The towering Xuanwu

Under the towering Xuanwu Tower, when the sky was bright, a woman in black stood here and greeted the disciples guarding the gate with a smile.

The woman was very beautiful, and if the folding fan in her hand had not been placed around a man's neck, the picture would have been pleasing to the eye.

If the hostage-taking man did not look very much like the master of their Xuanwu Building, the disciples guarding the gate would have definitely looked at her a few more times.

Now, they could only crawl into the building and yell, "Oh no! The owner of the building has been kidnapped!"

Everyone who heard it thought it was a joke. Xuanwu Tower was used to being rampant in Ruzhou City. How could the owner of the tower be kidnapped? Who dared to kidnap him?

The manager immediately reprimanded the man for talking nonsense, but some people were more cautious and went to look for the owner of the building. They searched everywhere but to no avail. Finally, they found the owner's concubine in the bedroom, who had been knocked unconscious and then carefully dressed, put on the bed and covered with a quilt. After waking her up and asking about the matter, they realized the seriousness of the problem.

The disciples of Xuanwu Tower surrounded Xu Shulou and his group, and even several elders who were usually in seclusion were alarmed.

While they were struggling, Xu Shulou had already set up a set of tables and chairs and poured himself a cup of tea. He then calmly pushed the owner of the building, who was tightly tied up with the immortal chains, to Le Ling and his junior sister behind him, stood up and bowed politely: "I am Xu Shulou from Wuchen Island. I passed by here and happened to catch a villain pretending to be the owner of your sect and swindling people."

Just by chance? Everyone present felt that this guy was too shameless. You just happened to meet him in the owner's bedroom, right? That was really a coincidence.

Someone with a slightly more impatient temper couldn't help but say, "This is obviously our host!"

"How is that possible?" Xu Shulou pointed at Gao Zhang, "This person is unable to control Master Gao's life treasure. He is clearly a fake."

An elder noticed Gao Ming beside her and asked, "Nephew, what does this mean? Why are you fooling around with this woman?"

"The man in front of me is not my father at all." Gao Ming had a stern face. Just now in the courtyard, he was so excited that he almost picked up a knife to chop Gao Zhang, but Xu Shulou stopped him.

Another elder sighed upon hearing this: "Here we go again, nephew, you are really crazy."

The others were puzzled and started asking questions, and the elder then told Gao Ming all the suspicions he had over the years.

Everyone was shocked. Someone tried to mediate and advised, "My dear nephew, it is wrong for the host to take his anger out on you because of your mother's mistakes, but you don't have to make such wild assumptions."

Gao Ming closed his eyes, as if enduring it: "I'm really tired of your lies. My mother is innocent."

Xu Shulou waved his folding fan and said, "It's useless to argue. Let's see if this person can drive the owner's life magic weapon."

"Stop talking nonsense and let the host go immediately!" Some people with bad tempers simply attacked Xu Shulou.

"No!" The others were unable to stop him.

Xu Shulou raised his hand to receive the attack, and with his other hand, he took out a dagger from somewhere and stabbed it into Gao Zhang's thigh. The latter was tied up by the Immortal Binding Chain and could not mobilize his spiritual power to protect his body, so the dagger stabbed in smoothly.

"If you don't want your host's life, you can try it."

Xu Shulou searched around in the Qiankun bracelet and found that he didn't have any extra daggers. After thinking for a while, he pulled out the one that had been inserted into Gao Zhang's thigh, preparing to reuse it.

Gao Zhang's mouth was blocked and he couldn't utter a word. He could only groan and a few beads of cold sweat flowed down his forehead.

Someone questioned Gao Ming with deep sorrow: "How could you collude with outsiders to treat your father like this?"

"I told you, he's not my father," Gao Ming finally exploded, "Don't you understand what I'm saying?"

Someone else angrily said, "How can it be justified to ask the leader of a faction to prove his innocence in broad daylight with the people watching?"

Xu Shulou was a little impatient: "Forget it, no more talking, just kill him directly."

"Wait... Miss, what I mean is, why don't we all go inside the building and discuss countermeasures."

Unfortunately, his mouth was quick, but Xu Shulou's hands were even faster. When he said wait, he had already slapped Gao Zhang on the chest. The latter vomited a mouthful of blood on the spot and seemed to be half dead.

Xu Shulou wiped his hands slowly and said, "I refuse to discuss. Your landlord is in my hands. Either you do as I say, or I kill him. There is no third way."

Everyone looked unhappy, but finally no one raised any objections.

Only one person still said angrily: "We will seek revenge on Wuchen Island for today's humiliation one day."

"Instead of spending time here, why not go eat something good?" Xu Shulou raised his eyebrows and looked at him. "I think with your wisdom and understanding, it will be difficult for you to achieve enlightenment. Cherish the rest of your time."

Behind her, Bai Roushuang burst out laughing.

Everyone looked unhappy, but Xu Shulou turned a blind eye and threw two magic weapons over: "Golden Bell Cover and Mandarin Duck Axe, these are your master's two life-saving magic weapons, please take a look."

No matter how careless he was, he wouldn't fail to recognize the owner's own magic weapon. Several elders took turns checking the magic weapon, and after confirming that there was no problem, they were afraid that Xu Shulou had cheated, so they handed it to Gao Zhang personally.

Xu Shulou smiled and raised his hand to call back the Immortal Binding Chain: "Master Gao, please."

Gao Zhang's hands were freed, and he immediately threw away the gag cloth and said hastily, "Don't listen to her, arrest them quickly!"

Xu Shulou raised his hand and swung his fan wrapped in spiritual power to hit the ground, engulfing the shattered bluestone tiles at the entrance of Xuanwu Building, knocking him out. Then he stood still and smiled slightly: "Master Gao, why don't you block it?"

Gao Zhang's other magic weapons including the storage ring had been searched by Gao Ming long ago, leaving him with only two magic weapons. As he had no spiritual blood now, he naturally could not activate them.

Seeing the host being humiliated, some people were naturally indignant and wanted to step forward to help, but an elder in blue shirt who had not spoken a word raised his hand to stop them: "Wait, let's see."

Gao Zhang stood up with great effort, facing the public gazes, as if he was standing naked in public for everyone to examine.

He hasn't experienced such embarrassment for a long time since he became the owner of Xuanwu Tower.

He wanted to kill Xu Shulou in front of him and eat his flesh and blood, but he could only force himself to show a worried expression: "Girl, I don't want to fight with you. You just trusted Ming'er wrongly. He is my son. I can only feel sad to see him go astray. Can't we sit down and explain this misunderstanding?"

The next moment, Xu Shulou jumped up, and the fan flew out of his hand in mid-air, pressing down with might. Gao Zhang had no treasure to use, and could only use his own spiritual power to support himself. He could not hold on for a moment, and was slammed into the bluestone floor by Xu Shulou: "I didn't expect that Master Gao is such a good-tempered person, who doesn't fight back when beaten or scolded."

More and more people realized that something was wrong. The owner of Xuanwu Tower had become more and more stubborn in the past two years. He even raised the rent that the tenants in Ruzhou City needed to pay, regardless of the rules set by the previous owner. He was not a man who would listen to advice, and he would never be a father who would endure humiliation just to persuade his son to come back.

An elder couldn't help but ask, "Master, why don't you use your magic weapon?"

Gao Zhang deliberately forced out a mouthful of blood and said weakly, "That woman hurt me too badly, and I can't use my spiritual power for the time being. Do you want to watch me being beaten to death in front of the Xuanwu Tower?"

Bai Roushuang smacked her lips: "How can this person pretend to be more innocent than me?"

The blue-shirted elder frowned and looked at Xu Shulou: "Do you have any other evidence?"

"This man is Gao Zhang, an abandoned disciple of the Hehuan Sect. Several decades ago, he killed his twin brother Gao Zhuo and took his place. Everyone in the Hehuan Sect can recognize this face."

There was an uproar.

Gao Zhang immediately shouted, "How can I believe what the witch from the Hehuan Sect said? They have long been holding a grudge against me because of Ming'er's vengeance!"

"Search his study!" Gao Ming gritted his teeth and said, "He has been holding my father by his side for years to extract his blood. There must be traces!"

Gao Zhang sneered: "The study of the leader of a sect is full of sect secrets. How can you search it just like that?"

"Then please ask Xuanwu to come out," Xu Shulou looked at him, "The divine beast Xuanwu can understand human language, discern human nature, recognize loyalty and treachery, and has the ability to know everything. The words of your sect's spiritual beast should be trustworthy, right?"

“…”

"I understand." The blue-shirted elder looked at her deeply, nodded seriously, turned around and ordered his subordinates, "Come, invite Xuanwu."

Someone immediately obeyed the order and left.

Xu Shulou looked at Gao Zhang with a smile: "You should be aware of Xuanwu's ability. It is said that every building owner must swear an oath in front of Xuanwu when he takes office. If he breaks the oath, he will be strangled by Xuanwu himself. I wonder if Master Gao has this honor today."

Gao Zhang's expression was gloomy and unreadable: "I am the real owner of Xuanwu Tower, what should I be afraid of?"

There were rumbling footsteps coming from the building. The two vermilion lacquered doors of the Xuanwu Building were wide open, and the huge shadow of Xuanwu could be seen over there.

Everyone's eyes were focused on it. The blue-shirted elder heard a sound of breaking air behind him. When he turned around, the place where Gao Zhang had been standing was empty. A smile slowly formed on Xu Shulou's face: "He escaped."

There was complete silence on the field. If someone ran away, it would naturally mean that he was guilty.

Needless to say, the disciples of Xuanwu Tower have already caught up.

The rest of the people were looking at Gao Ming, and his face had an unpredictable expression.

Bai Roushuang whispered to her senior sister: "It can understand human language, discern human nature, and distinguish loyalty from treachery. I thought it was a Xiezhi."

Xu Shulou touched his chin and said, "It is indeed a Xiezhi."

Bai Roushuang was stunned for a moment before she realized, "You cheated him?"

Xu Shulou smiled.

"So Xuanwu can't tell loyalty from treachery?"

Xuanwu, who had just moved out of the door, was very dissatisfied when he heard this: "Who said I can't? I think this person has shifty eyes and is definitely not a good person."

Xu Shulou praised perfunctorily: "Yes, yes, you are the best."

Bai Roushuang still felt that this method was too risky: "What if I can't trick you?"

"If you can't trick him, just chop him down." Xu Shulou said it very easily.

“…”

"Just kidding. It doesn't matter if he can't trick you. He never uses his life-defining magic weapon. Others are already suspicious of him. It's only a matter of time before he's exposed." Xu Shulou looked at Gao Ming, who was still looking at the direction Gao Zhang fled. "But this matter should have a quick and happy ending."

Gao Ming didn't care about the sympathetic or shocked looks around him. After Gao Zhang was captured, he only asked one question: "Is my father still alive?"

Gao Zhang knew that the situation was hopeless. He looked at him with a cruel smile on his face. "He died two months ago. I thought he was no longer useful, so I killed him. You came a step too late. If you had found him earlier, you could have saved him."

“…”

"Do you know that on the day I killed him, I deliberately hid him under my bed, and then called you over to talk to you," Gao Zhang said with a mad smile, "I just wanted to see the look in his eyes when he was just one step away from hope but it was ultimately shattered."

“…”

"When you left, I dragged him out and killed him. If you had sharp ears, you might have heard a wail or two."

"That's enough!" one elder shouted angrily, "Now that things have come to this, you still don't know how to repent?"

Gao Zhang smiled: "Repent? That's right, you should repent. You should have killed that little bastard a long time ago."

Xu Shulou swung his folding fan at him, knocking out his front teeth, and then gently put his hand on Gao Ming's shoulder: "Don't believe him, he wants to drag you to hell with him."

Gao Ming's eyes flickered: "Two months ago, he did ask me to go to Xuanwu Tower because of the matter between me and Hehuan Sect..."

Xu Shulou shook his head: "No, you said it yourself. He hasn't used that life treasure in the past two years. The real Gao Louzhu should have died two years ago, not two months ago. I don't believe he would take the initiative to kill people. Gao Louzhu's death should be an accident that Gao Zhang could not control."

"My good brother is dead after all," Gao Zhang laughed and looked at the two of them, "How is it? Do you hate me? Do you want to kill me with your own hands?"

"I should sympathize with you," Xu Shulou approached him, "You can't get any of the wealth of Xuanwu Tower or the things of Hehuan Sect. After decades of painstaking calculations and decades of fear, you finally got nothing. In the end, you are still the abandoned disciple of Hehuan Sect, with nothing and even your life is about to be lost."

"..." A crack appeared on Gao Zhang's arrogant smile, "I have enjoyed it for at least a few decades."

"Do you enjoy it?" Xu Shulou asked back, "Carefully finding excuses to transfer away those who are familiar with Master Gao little by little, trying hard to imitate Master Gao's tone, handwriting, and way of doing things, and even only being able to eat his favorite food, for fear of making the slightest mistake, and being awakened by nightmares in the middle of the night, do you enjoy it?"

"I, of course I am enjoying it."

Xu Shulou asked again: "Have you ever thought about what would have happened if you hadn't done it? Your brother is a good man, caring about his wife and children, and treating his subordinates well. If it hadn't happened back then, maybe you could have lived a good life under his protection, without having to worry so much and being so nervous. Have you really never regretted it?"

“…I don’t regret it.”

"Really?" Xu Shulou laughed, "I hope you can think the same way on your way to the underworld."

Everyone was looking at Gao Ming. He nodded, and the law enforcement disciple of Xuanwu Tower raised his knife and chopped off Gao Zhang's head.

His expression finally froze on a hint of hesitation.

Xu Shulou looked at Gao Ming: "You are more decisive than I thought."

Gao Ming lowered his eyes and looked at Gao Zhang's head which had been separated from his body: "This has been my wish for many years, to see him die."

A man and a woman fell on Gao Zhang's body crying. Xu Shulou recognized that the woman was his third daughter.

This may be another new grudge, and things in the world seem to always be like this.

The elders of Xuanwu Tower surrounded Gao Ming. Xu Shulou heard words like "nephew", "I'm sorry", "I wronged you", "I should have believed you earlier", and "your mother is really innocent".

She found it a little ironic.