Yang Ge pushed him towards the backyard, "All right, stop pondering it, go on with your tasks."
Zhang Er Niu uttered an "Ah" and, scratching his head, quickened his steps toward the backyard, "What exactly is off here?"
Yang Ge clapped his hands, looking at those who had just referred to themselves as "Shandong Five Ghosts," "Shandong Five Ghosts?"
They hastily stood up, grinning sheepishly as they bowed to Yang Ge, "Just joking... Little brother joking."
Yang Ge shook his head, "No joke, change that nickname, it’s not very auspicious, I’ve already slaughtered quite a few pairs."
The smiles on their faces froze, not knowing whether to laugh or not, whether to keep standing or sit down.
Not until Yang Ge waved his hand lightly did they sit down like they received a great pardon and stealthily wiped the cold sweat from their foreheads.
Yang Ge spoke unhurriedly, "As everyone is present today, I would like to ask all of you to witness this for my Yuelai Inn.
"An inn is a place to lodge and rest, not a place for fighting and killing. From today onwards, no matter which path friends come from, as long as you enter Yuelai Inn, please keep your tools for eating in check and do not easily scare others with them. For all disputes or grudges, I ask that you find a quiet place outside the city to resolve them so as not to ruin our business and disturb the peaceful days of our Luting Street neighbors."
"All of us at Yuelai Inn, myself included, are happy to wash dishes and clean rooms for our guests, but we are neither obligated nor willing to clean up blood or carry away bodies."
"Can everyone understand this point?"
The guests in the inn responded in chorus, "We understand, we understand."
"Little brother makes a good point. We from Shandong will lead by example in following little brother’s rules."
"Exactly, exactly, an inn is a place for eating and sleeping, without proper rules nobody can feel at ease..."
"From now on, anyone who dares to cause trouble in Yuelai Inn is making an enemy of our Righteous Alliance!"
Yang Ge gestured with both hands, "Glad that everyone agrees with my request... Now, let’s all enjoy our meals, eating should be joyful, be happy, those drinking raise your glasses! Er Niu, send a plate of braised pork head to each table, put it on my tab!"
He called out loudly, and Zhang Er Niu in the backyard responded just as loudly, "Alright, a plate of pork head meat for each table!"
The guests in the hall all thanked him in unison, "Thank you, little brother."
Yang Ge smiled and waved his hand, then turned and walked out of the inn’s main door, his face beaming with a smile as he greeted the passersby on the street, "Would you like to stop by for a meal? My Yuelai Inn’s braised pork head is a unique treat in Luting, affordable and generously portioned!"
"Is there still space available?"
"Yes, yes, yes..."
Yang Ge led the passerby inside. Seeing this, the guests in the front hall quickly, as if lightning fast, hid all knives and swords under the table, and the room buzzed with lively chatter and games.
Yang Ge found a table where only one guest was sitting and, grabbing a cloth, skillfully wiped down the table and chairs, "Please take a seat... Er Niu, bring the tea!"
Zhang Er Niu in the backyard came out quickly with a pot of hot tea, "Here you go, what would you like to eat... Our Yuelai Inn’s braised pork head is a unique treat in Luting, affordable and generously portioned."
Yang Ge handed the guest over to Zhang Er Niu and went back out to greet more guests.
Stationed behind the counter, Zhao Miao secretly watched him, seeing how amiable he was with ordinary guests, she felt very puzzled, "This guy seems so ordinary, could he really kill a Vassal King as easily as killing a chicken?"
And at that moment, she wasn’t the only one puzzled. The guests in the front hall secretly sizing up Yang Ge also felt bewildered, "Is this really the same man who trampled over Dongying and slaughtered the invaders like mowing the grass?"
Some felt their illusions shattered, inexplicably sensing a sorrow as if a hero was in decline and a celestial being had fallen to the mundane world.
Some felt more awe, silently muttering to themselves, "What can be picked up can be put down," "I am far inferior."
Yang Ge didn’t have as many mixed thoughts. He only knew that life was his own, and he should live it the way he wanted, not the way others wanted him to...
If little honor and fleeting clouds could not be surpassed, he wouldn’t have achieved what he had today.
...
When Yang Ge was striving to ground his life anew, two storms from afar began to converge, one from the south and the other from the north.
One storm erupted with the inundation of Dongying specialties into the Jiangzhe market, igniting the sensational news that seventy-two Daemon Vanquishing Warriors had crushed Dongying, ravaging cities and annihilating nations, sweeping from south to north across the nine provinces.
The other storm featured Yang Erlang, who alone entered the capital and contended against the five elders of the Imperial Horse Supervisor without losing ground, confirming the explosive news that Yang Erlang had reached the realm of a peerless Grandmaster, reverberating from north to south across the provinces.
The collision of these two storms seemed to stir up a giant column of light bursting into the heavens. Millions of martial artists across the northern and southern martial arts communities gazed upon this beam, feeling it was as unreachable as mountains and as stirring as dust.
In an instant, across the expansive lands of the rivers and lakes, there was silence as profound as a herd of horses in the dark, with not even the chirping of sparrows.
Yet beneath this superficial calm, was a wave rising higher than the last, a tumultuous undercurrent.
There were hot-blooded young Martial Artists, inspired by the deeds of the seventy-two Daemon Vanquishing Warriors, who saw a path from honing martial art for mere profit, imperial family gains, and fame, to a broader, grand avenue. Many a fine young man called friends to take up knives and swords, rushing to the frontiers, determined to not waste their prime years or fail to honor the stature of a man.
The verse "General’s Order—The March of Men," roared by Yang Ge atop Mount Fuji in Dongying, was their awakening call. The moment "The March of Men" was heard, even if only accompanied by a dog, one would ride into battle.
The last time the sons of Great Han had shown such valor and fervor was during the zenith of Great Han, when one Han took on five barbarians.
Then there were the cunning schemers, who, sensing an unprecedented opportunity from Yang Erlang’s overwhelming victory over the Imperial Horse Supervisor’s elders, yet feared Yang Ge’s fierce combat ability and solitary status. They could only employ every trick to manipulate a situation to provoke Yang Ge against the imperial court, hoping to make Yang Erlang the spearhead for overturning the Zhao Dynasty...
There were rumors that when Yang Erlang traveled to Luoyang via Jianghuai, he had sought an audience with the Great Sun Buddha Yang Potian at the Bright Summit of Mount Huang, intending to take up the role of protector for the Ming Sect.
There were also rumors that Yang Erlang was as close as siblings to the twelve branches of the White Lotus Sect, intending to assume the position of East Heavenly King and contribute to its cause.
Furthermore, explosive rumors claimed that both Taoist Master Feiyun of the Quanzhen Sect and the Shaolin monks despised Yang Erlang, considering him a fame-seeker unworthy of recognition, a troublemaker disrupting the clear air of the martial community for centuries, with the two elders purportedly planning to come down from their retreat to eradicate evil and defend the way...
All these mixed true and false rumors nearly simultaneously emerged on the rivers and lakes.
On the surface, these rumors seem to benefit some, such as the Ming Sect and the White Lotus Sect.
But anyone with a true understanding of Yang Erlang knows that because these rumors seemingly benefit some, they more likely prove that neither the Ming Sect nor the White Lotus Sect are the sources.
It’s very possible that the rumor of Yang Erlang going to Mount Huang was spread by the White Lotus Sect, and that the rumor of his intention to lead the White Lotus Sect was disseminated by the Ming Sect.
In essence, the main strategy was to muddy the waters, whether there are dates or not, one should strike first, and if I can’t have it, no one can...
The imperial court’s response was straightforward.
Every rumor from the martial arts world was delivered exactly as is to Yang Ge at the Yuelai Inn, even identifying where these rumors might have originated, and who might be stirring things from behind, all without any exaggeration or embellishment.
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The main approach was to be honest and harmless, like harmless livestock.
Yang Ge, bored, flipped through the various rumors Fang Ke sent, as well as the analyses made by the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Western Factory concerning the masterminds behind these rumors, and casually responded.
The next day, outside the west gate of Luting County, a large pair of calligraphy banners appeared.
First line: ’Scram!’
Second line: ’Come!’
Horizontal batch: ’Said by Yang Erlang.’
Anyone with a brain could see that the left banner responded to the rumors regarding the Ming Sect and White Lotus Sect, whereas the right banner responded to the rumors regarding Taoist Master Feiyun and the Shaolin monks.
He knew that a dog does not stop eating filth, and where there are people, there are rivers and lakes. But he was too lazy to chase after those unsightly mice any longer, resigned to react to changes with unchanging resolve.
There is a saying, "Listen to the rain on a small pavilion, watching the roads of rivers and lakes with indifference."
I, Yang Erlang, don’t stir up trouble, but I am certainly not afraid of it!
After his response, the martial arts community grew even livelier.