The night passed without incident.
In the early morning, Ye Jingtang leaned against the corner of the wall, paying attention to any signs of movement outside.
Niaoniao squatted in his arms. Perhaps because there were outsiders around, it slept a bit more normally, just with its head tilted.
Lady Luo didn't seem to have slept soundly. Every quarter of an hour, she would pretend to turn over and secretly glance in his direction, probably checking if he was getting fresh with Zhe Yunli.
Zhe Yunli was quite well-behaved. She leaned against the wall three feet away, holding her saber and not moving at all. She didn't even lean on his shoulder in the middle of the night.
The east gradually grew brighter.
When Ye Jingtang saw that it was time, he got up holding Niaoniao. But to his surprise, as soon as he moved, the girl beside him drew her saber halfway out and looked at him warily.
"What are you doing?"
"Going out to work."
Ye Jingtang patted his robe and motioned to the room:
"Do you think I'm like you people from renowned sects, who can have food and drink without doing anything?"
Zhe Yunli blinked her eyes, put away her saber, got up, and patted her shapely buttocks:
"What kind of work do you do? Do you need help?"
Luo Ning on the bed heard this and propped herself up on her upper body, looking a bit sleepy:
"Yunli!"
After a night's rest, Luo Ning's complexion had mostly recovered, and her original beauty began to show. She propped herself up like a lazy young woman. Her long hair, like flowing water waves, cascaded down. Her beautiful peach blossom eyes, sleepy and slightly angry, were enough to make a drowsy person wake up instantly and a sober person become dazed.
Ye Jingtang had already thought that Luo Ning was extraordinary in appearance yesterday. Now, seeing her in the morning, she seemed to have an additional touch of celestial air. It was not an exaggeration to say that she was like the Seventh Fairy who was deceived home by the Cowherd. So, he couldn't help but take a few more glances.
Noticing Ye Jingtang's gaze, Luo Ning immediately lay down, pulled up the quilt to cover her body, and her eyes turned slightly cold.
Seeing Luo Ning's obstruction, Zhe Yunli responded with a smile:
"Master, I'm not going out to play. I'm going to gather information. It's safer to follow him."
Ye Jingtang picked up his saber and went out the door: "You'll be safe, but what about me? I'm not your accomplice. What if you bring the Six Fiends of the Black Yamen here? I won't know whether to fight or run. Won't I be implicated?"
"I'll pretend to be your wife. Surely no one will..."
"Yunli!"
Luo Ning sat up abruptly, furious!
Zhe Yunli said helplessly: "It's just for the occasion..."
"What do you mean by 'just for the occasion'?"
Luo Ning got angry as soon as she heard this word. Letting Yunli pretend to be this little thief's wife would surely result in her being taken advantage of. She had already...
That would be like a master and disciple serving the same husband...
"You're an unmarried young lady. How can you act like this?"
Zhe Yunli thought about it and agreed: "Then I'll pretend to be his sister... Hey?"
Before she could finish, Ye Jingtang had already disappeared outside the courtyard door...
-------
On the other side, at the Pei family's grand residence by Tianshui Bridge.
Just as the sky was turning bright, Pei Xiangjun was seated in the main hall, tapping her fingers lightly on the table, with a frown on her face.
On the main seat sat Madam Zhang Yulian, the widow of the eldest son of the Pei family. There was also a worried look between her brows. She held a white porcelain tea cup in her hand and gently rubbed the rim of the cup with the cup lid:
"The people in the martial arts world outside are becoming more and more unreasonable. Chief Wang went to visit the Zhou family to discuss matters regarding Qingjiang Wharf, but he didn't even get to see the leaders of the Zhou family. Instead, he was received by the housekeeper... Our Qinglong Hall has fallen to such a state. What face do we have to command the various hall masters of Honghua Tower..."
"Sister-in-law, how could I not know these things? In the martial arts world, strength speaks..."
Madam Zhang's position in the martial arts world was equivalent to that of the "帮主夫人" (the wife of the gang leader). Now that both the eldest and second sons of the Pei family had passed away, only her son, Pei Luo, was left. Pei Luo had little talent for martial arts and was the only offspring, so she didn't dare to tell her son about the family's martial arts business. Now, besides relying on Third Madam in front of her, who else could she rely on?
Madam Zhang knew that it wasn't easy for Pei Xiangjun to shoulder the responsibility of Honghua Tower alone. She let out a sigh and said:
"Third Madam, I'm not blaming you. I'm talking about the situation. Now, we can only count on Jingtang sent by the second brother to handle these matters. Even after the second brother passed away, Jingtang still followed the will and brought the family property all the way here. He must value loyalty and righteousness, and his character can't be bad. Why don't you teach Jingtang the Pei family's spear technique and let him..."
Pei Xiangjun slightly shook her head: "I know that Jingtang has a proper character and looks outstanding, like someone who can do great things. But distant water can't put out a nearby fire. It takes a month to learn the cudgel, a year to learn the saber, and a lifetime to learn the spear. Even if he has a good foundation and good talent, it will take at least three to five years to master the spear technique. And it will take another three years to gain reputation through actual combat..."
Madam Zhang had no other options and could only say:
"Maybe Jingtang has amazing talent and can learn the Pei family's spear technique in a month or so. We're going to meet with the various hall masters at Juyi Tower next month. We can just bring Jingtang along..."
Pei Xiangjun was a bit helpless: "Forcing the growth like this will ruin even the best talent. Even if Jingtang learns the spear technique in a month, without any experience in the martial arts world, who can he defeat when he goes out?"
"Miss, something's wrong..."
While the two women were talking, footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door, and Xiuhe ran in, looking extremely anxious.
Upon hearing this, both women in the hall frowned. Pei Xiangjun stood up and said:
"What's going on?"
"The young master came here today. Somehow, he got into a conflict with the Six Fiends on the way."
"The Six Fiends?"
Pei Xiangjun frowned and thought for a moment:
"He must have brandished his saber near Mingyu Tower and was suspected by the Black Yamen. The Black Yamen sent people to confirm Jingtang's identity yesterday. Jingtang doesn't know 'The Frenzied Saber in Eight Steps', so let them test him as they like. There won't be any problems."
Xiuhe quickly shook her head: "No, no. The Ghost of Black and the Ghost of White made a move. There were no informants nearby. All we heard was that when the Iron-Armed Ghost came out, blood was gushing from his left arm..."
"Ah?!"
Zhang Yulian stood up in disbelief and said: "Did Jingtang cut the Black Ghost?"
Pei Xiangjun quickly shook her head: "What are you talking about? Jingtang doesn't know any proper martial arts methods. What could he use to cut the Black Ghost's copper-like skin and iron-like bones? That's an external martial arts master of the Black Yamen!"
Xiuhe said nervously: "That's what people outside are saying. You should go and take a look quickly. It seems that the young master is still blocked by the White Ghost..."
Seeing this, Pei Xiangjun didn't dare to delay any longer and quickly went out the door...
-------
Dark clouds hung low over the city. Although it had been dawn for a while, the street was still rather dim.
Ye Jingtang led his horse and left Shuanggui Alley. He and Niaoniao came near Tianshui Bridge. He ordered a basket of steamed buns at a steamed bun shop at the street corner and had breakfast with Niaoniao. He was still thinking about what the two women in the house would eat and whether he should ask Niaoniao to send two steamed buns back to them.
But before he could make up his mind, out of the corner of his eye, Ye Jingtang noticed a figure looking at him from the alley entrance not far away.
Ye Jingtang raised his eyes and took a look. He saw that the person at the alley entrance was Yang Guan, whom he had just fought with yesterday.
Yang Guan had a bandage wrapped around his hand. His face was gloomy. He hooked his finger at Ye Jingtang and then entered the alley.
?
Ye Jingtang sensed something was wrong and slightly raised his hand. Niaoniao spread its wings and flew up into the sky.
After a while, Niaoniao landed from the sky, chirping "Jijiji", indicating there were three people.
Yang Guan showed up again, which meant the matter hadn't been settled.
Ye Jingtang thought for a moment, threw down a few copper coins, and entered the alley with his hand on his waist saber.
The alley was very deep. When he reached the corner, it was a dead end. There were high walls on both sides and a passageway in the middle.
Under the gloomy sky, two figures stood side by side in the middle of the alley. Both were wearing coir raincoats and bamboo hats, dressed like ordinary people in the martial arts world. One was tall and the other was relatively thin. They didn't hold any weapons.
Yang Guan stood behind the two of them.
Ye Jingtang stood at the entrance of the alley alone with his saber. After taking a look at the two people wearing bamboo hats, he looked at Yang Guan:
"Not convinced?"
Yang Guan was full of confidence: "You just arrived here and yet you dare to act wildly in the capital relying on your martial arts skills. Do you really think there's no one in the world who can teach you a lesson? Cut off one of your hands and one of your feet yourself, and I'll let you off. Otherwise, I'll beat you to death today. As an adopted son of the Pei family, no one will stand up for you."
Ye Jingtang didn't say anything more. He held his saber and walked forward slowly. After taking just two steps, his figure suddenly burst forward and rushed towards the two people wearing bamboo hats.
Ye Jingtang had great momentum, but he never dreamed of what kind of thugs a street bully who collected protection fees had found!
As soon as the saber blade was drawn out, the tall figure among the two people wearing bamboo hats slightly lifted his hat, revealing a tough-lined face. Then, with a flash of his figure, he was already in front of Ye Jingtang.
Ye Jingtang sensed something was wrong and slashed at the person wearing the bamboo hat with his saber. Unexpectedly, the person directly raised his right arm to block.
Dang——
There was a crisp sound of metal clashing.
Ye Jingtang had thought that the person wearing the bamboo hat was wearing wrist guards or iron rings, but after slashing through the sleeve robe, he was shocked to find that there was only bronze-colored skin under the clothes.
The muscles on the forearm were thick and knotted. Except for a white mark, not even the skin was broken!
?!
Ye Jingtang's eyes were filled with astonishment. For a moment, he thought he was seeing things.
In a fight between the two sides, there was obviously no chance for conversation.
The tall figure blocked the long saber with his right arm and then threw a punch with his left hand, directly hitting Ye Jingtang's chest.
Bang——
This punch was quite heavy, but although Ye Jingtang didn't know advanced martial arts moves, his foundation had been solidly laid by his adoptive father.
To put it simply, his attacking power wasn't strong, but there was no flaw in his ability to withstand blows.
Taking a punch to the chest, Ye Jingtang hardly showed any reaction. He inserted the saber blade into the ground, slid back a few steps, and then stabilized his figure.
But as soon as he stopped, a gust of cold wind blew from the front, lifting the hair by his ears.
Whoosh——
Ye Jingtang felt a chill in his heart and immediately leaned backward to dodge.
The next moment, a ghostly figure flashed over from above. It looked like a coir raincoat blown by the wind, without a solid body.
But a sinister face truly appeared under the bamboo hat, looking at him coldly. The body moved with the wind as if it had no bones at all.
Even though Ye Jingtang didn't believe in ghosts and gods, he hesitated at this moment.
He raised his hand and swept his saber towards the ghostly figure, only to find that when the saber blade touched the coir raincoat, the coir raincoat moved with the saber, and there was no sense of resistance at all.
After sweeping the saber, he didn't hurt the ghostly figure at all, but his right arm was rubbed by it instead.
The force of the "Ghost's Pat on the Shoulder" was very light, so much so that Ye Jingtang felt like it was just being brushed by the robe.
But immediately, his shoulder became numb and sore, and the coldness penetrated his body. The strength in his right arm immediately decreased greatly.
Ye Jingtang was slightly shocked. He turned over and got up, put the long saber back into the scabbard, held the handle of the saber with his left hand in an inverted grip, and faced the wall. With his peripheral vision, he locked onto the two figures on both sides at the same time.
The weightless ghostly figure had silently blocked the only exit. The bamboo hat was slightly lowered and didn't move at all, like a piece of wood.
The tall figure was the same.
Although neither of them made a move, an invisible pressure could be felt in the silent alley, as if there were two mountains towering on both sides of the alley...