Feng Shiniang was taken aback, then her face darkened, and she rolled her eyes, saying, "Since you can find out the information yourself, why are you asking me? Do you think I'm just trying to amuse myself?"
Xue Shen's expression remained unchanged: "It's just filling in the gaps. Shunfeng'er specializes in gathering information and is known as all-knowing. If he doesn't know as much as I do, then Shunfeng'er won't need to make a living in the martial arts world in the future. Don't you think so?"
Sensing the threat in his words, Feng Shiniang's expression changed slightly. Her chest heaved for a long while before she sat down dejectedly, pulled two pieces of paper from her bodice and threw them at him: "Here, these are for you. If you don't have any other questions, get lost, or I'll feel uncomfortable looking at them."
Xue Shen took the paper and, after confirming that there were no omissions this time, got up and left without hesitation.
Feng Shiniang looked at his tall, straight back and snorted, "It's really strange that such an unromantic man can have a family!"
*
Having obtained the information he wanted, Xue Shen prepared to return to the inn.
He had only gone a short distance from where Feng Shiniang had settled when he noticed several tails following him.
Xue Shen stopped in his tracks, his gaze sweeping over the hiding places of the several "tails," and said in a cold voice, "Why hide in the black market? If you want something, come and get it yourself if you have the guts."
Provoked by his words, some people who couldn't hold back immediately showed up.
The first to jump out were two brothers, with identical ugly faces, short and stocky builds, each wielding a pair of meteor hammers: "You arrogant brat, let your grandpa have a go at you."
Before the words were even finished, they attacked from the left and right.
In places where the light of day is dim, in areas where black people fight each other, there is no such thing as leaving anyone alive. These two brothers used deadly moves right from the start. Xue Shen's expression hardened when he saw this, and he drew his long sword to retaliate in kind.
The two brothers, seeing that he was all alone, guessed that he had some skills, but they did not expect that his power was greater than they had imagined.
The meteor hammer and the longsword clashed, sparks flying.
The arms of the two brothers holding the meteor hammers were also numb from the shock. The younger brother, who was weaker, even dropped his weapon and fell to the ground, losing his balance.
Seeing this, the elder brother panicked and revealed a weakness. Xue Shen seized the opportunity to enter and cleaved his head off with his long sword.
The older brother reacted too slowly and didn't have time to dodge. His head was immediately severed from his body, and blood gushed out.
When the younger brother saw that Xue Shen killed his elder brother without even managing to provoke him three times, he immediately lost his will to fight. He turned around and tried to escape, but was stabbed in the chest from behind by a long sword and fell to the ground dead.
Despite killing two people, Xue Shen's expression remained unchanged. He drew his long sword, wiped the blood off the blade, and then slowly walked away after sheathing it.
The others who had followed him without showing themselves were intimidated by the murderous aura emanating from him and hesitated before retreating.
After confirming that no annoying tails were following him, Xue Shen returned to the inn.
He was about to go upstairs when he noticed the bloodstains on his boots. He paused, turned towards the guards' room, and ordered them to bring him new clothes and shoes to change into. Only after confirming that there was no trace of blood on his body did he go upstairs.
While Xue Shen was out, Shen Youying took a short nap, but she didn't sleep soundly and woke up when she heard Xue Shen come in.
Sleepiness still lingered in her eyes, and drowsy tears dampened her eyelashes as she looked at Xue Shen with hazy eyes: "You're back. Is everything done?"
Xue Shen hummed in agreement and sat down on the edge of the bed, wiping away the tears from the corner of her eyes with his thumb: "Did I wake you up?"
Shen Youying shook her head and said, "It's no use." Then she frowned, moved closer to Xue Shen, twitched her nose, and asked curiously, "Where have you been? Why do you smell like a woman's perfume?"
She asked the question frankly, not because she didn't suspect that Xue Shen had done something behind her back, but because she found it a bit strange.
Xue Shen chuckled and pinched the tip of her nose: "I even went out of my way to change into clean clothes, but I didn't expect you to still be able to smell it."
He took out the paper that Feng Shiniang had given him and handed it to Shen Youying: "I went to the black market to ask Shunfeng'er for some information. I never expected that the famous Shunfeng'er was actually a woman."
Shen Youying was also surprised when she heard this, but at this moment her mind was focused on the news about her father and elder brother, and she had no time to be curious about others. She took the paper and carefully flipped through it page by page.
Feng Shiniang truly lived up to her reputation as a renowned expert in the martial arts world. Although this record wasn't detailed enough, it contained information that many of Xue Shen's spies had failed to uncover.
One of the most important points is that Aye once came to the black market to ask Feng Shiniang about Shen Mingjiang and Shen Xiuyi.
With her all-knowing ears, she should have recognized Shen Xiuyi. "Aye" looks exactly like Shen Xiuyi; there's no reason she wouldn't recognize him.
However, she did not tell Aye this, but only provided information about Shen Mingjiang and Shen Xiuyi as requested by the other party.
Xue Shen said, "Feng Shiniang is a person who is both righteous and wicked, and her methods are extraordinary. It is not surprising that she would do such a thing."
Those who can thrive in this village are definitely not kind-hearted people.
Shen Youying was pondering something else: "My elder brother came to Hei to find Shunfeng'er to inquire about the Shen family. Does that mean he actually has some doubts about his own identity?"
Xue Shen continued, "It's more likely that Father-in-law has already met with my elder brother. However, my elder brother has lost his memory and has been misled by the Third Prince, so he may not easily believe Father-in-law's words."
Shen Youying said, "My elder brother has been intelligent and quick-witted since childhood, and has lofty ambitions, but he is not a blindly loyal person. Even if he has lost his memory, his nature will not change. The fact that he came to the black market to investigate shows that he does not completely trust the Third Prince."
Xue Shen agreed, saying, "This is our opportunity."
Shen Youying nodded, feeling a weight lift from her heart. She quickly flipped through the messages about her father and saw that the last record said he had gone to the royal court and then disappeared. She said, "Father and elder brother are both at the royal court. Let's go there to find them."
Xue Shen put the papers away and said, "We'll rest for a day tomorrow, replenish our food, water, and weapons, and set off early the day after tomorrow."
*
After resting for a day in Wuming Village, Shen Youying felt better the next day and wanted to go out for a walk.
Xue Shen entrusted the task of gathering information to a guard and accompanied her out. Compared to the bustling black market, the other streets in the village were relatively quiet.
Most of the people coming and going are elderly people and children; young and middle-aged men and women are rarely seen.
Occasionally, a few strong men would pass by and would show a lustful look when they saw Shen Youying, but when they saw Xue Shen next to Shen Youying, they would quickly distance themselves and dare not show any lust again.
That's how the world works; only the strong can possess beautiful women.
News of Xue Shen killing two people in three moves on the black market yesterday has spread rapidly. Now the entire Nameless Village knows that the new fat sheep in the village is not to be trifled with.
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