Alternative Jianghu Adventures

"Snapped--"

Xia Yun led the sixteen generals into the threshold of Yuelai Inn, when he heard the sound of slapping a ruler on the table, it resounded crisply throughout the lobby.

"It is said that 12 years ago, the first emperor suddenly became critically ill, and there was an uproar in the court. Lu Xiang suddenly came out and tried his best to turn the tide—what kind of person was the first emperor! He practiced martial arts since he was a child, and his greatest wish in his life was to conquer the Western Regions and clean up Beidi. Is it so easy to eliminate? Years of wars emptied the warehouses of the imperial court, tsk tsk tsk put it on our heads, that is, the miscellaneous taxes are increasing day by day, and the refugees are rising!

Lu Xiang is facing this mess..."

The storyteller was dressed in a yellowed light-colored robe, with a grown beard that looked quite fairy-like. With his left hand, he unfolded an old folding fan, on which were written crookedly the four characters of "Tianxia Taiping", which was placed in the current turmoil. The age of the book is quite ironic; holding a bowl of tea bowl with a broken porcelain mouth in his right hand, he moistens his throat after speaking for a while, and then he speaks eloquently.

Xia Yun couldn't help laughing when he heard this man's words.

"Hey! Who listens to this! Old Zhou, tell everyone something interesting... By the way, let's just talk about the mysterious killer—didn't you mention it yesterday?"

"That's right! We want to hear the story of that Jade Broken Sword Shadow! Tell me about that! Hurry up!"

The people listening to the book below saw someone taking the lead, and booed one after another.

"...Okay, the story of the jade broken sword shadow! It is said that the late emperor was critically ill, and he drove west within a day-this is the official statement, but according to the little officials in the palace who experienced this incident, the late emperor did not I didn’t get sick! On the day I went there, I was having fun with that beautiful woman in the palace!”

Someone in the crowd laughed and booed, "Go ahead!"

"Then——suddenly there was a black figure jumping past! The guard standing at the door only heard the sound of the sword, and then the sword light like a silver dragon burst out of the window, and there was a loud bang and crackle. The person fell to the ground and knocked down the standing guy...

Even the mandarin duck jade pendant bestowed on Jiemei by the late emperor was pierced through the heart of the late emperor's beauty by the sword of the incoming man, Yu Wei nailed the jade pendant to the wall! "

The audience held their breath, watching the storyteller close the folding fan in a mysterious way, squinted his eyes and looked around, and said softly: "When the guards noticed something strange and pushed the door in, the jade pendant happened to split into two pieces, bang One fell to the ground.

The pair of mandarin ducks on the top were neatly cut open! "

"What kind of nonsense are you talking about--" Xia Yun murmured in his heart, still forced a smile on his face, and nodded to the storyteller Zhou Tou, and heard a pretty female voice from high to low From upstairs to downstairs.

"Hey, Xiao Xia is back? Come, come, let the aunt see if you look pretty?"

The corner of Xia Yun's mouth twitched, Yang raised his hand and stopped the "magic claw" who was stretching out to pinch his face, and said helplessly, "Guo shopkeeper, please spare the little one, your hand is so strong, every time It took a long time for fingerprints to disappear every time."

The person who came was the innkeeper of Yuelai Inn, her name was Guo Huiniang, she was the number one at home, so she shouted at the acquaintances.

"Go to the Three Treasures Hall for nothing, tell me, why are you here this time?" Aunt Guo was not annoyed, she looked at Shiliu who was standing next to Xia Yun, "Oh, I brought a little girl with me when I went out this time." The girl is back? You poor ghost still have spare money to support someone else?"

Xia Yun secretly rolled his eyes, "I came here because I had no money. I think you are here as a temporary assistant? I have accepted a mission this time, and I will stay in Qingzhou City for a while. I will live here. Two people, work whatever you want—how about food, drink, wages and daily settlement?"

Shopkeeper Guo smiled, "Success, but I have a condition—"

"You said."

"Food is included, drink is included...you have to pay again." Aunt Guo patted Xia Yun's head, Xia Yun caught off guard and grinned, only to hear Aunt Guo pretending to be angry and scolded,

"Last time you bastard worked here for half a month, wishing to drink up half of the wine in my entire inn! You also drank up the can of decades-old wine I brought over from the capital! You Don't play tricks on me again this time."

Xia Yun rubbed his nose embarrassingly, and smiled apologetically, "I'm sorry... I will definitely pay this time."

Talking about this picture to change the subject, he took out a 1000 tael silver note from his pocket and stuffed it into Aunt Guo's pocket, with a rare serious look in his eyes, "How is the side business in the store?"

The Yuelai Inn has a great business, and it is a rare conscientious store in this troubled world.

Every month and holidays, Yuelai Inn and the Buddhist temples and temples in the city will join hands to give alms in various places where refugees gather in Qingzhou City, and it has a good reputation in the world.A knight-errant and swordsman with spare money would leave a little money to the Yuelai Inn when he met him, which can be regarded as earning a good reputation for being kind and charitable.

But there are also people who dismiss this. After all, in troubled times, who can have such a big spare energy to spend so much money on giving?If there is only Yuelai Inn, it will never go bankrupt for a long time. If it has not closed down yet, it may be that there are some stupid big money or taking advantage of it to provide financial support behind.

Apparently, Xia Yun is one of these "taken advantage of".

"It's barely enough," Aunt Guo also suppressed her smile, "I'm not talking about you, Xiaoxia. You don't need to invest all your money every time. What the hell are you planning?"

Xia Yun pouted, only left some money to buy medicines and tools for missions, and stuffed the rest into the hands of Shopkeeper Guo without blinking, "Anyway, it's useless for me to ask for these money, it's all from the group. Just keep the money from the big fool."

"Your child has been like this since you were a child..." Aunt Guo sighed and did not shirk, "You don't take money as money, at least you take your own life as your life. This money is not earned by gambling with your life. Yes, one task after another, even if you can only kill some low-level people with your martial arts, it will inevitably be dangerous."

After hearing this, Xia Yun exploded like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, "I'm bad at martial arts?! Such a powerful person like me is bad at martial arts?!!!"

The point is completely wrong, okay?Sixteen next to him expressed that he was very tired.

"Shen Yuan Pavilion Assassin ranks 730 and 300, and the highest task reward he receives does not exceed [-] taels, and most of them are sundries such as sending letters." Aunt Guo poked it mercilessly, "You don't even look at the top of the list. In other words, the starting price for any task is tens of thousands of taels, are you okay?"

Xia Yun: "..."

Aunt Guo didn't talk nonsense to her, she hated iron for being weak, "An assassin, who is like this, came here to find a job! You just say that you are not ashamed! I'll tell you straight, two dollars a month Money, you pay extra for drinking, you wait, she..."

Aunt Guo looked at Shiliu, said a few words and said, "Shiliu will be a handyman. Do you remember the miscellaneous room on the west side of the backyard? After tidying up, I will do the work for you. Do you hear me?"

Xia Yun responded and realized, "One, one room?"

"Recently, the room is in short supply. Some of the good guys' rooms have been taken up by guests, and this is the only room left. I can't live in it. What are the two girls afraid of?"

So under the forced arrangement of Aunt Guo, Xia Yun and 16 stayed in the same room that night, looking at each other.

The space in the room was very small, with a bed and a small table, there was no room for an oil lamp on it, and even the corners of the walls were packed to the brim with their luggage.

Although on the way to Qingzhou City, because of Xia Yun's stinginess, the two have always wanted a room, but at least there are still some places on the ground. The girl can't even bear to travel long distances, let alone sleep on the ground.

Intellectually wary of Shiliu, it is impossible for her to share the same bed with Shiliu at ease, so every night Xia Yun could only stare angrily at Shiliu's bed and hang himself on the beam to sleep all night.

But now, there is no place on the ground, and Xia Yun is worried that the beams that have been in disrepair will collapse if she does not lie down for a few days.For a while, the two were very embarrassed.

Finally, Xia Yun couldn't take it any longer. With a dark force, the candle was extinguished, and he pushed Shiliu to the bed, and then lay on his side outside. I can't see who just went to sleep without embarrassment!

Obviously Xia Yun underestimated the brilliance of the moon and his vigilance.

Without the candlelight, the cold moonlight happened to shine on Shiliu's face through the window.Because of the close distance, the freckles on the tip of Shiliu's nose can be clearly seen!

Shiliu is actually not that good-looking. A 22-year-old girl is born like a child with no facial features. She has an ordinary face and can't find it in the crowd.But fortunately, his eyebrows are still pretty, which makes him look a little cute.

Xia Yun blushed inexplicably, and wanted to turn her back, but she really couldn't turn her back to a stranger who was still suspicious—even though this "stranger" had been with her for several days.

"Xia Yun," Shiliu blinked, and his hot breath was almost on Xia Yun's face, "Are you...an assassin?"

Along the way, Xia Yun avoided talking about his true identity, and casually prevaricated to Shiliu that he was just an idler who wandered around the rivers and lakes casually. It was only after listening to the words of Guo shopkeeper of Yuelai Inn today that Shiliu knew that Xia Yun was an assassin.

He was still the No. 730 assassin in Shen Yuan Pavilion.

Xia Yun moved his eyes slightly, trying to focus on an invisible point on the wall, and hummed lightly.

"Since you are an assassin, why do you use a sword?" Shiliu continued to ask in a low voice, his soft voice was indescribably innocent.

Even a novice like Shiliu knows that assassins should use small hidden weapons such as darts and poisons. I have never heard of assassins who are dark and invisible using long swords of righteous sects.

Also used the left hand sword.

Sixteen had noticed Xia Yun's left-handedness a long time ago.

Xia Yun said sullenly, "Which assassin have you seen doing odd jobs in the inn?"

She took a deep breath, "It is said that it is registered under the Shen Yuan Pavilion, but people like us are nothing more than begging for food from a sect, and a lot of traffickers and pawns are also contacts of various sects, which is not a martial art at all. There are so many people with high martial arts skills in the world? Most of them are to prevent themselves from starving to death."

"There are a lot of people like me who are full-time assassins and part-time waiters forging swords and storytelling...Although they are always laughed at by those idiots who claim to be decent, they are better than those who get involved in all kinds of messy things and die. Much better."

Xia Yun shifted his gaze to Sixteen Eyes, already smiling, carelessly, but seemed to want to see something out of Sixteen Eyes, "These days, the living are better than the dead. ,right?"

Shiliu seemed to be thinking of his dead lady, and immediately lost the mood to continue asking, turned over sideways, turned his back to Xia Yun, and said, "That's right... I'm sleepy, go to sleep .”

Xia Yun was slightly taken aback.

The sadness in the sixteen eyes just now didn't look like a fake, but now the posture of completely turning her back to Xia Yun caught her off guard.

A trace of confusion flashed across Xia Yun's eyes, and in the end he just murmured "Go to sleep" and stopped talking.

In the middle of the night that night, both of them heard the sound of even breathing.

It sounded like an owl hooting outside.

There was a whining sound, and it stopped after three beats.

Xia Yun suddenly opened his eyes!The sleepiness in the eyes is fleeting, full of clarity!

She stepped out lightly through the half-open window, only to see a woman in a black night suit standing on a tree trunk in the backyard.

"Aunt Liang." Xia Yun recognized the person, clasped his fists, and called out in a low voice.

"The Jin family in the west of the city is in the jewelry business, and they have indeed maintained caravan ties with Nanjiang all year round. A few days ago, the young lady of the Jin family was betrothed to the younger son of another family with considerable business strength, and then it was reported that the young lady of the Jin family had escaped marriage. The news, and brought along the little maids who often serve him in the mansion.

A few days ago, at a post station not far from Qingzhou City, news of the young lady's murder was discovered. "

Inexplicably, Xia Yun's tight strings suddenly loosened.

Aunt Liang took a deep look at Xia Yun, "Someone said that a woman in red was present and took away the little girl. Could it be you?"

Xia Yun was stunned for a while, "They suspect that I killed it?"

"There is no one with a sword besides you, it seems that you are the only one in the world."

"I'll go!" Xia Yun couldn't help but swear.

"The Jin family sent people to investigate, and the young lady of the Jin family is the only descendant in their house, and she will definitely not let you go." Aunt Liang sighed, "If you say you, you can even get into trouble when you go out."

"Blame me!" Xia Yun said angrily, "I am willing?"

"You know, you don't have any friends in this city." Aunt Liang stared at Xia Yun, "It's about business, don't expect us to help you with anything."

"I understand, I understand. You are taking business from south to north, without any grudges, regardless of black and white. As long as you do this kind of business, you will never make a move except for self-protection. I am not a kid who just came out of the rivers and lakes. I still understand the rules."

Xia Yun didn't care and said with a lazy smile, "Jianghu! Talk about morality! Dao is still ahead of righteousness."

"Anyway, the Jin family... I haven't heard of it before, is it a small family?"

Aunt Liang nodded.

"This is easy to handle. The small family probably won't be able to invite any powerful people. Soldiers will come to cover up the water and earth. I, Xia Yun, am still afraid of these little guys? It's uncertain who will die!"

"I can only keep paying attention to this matter and let you know as soon as I have news." Aunt Liang sighed, "This is the only thing I can do."

Xia Yun casually nodded, and smiled at Aunt Liang, "Thank you~ You have something else to say, please go slowly, I won't send it!"

Aunt Liang was also tempered by Xia Yunzheng, leaving a sentence of "I'll do it for myself" and left.

Xia Yun returned to the room, lay down with his back to Shiliu, and soon fell into a light sleep.

Nocturnal animals came out one after another under the cover of night.

The owl flew to several branches, and the sound of insects croaked endlessly. Even the mice rushed to each room with a whole family, biting the wood and making the sound of grinding their teeth.

After about a while, Shiliu seemed to be having a nightmare, and then caught a cold, his brows were tightly frowned, and finally he sneezed three times in a row to soothe his brows.

The mouse squeaked and ran away.

Xia Yun moved the quilt to the inside in a daze.

On the other side of Qingzhou City, the old sugar seller closed early in the afternoon. When he got home, he saw that the candied haws that his wife was selling for tomorrow were wrapped in syrup.

"Is someone coming to get the little girl's letter?" The old woman asked without raising her head, "I don't know what to think, obviously in a city, the little girl bought two bunches of candied haws in the morning and said she wanted to save the letter." , someone will come to pick it up in a few hours."

A little white mouse suddenly ran into the house, and the old man sprinkled some food on it, and said to himself, "It's done, the news that the letter has been delivered has been passed to that little girl, and my little white mouse didn't hear three sneezes." But it won't go."

"You are really good too, let the little girl sneeze as a signal." The old man chatted nonsense.

Suddenly the wicked old woman smiled, "Isn't this interesting? Speaking of which, I really didn't see that the little girl was a wanderer."

"What about others, let's just live our lives well," the old man chuckled, recalling the appearance of the masked man, "but speaking of it, I always feel that this code sounds familiar."

"It's probably a secret code from some unknown small family." The old woman didn't take it to heart.

"The sun goes over the mountains, and the shade comes over the bridge." The old man mused, a flash of inspiration flashed in his mind, as if he had thought of something, "This code... I heard it once 12 years ago!"

"Remember that clearly?"

"The day the late emperor died! It's not hard to remember!" The old man said in a daze, frowning, "Twelve years ago... I remember a name that was very famous among the court officials."

"Oh? What's your name?" The old woman was also interested by the old man and asked.

"Joe...Joe Anri." The old man paused, then affirmed, "Wait...Joe?"

He recited the code up and down several times, and muttered to himself, "Come across the bridge in the shade... Joe... Could it be Qiao's house?"

"The Qiao family?" The old lady stopped wrapping the sugar, "I have a little impression, don't you, that small family that made their fortune by singing big plays... I went to listen to it back then, and the singing was really good."

Old man: ...

The author has something to say: huh, sweet and cherished