The guest hall of Shanshui Garden was named "Vast Righteousness Tower."
The towering structure with a double-eave roof, majestic and imposing, showcased the divine favor—a double-eave roof has historically been the highest grade in Chinese architectural design, something adopted by more than a dozen main halls within the Luoyang Ziwei Palace.
What attracted attention, though, was a pair of couplets hanging outside the grand door of the Vast Righteousness Tower.
The first line: The sounds of wind, rain, and reading echo in the ears.
The second line: Concerned with family, state, and world affairs alike.
Horizontal inscription: The world is for the public.
From a distance, Yang Ge gazed at the couplet, feeling that these high-ranking officials really must have exceptionally strong mental fortitude.
They engaged in disgraceful acts yet could boldly place an archway in front of their homes. Didn’t the old dog feel that the couplet was scolding him every day?
At that moment, the grand door of the towering building was wide open, constantly attended by maids and servants bowing in and out.
With keen eyesight, Yang Ge also noticed guards with weapons stationed at the corners of the building and at the turn of the corridors.
"Okay, you can stop here!"
Yang Ge withdrew his gaze and released Zhuang Chu, "How you excuse yourself now is up to you."
As he spoke, he slowly raised his right hand.
Zhuang Chu hurriedly waved his hands begging for mercy, "Great hero, there’s absolutely no need for such trouble. I assure you I won’t utter a word out of line."
Yang Ge smiled, "Do you think that’s possible?"
Zhuang Chu glanced at his smooth, unwrinkled palm, quickly averted his gaze, and forced a smile, "Then... can I do it myself?"
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Yang Ge still smiled, "What do you think?"
Zhuang Chu swallowed, reluctantly stretched his neck, "Okay, okay... please be merciful, I have frail arms and legs, I can’t withstand your Innate Divine Strength."
"Have a good sleep."
Yang Ge spoke softly. As his words faded, his right hand crisply chopped at Zhuang Chu’s neck.
Zhuang Chu’s eyes rolled back, and he collapsed on the spot.
Yang Ge caught him, looked around briefly, then carried him to a passageway, laid him diagonally on the ground, and then pulled out the dagger from his waist and placed it in his hand.
This kid, although a blabbermouth...
was just trying to live.
In fact, Yang Ge found it quite amusing to see him rack his brains trying to outwit him.
Back then, when Jiang Kui used a Chaotic Wind Leg Manual to put him and Yuelai Inn on the hot seat, he too had exhausted his wits in a battle of wits with the hidden powerhouses...
After settling the kid, Yang Ge pushed down his hat, exited the passageway, rounded a rockery, leapt thirty feet in the air, and soared across several yards toward the Vast Righteousness Tower.
"Who goes there!"
"There’s an assassin!"
"How dare you!"
In an instant, several angry shouts erupted from all directions, myriad sounds of slicing air headed towards Yang Ge.
The clear ring of a blade sang, and a whip-like blade light, like a harsh winter snow sealing miles of land, cleared the attacking shadows and hidden projectiles aimed at Yang Ge all at once.
Yang Ge sheathed his blade and, encountering several screaming maids fleeing in all directions, he stepped into the reception hall.
Inside, two men sat in hierarchical order.
The senior figure was white-haired and gaunt, his head adorned with a white jade hairpin, clad in a deep red robe, stably holding a teacup, not glancing at Yang Ge who had just entered.
The person on the right, about forty, had a horse-like face, sinister eyes, dark skin, dressed in a green round-neck robe, and a beautifully decorated long sword hung at his waist, standing tall, glaring at Yang Ge.
Yang Ge glanced at the elderly man at the head and then shifted his gaze to the right, the man dressed as a scholar made him feel a strong sense of discordance, like a child wearing his father’s suit pretending to be an adult...
He scrutinized the man up and down several times and spoke, "Japanese pirate?"
As his words left his mouth, the man broke down, cursing loudly, "Damn..."
"Clang."
A cold moon blade flashed out of its sheath and with a swift motion tapped the ground lightly.
"Thud."
A muffled sound followed as a head struck the ground heavily, bounced up half a foot, then rolled comically to Yang Ge’s feet.
Yang Ge pivoted, kicked powerfully, and sent the dirty head spinning out the door in a beautiful curve, plunging with a splash into the lotus pond.
"Nice shot!"
He loudly acclaimed himself, then turned back to the still composed old man in the red robe.
Sensing Yang Ge’s gaze, the red-robed elder slowly put down his teacup and spoke deliberately, "Should I address you as Brocaded-robed Guard Northern Garrison Dept. Senior Fifth-rank Thousand Households Chief Yang Erlang, or would Yang Ge suit you better?"
Yang Ge, as if not grasping the deeper meaning of his words, responded cheerfully, "You can call me ’Qian’ Ding Xiu... it should be this title on the imperial edicts later on."
The red-robed elder squinted his cloudy eyes, ambiguously said, "I heard you’re also a learned man, have you heard: ’He who starts troubles never ends well’?"
Yang Ge shrugged, patiently replied, "Of course, as a public person, I don’t even have a green official robe, so killing you certainly won’t fall within the rules of courtly strife; personally, Yuelai Inn is just a handful of people, anyone who dares touch them, I will annihilate his entire family... What do you think?"
The red-robed elder slowly smiled, "Whether it’s against the rules, you don’t get to decide."
Yang Ge nonchalantly replied, "No worries, whoever wants to have the final say, I’ll just kill them. Kill a few more, and then what I say will count!"