Murano Momo is a cunning doctor

Chapter 1171 Mystery

Tang Ran stepped forward, her fingertips holding the talisman, her movements much gentler than when she applied the medicine earlier.

The moment the talisman was placed on the back of his neck, Jiang Xiaochuan felt a cool sensation seep into his acupoints.

The subtle fluctuations of spiritual energy that had been flowing within the body were instantly enveloped as if by a thin veil, and all traces of them vanished without a trace.

This feeling of being forcibly isolated is unpleasant; it's like suddenly having your eyes covered, instinctively making you uneasy.

"All right."

Tang Ran withdrew her hand, took half a step back, and looked at someone with a hint of scrutiny in her eyes—it was the first time she had ever seen someone so open about "sealing the senses".

Seeing that the matter was settled, Chen Qishan stepped in first: "Let's go, the leader is waiting for you."

Jiang Xiaochuan followed and stepped into the hidden door, only to find that it was a completely different world inside – not a narrow passage, but a wide stone corridor with luminous pearls embedded in the walls on both sides, as bright as day.

The bluestone pavement was smooth and silent when you walked on it, with only the occasional faint sound of flowing water in the distance.

At the end of the stone corridor is a circular archway. Behind the archway, you can vaguely see scattered stone houses and paths, and several people dressed in gray robes are hurrying by.

Everyone bowed respectfully to Chen Qishan, but no one cast a curious glance at Jiang Xiaochuan—clearly, they had been instructed to ignore this stranger.

"I didn't expect it?"

Chen Qishan seemed to see through his thoughts and said with a smile, "Outsiders all think that Yan Brigade is hidden in the city, but who would have thought that its roots are deep in the Western Mountains. The mountains are high and the forests are dense, and it is adjacent to a military base, so it is actually the safest place."

Jiang Xiaochuan nodded without speaking, but his gaze involuntarily drifted into the depths of the stone corridor.

He always felt that there was more than just the Yan Brigade and military base hidden at the foot of Xishan Mountain.

Just before the talisman was pasted, a faint, ancient ripple seemed to pass through the end of the stone corridor, its aura vast and distant.

But that feeling was fleeting, so quick that it made one wonder if it was just an illusion.

He glanced at Murong Jin beside him; the guy was looking around with curiosity in his eyes, clearly unaware of anything.

This shows that the fluctuation was indeed hidden.

Passing through the archway, you come to a small, man-made square with a waist-high bluestone in the center, on which is carved a dark red character "炎" (Yan).

Two men in gray robes stood on either side of the square, with short knives at their waists. They stood tall and straight, their gazes indifferent yet exuding an invisible sense of oppression.

Jiang Xiaochuan swept his hand across their wrists—each of them wore a black iron ring.

"The leader is waiting in Shouxin Hall."

Chen Qishan stepped aside to lead the way, his pace slowing down.

Shouxin Hall is a stone house located at the end of the square.

Two heavy wooden doors, with dark red hemp rope wrapped around the door knockers and a small copper bell hanging from them.

Chen Qishan stepped forward and knocked on the door three times.

A gentle male voice came from inside the door, lacking any air of authority, more like a neighbor's uncle speaking in the house, with a touch of laziness: "Come in."

The moment he pushed open the door, Jiang Xiaochuan froze in place.

The scene before him was nothing like what he had imagined.

This is a stone house, about ten feet square, with pitted and uneven walls.

Several fluorite stones were embedded in the pit, emitting a dim yellow light. A few strands of spider web hung from the corner of the room, covered with fine dust, and swayed gently in the light.

Directly opposite the door was an old futon, and sitting on it was a middle-aged man dressed as a Taoist priest, his gray-blue robe patched upon patched.

His hair was haphazardly tied up with a broken wooden hairpin, a few greasy strands hanging down his forehead, and he was playing with a brass compass in his large, thick hands, with black dirt still embedded in his fingernails.

What alarmed Jiang Xiaochuan the most was that this person did not possess the slightest aura of a martial artist.

It's not a deliberately hidden restraint, but a genuine emptiness.

Even the everyday warmth and humanity of ordinary people are pitifully faint.

Jiang Xiaochuan subconsciously activated his senses, which were suppressed by the Qi-concealing talisman. Even though the sensations were blurry, he was still certain of them.

He's just an ordinary person who hasn't even practiced basic fitness techniques.

But this disheveled Taoist priest made Chen Qishan behind him instantly suppress all his aura and walk as lightly as a cat's paw.

"Chief, the person has been brought."

Chen Qishan bowed and said, "We failed to capture Hattori Hanzo, but we retrieved this."

He handed over a black token with both hands.

The Taoist priest known as the "leader," Xuanjizi, finally raised his eyelids.

His eyes were bright, like obsidian soaked in a mountain stream, which seemed out of place with his disheveled appearance.

As his gaze swept over the token, he lightly tapped the edge of the compass with his fingertips.

With a soft "click," the wildly spinning pointer suddenly stopped and pointed in Jiang Xiaochuan's direction.

Xuanjizi didn't speak, but stretched out his dirty hand, pinched the token between two fingers, and slightly flipped his wrist.

The palm-sized token vanished into his sleeve without a sound.

Jiang Xiaochuan could see clearly that this was not a sophisticated movement technique, but rather a kind of esoteric art of concealing objects.

How could someone without the aura of a martial artist use such a technique?

Xuanjizi's gaze finally fell on Jiang Xiaochuan, with a hint of casual scrutiny. He twitched his lips, revealing a few white teeth: "Old Chen, you can go out first."

"Yes." Chen Qishan responded and withdrew.

Jiang Xiaochuan stood still, his palms secretly sweating.

The fact that someone who could lead the Yan Brigade and make Chen Qishan submit to him lived like a beggar and had no martial arts aura was itself strange.

"sit."

Xuanjizi raised his chin towards the gray stone bench.

Jiang Xiaochuan pulled over a stone bench and sat down, forcing himself to appear composed. "Senior, are you the leader of the Yan Brigade?"

Xuanjizi didn't reply, and put the compass on the table.

He pointed his fingertip at the center of the compass, his gaze suddenly sharpening: "At the Rising Dragon Boxing Arena, you fought four against one. Lei Heng's fists, Zhao Wu's palms, Luo Gang's external martial arts, and Yin Jiu's poison needles all failed to harm you in the slightest. Actually, if you had used your full strength back then... you should have been able to kill them all, right?"

Jiang Xiaochuan's heart sank – how could Xuanjizi know so much about the Rising Dragon Boxing Arena?

He clenched his fists, neither admitting nor denying: "Senior is joking. It was good enough that we survived back then. How could we have the ability to kill them?"

"Oh?"

Xuanjizi raised an eyebrow and gently slid his fingertip across the compass.

“You don’t need to hide it from me. Although Luo Gang’s external martial arts are powerful, he has an old injury under his left rib, a weakness left from his early training. If you had punched that spot back then, he would have been bedridden for at least three months.”

"Yin Jiu's poisoned needles are hidden in his left sleeve. Every time you dodge, you deliberately move to his right, so he has no chance to make a move. You saw all of this a long time ago, didn't you?"

With each word he spoke, Jiang Xiaochuan's heart sank a little deeper.

These details, which even Feng Ji might not be aware of, were described by Xuanjizi as if he had seen them with his own eyes, word for word.