Mu Hanzhong

"...Master, when did you... know..."

In the silent room, Nan Xiaohuan spoke abruptly, finally breaking the stagnant atmosphere.

The young man who had already prepared the answer shook the man's hand, and while considering his words, he replied in a low voice: "It's completely confirmed...it was five days ago." After Ren Zongjin.Not long after that, Qing Yan wrote and customized all the original news and materials that had been sorted out and analyzed in depth in Wuzhi Building and handed them to him in a customized volume.And among the several names on the last page of the book, Nan Xiaohuan is the most impressive.Regardless of age, personality, background... the most likely ones are his subordinates.

In the end, what really convinced him of the identity of the man in front of him was a memory of Mu Hanzhong's youth and Nan Xiaohuan's old, long and narrow scar on his body.

"..."

Five days ago... Nan Xiaohuan unconsciously repeated this number in his heart, his face was numb, and the emotions in his eyes fluttered, making it difficult to understand.

"For this matter, a quarter of the manpower in the building was mobilized to investigate, and Wei Ling, the fifth elder in the building, was fully responsible. After Yupei's investigation reached a stalemate, he took people to Huaian Mountain again. Several secret rooms were found in the stone room where Tutu lived. One of them had the mark of the killer of Juntian Pavilion on the wall.

"Wei Ling approached the master of the Juntian Pavilion, asked and checked the records of assassinating Yu Bai that year. Unexpectedly...he also discovered some other very coincidental information.

"The assassination of Yu Bai was recorded under the name of 'Xiao', the third-ranked killer in the Juntian Pavilion. The target person after a few records is Ren Zongzheng.

"Ren Zongzheng was the last mission that 'Xiao' took on. The reason why it is said to be the last one is nothing more than three reasons: [-]. The mission failed, and 'Xiao' died. [-]. The mission failed, and 'Xiao' escaped. [-]. The mission was successful, but the killer disappeared. 'Xiao' has been in the Juntian Pavilion for decades, and has never missed a shot. Every time the mission is completed, he will return on time. Because the third rule can be basically ruled out. And the second rule, even if he is injured, There shouldn't be any contact. Therefore, only the first possibility remains... When a local hunter in Mount Huai'an went hunting ten years ago, he found the body of a suspected 'Owl' on a mountainside. Although he was frightened, He didn't bury the corpse, but was driven by greed, so he boldly picked up a gold medal next to the corpse."

Wu Ye paused, glanced at Nan Xiaohuan and continued to explain:

"That gold medal is the proof of the killer's identity information in the Juntian Pavilion. The people in the building went to ask, and the description they got was exactly the same as that one. After that..."

Afterwards, Wei Ling and others followed the clues, and together with some newly discovered things, confirmed that 'Xiao' failed in the assassination of Ren Zongzheng and lost his life.In the first few months after Yu Bai's death, many people in the world claimed to have met Ren Zongzheng, saying that he was looking around for news about the killer organization Juntian Pavilion.

As for whether he got what he wanted to know in the end, judging from the fact that 'Xiao' accepted the task and showed himself in front of Ren Zongzheng, but died in the hands of the other party, he succeeded.

"At that time... you should have known that the killer was also hired by others, and killing him was not regarded as Yu Bai's real revenge. But why did you make such a decision?" The top killer in the Juntian Pavilion who has killed countless people, the odds of winning are not great, and it is very likely that he accidentally lost his life.

Following Wu Ye's narration, Nan Xiaohuan unconsciously began to recall the memory of his youth.Hearing Wu Ye's question, Nan Xiaohuan pursed his lips, and after a while, he answered in a calm voice: "At that time, my subordinates were single and weak, and if we want to find out the identity of the person who really harmed Yu Bai, we will have to do it in a short period of time." It's impossible." As Juntian Pavilion accepts the business of assassinating a well-known sword master, there must be very few people who know the true identity of the client.

Although being the third killer, 'Xiao' is still nothing more than a weapon.Nan Xiaohuan knew from the very beginning that 'Xiao' would not know who that person was, and in fact, he never had the idea to start from 'Xiao'... The reason why he wanted to kill him was simply because, He couldn't bear the fact that the murderer of his mentor went unpunished.

"So you set your target on 'Xiao'?" Wu Ye frowned slightly.

"Yes. Be a teacher for a day, and be a father for life. The master's kindness must be repaid by the subordinates." Nan Xiaohuan was expressionless, but extremely serious.

"..." Wu Ye looked at him quietly for a while, then suddenly let go of his hand, and stood up abruptly.Hearing the person in front of him explain the ins and outs of the fight ten years ago in a few words, it was as if a big rock had been thrown into his calm heart, causing ripples, and it was impossible to recover.

He really wanted to yell at Nan Xiaohuan, and even for a moment, the urge to resort to force was surging inside his body, and he almost broke out beyond the control of reason.He was annoyed that Nan Xiaohuan took his own life so lightly, and hated that he gave up looking for Ren Qingyi to solve the problem after the accident, and took care of everything by himself. Here, he was angry and hated, like a rainstorm. Under the impact of the negative emotions in his brain, the suffocation brought by the snake tightly wound around his heart became heavier.

it hurts……

The hands in the sleeves were clenched into fists, Wu Ye raised his long eyebrows in pain, his originally straight back was slightly bowed at this moment, but his eyes never left the person sitting on the chair.He stared at him closely, looking at the man's unusually blank and drooping face at the moment, his previous patience was suddenly driven away by some unknown emotion.He almost gritted his teeth, and the voice that suddenly turned cold slowly came out of his mouth word by word: "Master's kindness? Have you never thought about what your parents and your elder brother should do if you die?"

Nan Xiaohuan's body trembled for a moment, and then, during this conversation, the man who had been expressionless and indifferent, who seemed to have effectively separated his mind from his body, suddenly looked up.At that moment, he was helpless and at a loss, like a young child who didn't understand anything.

Shocked by the look in his eyes, Wu Ye stood there immediately, and before he had time to react, the man opposite him immediately lowered his head again.He sat there, as if he was at a loss - he moved his body unconsciously several times, and appeared extremely awkward and restless.A few moments later, when the man stared at the left hand on his thigh and spoke again in a hoarse, low voice, this embarrassment and anxiety had turned into a stiffness and anxiety that Wu Ye had never seen before.Men seem to be suddenly placed in an environment that is completely unfamiliar, unknown, and existing knowledge and experience are completely inappropriate and unusable.

This state has been slightly improved after the man's brain spontaneously adjusted to the most used coping mode.The man with his head down and his voice was calm, at first glance he looked no different from the one he was familiar with, but if you looked closely, you would find that his right hand kept clenching and loosening—even he didn't realize it.

"...It's okay to have my brother here."

The coldness outside the window climbed up to his body at some point, enveloping him tightly.At that moment, Wu Ye felt that the cold dead silence on the man's body took away all the warmth in his body.The throbbing left chest seemed to be immersed in the deep seabed where no sunlight could be seen, and there was only boundless silence and darkness around.

He instantly recalled the story he heard from Ren Zongjin: Ren Zongzheng was neglected by his parents since he was a child.And for the first time, the influence of those pasts on Nan Xiaohuan was shown in front of him.With a sore heart, he couldn't help but walk up to Nan Xiaohuan, put his arms around him, sighed and said softly, "Ren Zongjin can't replace you."

Nan Xiaohuan obediently put his head on the young man's body, but did not answer.

"Have you ever thought that without me, a few years later, you would marry a woman you like and have several lovely children. When you get old, you will sit in the yard with white hair and your grandson They are playing around with you...it's a very warm scene, isn't it?"

Wu Ye caressed Nan Xiaohuan's black hair. People say that his hair is soft and his heart is soft. Unlike his masculine appearance, a man's black hair is very soft.After each affair, Wu Ye would stroke a strand of the man's hair and play with it in his hands, feeling calm and satisfied in his heart.

The body of the person in his arms moved, and Nan Xiaohuan wanted to raise his head, but was stopped by Wu Ye's hand on his head: "This is what countless people in this world pursue in their lives. They say this is happiness..."

"Xiaohuan, I'm a selfish person. It's your misfortune to be entangled with me all my life, but for me, no matter what happens, I will never let go..." Looking down at the man's hair , there was no trace of expression on the handsome face of the young man, his long eyes were unfathomable, and his voice was steady and powerful, "Since you have agreed to that yes, I will never allow any woman to appear by your side, and I will not regret it to you." Opportunity! But, I will also give you happiness!"

Hearing the man's body tremble quietly all the time, subconsciously wanted to push the young man away.Wu Ye's eyes sank, and he held the man's hand and pressed the man into his arms even harder: "I have confidence! I will definitely do it! But... there are some things that I will never give you. It's not that I don't want to, but I can't."

"...Xiaohuan, no matter what happened in the past, Ren Zongjin will always be your elder brother, and you will always be his younger brother. This will never change..." In this world, everyone has countless things they can't see. The lines are connected to other people and things.And the strongest one among them is composed of the same blood vessels flowing in the body.

Nan Xiaohuan closed his eyes silently, in the boundless darkness, apart from the familiar atmosphere surrounding him, images he thought he had long forgotten kept flashing before his eyes.Ren Qing also took his hand, cautiously but looking forward to every step he took.The mother smiled and lowered her head, the sun shone on her body, and she was as beautiful as a heavenly being.Ren Zongjin held the pen, turned his head and smiled at him, then lowered his head and wrote their names on the paper...

All these beautiful things almost made him cry, but...

Do not!no!

Looking at it, Nan Xiaohuan suddenly opened his eyes, and the familiar fear instantly filled his body, making him tremble slightly uncontrollably, and the veins on his clenched fists bulged.He violently broke away from Wu Ye's arms, and knelt heavily on the ground.

"Ren Zongzheng died ten years ago! From the day the lord rescued him back to the palace, only Nan Xiaohuan from Guanri Pavilion is left in this world!"

His voice was loud, Wu Ye had never seen a man lose his composure like this.Although he still had that cold face, his frowning eyebrows, his almost growling voice, and his trembling body all reflected his abnormality in some way.

After a long while, Wu Ye sighed softly, bent down to pull the man up from the ground, but unexpectedly the man was extremely persistent, avoided his touch, and kowtowed his head to the ground: "I implore the Lord!"

In the current situation, what Nan Xiaohuan was begging for was obvious—he refused to recognize Ren Zongjin.

"You..." Seeing the man's appearance, Wu Ye turned his eyes away. He clearly explained from the beginning that he did not come to talk to him as the palace lord, but this man never seemed to care about these things.In his eyes, Mu Hanzhong's subordinate is his first identity, and the role of Wu Ye's lover is always second unconditionally.Even sometimes, he would completely forget about this...

Wu Ye felt a little helpless. He looked at the person kneeling there in his vision, and when he was thinking about a new countermeasure, a sound of footsteps from far and near came from outside the house, followed by Qing Yan's voice: "Lord Now, there is news about Luo Qingling."

Wu Ye's face darkened, he turned and walked outside.

He has never forgotten this pawn that Si Huanghanlian inserted in the army.It's just that when he returned to Beijing with his troops, that man had disappeared without a trace.After more than a month, there is finally some news...

-

On the twelfth day of the first month of Yong'an, Danzhai Town, four hundred miles away from Xuanjing.

Danzhai is a small town, the town is not big, there are only 30 families, but there are a lot of people every day.This is all due to the hundred-foot-wide official road next to the village.Since the construction of this official road [-] years ago, the isolation and silence of this small town have been broken.Every year at the peak time of entering Beijing, there are scholars rushing for exams, messengers galloping on horseback, merchants who come to do business with goods, and even burly and tall Han people who are dressed strangely, regardless of gender... , in an endless stream.And along the official road, the people of Danzhai Town set up many comfortable shops.

The Su Family Tea Shop is a shop that has been set up since the official road was built. Among the dozens of tea shops of the same nature around it, it has the longest history and is also the most famous.Vendors and scholars who come and go like to order a few small dishes here, warm a pot of wine, and chat with pedestrians from all walks of life from all walks of life, so comfortable.

It has been raining heavily for the past few days, making the mist pervading the mountains and fields linger for a long time, and the raging water flow will smash the soil, and if you step on it accidentally, it will be stained with large pieces of soft mud.In this bleak and cold rainy day, even the balustrades outside the tea shop that had just been repainted in the past few months did not show the slightest bit of newness.

In a dark room, a young man wrapped in a big padded jacket, with his hands in his sleeves, sat in front of the stove to warm himself up.Now it's just Maoshi, and the entire Su family has been up for more than an hour.Usually at this time, Su He would be too busy just serving tea and water, but during the Chinese New Year period, coupled with the weather that is really not suitable for traveling, he has had a good time for the past ten days or so.

"Brother, you're being lazy again!" A clear female voice sounded in her ears as she was about to fall into a warm dreamland in a daze.Su He trembled, and jumped up from the bench suddenly: "Oh! Auntie, which eye of yours saw me being lazy! Didn't I just take a rest, and the bench is not warm yet!"

"Hmph!" The young girl of fifteen or sixteen glanced sideways at him, turned around and came to the nearest square table, and put a stack of fried peanuts and sunflower seeds that she had made in the kitchen on it.

Su He touched his nose twice, and immediately gave himself a hard pinch to drive away the sleepy bugs, and ran forward to help Su Miao set the food plate.After their mother died of illness three years ago, they were left with two siblings and their elderly father.Fortunately, the younger sister, Su Miao, has a temper like her mother's. Not only is she diligent, she also has a bit of a sense of business. She just provokes the leader of running the tea shop. money.

The brother and sister played for a while, and then the first customer came to the shop.A messenger who delivers letters every day.After ordering some food, the middle-aged man chatted with his brother and sister while eating.

As a result, after chatting for a few words, a burst of intensive horse hooves sounded far away, shaking the three people in the house only to feel the constant roar in their ears, and the ground under their feet trembled slightly.Opening a shop here, Su He has been very familiar with this sound for several years.It's just that the size heard now is more than ten times that of the past. Roughly estimated, there must be two or three hundred horses.

Several people glanced at each other, and just as the three of them were guessing, the voice that was close to them suddenly stopped.Su He listened for a while, then quickly ran to the door, opened the curtain and looked out.

Under the cloudy clouds and the fine cold rain, cavalrymen in silver armor and fully armed were rolling off their horses in unison.Hundreds of people performed this action together, but there was no noise at all, only the sound of the armor colliding with the iron was heard continuously.

Trembling from the evil pressure on the cavalry, Su He pinched himself again before recovering. He raised his head and searched for the flag in the air.Finally, under the golden banner, following the cavalry who slowly stepped aside, they saw the leader of the cavalry.

The leader's mount is a snow-white war horse with only four hooves and a black spot in the center of his forehead, and the horse that follows him is also a rare good horse in the army.Su He was drooling at the sight, and was about to take a few more glances, when the tall slender man in the lead suddenly raised his head and looked in his direction.

This time, Su He's body reacted instinctively and quickly retracted the curtain, before his beating heart slowed down after a while.At this time, four cavalrymen had already lifted the curtain and walked in.

"Come on, officials, go on!" Su He immediately greeted him like a flower with a smile.

The first cavalryman took off his helmet, revealing a very young and handsome face.He glanced at the tea shop, and threw a piece of silver to Su He: "We have a lot of brothers, so you should prepare more food."

Seeing Yin Zi, Su He was very happy.Although they are members of the official family, not every official pays them when they come to them, let alone such a generous one.He immediately greeted his sister loudly, and brought up all the delicious food and drink in the store.They are called tea shops, but in fact it is more appropriate to call them inns.

When Su Miao went to the backyard, he smiled and stepped forward to open the bench for those people and wipe the square table clean.Unexpectedly, the few people didn't sit down at all, but just stood aside, while the young man who talked to Su He just now closed the curtain, waiting for people from outside to come in.

After the leader Su He had just seen sat down with the man behind him, and took off their helmets, the dozen or so people who came in one after another found their seats in order.

"Feel good?"

Just when Su Miao came to the square table with steamed buns and beef to serve a few people, the leader suddenly spoke.Su Miao was startled, subconsciously raised her head and glanced at the man who spoke.I saw that his face was a bit tired, and a few strands of black hair were sticking to his cheeks, which made his skin as white as snow, extremely beautiful.

"The subordinate is out of the way." Beside him, the tall and tall man whispered, and there was a hint of a smile in his calm and pleasant voice.Unlike the first person who spoke, he was extremely handsome, and his handsome facial features revealed a mature and restrained atmosphere, which made people blush.

Su Miao had never seen such two beautiful people before, until Su He pulled her away and apologized to the leader who had been a little annoyed by the girl's eyes with a smile.

"Isn't it true that ordinary men can't catch your eyes? Why did you look stupid just now... It's really embarrassing for our Su family!" Waiting for the dishes and food for the cavalry, while boiling water in the backyard, Su He stared at his younger sister who was still blushing maliciously.

"...Hmph, what are you doing?" Su Miao blushed and turned around to get the bowl.

"I don't bother with you, I just remind you kindly." Su He picked his nostrils, "Those people are beyond our reach, you better give up earlier~"

In fact, Su Miao didn't know that those people were not the ones she could hope for. After all, she was just a commoner who came from a tea shop. Even if she was pretty and intelligent, she couldn't compare with those real ladies.Even though she knew this, Su Miao turned her head and glared at her elder brother fiercely: "Aren't they just some soldiers! Is there anything you can't afford?" "Sister, you don't understand this." Su Hetan Spreading his hands, he leaned against him with a playful smile, "If you look at those outside the house, maybe you still have some chances based on your conditions, but those sitting in the house are not from the rich and powerful families in Beijing, or even though they are of mediocre background and low official rank Low." He leaned closer to Su Miao's ear and whispered, "Do you know the origin of this team? Come, brother, tell you."

"They are flash knights! The flash knights who were named by His Majesty the late Emperor, personally selected by Huanye King, brought to Mobei, and fought to Di Ren's hometown! Tsk... It's not me, sister, you'd better stop dreaming !" Before Su Miao answered, Su He continued.

"How do you know that they are flash riders?" The imperial decree that caused a great commotion in Xuanjing half a year ago had already been spread throughout the country of Yin with the recovery of the four states in Mobei.So even Su Miao, who was never interested in these things, knew all about it.She rolled her eyes and asked.

"Didn't you see the signs on their horses? And their armor? That's different from the troops near Xuanjing in several ways...Combined with the recent news, only Prince Yong of Mobei led people here Time to return to Beijing!"

"Hey, who did you think you were staring at in a daze in that room just now?... That is the famous Prince Yong!" Su He sighed exaggeratedly, seeing that Su Miao was obviously a little disappointed, he stretched out his hand to pat again, hard He patted her on the back, "Oh, why are you so sad. Don't just look at her pretty face, let me tell you, even if someone is blind and falls in love with you, I won't agree!"

"why?"

"You don't need to ask! He's in his thirties! He's an old cow! Sister, you are a young grass! As a brother, how can I bear to see this kind of human tragedy happen..." Su He rubbed his chin and felt to himself Very good, the next moment Su Miao who was beside him stomped heavily, pinched his arm severely angrily, and then left him angrily.

"It hurts so much." Su He looked at her back and gritted his teeth.