The sky was gloomy, with dark clouds gathering heavily overhead, creating a suffocating atmosphere that made breathing somewhat difficult.
Jiang Li walked out of the mansion, feeling as if he was being watched by several pairs of eyes, making him extremely uncomfortable.
He thought to himself,"I need to find an opportunity to shake off this tail."
Looking back, he saw Wang Qianyuan with a benevolent, elder-like demeanor.
Jiang Li deliberately quickened his pace, but Wang Qianyuan also increased his speed, maintaining the same distance as if he were an inescapable shadow.
Jiang Li silently pondered,"This old fox is really not easy to deal with; I need to come up with a more clever plan."
As he walked, he subtly observed the surroundings, his gaze swiftly passing over every shop and alleyway, his mind racing to find the perfect place to get rid of Wang Qianyuan.
At that moment, a burst of cheerful laughter and chatter came from not far away.
Jiang Li looked up and saw a bustling building with exquisite carvings and paintings. A large red lantern hanging at the entrance bore the words "Spring Blossom Court."
At the entrance stood several young women dressed in vibrant attire. They smiled warmly and invited passersby with their delicate voices and charming gestures. Their soft voices and graceful movements caught the attention of many onlookers.
Jiang Li's heart skipped a beat, and he suddenly had an idea. With a slight upturn of his lips, he changed his direction and headed towards the Spring Blossom Court.
This place was a melting pot of all sorts of people, bustling and lively. It was the perfect spot to create chaos and find an opportunity to escape. Moreover, with Wang Qianyuan's conservative nature, he would never expect Jiang Li to boldly walk into such a place of pleasure.
As he walked, Jiang Li subtly adjusted his demeanor. He transformed from his previously cautious appearance to that of a dissolute young master.
He lifted his robe high, swaggered with a carefree gait, and occasionally whistled. He embodied the very image of a wealthy playboy seeking amusement.
When he arrived at the entrance of the Spring Blossom Court, a young woman in a pink gauzy dress spotted him. She immediately swayed her slender waist to greet him and cooed,"Young master, come in and have some fun~" Her voice was sweet and cloying, as if it could captivate one's very soul.
He walked in without hesitation. Wang Qianyuan, who was following behind, frowned and thought to himself,"This kid still has the mood to visit this kind of place?"
Jiang Li took the opportunity to put his arms around the slender waists of two girls.
His movements were skillful and natural, as if he were a regular customer here. From time to time, he would also make a few teasing remarks or say some witty words, which made the girls blush with embarrassment.
Wang Qianyuan shouted,"Jiang Li! You're supposed to travel around for learning, yet you come to this brothel to 'travel'?"
Jiang Li didn't turn his head to respond to Wang Qianyuan and just walked straight inside.
After entering the Chunhong Brothel, Jiang Li seemed to be so dazzled by this colorful world that his eyes scanned back and forth over those gorgeously dressed girls, and he would occasionally let out a few exclamations of admiration.
He put his arms around two girls and, surrounded by the crowd, swaggered towards the private rooms upstairs.
Wang Qianyuan was about to lift his feet to follow when Jiang Li looked back at him with dissatisfaction and said,"What? Do you want to watch me having fun with the girls?"
Wang Qianyuan paused, frowned, and hesitated for a moment.
Before he could make a decision, the door of the private room slammed shut with a "bang".
Wang Qianyuan had no choice but to go downstairs and find a place to sit down. During this time, the madam tried to strike up a conversation with him but was driven away.
"I won't pay for you later. Let's see what you'll do." After saying that, he picked a place where he could see the door of Jiang Li's private room, sat down, took a sip of tea, and relaxed his brows.
This Chunhong Brothel was no ordinary brothel. The girls inside were proficient in all kinds of musical instruments and singing. Just one session here would cost at least a hundred taels of silver.
Inside the private room, Jiang Li no longer looked like that dissipated young master. Instead, the two girls were impatient and started to touch him all over.
"Oh, what a handsome young master." One of them had already taken off half of her clothes, looking rather wanton.
Usually, they only served some rough and fat men. It was rare to meet such a handsome young master today, which really delighted the two girls.
However, Jiang Li now felt like he was in a difficult situation. He was thinking about how to get rid of Wang Qianyuan and didn't pay any attention to the girls in front of him at all.
His body trembled, and he came back to his senses.
The coquettish girl's eyes were full of amorous feelings, and she was about to kiss him. Jiang Li was just about to push her away when,
Bang!
A loud noise came from outside the door!
Then there was a chaotic sound of footsteps, and someone shouted,"The Jinwu Guards are here to investigate a case. Seal off the place. No one is allowed to leave without permission!"
There was an uproar in the brothel. Although it was a high-end brothel, everyone knew the reputation of the Jinwu Guards. They were the elite forces directly under the imperial court and were specifically responsible for investigating all kinds of major cases.
At this moment, hearing that the Jinwu Guards were investigating a case, no one dared to be the slightest bit presumptuous. Everyone was immediately scared into silence.
Those high-ranking officials, noblemen, wealthy merchants, and tycoons who usually came to the Chunhong Brothel to seek pleasure, although they were confident in their own status and believed that they hadn't done anything wrong.
However, being blocked in this brothel in broad daylight would surely sound bad if it got out. Their faces turned ashen one by one. They all got up to straighten their clothes, thinking about how to deal with this situation, and there was inevitable chaos.
Hearing the commotion, Wang Qianyuan was also startled. He thought to himself,"Why did the Jinwu Guards suddenly come here to investigate a case? Could it be that the matter of the Xuantian Society has caused such a big stir that even the Chunhong Brothel won't be spared? Humph, anyway, it has nothing to do with me."
Thinking of this, he stood up, looked at Jiang Li's private room, but didn't move his feet. He extended his spiritual power to sense and found that all three auras were still there, so he sat down again and lowered his head to drink the hot tea.
Inside the private room, Jiang Li heard the loud noise and the shouts of the Jinwu Guards. He was secretly delighted and thought,"What a lucky break! This is a great opportunity to get rid of this follower."
He said to the two girls who were scared out of their wits,"Don't panic, girls. It must be a misunderstanding. Just go out and have a look, and you'll know."
The coquettish girls put on their clothes, covering their fair skin, and walked out trembling.
Jiang Li straightened his clothes and then turned his head to look at the window.
After finishing a cup of tea, Wang Qianyuan let out a sigh and tilted his head back.
In front of the railing on the second floor stood two coquettish girls. Weren't they exactly the two that Jiang Li had put his arms around just now?
A sense of foreboding rose in Wang Qianyuan's heart. He extended his spiritual power to look into the private room and, sure enough, found it empty.
Smash!
He smashed the teacup in his hand and suddenly stood up. With a few quick steps, he leaped onto the second-floor private room. Pushing the door open, he saw an open window through which the cool wind was blowing into the room.
"Damn it! That brat has run away!"
Leaning against the window, he sensed the remaining spiritual power aura. That kid had run towards the north!
At this time, the Jinwu Guards caught up. Just as they shouted,"Who are you? Don't move!"
Ignoring that the Jinwu Guards hadn't finished speaking, Wang Qianyuan stepped on the window sill and with a kick, he jumped out and left without looking back.
"How dare you! He's from the Xuantian Society. Chase after him!" The guards in golden armor behind him resolutely regarded Wang Qianyuan as a rebel and chased after him as well.
At this moment, the three people in the west wing room looked at each other in dismay. One of them said,"Brother, what should we do? Should we still run?"
"Yeah, since the guards in golden armor have left, aren't we safe now? Why don't we just stay here? Besides, we just spent two hundred taels of silver and haven't even used it yet."
Smack!
The leading man slapped the second person across the face and scolded him with a tone of hating that he couldn't make a better man out of him,"Idiot! What time is it now and you're still thinking about having fun? Hurry up and run while we still can. Otherwise, wait for your mother to burn paper men for you to have fun in the underworld! Let's go!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Jiang Li leaped back and forth on the eaves, from time to time extending his spiritual sense to check if there were pursuers behind him, and then ran towards the north gate of the city.
He quickened his pace to escape while Wang Qianyuan hadn't reacted yet.
In the time it took for half an incense stick to burn, he ran out of Shangjing City and headed towards an unknown small mountain.
There were dense pine forests on the mountain, which could provide good cover.
Not long after Jiang Li had left, Wang Qianyuan caught up. Looking at that small mountain, he sneered,"A mere warrior, yet you still want to shake me off. You're overestimating yourself." Then he chased after him in a few flashes.
The guards in golden armor behind him also came chasing after on horseback, making a lot of noise. The leading captain shouted,"He's running towards Song Mountain. Chase after him!"
Shortly after the three groups of people had left, three men wearing bamboo hats walked out. They looked around and, as if by prior agreement, also ran towards Song Mountain.
Puff!
A fierce spiritual power roared in like an angry dragon and suddenly exploded in front of Jiang Li. Immediately, dirt flew everywhere, raising a cloud of dust.
Jiang Li's steps came to an abrupt halt. Feeling rather helpless, he had no choice but to turn around and look. With a slight frown on his brow, he said coldly,
"You're really like a lingering ghost, sticking to me like a piece of dogskin plaster. It's so annoying!"
Wang Qianyuan slowly withdrew his palm, looking calm, and gently warned:
"Master Jiang, don't think about slipping away secretly again. It's a good thing for both you and me if you stay within my sight."
Jiang Li snorted coldly and said,"If you really mean well for me, then let me go and stop pestering me like this."
The corner of Wang Qianyuan's mouth curled up with a faint smile that was somewhat cold as he said slowly:
"Letting you go is fine. However, I'm responsible for protecting you, Master. If something bad were to happen to you on the way and Master blames me for it, I can't afford such a responsibility."
Jiang Li was disdainful in his heart.[He keeps talking about 'Master'. Jiang Zhenting would never send a spy to keep an eye on me. It must be Lady Wang. It's true that it's hard to deal with women and petty people.]
He pressed his foot down, scooped up a handful of dirt, lifted his leg and kicked it towards Wang Qianyuan.
Puff, puff.
The dirt stopped two zhang (a unit of length in ancient China) in front of him and then scattered and fell to the ground.
Wang Qianyuan sneered and was about to say something.
Suddenly, the sound of hoofbeats could be heard approaching rapidly, and seven people came riding on horses.