"Where to go? Who to kill? How many?" Xi Heng accepted the task.
"Sister, you are really outspoken." Yan Hongji was also blunt: "People from the Qingle Gang often come to interfere with my business. If you have time, please help me clean up these troubles."
"Clean up..." It was the first time that Xi Heng saw a hint of murderous intent in the eyes of his junior sister.
"I hope you can do it in a covert way so that it won't be recognized as our Yan family's doing." Yan Hongji said softly, "The Qingle Gang is active in the withered flower area south of Qinxie Changxiang. They manage the willow alley flower street where the flesh trade is conducted. There are more than 400 people in the gang, more than 20 of them have entered the realm of strength, and one has reached the realm of great strength. Please be careful, senior sister."
"It's just a great achievement of Ming Jin." Xi Heng waved his hand.
On her way from Jinshi City to the capital, she killed so many people that Ming Jin Dacheng couldn't count them on one hand.
"…The officers and soldiers have strict control in Qinxie Changxiang, but they are much more lenient in places like the Withered Flower District where good and bad people mix and there are many evil gangs. You can just cover your face and leave after you've done your job." Yan Hongji added.
"What are you talking about?" Another girl seemed to have heard their whispers.
"Senior sister will live in Huamanlou for a long time. Let's talk about what will happen next." Yan Hongji turned around and responded quite naturally.
"Oh..." Chu Xiao didn't care and just said, "I have had a great time today, let's go back now."
"It's only been half an hour?" Hongji asked in confusion.
Chu Xiao shook his head slightly, without saying anything more, he stood up in an elegant manner and walked towards the entrance of the pavilion on his own.
Hongji Chaoxiheng waved his hand, stood up and followed the steps of this noble man.
Xi Heng followed behind and heard their conversation.
"That girl named Chunfeng seemed to understand my identity, and she inevitably changed from her previous light-hearted and natural look to one that became respectful and nervous. I'm used to seeing this kind of look, so of course I find it boring." Chu Xiao chuckled.
"No matter where I go, as long as my identity is discovered, all the special things will become less special." She shook her head.
"I'm tired today, so I'll go back to my room first, Hongji."
Yan Hongji nodded in agreement.
Xi Heng watched the two of them get on the tall carriage and did not leave with them.
"Sister, aren't you coming?"
"I'm going to take care of something." The girl waved her hand lightly.
Yan Hongji understood something and said with a serious look, "I wish you good luck, Senior Sister."
"Don't worry." Xi Heng turned around and walked towards the south.
A few silver bells rang out from the dull carriage, and the driver threw the reins, the wide wheels made a sound, and the carriage gradually drove away.
Xi Heng walked alone among the crowd.
It was sunset again, and the red and yellow lanterns hanging in front of the pavilions in the prosperous Qinxie Changxiang Lane were lit up one by one by the waiters.
The dim or reddish warm light illuminated the layers of archways and signs, giving her the vague illusion that she was walking on a modern commercial street full of neon lights.
As evening approached and night fell, the number of people on the street gradually increased.
Some shops in the high-rise buildings that were closed during the day gradually opened for business at this time. The shops were lit with many fluorescent lights and there were few dark places.
Incense was lit, wine was poured, and all kinds of aromas mixed together, adding a touch of decadence to the prosperous atmosphere of the capital.
A series of calls for customers were heard around Xi Heng.
The girl found a clothing store on the street that sold bright and exquisite clothes, and used a few taels of silver from the purse around her waist to buy a black gauze veil hat that could cover her face.
She pinched the brim of her hat down, and held the scabbard of the sword at her waist with her left hand. Her steps subconsciously became steady and calm, with a faint aura emanating from her body, and a hint of murderous intent revealed in her eyes.
She hadn't killed anyone in almost three days.
……
Chapter 35: Bloody Night
At the beginning of the night in the capital, the lights were bright around Qinxie Changxiang in the inner city.
The long alley was lit with fluorescent lights and candles everywhere. From every open pavilion, whispers and smiles could be heard from time to time. Women were waving on the stage covered with flowers, dancing to the sound of stringed instruments and orchestras.
On both sides of the spacious long street, there were also women sitting on wooden steps or strange rocks, holding the pipa upright and playing it with their long, finely carved nails, accompanied by soft singing, which attracted people's attention.
Xi Heng had been solicited many times during this journey, even though she was a woman. Some women invited her, and some even had men wearing rouge and powder, and wearing gorgeous dresses. Their expressions and manners were no different from those of women. No matter whether they saw men or women, they would come to invite them...
"They are so open-minded..." Xi Heng never thought that people in ancient times could be so open-minded.
"Isn't it said that ancient times were very feudal and conservative?"
What she saw today really overturned her impression.
I really don’t know if this was always the case in ancient times, or if it was because she traveled through time to a different dynasty that didn’t exist in history.
Xi Heng shook his head without thinking any more and continued walking forward.
She walked for so long today, naturally to complete the task that her junior sister had asked her to do just now, which was to go to the withered flower area south of Qin Xie Changxiang, to find the so-called Qingle Gang and try to destroy it.
When they arrived at the less flower-filled area south of Qin Xie Chang Xiang, Xi Heng grabbed someone on the street and asked for the address. After making sure that he had arrived at the withered flower area, he looked around for a brightly lit business building to get closer.
Yan Hongji had previously said that the Qingle Gang was involved in the flesh trade, so Xi Heng went to places like brothels first.
The Hongyuan Brothel in this area is very different from the ornate pavilions and towers in Qinxie Changxiang. It is just a two-story building with blue bricks connected to a series of slender wooden doors, with red cloth for climbing up the stairs hung on them, and two lines of couplets written in front of the two beams. It is plain and simple, without any unique style.
If the buildings and architectural decorations in Qinxie Changxiang still have some artistic atmosphere, this place is just an ordinary place.
Moreover, in front of the brothel, most of the people walking on the street were common people, unlike the prosperous places in the north, where the customers were either children of wealthy families wearing brocade clothes, or some unrestrained literati, or warriors like Xi Heng.
Xi Heng was thinking about all this as he moved towards the brothel.
The strong guards in front of the building saw her and laughed at her: "The rumors are true. It turns out that there are really young girls visiting the brothel. Young lady, are you here to have fun, or do you want to..."
Before the other party finished speaking, Xi Heng interrupted him nonchalantly, "Are you from the Qingle Gang?"
"Hehe, that's right, what do you have to say, young lady?" The other party was used to being domineering and answered directly.
"I passed by here and heard that you bullied men and women and forced good girls into prostitution, and did all kinds of evil things." Before taking action, Xi Heng first accused the other party, and then said loudly like a righteous hero: "I came here specially to teach you a lesson."
The four guards looked at each other after hearing this, and then one of them said sarcastically:
"Where did this arrogant girl come from? You learned just a few moves and think you can punish evildoers. I'm afraid you've heard too many stories. Go back to where you came from!"
Halfway through his speech, he gave Xi Heng a vicious look, as if threatening him with his power.
However, Xi Heng didn't show any sign of being frightened, which made him feel suspicious.
"Stop talking too much nonsense, take it!" Xi Heng pretended to be righteous and imposing. At first, he did not draw his sword, but rushed towards the enemy with his fists and feet.
"You little girl." The sturdy gatekeeper clenched his fist and immediately walked forward.
He raised his right hand to punch, but Xi Heng just slightly turned sideways and dodged it easily.
Then she moved closer, raised her fist and hit the other person's chin directly.
Xi Heng did not use any strength, as he did not want the enemy to realize the difference in strength and flee in panic immediately.
However, even so, this move, with the power of waist, footwork and inertia, directly caused the enemy to scream in pain and fall backwards with his head raised.
Fortunately, someone caught him from behind, otherwise the guard would have fallen to the ground and hit his head, causing a concussion.
After a while, the sturdy man came back to his senses and looked at Xi Heng with no more contempt in his eyes: "This girl is really good, let's do it together!"
The other guards responded one by one, and Xi Heng made a simple palm technique and took a big step forward.
The guards of the tower attacked, but their punches were random.
Xi Heng took a false step and quickly turned from left to right. Then he clapped his hands and hit the opponent's arm directly, causing numbness.
The enemy shrank back because of the pain as he was protecting his elbow. Xi Heng then stepped behind his knee and knocked him down with a hook of his toes.
Before she could retract her attack, the other three pounced on her again.
She stomped on the ground suddenly and jumped high. The three people below collided with each other due to inertia and felt dizzy immediately.
Xi Heng landed on the ground and kicked the three of them down one by one.
Cries of pain were heard as the three guards were kicked in their weak spots, making it difficult for them to stand up for a while.
Xi Heng stood by and waited for a while before he saw one of them finally stumble up and said, "This is a tough guy. Go to the building and ask for the guard."
"But the guard is still drinking and having fun in the room. We will be blamed if we disturb him now... Why don't we try again?" Someone hesitated.
"..." He and the people around him also became hesitant.
"Okay, I was just careless just now. I won't play with you this time, little girl." The leader and the three people around him gathered their strength and rushed towards Xi Heng again.
"Boring." After knocking these guys down with three punches and two kicks, Xi Heng yawned.
"Quickly call out your so-called guards, or I will break in myself."
"You wait!" The guard, knowing he was no match for his opponent, wisely entered the building and shouted.
Two minutes later, a younger and stronger man came out carrying a black iron stick. When he saw Xi Heng waiting at the door, he did not look angry at all. Instead, he looked quite interested and asked casually:
"Whose family are you from? There are few women in the capital who have achieved success in martial arts. Why don't we get to know each other?"
"Stop talking nonsense. I just want to beat you up today. Let's start." Xi Heng snorted coldly.
"You really have the demeanor of a warrior. I admire you very much. How about coming to our pavilion for a drink after the duel?" The man was still pretending to be serious.
Xi Heng didn't want to listen to this person's nonsense anymore and walked straight forward.
"You haven't even finished talking..." The young man had a bad look on his face. He swung the long stick in his hand downward and took a steady step forward.
His movements were obviously much smoother than those of the amateur guards before him. Judging from his appearance, he must be a martial artist with great energy and blood in his body.
Xi Heng did not draw his sword when facing the weapon, but just approached with his bare hands.
The difference in strength between a martial artist who has entered the realm of Jin and a martial artist who has achieved great success in Ming Jin is like a chasm between heaven and earth.
Xi Heng stepped forward into the opponent's range, and the man raised his stick and swept it across, but Xi Heng had already seen through his moves. He dodged the stick and pounced on him without hesitation, raising his right palm with the force of a tiger stepping on the ground, and using half of his strength to attack the opponent straight away.
The enemy was hit by the palm and took several steps back. He groaned in pain and felt a sweetness in his throat. When he opened his mouth, he spat out blood instead of saliva.
"..." His eyes suddenly became serious: "You are also into it!"
"Did I say that, didn't I?" Xi Heng slowly waved his palm and started again.
A trace of hatred flashed in the young man's eyes, and he swung his stick and shouted:
"I won't hold back this time. Take it!"
After five or six seconds, Xi Heng dodged several moves and moved closer, then struck the enemy directly in the chest with another palm. The powerful force sent the enemy's entire body flying several meters away.
"Hurry up and go to Xianchun Tower to call the master!" The guard realized that there was a huge gap in skills between him and Xi Heng, and shouted again.
Three minutes later, another middle-aged man with loose hair and brocade clothes came to the field with his hands behind his back and steady and slow steps.
"Oh, you Xiangchun Pavilion are really powerless. You still have to disturb me for such a small matter." He shook his head, as if he was some kind of hermit master.
Another two minutes passed, and Xi Heng kicked the enemy in the abdomen, knocking him to the ground, and then yawned in boredom.
"Not good... I haven't fought for too long, and I made a mistake in the fight and got injured. I can't fight anymore. Go and ask the magician from the street for help!" the sect leader called out again.
At this moment, many people had gathered in front of the brothel to watch the excitement. There were common people in cloth, idle scholars who had heard about the commotion and came here specially, or the prostitutes in the pavilion who were staying on the balcony and looking down. When they saw Xi Heng's elegant figure, there was a hint of envy and loneliness in their eyes.
After a while, the so-called street magician was also called over. This person was indeed wearing a green robe like a scholar, holding a paper fan in his hand. When he saw Xi Heng, he found him quite interesting and said that he would not pursue what happened today. He only asked Xi Heng to come into the building to have a drink and laugh away their grudges.
Xi Heng sighed. Why do these people from Beijing always like to talk before a fight? Is there no one to reason with them?
She didn't want to waste any more time, so she said "start fighting" and went forward to fight the enemy.
The opponent drew out the long sword from his waist halfway, and Xi Heng took the opportunity to strike back with the scabbard.
The two swords collided with each other with a series of crisp sounds. Xi Heng changed his move, turned his wrist and hit the opponent's abdomen with the hilt of the sword, causing him to lose strength and retreat.
However, this person was still not convinced and wanted to stand up and fight again.
After more than ten moves, Xi Heng knocked his opponent down three times in a row before the man finally admitted defeat.
"This is a good swordsman... Although his blood and energy are not strong, his sword skills are far superior to mine. Go and invite the deputy gang leader, senior sister!" shouted the green-clothed scholar.
Xi Heng held her forehead with her hand. Although everything was in her plan, it sounded so strange to hear these people shouting one after another.
Two minutes later, a strong woman with rough skin and a big knife on her shoulder rushed over.
This deputy gang leader was just like the previous ones. He first said some boring and uninteresting words, and then defended the actions of the Qingyi Gang in succession, as if he wanted to teach Xi Heng a lesson.
The girl pressed her temples to clear all the nonsense from her head.
"Stop talking, let's fight!"
