Who among the gangsters wants to fall in love?

Chapter 14: Bridge Shadows Under the Moon
Linshui County is located east of the Qiushui River and is an important commercial town in Jin. It is known as "a small city of water and land ports, and the first town on the winding Yellow River." However, it is winter now and the Qiushui River has frozen, making it inconvenient for ships to travel. This is one of the reasons why the economy of northern cities is generally not as good as that of the south... At this time, the water transport in the south of the Yangtze River is still booming, and countless silver is brought in every day.

There is a large bridge to the east of Linshui County, named Dongmen Bridge, which is covered with snow and looks pure white.

Tread-

The horse's hooves sank into the snow and stepped on the wooden bridge, making crisp sounds.

A man in black with a longbow on his back and a long sword at his waist rode into the city.

This person is Yan Jiu, one of the top ten masters of the contemporary era.

The title of Yuankui was first established in the third year of Jingzheng. It was a title created by Emperor Jingzheng in order to attract talents in the martial arts world. Every autumn, a martial arts competition would be held in the imperial city, and the winner would be personally awarded the Yuankui plaque by the emperor... Although it was not a promotion to an official title, it was very impressive to defeat a hero, and it was still an honor that the younger generation in the martial arts world dreamed of day and night.

There are only ten Yuankui, but there are more than ten people who are capable of becoming Yuankui... Whoever can defeat Yuankui can take his place. At the same time, there is an age limit for Yuankui, that is, only those under 28 years old are worthy of being called Yuankui... After all, you are already 30 years old and have a family and career. Aren't you ashamed to compete for the title with the younger generation?
Yan Jiu became the champion at the age of twenty. He traveled around the world, asking for advice from various major sects for advice, and it has been more than six years now. Unfortunately, he still cannot beat the top ten martial arts champions… Some people say that if you can’t beat them, then you can’t beat them. The top ten in the world are all old and immortal. He is twenty-six this year, still very young. As long as he can keep the title of champion, and retire at the age of twenty-eight, he can also get the reputation of "former champion". After living for another thirty years, he can also be a martial arts champion for fun.

But people who practice martial arts seek the spirit to forge ahead with determination. If they try to become one of the top ten in the world by relying on longevity, can they still be considered as martial artists?

Yan Jiu has been wandering the world for ten years and he is still alive. In addition to his martial arts, experience and knowledge, what he has improved more is his network of contacts.

To survive in the world, what you rely on is not fighting and killing, but the ways of the world.

A plain snowy owl flew through the layers of snow and landed on Yan Jiu's shoulder. It humanely picked up a mailbox with its claws and handed it to Yan Jiu.

Yan Jiu fed Xue Xiao some dried meat, took the letter tube, opened the letter, and chuckled, "There is no trace of Miss Su in Yangquan and western Shanxi. Brother Li and Brother Qin are blocking the main road to southern Shanxi, and they can't go to Taiyuan... The three of them only have one thousand-mile horse. Judging from the horsepower, they are probably near Linshui, Fangshan, and Lan County."

Yan Jiu tore up the letter and threw it away, then he clamped his horse's belly and rushed towards Linshui. The snowy owl flapped its wings and flew away, soaring into the sky again.

He is in charge of the city, Xue Xiao is in charge of the wild, and he has a group of brothers who are responsible for blocking the main roads in Jin and delivering information in real time, with clear division of labor.

Yan Jiu entered the city at dusk and found a brothel. The girls were still dressed up beautifully in the middle of winter, but he was not there to drink and have fun.

No one knows who owns this brothel, but it mainly sells information...it's an intelligence organization.

"Is there any news about Miss Su?" he asked the madam.

The madam waved her thin fan, rolled her eyes upon hearing this, and said with a smile: "Every guest who comes here recently asks Miss Su, a 15-year-old girl whose hair hasn't even grown out yet, can she compare to the girls here?"

Yan Jiu ignored the madam's joke and asked seriously, "Really?"

"We don't have any news about her here, so naturally there won't be any news about her anywhere else." The madam twisted her waist gracefully and sat down next to Yan Jiu, pouring wine for him. "Su Qingqi is the leader, and she's not a fool. Why would she enter the city at this time? She's probably still hiding in some mountain valley~"

Luo Chaoyan's identity is too sensitive, and no one in the world dares to mention it. Zhao Wumian is also unknown, so he can only look for Su Qingqi.

Yan Jiu took a sip of liquor and threw out a silver ingot, "Detective Department, keep an eye on all the major inns, pharmacies, blacksmith shops and the like. I'll stay here until tomorrow morning. Let me know if there's any news." The madam stroked the silver ingot with both hands and asked with a smile, "Okay! Do you want to order another girl to accompany you, sir?"

"Serve the food, and the rest of the women get out."

"Understood! I will not disturb you from drinking!"

Yan Jiu stayed in the guest room from dusk till evening and then till late at night. Just when he thought that he had worked in vain again today, he heard noises of quarreling and commotion coming from the street outside.

Tap tap tap————

There was the sound of more than one horse galloping.

Yan Jiu frowned and was about to push open the doors and windows, but the door was pushed open with a bang. A woman shouted hastily: "My dear! There is news about Miss Su! She was found in the Detective Department and is currently fleeing to the east gate!"

Before he finished speaking, Yan Jiu shattered the window with a palm, grasped the window eaves with his backhand, jumped onto the roof to look out. Standing on the high place, he could indeed see a woman with a sword riding a white horse heading east, followed by a large group of horseback riders.

"Hmph!" Yan Jiu snorted coldly, drew out his longbow, bent the bow and put an arrow on it. The bow was like a full moon, and with a 'swoosh' sound, three arrows were shot out, like meteors, hitting the horses of the people who were chasing Su Qingqi and his lead. The group of people fell to the ground immediately.

Naturally, he would not let his competitor complete the task assigned by the Prince of Jin himself.

Yan Jiu jumped off the roof, and soon he rode his horse out of the brothel, following behind Su Qingqi.

"Miss Su, are you willing to surrender?" Yan Jiu shouted politely, and shot three arrows backwards, causing screams from the back again.

Su Qingqi glanced back, her brows slightly furrowed, but she ignored him and just kept on riding her horse.

As a thousand-mile horse, Bai Niangzi was the fastest, and Yan Jiu's horse was not slow either, so he could barely keep up for a distance. But the rest could not do that, and Yan Jiu kept harassing them by shooting arrows, so when they got out of Linshui, there were only two people left, one in front and one behind.

Seeing that Su Qingqi had already ridden onto the East Gate Bridge and was getting farther and farther away from him, Yan Jiu reluctantly bent his bow and drew his arrow... He still wanted to capture this steed and didn't want to hurt it unless it was necessary, but if he hesitated any longer, he would lose sight of Su Qingqi again.

call out!
An arrow shot out, piercing the snow curtain.

At this moment, Yan Jiu suddenly saw a figure standing in the middle of the East Gate Bridge. The person was wearing a straw hat and a raincoat. His face could not be seen clearly under the moonlight, but his body was covered with snow, almost blending into the snow curtain. No one knew how long he had been standing there.

Su Qingqi rode past the figure on her horse, safe and sound. Yan Jiu immediately understood... this person was the man that King Jin mentioned who could be killed at will.

clang!
The figure really took a step forward, drew his sword, and blocked the arrow shot by Yan Jiu. The snow around his body fell down due to gravity, revealing the black robe under the straw raincoat and the black scabbard at his waist.

The long sword, the bamboo hat, and the Qingming sword sheath, it was Zhao Wumian.

(End of this chapter)