Who among the gangsters wants to fall in love?

Chapter 404 I'll Treat You to a Drink
"Jingle Bell--"

Xiao Lengyue sat on the horse, unpacked the horse bell she bought in town, and waved it in the air casually to relieve her boredom. However, she didn't play with it for long before she bent down and tied it around the horse's neck. Then she turned to look at Zhao Wumian beside her and said:
"Are you so angry?"

"I am also angry about the murder of Taixuan Palace disciples." Zhao Wumian had a cold face and rode his horse slowly across the vast snowy plain.

The news that the Sword Sect's disciples were killed by the Xihua Sword quickly spread like a startled bird in the forest, and even Zhao Wumian heard about it.

"The Xihua Sword was passed down by Emperor Wuxiang himself..." Xiao Lengyue was about to explain the origin of the Xihua Sword to Zhao Wumian, but was interrupted halfway through her sentence.

"No need to introduce anything to me."

"You know him?"

"do not know."

"Then how..."

"Why bother to hear more about the dead man's origins?"

Zhao Wumian pulled the reins and the horse stopped. It stood on a small snow hill and looked at a small black dot in the distance.

There was a black line floating above the black dot, faintly visible in the snow; that was the smoke from cooking.

This can no longer be called a town, with only a few buildings and dim wine flags.

It's just a tavern built in the snow, but it's such a place that attracts tired and exhausted people from all walks of life to stop and have a drink.

There were traces of wheels, horses and pedestrians on the snow in front of the tavern, but they were soon covered by the heavy snow.

He didn't even have time to rush to the Sword Sect. He just focused on researching the Xihua Sword for several days... As expected, he would stay here.

Zhao Wumian was familiar with this restaurant... He had come here to drink with Jiuer before.

Jiu'er, as his name suggests, is a wine lover and often takes Zhao Wumian to restaurants all over the world.

Zhao Wumian remembered that the wine here was not very tasty, but considering that he drank it with Jiuer at the beginning, looking back now, he felt that the wine did not seem so bad.

But time has passed and Zhao Wumian can no longer remember what the wine here tastes like. He only remembers that the wine tastes bad, but the wine sitting next to him looks very good.

Zhao Wumian was still young at that time, and Jiu'er never allowed him to drink, but she had a kind heart towards Zhao Wumian.

During his daily martial arts training, if he slacked off for a moment, he would be beaten until his skin was covered with bruises. However, whenever Zhao Wumian made a request, she could not say a single "no" but only "yes".

So it was here that Zhao Wumian drank for the first time in his life.

Jiuer invited him to drink the first bowl of wine.

Before riding to the tavern, he saw a horse he recognized tied in the stable at the door of the tavern.

Zhao Wumian was slightly moved. He knew whose horse this was. He turned over and stepped off, his boots into the snow.

Luo Xiangzhu followed him down and dismounted, but heard Zhao Wumian say:

"It's not nice to see blood. I'll go in alone. You and Auntie stay outside to watch the horses. The northern part of Yanyun is not like the capital. Don't let anyone steal the horses... I won't keep you waiting for long."

Luo Xiangzhu nodded slightly, and watched Zhao Wumian take off his fox fur coat, put it on her, and tightened the straps to wrap her more tightly to prevent her from catching a cold.

Luo Xiangzhu stood obediently.

Xiao Lengyue looked at the horse that Zhao Wumian recognized, blinked her beautiful eyes slightly, and seemed a little speechless. She didn't expect to run into her here.

Zhao Wumian took the scabbarded long sword hanging next to the saddle bag, turned around and walked into the restaurant.

The restaurant is not big, but there are many people from the martial arts world. The hall is very crowded, most of them share tables, and it is very noisy.

But in one corner, it was quite deserted, with only a woman sitting at a square table.

The woman was dressed in white clothes as white as snow, and a fox fur coat. She walked around without a veil, which did nothing to hide her stunning face.

But the first thing that all the people in the hall saw was the sword she placed horizontally on the table.

The sword has a white handle and a white scabbard, and no tassel. He is a swordsman.

The second thing he looked at was her hands.

The first factor in evaluating a swordsman is always the calluses on his hands.

But none of the people present had ever seen such a moving hand.

Although he is a swordsman, there is not a single callus on his hands, and not even a single flaw. His skin is delicate and white, just like a carefully carved piece of mutton-fat white jade.

If ordinary people in the martial arts world saw this move, they would definitely think that this was just a powerful young lady who stole a sword from home and wanted to go out into the martial arts world to act as a chivalrous woman.

But this is Yanyun.

Everyone in the martial arts world knows that in Yanyun, there is only one woman who is so beautiful and dressed like this.

So no one dared to do anything rude, for fear of disturbing this living devil.

Only the outsiders were unaware of this and only thought that the woman was very beautiful. Although they knew that women who traveled alone were the most dangerous, they did not want to provoke her and only wanted to give her a pot of wine to establish a good relationship with her.

So the owner of the wine shop stuffed his pockets with silver like snowflakes, carried a lot of wine jars, and placed them on the table of the white-clothed female hero.

But before he could open his mouth, the female hero raised her eyes and glanced at him, and his legs were already trembling.

"Take it down."

The owner of the wine shop quickly retreated with the jar of wine.

The heroine in white stopped talking, picked up the wine bowl and started drinking. Soon, the person she was waiting for met her.

A hand stretched out from the side of the cotton curtain and was lifted up. A middle-aged man wearing a bamboo hat and holding a long sword with a red sheath walked in.

The heroine in white gently shook the wine bowl with her small hand, and the wine swayed. She glanced at the man and knew that this was Xihua Sword.

She grew up in Yanyun and was a local boss with a good background. It would be easier for her to find the Xihua Sword than to find Mo Jingxue.

But she did not immediately chop off Xihua Jian's head.

She was very curious about how Xihuajian found the Willow-Leaf Harp.

Is it a secret method or a spy?
The Sword Sect is currently out there with a large group of disciples, all led by a master. One purpose is to search for Mo Jingxue, and the other is to provide cover for Liu Yeqin.

Even if the news about Ning Binglei was really leaked, who would know that Ning Binglei was in Liu Yeqin's hands?
In the eyes of ordinary people, Liu Yeqin was just one of the people who went out to search for Mo Jingxue.

If he is a spy, just get rid of him.

But if it is a secret method... I have heard that the Goguryeo and the sect and Ning Binglei have complementary skills. If this is really the effect of this skill...

If Emperor Wuxiang knew that the Ningbing Tears were for Zhao Wumian, he would definitely not send the Xihua Sword to kill him. Instead, he would let the Ningbing Tears safely deliver to Zhao Wumian.

After a long time, Zhao Wumian had nowhere to hide in front of Emperor Wuxiang, and something must have happened.

Xihuajian brushed off the snowflakes on his body, walked to the counter, and ordered a few jugs of wine and some food.

"There is no seat left in this shop..." The shopkeeper hesitated a little and glanced at the woman in white secretly.

That's the only place where you can share a table.

Xihua Jian shook his head slightly. He had no intention of staying in the restaurant for long. He just wanted to buy some food and supplies for the journey.

He had been in Yanyun for some time and had long since used up all his dry food.

But at this moment, I heard the white-robed female warrior slowly say:

"The journey is long, why rush? Why not come sit here with me, eat peacefully, and then we can continue on our journey!"

As soon as the words fell, the noisy hall suddenly became quiet and you could hear a pin drop.

Xihua Jian frowned slightly and glanced sideways at the white-clothed heroine in the corner, a hint of surprise flashed in his cold eyes.

"It's just a small restaurant, but there is a master like you. I didn't notice you just now. If you had attacked me by surprise, I'm afraid I would have been torn to pieces long ago."

The heroine in white slowly spun the wine bowl.

"To kill you, there's no need for a sneak attack."

"I only wish your sword was half as fast as your mouth."

Xihua Jian laughed in silence. He recognized the woman's identity, but he was not afraid at all.

He is a martial artist who has the potential to build a bridge between heaven and earth. A martial artist like him would not be able to cultivate such martial arts if he loses his ambition.

Not to mention the unity of man and nature, even if the woman in front of him was the best in martial arts, he would still want to test her prowess.

"I heard that the sword master here had already achieved unity between man and nature in Jin?"

The woman in white sneered.

Ever since she built the bridge between heaven and earth, she has never shown her sword in front of the world.

The only Mu Bugui had already died under her sword, and Bai Lang had also died under Shen Xiangge's sword.

Xihua Jian didn't even know that she was already the top martial arts champion.

Seeing that the white-clothed heroine did not answer, Xihua Jian flicked the sword guard with his thumb, and the sword came out three inches. He then grasped the hilt with his back hand, ready to strike.

"The Sword Master here is here for Ning Binglei, right?"

"I came here to kill you."

After the heroine in white finished speaking, she pursed her red lips towards the stool opposite her.

"But I still have something to ask you, so I'll spare your life for now... Sit down."

Xihua Jian paused slightly, but instead of being annoyed, he smiled.

"I heard that the Sword Master is a wine lover, so he must have a lot of fine wine. The wine in the northern part of Yanyun is too unpalatable, far inferior to the wine of Goguryeo. If you want me to take a seat, you must show your sincerity. Why don't you have a glass of water..."

The heroine in white narrowed her almond-shaped eyes and completely lost her patience. She had grasped the hilt of the white sword without knowing when, but a voice came from outside the door.

"Are you worthy of her buying you a drink?"

Hearing this, the white-clothed heroine's delicate body trembled suddenly. Her calm expression changed slightly, and her eyes filled with uncontrollable joy like peach blossoms in spring. She raised her eyes and looked.

The door curtain was lifted, and a young man in a green shirt and holding a sword in his hand walked in.

It was snowing hard outside, and many snowflakes had fallen on the young man's shoulders, but he ignored them and walked closer, glancing at the Xihua Sword.

Xihua Jian glanced at him sideways and felt that this person was extremely young.

He glanced at the sword in the green-shirted man's hand.

"Are you a swordsman too?"

"Whether it's a sword or a knife, they're all the same thing. There's no distinction between swordsmen and knifemen."

Xihuajian smiled and asked, "Are you also a disciple of the Sword Sect?"

"After some time, you will be the leader of the Sword Sect." Xihua Jian smiled again, not taking the words seriously, just thinking it as the youthful vigor.

"come kill me?"

"It's true."

"I have killed many people like you." Xihua Jian sighed lightly, glanced at the female hero in white, and then shook his head slightly.

"The Sword Master is here. I can't kill you, but you can't kill me that easily either... Go out and stay here. The Sword Master and I have something to talk about. Now is not the time to draw the sword."

The man in green looked at Xihua Jian's face, his expression unchanged, and asked:
"Have you still got the sword?"

?

The white-clothed heroine was under too much pressure, so Xihua Jian kept holding the hilt and even pulled the sword out three inches. Everyone was watching.

But at some point, a trace of blood suddenly appeared on the wrist of the sword holding Xihua Sword. The hand, no longer under the control of the arm, was still tightly gripping the hilt, but gravity caused the sword to slowly slide into the scabbard, making a rustling sound, and then both the scabbard and the sword fell to the ground together.

Xihua Sword's hand had been cut off at some point, but no one noticed when the man in green drew his sword.

He was clearly holding the sword in his hand, but there was no sound of the sword sheath, not even a hint of light.

Blood dripped from the broken wrist, and the slight sound of the sword falling to the ground made Xihua Jian realize that his hand was broken before the severe pain in his wrist did.

"You!" Xihua Jian's pupils widened. Before he could open his mouth, his head was held down by the man in green and slammed heavily on the counter.

Bang!
Wood chips flew everywhere and the counter exploded instantly. After Xihua Jian's face smashed the counter, he continued to smash the ground with great force, and in turn smashed cracks in the floor tiles that had been stepped on by countless people from the martial arts world.

The young man in green shirt let go, then stood up and glanced down at the Xihua Sword from above.

"I just heard your conversation. Are the frozen tears on you?"

Xihua Jian was already dizzy, and his eyes were already stained red with blood, but hearing these words still gave him a sense of déjà vu.

Isn't this what he said to Chu Changdong and Liu Yeqin?
Without waiting for Xihua Sword to speak, Zhao Wumian had already drawn out the Qingxu Sword, picked it from behind his waist, and took out a small box.

The wooden box felt cold to the touch. When it was opened, there was a flower that looked like an ice crystal inside, exactly as Zi Yi had described.

His brows were furrowed, he knew that some disciples of the Sword Sect had been killed, but he had no idea that they were actually there to escort Ning Binglei... Needless to say, this was for him.

This was actually spread by Zi Yi through the people in the imperial court, who wanted to search all over the world. If they could find something, there would be no need for Zhao Wumian to take the risk of going to the Goguryeo treasury.

Zhao Wumian closed the wooden box and looked down at the Xihua Sword. "How did you know the exact location of Ningbinglei?"

Xihuajian spat out a mouthful of blood, fell to the ground, and coughed a few times, "I know, I know..."

"I guess it has something to do with the Wuxiang Emperor's technique?"

Zhao Wumian didn't believe that the secret that the Sword Sect was escorting Ning Binglei would be discovered by Goguryeo.

If the Sword Sect can't even handle the news of the secret escort, it would be unworthy of being one of the three sects and six factions.

Xihua Jian was silent for a moment, and then said: "If you are afraid, you can hand over the Frozen Tears to someone else. In this way, the master will not be able to find you."

When Zhao Wumian heard this, he laughed out loud.

"Do you know that one of my purposes for going north to Yanyun is to kill Wuxiang Emperor? If this Ningbinglei can really lead him to me, it will be a double blessing."

When Xihua Jian heard this, he felt cold all over and finally guessed the identity of the man in green.

"Are you Wei Ming Hou!?"

Zhao Wumian did not say anything, but Xihua Sword gritted his teeth, suddenly bounced up, turned around in the air, and his left hand suddenly swung towards his face like a long whip. A short sword could be seen in the palm of his hand, shining with cold light.

Everyone present had never expected that Xi Hua Jian was doomed to die. They should have been desperate and wanted to just get some peace of mind, but they still had to fight to the death.

In the blink of an eye, the silver light was already in front of Zhao Wumian. The distance was too close to use the sword, so Zhao Wumian suddenly raised his hand and pulled out a small statue of a female hero in white from his sleeve, holding it in his hand, and steadily blocked the dagger.

This small statue is just made of ordinary wood and cannot be considered a magical weapon, but the dagger could not even scratch the wooden figure.

Zhao Wumian glanced at the white-clothed lady sitting in the corner without leaving a trace, and then smiled and said:
"People always say that Marquis Weiming is a playboy, and my many wives always complain that I like too many women. But after today, I can hold my head high in front of them...

Having many ladies is not a bad thing. Look, this is the gift the lady gave me. Can't it be put to use?"

Xihua Jian's face showed horror, but before he could do anything else, his head instantly flew into the sky, blood gushing out from his neck. His headless body was still in the air, and before it could touch the ground to stabilize its center of gravity, it fell to the ground like a pool of rotten meat.

But no one present could see when Zhao Wumian drew his sword, as if he had never drawn it before.

Zhao Wumian took a few steps back to avoid getting blood on his body.

Xihua Jian's head fell to the ground and rolled a few times. Zhao Wumian glanced around the hall. Everyone was sitting at the table, standing still and not daring to make a sound. The shopkeeper had huddled in the corner, trembling.

There was a dead silence in the air.

Only the lady in white was still sitting in the corner.

Zhao Wumian stepped over Xihuajian's corpse and came to the table of the white-clothed female knight. Before he could speak, he heard the white-clothed female knight say to him:

"He doesn't deserve to be treated to a drink by me... I'm only treating you."

The woman in white slowly pushed forward a bowl of wine. She had already drunk half of it.

Zhao Wumian looked at the bowl of wine, then looked at the female hero in white. For a moment, he thought he had returned to his childhood.

Jiu'er couldn't stand his pleading, so she pushed the bowl of wine that she had drunk half of, and said, "You are still young, even if you want to drink, you can only drink half a bowl."

But Zhao Wumian can now drink more than just half a bowl of wine.

Zhao Wumian sat down at the table, picked up the wine bowl and drank it all in one gulp.

Whoosh———

"Well, having many wives is not a bad thing. At least I can hold my head high in front of the wives for once."

Mu Lier sat astride her horse, raised her hand to catch a piece of heavy snow, then glanced at Zhao Wumian with a meaningful tone and a hint of smile.

Zhao Wumian was holding the reins, feeling a little guilty when he heard that, and looked at Luo Xiangzhu who was sitting in front of him.

"Sister, do you think I have too many wives?"

Luo Xiangzhu rolled her eyes at him and asked, "What do you think?"

She didn't want to pay attention to this, so she took out the pork head wrapped in oil paper from her small bag, stretched out her arm and handed it to Mu Lier.

The master eats meat.

Master Luo Xiangzhu and his disciple Mu Lier hadn't seen each other for a long time and missed each other very much. However, the tavern was not a suitable place to stay, so they could only hurry on their way.

Mu Lier took the oil paper, smiled at Luo Xiangzhu, put a piece of meat between her lips and chewed it, then asked in confusion:

"Why do you call your sisters "senior sisters"? If you call them like that, the seniority will be messed up. The last time you wrote me, you said that you and Xiangzhu were engaged, so I wanted to talk about it."

Seniority? Is there any seniority between you and me?
Zhao Wumian felt a little strange in his heart, but considering that Luo Xiangzhu didn't know about him and Mu Lier yet, he didn't say anything.

Xiao Lengyue was standing aside, playing with Ning Binglei in her hands, her tone slightly surprised.

"I've heard that Goguryeo has a martial art based on the Ice Tears, but I never thought that it could even sense the location of the Ice Tears... It's amazing, heroes are really as numerous as crucian carp in the world."

"It's possible that Xihuajian was just lying, but even if he didn't deceive me, the effect wouldn't be that exaggerated. At most, he could sense the direction in the dark, just like the relationship between the four colored glaze jades and the inlaid gold Boshan furnace."

"I hope that Xihua Sword is not lying. In this way, I can wait for Wuxiang Emperor to come and save me from going all over Yanyun to look for him."

After saying that, Zhao Wumian sighed again and looked at Mu Lier, "Since the Sword Sect has Ningbing Tears, why didn't you tell me? I was planning to go to the Sword Sect..."

"Who knew that the Wuxiang Emperor could actually sense where the Ningbing Tears are? This can even be called an immortal technique..." Mu Lier muttered, and then said:

"My senior brother probably wanted to give you a surprise. You are the master and his disciple, but he, as your uncle, has never given you anything. He just happened to hear the news from the court that you needed this thing, so he sent someone to deliver it to you so that you don't have to run around."

"Why are you running around? I wanted to come here anyway." Zhao Wumian seemed a little helpless.

"He didn't know it at first." Mu Lier thought of something, and suddenly a puzzled look appeared on her face. She tilted her head to look at him.

"Why did you just tell Xihuajian that you wanted to be the leader of the Sword Sect?"

"Don't you remember that when we were in Jin, I made a bet with that nun that I would become the leader of the Sword Sect in the future?" Zhao Wumian laughed a few times, then untied the scarlet wine gourd from his waist and handed it to Mu Lier.

"The wine from that restaurant just now is still as unpalatable after so many years. Master must not have had enough. Let's drink our Tinglan wine."

Mu Lier didn't refuse, but Luo Xiangzhu turned her head and looked at her with an embarrassed expression.

This is Zhao Wumian’s wine gourd. Master, isn’t it a bit too intimate for you to drink from it like this?

Speaking of Guan Yunshu, Zhao Wumian thought of her and asked curiously, "Didn't the nun come with Master?"

Mu Lier shook her head. "When I heard the news, I was so angry that I ran out of town and left the nun alone in the inn... She is not a rookie who has just started her career, so nothing will happen to her."

Zhao Wumian nodded slightly, "She must have left a letter at the inn in that town. Let's stay there... Haven't you found Mo Jingxue yet?"

"It will be soon." Mu Lier looked at the sky which was getting darker and darker, and then said, "Mo Jingxue is within a hundred miles. I wonder how Abbot Dongwen is fighting with him..."

"Oh, right." Mu Li'er remembered something and tilted her head to look at him. "Have you completely recovered your memory?"

"Even if I lose my memory now, I will never forget my master."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Lengyue tapped Zhao Wumian's back lightly with the scabbard of his sword.

"Master won't forget, but Auntie will?"

Mu Lier chuckled, and then asked with a slightly worried tone: "The nun is always worried that Abbot Dongwen has a grudge against you..."

Zhao Wumian thought of this and smiled, "There is no hatred. On the contrary, I have had a few drinks with Dong Wen and we have a good relationship."

"That monk of his still drinks?"

Zhao Wumian was silent for a few seconds and did not answer this question. Instead, he said:
"Abbot Dongwen's father was from the Zhubei League, but after the Zhubei League was dissolved, his family retired to Yanyun... When I was a child, Jiuer took me to look for them. The abbot's family was surrounded by willow trees, which were lush and beautiful."

"willow?"

Mu Lier thought of the town, the villa, and the cemetery that she and Guan Yunshu passed by, and a sudden thought of disbelief welled up in her heart.

As they were talking, they rode their horses and finally arrived at the town before nightfall.

The town was a small one with only one inn. After asking the innkeeper, I learned that Guan Yunshu had indeed left a letter.

The letter only said that she was going to the north to continue looking.

It has been several days since Guan Yunshu left, and I don’t know where she is.

"Xue Xiao can smell her scent. I estimate that Xue Xiao will come back soon. Don't worry." Zhao Wumian put away the text message and looked at the sky.

It was a snowy night in Yanyun, and the sky was dark and moonless, making it obviously inconvenient to travel.

"Stay here for one night first."

(End of this chapter)