Chapter 3 Chapter Three

Gu Yueming sat on the platform of a wing room on the second floor of Lianhuaju, leaning on the railing overlooking the streets below where pedestrians and horses were gradually sparse.There is only one hour before dawn, and the moment of sunrise will be the moment when he leaves Beijing.No matter how absurd and bizarre the case to be dealt with this time, he must complete the task, because he has no better choice. Lianhuaju is located in the most famous flower street in the capital city, where there are many brothels, and there are many people looking for fragrances all night long, and the peace will not be restored until dawn.

The servant girl sang, "Mrs. Huameng is here!" Gu Yueming didn't look back, and when Mrs. Hua Meng sat down next to him, Shi sighed. Mrs. Hua Meng looked at him and said in surprise, "Why is Yueming so full of worries? Didn't you say that there is nothing in this world that can make you happy, and there is nothing that can make you unhappy?" Hearing her resentful words, Gu Yueming sighed again in his heart, even he didn't understand his mood at the moment.Since leaving the Omiya Supervisor's Mansion, he has always felt a heavy heart like a lead, but he doesn't know why it is like this.

Mrs. Hua Meng is the owner of Lianhuaju. She enjoys a lot in the capital. No matter the dignitaries or the gangsters, everyone will give her some face. When she was young, Mrs. Hua Meng was once the most popular courtesan in Huajie. Although she is nearly thirty now, her skin is still as smooth as a baby's. The life of singing and singing every night has left traces of time on her eyebrows and eyes.Yet she was still a very charming and attractive woman. At this time, her eyes fell on the long leather pouch on Gu Yueming's horizontal table, showing a puzzled look, and asked, "What is this?"

Gu Yueming said lightly: "I haven't seen it, you'd better not watch it either." Mrs. Hua Meng smiled and said, "Is it related to Eunuch Feng? Looking at your expression, it goes without saying that the old fox is playing tricks on you again." Gu Yueming finally looked at her, and said: "On the contrary, he offered me the conditions that would allow me to be dismissed from the military, which is absolutely unambiguous." Mrs. Hua Meng was surprised: "In that case, why do you look listless?" Gu Yueming shook his head, as if he wanted to shake off the worries in his heart.Only in front of Mrs. Hua Meng did he not hide his thoughts, because she was his only confidante, the one to whom he poured out his thoughts.

Gu Yueming murmured: "I really don't know. I should be excited, right?" Mrs. Hua Meng frowned and said, "What went wrong?" Gu Yueming turned his eyes back to the street, and said in a deep voice: "My intuition tells me that things are not as simple as they appear, so I came to look for you before leaving Beijing. Please help me to find three people for me." Mrs. Hua Meng didn't get to the bottom of it, because she knew it was useless to ask, and Gu Yueming would naturally tell her what could be said. Gu Yueming continued: "Madam, please check for me if there are any famous masters of poison use in the Dongting Lake area. This person is by no means an ordinary person, and he is capable of turning the first-class old Jianghu city into a gutter."

Mrs. Hua Meng nodded and said: "If there is such a person, it must be hidden from my eyes and ears. Who else?" Gu Yueming said: "Do you know Fu Meng?" Mrs. Hua Meng nodded and said: "Of course I do. When I first debuted, he was the most popular person in the capital, and he was recognized as a tough guy, because he was the only one who dared to argue with Eunuch Feng. Sigh! It's a pity that he finally couldn't beat Feng. Father-in-law, Eunuch Feng ransacked his family and wiped out his family, and since then no one has dared to stroke Eunuch Feng's beard."

Gu Yueming's brows were furrowed even tighter. Mrs. Huameng loves to see Gu Yueming's gloomy look the most.She has met a man who is more handsome than Gu Yueming, but no one can match his unique temperament, which is a kind of loneliness, melancholy, and loneliness that seems to be born with him.No one can move his heart, including himself.This thought made her feel lost, but it was this feeling of loss that made her fall in love with Gu Yueming. Gu Yue kept her eyes on the long street and said, "What reason did Eunuch Feng use to copy his home?" Mrs. Hua Meng snorted coldly: "It's the crime of deceiving the emperor. Eunuch Feng doesn't know what tricks he used to confuse the emperor, because no one believed that Fu Meng would betray the emperor. The most bizarre thing is that Fu Meng was able to escape. If Eunuch Feng wanted to kill a People, no matter that person reaches the end of the sky or the corner of the sea, he will definitely not escape his murderous hands, except for Fu Meng. If Fu Meng has fallen into his hands, how can Eunuch Feng not publicize it?"

After a short pause, he asked in a low voice: "Did Mr. Feng's public condition require you to kill Fu Meng?" Gu Yueming smiled bitterly and said: "Don't ask, I know that this matter is not beneficial to you, and I don't want to harm you. Alas! It seems that we need to expand the investigation of the poison master and include Eunuch Feng's minions." Mrs. Hua Meng showed a cautious look, nodded in agreement, and said, "Who is the other one?" Gu Yueming hesitated for a moment, then said: "Have you ever heard of a man named Mou Chuan?" Mrs. Hua Meng shook her head to express that she hadn't heard of it.

Gu Yueming looked at her and said solemnly: "Then you still haven't heard of it. You just need to investigate this master of poisoning. I will leave Beijing to go to Yueyang after dawn. Madam can send the results of the investigation there. .” Mrs. Hua Meng said: "There is a talented girl named Baichun in Yueyang's famous brothel, Hongyelou. She is my junior sister. She has a perfect voice, color and art. She is absolutely trustworthy. I will send the results to her. You can get news when you find her. " Gu Yueming said softly: "Thank you!" Mrs. Hua Meng sighed: "In the past, every time you traveled far, I never worried, but this time I feel very uneasy. I am afraid that Yue Ming has been dragged into the court struggle by Eunuch Feng."

Gu Yueming said: "Life in this world is just like flowers in a mirror and moon in water. It will pass in a blink of an eye, and everything will disappear without a trace. Whether it is life or death, I don't care about it." Mrs. Hua Meng lowered her head and said in a low voice: "Yueming!" Gu Yueming asked in surprise, "What's the matter?" Mrs. Hua Meng said: "May I ask you something?" Gu Yueming looked at the night sky before sunrise where the remaining stars were about to fall, let out a sigh of relief, and nodded sadly. Mrs. Hua Meng said: "Is dismissal from the military really so important to you? No one knows better than me that you really treat life and death as nothing. Why are you so afraid of going to the battlefield?"

Gu Yueming said solemnly: "Because I am afraid of war, it is real fear." Mrs. Hua Meng was stunned and said, "Gu Yueming is actually afraid." Gu Yueming stood up, nodded and said: "I'm really scared, but if my wife asks me why I'm scared, I really don't know how to answer you. Most of my nightmares are related to war. War is my biggest nightmare. It has been haunting me ever since I learned about human affairs. I have never mentioned this to anyone, including my parents." After Gu Yueming finished speaking, he grabbed the long leather bag on the table, pursed his lips and whistled, and the sound of hooves came up from the long street. A gray and white horse with incomparable handsomeness came out from nowhere and headed towards the second floor where Gu Yueming stood. The platform ran over. Mrs. Hua Meng stood up, moved behind Gu Yueming, and suddenly hugged him tightly from behind with all her strength. Gu Yueming said indifferently: "If I never come back, don't cry for me, you should laugh." Mrs. Hua Meng let him go, tears could not hold back, Gu Yueming had never said such ominous parting words to her. Gu Yueming pressed the railing with one hand, jumped up, somersaulted in the air, and landed on the back of the horse that was running two or three feet below without any mistakes, and rode away without stopping to accelerate. Mrs. Hua Meng stood by the railing, and Gu Yueming disappeared at the corner of the long street through her blurry tears. Wu Zixu woke up with the urge to cry, an emotion he had never had before, even at the moment when he was most depressed, he had never had this urge.But now his mind is blank, as if lost in the time maze of past, present and future, completely unable to make sense of the existence at this moment. In a trance, that beautiful face appeared in his mind, and those eyes looking at him were endlessly deep and filled with thousands of words that could enthrall the soul. Wu Zixu sat up suddenly, gasping for breath, he finally remembered the strange things he had encountered before he fainted, and was shocked to find that the swamp area that he still vividly remembered had disappeared like a erotic dream. Although he was still in pain all over, he had regained his strength. The sun came from behind, and he was located on the bank of a river about five feet wide. Slowly flowing without being busy.A large group of dragonflies circled high and low above his head, dancing lightly, but they never collided with each other. The breeze is coming. Wu Zixu turned his head to look at the position of the sun, and was startled in his heart. Now there is only an hour before sunset at most, so he has been in a coma for almost a whole day? What on earth happened? The most reasonable explanation is that the swamp area is located somewhere upstream, and after being unconscious last night, it was washed here by the river again.But how to explain the peerless beauties and strange troops encountered?Could it be that he met a group of haunted ghosts from ancient times? Wu Zixu couldn't help shivering, trembling all over.Xuan scolded himself for thinking wildly and scared himself, what he saw last night was more likely to be just a dream.But how could the dream be so clear, coherent, so real, with flesh and blood? well!Maybe I had stepped half a foot into the gate of hell last night, and what I witnessed was the scene inside the gate.Thinking of this, Wu Zixu's entire spine felt shuddering. At the moment when I was suspicious, my stomach let out a "cuckoo" growl, and then I felt terribly hungry. Wuzi humbly thought: It should not be difficult to find wild fruits to satisfy one's hunger in such a place, and it would be more ideal to find something like sealwort.Only by filling your stomach can you have the strength to leave this ghost place. Wu Zixu drives away the thousands of thoughts occupying his head, he doesn't think about anything, and goes looking for food. "Bang——" Huangfu Tianxiong slapped the table next to him, he became furious, and shouted: "What did you do, even a boy from outside can't catch him!" The figure, coupled with the bald top of the head, a large aquiline nose, and the eyes narrowed like two slits like blades, reveal a ruthless personality with an imposing manner. More than a dozen big men who were scolded by him lowered their heads, not daring to take a breath. Of course, no one spoke. At this time, encountering Huangfu Tianxiong's bad luck must be impatient.Any one of this group of people going out would be a domineering figure, but in front of Huangfu Tianxiong, they were as tame as lambs. There is only one exception.This man was in his mid-twenties, and he stood proudly behind the Huangfu Tianxiong Seat with his arms around him. His figure was strong and slender, his thick black hair was combed straight back to show the high and wide forehead, his nose was straight, and his eyes were straight. His eyes are as sharp as a falcon, and his square face with Chinese characters is majestic. Although he is standing still, his whole body is full of strength, like a leopard whose head can jump at its prey at any moment. It is quite charming and looks like a master. This person's name is Qiu Jiushi, he is the number one general under Huangfu Tianxiong, Huangfu Tianxiong never needs to worry about any matter entrusted to him, every time he handles it properly.He received Huangfu Tianxiong's letter from Flying Pigeon two days ago, and immediately rushed back from Taihu Lake. Huangfu Tianxiong's eyes were covered with red silk, obviously he hadn't slept well for a long time, and he yelled furiously: "Raise soldiers for a thousand days, use them for a while, when I need you most, none of you idiots can help! How is it possible to let that bastard bastard flee to the other side? Didn't you blockade the land with a radius of a hundred miles? If you still can't catch that bastard within ten days, everyone will come back to see me! " At this time, one person, Shi Shiran, entered the hall with a calm and composed expression, which was in sharp contrast to the trembling of the dozen or so big men who had been scolded bloody. When all the big men saw him, they seemed to have seen a savior, only Qiu Jiushi standing behind Huangfu Tianxiong, his expression remained unchanged, his calmness was chilling. The man who came in was dressed as a literati, with a medium build, not good-looking, but his every move gave people a leisurely and relaxed style, especially a pair of eyes that were full of energy, which made people feel that he was resourceful and different from others. The big guys retreated to the sides one after another, letting him reach Huangfu Tianxiong directly. The scribe saluted and said: "Cultivator pays respects to Da Longtou, the matter finally has some clues." Huangfu Tianxiong, like a victim drowning in a raging sea and about to be destroyed by a catastrophe, caught a driftwood, his spirits lifted, and he shouted to all the big men: "Get out!" As if all the Han were granted amnesty by the emperor, they hurriedly withdrew, and after a while they all left completely, leaving only Huangfu Tianxiong, Qiu Jiushi and that scribe called Xiuzhen. Huangfu Tianxiong is the leader of the Great River League, and single-handedly founded the Great River League, a gang that dominates the river basin.Although the Dahe League takes Dajiang as its main territory, its influence extends to the whole country. Therefore, even the government and court must adopt a policy of appeasement towards Huangfu Tianxiong, and dare not offend him easily. For example, Qiu Jiushi is Huangfu Tianxiong's most powerful general, and Ruan Xiuzhen is his chief military adviser and think tank.The two have one weapon and one article, which makes the power of the Great River League continuously expand and expand. In the past five years, no other gang has dared to challenge the throne of the Great River League's hegemony. Huangfu Tianxiong sat back in the chair and said in a deep voice, "What's the matter?" Ruan Xiuzhen respectfully stood in front of Huangfu Tianxiong, and said, "People from the Cultivation Sect took the portrait of the murderer and conducted a thorough investigation, and found that this murderer, who was named Zhu Liang, arrived in Beijiang County of Jingzhou Prefecture three months ago and stayed in the most recent residence." In the expensive inn, he went to the gambling hall to gamble heavily that night, and then lingered in brothels and taverns, spending a lot of money. However, he only stayed in Beijiang for three days, and then moved to another county downstream, where he continued to gamble, whore, eat, drink and have fun. He claims to be a cloth merchant, but no one has ever seen him dealing in cloth and silk, and no one knows him." Huangfu Tianxiong frowned and said, "This little thief is very rich." Ruan Xiuzhen said: "This person gambles and prostitutes, and he comes east along the great river, going from city to county to spend his days and nights. According to the statistics of Xiuzhen, the money he lost and the expenses at the fireworks venue must have exceeded 5,000 taels of silver. An astonishing number. But he has a characteristic, that is, he only visits all casinos or brothels once, and in any place, he never stays for more than five days, so even if the local gangsters covet him, but He slipped away before he found out about him." Huangfu Tianxiong showed a thoughtful expression. Ruan Xiuzhen continued: "A person like him should be easy to investigate, but before he showed up in Beijiang County, he didn't seem to exist. No one in the county town with a radius of hundreds of miles has seen him, and no one I've heard of people approaching him with style." Huangfu Tianxiong kept nodding his head, but did not speak. Behind him, Qiu Jiushi was still as immobile as a mountain, but his eyes had changed a little, and they were shining brightly. Ruan Xiuzhen analyzed: "He was able to escape safely to the south bank of the Great River in the area where our power is most prosperous. From this, we can know that this person is definitely not an ordinary person. I don't mean his martial arts is strong, but he has extraordinary stealth and escape. ability." Huangfu Tianxiong thought hard: "Who is he?" Ruan Xiuzhen said: "He is definitely not a son of a rich family, and he hides and hides, as if he is avoiding something. And his behavior is very similar to that of a nouveau riche, so his true identity is ready to be revealed." Huangfu Tianxiong was startled and said, "Cultivator guess who he is?" Ruan Xiuzhen put it off and said, "I don't dare to judge rashly in the comprehension book. In order to further confirm my idea, I contacted some of the most powerful people who specialize in thieves and stolen goods in the far and near areas of Beijiang County. I really found something." Huangfu Tianxiong shot a look of hatred, and murmured: "You are very good at cultivation, you have done a good job." Ruan Xiuzhen said: "Three months ago, Xie Cheng from Xiangyang made a big deal of 6,000 taels of silver. What he bought was the emerald green jade cow, which was handed down from generation to generation by Fang Weigong, the richest man in Chengdu. Eight thousand taels to redeem this treasure. Da Longtou should know who this person is by now!" Huangfu Tianxiong opened his eyes wide, gritted his teeth and said, "Five Dungeons, I'll fuck your eighteen generations of ancestors." The Five-Escape Robber is the most outstanding and mysterious thief in the world today. Because he has never missed a hand, it is widely rumored that he is proficient in the Five-Escape Art.The so-called five escapes are the ability to escape from the body and become invisible by relying on different substances according to the changes of the five elements. When you encounter gold, you can escape from gold, when you meet wood, you can escape from wood. Water and fire are the same, but earth escape is the fastest, because there is earth everywhere.This is of course a deified exaggeration, but it also shows the ability of Wudun Pirates to come and go without a trace. The theft style of the five escaped robbers is also different from others. There is a so-called "three don't steal", that is, "don't steal from people who are not very rich, don't steal from unknown treasures, and don't steal from town house treasures". And only one piece was stolen, so although the theft of fame is prosperous, the reputation of Jianghu is good. The five escaped robbers are the most welcome people to pick up the stolen goods.Because according to the rules of the world, the stolen property first consults the owner for their willingness to redeem, and every wealthy businessman who is patronized by the five escapees, like Fang Weigong, has to reluctantly buy back the lost property.Because the sufferer did not dare to alert the government, fearing that he would lose the chance to redeem the treasure forever, the five escaped robbers are still not on the government's most wanted list. Ruan Xiuzhen said again: "Xie Cheng was woken up by the fifth thief in the middle of the night. The fifth thief wrapped his whole body in black cloth as usual, took out the emerald green jade cow to verify Xie Cheng's identity, told him who it was stolen from, and then took the treasure with him. Leave. It took Xie Cheng three days to raise enough money, and then he waited for the fifth thief to come to him to make a deal. Xie Cheng waited another twelve days, and finally hoped for the fifth thief. According to his description, the fifth thief and killing The height and figure of the young master are exactly the same, so they must be the same person." "boom--" Huangfu Tianxiong slapped his palm on the table again, his eyes spit fire. Ruan Xiuzhen continued: "The Fifth Bandit has at least half of his foot for us to hold. For the past three months, he must have shown his true colors, otherwise the girls in the brothel are sharing the bed with him, and it is impossible not to notice something strange. And he spent all his money, so he had to do thieves again. When he connects with the swindler again, our chance will come." Huangfu Tianxiong calmed down, and said in a deep voice, "What do you think of the Ninth Master?" Qiu Jiushi said coldly: "Mr. Ruan's deduction can't be wrong. Only the five escaped thieves have the ability to escape from our net. This matter is in the hands of Mr. Ruan and I, and we guarantee that we can catch this beast alive. , put it in front of the big dragon head seat, and the big dragon head will handle it himself." Huangfu Tianxiong pondered for a while, then shook his head and said: "If I don't capture him alive, how can I vent my hatred? I have ordered the blockade of the north bank, if he wants to steal, he can only go to the south of the river, so the scope of our search for him will be greatly reduced." Cut back and see where he can escape." Qiu Jiushi said: "We must pay special attention to the ships going out to sea and the cities on the frontier to prevent him from escaping to foreign lands. As long as he is still in the middle land, it is only a matter of time before he is caught." Huangfu Tianxiong shouted: "Immediately warn all those who receive the stolen goods in the south, whoever dares not to cooperate with us obediently, not only will their families be ruined, but they will also die a miserable death." Ruan Xiuzhen and Qiu Jiushi agreed loudly. Huangfu Tianxiong's eyes glowed with hatred, and his face showed a cruel expression, he said: "I gave birth to nine daughters, and then I got this son. You are so brave, I will teach you to regret it." Be human." Then he looked up to the sky and laughed sadly, and finally burst into tears, but his eyes were still so firm. At this time, a subordinate came in and reported: "The big dragon head is on top, someone from the capital is here to see you." Huangfu Tianxiong said angrily without even thinking about it: "Get lost! No one will be seen!" The subordinates of the notification knelt down on the ground in shock, and said in a trembling voice, "Yes... yes..." Ruan Xiuzhen asked, "Who is it?" The subordinate said: "It's Master Ji Nieti." Huangfu Tianxiong, Ruan Xiuzhen and Qiu Jiushi were moved at the same time.