43
Inside Qujia Fort, lights and decorations adorned the fort, and the groom toasted with a glass. Old Man Qu had drunk a bit too much today and was quite tipsy. Qujia Village was enormous, its buildings covering nearly a hundred miles, blocking out the sun for half a day. The river flowed through the entire village, making it seem isolated from the world.
It is a happy day today. All the birds in the forest are in high spirits. Even the black-feathered crows hiding in the mountains come out to join in the fun.
But the old woman didn't think it was auspicious. What family would have crows cawing when celebrating a big wedding?
"An unlucky thing." Qu Xiang's bridesmaid fanned away the crow that had just flown onto the eaves.
The silence of the night suffocated the voices of people's joy.
All the guests from outside the family had left, and the only ones left were from the Qu family.
Many people were trying to get Li Jiangxin to drink. If he hadn't drunk the sobering soup beforehand, he would have been drunk.
Zhao Mingshang returned to the house at 5 p.m. and wanted to see the contents of the drawing. He opened the scroll and the woman frowned instantly. A dark shadow flashed across the window.
"Who?"
Xu Ning came back from going to the toilet and saw Zhao Mingshang running out of the house in a hurry.
"What's going on?"
"The picture was swapped. The person must have just left."
Xu Ning followed Zhao Mingshang in pursuit. Tang Xixu was stopped halfway and was fighting with many men in black.
Qu Yi had been drinking a lot of wine recently. Suddenly, he saw a figure in wedding dress walking towards him. Before he could see who that person was, he fell headfirst onto the table.
Most of the people at the table had passed away, and the bustling Qujiazhuang suddenly became deserted.
"Is she asleep?"
"Reply to the master, go to sleep."
The man in red waved his hand, his eyes drooped, and the depths of his pupils were filled with indifference.
Xu Ning and the other two had been chasing each other for a long time. More and more men in black were in the woods, and it seemed as if a group of them had been lying in ambush. These men, fighting and stopping, were all dressed in black casual clothes, and their martial arts were all the same.
"Why do these people have paintings in their hands?" Only when they walked to where there was light did Zhao Mingchang see clearly.
Xu Ning also noticed it, but she didn't think about anything else and just used ruthless force to grab the painting.
Every sword strike from Xu Ning was very heavy. One strike would either break tendons or cause bleeding. He specifically targeted the weak points of the enemy.
Tang Xixu only cares about taking lives, and will not show mercy to those who do such immoral things in the martial arts world.
In the quiet night, blood was nourishing the cold swords, dust was blowing up the dead branches and leaves on the ground, and the killer was struggling among the swords. It had just rained during the day, and blood flowed into the pond. The fishy smell mixed in the air and permeated Qujiazhuang.
The long sword swept across the ankles of each man in black, and a little mud and water splashed into Xu Ning's eyes. The woman's eyes were full of murderous intent.
Winter nights are relatively damp and cold, but Xu Ning's hands and feet became more active, so she didn't feel cold even though she was wearing autumn clothes.
"Bang!"
A colorful firework bloomed in the sky above Qujiabao.
The few remaining men in black took a look and then withdrew their actions and prepared to leave.
Zhao Mingchang held down one of the men's shoulders, and the man, with great strength, knocked Zhao Mingchang down with his backhand.
"Are you okay?" After Xu Ning caught Zhao Mingshang steadily, he kicked the man hard in the abdomen.
Seeing that they could not escape, the remaining few people bit their tongues and committed suicide.
None of the paintings carried by the men in black were real. Zhao Mingchang became even more worried. Losing the paintings wouldn't be a big deal, but it was a shame that they were lost.
"Wow! Wow! Wow!"
The brown-robed servant stumbled over and saw the men whom his master had treated as honored guests during the day. "Murder! Murder!"
The little servant was so frightened by something that he couldn't even speak straight.
"What's going on?" Zhao Mingshang grabbed the corner of the man's clothes tightly.
"At the end of the banquet, everyone had almost finished eating, and for some reason, they all got drunk and fell to the table. Then a large group of men in black came and killed people everywhere in the manor. No one in the manor was left alive."
The three of them looked at each other and frowned, and Xu Ning's heart became even heavier.
Xu Ning and Zhao Mingshang rushed back to the village. Tang Xixu lifted the clothes of the black-clad man lying on the ground and found a "South" character carved on the back of his neck.
Tang Xixu narrowed his eyes slightly, as if thinking about something.
The air was filled with the strong smell of blood. "Tap, tap, tap", it suddenly started to rain, and drops of rain hit the face of the corpse. The soft curtains hanging on the eaves were soaked, and I didn't know whether they were wet by the rain or the blood.
The wind was roaring and the rain was crying, and the entire Qujiazhuang village turned into hell overnight.
Qu Yi was still sleeping soundly in the room, and Xu Ning woke him up with a slap.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Qu Yi was still sleepy and looked at Xu Ning in a daze, who had a strange and serious look in his eyes.
Xu Ning said calmly: "The Qu family is all dead."
"Stop joking. Today is a happy day. Why say such depressing words?" Qu Yi thought Xu Ning was joking with him and prepared to fall asleep again.
"I'm not kidding you, it's serious." Qu Yi rarely heard Xu Ning talk to him so seriously. He put away his smile, his eyes filled with tension, and began to realize the seriousness of the matter.
Qu Yi hurried to the yard, opened the doors one by one, and found that everyone was dead.
The entire Qujiabao was devoid of life. The pond was filled with corpses, servants hung from the rockery with blood still flowing from their necks, several people had fallen into the well, and many had been killed with a single blow, their heads falling directly onto the wine table.
"Dad! Mom!" Qu Yi cried out, his tears and snot mixed together. He wanted to wake up the dead.
Qu Xiaotian fell to the ground with blood flowing from his mouth and his eyes wide open, holding his chest. Mrs. Qu grabbed a pair of scissors and stabbed herself in the neck, committing suicide with a glare.
Qu Yi remembered that on the day he returned home, he should have hugged his father and eaten all the food his mother cooked.
Qu Xiang also woke up. A few strands of the bride's hair had fallen off. The rain was slippery, and she ran so fast that she didn't care that one of her wedding shoes had fallen off. She stumbled and fell several times along the way, and she didn't bother to clean the dirty water off her wedding gown.
Qu Xiang looked at the blood all over the floor of the room, his face turned pale, his legs went weak and he sat on the ground. The woman stared at the corpse for a long time without any reaction.
Qu Xiang suddenly sat up and ran out. Xu Ning was afraid she would do something stupid, so she followed her out: "Sister Qu Xiang, where are you going?"
Just as Xu Ning walked out of the house, he saw Qu Xiang running out with a medical box. Qu Xiang treated the two elderly people lying on the ground according to the method taught by his master. The two elderly people had already died and there was no way to save them.
Qu Xiang did it over and over again, trying many methods. "Sister, don't waste your energy. Dad and Mom's bodies are already cold." Qu Yi's eyes were already red and swollen. He struggled to pull Qu Xiang's shoulders.
Qu Xiang struggled in agony without making a sound. His dry eyes suddenly filled with tears. All the pain and grievances burst out like a mountain torrent at this moment. "Ah-ah! Ah-ah! Ah-ah!"
"ah--"
"ah--"
"ah--"
Qu Xiang burst into tears, and the whole dead house was filled with sad cries, drowning out the sound of heavy rain and thunder outside. Qu Yi was speechless and put his arm around his sister's shoulders.
Xu Ning frowned. She wanted to comfort Qu Xiang, but she couldn't say a word.
Xu Ning's eyes gradually turned red, and she was unable to persuade Qu Xiang to stop crying. Xu Ning had also experienced this kind of pain of losing a loved one in the present life, and the words of comfort at this time were the most ridiculous and the most hurtful.
Qu Xiang cried for a long time, maybe an hour or two, and then he couldn't breathe and fainted.
"The people who stole the pictures are from the same group as Tu Qu's family." Zhao Mingshang was the first to analyze it.
"Their original target was not "Splendid River and Mountain Painting" but the Qu family." When they came back, a man in black stuffed the original painting back to Xu Ning.
Qu Yi looked through the bodies of the few men in black in the yard. They were all cleansed. The young man said in a deep voice, "They are eunuchs."
"Huh, I should have thought of that earlier."
"My sister told me yesterday that a father-in-law came to visit my father a few days ago. After he left, my father looked very unhappy and just increased the security at home."
The Qu family treated them well. Mrs. Qu, upon hearing that Xu Ning was an orphan, wanted to adopt her as her adopted daughter, even preparing a room for her. She also had everything Qu Xiang had. It was impossible for Xu Ning to ignore the Qu family's death.
For the first time ever, several people stayed.
The house was in a mess, with account books, gold, silver and treasures all there.
Xu Ning thought calmly, then said to Qu Yi, "They're obviously looking for something. Go to Uncle Qu's study and see if there are any traces. Something like this can't happen without leaving any clues."
Qu Yi searched everywhere but couldn't find it.
Xu Ning suddenly thought of someone: "Where's Li Jiangxin?"
"Hmph, that bastard, I've disliked him for a long time. If my sister didn't like him, I would never have let him set foot in the Qu family." Even though such a big thing happened in the Qu family, Li Jiangxin was nowhere to be seen.
Xu Ning's brows furrowed even more tightly.
Several people fell into deep thought, and had no idea what was happening at the moment.
The rain outside stopped, and the fishy smell in the air was so strong that it hit my nose.
When Xu Ning was burying Mrs. Qu, he saw that Mrs. Qu was staring at one place.
Xu Ning followed her gaze and saw a piece of floor. She knocked on it gently.
hollow.
Xu Ning pried open the floorboards and saw an old woman fainted on the straw mat, looking haggard.
This person was Qu Xiang's bridesmaid and also Mrs. Qu's personal maid.
Xu Ning fed her some water. After the old woman woke up and ate some food, she reluctantly opened her eyes.
"Tell me! What did you see? Who slaughtered the Qu family? Tell me!" Qu Yijin pinched the old woman's shoulders, very emotional.
The old woman said nothing, but kept shaking and covering her head with her hands.
"Qu Yi, calm down." Zhao Mingshang pulled Qu Yi hard.
The sky outside turns dark and then bright, bright and then dark again, day and night alternate, and the passage of time cannot wash away the grief of the deceased.
Qu Xiang hadn't eaten for a day or two, and every day he sat by the window, looking out quietly.
She hugged the wedding dress tightly, which was embroidered for her by Mrs. Qu herself before she died.
"My daughter is just beautiful. When she puts on her wedding dress, she's the most beautiful bride in the world."
Mrs. Qu's words echoed in Qu Xiang's mind over and over again.
She regrets it now, regretting that she didn't spend more time with her parents.
Qu Xiang liked to tinker with herbs since she was a child. The master of Medicine Valley, Sun Baoyi, and the Poison King, Xue Bushuo, both valued her talent and accepted her as their apprentice when she was four years old.
After twenty years away from home, I decided to stay home completely this year.
Qu Xiaotian had a back problem that hurt whenever it rained. Qu Xiang had just learned of a treatment a few days ago and was thinking of giving his father acupuncture. But before he could even begin, he passed away.
Qu Xiang hugged her wedding dress and cried again. She had saved many people and witnessed many separations and deaths. Everyone praised her for her superb medical skills and her miraculous healing powers at such a young age. However, she saved many people but could not save her own family.
…
"Did you get the things?" The father-in-law in gorgeous clothes gently blew the tea leaves in the cup.
The young man lowered his head and was speechless.
"I'll give you one last chance. If you can't get it, don't come back." Wen Liang didn't even raise his eyelids.
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