The vast expanse of the thousand-mile great lake was situated amidst the boundless wilderness. Looking out from the shore, it was as if one was standing on a seashore.
The black-awninged boat moved forward amidst the wind and waves. Bean-sized raindrops pelted against the boat awning, making a crackling sound.
Xuan Yuan Hongzhi, the second leader of Junshan Terrace, held a black oil-paper umbrella in his hand and leaned towards a pleasure boat floating on the water, his brows furrowed tightly.
This morning, Junshan Terrace sent a pigeon message to Xuan Yuan Hongzhi, saying that a mysterious person had provided a clue - a new master had emerged in the Black Yamen, named Ye Jingtang, who knew the Eight Steps Frenzied Saber technique and was highly favored by Prince Jing.
The intention of the person providing the information was very clear - knowing the old feud between Junshan Terrace and the Eight Steps Frenzied Saber, they deliberately provided the intelligence, wanting to use Junshan Terrace's hand to kill.
Xuan Yuan Hongzhi didn't know the identity of the person providing the information, but he thought that this piece of information was most likely true.
A few days ago, he had examined Zhou Huaili's corpse and found that he had been killed by the Eight Steps Frenzied Saber. The court had also admitted that this was the doing of someone from the Black Yamen.
This saber-wielder was likely the Ye Jingtang mentioned by the mysterious person.
If it was just someone who knew the Eight Steps Frenzied Saber, Xuan Yuan Hongzhi wouldn't have felt that the situation was so urgent. However, the words "highly favored by Prince Jing" hit Junshan Terrace's weak point.
Junshan Terrace was a marquis conferred by the court. Even though there was a deep enmity between Jianghu people and Junshan Terrace, under the deterrence of the court, they didn't dare to rashly try to exterminate Junshan Terrace.
The court, on the other hand, was different. When it said the entire family would be executed, that's exactly what would happen. With Lü Taiqing and the True Man Xuanji around, the so-called contemporary saber master was just a Jianghu rogue in the eyes of the court.
Back then, Junshan Terrace had destroyed Zheng Feng's marriage and crippled his body, making his life a living hell. For the descendants of the Eight Steps Frenzied Saber, this was an unresolvable deadly feud.
Xuan Yuan Hongzhi was well aware of what the outcome would be if Zheng Feng's descendants grew up.
So, even though he knew that the mysterious person was using him to do their dirty work, he could only "rather kill by mistake than let go," and find a way to get rid of this serious hidden danger before the opponent grew stronger.
However, not knowing the source of the intelligence and with Ye Jingtang being someone from Prince Jing's side, Xuan Yuan Hongzhi couldn't risk going to eliminate the root cause himself. There were plenty of "sabers" in the Jianghu, and he didn't need to do it personally.
The black-awninged boat docked beside the pleasure boat. With a light tap of his toes, Xuan Yuan Hongzhi landed on the deck of the pleasure boat.
Inside the pleasure boat, a young man dressed in a scholarly robe quickly came out to greet him:
"Uncle Xuan Yuan, have you found out any news?"
The young man was Zhou Ying, the legitimate son of Zhou Huaili. His injuries had already healed, but his intense anger and resentment still made his fairly handsome face show a bit of a sickly look.
A few days ago, Zhou Huaili had been executed by the court. In order to preserve the reputation of the Zhou family as chivalrous people, the Zhou family had expelled Zhou Huaili, the son who had violated national laws, from the family.
As the legitimate son, although Zhou Ying hadn't been deprived of his right to inherit, it was now Zhou Huaiyi, the third son, who was in charge of Shuiyun Sword Lake.
With such a large family property in front of him, no matter how much Zhou Huaiyi valued brotherly affection, he couldn't possibly treat Zhou Ying, his nephew, as his own son.
With the hatred of his father's death first and the hatred of losing the right to inherit later, the Zhou family wanted to let the matter rest, but how could Zhou Ying swallow this grievance? He was still secretly plotting, wanting to avenge his father's death.
Xuan Yuan Hongzhi, like a kind and gentle elder, closed the umbrella under the overhanging eaves of the pleasure boat, took out a piece of paper from his sleeve, and handed it to Zhou Ying:
"Nephew Zhou, please accept my condolences. The murderer has been found. Big Brother Zhou was killed by a Black Yamen helper named Ye Jingtang in the capital. Uncle can only help you up to this point. The rest depends on you."
Zhou Ying picked up the piece of paper and carefully examined the content on it:
"Ye Jingtang... What's the relationship between this person and Prince Jing?"
"He is the newly appointed chief constable of the Black Yamen and may become the future 'Seventh Fiend'. I don't know who his master is, but he must not be underestimated."
When Zhou Ying heard that he was a figure similar to the "Six Fiends", he showed a look of difficulty. After thinking for a while, he said respectfully:
"Second Uncle is the contemporary Sword Saint. It's really not appropriate to take action openly since the court has forced the Zhou family to admit guilt with unreasonable arguments. This matter can only rely on external forces. I wonder if Uncle Xuan Yuan can..."
Xuan Yuan Hongzhi's face darkened slightly, and he was quite displeased:
"Huaili was my close brother. Helping you secretly to investigate this matter has already violated the court's taboo. Nephew Zhou, don't you want to drag Junshan Terrace into this as well?"
Zhou Ying wasn't stupid. He never thought that Xuan Yuan Hongzhi really regarded his father as a brother. Hearing this, he directly said:
"As long as Uncle Xuan Yuan can give me a hand and help me contact a few trustworthy masters, I will definitely reward you handsomely."
As he spoke, Zhou Ying went back into the pleasure boat and came out holding a long sword with a white scabbard in both hands:
"This sword is called 'Spirit Opportunity'. My father was fortunate enough to obtain it ten years ago and has never shown it to outsiders. As the saying goes, a precious sword should be given to a hero. Today, I will give it to Uncle..."
When Xuan Yuan Hongzhi saw this treasured sword, one of the top ten famous swords, a look of surprise flashed in his eyes. He took it and examined it:
"The young master of Thousand Cranes Villa came to Zezhou to challenge others with his sword ten years ago. On his way back, he was killed by Jianghu bandits..."
Zhou Ying slightly raised his hand: "This has nothing to do with my father. My father bought it on the black market. He was afraid of being misunderstood, so he never showed it to anyone."
Xuan Yuan Hongzhi knew this well. After examining the sword for a while, he held it in his hand and sighed:
"Alright. The Wang Chengjing brothers from Yanzhou have been traveling in Zezhou recently. I'll help you make the connection. As long as the price is right, they will dare to take on this matter. Uncle can only help you up to this point. The rest is up to you."
"Thank you, Uncle."
Zhou Ying quickly cupped his hands in salute...
——
Yun'an City.
Outside the courtyard gate, the light rain was as soft as suet. The raindrops slid down the umbrella ribs, forming a curtain of rain in front.
Niaoniao squatted on the shoulder, stretched out its wings, and touched the curtain of rain. As a result, its wing feathers got wet, and it was very unhappy. It wiped them on Tangtang's robe.
?
Ye Jingtang, with his hands behind his back, rubbed Niaoniao's head and glanced at the small courtyard behind him.
Due to the rain, there was some water accumulation in the courtyard.
The door of the main room was open. Xiao Yunli sat at the table with a look of despair. There were books, writing brushes, inkstones, and paper in front of her.
Miss Luo, dressed in a cyan summer dress, sat at the desk like a strict mother and pointed to the article in the book:
"Start copying from here to this page. You can't go out and play until you finish copying. If I come back and find that you haven't written it..."
"Sigh, I know..."
Seeing this scene, Ye Jingtang didn't gloat. Instead, he could only wait outside the door feeling helpless.
After a while, Luo Ning arranged the homework, opened the oil-paper umbrella, and walked out of the door. She didn't even look at Ye Jingtang and directly walked towards the alley entrance.
Ye Jingtang wasn't surprised by this at all. After all, he had indeed made a small mistake.
Last night, Miss Luo had taken the initiative to get into the bed. He had misjudged her attitude, and his old habit of "taking advantage of the situation" had resurfaced.
When Miss Luo got up and leaned out of the curtain to light the lamp, he didn't know what came over him. In a moment of carelessness, he slapped the soft part in front of him.
Slap~
The ripples trembled～
Then there was a deathly silence in the curtain.
He said he was swatting a mosquito, but Miss Luo definitely didn't believe it. She felt greatly offended and humiliated. She immediately gave him a good scolding and then ignored him.
Seeing that they were alone, Ye Jingtang held an umbrella and walked up to her to comfort her:
"I really didn't hit you last night. I just touched you a bit too hard..."
Luo Ning's face was as cold as ice, and there was a hint of murderous intent in her eyes:
"You still say you didn't hit me? You, this little thief, have no conscience. I must have been out of my mind to think of helping you. From now on, you find a way to regulate your body yourself. I won't care about this anymore."
Ye Jingtang would never want to hit his wife. He had just couldn't help but slap her yesterday. It was hard to explain it now, so he said softly:
"Alright, let's not talk about this. Next time I..."
"There won't be a next time!"
Luo Ning's eyes were resolute: "I'll take you to Wang's Medical Clinic right now to get you some medicine. You can regulate your body by taking the medicine from now on..."
Ye Jingtang was taken aback: "Can taking medicine regulate the body too?"
"..."
Luo Ning was just about to nod when she suddenly realized something was wrong - That's right, it's just excessive internal heat. Taking some medicine to clear heat and reduce fire would have the same effect. I thought of that last time. Why did I...
From the change in Miss Luo's expression, Ye Jingtang realized the problem. Afraid that Miss Luo would really make up her mind, he shook his head and said:
"Three-tenths of any medicine is toxic. Moreover, the sages said, 'It's better to channel than to block.' Relying on medicine is not a long-term solution."
"..."
Luo Ning blinked her eyes. She thought this statement could explain her thoughts last night, so she snorted softly:
"I'll get you some medicine. If you don't know proper etiquette and don't know how to respect women, you can boil the medicine and take it yourself."
"If I'm very well-behaved, will Miss Luo reward me?"
?
Luo Ning thought this statement was strange, but that was indeed the meaning. She didn't respond and instead changed the subject:
"Where are you going to buy a house?"
Ye Jingtang had gone out today with the intention of looking for a larger house in the capital.
He really liked the courtyard in Shuanggui Alley, but it only had three rooms and the space was too small. There wasn't even a living room, and the two girls had no privacy at all. It was inconvenient for them to take a bath.
"Miss Luo is from Jiangzhou. The houses in the capital that are similar to the water town style of Jiangzhou are all along the inner river, from Wendu Bridge upstream to Tianshui Bridge..."
"It's your own property. Why do you need to consider me? I'll go back to Nanxiao Mountain sooner or later."
Ye Jingtang shrugged slightly: "I can't very well look for an adobe house in the style of Liangzhou. The houses in the border area aren't even as tidy as the ones in Shuanggui Alley. Miss Luo is familiar with Jiangzhou, so just help me take a look."
Luo Ning thought about it and didn't say much. She went out of Ranfang Street with Ye Jingtang and came to the banks of the inner river.
The inner river in the capital was called Nanxun River. The river channel was about six zhang wide. Several stone bridges along the river connected the two banks. The scenery along the banks was beautiful, and there were many private mansions of the wealthy and powerful families in the capital. The Pei family was one of them. However, for the sake of being low-key, the Pei family hadn't bought a house right by the river.
Luo Ning hadn't been very interested at first, but standing on the white stone arch bridge and looking at the white walls and black tiles under the continuous rain, her memories of childhood were stirred up. She began to seriously accompany the man to look at the houses.
Nanxun River was close to the imperial city. The further upstream one went, the more extraordinary the people living there were. As a Jianghu person, Ye Jingtang naturally walked downstream. After looking for a long time, they gradually came to Tianshui Bridge.
When Ye Jingtang was standing on the stone bridge and pointing out the location of the Pei family's mansion to Miss Luo, he saw Chen Biao from the escort agency running towards Pei's Alley in a hurry with an umbrella.
When Chen Biao noticed that Ye Jingtang was standing on the stone bridge in the distance, he was taken aback for a moment. Then he lifted his robe and trotted over:
"Young Master, something has happened..."
Ye Jingtang frowned, walked down the stone bridge with an umbrella, and asked:
"What's the matter?"
Chen Biao ran up to him. He might have guessed that the woman behind Ye Jingtang was the one who had quarreled with the female owner the day before yesterday. He bowed his head respectfully and then said nervously:
"Cheng Shilu, the leader of Iron Buddha Ridge, has come."
Ye Jingtang knew that the Cheng family would come to seek revenge. Last time, he had noticed that Second Master Cheng's body wasn't right, and he wanted to verify it carefully. Hearing this, he said:
"Where is he? Did he smash the Pei family's property?"
Chen Biao shook his head and said solemnly:
"No, he kidnapped someone."
?
Ye Jingtang's eyes turned cold:
"Who did he kidnap? Pei Luo?"
"No, he kidnapped Yang Guan!"
Chen Biao let out a sigh: "Cheng Shilu said that if Young Master doesn't go to Qinglian Villa before dark, he will break the remaining two legs of Yang Guan as well! Sigh, it's so brutal..."
"???"
Ye Jingtang stood up a bit straighter. After thinking for a long time, he still couldn't figure out the thinking of Iron Buddha Ridge. He asked:
"Why did he beat the disciple of the Three Wonders Immortal Old Man? What does it have to do with me? Why should I go?"
Chen Biao shrugged slightly: "I don't know. Maybe because Yang Guan was too cowardly in Cuiwei Pavilion last time and kept saying how powerful Young Master was, Iron Buddha Ridge took him as a lackey. Young Master, should we take care of this matter or not?"
Ye Jingtang pondered for a moment: "Let me think it over. You go and do your work."
"Alright."
Only after the escort left did Luo Ning walk up:
"Last time you said Second Master Cheng wasn't right. Aren't you going to take a look?"
"I definitely have to take a look. Maybe I can find a clue about the Golden Scale Diagram. It's just that Iron Buddha Ridge is handling this matter more sloppily than Uncle Song. If I go, it will seem like I'm meddling in other people's business with a muddled head... Forget it. There's still plenty of time. Let's look at the houses first."
Luo Ning didn't say much when she heard this and continued to look at the houses...