Who among the gangsters wants to fall in love?

Chapter 337: Friend or Enemy

Although he didn't know too much about his past, at least he got a clue. It turned out that he not only found the wrong Jinboshan furnace, but also had an unclear entanglement with the Zhubei Alliance.

Zhao Wumian asked some more questions before he slowly sorted out the matter of the woman.

Although the woman's husband did not want to be involved in the affairs of the Northern Alliance, he did not want the kung fu passed down by his ancestors to be left without a successor, so he has been practicing martial arts secretly. He is considered a reclusive master hidden among the people, and his strength has reached the level of a grandmaster.

Originally, I wanted to raise Da Bei'er peacefully and pass on my martial arts to the little boy, and my life would have passed like this. Unfortunately, knowing martial arts meant that it was impossible for any information to be kept secret.

The woman was quite pretty when she was young, and was often entangled with thugs from the street. Her husband was hot-blooded and had taught many people a lesson. Sometimes he would go to boxing gyms and other places to beg for work. Once his martial arts skills were exposed, they would naturally reach the ears of those who were interested.

A man of the martial arts world can change his appearance, temperament, and body shape, but he cannot change the martial arts he practiced since childhood. That's why people recognized him as a descendant of the Zhubei Alliance, bringing disaster upon himself.

At that time, Zhao Wumian was searching for and clearing out the forces that had driven the Northern Alliance. While he was there, he also took the opportunity to avenge the woman.

However, he was in a hurry at the time, and was concerned about his sensitive identity. Any further involvement would only cause trouble for the woman, so he left some silver and left.

But now it seems that the woman has been captured again, which clearly shows that Zhao Wumian did not eradicate this force completely back then... This can also be considered his unfinished business.

But it doesn’t matter. He can do now what he couldn’t complete back then.

"Why did the thief arrest you?"

The woman glanced at Bei'er, who was lying on the table with his eyes downcast and staring at the sword case, and sighed secretly, saying:

"When they killed my husband, they didn't know I was pregnant, so they let me go... Actually, since my benefactor avenged my mother and me, I have moved to many houses, but I still couldn't hide Bei'er's affair...

...They wanted to capture Bei'er, but I had sensed something was wrong at the time, so I had Bei'er hide in advance. They captured me and tried to interrogate me. Fortunately, the holy monk Dongwen arrived within a few hours, otherwise Bei'er would not have been able to escape..."

Su Qingqi frowned, "You want to wipe out the roots and not leave any descendants of the Zhubei Alliance? What force has such a great hatred for the Zhubei Alliance? Could it be Wudamu?"

"If his arms were so long, the Rong people would have broken through the pass and entered the Central Plains long ago. Moreover, the current Zhubei Alliance is insignificant and poses no threat to the Rong people. It is impossible for him to do these things just for revenge... It must be someone else." Zhao Wumian shook his head.

The woman didn't say anything else, but tilted her head to ponder something, subconsciously stroking the token in her hand, and after thinking for a while, she put it on the table, pushed it forward, and guessed:
"In addition to Bei'er's whereabouts, the man also asked if my husband left any relics... The relics are this sword and the token. I am just a woman and don't understand the mystery, but are they looking for this token?"

Zhao Wumian took the token and looked at it. Su Qingqi and Guan Yunshu also leaned over to take a look.

It was unknown what material the token was made of. It was heavy, pitch black, and cold to the touch. One side had the word "Zhubei" engraved on it, and the other side had the word "Dong" engraved on it. There was also a line of small characters on the edge of the token, which read "Beiding Yanyun".

This "Dong" is obviously the surname of the woman's husband.

Guan Yunshu knew a lot. He rubbed the edges of the token with his hand and said after a few seconds: "Look at the craftsmanship. This token is estimated to be nearly a hundred years old... It must be something passed down from our ancestors."

"You also know about antiques?"

"There is nothing in this world that I don't know." Guan Yunshu raised her head proudly.

Zhao Wumian wanted to say something obscene, but Miss Su was still by his side, so he gave up the idea and turned to Madam Dong:

"Didn't that man search your house?"

Madam Dong shook her head and said, "Of course I scraped the ground three feet deep. When I returned home, it was already a mess... This token was taken away by my benefactor a long time ago. Later, after I was captured, it was the holy monk Dongwen who returned it to me..."

Zhao Wumian suddenly stood up, staring at Guan Yunshu in disbelief, and almost blurted out "I must have known your father before."

Guan Yunshu looked up at him, but a strange thought suddenly came to his mind.

I hope Zhao Wumian is not the sworn brother of Master Dongwen, otherwise the generation relationship will be a mess...

Su Qingqi didn't have as many thoughts as the other two, but her tone was inevitably excited, "In that case, Abbot Dongwen must have known you before, and I can ask him about your past..."

But as she spoke, Su Qingqi suddenly remembered something, blinked, looked at Zhao Wumian, and said in a softer voice:

"Abbot Dongwen...it's impossible that he would collude with the thieves of the Western Region Saint Church and attack you, right?"

Zhao Wumian and Guan Yunshu looked at each other, as if they were poured with a basin of cold water, and all their thoughts suddenly disappeared.

What Su Qingqi said is possible.

Abbot Dongwen is extremely mysterious. Zhao Wumian and Xiao Xitian are related as a family, but that may not be the case with Dongwen.

Zhao Wumian knew that Dong Wen did not have even a trace of human emotion in his heart. In his heart, there was no such thing as friendship.

If Dong Wen was really the one who stabbed Zhao Wumian in the back, then he and Guan Yunshu...

I thought the conflict between Xiao Yuanmu and Luo Chaoyan had already made Zhao Wumian extremely distressed. If Dong Wen and Guan Yunshu were to be added to the mix...

Guan Yunshu frowned, but he was a little flustered in his heart. However, he remained calm on the surface and said softly:

"It's just a guess. Don't think too much about it. Besides, how could the abbot be in cahoots with the Western Region Saint Church?"

Zhao Wumian noticed that Guan Yunshu was a little flustered, so he changed the subject and turned to look at Madam Dong, saying:

"Back then, I was undoubtedly a traitor. Even if I wanted to protect you two, I probably didn't have the strength to do so. But things are different now... Whether it's the imperial court or the Taixuan Palace, they are all my forces. Pack up and leave tonight to avoid any more accidents."

Guan Yunshu was slightly stunned, and reluctantly cleared away the distracting thoughts in his mind, and asked in a low voice: "Aren't you going to use them as bait to lure the snake out of its hole?"

Mrs. Dong’s expression stiffened.

Su Qingqi sipped her tea expressionlessly, thinking to herself that Guan Yunshu really didn't look like a Buddhist at all.

Guan Yunshu knew that Madam Dong was worried, so she said calmly, "With my martial arts skills, you don't have to worry about your safety. I have confidence in myself."

"Even if you are confident, you shouldn't say it casually. At least you should use a negotiating tone. As a nun, you should pay more attention to the compassion that Buddhist disciples should have when you are out there." Zhao Wumian said helplessly.

Guan Yunshu said in a dissatisfied tone, "This is the fact. There is no point in sugarcoating it...Also, don't always call me a nun. I have a name."

"Calling you Yunshu is too ambiguous, calling you by your full name is too distant, and I've never seen you call me Wumian or anything like that on weekdays." Zhao Wumian waved his hand, and then said:
"This time, Nine Bells is more important. If you have the energy to wait in this alley for who knows how many months for someone who may show up at any time, you might as well accompany me to the End of the World Islands first."

It's easy to say to lure the snake out of its hole, but who knows when the other party will come?
If they are lucky, it may be tomorrow, but they may have to wait for several months. Zhao Wumian and others are going to grab the Nine Bells now, so they certainly don't have much spare energy to specially assign a master who has achieved the unity of man and nature to wait for them.

Things have their priorities. The matter of Zhubei Alliance is obviously not as important as Cuojin Boshan Furnace. Moreover, Zhao Wumian speculated that Cuojin Boshan Furnace and Zhubei Alliance might be the same matter.

The Chen Kingdom specially hid the Cuojin Boshan Furnace in the East China Sea, and this place was once the base of the East China Sea Navy and the Zhubei Alliance. If we continue searching along the path of the Cuojin Boshan Furnace, we will definitely find many things related to the Zhubei Alliance.

Sit back and wait is obviously too inefficient. As for asking the masters from Taixuan Palace or the imperial court to help... To be honest, it's a bit unkind to ask them to take the risk of being bait and then run away in the blink of an eye.

People just want to live a low-key and stable life. There is no need to drag Mrs. Dong and the little girl into this underworld affair.

Madam Dong also breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Zhao Wumian with gratitude. If she could help her benefactor, she would certainly do it without hesitation, but the enemy wanted Bei'er's life... To put it bluntly, the real bait was the little girl, not her.

As a mother, she naturally didn't want the little girl to be involved in the ups and downs of the world.

Guan Yunshu said no more, but just looked at Zhao Wumian, pointed at his chin with a finger, and smiled.
"What do you mean by poor nun Yunshu is too ambiguous? In fact, you are just embarrassed in your heart, right?"

Snapped----

Su Qingqi put down the teacup and glanced at the two of them.

……

The sword box was obviously a hassle for Mrs. Dong and the little girl, so Zhao Wumian took it away on their behalf.

Mrs. Dong didn't have anything to pack. The only thing she needed to keep properly was the token of love her husband had given her when they got married...

A hand-carved wooden bracelet with a few jade beads of poor quality in the middle.

Mrs. Dong always wore it on her wrist and rubbed it from time to time.

Guan Yunshu noticed Mrs. Dong's little movement, looked at her sideways for a few seconds, and then turned his head to look at Zhao Wumian.

She also gave Zhao Wumian a bracelet.

Zhao Wumian squatted on the ground, holding a sausage in his hand and playing with the dog. His every move did not look like that of a royal prince or a martial arts master.

Zhao Wumian encountered many life-and-death crises along the way, but he was able to escape danger every time. However, a few years ago, he almost died and lost his memory. Will he die too one day in the future?

Or in other words, if Abbot Dongwen had indeed harmed Zhao Wumian in the first place.

Zhao Wumian at that time was obviously a traitor, and Dong Wen actually had every reason to take action against him. Even if he did not join the people of the Western Region Holy Church in the siege, it was very likely that he would take advantage of his misfortune.

Regardless of their original stance, as long as Dong Wen really kills Zhao Wumian, this hatred cannot be let go in a few words...

Guan Yunshu's thoughts were rarely so complicated. He felt as if a huge rock was pressing on his heart, making it difficult for him to breathe.

Noticing Guan Yunshu's gaze, Zhao Wumian tilted his head, then looked back at the sausage in his hand, and then said dissatisfiedly:

"Why, you don't eat meat, but you don't allow me to carry a sausage with me to satisfy my craving?"

Guan Yunshu laughed, and the inexplicable depression in her heart suddenly disappeared. She asked, "Where is the bracelet I gave you?"

"I treat it as a family heirloom passed down from generation to generation in the Zhao family. Don't even think about leaving."

Guan Yunshu seemed to want to say something but stopped himself.

"do you have any opinion?"

Guan Yunshu was silent for a few seconds, and then suddenly smiled: "No, I am very happy."

"I treated the things you gave me as a token of love, and you're not even a little dissatisfied? Are you still a nun?"

"Nuns are also women..." Guan Yunshu hadn't finished speaking when he saw Zhao Wumian turn his head and say to Su Qingqi:

"In addition, there is the Qingming Sword Scabbard that Miss Su gave me. After I have dealt with the matter of the wrong Jinboshan furnace, I will definitely go to the Central Plains to take back the Qingming Sword from Wudamu..."

Before Zhao Wumian could finish his words, Guan Yunshu turned around and left.

"Hey, hey, why are you running? Help carry the things."

Guan Yunshu looked back at him with a cold expression, but it made her smile even more beautiful:
"I am free to fight the enemy. When Marquis Wei Ming came, he said that Mo Jingxue might be in Yangzhou."

Seeing Yunshu’s visibly bad mood made Zhao Wumian happier than learning about the expulsion of the Northern Alliance.

When returning to the tea garden, Xiao Yuanmu did not say much when he learned about Mrs. Dong. After asking his men to arrange accommodation for her, he simply said, "First accompany me back to Lin'an, and then we will find the wrong Jinboshan furnace, and let the matter of expelling the Northern Alliance take its course." This put an end to the matter.

Zhao Wumian actually meant the same thing, but he still discussed the matter of expelling the Northern Alliance with Xiao Yuanmu in the house.

Xiao Yuanmu knew this sect. In fact, many disciples of Taixuan Palace were descendants of Zhubei Alliance, which could be regarded as the predecessor of Taixuan Palace.

But she had never heard of anyone clearing out the descendants of the Northern Alliance.

If such a force really exists in this world, the first thing they would do is point the tip of their knife at Taixuan Palace.

The reason why they didn't do that was either because they were not strong enough and didn't dare to fight against Taixuan Palace, or...

Zhao Wumian took out the "Dong" brand from his arms and speculated:
"In fact, that force doesn't want to wipe out the roots, but wants this token? Could it be a key or something like that? For example, the Cuojin Boshan furnace is locked behind a stone wall, and you need to collect all five tokens of the Zhubei Alliance to open the door."

When the Zhubei Alliance was at its peak, there were five halls in total. Zhao Wumian then guessed that they were five tokens.

"I don't know. How many times did you go back to Lin'an in a year? But since you took this badge specifically, it couldn't be just for fun... Keep it. It might be useful."

Zhao Wumian secretly said that he had 'As if I were here in person' on his left hand, 'Fan Li Fu Chen' on his right hand, and now 'Bei Ding Yan Yun' added... He really had a lot of these brands on him.

Zhao Wumian actually wanted to sleep with Xiao Yuanmu, but Xiao Yuanmu was not much different now, so he could only avoid suspicion. After chatting for a few words, he left the boudoir of the Palace Master of Taixuan Palace.

Xiao Yuanmu had very picky tastes. The backyard had pavilions, waterside terraces, rockery and stone bridges, and the houses were scattered around. The waterside pavilion overlooking the lake was covered with gauze, and inside was a priceless guqin.

Considering that both the current Palace Master and the former Palace Master were women, no matter which branch they were in, female disciples made up the majority... They were mainly concentrated in the backyard doing odd jobs.

Zhao Wumian walked in the corridor and greeted the female disciples passing by.

The female disciples knew Zhao Wumian. They were not troubled by the world affairs. They only knew that the man their palace master had been thinking about had returned. Everyone had a pure smile on their face.

Her every move didn't look like a demon girl, but more like a lady from a wealthy family in the Jiangnan water town...

So she is a witch, right? After all, how can you tell she is a witch at first glance? Otherwise, how can she cause chaos in the martial arts world?

Zhao Wumian was thinking about all sorts of things and then he thought of Guan Yunshu.

I wondered if she couldn't sleep because of Dongwen's matter. When I arrived at her house, the lights were on, but the doors and windows were closed.

Zhao Wumian was about to knock on the door when he heard some water sounds coming from inside. He knew that Guan Yunshu was taking a bath, so he knew what to do and did not disturb her. He turned around and left, planning to come back later.

Even though Zhao Wumian usually likes to flirt with Guan Yunshu, he knows that the emotional suffering in Guan Yunshu's heart is hard to uncover, so he naturally shouldn't do anything to damage her reputation.

But Guan Yunshu obviously couldn't be unaware that Zhao Wumian was standing outside the door. The sound of water in the room paused, and then a voice came, "You're here, why are you leaving?"

Zhao Wumian paused, turned his head and stared at the window paper that was shining with yellow light, blinking his eyes, "Then... can I go in?"

The sound of water was heard again in the room. With Zhao Wumian's perception, he could clearly detect Guan Yunshu's movements... She was sitting in the bathtub at this moment, scooping up a handful of water with her small hands and sprinkling it on her shoulders.

She asked casually, "You won't do anything, even if you tell it to tease me, I won't take it seriously... You're leaving tomorrow, why don't you go to your Miss Su to be intimate with me, and come to my door in the middle of the night? This will only cause criticism."

"Didn't you tell me not to call you a nun? Why are you calling yourself that now?"

“Because it’s useful.”

"How despicable."

"Girls are all mean, especially a girl like me who is the most beautiful in the world." Guan Yunshu's white and tender hand slid across the slender arm.

From this extremely subtle sound of water, Zhao Wumian could guess how smooth the skin on Guan Yunshu's forearm was...even if water was dripped on it, the skin would probably slide down cleanly without leaving any water stains.

"Don't be so narcissistic. I came here just to tell you not to think too much about Abbot Dongwen's matter. Even if he really attacked me in the first place, considering our relationship, I wouldn't make it difficult for him. At most, I would just beat him up to vent my anger, and then this matter would be over."

Guan Yunshu actually hadn't thought about the cave text. He was stunned for a moment after hearing this, and then he shook his head and laughed.
"The abbot started practicing martial arts at the age of thirty, and he opened the bridge between heaven and earth within ten years. His talent is probably second only to that of this nun. Looking at the ten martial arts champions of Dali, the abbot is undoubtedly the number one. Even Taoist Guiyi is half a point behind him. Are you so confident that you can beat him instead of getting beaten?"

"If a martial artist doesn't even have this much confidence, how can I build a bridge between heaven and earth? You should ask me why I am so generous to Dong Wen."

Guan Yunshu found it funny. Zhao Wumian would definitely say something like "We have a good relationship and I'm doing this just for your sake."

Her long hair was tied up with a ribbon so that it did not touch the bath water, revealing the curvaceous shape of her neck.

For her, taking care of such long hair was a hassle, so she had planned to simply take a bath and then meditate to practice internal energy... But now she pulled the ribbon open, and her inky hair fell down.

She tilted her face, ran her fingers through her soft hair, soaking it with hot water, and asked curiously in an innocent voice:
"Really? Then why are you so generous to Abbot Dongwen? As far as I know, anyone who provokes you will be beaten half to death by you, even if he doesn't die..."

Zhao Wumian was slightly stunned outside the window. As soon as these words were spoken, an ambiguous atmosphere suddenly emerged between the two people separated by the window.

He thought Guan Yunshu would not continue with what he said.

Just as Zhao Wumian was about to answer, Guan Yunshu's voice sounded softly in his ears, accompanied by the sound of splashing water.

"Is it because you are obsessed with me?"

"I don't know how you came to this conclusion? Shouldn't I have beaten up your master, and then you cried and begged me not to kill him?"

Guan Yunshu's pretty smiling face suddenly turned cold, and then she heard a woman's melodious singing voice faintly coming from outside the house.

"The scenery of West Lake remains the same, but I feel so haggard in the autumn."

The lyrics and intonation were clearly that of an opera, but the standard was clearly not good; not only was the singing off-tune, but the voice even broke in the middle.

Zhao Wumian's interested voice came from outside the house, "There is a little girl hiding on the waterside pavilion alone, holding a script in her hand, and practicing a play."

Guan Yunshu murmured "hmm" softly and combed his hair slowly.

Zhao Wumian stood outside the window and didn't say anything. Instead, he listened attentively to the little girl singing. From time to time, he commented on Guan Yunshu, saying things like her singing was not as good as Xiao Yuanmu's.

The rain had stopped long ago, and the moonlight shone through the gaps between the leaves, falling on the ground. The stagnant water reflected the moonlight, creating fleeting shadows.

"Have you ever been to Lin'an before? This poem mentions the West Lake in Lin'an."

"I've been there, it's not interesting."

"That's because you didn't go with me. This time, Yuan Mu and I are going back to visit the graves. It's not appropriate to bring you along, so we have to give up. Will you accompany me to Lin'an next time? And we can ask the Queen Mother to come along..."

"I can still agree to not bring the Queen Mother with me, but you and I are so busy. Who knows what else might happen when we find the wrong Jinboshan furnace. Do you really have time?"

"If you have the will, you will have the time. With our Qinggong skills, we can run back and forth from the capital to Lin'an in half a month."

"Then remember to bring enough money with you, and don't ask me for money."

"I can swear to that little girl hiding in the waterside pavilion singing."

After chatting for a few sentences, the two fell silent again. Only the sound of water when Guan Yunshu was bathing could be heard from time to time. However, the atmosphere between them was not awkward, but relaxed.

Zhao Wumian said whatever he thought of. Sometimes he talked about how fun Lin'an was, but Guan Yunshu didn't answer at all. Instead, she talked about something completely unrelated, such as what new things she had learned from practicing martial arts.

Or maybe someone said something, but the other person just ignored it and went about their own business.

The two kept chatting until the little girl got tired of practicing, coughed a few times, and trotted back.

Zhao Wumian suddenly reacted, glanced at the sky, and then tilted his head to look at the window, "Monk, you took such a long bath, is the water still hot?"

Guan Yunshu also came to his senses after hearing this...the water had already gone cold.

Crash----

There was a sound of water in the room. Guan Yunshu stood up and stepped out of the bathtub.

Through the lighted window paper, a figure could be seen walking by. The slender silhouette had ups and downs, and it even trembled as it walked.

With Zhao Wumian's eyesight, he could even see a very subtle, raised curve through the silhouette.

His heart began to beat and he looked away, looking around.

It was late at night and there was no one in the backyard.

Guan Yunshu noticed that there was something wrong with Zhao Wumian's heartbeat, and her brows furrowed slightly. Then she suddenly reacted, waved her little hand, and the room instantly became dark.

"You...you go away. I want to sleep..." Guan Yunshu's voice came from inside the house. It was the same as usual, very peaceful.

But with Zhao Wumian's perception, how could the heartbeat of the woman in the house deceive him?

Zhao Wumian coughed lightly, "You guys go to Tianya Islands first, wait for me to come back from Lin'an..."

"move……"

(End of this chapter)