Chapter 10 Chapter 9: You Can Really Sleep

Liu Banban, female, eighteen years old.She herself often said that the reason God gave birth to her was to let her accompany men. And indeed the men all enjoyed her company. She is very tall and thin, but every inch of her body is soft and elastic, and you can never touch her bones.Her legs are very long. If she is five feet nine inches tall, her legs should be at least three feet eight inches long. Such a pair of slender and strong legs, no matter what kind of woman they are on, is an extraordinary charm. Her father was a woodcutter and a hunter, collecting firewood half the day and hunting half the day.The fresh mountain air and the very nutritious game of mountain fowl make her develop very early.

Before she was thirteen, she was already very tall. One day when his father went down the mountain to go to the market, she went down to the mountain spring to draw water, and rolled up her trousers high, revealing her pair of healthy and strong long legs. A wicked young man who came up to hunt foxes happened to pass by with his slaves. When he saw these legs, he couldn't bear to take his eyes off. Of course the slaves understood what their master meant. To them, raping a weak woman on a barren hill was nothing at all. Fortunately, she was lucky that day and met her savior. Just when she was in the most critical moment, a young chivalrous man who took a shortcut across the barren hills and rushed to the appointment suddenly appeared, cut off the young man's ear, and left a sentence.

My name is Ding Ning, if you want revenge, you can find me anytime. From that day on, Banban never forgot the name "Ding Ning". She heard Ding Ning's name again this evening. Of course she didn't fall asleep at that time - she heard every word Wei Haoke and Murong Qiushui said clearly, but she also knew that these words were not to be heard, otherwise she would definitely get killed. Fortunately, Murong Qiushui has always been a caring person, no matter how cunning people are, it is not easy to deceive him, and he will not guard against a weak and helpless little girl.

So companion is still alive now. Since she is still alive, she must repay her kindness. Banban is by no means an ungrateful person. She vowed to save Ding Ning. Unfortunately, she neither had the power nor knew what to do with it. Hou Men is as deep as the sea, it is difficult to get in, but it is even more difficult to get out. If she couldn't even get out, what else could she do? So at this time, the companions thought that Ding Ning was dead. Three days later, news came out from the Ministry of Criminal Justice that a gangster with a long history of cases was about to be executed.In order to be cautious, Jiang Duanxian, the number one executioner in the world who has retired for a long time, was specially invited to carry out the execution.

Jiang Duanxian was called "Jiang Duancai" when he was young.It means that killing other people's heads is as easy as chopping melons and vegetables. He is the hereditary official executioner, besides a generous salary, there are many regulations to be collected every time he executes an execution. This can already make a person live a very rich life, and it is also a profession that is both enviable and disgusting.In any case, killing is always a very exciting thing, and killing people without breaking the law is probably the only way to do it. But he had washed his hands and retired a long time ago, and no one knew what he was doing.No news about him has been heard.

His comeback this time was a sensation in itself, so it quickly became a hot topic.So the very popular companion girl also heard the news very quickly. ——If the executioner can be bribed, will Ding Ning be left with a way out. In the case that other ways have failed, the companion decided to start from this aspect. She was convinced that the gangster who was about to be executed was Ding Ning. The most important point is that she has heard of the name Jiang Duanxian a long time ago, and this person seems to be her father's friend. Companion finally had the chance to go out, it was the day when the dragon raised its head on the second day of February, after a night of love and joy.Murong Qiushui finally agreed to her to go to the mountains to pilgrimage, and promised her to stay overnight in the nunnery.

That's enough. Because she had already found out that Jiang Duanxian had returned from afar and moved back to his old house near the capital for this big case. That place is outside the west city, in a deep alley where flower sellers live. Walk in from the alley, and when you get to the deepest point, there is a bamboo fence and a firewood door, which is his "chopping vegetable residence". That place is not far away, you can go back and forth within a day, and there is a famous Xianghua Baolian Nunnery nearby, and the people who go to the nunnery to offer incense are the relatives of some wealthy families.

On the second day of February, severe cold and snow. Before turning into the alley, you can already hear the desolate sound of selling flowers coming from the deep alley, which sounds like the whispering of a complaining woman. The flowers of wintersweet and narcissus have faded away, but those of roses and peonies have not yet arrived. What kind of flowers does the florist sell? A white-haired old man in a sheepskin jacket was carrying a load on his shoulders that almost made him unable to straighten his waist. In the bamboo cages at both ends of the load, there were more than a dozen flower pots, and the plants in the pots were unknown. what flower.

"Let's go sell flowers." The accompanying girl told the servants and servant girls who followed her here from the Hou's mansion: "It is already spring now, since we have already arrived here, how can we go back without buying some seasonal flowers?" So she came to this flower alley and saw this old and poor flower seller. "What kind of flowers do you grow in these pots?" "This is a very strange flower, which was transplanted from a very far away place." The old flower seller looked at the last glimmer of the end of the day with a pair of tired old eyes.

"I'm afraid there are very few people who know this kind of flower now, and there are even fewer people who can see this kind of flower. Girl, I advise you to buy a jar and take it home." Old people always talk a lot, and this old man is no exception.Banban is not interested in flowers, nor does she want to buy flowers, she just wants to get some news from the old man. So she said with a smile: "Old man, as soon as I saw you, I knew you must be a well-informed person, so I didn't want to buy flowers at first, so I couldn't help but want to come and chat with you."

It's always a pleasure to have such words come out of such a pretty little girl's mouth. Sure enough, the old man smiled happily, showing his scorched yellow teeth, narrowing his eyes and smiling, "It's a pity that I'm already too old! What can an old man like me talk to you about?" Accompanied by eyeballs turning. "Old man, you must have been selling flowers here for a long time. Have you ever heard of a strange person living in this alley?" "What kind of weirdo?" "I heard it's an executioner." Companion deliberately lowered his voice and said mysteriously, "I've never seen an executioner before, so I can't help but want to see it." Without even thinking about it, the old man asserted: "You must be talking about Deacon Jiang in the Ministry of Criminal Justice. He lives in the family at the bottom of the alley, and he seems to have lived there for several generations." "Could it be that they have been executioners for generations?" The old man didn't answer first, but glanced back and forth, left and right, and then said in a low voice, "Girl, you must never call them executioners in front of them. People in this business are taboo about the word executioner." ’” He said, “When you see them, you must call them deacons.” The old man added. "Especially this Deacon Jiang. I don't know how many generations he has been in this line of work? I heard that his family has been executioners for generations, and all the deacons in the Ministry of Punishment are also surnamed Jiang." "Why?" asked the companion. "I heard that the old King Yan has five personal guards. They are five brothers, known as the Jiang family's five tigers. All of them are highly skilled in martial arts, and their swordsmanship is like a god." The old flower seller said: "The old prince moved the capital to Beijing. These five brothers Just beheading people for the old prince, and now outside the gate of Fucheng, there is a Jiang family grave near the Diaoyutai in Balizhuang. Anyone who does this business must burn paper before and after Qingming to bless them for a year of peace, Mo To be haunted by evil spirits." Companion made a frightened look on purpose: "I heard that they can cut off people's heads with one knife, is it true?" "Of course not." "How could they have such a great ability?" "That's what people have worked hard to practice." The old flower seller said: "If you want to enter this business, you must first kowtow to worship your teacher. Every day at dawn, you have to get up and start pushing tofu." The companion couldn't help asking. "Push tofu? Why did the executioner learn to push tofu, and how to push tofu?" The old flower seller is really knowledgeable, and he can explain the method of pushing tofu very clearly. ——Holding a big knife for beheading people behind his back, along the back of his hand.With the blade pointing outward, slice the tofu with the blade, the thinner the better. When the technique is proficient, draw ink lines on the tofu and push the knife down so that the tofu will be broken in line without any difference.Then put copper coins on the tofu, and when the blade passes, the tofu pieces will fall off, but the copper coins will not fall, which is considered a small success. To truly become a teacher, one must be popular on the execution ground, and the head will fall with the knife in hand. This knife must be cut in the bone seam of the spine, and there is no mistake. The old flower seller talked eloquently, and the companion listened intently, and when the old man came to an end, the companion sighed in time. "It doesn't look like it's going to be easy." "Not only is it not easy, it is simply extremely difficult. To practice the ability like Deacon Jiang, it is as difficult as climbing the sky." "What's so special about him?" "This Deacon Jiang's knife skills are really amazing. I heard that he can cut off the wings of a fly with a beheading knife, so that the fly can still crawl on the ground alive." "This kind of saber technique is really amazing." The companion asked, "What kind of person is this person?" "This person looks no different from ordinary people. He also has a nose, eyes, and mouth." The old man said: "It's just that he is a little taller than ordinary people, and his arms seem to be a little longer than others. Sometimes we can't see him for a whole year, and no one knows where he is." "Is there no one else in his family?" "No." The old man said: "He has always been a loner, and he doesn't even have a friend." "Has he ever bought your flowers?" "Recently, he often buys this kind of flowers every time." The old man pointed to the flower jars he had been recommending to his companion, but his old eyes glanced at his companion: "Director Jiang is really a very knowledgeable person. Only those who know the goods will like this kind of flower." What he meant was very clear, even his young companion understood that now it was imperative to buy him a pot of flowers. "But you must at least tell me, what kind of flower is this flower?" Companion asked the old man. The old man asked back: "Do you know that in the remote desert, where there is no rain all year round, there is a very strange plant called cactus?" "I know, just know, but I've never seen it." "Then you have seen it now," said the old man. He pointed to a needle-pointed bulb in a vase, with a cluster of tiny pink flowers growing on it. "This is a cactus. The flower that grows on a cactus is of course called a cactus flower." The old man said, "You might as well bring a jar to give to Deacon Jiang. He seems to like this kind of flower very much." Jiang Duanxian, male, forty-five years old, is the youngest chief deacon in the history of the Ministry of Criminal Justice. He was appointed at the age of 21, and everyone in the Ministry of Criminal Justice calls him "Jiang Yidao".Whenever there is a major red mission, the higher-ups will assign him to carry out the execution, and the family members of the prisoner will also give a generous gift in private in order to alleviate the pain of the executed prisoner. What is unexpected is that this big celebrity in the Ministry of Criminal Justice relinquished his duties when he was less than thirty years old, and drifted away without knowing where he ended up. What is even more unexpected is that after many years, he actually returned to the Ministry of Punishment. He looked much older than his actual age, and the companion felt this way when he first saw him. At that time, he was sharpening the knife, the sun was about to set, and the cool wind was blowing, and he already looked like an old man in his twilight years. What caused him to age so quickly?Is it because there are too many murders? The knife used by the executioner to kill is usually a ghost-head knife with a thick back, a thin blade, a wide waist, and a red silk handle tied to the handle. The knife that Deacon Jiang used was different. The knife he used had a narrow blade with a blade as thin as paper, the back of the knife was not thick, the head of the knife was not wide, but the handle was so long that it could be held with both hands.Those who know how to use knives can tell at a glance that the knives practiced by Deacon Jiang are not limited to the kind of knives practiced by executioners. There must be some knives from other sects, and even the knives from Fusang Dongying that were introduced to Zhongtu. school. Because in Zhongtu's sword moves, the sword is not held with both hands. Banban has already seen this from outside the bamboo fence. Caimen is a lie. Companion walked in without knocking on purpose, because she was afraid that she would not be able to get in if she knocked, and she wanted to attract Jiang Duanxian's attention first. Jiang Duanxian didn't even look at her, he was still sharpening his knife with his head down. The stone he used to sharpen the knife was also very strange. It was a kind of sandstone close to dark green, which was the same color as his blade. His blade seems to have a needle-like thorn, just like the thorn on a cactus. Companion also quickly noticed this. She has always been a girl with very keen observation skills. In this moment, she has also noticed that although the wrinkles on Jiang Duanxian's face are as deep as a knife, her hands are as white and slender as a girl's. —Are these hands never used to do anything but hold a knife? The hands of murderers usually look much more detailed than most people, because the calluses in their palms are invisible to others, just as the fear and pain in their hearts will never be seen by others. When the companion was observing Jiang Duanxian carefully, Jiang Duanxian seemed completely unaware that there was already a person like her in front of him in this world. He was still sharpening his knife wholeheartedly. "My surname is Liu. I want to find a Deacon Jiang who works in the Ministry of Punishment. I heard that he lives here." Jiang Duanxian not only couldn't see anything, he couldn't even hear anything. Companion is not angry or anxious at all, she already knew that dealing with someone like Jiang Duanxian is definitely not a pleasant thing, and it must be very difficult. "Although I haven't met Deacon Jiang, my late father often mentioned his name when he was alive." Companion said, "I think they should be very good friends." She added: "My late father's friends called him the big axe." The knife sharpener still didn't look at her, but stopped sharpening the knife, and asked coldly, "What's the matter with Jiang Duanxian?" "I want to ask him to save someone." Companion said. "Jiang Duanxian can only kill people, not save them." "But this time he must be saved." "why?" "Because only he can save this person." Companion said: "If he refuses to raise his hand, this person will die under his sword in seven days." She looked directly at Jiang Duanxian: "I think by now you probably already know who the person I'm talking about is." It was getting dark, Jiang Duanxian stood up slowly, still didn't look at her, just said coldly: "Then you should also know that with the sound of the knife, the head snapped like a string, since this person is about to die in my arms Under the knife, who else in the world can save him?" The companion pulled Jiang Duanxian's sleeves forcefully: "As long as you promise me, no matter what you want, I will give it to you." "what can you give me?" "My people and my life." Jiang Duanxian finally gave her a cold look, and then cut off his sleeve with a knife. The night was approaching, and the lights in the room were not lit yet, Jiang Duanxian walked in without looking back, his thin figure quickly disappeared into the darkness. Companion looked at the half of the sleeve he was holding in his hand, gritted his teeth and chased after him. "I know you won't promise me, but I still don't give up." Facing Jiang Duanxian who was sitting in the dark, she said: "I am a girl who grew up in the mountains, and I have been constantly moving since I was a child. Climbing mountains, climbing trees, swimming, hunting, picking mountain flowers, chasing rabbits , Fighting with monkeys, I am constantly moving every day. So every part of my body is very flexible and very strong. I am only eighteen years old this year, and no man has ever been dissatisfied with me .” The figure sitting in the dark said lightly: "You don't need to say any more, I know you very well, perhaps better than you know yourself." Banban didn't say any more, because she couldn't say another word at all. Her whole body was stiff. She is too familiar with the voice of this person, this person is by no means the one who was sharpening the knife just now. She never dreamed that this person would appear here at this very moment. A lamp was lit in the darkness, and the light shone on this man's face. His face was pale, his outline was prominent, his smile was elegant and noble, but it carried an indescribable irony. "I believe you would never have imagined that I would come here." Murong smiled very softly: "But I have already thought that you would come here, and I seem to know a little more than you imagined." Banban was still stiff, and even the smile that he barely put on was as stiff as a knife. "How did you know I was coming?" "Ding Ning saved you, you knew we were going to kill Ding Ning, so of course you came." Murong said, "Because you think that the only person in the world who can save Ding Ning is Mr. Jiang." He sighed: "It's a pity that you were wrong again this time. The only person in the world who won't save Ding Ning is Mr. Jiang." The companion couldn't help but ask. "why?" "Because Mr. Jiang is Mr. Peng." Murong asked his companion, "Do you know that there is a Mr. Peng in the world?" Jianghu heroes rarely call others Mr. Peng, but the three words "Mr. Peng" have been prestige in the Jianghu for many years.For those who use knives, these three words are like "Confucius" in the minds of scholars. They can almost become immortals, Buddhas and saints. Mr. Peng is Peng Shisandou. People with knowledge understand that there is no such thing as overnight success in the world, because before the night when that person becomes famous, he has no idea how many trials and tortures he has endured. But every example has exceptions. Peng Shisandou became famous in one night. That night he ran into ten villages in Xiaoshan, using a strange-shaped long knife that looked like a ghost-headed knife but was definitely not a ghost-headed knife, and broke through the first ten villages, the rear seven villages, and the seven great villages. The Lord's series of forty-nine knife formations, the whole body enters, the whole body retreats, blood bathes people, drinks alcohol and retreats. As a result, Peng Shisandou's sword skills and reputation spread like a plague in the rivers and lakes. No one knew that Peng Shisandou's knife technique was derived from pushing tofu.So no one would have guessed that Peng Shisandou was Jiang Duanxian. Hearing this, Banban couldn't help asking: "Are you sure that Peng Shisandou is Jiang Duanxian?" Murong Qiushui nodded. "Of course we can be completely sure now." He said: "After Deacon Jiang entered the criminal department, although he killed countless people, not only did the people he killed have no power to resist, but they couldn't even move. His knife skills are really boring." "That's why he wants to go to the rivers and lakes to try his sword skills?" "good." "The executioner's saber technique is also effective in front of those famous sword masters in Jianghu?" Banban said deliberately: "I don't believe it." "You must believe that Mr. Jiang's knife skills are not the executioner's knife skills." Murong Qiushui said: "Mr. Jiang is a strange person and a genius. I believe that there are few people in this world who know more about knives than him. Because his knives have already become a part of his body, and he can even Said that it has become one with his life." When this frivolous and arrogant noble son talked about Jiang Duanxian, there was no hint of ridicule in his tone. "The most rare thing is that he not only understands knives, but also understands people." Murong Qiushui said: "For the structure of every joint in the human body, the movement of every muscle, and every person's various actions when facing a fatal knife He knows all the reactions." He sighed: "Although I don't know much about sword skills, I think the essence of sword skills probably lies in this." Although Companion doesn't know much about sword skills, she also understands that no matter what kind of person can have his sword skills, and his understanding of "swords" and "people", if you want to use a knife to enter the rivers and lakes, it will be difficult. It shouldn't be difficult. Murong Qiushui continued: "It's just that we only found out about this matter recently, and it's only in the last few days." "Oh?" "Mr. Jiang wandered around the rivers and lakes. We didn't know his whereabouts at all. Of course, we couldn't ask him to come out again to execute his sentence." "Could it be that he came to you by himself this time?" "Yes." Murong Qiushui said: "It is indeed Mr. Jiang who came to see us this time, because he also heard the news from a very authoritative person, and he already knew that the key criminal we were going to kill this time was Ding Ning. .” "He came this time to kill Ding Ning?" "Yes." Murong Qiushui said, "He wants to kill Ding Ning with his own hands, and he wants to see Ding Ning die by his sword." "why?" "Because Ding Ning wants to kill me too, and he almost killed me." A man in the darkness said with a hoarse and indifferent voice: "He was able to defeat me not with his knife, but with his tricks, so he also Knowing that one day I'm going to kill him." The person who came out of the darkness was, of course, Mr. Jiang Duanxian, the chief deacon of the Ministry of Criminal Justice, that is, the famous hero Peng Shisandou who used to cross the rivers and lakes with a strangely shaped long knife. The companion bit his lip, stared at this person for a long time, and suddenly laughed, even a little crazy. "It's really unexpected, it's really unexpected that Mr. Jiang, the chief deacon of our majestic punishment department, would be such a great villain, and would use such a great method to deal with his opponent." The companion laughed more and more wildly. She has given it all up, because she is no longer ready to live anymore. "But, Mrs. Jiang, have you ever imagined that you acted like you were slapping yourself." She giggled, "You said that Ding Ning used tricks to defeat you last time, but you are right this time." Did he use an aboveboard method? You said that you don’t want to kill a person who has no resistance, so let me ask you, does Ding Ning have any resistance now?" Jiang Duanxian's stern face was expressionless, neither angry nor apologetic, and of course there would be no sadness, remorse, frustration, grief or hatred. There are only wrinkles on his face, and every wrinkle is like a scar, and in every scar, there is an unknown amount of anger, guilt, sadness, remorse, frustration, grief, and hatred. His voice was cold and hollow. "Ding Ning is about to die, and there is no doubt that he will die. It is better for him to die by my sword than someone else's." Mr. Jiang said flatly, "Because my sword is fast." Companion can't live anymore. Killing with a sharp knife, at least the person who is killed can end up happily, and the companion also believes that Ding Ning also hopes to die happily. ——To live happily, to die happily, isn't this the wish of most people? Companion's tears flowed down, because now she finally knew that Ding Ning was dead. Ding Ning is sure that he will never die. He and Wei Haoke are friends who grew up together, and the relationship between him and Murong Qiushui is even deeper. How could they let him die unjustly here? So he is looking forward to it every day, waiting every day. Although he has been tortured to the point of being out of shape, he is not too anxious because he knows them too well. Neither Murong Qiushui nor Wei Haoke are people who will act rashly easily. If they were going to save him, they must have had a perfect plan first.They probably won't show up themselves, but they will definitely use all their strength in secret to rescue him. ——Ding Ning has always been a person with rich emotions, and a person with rich emotions is usually more able to comfort himself. Ding Ning finally heard the sound he had been expecting to hear, the footsteps of a stranger. Every footstep has its own quality and character, just as every face is different.For Ding Ding, distinguishing a person's footsteps is as easy as distinguishing his face. This person's footsteps are undoubtedly something that Ding Ding has never heard before here. It is not as exaggerated and loud as the jailer's footsteps, nor is it as cautious and calm as Wei Haoke, nor is it as arrogant as Murong Qiushui. But this person's footsteps have a characteristic that is different from ordinary people, and it can even be said to be a very special character, which is completely different from anyone else. In a part of Ding Ding's mind that has been gradually forgotten, he seems to have heard the footsteps of this person, but he can't remember who this person is. The footsteps stopped, and they stopped in front of Ding Ding. Ding Ding suddenly felt very uneasy, he believed that this person must be looking at him with a very strange look, just like an urchin looking at a fly that has broken off its wings and only crawls in front of him. This feeling made Ding Ding almost unbearable to vomit. What was even more unbearable was that this man actually stretched out his hands, starting from the spine behind Tintin's head, touching every joint and every bone in his whole body. His hands are cold, hard, dry and stable, but the joints of his penis bones are limp and paralyzed like dead rats. Who can bear such humiliation? Tintin can, in order to survive he has to endure, he has already learned to endure all kinds of humiliation. But the voice of this person made his chest almost burst completely, because he found that the person standing in front of him at this moment, like a dead mouse, was pinching him, and it turned out to be Peng who had been defeated by him. Thirteen beans. "My surname is Jiang." The man said, "I am the executioner sent by the Ministry of Criminal Justice to handle your red mission." Ding Ding was angry. He would never mishear Peng Shisandou's voice, and he would never forget it even in death.Why does this man say that he is the executioner surnamed Jiang? "Ding Shaoxia, I believe you have already heard that Deacon Jiang of the Criminal Department is the wandering soul under your sword, Peng Shisandou." His voice was flat and indifferent. "Although you didn't kill me, you don't need to regret it." Jiang Duanxian said lightly: "Because if I die, someone else will come to kill you. At least your death by my knife is better than death in the If it’s in someone else’s hands, I can at least make your death a bit more pleasant, and more honorable.” Many people think that death is death, no matter how you die, it is the same. Ding Ding is not this kind of person. He always thought that there were many kinds of death, and he always hoped that he could die more solemnly. Now he is sure that he can achieve this wish, and at the same time he also knows that he must die. In the boundless darkness in front of his eyes, he seemed to hear the god of death singing a nursery rhyme almost like an urchin with a voice full of cruelty and violence. "Ban Shak, Ban Shak, one died last year, and one died this year. If you ask when they will all die, why don't you ask Wei Haoke?" He told them: "I am not a gentleman, I am just a murderer, but I only kill, I will never let anyone die by my knife like a beast."