The Return of Stars to the Jianghu

"Could this be the headquarters of the Red-Clothed Cult?" Luo Yifei blurted out his thoughts without thinking.

“Exactly,” the man in black replied.

Luo Yifei closed his eyes, thinking about how to escape. The man in black then spoke up: "Your musket is indeed exquisitely crafted, but unfortunately, it's a double-edged sword that injures the enemy a thousand while harming the enemy eight hundred. Yet you carry it with you, and you're willing to die with me just for a four-winged monster bird."

"What do you mean?" Luo Yifei looked at him in confusion.

"I saw this thing on the battlefield back then." Both Western Shu and Northern Liao launched westward expeditions, only to be met with this weapon by you Westerners. Out of ten who fired, eight likely perished together."

As Luo Yifei listened to the man in black, he wondered if he was talking about a barrel explosion. Could it be that the technology had evolved to the level of the Ming and Qing dynasties, and the era of cold weapons was about to end and the era of firearms was about to begin?

But what the man in black said next overturned Luo Yifei's idea.

"That must be a precious sword wrapped in cloth around your waist. Why don't you use it and instead insist on fighting me with a musket? I didn't bring that four-winged monster bird here to lure you. It's just that the sound of that monster bird is too noisy. Even a third-rank martial artist can hear it clearly from a hundred feet away."

"Among the people I want to kill is a seventh-rank expert. I absolutely cannot let you alert him."

"Since we have no grudges against each other, and it's all a misunderstanding, if we have the chance to get out, then let's not fight each other." After listening to what the other party had said, Luo Yifei naturally wanted to turn hostility into friendship.

"Of course, it's just that I'm afraid there won't be a chance to get out," the man in black replied.

At this moment, two men in red entered the house and dragged Luo Yifei out.

Luo Yifei left the thatched hut and found himself in a cave. He was first supported by two people, then he walked forward on his own.

After winding and turning, we arrived at an open area. Looking up, we could see a gap in the road leading to the blue sky, with sunlight streaming down. It was unclear whether this cave was naturally formed or man-made.

A man in red sat on the high platform in the center. The woman in red who had sold him the horse stood beside him, seemingly unharmed. To the side lay a group of people lying dead on the road in the woods. There were only a few men in red.

"Your name is Luo Yifei?" the middle-aged man in red sitting in the middle asked. "Where do you come from? And where are you going?"

"I come from the west and am heading southeast," Luo Yifei replied, thinking to himself that he couldn't possibly tell them he came from Earth, so he could only play along and pretend to be a Westerner.

“My daughter told me when she woke up that she did sell you the horse. Logically speaking, the assassination has nothing to do with you, and you were also the opponent of that man in black. We should release you, but we found that the sword you carry, when we unwrap the cloth covering it, is actually a heirloom sword left by the ancestors of our Red Robe Sect. How do you explain that?”

"This was rented from a Western museum, and it cost me quite a bit of money," Luo Yifei replied. He had indeed rented it from the Xia City Museum, and it was only thanks to him bringing the sword back to Earth that he was able to borrow it from the curator.

"Museum?" The middle-aged man in red looked at Luo Yifei, seemingly not understanding what he meant, or perhaps trying to discern the truth in Luo Yifei's words.

"The museum is the treasure hall over on West Road, where Westerners put their valuables," a man next to him explained.

"Oh, so the sword of my Red Robe Sect has ended up in the West." The middle-aged man in red leaned back in his chair and continued, "However, since it belongs to my Red Robe Sect, no matter how you obtained it, you have to keep it."

"Of course, the sword should naturally be returned to its rightful owner," Luo Yifei said sincerely, bowing respectfully.

"And the musket you used when you confronted Shi Hao, that man in black, is a dangerous thing, but I'm very interested in it. Why don't you sell it to my Red Robe Cult?" The middle-aged man in red seemed to have prepared this in advance, as if he wouldn't give up until he got the musket.

"I would like to buy some things to exchange for some silver, but that is my only means of self-defense. Please do not insist, sir," Luo Yifei bowed again.

"Using that thing for self-defense would likely only result in mutual destruction. How about this, my Red-Clothed Sect also has some treasures; how about exchanging one of our precious swords for it?" The middle-aged man in red stared straight at Luo Yifei, as if he was determined to get it.

Luo Yifei knew he was referring to an ordinary sword, not the legendary sword he had brought back to Earth.

Seeing that Luo Yifei remained silent, the middle-aged man in red added, "Judging from your rapid advancement to the first rank, how can you manage without a weapon that can unleash your true energy?"

"He probably doesn't have any true qi in his body?" said the man who spoke earlier.

Upon hearing this, Luo Yifei decided to take the initiative and said to the man, "May I ask how you are addressed, and how you knew I have no true qi?"