The lights on both sides of the river were gorgeous, and a bright moon hung in the sky.
The two sails that were raised swelled into a semi-circle in the river wind, driving the merchant ship downstream.
The merchant ship was six zhang long. In the front was the deck for placing goods, which was empty except for three fine horses standing there.
At the back was a small cabin, with a dim yellow light shining inside. The silhouettes of two women could be seen on the window paper.
Yejingtang was dressed in a black robe, sitting cross-legged at the bow of the ship. A long knife in a black scabbard was placed horizontally on his knees as he looked at the surging river water.
A fluffy big bird squatted beside him. The white fluff on its body fluttered in the river wind, and it was making sounds like "Gu gu ji ji~", which seemed to be muttering:
All the affairs of the world rise from us birds. Once we enter the martial arts world, the passage of time weighs on us...
A few months ago, when Yejingtang first arrived in the capital, the old escort Yang Chao had asked him where he and the bird would go in the future.
At that time, his answer of going to the martial arts world was just a casual joke. Now, after experiencing it, he understood what the martial arts world really was.
The essence of the martial arts world was all kinds of people, connected by countless loves, hates, and grudges.
One had to repay kindness and avenge hatred. Once these things were encountered, there would never be a day to let them go. That was why there was the saying, "Once in the martial arts world, one can't act according to one's own will."
The martial arts world was not a good place, but fortunately, his adoptive father had been very sincere to him when he was a child. He was beaten three times a day to prevent him from having any illusions or slackness in his heart.
The escort agency didn't have much income, but they still carefully laid the foundation for him. They would rather drink poor wine that cost two wen per catty themselves than not be able to afford the medicinal baths that cost several taels of silver each time.
Day after day, year after year, with meticulous care for eighteen years without a break, they had honed him into a sharp sword that could amaze the entire martial arts world. With his absolute talent and foundation, all the difficulties he encountered in the martial arts world were no longer difficulties.
However, it was a pity that his adoptive father had left him all these things but didn't live to see this day...
Yejingtang sat cross-legged at the bow of the ship, gazing at the rivers that his adoptive father must have passed by when he was young, and his mind was filled with countless thoughts.
The bird squatted in front of him, chirping for a while. Seeing that Yejingtang didn't speak, it flapped its wings and patted Yejingtang, seemingly trying to comfort him - Don't be sad, Tangtang. It's just two books. They were confiscated, so what? You used to confiscate Niaoniao's snacks all the time...
Yejingtang came back to his senses, raised his hand and rubbed the bird's head, then looked back at the small cabin at the back, his eyes showing a bit of helplessness.
The ship was traveling from the capital to Wuzhou. It had to first go along the Qing River to Xiwang Town, and then pass along the Wuxi Grand Canal close to the border of Zezhou until it reached Jianyang City in Wuzhou.
Even though they were on a fast boat and had a favorable wind, they still had to travel for two or three days on the waterway of nearly two thousand li. Although the matter was extremely urgent, it was really boring on the ship.
Sanniang and Ninger were sharing a room. Ninger definitely wouldn't let him bully her casually, and Sanniang was even more so.
When he was bored, he practiced martial arts in the room and read the famous books that Benben had given him during his leisure time.
But Ninger was obviously bored too. She came over halfway and, after finding out that he was reading a miscellaneous book with a large scale of content, took it away and secretly read it herself under the pretext of asking him to practice martial arts well.
Yejingtang didn't want to fight with his wife for things, so he could only sit here, enjoying the scenery and practicing martial arts to relieve his boredom.
Seeing that it was getting late and it was time to go to bed, Yejingtang asked the bird to keep watch in the first half of the night, and he got up and went to the cabin at the back.
The small cabin at the tail of the ship wasn't big. There was a passage in the middle, and there were two rooms on the left and right. Yejingtang lived on the left, and the two women traveling with him shared one room.
Since there were only three people on the ship, for the convenience of the bird going in and out to beg for food, the door was only slightly closed.
Yejingtang came to the door and looked inside. He could see that there was a light on in the room.
Ninger, dressed in a cyan dress, was sitting cross-legged on the wooden bed by the window. Her back was straight, and her cold and beautiful face carried a bit of the air of a fairy detached from the world. It seemed that she was practicing the Minglong Diagram.
And Sanniang was an expert in external martial arts and didn't know the Minglong Diagram either. At this moment, her way of exercising in the room was similar to yoga - she was lying straight on the bed, supporting herself with her hands, trying to lift her upper body as much as possible to stretch the muscles and bones of her chest and abdomen.
From the side, this posture showed a perfect curve of her waist and legs, and the size of her tightly stretched clothes was even more astonishing...
Yejingtang blinked his eyes. Seeing this scene, he suddenly remembered a very important thing.
The Minglong Diagram hidden on him was a disaster for people in the martial arts world. If the news leaked out, it might bring about a catastrophic disaster. Ninger had strictly instructed him that without a hundred percent certainty, he must never show it to others easily.
But in essence, the Minglong Diagram was just a book. After he learned it, he could only use it as protective gear. If others learned it, it wouldn't cause him any loss either.
Benben had taken meticulous care of him and even allowed him to learn the Yugu Diagram. He should have reciprocated the kindness.
However, Benben was the princess of the court, and the Minglong Diagram was a highly prohibited item. If he wanted Benben to learn it, he definitely had to hand it over to the court and couldn't let Benben read it and then take it back and hide it privately, as this would violate the court's taboo.
After handing it over, if he wanted others to learn it later, he would have to, just like with the Yugu Diagram, first ask for the court's opinion.
Therefore, since Benben didn't urgently need the Longxiang Diagram, he could only wait for an appropriate opportunity to teach it to her.
However, Sanniang didn't have this concern. Since the fight in Guangji, Sanniang's feelings for him had basically been made clear. She valued him far more than a piece of paper.
In the previous few days, they were busy with the case in the capital and didn't have time to think about this matter. Now that they were traveling to Wuzhou together and had two days of leisure time on the ship, it was just the right time to teach Sanniang.
Yejingtang stood at the door and thought for a while, then entered the room and closed the door.
Creak~
Click.
The sound of bolting the door rang out, and the two women on the bed immediately reacted.
Luo Ning opened her eyes and looked at Yejingtang, who was walking over with a mysterious smile. Doubt appeared in her eyes:
"What... What do you want to do?"
Pei Xiangjun seemed to have the same thought as Luo Ning. Thinking that Yejingtang was going to have sex with both of them at once, she sat up and was a bit flustered:
"Jingtang, your room is across the way. What are you doing coming here..."
Yejingtang came to the bedside and sat down. Without saying much, he raised his hand to untie his robe, wanting to take out the treasure hidden under his soft armor.
As soon as he started the action of undressing, a sound rang out in the room:
Plop——
Luo Ning's eyebrows furrowed in anger. She grabbed Yejingtang's right hand and pressed him onto the bed, saying angrily and shyly:
"You little thief! Have you gone crazy?"
Pei Xiangjun was also startled. She didn't expect Jingtang to be so bold as to really plan to have sex with the two of them here. She also moved over and pressed Yejingtang's hand:
"Jingtang! I came out to help you with your errand. How... How could you have such thoughts?"
Yejingtang was like a flower-picking thief who had broken into a boudoir at night. Being pressed down by two beautiful women, he had a somewhat helpless expression:
"What are you thinking? I'm just taking out a great treasure for Sanniang..."
"Bah!"
Luo Ning had heard this lewd remark more than once. It was big, but she didn't think it was a treasure at all. It was more like a deadly weapon...
Luo Ning's face turned slightly cold. She pressed Yejingtang down and gritted her teeth in anger:
"You little thief, do you think you're capable now? Do you believe that I'll confiscate it from you?"
Pei Xiangjun didn't understand:
"What great treasure?"
Yejingtang asked Ninger to let him go, then sat up and leaned close to Luo Ning's ear and whispered a few words.
Luo Ning understood the meaning, and her expression changed a bit. She originally wanted to speak out to stop him, but after thinking about it, she decided to forget it - Sanniang cared about the little thief no less than she did. Knowing about the Longxiang Diagram wouldn't endanger the little thief's safety. Learning the Longxiang Diagram would definitely improve her combat power in the future and could also help the little thief.
Luo Ning thought for a moment, then stood up and said: "Well, it's your thing. You can talk to her about it yourself."
With that, she went out the door and entered the room across the way.
Pei Xiangjun saw that the vixen had left her alone here. She thought that the vixen had suddenly become generous and was allowing her to sleep with Yejingtang. Her charming eyes showed a strange look. She looked around, seemingly trying to find an opportunity to rush out the door.
Yejingtang blocked Sanniang, reached into his arms and fumbled around, then took out the golden paper and handed it to Sanniang:
"Hmm Hmm."
"What is this?"
Pei Xiangjun took the golden paper and looked at it back and forth. Out of the corner of her eye, she also paid attention to Yejingtang in case he suddenly pounced on her and bullied his martial aunt.
Yejingtang naturally had no intention of pouncing on her. He sat in front of her and explained:
"The Longxiang Diagram. Sanniang, your physique is delicate and weak. It's not suitable for you to practice the Overlord Spear. With this, you should be able to break through the bottleneck."
Pei Xiangjun had never seen the Minglong Diagram. Hearing this, she was taken aback for a moment. She thought Yejingtang was joking at first, but after carefully rubbing the golden paper, she found that it was different...
!
Pei Xiangjun looked at the golden paper, her eyes full of disbelief, which then turned into seriousness:
"Jingtang, how could you casually show this kind of thing in front of a woman? Do you know how many husbands and wives have turned against each other and brothers have fought each other because of the Minglong Diagram in the martial arts world?"
Yejingtang naturally knew the seriousness of the matter. He said softly:
"Sanniang doesn't even care about her life for my sake. How could she value a piece of paper more than me? Hurry up and learn it. I'll teach you."
"..."
Pei Xiangjun blinked her eyes and thought that it was true. Yejingtang trusted her enough to show her the Minglong Diagram.
Although she believed that she was worthy of this trust, compared with the vixen, there seemed to be a bit of a gap...
The vixen had even given her body, and she wasn't even afraid of being bitten on her chest by Yejingtang when he went crazy from the medicine. But she had given nothing. Due to the ancestral precepts, she hadn't even taught the last two moves of the Overlord Spear...
Pei Xiangjun blinked her eyes and returned the Longxiang Diagram to Yejingtang:
"I'll learn it later. Our relationship isn't that close yet..."
Yejingtang raised his hand and placed it on Pei Xiangjun's shoulder, making her sit properly:
"Sanniang already knows that I have the Minglong Diagram. What does it have to do with whether you learn it or not?"
Pei Xiangjun thought about it and it made sense. She pursed her lips and then said:
"The last two moves of the Overlord Spear. Whoever knows them will be the Red God of Wealth. Your adoptive father left home in a fit of anger back then precisely because he didn't learn them... Although there are ancestral rules, the rules also have to change with the times. I'll find the time to teach them to you..."
Yejingtang smiled and said: "That's fine."
Pei Xiangjun nodded and wanted to start learning the Longxiang Diagram, but she still felt that it wasn't enough. Although the Overlord Spear was powerful, it was far inferior to the Minglong Diagram...
Pei Xiangjun's eyes moved slightly. After hesitating for a long time, she put on an elegant and gentle appearance and said softly:
"Jingtang, well... Your aunt has already betrothed me to you. I can't escape either. I'm going to obey the arrangement. Whether you agree or not, you have to obey too, to avoid making your aunt sad. So I... I'll be your fiancée in the future."
Yejingtang smiled and said: "Marriage is a major matter. We're away from home now, and it's not convenient to discuss these things. Let's practice martial arts first."
Pei Xiangjun's face turned bright red after she finished speaking. But once she had summoned up the courage to say it, the confused and chaotic emotions in her heart finally settled down.
Pei Xiangjun took a moment to calm down and regained the dignity that a female sect leader should have. She said softly:
"All right, go and adjust your body with Ninger. I can study it by myself."
Yejingtang looked at Sanniang, whose face was red but still maintained a generous appearance, and shook his head:
"You definitely won't understand it. It's better for me to teach you."
?
Pei Xiangjun thought that Yejingtang was good in every way, except for his mouth. She sat up straight with her back and waist straight:
"When I was in my twenties, I overpowered all the heroes in Honghua Tower and became the leader. I didn't rely on your master's support. Do you think I'm like Ninger, with little ability and only being tough within our group?"
The two rooms were not far apart, and Luo Ning was obviously eavesdropping. At this moment, she coldly said from the next room:
"Yejingtang, let her figure it out by herself. If she doesn't understand, she'll ask you."
Yejingtang had spent three or four days racking his brains to figure out the Minglong Diagram. He thought that it might take Sanniang ten days or half a month to figure it out by herself.
However, since Sanniang was so confident, Yejingtang didn't say more and got up and went out the door.
Creak~
The door closed, leaving only the dim yellow light in the room.
Pei Xiangjun's calm demeanor finally broke down at this moment. Obvious embarrassment appeared in her eyes. After her eyes flickered for a long time, she picked up the Longxiang Diagram and began to look at it carefully...