Not long ago, when Lu Qingming got off the carriage, he had said in his heart:
"It would be nice if it snowed."
If anyone could understand why he said that, it would be Bai Fang.
When I sweep away all the gloom in the world, I will come back and be with you until our hair turns white.
When he left that year, Lu Qingming made bold and ambitious claims.
The memory is so vivid, because he was the one I loved deeply.
In the tofu shop in South City, Bai Fang slowly opened her eyes.
Zhang San had tapped Bai Fang's sleeping acupoint. Normally, Bai Fang would have been unconscious for at least a whole day and night before possibly waking up. But Zhang San did not know about the special bloodline of Bai's clan.
The Bai clan and the Bai clan had intermarried for generations. They were both clans with a heritage spanning over a thousand years. Although the Bai clan was now destitute beyond recognition, the reason why the Bai clan was willing to actively intermarry with the Bai clan a thousand years ago was that the Bai clan were 'innately martial'.
Twenty years ago, the second and third strongest masters in the world, Bai Si, the Leader of Star Sea Sect, and Bai ShiXuan, the Great General Who Pacifies the South, were both members of the Bai clan.
She silently got up and looked at the familiar surroundings. Bai Fang wondered if Zhang San had brought her back here?
She pushed open the door.
Goose feather-like heavy snow.
There wasn't a soul on the streets, perhaps because of the recent curfew order.
Bai Fang naturally didn't know about these things. She only felt an ominous feeling rising in her heart as she looked at the empty surroundings.
Snow fell on her head.
Alone without anyone to lean on, one would inevitably recall many unhappy things when alone.
Zhang San must have captured me to threaten Qingming... No, Lu Gaosheng!
How is he now?
No...
She shook her head. She told herself that if anything really happened to that man, it would only serve him right... that's all.
But.
What's with this worry in my heart?
That was obviously a hopeless man!
More and more snow fell on her head.
On the long empty street, from afar, the beautiful lady seemed to have suddenly turned white-haired.
Just like at this moment in a tattered study somewhere in the city, the black-haired man covered in frost and snow.
Under the same city, two people whitened at the same time.
When I sweep away all the gloom in the world, I will come back and be with you until our hair turns white.
Half of that promise from that year has been fulfilled.
...
...
Outside the city, Zhang San, who had just left the secret passage, couldn't help but shudder to himself.
The entrances and exits of this secret passage were all controlled by mechanisms. Most critically, the passage was built very deep underground, and the doors at the entrances and exits were made entirely of two-inch thick black iron, each weighing at least eight hundred jin to one thousand jin.
Even a low-level Earth Realm expert would need some time to chop through such a door.
Therefore, Zhang San thought of one possibility. When he came out, he knocked on the walls of the passage and discovered that there were compartments on both sides of the entire passage. Although he didn’t know how to open them, they were clearly filled with gunpowder or something similar.
If Flowing Fox entered this passage and someone closed both ends, then ignited the gunpowder...
The huge explosion would be enough to collapse the entire passage. Even if it didn't kill Flowing Fox, it could severely injure him on the spot and then bury him alive by the collapsed underground.
When he thought of this, Zhang San couldn't help but sigh the same way Flowing Fox had previously.
He said to himself, when it comes to sinister minds, it still has to be these literary folks!
"Fortunately, I have a short night blade and Earth Realm inner strength, so I don't need to be too afraid of someone trying to deal with me like this in the future." Zhang San muttered to himself, then looked around.
This place happened to be very close to the forest where he had agreed to meet Wu Qixue, so Zhang San leapt up lightly with his qinggong and immediately went to find Wu Qixue.
At the same time, in a maple forest outside the city, Wu Qixue and over forty martial artists were anxiously waiting.
...
...
"This is a letter from Lu Qingming to you." Zhang San said lightly.
When Zhang San told him to come and wait outside Tian Ruo City, Wu Qixue had gradually developed a kind of 'bizarre' speculation in his mind.
The reason why he felt it was bizarre was because he didn't want to believe it, and didn't even think about it in that direction at first.
However, once the doubt began, the fog in his mind was gradually dispersed, and a voice told him...
In Tian Ge Prefecture, being able to see the Loulan Ancient Road, train a group of warriors comparable to the Golden Armored Army, kill Xu Guo, transport grain and fodder without leaving any traces afterwards, with such ingenious means and meticulous actions, it was very likely that old bosom friend.
Master had said that Lu Qingming was his best student, even better than himself.
Losing to Lu Qingming was not surprising, because as a youth, he had never won against that good friend in any aspect.
Moreover...
That night, he had somehow survived under the knife of a formidable opponent. This matter itself was enough to explain many issues.
Until this bloody letter fell into his hands, when Zhang San uttered the three words "Lu Qingming"...
Wu Qixue confirmed it in his heart.
Zhang San looked at Wu Qixue and saw that this ordinary-looking man revealed a sad expression. Combined with what he had learned earlier from Lu Qingming that the two were boyhood friends, he roughly guessed the reason for his sadness at this moment.
"He's dead." Zhang San said lightly.
Wu Qixue looked up in disbelief, the sadness in his eyes replaced by shock, and then by even more intense grief.
Wu Qixue involuntarily took a step back. He murmured in a daze, "I know Qingming changed his name over the years, but with his aloof personality... How could he have done... And he's dead? What happened?"
Zhang San didn't hesitate at all and said directly, "Whether you believe it or not, he committed suicide. And I think you don't have time to grieve now, Lu Gaosheng..."
After a slight hesitation, but time waits for no one, and explaining would be too much trouble.
Zhang San said directly: "Before Lu Qingming died, he said that Song YanShi had been commanding and communicating through Red Eagle all this time. So Song YanShi will react very soon and his next order will arrive shortly. Moreover, Lu Qingming judged that Song YanShi's killer move should be an elite unit of the Zhennan Army!"
Song YanShi.
The Zhennan Army.
Wu Qixue knew the importance of priorities. Before coming to Tian Ruo City, he had conducted multiple simulations of the court intrigues behind the grain and fodder. So when these two names appeared, he already understood the current situation.
Wu Qixue's brows furrowed slightly. After all, Tian Ruo Prefecture was not his territory, so his understanding of this place was very limited.
But Wu Qixue still asked directly: "Given Qingming's personality, if he was willing to help me, he would definitely go all out. Did he make any arrangements or strategies?"
Then Zhang San took out the map he had taken from the mansion and told Wu Qixue all about Lu Qingming's strategy of transporting grain by sea and Lu Gaosheng's plan to deal with Song YanShi.
"I'm more familiar with the jianghu world and don't understand courtly military affairs, so you'll have to consider the troop deployments yourself. But time is limited, you have to decide quickly on the final route plan, whether it can be executed or not."
Having said that, Zhang San turned around.
Wu Qixue asked, "Where are you going?"
Zhang San looked back and said, "In any case, just a token alone is probably not enough to make the ferocious Blood Wolf guarding the grain believe us. Li Xing and Kill Wolf should have finished issuing orders by now. I'm going back to the city to find them and help suppress their injuries. No matter which route we take next, we'll need their help."