Going out from the back door of the inn, one would come to an old alley. On the other side of the alley was a wall, and inside was a rather large round building.
Round buildings originated in Jiangzhou and were actually quite rare in Yunzhou. The whole building was circular. The outer perimeter consisted of two-story houses, and inside was a bluestone square with a diameter of twenty zhang.
The round building had some history, and its interior decoration was quite magnificent. On ordinary days, it was considered a scenic spot in Xiwang Town, and wealthy merchants and prominent families often held banquets here.
At this moment, it was completely silent inside the round building. In the hall in the east, several armchairs were placed, and the various hall masters were seated among them, all waiting for the arrival of the leader.
More than a hundred incense masters were standing outside along the eaves of the round building. Familiar faces such as Li Sanwen and Madam Huang Zhu could be seen. Then there were the core disciples, such as the children of incense masters like Li Jian.
Under the entire round building, there were probably no less than two hundred people standing neatly. However, compared to the scale of the round building, it didn't seem crowded.
When Ye Jingtang and Third Miss appeared outside the round building, the disciples of Honghua Tower, who were standing silently and solemnly, all cupped their hands in salute at the same time. The eleven hall masters sitting in the hall also stood up.
Honghua Tower conducted its affairs in a low-key manner. Although it had already cleared the area around the round building, since it was right in front of Xiwang Town, to prevent any powerful people passing by from noticing, no one shouted loudly. The imposing manner of strict obedience to orders, coupled with the oppressive rainy night, gave the atmosphere a rather intimidating feeling.
After Pei Xiangjun entered the round building, her originally charming and noble-lady temperament disappeared. Her face showed neither joy nor anger, and under the gaze of the disciples, she slowly walked along the circular corridor.
Ye Jingtang followed behind and could notice that everyone around looked at him with respect. However, the expressions of the hall masters sitting in the hall were different.
The twelve halls of Honghua Tower were equivalent to twelve leaders, and their statuses were different. The specific ranking could be seen from their seating arrangements.
The leader's position was below the central hall of the hall. The tall middle-aged man in a white brocade robe on the right was Song Chi, the second leader of Honghua Tower. On the left was Chen Yuanqing of the Vermilion Bird Hall. Further to the right was the hall master of the Black Tortoise Hall, and the rest were the small hall masters named after places.
The four major halls originally came from the shipping gangs of various states, and the other hall masters were rising stars who joined later.
When Honghua Tower was at its peak, the three generations of the old, middle-aged, and young could gather seven grandmasters and one martial grandmaster, almost dominating the martial arts world.
However, in recent years, luck had not been on their side. The Black Tortoise Hall in Wuzhou was the first to fall behind, and its leader couldn't even reach the level of a grandmaster. Later, the Pei family also faced a shortage of talents, and they could only let Pei Xiangjun take the position. As a result, there were only three grandmasters left in the entire Honghua Tower.
Although the White Tiger Hall and the Vermilion Bird Hall also faced the problem of a shortage of talents, the hall masters were in their prime, so the situation was a bit better.
The second leader, Song Chi, had just passed his fiftieth year. His martial arts skills could rank in the middle among the grandmasters, and in the future, there was a possibility for him to become a top grandmaster and even challenge the Eight Grandmasters.
The third leader, Chen Yuanqing, had single-handedly dealt with a powerful enemy of the Jiangzhou Caobang in the past. He was an internal martial arts grandmaster supported by actual achievements. Although he was not as good as Song Chi, he was only in his early forties and had a promising future.
Pei Xiangjun was also an entry-level grandmaster and was even younger. However, after taking the position, due to her limited strength and the situation of Honghua Tower, she had never gone out to handle any affairs. Without actual achievements to support her, her reputation seemed rather inflated.
The situation of a weak leader and strong subordinates made the second and third leaders carry more weight than the first leader, Pei Xiangjun.
For example, now, Song Chi, who was burly, and Chen Yuanqing, who had an elegant demeanor, although they also stood up to greet the first leader, their expressions were completely those of treating a younger generation.
Pei Xiangjun's strength was not as good as that of the two hall masters, and she was indeed a junior. There was nothing she could do about this situation. She unhurriedly walked to the armchair in the middle of the hall and sat down, then slightly raised her hand:
"Please take your seats,all hall masters."
There weren't too many rules for the internal meetings of Honghua Tower.
The second leader, Song Chi, sat down beside her, raised his hand to ask the younger generation who came for the first time to offer tea to Pei Xiangjun. At the same time, he looked at Ye Jingtang standing behind:
"Who is this?"
Ye Jingtang stood behind Pei Xiangjun's chair and cupped his hands in a salute:
"I am Ye Jingtang, a junior. My father is Pei Yuanfeng."
"Oh?"
Upon hearing this, the eleven hall masters sitting there all turned their heads to look at Ye Jingtang.
The previous leader, Pei Yuanming, was a genuine top grandmaster. He had even been the "Spear Grandmaster" for a period of time and had great prestige in Honghua Tower. It was a pity that he died at the hands of the current Spear Grandmaster, Duan Shengji.
Pei Yuanfeng was Pei Yuanming's younger brother, and many hall masters knew him. He had even fought with Song Chi in the past. His talent was only slightly inferior to his elder brother's. If he had grown up smoothly to this day, there was a high probability that he would also have become a top grandmaster.
Song Chi's expression became more serious, and he asked:
"Has Yuanfeng come back?"
"Second brother passed away at the beginning of this year. He sent his adopted son to the Pei family and asked me to take care of him on his behalf."
"..."
Upon hearing this, all the hall masters showed expressions of loss and sadness.
The Pei family was the founder of Honghua Tower. The old master and his two sons had both passed away, and the only descendant, Pei Luo, couldn't enter the martial arts world. This was equivalent to the family losing its influence in the martial arts world.
As the third leader, Chen Yuanqing, who had called Pei Yuanfeng "brother" when he was seven or eight years old, was quite friendly when he saw the adopted son of an old acquaintance:
"Once you're in Honghua Tower, you're like our younger generation. If you encounter any problems, feel free to tell us. Although Honghua Tower is not as powerful as it used to be, Second Brother Song, the leader, and I still have some influence in the martial arts world."
Putting the "leader" behind the two of them was enough to show the status of Third Miss, the female leader, in the martial arts world.
Song Chi sighed and motioned to the young gentleman behind him:
"This is my son, Song Changqing. You two are not too different in age. Chat more."
After greeting everyone one by one, Ye Jingtang cupped his hands in salute to Song Changqing, who was quite robust.
Song Changqing, who was twenty-five or twenty-six years old, didn't regard Ye Jingtang as a rival and returned the salute like a fellow disciple.
After Song Chi finished speaking, he began to talk about the main matter:
"I'm in Chongzhou and heard that Shuiyun Sword Pool has taken over all the business of the Qingjiang Wharf. The Azure Dragon Hall started its business at the Qingjiang Wharf, and now its ancestral property has been taken away. What's your plan, leader? Do you want me and Yuanqing to go and take care of it?"
The question seemed to be out of concern, but the meaning behind the words was clear - the ancestral property has been taken away. If the leader can't handle it, don't be stubborn. Let go of the power and leave the matter to us.
In the past, when faced with such a question, Pei Xiangjun really didn't know how to answer, because she really couldn't handle the matter.
But today was different. Pei Xiangjun sat on the chair generously and smiled:
"I will solve this matter as soon as possible. Today, all the hall masters are here, and I want to announce something first."
"Oh?"
Song Chi's eyes showed surprise. He thought Pei Xiangjun had figured it out and was going to step down, but looking at Pei Xiangjun's expression, it didn't seem so.
Chen Yuanqing asked: "What's your arrangement, leader?"
Many hall masters turned their gazes over.
Pei Xiangjun slightly raised her hand and asked Ye Jingtang to step forward:
"From now on, Jingtang will be the young leader of Honghua Tower..."
"Buzz..."
"This..."
Before she could finish speaking, the entire hall erupted. All the hall masters and even the old incense masters listening outside were all looking at her in disbelief.
After confirming that Pei Xiangjun wasn't joking, Song Chi frowned and lightly tapped the armrest:
"Xiangjun, do you know what the position of 'young leader' means in a sect?"
Pei Xiangjun calmly replied: "The young leader is the successor I have designated. If I die, he will directly take over Honghua Tower. If I go missing, he can issue orders to the disciples on his own, and all the hall masters need to follow his orders."
The third leader, Chen Yuanqing, although he didn't have the intention of becoming the first leader and had always supported Pei Xiangjun, at this moment, he also gently shook his head and reminded:
"Xiangjun, being the leader is not just a title. One must be able to convince the public to make the subordinates follow the orders. You took the position legally, and I and the other hall masters had no objections. But your performance in these years... Sigh."
The hall masters all held the same idea - Pei Xiangjun herself couldn't handle things. Even a group like Baoyuanmen was starting to act arrogantly towards them. How could she dare to appoint a young leader to ride over the heads of the hall masters?
No matter how loyal they were, they couldn't follow a muddled leader to mess around with such a large family business!
Song Chi's face didn't look too good. After thinking for a moment, he didn't get angry. He directly raised his hand and said:
"People in the martial arts world speak with their fists. If Young Nephew Ye has the ability to take over, the hall masters sitting here will naturally not question the leader's decision. Changqing, go outside and have a bout with Young Nephew Ye, so that the elders can see Young Nephew Ye's capabilities."
Song Changqing was the successor of the White Tiger Hall. If his father became the leader in the future, he would be the young leader. He naturally had to take this opportunity to show his talents in front of the hall masters very seriously.
Song Changqing took a step forward, first cupped his hands in salute to the hall masters, and then raised his hand to gesture towards the rain curtain outside the hall:
"Brother Ye, please."
Ye Jingtang came here just for this matter. He didn't say much at the moment. After saluting the sitting hall masters, he went out the door with Song Changqing and came to the bluestone square under the rain curtain.
The hall masters and incense masters present also became serious, wanting to see why the leader made such an outrageous arrangement.
But just as the two of them entered the rain curtain and hadn't set up their stances yet, a shout suddenly came from above the roof of the round building facing the river:
"Who is it?"
Then a sharp whistle sounded:
"Shu——"
As soon as the sound came out, the round building fell silent.
All the senior members of Honghua Tower were having a meeting in Xiwang Town. Even if they were very confident, they had to be prepared to avoid being eliminated all at once by other martial arts forces.
The whistle was a reminder that a powerful enemy was approaching, and everyone should be on combat readiness.
Chen Yuanqing and Song Chi, who were sitting, changed their expressions slightly. They immediately flew out of the hall, broke through the rain curtain, and landed on the top of the round building.
Sasa——
The incense master disciples who were watching around the bluestone square also showed a look of being on high alert at the same time and flew up.
On the long street by the river outside the round building, the sound of breaking through the air, "Shua Shua", also sounded. Judging from the sound, there were no less than a hundred people!
Ye Jingtang and Song Changqing both looked puzzled. Seeing this, they stepped on the corridor pillars and landed on the eaves of the round building, looking outside.
Under the heavy rain, the roofs of the small street by the river were densely packed with people. They all looked on high alert, holding weapons and looking around:
"What's going on?"
"Who's attacking?"
"I don't know. It seems there are only these three people."
"The hall masters and incense masters are all inside. How could there be only three people coming to attack? Be careful that the thieves are lurking in the dark..."
Below the round building, under the back wall of the inn, were three men wearing wide-brimmed hats who were surrounded. They stood back to back, looking at the roof in horror and also talking in low voices:
"What's going on? Did we fall into an ambush?"
"Is it necessary to set an ambush with so many people?!"
"..."
The two sides confronted each other in confusion, and the entire riverbank fell into a strange silence at this moment...