The chivalrous spirit is fickle

"All the scripts were memorized in advance, and not a single word was wrong."

"Those with high salaries will be used as punching bags. And according to standard procedures, after they go on stage, they have to provoke others, say obscene and indecent words to stir up the anger of the crowd, and then they will be beaten up."

"In this way, the person arranged by the family not only won the competition, but also earned the favor of others."

"That's a real fight. Although the price is high, you have to stay in bed for half a month after each fight. Over time, you will be left with a lot of diseases."

“So, we often say…”

"Persuading people to escort, their parents will go to the nest; persuading people to be a shill, they will carry goods to the underworld."

Hearing this, the man with the knife on his back smacked his lips, frowned and asked.

"Why does the rest of this sound so confusing?"

"Hey, boss, isn't this for rhyme?"

“But that doesn’t rhyme.”

"Ah, yes, yes."

"No, you fucking ..."

After a commotion, the man with the knife on his back took the sword and observed it carefully. He finally found that there were several small dots engraved on the sword, connecting them together, forming a spoon shape.

"Beidou, isn't this the symbol of the Star Capture Pavilion? It seems that this kid came from the Star Capture Pavilion."

"Then he's in big trouble. Even the Star Capture Pavilion is gone, and his original record as a first-class sect is also scrapped."

The man with the knife on his back didn't say much. He put the sword back into the sword case, stuffed it back into the secret compartment, turned around and asked the people around him.

"Have you searched everything?"

Hearing this, everyone bowed and responded in a low voice.

"Boss, we have searched and found nothing related to the Thousand Miles of Mountains and Rivers Map."

The man with a knife on his back frowned slightly, thought for a moment, then his eyes flickered and he asked in a deep voice.

"Where's that pornographic picture?"

"..."

"What are you looking at? I just suspect there is some clue in that pornographic picture."

"..."

"Forget it! Since we didn't find anything, let's go quickly. That person may come back at any time."

After saying that, the man with the knife on his back waved his hand and quickly evacuated the antique shop with several of his men.

……

At night, clouds covered the stars, and the entire city of Lin'an was shrouded in darkness.

In front of the Bai Niao Temple, an old man in black, with a smile on his face, escorted the drunk Shi Gu out of the temple and put him in a carriage, then watched the carriage disappear into the depths of the street.

As the carriage disappeared from sight, the smile on the old man in black quickly disappeared. He put his hands behind his back again, without even looking behind him, and asked in a low voice.

"How's the check going?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the man with a knife on his back appeared quietly behind the old man in black like a ghost, bowed slightly, and spoke in a low voice with great respect.

"Reporting to the senior, we have carefully checked this person's shop. There are no items related to the Thousand Miles of Mountains and Rivers Map in the shop. However, we found a long sword of an outer disciple of the Star Capture Pavilion."

Hearing this, the old man in black stroked his beard, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke slowly.

"I see."

"This person must have come from the Star Capture Pavilion. He was frustrated and came to this remote city to open a store to make a living."

"After all, the Star Capture Pavilion is considered a major sect in the martial arts world. It has many rare treasures, so it is normal for it to have a fake of the Thousand Miles of Mountains and Rivers Map. This painting should have been given to him by his master."

"That makes sense."

The man with the knife on his back looked at the old man in black cautiously. Seeing that he seemed to be in a good mood, he asked tentatively with some concern.

"Senior, I wonder what is so special about this Thousand Miles of Mountains and Rivers Map? Why do so many people in the martial arts world want it?"

Hearing this, the old man in black looked at the man with a knife on his back meaningfully, but smiled gently and said lightly.

"This map of thousands of miles of mountains and rivers hides a secret. As for what the secret is, telling you now will only hurt you."

"But the more I say this, the more you want to know. Well, you only need to remember two words about this painting."

The man with the knife on his back was delighted when he heard this and waited attentively for the next words, while the old man in black lowered his voice and slowly squeezed out two words from between his teeth.

"Mara."

Chapter 11 Dan Xiu

"Mara?"

The man with the knife on his back looked puzzled when he heard this, as he had never heard of this name. The old man in black was stunned for a moment, and after a moment, he came to his senses, shook his head and smiled bitterly.

"That's right. How can you know about Moro at your age?"

"If you think about it carefully, Mo Luo was a figure from thousands of years ago. Now, no one knows about him."

The man with a knife on his back frowned in confusion, unable to figure out the answer, so he had no choice but to ask shamelessly.

"Senior, they were all people who lived thousands of years ago. They must have died without even ashes left. What's so unspeakable? Why don't you tell me in detail so that I can listen to it."

Hearing this, the old man in black narrowed his eyes slightly, raised his palm, and pinched his two dark fingers forward, and caught a flying butterfly between his fingers without any error.

"What do you know? In this martial arts world, there are also upper and lower levels. Not to mention you, even I can hardly touch the so-called upper martial arts world."

As he spoke, the old man in black clenched his palms and instantly held the butterfly in his hands, while he was still speaking slowly.

"As long as the corpses of those innate masters who go to the martial arts world are never seen, even if a hundred or a thousand years have passed, it is impossible to say that they are still alive."

Hearing this, the man with a knife on his back was shocked. In his eyes, although the world of martial arts is big, if you really talk about it, it is nothing more than fighting and killing, and when the life span comes to an end, everyone will die obediently.

Unexpectedly, according to the old man in black, those so-called innate masters could actually live for more than a thousand years. This sounded too far-fetched.

However, while the man with the knife on his back had his doubts, he also felt a little more fascinated by the legendary innate realm.

If you can reach that state in this life, you will have no worries.

The old man in black took one look at the man with a knife on his back and knew exactly what he was thinking. He lowered his head and smiled, with a hint of mockery hidden in the corners of his mouth that was impossible to see through.

"There is no one in this world who has no worries."

The old man in black sighed softly and loosened his hand. The butterfly that should have been crushed to death flapped its wings and flew into the air unharmed.

The butterfly flapped its colorful wings and flew into the night sky. Taking advantage of the evening breeze, it flew higher and higher, but it never noticed that its colorful wings were gradually stained with black.

A breeze blew, and the butterfly's wings turned into powder from the tip and quickly spread away. Under the night sky, black dust fell in the wind, and no one knew where it drifted to.

In front of the antique shop, Shi Gu climbed out of the carriage drunkenly, pushed away the coachman who wanted to support him, and under the coachman's gaze, went into the antique shop.

The moment the shop door closed, Shi Gu, who had a drunken look on his face, lowered his eyebrows slightly, and the drunkenness in his eyes was no longer there, and he had regained his clarity.

There were no candles lit in the store, and it was pitch black. Shi Gu looked around at the empty store, walked towards the counter, and gently pressed his fingers on the counter, sliding them all the way across.

After five steps, Shi Gu retracted his fingers and looked down, only to see that there was only a small amount of dust on his fingers.

A flipped room can be restored, but the dust on the counter cannot be restored.

Yesterday, Shi Gu had already cleaned the counter and there wasn't much dust, but today he specially sprinkled a thin layer of "dust" on the counter.

Dirt ash is not real dust, but a kind of peculiar medicinal powder. To ordinary people, it has no smell and is no different from ordinary dust. However, to some special animals, it has a strange smell that can last for three days.

This is a tracking method commonly used by Yaowang Valley. Combined with the exotic beast Dan Xiu raised by Yaowang Valley, it can easily track down anyone covered in dust.

Shi Gu gently flicked the dirt off his fingers, then leaned over and placed his palms on the stone slab on the ground.

Suddenly, a breeze blew in the store, and an air flow invisible to the naked eye swirled wildly along Shi Gu's palm, condensing into an air vortex.

Shi Gu slowly raised his palm, and the stone slab that was originally glued to the ground was actually sticking to his palm and pulled up all the way. Looking closely, it was more like a stone than a stone slab. The stone was square and weighed 83 pounds. Who could find that there was actually a different world under such a stone?

After the stone was pulled out, there was no sand underneath, but a dark area. It was impossible to see what was inside. Shi Gu lifted the stone with one hand, held it above his head, and then jumped into it. As his body fell into the pit, the stone that he had lifted above his head also returned to its original place, as if nothing had happened.

In the cave, Shi Gu's figure fell down, but he was in darkness, without any light source, and could not see anything. Shi Gu stood firm, and his fingertips suddenly flicked to the left, and the next moment an invisible energy burst out.

Boom!

With a muffled sound, the invisible energy fell on the dark wall, but it did not hit it straight on. Instead, a long spark was created on the dark wall, and the sparks fell down and ignited the candlestick below.

brush!

Seven flames lit up at the same time, and tongues of fire flickered on the bronze lamp. When looking down, the rusty copper lamp was shaped like a lotus, with petals around the edge and the flame burning in the middle, but there was no wick, only a black stone, and the flame was burning on the black stone.

The antique shop is already quite large, but the space below is several times larger than the shop above. The entire basement is black, as dark as night, and not a single light can be reflected.

The huge basement was crammed full with all sorts of strange stuff piled up in a disorderly manner. Boxes of all sizes occupied most of the basement. There was a circle of bookshelves surrounding the walls, which were also packed full.

Shi Gu walked to a copper box, which was not locked. He bent down and opened it. The moment the box was opened, a black shadow shot out and circled around the entire basement at an extremely fast speed.

The speed was so fast that a long black line was left in the air, circling the entire basement, connecting the beginning and the end.

Seeing this, Shi Gu frowned, stretched out his arm, raised it slightly, and said coldly.

"I don't want to talk nonsense."

As they were talking, the temperature in the entire basement dropped sharply, and a thin layer of ice formed on the black walls.

The murderous intent suddenly arose, a strong and crazy murderous intent, like an invisible knife, chilling and oppressive.

The fast-moving black shadow suddenly froze, and then obediently fell on Shi Gu's arm.

Looking closely, it was a strange-looking black bird. Its body was like a magpie, but there was a section of black feathers rising high on its head, like a hat.

Black Sparrow Danxiu.

At this moment, Dan Xiu stood obediently on Shi Gu's arm, just like a human. He lowered his head in a flattering manner and rubbed Shi Gu's arm gently.

Seeing this, Shi Gu's expression relaxed, and the terrifying murderous intent receded like the tide. He stretched out his fingers, gently stroked Dan Xiu's body, and whispered.

"In a few days, I want you to help find someone. Do it well, or you will suffer."

Dan Xiu's small bird head swayed slightly and looked towards Shi Gu. Its beak moved and a sound came out. It was actually a clear female voice.

"After the matter is completed, will there be food?"

Upon hearing this, Shi Gu moved his arm and pushed Dan Xiu towards him. He sat casually on the bronze box and spoke slowly.

"It depends on your performance."

Dan Xiu's body bounced slightly, and his flexible head turned around, as if he was smelling something. Suddenly, Dan Xiu moved and landed on the bookshelf where he was, with his back to Shi Gu, and asked seemingly casually,

"It's been five years, but it smells like your injuries haven't gotten any better. Is there something wrong with your body?"

Shi Gu's expression remained unchanged, but when he heard the words, he pinched the fingers of his right hand, pointed them at Dan Xiu, and said lightly.

"Even if I only have one last breath left, it will be enough to kill you."

"Want to try?"

Dan Xiu recalled the terrifying murderous aura from before and shuddered. He landed on the ground again, lowered his bird head, and spoke repeatedly.

"That's not what I meant. I'm just concerned about your health."

The relationship between this man and this bird seems quite strange, like enemies rather than friends.

Shi Gu didn't want to say more to Dan Xiu. He stood up and was about to leave. Seeing this, Dan Xiu flew to Shi Gu's shoulder and asked tentatively.

"Since you need my help, can you let me stay outside for the next few days?"

Hearing this, Shi Gu slapped Dan Xiu down. Dan Xiu was unable to dodge and was slapped to the ground. She did not get angry, but stood on the ground and asked curiously.

"If you don't want me to go out, you should at least let me know who you want to find."

Shi Gu turned around and looked at Dan Xiu, frowned slightly, sighed deeply, and then spoke slowly.

"A little girl who doesn't look very smart."

Dan Xiu immediately became energetic upon hearing this, flapped his wings, and shouted as if he was very excited.

"Oh oh oh! Little girl, are you going to eat young grass?"

"As the saying goes, the three greatest joys for a man are an old cow eating young grass, a toad eating swan meat, and a pig eating cabbage. You finally got it."

Shi Gu didn't want to pay attention to Dan Xiu's chattering, so he raised his palm and spoke softly.

"It's just to repay a favor."