Start with the fisherman

Driven by the middle-aged man with a moustache, the carriage twisted and turned on the street, and soon came to a bustling street with bright lights, wine and women, and flowers, and finally stopped in front of a restaurant called Zuixianju.

The plaque of Zuixianju is written in large gilded characters with vigorous brushstrokes. If you look up, you can feel the endless sword intent rolling in like a mighty river.

Obviously, the person who wrote these words is at least a grandmaster who has achieved the state of perfection!
This is enough to show the extraordinaryness of this restaurant.

but,
"Young Master, just go in and find a waiter in any shop, and you will find Young Master Luo Qingyun."

Without waiting for Cao Ze to ask, the middle-aged man with a moustache spoke confidently.

Cao Ze nodded. He knew that the middle-aged man with a mustache would not dare to lie to him.

As you step into the restaurant, the rich aroma of wine intertwined with the fragrance of various delicacies hits your nose, making you salivate.

The lobby is magnificent with carved beams and painted buildings. Each beam and pillar is carved with auspicious designs such as dragons and phoenixes, flowers, birds, fish and insects. They are lifelike and show the ingenuity of the craftsmanship.

Exquisite palace lanterns are hung on the ceiling, and the soft light makes the entire space warm and elegant.

What surprised Cao Ze was that the street outside was bustling and noisy, but after entering Zuixian Tower, his ears suddenly became quiet, as if he had suddenly arrived in a quiet jungle, without any noise or disturbance.

This small restaurant must have been set up with a soundproof formation.

Combined with the music coming from the rooftop, it is like the sound of flowing water in the mountains, which can instantly calm people's restless hearts caused by the noise from the outside world. It is indeed a great place to find peace and quiet in the midst of noise.

"Do you have a reservation, sir?"

The next moment Cao Ze entered the building, a waiter came up to him and asked with a smile on his face. Even though he didn't know Cao Ze, he didn't look down on him at all.

"I'm here to look for Master Luo Qingyun, and I'll say I'm an old friend from Cape City."

The waiter looked at Cao Ze and smiled again, "Sir, please follow me."

As he said this, he led the way to the stairs on the second floor, then went up all the way and stopped in front of a private room on the top floor.

"Sir, please wait a moment. Let me go and make a report."

After saying that, he knocked on the door of the box, waited for a long time before getting permission, and pushed the door open.

Not long after, footsteps were heard in the room.

Squeak.

The door opened, and Luo Qingyun, dressed in a green robe, was looking at Cao Ze with a smile, "You finally came to Cape City. I've heard your name quite often recently. I was right back then. You are a hidden scale that will turn into a dragon once you encounter wind and clouds!"

The waiter stood respectfully behind Luo Qingyun, but couldn't help but look up and secretly glanced at Cao Ze.

Who is this person that he could even trouble Master Luo to come and greet him in person?

"Brother Luo, are you going to invite me in for a couple of drinks?"

Cao Ze smiled without saying anything. He still had a good impression of Luo Qingyun. If it weren't for him, he would probably have had a hard time getting to where he is today.

"Please please please!"

Luo Qingyun laughed and invited Cao Ze into the box.

The waiter tactfully left the box and closed the door behind him.

What surprised Cao Ze was that Luo Qingyun was the only one in the box.

There was a half-full pot of wine on the table by the window, as well as some side dishes that had only been touched a few times.

It seemed that Luo Qingyun was drinking alone here.

What happened to make the eldest son of the Luo family so upset?
"You shouldn't have come to me."

After the waiter left, the smile on Luo Qingyun's face disappeared. He took out the wine glass and poured a glass of wine for Cao Ze with a melancholy look, then sighed and said.

Then he shook his head again, "You know that's not what I meant, but if you come to me now, I'm afraid it will implicate you and bring you a lot of trouble."

"Brother Luo, what trouble did you encounter? Why don't you tell me about it?"

Cao Ze smiled but said nothing. "No matter what kind of trouble it is, can it be as big as the trouble I'm facing?"

Luo Qingyun was stunned when he heard this, and then he smiled bitterly.

Of course, he also heard about what Cao Ze had been doing these days. It was indeed a big trouble, but what he encountered was not necessarily much worse than what Cao Ze had encountered.

"Xinyun was beaten up."

Luo Qingyun took a sip of wine and said through gritted teeth.

"Who injured him?"

"A guest official of the Wang family, Ghost-headed Knife Li Jiajun."

"Can your Luo family let him go?"

Luo Qingyun shook his head. "It's useless. He is from the Wang family. As long as we make any move, the Wang family will definitely come out to stop us."

"The Wang family just wants to use this method to force us to hand over that thing."

Cao Ze understood.

Before coming here, he also had a brief understanding of the situation in Donghai County.

The Luo family's Dharmakaya realm ancestor is already old and frail, and may die at any time.

Since there are no new Dharma bodies among the younger generations, they have naturally become fat meat in the eyes of other families, and are now in a precarious situation.

If it weren’t for the ancestor in the Dharmakaya realm who was still there, the Luo family would probably have fallen apart.

I just didn't expect the situation to have gotten so bad.

"They actually dared to take action in the city?"

Cao Ze, who had just heard about the grudge competition, was a little confused.

Luo Qingyun shook his head again, "As long as we don't get caught, who can say anything?"

"Oh I got it!"

Cao Ze suddenly realized, "What realm is the ghost-head knife at?"

"Brother Cao, please don't be impulsive. Ghost-headed Knife Li Jiajun is a second-level Grandmaster. His swordsmanship is superb and his combat power is very good. We have also sent a third-level Grandmaster to seek revenge, but unfortunately, even a third-level Grandmaster can't take him down in a short time."

Luo Qingyun knew that Cao Ze was a man of loyalty and righteousness, but now was obviously not the time to act impulsively.

He had also heard about Cao Ze's battle record. Now, nearly a month had passed, and his strength was probably no less than that of a grandmaster.

But compared with Li Jiajun, the ghost-head knife, he is still far behind. He doesn't want Cao Ze to do anything dangerous because of impulse.

"Haha, let's not talk about those annoying things, come on, drink!"

Cao Ze smiled and picked up the wine glass, drank it in one gulp, then looked at the appetizers on the table and shook his head, "The wine is good, but the dishes are a little lacking."

He stood up and said, "I'll go buy some snacks!"

Luo Qingyun was stunned. Although Zuixianlou was not famous for its dishes, even he, the son of the Luo family who was used to eating delicacies from land and sea, could not find any fault with it. He didn't know why Cao Ze disliked it so much.

Is it because you are not used to the food?

But he had just arrived in Donghai County. Did he know where to find delicious food?
Without giving Luo Qingyun an answer, Cao Ze had already left the box.

We went downstairs and arrived outside Zuixianju.

Su Xiaozhi and the other two had already found a private room in Zuixianju and sat down, but the middle-aged man with a mustache was still waiting at the door.

He is a trustworthy person. He said one tael of silver a day, and one minute or one second less would not count as a day. "How do we get to the Wang family?"

……

As one of the Eight Great Families, the Wang family's mansion naturally occupies a very large area. If you look from the sky, you will find that among the endless vast buildings in Donghai County City, there is a large piece of land that belongs to the Wang family.

Being big also has its own problems.

Compared to the Wang family's reputation, his guards seemed a little too lax.

More than a dozen guards stood in front of the mansion. Although they looked energetic, their eyes were dull. No one knew whether they were dreaming or daydreaming. They did not notice Cao Ze who came quietly.

It's not their fault. The Wang family is one of the eight major families in Donghai County. There is an ancestor in the Dharmakaya realm guarding the family. Who dares to cause trouble in the Wang family?
As for the real members of the Wang family, their strength is no less than those guards standing at the door, so it is not the turn of these guards to protect them.

These guards are just there to show off.

After walking around the wall for a while, Cao Ze flashed and landed in the courtyard of the Wang family mansion.

After activating the Tao Seed, he has now been able to barely achieve a state of harmony between heaven and earth. Every move he makes seems as natural as that of heaven and earth. Even though this place is only a few dozen meters away from the guards, no one notices this place at all.

Cao Ze put his hands behind his back and walked into the corridor. After figuring out the direction, he walked towards the courtyard where Li Jiajun, the ghost-head knife master, was.

They also met some servants and maids on the way, and Cao Ze smiled and nodded to them.

The servants and maids were flattered and returned the gifts. Even though they had never seen Cao Ze's leisurely and calm demeanor before, they knew that he was not a distinguished guest they could afford to offend, so they naturally did not dare to neglect him.

Cao Ze's steps seemed slow, but they were actually very fast. In just a few dozen breaths, he arrived in front of a small courtyard.

Squeak.

Push open the courtyard door.

"who?"

He has a hair tie, muscular body, a bracelet made of exotic minerals wrapped around his left wrist, and a seemingly ordinary sword in his right hand.

The middle-aged man who is practicing sword in the yard is undoubtedly Li Jiajun, the master of ghost-head sword!

Swish!
His figure flashed, and the Falling Star Sword was unsheathed. Like lightning, it was in front of Li Jiajun in the blink of an eye.

In an instant, a suffocating feeling of oppression hit Li Jiajun, leaving him no chance to even call for help. He could only hold the machete in his hand tightly, focusing as never before, bursting out all his potential, and swinging the most proud knife of his life.

laugh!
Bang!

With a slight sound, Cao Ze put away the Falling Star Knife, turned around, put the Ghost Head Knife that fell to the ground into the storage magic weapon, walked out of the courtyard, and did not forget to close the gate, and walked to the place where he was strolling again.

"Who is he?"

It was not until this moment, when his head rolled to the ground and he was looking at his neck with blood gushing out, that this thought came into Li Jiajun's mind.

The knife attack just now appeared in his mind, and he gradually lost his mind.

What a knife that was!

As fast as lightning and as unstoppable as an avalanche!

Even though he swung the most proud sword of his life, he still couldn't even catch the opponent's shadow and couldn't stop it at all!
Soon, Li Jiajun's mind fell into darkness, with only a flash of knife light like thunder and snowflakes still flashing.

“Refresh yourself in the summer by eating cucumbers with wine! They are crunchy and appetizing, and can help you get rid of greasiness and worries!”

"The aroma of the stew is overflowing, and the beef is mellow! Every bite is the ultimate temptation to the taste buds, a must-have for drinking, don't miss it!"

“Crispy peanuts are a great match for wine! Each one is plump and fragrant, and will accompany you to enjoy your drink to your heart’s content!”

"Bull's head goes well with wine, the more you drink, the more you have!"

After leaving the Wang family mansion, there is a busy street.

Cao Ze smiled and came to the roadside stall, ordered some braised beef, peanuts, edamame, and cucumbers. Then he carried the vegetables he had just bought and walked slowly back to Zuixianlou.

"This is a reward for you!"

Seeing the middle-aged man with a mustache still waiting outside Zuixian Tower, Cao Ze casually threw a silver ingot over to him and said, "You can go back now."

As he stepped into Zuixianju, this time, the waiter did not come forward to greet him, nor did he stop Cao Ze.

He went straight up to the top floor, pushed the door open, and saw that there was still a lot of good wine left in Luo Qingyun's wine jug.

He put the snacks he bought on the table, picked up the wine jug, and drank it all in one gulp, feeling extremely refreshed.

Luo Qingyun could tell at a glance that these things were bought from the street, but he didn't dislike them. After all, he had a sister who also liked to buy these things to eat.

Eating a peanut and then drinking a sip of good wine really gives it a different taste.

Cucumbers are crispy, appetizing and refreshing.

The braised beef is fragrant and has distinct layers.

For a moment, Luo Qingyun actually felt that the dishes were much more delicious than those at Zuixianju.

"Brother Cao really looks like my sister!"

Luo Qingyun exclaimed sincerely, "I don't usually think of these side dishes, but I didn't expect that they are so delicious!"

Cao Ze picked up the wine jug again and drank the whole bottle of wine.
"Good wine! Good wine!"

Cao Ze placed the wine jug on the table, then waved his hand, and a ghost-head knife appeared on the table. He looked at Luo Qingyun with a smile, "When I was buying vegetables just now, I picked up a knife!"

Luo Qingyun took a closer look at the ghost-head knife on the table, his eyes suddenly froze and his pupils contracted.

"Ghost-head knife!"

Luo Qingyun pondered for a moment before restraining his uncontrollable expression and asked in a low voice. He was very familiar with this knife.

"Exactly!"

Cao Ze took out another pot of wine, picked up a piece of braised beef with chopsticks, and continued to drink and eat meat, not caring at all.

Luo Qingyun was silent.

He didn't ask about Li Jiajun's fate.

Li Jiajun is known as Ghost-Head Knife, so naturally he never leaves his knife. Now that the knife is here, the man naturally no longer exists.

A careful calculation revealed that it took Cao Ze no more than a quarter of an hour from the time he left Zuixianlou to the time he came back. Not to mention the time it took to buy the snacks, go to Wang's house, and then return to Zuixianlou. Even if he fought head-on for a quarter of an hour, a third-level grandmaster would not be able to guarantee that he could kill Li Jiajun.

Even if Cao Ze used all his strength and rushed to get there, he was still able to kill Guitoudao in such a short time. This was enough to show that Cao Ze's strength at this time was definitely above the third level Grandmaster!

Picking up the ghost-head knife on the table, he felt the murderous intent contained in the blade, which was a temperament honed through countless blood and fire.

It was this knife that injured Luo Xinjun!
While feeling happy, Luo Qingyun couldn't help but feel a little worried, "You've made enemies with the Wang family as soon as you arrived. I'm afraid it will be very disadvantageous for what happens next."

He knew that Cao Ze came to Donghai County this time for the blood pool that was about to open.

However, the opening of the blood pool is not decided solely by Xuanbao Pavilion. The eight major families in Donghai County also have a strong say.

Now that Cao Ze has offended the Yuwen family and the Wang family at once, it will definitely be disadvantageous to his trip to the blood pool.

Cao Ze laughed loudly, "This is not something the young master of the Luo family would say!"

"Since I have become friends with you, can the Wang family still treat me as a guest of honor?"

"Don't forget, I am the direct disciple of Xuanbao Pavilion!"

He is no longer the little guy who needs to hide his head and show his tail to protect himself! (End of this chapter)