Martial Arts: Starting from a Seemingly Real System

Qiao Rui returned to Yunlai Inn and told the shopkeeper Lao Huang that the smelly beggar had been dealt with. He then ate some food and wine casually, and then leisurely walked to the nearby Lotus Inn. He still had a room here that he had not checked out of, and because he heard some noise last night, Qiao Rui planned to stay for a few more nights to see what happened.

Just as Qiao Rui was about to go upstairs to his room, he met an "acquaintance" on the stairs. The man was coming downstairs. He was a hunchbacked man, dark and thin, with pockmarks all over his face. He was the same person Qiao Rui had seen when he met Zhao Lingying in Daye Prefecture. The restaurant was full at that time, and there were only two tables that could be shared by only one person. One was Zhao Lingying, and the other was this ugly black man. Because of his special appearance, Qiao Rui had some impression of him.

When the ugly, dark and thin man saw Qiao Rui, his eyes froze. It was obvious that he recognized Qiao Rui. The two of them nodded slightly and passed each other.

Qiao Rui went upstairs to the room, and the ugly, dark and thin man actually recognized him. Thinking about it, he was not conspicuous in the restaurant at that time, so he should not have noticed him. However, he was more prominent when he made a big fuss at the North City Gate later. Maybe he was also among that group of gangsters at that time.

Shaking his head, Qiao Rui stopped thinking about it and without taking off his clothes, he just sat cross-legged on the bed and practiced his internal energy, moving the Qi around in his body.

At midnight, a slight sound was heard. Qiao Rui suddenly opened his eyes, quickly got out of bed and walked to the door, only to see a black shadow flash by and jump onto the roof from the corridor.

Qiao Rui hurried out of the house and also jumped onto the roof. Looking up, he saw a tall black figure leaping quickly along the roofs of the buildings. His movements were swift and erratic, like a big black bird, gradually going away.

Not willing to be outdone, Qiao Rui also used his lightness skills to the extreme, following the man in black all the way, hanging far behind him. In his heart, he was very impressed by the man's lightness skills. His own "Kuangfeng Body Skills" was already an advanced lightness skill, but that guy's lightness skills seemed to be even better. It was really amazing.

The man in black seemed to have a clear goal. He did not stop along the way. He jumped to a corner of the city where patrols were lax, and then jumped down again, and ran straight south out of Longxing City.

In the wilderness, the man in black ran through forests and crossed rivers, running in a straight line. In less than half an hour, he flashed into a small town. When Qiao Rui arrived, there was no trace of the man in black. When he looked at the town again, he found that it was Lianhua Town.

Qiao Rui unwillingly shuttled back and forth on the rooftops of buildings, but he still couldn't find the guy. He simply found the roof of the tallest building and lay down, practicing his internal skills while waiting for the man in black to appear.

When it was dawn, the man in black still did not appear. Qiao Rui quietly jumped down from the roof, came out from a secluded alley, straightened his clothes, walked out of the town leisurely and returned to Yunlai Inn in Longxing City.

After breakfast, Qiao Rui chatted with Tian Jing about the subsequent operation of the inn. Then he left the inn and went to Changyun Coach and Horse Company to find Manager Chen.

Shopkeeper Chen was very happy to see Qiao Rui. He smiled and asked, "When did you come back? Did you find Liu Xinyue?"

Qiao Rui shook his head and said that he had been back for a few days and had not found Liu Xinyue yet, but he had some clues. Then he told Lin Wenyuan what he had said that all the major martial arts sects were looking for disciples with good qualifications.

Shopkeeper Chen nodded. There were indeed many good talents among this group of people who were divided up by various major sects. However, my Qingtian Guard was not at a loss either. We also recruited many people with good qualifications. For example, the boy in front of me is not bad. He has good qualifications, high intelligence, and is loyal and righteous. He is rare.

Qiao Rui then talked about his impressions of the Beggars' Sect and the grievances between him and the Beggars' Sect. Finally, he asked, "The Beggars' Sect behaves like this, so why don't I, the Sky Guard, do anything about it? Aren't we supposed to control the martial arts world and monitor the world?"

Shopkeeper Chen sat on the armchair and patted the armrest. He looked a little helpless and sighed, "The martial arts world is headed by the four sects in the world, and then the four sects lead the whole martial arts world to expand the territory and serve the king. This was the strategy set by the previous emperor in order to unify the world. But now it is indeed too big to be eliminated. Shaolin and Wudang are better, as they still have the precepts and ethics of monks, but Shushan is arrogant and domineering, and the Beggars' Gang is arrogant and domineering. It is really disgusting!" The old man picked up the purple clay teapot on the table and took a few sips, exhaled a breath of hot air, and then continued, "Fortunately, the Grand Commander has already started to make arrangements. The affairs of the Beggars' Gang are more complicated than you think. We have to work slowly!"

Qiao Rui nodded, and the two were silent for a moment.

After a while, Manager Chen suddenly asked, "Why are you here today? You're not just here to reminisce about the past with me, are you?"

Qiao Rui smiled and said, "Indeed, I have something to do. I want to buy a fine goose-feather knife made of fine iron. In addition, I also want to ask if you can give me something that will be easy to track!"

Qiao Rui's Yanling sword was broken by Liu Dabiao of the Beggar Gang's Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms in Daye City. Now of course he has to buy a new one. Shopkeeper Chen nodded and said, "The Yanling sword is easy to deal with, but what do you want to do with something that is easy to track?"

Qiao Rui talked about the man in black and his own thoughts.

"Do you suspect he is an adulterer?" Shopkeeper Chen was a little surprised after hearing what Qiao Rui said.

"He's good at martial arts and behaves stealthily. I can't think of anyone else except Yizhihongxing who has been committing crimes frequently recently." Qiao Rui explained.

"Then why did he go to Lianhua Town? There are no people associated with the Beggars' Sect there?" Shopkeeper Chen frowned and thought, muttering something incomprehensible. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, "Oh, right, the Lu family, the eldest son of the Lu family, Lu Yanqing, is a disciple of an elder of the Beggars' Sect!"

"What Beggars' Gang Lu Family? What does Yizhihongxing have to do with them?" Qiao Rui asked puzzledly.

Shopkeeper Chen explained: "Yizhihongxing committed crimes crazily back then, following only one principle, that is, his targets were all wives and concubines of wealthy families. Later, the martial arts world attacked him. After he escaped, he stayed quiet for a few years until recently when he started committing crimes again, but this time he committed crimes a little differently from the past."

"What's the difference?" Qiao Rui asked.

"Yizhihongxing has committed crimes this time, and has a total of four victims so far. The first one is the second wife of an old man from the suburbs of Mingzhou. It is reported that the old man's son is a leader of the Beggar Gang. The second victim is the new concubine of an old scholar in Longyou Prefecture. According to our investigation, this old scholar recently became the accountant of the Longyou Prefecture branch of the Beggar Gang." Shopkeeper Chen took a sip of tea to moisten his throat, and then continued: "The third one is the second wife of a wealthy businessman in our Longxing Prefecture. In fact, this wealthy businessman is a guest official of the Beggar Gang's Jingyi Sect. The fourth one is the concubine of the leader of the Daye Prefecture branch."

Putting down the purple clay teapot, Shopkeeper Chen looked at Qiao Rui and said slowly, "Now you understand why he went to the Lu family!"