Chapter 97 World Three [11]
Yin Honglian smiled and avoided the topic. "Actually, the information Lin Yusu revealed was quite mysterious. He said he had discovered a secret realm. He didn't know where the entrance was, only that the exit was near the Demon Cult headquarters."
"There seem to be a lot of good things in the secret realm. The skills he is currently practicing were obtained in the secret realm." Yin Honglian said, answering the question raised by Jing Ke just now.
"Your leader wanted to know the so-called secret realm, so he didn't kill Lin Yusu?" Although Jing Ke used a question, from her tone, it seemed that she was very sure of the answer.
Yin Honglian nodded, "Yes, our leader is very interested in that secret realm."
"Oh, what about other things? Is there any valuable information?" Jing Ke asked.
Yin Honglian raised an eyebrow. "Jing Ke, you don't really know Lin Yusu. You don't seem to have any interest in the secret realm he mentioned."
"Why should I be interested in him? Is he some big shot?" Jing Ke asked back.
Yin Honglian took a sip of tea to moisten her throat. "Because Lin Yusu was a latecomer to martial arts, he cultivated internal energy in less than three years, which would take an average person ten to twenty years to cultivate."
"Aren't you curious at all about such a powerful martial art? The secret realm that can contain such a martial art must be a very extraordinary place, right?" Yin Honglian asked.
She was testing the waters, but also with a hint of genuine confusion.
"Tsk—" Jing Ke couldn't help but laugh after hearing this. "Lin Yusu is so powerful? I let him use one hand, and he's no match for me. This kind of useless martial arts is of no value to me."
Jing Ke's words sounded arrogant, but they were irrefutable facts. Lin Yusu, who had escaped from the Demon Cult's headquarters twice in a row, was nothing more than a piece of trash to Jing Ke, not enough evidence to support her claims.
Yin Honglian was choked. Although her martial arts skills were not worse than Lin Yusu's, she was only in her early twenties and was not much stronger than the other party.
When she heard Jing Ke's words, she always felt that she was also being indiscriminately shot at.
"Yes, you're right. Lin Yusu is indeed a loser." What else could Yin Honglian say? Her strength couldn't compare to Jing Ke, and she had never succeeded in poisoning her, so she could only smile.
"So, do you have any valuable information?" Jing Ke urged.
She had been strolling out for almost half an hour, and her little disciple was still waiting for her to go home for dinner. She didn't have that much time to waste.
"The people in the Wulin Alliance are also quite interested in the secret realm and martial arts that Lin Yusu encountered. They lost so many people this time and were willing to turn against us completely. Lin Yusu is a very important factor." Yin Honglian reminded implicitly.
"The Wulin Alliance is currently being harassed by our people and can't get away, but it's hard to say what will happen in a while. If you, Jing Ke, don't want to be disturbed by the Wulin Alliance, you can come visit us. Although we are called a demon sect, our base is surrounded by beautiful mountains and rivers, and it is a great place for seclusion."
Yin Honglian said with a smile, and to show her sincerity, she took out a jade waist badge from her bosom.
"This is a token that represents the Left Protector. If you meet someone from the Demon Sect, you can show this token. Not only will they not bother you, they can also use it for your benefit." Yin Honglian said, and took the initiative to push the token in front of Jing Ke.
Jing Ke stared at the jade waist badge and found that the pattern on the upper part of the token looked familiar. He seemed to have seen the same pattern somewhere.
"You just gave me the token like that?" Jing Ke asked, "Are you worried that I might misuse it?"
"Just think of it as making friends and winning over a future hero who is destined to be famous in the martial arts world." Yin Honglian said with a smile.
Jing Ke wasn't afraid of the Demon Cult, and even less so of the Wulin Alliance. But she had a family to support now, and if she took on both sides alone, her young apprentice might be put in danger.
"I must make it clear that I have no intention of forming an alliance with the Demon Cult by accepting this token. Your right protector will always be my enemy, and there will be a day when he will die under the swords of our master and disciple." Jing Ke said.
"I don't have a good relationship with that guy who likes to kill people. If you kill him, just notify me. Since we have worked together for so long, I will help him collect his body." Yin Honglian immediately expressed her opinion.
Jing Ke glanced at Yin Honglian meaningfully, and when he saw that she had no valuable information to provide him, he stood up and left.
As for the jade token that was handed to him, Jing Ke took it away as well.
The less trouble there is, the better. If this token is really that useful, maybe it will play a significant role at some point in the future.
After seeing Jing Ke accept the token, Yin Honglian slowly let out a breath.
Just accept it, it means that the Demon Cult is not on the opposite side of Jing Ke. The only one who offended Jing Ke from the beginning to the end was the incompetent, furious, and murderous right protector.
Really, that rough guy is more of a hindrance than a helper. If Jing Ke is really from that faction, wouldn’t he have offended the leader’s greatest helper and even his only two relatives to death?
-
Jing Ke went out today without spending a penny, but instead got a valuable token. Putting aside the additional value of the token, the jade used to make the token alone can be sold for a lot of money.
After carefully checking the token and making sure there were no strange medicines on it, Jing Ke handed the token to his little apprentice.
At the same time, Jing Ke did not hide the fact that he had dealings with the Left Protector of the Demon Cult, and explained the origin and specific function of the token.
"Can you command the people of the Demon Cult?" After hearing what her master said, Luo Yuezhu almost slipped and dropped the token on the ground.
"Master, this..." Luo Yuezhu showed a helpless expression on her face, and looked at her master with wide eyes.
"The thing is in your hands. You can use it however you want." Jing Ke said, "Left Protector has nothing to do with the people who attacked the Luo family. They just belong to the Demon Cult."
"If you take out the token and smash it on the right protector's face when you are taking revenge, maybe it will make him dazed, and then you can find his weakness and kill him with your sword." Jing Ke tried to give an example to let his young apprentice develop the use of the token.
Luo Yuezhu agreed in a daze. If the enemy could really be exposed, this token seemed to be quite useful.
"Master, if the people of the Demon Cult can recognize this token, can the people of the Wulin Alliance also recognize it?" Luo Yuezhu asked.
"Probably. I'm not sure about the ordinary members, but the core members and the top management should know each other." Jing Ke thought for a moment and said, "You can put the token in a pouch and then tie it to your belt."
Luo Yuezhu nodded, carefully took note of his master's instructions, and prepared to use the token as an unexpected hidden weapon to attack the opponent.
-
Under Jing Ke's protection, everyone in the Luo family spent a peaceful November.
It is worth mentioning that Mr. Luo San came to visit specially in the middle of the month, hinting that he had withdrawn the commission at double the price, and said that he would leave Feng'an City today.
Jing Ke responded indifferently, then told him about the assassin he had encountered on his way back from his home. He forced Master Luo San to cough up fifty taels of silver from his limited remaining funds before reluctantly letting him go.
In fact, Jing Ke really wanted to kill the man who had bullied his little apprentice, but when he thought that the other party was barely one of his few blood relatives, he suppressed the idea.
Let the grown-up apprentice handle this kind of thing. If she wants to kill him, she can do it anytime. There is no need to rush.
After November, the twelfth lunar month arrives quietly.
On the first day of the twelfth lunar month, snowflakes began to float in the sky, falling in large flakes like flying catkins.
After Luo Yuezhu got up from the bed, she saw through the half-open window that it was snowing outside. She quickly put on her clothes and pushed open the door to watch the snow.
The snow actually started falling at the beginning of the Yin hour, and by the Mao hour at dawn, the roofs and open spaces in the courtyard were covered with snow almost two fingers thick.
"Master, it's snowing." Luo Yuezhu smiled when she saw her master push open the door of the next room.
"Yeah, it's snowing." Jing Ke said, walking over and brushing away the snowflakes that had fallen on the little apprentice's hair.
"It's snowing today, so I'll give you a day off. Do you want to take a carriage outside to see the snow scenery?" Jing Ke said.
No matter how strict a master is, when he sees his apprentice performing well, he would probably want to reward him, right?
"Okay, thank you Master! Master, would you like to ride in the carriage with me?" Luo Yuezhu asked.
Luo Yuezhu's birthday is on February 3rd in spring, which is still more than two months away, so she is still a ten-year-old child, and the childlike innocence hidden in her heart has not been completely erased.
"Well, with you." Jing Ke said.
Since it is snowing, there is no need to ride a horse outside and suffer the cold. I might as well enjoy the pleasure of riding in a carriage.
They set off as soon as they said they would. After a simple breakfast, Luo Yuezhu led his master onto the carriage, asked the servant to act as the coachman, and planned to go out of the city to take a look outside.
There are not many shops outside the city, most of them are small teahouses where you can take a break.
So before leaving the city, Luo Yuezhu asked the servant to stop in front of the snack shop for a while, and bought enough snacks to fill the stomachs of three people before taking the carriage out of the city gate.
Feng'an City is considered a remote area in the Jiangnan region. After leaving the prosperous and bustling towns, the further you go out, the more desolate it becomes.
Occasionally, you can see woodcutters carrying firewood on their backs and heading towards the village step by step on the roadside. For people living in villages outside the city, they cannot afford any good heating tools.
If you want to survive this winter, you must accumulate enough firewood and then make some good quality charcoal yourself to get through this winter when snow starts to fall on the first day of the twelfth lunar month.
But there is a saying that auspicious snow means a good harvest, so this heavy snow is not a bad thing for the villagers who rely on the land for their livelihood.
The carriage stopped when it reached a plum blossom forest. When the curtain of the carriage window was opened a little, one could see that there were many young men in cloaks brewing and drinking tea in the forest. It seemed that they were organizing some kind of poetry gathering.
Luo Yuezhu was not very interested in this kind of thing. She just turned to look at her master and asked for her opinion.
"Poetry gathering?" Jing Ke glanced at the window. "I'm good at swordsmanship, not poetry. Yuezhu, are you interested in reciting poems?"
Luo Yuezhu immediately shook her head after hearing this. "No, I don't like it. I have never liked poetry or embroidery since I was a child."
"Then let's go to the back and find a place with few people to watch the snow." Jing Ke said, "It's nice to be quiet."
"Okay, Master, I know a place with fewer people." Luo Yuezhu said, then lifted the curtain of the carriage and briefly explained a few words to the servant.
About half a quarter of an hour later, the carriage stopped near a stone wall.
Luo Yuezhu was the first to jump off the carriage, carrying a box of packed snacks. She then turned back to look at her master and said, "Master, there's a place in the stone wall that we can pass through. It's a place that almost no one knows about."
"Okay." Jing Ke responded with a smile, and couldn't help pinching the two round bumps on his little apprentice's head.
"Master, here." Luo Yuezhu was already used to being touched on the head by her master. Just now, he just pinched her hair, and she didn't react at all.
"Yeah." After Jing Ke let go of her hand, he followed her half a step behind his little disciple.
After following the young apprentice along the mountain wall for about two hundred meters, a crack about one meter wide appeared.
Luo Yuezhu first stood at the gap and looked inside. After making sure that there was no one inside, she pushed aside the nearby weeds and walked forward slowly with her body tilted sideways.
A one-meter-wide gap is actually quite large, and considering Luo Yuezhu's body shape, it is not impossible for her to walk directly in.
But Luo Yuezhu was wearing plain clothes today. If she walked in directly, her sleeves and hem might touch the stone walls on both sides and become dirty.
The gap is about three meters long, with a slightly larger turn in the middle, which creates some visual illusions.
If you don't lie down in the crack and look inside carefully, you usually won't be able to discover that there is something else inside the stone wall.
"Master, sit down." Luo Yuezhu, who came out first, quickly brushed away the snow on the stone bench with his hands.
It is not entirely appropriate to call it a stone bench. In fact, it is just a relatively flat stone that has not been polished twice.
"Is this the little paradise you discovered before?" Jing Ke asked, looking around and taking in the environment.
After passing through the gap, the view didn't expand much. The stone walls were still on all sides, and the open space was only about 200 square meters. There were not many plum blossoms inside, only thirteen in total, and one of them was particularly petite.
"Well, I discovered it when I was six years old. I came here with my...sister. This is the small tree that my sister and I planted together." Luo Yuezhu said, with a hint of sadness in her tone.
However, Luo Yuezhu quickly adjusted her mood and reached out to tug at her master's sleeve. "Master, can you help me record my height?"
"Okay, how do we record it? Just draw a line on the stone wall?" Jing Ke asked.
Luo Yuezhu nodded and quickly found traces of previous years in the familiar place.
Since she was six years old, every time Luo Yuezhu came to the plum blossom forest to enjoy the snow, she would ask her elder sister to help her write her height on the stone wall.
Just when Luo Yuezhu wanted to find a stone that was easy to scratch for her master, she was stopped.
Jing Ke pinched his little apprentice's cold face and said, "Have you forgotten that I am a martial arts master? I can use my internal energy to leave marks on the stone wall, without using stone."
"Master is so amazing." Luo Yuezhu praised from the bottom of his heart, and then stood in the same place as in previous years, waiting for his master to leave new marks on the stone wall.
Six years old, seven years old, eight years old, nine years old, and now ten years old.
When Luo Yuezhu saw the particularly clear and obvious fifth scratch, her nose couldn't help but feel sore. Even though she tried hard to control her emotions, tears still rolled out of her eyes like pearls.
Seeing this, Jing Ke didn't say much. When the little disciple was about to wipe away her tears with the back of her hand, he took out a soft handkerchief and stuffed it into her hand.
Luo Yuezhu sniffed, "Master, I, I..."
"What's wrong?" Jing Ke asked patiently.
"Can I hug you, Master?" Luo Yuezhu asked.
Jing Ke did not give an answer, but she quickly half-crouched down, making herself look a little shorter than her little apprentice.
This posture is very suitable for hugging. Luo Yuezhu does not need to stand on tiptoe to hug her master's body. She can even bury her head on her master's shoulder temporarily, exposing her vulnerable side without any scruples.
Jing Ke patted his little apprentice on the back and said, "If you need anything, you can tell me. I will help you achieve whatever I can."
Jing Ke has no so-called relatives, and she doesn’t understand what it means for her relatives to leave.
But Jing Ke had loved someone before, and she had watched more than once as her lover's vitality faded away bit by bit, and the person in her arms slowly grew cold and stiff over time.
"Master, will you abandon me? Will you abandon me in three years?" Perhaps because she once again thought of leaving her loved ones forever, Luo Yuezhu asked the question she was afraid of for the first time.
"Of course not. Once I become your master, I will be your master for life." Jing Ke said, gently stroking the little disciple's back to soothe her emotions.
"You too are my disciple now and will be my disciple in the future. The inheritance of our sect will depend on you. You are the only 23rd generation disciple of our sect." Jing Ke said.
Luo Yuezhu sniffed, her attention slowly drawn to what her master said.
"Master, I am the only disciple of the 23rd generation? What about the other uncles and uncles in the sect? Don't they accept disciples?" Luo Yuezhu asked.
Jing Ke shook his head. "I am the only 22nd generation disciple. You are my only disciple, so you are naturally the only 23rd generation disciple."
"Master, don't you have any senior sisters or junior sisters?" Luo Yuezhu asked, "Then when you were practicing martial arts, were you alone?"
"And my master. But it seems that my master is also a single-line inheritor. She didn't want the sect's inheritance to be broken with her, so she took advantage of the faction that I couldn't speak yet and made me her apprentice."
Jing Ke searched through his memories and said that it was similar to the previous two worlds. He was really born and existed, but now he has no relatives alive.
Whether it was the so-called father whom he had never met, the mother who gave all her internal energy to him and committed suicide when he was six years old, or the master who raised him until he was eighteen and followed in his mother's footsteps and was also his part-time aunt, they were all gone.
It may be because there is nothing in the world worth their attachment, or it may be that their fate has come, and the world consciousness has helped Tianyanmen and made them the so-called 22nd generation successors.
Luo Yuezhu nodded in confusion. This was the first time her master shared his own affairs with her.
"Are you hungry? Do you want to try the snacks you brought?" Jing Ke asked. Not wanting to talk too much about the secrets hidden behind the master's sect, she quickly changed the subject.
"Just a little bit, Master, please have some snacks too." Luo Yuezhu said.
Her eye sockets and nose were still red, but the little pearls had stopped falling.
"Okay." Jing Ke wiped away the remaining tears on the little disciple's face with her fingertips. "Let me, your master, try the snacks you chose. If they are delicious, I will buy them with you next time."
Sweet, very sweet taste.
But it’s not the kind of sweet that makes you feel sick, but rather a sweetness with a hint of fragrance, and there’s a lingering sweetness after swallowing.
In the absence of various technologies, the secret recipes of dim sum passed down from generation to generation are still quite good. Not only are they exquisite in appearance, but each dim sum also tastes slightly different. When you eat one bite at a time, you don’t have to worry about getting tired of them.
I brought snacks and naturally brought water as well.
However, Jing Ke did not bring boiled water. Her water bag contained the wine she bought when she was strolling outside. The alcohol content was not high, but it tasted good, refreshing and had a sweet aftertaste, which was a perfect match for the snacks chosen by her little apprentice.
After eating something, Jing Ke stared at the plum trees for a while, his mind clearing. He counted the number of plum trees one by one twice with a bit of boredom.
When counting to the third time, Jing Ke couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.
If you remove the slightly dwarf plum tree, the remaining twelve plum trees don't seem to be planted randomly. There seems to be a medium-sized formation hidden inside, and it's a formation that Jing Ke is slightly familiar with.
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