Valkyrie Returns

Chapter 55

The dust on the martial arts arena has dispersed, and everything around seems to be shining with white light, pure and clean.

Zhao Yunliang's silver armor seemed to have been washed, and the iron plates connected by the hooks were shiny.The ponytail at the back of his head was also wet with sweat and stuck tightly to his straight back. Lu Bu's slender and powerful legs were raised high, and his black satin cloth shoes stepped on Zhao Yun's slantingly protruding sword point. A bit of the elegant temperament of Mr. Pianpianjia.The dark soft armor was tightly bound on the dark red inner garment, which looked particularly heavy.

With a crisp ding, Zhao Yun's sword snapped in two, and he landed on the field with a backflip and clasped his fists. He said loudly, "Master Hou's martial arts are the best in the world, and Zilong was convinced of his defeat."

"If Zilong had used a gun, he wouldn't have been so aggrieved by the loss. This time, I have taken advantage of it, and the victory is not by force." Lu Bu's voice was deliberately infused with internal strength, and it surged around like a turbulent wave.Those with a slightly lower skill were dizzy from the shock.As soon as the results of the contest came out, the soldiers who had started a private game of gambling gathered together, some were happy and some were sad, but only those school captains who immediately opened the market to be dealers made a lot of money. Naturally, he admired Lu Bu more and more.It wasn't until Xiu Yuan went to inquire carefully that he realized that the bets of the school captains were not simply betting on winning or losing, but even down to the tricks.

Xiu Yuan smiled and distributed the money that Fan Chou took back from the bank: "This gamble is all due to Xiu Yuan's selfish desires. If you lose any money, I have to make up for you with the money from Master Hou's private house. If there is still not enough, we have to sell your Lord Hou."

Hearing what Xiu Yuan said, the sergeants playfully shoved and took the lost money from him and made fun of him before they dispersed.In fact, Ma Chao had come early, and he had watched Lu Bu and Zhao Yun's martial arts competition from beginning to end. At this time, standing alone on the other side of the martial arts field, he looked like an outsider, feeling depressed and didn't know what to say.

Xiu Yuan went crazy with the soldiers for a while, and after explaining carefully to Zhang Liao and Gao Shun, he took the three dark guards from the Ghost Face Battalion, Ma Chao, and Lu Bu onto the boat.The big river surrounding Xiliang City is called Beimang, and it is the main source of water for many nomadic peoples in Xiqiang and Mobei. Because the terrain around Xiliang is relatively high, and most of them are barren mountains, it is not difficult even when there is heavy rainfall. There will be a danger of bursting the dike and flooding, and it is an extremely safe waterway going south to the south of the Yangtze River.

The boat chosen by the dark guards was not big, with only two cabins at the front and back.Ma Chao and the three hidden guards lived in the front cabin, while Xiu Yuan and Lu Bu lived in the back cabin.But I didn't expect that Ma Chao could not swim. As soon as he got on the boat, he was dizzy all day long, his face was ashen, like a shy girl, which made Xiu Yuan and the hidden guards laugh for a long time.

When the boat passed the border of Hebei and the water gradually slowed down, Ma Chao could barely eat some barbecue.Because they were going downstream, they arrived at the boundary of Jingzhou in just four days.Lu Bu saw a green sail from a distance, and saw a middle-aged scholar in white clothes standing on the prow, he hastily called Xiu Yuan out: "Qinghe, do you think the person standing on the green sail boat is you?" Zhuge Kongming who has always been on your mind?"

Before Xiuyuan could reply, the guards laughed: "The military commander likes someone as tall and mighty as Lord Hou. How could he fall in love with Confucian scholars who like white clothes and thin skin-tender-flesh?" Lu Bu sternly He knocked on the hidden guard several times before giving up.The boat over there has already taken the initiative to lean towards them.

The middle-aged scribe bowed to Lv Bu from a distance, his voice was a little indistinguishable, and said, "My lord, Zhuge Kongming, has been waiting for you here for a long time, and I beg you to come to the city to have a narration." Zhuge Liang can be said to be everyone who is familiar with the Three Kingdoms A dream that is out of reach for the people of history.Xiuyuan never thought that he would be so peacefully facing Zhuge Liang across the boat under such circumstances.The wind on the river was not strong, and the white robe on Zhuge Liang seemed to be very loose, and it blew and rattled with the wind.Xiu Yuan stood quietly behind Lu Bu and looked at his brows and eyes carefully.

The light blue Confucian square scarf simply puts the hair on the top of the head.The skin that was neither black nor white, the angular face with Chinese characters, and the folding fan with black crow feathers in his hand gave him an evil aura.The long and narrow phoenix eyes are tilted upwards, and the light in the eyes is even more implying sharpness.When Xiuyuan took a closer look again, the fierceness disappeared again, and was hidden in Zhuge Liang's expression that seemed to be a smile that was not a smile.

After waiting for about a quarter of an hour, there was no answer.Zhuge Liang bowed to Lv Bu again, begging Lord Hou to show his respect to the city again.Xiuyuan carefully discerned a playful smile from his tone.Immediately he opened his mouth and replied: "Master Hou has never met Mr. Kong Ming, but I don't know where he met Master Hou, and he recognized us at a glance."

"Mr. Xiuyuan was joking. No one in the world knows how brave Marquis Wen is. Even though Jingzhou is a tiny place, it can be regarded as my great Han dynasty. How can I not know the name of Lord Marquis?"

Xiu Yuan raised his eyebrows. Although Zhuge's words were cruel, they were half-truths and half-false. He simply circled around with him: "In the early years, I also came to Wu County with the Marquis as a guest. Jingzhou is still a territory of Jiangdong. Why haven't you come here for a few years? This Jingzhou has become Liu Shijun's decision?"

"Liu Biao, the governor of Jingzhou, was originally the lord's family. This time he was seriously ill and had to hand over the city to the lord to take care of it. I couldn't get it up to the heavens, but I didn't think carefully. However, compared to Sun Ce beheading the county governor Xu Gongduo Winning the city can be regarded as being kind and righteous."

"Liu Biao's illness is rooted in his heart. I'm afraid the root of the illness is the city of Jingzhou that everyone covets. I don't know if Liu Shijun will have the good fortune to take the root of the illness away?"

"You sour scholar who gossips, my husband kindly invited you to be a guest in the city, how can you humiliate my brother over and over again, it's really annoying." Zhang Fei has been standing behind Zhuge Liang, watching them fight back and forth a few times , and finally couldn't hold back a roar, and specially brought in inner strength, which was quite a bit like a lion's roar, a secret technique of Buddhism.

Lu Bu's eyes darkened, and he lifted his foot and stomped heavily on the side of the boat. Zhang Fei was flushed red by the burst of energy and retreated several steps away.Seeing this, Zhuge raised his sleeves, and the originally calm river rushed into the cabin as if it had been boiled.Xiu Yuan's face turned cold, he bent down and drew two Buddha marks on the side of the boat, and the weird boiling water calmed down again.Seeing this, the hidden guards standing aside also took out their weapons to guard themselves, and even Ma Chao pressed his hand tightly on the hilt of his sword.

Zhuge Liang turned a blind eye to the talent's probing, and still had a mild smile on his face: "I have heard for a long time that Xiliang's military division is good at spying on the sky, and today I saw the rumors. It is true. I don't know why the military division and Lord Hou came to Jiangdong together." ?”

As soon as Zhuge Liang's words came out of his mouth, Xiuyuan secretly said something. He failed to invite Lv Bu into the city twice in a row, but he ignored the topic as if nothing had happened. In terms of beneficial spying, it seems to be done casually, but it is really scheming.

Xiuyuan thought for a while, but he didn't answer Zhuge Liang's words. Instead, he asked back unceremoniously: "I don't know why Mr. Kong Ming insisted on inviting Lord Hou to enter the city? Mr. Mo Fei learned from the astrology last night that we are going to pass by here today. Can't you come here to catch up with the wind and wash away the dust? Forgive me for speaking bluntly, Master Hou and Liu Shijun did not have a deep friendship in the past, so it may not be appropriate to enter the city rashly."

"A few days ago in Jiangxia, I heard rumors that there was a qin master with superb piano skills in the Baiyun Building in the city. The scholars of Wujun respected him very much. What does Xiu Yuan think?"

"Mr. Zhuge was just joking. I have never heard the melody of this luthier before, so how can I make a judgment on my own. What's more, I only have a superficial understanding of melody, so how can I play tricks in front of you?"

The smile on Zhuge Liang's face did not diminish, but his tone became more and more comfortable: "As the master said, Jingzhou City used to be a territory of Wu County, and Liang accidentally heard the children in the market singing 'Wrong song, Zhou Langgu. ', I don't know if Gong Jin would also like to go to Baiyun Tower to listen to the piano?"

As soon as Zhuge Liang finished speaking, he turned the bow of the boat and sailed towards the city of Jingzhou, leaving Lu Bu and his crew looking at each other in the wind: "Qinghe, what does Zhuge Kongming mean by these words?"

"Sun Ce and Zhou Yu died in a short time. What is Xiliang's plan? Zhuge Liang just said so many things in the open and in the dark. This is nothing more than this one sentence. He asked you to come to Jingzhou City as a guest, but he wanted to test our position. As for the luthier in the Baiyun Building, it should be Guo Jia."

"This Guo Jia finally escaped from Cao Wei's camp. Why don't you hide in the house and play the piano? Ever since Guo Jia left Cao Ying, his actions have become more and more unclear." Lu Bu frowned. Keep asking questions.

"Using the sound of the piano as bait is nothing more than trying to get rid of the bottom line once and for all. It's just that this plan is too strong and ruthless, and there is no room for change. On the contrary, it doesn't seem to be done by Guo Jia. I am also a little surprised that Guo Jia personally played the piano. , but Zhou Yu has always been obsessed with love of the piano, and he is self-willed, so it's hard not to take the bait."

"But since Guo Jia has already betrayed Cao Ying, why did he go out of his way to kill Zhou Yu? If Sun Ce and Zhou Yu really died in his hands, wouldn't he have nowhere to hide when Soochow and Cao Wei went to war?" A dark guard from the ghost face camp once went to Jiangxia to give Xiaowu a talisman of pure heart, and he was more familiar with Guo Jia's situation in Jiangdong than the others, so he asked a question.

"Zhou Yu is jealous of the virtuous and capable, and narrow-minded. Even Lu Xun, a prominent family in Jiangdong, was once excluded by him. What's more, Guo Jia who defected from Cao Wei. If I were Guo Jia, I would find a way to get rid of Zhou Yu when I arrived in Jiangdong. On his territory, if he doesn't take action for a long time, this poisonous snake may bite back at any time. But the strange thing is, our news came from Xiao Wu and Qin Jiu, so where did Guo Jia get his information from? Where did it come from? It seems that there is another great person behind Guo Jia. I am afraid that the plan to use the sound of the piano as a killer move came from the person behind Guo Jia."

"Even if Guo Jia has a reason to kill Zhou Yu, he doesn't have to do it himself. Even our brothers from the Ghost Face Camp and the Trapped Camp often take on jobs that take people's lives. In this troubled world, there are too many ways to kill a person. .”

"As soon as Guo Jiaren arrived in Jiangdong, he knew that the fact that he lived in Jiangxia City could not be kept secret for long. Therefore, if he wanted to live in peace for a long time, he could only use all his strength to stir up the water. He personally killed Zhou Yu, regardless of whether he succeeded or not. , Cao Wei and Jiangdong will not sit idly by. If the two countries fight because of this, he will naturally live in seclusion in the city and sit back and relax. Liu Bei's forces are caught in the middle, and most of Cao Wei's soldiers are from the north, and they are not good at water. In a real war, the two sides are just as good as each other, Guo Jia is now alone and has Cao Zhang's personal protection, no matter how the matter develops, it will be beneficial to him without any harm."

"According to Qinghe, what is our intention in coming to Jiangdong this time?" Lu Bu was dizzy from Xiu Yuan's eloquent analysis, and hurriedly interrupted him.

"Wait and watch, fish in troubled waters. You and I can leave Xiliang and come to Jiangdong. Cao Mengde may not come, let alone Guo Jia. If we can leave his life in Jiangdong like he assassinated Dong Zhuo, then Cao Wei There will be war with Soochow no matter what. When the time comes, the snipe and clam will fight, and the Xiliang forces will stay out of the matter, and the fisherman will naturally benefit. The reason why Guo Jia did this is probably because he wanted to repay our kindness for letting him leave Xiliang. Guo Jia This person is too transparent, I didn't expect him to be very affectionate."

Everyone on the boat got a letter of approval, so they naturally headed all the way to Jiangxia City.To be careful, the hidden guards of Ghost Mian Camp left the boat in a fishing village near Jiangxia City, and then followed Lu Bu Xiuyuan into the city.Qin Jiu and Xiao Wu got the news early and they were in the city to meet him.

Qin Jiu and Xiao Wu lived in Jiangxia for more than a year. They were enthusiastic and generous, and quickly won the favor of the local people.Qin Jiu only said that Lu Bu and the others were servants in the original village, and they gave away some money, and they quickly got away with it, and no one cared.When Xiuyuan and Qin Jiu reunited, and found out about the connection between Wei Zhong, the boss of Baiyun Building, and Qin Jiu, he was naturally very happy.

Immediately, he and Lu Bu took a seat in the private room of Baiyun Building, and ordered the hidden guards to hurry to prepare the big boat for returning to Xiliang.Then he and Lu Bu went to Baiyun Tower to meet Guo Jia.Guo Jia has been playing the piano in Baiyun Tower for seven or eight days, his reputation has already spread, and there are interested people from all walks of life to help spread the news, so it is naturally overcrowded.

Xiuyuan said that he is too humble to say that he doesn't understand the rhythm, but he really doesn't know much about guqin and guzheng.So I can't tell whether Guo Jia's music is good or bad.As for Lu Bu, he just took this opportunity to have a good time with Xiu Yuan in the private room.So nothing happened, and Guo Jia and Cao Zhang never noticed.

Until the news came out that the luthier of Baiyun Tower would only stay in the same place for ten days at most.Zhou Yu finally couldn't hold back and entered Baiyun Tower with Sun Ce.I don't know how many Xu Gong's disciples there are. The diners downstairs have been pretending to be Xu Gong's disciples for so many days. Even Qin Jiu and Wei Zhong, who are shrewd people from the rivers and lakes, have been deceived.

On the day of the work, there was a light drizzle in Jiangxia City. Zhou Yu was wearing a purple and gold cardigan with flowers, and satin shoes with gold silk embroidered thread.The end is amazing, talented, and unparalleled.As soon as Guo Jia started to tune, he sat in a corner and pointed out several subtle mistakes in the score.

The Baiyun Building was in a mess, the killers were all dressed in the daily clothes of the people of Wu County, holding a mobile spring crossbow, Zhou Yu's martial arts are not weak, especially the lightness kung fu is very delicate.But it is a pity that there are many tables and chairs in the restaurant, and the space is limited, and he did not carry a weapon with him, so he had to retreat outside the door under the cover of Sun Ce soon.Lu Bu stood far away by the window of the private room on the second floor, watching Sun Ce surrounded by killers.There is a scar above the corner of his left eye, which was left by Huang Zu when he crossed the river that day.When he protected Zhou Yu and retreated to the door, Cao Zhang and another man in black suddenly rushed towards them from the second floor.

That nameless man in black had very strange martial arts, Sun Ce fought him with only a few dozen moves, and he had several wounds on his body.But Zhou Yu was unexpectedly evenly matched with Cao Zhang.Xiu Yuan tugged on Lu Bu's sleeve lightly, and said softly: "Feng Xian, look at that guy who has been standing behind Guo Jia, he has at least ten Dao talismans hidden in his clothes, and he will definitely not be an unknown person. Look Come on, Sun Ce and Zhou Yu are in danger today, we should find a chance to leave quickly, it would be bad if someone debunked our identities at this moment."

Lu Bu nodded, and was about to take Xiu Yuan away.Misfortunes are in vain.The three people sitting in the shadow under the stairs in the lobby on the first floor suddenly attacked Guo Jia.All three of them covered their faces so they couldn't see their faces clearly, but they all had bare hands and no weapons.Xi Zhicai had already tampered with Guo Jia's qin, and when he saw that someone was coming, he immediately played the strings with both hands several times, detonating the Dao talisman hidden in the qin, and took advantage of the chaos to escape with Guo Jia. out.Lu Bu and Xiu Yuan had no time to look at Sun Ce and Zhou Yu's situation and hurriedly left through the other window.

After everyone returned to the mansion that Qin Jiu bought in Jiangxia before, everyone sat in a circle around Xiu Yuan, Xiu Yuan nodded to everyone, and began to analyze the current situation:

"Fengxian, tell me, were the three people who attacked Guo Jia last today brought by Cao Cao?"

"It's very possible. After all, they didn't carry any weapons. I think it was Cao Cao who specifically explained that Guo Jia should not be injured. Moreover, their martial arts are extremely high, and their aura is well concealed. Before they made a move, even I was deceived. In the past. It is unlikely that such masters will still be living in the Jianghu, after all, the world is in chaos now, and most of the so-called Jianghu knights are ashamed of their pockets, but they are not as comfortable as some killers."

"General Ma, you were also in Baiyun Tower at that time, did you see Cao Cao?"

It's strange to say that among so many people, only Ma Chao had ever seen Cao Cao from a distance in the emperor's court hall. Even when Lu Bu was canonized as Marquis of Wen, Cao Cao just excused his illness and never saw him.

Ma Chao thought about it for a while before shaking his head in shock: "Whether Cao Cao came to Jiangxia in person is still uncertain, but there was indeed no one in the Baiyun Tower that looked like Cao Cao. What's more, Zhou Yu later He and Sun Ce had already fought to the market outside Baiyun Building, and there were only a few people left in the lobby on the first floor, except for the three men in black who shot at Guo Jia in the end and were not found under the cover of the stairs. Other than that, the rest are probably sent by Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang."

"So, this assassination operation, including Zhou Yu and Sun Ce himself, is clear. It's just that the forces of all parties have different plans, so they just acted out the plan, but we underestimated Zhou Yu. No Thinking that his martial arts are so good, he can not be defeated by a super-class master like Cao Zhang alone."

While Xiu Yuan was drinking tea, Qin Jiu suddenly interjected a sentence: "Zhou Yu's martial arts can be forgiven, but the guy who fought Sun Ce in the end, I always feel that the martial arts moves he used Very familiar, but I just can’t remember when I fought against such a guy.”

"I heard from Wei Zhong, the boss of Baiyun Tower, that the Wuhui Palace you used to be in was a very powerful gangster. In just one month, all the disciples were strangled in Mobei. Could it be that time? Have you fought against someone with similar martial arts? After all, you have been poisoned by the Fusang people for a long time in the middle, and your memory is confused."

"By the way, the Fusang people! That guy uses the same martial arts as those Fusang spies. Could it be that in the melee in the Baiyun Tower just now, who else colluded with the Fusang people?"

"Qinghe, do you think it's the guy you've noticed standing behind Guo Jia with a gloomy face?" As soon as Qin Jiu mentioned the Fusang people, Lu Bu also thought of the few he killed who attacked Xiu Yuan. The Fusang spies, the breath is also extremely strange.

Just as Xiu Yuan was about to answer, a crisp silver bell sounded suddenly from his sleeve robe, and his expression changed: "Oops, some of you have been followed, and there is a bell array set up outside, and when the bell rings, someone breaks into the array !"

Before Xiu Yuan finished speaking, Qin Jiu, Xiao Wu and the three hidden guards from the Ghost Mian Camp all jumped out of the window.At this time, there is no other way but to kill and silence!