The night was dark, the rain was heavy, and the wind was strong. Xiwang Town was located at the junction of three rivers, and the rumbling sound of the rivers could be heard even in Xiwang Town, which was several li away.
Rumble...
Inside a riverside pavilion, a dim candlelight was shining. Through the window paper, the silhouette of a plump beauty could be seen. She leaned forward slightly, her red lips opening and closing, and her upper body rising and falling...
"Sizzle... Be gentle..."
"Does it hurt?"
"Um... Not really that much."
Ye Jingtang lay on a soft pillow, having taken off his outer robe and the silver soft armor, revealing his sturdy upper body.
The soft armor was a protective treasure given by Benben. It was extremely tough and hadn't been damaged. However, Ye Jingtang had just forcefully executed the move "The Overlord Lifts the Tripod" and used too much strength, causing his arms and back to ache faintly. It was estimated that he had a bit of a muscle strain.
Pei Xiangjun sat sideways beside the couch. There was some medicinal wine for treating bruises and sprains beside her, and she was kneading Ye Jingtang's broad back with both hands.
Massaging and setting bones was not like a technician's regular service. The force was quite strong, and Ye Jingtang's feeling could only be described as a mix of pain and pleasure. He would occasionally raise his head and inhale sharply.
"The Prince Jing is really good to you. If it weren't for this soft armor today, you'd probably be lying in bed for half a month."
"If I didn't have the soft armor, I wouldn't have taken that claw head-on. They were just three small fries in the martial arts world."
"Still calling them small fries... Your spear technique is really just so-so. You rely entirely on brute force. If you encounter She Long, I wonder how you're going to lift that person up..."
"Hehe..."
Ye Jingtang was tall and sturdy. Having practiced martial arts since childhood, his body shape was perfect. When he lay on the couch, the well-proportioned muscle lines on his back were fully revealed.
Pei Xiangjun was kneading his back with her hands, and the flawless male back was right in front of her eyes. She didn't have any improper thoughts as a "naughty elder sister," but since Ye Jingtang couldn't see her, her eyes couldn't help but look back and forth. At the same time, she was a bit puzzled:
"Jingtang, do you really have natural divine strength? When you lifted Blood Bodhi up today, I felt... Hmm..."
Ye Jingtang didn't have natural divine strength. Instead, he took the agility route, using fast sword strikes to face the enemy. In his opinion, the increase in strength was definitely related to practicing the "Dragon and Elephant Diagram."
However, he had only practiced for a few days. Although he had broken through his previous limits, the breakthrough wasn't significant, and it could be fully explained:
"When my life was on the line, it's normal to have greater explosive power. Maybe it's because I've been resting well recently."
Pei Xiangjun thought that made sense and didn't say anything more.
The room was very quiet, and the soft sounds of delicate hands massaging rose and fell.
Ye Jingtang lay there obediently, secretly reviewing the sparring just now. After lying there for a while, out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly noticed that in the base of the copper candlestick in front of him, he could vaguely see the reflection of Third Miss. Through the reflection, he could see that when Third Miss was kneading seriously, her almond-shaped eyes were looking back and forth on his back, and her gaze...
?
Ye Jingtang blinked his eyes and directly turned his head to look behind him.
Pei Xiangjun's movements paused. She raised her eyes and her expression remained normal:
"What's wrong?"
Ye Jingtang just wanted to see Third Miss's expression to confirm if she was secretly taking advantage. Not seeing anything, he just pretended nothing had happened and lay back down:
"Nothing. I just think Third Miss's hands are too gentle... Sizzle - no, no, it was just fine like that before..."
"Hmph~"
Pei Xiangjun openly looked at Ye Jingtang's lower back and waist a few more times:
"With your build, you're a natural talent for the spear. If I had your physique, I could have challenged the Spear Grandmaster when I was eighteen. How could I have been beaten like this by a few small fries in the martial arts world?"
"I will definitely practice the spear hard in the future and strive to catch up with Third Miss as soon as possible."
"Sigh~" Pei Xiangjun let out a soft sigh: "In the martial arts world, what one fears most is teaching the apprentice only to starve the master. Now that I can teach you martial arts, you naturally treat me with respect and courtesy. But when you become more powerful in the future, who knows how you'll treat me..."
The resentful tone paired with the lonely expression made her look like a poor wife complaining about a heartless husband.
Ye Jingtang was rather helpless: "Since Third Miss doesn't trust me, I'll stop practicing the spear for now. When Third Miss completely trusts me someday, I'll continue. People in the martial arts world value 'trust and righteousness'..."
Slap——
Pei Xiangjun gently slapped Ye Jingtang's back:
"I was just joking with you. Why are you taking it so seriously? If you ignore me when you become more powerful in the future, I have plenty of ways to deal with you."
"How could I ignore Third Miss..."
"Why not? A hero finds it hard to resist a beautiful woman. The words 'trust and righteousness' are worthless in the face of a woman's tender charm."
Tender charm?
Ye Jingtang subconsciously turned his head to estimate it with his eyes. As a result, he was glared at by Pei Xiangjun and quickly turned his head back:
"Uh..."
Pei Xiangjun protected her lapel with one hand, pursed her lips, and seemed to want to scold Ye Jingtang, but she held back the words and continued:
"I'm telling the truth, not joking with you. Your beloved is so beautiful that she can make the country fall. If she wants you to roam the world with her, I'm afraid you'd follow her at the slightest gesture. And there's also the Prince Jing. The Prince Jing holds a high position of power, and his appearance is unparalleled. He's also very considerate to you. If I were you, my heart would also be with the Prince Jing. I have no special relationship with you. If you become more powerful, you'll definitely leave with others..."
Ye Jingtang really couldn't refute these words and could only say:
"Promises made verbally are useless. Third Miss can just see what I do in the future. By the way, my chest hurts a bit. I'd better apply some wound medicine."
As he spoke, he propped himself up and sat on the couch, revealing his broad chest.
When Pei Xiangjun saw Ye Jingtang's chest and waist, her eyes obviously dodged for a moment, but soon she put on a natural expression and looked at Ye Jingtang's chest.
Chen Ming was thrown over by Blood Bodhi, and his strength wasn't stable when he struck, but the force was by no means light. Through the soft armor, four red marks were scratched on Ye Jingtang's chest.
Pei Xiangjun picked up the Yulong Ointment, moved closer, and wanted to knead Ye Jingtang's pectoral muscles with her hands to apply the wound medicine.
But when her hand reached halfway, she finally didn't dare to touch him.
Pei Xiangjun blinked her eyes, put the wound medicine in Ye Jingtang's hand, and muttered:
"For this kind of thing, it should be your lover who does it. Seriously... Apply the medicine yourself!"
After saying that, she adjusted her lapel, got up, and walked out of the door...
----
Inside the large round building, eleven hall masters were seated, discussing the situation of each hall of Honghua Tower in the first half of the year and the arrangements for the second half of the year.
Although the external threats to Honghua Tower hadn't changed at all, now that they had something to hope for and knew that one day they would surely rise again, the expressions of the hall masters were much more relaxed. Even some of the older ones started having some ideas:
"The young leader is less than twenty years old and should not be married yet..."
"Hall Master Wang, I'm afraid you're thinking too much. With the young leader's appearance and talent, do you think he doesn't have three or five confidantes?"
"Sigh, it's only natural for a man to have several wives and concubines. My granddaughter..."
"Cough cough——"
Just as they were talking, Pei Xiangjun walked gracefully into the hall and sat in the main seat:
"Jingtang already has a sweetheart. He's devoted and has no intention of taking concubines for now. Let's talk about this matter later."
When the hall masters saw this, they laughed a few times.
Song Chi sat in the second armchair, raised his hand to suppress the commotion, and said seriously:
"The Zhou family has been acting disgracefully in recent years. The leader's trip with the young leader this time is presumably for this matter. I wonder how the leader plans to discuss the matter of Qingjiang Wharf with the Zhou family?"
The Qingjiang Wharf is the largest martial arts wharf in Yunzhou and Zezhou. The Azure Dragon Hall started its business there and has been passed down for nearly a hundred years. Nearly 40% of its revenue comes from it, which can be considered the lifeblood of the Azure Dragon Hall.
However, as Honghua Tower gradually declined, the Zhou family of Shuiyun Sword Pool set their sights on this piece of fat. They established connections with both the government and the martial arts world, bought a piece of land next to the Qingjiang Wharf, and built a new wharf. Relying on their prestige in the martial arts world and using both kindness and power, they lured away all the local big merchants. As a result, the Qingjiang Wharf could only rely on the support of the wealthy merchants from other places that the hall masters had connections with to maintain its daily operation, and it had been in the red every year.
Chen Yuanqing held a cup of tea and took over the conversation:
"The Zhou family completely wants to force the Qingjiang Wharf out of business. We're all from the martial arts world. How else can we talk about it?"
Song Chi shook his head and said: "As long as Zhou Chiyang, the Sword Saint, is around, we don't have the courage to turn the table. In my opinion, we still have to talk about it in an open and aboveboard way."
Pei Xiangjun said: "Neither Honghua Tower nor Shuiyun Sword Pool is a small organization. It's not worth shedding blood over a wharf. I plan to let Jingtang lead a team to go there to celebrate the birthday and find an opportunity to have a competition. If we can take it back, we'll take it back. If we can't, we won't break off relations. As long as Jingtang grows up steadily, there will always be a time to get even."
"Our Honghua Tower suddenly has a young leader, and we dare to openly challenge them. This shows that we have confidence. The Zhou family won't fail to see this. When Jingtang goes there, he has to be a bit more arrogant. The Zhou family should be forced to accept the challenge out of face."
Pei Xiangjun smiled and said: "With Jingtang's temperament, we can only persuade him to be more restrained. If we really let him act recklessly, he might smash the memorial archway of Shuiyun Sword Pool without saying a word and then say, 'So this is your Shuiyun Sword Pool'?"
"Hehe..."
The hall masters regarded this as a joke. Some shook their heads, and some nodded.
Chen Yuanqing raised his hand to suppress the noise and continued:
"Leader, who do you think the Zhou family will send to deal with us?"
"Jian Yuhua. He's a martial arts wanderer who emerged a few years ago. He has remarkable talent. He was taken in as a disciple by the Zhou family two years ago. It's rumored that he's very powerful, but he should not be a match for Jingtang."
The hall masters near Zezhou had vaguely heard of the name Jian Yuhua and nodded slightly. Song Chi thought for a moment:
"The wife of the leader of the Pingtian Sect had a sword forged by the Zhou family when she was roaming the martial arts world in the past, and the Zhou family didn't charge her any money. Now that the old master of the Zhou family is celebrating his eightieth birthday, she will most likely show up. If the Pingtian Sect intervenes at that time and doesn't allow us to issue a challenge..."
The leader of the Pingtian Sect ranks first among the Eight Grandmasters, which is equivalent to the emperor of the martial arts world. As long as he speaks, no one in the secular martial arts world dares to disrespect him.
Pei Xiangjun hesitated for a moment and could only say about this:
"If the Pingtian Sect interferes, we'll just forget it. Uncle Song and Uncle Chen, you should still go with us at that time to prevent Jingtang from having an accident at the Zhou family's place."
"Of course. It's the first time the young leader of Honghua Tower makes an appearance. There should always be two followers standing behind to support him..."
"Yeah..."