering Regret" lightness skill, but he himself doesn't know it.

Feng Xuese was silent for a moment, then said, "Just think of it as... stealing someone's steamed bun, and a whole bunch of people chasing you. If they catch you, you'll be handed over to the authorities and punished..."

Before he finished speaking, with a "whoosh," Zhu Huihui had already darted several meters away.

Unexpectedly, Feng Xuese reacted so strongly to this remark that she almost burst out laughing. She quickly straightened her face, pretended to be nonchalant, and followed him with light steps.

Zhu Huihui looked at him as he ran: "Great hero, is this the lightness skill you were talking about?" He had no internal energy, and as soon as he spoke, he exhaled, and his speed slowed down again.