Chapter 23 The twenty-third chapter strayed into the trap

Lin Xian'er and A Fei came to a large manor house in the evening wind, pointed to the unusually high wall and said, "This is Shen Laosan's home. Sixteen of their cousins ​​opened more than forty houses together. Shen Laosan now owns all the more than forty shops, because his fifteen brothers have all been buried in the coffin." Ah Fei said, "How did those fifteen people die?" Lin Xian'er said: "It is said that he died of illness, but no one knows how he died. Others only wonder how the fifteen people who are usually in good health can die cleanly in two or three years. It's like being hit by the plague, but Shen Laosan doesn't even have a little problem."

Ah Fei raised his head, as if he was calculating the height of the wall. He didn't say anything, just said lightly: "I'll come to him tomorrow night." Using both hands and feet, Ah Fei climbed up the high wall like a gecko. But what he used was not the kung fu of "gecko swimming on the wall", he had never even heard of this kind of kung fu, he just grabbed the wall with his steely hands, kicked his feet, and dexterously turned over. Like a gecko, it would be better to say that he is like an ape climbing over a mountain wall. Climb to the top of the wall, and you can see a large garden and houses. At this time, most people have turned off their lights and went to bed, and there are only a few lights left in the huge manor.

Lin Xian'er is a very capable woman and a good helper. She has bought a servant of Shen's family and drew a very detailed picture for her. The dormitory is very detailed and clear on this picture. So Ah Fei found Shen Laosan without any trouble. Third Shen was still awake, and the lights were still on in the room. This shrewd businessman with graying hair was currently working his abacus under the lamp to settle the day's accounts. He was not very fast at abacus, because his fingers were short, and the index, middle, and ring fingers were almost as long as the little finger. But his fingers are very thick, each finger seems to be cut off, not even a nail, how can this pampered and troubled man have such a pair of rough hands like a coal digger?

It turned out that Shen Laosan was very naughty when he was a child. He was kicked out by his father and spent five years outside. No one knew what he was doing. Some people say that in the past five years he has been doing business with the big thief Fan Tianhu for five years, some people say that he has been a beggar for five years, and some people say that he has entered the Shaolin Temple in the past five years and started as a water bearer. It was a lot of hardship, but he has practiced martial arts, so when his brother died, although many people secretly felt suspicious, no one dared to speak out.

Of course he denies all these legends, but there is one thing that cannot be denied, and that is his hands. Anyone with a discerning eye can tell that his hands must have practiced the iron sand palm and other external palms, and they have been trained to a certain extent. It was quite hot, otherwise his eldest brother wouldn't suddenly vomit blood and die. Ah Fei suddenly pushed open the window, and swept away. He didn't use any special movements, but every muscle, every bone, every nerve, and even every drop of blood in his body were completely coordinated and coordinated. When his hand was pushing the window, His men have jumped up, and when the window is opened, he is already standing in the room.

Shen Laosan is not a slow-witted person, but just as he noticed the window slamming, Ah Fei was already in front of him. He never thought that a person could move at such a speed. Terrified, the whole person froze in the chair. Ah Fei stared at him coldly, as if he was looking at a dead person, and said word by word: "You are Shen Lao San?" Shen Laosan kept nodding, as if he couldn't do anything other than nod, and his martial arts seemed to have disappeared without a trace at this moment. Ah Fei said, "Do you know what I'm here for?" Shen Laosan still just kept nodding.

Ah Fei said, "What else do you have to say?" This time Shen Lao San no longer nodded, but shook his head. At this moment of life and death, he didn't even have the slightest intention of struggling to survive, not only did he not resist, but he also did not escape at all. A Fei's sword has been pulled out. At this moment, A Fei suddenly felt an ominous warning sign in his heart. This is the unique instinct of wild beasts, just like a rabbit suddenly discovers that there is a wolf watching in the dark. He didn't hear any sound, let alone saw the shadow of the wolf. Ah Fei didn't dare to hesitate anymore, and stabbed out with a sword!

The sword light pierced Shen Laosan's chest like a shooting star, and there was a sound of "ding", sparks flew everywhere, and the sword was like stabbing on steel. It turned out that Shen Laosan had a steel plate hidden in his chest, so it's no wonder he couldn't stab it. With a stab of a sword, Shen Laosan's people immediately rolled under the table, but Ah Fei's body was already flying up into the air. He knew he was in danger, but he wanted to retreat quickly. But he was still one step too late after all. At this moment, a huge net was cast on the roof. This net was the same size as the entire room. As long as it was the people in this room, no one could escape.

As soon as Ah Fei raised his body, he was already caught in the net. He swung his sword and cut the net, but the net was made of nine strands of thick rope soaked in tung oil. No matter how fast his sword was, he could only cut one or two... He still couldn't get out of the net. "Pfft", he was entangled in the net and fell to the ground. The strange thing is that at this moment he was neither angry nor panicked, but felt a deep sorrow, because he had suddenly understood the mood of a beast caught in the hunter's net. But the beast will never understand why the hunter casts his net.

Ah Fei no longer struggled. He knows that struggling is useless! At this time, two figures landed on the net like birds, each holding a very long white wax pole in their hands, hurry up with the long pole, Ah Fei has already been touched in eight or nine acupuncture points. One of the two was a slender monk in gray robe and white socks, with a sallow complexion and a sick appearance all year round, but his eyes were burning like flames. The other was thin and short, with a nose job like an eagle, and his movements were like a falcon. Both of them were as fast as lightning in their moves. It was Shaolin Temple's Beloved Master and "Pinghu" Bai Xiaosheng.

Shen Laosan is no longer under the table, and there is obviously another tunnel under the table. All of this is simply a trap. Bai Xiaosheng's face was full of complacency, and he said with a smile, "I've already counted on you to come here, are you convinced?" A Fei didn't speak. Although he could still make a sound after his acupoints were tapped, he didn't say anything, and he didn't ask, "How can you be sure that I want to come here?" His eyes were empty, as if he had lost all thought. Is he unable to think, or unwilling to think, unable to bear to think? Bai Xiaosheng said leisurely: "I know you are Li Xunhuan's friend, and you pretended to be the Plum Blossom Bandit just to save Li Xunhuan..." Ah Fei sternly said: "I'm the Plum Blossom Pirate, there's no need to pretend, I don't know Li Xunhuan either!" Bai Xiaosheng said: "Oh—brother Xin Chong, he said that he is the Plum Blossom Bandit, can you believe it?" Xin Chong said: "I don't believe it." Ah Fei sneered, "How do you know I'm not a plum blossom thief? How can you prove it?" Bai Xiaosheng smiled and said: "It's really hard to prove... Brother Xinbei, do you remember who killed Hong Tianlei?" Xin Chong said: "The Plum Blossom Pirate." Bai Xiaosheng asked, "How did he die?" Xin Chong said: "Although there is a plum blossom mark on his body, the fatal wound is on the 'Xuanji' point." Bai Xiaosheng said: "In this way, Plum Blossom Pirate must also be a master of acupressure?" Xin Chong said: "Exactly." Bai Xiaosheng smiled, turned to A Fei, and said, "As long as you can tell us which acupoints we tapped on you just now, we will admit that you are the Plum Blossom Bandit and let Li Xunhuan go immediately. Are you satisfied with this?" Ah Fei clenched his teeth, bleeding from the bite. Bai Xiaosheng sighed, and said: "You really deserve to be Li Xunhuan's good friend. For him, you would sacrifice yourself, but you don't know what he will do to you? As long as he is willing to walk out of that room for you, it will be considered good." There is wine in the glass. Li Xunhuan held a cup in his hand. Sitting in the corner was a very slender and frail monk. Although he was past middle age, he didn't look very old.It seems that he has a strong bookish atmosphere, like a middle-aged Hanyuan Qingliu who has retired to the forest. No one would have thought that he is the most refined Master Xinshu in Shaolin Temple. Although he had become Li Xun Huan's hostage, his expression didn't look very angry, but he looked very sad, and he sat there quietly without speaking. The remains of Master Xinmei are still on the Zen bed, and someone has covered him with a white sheet, which cuts off the ten feet of soft red and troubles in the world. Li Xunhuan raised his glass to Xinshu suddenly, and said with a smile, "I never thought Shaolin Temple would have such good wine, how about a drink?" Heart Tree shook his head. Li Xun Huan said: "I'm drinking next to Senior Brother Ling's widow, do you think I'm disrespectful?" Xinshu said lightly: "The quality of wine is the purest, even more pure than water. Therefore, when offering sacrifices to the ancestors, wine is always used as sweet wine. No matter where you drink, there is absolutely no disrespect." Li Xun Huan clapped his hands and said: "That's well said, no wonder there is only one person in Hanyuan, so it is easy in the emperor's heart." Master Xinshu's calm expression changed unexpectedly, as if he had been touched by someone. Li Xunhuan poured another glass, drank it all, and said with a smile: "I am drinking here to show my respect to Senior Brother Ling. If Senior Brother Ling is also a dog, no matter whether he is dead or alive, I will not Drinking beside him." Master Xinshu sighed heavily, his expression became more mournful, but he didn't know whether it was for the deceased or for himself. Li Xun Huan was concentrating on the amber wine in his glass, and suddenly heaved a long sigh, and said slowly, "To be honest, I never thought that it would be you who saved me this time." Xinshu said coldly: "I didn't save you." Li Xun Huan said: "Fourteen years ago, I abandoned my official position and went back to seclusion. Although it was because I was tired of fame, if it wasn't for your bullet point saying that I was in the government and made friends with gangsters, I might not have made up my mind." Xinshu closed his eyes, and said sadly: "Hu Yunji, who impeached you in the past, is already dead, why should you mention him again." Li Xun Huan sighed: "It's true, one person in Buddhism is like a person in two lifetimes, but I never complained about you from the beginning to the end. At that time, you, as the censor, naturally had to fulfill your duties as an official..." Master Xinshu's expression seemed a little excited, and he said in a deep voice: "Shortly after you resigned from office, I also hid myself in the Buddhist sect, in order to realize that 'too many words will fail', but I didn't want to meet you after all..." Li Xun Huan smiled and said: "I never thought that the Tie Dan Censor, who used to be a man of wine and wine, would become an eminent monk with profound cultivation, and would save my life when I was about to die. .” Xinshu suddenly opened his eyes, and said sharply: "I have already said that I didn't save you, but I was hijacked by you because of my lack of skill. You must not be grateful to me." Li Xun Huan said: "But if you hadn't signaled to me in the room, I might not have barged in here, and if you hadn't shown no resistance at all, I wouldn't have been able to keep you here." The corner of Xinshu's mouth twitched, but no words came out. Li Xun Huan said with a smile: "Being a monk, refrain from lying, besides, there are only you and me here." Xinshu was silent for a long time, and suddenly said: "Even if I have the intention of helping you, it is not because of the old feelings." Li Xun Huan didn't seem to be surprised, but his expression became very serious, and he said seriously, "Then what are you doing?" Xinshu hesitated to speak several times, and seemed to have a lot of unspeakable secrets. Li Xun Huan didn't rush him either, but just slowly finished the wine in the glass. At this moment, someone outside the window shouted: "Li Xunhuan, open the window and have a look." This is the voice of the beloved master. Li Xun Huan's men suddenly arrived at the window, and looked out through the gap—— His face immediately changed! He never thought that Ah Fei would fall into the opponent's hands. Bai Xiaosheng stood with his hands behind his back, his face full of complacency, and he said leisurely: "Li Tanhua, you should recognize him, right? In order to keep you, he did not hesitate to bear the notoriety of 'Plum Blossom Thief', so what do you do to him?" Xin Chong said sharply: "If you want to save his life, you'd better tie him up immediately." Li Xun Huan's rock-like firm hands trembled a little, he couldn't see A Fei's face, because A Fei was lying on the ground, as if he had been seriously injured. Heart Pet suddenly raised A Fei's head, turned A Fei's face to the window, and said loudly: "Li Xun Huan, I will give you two hours, if you don't send my Sixth Senior Brother out before sunset, I will see you again Not your friend anymore." Bai Xiaosheng said leisurely: "Li Tanhua, this person treats you well, so don't let him down." Li Xun Huan leaned against the window, seemingly numb. He saw A Fei being dragged out like a dog by them, and he also saw the scars on A Fei's face, he knew that A Fei must have suffered a lot. But the stubborn boy never let out a single moan. He just glanced at the window, his eyes were indescribably calm, as if telling Li Xun Huan that he was not afraid of "death". Li Xun Huan suddenly stood up, drank three cups in a row, and sighed: "Good friend, good friend... I understand what you mean, you don't want me to save you." Xinshu had been staring at him, and suddenly said at this moment: "But what do you mean?" Li Xun Huan drank three more cups, stood with his hands behind his back, and said with a smile, "I'm ready to tie me up, you can tie me up anytime." Xinshu said: "Do you know that once you go out, you will definitely die?" Li Xun Huan said: "I know." Xinshu's eyes flickered, and he said in a deep voice, "Do you know that even if you die, they might not let your friend go?" Li Xun Huan said: "I know." Xinshu said: "But you still want to go out?" Li Xun Huan said: "I still want to go out." He answered briefly and firmly, as if there was no room for consideration. Xinshu said: "Aren't you too stupid to do this?" Li Xun Huan smiled solemnly and said, "Everyone will inevitably do a few stupid things in their life. If everyone only does smart things, wouldn't life become more boring?" Xinshu seemed to be carefully chewing the taste of his words, and said slowly: "Yes, if a man does not do something, he must do something. Even if you know that you must die, you still want to do it, just because you have to do it." No!" Li Xun Huan smiled and said, "You are also my confidant after all." Xin Shu murmured: "Loyalty comes first, life and death don't matter, Li Xun Huan really deserves to be Li Xun Huan..." Li Xun Huan didn't look at him, turned his head abruptly and said, "I'll go out first, let's just leave now." Xinshu suddenly said: "Wait a minute!" He seemed to have made up his mind, fixed his gaze on Li Xun Huan, and said, "I still haven't finished my sentence just now." Li Xun Huan said: "Oh?" Xinshu said: "I said just now, I saved you for no other reason." Li Xun Huan said: "Yes." With a dignified expression, Xinshu said slowly: "This is the secret of my Shaolin sect, and it is of great importance. I don't want to mention it to you." Li Xun Huan turned around, waiting for him to continue. Xinshu's voice was even slower, and said: "Shaolin's collection of scriptures is the most abundant in the world. Not only are there many important scriptures of Buddhism, but there are also many secrets that are not passed on in the martial arts." Li Xun Huan said, "I know that too." Xinshu said: "In the past hundred years, there have been countless greedy people in the Jianghu who want to steal Buddhist scriptures from Shaolin Temple, but there has never been a single person who has been able to do what he wanted and escaped unscathed." He continued solemnly: "Although monks refrain from anger and killing, the Tibetan scriptures are the foundation of Shaolin, so no matter who dares to have this thought, Shaolin disciples will not hesitate to deal with them to the end." Li Xun Huan said: "Recently, I have rarely heard of anyone daring to make such an idea." Xinshu sighed, and said: "You are an outsider, so naturally you don't know the inside story. In fact, in the past two years, the scriptures collected by this temple have been stolen seven times. Except for one Naiping Heart Sutra, the rest are long-lost martial arts secrets. " Li Xun Huan couldn't help but lose his face, and said, "Who is the person who stole the scriptures?" Master Xinshu sighed: "The strangest thing is that these seven theft incidents had no warning signs beforehand and no clues to find afterwards. They were all stolen without anyone noticing. After the first and second incidents, Now, the security of the Sutra Pavilion is naturally more stringent, but the thefts still happen one after another, and the third senior brother who was in charge of the Sutra Pavilion also took the blame and abdicated because of this, facing the wall and thinking about his mistakes." Li Xun Huan said: "How come there is no news about such an important event?" Xinshu said: "Because this matter is of great importance, the brother in charge of the sect has repeatedly asked to keep it a secret. Until now, only you are the only nine people who know about this matter." Li Xun Huan said: "Aside from the seven of you, who else knows about this?" Xinshu said: "Bai Xiaosheng." Li Xun Huan sighed, and said with a wry smile: "He really participated in many things." Xinshu said: "The third senior brother is the most cautious and prudent person among my senior brothers. After he abdicates, the second senior brother and I will be in charge of the Sutra Pavilion. It has only been half a month so far." Li Xun Huan frowned and said, "Since Master Xinmei has a heavy responsibility, why did you leave the temple this time?" Xinshu sighed: "It's only because the second senior brother always suspects that the incident of losing the scriptures is related to the 'Plum Blossom Pirate', so he rushes to find out, who knows that once he goes, it will be forever." Having said that, he seemed to be tearing up facing his eyebrows. Li Xun Huan couldn't help but secretly sighed, although the monks "are all empty", the word "love" is still unbreakable after all. If my Buddha Tathagata is not sentient, why should he save all sentient beings? If someone can really break through the word "love", he is not a human being. Xinshu was silent for a long time before continuing: "Second senior brother himself is mature and prudent. Before leaving the temple, he has taken out the three most important scriptures and hidden them in three secret places. Except for the senior brother and me, there is no one else. A third person knows." Li Xun Huan asked, "Is one of them in this room?" Xinshu nodded and said, "Not bad." Li Xun Huan said with a wry smile: "It's no wonder they have so many scruples about making a move." Xin Shu said: "Because these thefts are too bizarre, the second senior brother and I speculate in private, and also think that it may be from inside thieves." Li Xun Huan moved, "A thief?" Xinshu sighed heavily, and said: "Although we have doubts, we dare not speak out, because except for our first seven disciples, no other disciples can enter or leave the Sutra Pavilion at will." Li Xun Huan's eyes flickered, and said: "In this way, the person who stole the scriptures is most likely one of your seven senior brothers." Xinshu was silent for a long time before he sighed: "The seven of us have been in the same sect for at least ten years. No matter who suspects anyone, it is wrong. Therefore, we must try our best to be cautious in handling this matter, but ..." Li Xun Huan couldn't help but asked, "What's the matter?" Xinshu said: "It's just that before the second senior brother left the temple, he told me in a whisper that he has found one of the seven of us is very suspicious, and it is very likely that he is the person who stole the scriptures." Li Xun Huan immediately asked: "Who is he talking about?" Xinshu shook his head and sighed: "It's a pity that he didn't say it, because he was afraid of blaming the wrong person. He only hoped that the person who stole the scriptures was really a 'Plum Blossom Thief', and he didn't want to see the master's family be ashamed..." At this point, his voice was already a little choked up, and it was almost difficult to continue. Li Xun Huan frowned and said, "I also understand Master Xinmei's painstaking efforts, but...now that he sees that person getting away with it in the dark, he can't say it anymore. Does he want to regret and hate Jiuquan for the rest of his life? " Xinshu said: "Second senior brother didn't think of this. Before he left, he also told me that in case something happens to him, he wants me to take out his 'Book of Scripture Reading' and take a look. He has written the name of the person he suspects on the last page of the Liu Ji." Li Xun Huan raised his eyebrows and said, "Where is that book now?" Xinshu said slowly: "It was originally with the Tibetan scriptures, but now it's with me..." He took out a pale yellow silk volume, Li Xun Huan took it immediately, and turned to the last page, all the essentials of Buddhism were written on it, and there was not a word about arrhythmia. Li Xun Huan looked up at Xin Shu and said, "Could it be that the last page has been torn off?" Xinshu said in a deep voice: "Not only has the last page been torn off, but the scriptures have also turned into blank paper!" Li Xun Huan said: "In this way, the person who stole the scriptures must have discovered that Master Xinmei suspected him?" Xinshu said: "Not bad." Li Xun Huan said: "But the only ones who know where he hides scriptures are you and Master Xinhu." Xinshu's complexion was like lead, he nodded heavily and said, "That's right." Li Xun Huan couldn't help but change his face, and said, "Do you think Master Xinhu is..." Xinshu was silent for a while, and said: "It's not necessarily true, because that person has already noticed that the second senior brother has doubts about him, so he will naturally pay special attention to the second senior brother's actions, and maybe because of this, he may be able to spy on the second senior brother secretly. The secret place, but..." Li Xun Huan said, "How?" Xin Shu's eyes focused on Li Xun Huan, and he said word by word: "It's just that the second senior brother didn't die when he came back, and he wouldn't have died in the first place!" After saying these words, Li Xun Huan really turned pale. I saw Master Xinshu clenched his fists tightly, and continued: "Although I don't have any in-depth research on poisoning, I have dabbled in the classics in recent years. When the second senior brother came back, I already saw Although he has been poisoned deeply, he is by no means hopeless, and his life will never be in danger in a short period of time!" Li Xun Huan moved, "You mean..." Xinshu said: "Since the person who stole the scriptures knows that the second senior brother has discovered the secret, he will naturally kill him to silence him!" Li Xun Huan suddenly felt that the room was very stuffy, almost suffocating. He walked around slowly before asking in a deep voice: "How many people have been to this room since Master Xinmei came back?" Xinshu said: "Eldest brother, fourth brother, fifth brother and seventh brother have all come in." Li Xun Huan murmured, "You mean, they all have the possibility to attack?" Xinshu nodded and sighed: "This is the misfortune of our sect. I didn't want to tell you, but now I have found that you are definitely not the one who betrayed your friends, so I hope you..." Li Xun Huan said, "You want me to find the murderer?" Xinshu said: "Yes." Li Xun Huan stared into his eyes with piercing eyes, and said word by word, "What if the murderer is Xinhu?" Xinshu was stunned suddenly, and after a while, his head was dripping with sweat. Li Xun Huan said coldly: "Even if everyone in Shaolin already knows that Xinhu is the murderer, no one will admit it, right?" Xinshu didn't speak, because he had nothing to say. People in the Jianghu have always regarded Shaolin as a famous and authentic family. Now if the head of Shaolin is a murderer, wouldn't the hundreds of years of reputation and prestige of Shaolin Temple be destroyed? Li Xun Huan said: "Even if I can prove that Xinhu is the murderer, I'm afraid even you won't speak up for me. In order to preserve your reputation in Shaolin, you may have to sacrifice others." Xinshu heaved a long sigh and said, "That's right, in order to preserve the prestige of Shaolin, I did not hesitate to sacrifice everything." Li Xun Huan smiled lightly, "Then why do you want me to look for it?" Xinshu said in a deep voice: "Although I don't want to do anything to damage the reputation of our sect, as long as you can prove who is the murderer who killed brother Xinmei, I will not hesitate to die with him, and I want his blood to be spilled on the steps! " Li Xun Huan said leisurely: "How can a monk be mad, it seems that you, a monk, are not clean." Xinshu lowered his eyes, clasped his palms together and said, "My Buddha Tathagata will inevitably roar like a lion, let alone a monk!" Li Xun Huan got up suddenly, and said: "Okay, with your words, I can feel relieved." Xinshu moved, "Could it be that you already know who the murderer is?" Li Xun Huan said: "Although I don't know, someone does." Xinshu frowned and said, "Of course the murderer knows it himself." Li Xun Huan said: "Besides the murderer himself, there is another person who knows, and that person is in this room." Xinshu suddenly said: "Who?" Li Xun Huan pointed to the slough of his eyebrows on the Zen bed, and said, "That's him!" Xinshu sighed in disappointment, and said, "It's a pity that he can't speak anymore." Li Xun Huan smiled and said, "Dead people sometimes talk." He suddenly lifted the bloody sheet covering Xinmei's body, and the sunlight slanted in from the window, shining on Xinmei's withered face.On the dark yellow face, there is also a layer of strange gray black. Li Xun Huan said: "Have you ever seen someone who was poisoned to death by the Boy of Bliss?" Xinshu said: "No."