Chapter 2 one to five

It was late at night, and there was no one on the street, and even the wild cats that used to be nocturnal did not know where to hide. Only the rain is still densely falling, and the air is full of the sound of rain.It has been raining for three days and three nights today. As usual, when he came out to watch today, Wang Dong poured himself a whole pot of Shaodaozi wine for five cents.Every time as long as the alcohol filled his blood, he would not feel cold, nor would he feel empty and panicked. However, this endless rain made the burning knife wine lose its effect. The coir raincoat and bamboo hat could keep out the needle-like rain, but it couldn't stop the moisture from penetrating into his bones and heart.He was really annoyed by such a day.

The watchman Wang Dong has been working as a watchman in the town for twelve years.Twelve years, more than 4,000 nights, and a small town with a radius of only two or three miles, boiled his black hair to gray.With the clapper and gong in his hand, he slowly measured the length of time and helplessness.He felt that his life was as empty as the night he had to face every day. The local area has been a bit uneasy recently, and there are rumors everywhere that a vicious murderer has sneaked into the boundary of Yangzhou Prefecture.Wherever he went, blood spattered. When Wang Dong first heard the news, his heart trembled, and he was inevitably a little uneasy when he came out to watch the watch at night.

However, Wang Dong figured it out tonight. Compared with the days that go round and round every day, encountering a murderous maniac has become something worth looking forward to. Wang Dong silently thought about what kind of heroic performance he could have if he met this monster.Because of this thought, he couldn't help stepping up briskly, splashing large swathes of water on the ground where the water was stagnant. Suddenly, a deep moan sounded from a distance, hoarse and long like a cow moaning. Wang Dong's heart tightened, and he couldn't tell whether it was nervousness or excitement.

He walked step by step in the direction of the voice, and because of the sudden stimulation, the burning knife burst out all of a sudden.His body shook violently, and the road and the house seemed to be made of water, undulating. The voice came from the house of Qiao Yuanwai, the richest man in this town.Qiao Yuanwai is a Beijing official who has just returned from his old age. Because the local people are all bumpkins who can't get along with him in his eyes, so even in broad daylight, he will close the two iron-clad mansion doors tightly. "Qiao's gate is as deep as the sea", that's how the native talents in this town like to comment on Master Qiao's mansion.

But now, the door of Qiao's compound is open. Wang Dong hesitated for a moment at the door before stepping over the one and a half foot high threshold. Lanterns illuminated the dark ground.Wang Dong saw some bright blood oozing in the stream formed by the rain. He couldn't help holding his breath, and looked in the direction of the bloody water, only to see a few corpses crookedly lying under the eaves of the hall.The moans were also closer than before, as if they were in the hall. Before entering the hall, Wang Dong had already started to vomit.The burning knife wine was completely vomited up, and even the bitter water in the stomach was almost vomited out.Now he would rather live a mediocre life like the past twelve years than see this scene in front of him.

I don't know what happened in the Qiao's compound.Wang Dong clearly saw that more than 20 people, old and young, fell to the ground. Their intestines and five internal organs had been hollowed out, and they were neatly stacked and sorted.The face of each deceased was distorted into some strange shapes, and the veins and muscles on the face almost broke the entire face. There is only a blank in Wang Dong's mind, he only thinks about one thing now, how to escape from here.However, his legs didn't listen at all, and at some point, his crotch was already soaked. Finally, I regained some strength.Wang Dong started to charge like a headless fly with his eyes closed, but after a few steps, his calves began to tremble again.He heard the groaning sound like a cow groaning just now, not only did not go away, but it was getting closer.When he opened his eyes, he realized that in a panic, he ran into the middle hall of Qiao's courtyard. Wang Dong looked up.A man covered in blood was leaning against a pillar in the hall.The man was dressed as a policeman, with his hands and feet cut off, and placed close to his torso, making him look like a puppet with its strings broken.The catcher's gaze was dull, nailed to Wang Dong's face like a nail, and he mumbled a few words out of his mouth: "Thank you... San..." The rain became heavier.

Lin'an, the capital city hundreds of miles away, is also raining. Chen Liu, Mr. Chen's house is quiet, everyone has fallen asleep, with the exception of Mr. Chen's son. This rainy night is destined to be another sleepless night for Chen Xiqiao.His eyes were still powerlessly open, and his ears were filled with the sound of the pattering rain.The room was wide and empty at the moment, as if filled with a strange atmosphere. Although he is seventeen years old, Chen Xiqiao still dare not sleep alone, especially on rainy days.Those damp air will always make fear grow endlessly from his pores.

Chen Xiqiao's already pale face was even paler now, and even his breathing became short and heavy. His palms were subconsciously clenched into fists, which were already filled with cold sweat.After persisting for a while, Chen Xiqiao finally made up his mind, got up from the bed, pushed open the door of the wing room, and ran out.Outside the door is a corridor with eaves, long and winding, stretching forward. Walking along the corridor for a while, Chen Xiqiao ran to a room at the other end of the corridor.Chen Xiqiao stood outside the house and knocked desperately on the door. A young woman's voice came from inside: "Who?" "Sister, it's me." Chen Xiqiao said flatteringly.

The door opened.Behind the door is a beautiful and moving face. Chen Xiqiao's breathing calmed down, and the woman who opened the door as if seeing a savior looked a few years older than Chen Xiqiao, probably in her twenties, wearing a light green pajamas.Her face was frosty, and she seemed to be indifferent to Chen Xiqiao, but everyone could see that her indifference was just faking. At the age of twelve, Zi He entered the Chen Mansion.Because Mrs. Chen died early, her task was to take care of this young master who was seven years younger than herself.In the first few years, every night she would lie on the same bed with the young master and coax him to sleep.Now that the young master has grown up, the master arranged another place for her.But sometimes the young master would sneak into her room at night.

During the day, the young master is not afraid of the sky and the earth, but at night, the young master is just a big boy who is timid and afraid of the dark. She is the only one in the whole world who knows this side of the young master.So she often thinks that this big boy actually belongs to her alone.Chen Xiqiao turned around and closed the door, then walked to the bed and got into Zihe's quilt. "Why, are you afraid of sleeping alone?" Zi He still had a look of disdain, and asked coldly, without even looking at Chen Xiqiao. "The rain is annoying." Chen Xiqiao, who had been pale just now, finally turned a little ruddy.

"Afraid is just afraid, what's there to be upset about?" Chen Xiqiao didn't answer, but the hands under the quilt became very dishonest, and began to stroke Zihe's plump body.Smooth skin, erect twin peaks, slender wasp waist, protruding buttocks, and long legs.Because of Chen Xiqiao's touch, Zi He couldn't help but tremble slightly from top to bottom. "Don't move, or I'll be called a master." Although her body was about to melt, Zi He refused to give in. "Everyone likes to use the old man to pressure me. One day he will fall off. Let's see how you people flatter me?" Chen Xiqiao had a smirk on his face, and his hands became more powerful. At this time, the wind blew outside the house, and the doors and windows shook, making an unpleasant creaking sound. Chen Xiqiao shuddered, stopped his original movements with both hands, and tightly hugged Zi He beside him.Like a frightened child, he buried his head in Zi He's chest. Zi He shook her head helplessly, letting Chen Xiqiao hug her.She gently stroked Chen Xiqiao's soft hair with her hands, and her heart was filled with sweet feelings. I don't know when the sky has dawned.The rain continued to fall. Early in the morning, a carriage arrived at the gate of the Chen residence.Horses, carriages and coachmen were covered in mud.It could be seen that the carriage had driven all night, and it came from a far away place.If it wasn't for an emergency, no one would choose to rush on a rainy night. As soon as the carriage stopped, a man dressed as a master stepped out of the carriage.The master looked very tired, but he still kept an elegant expression on his face. He carefully opened the oiled paper umbrella in his hand, and carefully dusted off the dust on his body.Then he walked up the steps of the Chen residence and began to knock on the door. The door of the Chen residence opened, and a family member poked his head out.The two made gestures and said something.The master turned around, held the oil-paper umbrella and walked towards the street in the distance. The master finally came to the door of a teahouse named "Mingxianju", he didn't go in, but just looked inside for a while, then walked to the opposite eaves of the teahouse, put away his umbrella, and waited for something while hiding from the rain. The teahouse is a good place to chat. Like all teahouses, Mingxianju is full of people's voices. Everyone in the restaurant is beaming, except for one person who is not talking.This is a silent and thin old man, his appearance is too ordinary, like an old family member of some wealthy family with some status.Except for the refreshments on the table, he didn't seem interested in anything. He just lowered his head and swallowed the food in mouthfuls of tea.Only between drinking tea and eating snacks, his gaze would inadvertently sweep across the entire lobby. However, this inadvertent gaze was as sharp as a dagger. Only at this moment of lightning and flint, "Catcher" Chen Liu finally had the appearance of the top arresting yamen. "It's not as deep as Old Chen, and it's not as cruel as Xiao Xie." Both black and white people in the arena commented on Chen Liu and Xie San in this way.As one of the two top experts in the fast-moving circle, Chen Liu has always made people feel unfathomable. Now, on the surface, Chen Liu seemed to be concentrating on drinking tea and eating snacks, but in fact he was listening to someone talking.In the lobby of hundreds of feet, there is not a single voice that has not been heard by Mr. Chen: sitting at the third table by the south window are two guests from the Kingdom of Jin, and they are talking with Boss Zhang of Fengqitang. Bargaining; the three people on the second table on the right hand side of the west wall are the troopers of the Wuhu Prestige Escort Bureau, celebrating each other for completing the escort safely; on the sixth table by the north window are Wang Shilang and Wang Shilang The staff of Li Shangshu of the household department are making private contacts on behalf of their master for the joint impeachment of the Privy Council; at the third table in the second row in the middle, there are regular customers of Mingxianju, the largest gang in the capital, the Qinglong Club Excalibur The head of the hall and his subordinates are discussing the matter of competing for territory with the Tie Ling Gang; and the fifth table in the third row in the middle has already changed seven groups of guests this morning. Hackers, famous prostitutes in brothels, and apprentices in blacksmiths, but in fact they are all Chen Liu's informants. Through chatting with their companions, they secretly passed on the information Chen Liu needed.Chen Liu has always believed that teahouses are a good place to collect information, many casual chats often contain a lot of useful information, and it is also a good place to connect with informants. So everyone thought that Mr. Chen went to Mingxianju every morning because he had a hobby of drinking morning tea, but in fact things were not that simple.Everyone's success is not without reason.In the same way, Chen Liu was able to take the top spot in catching Kuaixing because he put in more effort. The informants who were going to come today have already left, and Chen Liu had already noticed the person dressed as a teacher under the opposite eaves. He knew that the person dressed as a teacher was waiting for him. But Chen Liu was not in a hurry, he knew that he was worth waiting for that master.He picked up the last piece of tea from the saucer on the table, put it into his mouth and chewed it slowly, then slowly drank the tea in the cup, then gently put a few copper coins on the table, turned and left his seat go. The person dressed as the master is still waiting under the eaves opposite. Chen Liu came out of the teahouse, without an umbrella, and walked slowly in the rain. The person dressed as the master hurriedly took a few steps, opened the oil-paper umbrella, and protected Chen Liu from the rain. Chen Liu walked slowly in front with big strides, and the man dressed as a teacher hurriedly followed behind with an umbrella.Raindrops hit his uncovered shoulders. Chen Liu walked silently, without asking the master why he came, as if he already knew. The person dressed as the master also followed silently, and did not intend to tell Chen Liu who he was, as if he knew that Chen Liu should know who he was. Only the rain was still pattering. When approaching the gate of Chen Mansion, Chen Liucai finally said, "Are you an aide of Wang Zhifu?" "Yes." The master turned his side slightly. "Is the iron-eyed eagle dead?" "Yes. Xie San also killed nineteen other police officers." "It must be raining in your place like here?" Chen Liu looked at the drizzle in front of him with some melancholy. "Yes. It has been raining for three days." "Go and tell the magistrate Wang that when the rain stops, I will go to Yangzhou to enjoy the chrysanthemums." "Okay, we will definitely wait for Mr. Chen to visit." The master felt relieved , A smile finally appeared on his face. The rain finally stopped.The sunlight that had been hidden for several days suddenly fell from the sky, illuminating every corner in a bright manner. Although the muddy ground in the garden is still a little damp, the refreshing earthy smell has already penetrated through the gaps between the grass and moss. It is such a good day and such a good breath, Chen Xiqiao really does not want to waste time on such a strong wind swordsmanship superior.So he temporarily changed the homework arranged by Chen Liu, found a reclining chair, lay down comfortably, and basked in the sun while humming a little tune. If he could choose, Chen Xiqiao would rather not be Chen Liu's son.He didn't understand why his life had been arranged before he came into the world, and he had no choice but to be a catcher. Tired of thinking, he closed his eyes, relaxed every pore, and let the sunlight and air penetrate into his body silently. At this time, Chen Liu had quietly walked into the garden. Ever since he promised Wang Zhifu to deal with Xie San, he had an ominous premonition that maybe once he went this time, he would never come back again. Everyone knows what kind of character Xie San is. If there is anyone in this world who can make Chen Liu feel uncertain, it must be Xie San. In the past ten years, the criminals with the most cunning schemes, the deepest scheming and the highest martial arts in the world are the so-called "Twelve Evil Gods". In order to collect information on them, Chen Liu spent three years and killed many informants.According to the plan, Chen Liuben thought that it would take another three years to bring the "twelve evil gods" to justice one by one.However, it took Xie San three months to capture all the "twelve evil gods" with only one person's strength. Probably from then on, Chen Liu suddenly felt old.So he made up his mind to sue the Ministry of Punishment and hand over the chief arrest position to Xie San. But after that, Xie San suddenly went crazy.Released all the "Twelve Evil Gods" captured by himself from the sky prison, and he himself became a murderous maniac even more vicious than the "Twelve Evil Gods". Although Xie San was crazy, he became even more unfathomable than when he was not crazy.In the "Twelve Evil Gods", Chen Liu could still find their flaws and clues, but Chen Liu couldn't find Xie San's flaws.When Xie San was working on these cases, he had neither motive nor consistent thinking.In other words, his motivation and thinking is to do a case that others will never be able to solve, to become a criminal that others will never be able to catch. Before Xie San went crazy, he once told Chen Liu that being a fast catcher was like a profound art to him. Chen Liu knew that now Xie San must regard killing as a profound art.That's why he can do everything without any worries. But Chen Liu has too many concerns.Now, his biggest concern in the world is his son.It was not until the age of forty that the twenty-eight-year-old Mrs. Chen gave birth to this son for him.Twelve years ago, in order to help him, Mrs. Chen was plotted against by the traitor Slim Hand Poison Guanyin from Tangmen in Sichuan.After his wife's tragic death, Chen Liu never remarried.His son is his only relative in the world. Maybe it's because he was too pampered at ordinary times. Although this spoiled child is seventeen years old, he doesn't understand the word "responsibility" in this world. Sure enough, just as he expected, his son was slacking off again. Standing silently behind the recliner, Chen Liu didn't make a sound, but looked at his son sadly. If he could choose, Chen Liu would also like his son to be like this forever. However, this is not only his only son, but also the only surviving descendant of the famous Chen family.This legendary family of famous arresters has been handed down to Chen Liu for exactly the ninth generation, and each generation of the family will produce several famous arresters who have made great achievements in the Jianghu world.Back then, in order to praise them, Emperor Zhenzong specially gave the Chen family a golden plaque of "Famous Arresting Family", and also awarded a hereditary salary of a third-rank official.But for this honor, the Chen family also paid a heavy price. "Nine generations of famous arresters, one family of widows", this is the evaluation of the famous arrester Chen's family by the masters of the rivers and lakes.The Chen family has been famous for 150 years, but 300 children of the Chen family died.In Chen Liu's generation, he originally had five brothers, but these five brothers died tragically at the hands of the enemy in the process of arresting the murderer before they reached their prime. Fifty years ago, the most famous young hero in the rivers and lakes was originally Chen Liu's elder brother, Chen Kongshui. As early as when he was sixteen years old, he used the move "leaves fall before the wind blows", and he will have the world's fastest sword. The famous flower-picking thief Yue Feng was first executed under the sword.At the age of seventeen, he broke through the "Thirteen Taibao" formation of the largest gang in the underworld with the move "Autumn Wind and Autumn Rain Sorrow Sharen" and annihilated the head of the villain's association in one fell swoop.So much so that even the sword god Zeng Buhui, who has always had his eyes above his head, has to admit that no one can surpass Chen Kongshui among the masters of sword use in this world.However, God is jealous of talents, Chen Kongshui and his sword have become the common enemy of the gangsters, so that the 20 underworld gangs who have never been at odds formed an alliance for Chen Kongshui, invested 300,000 taels of gold, and found the most skillful hand in Tianzhu Kingdom, Capricorn , made the Peacock Ling, the king of hidden weapons that has never existed since ancient times, and used sixteen peerless masters to assassinate Chen Kongshui in the confused sea of ​​the gate of the underworld.That year, Chen Kongshui was only twenty years old when he died. Chen Kongshui's death made the famous arrester Chen's family lose a pillar from now on. Everyone in the Jianghu thought that the Chen family would have to wait at least another ten years to take revenge.Five years ago, Chen Kongshui's father, Chen Laobutou, put the most difficult demons of heaven and earth under the palm of his hand in the famous battle of "Extermination of Demons", but Chen Laobutou himself paid for it. At the price, his spine was severed and his martial arts were all lost. That's why Chen Kongshui continued to support the Chen family's appearance in the arena before he could reach the weak crown. However, after Chen Kongshui's death, the Chen family was really old, young, sick, sick and weak.Revenge can only be counted on the twelve-year-old third and eleven-year-old fourth when they grow up. Originally, the heavy responsibility of revenge should have fallen on the shoulders of the seventeen-year-old second child, Chen Kongfeng, but Chen Kongfeng is just a fool who drags his nose and drools all day long.When he was three years old, Chen Kongfeng suffered from a cold, which burned his brain and turned him into an idiot who couldn't even speak clearly. "Within ten years, there will never be any members of the Chen family on the list of celebrities in the Jianghu. It is a foregone conclusion to arrest the Chen family." One of the three martial arts historians, known as the most well-informed in the world, Wan Shentong commented on Chen Kongshui. His death was a blow to the Chen family. But in just three years, the Chen family produced another famous arrester who was famous all over the world.Not only was he famously arrested, but he also disintegrated the Underworld League formed by the twenty major underworld gangs. Resourceful Chen Kongfeng, many years later, people like to comment on that Chen Kongfeng that everyone thinks is an idiot.Because he barely used a single soldier, the 20 largest gangs of the underworld were severely damaged by the internal strife, and they could no longer form their own forces for at least 20 years. Of course, this Chen Kongfeng is not the Chen Kongfeng who drags his nose every day in the Chen Mansion.The real Chen Kongfeng was sent out of the Chen Mansion a long time ago, received training at a secret base, and then as an undercover agent, he was sent to the money gang that controlled the underworld business in the Jiangnan area. Qian Qianjian, the head of the Qiang Gang, is known as the most intelligent person in the world. He is suspicious and scheming. Yamen at all levels sent eighteen groups of undercover agents to him, but he saw through them all in the end.Twenty gangsters formed an alliance and invested in the purchase of peacock feathers, which was his masterpiece. But such a wise man fell into the hands of another wise man.Not only did he fail to see that Chen Kongfeng was an undercover agent sent by the yamen, but he also adopted Chen Kongfeng as his adopted son, and planned to pass on the position of leader of the money gang to him after a hundred years. Because of too much trust in Chen Kongfeng, the smart Qian Qianjian used ten evil tricks in a row in just one year, not only disbanding the underworld alliance that he had assembled, but also triggering an unprecedented and tragic gang war. Until Qian Qianjian, who was seriously injured, was stabbed to death by Chen Kongfeng, he didn't believe that this young man whom he trusted was actually the second child of the famous arresting Chen family. Passionate since ancient times, there is no hatred left. Although Chen Kongfeng, a smart man, was able to break the underworld alliance wisely, he still couldn't escape the word love. After Qian Qianjian's death, Qian Lanshan, his daughter, the most beautiful woman in Jianghu and Chen Kongfeng's favorite woman in his life, gathered a group of children of Jianghu figures who died in the gang war, formed the Miefeng Enemy Party, and sought revenge from Chen Kongfeng . Love is like the tide, hatred is as deep as the sea.Chen Kongfeng and Qian Lanshan struggled hard for five years between love and hatred, and finally got tired of it.In the end, the two made an appointment to meet at the top of Huashan Mountain. After a night of lingering, they hugged each other and jumped off the Sacrifice Cliff.When people found them, it was impossible to separate them. The death of Chen Kongfeng was another heavy blow to the famous arrester Chen's family.But fortunately, Chen Kongchou and Chen Konghen, the third child of the Chen family, have grown up and made their names in the world.Therefore, the famous arresting Chen family is still one of the most influential families in Jianghu. "Parting sorrow, don't hate, just write it off." It took only three years for Chen Kongchou's parting sorrow pen and Chen Konghen's don't hate hook, and another female historian of the martial arts, Zhou Luoyi, added it to the top ten weapons of the martial arts. spectrum. For a time, as long as the Lichou pen and the Biehen hook go, even the most vicious criminals will escape without a trace. Perhaps it was because success came so easily that these two proud young men became careless. As a result, no accident happened in the stormy sea, but they capsized in the gutter. In a small tavern on the ten-mile slope of Liangshan Mountain in Shuibo, the two brothers were knocked to the ground by a little thief who didn't know martial arts with the simplest Mongolian sweat medicine, and died unjustly under a simple simple knife that was not sharp at all. When the bad news came, Mr. Chen, who was lying on the bed, vomited three liters of blood on the spot, and died of breathlessness. However, the bad luck of the Chen family did not end there.In order to prevent the Chen family from making a comeback, the gangsters of the Jianghu did not hesitate to pay for murder and killed Chen Kongyun, who was only eleven years old, in the market. The only male left in the Chen family is Chen Kongyan, a frail scholar. Because he was weak and sick since childhood, and Chen Kongyan had a special interest in poetry and prose.That's why Mr. Chen decided to make an exception for the fifth son of the Chen family and let him study essays. Facts have proved that Mr. Chen's decision to arrest the head is correct.In the fourteenth year, Chen Kongyan passed the provincial examination for Yuan.All the Confucians who have seen Chen Kongyan's poems and essays all agree that he is a top scholar. But just three days before Chen Kongyan was going to take the test, the body of the sixth younger brother Chen Kongyun was brought back.In front of the corpse, Mrs. Mrs. Zhao, Mrs. Chen's wife, brought a family of widows and knelt in front of Chen Kongyan. At that moment, Chen Kongyan suddenly understood that it was impossible for him to become the number one scholar of Enke in the dynasty, but he could only be a catcher like his father and brothers. At the age of seventeen, Chen Kongyan began to abandon literature and pursue martial arts.He deliberately changed his name to Chen Liu.Because he wanted to keep telling himself that he was not living for himself alone, he was living for six people at the same time, and from then on he had to bear the honor and disgrace of arresting the Chen family alone.Some people are born to live for others. So, now, the fate of the son is neither decided by the son himself nor by him as the father. However, until now, the son has not been able to realize this.So Chen Liu was very worried that the family's famous names for several generations would be buried in his hands. Chen Xiqiao didn't notice that his father was already standing behind him.After basking in the sun for half an hour, the troubles in his heart had long since disappeared, and he was humming more and more leisurely.He even started to open his eyes slightly, facing the scorching sun, making the world in front of him look like a glittering world. However, in this glittering world, for some reason, there is always a shadow drifting, Chen Xiqiao's heart suddenly sank, and the leisurely complacency on his face suddenly froze. "Father... are you here?" Chen Xiqiao asked tentatively, hoping to hear an unexpected voice. However, the accident did not happen. What he heard was Chen Liu's usual tepid voice: "It's been a while." No matter how careful he was, he couldn't hide it from this shrewd old man, so he simply smashed the can, and landed his slightly raised butt on the recliner. "Lie down for a while, and I'll go to practice swords." Chen Xiqiao said angrily. "I'm going out these few days." Chen Liu didn't get angry, but said lightly. Chen Xiqiao was taken aback for a moment, wondering why the old man was still so calm under such circumstances.But on his face, he still had a look of indifference, and he replied carelessly: "Oh, then you should be careful." "Have you thought about the future?" "Do I have a choice? Didn't you arrange it for me a long time ago?" Are you ready?" Chen Xiqiao said sarcastically, hoping to anger Chen Liu. Chen Liu shook his head worriedly: "Oh." After sighing, he walked out of the garden, as if he didn't want to pay attention to Chen Xiqiao anymore. Chen Xiqiao began to hum the ditty more loudly, while humming, he kept glancing at Chen Liu. Chen Liu didn't respond at all, and his back, which was as tall and straight as a javelin, suddenly felt extremely lonely and tired. When Chen Liu came out of the garden, Chen Xiqiao suddenly jumped up from the reclining chair.He walked to the gate of the courtyard and looked at Chen Liu's back thoughtfully. He didn't understand why the old man was so weird today, and a trace of uneasiness slowly occupied his heart. It is dusk.The cool autumn wind blew into the front hall of the Chen Mansion through the open door. The wind blew on Zhang Hengzhou's back, causing him to bend his body subconsciously.At this moment, he was standing on a stool, carefully wiping the imperial golden plaque hanging in front of him. As the chief steward of the Chen residence, Zhang Hengzhou's subordinates are in charge of dozens of family members, and there is no need for him to do everything by himself in the residence.But for forty years, as long as he has time, he will still come to the front hall on time every day, and personally wipe the dust on this imperial golden plaque.This golden plaque, which he had polished for more than 40 years, now looks smoother than silk. The sunlight from the west window slid across the plaque, reflecting all the soft sunlight on Zhang Hengzhou's body. , exposed his old state. No matter from which angle you look at it, Zhang Hengzhou is already a real old man. Even the simplest movement seems to use all the strength of his whole body. At this moment, his left hand holding the rag is even trembling slightly.And only twenty years ago, this left hand was ranked among the three fastest golden left hands in the world.Murong Jinwang Zhang Sima was originally the most famous five tiger generals under the famous Chen family. At least 30% of Chen Liu's achievements should be recorded in the names of these five people.Now the five tiger generals of the Chen Clan, Sima, the King of Murong Jin, have all returned home, and Zhang Hengzhou is the only one left.So he became the confidant of Chen Liu's confidant, and now he alone needs to arrange what the five people did. Ever since he heard that Chen Liu was going to deal with Xie San this time, Zhang Hengzhou made arrangements for the trip early. He selected fifty of the most capable assistants for Chen Liu, prepared a hundred fast horses, and used various Organs, hidden weapons and other special supplies for different occasions, as well as all the information needed for this operation.After following Chen Liu for forty years, the tacit understanding between him and Chen Liu has already reached a seamless situation. Zhang Hengzhou also prepared luggage for himself.His left hand is no longer the fastest left hand in the world, but his experience is not possessed by those agile young people, so every time Chen Liu goes out to handle cases, he will still bring him with him. Although he was about to leave in the evening, Zhang Hengzhou arrived at the vestibule on time to wipe the dust off the imperial plaque.He knew that this was probably the last time he would wipe this golden plaque for the Chen family.So he was especially careful when wiping, as if he was not wiping dust, but stroking his lover's carcass. Suddenly, the autumn wind blowing on his back weakened.Zhang Hengzhou knew that this was not because the wind outside had weakened, but because a force stronger than the autumn wind had come to the front hall.The wind from the tiger, the cloud from the dragon, the real masters will have some special aura, even if they don't see him, they can feel his existence. Chen Liu is such a master.Although after decades of tempering, Chen Liu has learned to hide every bit of vigor in himself, but in front of another top master, a master is still a master, and he can't hide it no matter what. "Sixth Brother, shouldn't it be time to go? After wiping the golden plaque, I'll go with you." Zhang Hengzhou didn't stop, and continued his movements meticulously. Chen Liu also didn't move, with a smile on his face, he watched Zhang Hengzhou's wiping action with admiration, as if he was not watching an old man's slow and clumsy old state, but a master showing the most unfathomable martial arts. Perhaps, in this world, only Chen Liu can understand the infinite mysteries hidden in Zhang Hengzhou's simple wiping action.The rag in Zhang Hengzhou's hand wiped only the dust attached to the plaque, but did not touch the golden plaque at all. This is the most difficult part of this action.Therefore, although this plaque has been wiped by Zhang Hengzhou for forty years, it has not faded or worn out at all. Although Zhang Hengzhou's left hand is no longer the fastest left hand in Jianghu, and sometimes trembles slightly, it is undoubtedly the most controlling left hand. Before the age of thirty, Chen Liu always believed that the highest level of martial arts is a fast word, so he practiced a simple movement of drawing a sword and drawing a sword a thousand times a day, because he thought that if he could practice this move to the fastest , You can beat all the tricks in the world. However, at the age of 30, Li Laozi, the master of Neizong, used the internal force of "one qi transforms the three cleans" to stab Chen Liu's fast sword into a bottomless sea.No matter how fast the sword is, it will have its own end point. If a fast sword cannot find the end point, the fast sword will be useless.So from then on, Chen Liuwu realized that the higher level of martial arts than fast is "deep".Since then, Chen Liu has decided to spend at least four hours a day meditating and practicing Qi. After turning fifty, Chen Liu's thoughts changed again.He feels that the highest level of martial arts is neither fast nor deep, but control.No matter how fast the sword is, no matter how deep its internal strength is out of control, it will not only become a sharp weapon to kill the enemy, but also a sharp weapon to hurt oneself.All things have two sides. The highest martial art is to know when to hold the sword and when to abandon it. When it is time to use ten points of force, it should be full.This is the perfect combination of martial arts, wisdom and experience. Now, Zhang Hengzhou's action of rubbing the gold plaque is such a perfect combination.Therefore, Chen Liu believed that Zhang Hengzhou's left hand was already stronger than it was twenty years ago. "Hehe, sixth brother, I'm really sorry to keep you waiting for so long." Zhang Hengzhou finally finished wiping the gold plaque, and hunched down from the stool. "It's okay." Chen Liu nodded gently to this brotherly friend.In those bloody days, all his closest friends had left him.Zhang Hengzhou was the only friend left by his side who could count on his life. "The carriage has been prepared and is waiting outside the door, shall we leave now?" Zhang Hengzhou asked. "You don't have to follow me this time." Chen Liu's eyes flashed, and he said word by word. Although a little surprised, Zhang Hengzhou didn't ask questions right away.He knew that Chen Liu would definitely give him a reasonable explanation. "What do you think, if I don't bring you along and deal with Xie San alone, what are my chances of winning?" Chen Liu didn't explain right away, but asked an irrelevant question. Zhang Hengzhou pondered for a moment, then lowered his head and dared not face Chen Liu directly: "If it was ten years ago, you would have been 50% sure. But now, your chances of winning probably won't exceed 40%." "Very good, you are a very A fair person." Chen Liu nodded in agreement. "Because the sixth brother once warned us that if we want to make a difference in the police, the most important thing is to be fair to ourselves and the enemy. Fairness is the first priority of our police." “那么，你觉得如果这次你跟着我去。我们的胜算大概有多少？”“嗯……”张横舟想了想，然后横下心答，“还是只有四成。”“所以，我想让你留下来。”“不，”张横舟坚决地摇了摇头，“六哥，可能我帮不上你，但是我也知道以后跟你一起办案子的机会越来越少，咱们是好兄弟，如果不能一起生，那么就一起死。”“好兄弟，果然是好兄弟。”陈六感激地拍了拍张横舟的肩，“但是，我还是有些事情放不下，只有你能托付。”“你是说溪桥？”“哼哼，”陈六苦笑，“这孩子总是长不大，我很担心，我会没脸去见列祖列宗。”“现在他还年轻，将来他一定会明白的。”“但愿。”陈六沉重的目光在那块“名捕世家”的金匾停顿了片刻，”所以，以后还要你多费心。”“是，我明白。”张横舟郑重其事地点了点头，“不过，如果有你这个父亲在，溪桥一定会成长得更快一点。所以，无论如何你一定要设法活着回来。”“谢谢。”陈六淡淡地一笑，“虽然你说我有四成胜算，但实际上我可能连一成胜算都没有。三天前，大运道人给我寄来了一封命书。”“什么？！”张横舟一惊，出了一身冷汗。 命书一出，大限将至。三十年来，武林三大史家居首的大运道人曾给两千三百三十三个成名人物批过命书，结果接到命书不出三个月，其中两千三百三十个都像命书所批的那样撒手西归。所以，大运道人被誉为江湖上能窥破天机的第一神算。 “不错，我的大限就在眼前了。”陈六的语气很平静，好像是在说一个毫不相干的人。 “也许……这次大运道人算错了。毕竟这三十年中，他也失算过三次。”“但是，他更算准了两千三百三十次。”“如果我没记错的话，十二年前他已经给你批过一次命书了。但是，你直到现在还活得很好。”“不错，我是很幸运，大运道人三次失算，有一次就在我身上。”陈六微微停顿了片刻，语调竟变得有些伤感，”但其实大运道人并没有算错，那次如果不是最后关头我夫人挡在我面前，没有人能挡住纤手毒观音的千擒千纵千毒砂。我这多活的十二年，其实是夫人用自己的命换回来的。所以，直到今天我还情愿大运道人那次没有失算。”“六哥……”张横舟恨恨地低下了头，眉宇间一片悲愤。 “唉，夫人又是何苦，她的牺牲只不过是多给我换了十二年的生命。”“六哥，不管最后结果如何，你总不能现在就认输啊！”“我说的不是和谢三的对决。”陈六温厚地摆了摆手，“其实，十二年前，夫人替我挡掉的毒砂只有九百九十九颗，最后还是有一颗毒砂打在了我的肩上。十二年来，我只是用内力暂时逼住了毒气。这两天，毒发时间已经越来越长，我可能已经控制不住它了。所以不用大运道人给我批命书，我也知道我已经活不过三个月了。”“为什么……为什么这十二年来，你不告诉我这件事？”张横舟哽咽了，热泪正在眼眶里转动。 传说中，纤手毒观音的千擒千纵千毒砂只要中了三颗以上，就会当场毙命。但是，千擒千纵千毒砂最可怕的地方是只中一颗毒砂。三颗毒砂是死，一颗毒砂也是死，只不过中了一颗毒砂的人会死得很慢，而且每天至少毒发三次，每次都会让人痛不欲生。江湖上无数响当当的硬汉曾被纤手毒观音的这一招，逼得说出了他们本不该说出的秘密，目的只为求一速死。千擒千纵千毒砂的名称既是指每一组毒砂都有一千颗，也是指这毒砂的毒性就像一条绞索，一紧一松一擒一纵，一次比一次更紧，来来回回一共有一千次。吃二茬苦，遭二茬罪，本就是世上最让人毛骨悚然的事，何况同样的苦要反复一千次。当年江湖上有第一硬骨头之称的秦谋，甚至因为中了一粒毒砂，追着纤手毒观音在地上哭号着爬了三天三夜，一世英名就此毁于一旦。事后，纤手毒观音轻轻松松地解释了自己的动机：“我只是想看看究竟是秦谋的骨头硬，还是我的毒砂毒。”但是，十二年来，中了奇毒的陈六却没有显露出一点蛛丝马迹。 “所以，你应该知道，死对我来说也许反而是解脱。”“六哥，你不要再说了。”张横舟紧紧地握住了陈六的手，不让他再说下去，“我一定会竭尽全力，让少爷早成大器。”“好，这样我就放心了。”陈六点了点头，“我也该出发了。”