Jianghu Qimen Lu

Chapter 27 The Unspeakable Secret

Unexpectedly, Hongchen spoke up, shouting, "I'm not leaving! I'm not leaving! Who are you? Where do you want to take me?" "White Lightning" quickly dismounted, ran to him, stared intently into his small eyes, and whispered, "I am your daughter, Qiuyue! I've come to save you, Father!" Hongchen looked closely. Although this person's face closely resembled White Lightning, her eyes betrayed her—watery and extremely alluring. Who else could it be but his daughter, Hong Qiuyue! He was furious, shouting angrily, "I knew it was you! But why did you do this? Do you know this is a crime! Three years ago, you said you were going to the capital to find your aunt, but you disappeared without a trace. I never expected you to stay in Hangzhou every day, right beside us, and in such a lowly place! What are you trying to do? Daughter! Do you know how your mother and I have been these past three years? We haven't been able to eat or sleep. Your mother has suffered even more, crying all day long, crying until her tears have dried up, and now she's blind! She's suffering so much! Waaah—" As he spoke, his nose tingled, and large tears fell. It is said that men don't easily shed tears, only when they are truly heartbroken! Seeing this scene, Hong Yueliang also felt very sorry for her parents, but with so many eyes watching, was this the time to express her deep fatherly love? She pleaded in a low voice, "Father, I have something I can't say. We can talk about it after we leave this place! The most important thing right now is to not give anything away and get you out of here!" Hongchen sighed deeply and said, "To tell you the truth, daughter, this is actually a trap set by Bai Shandian and Father. Their goal is to lure you out so they can capture you and Hei Taiyang in one fell swoop!" Hongyueliang smiled coldly and said quietly, "Father, I'm not stupid. How could I not know? I also know that Bai Shandian is ruthless. He has already planted a lot of explosives under the execution ground. He doesn't care about you at all. He wants to send us all to the Western Paradise together!" Hongchen was shocked to hear this. He was so angry that he was speechless for a long time.

Just then, several loud explosions rang out, and the spot where the condemned prisoners had been standing exploded one after another. Huoshaoyun, the madam, and the three executioners were all blown to pieces, their bodies reduced to a bloody mess! Fortunately, Hongchen was brought out by her daughter and narrowly escaped death! Chaos erupted in the streets as people scrambled to escape, resulting in a stampede. People pushed and shoved each other, and due to the large number of people and the narrow, congested streets, several shops and houses along the street collapsed, causing countless injuries and deaths! Seeing that there were indeed explosives buried underground, Hongchen couldn't help but curse, "You bastard surnamed Bai, your methods are so vicious! I was almost betrayed by you!" Without further hesitation, he hurriedly said to Hongyueliang, "Daughter, you must not escape through the main road, because the four corners of the crossroads are heavily guarded. It is said that Bai Shandian has also arranged four cannons waiting for you there!" Hongyueliang smiled coldly, "Let's take advantage of the chaos and run with the common people. No matter how vicious Bai Shandian is, he can't use the common people as cannon fodder, can he?" Hongchen sighed, "This Bai guy, he's gone mad for the sake of the 'Complete Guide to the Martial World,' he's capable of anything! Child, unlock my wooden shackles, don't worry about me! Hurry up and get out of here." "Try to escape, I'll be fine! Besides, your mother needs someone to take care of her, and for her sake, I can't leave!" Red Moon was incredibly astute. Seeing the current situation, even if White Lightning was insane, he wouldn't openly turn against his father. Without another word, she released Hongchen from the prison cart, drew her imperial sword, and with a few light strikes of her inner strength, the wooden shackles and chains snapped in two. She whispered, "Father, take care!" She leaped into the midst of the Eight Banners soldiers and shouted, "Brothers, let's all dismount! Looking at this chaotic scene, it's even harder to leave this dangerous place on horseback. Why don't we each use our unique lightness skills to leap over rooftops and escape easily?" The crowd cheered, jumping off their horses and abandoning them. It turned out that this group of Eight Banner soldiers were all her Rong family disciples in disguise. As thieves, they were all as light as swallows. At Hong Yueliang's command, dozens of people flew up to the rooftops along the street. When they looked closely, they were dumbfounded. It turned out that the rooftops of the undulating buildings were full of people!

The leader was a beautiful woman in her early twenties, with a dignified and elegant demeanor and an imposing air of heroism. She was none other than Xiang Quan, the head of the Southern Fist School, the number one fist style in Jiangnan. Behind her were six famous fist styles protecting her, and behind them were several hundred people, all disciples of the Southern Fist School.

"Oh, so it's Madam!" Red Moon spoke in White Lightning's tone, trying to deceive them. Seeing the overwhelming force of their attack, she didn't want to confront them head-on and risk provoking them. Fragrant Fist shouted, "You scoundrel of the martial world, stop insulting my husband! You traitorous bandit, take this!" Despite her words, she didn't charge forward. With a wave of her hand, Hung Kuen and Wing Chun practitioners leaped forward to fight Red Moon. White Eyebrow Fist and three other fist practitioners led their followers, surrounding and attacking the Rongmen disciples. Fragrant Fist stood on higher ground, observing from the sidelines. In less than the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the tide had turned. The Rongmen disciples were clearly at a disadvantage, several already killed! Red Moon, on the other hand, fought the two female boxers with increasing ferocity. Her lightness skill was superb; her body moved like a butterfly flitting among flowers. Amidst the crisscrossing attacks of Wing Chun's rope darts, she soared and spun, sometimes as swift as a fleeting glimpse of a startled bird, sometimes as slow as towering mountains facing each other. Her imperial sword was even more unpredictable, often striking sharply in seemingly impossible situations, forcing the massive Hung Kuen fighter to stagger backward with a thud!

Xiang Quan could no longer bear to watch. Suddenly, she sprang into action, unleashing a lightning-fast strike in mid-air, her fists flashing and retracting in rapid succession, poised to shatter Hong Yue Liang's head. But then, a flash of cold light appeared—the Imperial Sword was slashing towards her chest! Xiang Quan hastily withdrew her powerful punches, executing a serpentine somersault to the side, narrowly dodging the sword! Even then, a sharp swish was heard, and looking down, she saw a section of her flowing robes had been sliced ​​off! Enraged, Xiang Quan secretly activated a hidden switch on her ring. As Hong Yue Liang dodged the Wing Chun darts, dozens of silver needles, like hairs on a cow, shot out from behind her! At such close range, even with the skills of a great immortal, Hong Yue Liang could not escape this fate! Xiang Quan was furious that she had repeatedly outskilled him, and even more furious that she had aided and abetted the evildoer by helping Black Sun steal his family's rare book, "The Complete Book of Jianghu." Therefore, his first move was deadly, wishing he could kill her on the spot, tear her to pieces, and grind her bones to ashes! Thus, he immediately launched all the silver needles hidden in his ring!

Seeing that every needle had struck its mark, hitting Red Moon's back, she was completely unfazed and unleashed a series of five sweeping kicks in mid-air. Caught off guard, Hong Quan was struck in the right arm, dislocating it instantly! Xiang Quan quickly called Liu Quan over to treat her injury. Liu Quan supported Hong Quan's elbow with one hand and forcefully pulled and pushed her wrist with the other. A slight cracking sound was heard as the arm bone returned to its place. Liu Quan laughed, "The bone is set! Rest for a few days and don't use that arm again!" Hong Quan roared, "I want revenge!" She leaped up and pounced, suddenly seizing the opportunity to grab Red Moon from behind, her arms straining as if to break her frail body! Red Moon was suddenly held tightly, unable to break free, and fearing that other skilled fighters were surrounding her and might join forces to attack her, she was in a very difficult situation. Unexpectedly, she suddenly felt Hung Kuen's arms lose strength and gradually loosen on their own. Just as she was wondering what was wrong, she heard Wing Chun cry out, "Hung Kuen, what's wrong with you? Why are you foaming at the mouth?" She quickly turned around and saw Hung Kuen foaming at the mouth and swaying precariously. Xiang Quan quickly supported her, exclaiming, "How did she get poisoned by my silver needles!" She quickly took out the antidote and fed it to Hung Kuen, then let her sit on the roof tiles with her head resting on her thighs for a while. Liu Quan came over and took out a magnet from the medicine box. Since men and women shouldn't touch each other, Xiang Quan had to place the magnet against Hung Kuen's skin to draw out the poisoned needles. Because there were many, it took quite a while to draw them all out. Gradually, Hung Kuen's complexion changed from black to white. Xiang Quan, filled with suspicion, demanded of Hong Yue Liang, "What's strange about you? How come the silver needle clearly hit your back, yet you're unharmed, while Hong Quan was the one who got hit?"