Knife splashing

Chapter 667 A dark and windy night

As night fell, the occasional barking of dogs could be heard from the darkness.

The three young men were arm in arm, shaking their arms, and turned into the alley behind the Hou family.

The short and strong man in the lead held a reed in his mouth, put his hand into his open collar, and kept rubbing the sweat and mud off. "This...this is the new girl from Cui Xi Tang. Your breasts are very soft. Let's...suck on the longevity cream. It will make you feel comfortable."

However, the thinner tattooed Qingpi behind him looked a little hesitant, "Brother, have you heard that Yan Laosan and his gang had an addiction at the dock today, and died not long after returning. Their bodies are still in the river."

"Several people have died in the past two months. Why don't we stop smoking..."

Snapped!
Before he could finish his words, he was slapped by the short and strong man, who cursed him, "I...I said your head was kicked by a donkey. Once this thing stops, it will be more painful than death. I won't bear that pain!"

After saying that, he pushed the thin man hard and continued walking forward.

The scarred and green-skinned man hugged the thin man, half mocking himself and half comforting him: "Brother, don't think about that. When we drank the blood wine and joined the gang, we had already put our heads on the belt."

"We're all going to die sooner or later anyway, so why not just do it the best way possible!"

This may seem like a self-destructive statement, but it is actually true.

These hooligans in Tianjin may not be very skilled in martial arts, but they are all very difficult to deal with.

A warrior's body is as precious as oil, but they don't care.

Drawing life and death lots, armed fights, jumping into oil pans, branding the body with red iron to show authority...all kinds of horrific incidents are happening one after another. For the sake of face and profit, nothing can be ignored.

Anyway, there is only one principle: don’t be a coward.

Even if someone dug out your eyeballs and stepped on them, you would pick them up and swallow them without batting an eyelid.

There is today but no tomorrow. If you don’t enjoy yourself in time, you will lose out.

Just like today, when the news came out that the Wang family wanted to escape, their boss was too busy to deal with it and asked them to give them a warning. The three of them took the opportunity to blackmail them.

The money earned, if spent frugally, is enough for a family of three to cover expenses for a year.

But they wanted to finish the night and didn't even want to pay back their gambling debts...

After walking a short distance, rows of big red lanterns appeared in front of us.

Originally, the area of ​​Houjia Hutong was home to many wealthy families. However, many years ago, a demon appeared in Tianjin who was good at using fire magic and escape techniques. He would sneak into the houses of these wealthy families every night and harm countless girls and women.

Later, when the incident happened, the masters of Xuanmen set up a trap to encircle them.

The demon was blocked with no way to go up to the sky or down to the earth, so he started a fire that burned several houses in succession, causing heavy casualties. It was considered a major case of the mysterious sect in Tianjin at that time.

Since then, Houjia Hutong has fallen into decline.

The poor couldn't afford to live there, and the rich thought it was unlucky. Only the madams of brothels took a fancy to this place. They bought it and moved in, hung up lanterns, and their business became more and more prosperous.

One of them has a facade that was converted from a three-courtyard house.

Reed fluff was stuffed in the cracks of the blue brick walls, and two strings of silk lanterns were hung on the eaves. The candlelight shone through the oil paper with the words "Cui Xi Tang" on it, making the moles on the doorman's face shine brightly.

The three men staggered over, and Turtle Man immediately nodded and bowed to greet them.

"Master Wu, you haven't been here for a while."

"Stop…stop talking nonsense!"

The short and strong man patted the old man on the shoulder and said, "Call the new ones here, and serve them good wine and good food."

As he said that, he patted his chest and said, "Man, I have... I have plenty of money!"

The turtle man was full of flattery, bent down and raised his hand, "It's the day to eat crabs, Master Wu, please come in!"

“Good…hahaha…”

Led by Mr. Turtle, the three of them stepped over the lantern door lintel.

In the dark alley in the distance, Li Yan also walked out slowly.

After finding out the reason from the Wang family, he immediately started tracking.

Although these three young thugs left first, they could not escape his pursuit.

But what annoyed Li Yan was that he originally wanted to follow and find the people behind them, but he didn't expect that these three idiots took the money and ran away to live happily!

Li Yan's eyes flashed with murderous intent and he quickly disappeared into the darkness.

There is no need for any escape techniques to sneak into this brothel.

The hidden power burst out from his feet, and his body was as sharp as an arrow, yet silent. He took two steps to the base of the brothel wall, leaped into the air, stepped on the courtyard wall, and quickly came to the roof beams.

Li Yan was very familiar with this brothel as he had taken refuge with Zhao Wanfang in Chang'an.

If classified by nature, there are "government-run" and "privately-run".

The government-run institution was the famous "Jiaofangsi".

But this number is limited after all, and the majority are privately owned and have strict hierarchies.

The first class is called "Qingyin Xiaoban" or "Shuyu", which are mainly for "selling arts". Not to mention the appearance of the women, they are also required to be proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, and to receive literati or wealthy businessmen, so the venue is extremely luxurious.

Often, it is a place where the rich and powerful entertain guests and discuss matters.

The powerful women there have extensive connections, and they help to make connections and even buy and sell intelligence, such as the Jinyanmen where Zhao Wanfang is.

The lower-level ones are both geishas and prostitutes, and their customers are mostly small businessmen and scholars.

Needless to say, the worst ones are often located in crowded areas at the docks. The place is simple and shabby, the women are old or sick, and the people they receive are all porters and coolies. They are called "nail sheds."

The one in front of me is considered the third grade.

The place is large, with all kinds of people gathered here, so it looks a bit chaotic.

In the middle of the front yard patio, there was a cypress gambling table with candlelight ablaze. A group of men were placing bets while holding pancakes in their mouths. The aroma of chopped green onions mixed with the sour smell of sweat, accompanied by various shouts, rushed straight to the second floor.

Every time a gambler wins money, he always receives compliments from the woman in his arms.

As for the courtyard in the middle, it is relatively hidden.

The east, west, south and north wing rooms were made into small single rooms with pink silk curtains hanging at the doors. Through the propped up windows, one could see wine and food on the table inside, as well as a smoking couch with a window.

As for the backyard, it is where the girls change and stay.

Densely packed clotheslines were erected, hanging clothes and beddings of all colors.

Li Yan walked across the roof with his body lowered, then took a deep breath and looked towards the second floor of the central courtyard.

I saw that the decoration in the innermost "Tian Zi Hao" room on the second floor was obviously much more luxurious. There was a wool blanket on the floor, but under the blanket, half of a reed mat was visible.

There is an erotic painting hanging on the wall, which looks particularly ambiguous under the candlelight.

There was pine sawdust burning in the copper brazier, and the smoke was so severe that the edges of the paper-cuts with the words "Attract Wealth and Treasure" on the beams curled up.

The short and strong man had collapsed on the smoking couch, his eyes slightly narrowed, and the sparks from the copper pipe flickered.

In almost every other room, someone was smoking Fu Shou Gao.

After seeing this, Li Yan could no longer conceal the murderous intent in his heart.

He has now completely confirmed that the Jinghai Gang is definitely in collusion with "Jianmu".

Moreover, this force is not small.

The foreign merchant Mendes, who has the aura of evil spirits on him, and the Tianjin navy may be involved in this.

Opium was spread through brothels and gambling houses.

The officials in Tianjin are probably also involved!

Because of the influence of his previous life, he hated this thing deeply.

I didn’t expect that in a different world, drugs would still spread to China!
Seeing that the short and strong man was smoking to ecstasy, Li Yan no longer hesitated and jumped down.

Inside the side room, the prostitute in pink satin had just brought the fruit plate when she suddenly saw a dark shadow climbing in from the window. She wanted to scream in fear, but her eyes went dark and she passed out.

After knocking the kiln girl unconscious, Li Yan looked at the short and strong man.

The secret agent was quite alert. Although he felt dizzy, he still reached out for the knife.

But just as he was about to turn over, he suddenly froze and was unable to move.

He only felt that his vision was gradually getting darker, as if his consciousness had sunk into the deep sea, and there was darkness and silence all around him.

This feeling is just like being dead.

The short and strong man was usually very ferocious. When he was fighting with others, he would even use a knife to cut the flesh from his legs and eat it raw without changing his expression. He often said, "At worst, I can be a brave man again in twenty years."

But this feeling really made him panic.

Li Yan, on the other hand, stood aside indifferently.

He had already used the soul-catching rope to suppress the man's soul. The reason he used a butcher knife to kill a chicken was, firstly, he didn't want to make too much noise, and secondly, he wanted to use this method to force a confession.

After a few breaths, Li Yan retracted the soul-catching rope.

The short and stocky man slowly woke up, his eyes full of fear.

This short period of time seemed like a whole day to him.

"You... who are you?" The short and strong man asked with sweat on his forehead, gritting his teeth.

"Stop talking nonsense. I ask questions and you answer them!"

Li Yan asked in a deep voice: "Who ordered the murder of Wu Qu of Cangzhou?"

"Brother, I...I don't know..."

The short and strong man didn't dare to admit it, but before he could finish his words, everything in front of him became dark again.

Li Yan didn't waste any time and directly used the soul-catching rope.

After going back and forth a few times, the man finally broke down, "I'll tell you...I'll tell you!"

"The Third Master asked me to do it!"

Faced with this terrifying magic, the short and strong man's stuttering even improved a lot.

Li Yan narrowed his eyes slightly, "Who is the Third Master?"

The short and strong man gritted his teeth and said, "Jinghai Gang, Yu Wenhai, lights the third incense stick. Everyone in the gang... everyone in the gang calls him Third Master. This... this hero, this matter has nothing to do with me."

"No nonsense!"

Li Yan scolded again and continued to ask questions.

Finally, I found out what happened from the man.

A sorcerer named Zhou came to Tianjin from other places a few years ago. He took advantage of the Wang family's conspiracy to lure and kill the living Yin messenger. He was very careful at first, but after the collapse of the Huangquan organization, he became more and more brazen.

Later, the Jinghai Gang somehow found out about this.

They first controlled the sorcerer named Zhou, and then brought in Wu Qu's friend. Through brutal torture, threats and inducements, they finally made him give in and brought Wu Qu from Cangzhou.

The sorcerer named Zhou was also silenced afterwards.

All of this was directed by Yu Wenhai, the third in command of the Jinghai Gang.

Three young men helped out, so they knew what happened.

As to who did it, it is unclear.

"Why did Yu Wenhai do this?"

Li Yan asked again in a deep voice.

"Jie...Jie, how should I know?"

It seemed that seeing that Li Yan did not kill him, the short and strong man became more aggressive.

But before he could finish his words, Li Yan raised his hand and gently pressed it on his forehead.

Bang!
The force burst out, the man's head exploded instantly, and his body fell heavily to the ground.

"Brother, what's wrong?"

This voice immediately attracted two other men.

They ran in from the next room, but just as they reached the door, a cold light pierced through the wooden door and directly pierced the scarred man's forehead, causing him to lose consciousness instantly.

The thin man was startled and turned and ran away.

But there was a click sound behind him, and Li Yan broke out of the door. He shortened the distance to an inch, and with a flash of his knife, the thin man's head flew high into the air and fell in the middle yard.

"Killing!"

The prostitute who came out to watch the fun screamed immediately.

Li Yan ignored him, covered half of his face with a black scarf, leaped out in three or two steps, and kicked open another door. The knife flashed, and the smoker who was putting on his pants inside had his head chopped off.

The death of Wu Qu and the rampant opium addiction made Li Yan angry.

He didn't bother to care whether these smokers were innocent or not. He kicked the door, raised his knife, and killed people room by room.

Blood splattered and candlelight flickered.

The fallen candle flames lit up the boxes.

Amid the flames and smoke, screams, pleas for mercy, and the sound of knives piercing flesh continued to be heard.

"Killing!"

The cries of terror grew louder.

There must be thugs in a brothel.

But these burly men who came running with sticks were also killed by Li Yan like chickens, one by one with his sword. The rest were scared to death and ran away with the clients and prostitutes.

Suddenly, a roar came from a distance:

"Who dares to come and cause trouble in my place?"

Then a sturdy figure jumped up from another brothel, using his skills of climbing walls and running on rooftops. In two jumps, he arrived at the central courtyard.

The visitor was a one-eyed sturdy man, dressed in brocade clothes, tiger-head boots, a green-scaled cowhide crotch guard on his waist, a full beard, a broad back and strong arms, and two fists as big as casseroles.

Boom!
When he landed, the reed fluff in the cracks between the bricks flew everywhere.

Seeing the dead bodies scattered all over the yard, the one-eyed man became furious.

"You little bastard, I'll slash your head!"

Before he could finish his words, he had already rushed forward, his heels clicking on the ground, making a crackling sound.

The boots on his feet were torn into pieces by his force, and the whole person flew out.

And behind him, a whirlwind rose up on the ground, wrapped in dust and smoke.

Exclusive circulation arm?

Looking at the opening moves, Li Yan immediately identified the opponent's roots.

Tianjin is a place where all kinds of people gather, so naturally there are many warriors.

Duliu Town on the South Grand Canal and Xiaonanhe Village in Xiqing District are both famous for their large number of martial arts groups.

This Duliu River originated from Duliu Town.

According to legend, it was created by two Taizu boxing masters, a monk and a Taoist priest, who traveled here and integrated Taizu boxing with local Tongbei boxing and Shaolin boxing techniques. Its characteristic is the "Taizu boxing Tongbei power".

The force starts from the soles of the feet, passes through the waist and back to the arms, forming a spiral penetrating force.

He has a great reputation in the martial arts world and has many practitioners in the north.

What the man used was the "spiral force of pushing the ground" which was unique to Tongluo.

Seeing the opponent attacking, Li Yan raised his knife directly.

"Here you are!"

The man suddenly changed his move with a sinister grin, spun around to avoid the tip of the knife, used the "lotus leaf back kick", and kicked towards Li Yan's heart. Even before the sound of the wind got closer, a fishy smell came from the soles of his cloth shoes.

This man's shoes were tampered with and had poisonous sharp blades.

Not only that, when Li Yan dodged sideways, the man turned around and stood still, his back muscles surging like waves, and his right arm snapped like a whip, and he swung out a "back single chop", and the edge of his palm cut Li Yan's throat with a sound of air explosion.

Judging from his appearance, he has already entered the stage of Hua Jin.

Once one enters the realm of Hua Jin, he can become the leader of a school in the martial arts world. No wonder he is so arrogant and dares to step forward when he sees something happening.

However, Li Yan was prepared and changed his tactics, stabbing diagonally with his Dust-Breaking Knife.

His swordsmanship has now taken shape.

By integrating the Guanzhong quick sword technique, it is even more of a latecomer.

It looks light, but it is actually very powerful.

puff!
With a scream, the man's legs were removed.

Blood splattered and the man fell heavily to the ground with a roar.

Li Yan was just about to take advantage of the situation to kill the opponent, but something suddenly occurred to him and he retreated violently.

But I saw that on the opposite wall, three men had stood there, holding rifles and pulling the triggers at the same time.

Boom boom boom!
Three flashes of fire were heard, and a bowl-sized hole was blasted out on the blue brick floor in front of Li Yan.

"kill him!"

The man escaped death and roared, ordering the soldiers to open fire.

puff!
Before he finished speaking, a soul-breaking flying knife suddenly flew out from Li Yan's body as he was retreating, pierced through his forehead, made a turn in the air, and fell into the leather bag around his waist.

Bang bang bang!
The sound of gunfire continued to ring out, but Li Yan had already disappeared into the darkness.

There was a commotion and chaos inside the brothel behind him.

"Master Lu is dead, hurry... hurry and report to the gang leader!"

(End of this chapter)