The rain had stopped.
Ye Jingtang carried a package and walked back to Ranfang Street on foot. It was already past the meal time.
After being away from the capital for about twenty days, the originally old and dilapidated street had completely changed its appearance. Shelters were set up everywhere, and one could see shops that were halfway through renovation and reconstruction. The ground was going to be repaved with blue bricks, and the old, incomplete bricks had been pried open. The road was full of potholes and puddles.
He hopped left and right on the street and came to Shuanggui Alley. Before he got close to the courtyard, he heard voices coming from behind the courtyard wall:
"Clean it well. You can't eat until you're done."
"Goo."
"You're still making that sound. Eating all day long, you're getting round..."
"Jiji..."
It was the familiar voice of a delicate and elegant woman and the aggrieved whimpering of a bird.
Ye Jingtang smiled and quickened his pace to the courtyard gate. The courtyard was as tidy as ever. The potted plants under the melon trellis were lush and green, and the doors of the main house and the west wing were both open.
Zhe Yunli was wearing a red top and a white pleated skirt with petal patterns. She also had the double hair buns commonly seen on unmarried girls, looking completely without any air of the martial arts world. Instead, she was more like a cute and clever little girl. She was using a feather duster to clean the tables and chairs in the main house:
"Um hmm~~"
In the kitchen on the right, Luo Ning, dressed in a cyan summer dress and wearing an apron, was wiping the dusty corners in front of the chopping board. Her jet-black long hair reached down to her waist, and there was a cyan hairpin in her hair. Her exquisite and graceful curves of the waist and hips, combined with her delicate and jade-like face, made her look like a stunning little chef.
The fluffy big bird stood by the rice jar, stepping on a small piece of linen with its claws and listlessly wiping the jar in circles.
Coming home after being busy and seeing the mother and daughter diligently tidying up the small home, and the little pet helping beside them, it felt like...
It felt like he might be beaten to death by the leader of the Pingtian Sect!
When Ye Jingtang thought of the leader of the Pingtian Sect, the random thoughts in his heart vanished. He walked into the courtyard.
"Jiji!"
The bird felt as if it had been granted amnesty. It dropped the rag and wanted to fly out, but was stopped by a glance from Luo Ning.
Luo Ning didn't turn around, but her wiping movements slowed down a bit.
Zhe Yunli turned around, revealing her lively little face. She was about to speak when she saw Ye Jingtang's right hand wrapped in bandages. She frowned and quickly ran to the door:
"Brother Jingtang, how did you get injured?"
Luo Ning, who had been cold before, heard this and immediately turned around. Seeing Ye Jingtang's right hand wrapped as if it were broken, a look of solemnness and worry flashed in her eyes. She put down the linen and came forward:
"What happened to you?"
"I dealt with a small matter in the morning and had a fight with someone."
Ye Jingtang walked into the house, took out a jewelry box, and threw one to Yunli.
Zhe Yunli took the jewelry box but just stared intently at Ye Jingtang's injury and complexion.
Since she met Ye Jingtang, Luo Ning had never seen him suffer a loss. Opponents like the Wingless Owl, Zhou Ying, and Jian Yuhua were basically defeated in one move. This was the first time she saw him come back with bandages.
Luo Ning wiped her hands on the apron, picked up Ye Jingtang's right hand, and pinched his finger bones:
"Who did you fight with? How could they injure you like this?"
Ye Jingtang was actually completely fine. It was just that the back of his hand had a bit of broken skin. But the Princess took it very seriously and bandaged it up, making it look as if his hand was useless.
Seeing the rare look of concern in Lady Luo's eyes, Ye Jingtang hesitated for a moment and pretended to be in pain:
"I had a fight with someone from Tiefo Ridge. Sigh—— It hurts a bit."
Luo Ning immediately became much gentler upon seeing this. She turned around and gave an order:
"Yunli, go and buy some rice first. I'll take a look at your Brother Jingtang's injury."
"Okay."
Zhe Yunli's eyes were also full of concern. After carefully looking at Ye Jingtang's right hand a few times, she carried the bird and ran out the door.
Luo Ning pulled Ye Jingtang to the main house and sat down beside the bed. She placed Ye Jingtang's right hand on her lap and took out the wound medicine.
Ye Jingtang sat upright on the bed. Watching Lady Luo carefully unwrap the bandages with a worried look, he thought he would get beaten later. After thinking for a while, he put his left arm around Luo Ning.
Luo Ning, who was looking for the medicine, sat up a bit straighter. A look of shyness and annoyance flashed in her eyes. Before she could speak, she saw Ye Jingtang say seriously:
"Just a hug. You're not allowed to get angry during the hug. You have to abide by the bet."
?
Luo Ning gritted her teeth. She thought this little rascal was completely heartless, but in the end, she suppressed her anger according to the bet and continued to unwrap the bandages:
"Even at a time like this, you still don't forget to act indecently towards a woman. It's really... Did you meet the Angry-Eyed Vajra?"
"I met his younger brother, the second master Cheng."
Luo Ning blinked her eyes. She had never heard of this person and frowned:
"Is the second master Cheng also a top expert?"
"No, just a street ruffian."
"A street ruffian injured you like this? Were you so drunk that you couldn't stand steadily?"
"I didn't draw my saber. We fought with our fists."
"..."
Luo Ning raised her eyes and looked very puzzled:
"Tiefo Ridge is a sect that practices external martial arts. You fought them with your fists? Was your saber taken away?"
"I just wanted to see how powerful their external martial arts were. The martial arts world has been boasting about it so much. In the end, he was still knocked down by me."
Luo Ning opened her mouth but didn't know what to say:
"You're a master of saber techniques. When dealing with an ordinary ruffian, you got your hands all injured and you still have the nerve to be complacent..."
Before she could finish her words, the bandage was unwrapped, revealing the back of his right hand. One could see the injury...
Fortunately, Ye Jingtang came back in time. If he had been a bit later, the wound would really have been impossible to find.
?!
Luo Ning had been worried for a long time. Seeing such a result, her slender eyebrows immediately stood up. She looked up at Ye Jingtang, and anger gradually welled up in her eyes:
"Ye Jingtang!"
Ye Jingtang quickly hugged the furious Lady Luo tightly:
"We agreed that you wouldn't be angry. I was really injured. It's just that the wound medicine is very effective and I healed quickly."
Luo Ning gritted her silver teeth, threw the bottle of wound medicine aside, and turned her head to look elsewhere:
"Have you hugged enough?"
Ye Jingtang knew that if he let go, he would probably get a good beating. Of course, he hadn't hugged enough. He changed the subject:
"By the way, when I hit the second master Cheng today, with one punch, the skin on his forehead showed cracks like those on porcelain. Do you know what kind of martial art that is?"
Luo Ning's eyelashes twitched, and she turned her head back:
"Porcelain?"
"Like the cracks on an ice surface, the cobweb-like patterns that appear when you hit it with a fist. I don't think it's an external martial art at all. Do you think it could be the 'Golden Scales Diagram'?"
A solemn look appeared on Luo Ning's stunning face. She was seriously recalling when she suddenly frowned and said coldly:
"Your hand!"
Ye Jingtang was also deep in thought. His hand unconsciously slid down a bit and touched something very plump. Seeing that Lady Luo was angry, he quickly slid it back up:
"I didn't notice. Don't be angry."
Luo Ning placed her hand on the saber at her waist and stared at Ye Jingtang threateningly for a moment before continuing to think seriously:
"Xue Baijin once said that when the Golden Scales Diagram is mastered to its peak, the whole body's skin is as hard as dragon scales and is invulnerable to swords and guns... The description is very different from what you said. It should not be that."
Ye Jingtang also didn't think that a person like the second master Cheng could master the Minglong Diagram:
"Then it's probably an exotic martial art. When his elder brother, the 'Angry-Eyed Vajra', comes to seek revenge, I'll have another good fight with him and study it carefully."
Luo Ning glanced at the big hand on her waist. She wanted to be angry but couldn't. So she had an icy expression and asked again:
"Haven't you hugged enough yet? How long is 'a hug'?"
"Until we finish talking about the matter."
Ye Jingtang turned to look at Luo Ning and asked:
"Are there any other people from the Pingtian Sect in the capital?"
"What do you mean?"
"Yesterday, an official was killed by someone from the Pingtian Sect..."
"It's impossible."
Luo Ning shook her head seriously: "I just arrived at noon today. The several incense masters I brought are all staying outside the city. I'm still in the city. Xue Baijin couldn't have arranged for someone to come to the capital to cause trouble without telling me."
Ye Jingtang thought for a moment and said: "Then someone is deliberately framing them. The murderer used the 'Roaming Palm' of Zhang Henggu from Nanshan Tiegua. But the people from the Black Yamen and the Ministry of Punishments couldn't see anything wrong. Does Zhang Henggu have any defected disciples?"
"The Roaming Palm..."
Luo Ning recalled for a moment: "The Roaming Palm is the unique skill of Protector Zhang. It was only passed on to Xue Baijin and his disciples. I don't even know it. They are all in Nanxiao Mountain. There can't be anyone else in the world who knows this move. You must have misidentified it."
Ye Jingtang was half-believing and half-doubting: "The old woman with white hair, the 'Listening One', has confirmed that it is the Roaming Palm. Are you sure it's not one of your people?"
"Absolutely not. I know all the arrangements of the Pingtian Sect very well. The only matter related to the capital is about Qiu Tianhe. There can't be an outsider who knows the Roaming Palm in the world... Where is the body? I'll go and take a look. You must have seen it wrong."
"It's in the mortuary of the yamen. Accompany me to sneak over there tonight to find clues about the forged palm technique, so that I can explain it to the government. Otherwise, this blame will have to fall on the Pingtian Sect."
Naturally, Luo Ning wanted to see it with her own eyes. She was about to stand up and get ready when she found that his hand was still on her waist. She took a deep breath:
"Even if I abide by the bet, there should be a time limit. You can hug me for at most a quarter of an hour every day. When Qiu Tianhe regains his freedom, we'll be even and owe each other nothing."
Ye Jingtang nodded: "Okay. As long as Lady Luo is happy." He said as he took a hairpin box and handed it to her.
Luo Ning took a look at the exquisite hairpin box. At first, she wanted to refuse, but after thinking for a while, she looked at the small package beside it:
"Who are the other pieces of jewelry for?"
"They're for some female friends I know. I can't wear them myself."
?
A trace of suspicion flashed in Luo Ning's eyes. She turned her head to look at the package — there were still four pieces... There were four other women outside...
Ye Jingtang found it a bit funny: "Don't think too much. They're just gifts for coming back. Didn't I also buy something for Yunli? If Lady Luo doesn't like it, you can give it to Yunli. I think she likes it very much."
"What am I thinking too much about? You... I know your nature, you little rascal. It has nothing to do with me anyway..."
After muttering, Luo Ning placed the hairpin box aside and fell silent...