Jiang Rushu escaped the magistrate's office, only to discover that the martial world outside was undergoing turbulent changes, with various factions all wanting his life.
With no other options, Jiang Rushu fled all the way to Penglai Inn, seeking help from his good friend Shen Jue.
When Shen Jue made his appearance, Hemiao gasped aloud: "That's actually Xiao He?"
Oh my god, Xiao He wasn't shown on the poster at all, and she hadn't noticed the cast list either. She never would have imagined that Xiao He was actually in this drama!
The character Mu Ze portrayed by Xiao He remained one of Hemiao's favorite roles to date.
Shen Jue was someone with a cold exterior but warm heart. Although he complained about Jiang Rushu bringing trouble, he still provided him shelter and helped him through difficult times.
What Hemiao found interesting was that Penglai Inn only had Shen Jue as the cook, and he was usually the one busy working front and back. Although they kept mentioning the landlady, her face was never fully shown—even her figure was partially concealed, making her appear very mysterious.
Yet simultaneously, this landlady was extremely well-informed, even more so than Jiang Rushu about the current situation. She directly pointed Jiang Rushu toward a clear path, telling him to seek out the Chai family in Jiangnan.
It was said that in Jiangnan, the business of illegal salt trading was currently dominated by that official surnamed Chai's family. Relying on Chancellor Chai's influence, they dominated Jiangnan, controlling not only the land-based salt mines but also the river transportation. Even in a prosperous place like Jiangnan, they oppressed the people to the point of extreme hardship.
It's important to know that controlling official salt was one of the important methods ancient governments used to strengthen central authority. Salt was also essential for maintaining physiological functions and played a crucial role in human health. Even though common people back then didn't necessarily eat lavish meals every day, long-term salt deficiency would lead to declining physical health—not to mention getting sick—they wouldn't even have much strength for daily life, and social order would consequently change.
The only good news was that the more powerful the Chai family became and the more arrogantly they acted, the more people would resent them.
Jiang Rushu might be able to use this to fight for a way out.
Then the plot reached a minor climax as Jiang Rushu's pursuers finally gathered at Penglai Inn.
When a burly, rough-looking man loudly demanded from the person pouring water where Jiang Rushu was, Hemiao couldn't help but worry, clenching her fingers.
Oh no, was Xiao He going to be killed off right after appearing?
The young man wearing patched, worn clothes in front of them just calmly set down the water pitcher, wiped the spit that had sprayed on his face, and said calmly: "Guest, please enjoy your drink."
"I'm asking you a question!"
A guandao sword swept down vertically, brushing past Shen Jue's cheek and slamming heavily onto the table, leaving a deep crack in the surface. Yet Shen Jue didn't even blink, just coldly stared at the doomed tough guy before him.
"I know you, Shen Jue. The martial world calls you 'Bone-Cleaving Knife'."
Being able to use a technique name directly as a nickname already demonstrated Shen Jue's extraordinary status, but apparently this tough guy didn't think so.
"They all fear you, but I don't! You and Jiang Rushu are close friends, so you must know his whereabouts! I advise you to think carefully, otherwise my big sword shows no mercy."
As he spoke, the guandao was pulled out, and the table instantly shattered into pieces. The previously lively inn hall had become so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Everyone was minding their own business, but all eyes were collectively fixed on Shen Jue.
Simultaneously, some people began slowly drawing their swords—
Shen Jue stared at the tough guy, his gaze finally settling on the shattered table fragments. He narrowed his eyes and then sighed deeply.
"This will require compensation—"
The next moment, a whirlwind attacked. The young man's sword-drawing movement was so fast that even viewers before the screen couldn't see it clearly. By the time they blinked again, the previously arrogant tough guy holding the guandao only had half an arm left—just bare bones remained at the guandao's hilt—
"Ahhhh—"
As the tough guy screamed, countless onlookers behind him drew their swords and charged at Shen Jue. Shen Jue directly lifted his leg for a spinning kick, sending the guandao flying from the tough guy's hand. Without hesitation, he harvested the tough guy's head before delivering a powerful kick that sent the guandao flying horizontally through two minions, nailing them firmly to the pillar behind.
Jiang Rushu also descended from above, decisively joining the fray—
The two moved like a gentle wind through the crowd, swiftly harvesting lives.
Amid the flashing blades and sword shadows, only continuously splattering blood flew freely.
Hemiao was so excited she almost jumped up, watching unblinkingly as they joined forces to kill all the pursuers in the inn.
So incredibly handsome it blew her mind!
Such amazing fight scenes—was she really worthy of watching this?
Hemiao even felt some regret that such spectacular scenes weren't being seen in a theater.
Next came Jiang Rushu exploiting the various factions' hidden agendas, using their strength against them, narrowly escaping danger again and again.
The plot wasn't particularly mind-bending, mostly consisting of fight scenes, but Jiang Rushu's character was just so charismatic—no, to be accurate, every character was extremely compelling. Not a single character's fight scenes dragged down the quality, and the variety of weapons was particularly diverse, making it extremely exciting to watch. Everyone followed along as Jiang Rushu escaped while searching for the real token and evidence, watching as he dragged several aloof Jiangnan noble families into the muddy waters, finally successfully finding the real Zhang Lin and obtaining the token evidence.
—Yes, the person at the story's beginning actually wasn't Zhang Lin. That tough guy was just one of Zhang Lin's minions. Jiang Rushu actually managed to deceive everyone using this minion's head.
Including the audience.
After all, they all thought Jiang Rushu was just kindly helping out and accidentally got involved in this incident. But actually, back on the boat at the beginning, Jiang Rushu had already planned his next moves!
And because of Jiang Rushu's reputation as a Thief Catcher preceding him, that blood-stained head had become smelly and rotten after several days. At that time, Clerk Ma covered half his face and gave it a quick glance, his mind focused on his master's instructions, so he couldn't be bothered to look carefully. Later when Jiang Rushu escaped, he didn't forget to bundle up all the heads he brought and take them with him. Clerk Ma just thought Jiang Rushu was truly as the martial world described—greedy and shameless, not even leaving behind the heads if he didn't get payment. He never imagined this was just Jiang Rushu's simple little trick.
But now it was too late for everything. Jiang Rushu had already escaped with the real evidence, and he must die here!
So on the twilight lake, Jiang Rushu struggled against several famous Thief Catchers and gradually began to tire. But just then, his good friend Shen Jue arrived again. A pair of Bone-Cleaving Knives entered the scene with a bloody whirlwind, directly turning the entire situation around.
Even the usually silent Father He finally couldn't help but clap and cheer.
Hemiao's eyes shone brightly: "Wow, is Xiao He's knife technique really not post-production editing? How can it be so amazing?"
Father He also praised: "So this young man is called Xiao He? That knife technique is truly impressive—he must be a trained martial artist."
Hemiao shook her head: "I don't know about that, but it looks like he genuinely has real skill!"
In the end, Jiang Rushu didn't take the evidence and token to the capital to deliver them to the important figures there.
He knew that if he brought these things to the capital, not only would he die, but nothing would actually change. The current emperor was extravagant and decadent, appointing corrupt officials. The fact that Jiangnan had reached its current state was largely that person's responsibility too.
Jiangnan would still belong to those people, the commoners would still live those same difficult lives, and everything he had done would be wasted.
So Jiang Rushu had been deceiving them from the very beginning—tricking them into suspecting and fighting each other, keeping each other in check.