Song of Adolescence

Chapter 94 Thousand Men with Thousand Faces

Jiuxiao City.

Lei Wujie hugged Tang Lian and cried, "Da-shixiong, it\'s so great to see you. A group of assassins are trying to kill us for no reason, and each one more powerful than the other. Now that you’re here, we’re saved! Come on, Xiao Se, let’s take da-shixiong back with us and give those guys a real trashing!"

Xiao Se glanced at Lei Wujie coldly, ignored him, and merely called over the waiter. "Waiter, bring over a pot of Diaohua wine and four or five side dishes. I heard that the osmanthus cake in Jiuxiao City is not bad, so we’ll have a plate of that too."

Tang Lian helplessly said, "This one is treating me like a bodyguard, and the other is treating me like I’m the local landlord. Can\'t you show a little more calibre as disciples of Snow Moon City?"

"What calibre? You didn’t see that assassin. His sword was as big as a door, yet he handled it as dexterously as an embroidery needle. I was with the Daoist Sword Immortal’s disciple, Li Fansong, and we couldn’t even beat him together!" Lei Wujie was indignant.

"What kind of assassin is so strong?" Tang Lian was also taken aback.

"It\'s Hidden River. They’ve sent five top level assassins. The one Lei Wujie described is an assassin of Su House who uses a great sword. His name is Su Changli." Xiao Se cut off Lei Wujie who was about to go on another tirade and answered first.

Lei Wujie nodded. "Yes, he’s called Su Changli."

Tang Lian thought for a while, and said, "Hidden River is the most mysterious assassin organisation in the martial world. They’ve existed since the previous dynasty, and pre-date Snow Moon City by more than a hundred years. However, there is very little information about them in the martial world, but there will always be some traces of information. Although many of their assassins are not known by their real names, among the martial artists, they were given code names. The Su Changli you met should be the assassin codenamed ‘Great Sword’, and there should have been two others with him."

"Yes, a lady in a red dress who plays with flowers, and a girl in a purple dress." Lei Wujie nodded.

"That\'s the \'Flower Demon\' and the \'Purple Devil\'. The three of them usually work together. They are relatively famous among the assassins of Hidden River," Tang Lian said.

"They’re only considered \'relatively famous\'?" Lei Wujie asked in surprise.

"Yes, the very famous ones such as the \'Umbrella Ghost\'… It’s said that he always shows up with an umbrella on rainy days and kills like a ghost. He\'s a legendary assassin, but he hasn\'t appeared in more than ten years. There’s a rumour he’s dead." Tang Lian nodded.

Sikong Qianluo, who hadn\'t spoken up till now, also said, "I’ve heard my father talk about the Umbrella Ghost. He seems to be the number one assassin in Hidden River back then."

"So, shixiong, do you think the four of us can beat them if we go back?" Lei Wujie asked.

"That’s not a problem at all." Tang Lian smiled.

"Shixiong is so brave, unlike some people, who can only run!" Lei Wujie extended his thumb. "But we should forget it. We can be the bigger men. It’s best if we hurry back to Lei Clan Fort first."

"You’re anxious to return to Lei Clan Fort. Because you want to participate in the Lei Clan Fort’s \'Heroes Banquet"? Tang Lian said suddenly.

"Of course! This year, the Heroes Banquet is finally being held in Lei Clan Fort. As Lei Clan Fort’s most outstanding disciple of this generation, of course I’m anxious to go back and participate." Lei Wujie revealed his true feelings and scratched his head. "By the way… shixiong…"

"What?" Tang Lian saw that Lei Wujie was suddenly glancing around fitfully and was a little puzzled.

Xiao Se glanced at Lei Wujie coldly, and said, "He wants to ask you, since you are here, then where is Ye Ruoyi?"

Tang Lian suddenly realized, and smiled. "Lei Wujie, oh Lei Wujie, you’re being targeted and hunted to the end of the world, and you can still think about love affairs."

Xiao Se poured a cup of the Diaohua wine that just arrived, took a sip and said, "Back then, when shixiong was targeted and hunted to the end of the world, didn\'t he also meet his old lover?"

Tang Lian took a drink and said, "Such is human nature."

Xiao Se returned a smile, when suddenly, a purple light flashed in his eyes.

Tang Lian poured a cup of wine and handed it to Lei Wujie. "You have a drink too."

Lei Wujie took the wine cup, but saw Xiao Se violently wave his sleeve, sending the cup of wine flying. As the wine spilled, a sneer appeared at the corner of Tang Lian\'s mouth. With a light stroke of his finger, the water curtain instantly condensed into ice in his hand. Tang Lian lifted the ice cone and stabbed it violently at Xiao Se\'s head.

“Shixiong!” Lei Wujie was shocked.

Xiao Se didn\'t bat an eyelid. From behind him, a spear grazed the side of his temple, and smashed the cone of ice. Tang Lian smiled slightly, and retreated three paces. His face no longer had the awe-inspiring look of justice, but a wicked smile. "How did you see through it?"

"You look the same as Tang Lian, and have the same voice. Even the tone of your speech is exactly the same. You even learned the righteous and awe-inspiring look. But there is one thing you don\'t know. Whenever he talks about affairs between men and women, Tang Lian will blush. You don\'t seem to have learned this." Xiao Se drank his cup of wine quietly.

Lei Wujie asked Xiao Se in surprise, "This is not da-shixiong?"

"The martial art skill to rapidly condense water into ice just now requires extremely cold yin internal strength. Da-shixiong’s internal strength is passed down by da-shizun, which is based on very rigid and purely yang energy. This person cannot be da-shixiong." Sikong Qianluo was holding her spear and looked very serious.

Fake Tang Lian didn’t show any panic after being exposed. He just looked at Xiao Se and said, “I believe eight-tenths of what you just said, but there are two-tenths which I don’t believe. Just now, I saw the purple light in your eyes. What martial arts is that?"

"Do you really want to know?" Xiao Se turned the wine cup in his hand.

"I really want to know." Fake Tang Lian nodded.

Xiao Se put down the wine cup. "Then tell me who you are."

Fake Tang Lian suddenly wiped his hand across his face, revealing a beautiful and delicate face. "I am her."

Lei Wujie’s blood drained from his face. "Ruoyi?"

Fake Tang Lian smiled wickedly again, and wiped his hand on his face once more. "Or is it him?" This time, it was a sharp, angular face with a somewhat serious expression, which was exactly the one who chased them down yesterday, Su Changli.

"It\'s you!" Lei Wujie was shocked.

"No, it\'s not." Xiao Se shook his head.

Fake Tang Lian’s hands were fast as he wiped his face repeatedly. For a while, it was a beautiful woman, then it was a man with a scar, then a seventy-year-old woman, then a childish face. Only his wicked smile never changed. Lei Wujie became more and more frightened as he watched, Sikong Qianluo\'s hand holding her spear was soaked with sweat, and Xiao Se’s hand holding the wine cup clenched tighter.

This scene was really too weird.

Finally, that face ended up on the one with the strangest look. It turned out to be half a beautiful woman, and half a scarred-face man. He smiled at Xiao Se, and his voice suddenly switched between male and female. "Hidden River Mu House, Mu Ying."

Xiao Se said in a deep voice the code name that would cause terror in the hearts of anyone in the martial world, "Thousand-Faced Ghost."