Cloud of the Qing Dynasty

In fact, the two did not go far. After walking a few streets, they found an inn to stay. Zhang Chi ordered some food, and found a seat on the second floor of the inn by the window so that he could see the street, and waited for the food to be served. come up.

Taking advantage of this gap, Mu Liuyun asked Zhang Chi's opinion on this matter.

"There is no doubt that this round is specially designed to assassinate you. The other party knows that you, as a decent hero, will not sit idly by in this situation, and also know that although you have high martial arts skills, you don't have much experience in the world. Good at guarding against sneak attacks. Both the dagger and the sleeve arrows are poisoned, even if you don’t get stabbed in the vitals, just a small cut is enough to seriously injure your vitality.”

"...Fortunately, you have been attacking me suddenly these past few days, which made me more alert, otherwise it is really hard to guarantee that he won't succeed." Mu Liuyun also had lingering fears, and became more and more aware of his past "" What a superficial and uninformed self-confidence.

"I can help you prevent a sneak attack. The pain I have suffered these days is not in vain." Zhang Chi smiled happily. Liu Yun either counterattacked, bounced off, or caught him several times.The difference is that he does his calculations mentally and unintentionally, and he is always very measured in his actions. Although Mu Liuyun had no intention of hurting him, he inevitably caused some bruises on his body.

Mu Liuyun smiled, and already regarded Zhang Chi as a friend in his heart, so he thanked Zhang Chi unpretentiously. Thinking that Zhang Chi had caught a clue before and led to the murderer in Wuguzhai, he asked with some expectation: "Since this assassin quenches and consumes poison, is there any way for you to identify the source of these poisons?"

"I'm afraid not. Except for some extremely rare and highly poisonous poisons like thistle, it is difficult to find out the history of ordinary poisons, because there are countless ways and means to obtain them." Zhang Chi said, "As for the poison in the mouth It is also quite common to make false teeth to hide poison, and once the assassination fails, to take poison and commit suicide to avoid torture. It is also quite common, such as the Sichuan Tangmen and other specialized assassin killer organizations, as well as cult members such as the Red Lotus Sect, or some people The dead soldiers who were brought up since childhood will do something similar to risking their lives to keep it secret, and the weapons and hidden weapons used by the assassins can't tell the origin, but I am more concerned about the burns on the shoulders of that man."

"Why?"

Zhang Chi rubbed his chin and said: "There is no doubt that an injury on the body will definitely affect the assassin's skill and increase the chance of failure in the operation. As long as the mind is still normal, an assassin with a wound on the body will not be shot, and The location of the wound is also very special, do you remember I said that Bai Ling has a tattoo on his chest?"

"Is this assassin also related to Bai Ling?" Mu Liuyun only felt that his disgust towards the Red Lotus Sect had increased a bit.

"It should be said that it has something to do with the Red Lotus Sect." Zhang Chi said, "In the Red Lotus Sect, except for the ordinary believers on the periphery, there will be such a tattoo. People of different levels will have it tattooed in different places. The leader is on the forehead. , the spirit girl is on the chest, and the fire guard is on the left back shoulder."

"So he should be the fire guard of the Red Lotus Sect. He deliberately burned that piece of skin before the assassination, just to cover up the identity of the Red Lotus Sect?"

"Actually, not necessarily. Maybe this burn is to cover up the tattoo of the holy flame on his left back shoulder, but it may also be to cover up that he doesn't actually have that tattoo."

"You mean... this assassin was actually sent by Jinghong Villa to frame the Red Lotus Sect?"

"Yes, I still feel that Jinghong Villa's motive for wanting to kill you is greater. Suppose this person is a dead soldier sent by Jinghong Villa. He deliberately burned the skin before he came. If he succeeds, he will do it for you. Jinghong Mountain Villa has eliminated a big enemy, if you fail, you can also follow the trend to lead your attention to the Red Lotus Sect, no matter how you look at it, you will not suffer." Zhang Chi said, "After all, judging from the Red Lotus Sect's consistent way of doing things, they The leader of the team is not an idiot, many people know that the fire guard has a tattoo on his left shoulder, what's the point of playing this kind of cover-up that can be pierced."

Mu Liuyun held his forehead weakly: "It's really complicated..."

Zhang Chi comforted him and said, "You will find it complicated because there are too few clues. Now we are like a blind man trying to figure out an elephant. After only two touches, we are eager to guess what it is. Of course it is not easy. Wait. When we arrive at Jinghong Villa, I believe things will become much clearer, after all, the more relevant clues we find, the closer we will be to the truth."

Mu Liuyun nodded, and Zhang Chi said with uneasiness: "No matter which side did it this time, the other party undoubtedly really wants your life, and I'm afraid there will be an endless stream of similar assassinations in the future , you must always be careful in the future."

"I see."

***

It was meal time at this time, and the food was served slowly, but finally it was their turn. The waiter brought the food over, and the two of them temporarily stopped talking and started eating.

Because they are located by the window, the loud voice of the waiter downstairs yelling at the visitors can be heard clearly. At this moment, the waiter seems to have a dispute with a beggar: "I said, sir, can you change the place for your meal?" Son, it will affect our business at the entrance of the inn."

The beggar was not happy anymore: "I didn't sit at your door either. I was covered from head to toe. Is it next to your door or the wall of your house? How do you look at the place where I sit? It should be called the main street, and besides, I didn’t block your door or block your way, so why not just sit by the side? You youngster really don’t know how to respect the old and love the young.”

"All right, all right, you're right, can you please move to another place, I can't bear this guest stepping on you in and out!"

"Then you don't worry too much. Have you ever seen a guest who insisted on sticking to the wall when he went out? Could it be that the gentleman on Liangshang got used to it and got uncomfortable if he didn't stick to the wall?"

Mu Liuyun took a piece of food with his chopsticks, and asked casually, "Is it because of the beggar gang? These beggars seem to be quite powerful."

"Indeed, the gang of beggars in this area is relatively powerful, and people are more tolerant of beggars. Even in other places, beggars who joined the gang of beggars are not likely to be bullied, because the disciples of the gang of beggars will stand up for them." Zhang Chi probed Glancing outside, he said with a smile, "Hey, I'm still an acquaintance."

"You know?"

"I just saw it just now." Zhang Chi said, "I want to invite him up for dinner, do you mind sharing the same table with a beggar?"

According to Zhang Chi's understanding of him, although Mu Liuyun will not be polite to evildoers, when facing other people, he will not look down on them because of their status. He is only worried that Mu Liuyun thinks a beggar is dirty.

"It's okay, I'm full anyway." Mu Liuyun took the last mouthful of rice in the bowl, put down the bowl and chopsticks, and picked up the thick tea to rinse his mouth.

So Zhang Chi stuck his head out of the window and said to the waiter in the shop downstairs: "Xiaoer, don't embarrass the old man, I'm treating you, let him come up for a meal."

The customer himself said so, so the waiter in the shop couldn't stop him, after all, the beggar wasn't really so dirty and smelly that it was unsightly.

The beggar went upstairs with a smile on his face, and found a stool to sit on without hesitation: "Both, we meet again. I haven't thanked you for saving the old man's life just now."

It was only then that Mu Liuyun remembered, isn't this the old beggar who stood in the middle of the road and was almost hit to death by a carriage?

"You can't say that. In fact, even if we don't make a move, you will be fine." Zhang Chi very naturally turned up a cup and poured him tea, and then gave him chopsticks, as if he was facing a Old friends who have known each other for many years, not beggars met on the road.

The old beggar neither admitted nor denied, rolled up his sleeves, took the chopsticks Zhang Chi handed him, smacked his lips at a table with more than half of the dishes left, and said, "Oh, it would be great if I could have a jar of good wine at this time .”

Zhang Chi patted his thigh and said, "I just thought so too, Xiaoer, serve the wine!"

Soon a jar of red bayberry wine and a jar of burning knives were placed on the table, and side dishes such as a roast chicken and fried beans and peanuts were added. The old beggar tore a chicken leg and gnawed on it while asking vaguely. Zhang Chi: "I said little brother, don't you happen to know me?"

"Of course I don't know each other, don't worry, I understand your rules, what you say is a foul, not being recognized by others." Zhang Chi smiled and said, "Actually, you are already pretending to be very similar, but my eyes are sharper. .”

The old beggar was a little unconvinced when he heard it: "Then tell me, old man, where do I wear clothes to reveal my secrets?"

Zhang Chi smiled calmly and said, "I didn't pay attention when I was busy saving people. I just heard your voice upstairs, and I knew you would not be an ordinary beggar."

"What's wrong with my voice?"

"The tone and attitude of people with different personalities are very different, just like they are threatening others. The calm and confident people and the fat people with swollen faces have completely different momentum when speaking. Experienced people just listen You can roughly judge what kind of person he is usually by just saying a few words. Brother, you speak articulately and clearly, and your attitude is neither humble nor overbearing. I don't have any pretensions, I like to make jokes and amuse the juniors."

"It's really what you said, little brother, I can't tell that you are quite discerning at a young age. The old man respects you." The beggar drank the whole bowl of wine without leaving a drop, Zhang Chi also drank the wine in the bowl without changing his face. The old beggar glanced at the proud young man with appreciation: "Apart from these, do you see anything else?"

After all, Zhang Chi is young, so it is inevitable that he would like to show off his talents in front of the person he likes, so he said: "The part below your wrist is much darker than your forearm. It can be seen that you are used to wearing long sleeves. This clothes that are ripped to the elbow is I only change it once in a while, and the clothes are torn but not dirty, the hair is messy but not oily, there is no peculiar smell on my body, and there is no old mud under the nails, which shows that I am usually a clean person. The callus on the tiger's mouth on the right hand is obvious, and the dog-beating stick method must be I have practiced for many years. Although I wear straw sandals on my feet, the color of the insteps is even and there is no trace of sunburn, which shows that I usually wear boots."

The old beggar looked down at his insteps, and asked unconvinced: "How do you know that I didn't get sunbaked because I wore boots? If I was usually barefoot, wouldn't it be the same?"

Zhang Chi put a peanut in his mouth, and said with a smile, "If you are a person who is used to bare feet, the hard calluses on the soles of your feet may rival those of a cow's hooves."