"Lu Jianxing, you are seeking revenge for your personal gain!"

"You are blaming me for not filling your vacancy as a Hundred Households!"

In the alley, Xu Xianchun, who was being escorted by two Jinyiwei, was shouting with a ferocious look on his face.

Then, Xu Xianchun's tone changed, and a certain non-existent hope emerged in his eyes when he looked at Lu Jianxing, and he said in a negotiable tone: "Lu Jianxing, if you let me go, if you let me go, I will definitely let you become a centurion - ah!"

Before he could finish, Shen Lian next to him grabbed his chin and with a little force, removed his jaw.

"Take it away."

Shen Lian waved his hand, and the Jinyiwei around him surrounded him and escorted Xu Xianchun forward.

Lu Jianxing did not follow him. He looked at Xu Xianchun's struggling back and sighed softly, "Wei Zhongxian has fallen, but he, a dismissed governor, is still so arrogant."

Shen Lian sneered: "Brother, the eunuch party has deep roots..."

Lu Jianxing frowned and whispered, "Second brother, be careful with your words."

Shen Lian closed his mouth, nodded silently, and said no more.

At this moment, a long whistle suddenly came from an alley not far away.

Jin Yichuan, who was silently listening to the conversation between his two brothers, was slightly moved, and his eyes unconsciously glanced in the direction where the voice came from.

Finally appeared!

Lin Zhongtian, who had been squatting on the rooftop of Chen Mansion watching the show for a long time, suddenly became cheerful and a smile appeared on his face.

Without hesitation, Lin Zhongtian leaped up and jumped over the heads of the three brothers without any hesitation.

Lu Jianxing, who was immersed in the reflections on the sinister nature of officialdom, did not notice the dark shadow leaping over his head.

Jin Yichuan, whose attention had been drawn to his senior brother Ding Xiu's whistle, did not notice it.

Only Shen Lian caught a glimpse of the black shadow in the air. He couldn't help but put his hand on the hilt of the knife and shouted.

“Who is it?!”

Hearing Shen Lian's shout, Lu Jianxing and the surrounding Jinyiwei quickly became alert. They drew their swords at their waists, stood back to back, formed a circle on the spot, and vigilantly scanned the surrounding rooftops.

Jin Yichuan's reaction was even greater. He drew out his pair of Flying Swallow swords and quickly climbed up to the roof by pushing off the wall.

But soon, Jin Yichuan put away his two swords and jumped down from the roof lightly.

Lu Jianxing stepped forward quickly and asked in a deep voice, "Did you find anything?"

Jin Yichuan shook his head, sheathed his two swords, and said with a relaxed smile: "I didn't see any human figures, but I heard two cat calls coming from the alley next door. Maybe it was a wild cat from somewhere."

“…”

Shen Lian frowned, looked at him deeply, and silently put the half-drawn Xiuchun Sword back.

Lu Jianxing was still a little worried. After a little thought, he took his men to chase out of the alley, preparing to report the situation to Xu Xianchun's colleagues who were escorting him.

It would be even better if I could take the opportunity to sneak into the escort team and get more credit.

At this moment, Jin Yichuan coughed twice at the right time.

His two brothers also knew his physical condition. Seeing this, they asked him to go back and rest and not to participate in the next action.

Jin Yichuan showed gratitude, nodded, and watched his two brothers lead the team away.

Before leaving, Shen Lian deliberately slowed down, pulled Jin Yichuan's arm and whispered.

"Yichuan, don't blame my second brother for being too talkative. This is really not a solution."

After saying that, Shen Lian patted him on the shoulder and strode to catch up with Lu Jianxing.

Looking at his second brother's departing back, Jin Yichuan gritted his teeth, looking a little unnatural.

At the same time, Lin Zhongtian had already found Ding Xiu's location.

At this time, Ding Zheng was in a bun shop, looking for the cold buns left over from the daytime sales.

Looking at the figure in the bun shop, Lin Zhongtian smiled slightly, stretched out his hand to knock on the door, and said with a chuckle: "According to Volume 18 of the Great Ming Code, Article 16, anyone who steals but does not obtain any property shall be flogged fifty times, but exempted from tattooing. However, if the property is obtained, the owner shall be considered as the most important person, and the crime shall be treated as stolen goods. The first offense shall be tattooed with the word "theft" on the right forearm, the second offense shall be tattooed on the left forearm, and the third offense shall be strangled - ah, I forgot to ask, which offense is this?"

“…”

Hearing the sudden sound at the door of the bun shop, Ding Xiu paused.

But then he continued to search, saying indifferently, "What do you mean? I don't understand."

Lin Zhongtian curled his lips and explained patiently, "It means that if you stop now, the government will punish you with fifty lashes, but you will not be impaled. If you do not stop, you will have to tattoo the word "theft" on your forearm, and the sentence will be based on the amount of money you stole. I see that you only stole a few buns, so the law won't punish you too severely, at most sixty lashes!"

"……oh?"

Upon hearing this, Ding Xiu stood up, munching on a bun in his left hand, and picked up a long object wrapped in black leather on the table with his right hand. After putting it on his shoulder, he looked at Lin Zhongtian at the door with interest.

"What if I paid?"

Lin Zhongtian's gaze turned and fell on the table to his left, on which lay five greasy copper coins.

I really paid...

Lin Zhongtian raised his eyebrows, his smile unchanged, and said in a leisurely tone: "Ming Dynasty Law Volume 18, Article 24, anyone who enters a person's home without reason at night shall be beaten with 80 sticks, and the host shall kill him immediately without further ado."

"Are you the master?"

"no."

Lin Zhongtian shook his head honestly.

Ding Xiu smiled: "In that case, aren't you and I guilty of the same crime?"

Lin Zhongtian shook his head again and pointed to the threshold under his feet: "I didn't go in."

"…So I can't avoid this beating, right?"

"If I were to file a complaint."

"So are you going to sue the authorities?"

Facing Ding Xiu's increasingly sharp eyes, Lin Zhongtian suddenly laughed and pointed at his face.

"You don't know me?"

"You are not a silver, why should I know you?"

"Then... do you recognize this hand?"

Lin Zhongtian smiled and raised his right hand, his sleeves slipped down, revealing five hideous white bone spurs.

Seeing this scene, Ding Xiu's pupils shrank and he stopped chewing.

Then, he swallowed the bun in his hand in a few bites, then held the long object wrapped in black leather with both hands, leaned it in front of him, and looked at the smiling Lin Zhongtian in front of him.

At this moment, the calmness and composure on his face no longer existed.

Instead, there was a look of vigilance and solemnity.

"Are you the Skeleton Demon Hand who wiped out the entire Liu family?"

“…”

Hearing this nickname, the smile on Lin Zhongtian's face froze.

"Just call me Fu Qingyun."

"It seems you don't like this title."

Ding Xiu smiled, raised the long object in his hand, and pulled out the slender Miao Dao from the black leather sheath. He stared at the shiny blade and said leisurely, "Since you are a well-known demon in the martial arts world, your visit to me should not be as simple as just passing by to say hello, right?"

"It seems that even if I say yes, you won't believe it."

Ding Xiu did not comment, but suddenly took a small step forward. At the same time, he slightly moved the knife from his left hand to his right hand, grabbed the handle of the knife with his right hand, and swung it up with a fierce force, slashing diagonally from bottom to top towards Lin Zhongtian's chest.

This move is exactly the sword-drawing style in the "Xinyou Sword Technique" created by Qi Jiguang.

It is adapted from the Chinese sword-drawing technique and the Japanese sword-drawing technique Iai Slash.

However, compared with the Iai Slash sword-drawing technique, this move is more powerful, has greater force, and a narrower angle. It does not require the same environment as the normal sword-drawing technique. Even in a narrow place like a bun shop, it can exert 70% to 80% of its power.

Faced with such a sharp knife, Lin Zhongtian remained calm. He pushed his feet and stepped back several steps.

Ding Xiu had anticipated this, so he held back some strength when he swung his sword.

With a chop in the air, Ding Xiu turned his wrist and held the handle of the knife with both hands above his right shoulder, with his right hand on top, slightly pressing down on his left hand, with the tip of the knife pointing slightly downward, while his left foot took a step forward.

Then Ding Xiu continued to walk, and took a step forward with his right foot. The tip of the knife drew an arc in the air. He held the handle of the knife with both hands and swung it from the right to the left, holding it above his left shoulder in the same way.

This went on repeatedly, the offensive was continuous like a rainstorm, forcing Lin Zhongtian out of the bun shop.