Chapter 142 The Skirt Blade is First Stained with Blood
"What do you think, Fairy? How about this approach?"
Inside the bamboo grove and the waiting pavilion.
Liu Liu clasped his hands together and respectfully asked the "Jade Cup Fairy" who had returned from outside the pavilion, dressed in official robes.
Observing this lifelike illusion technique up close, Liu Liu and Liu Qi couldn't help but turn their heads and look at each other.
Is this the legendary Qi cultivator? He actually possesses such a substitution technique. The real person has already been beheaded in the Beitian Charity Home, but the dummy he created has taken his place, manipulating everyone outside...
A hint of fear appeared in both of their eyes.
Outside the pavilion, Ouyang Rong did not immediately respond.
His silence put a lot of pressure on Liu Qi and Liu Liu, who couldn't help but wonder if they had done something wrong.
The air inside and outside the pavilion was quiet for a moment.
Ouyang Rong silently withdrew his foot from the step he was about to take and run away.
He stood still, giving the skinny, monkey-like man and the burly man inside the pavilion a proper once-over.
Then she looked at the pitiful Xiufa lying on the ground, unconscious.
He also glanced at the jade-handled white sandalwood sword lying quietly on the tray on the table.
Ouyang Rong silently lowered his hands, which were tucked into his sleeves, and stood them at his sides.
Besides everything happening inside and outside the pavilion, and connecting it with some information revealed in the conversation between the two strangers, wave after wave of things came together...
This is quite a lot of information.
Ouyang Rong pursed his lips and suddenly nodded to Liu Liu and Liu Qi inside the pavilion.
Before the latter two could even breathe a sigh of relief, they saw Ouyang Rong walk straight forward, enter the pavilion, and come to their side.
Liu Liu and Liu Qi both lowered their heads and stepped aside to make way.
Liu Liu smiled obsequiously: "Does the fairy have any other instructions?"
Ouyang Rong pointed towards the direction of the Beitian Aid Home outside the bamboo forest, slowly opened his mouth, and softly tried to say:
"The people inside...are...dead?"
Liu Liu nodded hurriedly and said casually:
"Ouyang Lianghan has been inside for half an hour and hasn't come out yet. He's definitely dead, but we don't know how he died."
"Hey, I just hope that young hero from Chang'an doesn't go too far, otherwise piecing together the corpse will be a hassle, and it won't look too convincing as if he committed suicide out of guilt."
Ouyang Rong raised an eyebrow.
I resisted the urge to look back in the direction of the Beitian Nursing Home.
He smiled slightly, as if about to speak, but after catching a glimpse of the awe-inspiring glances from the two people in front of him, he suppressed his smile, even turning his lips down.
Ouyang Rong changed his usual familiar and gentle tone to a calm, indifferent, and even stern one:
"Oh. But it would be best to go in and check first."
As expected, Liu Liu and Liu Qi showed no doubt about Ouyang Rong's demeanor or tone. Their furrowed brows grew even more cautious as they bowed and said:
"Yes, Your Excellency, you are too cautious. It was our oversight. We will go in and take a look first."
"snort."
Ouyang Rong snorted lightly, nodded, then shook his head.
Liu Liu and Liu Qi, who had been paying close attention to Ouyang Rong's expression, were at a loss. Having such an unpredictable old female boss was indeed a difficult situation.
Ouyang Rong lowered his eyes, straightened his sleeves, and said softly:
"Take care of things first."
Despite his frail appearance, the scholar stood calmly before the two burly men, tilting his head slightly to glance at the unconscious woman lying on the ground.
Liu Qi was lightly elbowed in the waist by Liu Liu. He belatedly realized what was happening and quickly nodded, saying:
"Fairy, let me move it, let me move it. I'll go dig a hole in the woods first."
Liu Qi stepped forward, grabbed one of Xiu Fa's legs, and dragged her out of the pavilion. The little bald head was making a "clattering" sound as she went down the steps.
Ouyang Rong suppressed the twitching at the corner of his mouth, thought for a moment, and then coldly mentioned:
"How can you do this job? You drag it on the floor, what are you going to do about the marks it leaves?"
"Oh, oh." Liu Qi was taken aback, then hoisted her hair onto her shoulder, walked out of the pavilion, and hid deep in the bamboo forest.
The burly man left temporarily, leaving only the young county magistrate and the skinny man in the waiting pavilion.
Liu Liu had no doubts and nodded and bowed, saying:
“Immortal, I’ll go to the nursing home first to see how Ouyang Lianghan died. I won’t disturb you any longer. You should retrieve your skirt knife and go there as soon as possible, lest Ouyang Lianghan’s men become suspicious.”
"Um."
Ouyang Rong responded with a nasal sound, neither confirming nor denying.
He lifted his foot forward and walked silently to Liu Liu's side.
The two were less than two steps apart, almost touching.
Liu Liu was taken aback, his steps faltering as he was about to leave. Facing Ouyang Rong's approach, he lowered his voice and whispered:
"Does the fairy have any other instructions?"
Ouyang Rong stood with his hands behind his back and his eyes lowered.
Her calm expression revealed nothing of her inner thoughts.
He seemed to pause for a moment, carefully choosing his words, before speaking:
"The Liu family... um... how should I put it?"
Liu Liu, who was whispering to Ouyang Rong with his head down, looked puzzled and blurted out:
"Hasn't everything been arranged by the master? All you need to do, fairy, is bring the person over. The master and the second master are waiting for you at the Di Gong Gate... Is there anything else you don't understand, fairy?"
Ouyang Rong couldn't help but glance at Liu Liu.
He immediately frowned and nodded: "Do you need to tell me that? What I wanted to ask was... never mind, hmph."
Liu Liu's expression changed slightly, and his tone became a little flustered. He quickly said:
"I apologize, fairy. I am a rough man and misspoke. Please don't take offense at my lowly servant. If you have any other questions, please ask."
Ouyang Rong glared at him coldly, glanced at him, and said nothing more.
Liu Liu's face paled even more, and his body trembled with fear. He was quite well-connected among the servants and servants of the Liu family.
Liu Liu had heard a little about the deeds of the female priestess of the Dragon King Temple in the ancient Yue sword shop, and he became increasingly afraid.
Ouyang Rong silently observed the skinny man's reaction.
He suddenly took a step back, opened his arms, spun half a circle on the spot, and asked with a sneer, "Does this outfit look like it?"
Liu Liu quickly nodded, changing the subject from the previous unfavorable one, and clapped his hands in flattery:
"It's just like her, so very much like her. The female immortal's Taoist magic and immortal techniques are unpredictable, and she has become exactly like that hotheaded county magistrate."
Ouyang Rong smiled faintly, glanced at the sky outside the pavilion, and then glanced at the bamboo grove where Liu Qi had temporarily left.
He calmly turned his head toward the stone table with a tray inside the pavilion, and slightly raised his chin.
He gestured.
Liu Liu immediately stepped forward and cleverly arrived in front of the stone table.
The tray on the table was covered with a red cloth with gold trim.
The skinny man held up his palms, through a red cloth with gold trim, the white sandalwood sheath of the jade-handled white sandalwood sword.
He returned to Ouyang Rong, bent down, and carefully presented it.
"Female immortal, please!"
Ouyang Rong, who seemed to be preparing to leave with the skirt-shaped knife, smiled and gave Liu Liu a rather satisfied look.
Holding the knife in both hands, Liu Liu kept a close watch on his surroundings and, seeing the situation, immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Ouyang Rong stepped forward, getting closer to Liu Liu.
He slightly raised his chin, relaxed and at ease, and raised his right hand to catch the knife.
However, to Liu Liu's surprise, Ouyang Rong raised his right hand but did not grab the blade or scabbard to receive the knife. Instead, he put his five fingers together and gripped the jade hilt of the skirt knife, drawing the knife horizontally.
Before Liu Liu could think further, his hands, holding the knife, instinctively gripped the scabbard through the red cloth, helping the calm-faced young man in front of him to draw the knife.
Thus, under the silent sunlight slanting into the pavilion, the jade-handled skirt knife, exclusively belonging to a certain eldest daughter of one of the five noble families, was drawn straight from its white sandalwood scabbard.
From slow to fast, from gentle to urgent, from silent to whistling as the blade rubs against the scabbard.
And then, accompanied by a "clang".
What followed was a bizarre scene unfolding inside the pavilion, silent as a black-and-white silent film:
The tall, thin man held the knife in both hands, respectfully handed it to the young man, gripped the scabbard tightly, and helped him draw the knife in one stroke.
The young man used his other hand to pull the tall, thin man into his arms. The two were pressed tightly together, and the snow-white blade plunged into the man's chest without any resistance.
The exceptionally sharp blade pierced the flesh with almost no sound.
It's like inserting silver knives and forks into a freshly baked hot butter cake.
The only sound in the air was the erratic beating of the tall, thin man's heart.
This was the only sound that Ouyang Rong, who was pressed tightly against Liu Liu, could hear.
Out of the corner of his eye, Ouyang Rong also saw that with each erratic heartbeat, the man's body would convulse, and hot blood would gush from the corner of his still smiling, astonished face.
"Junior Sister's skirt knife is quite nice."
This was the only thought that popped into Ouyang Rong's mind at this moment, after his second murder.
Liu Liu leaned forward and tilted to one side, but Ouyang Rong supported him with one hand on his shoulder.
Between the two people who were pressed close together.
There was a hand gripping the hilt of the jade target knife, the back of the hand was pale and bloodless, and even the veins were showing.
He was trembling as he gripped the knife hilt tightly.
Ouyang Rong remained calm, and instead of supporting him, he pushed Liu Liu forward with a casual gesture.
The latter remained in the position of holding the knife in both hands, but his body was limp and collapsed on the ground like mud.
This servant of the Liu family was unable to use any of his martial arts skills.
Ouyang Rong squatted down, knife in hand, with blood dripping rapidly from the tip of the knife, which was placed diagonally downwards in front of his knees.
He bent down and took the red cloth with gold trim from the hand of the convulsing, thin man, and silently wiped the blade.
Liu Liu mumbled something under his breath, and his eyes, which were gradually losing their luster, seemed to still reveal a kind of disbelief.
Ouyang Rong didn't bother to listen.
He buried his head and carefully wiped the slightly trembling, snow-white blade.
In his previous life, Ouyang Rong had seen it in a niche post that popularized obscure facts.
To attack a person's heart, you need to hold the knife horizontally with the handle and the blade parallel to your ribs.
This makes it easier to insert the needle into the gap between the ribs, and it can easily pierce the heart from below the xiphoid process.
Great, this little-known fact has finally come into the spotlight.
It's quite practical; even a semi-novice like him could easily stab his heart.
Ouyang Rong suddenly felt that the time he had wasted in the past, when he was not studying in class, was not wasted by slacking off and scrolling on his phone.
The advantage of using a red cloth is that it won't be too noticeable after wiping away bloodstains.
However, on the floor inside the pavilion, streaks of blood spread like a map.
A still damp, red cloth with gold trim was thrown on the ground onto the thin, tall man's increasingly cold face, which was staring at him with dead fish eyes.
Ouyang Rong did not pick up the white sandalwood scabbard on the ground. Instead, he stood up in the pavilion and looked around.
There was no one around, only the rustling of bamboo leaves.
A young man picked up his knife, turned around, and silently walked into the depths of the bamboo forest.
They did not run away.
In the bamboo forest not far away.
A burly man was skillfully using a shovel to dig a hole, stroke by stroke.
Beside the pit, a young novice monk with an extremely bright forehead lay reclining, with two large swollen bumps on the back of his head, his eyes closed as if he had fallen into some kind of coma.
Suddenly, as if hearing some noise, the man in the pit looked up in surprise.
"What brings you here, fairy? Where is Sixth Brother?"
"I've gone to collect Ouyang Lianghan's body."
Ouyang Rong, who had walked silently from outside the bamboo grove, answered calmly.
He walked to the pit with his hands behind his back, glanced at the pit suitable for lying flat, and nodded slightly.
“We’ve dug deep enough. Let’s go find your sixth brother and help him out.”
"Yes, fairy."
Liu Qi nodded blankly, threw the shovel up, and climbed up.
Ouyang Rong glanced at Liu Qi, who was agile and easily flipped over the pit.
He gripped the white jade hilt a little tighter.
A skirt-shaped knife stood upright behind Ouyang Rong, close to his cervical vertebrae, slightly lower than his neck.
Liu Qi tidied up the things beside the pit, dusted off his hands, and turned to nod to Ouyang Rong, who had his hands behind his back:
"All done, let's go, fairy."
The burly man did not immediately step forward, but instead gestured for Ouyang Rong to go first and lead the way.
Ouyang Rong seemed to be in a daze, staring down at the pit next to him.
"A female immortal?"
Despite his honest appearance, Liu Qi didn't leave first, and repeated the question with a curious expression.
Ouyang Rong seemed to have come to his senses. He looked at him, nodded, and prepared to turn around.
Suddenly, Ouyang Rong's expression changed drastically, and he stared wide-eyed at a certain spot behind Liu Qi:
"careful!"
Liu Qi quickly turned around and looked back, exposing his back.
Ouyang Rong's expression shifted from surprise to calm.
He flipped his wrist behind his back.
A flash of snow-white light appeared suddenly, slashing diagonally towards the back of Liu Qi's head.
But who would have thought that this burly man seemed to have been on guard all along?
He leaned back nimbly, and the blade swept across three inches above his eyebrow.
The first cut missed.
The expected head falling to the ground did not happen, and Ouyang Rong did not panic.
Using the momentum from the first strike, he flipped his body around, took a step forward, and unleashed a second strike.
"Such a strong smell of blood, what did you do to Sixth Brother...?"
Having cautiously dodged the first blow, Liu Qi's face was filled with shock and anger. Before he could finish speaking, the second blow struck his face.
The burly man, who had been relentlessly chased and slashed, was already unsteady on his feet. In desperation, he took a step back, only to find... a pit he had dug behind him.
He stepped into thin air and lost his balance in mid-air.
But the blade was already upon them.
Accompanied by a scream of agony.
Half a hand flew into the sky, then fell to the ground, its fingers still wriggling.
Liu Qi swung his right hand in front of him to maintain his balance, and half of his palm was cut off.
However, the burly man reacted extremely quickly, grabbing Ouyang Rong's right wrist as he swung his knife with his left hand and pulling him into his "arms".
Even under normal circumstances, the thin and frail Ouyang Rong would not be able to match the strength of a strong man, let alone the power that the man unleashed at this moment when he was facing life and death.
If the latter hadn't been unarmed against a blade, and hadn't been caught off guard by a sneak attack, he wouldn't have been caught off guard.
Ouyang Rong estimated that he wouldn't last more than three rounds against him.
But reality doesn't offer so many "what ifs".
Ouyang Rong, wielding a knife, and Liu Qi, whose hand was severed, fell into the pit together.
Immediately, a roar of pain and fury came from within the pit: "You're not a female immortal, you really are..."
The man remained silent. In the dimly lit pit, only the flash of a silver blade echoed, and his words were cut short as he clenched his teeth.
Inside a narrow, low-lying pit.
A life-or-death struggle was unfolding in silence.
Only one person can crawl out alive.
At this moment, Ouyang Rong's mind was completely blank.
Any action taken by the body to kill the opponent is driven by a fleeting animal instinct.
But for some reason, a sentence his junior sister had said to him with a smile during a carriage ride once surfaced in his mind with overwhelming intensity:
When two armies meet on a narrow path, the brave one will prevail.
(End of this chapter)
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