tick knife

Chapter 4

In Shuozhou City, there is no one who does not know Mr. Zhang.

His reputation even spread to Yanmen and Yunzhong.No one can tell clearly the wealth and power he possesses, and no one even knows Master Zhang's original name.Everyone calls him Master Zhang.

Also very few people know his age, looks and appearance.Some people say that he is only in his 20s, while others say that he is more than seventy years old.In the most outrageous legend, Master Zhang is a woman, and the word "Master" is the wife's mistake.

No matter how confusing these legends are, Qi Diaoming has no interest.In this way, when he saw Master Zhang's true face without psychological preparation, the feelings he had were very fresh.

All he saw was a wizened little old man, hunched over, teasing his birds.The birdcage is hung on the flower branch, and the little bits of snow that have not faded from the branch cannot cover the bright red color of the incomplete petals.Looking back, he saw lacquer carvings standing upright like iron, plastic and wood carvings, so he let out a cough that didn't seem artificial.

"Your Excellency should already know why I invited you here."

Qi Diaoming said: "I killed your son."

Mr. Zhang's tone was too humble: "I have seventeen sons. There are too many sons, so it is inevitable that I will be negligent in education. Please forgive me if I offend you."

He paused, then sighed again: "I am an unworthy son, so many people are buried with him, he is worth it."

Qi Diaoming let out a long breath. "Feel sorry."

Mr. Zhang: "Your Excellency has no intention of regretting it at all, why do you have to apologize?"

Qi Diaoming: "Apart from this sorry, I have nothing to make up for you."

Master Zhang said: "If you really think so, you won't come here. Although you may really think that you didn't do anything wrong, so many people died, after all, this is not something that can be finished with an apology."

Qi Diaoming was silent, a trace of boredom flashed in his eyes.

It's not that he has any opinion on the old man in front of him.Mr. Zhang's almost overcorrected reasonableness may conceal a deeper purpose, but there is only one thing he can do if he is asked to do it.

kill.

Kill one, then kill more.

His iron claws are like his five fingers.The knife in his right hand can cover him, but his fingers can't. The pitch-black blood is soaking into his flesh, even spreading up his left arm, perhaps one day it will grab his heart along the veins.

"I hope your Excellency will not treat this as a deal." Mr. Zhang said gently. "At least don't take it as a threat. I know that your Excellency is not a killer, and I don't like to kill; but killing is sometimes a good thing, and even benefits the country and the people. If you complete this request, our grievances will be canceled, and you can even become a Friends, to achieve a happy situation, why not do it?"

Qi Diaoming remained silent.He has no room for rejection.

Don't take it as a threat, it's a threat in itself.There were very few people and things that could threaten him, and he himself was not afraid of death; but when he heard Mr. Zhang's words, Yao Ye's crooked eyes appeared in front of him without any effort.

It has not been more than twelve hours since they met.Those eyes were always on his mind.

Maybe because of this reason, he didn't wake Yao Ye up before setting off.He also considered leaving a message on the table, but in the end he didn't think it was necessary.

The trouble that the fifth person sent him was so just right that he had no choice.

Master Zhang didn't observe his expression, but just turned his head to look at the bird in the cage. "If you knew who this person was, you might be more than happy to go."

Qi Diaoming said: "Kill people you can't kill, I just know I don't have that ability."

Master Zhang let out a hoarse low laugh. "Your Excellency, have you ever heard of Lu Jisheng?"

Qi Diaoming's pupils shrank suddenly. "You actually want to kill Zhenwu Jiedushi."

Mr. Zhang: "He is moody. In Yurou Township, he supports his own soldiers and watches the fire from the other side, and the court dare not act arbitrarily. Therefore, what the old man said about benefiting the country and the people is not a joke."

Qi Diao Ming said: "But what about the replacement?"

Mr. Zhang said: "That's not something your Excellency should worry about. You just need to know that killing such a person does not violate justice and morality and your conscience."

Qi Diaoming said indifferently: "I am the one who owes your life, why do you have to convince me that this is a good deed, not a transaction?"

Mr. Zhang: "I said before, you are not a killer. The killer takes money to do things, and the test is only the exquisite skill. Your active will and the hatred from the heart can make your sword invincible. And you are going to It was extremely difficult to do this.”

This is more than difficult.From the moment he heard the name Lu Jisheng, Qi Diaoming had already planned not to come back.

Regardless of success or failure, the possibility of his return is too low.But for Mr. Zhang, this is not important (it is better to die).The key is whether Qi Diao Ming's life can exert its maximum value.

"So there is something I want to teach you to know."

Master Zhang said slowly.A sharp knife-like light suddenly flashed in his narrowed eyes.

"Your Excellency, do you still remember Yao Honglian's husband who has never been heard from?"

"Yao Honglian." Yao Yi said. "Our mother's name is Yao Honglian."

"Yao Honglian." Yao Ye repeated in a murmur, this was his biological mother's name, and it was the first time he said it with great care, but it was just a few inexplicable syllables that fell off the tip of his tongue. "Is she still alive?"

Yao Yi looked at him in disbelief. "Did Qi Diaoming tell you?"

Yao Ye said: "That means death."

He lowered his head, remembering Qi Diaoming's eyes when he saw him for the first time, and smiled as if enlightened. "She must be beautiful."

Yao Yi: "I don't know. I haven't seen her before."

Yao Ye: "What about father? Is he dead too?"

Yao Yi: "No. But I advise you not to want to see him. I haven't seen him for a long time."

Yao Ye: "Why?

Yao Yi's voice carried a hint of sarcasm: "There are many people around him, many women, many men, and he never feels lonely. And his surname is not Yao."

Yao Ye smiled wryly, "I understand."

He looks around.This is a secluded small courtyard in a deep alley, the area is about the same size as Qi Diao Ming's house, but the style is quite different; Qi Diao Ming's place only has basic living utensils, it is not an exaggeration to call it a barren house.Although the place is clean and not rich, it has been painstakingly furnished and full of dispensable things.Yao Yi watched him size up the arabesque pattern on the curb. "This is where we were born and where I grew up."

Yao Ye nodded noncommittally. "Why did we separate?"

Yao Yi: "Because my mother thought I was dead."

Yao Ye: "Huh?"

Yao Yi said: "She thought I was dead, and before she died, she entrusted you to Qi Diaoming."

Yao Ye was stunned. "But I've never seen Qi Diaoming before."

Yao Yi: "Of course, he definitely doesn't want to support you."

Yao Ye felt that this topic seemed like a bottomless abyss, and he was not sure about it, so he had to divert it. "Do you live here alone?"

Yao Yi shook his head. "I live with Mama Zhang, but she seems to have gone out now. It's okay, I often go out, and she won't stay here all the time."

Yao Ye took a deep look at her. "I hope she can come back safely."

Before he finished speaking, Yao Yi had already drawn out his sword.There were clanging sounds, and three sleeve arrows that pierced through the air fell to the ground.

She also had a sword with her.Her sword is lighter, thinner, and narrower, and the slightly trembling blade looks like a white snake that sprang out suddenly.There were three more beeps, and Yao Ye's sword also came out of its sheath, shooting down the three sleeve arrows flying from the opposite direction.

Yao Ye took a step back, cold sweat broke out on his back.The speed with which he draws his sword is not as fast as this girl!

But at this moment, there was no room for him to reflect on the damage to his self-esteem.Three men in black jumped from the roof, three jumped in from the outside of the wall, and even two rushed in through the gate in a grand manner; they were surrounded.

Yao Ye can be sure that when the two of them walked in, there was no one ambushing nearby.These men in black arrived just now, and to be honest, there was no need to wait for an opportunity.Their goal is extremely clear, eight people are more than enough to deal with these two young boys and girls.

The airtight encirclement gradually shrinks, and everyone's steps are completely invisible. Yao Ye adjusted his posture against the enemy, tilted his head and smiled at Yao Yi behind him: "Is this scene as you expected?"

Yao Yi said coldly: "Do you have a conscience when you say this?

Yao Ye smiled wryly, "I'm sorry." Naturally, he would not fully trust Yao Yi, but at least the murderous intent of these people in front of him at this moment is genuine.There is no difference between Yao Yi and him, they are both inevitable prey.

The sword light is close at hand.Yao Ye cheered up.The blood of last night was still flowing in his body, and the sword he swung naturally still carried the ruthlessness of that time.However, these men in black are obviously well-trained, and their advances and retreats are well-organized. The wind of the knife forms an unshakable pressure. After a few moves, Yao Ye is already at a loss, and can only try to cover it. His heart is even more flustered. In a hellish battle, the enemy he faced was not much weaker than today.

The only difference is that there was lacquer carving last night.Is he scared?Or he subconsciously knew that with the lacquer carving on his side, he would not be harmed, just like the fifth person.But now he has only this girl whose enemy is unknown.

It is impossible for lacquer carving to appear here.Could it be that he is just an embroidered pillow talking about wars on paper, who has practiced swordsmanship for more than ten years, but has no ability to stand on his own, and is about to fail in the first battle in the arena?

After being distracted for a moment, Yao Ye felt pain in his left shoulder, and had already been stabbed.At the same time, Yao Yi let out a soft cry and took a step back, their backs almost bumped into each other.A man in black raised his long knife and slashed at the front door. Yao Yi had no way to retreat. He pushed Yao Ye back with his backhand.The man in black dodged sideways, and slashed down again. Yao Yi could only hold his sword in front of his chest to block it, but the opponent was so powerful that the sword was in a stalemate for only a moment. Hands slipped.The man in black was still intent on cutting Yao Yi's chest, when suddenly a silver light flashed, and a half-foot sharp blade popped out from the back of Yao Yi's hand, cutting off the man's arm.

The plot came out of nowhere, the man's broken arm only had time to cool off, and the sharp knife in Yao Yi's hand pierced straight into his heart.There were two muffled puffs, Yao Yi grabbed the corpse on the blade as a shield with one hand, blocked the two incoming knives, tipped his toes, held the long sword again with his left hand, and flicked his wrist, only heard a scream , a man in black covered his eyes and fell to the ground.

The other party lost two people in the blink of an eye, and the situation in front of Yao Yi suddenly became clear, but the remaining enemies were not at all chaotic, with two knives, one left and one right, rushed forward, and there was another round of fierce attack in an instant.Yao Yi had a long sword in his left hand and a short blade in his right hand, and he was still able to deal with it, but the two of them were also separated during the scuffle, and Yao Yi was surrounded by the front, back, front, back, and back. He was stabbed in the back again.Yao Ye staggered, almost sending his chest to the point of the knife in front of him.

His eyelashes were stung by the sweat, and his vision was blurry.This was the first real life-and-death situation he encountered.Yao Ye took a deep breath, clenched his teeth and swung his sword.

With this sword he stabbed birds, stabbed bees, and stabbed falling leaves.Even though it has been hit by hundreds of shots, it is just birds, bees and leaves.

The fifth person highly praised him for his talent, saying that he had lost a lot of hair in order to master this move, but Yao Ye replied with a serious face at that time: "If you don't meet a real opponent, this sword will never be able to play its true role. value."

What is the true value of the sword?Apart from the feeling of the sword's edge being blocked by muscles, and the smell of blood flowing down the blade, is there anything else?

There were three corpses left on the ground in the small courtyard. Those who had no fighting spirit and those who were injured had already retreated, and the victor had no intention of chasing after them; A thin layer of pink ice formed on the surface of the little blood.

Yao Ye suddenly realized that the sun had already set.He was also injured, the wound was not deep, it was not a big deal when his life was hanging by a thread, but now there was a heart-pounding pain from his back and shoulders.

He feels very cold.It could be nightfall, it could be blood loss, or torn clothing.Only the coolness on the side of the neck can't be explained.

Yao Ye turned his head slowly, and saw Yao Yi pointing his sword at him.This sword is light, thin, and narrow, like a straight piece of white silk.

"Master told me that anyone who uses this sword technique - must die!"

Qi Diaoming walked alone in the night of Shuozhou City.

It was still too early to get dark.The quiet streets are covered by the dirty night, and every place looks familiar.

Perhaps he will soon be unable to feel such a moonless cold night, unable to see such walls and bricks and tiles.The remaining snow in the gaps has completely melted away, and even a melodious bird song can be heard from somewhere.

He is a person who walks on the border of life and death all year round, so he develops a habit, and he will not procrastinate what he should do, let alone avoid it, so that even if he loses his life at any time, he will have no regrets at all.

How long has it been since he, the fifth person, and Tantai Ze met?

Standing on the street ahead was a familiar girl, wearing a familiar red dress, who was so heavy in the night that she seemed to be swallowed up.

Qi Diaoming walked over indifferently, passing by the figure in red.There was a soul-destroying pain from the part where the severed limb of the left hand was connected to the iron claw.

He doesn't believe in ghosts, nor in hallucinations.What else could a person who had been dead for 19 years be but a ghost or hallucination?

The girl didn't look up, didn't move, and only sighed softly when the two of them crossed their sides.The coral beads on her ears were as red as drops of blood.

"Aren't you going to avenge me?"