Liver into a martial arts legend: starting with Embroidered Spring Blade

Chapter 72: Dark and windy night, a murderous night! [11]

The next day.

Beizhen Fusi.

A piece of news was like a bombshell, shocking everyone.

Last night, the Black Stone killer Xiyu, who was captured by Captain Jiang Xuan, injured the jailer and escaped from prison.

Afterwards, the East Factory was robbed, and the half of Rama's body that Wei Zhongxian, the head of the East Factory, had just obtained was stolen and disappeared.

As soon as the news came out, the entire capital was shocked.

This was the first time someone escaped from the imperial prison.

Moreover, even a heavily guarded place like the East Factory would be robbed?
This sounded like a fairy tale, and countless people talked about it and doubted its authenticity.

But early this morning, it was said that Xu Xianchun, the Northern Division's pacification envoy, was furious, and even no one from the Eastern Depot came out to refute the rumor, which obviously meant that they tacitly acknowledged the matter.

This is even more unbelievable.

Immediately, the capital city, which had just begun to calm down after Xiyu was captured and the upper half of Rama's body was obtained by Wei Zhongxian, suddenly began to surge with undercurrents again.

Those people from the martial arts world who came for Rama's body became restless again.

After hearing yesterday that Rama's body had been taken away by the Embroidered Uniform Guards and presented to Wei Zhongxian, they had already decided to give up.

After all, Wei Zhongxian is the one who is in charge of the Ming Dynasty today, and the East Factory is also the most heavily guarded place in the entire Ming Dynasty.

Since the body fell into Wei Zhongxian's hands, it was unrealistic to get it back.

Who dares to snatch things from Wei Zhongxian?
But now that the body has been stolen again, the opportunity has come again!

Although it sounds a bit unbelievable, since the East Factory has never come out to refute the rumor, it is very likely to be true.

As long as there is a chance, they will not give up.

Department of General Affairs.

Listening to the discussions of the eunuchs around him, an elderly eunuch frowned, his eyes filled with doubt and uncertainty, and muttered in a low voice: "Someone dared to enter the East Factory and steal the body? How is this possible? Is this a trick?"

"If it's true, then who stole the body? Could it be Xiyu..."

The old eunuch's eyes were uncertain.

"Cao Feng, Cao Feng!"

At this time, a young eunuch nearby shouted, "I'm calling you, Cao Feng. Are you deaf?"

The old eunuch came back to his senses, smiled apologetically, and stood up, saying, "I was distracted just now. What's wrong, Eunuch Tang? Is there something you want to ask me?"

"Hurry up and send these urgent documents to the Ministry of Rites. Lord Han is waiting for them!"

The young eunuch was arrogant and said casually, "Hurry up! If you delay Master Han's important matter, be careful or I will punish you severely!"

"Hey, hey, let's go right away!"

Cao Feng put on a forced smile, accepted his fate submissively, and looked as if he was used to it.

But after he walked out of the room with the letter, his brows furrowed again. He turned his head to look in the direction of the East Factory, his eyes flickering, obviously thinking about something.

Beisi Yamen.

The entire yamen was bustling with activity. Xue Gui and several other centurions had already set out with their men to search the streets to capture Xiyu, the female prisoner who had escaped from prison last night. They hoped to please Xu Xianchun and make up for the fact that Jiang Xuan had taken the lead in solving the case.

But they didn't know that at this moment Xu Xianchun was lying in the government office with a comfortable look on his face, eating breakfast.

Glancing at Jiang Xuan, who was also eating breakfast beside him, Xu Xianchun casually said, "Captain Jiang, I have done everything you asked. Are you sure that this will help you complete the task assigned to you by your adoptive father?"

Jiang Xuan took the porridge and drank it slowly before nodding calmly, saying, "Don't worry, sir. I have my mind set on it."

"Okay, since you took the job, you can handle it yourself."

Xu Xianchun nodded slightly and said, "Do these two tasks well. If I get promoted, you will be my servant from now on. As long as you don't commit any serious treasonous crimes punishable by the death of your entire clan, I will protect you."

"Thank you, sir."

Jiang Xuan bowed, but his eyes were extremely calm and indifferent, and he did not take Xu Xianchun's words seriously.

That being said, what if something really needs your help and you're unhappy?

He already knew exactly what kind of people these guys were.

"Alright, you can eat by yourself. I'm going to go out for a walk to help digest the food."

After Xu Xianchun finished the meat porridge in the lunch box, he picked up a rag beside him, wiped his mouth casually, and went out with his hands behind his back, humming a little tune.

Jiang Xuan continued to sit in his seat, drinking porridge and waiting quietly.

After a while, footsteps were heard outside again.

Lu Jianxing and Xu Longqing walked in and saluted, "Sir."

Jiang Xuan looked up and asked, "Is everything settled?"

"Settled in."

Xu Longqing replied, "I and General Lu's subordinates have each arranged one. Don't worry, sir, it will definitely not attract attention."

Jiang Xuan nodded and said, "We should send someone to keep an eye on her, especially Xiyu, to make sure she doesn't get away."

"Yes."

Xu Longqing nodded and then asked, "Sir, when do we take action?"

"Wait for my notification."

Jiang Xuan said this casually, then looked at Lu Jianxing and ordered, "Send someone to check the background of Zhang Dajing, the owner of Tongbao Bank, the richest man in Nanjing."

"Yes, my lord!"

Lu Jianxing bowed solemnly and did not ask any more questions.

After going through so many things, he knew that adults always do things for a reason.

As long as he follows the adults' footsteps, he will be able to fill his father's vacancy and be promoted to a centurion sooner or later!

"Go do it."

Jiang Xuan nodded, then quickly finished the porridge in the bowl, wiped his mouth, and stood up and walked outside.

If he wants to lure out Black Stone and catch him in one fell swoop, he has to go to the East Factory.

……

East Factory.

Wei Zhongxian was lying on the chair, with one hand casually placed on his body and the other hand on his forehead, with his index finger lightly tapping his forehead, as if he was thinking about something.

On the table in front of him was a package, which contained the upper half of Rama's body that he had studied all night.

And below, Zhao Jingzhong, Gu Jinfu and others were serving closely, glancing at the body from time to time, with a fiery look flashing in their eyes.

Naturally, they would also be interested in the remains of Rama, which was said to have the ability to regenerate destiny and enable people to cultivate peerless magical skills.

A moment of silence.

Zhao Jingzhong's eyes flickered as he stepped forward and said, "Foster Father, Jingzhong still feels that Jiang Xuan is just a centurion who was recently promoted. I'm not too sure about letting him handle this."

"Just looking at his actions today, it's clear that this is child's play. Who would dare to steal something from our East Factory?"

"He even dared to act first and report later, releasing the prisoner without authorization. He is truly audacious."

"If the plan fails, and the female prisoner fails to extract the lower half of the body, and even loses this half, wouldn't that ruin your grand plan, godfather..."

Wei Zhongxian casually asked, "Who do you think should be entrusted with this task?"

Zhao Jingzhong said in a deep voice: "If you leave it to Jingzhong, Jingzhong promises that he will bring the body back intact and hand it over to my adoptive father!"

Wei Zhongxian chuckled, then narrowed his eyes slightly, looked back at Zhao Jingzhong, and said, "Jingzhong, I know you are very smart, but it is not good to use this intelligence in front of your adoptive father."

"Godfather..." Zhao Jingzhong's expression changed slightly.

"Don't you want this body?"

Wei Zhongxian glanced at the half-dead body in front of him and said, "It's right here. Come and take it. It's a reward from your adoptive father."

Zhao Jingzhong immediately broke out in a cold sweat and quickly lowered his head: "Jingzhong dare not!"

Wei Zhongxian stared at him coldly without saying a word.

At this moment, a guard walked in and reported, "Sir, the Northern Pacification Division Captain Jiang Xuan requests an audience."

Wei Zhongxian withdrew his gaze and said calmly, "Let him in."

"Yes." The guard left.

The atmosphere suddenly relaxed.

Zhao Jingzhong quickly stepped aside, not daring to say another word.

Soon, Jiang Xuan strode in with a respectful expression. He bowed and said, "I, Jiang Xuan, pay my respects to the factory master. I wish him a long life."

"Well, no courtesy."

Wei Zhongxian waved his hand and said, "Captain Jiang, what is your intention in doing this this morning?"

Jiang Xuan said respectfully, "Please forgive me, Master. Last night, someone from Black Stone went to the Imperial Prison and attempted to kill someone to silence them. Fortunately, I discovered them in time, so I decided to use the prisoner Xiyu and Luo Mo's body as bait. We will start the operation tonight. First, we will lure out the Black Stone people and capture them all in one fell swoop. Then, we will recover the lower half of the body for you, Master."

"This incident happened suddenly, so I didn't inform the factory manager in advance. I hope you will forgive me."

"Is there still such a thing?"

Wei Zhongxian frowned, then nodded and said, "You've done a good job on this matter. Since those rebels have already attempted to kill and silence us, it's better to act sooner rather than later. Since you have an idea, just do it yourself."

"I obey your command." Jiang Xuan said respectfully.

Wei Zhongxian nodded, looked at the remains of Rama in front of him, and said, "The body is here. Take it. Bring back the lower half of the body as soon as possible. Don't let me down."

"I will fight to the death for you, no matter what!"

Jiang Xuan carefully took the remains of Rama from the eunuch in front of him, then bowed again and said, "Then I will not disturb the master of the factory to rest. I will take my leave."

"Well, let's go."

Wei Zhongxian waved his hand, very satisfied with Jiang Xuan's attitude.

But when he saw Zhao Jingzhong on the other side, his face turned cold again. He snorted coldly and stood up and left.

Zhao Jingzhong stood there with a grim expression, somewhat regretting that he had acted too anxiously.

Zheng Zhangban, Gu Jinfu and others beside him looked at him with a gloating expression.

You little bastard, I'll let you get away with being so smart!
……

Jiang Xuan left the East Factory and looked at the package in his hand, feeling a little excited.

But now is not the time to study this thing.

He hugged the body tightly and returned directly to the Northern Pacification Office. Only when he returned to his official residence did he impatiently open the package and begin to examine it. The body was the upper half, bisected at the waist, and the entire body was dark black in color, a dried corpse.

But the fact that it has not decayed for so many years is extremely magical and rare.

Jiang Xuan observed carefully.

It can be seen that there are many signs of research on the body, including skin with blood vessels and meridians, as well as signs of being cut.

"This saves me an extra effort..."

Jiang Xuan's eyes flickered as he gently opened the cuts to examine them carefully.

He only knew that the intersection of blood vessels and meridians was the order in which Rama's internal energy operated, but he still needed to slowly find out which specific acupoints they were.

"Shenfeng, Lingxu, Mingfu, Qihai... these are... the lower three vertebrae?"

"anything else?"

Jiang Xuan frowned and carefully observed those acupuncture points that were obviously tougher than other acupuncture points.

If nothing unexpected happens, these acupoints should have been nourished and washed by internal force for a long time, which is why they are more obviously tougher than other acupoints. This is the order of operation of Rama's internal force.

But since only the upper body is involved, only these acupoints can be seen.

The remaining acupuncture points may only be found after obtaining the lower half of the body.

"Ok?"

Suddenly, Jiang Xuan's eyes moved, and he stared at the system panel that quietly appeared within his field of vision.

[Martial Arts: Rama Internal Power (Not yet started)]

【Progress: 0/1000】

"This……"

Jiang Xuan was a little surprised. Is this possible?

It turns out that by running the acupuncture points through internal energy, one can really obtain Rama's internal energy?
However, looking at the three words "Not yet started" on the panel and the progress displayed as 0, Jiang Xuan shook his head.

Although it is displayed on the system panel, it may not be that easy to get started.

After all, practicing internal skills is different from practicing external skills.

First of all, you need inner strength.

At this moment, he hadn't even opened up his Ren and Du meridians, and hadn't yet entered the innate state, so he couldn't practice at all.

And even if you have internal strength, you can't practice it randomly.

There are numerous meridians and acupoints in the human body, and many of them have not been opened. Otherwise, after breaking through the innate state, there would be no need to go through the trouble of opening up the eight extraordinary meridians and twelve main meridians.

The operation routes of each internal skill are different. If you practice them incorrectly and damage your meridians, the consequences will be huge.

The phrase "going astray and becoming possessed" often mentioned in martial arts novels is no joke.

"However, since this Rama Divine Art can be displayed on the panel, once I get the lower half of the body and figure out the order in which the internal energy of the lower body operates, I should be able to try to master it..."

Jiang Xuan pondered secretly.

If he had not been busy with the case these two days, he would have started to open up his Ren and Du meridians, advance to the innate level, and practice the Three Talents Sword Technique.

Now that we have the Rama magic, there is one more option.

It won't take more than a few days, and even if you open the Ren and Du meridians and break through to the innate realm, your strength won't change much.

Then just wait a few more days until you get the lower half of the body, figure out the operating order of Rama's internal energy, and then practice Rama's internal energy directly.

……

time flies.

Night soon arrived, and the winter was cold.

In the west of the city, there is Chenji Oil Shop.

The obese middle-aged man in fancy clothes looked terrified, his eyes wide open as he stared at the sword-wielding woman in black. "You...Xi...Xiyu! The leader will not let...you...go..."

As he finished speaking, the blood line on the obese middle-aged man's neck slowly bloomed, and his body fell heavily to the ground. After struggling for a few times, he was completely motionless.

Xiyu's face was impassive as he sheathed his sword. He then turned around and looked at the figure behind him. His expression softened slightly as he said, "This man is Black Stone's steward, known as 'Fatty Chen.' He's responsible for all matters at Black Stone, including mobilizing personnel and managing accounts. This is also Black Stone's headquarters in the capital."

Jiang Xuan nodded, walked out of the darkness, glanced at the room, and said, "Look for the account."

Xiyu nodded, and then the two of them began to search the room.

"found it."

Soon, Xiyu opened an oil tank and took out a stack of books from it.

Jiang Xuan took it, glanced through it, and couldn't help but sigh: "You guys at Black Stone are really rich. In just over a decade, you've amassed nearly ten million taels of silver!"

You should know that in recent years, the average tax revenue of the entire Ming Dynasty was only three or four million taels of silver per year.

"It's not Blackstone that's rich, it's those officials who are rich!"

Drizzle snorted coldly.

Blackstone's main source of income came from Cao Feng sending and receiving letters, which he used to find leverage over local officials and extort money from them.

In order to avoid disaster and save their lives, most of those officials would naturally go bankrupt and allow Black Stone to control them.

And where does the money of those officials come from?
Naturally needless to say.

In short, it can't be a salary.

Jiang Xuan shook his head, put away the account, and said, "Let's proceed according to the plan."

Xiyu nodded, walked to the table, picked up a pen and paper, quickly wrote a line of words, and then threw the paper at Feiyou Chen.

The two turned and left.

The room fell into dead silence again.

The chirping of crickets can be heard from time to time around the yard, which is quiet and peaceful.

Until two hours later.

A figure in a dark red linen cloak quietly appeared in the yard. Under the moonlight, the old and gloomy face, although with a wisp of beard, was obviously Cao Feng, the eunuch of the Ministry of Public Administration.

Before he even entered the room, Cao Feng's face changed slightly because he smelled blood!

"Wow!"

When he pushed the door open, Cao Feng's pupils shrank and his face turned gloomy.

He slowly walked into the room, squatted down, and carefully looked at Feiyou Chen's injuries. His eyes narrowed slightly and he said, "Water-Repelling Sword... Drizzle?"

Cao Feng glanced at the paper that fell aside, picked it up and took a look, which confirmed his guess.

"The body and the accounts are in my hands. Tomorrow night at midnight, at Yunqi Slope on the Western Hills, we will settle the matter."

Although there was no signature, how could Cao Feng not know Xiyu's handwriting? Moreover, he was the one who personally passed the Bishui Sword to Xiyu.

"The wings have hardened..."

Cao Feng muttered to himself, his eyes flickering.

He also suspected that the news from Beisi this morning might be a trick.

But now Feiyou Chen's death and this letter confirm this matter.

Xiyu, actually had the ability to escape from the Beisi Prison and sneak into the Dongchang to retrieve the body?
Cao Feng still had some doubts about this.

But the body was too important to him, so no matter what, he had to go and see it in person tomorrow night.

"Well, I've done this myself, so let me finish it myself..."

As the voice fell, Cao Feng's figure disappeared in the room.

……

Half an hour later.

"call out!"

In the silent and dark night sky, a beam of fire shot up into the sky, blooming brilliantly in the night sky, like a magnified candle flame, jumping for a moment before slowly dissipating.

To ordinary people, this strange phenomenon might just be someone setting off fireworks, and they didn't pay much attention to it.

But those who have seen these fireworks know very well what they represent.

"This is Black Stone's Qianli Fire. It seems that he found the fat stale and dead."

In an alley, looking up at the fireworks in the sky, Xiyu's face was solemn, and he said: "Once the Qianli Fire breaks out, no matter where you are, you must rush here to fight for your lives."

"It won't be long before all the masters of Black Stone gather in the capital!"

Jiang Xuan's expression remained calm as he asked, "How many people are there in Black Stone?"

"I don't know."

Xiyu shook her head: "The exact number of people may only be known by Cao Feng and Fatty Chen."

"But there are only four true masters, including me and Cao Feng."

"The other two, one is called Liansheng, nicknamed 'Colorful Juggler'. His internal strength has reached the late Xiantian stage, and he's skilled in using two swords. However, his greatest strength is his magic tricks, which he can combine with martial arts, making him very formidable."

Jiang Xuan said calmly, "If you practice magic, then practice magic. If you practice martial arts, then practice martial arts. You like to mix them up, and you still dare to come out and mingle in the martial arts world. It's a miracle that you can still survive until now."

Xiyu didn't say much, and continued, "The other one is called Lei Bin, also in the Xiantian realm. His skills are average, but be careful of his flying needles."

"Where is the Chakravartin?" Jiang Xuan asked.

He didn't care much about Lian Sheng and Lei Bin.

The most powerful master in Black Stone is still the Wheel King Cao Feng.

An old eunuch who has practiced martial arts for decades and has trained a master like Xiyu must be taken seriously.

In the original drama of "Sword Rain", if Cao Feng had not been so arrogant and insisted on fighting against the drizzle with the Water-Bi Sword, it would be hard to say who would win or lose in the end.

Mentioning the Wheel King, Xiyu's eyes also showed a solemn look. She shook her head and said, "I can't see through his martial arts. He taught me the Water-Splitting Sword Technique. He has at least practiced it to the Great Perfection Realm, but this is far from his limit."

"His current weapon is a revolving sword, and his revolving sword technique is also very fierce and fierce, not weaker than my water-repelling sword technique."

"Also, he should be practicing the boy's skills he got from the palace. I don't know if he has broken through to the master level, but at least he has reached the innate perfection."

Jiang Xuan narrowed his eyes and asked, "You and Lu Zhu have fought each other before. Who do you think is more powerful, Lu Zhu or him?"

Xiyu frowned, pondered for a moment, and shook her head, "I don't know. Anyway, both of their martial arts are superior to mine. No matter which one I face, I'm not sure."

Jiang Xuan nodded slightly, as if thinking about something.

(End of this chapter)