Chương 2: Red Flower Pavilion

Biên tập viên: Atlas Studios

When there was a commotion at the entrance of the Zhenyuan Escort Agency, it was noticed on the second floor of the cloth shop not far away. A beautiful woman stood up from behind a desk and came to the window to look at it.

The woman was wearing a ruqun. She had a dark red collared upper garment that wrapped around her heavy chest and a pale white pleated skirt with a belt sash that had green pearls neatly tied around her waist. Her eyes were like almonds, and her lips were vermilion. Coupled with her intellectual temperament, she was beautiful, steady, and mature.

Seeing that Ye Jingtang had come to cause trouble, the woman was not angry, but her charming almond-shaped eyes lit up instead. "A calm and dignified demeanor, bright and limpid eyes… What a beautiful appearance."

The maidservant behind her stood on her tiptoes and looked at him from afar. "Yes, he's really handsome. It's just that his brain doesn't seem to work well. He didn't even check the other party's background before he challenged them. Should we warn him in case Chen Biao hits him too hard…"

Bam!

After a thud, Chen Biao was held down, and the street fell silent. The two women were speechless.

"My father, Pei Yuanfeng…"

A clear voice sounded. The beautiful woman's gaze instantly turned from frivolous to serious. Then it revealed the passion of someone who saw sweet dew after a long drought.

But this reaction was not because the beautiful woman had ill intentions toward Ye Jingtang.

The woman was called 'Third Lady Pei'. Her real name was Pei Xiangjun. She looked like a woman from an ordinary merchant family, but under her beautiful and gentle appearance, she had another identity—the current leader of the Red Flower Pavilion, a wealthy and powerful sect of Jianghu!

The Great Wei Dynasty had only been established for sixty years. Now that the female emperor ruled the court, there were powerful enemies eyeing the country covetously in the north and many princes with ulterior motives inside. The chaotic situation had nurtured an unprecedented flourishing Jianghu.

Those who could dominate a region in Jianghu could be called Grandmasters. At the top of the Grandmasters were the One Immortal, Two Sages, and Eight Chiefs. They were the eleven most powerful people in the world. Even the Imperial Court had to treat them with caution.

And the leader of the Red Flower Pavilion, Pei Cang, was the 'Spear Chief' of the Eight Chiefs. He ranked seventh in the world, which showed the status of the Red Flower Pavilion in Jianghu.

'Spear Chief' Pei Cang was Pei Xiangjun's master and Pei Yuanfeng's biological father. He was also Ye Jingtang's foster grandfather.

Pei Yuanfeng was originally the second son of the Pei family. He had shocking talent since he was young, but he had a conflict with his family and ran away from home. He had sworn that he would not return until he became famous.

The result was self-evident. Pei Yuanfeng didn't have much of a reputation even until his death. It wasn't that he didn't want to teach Ye Jingtang true martial arts, but he didn't want Ye Jingtang to repeat the same mistakes.

After Pei Yuanfeng died, he wanted Ye Jingtang to leave the capital with nothing. It was not a test of Ye Jingtang's character but a 'name card' for his family.

Normal people would not be so loyal and respectful as to listen to a dead person and give up their family business to become a homeless wanderer.

But Pei Yuanfeng knew that Ye Jingtang would do this. He did this only to let his family see this so that Ye Jingtang could enter the Red Flower Pavilion and become the next leader and Spear Chief. This was the real inheritance Pei Yuanfeng had left for his son.

However, Pei Yuanfeng probably didn't expect that the Pei family wasn't doing much better than him.

Pei Cang had passed away many years ago. His eldest son had inherited the position but had later died at the hands of his enemy. The title of Spear Chief had changed hands, and only his youngest disciple, Pei Xiangjun, could take over the leadership of the Red Flower Pavilion.

Pei Xiangjun was a woman, and her martial arts skills were not low, but she was far from the level of the Eight Chiefs. She couldn't bear the weight of a rich and powerful sect of Jianghu. As a result, the prestige of the Red Flower Pavilion plummeted.

On the outside, Jianghu forces were annexing the Red Flower Pavilion's sources of wealth. On the inside, the various hall masters were seizing power. Pei Xiangjun's position had long been unstable. She had even sent people to secretly search for the whereabouts of the second master, hoping that he would come back to support her.

Pei Yuanfeng had already been laid to rest. This was obviously bad news for the Pei family. But Ye Jingtang's 'return' had brought a glimmer of life to the crumbling Pei family. The Pei family really needed a stunningly talented 'young master' to stabilize the situation and suppress the internal and external troubles of the Red Flower Pavilion!

It was also because of this that when Pei Xiangjun found that Ye Jingtang's skills were not ordinary and knew his identity, she revealed such a 'starved and thirsty' expression.

Seeing that Ye Jingtang was about to leave without saying goodbye, Pei Xiangjun pushed open the window by the street and pushed the pole down.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Ye Jingtang, who was leading his horse on the street, raised his head. The reflection of the beauty by the window appeared in his eyes, but he didn't show the amazed expression of an ordinary man. "Miss, why are you so careless?"

Pei Xiangjun was very beautiful. Very few men could remain unmoved when they saw her. Seeing his expression, she nodded inwardly but pretended to be unhappy. "How impolite. My name is Pei Xiangjun. I am your foster father's junior sister. Everyone in the family calls me Third Lady. You are Second Brother's son. Why did you leave without saying goodbye?"

Foster Father's junior sister… Martial Aunt?

From his foster father's letter, Ye Jingtang only knew that his foster father's family was in the capital. He knew nothing else.

His foster father had asked him to give all his assets to the Pei family. As a dignified man, he had given the assets to them, but he naturally wouldn't rely on others for a living.

But this soft rice¹ looked so delicious…

But this was even more inedible!

After Ye Jingtang understood Pei Xiangjun's identity, he cupped his hands and bowed. "Greetings, Martial Aunt. My foster father asked me to send the things over. After finishing, I still have to go to the government office to exchange for a token. After I settle down in the capital, I will come to the residence to pay a visit."

These words were obviously a tactful refusal. He didn't want to visit.

But the big white bird standing on Ye Jingtang's shoulder wasn't so polite.

Upon hearing that they were relatives, the bird flew to the window on the second floor, stopped in front of Pei Xiangjun's chest, and opened its beak.

"Chirp~"

This snow-white-feathered bird was the hunting bird of Ye Jingtang. Its name was 'White King'. Logically speaking, it was a bird, but it had grown into a ball.

Ye Jingtang didn't know what species it was. When he was young, this bird had come to freeload when he was drying grains at home. He had caught it and raised it.

Initially, he thought that it was some kind of auspicious beast. But after raising it for so many years, he found that other than eating, sleeping, and acting cute, there was nothing special about this big fat bird. Sometimes, it even liked to be stupid.

For example, right now, it ran over to beg for food. It was fine if it only landed on the woman's chest, but its small claws sank slightly into the soft fabric. It probably felt that its feet felt good, so it even stepped back and forth twice. Its eyes were sparkling as it turned around and looked at Ye Jingtang.

"Chirp~" It probably meant: So soft~

This made Pei Xiangjun blush, and she quickly carried the naughty bird down. "Huh? This bird is so clingy!"

Ye Jingtang's eyes were full of embarrassment as he reprimanded, "Come back."

"Chirp…" Only then did the bird obediently fly down from the second floor and land on Ye Jingtang's shoulder.

Pei Xiangjun smoothed her lapels and said, "You should just call me Third Lady. Martial Aunt sounds old. Second Brother is really too much. He took you in as his foster son, but he asked you to send your family assets over. If the Pei family accepts it, the neighbors will definitely criticize us. Since you're here, we're family. There's no need to be so polite. You should take back the money. In the future, you will be the young master of my Pei family, and the escort agency will be allocated to you. How about it?"

Ye Jingtang had sold the escort agency in the small border city and received more than 1,000 taels of silver. It didn't seem like much, but according to the conversion of purchasing power, it was about a million Chinese yuan in his previous life. It was definitely not a small sum for ordinary people. But the price of an escort agency opened in the capital was at least ten times higher.

A man didn't eat food that was given by hand. Ye Jingtang directly rejected this gift. "Thank you for your kind intentions, Third Lady, but I won't go against the arrangements in my foster father's will. His relatives and friends are my relatives and friends. If you need anything in the future, you can let Escort Head Yang inform me. The escorts are all elders in the family. Third Lady, I hope you will treat them well in the future. I will take my leave first."

Pei Xiangjun saw that Ye Jingtang was loyal, righteous, and didn't want to receive rewards without doing anything, so she liked him even more. She didn't force him to stay any longer. After a few pleasantries, she watched Ye Jingtang leave.

Soon, one man, one horse, and one bird merged into the crowd on the street and disappeared at the intersection.

Pei Xiangjun waited until Ye Jingtang disappeared from her sight before her smile slowly faded and she fell into deep thought.

The maidservant, Xiuhe, was standing behind her. At this moment, she raised her head and whispered, "Pavilion Lord, did Second Master send us a treasure? Young Master Ye is so handsome. He looked at me just now, and my legs went soft…"

Pei Xiangjun narrowed her eyes, slightly displeased, but she quickly nodded. "I really didn't expect Second Brother to take in such a handsome foster son. He made my heart race… Not to mention his martial arts skills and moral character, just his looks alone can make him thrive in the capital."

Xiuhe giggled. "How is Young Master Ye's talent? Pavilion Lord, did you see through him?"

Pei Xiangjun thought about it seriously. "His aura is as chaotic as a bunch of vines, but he has a vast amount of internal energy. His punches and kicks have no methodology, but his muscles and bones are not inferior to those of dragons and tigers. Second Brother probably only taught him a basic foundation and didn't teach him true martial arts. He is only eighteen years old and has such a level of maturity. He can be called a heaven-blessed genius. As long as someone is willing to teach him true martial arts, it is not impossible for him to make a name for himself in Jianghu in just a few years."

Xiuhe's eyes revealed a hint of seriousness. "Then, what should we do now? Find an opportunity to tell Young Master Ye about the affairs of the pavilion, teach him spearmanship, and train him to be the young master of the pavilion?"

Pei Xiangjun shook her head slightly. "Following the will and giving the family assets from thousands of kilometers away may seem like good conduct, but you can't judge a book by its cover. Martial arts are killing techniques that cannot be easily passed down. The Red Flower Pavilion is too big, and I cannot decide the future pavilion master with just a word. I still have to observe for a period of time."

"But Young Master Ye seems to have a very stubborn personality. He doesn't want to live under the Pei family's roof. How can you observe him?"

"Young people who have just entered Jianghu are all stubborn. I'll go over tonight to persuade him, and he'll soften…"

"Pavilion Lord."

"Hmm?"

"That sounds weird…"

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