Бездомная собака в моих мыслях

Глава 5

The man personally poured the tea into the jade-colored bowl. The tea liquor was clear and light blue, with a delicate and fragrant aroma. He smiled and said, "This is freshly arrived pre-rain Longjing tea from yesterday. Please try it, my dear brother."

"The Sky Over the Martial World is Clear" Part One "The Sky Over the Martial World is Clear" Part Two (3)

The young man picked up the teacup, brought it to his lips, took a sip, and then said, "Good tea!"

With a slight movement of her wrist, her snow-white sleeves rippled like waves, and a few gentle breezes caressed the pressure points of the courtesans. Before they could even understand what was happening, their bodies had already slumped to the ground.

The man in the blue shirt remained expressionless as he slowly sipped his tea.

The painted boat sailed downstream along the Liuhua River.

The man in the blue shirt looked past the thin veil covering the window and gazed at the river. He sighed, "Lately, it's getting more and more boring."

The young man in white said calmly, "I'm not here to listen to your complaints."

The man in the blue shirt chuckled: "Brother, you should smile more. Otherwise, those who know you will say you're mature beyond your years, and those who don't will think you have facial paralysis..."

"I didn't come here to be lectured by you." The young man put down his teacup. "How is the person I sent?"

The man in the blue shirt frowned and sighed softly, "It's no use anymore!"

The boy's bright eyes darkened slightly: "What kind of poison is that?"

"Eighteen years ago, the third young master of the Tie family in Jiangnan suddenly swelled up all over his body overnight. When he died, not only was his body covered in wounds, but his internal organs were also bloated and rotten like pulp, a gruesome sight. Later, according to a peerless doctor who examined his bones, it was a secret poison from the southern border. Because the poisoned person's pores bled all over his body and his skin ulcerated, as if he was wearing a blood-stained shirt, this poison was called Blood-Threaded Robe."

"Is this peerless physician Lady Wan from the Valley of Sorrow?"

"This is the person."

Eighteen years ago, Madam Wan of Beikong Valley must have been under twenty years old, right? Possessing unparalleled medical skills and a compassionate heart, she traveled the world, saving countless lives, from the poor and the wealthy to high-ranking officials. Her benevolent heart earned her the title of "Great Compassionate Bodhisattva."

The boy was silent for a moment: "Blood-stained garment, is there an antidote?"

"The Blood-Threaded Robe is a vicious and ruthless poison, long lost in the Southern Frontier. Yet, unexpectedly, someone has managed to recreate it! Years ago, Madam Wan, in search of a cure for this poison, traveled to the Southern Frontier under the escort of the Central Plains' legendary swordsman Chen Mobai, but never returned. Several years later, someone spotted Madam Wan in the Valley of Sorrow. Later, a legend circulated that Madam Wan suffered a tragic fate in the Southern Frontier, and after returning to the Central Plains, she devoted herself to seclusion, never speaking of medicine again."

The boy asked, "Then, is there still no solution to the Bloodstained Robe?"

The man in blue slowly shook his head: "No one knows. But since the death of Young Master Tie San, the Blood-Stained Robe has never appeared in the martial world again, and over time, people have forgotten about it. Unexpectedly, after eighteen years, it has reappeared!"

"Was the poison in the child the blood-stained garment?"

"His death is very similar to the death of the Third Young Master Tie recorded in the Tian Shui Yu Collection, but it is still not entirely certain. I have ordered people to properly dispose of the body and send it to Bei Kong Valley by fast horse. I hope that Madam Wan can enlighten us." The man in blue sighed, "I just don't know if Madam Wan will take this matter seriously."

The boy pondered, "Who would use such poison on a child from a poor family?"

He looked up at the man in blue and asked, "Who was the one who poisoned Tie Sanshao back then?"

"According to the Tie family, it was a beautiful young woman who was poisoned simply because the Third Young Master Tie made a few teasing remarks." The man in blue paused. "You suspect this woman is related to the case you're dealing with? You're completely wrong!"

Why?

"Because she is already dead!" the man in blue said calmly.

"Fifteen years ago, Japanese samurai launched a massive invasion, provoking conflict. Heroes from seven gangs and sixteen sects of the martial arts world were ambushed on Giant Whale Island in the East China Sea, fighting a desperate battle with reinforcements failing to arrive. Just when all seemed lost, a woman sailed a boat and broke through the Japanese pirates' rear, storming the island alone and poisoning all the Japanese. The enemy leader launched a desperate counterattack, and the woman was severely wounded, struck and falling into the sea. According to survivors, the sea was filled with blood from days of fierce fighting, attracting countless sharks to devour the corpses. By the time the heroes, exhausted and exhausted, tried to rescue her, the woman... even her body had vanished!"

The boy murmured, "So, the one who poisoned Young Master Tie San with the 'Blood-Threaded Robe' was none other than the Little Demon of the Westward-Treading Fish!"

Eighteen years ago, Yu Xiaoyao was once a famous figure in the martial arts world.

The Sky Over the Martial World is Clear - Part One: The Sky Over the Martial World is Clear - Chapter Three (1)

No one knew where this woman came from. She was like a Udumbara flower blooming in an empty mountain after the rain, appearing without a trace and disappearing without a trace, suddenly appearing in the martial world.

She was stunningly beautiful, yet capricious and unpredictable. Relying on her incredible poison skills, she acted recklessly, her nature wicked and her methods ruthless. Once, she blinded someone simply because he glanced at her, and she once poisoned the entire family of relatives who had bullied a pitiful widow and her orphan...

She had only been in the martial arts world for three short years, yet she had made countless deadly enemies. However, it seemed that the more enemies she had, the happier she was; the more difficult people she was to provoke, the more she wanted to provoke them; and the more she was in ambush, the more carefree and unrestrained she was.

Yet this seemingly wicked and psychologically twisted beauty, when being relentlessly pursued by her enemies and desperately trying to cross the sea by boat, descended like a goddess into the battlefield where Chinese heroes clashed with Japanese pirates, and risked her life to turn the tide of battle.

Although Yu Xiaoyao was evil, she sacrificed herself for her country in the battle of Giant Whale Island in the East China Sea, and everyone admired her. Therefore, she was no longer called a demoness in the martial arts world, but was respectfully called "Tabo Xilai" to commemorate the small boat that flew across the waves in the bloody battle, covered with the glow of the sky.

While family feuds cannot be forgotten, national hatred outweighs them. Therefore, even the enemy led by the Tie family of Jiangnan kept silent about the blood feud, as a way of showing some respect to the brave yet vicious woman, Yu Xiaoyao.

Thinking back to the past, the swift and decisive triumphs of their predecessors, and the tragic and heroic legends of the martial arts world, both of them felt a sense of longing.

There was silence inside the painted boat for a long time. Then, the man in the blue shirt straightened up slightly and lifted the window screen.

Outside, a misty rain had fallen.

A light drizzle dampened the cool stone path, the white-walled, gray-tiled buildings, the slender figures reflected in the carved windows, the swaying water plants by the river, the arched bridge curving like the moon, the sound of oars gliding across the water... it was like a tranquil yet dynamic ink painting.

He sighed softly: "The mountains of Jiangnan are shrouded in mist, and the waters are gentle and moist. They are still more charming and beautiful than my island by the sky!"

Fine raindrops drifted in from the window, landing on the handsome face of the young man in white. He casually dabbed his cheek with his finger, gazing at the damp spot on his fingertip: "The person is gone, but the 'blood-stained robe' has not disappeared from the martial world!"

The man in the blue shirt sighed again.

The young man in white asked, "Brother Fang, has the second favor I asked you been fulfilled?"

The man in the blue shirt poured the boy more tea: "In the past month, there have been at least four similar massacres that wiped out entire families!"

The young man in white was somewhat moved: "Around here?"

"The first incident occurred twenty-seven days ago at the Donglin Escort Agency, where all thirty-three members, including the escorts, porters, and staff, perished. According to the official analysis, the head escort, Tang Lin, killed all the members of the agency with a mad slash while they were having a meal in the dining hall, and then chopped off his own head with the slash."

"The second incident was twenty days ago in Wuque Village. A fire broke out suddenly in the middle of the night. Because the fire was so big, the nearby villagers were too late to put it out. All sixty-one people in the village perished, and almost all of their remains were burned. On the surface, it was a fire caused by candles that had not been extinguished at night, but the coroner examined the few surviving remains and proved that the bodies were burned after death."

"The third incident occurred fifteen days ago. The Zhou family, including the Zhou couple and their three children, died suddenly overnight. Even the mother and daughter who were staying at their home were not spared. After that, sixteen people from the Zhou family's neighbors died suddenly one after another. Their bodies were all black and swollen. The villagers suspected it was a plague and cremated the houses and bodies together."