Chapter 188 Hiding in the Dark
The moon was bright and the stars were sparse, and it was late at night and quiet. However, in a deserted courtyard at the foot of Shaoshi Mountain, there were many people, and it was unusually lively.

This was originally a mountain village. Many years ago, the villagers moved to Tianlong City to make a living, leaving the fields in the village barren and the population weak. Only the old, weak and lonely were left to eat and wait for death. After many years, it became increasingly deserted. After being beaten by wind and rain, only broken walls and overgrown weeds remained in the village, and no trace of human habitation could be found.

Especially when night falls, this place is as quiet as a ghost village, dark and gloomy. The towering mountains nearby are like a huge beast, quietly lurking above your head, which makes you shudder.

At this moment, a "young man in white" was sitting cross-legged on the millstone in the courtyard, with a pair of deep and bright eyes, looking thoughtfully at the end of the mountain. In the dark pupils, a faint firelight was reflected.

That is the direction of Guanyin Temple.

The "young man in white" has a slender figure, a ruddy and smooth complexion, delicate and small facial features, willow-shaped eyebrows and almond-shaped eyes, and skin whiter than snow. He is so "handsome" that he is uncommonly so.

In fact, this person is Xunzhen, a woman disguised as a man.

Since she successfully stole the original "The Wind and Rain" painting from the Jade Dragon Palace in Tianshan, Xunzhen has been hiding in the Western Regions and has not appeared again. But now she suddenly appeared at the foot of Shaoshi Mountain, which must have a deeper meaning and another plan.

In addition to Xunzhen, there were three other people standing in the courtyard, namely Xiao Yang from the Western Region Tianzang Peak, Su Hu from Linglong Sea, and Xun Budao from Jinlun Temple. These three were all masters of the Western Region sect, and they had also had a brief exchange with Liu Xunyi at Yanmen Pass.

"Miss..." Su Hu was about to speak, but was frightened back by Xunzhen's unhappy eyes. He quickly changed the topic and said, "Sir, the King of Shao Qin ordered us to go to Luoyang to pay a visit to Luo Tianjin. But why did you...come to Shaolin Temple instead?"

Xunzhen pointed to the fire on the distant mountain and said, "At this moment, Luo Tianjin is not in Luoyang City, but there!"

Xun Budao pointed and looked, and asked suspiciously: "Why did Luo Tianjin come to Shaolin Temple?"

"do not know."

"Since we know Luo Tianjin's whereabouts, why don't we go straight to Shaolin instead of staying here?"

"No hurry!" Xunzhen shook his head slowly and said, "Luo Tianjin came to Shaolin suddenly, there must be a reason. Before the matter is clarified, we must not act rashly. A few days ago, we received news that Chifengling in Mobei also sent people to Luoyang City, and they also brought several carts of gifts. The Mongols did this, obviously wanting to please Luo Tianjin. We are mortal enemies with the Tartars, and at the same time we all want to make friends with the Xianwang Mansion, but Luo Tianjin... there is only one. If we show up rashly before we understand Luo Tianjin's mind, we will fall into an irretrievable situation if we are not careful. I came here to secretly find out what Luo Tianjin is busy with recently."

"What?" Xiao Yang frowned and asked, "Does Luo Tianjin dare to kidnap us and send us to the Tartars? Don't forget, the young master gave him the 'Wind and Rain Picture'. Although it is a fake, it is at least a favor."

"Favor?" Xunzhen sneered, "In the martial arts world, everyone talks about benevolence and morality, but how many people can really do it? Favor or morality, it's just a means for the heroes to deceive the world. If Luo Tianjin abides by morality and doesn't resort to trickery, how could he become the Northern Sage King today? Don't forget how General Wang Xutong of Luoyang died? How did the Golden Sword Sect and Iron Palm Gang of Luoyang suddenly disappear? There are some things that Luo Tianjin would rather die than admit, but who dares to say that he didn't do these things?"

"Sir, why did Luo Tianjin come to Shaolin..."

"We will know soon." Xunzhen's beautiful eyes were fixed on the fire in the distance, and she said quietly, "Luo Tianjin arrived at Shaolin in the morning, and a fire broke out in the evening. I don't believe there is such a coincidence in the world. There must be something strange hidden in Shaolin Temple today."

As soon as the words fell, the deserted courtyard fell into silence again. Xunzhen, Xiao Yang and the others looked at the fire that was gradually being extinguished, with different expressions of consideration on their faces.

The silence lasted for half an hour, and suddenly a faint sound of footsteps came from outside the yard.

A moment later, the dusty Abaolu led a tall and fat man in black into the courtyard. That man was Qin Ku, who had parted ways with Liu Xunyi in the forest not long ago.

Seeing Abaolu's embarrassed appearance, Xiao Yang and the other two suddenly changed their expressions and stepped forward to ask what was going on. However, Abaolu said nothing, but waved his hands impatiently and brought Qin Ku, who was full of curiosity, to Xunzhen.

"Sir, I just met this man at the foot of the mountain. He was in a hurry and dressed strangely, so I brought him back." Abaolu reported.

Xunzhen nodded vaguely, then turned to look at Qin Ku, whose eyes were rolling around, and said with a smile: "Your kung fu is really good. You beat my men so badly. I admire you! I admire you!"

Xunzhen did not ask Abaolu about what happened just now. He could see through what happened just by looking at his disheveled appearance.

"He is indeed a master." Abaolu replied without denying, "At first I wanted to capture him by force, but unexpectedly..."

"You are no match for him. You failed to steal the chicken and ended up losing the rice." Xunzhen continued, "I have warned you long ago that you should not act recklessly and think twice before you act. Why don't you listen? If you continue like this, you will suffer a great loss sooner or later."

Abaolu muttered unwillingly: "If I really fight him to the death, I may not lose..."

"Shut up." Xunzhen's face darkened and he said angrily, "If you can't beat me, then you can't beat me. Why are you arguing so hard?"

"Hehe... this pretty boy is sensible. I always give in to soft words, not hard ones." Qin Kuhan said with a smile, "If he hadn't said there was a great benefit, I wouldn't have come! It's the dead of night. Instead of wasting time with you guys, I might as well find a place to have a comfortable sleep."

"My people are not well-mannered, I hope you can forgive me." Xunzhen was not angry at Qin Ku's rude words, and smiled and said, "Looking at your appearance, bold temperament, and your excellent martial arts... If I guessed correctly, you are the sixth-ranked master on the Dragon Elephant List, 'Ghost Seer' Qin Ku. I wonder if I guessed right?"

"Do you know me?" Qin Ku's eyes curved into crescents, and she asked with a smile, "Since we know each other, we are family, and everything is easy to talk about. Hehe...what benefits can you give me?"

"I heard that... Your Excellency occasionally does some business where you can get money for your life?"

"Yes." Qin Ku said calmly, "But it depends on who to kill. My rule is..."

"I know. Just kill the people you think should be killed." Xunzhen smiled and asked, rolling his eyes, "I wonder how much you would offer for killing one person?"

"Ordinary goods are 30 taels, those who have practiced martial arts are 50 taels, and those who have some power are 100 taels." Qin Ku introduced seriously, "If it is a master, or someone who is protected by a master, then the price will have to be re-evaluated, ranging from a few hundred taels to a few thousand taels." After saying that, Qin Ku seemed to suddenly remember something and hurriedly added, "But if it is a particularly ruthless character, no matter how much you offer, I will not accept it. Because... I really can't beat him."

Qin Ku is a quick-witted person with a carefree personality, so his words are quite interesting. "Oh?" Xunzhen stared at Qin Ku, who was speaking with great interest, and asked with a smile, "Then who is considered a tough guy for you, sir?"

"For example, the Emperor of the Song Dynasty." Qin Ku replied solemnly, "For example, the leaders of the six major sects, the four great families in the martial arts world..." At this point, Qin Ku's tone paused for a moment, and then he said, "The heads of the four great families, I don't think I have the ability to deal with such people."

"That's great!" Xunzhen nodded and smiled, "Since I won't let you kill the emperor, I won't let you kill those heroes either. And, I guarantee that with your martial arts skills, you will be able to capture the person I ask you to deal with easily."

After that, Xunzhen asked Abaolu to give Qin Ku one thousand taels of silver notes, and said with a smile: "Take these notes first. After the matter is done, there will be another one thousand... Oh no, there will be three thousand taels!"

Qin Ku was blinded by the money and immediately showed greed. But just as he was about to take the banknote subconsciously, his hand suddenly stopped in mid-air and he said suspiciously: "Who do you want me to kill? There is no reward without merit. It seems... inappropriate to take your money now. It is said that those who are kind to you without any reason are either traitors or thieves. You don't look like fools. The person you want me to kill must be no simple person. No, no, I won't take this job..."

"I have admired the name of 'Ghost-Seeing Sorrow' for a long time. This money is not a reward. It is just a small token of my appreciation and respect for you." Xunzhen changed his words.

"Really? You won't force me to help you kill someone?"

"Whether to kill or not is up to you in the future. It has nothing to do with these banknotes tonight." Xunzhen looked sincere, nodded and smiled, "But I have a question, and I would like to ask you for your advice."

"No problem!" Qin Ku quickly took the banknote and replied with a happy face, "You, little white face, really know how to behave. You know I'm short of money now. Hehe... Just ask whatever you want to ask. I'll tell you as long as I know it."

"This fire on the mountain is..."

"I released it!" Qin Ku admitted it without waiting for Xunzhen to finish his words.

"Why?"

"Because..." Qin Ku hesitated for a moment. After looking at the banknote in his hand again, he slowly said, "Because I want to find something."

"What is it?" Xunzhen's expression straightened up and he asked, "Is it related to the Northern Sage King?"

"Luo Tianjin?" Qin Ku was stunned and shook his head repeatedly, "He just came to help. This thing does not belong to him. The Pan family and the Qin family are fighting for it." Seeing Xunzhen's eyes full of doubts, Qin Ku said again, "Since you are a good person and generous, I will spend some time to tell you this. Just think of it as you spending one thousand taels of silver to buy information from me. Tonight we will each get what we need, and we will owe each other nothing in the future. How do you think?"

"It's up to you!" Xunzhen nodded in response.

Qin Ku smiled with satisfaction, and then told Xunzhen everything about the cause and effect of the fight between the Pan and Qin families for "Xuan Shui Xia Juan".

After saying that, Qin Ku seemed to be worried that Xunzhen would compete with him for the "Xuan Shui Xia Juan", so he hurriedly added: "You are not planning to take the "Xuan Shui Xia Juan"? I remind you that it is only half of the secret book. Whoever practices it will die early. If you don't believe me, just look at the Hexi Qin Clan. I am not trying to scare you!"

"Don't worry, I have no interest in 'Xuan Shui Xia Juan'." Xunzhen replied calmly, and then changed the subject and asked, "But I don't understand, since you know that practicing it will affect your lifespan, why do you covet it?"

Qin Ku's face changed color slightly, and he said in a hurry: "What the hell does it have to do with you? I'm not afraid of death, okay?"

"you……"

"Okay! Of course!" Before Abaolu could say anything, Xunzhen spoke first. She looked at Qin Ku, whose face was uncertain, with deep meaning, and said with a faint smile, "But you seem to be in low spirits, with nothing in your hands. It seems that you didn't succeed just now?"

"Although Old Man Pan lives in Guanyin Temple, the 'Xuanshui Volume 2' has long been stored in the Sutra Library by Monk Xuanming." Qin Ku sighed, "Not only did I work in vain, I almost lost my life. Fortunately, I escaped before the Shaolin masters arrived at Guanyin Temple, otherwise I would have suffered a great loss tonight."

"Oh?" Xunzhen asked thoughtfully, "From what you said... could it be that Guanyin Temple is not inside Shaolin Temple?"

"Shaoshi Mountain is divided into the front mountain and the back mountain." Qin Ku explained, "Shaolin Temple is in the front mountain, and Guanyin Temple is in the back mountain. The back mountain is usually sparsely populated, with only Guanyin Temple and Wenshu Dharma Field. There is a 500-600-meter mountain road connecting the front and back mountains. Because the Pan family has female relatives, it is inconvenient for them to stay in the temple, so they can only stay in Guanyin Temple."

Xunzhen listened attentively, as if he wanted to imprint every word of Qin Ku into his mind.

After a long time, Xunzhen's expression changed, and he suddenly said, "If... I get the 'Xuan Shui Volume 2' for you, can you help me kill a few people?"

Hearing this, several people in the courtyard were stunned at the same time. Before Abaolu could remind him, Qin Ku asked back with surprise: "Are you serious? If you can really steal the "Xuan Shui Xia Juan" for me, even if you ask me to kill the Emperor of the Song Dynasty, I dare to take this deal!"

After saying that, Qin Ku's eyes changed, and he looked at Xunzhen who was deep in thought with suspicion, and sneered: "Are you kidding me? What is the Shaolin Sutra Library? Not to mention you guys, even if Qin Ming and Luo Tianjin personally went out, they might not be able to steal the things from the Sutra Library. You..."

"How about this." Xunzhen ignored Qin Ku's doubts and said quickly, "I agree with you that we will meet in Luoyang in half a month. If I steal the 'Xuan Shui Xia Juan' by then, you will take over my business. If I fail to steal it, I will not let you make a wasted trip. I will give you another 1,000 taels of silver as a reward. How about it?"

Seeing Xunzhen's solemn promise, Qin Ku remembered that he had just received a thousand taels of silver. As the saying goes, "One should be grateful to someone who has done something for him." Qin Ku could not refuse and immediately promised: "I will wait for you in Luoyang City in half a month. If you can bring the "Xuanshui Xiajuan" to me, I will not ask for a penny. And I will kill whoever you ask me to kill, without hesitation!"

"Okay, it's a deal!"

"A real man stands tall and proud. Once a word is spoken, it cannot be taken back!"

……

(End of this chapter)