Meng Qi almost laughed and suddenly felt that Ruan Yushu's image had become much more amiable.

  "Your move just now was truly unpredictable and impressive!" Meng Qi's demeanor changed, and he wasn't so stiff anymore, sincerely praising him.

  Ruan Yushu nodded without any modesty, a hint of complacency on his face.

  She swallowed the food in her mouth, took out a handkerchief and wiped her mouth: "Unfortunately, I didn't get to see you make your move."

  "Why?" Meng Qi asked back with a bit of a smirk.

  "You're about the same age as me, also at the four apertures boundary, yet you've made it onto the human ranking list. There must be something special about you." After being softened up by Meng Qi's words, Ruan Yushu spoke a bit more.

  "That's it." Meng Qi said with a very comfortable mood.

  Ruan Yushu calmly said: "I wonder what kind of demeanor Lei Dao Kuang Seng or Meng Jinguang would have?"

  Meng Qi's smile fell: "This is a rumor spread by the people of Jianghu, where am I a mad monk? Honestly, my demeanor and temperament are not bad."

  Can only blush and praise myself.

  Ruan Yushu picked up the chopsticks again, clamped down on the remaining food, his gaze lowered, his head slightly bowed, and a faint smile played on his lips as he said in a moderate tone, "There's only taking the wrong name, no calling the wrong nickname."

  Listen to me explain, it's really not like that... Meng Qi's expression suddenly froze, and his heart was frantically shouting.

  …………

  When they returned to the small hut, Lu Zhongqi was already waiting there. He nodded and said: "The outside world has been circulating rumors that Gao Tong died suddenly from illness, but I believe it's not so coincidental. Little Meng brothers, Ruan sister, you have truly helped me eliminate my worries. Now, I will take you to meet Commander Lu."

  Lu Guan has been demoted to this place for many years, and some of the families who followed him have already settled down and had children. Although they had made arrangements to hide and avoid detection, Gao Tong was a powerful figure in the western regions, so it was likely that he would be found. Therefore, if he were not eliminated, Lu Zhongqi and others would find it difficult to escort Lu Guan safely to the capital.

  As he spoke, his eyes swept over the seven-stringed zither in Ruan Yushu's arms, and his expression seemed thoughtful.

  He followed Lu Guan for many years and was very experienced in observing people and things. He didn't think that the cold and taciturn swordsman Xiao Mei could kill Gao Tong in such a strange way. On the other hand, it was rare to see someone using a seven-stringed zither as a weapon on the rivers and lakes. The methods of the Ruan surname girl must be special.

  "It's just luck." Meng Qi replied briefly, while Ruan Yushu maintained a calm and detached feeling, nodding slightly without saying a word.

  Lu Zhongqi didn't say much either, and led the two of them to a bustling street in the city, where they entered a grocery store facing the street.

  He walked directly through the grocery store and into the backyard behind it. The shopkeeper and his assistants didn't even give him a glance, as if they hadn't seen him at all.

  In the courtyard, there were about a dozen people from the rivers and lakes who wore knives and swords. They were both men and women, divided into three or four groups, chatting idly among themselves.

  Meng Qi and Ruan Yushu followed Lu Zhongqi in, they all looked over with a hint of astonishment, not because of anything else, but because they didn't expect the new companion to be so young, one was seventeen or eighteen years old, and the other was fifteen or sixteen years old, still wet behind the ears, how high could their strength be?

  Lu Zhongqi nodded and led Meng Qi and others directly to the study.

  "Lu Shuai repeatedly defeated the Western bandits, recovered the rivers and mountains, but was framed by the treacherous minister and demoted to this place. Many Jianghu heroes admired him and felt indignant on his behalf. When news of this trip to the capital spread, many friends came to escort us, but with so many people involved, it's easy for information to leak out. Moreover, some heroes are not very powerful, if we let them join, they would only put their lives in danger." As he walked towards the study, Lu Zhongqi casually introduced, "So I observed everyone's abilities and set up tests, politely declining most of my friends' offers. The dozen or so who remained were all highly skilled and trustworthy."

  This is the way it should be... Meng Qi nodded coldly, as if escorting to the capital had become a farce, even if he was made of iron, how many nails could he hit?

  Passing through the roads guarded by several family members and servants, a few people arrived in front of the study, where Lu Zhongqi respectfully knocked on the door.

  "Zhong Qi, come in." Lu Guan's tired but firm voice sounded, although he wasn't a master, he had quite good martial arts skills.

  Lu Zhongqi pushed open the door and gestured to Meng Qi and Ruan Yushu to wait for a moment, then went in to report a few words before coming out to invite the two of them to enter.

  "Two friends Gao Yi, Lu Mou is really ashamed." Lu Guan said with a hint of embarrassment.

  He was seven feet tall, with dark skin and a five-strand long beard under his chin. The most striking feature on his face was his eyes, bright and spirited, with a firm determination, the whole person's temperament was elegant but not lacking in hardness.

  Meng Qi cupped his hands and said: "General Lu is a hero of the people, for the country and for the people, the greatest chivalrous man. We are willing to go through fire and water."

  He didn't exchange pleasantries either, and was concise in his words.

  "For the country and for the people, the greatest chivalrous spirit..." Lu Guan's expression changed, and he repeated this sentence in a low voice.

  "Good, Lu Shuai is indeed a worthy great hero!" Beside Lu Guan were two others, one was an old man in brocade, with a dignified demeanor, and the other was a Taoist swordsman with a lion's nose and tiger's eyes, who was the one speaking.

  Lu Zhongqi smiled and pointed at the Taoist priest: "'Tiger Dao Ren' Jin Yan, Senior Jin."

  Then he turned to the brocade-clad man: "Master Jiao Chong of the Water-Gazing Tower."

  Meng Qi could tell with his toes that Hu Dao Ren and Jiao Chong were the top masters among these Jianghu people, perhaps also the most famous, so they almost became the leaders of the Jianghu people, personally protecting Lu Guan.

  After mutual greetings, the enthusiastic Tiger Daoist praised: "The two young friends are so skilled at such a young age, truly awe-inspiring! But what impresses me most is that you understand justice, know the greatness of chivalry, and fear no danger, coming to assist us. Heroes emerge in youth indeed!"

  Jiao Chong also smiled and said: "I haven't seen such outstanding young people in many years, your future prospects will be boundless."

  As seniors, the two of them half-jokingly and half-seriously praised each other for a few sentences. Meng Qi and Ruan Yushu, on the other hand, were both introverted and reserved in front of strangers, expressing their gratitude with a few precious words.

  Lu Guan sighed and said, "The greatest heroes are those who serve the country and the people. I, Lu, am ashamed to have received such a title, for my heart is in the passes, but my body has grown old and weak, and I have wasted away the years."

  "Hu Dao-ren said loudly: 'Lu Shuai, this time entering the capital, you must show your lifelong ambition, defeat the Western barbarians outside and eliminate the treacherous officials inside, return peace to the emperor and the people!'"

  Lu's expression turned resolute: "This matter is difficult, but Lu will not regret it even if he dies nine times."

  Lu Guan again thanked them for killing Gao Tong and had Lu Zhongqi arrange for the two heroes to be properly taken care of.

  Lu Zhongqi originally planned to let them join other rivers and lakes, divided into teams to patrol and guard, but considering that the two were silent and taciturn, one was indifferent and the other was cold, it seemed difficult for them to get along with others, so they simply followed him.

  After a few days, Meng Qi and his party quietly left Yue Xi and escorted Lu Guan to the capital.

  …………

  In the courtyard where he was staying overnight, Meng Qi drew out "Evil Fate", slowly displaying the Five Tigers Broken Gate Knife Method and the Blood Knife Method.

  These two knife methods are the foundation of his knife method, the most immersive. Now that I've read the Tian Dao General Outline, I've re-launched it, but it has a different feeling, as if I understand something, and yet it seems like I don't understand anything at all.

  His movements were very slow, sometimes stopping, thinking while operating the knife, looking clumsy and awkward, as if he had just started.

  "The essence of the Tian Dao's general outline indeed contains Song Que's lifetime summary of knife skills, it is extremely difficult to understand and comprehend... At this moment, Meng Qi couldn't help but envy Kou Zhong from 'The Legend of the Double Dragons', who could face-to-face exchange blows with Tian Dao Song Que, receive his guidance and tempering, and stimulate his potential with knife momentum, entering the true realm of knife skills in a short period of time. Meanwhile, he himself had to hold onto the secret manual, practicing day and night, painstakingly pondering."

  Perhaps due to the burden of the Thunder God's mark and part of the Nine Extinctions' legacy, my own "Thunder Speech" cultivation has progressed by leaps and bounds, and I have already achieved minor success.

  "Xiao Meng, you've just learned your knife skills?" Hu Dao and Jiao Chong took turns to protect Lu Guan closely, and when they came out for some fresh air, they happened to see Meng Qi practicing with his knife, and it was a pity that the extraordinary material of the long knife was not being utilized.

  "Not really, just guessing." Meng Qi's face was cold but polite.

  Hudao Ren smiled and didn't confirm or deny it, then asked: "Xiao Meng, you seem to be practicing both knife and sword, but why have I never seen you practice sword?"

  Meng Qi slightly raised his head: "The sword under me, it's necessary to see blood when it comes out of the scabbard."

  The swordsman's proud and confident temperament was fully revealed.

  Hudao Ren's face twitched slightly as he walked away in another direction.

  The heroes of Jianghu who were resting around couldn't help but smile one after another.

  Meng Qi didn't care about this at all, no matter what they thought, at least in his heart he would attach great importance to his own swordsmanship, and must think that his swordsmanship was stronger than the knife method of a newcomer, so this image was established.

  Ruan Yushu suddenly appeared from somewhere and saw Meng Qi practicing knife skills in slow motion.

  She stood by thoughtfully for a while, then whispered into the secret passage: "Is your swordsmanship at a bottleneck?"

  "Mm." Meng Qi nodded, and Ruan Yushu's family background was profound, so it wasn't strange at all.

  "If it's a breakthrough, the knife method is close to reason, and you will also break the 'Anan Breaking Knife Method'. Ruan Yushu no longer doubted the strength of Meng Qi's knife method, still transmitting sound into secrecy, "No wonder he can climb up the human list.""

  Being able to climb up the human rankings, Meng Qi was quite proud and pleased with himself, a smile appearing on his face.

  "I've heard that since ancient times, only a handful of high-ranking monks in Shaolin have truly mastered this knife technique and grasped its true meaning?" Ruan Yushu seemed somewhat curious.

  Meng Qi nodded slightly: "Yes."

  More and more people are getting better.

  Ruan Yushu furrowed his distant mountain-like eyebrows: "They seem to have mostly broken their precepts and left, but ultimately returned to the Buddhist gate and became high monks. Will you still become a monk in the future?"

  Meng Qi's face turned black at the time.

  Ruan Yushu carried a seven-stringed zither on his back, with both hands clasped behind him, and the corners of his mouth slightly raised as he walked slowly back into the house.

  At this time, Lu's family member who went out to buy things returned with wine and dishes, her footsteps suddenly slowed down.

  As usual, they carefully examined the poison and brought a black dog to try some of each.

  After a while, the black dog was still fine, and only then did people take away their own share of wine and dishes, leaving the rest for the batch that was on patrol.

  Meng Qi was about to step forward when he saw Ruan Yushu standing there in a daze.

  The foodie didn't move, it's strange... Meng Qi "Evil Fate" was still sheathed, and asked in doubt: "Ruan Gongzhu, why aren't you going?"

  Ruan Yushu furrowed her brow slightly, with a hint of puzzlement: "It seems not very delicious, a bit strange."

  As soon as the words fell, several people covered their throats and let out a loud "Hoh", before falling to the ground with blackened faces.

  But the black dog was still lively and active.

  "Poison? This poisoning ability..." Meng Qi's pupils slightly constricted.