บท 5: Uninvited Guest
บรรณาธิการ: Atlas Studios
At night, Dye Workshop Street, Double Osmanthus Alley…
Ye Jingtang led the old horse through the dark alley while looking left and right.
The bird was in a good mood after circling around for a day. It lay on the horse's back and looked up at the stars while humming a tune. "Chirp chirp chirp~"
Dye Workshop Street was a slum with many handicraft workshops. The sun hadn't fallen yet, and there were still a few small workshops working. Once it was dark, it would be difficult to see anyone.
This was especially so for Double Osmanthus Alley. No one cared about it all year round, and even the path had accumulated a lot of leaves. When one stepped on it, there would be a light rustling sound.
Ye Jingtang had walked around the talent market just now. There were a lot of jobs, but those that paid well were all in high demand.
As the saying goes, the poor study while the rich practice martial arts. As a martial artist, Ye Jingtang had to spend a lot of money just to buy all the things he needed to practice martial arts, not to mention the exaggerated appetite of martial artists. Obviously, he couldn't find a job suitable for him.
Although he didn't find a job, he did find a place to stay. Ye Jingtang originally thought that two taels of silver would not be enough for him to stay in the capital. But after asking around, he found that Double Osmanthus Alley was a treasure land. There were more than ten courtyards in the alley, and they were all owned by a landlady. It cost two taels of silver to stay for a year, and he could live in whichever building he wanted.
Ye Jingtang had paid the rent for half a year, but the landlady didn't give him a key. When he came over to take a look, it was exactly as he had expected. There were more than ten old courtyards in disrepair. Almost all of them had cracked walls, and only a few doors were intact. Few people would be willing to stay here if they had money.
Ye Jingtang and the bird didn't have a family and only had to take care of themselves, so they didn't care about this. They found a decent-looking courtyard and pushed the door open.
The courtyard was covered in fallen leaves, and the doors and windows were open. There was only a bed frame inside, and there was not even a table or chair.
"Chirp~" The bird jumped down from the horse's back and circled around the house. It looked at Ye Jingtang with its big black eyes, meaning: Why don't we go back to live with Sister Big Chest?
Ye Jingtang ignored the bird. He tied the horse to a corner of the courtyard and fed it some grass. Then he took off the bedding from the horse.
Clatter, clatter!
Sparks flew from the collision of the fire strikers, followed by dim yellow candlelight filling up the bare walls of the house.
Ye Jingtang leaned his saber against the wall and looked around the empty room. Suddenly, he realized that the floor was quite clean. There was a depression in the dry thatch on the bed. He lowered his head and looked carefully. He found a long strand of hair. "Hmm?"
Ye Jingtang picked up the long strand of hair and sized it up. The quality of the hair was quite good. He could be sure that it hadn't been too long ago that this strand of hair had fallen. Someone had lived here recently.
But in this era, both men and women had long hair, so the gender of the owner couldn't be seen.
Could the previous tenant have left it…
Ye Jingtang was slightly puzzled, but he didn't pay much attention to it. After throwing the hair outside the door, he took the bed sheets and bedding to make the bed.
The bird, on the other hand, was very naughty. It pecked at a small package, wanting to take out the dried meat in it.
"You're still eating? Can't you see that we're already living in this lousy place? If we don't get any money, I'll have to sell you next month."
"Chirp~" The bird jumped twice, indicating that it was fat and couldn't be sold for much money.
Ye Jingtang had just smoothed out the bed sheets when he suddenly heard a faint sound from outside.
Whoosh!
It was as if a gust of wind had blown into the courtyard and stirred up the fallen leaves on the ground.
Ye Jingtang frowned and grabbed the hilt of his saber beside him. He looked out of the window that was only for decoration.
There was a figure in the courtyard!
It was dark, and the silver moon was like frost. The moonlight over the wall only illuminated half of the courtyard.
The figure stood in the light and darkness. This person was wrapped in a cloak and had a bamboo hat on their head. It was impossible to tell if this person was fat or thin, male or female. This person was holding a long spear wrapped in black cloth.
The figure didn't move at all and didn't speak. It was obvious that this person didn't come with good intentions.
Ye Jingtang raised his finger and signaled for the bird to go look for the escort head quietly. At the same time, he placed his saber horizontally behind his waist and went to the door. "Who are you? Is this your residence?"
The bamboo hat person was naturally Sister Big Chest, who came to visit the young man in the middle of the night.
But Pei Xiangjun didn't say anything. The spear in her hand slid forward. She held the end of the spear with one hand, raised the spear horizontally, drew a semicircle in the old courtyard, and pointed it at Ye Jingtang. She raised her bamboo hat, revealing a ghost mask.
Holding the end of the nine-foot-long spear with one hand and raising it was impossible to do so without a solid foundation.
Seeing this,Ye Jingtang took half a step back without batting an eyelid. He held the hilt of his saber with his left hand and prepared for battle. But the other party didn't attack directly. Instead, she raised her spear horizontally and shook her wrist lightly.
Smack!
In the alley under the moon, the sound of a whip echoed.
The black cloth wrapped around the spear instantly broke into pieces, revealing the black spear.
The silver spearhead shone with a ghastly cold light under the moonlight. After the black cloth was torn, the spear trembled, and a sound resembling a dragon's roar rang out.
Buzz!
Ye Jingtang was slightly shocked. It was easy for him to hold a spear with one hand, but directly shattering the cloth wrapping it was beyond his ability.
He knew that he was no match for this person. Suddenly, he looked at the courtyard door and revealed a 'joyed' expression. "Hero Wang?!"
Pei Xiangjun quickly tilted her head to look.
Bam!
Ye Jingtang jumped up from the ground and leaped onto the roof, planning to run wildly toward the bustling street.
Unfortunately, this trick might be useful against ordinary martial artists, but the person who came this time was not an ordinary person!
After Ye Jingtang landed on the roof, he didn't hear any movement behind him, but the sound of rushing wind came from above.
Swoosh!
Ye Jingtang unsheathed his saber and looked back from the corner of his eye. He was shocked to find that the bamboo hat person, who had not moved a moment ago, had arrived first. She had jumped thirty feet into the air and was holding her spear with both hands as she smashed it toward Ye Jingtang's head with the force of splitting a mountain.
The house was only ten feet tall, and this jump was equivalent to jumping three floors. This was the first time Ye Jingtang had seen someone jump so high in his life, and he couldn't help being shocked!
Facing the oppressive attack, Ye Jingtang quickly raised his saber horizontally and pressed his right hand against the back of the saber.
Dang!
Clatter!
Amidst the sound of metal colliding, the old roof instantly collapsed.
The spear smashed Ye Jingtang into the house. He felt that the spear contained an unstoppable brutal force that he couldn't withstand. After landing, the soles of his feet still hurt.
"Great hero, wait—"
Ye Jingtang wanted to speak and escape, but the spear user who suddenly came didn't give him a chance at all. She pierced through the hole in the roof and stabbed her spear directly at his face.
Clang!
Ye Jingtang slashed horizontally. Amidst the loud sound, a few sparks exploded in the room and blew out the swaying candlelight.
The spear that pierced through the roof felt like a thousand-pound iron pillar as he struck it to the side.
Ye Jingtang seized the opportunity to jump up. He held the saber with both hands and slashed along the spear shaft toward the bamboo hat person's five fingers, wanting to counterattack.
But after the spear tip touched the ground, it flew backward out of the roof and landed lightly on the roof. The spear tip pointed diagonally at the courtyard and didn't attack again.
Seeing this, Ye Jingtang hurriedly stopped in his tracks and stood in front of this person with his saber in both hands, maintaining the posture of facing an enemy.
Thump, thump!
The courtyard fell into dead silence under the moonlight, and a heartbeat that was about to explode could be clearly heard.
Ye Jingtang's forehead was covered in beads of sweat as he held his saber without moving and stared at the figure on the roof.
After a moment of confrontation, the person on the roof raised her bamboo hat slightly and said in a hoarse voice that was neither male nor female, "You don't know the Eight-Steps Frenzied Blade?"
Ye Jingtang frowned. He had practiced martial arts with his foster father since he was a child and had only learned normal saber and spear techniques. He had never heard of the Eight-Steps Frenzied Blade.
As for secret manuals, he had never seen them before. The books that could describe Jianghu in the border town were all miscellaneous books like 'Tears of a Heroine', 'The History of Martial Arts', 'The Legend of the Romantic Hero', and so on. He had read a lot of them. He had not learned any moves, but he had learned a lot of postures…
"I'm just an escort. I've never heard of the Eight-Steps Frenzied Blade. I only know a few tricks. Your Excellency, you may have found the wrong person."
"The Eight-Steps Frenzied Blade was created by the previous dynasty's Saber Chief and passed down to the saber Grandmaster Zheng Feng. Today, when you drew your saber at Jasper Pavilion, your starting stance is similar to the Eight-Steps Frenzied Blade's. I'm afraid the Imperial Court will come to your door soon. However, you really don't, so don't worry. At worst, they'll beat you up to test your strength."
?
Another beating? Ye Jingtang could roughly deduce that Zheng Feng was the alias of his foster father, Pei Yuanfeng. He really didn't expect his foster father to be a true Grandmaster.
You had such an awesome saber technique, but why didn't you teach me it?
If you don't want to teach me, then don't teach me. What's with the entire starting stance? Moreover, someone recognized it…
It looks like I can't burn joss paper for you this year…
Ye Jingtang's heart raced, but his expression remained natural. Seeing that the other party seemed to be reminding him kindly, he asked, "I've never heard of those things. Who are you?"
"Red God of Wealth."
Ye Jingtang recalled this title and was inwardly shocked. He had heard of the Red God of Wealth. It was the title of the pavilion lord of the wealthy and powerful Red Flower Pavilion, who was also known as the Spear Chief. He ranked seventh in the world and ranked even higher than his foster father's enemy.
Even though it was rumored in Jianghu that the Spear Chief had changed, a starving camel was still bigger than a horse. No wonder this person is so powerful…
"So, it's the pavilion lord of the Red Flower Pavilion. I've heard a lot about you. Senior, may I know why you are here to guide a junior like me?"
"I saw that you have good talent. Do you want to learn spearmanship?"
Ye Jingtang was stunned. "Senior, you want to take me as your disciple?"
Pei Xiangjun pointed her spear at the ground and said with the full-fledged demeanor of an expert, "The Overlord Spear is only passed down to one person in a generation, and this person must be the leader of the Red Flower Pavilion. It's our first time meeting, and we don't know each other. It's too early to mention becoming a disciple. Show your ability and character first. If you're qualified, I'll consider teaching you martial arts and tell you the details of the Red Flower Pavilion."
The Red Flower Pavilion was different from the Green Bandits and the Pacifying Heaven Cult. It belonged to the very low-key Jianghu forces. It focused on managing its own small territory and was not on the government's clean-up list.
Ye Jingtang was from an escort agency, and he was merely a wanderer in Jianghu. To be able to enter a rich and powerful sect of Jianghu with such a 'righteous' style and be trained as the successor could be regarded as reaching the heavens in a single step.
Ye Jingtang had no intention of becoming someone's disciple to learn martial arts. But there was no stable place in front of him now. With such a big road in front of him, he couldn't find a reason to refuse for a moment. He thought for a moment and asked, "Senior, I have admired your reputation for a long time. If I have the chance to learn excellent spearmanship, it will be my honor. I wonder what you think of me?"
"The Red Flower Pavilion is a business. Martial arts is very important, but more important is knowing the ways of the world. You went to the Pei family today and seem to have some connections. Go help the Pei family. I will observe your ability and conduct in secret."
?
Ye Jingtang blinked and felt that something was amiss. He carefully sized up the figure of the bamboo hat person, but he couldn't see anything…
"My father asked me to give the assets to the Pei family. We have nothing to do with each other…"
Pei Xiangjun said seriously, "I'm asking you to help. You don't owe each other anything. I'm not asking you to be the young master of a rich family. If you're really embarrassed, you can just give up your salary. Aren't you willing to help your relatives?"
This person's voice was hoarse and had the demeanor of an expert. But no matter how Ye Jingtang looked at it, this person didn't sound like a formidable person of Jianghu… This person sounded more like a woman acting coquettishly…
Ye Jingtang had some guesses, but it was difficult to confirm them. He thought about it and nodded. "Alright, I'll do as you say, Senior. However, I am a straightforward person. Martial arts are like a pair of shoes to me. The quality of the shoes doesn't matter. I only look at whether the shoes are suitable for the person wearing them. Senior, if I feel that we're not suitable in the future, please forgive me."
"People of Jianghu should be like this. My sudden visit has delayed you. Whether you're incompetent or not, I won't let you have high expectations for nothing."
With that, Pei Xiangjun disappeared from the roof and sank into the night…
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