Qi Ning saw that the man was an old beggar in burlap clothes. He recognized it at a glance and said with a smile, "It's Mr. Zhong? When did Mr. Zhong arrive in the capital?"
That person was none other than Master Lou Wen's sworn brother Zhong Ya.
Qi Ning has personally experienced the mysterious skills of Zhong Ya and Bei Liang Nan Zhong, and he admires these old beggars with their unique talents from the bottom of his heart.
Zhong Ya smiled and said: "Master Hou, I have been missing for some days. I just arrived in the capital yesterday, but I couldn't go directly to the Marquis Mansion to visit the Marquis, so I asked the brother of the Ghost Golden Sheep Branch to help me and wanted to meet the Marquis. Come on." He raised his hand and said, "Master Marquis, please sit down."
After the two sat down, Zhong Ya said with a smile: "Master Hou, this visit to Beijing was ordered by Elder Lou. At the Qingmu Conference, Master Hou not only exposed Bai Hu's conspiracy, but also stood up and saved several members of the Beggar Gang. With a century-old foundation, if Bai Hu and Lu Shanghe succeed this time, the consequences will be really disastrous."
Qi Ning said with a smile: "Mr. Zhong, you are very grateful. In fact, this is not only for Brother Lou and the Beggar Clan, but also for the court." After a pause, he asked: "Mr. Zhong, Lu Shanghe was rescued. Does Brother Lou know about this?"
Zhong Ya nodded and said: "Elder Suzaku sent someone to send a secret message, and Elder Lou has already been informed of this matter. This incident indeed shows that Bai Hu and Lu Shanghe are not the only ones who are plotting to seize the Beggar Gang. Behind their backs, There must be someone more powerful planning it. But we still don’t know yet what exactly these people are going to do with the Beggar Gang after taking control of it.”
"Although the White Tiger has been eradicated and Lu Shanghe has no chance to contact the Beggar Gang again, if this gang really has a plan, they will definitely not let it go." Qining looked serious, "The Beggar Gang must not take it lightly."
Zhong Ya smiled and said: "Don't worry, Mr. Hou, I came to Beijing this time because of Elder Lou's request. He asked me to meet Elder Suzaku to discuss how to search for Lu Shanghe. This time, White Tiger almost endangered the foundation of the Beggar Clan. Things will naturally happen." We can’t just let it go, the elders of the Beggar Clan will also try their best to find out who is behind it.”
Qi Ning smiled and said, "If that's the case, then I'll be relieved."
"Master Hou is now the acting leader of the Beggar Clan. Once there is news about Lu Shanghe, we will report it to you immediately." Zhong Ya said sternly: "Although the true identity of Master Hou has not been disclosed to Elder Suzaku for the time being, Elder Lou is secretly The letter has already told Elder Suzaku that if the Marquis needs the help of the Beggar Clan at any time, just ask, Elder Suzaku will definitely cooperate fully."
Qi Ning clasped his fists and said, "Thank you. It's just... Mr. Zhong, it's better not to mention me as the acting gang leader. I'm really ashamed. At present, as long as the elders of the four parties stick to their own side and control their subordinates, there won't be any big problems in the Beggar Gang. . To the gang leader, given time, when the injury recovers, he will be able to return to the world."
"Master Hou, what Elder Lou means is that before we go out to the gang leader, we will use you as the acting gang leader." Zhong Ya said with a smile, then stood up and said, "Master Hou, later." He went to the inner room. Go, Qi Ning was curious, and soon saw Zhong Ya coming out, holding a small black bag in his hand. The bag was made of unknown materials, which was quite strange, but he saw Zhong Ya bringing it over with both hands. , said: "Master Hou, it's just a plaything, please accept it."
Qi Ning was very curious. He took the black bag and opened it. He saw several strange things inside. He took out one thing and put the bag next to it. Then he opened the thing with both hands. After seeing it clearly, His face changed slightly, and he lost his voice and said: "Human... human skin...!" He was really shocked.
The thing in his hand was clearly human skin peeled off a person's face.
"Master Hou, don't be surprised." Zhong Ya said: "This is not real human skin, but a human skin mask made by my Zhong family's Thousand Faces Technique."
"Human skin mask?" Qin Ning came back to his senses and vaguely saw that the human skin mask in his hand seemed to have the appearance of a middle-aged man.
Zhong Ya nodded and said: "Master Hou saved my beggar gang in danger. Elder Lou was grateful and wanted to express his gratitude. However, Master Hou has a distinguished status and we beggars have nothing good to say back. After much thought, Elder Lou and I just discussed giving a few gadgets to the Marquis to enjoy."
Qi Ning smiled and said: "Brother Lou and Mr. Zhong are so polite. Brother Lou and I are sworn brothers, not to mention that I also have thoughts of serving the imperial court. Even if it is not for the imperial court, it is just between me and elder brother Lou." In friendship, there is no such thing as thank you or not."
Zhong Ya smiled and said: "Master Hou, although these human skin masks are not precious things, looking at the world, Zhong asked himself that no one has better human skin masks than mine. These human skin masks cover his face. It's enough to look fake and real. When the Marquis uses it, he only needs to dip the mask in water and quickly put it on his face. Within seven days, the mask will fit perfectly on his face, just like it was born that way."
"Oh?" Qi Ning was actually very happy and said with a smile: "It comes from Mr. Zhong, so of course it is a good thing. It is better to obey orders than to be respectful, so I accepted it shamelessly."
Zhong Ya said: "There are five masks in total, and I made them according to the face shape of the Marquis."
Qi Ning put away the human skin mask and then said: "Mr. Zhong came to the capital. As the host, I should naturally show my friendship as a landlord. How about...!"
"Master Hou, please don't be polite." Zhong Ya said immediately: "Master Hou, if it is useful to go to the Beggar Clan's place, just give him the order. However, Zhong still doesn't want to go out with the Master to show off, so as not to bring trouble to the Master. Necessary trouble." He leaned forward slightly and whispered: "Master Marquis, please come here today, there is another thing I want to talk to you about."
"Mr. Zhong, please speak." Qining saw Zhong Ya's serious expression. It was obviously not a simple matter.
Zhong Ya thought for a moment, as if he was trying to decide where to start. He pondered for a moment before asking, "Does the Marquis know about Shadow Mouse?"
"Shadow Mouse?" Qi Ning was startled, very unfamiliar, and asked: "Is this Shadow Mouse a person?"
Zhong Ya shook his head and said: "It's not one person, but a group of people. This is just a name for a type of people in the world."
"What kind of person?"
"Assassin!" Zhong Ya said: "This kind of people are like wandering ghosts in the world. They do not join any gangs and do not make friends. They mostly work alone and rarely act in groups."
Qi Ning frowned and asked, "Why did Mr. Zhong suddenly mention this group of people?"
Zhong Ya looked solemn and said: "As far as we know, several groups of shadow mice have appeared near Gyeonggi Province recently. Although they act extremely secretly and are good at disguising themselves to hide their whereabouts, the beggar gang still discovered some clues. .The most surprising thing is that Shadow Mouse, who has always been a maverick, actually started to have contact with each other."
"touch?"
Zhong Ya stretched out a finger, dipped it in the tea on the table, and then drew a simple symbol on the table, which looked like a twisted earthworm. Qining was a little puzzled, and Zhong Ya whispered: "This is The clue we found, this symbol, is the mark of contact between the Shadow Mouse."
"Shadow Mouse Contact?" Qi Ning felt a little dizzy at this time, "Mr. Zhong, I still don't quite understand."
Zhong Ya said patiently: "Master Hou, every sect in the world has its own rules and regulations to restrain its disciples, but there is a group of people who are never willing to be restrained, and their own martial arts are not weak, but they don't bother to make a living by robbing families and homes. This kind of people will eventually choose to become shadow rats. Shadow rats are hired by others. As long as they receive money, they have to kill people for their employers. They don't care who they kill. This kind of people make a living by killing people."
Qi Ning's face looked a little ugly, thinking that throughout the ages, the industry of being employed to work for others has never ceased.
"It's okay if you kill ordinary people, but if you provoke a powerful enemy, even if you succeed but reveal your origins, you will be hunted and killed afterwards." Zhong Ya said: "So any movie actor Rats, they will be cautious in their actions, making sure to hit with one strike and escape without leaving any traces."
Qi Ning sighed: "Business is not easy to do. Even if you make a career out of killing people, you still need to have extraordinary professional skills."
Zhong Ya was stunned for a moment, but continued to explain: "Actually, these people are just employed by others, so they can't be said to be enemies with others, and people in the world try not to provoke them. Even the Shenhou Mansion is against them. Such people also turn a blind eye, after all, it is not easy to find a Shadow Mouse or even get rid of him."
Qi Ning said: "Shadow rats are hired by people to kill people. Mr. Zhong said that several groups of shadow rats have appeared near Gyeonggi Province recently. Could it be that these people are preparing to commit murder in Gyeonggi area?"
"If the Shadow Mouse didn't receive the murder mission, you wouldn't be able to find them even if you wanted to look for them." Zhong Ya sighed: "They will never show up easily and cause trouble for themselves. This time they suddenly appear, it must be It’s time to kill someone, but it’s extremely rare for several groups of shadow rats to appear at once.”
"The most important place in the capital is the capital." Qi Ning frowned and said, "Those shadow rats won't come to the capital to kill people, right?"
"We don't know what their purpose is and who they are employed by. In fact, even if a shadow rat is captured, even if it costs his life, he will not reveal any clues to his employer." Zhong Ya said: "Beggar Someone saw a shadow mouse leaving this symbol in an inn on the outskirts of Beijing. Half a day later, another shadow mouse connected with the previous person through the symbol, and the two disappeared from the inn together."
"Where did they go?"
Zhong Ya shook his head: "The Shadow Mouse's whereabouts are secretive and they are best at tracking. Our people know not to keep an eye on them too closely, and the Beggar Gang also tries not to provoke these people, so they did not inquire about this information later." After a pause, Then he whispered: "But according to the news, Red Scorpion and Mangshan Wolf have already appeared."
"Red Scorpion? Wild Mountain Wolf?" Qi Ning asked curiously: "Are these two also Shadow Mouse?"