The moon was hidden, the wind was fierce, and the rain was pouring heavily.
There were long gone the figures of common folks on Ranfang Street. The few shops that remained had all shut their doors. Only the patrolling officers and constables were left. Occasionally, they would pass by from a distance in the rain, holding lanterns.
Ye Jingtang walked slowly on the pitch-black road, holding an oil-paper umbrella. Niaoniao perched on his shoulder, constantly chirping, "Jijiji..." Presumably, it was mumbling something like "Sister Xiaogua is still the best. The poached egg doesn't suit Niaoniao's taste..." and the like.
Ye Jingtang had just touched Lady Luo for a while. It was true that he was somewhat stirred up in his heart, but he wasn't reminiscing about it as he walked. Instead, he was pondering over the moves that Luo Ning had just taught him.
When it came to martial arts, all things All changes remain the same. Although one couldn't say that "knowing one method means knowing all methods", the logic wasn't too different.
When Ye Jingtang practiced martial arts in the escort agency before, he always pursued "resemblance in form". His moves were powerful and forceful, and he focused on the routines of breaking and countering moves. He never thought about the "divine intent" aspect.
As for "channeling qi", since his adoptive father didn't teach him, he didn't even know that such a thing existed in the world.
However, it didn't seem right to say that his adoptive father deliberately kept it from him. His adoptive father had been extremely "concerned" about him since he was a child. Squeezing his physical strength by beating him three times a day couldn't possibly be intentional abuse.
Since his adoptive father had laid such a solid foundation for him, he surely wanted him to "become a capable person". The fact that his adoptive father didn't teach him swordsmanship until his death could only mean that for some reason, his adoptive father didn't want to pass it on to him.
Why didn't he teach it...
Was he afraid that Ye Jingtang would get into trouble because of it?
Or was it that he had already taught it, but Ye Jingtang hadn't discovered the secrets within before...
Ye Jingtang seriously recalled the "moves" taught by his adoptive father. There were only a few moves in total, all of which were basic skills. In the past, he only sought strength and speed and didn't study the inner essence. If he were to ponder according to the techniques of "The Fourteen Moves of Touching the Clouds"...
Thinking of this, Ye Jingtang stood in the rain curtain. He moved his saber to his lower back and held the handle of the saber with his left hand in an inverted grip. He recalled the movement of drawing the saber in his mind and then compared it with the qi-channeling veins of "The Fourteen Moves of Touching the Clouds".
It was definitely impossible to copy it directly. As soon as he came into contact with "channeling qi", he realized that "channeling qi" was related to almost all aspects of the body, such as muscles, acupoints, breathing, and posture.
The possible changes at each step increased geometrically. It was impossible for anyone to try all the paths. One could only follow the guidance of the "move" to figure out the qi-channeling veins that this move should have.
Creating a "move" out of thin air was extremely difficult. But as Ye Jingtang stood still in the rain, he quickly discovered that the movement of drawing the saber taught by his adoptive father seemed to be the starting point of the "move".
The "move" only had a beginning, and the rest was all blank. So, if he wanted to perfect this saber strike, he had to explore the qi-channeling path by himself and "build on" this saber strike...
Ye Jingtang considered for a moment, then closed his eyes in the rain. Based on the beginning taught by his adoptive father and ending with the saber strike, he deduced the middle process according to his feeling and imagined how to use this starting move as the starting point to maximize the lethality of the saber technique...
Tap-tap-tap——
The large raindrops as big as soybeans hit the surface of the umbrella and then slid down along the umbrella ribs.
Niaoniao stood on his shoulder. At first, it was a bit dazed, but after waiting for a quarter of an hour, its eyes gradually turned into a look of horror——Tangtang seems to be cooked!
只见 (It could be seen that) Ye Jingtang, who had closed his eyes for a long time, his right hand's blood vessels slowly swelled up. Some raindrops fell on the back of his hand and quickly evaporated into a thin layer of white mist.
This scene first appeared on the back of his hand, then on his left arm, and finally on his entire body. Even blue veins appeared on his forehead, and a thin layer of mist rose.
Whoosh——
In the rain curtain, a wave of heat suddenly appeared out of thin air.
The raindrops falling from outside the umbrella obviously deviated, as if they were moving with the wind. The center of the wind was Ye Jingtang under the umbrella.
Buzz-buzz-buzz——
After an unknown period of silence, the long blade in the scabbard let out a low hum like the roar of a dragon. It was like a hidden dragon trapped in a deep pool, beginning to gaze at the mouth of the pool.
The hidden dragon quickly accumulated its momentum to the extreme. Before the cold pool couldn't bear it anymore, its body sprang up, with the momentum of a black dragon emerging from the water, shooting straight into the sky!
Clang——
In the silent and quiet long street, a cold light flashed.
The rain curtain all over the street seemed to be disturbed by something and was pushed aside a little.
The cold light flashed and disappeared in an instant. In just a moment, the street returned to calm.
Ye Jingtang still stood quietly in the rain, holding the umbrella. He held the handle of the saber with his left hand in an inverted grip, and the long saber returned to the scabbard, as if he had never moved at all.
Not far from his side, an old locust tree as thick as a person's waist made a "kaka——" sound in the wind and rain.
Soon, the old locust tree couldn't withstand the invasion of the wind and rain and broke in the middle, falling to the side.
Rumble——
After the dull sound, the old locust tree fell to the ground.
The raindrops fell on the brand-new crack of the tree root, as if they were dripping on a mirror and slid to the side. Not a single raindrop could stay on it!
"Jiji!"
Niaoniao was filled with shock in its eyes.
Ye Jingtang opened his eyes under the umbrella, turned his head to look at the fallen locust tree, and his eyes showed admiration:
"The Frenzied Saber in Eight Steps is indeed powerful. It seems that my adoptive father didn't hold anything back... But why didn't he just teach it directly? Why did he have to make me think about it myself? Isn't this a redundant effort..."
Ye Jingtang came to the front of the locust tree. After carefully observing it for a while, he scraped the crack apart with some doubts, left Ranfang Street, and came to the nearby marketplace.
Niaoniao was scared just now and kept chirping and hopping back and forth. It didn't calm down until Ye Jingtang bought it a box of dried meat.
----
Soon, Ye Jingtang returned to Shuanggui Alley again, holding two oil-paper packages and a clay pot in his hand.
The courtyard was silent, but there was a light on.
Ye Jingtang pushed open the courtyard door with his shoulder. Before he could close the door, he found the little girl wearing a bamboo hat standing behind the door, holding the handle of the saber and staring at him:
"Why did you go out for so long?"
Ye Jingtang threw the oil-paper packages to Zhe Yunli:
"There's no restaurant on Ranfang Street. Do you expect me to run back and forth?"
Zhe Yunli took the oil-paper packages and opened them. Inside were several roasted sweet potatoes. She nodded slightly:
"Hmm~ You're quite..."
Her words stopped abruptly.
Because Ye Jingtang carried the clay pot into the room and placed it by the bedside. He opened the clay pot, and inside was steaming black chicken soup, along with chopsticks and bowls. And in the oil-paper package were freshly baked hot steamed buns.
???
Zhe Yunli was directly stunned. She looked at the blackened roasted sweet potato in her hand:
"Hey? You, why are you treating us differently when you buy food?"
"Don't you have legs, or don't you have money in your pocket? Do you really think of yourself as a young lady from a wealthy family?"
Zhe Yunli opened her mouth but had nothing to say.
Luo Ning was already sitting on the bed. When she saw Ye Jingtang come back, she couldn't help but think of the humiliation she had just suffered. But she didn't want to show it in front of Yunli, so she greeted them in a normal tone and softly:
"Yunli, and you, come and eat together."
"Master, you eat. Don't worry about us."
Zhe Yunli stood at the door. After glaring at Ye Jingtang for a moment, she took a big bite of the roasted sweet potato with an "ow~":
"You're quite sensible and know how to take care of others. Considering how sensible you are, this young lady will give you a hand. Follow me and Master in the future, and I guarantee you can run amok in the martial arts world."
Ye Jingtang handed the steamed bun to Luo Ning, came to the door, and leaned against the door frame, looking down at Zhe Yunli:
"You're just a little girl, yet you're also imitating others and roaming the martial arts world. Even your master needed my rescue, and I also bought you food. If I follow you, won't I go hungry most of the time?"
Zhe Yunli held the sweet potato and took a step back, standing on the threshold and looking at Ye Jingtang:
"Do you know who I am?"
There was no chair in the room, so Ye Jingtang directly sat down on the threshold:
"A thief who breaks into other people's houses and mooches food and accommodation. Right, Niaoniao?"
Niaoniao squatted in front of him. There was a small box of dried meat in front of it. While burying its head in eating, it chirped "Jiji..." twice, sounding not very approving.
After all, Ye Jingtang had touched Sister Xiaogua for so long and didn't even provide a meal. What was the difference between him and a bird whoreman?
"Don't worry. I will pay you the silver."
Zhe Yunli also sat down beside him, picked up the dried meat from Niaoniao's food bowl, and threw it into her mouth.
"Jiji?!!!"
Ye Jingtang waited until Zhe Yunli chewed and swallowed it slowly, then frowned:
"It seems that you two have really had a tough time. You can even eat rat meat..."
Niaoniao nodded cooperatively.
Zhe Yunli's expression froze. Her delicate face turned green immediately. She wanted to vomit, but she felt embarrassed, so she gripped the handle of the saber:
"You little thief. Today, I will definitely..."
Luo Ning, who was drinking soup on the bed, finally couldn't stand it anymore and frowned:
"Yunli, he's just teasing you on purpose. This bird is very smart. How could he be willing to feed it rat meat? And no vendor is so idle as to make rat meat into dried meat and put it in a box."
Zhe Yunli was a bit skeptical. She picked up another piece of dried meat and forcefully fed it into Ye Jingtang's mouth:
"Eat!"
Ye Jingtang was quite surprised and opened his mouth to catch it. Before Zhe Yunli could heave a sigh of relief, he nodded in approval:
"I didn't expect you to be quite good at serving people."
These words really angered both the adult and the child in the room.
Luo Ning could ignore the joke, but he had just molested her and then turned around to flirt with Yunli. How could she bear it?
"Little thief! Try saying something nonsense again?"
Luo Ning straightened up with the spoon in her hand, and her cold and charming temperament was fully displayed.
With her master's support, Zhe Yunli also raised her chin slightly and glared.
Ye Jingtang knew that he had gone too far with the joke and raised his hand to signal:
"Alright, alright. I won't say it anymore. Let's eat, let's eat."
Only then was Zhe Yunli satisfied. She showed her two little tiger teeth and ate the dried meat and the sweet potato alternately, completely ignoring Niaoniao, which was biting her sleeve and shaking it vigorously:
"You're so young, yet you're so glib... What's your name? Where are you from?"
"Ye Jingtang. I'm from Liangzhou."
Ye Jingtang picked up the furious Niaoniao and placed it on his lap. Then he asked:
"You two women, who are you here in the capital to rescue?"
"An elder who taught me saber techniques was captured by the Black Yamen. Qiu Tianhe, have you heard of him? Last year, I learned martial arts under Master Qiu. There was a traitor who betrayed Master Qiu. The ghost messengers of the Black Yamen surrounded the mountain with people. In order to let the younger generations, including me, escape, Master Qiu held the mountain gate alone and didn't run away. Then he was captured..."
Qiu Tianhe...
Ye Jingtang recalled slightly and indeed had heard of this name. When he practiced martial arts with his adoptive father before, his adoptive father liked to talk about things in the martial arts world outside when he was drunk. He had mentioned "Tianhe Saber" Qiu Tianhe several times and had a rather positive evaluation of him.
"I heard that he is a hero in the martial arts world, with great righteousness, but I don't know much about him. Is he very powerful?"
Zhe Yunli broke the remaining sweet potato in half and handed one half to Ye Jingtang:
"You're so ignorant~ Have you heard of the 'Three Outstanding Heroes of Yunze' thirty years ago?"
Ye Jingtang took a bite of the sweet potato: "The three outstanding young men from Yunzhou and Zezhou?"
Zhe Yunli was a bit dazed, but she still nodded:
"That's a rather strange way of saying it, but it's more or less the same. 'Yunze' refers to the big lake near Junshan Terrace. Because of the reputation of 'Saber Lord' Xuanyuan Chao, young saber practitioners from all over the world like to linger in Zezhou. The three most outstanding young saber practitioners thirty years ago were: Qiu Tianhe of 'Tianhe Saber', Xuanyuan Tiangang of 'Dragon-Slaying Order', and Zheng Hao of 'The Frenzied Saber in Eight Steps'. The three of them were both rivals and friends. They often fought against each other and were collectively called the 'Three Outstanding Heroes of Yunze'."
Ye Jingtang knew that Zheng Hao was most likely his adoptive father. He didn't expect that his adoptive father had this reputation when he was young. He asked curiously:
"Who was the most powerful among the three?"
Zhe Yunli said proudly: "It must be Master Qiu. Zheng Hao's saber technique was the worst. He was included in the Three Heroes purely because 'The Frenzied Saber in Eight Steps' had a great reputation. He was crippled just a few years after he emerged. Xuanyuan Tiangang was the strongest back then, but because of Zheng Hao's matter, he had a falling out with his father. He has been fishing and farming all day long and has also withdrawn from the martial arts world."
Ye Jingtang frowned slightly. The enemy mentioned in his adoptive father's letter was precisely the old man Xuanyuan, the 'Saber Lord', but it didn't mention why they had a feud back then. According to Zhe Yunli's words, the things back then seemed quite complicated. He asked:
"What happened to Zheng Hao back then?"
Zhe Yunli shook her head: "Master Qiu doesn't want to say it. How would I know? My hometown is in Tiannan. For the old stories of the martial arts world in Zezhou, you have to ask the people here."
Seeing that Zhe Yunli didn't know, Ye Jingtang didn't ask any more questions and instead said:
"Miss Zhe's territory is in Tiannan. Then whose territory is this area of Yunzhou?"
"This used to be the territory of Honghua Tower. There were traces of Honghua Tower behind both the water transportation and land transportation. But this time when I came here, I took the ship of Shuiyun Jiantan. I guess the person in charge has already changed."
"Oh? Isn't Honghua Tower a powerful and renowned sect? Its prestige in the martial arts world seems to be even higher than that of Shuiyun Jiantan."
"That was in the past."
Zhe Yunli moved closer and put on the look of an expert who knew everything. She explained seriously:
"The previous leader of Honghua Tower was the 'Spear Lord', who ranked seventh in the world, so his prestige was naturally high. But the 'Spear Lord' passed away of natural causes. His son took over, but he was killed by the current 'Spear Lord'. Then a woman took over."
"A woman?"
Ye Jingtang blinked his eyes and recalled the height and words and deeds of the 'Red God of Wealth'. He became more and more suspicious of the identity of this 'Red God of Wealth'.
But the Pei family didn't seem to be engaged in dock business. Just based on these, he still couldn't confirm whether it had anything to do with the Third Madam. After thinking about it, he continued to ask:
"Then what happened next?"
"Once the title of 'Spear Lord' was lost, the prestige of Honghua Tower plummeted. And Shuiyun Jiantan is the ancestral home of the current 'Sword Saint' and is on a par with Jieyun Palace in Yanzhou, both ranking tenth in the world. If Honghua Tower doesn't have a new leader to show up and establish rules for the people in the martial