Linlu Town, a hundred *li* away from Shanhaiguan.

This town wasn't big; it didn't even have a yamen. If anyone wanted to file a lawsuit, they'd have to travel dozens of *li* to Funing to report to the authorities.

But the town wasn't as small as Cangling Town either. At least it had more than one inn, and there were quite a few residents, shops, and traveling merchants.

A few months ago, probably no one could have imagined that this small border town, neither too big nor too small, would become the center of the entire martial world.

And now...

The leading figures of major sects, the well-known eccentrics and experts, and even reclusive masters who had been hidden from the world for many years... had all gathered here.

They all had the same goal, and it was for one thing only—*Jian Wu Cao Ji* (Sword Dance Manuscript).

The martial world is a wonderful place.

Here, anyone can pursue things that don't belong to them, as long as they have the ability...

As for morality and justice, they are often just excuses to facilitate people's actions.

In the martial world, the most important thing is strength.

Morality without the support of strength is bullshit.

Worse than bullshit.

Those with strength understand this, so they only trot out that bullshit and make some noise when they need to.

Duan Keyi was also such a person.

Of course, in this incident, he did have some justification.

According to his logic, his disciple's entire family had been killed, so it was only natural for him to seek out the real killer for revenge. And since the *Jian Wu Cao Ji* was snatched from Jiang San by the murderer, it was also reasonable for Duan Keyi to take it back. As for how it should be distributed after it was taken back... since the Jiang family was all gone, it was only right that the *jianpu* (swordplay manual) should be taken over by him, the master.

In short, Duan Keyi firmly adhered to this theory, even though it sounded a bit far-fetched, but it was still more reasonable than the "finders keepers" mentality.

Unfortunately, even Duan Keyi himself understood that the martial world was never a place for reasoning.

Those who have nothing can gain money, fame, status, and beautiful women here...

Those who have everything can also lose everything here.

Does this make sense?

Even if it does, probably only one in ten thousand people can understand this principle.

Therefore, Duan Keyi's bit of reasoning was just bullshit in the eyes of others.

Even if Jiang San came back to life today, no one would acknowledge that the *jianpu* was his, let alone yours, Duan Keyi.

In the end, this has always been a "finders keepers" game.

So, among the people participating in this game, who are the most eye-catching, or rather, the most powerful?

Currently, there seem to be four people.

The first person is Duan Keyi himself.

Jiang San became famous in the martial world under the name "Hengjiang Sword," but Duan Keyi, the "master" who taught him martial arts, was not known for his swordsmanship. From this, one can see the latter's breadth of martial arts knowledge.

In fact, the identity of "Jiang San's teacher" is not that important. The titles of "Head of the Dian Cang Sect" and "Cloud-Exploring Hero" are what truly matter, because they symbolize strength.

In this era, the Dian Cang Sect is one of the most powerful and well-known orthodox sects. Whether it is the number and quality of its disciples, or its business and prestige in the martial world, it can be said to be outstanding. The man who holds the position of "Head" of this sect, his martial arts and scheming... are truly unfathomable.

Based on this "strength," combined with the previous "reasoning," Duan Keyi naturally occupies a place among the four.

Next, let's talk about the second person...

Mian Daoren (Cotton Taoist).

Taoists often use plants and trees for their names, such as "Stone, Plum, Bamboo, Spring, Stream," and so on, to appear elegant and detached from the world.

But the name "Mian Daoren" is a bit strange.

From this name, you can't hear much elegance; instead, you can hear a bit of weakness.

However, Mian Daoren's martial arts are completely opposite to his Taoist name.

No one knows where Mian Daoren learned his martial arts from, and no one knows which Taoist temple he came from. All people know is that one day, a Taoist who used a sword suddenly appeared in the martial world. He used a dark, heavy Xuan Tie (Black Iron) sword.

This sword was incredibly blunt, as if it had never even been sharpened. But... countless experts have died under this blunt sword.

Since he began traveling the martial world, Mian Daoren has never been defeated.

It seems... that he can get what he wants, and he can do what he wants to do.

Next up is the third person.

Leng Yuqiu.

This should be the most mysterious of the four.

He has no friends, even though many people want to be his friend.

He also has no enemies, because those who become his enemies quickly disappear from this world.

He speaks very little, as if saying an extra word is a loss to him.

His deeds are also few, because he is very low-key; and the main manifestation of this "low-key" is... that he rarely leaves anyone alive.

The truly powerful killers are not those whose names make you tremble with fear; but those who, despite being stained with blood debts, leave you completely ignorant when they stand in front of you.

Leng Yuqiu is this kind of person.

Although he eventually became a famous figure in the martial world, the difference between him and others is that no one... or rather, no "living person," has ever witnessed his martial arts.

People can only look at his sword, which seems to have never left its scabbard, and imagine how many dead souls have been under this sword, and the process by which these people were killed.

It's just "imagination," because "probing" might turn you into one of those dead souls...

Then... finally, let's talk about the last of the four...

Wang Qiong.

This person is not a member of the martial world, but a merchant.

Unfortunately, he doesn't have a name like "Qian Baiwan" (Millionaire Qian) like many merchants in literature.

Of course, Wang Qiong is not his real name either.

As someone who had been wandering the streets begging for food since he could remember, the names he was called most often as a child should have been "Little Beggar" or "Stinky Beggar." As for what his parents called him, he might have to wait until he met them in the afterlife to ask.

In short, he chose the name "Wang Qiong" (King of Poverty) himself, hoping that this name would constantly remind him of the taste of poverty.

Because he knew... only those who have been poor truly understand the value of money.

The understanding of money is different between someone who is born rich and someone who becomes rich after living a poor life for half their life. It's like someone who is born healthy and someone who is born lame and miraculously cured decades later... their views on walking will definitely be different.

Wang Qiong... naturally belongs to the latter.

He used to be poorer than anyone else, so poor that he stole dog food from other people's yards and huddled in pigsties for warmth; and now he is richer than anyone else, so rich that he doesn't know how long it would take to spend all his money, so rich that he can buy anything...

Unlike the previous three, Wang Qiong should be the safest competitor in this "game"; because he has no need to take risks... he can wait, until the very end, and use his most powerful and unique weapon—money—to obtain the final victory.

In fact, more than half of the people who gathered in Linlu Town this time were basically there to work for Wang Qiong...

These people are not very interested in the *jianpu*. Their thinking is: What is the point of practicing martial arts and wandering the martial world? Isn't it just to gain fame and fortune? Selling the *jianpu* to Wang Qiong, getting a sum of money that they can't spend in a lifetime, isn't that the same as bypassing the complex and dangerous process and directly reaching the ultimate goal?

So, Wang Qiong, who doesn't belong to the martial world at all, is actually the one with the highest chance of winning among the four... it has to be said, this is an irony.

…………

Noon, the sun shines brightly, but the snow on the ground has not melted.

The lobby of the "Ke Lai Inn" seemed exceptionally lively.

In addition to those who wanted tea and food, there were also a large group of guys going in and out, coming and going... busy with who knows what.

This scene would usually only appear in the morning.

In this kind of border town, the most frequent visitors are those merchants; when the sky is still dark, those who are in a hurry to travel get up. All kinds of people are vying for tea and water, rushing to harness their mules and horses to their carts; during that time, the shop assistants wish they could lift their feet up and use them as hands, it is the most chaotic time of the day.

However, since the news that the *Jian Wu Cao Ji* would appear in Linlu Town on New Year's Eve spread, almost every inn in this town has been busy from morning to night in this state.

The innkeepers are also half happy and half worried. They are happy that they are making a lot of money every day, and worried about... of course, they are afraid that the guests will cause trouble.

"Ah—"

And just like that, on this afternoon of the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, a scream became the first drop of boiling oil that exploded in this murky water.

Simultaneous with the scream were the sounds of a wooden window breaking and a human body falling from a height to the ground.

Soon, there was a corpse on the street outside the Ke Lai Inn.

The pedestrians on the street quickly gathered in a circle, watching from a distance, chattering about something.

Among the guests in the lobby... some immediately ran out to see; some sat in their seats, as steady as Mount Tai, as if nothing had happened outside; and some first stood up in the first moment, but after thinking for a moment, sat down again.

"The one who fell down should be Ma Dahuzi (Big Beard Ma)." After a while, a square-faced man sitting at a square table facing the door said.

"Yes." An old man sitting next to him replied, "The broken window is from Ma Dahuzi's room."

The square-faced man said, "Ma Dahuzi's martial arts are not weak."

"Not weak." The old man said, "Just with that 'Double-Form Life-Snatching Palm,' he can be ranked among the first-class experts."

The square-faced man said, "But he's dead now."

The old man nodded, "Looks like he's dead."

The square-faced man said, "A person who is good at using palms, being knocked backwards like this, breaking the window and falling to his death, what does that mean?"

The old man smiled, "It means that in that room, there is someone who is better at using palms than him."

The square-faced man said, "There aren't many such people."

The old man said, "Not many."

The square-faced man said, "Duan Keyi, the head of the Dian Cang Sect, counts as one."

The old man echoed, "Yes... with Head Duan's internal strength, he can defeat Ma Dahuzi with force alone."

The square-faced man continued, "Tu Ji, the leader of the Mad Tiger Gang, 'Tiger-Masked Arhat'... also counts as one."

The old man said, "The Arhat Fighting Tiger Palm is indeed better than the Double-Form Life-Snatching Palm."

The square-faced man added, "Luo Can, the leader of the Beggar Clan, must also be counted."

The old man said, "Since Leader Luo has mastered the Lost Dragon Eighteen Palms that has been lost for many years... then he definitely counts as one."

At this point, the square-faced man shrugged and smiled, "Uncle Liu, who do you think... killed Ma Dahuzi?"

Uncle Liu replied, "Young Master is intelligent, you must already have the answer in your heart. My humble opinion... is better left unsaid."

"Hehe..." The square-faced man smiled again, "Uncle Liu is joking, my 'eye skills' are not even half as good as yours. Just from that fleeting glance when Ma Dahuzi fell just now... I might have seen it wrong."

Uncle Liu, being complimented by this "Young Master," didn't show any joy: "Even if it was just a glance, Young Master must have already seen... that the killer deliberately 'used palms to subdue the enemy' to hide their true identity, right?"

The Young Master's smile grew even brighter: "That was a person who uses a sword."

Uncle Liu said, "Yes."

The Young Master said, "Among the people who use swords, there aren't many who can kill Ma Dahuzi with palm techniques."

Uncle Liu said, "Meeting this condition, and also staying in this inn, there is only one person..."

Just as these two were talking, a man and a woman bypassed the crowd and walked into the inn from the door.

The man looked to be in his early twenties, with sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, handsome, and carrying a long sword behind his back; the girl beside him was about the same age and was also very pretty, with an endearing and charming face.

The experienced martial artists sitting in the inn lobby were all sharp-eyed. Just by looking at them once, they deduced that... these two were either lovers, siblings, or very close senior and junior disciples.

Although the man and woman didn't make any intimate gestures, the distance they maintained between them, the frequency of their steps, and the tacit understanding revealed in their gestures were enough to show that their relationship was quite close.

"Innkeeper, are there any rooms available?" The young man walked to the counter in a few steps, faced the innkeeper, and asked.

The innkeeper reacted quickly. His attention instantly shifted back from the corpse outside the door and almost instinctively replied, "Uh... this guest, recently... our inn is a little short on rooms..."

"I understand." The young man knew what the innkeeper meant, "We only need one room, and as for the price... you can charge us the 'current price.'"

"Eh~ okay, okay." The innkeeper of Ke Lai Inn was greedy for money and not afraid of much; therefore, even though the death outside the door had not been resolved, he still narrowed his small eyes and smiled as soon as he heard the young man's words.

He smiled as he took out the ledger, picked up a writing brush, and wrote, asking as he wrote, "Young Xia, please leave your name."

The young man replied in a calm tone, "Huangfu Mingkang."