In Yun'an City, the weather was mild and sunny.
The warm summer sun shone on the upturned eaves of Mingyu Tower. The gentle breeze blew the wind chimes at the corners of the eaves, producing a clear and ethereal ringing sound:
Dingling~~ Dingling~~~
A white screen was placed at the window to block the sunlight. In the resplendent study, a woman in a python-patterned robe sat upright with a straight back. An open book was placed on the desk in front of her. There was a pen holder made of gold and jade, and a white porcelain tea cup was placed beside her hand. Overall, she looked like a cold female CEO working seriously in the summer.
The only discordant thing was that from time to time, a hint of a strange color would appear on her fair and jade-like cheeks. She would quickly turn the page of the book, skipping the illustrations...
The study was silent. After an unknown period of quietness, a faint breeze suddenly drifted into the room, and an old woman with white hair landed soundlessly in front of Dongfang Liren's desk.
Because she appeared out of nowhere without any greeting, Dongfang Liren was startled. She quickly closed the book and hid it behind her back, looking slightly annoyed.
"Your Highness, Li Huai from Xiwang Town sent an urgent message overnight, saying that Ye Jingtang was assassinated last night by Blood Bodhi, Chen Ming, the Heart-Piercing Hand, and Lu Ruan with the Seven-Foot Spear in a joint attack..."
"Hmm?!"
Dongfang Liren, who usually remained unflustered even in the face of great danger, felt her eyelashes jump upon hearing this. The book behind her fell to the ground, and she stood up with anger in her eyes:
"How could this be... How is Ye Jingtang?"
The old woman with white hair sensed that the Prince Jing was extremely tense and quickly replied:
"Li Huai visited Young Master Ye and he is not seriously injured."
"Huff..."
Dongfang Liren let out a sigh of relief and gently patted the desk:
"These bandits are truly audacious. Take this king's order letter and ask the Magistrate of Jinjiang County to deploy eight thousand members of the Martial Guards. Surround Xiwang Town for this king. If they can't capture the bandits, tell them to come back with their heads!"
The old woman with white hair slightly raised her hand to signal the Prince Jing to calm down:
"There's no need. Blood Bodhi, Chen Ming, and Lu Ruan all died at the hands of Ye Jingtang last night. Two of them were beaten so badly that their bodies couldn't even be put together, and Blood Bodhi was beheaded..."
"Hmm?"
Dongfang Liren was taken aback, feeling rather confused:
"An old grandmaster and two first-class fierce bandits. How could it be... Well, it doesn't seem impossible either."
Thinking of Ye Jingtang's terrifying potential, Dongfang Liren was relieved again.
"According to Young Master Ye's own account, he discovered the bandits' whereabouts in advance and thus managed to launch a surprise attack. With Young Master Ye's foundation and saber technique, Chen Ming and Lu Ruan were definitely no match for him. Blood Bodhi was seriously injured last time, so it's not impossible for him to have accomplished this feat."
Dongfang Liren slowly nodded. After a moment of silence, she said coldly:
"After investigating for several years, we still haven't found out the background of the Green Bandits. This king and the people around me have been repeatedly assassinated. Are all those people in the Black Yamen just eating for nothing? Send them to investigate."
"Yes."
The old woman with white hair turned around and was about to leave. As a result, she found the book on the ground and wanted to bend down to pick it up for the Prince Jing. But as soon as she raised her hand...
The breeze blew through the pages of the book, revealing the exquisitely drawn illustrations...
??
The old woman with white hair retracted her hand, pretended to see nothing, and drifted out of the room like a ghost.
Dongfang Liren was thinking about Ye Jingtang's heroic deed and really didn't notice. After the old woman with white hair left, she finally realized that the book "The Tears of the Chivalrous Woman" was missing. She searched around and her face froze. She quickly picked up the book and said as a belated excuse:
"Cough... His Majesty wants to read this book and asked this king to review and annotate it first."
"I understand, Your Highness."
...
-----
It was already broad daylight. The rain along both sides of the river gradually subsided, and it was estimated that it would clear up in the afternoon.
Jinyu Street had returned to calm, and the craftsmen who had been summoned were cleaning up the damaged street.
In a teahouse in Xiwang Town.
Ye Jingtang was sitting on a couch. There were fruits and snacks beside him, and Niaoniao was squatting next to him, responsible for eating.
Pei Xiangjun leaned against the other side of the tea table. They were both listening to the storyteller telling past martial arts stories in an old-fashioned tone.
There was also a young woman wearing a veil beside them, holding a pipa and playing a Jiangzhou ditty.
Dong dong dong~~
"It is said that on that dark and windy night, the old Master Fu walked alone to the outside of the Seven Mysterious Gates..."
The storyteller was telling the story of how Blood Bodhi assassinated the grandmaster of the Seven Mysterious Gates back then. At that time, this matter had spread like wildfire in the martial arts world, but decades had passed, and few people remembered it now.
The storyteller told this story today naturally because the infamous Blood Bodhi had died in Xiwang Town last night.
After bandaging his wounds last night, Ye Jingtang carried the head and, holding the token given by the Prince Jing, found the Black Yamen constable on duty in this place.
He didn't do this for the huge bounty on the heads of the three fierce bandits.
The Green Bandits wanted to kill the Prince Jing, and he was targeted because he had protected the Prince Jing. Now that he had dealt with the assassins, if he "killed without leaving a name" and didn't tell anyone, wouldn't he have been assassinated for nothing?
By directly reporting to the Black Yamen, the Prince Jing would remember his contribution, which would be of great benefit for saving Qiu Tianhe in the future and even observing the "Jade Bone Diagram."
Now that all matters had been settled, he was finally free.
There were many trivial matters in Honghua Tower, such as the scheduling of business between the north and the south, the development direction of the industry, and so on. It would take at least three to five days to discuss them.
Ye Jingtang's position in the gang was the "Double Flower Red Cudgel." Such matters were for the literati advisors (Baizhishan) to think about, and it wasn't his turn to worry about them. He could rest for the next few days.
As the female leader, Third Miss should have gone to the meeting too. But since he was injured, Third Miss was afraid that he might get into trouble or feel bored as a street loafer alone, so she specially stayed by his side.
It was a bit excessive to listen to music in a brothel with a beautiful female leader serving beside him. According to the gang rules, he might even be punished by castration.
Ye Jingtang politely declined at first, but Third Miss was also bored sitting in the meeting room, so she still came along.
At this moment, Pei Xiangjun was leaning against the tea table, skillfully brewing the Pre-rain Silver Peak tea produced in Jiangzhou on the tea tray. There was also a beauty's round fan beside her hand, and her posture was quite graceful and elegant.
Seeing Ye Jingtang sitting upright with a straight back and his eyes shining brightly as he looked at the old storyteller, Pei Xiangjun couldn't help but laugh:
"Jingtang, do you always sit so properly when you listen to music?"
Ye Jingtang picked up the small tea bowl that was handed to him and took a sip:
"My back is a bit uncomfortable, and it's not convenient to lean against something."
Pei Xiangjun's eyes curved with a smile, and she motioned to the pipa-playing young woman in the distance:
"Do you want to call her over to be your backrest? I heard that men are like this when they're outside."
Ye Jingtang slightly raised his hand to signal Third Miss to be quieter:
"That's a brothel where you can touch while listening. This place is a proper teahouse, and you can't do such things here."
Pei Xiangjun let out a soft snort: "You seem to know quite well~ Is it that you don't want to touch while listening, or is it that it's not allowed in this place?"
"Jiji."
Niaoniao nodded vigorously.
Ye Jingtang rubbed Niaoniao's head, which was randomly chiming in, and changed the topic:
"What was Blood Bodhi doing trying to kill the leader of the Seven Mysterious Gates?"
Pei Xiangjun supported her side face with her hand and gently patted her chest with the round fan. She casually explained:
"The martial arts world in Tiannan is full of various sects, which are intricately intertwined and very chaotic. It is said that because Master Fu killed a bandit in the martial arts world back then and adhered to the morality of the martial arts world by not eradicating the bandit's family. As a result, the bandit's son grew up, accumulated a lot of money through business, and hired Blood Bodhi to seek revenge... Enmities in the martial arts world are endless, and such things are too common. It's just that most people can't get revenge..."
When Pei Xiangjun said this, she suddenly remembered something and continued:
"Have you heard of the Goddess of the Toad Palace?"
Ye Jingtang supported the tea table with his arm and poured tea for Third Miss:
"I've heard of her. She was once the most beautiful woman in the martial arts world and married the leader of the Pingtian Sect."
"The Goddess of the Toad Palace has a similar background. It is said that she was originally a young lady from a martial arts family in Jiangzhou. However, her enemies came, and many in her family were either killed or injured. In order to seek revenge, she searched everywhere for famous masters. She even came to Honghua Tower but didn't find what she was looking for. Finally, she went to the Pingtian Sect and became the sect leader's wife. Presumably, she wanted to use the power of the Pingtian Sect leader to avenge her family. But unfortunately, there has been no further news..."
"Did the Pingtian Sect leader just deceive her of her beauty and not do anything?"
"The Pingtian Sect leader is invincible under the mountain. He is a true hero. How could he be untrustworthy? He didn't help her seek revenge simply because he couldn't defeat the enemy."
"Couldn't defeat the enemy?"
Ye Jingtang picked up the pine nut that Niaoniao had finally cracked open and threw it into his mouth:
"He's invincible under the mountain, and he still can't defeat the enemy? Who is the other party?"
"Abbot Shenchen of the Thousand Buddha Temple in Shazhou, one of the Two Saints. The enemy of the Goddess of the Toad Palace somehow had an epiphany, put down the butcher's knife, and converted to Buddhism. He was accepted as a disciple by Abbot Shenchen. The Goddess of the Toad Palace wanted to go to the Thousand Buddha Temple to kill him, but they definitely wouldn't agree. No matter how powerful the Pingtian Sect leader is, he can't reason with a real immortal."
Upon hearing this, Ye Jingtang shook his head and said: "What kind of broken immortal is that? Just because someone puts down the butcher's knife, the enmity can be washed away. Then I'll destroy the Thousand Buddha Temple someday and convert to Buddhism. Let's see if they'll accept me or not."
Pei Xiangjun slightly shrugged: "We can't figure out the thoughts of these enlightened masters. If you sincerely repent, they might really forgive you."
Ye Jingtang was shaken by Niaoniao, who was biting his sleeve. He raised his hand to comfort it and didn't continue this boring topic. Instead, he asked:
"How beautiful is the Goddess of the Toad Palace?"
Upon hearing this, Pei Xiangjun sat up a bit straighter, gently waved the round fan, and gave Ye Jingtang a charming look:
"Are you very interested?"
"She's already married. How could I be interested? I'm just curious. I don't think there's any beautiful woman in the martial arts world who can be more beautiful than Third Miss, right, Niaoniao?"
"Jiji." Niaoniao spread its wings and gestured, indicating - No matter how big the world is, Third Miss is the greatest!
Pei Xiangjun was quite pleased with this compliment and was also quite confident. She casually said:
"The Goddess of the Toad Palace started roaming the martial arts world when she was fifteen or sixteen, so her beauty naturally spread throughout the world. When I was fifteen or sixteen, I was still the young lady of the Pei family, staying at home all day. If I had roamed around like her..."
Pei Xiangjun originally wanted to say, "Would there still be her chance?" But this was too arrogant, so she changed her words and said modestly:
"I should also have gained some reputation. If you want to see the Goddess of the Toad Palace, you should be able to fulfill your wish soon."
"Really? Hehe... The Goddess of the Toad Palace is already married. Anyway, I'm not interested at all..."
"Hmph~ You're just being stubborn. Don't let your eyes be glued to her when you see her..."