The warm sun was setting in the west. In the old alley that hadn't seen the smoke of human habitation for a long time, wisps of cooking smoke rose.
Most of the courtyard had been tidied up, and even the corridor pillars had been wiped clean. The setting sun shone on the kitchen window on the left side. Two pieces of smoked meat, a salted fish, and some dried ginger, garlic, and vegetables could be seen hanging from the window.
The fluffy Niaoniao squatted on the windowsill, eagerly looking at the big salted fish. There was a trace of regret in its black and bright eyes, as if thinking, "Niaoniao wants to eat the sky, but there's nowhere to start."
Beside the wooden table inside the window stood a young woman in a blue shirt. Holding a brand-new kitchen knife in her hand, she was cutting a bunch of lush garlic sprouts. Her delicate and beautiful face exuded a translucent luster in the sunlight, making her look really like a fox fairy who had come to a farmhouse to repay a kindness.
Beside the stove at the back, a handsome man in black clothes was skillfully stir-frying shredded pork with a spatula.
Since Little Heroine Zhe couldn't cook, at this moment, she was like the little daughter in a family of three. She squatted behind the stove adding firewood and looked at Ye Jingtang eagerly:
"I didn't expect that you, a grown man, can cook."
"I was raised by my adoptive father. There were only two men in the family. We couldn't eat in restaurants every day. By the way, you're a young lady, but you can't even cook. How will you get married in the future?"
"I'm a martial artist in the Jianghu. When walking in the Jianghu, I'm always on the road. When there are restaurants, I eat there. When there aren't, I eat dry rations. I don't need to learn how to cook."
"So at fifteen or sixteen years old, you still let your Shiniang cook and be busy all by herself?"
"My master can also..."
"Yunli!"
Luo Ning turned around and snapped. Then she looked at Ye Jingtang's back, her eyes as if she wanted to throw the kitchen knife at him.
Zhe Yunli looked at Ye Jingtang and thought for a while. Then she said sweetly:
"Brother Jingtang~..."
Goodness...
Ye Jingtang and Luo Ning both stumbled at the same time and looked at Zhe Yunli who was acting coquettishly.
There was a sweet smile on Zhe Yunli's pretty face: "You make a living in the capital city. You must have more connections than Shiniang and me. Do you have any way to sneak into the Black Yamen and help me rescue Hero Qiu?"
"..."
Ye Jingtang naturally had no interest in helping these two crazy women break into prison. But he did need to go to the Black Yamen and build a good relationship with the court so that he could figure out the situation and find an opportunity to enter the palace to dig out the "Minglong Tu".
Secondly, he knew that his adoptive father had a feud with the Xuanyuan Dynasty, but he didn't know the cause of the feud. Qiu Tianhe and his adoptive father had known each other back then. Presumably, Qiu Tianhe could know something. While currying favor with the Black Yamen, it seemed not impossible for him to find a way to meet Qiu Tianhe...
While Ye Jingtang was deep in thought, his lower back was suddenly hit by an elbow. When he came to his senses, he saw Miss Luo standing beside him, holding the chopped garlic sprouts with the kitchen knife. Her eyes were slightly annoyed:
"The pot is burning!"
"Hmm?"
Ye Jingtang noticed that smoke was coming out of the pot. He quickly turned the pot and asked Luo Ning to put the chopped garlic sprouts in. He replied:
"Hero Qiu is known for his righteousness. I've heard of it for a long time. I'll visit the Black Yamen tomorrow and ask about it. But let's make it clear in advance. At most, I'll help you confirm Hero Qiu's safety. I won't help you rescue him."
Seeing that Ye Jingtang was really going to help inquire, the annoyance in Luo Ning's eyes subsided a bit, but she was also a bit suspicious:
"You're helping so readily? You don't have any improper... requests?"
Ye Jingtang knew what Miss Luo meant. He shook his head and smiled: "If you feel embarrassed, you can teach me a few unique moves as a reward."
Zhe Yunli patted the Hebaodan on her chest heroically:
"This is easy. If you can help rescue Hero Qiu, I'll ask the Eight Great Champions to teach you martial arts."
Luo Ning also nodded in agreement: "I don't want to owe you a favor. If you help, even if it's just to find out Qiu Tianhe's situation, I'll teach you martial arts, but only one move."
Since it was an easy thing for Ye Jingtang to do, he was naturally generous: "No problem."
Sizzle...
The fragrance of the stir-fry gradually filled the small courtyard in the deep alley.
As the sun set further, a small table was set up in the main house.
As the "elder", Luo Ning sat in the main seat facing the door. Ye Jingtang and Zhe Yunli sat opposite each other, and Niaoniao stood on the edge of the table.
There were three bowls of rice, four dishes and one soup, and a small plate of bird food on the table.
The three people and one bird were having a meal in the old but tidy courtyard. The scene looked quite harmonious. At this moment, even if the official arresters came in, they probably wouldn't notice anything amiss.
Luo Ning held a small bowl and chewed slowly. Her temperament and manners were very ladylike. She occasionally helped Zhe Yunli pick up some food, but Ye Jingtang naturally didn't have such good fortune.
Ye Jingtang didn't take the initiative to show his attentiveness either. He just occasionally fed a mouthful to Niaoniao, which was eagerly looking at his mouth.
And Zhe Yunli...
Zhe Yunli had a very lively personality. Seeing that Shiniang had been a bit gloomy these two days, perhaps she wanted to play a joke to amuse Shiniang. While stuffing rice into her mouth, she quietly lifted her embroidered shoe under the table... and rubbed it against Shiniang's leg!
"!"
Luo Ning's action of eating a small mouthful of rice suddenly froze. Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at Ye Jingtang, who was "pretending" to tease the bird. Boundless anger and shame welled up in her eyes. Then... as if nothing had happened, she continued eating.
??
Zhe Yunli frowned, somewhat in disbelief— Why didn't Shiniang react when she was molested?
Shouldn't she have a red face or glare at Ye Jingtang?
Could it be that she didn't dare to get angry because I was here?
Thinking about it, Zhe Yunli could only assume that was the case. After pondering for a moment, she lifted her embroidered shoe again and quietly rubbed it against Ye Jingtang's leg in Shiniang's direction.
As a result, Ye Jingtang reacted extremely quickly. He directly turned his head to look under the table and then raised his eyes to look at Zhe Yunli, his gaze strange:
"Why did you kick me?"
!!
Zhe Yunli's expression froze slightly. She thought to herself— Why don't you even pretend? Aren't you afraid of embarrassing me?— While thinking, she got up and wanted to run.
Luo Ning also realized that Yunli had been causing trouble. Her delicate eyebrows stood upright in anger, and she slapped the table:
"Yunli! Come back here!"
"Ah! Shiniang, I was wrong. I was just joking..."
Slap slap slap—
As soon as Zhe Yunli got up, she was caught by Luo Ning. Luo Ning picked up the broom in the house and gave her a couple of swats on the buttocks.
"You're an innocent young lady, but you rubbed a man's leg. Didn't your master teach you any manners? You're getting more and more presumptuous as you grow older..."
"Ah— Shiniang, I was really wrong. I was just joking. Don't be so angry..."
Ye Jingtang naturally didn't dare to explain to Zhe Yunli. She had played a joke and hit the spot where Shiniang was angry. He buried his head in eating, pretending not to see anything.
Niaoniao was quite enthusiastic. It flew next to the two of them: "Jiji ji..." trying to mediate. Presumably, it was saying— Don't fight. If you want to fight, fight with Tangtang...
Fortunately, Ye Jingtang didn't notice, otherwise, they would be having white-cut chicken for dinner...
-----
Before they knew it, the moon rose on the branches.
The courtyard hidden in the old alley had been completely transformed. The ground and steps had been tidied up neatly. The cracks in the doors and windows had been patched with wooden boards, and a simple bird's nest had even been made under the eaves.
Dong dong dong—
Zhe Yunli, wearing a linen-colored dress, squatted on the roof of the main house, nailing wooden boards to the holes with a small hammer.
Ye Jingtang stood on the top of the kitchen in the adjacent courtyard, removing the tiles of the house and throwing them to Zhe Yunli from a distance— Of course, he had greeted the landlady.
Luo Ning had a headache from being angry with Zhe Yunli in the afternoon. She didn't want to go out and wander around either. She went into the house early and went to sleep with her head covered, ignoring everyone.
After half a day of busy work, the roof was finally completely repaired, and it already looked like a normal small home.
The two of them jumped down from the roof. Although there were a few small stools in the house, if they sat in front of Luo Ning at this moment, they probably wouldn't be greeted with a smile. Seeing the enchanting moonlight, they practiced martial arts in the spotless courtyard.
Zhe Yunli had learned a lot of martial arts. At this moment, she was slowly practicing boxing under the eaves. Niaoniao was also imitating her in a decent manner beside her, but except for "White Crane Spreading Its Wings" which it learned well, the rest were just random flapping.
Ye Jingtang stood in the center of the courtyard, a horizontal knife at his waist, his eyes closed and his mind focused.
After realizing the first move through the "introduction" taught by his adoptive father, it was like opening the door.
In Ye Jingtang's perception, "Eight Steps Frenzied Saber" should be a set of consecutive moves, which could be seen from "Drawing the Saber with the Left Hand".
And consecutive moves must be "the end of one move connects to the beginning of the second move" without any gap in between.
When drawing the saber with the left hand, holding it horizontally and slashing, the stopping posture must be with the tip of the saber facing outward and the handle of the saber pointing towards the right hand, turning into "holding the saber with the dominant hand in a normal grip".
Ch嚓—
Ye Jingtang drew the saber with his left hand. After a horizontal slash, he sent the long saber held horizontally in his left hand into his right hand. The posture then became holding the saber with the right hand in a normal grip, leaning forward with his body, in a posture ready to thrust and slash forward.
Swoosh—
Ye Jingtang pushed the saber forward with his right hand, thrusting the long saber forward, and a ringing sound was emitted.
After feeling it slightly, he started adjusting his steps, back, and waist, searching for the most suitable movement for drawing the saber.
Zhe Yunli was slowly practicing boxing. After watching for a long time, she said inexplicably:
"What kind of strange thing are you practicing?"
Ye Jingtang sheathed the saber and made a horizontal slash again, followed by a forward slash:
"I'm practicing the saber. Can't you tell?"
"Is this even considered saber skills? It's completely a fake move on the stage..."
"Yunli!"
Luo Ning was also secretly peeking from the window of the main house. Because she had witnessed Ye Jingtang's astonishing understanding, she naturally wouldn't laugh at him. Instead, her face was solemn:
"Could it be that you're creating your own saber skills?"
Ye Jingtang shook his head: "I'm just learning the moves taught by the elders. It's not polite to ask questions when others are practicing martial arts."
Luo Ning and Zhe Yunli naturally didn't interrupt anymore. They just watched Ye Jingtang's random gestures seriously.
As a result, even when the night grew deeper, they didn't see Ye Jingtang come up with anything.
Zhe Yunli went out today and also bought bedding. The small side room on the east side had also been cleared out. There was a bed frame inside, and it had been made up.
Ye Jingtang didn't mind sharing a bed with the girls, but Luo Ning and Zhe Yunli probably wouldn't agree. So they each slept in separate rooms, and the day ended like this...