Chapter 324: Surrounded? (1)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The curtain rippled, and the inn’s not-so-sturdy canopy bed squeaked in the late summer afternoon.
Pei Xiangjun was sitting at the head of the bed in a w-sitting posture. She was wearing Luo Ning’s black gauze triangular smallclothes, and the two peony flowers embellished the key points. The cut-out fabric was very tight, making it worrisome that the string would break because of the heavy weight.
Luo Ning was sitting in the middle in a similar posture, face to face with Pei Xiangjun. Her clothes were exactly the same, but the color was slightly different.
Because her legs were weak, Luo Ning was leaning forward slightly in Pei Xiangjun’s arms, resting her chin on her shoulder with her eyes closed in silence. Her expression still looked like she was being wronged.
Pei Xiangjun’s face was red, and she felt a little dizzy due to the rapid movements. Seeing that the vixen was pretending to be dead and not moving again, she raised her hand and patted Luo Ning’s waist. “Hurry up. We still have something to do later. Don’t waste time.”
“Ah-” Luo Ninger frowned slightly and opened her eyes. She held Pei Xiangjun’s waist and looked at Ye Jingtang. “You’re not full yet? Is this the fifteen minutes you said?”
It wasn’t convenient for Ye Jingtang to speak, but there was a smile in his eyes, indicating: Soon…
After a long time…
After taking a lunch break, Ye Jingtang took a cold bath and went to the stable refreshed. He fetched the horses and waited outside the inn.
He looked up and saw that the bird, who had been left outside for half a day, was very unhappy. It raised its head and looked at the sky, putting on a look that said: Hmph! 1 don’t want to talk to you.
“Cluck cluck-”
“Chirp?!” The bird turned around, its eyes filled with shock. Then it rushed down and flapped its wings at Ye Jingtang.
Ye Jingtang comforted the bird. After he waited for a while, the two women walked down the stairs.
Pei Xiangjun had changed into a black martial arts suit and wore a veiled hat on her head. She looked very heroic, but her expression was unnatural.
Ever since they finally consummated, this was the first time Pei Xiangjun went downstairs. Initially, she didn’t feel it when she was in the room, but after taking two steps, she realized that her legs were sore. She was a little embarrassed to go out…
But seeing Luo Ning walking straight as if nothing had happened, Pei Xiangjun didn’t show these abnormalities to prevent herself from being laughed at by the vixen.
Afraid of being caught by her old best friend, Shuishui, Luo Ning wore a bamboo hat and a scarf that covered her face tightly.
Because Ye Jingtang had been disobedient just now, and Third Lady had even acted as an accomplice, Luo Ning put on a stance of repelling people and ignored Ye Jingtang.
Ye Jingtang knew that he had gone overboard just now. After coaxing her a few more times, he mounted his horse, and the three of them and the bird left the town together…
Baywater Town was located along the Wu River, and 50 kilometers to the west was the mouth of the Wuxi Estuary, which basically bordered Ze Province.
In the afternoon, by the river outside the town…
Xuanyuan Hongzhi was standing alone at the entrance of the official road. The black cloak on his back was fluttering in the river wind, and his gaze was on the two fast horses in the distance.
Ba-da- du in! Ba-da- duin!
Amidst the rapid sound of horse hooves, two black dots gradually approached from afar, and figures gradually appeared in his vision.
The person in the lead was an old man with a spear hanging on the side of his horse. Although he was wearing a face scarf to protect him from the wind and sand, Xuanyuan Hongzhi could recognize him as the famous ‘Eighth Master Fan’ in the Green Forest of Ze Province.
Jun Mountain Terrace was a major force in Jianghu, and according to the classification, it belonged to the righteous path of Jianghu, such as the Red Flower Pavilion and the Water Cloud Sword Pool. It did proper business and accepted the control of the Imperial Court. It wasn’t wanted by the Imperial Court and could walk outside openly.
The Pacifying Heaven Cult and the Hong Mountain Gang were purely underworld forces. They occupied mountains as kings and engaged in illegal businesses. Under normal circumstances, they wouldn’t move around under the noses of the Imperial Court.
The same was true for ordinary Jianghu people. There were proper people who ran escort and shipping services, and there were underworld figures who did illegal businesses, of whom the Blood Bodhi and the two Wang brothers of Yan Province were among the best.
Eighth Master Fan was not an assassin. He was considered a ‘water tyrant’. His main job was to collect tolls on the waterway from Ze Province to Jiang Province. His martial arts skills were not bad, and he had many people under his command, but he was not strong enough to shake the powerful and wealthy forces of Jianghu. He was a well-known mediocre person in Jianghu.
Recently, all of Wu Province had been sealed off, and people were only allowed to enter but not leave. In order to avoid trouble, many wealthy gentry wanted to escape. Seeing that there was a profit to be made, Eighth Master Fan had started a smuggling business along the Wu River. Xuanyuan Hongzhi had sent him an urgent letter, so he had rushed over.
Behind Eighth Master Fan was Han Shaoping, a bandit of Ze Province. He usually helped people seek revenge and collect debts for a living. His martial arts skills weren’t outstanding, but his ability to ambush and assassinate was impressive.
The two Jianghu people arrived outside Baywater Town on galloping horses. When they saw Xuanyuan Hongzhi standing by the river, they dismounted and landed in front of him.
“Eighth Master, Brother Han.”
“Family Head Xuanyuan.”
Although Eighth Master Fan’s hair was white, he was tall and had the aura of a bandit. He didn’t look old. When he walked up to Xuanyuan Hongzhi, he gave a Jianghu greeting. “There are many experts in Jun Mountain Terrace, and Family Head Xuanyuan is a hero whose name is famous in Jianghu. It’s really rare for you to call me, Old Eighth Fan, here urgently to help with a matter…”
Xuanyuan Hongzhi explained, “The person I’m dealing with is special, and the matter is urgent. It’s not convenient for me to go back and recruit people, so I could only trouble the two of you to take action.”
Han Shaoping took down his weapon from the side of his horse and swept his gaze across the town in the distance. “Family Head Xuanyuan, just say it directly. Who are we going to kill? If we end work early, we can return to Jun Mountain Terrace to watch the excitement. 1 heard that Qiu Tianhe has arrived in the Cloud Dream Swamp. I’m guessing he will go to the Divine Marquis to challenge him in the next few days. Many people have gone over to support him.”
Xuanyuan Hongzhi knew that Qiu Tianhe would come to Jun Mountain Terrace to cause trouble, but he wasn’t in the mood to care about this now. He went straight to the point. “I want to kill a chief constable of the Black Office, one of the Prince of Jing’s favorites. Yao Wenzhong and 1 will attack together, and you two just need to work together. However, you will have to bear the responsibility afterward. The reward is ten thousand taels each. Afterward, 1 will arrange a way to send you two to the Heavenly South to lie low.”
H H
When Eighth Master Fan and Han Shaoping heard this, their expressions changed.
The two of them were in risky businesses to begin with. If they were caught by the Imperial Court, their heads would be chopped off. They didn’t care about the identity of the target. If they were asked to kill the governor of Ze Province for 10,000 taels of silver, they would dare to give it a try. It was only natural for them to bear the responsibility afterward.
But money was something people had to be alive to be able to spend.
When they heard that Xuanyuan Hongzhi and Yao Wenzhong would have to join forces and would still need their help, they knew that the person they were going to kill was definitely not as simple as having a special identity.
Eighth Master Fan thought for a moment and asked, “Family Head Xuanyuan, with you and Hero Yao joining forces, you should be able to kill anyone below the Eight Chiefs at will. Why do you need our cooperation? Is the person you want to kill Daoist Xuanji?”
Xuanyuan Hongzhi shook his head. “If it were Daoist Xuanji, even my father wouldn’t be able to deal with her. The few of us joining forces would only embarrass ourselves. The person 1 want to kill is called Ye Jingtang. I fought him yesterday. He’s slightly weaker than the Eight-Armed Ksitigarbha, but he has learned too many things and can do a bit of everything.
“If Yao Wenzhong and I join forces, it will be easy for us to kill this person. But if he wants to escape, we may not be able to stop him. We have to surround him and block his escape routes. I’ve contacted five people. There are still three on the way. 1 think another one can rush over today…”
Eighth Master Fan knew that Jun Mountain Terrace’s frontal combat strength was unparalleled, but because the saber was too heavy, it was difficult to move quickly. When encountering experts with outstanding lightness skills, the people of Jun Mountain Terrace could only look at them and sigh.
Hearing Xuanyuan Hongzhi’s words, Eighth Master Fan raised his spear and said, “As long as we’re not dealing with a Martial Chief, it’s fine. Even if you want to kill the Eight-Armed Ksitigarbha, it’s enough for us to block his retreat and find an opportunity for the two of you to attack. Where is the target?”
“He might come to Baywater Town in the next two days. I’m not sure whether he’ll come alone or whether he’ll bring people from the Black Office with him. It’s best if we can wait for everyone to arrive and prepare early.. We will wait for an opportunity depending on the situation…”
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