The night passed uneventfully.
Early in the morning, Ye Jingtang was leaning against the corner of the wall and paying attention to the sounds outside.
The bird was squatting in his arms. Perhaps it was because there were outsiders, but its sleeping posture was a little more normal. It only tilted its head.
Heroine Luo didn't seem to be in a deep sleep. Every fifteen minutes, she would turn over and sneak a glance at him, probably to see if he touched Zhe Yunli.
Zhe Yunli, on the other hand, was well-behaved. She was leaning against the wall three feet away, holding her saber without moving. She didn't even lean on his shoulder in the middle of the night.
The eastern sky gradually brightened.
Seeing the sunlight, Ye Jingtang stood up with the bird in his arms. Unexpectedly, when he moved, the girl beside him raised her saber half an inch and looked at him warily. "What are you doing?"
"Going out to work." Ye Jingtang patted his robe and gestured to the room. "Do you think I'm the same as you people from big sects who do nothing all day but eat and drink?"
Zhe Yunli blinked, put away her saber, stood up, and patted her perky butt. "What are you going to do? Do you need help?"
Hearing this, Luo Ning, who was lying on the bed, propped up her upper body and said in a sleepy voice, "Yunli!"
After a night of rest, Luo Ning's complexion had mostly recovered, and her original appearance was beginning to show. When she propped herself up like a lazy young woman, her long hair scattered down like waves. Her sleepy and slightly angry beautiful peach blossom eyes were enough to instantly wake up drowsy people and make sober people fall into a daze.
Yesterday, Ye Jingtang had already felt that Luo Ning's appearance was extraordinary. When he looked at her again in the morning, she looked even more fairy-like. It was not an exaggeration to say that she was a fairy who had been tricked home by a cowherd. He couldn't help taking a few more glances at her.
Noticing Ye Jingtang looking at her, Luo Ning laid down and pulled up the blanket to cover her body. Her eyes were slightly cold.
Seeing Luo Ning in a difficult position, Zhe Yunli replied with a grin, "Martial Mistress, I'm not going out to play. I'm gathering information. It's safer to follow him."
Ye Jingtang went out with his saber. "You're safe, but what about me? I'm not your accomplice. If you attract the Six Fiends of the Black Office, I won't be able to fight or run. Won't I be implicated?"
"I'll pretend to be your wife. There shouldn't be anyone…"
"Yunli!" Luo Ning raised her head, burning with anger!
Zhe Yunli said helplessly, "I'm just going to put on an act…"
"What put on an act?" Luo Ning was infuriated when she heard this term. If Yunli pretended to be this little thief's wife, she would definitely be taken advantage of. She had already…
Wouldn't they be master and disciple serving the same husband…
"You're an unmarried girl. How can you put on that kind of act?"
Zhe Yunli thought about it and agreed. "Then, I'll pretend to be his sister… Huh?"
Before she finished speaking, Ye Jingtang had already disappeared outside the courtyard…
———
On another side, at the Pei residence at Heavenly Water Bridge…
The sky had just brightened when Pei Xiangjun sat in the main hall. She tapped her fingers on the table and frowned.
On the main seat sat the widow of the eldest son of the Pei family, Madam Zhang Yulian. There was a worried look on her face. She held a white porcelain teacup in her hand and gently rubbed the edge of the cup with the lid. "The Jianghu people from outside are getting more and more unreasonable. Helm Master Wang went to visit the Zhou family to talk about Clear River Wharf. He didn't even get to see the family head, and it was the steward who received him… Our Azure Dragon Hall has fallen to such a state. How can we still have the face to order the hall masters of the Red Flower Pavilion…"
"Sister-in-law, how can I not know these things? In Jianghu, one's words depend on one's fists…"
Madam Zhang's position in Jianghu could be regarded as the wife of a gang leader. Now that the eldest son and second son of the Pei family had passed away, only her son, Pei Luo, was left. Pei Luo didn't have any talent in martial arts and was an only child. She didn't dare to tell her son about the business in Jianghu. Now, who else could she count on other than Third Lady in front of her?
Madam Zhang knew that it wasn't easy for Pei Xiangjun to support the Red Flower Pavilion alone. She sighed softly and said, "Third Lady, I'm not talking about you. I'm talking about the situation. Now, we can only hope that Jingtang, who was sent by Second Brother, can shoulder these matters. Second Brother passed away, but Jingtang could still follow his will and send his assets over from so far away. He must value friendship, and his character can't be bad. Why don't you teach Jingtang spearmanship and let him…"
Pei Xiangjun shook her head slightly. "I know that Jingtang has a good character and talent and looks like someone who does big things. But distant water can't put out a close fire. Even if he has a good foundation and good talent, it will take at least three to five years for him to practice spearmanship well. It will take another three years for him to accumulate fame in actual combat…"
Madam Zhang had no other hope, so she could only say, "Perhaps Jingtang's talent is astonishing, and he'll be able to learn the Pei family's spear within a month. Next month, you're going to meet the hall masters at the Juyi Building. You can bring Jingtang along…"
Pei Xiangjun was a little helpless. "If we force seedlings to grow like this, even the best embryos will be wasted. Even if Jingtang learns spearmanship in a month, without any experience in Jianghu, who can he defeat when he goes out?"
While the two women were talking, footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door. Xiuhe ran in, her eyes filled with anxiety. "Pavilion Lord, bad news!"
The moment she said this, the two women in the hall frowned. Pei Xiangjun stood up and said, "What's going on?"
"I don't know why, but Young Master got into a conflict with the Six Fiends on the way here today."
"The Six Fiends?" Pei Xiangjun frowned and thought for a moment. "He must have drawn his saber near Jasper Pavilion and was suspected by the Black Office. The Black Office sent someone over yesterday to confirm Jingtang's identity. Jingtang doesn't know the Eight-Steps Frenzied Blade. Let them test him casually. Nothing will go wrong."
Xiuhe quickly shook her head. "No, no. The Black and White Impermanences attacked. We don't have any informers nearby. I only heard that when the Iron-Armed Impermanence came out, his left arm was bleeding profusely…"
"What?!" Zhang Yulian stood up in disbelief. "Jingtang injured the Black Impermanence?"
Pei Xiangjin hurriedly shook her head. "What kind of joke is this? Jingtang doesn't have any methodology in his martial arts at all. How can he cut through the Black Impermanence's bronze skin and iron bones? That's an external martial
Xiuhe said nervously, "That's what the people are saying. Quickly take a look. Young Master seems to be still blocked by the White Impermanence…"
Hearing this, Pei Xiangjun didn't dare delay any longer and hurried out the door…
———
Dark clouds pressed down on the city. It had been a while since dawn, but the streets were still relatively dark.
Ye Jingtang led his horse out of Double Osmanthus Alley and came to the vicinity of Heavenly Water Bridge with the bird. He ordered a basket of buns from the bun shop at the entrance of the street and had breakfast with the bird. He was thinking about what the two women would eat in the house and whether he should get the bird to send two buns back.
But before he could figure it out, Ye Jingtang noticed from the corner of his eye that a figure was looking at him from the alley not far away.
Ye Jingtang looked up and saw that the person at the entrance of the alley was Yang Guan, whom he had just beaten up yesterday.
Yang Guan's arm was wrapped in bandages, and his face was gloomy. He beckoned him with his hand and entered the alley.
?
Ye Jingtang sensed that something was wrong. He raised his hand slightly, and the bird spread its wings and flew into the sky.
A moment later, the bird descended from the sky and chirped three times, indicating that there were three people.
Yang Guan appeared again. It seemed that the matter had not been settled.
Ye Jingtang pondered for a moment, threw down a few copper coins, and entered the alley with his hand on his saber at his waist.
The alley was very deep. After turning the corner, there was a dead end. There were high walls on both sides and a passage in the middle.
Under the gloomy sky, two figures stood side by side in the middle of the alley. They were both wearing straw raincoats and bamboo hats. They were dressed like ordinary Jianghu people. One was tall, and the other was thin. Neither of them were holding a weapon.
Yang Guan stood behind them.
Ye Jingtang stood alone at the entrance of the alley. After sizing up the two people in bamboo hats, he looked at Yang Guan. "Not convinced?"
Yang Guan was full of confidence. "You're new here, yet you dare to behave atrociously in the capital by relying on your martial arts. Do you really think that there's no one in the world who can deal with you? If you cut off one of your arms and legs, I will let you off. Otherwise, I'll beat you to death today. You're a foster son of the Pei family. No one will stand up for you."
Ye Jingtang didn't say anything. He held his saber and slowly walked forward. After taking two steps, his figure suddenly erupted and rushed toward the two people in bamboo hats.
Ye Jingtang was very imposing, but he could never have imagined what level of things a hoodlum who collected protection fees on the streets could get!
As soon as the blade was out of its sheath, the tall figure raised his bamboo hat slightly, revealing his hard face. Then his figure flashed and arrived in front of Ye Jingtang.
Ye Jingtang sensed that something was wrong and slashed at the tall man. But he didn't expect the tall man to raise his right arm to block.
Dang!
The crisp sound of metal colliding rang out.
Ye Jingtang originally thought that the tall man was wearing a metal wrist guard. But after tearing his sleeve, he was shocked to discover that there was bronze-colored skin under his clothes.
The muscles on his forearm were knotted. Other than a white mark, his skin wasn't even broken!
?!
Ye Jingtang was astonished. For a moment, he thought that he was seeing things.
The two sides were fighting, so there was clearly no chance for communication between them.
The tall figure blocked the saber with his right arm and punched Ye Jingtang's chest with his left hand.
Bam!
This punch was quite heavy. Although Ye Jingtang didn't know any high-level moves, his foundation was solidified by his foster father.
To put it simply, his attack power was not good, but his resistance to attacks was flawless.
After being punched in the chest, Ye Jingtang barely reacted. He stabbed his saber into the ground and slid a few steps back before stabilizing himself.
But as soon as he stopped, a gust of cold wind blew over from in front, lifting the hair around his ears.
Whoosh!
Ye Jingtang felt a chill in his heart and immediately leaned back to dodge.
The next moment, a phantom-like figure flashed past from above, looking like a raincoatthat didn't have a body being blown by the wind.
But a gloomy face really appeared under the bamboo hat. The eyes looked at him coldly, and the figure's body moved with the wind as if he didn't have a single bone.
Ye Jingtang swept his saber at the phantom, only to find that when the blade touched the raincoat, the raincoat followed the blade without any sense of resistance.
The saber swept past, but it didn't injure the phantom at all. Instead, his right arm was rubbed.
The 'Phantom Pat on the Shoulder' was very light, so much so that Ye Jingtang felt as if he was being grazed by his robe.
But his shoulder immediately became numb. Coldness penetrated into his body, and the strength of his right arm decreased greatly.
Ye Jingtang was shocked. He turned his body and sheathed his saber. He held the hilt of the saber in a reverse grip with his left hand with his back to the wall. From the corners of his eyes, he locked onto the two figures on his left and right.
The feather-light phantom had already silently blocked the only exit. His bamboo hat was slightly lowered, and he was as motionless as a piece of wood.
It was the same for the tall figure.
Although they weren't moving, Ye Jingtang could feel the invisible pressure in the quiet alley. It was as if there were two mountains standing on both sides of the alley…