The gentle breeze smokes the willows, and the fragrance of the flowers is intoxicating. It is the spring season in the southern country. On Ximen Street, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, Qingshiban Road stretches straight out, leading directly to Ximen.In front of a majestic mansion, a two-foot-high flagpole was erected on each of the two stone altars on the left and right, with a green flag flying on the top of the pole.The flag on the right is embroidered with a majestic lion with its teeth and claws stretched out in yellow silk thread. The flag flutters in the wind, making the lion more powerful and agile.Above the lion's head, a pair of bats embroidered with black silk thread spread their wings and fly.The left head flag is embroidered with the words "Fuwei Escort Bureau" in black, with silver hooks and iron strokes, it is extremely strong.

The vermilion lacquer gate of the mansion has gleaming copper nails the size of a teacup, and a plaque on the top of the gate reads "Fuwei Escort Bureau" in large gold lacquer characters, with two small characters "General Number" written horizontally below.There are two rows of benches at the entrance, and there are eight well-dressed men sitting on them. All of them have straight backs, showing a heroic spirit. Suddenly there was a sound of horseshoes in the backyard, and the eight men stood up together and rushed out the gate.I saw five horses rushing out of the west gate of the Escort Bureau, rushing along the horse path to the gate.At first, a horse was white all over, the saddle and stirrups were all made of rotten silver, and on the saddle was a young man in brocade clothes, about eighteen or nineteen years old, with a falcon on his left shoulder, a sword hanging from his waist, and a longbow on his back, swaying The horse gallops.Followed by four riders, the riders are all in green cloth jackets.

A group of five rushed to the door of the escort agency, and three of the eight men shouted in unison: "The young escort is hunting again!" The white horse held its head high and neighed, and rushed out on the bluestone road.A man shouted: "Shi Biaotou, bring back a wild boar again today, everyone will have a good meal." A man in his forties behind the boy said with a smile: "A wild boar tail is indispensable for you, but Just don't fill yourself up with yellow soup." Amidst the loud laughter of the crowd, Wu Qima had already gone far. The five horsemen left the city gate, Lin Pingzhi, the head of the young bodyguard, pinched his legs lightly, the white horse tossed all four hooves, rushed straight out, and threw the four horsemen behind him far away in a short while.He galloped up the hillside, let go of the falcon, and drove a pair of yellow rabbits out of the forest.He took off the long bow on his back, took out a carved feather from the quiver beside the saddle, bent the bow and set the arrow, with a sound of brushing, a yellow rabbit fell down, and when he was about to shoot again, the other rabbit went into the grass is missing.Escort Zheng rushed over on his horse, and said with a smile: "Young Escort, good at archery!" Only Qu Zi Shoubai Er shouted in the forest on the left: "Young Escort, come quickly, there are pheasants here!"

Lin Pingzhi rode his horse over, and saw a pheasant flying out of the forest, Lin Pingzhi shot an arrow, the pheasant was right on top of his head, but the arrow missed.Lin Pingzhi raised his horsewhip and whipped it into the air, with all his force, he knocked the pheasant down with a bang, and the colorful feathers flew in all directions.The five laughed in unison.Shi Biaotou said: "Young Biaotou's whip, let alone a pheasant, even a big vulture!" The five men were chasing birds and beasts in the forest. Shi and Zheng, two bodyguards, and Bai Er and Chen Qi, the young bodyguards, always drove their prey to him, even if they had a good chance, they would not strike. .After fighting for more than two hours, Lin Pingzhi shot two rabbits and two pheasants, but he didn't hit any big animals like wild boars and roe deer. go."

Biaotou Shi thought to himself: "This time we go into the mountain, it must be completely dark, and we will have to listen to my wife's complaints when we go back." Then he said: "It's getting late, there are many sharp rocks in the mountain, don't hurt the white horse's hooves Let’s get up early tomorrow, and then go hunt big wild boars.” Lin Pingzhi’s grandmother bought this horse at a high price in Luoyang, and it was given to him two years ago on his seventeenth birthday. Sure enough, when he heard that he was afraid of hurting the horse's hooves, Lin Pingzhi patted the horse's head and said, "My little Xuelong is very clever, and I will never step on sharp rocks, but you four horses are afraid of it. Okay, everyone Let's all go back, don't break Chen Qi's ass."

The five people laughed loudly and turned the horse's head around.Lin Pingzhi galloped his horse, but instead of going back the same way, he turned to the north, galloped for a while, and finally enjoyed himself, reining in the horse and walking slowly.I saw a wine trick picked out by the side of the road ahead.Escort Zheng said: "Boss Escort, how about we go have a drink? Fresh rabbit meat and pheasant meat are just stir-fried for wine." Lin Pingzhi smiled and said: "It's fake if you come out hunting with me, drinking is what matters. If I don’t treat you to a drink, you will lazily refuse to come out with me tomorrow.” Reining in the horse, he floated off the horse and walked slowly towards the wine shop.

If it was in the past, the owner of the store, Lao Cai, would have already grabbed the reins in his hand: "Young escort has shot so much wild game today, it's really rare in this world to shoot arrows like a god!" Such a flattery.But now when I came to the front of the shop, the hotel was very quiet, I saw a young girl in green clothes next to the wine stove, with double maids on her hair, and two thorn hairpins stuck in, she was cooking wine, her face turned inward, and she didn't turn around. Come.Escort Zheng shouted: "Where is Lao Cai, why don't you come out to lead the horse?" Bai Er and Chen Qi pulled aside the bench, brushed off the dust with their sleeves, and invited Lin Pingzhi to sit down.The two escorts, Shi Zheng, accompanied the Prime Minister, and the two trippers sat at the other table.

There was a coughing sound in the inner hall, and an old man with white hair came out and said: "Guest officer, please sit down, do you want to drink?" He said with a northern accent.Escort Zheng said: "If you don't drink alcohol, why do you still drink tea? Bring three catties of bamboo leaf green up first. Where is Lao Cai? Why, has the hotel changed owners?" The old man said: "Yes, yes, Wan'er, call me Three catties of green bamboo leaves. To tell the truth from all the guest officials, the little old man’s surname is Sa. He was originally from a local family. Come back to my hometown. I didn’t know that I have been away from home for more than 40 years, and all my relatives and friends in my hometown are gone. It just so happened that Lao Cai in this hotel didn’t want to work anymore, so he sold it to the little old man for thirty taels of silver. Alas, I finally returned to my hometown , listening to everyone speak their hometown dialect, I can’t express the benefit in my heart, I am so ashamed, the little old man can’t even speak it himself.”

The girl in Tsing Yi lowered her head and held a wooden tray, put the cups and chopsticks in front of Lin Pingzhi and others, put three jugs of wine on the table, then walked away with her head lowered, never daring to glance at the guests. Lin Pingzhi saw that the girl had a graceful figure, but her complexion was dark and rough, her face seemed to have many acne scars, and her appearance was very ugly. He thought it was her first time in this wine business, her behavior was blunt, and she didn't care at the moment. Biaotou Shi took a pheasant and a yellow rabbit, handed them to Old Man Sa and said, "After washing and peeling, go fry two large pots." Old Man Sa said, "Yes, yes! If you want to serve wine, use some first. Beef, broad beans, and peanuts." Wan'er didn't wait for her grandfather to order, and brought beef, broad beans, etc. to the table.Escort Zheng said: "Mr. Lin is the young Escort of Fuwei Escort Bureau. He is a young hero. He is a chivalrous man who spends money like water. If your two dishes are cooked to suit the appetite of his young Escort, your thirty It won’t take a month or two to earn back the capital of two silver coins.” Old man Sa said: “Yes, yes! Thank you, thank you!” He took the pheasant and the yellow rabbit and went.

Escort Zheng poured wine into Lin Pingzhi's, Escort Shi's and his own cups, picked up the wine glass, raised his neck and drank it dry, licked his lips with his tongue, and said: "The hotel has changed owners, the taste of the wine has disappeared. Change." He poured another glass of wine, and was about to drink again, when he heard the sound of horseshoes, and two horses came galloping from the official road to the north. The two horses came very quickly, and when they arrived outside the hotel suddenly, only one person said: "There is a hotel here, go and drink two bowls!" Dressed in a green cloth robe, he tied his mount under the big banyan tree in front of the shop, walked into the shop, glanced at Lin Pingzhi and the others, and then sat down boldly.

Both of them had white cloths wrapped around their heads, and they were dressed in green robes. They seemed to be dressed in a gentle manner, but their legs were bare, their feet were barefoot, and they were wearing earless hemp shoes.Biaotou Shi knew that most people in Sichuan were dressed like this, and the white cloth wrapped around their heads was the year when Zhuge Liang died, and the people of Sichuan wore mourning for him.But Lin Pingzhi couldn't help being surprised, thinking: "These two people are neither literate nor martial, they look very strange." Only the young man shouted: "Bring the wine! Ge Laozi, there are so many mountains in Fujian. , just exhausted the horse." Wan'er bowed her head and walked to the table for the two of them, and asked in a low voice, "What wine do you want?" Although her voice was low, it was clear and pleasant.The young man was stunned, and suddenly stretched out his right hand to hold Wan'er's chin, and said with a smile, "What a pity, what a pity!" Wan'er was startled, and hurriedly backed away.Another man said with a smile: "Brother Yu, this girl's figure is just what she wants. She has a face, but she's stepping in the mud with spiked shoes and flipping the pomegranate skin. Ge Laozi is such a hemp skin." laugh. Lin Pingzhi rushed upwards, stretched out his right hand and slapped the table heavily, and said, "What! Two blind bastards came to our Fuzhou mansion to play wild!" The young man surnamed Yu said with a smile: "Jia Lao Er, who is scolding, who do you think this rabbit master is scolding?" Lin Pingzhi looks like his mother, with delicate features and very handsome. If he winked and glanced at him, he would definitely be slapped in the face. Hearing this man call him "Master Rabbit", how could he bear it?Lifting a tin wine jug on the table, he threw it over with his head in his pocket.The man surnamed Yu dodged, and the tin wine jug fell on the grass outside the hotel door, splashing the wine all over the floor.Biaotou Shi and Biaotou Zheng stood up and rushed to the side of those two. The surname Yu said with a smile: "This kid went to the stage to sing Huadan, he really seduces people, and he won't do it if he wants to fight!" Chief Zheng shouted: "This is Chief Lin Shao of the Fuwei Escort Bureau, you are so brave, come here Breaking ground on Tai Sui's head?" Just as the word "earth" came out, a fist with his left hand was already punching him in the face.The man surnamed Yu turned his left hand upwards, caught on Zheng's pulse gate, pulled back, Zheng's body couldn't stand still, and rushed towards the board table.The man surnamed Yu slammed down his left elbow hard, hitting the back of Zheng Biao's head.With a click, Escort Zheng knocked down the board table, and fell down with him and the table. Although Escort Zheng is not considered a good player in Fuwei Escort Bureau, he is not a pustule player either. When Escort Shi saw that he was knocked down by this man with one move, it shows that the other party has a lot of background, and asked: "My lord Who is the driver? Since you are a fellow martial artist, don’t you think about Fuwei Escort Bureau?” The man surnamed Yu sneered, “Fuwei Escort Bureau? I’ve never heard of it! What’s that for?” Lin Pingzhi jumped up and shouted: "Specially for beating puppies!" His left palm was struck out, and before the technique matured, the right palm came out from under the left palm. "The Universe in the Clouds".The surname Yu said: "Little Huadan still has a few tricks." With a wave of his palm, he grabbed Lin Pingzhi's shoulder with his right hand.Lin Pingzhi's right shoulder sank slightly, and he punched out with his left hand.The surnamed Yu turned his head to avoid it, but unexpectedly Lin Pingzhi opened his left fist suddenly, the fist turned into a palm, the direct blow turned into a sweep, and he slapped him with a stance of "Looking at flowers in the fog".Yu was furious and kicked Lin Pingzhi with his feet.Lin Pingzhi rushed to the right and kicked out. At this moment, Biaotou Shi had already started fighting with that surnamed Jia, and Bai Er helped Biaotou Zheng up.Chief Zheng yelled curses, stepped forward to flank the Yu.Lin Pingzhi said: "Help Escort Shi, I can take care of this dog thief." Escort Zheng knew that he was going to be strong and aggressive, and he didn't want others to help him, so he picked up a broken leg from a wooden table on the ground, and threw it on the head of Jia Call to go. Two riders ran to the door, one took Lin Pingzhi's long sword from the saddle, the other lifted a hunting fork, pointed at Yu and cursed at him.The troopers in the escort agency are mediocre in martial arts, but they are used to calling the escort number, and all of them have a loud voice.The two of them were cursing in Fuzhou dialect, and the two Sichuanese didn't understand a word, but they knew it would not be good. Lin Pingzhi used the "Tiantian Palm" handed down by his father one by one, and after fighting for more than ten moves, his arrogance gradually weakened, and he realized that the opponent's hands were very tough.The man disassembled it with his hands, but still said nonsense: "Little brother, the more I look at you, the less manly you are, you must be a big girl in disguise. Your face is red and white, give me a face, Let's stop fighting, Mr. Ge, okay?" Lin Pingzhi became more and more angry, when he squinted at Shi and Zheng, the two bodyguards, he saw that they were fighting with each other, and the one surnamed Jia was still the loser.Escort Zheng was punched hard on the nose, his nose bleeds, and his clothes were covered in blood.Lin Pingzhi slapped out faster, and suddenly there was a slap, and he slapped that surnamed Yu again, this time the slap was very heavy, the surnamed Yu was furious, and shouted: "You son of a bitch who doesn't know good and bad, I look at you!" She was born like a big girl, teasing you, but the turtle son really hits me!" The boxing style changed, and suddenly the punches were straight up and down like a violent storm.The two fought all the way to the outside of the hotel. Lin Pingzhi saw the opponent's punch straight into the palace, remembered the "Xie" tactic passed down by his father, immediately stretched out his left hand to block, and released his punch. Without taking it off, he punched it right in the chest.Lin Pingzhi swayed, the neckline was already grasped by his left hand.The man's arm sank, he bent Lin Pingzhi's upper body down, and followed his right arm to make an "iron threshold" across the back of his neck. He laughed wildly and said, "Turtle son, you kowtow three times and call me three times." Good Uncle, I will let you go!" Shi Zheng's second bodyguard was shocked, and wanted to leave his opponent behind and rush over to rescue them, but that surnamed Jia threw both fists and kicks, not allowing the two of them to go away.Bai Er raised the hunting fork and poked at Yu's back, shouting, "You still don't let go? How many brains do you have..." Yu's left foot kicked back, kicking the hunting fork violently After a few feet, he kicked back with his right foot in a row, kicking Bai Er until he rolled seven or eight times, unable to get up for a long time.Chen Qi yelled: "Turtle bastard, fucking bastard, your grandma has no eyeballs!" After cursing, he took a step back, and after cursing eight or nine words in a row, he took eight or nine steps back. The surnamed Yu said with a smile: "Miss, do you want to kowtow to the head?" He strengthened his arms and pressed Lin Pingzhi's head straight down, the lower the pressure, the forehead almost touched the ground.Lin Pingzhi punched him with his backhand and hit his lower abdomen, but he still missed by several inches, he couldn't hit him, he only felt a sharp pain in his neck bone, as if he was about to break, gold stars shot out in front of his eyes, and there was a loud buzzing sound in his ears.He scratched and beat with both hands, and suddenly came across a hard object on his calf, in a hurry, without thinking, he pulled it out, and pushed it forward with all his strength, and inserted it into the lower abdomen of the man surnamed Yu. The man surnamed Yu yelled, let go of his hands, and took two steps back, with a look of extreme terror on his face, he saw that there was an extra dagger on his lower abdomen, reaching to the handle.His face was toward the west, and the setting sun glistened on the golden hilt of the dagger.He opened his mouth and wanted to speak, but he couldn't speak. He reached out to pull out the dagger, but he didn't dare. Lin Pingzhi was also so frightened that his heart seemed to jump out of his mouth, and he took a few steps back.The one surnamed Jia and the second bodyguard Shi Zheng stopped fighting, and looked at the man surnamed Yu in astonishment. He swayed a few times, grabbed the handle of the dagger with his right hand, and pulled it out forcefully, the dagger left his abdomen, blood spurted out several feet away, and several onlookers exclaimed loudly.The man surnamed Yu shouted: "Jia...Jia...Tell Daddy...Give...Give me..." He swung his right hand back and threw the dagger.The one surnamed Jia shouted: "Brother Yu, brother Yu." He hurried over.The surname Yu fell to the ground, his body twitched a few times, and then he didn't move. Biaotou Shi said in a low voice: "Copy guy!" He ran to the horse and took the weapon in his hand.He has a wealth of experience in the world, and seeing that someone was killed, the person surnamed Jia must do his best. The man surnamed Jia stared at Lin Pingzhi for a while, grabbed the dagger, ran to the side of the horse, jumped on the horse's back, and before he could untie the rein, he cut the rein with a wave of the dagger, pinched his legs, and galloped the horse northward. and go. Chen Qi walked over and kicked the corpse surnamed Yu, kicking the corpse upside down, seeing the blood gurgling from the wound, he said: "You offend our young escort, isn't it hard to live?" Are you impatient? That's what you deserve!" Lin Pingzhi had never killed anyone before. At this moment, his face was completely pale with fright, and he said in a trembling voice, "Shi... Biaotou Shi, what... what should I do? I... didn't want to kill him at first." Shi Biaotou thought to himself: "For three generations of Fuwei Escort Bureau, it is inevitable to fight and kill people in the Jianghu, but none of them killed is not a mafia figure, and this kind of murder must be in a place with high mountains and dense forests. After killing someone, bury it on the spot, and that's it. Never seen the thief who robbed the bodyguard to report to the government about the Fuwei Bodyguard Bureau? However, the person killed this time is obviously not a thief, and it is near the outskirts of the city. Human life is at stake, let alone It's the head of the escort bureau, even if the governor and the son of the inspector kill someone, it can't be done easily." He frowned and said, "Let's move the corpse to the hotel, it's near the main road, don't let anyone see it." Fortunately, it was getting late at that time, and there was no one else on the road.Bai Er and Chen Qi carried the body into the shop.Shi Biaotou said in a low voice: "Young Biaotou, do you have any silver with you?" Lin Pingzhi hurriedly said: "Yes, yes, yes!" He took out all the twenty taels of silver that he was carrying in his arms. Escort Shi reached out to take it, walked into the hotel, put it on the table, and said to Old Man Sa: "Old man Sa, this outsider flirted with your girl, my young Escort did his best to help him, so he had no choice but to kill him. Everyone has seen it with their own eyes. This matter started from you, and if it breaks out, no one can get away with it. You use the money first, and everyone buries the body first, and then slowly try to cover it up." Old man Sa said: "Yes! Yes! Yes!" Escort Zheng said: "Our Fuwei Escort Bureau is out to go out and kill a few green forest thieves. It's a flower-picking thief, most of whom came to Fuzhou to do the crime. The head of our young bodyguard was bright enough to take care of this big thief. He kept the Fuzhou government safe. He could have gone to the government to receive the reward, but the head of the bodyguard was afraid of trouble. , don’t want this false name. Old man, you have to keep your mouth tighter. If you let the word out, we will say that you seduced these two thieves. It’s fake for you to open a hotel, and it’s true for you to make eyeliner. Listen to your accent , not at all like locals. Otherwise, why didn't these two come late, and didn't come early, you came as soon as you opened the hotel, how can there be such a clever way in the affairs of the world?" Old man Sa repeatedly agreed. Biaotou Shi took Bai Er and Chen Qi to bury the corpses in the vegetable garden behind the hotel, and then used a hoe to clean up the blood stains in front of the shop, covering them under the soil.Escort Zheng said to old man Sa: "Within ten days, if we don't hear the news, we will send you another fifty taels of silver to make a coffin book for you. If you gossip, hum, Fuwei Escort will kill you There are not one thousand thieves, but eight hundred. If you kill you, the old and the young, it will only add two dead bodies to the bottom of your vegetable garden." Old man Sa said: "Thank you, thank you! Don't dare to say, don't dare to say !"
By the time everything was done, it was already dark.Lin Ping's heart was slightly relieved, and he returned to the escort agency anxiously.As soon as he entered the hall, he saw his father sitting in the grand teacher's chair, closing his eyes and meditating. Lin Pingzhi looked uncertain and called out: "Father!" Lin Zhennan looked very happy, and asked: "Go hunting? Did you catch a wild boar?" Lin Pingzhi said: "No." Lin Zhennan raised his cigarette pouch, suddenly hit him on the shoulder, and laughed: "Fight again! "Lin Pingzhi knew that his father often tested his kung fu by surprise, if on weekdays, he saw him use the 26th move of the "Evil Resisting Sword Technique" "Meteor Flying Fall", he would use the 46th move "Flowers bloom to see the Buddha", but at the moment he was in a state of anxiety, he only thought that his father had known about the murder in the small tavern, so he beat him with a cigarette pipe, but he didn't dare to avoid it, and shouted: "Father!" Lin Zhennan's cigarette pipe was about to hit his son's shoulder, and he couldn't move it three inches away from his clothes. He asked, "What's the matter? If you encounter a strong enemy in the world, you are so slow to respond. How can your shoulder be so slow?" Are you there?" Although there was reproach in the words, there was still a smile on his face. Lin Pingzhi said: "Yes!" His left shoulder sank, he turned around and went around behind his father, grabbed the feather duster on the coffee table, and stabbed at his father's vest, exactly the trick of "seeing the Buddha when flowers bloom". Lin Zhennan nodded with a smile and said, "That's it." With his backhand, he blocked the pipe with his backhand, and returned the trick of "playing the flute on the river".Lin Pingzhi cheered up and dismantled it with a move of "Purple Qi Comes East".After the father and son had performed more than fifty strokes, Lin Zhennan took out the cigarette pouch and tapped it lightly under his son's left breast. Lin Pingzhi couldn't resist, he felt his right arm sore, and the feather broom dropped to the ground. Lin Zhennan smiled and said: "Very good, very good, I have improved every day in the past month, and today I have added four tricks!" Turning around, he sat in the chair, put shredded tobacco in the cigarette pouch, and said, "Pinger, I want you to know that our Escort Bureau got a good news today." Lin Pingzhi took out his knives and flints, lit the media for his father, and said, "Father received another big deal?" Lin Zhennan shook his head and laughed: "As long as our security agency has a strong foundation, are we afraid that big business won't come to our door? What we're afraid of is that big business will come to the door, and we won't be able to accept it." He took a long puff of cigarette and said, "Just now the security guard delivered the The letter came, saying that Master Songfeng Guanyu of Qingcheng School in western Sichuan has accepted the gift from us." When Lin Pingzhi heard the words "Chuanxi" and "Yu Guanzhu", his heart skipped a beat, and he asked, "Are you accepting our gift?" Lin Zhennan said: "I never tell you much about the escort agency, and you don't understand. But you are getting older, and the heavy burden carried by your father will eventually be shifted to your shoulders, and there will be more in the future." Pay attention to some matters in the bureau. Son, we have three generations of darts. Firstly, relying on the prestige of your great-grandfather, and secondly, relying on our family's stuff that is not vague, we have today's situation. The leading bodyguard agency in the south of the river. When the word "Fuwei Bodyguard Agency" is mentioned in the Jianghu, everyone will raise their thumbs and say: "Good luck! So majestic!" , Kung Fu accounts for 20% of the time, and the remaining 60% depends on friends who are both black and white. Think about it, if the escort cars of Fuwei Escort Bureau travel ten provinces, if you have to fight with others every time, how can you So many lives to fight? Even if you win every battle, as the saying goes: "If you kill one thousand enemies, you will injure yourself eight hundred." , What do we have left in our family? So, for us to eat darts, the first thing we need is to be familiar with people and have a wide range of hands. The word 'friendship' is more important than real kung fu. " Lin Pingzhi replied: "Yes!" If in the past, he would have been very excited when he heard his father say that the burden of the escort agency would finally be transferred to his shoulders, he would have talked endlessly with his father, but now his heart feels like fifteen buckets fetching water, seven Eight strokes, only thinking of the words "Chuanxi" and "Yu Guanzhu". Lin Zhennan took another puff of smoke and said, "Your father's martial arts skills are certainly not as good as your great-grandfather's, and may not be as good as your grandfather's, but the ability to run an escort agency can be said to be stronger than your grandfather's." From Fujian to Guangdong in the south, and Zhejiang and Jiangsu in the north, the foundations of these four provinces were created by your great-grandfather. The world of Shandong, Hebei, Lianghu, Jiangxi and Guangxi was created by your father What's the secret? To put it bluntly, it's nothing more than the eight characters of "making more friends and making fewer enemies". Prestige is important. Fortune comes from the eight characters 'make more friends and less enemies', if it is changed to 'Weifu', then it will become domineering. Haha, haha!" Lin Pingzhi laughed a few times with his father, but there was no sense of joy in the laughter. Lin Zhennan didn't notice his son's uneasiness, and said again: "The ancients said: Once you have Long, you look back at Shu. Your father has already acquired Hubei, and you look back at Shu. Let's go all the way from Fujian to the west, from Jiangxi, Hunan, to Hubei, Then we will stop, but why not go back to the west of the river, and then to Sichuan? Sichuan is a land of abundance, and it is very rich. We have traveled through Sichuan, going north to Shaanxi, and going south to Yunnan and Guizhou, so we can get more business Do 30%. It’s just that Sichuan Province is the land of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and there are quite a lot of high-level people. If the escort cars of Fuwei Escort Bureau go to Sichuan, they have to deal with Qingcheng and Emei factions. I started three years ago, every year During the Spring and Autumn Festivals, they always prepared rich gifts and sent people to Songfeng Temple of Qingcheng School and Jinding Temple of Emei School, but the leaders of these two schools never accepted them. Ken met the head of the bodyguard I sent, thanked him a few words, invited him to have a vegetarian meal, and then returned the gift untouched. Master Yu Guan of Songfeng Temple, you are amazing, our gift-giving bodyguard He only went up to the middle of the mountain, and he was blocked by the driver, saying that Guanzhu Yu sat behind closed doors and saw no outsiders, everything in the temple was ready, and no gifts were accepted. Let alone Guanzhu Yu, our escorts even The gate of Songfeng Temple faces south and north, so I can’t tell. Every time the escorts sent to give gifts always come back angrily, saying that if I hadn’t strictly instructed them, no matter how rude the other party is, we must be respectful. Stomach suffocation, not being a mother, scolding any ugly words? I am afraid that the big fight has already been fought several times." Speaking of this, he was very proud, stood up, and said: "Who would have thought that Guanzhu Yu actually accepted our gift this time, and even said that he sent four disciples to Fujian to pay homage..." Lin Pingzhi said: " Is it four? Not two?" Lin Zhennan said: "Yes, four disciples! Do you think that the Fuwei Escort Bureau has a bright face for such a grand event like Guanzhu Yu? I have sent a fast horse to notify you just now. Branches in Jiangxi, Hunan, and Hubei must treat these four distinguished guests of the Qingcheng faction well." Lin Pingzhi suddenly said: "Father, don't people from Sichuan always call others 'turtle son' and call themselves 'Lao Tzu'?" Lin Zhennan laughed and said: "Sichuan rough people talk like that. Where are there no rough people in the world? These people Naturally, the mouth is not clean. Listen to what we said when the players gambled in our bureau. Why do you ask this question?" Lin Pingzhi said: "It's nothing." Lin Zhennan said: " When those four Qingcheng disciples came here, you should get close to them, learn the demeanor of famous disciples, and make these four friends, it will be of great benefit in the future." The father and son talked for a while, but Lin Pingzhi still couldn't make up his mind whether to tell his father about the murder, and finally decided to tell his mother first, and then tell his father.
After dinner, the three members of Lin Zhennan's family chatted in the back hall. Lin Zhennan discussed with his wife that his brother-in-law's birthday was in early June, and it was time to send some gifts, but it was not easy to make Luoyang Jindao Wang's family look good. Find. Speaking of this, I suddenly heard the noise of people outside the hall, followed by a few people rushing in.Lin Zhennan frowned, and said: "There are no rules!" He saw three troopers rushing in, and the leader said angrily, "Boss... Chief escort..." Lin Zhennan shouted: "What's the fuss about?" The executioner Chen Qidao: "Bai...Bai Er is dead." Lin Zhennan was taken aback, and asked, "Who killed it? You gambled and fought, didn't you?" He was very annoyed: "These people are used to running around in the rivers and lakes. It's really hard to control a man who has been killed, he will draw out a knife and draw his fist at every turn, here in the prefectural city, if there is a life, it will be a big trouble." Chen Qidao: "No, no. Just now when Xiao Li went to the latrine, he saw Bai Er lying in the vegetable garden next to the latrine. There was no wound on his body, but his whole body was cold. I don't know how he died. I'm afraid something happened. Sudden illness." Lin Zhennan exhaled, his heart suddenly eased, and he said, "I'll go and have a look." Immediately, he walked towards the vegetable garden.Lin Pingzhi followed behind. In the vegetable garden, there were only seven or eight bodyguards and troopers forming a group.When everyone saw the Chief Escort coming, they all stepped aside.Looking at Bai Er's body, Lin Zhennan saw that his clothes had been untied and there was no blood on his body, so he asked Zhu Biaotou, who was standing next to him, "No wounds?" There are no scars, and it doesn't look like he was poisoned." Lin Zhennan nodded and said, "Inform Mr. Dong, the accountant, to take care of the funeral for Bai Er and send a hundred taels of silver to Bai Er's family." A traveler died of illness, Lin Zhennan didn't take it seriously, turned back to the hall, and asked his son: "Did Bai Er not go hunting with you today?" It's all right, but I suddenly fell ill for some reason." Lin Zhennan said: "Well, good and bad things in the world often happen suddenly. I always want to open up the road in Sichuan, and I'm afraid it will take ten years of work. Guanzhu Yu had a sudden whim, accepted my gift and sent four disciples to pay homage back and forth from thousands of miles away." Lin Pingzhi said: "Father, although the Qingcheng faction is a famous sect in the martial arts, the prestige of the Fuwei Escort Bureau and Daddy is not weak in the Jianghu. We go to Sichuan every year to give gifts, and Yu Guanzhu sends people to us Here, that's just reciprocity." Lin Zhennan laughed and said: "What do you know? The Qingcheng and Emei sects in Sichuan Province have been established for hundreds of years, and there are so many talents under them. They are really remarkable. Sword sects are already on par. Your great-grandfather, Yuan Tugong, created the seventy-two swordsmanship to ward off evil. Back then, he was so powerful that he was truly invincible all over the world. But when it was passed on to your grandfather, his reputation was not as good as Yuan Tu’s. It's public. I'm afraid your father is a bit worse. The three generations of our Lin family are all single-handed, and there is not even a senior brother. Our father and son are not as powerful as other families." Lin Pingzhi said: "With all the heroes in our ten provincial bodyguard bureaus gathered together, can we still be no match for the Shaolin, Wudang, Emei, Qingcheng and Wuyue sword sects?" Lin Zhennan laughed and said, "Son, it's okay if you tell Daddy what you said. If you say it outside and it gets into the ears of others, you will get into trouble immediately. We have ten bodyguard bureaus, eighty-four bodyguard heads each There are different skills, and if we get together, we will naturally not lose to others. But what is the benefit of defeating others? One cut, let others dominate and show off, we can't do without anything." Suddenly someone exclaimed: "Ah, Escort Zheng died again!" Lin Zhennan and his son were shocked at the same time.Lin Pingzhi jumped up from his chair and said in a trembling voice: "They are here to avenge..." The word "revenge" did not come out of his mouth, but he shrank back.At that time, Lin Zhennan had already arrived at the entrance of the hall, he didn't pay attention to his son's words, and saw Chen Qi rushing in angrily, shouting: "Boss... Chief Escort, it's not good! Escort Zheng... Escort Zheng is coming again!" I'm going to ask for my life for that evil Sichuan ghost." Lin Zhennan's face sank, and he shouted, "What Sichuan evil ghost is talking nonsense." Chen Qidao: "Yes, yes! That Sichuan evil ghost... This Sichuan son is already so fierce and domineering in life, so he is even more powerful when he is dead..." He did not dare to speak any more when he met the glaring grim expression of the head of the security guard. He looked at Lin Pingzhi with a look of pity and fear on his face.Lin Zhennan said: "You said Zheng Biaotou is dead? Where is the body? How did he die?" At this time, several bodyguards and trippers rushed into the hall.A bodyguard frowned and said: "Brother Zheng died in the stable, he was exactly like Bai Er, there was no scar on his body, there was no bleeding from the seven holes, and there was no bruise or swelling on his face, could it be... Could it be that he went out with the young guard just now Hunting, I really bumped into an evil, rushed... bumped into some evil spirit." Lin Zhennan snorted, and said: "I've been wandering in the rivers and lakes all my life, but I've never seen anything ghostly. Let's take a look." He walked out of the hall and walked towards the stables.Escort Zheng was lying on the ground, holding a saddle with both hands, it was obvious that he was unloading the saddle, he suddenly fell to death, there was no sign of fighting with anyone. It was already dark at this time, Lin Zhennan asked someone to hold up a lantern to light it, and he untied the underwear of Zheng Biaotou with his own hands. Not a single one was broken.Lin Zhennan never believed in ghosts and gods, and Bai Er suddenly died suddenly, that's fine, but Zheng Escort died in exactly the same way, there is something strange about it, if it was a plague like the Black Death, why would there be no black spots and red spots all over his body?Thinking that this matter might have something to do with what his son encountered on his hunting trip today, he turned around and asked Lin Pingzhi: "Apart from Zheng Biaotou and Bai Er, who are going hunting with you today, are Shi Biaotou and him?" Seven one finger.Lin Pingzhi nodded, and Lin Zhennan said: "You two come with me." He ordered a passer-by: "Please come to the East Wing to talk to Escort Shi." When the three of them arrived at the east wing, Lin Zhennan asked his son, "What's going on?" Lin Pingzhi immediately planned how to drink in a small tavern after hunting; Panicked and annoyed, he pulled out the dagger in his boot and killed the man; how did he bury him in the vegetable garden and gave him silver, and ordered the old wine seller not to leak the news, and told the truth one by one. The more Lin Zhennan listened to it, the more he knew that something was wrong, but fighting with someone and killing a stranger was not a big deal.He listened calmly to his son, and pondered: "These two guys didn't say which sect or gang they belonged to?" Lin Pingzhi said: "No!" Lin Zhennan asked: "In their words and deeds,有什么特异之处？”林平之道：“也不见有什么古怪，那姓余的汉子……”一言未毕，林震南接口问道：“你杀的那汉子姓余？”林平之道：“是！我听得另外那人叫他余兄弟，可不知是人未余，还是人则俞。外乡口音，却也听不准。”林震南摇摇头，自言自语：“不会，不会这样巧法。余观主说要派人来，哪有这么快就到了福州府，又不是身上长了翅膀。” 林平之一凛，问道：“爹，你说这两人会是青城派的？”林震南不答，伸手比划，问道：“你用'翻天掌'这一式打他，他怎么拆解？”林平之道：“他没能拆得了，给我重重打了个耳光。”林震南一笑，连说：“很好！很好！很好！”厢房中本来一片肃然惊惶之气，林震南这么一笑，林平之忍不住也笑了笑，登时大为宽心。 林震南又问：“你用这一式打他，他又怎么还击？”仍是一面说，一面比划。林平之道：“当时孩儿气恼头上，也记不清楚，似乎这么一来，又在他胸口打了一拳。”林震南颜色更和，道：“好，这一招原该如此打！他连这一招也拆架不开，决不会是名满天下的青城派松风观余观主的子侄。”他连说“很好”，倒不是称赞儿子的拳脚不错，而是大为放心，四川一省，姓余的不知有多少，这姓余的汉子为儿子所杀，武艺自然不高，跟青城派扯不上什么干系。他伸出右手中指，在桌面上不住敲击，又问：“他又怎地揪住了你脑袋？”林平之伸手比划，怎生给他揪住了动弹不得。 陈七胆子大了些，插嘴道：“白二用钢叉去搠那家伙，给他反脚踢去钢叉，又踢了个筋斗。”林震南心头一震，问道：“他反脚将白二踢倒，又踢去了他手中钢叉？那……那是怎生踢法的？”陈七道：“好像是如此这般。”双手揪住椅背，右足反脚一踢，身子一跳，左足又反脚一踢。这两踢姿式拙劣，像是马匹反脚踢人一般。 林平之见他踢得难看，忍不住好笑，说道：“爹，你瞧……”却见父亲脸上大有惊恐之色，便停了口。林震南道：“这两下反踢，有些像青城派的绝技'无影幻腿'，孩儿，到底他这两腿是怎样踢的？”林平之道：“那时候我给他揪住了头，看不见他反踢。” 林震南道：“是了，要问史镖头才行。”走出房门，叫道：“来人哪！史镖头呢？怎么请了他这许久还不见人？”两名趟子手闻声赶来，说道到处找史镖头不到。 林震南在花厅中踱来踱去，心下沉吟：“这两脚反踢倘若真是'无影幻腿'，那么这汉子纵使不是余观主的子侄，跟青城派总也有些干系。那到底是什么人？非得亲自去瞧一瞧不可。”说道：“请崔镖头、季镖头来！” 崔、季两个镖师向来办事稳妥，老成持重，是林震南的亲信。他二人见郑镖头暴毙，史镖头又人影不见，早就等在厅外，听候差遣，一听林震南这么说，当即走进厅来。 林震南道：“咱们去办一件事，崔季二位，孩儿和陈七跟我来。”
五人骑了马出城，一行向北。林平之纵马在前领路。 不多时，五乘马来到小酒店前，见店门已然关上。林平之上前敲门，叫道：“萨老头，萨老头，开门。”敲了好一会，店中竟没半点声息。崔镖头望着林震南，双手作个撞门的姿势。林震南点了点头，崔镖头双掌拍出，喀喇一声，门闩折断，两扇门板向后张开，随即又自行合上，再向后张开，如此前后摇晃，发出吱吱声响。 崔镖头一撞开门，便拉林平之闪在一旁，见屋中并无动静，晃亮火折，走进屋去，点着了桌上的油灯，又点了两盏灯笼。几个人里里外外地走了一遍，不见有人，屋中的被褥、箱笼等一干杂物却均未搬走。 林震南点头道：“老头儿怕事，这里杀伤了人命，尸体又埋在他菜园子里，他怕受到牵连，就此一走了之。”走到菜园里，指着倚在墙边的一把锄头，说道：“陈七，把死尸掘出来瞧瞧。”陈七早认定是恶鬼作祟，只锄得两下，手足俱软，直欲瘫痪在地。 季镖头道：“有个屁用？亏你是吃镖行饭的！”一手接过锄头，将灯笼交在他手里，举锄扒开泥土，锄不多久，便露出死尸身上的衣服，又扒了几下，将锄头伸到尸身下，用力一挑，挑起死尸。陈七转过了头，不敢观看，却听得四人齐声惊呼，陈七一惊之下，失手抛下灯笼，烛火熄灭，菜园中登时一片漆黑。 林平之颤声道：“咱们明明埋的是那四川人，怎地……怎地……”林震南道：“快点灯笼！”他一直镇定，此刻语音中也有了惊惶之意。崔镖头晃火折点亮灯笼，林震南弯腰察看死尸，过了半晌，道：“身上也没伤痕，一模一样的死法。”陈七鼓起勇气，向死尸瞧了一眼，尖声大叫：“史镖头，史镖头！” 地下掘出来的竟是史镖头的尸身，那四川汉子的尸首却已不知去向。 林震南道：“这姓萨的老头定有古怪。”抢过灯笼，奔进屋中察看，从灶下的酒坛、铁镬，直到厅房中的桌椅都细细查了一遍，不见有异。崔季二镖头和林平之也分别查看。突然听得林平之叫道：“咦！爹爹，你来看。” 林震南循声过去，见儿子站在那少女房中，手中拿着一块绿色帕子。林平之道：“爹，一个贫家女子，怎会有这种东西？”林震南接过手来，一股淡淡幽香立时传入鼻中，那帕子甚是软滑，沉甸甸的，显是上等丝缎，再一细看，见帕子边缘以绿丝线围了三道边，一角上绣着一枝小小的红色珊瑚枝，绣工甚为精致。 林震南问：“这帕子哪里找出来的？”林平之道：“掉在床底下的角落里，多半是他们匆匆离去，收拾东西时没瞧见。”林震南提着灯笼俯身又到床底照着，不见别物，沉吟道：“你说那卖酒的姑娘相貌甚丑，衣衫质料想来不会华贵，但是不是穿得十分整洁？”林平之道：“当时我没留心，但不见得污秽，倘若很脏，她来斟酒之时我定会觉得。” 林震南向崔镖头道：“老崔，你以为怎样？”崔镖头道：“我看史镖头、郑镖头与白二之死，定和这一老一少二人有关，说不定还是他们下的毒手。”季镖头道：“那两个四川人多半跟他们是一路，否则他们干吗要将他尸身搬走？” 林平之道：“那姓余的明明动手动脚，侮辱那个姑娘，否则我也不会骂他，他们不会是一路的。”崔镖头道：“少镖头有所不知，江湖上人心险恶，他们常布下了圈套等人去钻。两个人假装打架，引得第三者过来劝架，那两个正在打架的突然合力对付劝架之人，那是常常有的。”季镖头道：“总镖头，你瞧怎样？”林震南道：“这卖酒的老头和那姑娘，定是冲着咱们而来，只不知跟那两个四川汉子是不是一路。”林平之道：“爹爹，你说松风观余观主派了四个人来，他们……他们不是一起四个人吗？” 这一言提醒了林震南，他呆了一呆，沉吟道：“福威镖局对青城派礼数有加，从来没什么地方开罪了他们。余观主派人来寻我晦气，那为了什么？” 四个人你瞧瞧我，我瞧瞧你，半晌都说不出话来。隔了良久，林震南才道：“把史镖头的尸身先移到屋中再说。这件事回到局中之后，谁也别提，免得惊动官府，多生事端。哼，姓林的对人客气，不愿开罪朋友，却也不是任打不还手的懦夫。”季镖头大声道：“总镖头，养兵千日，用在一朝，大伙儿奋力上前，总不能损了咱们镖局的威名。”林震南点头道：“是！多谢了！”
五人纵马回城，将到镖局，远远望见大门外火把照耀，聚集多人。林震南心中一动，催马上前。好几人说道：“总镖头回来啦！”林震南纵身下马，只见妻子林夫人铁青着脸，道：“你瞧！哼，人家这么欺上门来啦。” 只见地下横着两段旗杆、两面锦旗，正是镖局子门前的大旗，连着半截旗杆，给人弄倒在地。旗杆断截处甚是平整，显是以宝刀利剑一下子就即砍断。 林夫人身边未带兵刃，从丈夫腰间抽出长剑，嗤嗤两声响，将两面锦旗沿着旗杆割了下来，搓成一团，拿着进了大门。林震南吩咐：“崔镖头，把这两根半截旗杆索性都砍了！哼，要挑了福威镖局，可没这么容易！”崔镖头道：“是！”季镖头骂道：“他妈的，狗贼就是没种，乘着总镖头不在家，上门来偷偷摸摸地干这等下三滥勾当。”林震南向儿子招招手，两人回进局去，季镖头兀自在“狗强盗，臭杂种”地破口大骂。 父子两人来到东厢房中，见林夫人已将两面锦旗平铺在两张桌上，一面旗上所绣的那头黄狮双眼为人剜去，露出了两个空洞，另一面旗上“福威镖局”四字之中，那个“威”字也已给剜去。林震南便涵养再好，也已难以再忍，啪的一声，伸手在桌上重重一拍，喀喇一声响，那张花梨木八仙桌的桌腿震断了一条。 林平之颤声道：“爹，都……都是我不好，惹出了这么大的祸事来！”林震南高声道：“咱们姓林的杀了人便杀了，又怎么样？这种人倘若撞在你爹爹手里，一般的也是杀了。”林夫人问道：“杀了什么人？”林震南道：“平儿，说给你母亲知道。” 林平之于是将日间如何杀了那四川汉子、史镖头又如何死在那小酒店中等情一一说了。白二和郑镖头暴毙之事，林夫人早已知道，听说史镖头又离奇毙命，林夫人不惊反怒，拍案而起，说道：“大哥，福威镖局岂能让人这等上门欺辱？咱们邀集人手，上四川跟青城派评评这个理去。连我爹爹、我哥哥和兄弟都请了去。”林夫人自幼是一股霹雳火爆的脾气，做闺女之时，动不动便拔刀伤人，她洛阳金刀门艺高势大，谁都瞧在她父亲金刀无敌王元霸的脸上让她三分。她现下儿子这么大了，当年火性仍然不减。 林震南道：“对头是谁，眼下还拿不准，未必便是青城派。我看他们不会只砍倒两根旗杆，杀了两名镖师，就此了事……”林夫人插口道：“他们还待怎样？”林震南向儿子瞧了一眼，林夫人明白了丈夫的用意，心头怦怦而跳，登时脸上变色。 林平之道：“这件事是孩儿做出来的，大丈夫一人做事一身当，孩儿也……也不害怕。”他口中说不怕，其实不得不怕，话声发颤，泄漏了内心的惶惧之情。 林夫人道：“哼，他们要想动你一根寒毛，除非先将你娘杀了。林家福威镖局这杆镖旗立了三代，可从未折过半点威风。”转头向林震南道：“这口气倘若出不了，咱们也不用做人啦。”林震南点了点头，道：“我去派人到城里城外各处查察，看有何面生的江湖道，再加派人手，在镖局子内外巡查。你陪着平儿在这里等我，别让他出去乱走。”林夫人道：“是了，我理会得。”他夫妇心下明白，敌人下一步便会向儿子下手，敌暗我明，林平之只须踏出福威镖局一步，立时便能有杀身之祸。 林震南来到大厅，邀集镖师，分派各人探查巡卫。众镖师早已得讯，福威镖局的旗杆给人砍倒，那是给每个人打上个老大耳光，人人敌忾同仇，早已劲装结束，携带兵刃，一得总镖头吩咐，便即出发。 林震南见局中上下齐心，合力抗敌，稍觉宽怀，回入内堂，向儿子道：“平儿，你母亲这几日身子不大舒服，又有大敌到来，你这几晚便睡在咱们房外的榻上，保护母亲。”林夫人笑道：“嘿，我要他……”话说得一半，猛地省悟，丈夫要儿子保护自己是假，实则是夫妇俩就近保护儿子，这宝贝儿子心高气傲，要他依附于父母庇护之下，说不定他心怀不忿，自行出去向敌人挑战，那便危险之极，当即改口道：“正是，平儿，妈妈这几日发风湿，手足酸软，你爹爹照顾全局，不能整天陪我，若有敌人侵入内堂，妈妈只怕抵挡不住。”林平之道：“我陪着妈妈就是。” 当晚林平之睡在父母房外榻上。林震南夫妇打开了房门，将兵刃放在枕边，连衣服鞋袜都不脱下，只身上盖一张薄被，只待一有警兆，立即跃起迎敌。
这一晚却太平无事。第二日天刚亮，有人在窗外低声叫道：“少镖头，少镖头！”林平之半夜没好睡，黎明时分睡得正熟，一时未醒。林震南道：“什么事？”外面那人道：“少镖头的马……那匹马死啦。”这匹白马林平之十分喜爱，负责照看的马夫一见马死，慌不迭来禀报。林平之朦朦胧胧中听到了，翻身坐起，忙道：“我去瞧瞧。”林震南知事有蹊跷，一起快步走向马厩，只见那匹白马横卧在地，早已气绝，身上却也没半点伤痕。 林震南问道：“夜里没听到马叫？有什么响动？”那马夫道：“没有。”林震南拉着儿子的手道：“不用可惜，爹爹叫人另行去设法买一匹骏马给你。”林平之抚摸马尸，怔怔地掉下泪来。 突然间趟子手陈七急奔过来，气急败坏地道：“总……总镖头不好……不好啦！那些镖头……镖头们，都给恶鬼讨了命去啦。”林震南和林平之齐声惊问：“什么？” 陈七只是道：“死了，都死了！”林平之怒道：“什么都死了？”伸手抓住他的胸口，摇晃了几下。陈七道：“少……少镖头……死了。”林震南听他说“少镖头死了”，这不祥之言入耳，说不出的厌闷烦恶，但若由此斥骂，更着形迹。只听得外面人声嘈杂，有的说：“总镖头呢？快禀报他老人家。”有的说：“这恶鬼如此厉害，那……那怎么办？” 林震南大声道：“我在这里，什么事？”两名镖师、三名趟子手闻声奔来。为首一名镖师道：“总镖头，咱们派出去的众兄弟，一个也没回来。”林震南先前听得人声，料到又有人暴毙，但昨晚派出去查访的镖师和趟子手共有二十二人之多，岂有全军覆没之理，忙问：“有人死了么？多半他们还在打听，没来得及回来。”那镖师摇头道：“已发现了十七具尸体……”林震南和林平之齐声惊道：“十七具尸体？”那镖师一脸惊恐之色，道：“正是，一十七具，其中有富镖头、钱镖头、施镖头。尸首停在大厅上。”林震南更不打话，快步来到大厅，只见厅上原来摆着的桌子椅子都已挪开，横七竖八地停放着十七具尸首。 饶是林震南一生经历过无数风浪，陡然间见到这等情景，双手也禁不住剧烈发抖，膝盖酸软，几乎站不直身子，问道：“为……为……为……”喉头干枯，发不出声音。 只听得厅外有人道：“唉，高镖头为人向来忠厚，想不到也给恶鬼索了命去。”只见四五名附近街坊，用门板抬了一具尸首进来。为首的一名中年人说道：“小人今天打开门板，见到这人死在街上，认得是贵局的高镖头，想是发了瘟疫，中了邪，特地送来。”林震南拱手道：“多谢，多谢。”向一名趟子手道：“这几位高邻，每位送三两银子，你到账房去支来。”这几名街坊见到满厅尸首，不敢多留，领了银子谢了自去。 过不多时，又有人送了三名镖师的尸首，林震南核点人数，昨晚派出去二十二人，眼下已有二十一具尸首，只有褚镖师的尸首尚未发现，然而料想那也是转眼间之事。 他回到东厢房中，喝了杯热茶，心乱如麻，始终定不下神来，走出大门，见两根旗杆已齐根截去，心下更是烦恼，直到此刻，敌人已下手杀了镖局中二十余人，却始终没露面，亦未正式叫阵，表明身分。他回过头来，向着大门上那块书着“福威镖局”四字的金字招牌凝望半晌，心想：“福威镖局在江湖上扬威数十年，想不到今日要败在我手里。” 忽听得街上马蹄声响，一匹马缓缓行来，马背上横卧着一人。林震南心中料到了三分，纵身过去，果见马背上横卧着一具死尸，正是褚镖头，自是在途中被人杀了，将尸首放在马上，这马识得归途，自行回来。 林震南长叹一声，眼泪滚滚而下，落在褚镖头身上，抱着他的尸身，走进厅去，说道：“褚贤弟，我若不给你报仇，誓不为人，只可惜……只可惜，唉，你去得太快，没来得及说出仇人的姓名。”这褚镖头在镖局子中也无过人之处，和林震南并无特别交情，只是林震南心情激荡之下，忍不住落泪，这些眼泪之中，其实气愤犹多于伤痛。 只见林夫人站在厅口，左手抱着金刀，右手指着天井，大声斥骂：“下三滥的狗强盗，就只会偷偷摸摸地暗箭伤人，倘若真是英雄好汉，就光明正大地到福威镖局来，明刀明枪地决一死战。这般鬼鬼祟祟地干这等鼠窃勾当，武林中有谁瞧得起你？”林震南低声道：“娘子，瞧见了什么动静？”一面将褚镖头的尸身放在地下。 林夫人大声道：“就是没见到动静呀！这些狗贼，就怕了我林家七十二路辟邪剑法！”右手握住金刀刀柄，在空中虚削一圈，喝道：“也怕了老娘手中这口金刀！”忽听得屋角上有人嘿嘿冷笑，嗤的一声，一件暗器激射而下，当的一声，正打在金刀的刀背上。林夫人手臂一麻，拿捏不住，金刀脱手，余势不衰，那刀直滚到天井中去。 林震南一声轻叱，青光闪动，已拔剑在手，双足力点，上了屋顶，一招“扫荡群魔”，剑点如飞花般散了开来，疾向敌人发射暗器之处刺到。他受了极大闷气，始终未见到敌人一面，这一招竭尽平生之力，丝毫没留余地，哪知这一剑却刺了个空，屋角边空荡荡的，哪里有半个人影？他矮身跃到了东厢屋顶，仍不见敌人踪迹。 林夫人和林平之手提兵刃，上来接应。林夫人暴跳如雷，大叫：“狗崽子，有种的便出来决个死战，偷偷摸摸的，是哪一门不要脸的狗杂种？”向丈夫连问：“狗崽子逃去了？是怎么样的家伙？”林震南摇了摇头，低声道：“别惊动了旁人。”三个人又在屋顶寻览了一遍，这才跃入天井。林震南低声问道：“是什么暗器打了你的金刀？”林夫人骂道：“这狗崽子！不知道！”三人在天井中一找，不见有何暗器，只见桂花树下有无数极细的砖粒，散了一地，显而易见，敌人是用一小块砖头打落了林夫人手中的金刀。 林夫人本在满口“狗崽子，臭杂种”地乱骂，见到这些细碎的砖粒，气恼之情不由得转而为恐惧，呆了半晌，一言不发地走进厢房，待丈夫和儿子跟着进来，便即掩上了房门，低声道：“敌人武功甚是了得，咱们不是敌手，那便如何……如何……” 林震南道：“向朋友求救！武林之中，患难相助，那也是寻常之事。”林夫人道：“咱们交情深厚的朋友固然不少，但武功高过咱夫妻的却没几个。比咱俩还差一点的，邀来了也没用处。”林震南道：“话是不错，但人众主意多，邀些朋友来商量商量，也是好的。”林夫人道：“也罢，你说该邀哪些人？”林震南道：“就近的先邀，咱们先把杭州、南昌、广州三处镖局中的好手调来，再把闽、浙、粤、赣四省的武林同道邀上些。” 林夫人皱眉道：“这么事急求救，江湖上传了开去，实是大大堕了福威镖局的名头。”林震南忽道：“娘子，你今年三十九岁罢？”林夫人啐道：“呸！这当儿还来问我的年纪？我属虎，你不知道我几岁吗？”林震南道：“我发帖子出去，便说是给你做四十岁的大生日……”林夫人道：“为什么好端端给我添上一岁年纪？我还老得不够快么？”林震南摇头道：“你几时老了？头上白发也还没一根。我说给你做生日，那么请些至亲好友，谁也不会起疑。等到客人来了，咱们只拣相好的暗中一说，那便跟镖局子的名头无损。”林夫人侧头想了一会，道：“好吧，且由得你。那你送什么礼物给我？”林震南在她耳边低声道：“送一份大礼，明年咱们再生个大胖儿子！” 林夫人呸的一声，脸上一红，啐道：“老没正经的，这当儿还