All Heavens: Starting with Little Li Flying Dagger

Chapter 83 Hua Manlou: There is no more upright person in the world than Brother Gu.

There was a simple teahouse in the south of the city, consisting of two low wooden houses with a thatched shed outside, but business was always good.

As long as it doesn't rain, the place is almost always packed with people.

However, locals generally don't come here; the vast majority of tea drinkers are江湖人士 (jianghu figures, people from all walks of life).

"Old Zhao, any special news today?"

Old Zhao is a regular here, almost every day. He also has a nickname, "Know-it-all," and many tea drinkers come specifically for him.

The teahouse fell silent, and almost everyone's eyes turned to Old Zhao.

Clearly, Lao Zhao was enjoying this feeling.

With a smile on his face, he picked up the teacup, blew on the foam on the tea leaves, and slowly took a sip.

Having piqued everyone's interest, he then said, "You all know Jin Jiuling, right?"

"Of course I know!"

"This person is known as the number one master of the Six Doors in three hundred years, the number one divine constable in the world, and is said to be a friend of Lu Xiaofeng."

Once everyone had quieted down, Old Zhao said, "He's dead!"

The crowd erupted in uproar.

"Dead?"

"What happened?"

"Have we run into a formidable enemy?"

Old Zhao didn't answer that question, but asked instead, "Has anyone heard about the 'Embroidered Thief' who broke into the Southeast Prince's Palace treasury and stole treasures?"

"Of course, such a big thing has already spread."

Old Zhao smiled and said, "However, this was all a play orchestrated by Jin Jiuling."

"A play?"

"Why is that?"

Old Zhao replied, "His purpose in planning this play was to arouse Lu Xiaofeng's interest. Because the more impossible something is, the more interested Lu Xiaofeng becomes."

Upon hearing this, everyone suddenly understood.

Indeed, Lu Xiaofeng loved to challenge the impossible.

Some people couldn't help but ask, "How exactly did Jin Jiuling die?"

"Because he has done many despicable things in secret. Although he is not the famous embroidery thief, he is more insidious than the embroidery thief..."

"So who killed him?"

"I heard it's a young man named Gu Yu."

Upon hearing this, the tea drinkers couldn't help but start discussing it amongst themselves.

Who is this person?

"I don't know, I've never heard of it..."

Little did anyone know, Gu Yu was also in the teahouse at that moment. He and Hua Manlou were sitting at a table at the very edge of the thatched shed, and almost no one paid any attention to them.

Hua Manlou whispered, "This old Zhao is no simple man. I wonder where he heard the news."

Gu Yu smiled and said, "Perhaps they make a living by selling information; they have their own sources of information."

Old Zhao paused for a moment, then continued, "Actually, it can't be said that Gu Yu killed Jin Jiuling; he merely crippled Jin Jiuling's martial arts. But for a renowned constable like Jin Jiuling, once his martial arts are crippled, what chance does he have of survival?"

Upon hearing this, someone suddenly realized, "Then he must have committed suicide."

Old Zhao nodded: "Not bad!"

At this moment, someone asked, "Old Zhao, I heard that the Green Robe Pavilion has found the young prince of the Golden Roc Dynasty from back then?"

Old Zhao chuckled, "It can't be said that we've found him. There's a rumor that the young prince of the Golden Roc Dynasty originally hid in Guanzhong, but later fled to the southeast. The Green Robe Pavilion has always..."

Before he could finish speaking, Old Zhao's expression changed, and he hurriedly stood up, saying, "I have something to do, I'll take my leave first."

"What, you're leaving as soon as we arrive?"

A cold shout came, and Old Zhao had no choice but to stop, revealing a smile that was even more unsightly than crying.

He recognized the other person as someone from the Green Robe Pavilion.

There were six people in total. The two in the lead were called "Iron-Faced Judge" and "Soul-Hook".

Old Zhao smiled apologetically and cupped his hands, saying, "Gentlemen, I have some urgent business to attend to."

The stern-faced judge coldly asked, "Are you preparing to attend your own funeral?"

Old Zhao's smile froze on his face.

The hand that snatched the soul grabbed Old Zhao's shoulder and said, "If you don't want to die, come with us obediently."

"Wait a minute!"

At this moment, Gu Yu stood up and said something.

The Iron-Faced Judge and the Soul-Snatcher immediately glanced over.

"You can't take Old Zhao away!"

The stern-faced judge sneered: "Why?"

"There's an order to things. I have something to ask Lao Zhao. You can ask him first."

"Hahaha!"

The Iron-Faced Judge and the Soul-Hook couldn't help but exchange a glance, then burst into laughter.

But the next moment, their laughter caught in their throats, and their faces turned bright red.

Because, in the blink of an eye, Gu Yu appeared in front of them, grabbed Lao Zhao with one hand, and then pulled Lao Zhao back to the table.

Old Zhao seemed to be still in a daze, standing there dumbfounded.

Gu Yu then shouted at the waiter, "Make Old Zhao another bowl of tea."

At the same time, the Iron-Faced Judge's expression changed several times, and the veins on his hand gripping the hilt of his sword bulged.

However, he ultimately did not take action.

After hesitating for a moment, he finally asked, "May I ask your name?"

"Gu Yu!"

These two short words caused a stir.

"Is he Gu Yu?"

"Was it him who crippled Jin Jiuling's martial arts?"

The iron-faced judge coldly replied, "The green hills remain unchanged, the clear waters flow on, and the Green Robe Pavilion will always remember your name."

Gu Yu smiled and said, "It is my honor."

As soon as the six people left, the tea drinkers in the teahouse also dispersed, clearly afraid of suffering an undeserved disaster.

In the end, only three guests remained: Gu Yu, Hua Manlou, and Lao Zhao.

Old Zhao sighed and said, "You two young heroes should leave quickly, the Green Robe Tower will not let this go."

Gu Yu smiled and said, "It's alright, I came to you to ask about some things."

"Young hero, please feel free to ask whatever you wish to say."

Do you have any leads on the Embroidered Thief?

Old Zhao pondered for a moment and said, "I don't know the identity of the Embroidery Thief, but I dare say that there is more than one Embroidery Thief."

"Oh?"

"No matter how skilled a person is in martial arts, it's impossible for them to commit so many major crimes in a row. Take the shipment of silver escorted by the Zhenyuan Escort Agency, for example—a full 800,000 taels. How could one person possibly smuggle it away?"

Gu Yu deeply agreed: "You're right. It's impossible for one person to do it. The Embroidered Thief may appear to be a single person, but he must have many accomplices in secret, and it's very likely an organization."

Old Zhao nodded: "That's right. I suspected that the Green Robe Pavilion was behind the case, and I mentioned it to some people. They might have contacted me about this."

"Also, how much do you know about red shoes?"

Upon hearing this, Old Zhao couldn't help but ask, "Young hero, do you suspect that the Embroidered Bandit is part of the Red Shoes organization?"

Gu Yu smiled and said, "It's not impossible."

"As far as I know, the Red Shoes organization doesn't have many members, and they are all women. The leader is called Gongsun Lan, who is said to be a descendant of Gongsun Da Niang, the most famous courtesan in the early Tang Dynasty. However, many people don't know her name and just call her Gongsun Da Niang."

Hua Manlou couldn't help but add, "I don't think I've ever heard of her name in the martial arts world."

Old Zhao explained, "That's because she wants to maintain an air of mystery. Actually, she has many other names, such as the female butcher, the peach blossom bee, the five-poison lady, the enchanting old woman, Granny Bear..."

Hua Manlou was taken aback: "Are all of these people her?"

Old Zhao nodded: "That's right, it's all her. And this is only what I know; there must be others I don't know."

Hua Manlou sighed with admiration, "This woman is indeed very mysterious."

Gu Yu laughed, "Sooner or later I'll strip her naked..."

Old Zhao stared at him in shock.

Gu Yu said with a serious expression, "I meant stripping her of her disguise. Are you all overthinking this? I'm a respectable person."

Disguise is just a disguise; stripping away her disguise is the same as stripping away her disguise.

Hua Manlou smiled and said, "In this world, there is no one more upright than Brother Gu."