Time flies, and it’s midwinter in a blink of an eye.
At this time of year, the people, the rivers and lakes, and the green forests are relatively calm.
There is no special reason. It is simply because in ancient times when the weather got cold, there were fewer people active outside. With fewer people, there would naturally be fewer things going on.
But this year, the 19th year of Yongtai, on the day of "heavy snow", something big happened.
On this day, an earth-shattering news spread throughout the martial arts world -
Xiao Zhun, the owner of Wujian Villa, will "open the village to discuss swordsmanship" in half a month. , all swordsmen in the world, no matter their origin, age, or martial arts level, as long as they can get the approval of Master Xiao Zhuang in the sword discussion, they can become Xiao Zhun's "true disciple" and gain the essence of his lifelong swordsmanship and enlightenment. The treasure of the Jian Villa is the Ginseng Sword.
In addition, in order to "show fairness", Master Xiao will not only let "swordsmen from all over the world" enter the village on the day of the sword discussion, but also specially invited four famous martial artists to participate in this event. "witness".
These four people are: Song Wudi, the owner of Shen Dao Villa in Liaodong; Wang Shilian, the leader of Wudang; Jiang Shouzheng, the "big middle and most upright"; and Di Bu, the leader of the Cao Gang. tired.
This list... actually has some problems.
What level of characters are the first three?
Song Wudi is one of the few top martial arts masters who has not yet retired. His swordsmanship has long been perfected. The Magic Sword Villa he leads is also powerful in Liaodong and famous in the world.
Wang Shilian, known as the "Master of Taoism and Swordsmanship", is considered to be the leader of Wudang whose martial arts skills are closest to those of the former "Master Zhang" in the past thirty years. Needless to say, the background of his sect.
Jiang Shouzheng, known as "Dazhong Zhizheng" in the world, is a hero who has become extremely famous in the past ten years. He is known for his impartiality and selflessness. I think back then, Jiang Daxia and the "Seven Star Sword" "Fan Zhengting is also known as "Fan Jiang Erzheng". Many disputes between sects or individuals in the martial arts like to come to them to mediate. Until Fan Zhengting suddenly disappeared a few years ago, he disappeared from the martial arts world. After that, Jiang Shouzheng became the only one. Already "right".
Compared with the above three, although Di Bujue is the leader of the strongest gang among the four sects and three gangs, his martial arts skills and status in the world seem to be a little bit behind... If he had succeeded in becoming the "general sect leader" during the last "Seven Heroes Meeting", it would have been okay. However, due to the trouble caused by Shuanghui, this matter has been shelved until now.
But no matter what, Di Bujue was very happy to be invited to be one of the four "witnesses" this time. He also felt: I didn't expect that Master Xiao thought so highly of me. Well, he actually ranked me with those three? Then I have to seize the opportunity to make friends with him. If I can become an ally with Wujian Villa, I will be able to dominate the martial arts world just around the corner.
That’s what he thinks...
In Xiao Zhun’s mind, this is not the case at all.
Have a friend with a good memory?Friends may still remember that a few months ago, when Sun Yixie was performing "Er Opera Kang Hai Jiao" in Weihai, he passed on some wrong information to the spies at Wujian Villa. After that information was transferred to Xiao Zhun, it was passed on to Xiao Zhun again. Xiao Zhun interpreted it again...
The master of Xiaozhuang is so meticulous and thoughtful. We have mentioned it before when we talked about how Mr. Xie San’s family was assassinated... Therefore, Xiao Zhuang Based on the information that Kang Haijiao had joined the Cao Gang when he was young, and after leaving the Cao Gang, he suddenly improved his martial arts for a few years, and then came to seek refuge with himself, he analyzed that "Kang Haijiao may have been arranged by Di Bujue to come to him." "Long-term undercover" conclusion.
Based on this conclusion, Xiao Zhun naturally regarded Di Bujue as an enemy who had been secretly coveting him from the beginning.
This time Xiao Zhun invited Di Bujue to come, just to drag the enemy from the "dark place" to the "open place" to deal with it. From Xiao Zhun's perspective, his skill is called "taking advantage of the enemy" , "Reverse the general's army" and had no intention of showing any favor to Di Bujue.
As for the other three, Xiao Zhun had a purpose in inviting them.
Needless to say, Song Wudi is said to be "the second best in the world", but everyone also knows that the Divine Sword Villa has always been slightly superior to the Wujian Villa, and the martial arts of "Song Wudi" are also It is recognized that he is higher than the "Sword Master", so he is called the "Old Enemy"... If Xiao Zhun successfully becomes the "Sword Demon" this time, is there anyone more suitable to test the sword than the one named Song?
As for Wang Shilian, it was not Xiao Zhun who wanted to invite him, but one of Xiao Zhun's "friends" who asked him to invite him - after seeing this, you may have guessed that this is the owner of Xiao Zhuang. My friend is the person who helped him give Xie Run the "Stealing Life" in the previous article. At the same time, this person is also the master of Xie Xianzi, whose Taoist name is "True Lord Fire Lotus".
This person can be regarded as a "demon" with some great abilities...
The title of "Fire Lotus Immortal" of Shi Xuanzi was given by himself, so at most it counts. It's a nickname, but his master's "True Lord Fire Lotus" is the real Taoist name. Just by listening to the name, you can tell that he is much more powerful than the corpse.
However, how he and Xiao Zhun got together will be explained later. Let’s continue talking about the third person...
The third Jiang Shouzheng , the role is very important.
If Xiao Zhun wants to become a sword demon, he must go on a killing spree on the day of the "Sword Discussing". In this way, there is no guarantee that one or two people will slip through the net and leak the truth of that day. At this time, he needed someone like Jiang Shouzheng to come forward.
Speaking is an art.
To be a hero, you only need to know martial arts and be benevolent and righteous.
When you are a sanctimonious hero that everyone respects and responds to every call, you have to be able to speak.
Jiang Shouzheng is very good at talking, and people love to listen to him and are willing to believe what he says.
His upright and selfless face, his smooth and confident tone are both a gift and an acquired talent.The result of continuous training.
As long as he is willing to speak for Xiao Zhun and "testify" for Xiao Zhun, there is no need to give any more evidence, and other people's testimony cannot be compared with his.
Then why did he speak for Xiao Zhun?
It's very simple... Although most people in the world don't know it, Xiao Zhun knows very well that the so-called "Fan Jiang Erzheng" back then were both hypocrites.
Fan Zhengting has been missing for many years. He is probably no longer alive and no one cares about him. However, Jiang Shouzheng has been active in the world these years.
At his core, Jiang Shouzheng is a man who is greedy for life and afraid of death, loves money and is lustful. Externally, he is a hypocrite who is greedy for vanity and loves success. For a person like this, Xiao Zhun has many ways to get him to do things for him. .
To make a long story short, as soon as the news about Wujian Villa was released, the martial arts community in the Central Plains exploded.
The disciples of the big sects are okay, they are under the control of the sect and will not mess around, but those from the small sects and the stragglers in the world... there are many thick-skinned ones, don't worry. It doesn’t matter whether you know swordsmanship or not, just buy a sword and hold it, then you dare to call yourself a swordsman.
Most of them don’t really think that they can be favored by Xiao Zhun during the “sword discussion”, but they just want to join in the fun. After all, people say that being a “swordsman” is enough. Can enter the village.
In the past few days, weapons shops and blacksmith shops everywhere have undoubtedly made a lot of money - not to mention the short sales of inventory in the shops, there are so many urgent orders for swords that they can't be queued, and the price has increased by twenty Everyone is willing to give.
Fortunately, Dashu's officers, guards and troops are basically equipped with knives or long weapons, otherwise even the armory may be stolen.
Of course, this trend did not last long, only half a month in total. Many people had to rush to Lingnan from where they were. The time on the road was very tight, so there was no spare time. When I went to get swords, I gave up on some that I really couldn't buy.
But there are those iron ones who have to go without a sword, so one can only imagine what they will do...
In just the past half month, the roads leading to Wujian Villa, as well as the villages and shops near the Villa, were full of swords, swords, and bloodshed. There were endless incidents of "snatching swords". .
Some are secret thieves, and some are robbed openly...
If you are a famous swordsman, it may be safer. If you are not very famous, or you just bought it a few days ago If you come here with a sword, you have to be careful. You might be attacked or even besieged just as you sit down to rest, eat, or even take a shit. And people who can do such a thing , most of them won’t talk about benevolence and righteousness to you, and will most likely kill you if they grab the sword.
It is in such an atmosphere that the day of "sword discussion" is gradually approaching.
On the winter solstice, that is... the day before "Sword Discussing".
A small group of people came to a village near Wujian Villa in the wind and snow.
There are six people in this line, and everyone knows them: "The Young Master of Caotang" Wen Yuzai, "Sword and Sword Master" Xiao Wuji, "Canglong Hidden Peak" Haicangfeng, "Blunt Sword" Jiang Muchan, "Hunyuan Divine Sword" Lin Yuancheng, and the killer "Three-Character King".
Some people may want to ask after seeing this, where are Linghu Xiang, who went to Beijing with Xiao Lin before, and our two protagonists now?
This depends on our later document - Linghu Xiang secretly set up a cesspit to arouse public anger and kill Shuanghe with a hundred swords.