Chapter 149 Snowy Night Storm (I)

The first night of the new year, the hour of Hai.

Thirteen miles north of Luoyang City, in the dense forest, a lone rider suddenly appeared from the city, galloping here. The horse galloped like a black lightning through the forest, and wherever the horse's hooves passed, layers of snow were splashed. The man and the horse disappeared into the depths of the dense forest in the blink of an eye.

"Whoosh!"

Suddenly, a sharp whistle sounded in the air, followed by a faint groan. In an instant, the rider fell off his horse and rolled down in the snow. His body twisted in pain for a few times, and then he was completely motionless. The white snow beneath him was seen melting gradually under the slowly seeping blood.

The horse raised its hooves and neighed loudly, standing lonely and desolate beside its motionless owner, with bursts of wailing coming from its mouth and nose.

After a while, two dark shadows quietly walked out of the forest, and the moonlight reflected their faces. One of them was Su Tang and the other was Lin Fangda.

At this moment, Su Tang was holding a crossbow in his hand, and it was obvious that the hidden arrow just now came from his hand.

The two men walked slowly, with cautious expressions and deep steps. When they got close, Lin Fangda gently poked the motionless rider with his knife, and only after they confirmed that the rider was completely dead did they put away their weapons.

"Search quickly!"

At Su Tang's command, Lin Fangda quickly rushed to the corpse and began to search carefully from top to bottom. Finally, he found a secret letter in the corpse's arms. On the envelope was written "Personally addressed to Marshal Wang" with a line of Mongolian attached below.

"As expected, the Palace Master was right. Wang Xutong secretly sent someone to deliver a letter to the Mongolian court." Su Tang said coldly, "Fortunately, he didn't slip through the net, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable."

Lin Fangda nodded solemnly, then asked, "Bai Zhishan, who is this 'General Wang'?"

"General Wang is Wang Xutong's backer and is from the same clan as him. He is Wang Dechen, the trusted general of the Mongolian Khan." Su Tang explained, "In fact, Wang Qingshu should be Wang Dechen's nephew. Now he died in Luoyang. Wang Xutong knows that he is not strong enough and dare not break up with us, so he wants to ask Wang Dechen for help. If Wang Dechen intervenes in this matter, the situation of the Xianwang Mansion will be dangerous."

"Wang Dechen?" Lin Fangda snorted coldly, "How powerful can he be? Could he have three heads and six arms?"

"He is a great Mongolian general with countless soldiers and horses under his command. As long as he waves his flag, Luoyang City will be razed to the ground in a moment." Su Tang said in a serious tone, "This matter is serious. We should go back and inform the Lord of the Palace about this matter. Since Wang Xutong has the intention of revenge, the truth will eventually come to light. The Lord of the Palace should make a countermeasure as soon as possible."

"That's right!" Lin Fangda agreed, then pointed his knife at the corpse on the ground and asked, "Then this person..."

"Bury it in a secluded place and make sure no one finds it." Su Tang said cautiously, "Especially not to let the general's mansion find it. Once Wang Xutong finds out that we are on guard against him, things will be difficult to deal with later."

"Know!"

Lin Fangda quickly agreed, picked up the corpse on the ground, and walked quickly into the depths of the dense forest.

……

Early morning of the second day of the New Year, the hour of midnight.

Seventy miles south of Luoyang City, there is a dilapidated temple. Normally, not even ghosts can be seen in the dilapidated temple, but at this moment, there is a dim light coming out. A bonfire is burning in the dilapidated hall. Outside, there is wind and snow, and the cold is biting. This blazing fire has become the only place to keep warm within dozens of miles.

Two people, a man and a woman, an old man and a young man, were sitting cross-legged beside the bonfire. The young girl was roasting half a leg of lamb over the fire with great interest, while the old man was gently wiping his guqin with a rag.

These two people were none other than Old Man Liu and Meihua, who had once sung in the Donghai Teahouse and were later held hostage by Wang Qingshu.

Inside Fengming Tower, they were clearly knocked unconscious and their life or death was unknown, but they had no idea why they suddenly appeared here tonight?

"Dad, this bowl of snow has melted, please have a drink of water first!"

Meihua slowly pushed a broken bowl filled with clear water next to the fire in front of Old Man Liu. Flakes of ice and snow crystals could be vaguely seen in the water. It was obvious that the bowl of water was made from melted ice and snow.

Following the sound, Old Man Liu reached out his hand and slowly touched the broken bowl at his feet. As he was blind, he could only rely on hearing and touch for all his senses. Old Man Liu's hand first touched the snow water, then he drew back half an inch, then he picked up the broken bowl, brought it to his mouth, and gulped down a few mouthfuls, finishing off all the snow water.

"After running for a whole day and night, Dad must be tired. Let's eat some mutton and then rest early!" After saying that, Meihua picked up a dagger, cut a piece of meat from the leg of lamb, chewed it for a few times, then shook her head in dissatisfaction, and brought the leg of lamb closer to the campfire and roasted it again.

“It smells so good!”

Suddenly, an envious voice sounded from outside the hall. Then, a middle-aged man who looked like a monk walked in with a smile.

The monk had a fat head and big ears, kind eyes, and was more than eight feet tall. He was very fat and strong, wearing a linen monk's robe, a huge rosary around his neck, and a Zen staff in his hand. At this moment, his body was covered with snowflakes.

As soon as the monk entered the temple, his greedy eyes were fixed on the sizzling roasted lamb leg. He couldn't help swallowing his saliva, looking greedy and salivating.

"Master, where are you from? Where are you going?" Meihua found the monk very interesting, so she took the initiative to greet him, "It's New Year's Day, why don't you worship Buddha and chant scriptures in the temple, but run to this wilderness?" "I am a wandering monk. I have nowhere to come from and nowhere to go. I can only use the sky as my blanket and the ground as my bed, and sleep wherever I go." The master monk smiled innocently, "It's freezing cold tonight. When I was about to freeze to death, I saw a dilapidated temple here. I thought it was the Buddha's blessing to give me a place to stay tonight. When I came in, I found that it was really the mercy of my Buddha. Not only did he give me a place to shelter from the wind and snow, but he also gave me a sumptuous meal. Wonderful! Wonderful! Haha... I haven't seen food for a long time. I wonder if you two donors can give me a piece of mutton?" After that, the monk stretched out his hand and pointed at the lamb leg roasting on the fire rather embarrassedly.

"If you are a monk, why do you eat meat?" asked Old Man Liu.

"Wine and meat pass through the intestines, but remain in the Buddha's heart." The monk smiled and took out a wine gourd from his arms, saying, "If you two donors can give me a meal of mutton, I am willing to share the fine wine in this gourd with you. What do you think?"

Hearing the monk's words, Meihua subconsciously cast her eyes towards Old Man Liu. Seeing that Old Man Liu nodded slowly, she quickly cut off a large piece of mutton with a dagger and threw it to the monk. But before the monk opened the wine gourd, Old Man Liu spoke first, "You are very interesting, big monk. You can eat the mutton, but my father and I are not good at drinking, so we will not drink your fine wine."

"Very good! Very good!" The monk did not force it, and nodded repeatedly, "I was worried that there would not be enough wine to drink. Now it seems that it is really the Buddha's blessing that I met two donors with a kind heart of Bodhisattva." After that, the monk walked to the corner with the mutton, leaned against the altar, and began to eat and drink with big mouthfuls, no longer paying attention to Meihua and her daughter.

"Dad, he is..."

"It's just a crazy monk, don't pay any attention to him." Old Man Liu said, "Just wait until tomorrow morning, and then we'll leave this place."

"You two are leaving in such a hurry, where are you going?"

Before Old Man Liu finished speaking, a cold shout suddenly came from outside the ruined temple, and seven or eight men with swords and knives rushed into the hall. At the same time, several black shadows flew down from the roof of the hall. Judging from the way these people were dressed, they were all disciples of the three lower sects of the Xianwang Mansion.

The leader was a man in his early thirties, with thick eyebrows, broad eyes, sharp features, and a tall and sturdy figure, which made him look extraordinary and heroic. The man was holding a Tang sword in his hand, but the sword was not unsheathed.

"May I ask if you two are Mr. Liu and Miss Meihua, the two who used to sing for money in Luoyang?" The man bowed and said, "I am Ling Qing, the leader of the Shang Sect of Xianwang Mansion. Tonight, I have been ordered by the mansion master to invite you two to come back to the mansion for a chat."

Faced with the sudden situation, the timid Liu Lao Han and Mei Hua surprisingly did not show any panic at this moment, but continued to do their work calmly. Mei Hua continued to grill meat, and Liu Lao Han continued to polish the piano.

"My father and I have no grudges against the Xianwang Mansion in the past or recently. I wonder why your Lord is looking for us?" Old Man Liu asked without raising his head.

Seeing this, Ling Qing could not help but frown and said loudly: "The Palace Master wants to find you two to ask clearly what happened in Fengming Tower in Luoyang City on New Year's Eve. Who killed the Mongolian prince Wang Qingshu?"

"How do we know?" Meihua laughed, "We were knocked unconscious that night, and when we woke up, Wang Qingshu was dead. We don't know who killed him."

"What happens next?" Ling Qing asked.

Liu Laohan replied in a cold tone: "After that, we will leave Fengming Tower and Luoyang City overnight and plan to return to our hometown. My father and I are alone and helpless, so how dare we offend the Mongols and the Xianwang Mansion? We should stay away from them."

When Old Man Liu said this, Ling Qing's eyes suddenly turned cold, and he said in a cold voice: "Isn't there a famine in your hometown? Didn't you come to Luoyang to escape? Why do you want to go back home today? Do you want to go back and wait to starve to death? I think you are lying, come back with me!"

Meihua took the mutton to her mouth and took a bite. Perhaps because it was too hot, she quickly spat it out. While sticking out her tongue, she replied, "So what? We can go wherever we want. Why should we tell you? We are not prisoners of war, and you are not officials. Why do you want to arrest us and take us back?"

In fact, as soon as Ling Qing entered the room, he discovered that this father and daughter were too calm when facing the sudden change. Their calmness was even far beyond the tolerance of most people.

Ling Qing thought to himself, "If they can stay so calm, if they are not stupid, then they must have something to rely on. But what exactly are they relying on? Is it true that they killed Wang Qingshu as the Palace Master expected? Could it be that the father and daughter were not singing for money in Luoyang, but were actually harboring evil intentions?"

"No matter whether you killed Wang Qingshu or not, you two must come back with me tonight!" Ling Qing's eyes straightened and he said in a firm tone, "Everything will be settled after we return to the Xianwang Mansion!"

Old Man Liu placed the spotless guqin on his knees, gently stroked the strings with his hands, and asked nonchalantly, "What will you do if we refuse to go back with you?"

"Then don't blame me for being rude!"

Ling Qing gave an order, and the two disciples behind him immediately rushed forward, reaching out to forcibly capture Meihua and his daughter. But before the two disciples could get close, Old Man Liu suddenly raised his hand and waved, and a few powerful piano sounds suddenly rang out. As soon as the sound came out, Ling Qing and others felt a sense of stuffiness in their chests, and quickly used their internal strength to resist, and retreated several steps in succession, before they felt a little relieved.

Looking at the two disciples again, they were standing motionless in front of Meihua and her daughter for a long time.

"How do you..."

"Oh!"

Before Ling Qing, who was full of doubt, could finish his words, the two disciples suddenly fell straight to the ground. Ling Qing was shocked and rushed forward to check, only to see that they were bleeding from all seven orifices, breathing weakly, with only outflowing but no inflowing, and their internal organs were completely shattered. In an instant, they were dead.

"You guys... actually know martial arts?"

……

　I have been in poor health recently and have been tired, so I try to avoid staying up late. I go to bed as early as possible after finishing writing every night. If I cannot reply to the book review in time, please forgive me. Thank you for your support~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)