Whoosh whoosh...
Late at night, a light rain suddenly started to fall outside Qingyun City.
The ferry of Honghua Tower was moored in the port outside Qingyang City. Many disciples were patrolling around the ship, keeping an eye on any signs of trouble.
At the window on the second floor of the ship building, a faint candle was placed on the desk. The dim yellow light illuminated the little bird sleeping on the pillow and also illuminated the restless side face of the beautiful and charming woman.
Scrape... Scrape...
The white porcelain cup cover gently rubbed against the tea cup.
The tea had been cold for a long time, but Pei Xiangjun didn't notice. She still took a small sip from time to time and then let out a faint sigh:
"Sigh..."
How could Jingtang get involved with the Goddess of the Toad Palace? When did the two of them get to know each other...
If Second Brother only passed away last month, it might have been on the way to the capital...
But Jingtang was just a bodyguard, and the husband of the Goddess of the Toad Palace is the invincible leader of the Pingtian Sect in the mortal world. It is said that the leader of the Pingtian Sect is not bad-looking either. How could she develop feelings for Jingtang...
Could it be because Jingtang is too handsome...
Or perhaps the Pingtian Sect took a fancy to Jingtang's talent and deliberately sent the leader's wife to seduce him...
Eldest Sister-in-law once said that at Jingtang's age, he is most vulnerable to older women. With the beauty and experience of the Goddess of the Toad Palace, as well as the tricks of a married woman, it would be easy for her to capture Jingtang's heart...
Thinking of this, Pei Xiangjun immediately regretted it.
When she saw Ye Jingtang, who was both handsome and talented, she should have been on guard against the possibility of him being poached by martial arts forces. Eldest Sister-in-law had even advised her to find a beautiful woman to tie Jingtang down first, and if that didn't work, she could do it herself.
But when she saw that Jingtang had someone he liked, she didn't follow up on this matter.
Now, the Pingtian Sect has taken both Jingtang and the related matters away.
No, she even gave him a set of spear techniques...
If Jingtang runs away, won't Honghua Tower be completely finished?
...
While she was secretly thinking, footsteps suddenly came from outside the room.
Dong dong~~
Chen Yuanqing, the Third Master, came to the door. He didn't even dare to alarm the disciples of his own sect and said in a low voice:
"Leader, something has happened to the young leader."
?!
Pei Xiangjun's hand holding the tea cup trembled slightly. She quickly got up and came to the door, looking at Chen Yuanqing, who was soaked through and had a slightly pale face:
"Uncle Chen, what happened?"
Chen Yuanqing's expression was solemn:
"The young master has killed someone."
?
When Pei Xiangjun heard that someone had been killed, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She looked at the dark port under the rain curtain and asked softly:
"Who did he kill?"
Chen Yuanqing didn't say anything, but his complicated eyes and stiff expression all indicated that someone who shouldn't have died had died outside Qingyang City just now...
——
A little earlier, at Zhou Manor.
The banquet outside had ended, and the visiting guests had each returned to their rooms to rest.
Inside the ancestral residence of the Zhou family, the atmosphere was extremely oppressive. Even the servants walking around didn't dare to breathe too loudly.
In the study of the main residence, a lamp was lit, and the side shadows of two people were reflected on the window.
Zhou Huaili, who had returned from the banquet, was leaning on a grand master's chair. There was no longer the smile he had when accompanying the guests. His face was ashen, and the cracking sound of his tightly clenched knuckles could even be heard.
Leaning on the chair in front of the desk was Zhou Ying, the legitimate son who had participated in the martial arts competition today. He had suffered a severe injury to his chest and was still rather pale at this moment. He was saying softly:
"In recent years, just for renovating the Qingjiang docks, building ships, and bribing shipyards, merchants, and officials in various places, we have invested no less than tens of thousands of taels of silver. And for Junshan Terrace, we have already reached an agreement with Xuan Yuanhongzhi regarding the docks. Xuan Yuanhongzhi also spoke up for us today. If we lose the Qingjiang docks, with Xuan Yuanhongzhi's character, he will definitely ask our Zhou family to return this favor..."
When Zhou Huaili was born, his family was just a small mountain villa making a living by blacksmithing. After decades of hard work, they had built up their current family business. Suddenly having a piece of it cut off and also losing their reputation, how could he swallow this humiliation?
But losing a dock was still a minor matter.
Zhou Huaili's face was gloomy as he said: "The Qingjiang docks are just an asset and not a matter of life and death. In recent years, we have already offended Honghua Tower to the core. Today, because of Jian Yuhua, that Ye Sishang directly harbored murderous intent towards me. When Ye Sishang ranks among the Eight Champions, it will be the time of great disaster for our Zhou family!"
Zhou Ying naturally knew how unkind they had been to Honghua Tower over the years. He leaned in a little closer:
"Should we write a letter to Second Uncle?"
"The matter started because of me. If Ye Sishang really wants to wipe out our family, your Second Uncle might come back. But with the current situation, he definitely won't pay attention to me, his elder brother."
Zhou Ying thought for a while: "With Ye Sishang's talent, once he becomes powerful, even Second Uncle might not be able to suppress him. If we don't deal with it, it will be like nurturing a tiger that will bring disaster... How about we go now..."
Zhou Huaili was silent for a moment: "The Pingtian Sect spoke up today. Doing something now is tantamount to slapping the Pingtian Sect in the face. Since Honghua Tower has stepped on our Zhou family, they will surely go and teach other sects a lesson about the rules. Li Hunyuan of the Baoyuan Sect in Yunzhou has taken over the property of a incense master of Honghua Tower this year, and the two sides are currently negotiating. I guess that Ye Sishang's next stop will be the Baoyuan Sect."
"Do you mean to wait for the opportunity, Father?"
Zhou Huaili didn't respond. He just stared at the moonlight outside, his eyes sinister.
While the father and son were chatting, Zhou Huaiyi, the Third Brother, came from outside. When he reached the window, he said in a low voice:
"We've found them. The Second Miss and Yuhua are at Huangsong Dock. Do you want me to bring them back?"
Zhou Huaili's face was filled with anger: "If it weren't for him speaking up today, Honghua Tower would have already retreated in the face of difficulties. How could we have ended up in such a situation? We've raised him for two years, but we've gotten such an ungrateful wretch in return..."
Zhou Ying interrupted: "Grandfather has just fallen asleep. It was Grandfather who asked Second Sister to go out today, meaning that he wouldn't pursue Senior Brother Jian. If Grandfather gets too angry and something happens to him, it will be difficult to explain to Second Uncle."
Zhou Huaili took a deep breath. After a long silence, he got up, took a sword from the sword stand, and hung it on his waist:
"I'll go and bring the Second Miss back myself. Third Brother, find a good family and betroth the Second Miss to someone far away. Don't spread this matter, and especially don't let Father know."
Zhou Huaiyi hesitated for a moment, but since Jian Yuhua could no longer be of use to the Zhou family and there was also a lot of resentment in Junshan Terrace, if they didn't deal with this internal matter, they couldn't quell the anger of Zhou Huaili and Junshan Terrace. So he just let out a soft sigh and turned away.
When Zhou Ying saw that Zhou Huaili was about to go out, he still tried to persuade him:
"Jian Yuhua has good talent. He's not on the same path as us, but he also remembers Grandfather's kindness. How about bringing him back for some discipline and giving him another chance?"
Zhou Huaili pressed the hilt of the sword and walked out of the room. He turned his head to look at his son:
"Your Grandfather will pass away sooner or later. Once your Grandfather is gone, will Jian Yuhua still remember the favor of the Zhou family? Jian Yuhua dared to leave today, which means that he has severed ties with you and me. Do you think that if we let him go and keep him as a son-in-law of the Zhou family, he will be grateful to me in the future? He also has good talent. If we give him ten years to develop, he will only become a sword hanging over the Zhou family. After I die, with just you, can you suppress Jian Yuhua?"
Zhou Ying was naturally no match for Jian Yuhua, neither now nor in the future. After a long silence, he nodded slightly and didn't say anything more.
Whoosh——
A night breeze blew by, and there was no one left in front of the door...