Suddenly, a flowing cloud obscured the bright moonlight, and the riverbank was completely plunged into darkness. A few dull thunders rumbled.
Rumble...
Ye Jingtang, wearing a bamboo hat, paced slowly outside the port. The sweet aftertaste of his encounter with Lady Luo was gradually blown away by the night wind, and all sorts of messy and troublesome thoughts welled up in his mind:
Benben has treated me with great courtesy. Whether it's for the sake of the greater good of the world or personal righteousness, I can only try to offer amnesty to the Pingtian Sect. But how should I persuade Xue Baijin to surrender...
I've stolen someone else's wife and yet I'm asking that person to surrender. Aren't I just a big villain...
And there's also Third Aunt. Xue Baijin is a woman, and I can't reveal this to Third Aunt. How should I explain this matter...
I've stolen someone else's woman and said that the Pingtian Sect won't target Honghua Tower. It would be a miracle if Third Aunt believes that...
Ye Jingtang raised his eyes and could see that on the second floor of the ferry in the distance, there was still a light on in the window.
A beautiful woman sat with her back to the window on the second floor. Although he couldn't see clearly, he could still faintly sense the resentment and melancholy emanating from her bones.
"Sigh..."
Ye Jingtang rubbed his forehead. After a moment of silence, he still put on a calm and gentle expression and walked towards the ferry.
But as soon as he entered the port, a figure emerged from the darkness:
"Jingtang."
Ye Jingtang initially thought that Third Aunt was lying in wait for him and was startled. But when he looked over, he saw that the person who came out was Song Chi, the Second Master in charge of the patrol.
Song Chi was wearing a brocade robe. He came up to Ye Jingtang, his expression rather serious:
"We haven't left the area of Qingyang yet. The Zhou family might secretly take action. It's very risky to walk around alone. Be careful."
Ye Jingtang cupped his hands in a salute: "I've been on my guard all the time. Thank you, Uncle Song, for your concern."
Song Chi placed his hands behind his back. After a moment of silence, he said:
"That Jian Yuhua today is a promising young talent. I like him. It's a pity that he fell in with the wrong people. If we could take him under the wing of our Honghua Tower, he would be another great general for us in the future."
Ye Jingtang indeed had a good impression of Jian Yuhua and asked:
"Uncle Song, do you know where he is now?"
"He secretly came here to look for a boat just now. Yuanqing followed him and found that he's at Huangsong Dock."
Ye Jingtang nodded slightly. Since he didn't know how to explain things to Third Aunt for now, he simply turned around and said:
"Let's go and take a look. I'll try to see if I can persuade this guy to switch his allegiance."
Song Chi walked out of the port side by side with Ye Jingtang. After thinking for a while, he said:
"Changqing doesn't have much talent, and I've established myself in Tiannan where there are many powerful people. If there's no successor, the influence of Honghua Tower in the south in the future..."
"Uncle Song, do you want to recruit Jian Yuhua into the White Tiger Hall?"
Song Chi sighed: "If we really manage to recruit him, Third Aunt will definitely try to bring him into the Green Dragon Hall and make that guy switch to learning the spear technique. Let's just keep this between us. As an elder, I'll also show my intention. I'll teach you boxing techniques later..."
Ye Jingtang shook his head and smiled softly: "Uncle Song, you can just go and recruit him yourself. Why bother asking me to come along?"
Song Chi waved his hand: "I'm the master of the White Tiger Hall after all. How could I do something like deceiving my superiors and subordinates and embezzling for my own gain? If I do it secretly, you might make things difficult for me when you take charge of Honghua Tower in the future. I'd be miserable then."
"You're being too serious, Uncle Song..."
...
——
Qingyang City is a large prefecture city in Zezhou. Further east lies the Thousand-li Yunmeng Marsh, and Junshan Terrace is on the other side of the Yunmeng Marsh. Therefore, there are many ports around Qingyang City. Most of them are along the Qingjiang River, and the other part is located at the estuaries of the tributaries leading to the Yunmeng Marsh.
Rumble...
It was already late at night, and a light rain suddenly started to fall again. Both inside and outside Qingyang City were plunged into silence, leaving only the fine and continuous sound of the rain.
Ye Jingtang put on his bamboo hat and, together with Song Chi, silently walked through the alleys with flowing sewage and came to a small dock on the east side of Qingyang City.
The dock was a small one that usually transported sundry goods. There were several warehouses around. Cargo ships were moored by the river. Some lights could still be seen on the small street in the distance, but the dock was pitch black.
Ye Jingtang followed Song Chi. When they turned the corner of the alley, he noticed that there was a little light coming from a small ventilated window of a warehouse in the distance.
Ye Jingtang was about to go over, but Song Chi raised his hand, signaling for silence.
Ye Jingtang sensed that something was wrong. He immediately lowered his voice and listened carefully. Then he heard from the old warehouse:
Sizzle~~
There were the sounds of a man and a woman's breathing, as well as some strange noises, which sounded similar to when he had kissed Lady Luo...
?!
Song Chi's calm and composed expression froze.
Ye Jingtang was also puzzled. He glanced at the Second Master beside him—Er... What should we do?
Song Chi really didn't expect that when he brought the young master here to recruit an apprentice, they would encounter such an embarrassing situation.
But since they were already here, they couldn't just turn around and leave.
So, the young master and the Second Master of Honghua Tower were like lecherous old men eavesdropping at night. They sneaked up to the wall and listened to the sounds inside.
Fortunately, the people inside didn't make it too embarrassing for the two martial arts masters. Soon, voices were heard again:
"Why don't we go along the Qingjiang River? If we go through the Yunmeng Marsh, we might be encounter by the people from Junshan Terrace..."
"I went to the riverside to take a look just now. There are people watching at the dock. We'll be discovered if we board the ship."
"Today, we were really lucky to have that Young Master Ye. Otherwise..."
"Sigh, Master has always been like this. It's my fault that I didn't practice my martial arts well enough. Otherwise, it wouldn't have come to this..."
...
Ye Jingtang was listening intently when Song Chi beside him suddenly moved his ear and slightly raised his hand.
Shasha...
There was a slight sound of breaking wind approaching through the rain curtain.
The sound was very faint. If it weren't for the light rain making it difficult to hide the movement, they probably wouldn't have noticed it until it was very close.
Ye Jingtang's eyes narrowed slightly. He leaned against the eaves outside the warehouse and remained motionless, paying attention to the area above.
Whoosh...
A black shadow appeared above the alley and flashed by, making it impossible to see the figure clearly.
At this moment, the conversation in the warehouse also stopped.
Soon, a steady set of footsteps came from the riverside directly opposite the warehouse:
Tap, tap, tap...
——
The warehouse on the small dock was filled with goods such as ceramic pots and stones. The door was just casually locked, and now it had been pried open. A small candle was placed on top of the stacked bluestones.
Jian Yuhua was leaning against the wall, having rolled up his sleeves. His arms were covered in bruises, and his face looked slightly pale.
A woman dressed like a young lady was holding wound medicine and had been applying it.
But at this moment, both of them fell silent, their expressions serious as they looked towards the door of the old warehouse.
Tap, tap...
The familiar and steady footsteps gradually approached, and each step seemed to strike at the bottom of their hearts.
Their faces also turned paler with each step.
Susu~~
Jian Yuhua stood up with his back against the wall, his arms hanging down feebly as he looked at the door without saying a word.
The woman, with a look of fear in her eyes, stood up and blocked in front of Jian Yuhua...