Yejing Hall took a seat beside the tea table and lightly tapped the armrest of the chair with his fingers, waiting for Shang Jianli to come back.
As it turned out, just after waiting for a short while, the sound of footsteps came from outside the door, and then a figure appeared at the doorway.
The figure was tall, and the makeup was as gorgeous as the last time he saw it. Even without looking at the face, the prominent "big-headed dragon" made it easy to recognize the person's identity at a glance.
"Prince Jing?!"
Yejing Hall originally got up with a happy expression to greet him, but his expression immediately froze. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the rosewood box placed in front of him...
(0_0)!
Yejing Hall wanted to quickly hide the "Jiao Xian Sheng", but this action was no different from burying one's head in the sand. He could only force himself to act naturally.
Dongfang Liren slightly raised his hand, signaling his attendants to retreat, and entered the tea room alone. "Young Master Ye, you handled the matter so efficiently. It really exceeded this king's expectations."
"Not at all..."
Yejing Hall looked embarrassed and used his body to block the rosewood box.
Dongfang Liren walked generously and sat down beside Yejing Hall. Although he clearly knew what was in the rosewood box, he still pretended to be surprised and asked curiously, "What is this? A gift for this king when we meet? Young Master Ye is really thoughtful..."
As he spoke, he was about to take the rosewood box.
But then a rebellious hand directly pressed down on the box.
Slap!
Yejing Hall pressed the box with one hand, and his expression was truly indescribable. He tried to explain calmly, "Your Highness has misunderstood. This item was borrowed by me from Chief Flag Wang. I used it to capture the thief. Well... it's not very clean..."
So you know it's not clean?
Dongfang Liren thought this in his heart, but his expression was rather serious. "This king is in charge of the Black Yamen. What dirty things haven't I seen? This king is rather curious about what kind of wonderful item Young Master Ye used to capture the great thief of Yanzhou, the Wingless Owl..."
As he spoke, he reached out with both hands to pull the box.
Damn...
Yejing Hall couldn't very well snatch it from Prince Jing. So he could only explain in advance, "It was Chief Flag Wang who came up with a brilliant idea. Inside..."
Whoosh—
The wooden box opened, and the imposing "Jiao Xian Sheng" revealed its true appearance.
Even though Dongfang Liren was mentally prepared, when he saw the vivid, thick, and long rod, his dignified expression froze, and a faint blush appeared on his face.
Click—
Dongfang Liren quickly closed the box. Without showing anger, he exuded an imposing aura. Looking at Yejing Hall, his eyes seemed to say, "I didn't expect that, with your handsome appearance, you would turn out to be this kind of person!"
Yejing Hall's scalp tingled. He felt that the image he had好不容易 established was completely ruined. He took out a small booklet from his sleeve and changed the subject. "This is something I found on the body when I captured the Wingless Owl yesterday. It should be the 'Experience Record of Lightness Skills' rumored in the martial arts world. I specially came here today to present it to Prince Jing."
Dongfang Liren had originally been teasing Yejing Hall. When he heard this, he was slightly taken aback. "Although the Longtan Bixi is precious, it is ultimately a common item. It's understandable that you handed it over to the public. But this item is a treasure in the martial arts world. You're giving it to this king so readily?"
"I made a copy last night. I just hope Your Highness won't inform Jieyun Palace about this matter."
Dongfang Liren suddenly understood and didn't take the booklet. "This king likes your character. You're honest enough. However, this item is indeed priceless in the martial arts world, but this king doesn't need it. If I really wanted to learn Lu Jieyun's lightness skills, I could just send a letter to the King of Yan, and Lu Jieyun would come to the capital in person to teach me. You can keep this item with confidence."
Yejing Hall generously took out the experience record of lightness skills and gave it to Prince Jing. Firstly, he didn't want the Black Yamen to have any misgivings. Secondly, he was worried that if he "stole the skills", Jieyun Palace would come after him.
With Prince Jing's words, Yejing Hall naturally felt at ease.
Dongfang Liren took out a jade pendant from his sleeve and placed it on the tea table. "Take this too. For the confiscation of escaped bandits, any stolen goods that the court hasn't specifically ordered to be recovered belong to the constables under this king. This king won't inquire further. This is the rule of the Black Yamen."
Yejing Hall took the jade pendant and saw that it was exactly the "Longtan Bixi" he had obtained last night. "This item is the heirloom of the Zhou family in Shuiyun Sword Pool. Isn't it a bit... for Prince Jing to reward it to me?"
"The Zhou family lost something but didn't report it to the authorities themselves. They want to solve this matter within the martial arts world. How could this king take the initiative to return it and curry favor? If you don't dare to take it, you can return this item to the Zhou family. If the reward they give you is too little, this king will help you seek justice."
Yejing Hall understood the meaning and happily accepted the jade pendant. "Thank you for Prince Jing's reward. Then can I go and see Qiu Tianhe now to discuss learning the saber technique?"
Dongfang Liren wanted to see how good Yejing Hall's understanding ability was. After a little consideration, he said, "You have an outstanding talent for martial arts. Since you've obtained Lu Jieyun's experience record of lightness skills, go back and study it carefully. After you gain something from it, this king will have a sparring match with you to see how much of Lu Jieyun's skills you've learned."
Yejing Hall wanted to enter the imperial palace to search for treasures and definitely needed Prince Jing's help. Naturally, he wouldn't refuse such an opportunity to enhance their relationship. "Okay. I'll come and visit Prince Jing again in three days, and we can have a competition in lightness skills..."
What?
Dongfang Liren frowned slightly and looked at Yejing Hall. "Three days?!"
Yejing Hall realized the problem and changed his words. "Three days might be too short. How about seven days?"
"..."
In his entire life, Dongfang Liren had never heard of someone calculating the progress of learning martial arts by the day!
Although Yejing Hall seemed to have a solid foundation, Lu Jieyun's experience record of lightness skills was something that only grandmasters could start to touch at the beginning. First, one needed to get started with lightness skills, and then thoroughly understand and apply the experience record. It would be considered fast if it took seven years. What could one achieve in seven days?
Dongfang Liren was silent for a moment and then nodded. "Well, in three days, we'll discuss our insights on lightness skills, which will also be beneficial for you to learn this experience record. Go and see Qiu Tianhe and discuss with him to see if he's willing to teach you the saber technique in exchange for the opportunity to spend his remaining years in peace."
Yejing Hall got up to take his leave. But when he wanted to pick up the rosewood box, he saw Prince Jing raise his hand and press down on the rosewood box. "Just let the people below return it. You can go directly."
Yejing Hall knew that Wang Chihu was Prince Jing's eldest cousin, so he naturally believed it. After saluting with his hands clasped, he left the tea room on his own.
Outside, the light rain hadn't stopped.
Yejing Hall followed Shang Jianli to the dungeon to see Qiu Tianhe. But when he passed through the corridor and came near Mingyu Tower, he suddenly had a feeling that someone was looking at him.
Yejing Hall followed the feeling and looked up at the top of Mingyu Tower. He could see a woman wearing a home dress at the top of Mingyu Tower, who had just turned around.
He thought she was a maid in the prince's mansion, secretly peeking at his good looks, so he didn't take it to heart...
...
-----
The dark and gloomy dungeon was filled with an eerie atmosphere. A few dim oil lamps looked like ghost fires from a distance.
Yejing Hall had a saber hanging behind his waist. He slowly walked through the quiet tunnel and came to the wellhead on the second underground floor.
In the stone prison, Qiu Tianhe had disheveled hair and was still in the same posture as the last time he saw him, sitting against the wall, silent.
Whoosh—
The chain of the iron fence was unlocked. Shang Jianli waited at the wellhead, while Yejing Hall jumped into the prison.
Qiu Tianhe opened his eyes. Seeing the descendant of this old acquaintance, he felt a sense of kindness in his heart, but his expression was rather indifferent. "Why are you here again? What do you want to ask this time?"
Yejing Hall landed steadily and untied the Lulong Huan Shou Saber behind his waist, placing it horizontally on his knees. "I've been practicing the saber since I was a child and have always admired Master Qiu. I came here today to ask Master Qiu to teach me the saber technique."
?
Qiu Tianhe raised his eyebrows slightly, sat up a bit straighter, and looked at Yejing Hall, as if considering Yejing Hall's intentions.
Yejing Hall didn't beat around the bush and directly said, "After learning the saber technique, Master Qiu will have the kindness of guiding me. I can't just stand by and watch Master Qiu being imprisoned. So I discussed it with Prince Jing. I'll learn Master Qiu's saber technique and then pass it on to Prince Jing. In exchange, Prince Jing will release Master Qiu from prison and allow him to spend his remaining years in the capital."
"..."
Qiu Tianhe understood the meaning—this was an attempt to save him.
For this hard-won opportunity, Qiu Tianhe didn't even think about it and shook his head to refuse. "Prince Jing has a good plan. He covets my saber technique and uses me as a bargaining chip to make you serve him in the future. I'd rather die in prison than let him succeed. You can give up this idea."
"I'm an upright person and have no criminal record. It's a blessing to be recognized by the court. It's better than living a life of danger in the martial arts world. Master Qiu doesn't need to worry about my future path."
Qiu Tianhe naturally knew that being recognized and attach great importance to and use by the court was a fortunate thing. But as soon as he walked out of the dungeon, it would be like putting a rope around Yejing Hall's neck for no reason. Yejing Hall would have concerns when doing things in the future.
Yejing Hall had outstanding talent and was the descendant of an old acquaintance. If he was restricted because of saving this old man, how could he face the old acquaintance after he passed away?
"It's your business if you want to serve the court. This old man and you are not on the same path. I don't want to owe you a favor. If I really want to get out, I can just teach the saber technique to Prince Jing myself."
Yejing Hall felt a bit of a headache. After a moment of silence, he noticed that Shang Jianli above was just listening outside and didn't look down. So he rubbed the scabbard with his finger and wrote the three characters "Zhe Yunli". At the same time, he said, "The 'Tianhe Saber' has a great reputation, but it has never ranked first in the field of saber techniques. Master Qiu is famous in the martial arts world and is already the most outstanding successor of this saber, but there is still a gap between you and the Saber Champion. Instead of letting this saber be buried in the dungeon, why not let me have a try and see if I can raise the status of the 'Tianhe Saber' in the martial arts world a little higher?"
These words full of the spirit of the martial arts world were said for Shang Jianli to hear.
Qiu Tianhe saw the name written by Yejing Hall's finger, and his eyes clearly changed—he had taught Zhe Yunli the saber technique and knew Zhe Yunli's character. She was loyal and affectionate. Since he was arrested while protecting Zhe Yunli, Zhe Yunli would definitely try every means to save him.
Although he didn't know how Yejing Hall in front of him had connected with Zhe Yunli, the fact that Yejing Hall could write this name showed that he was on the same side as Zhe Yunli.
Zhe Yunli was a disciple of the leader of the Pingtian Sect, and the Pingtian Sect was a rebel force that had established its own army.
If Yejing Hall was with the rebels, then he was also a rebel!
Thinking of this, Qiu Tianhe suddenly "understood" Yejing Hall's intention—Yejing Hall was a rebel of the Pingtian Sect who had secretly infiltrated the Black Yamen and served as a "sleeper agent" for the Pingtian Sect's plan to restore the country. He needed his saber technique to please Prince Jing and penetrate the high-level of the Great Wei. Saving him from prison was just a side effect!
If that was the case, if he stubbornly refused to leave, not only could he not help the younger generation, but he would also ruin the long-term plans of the Pingtian Sect and Yejing Hall...
Thinking of this, Qiu Tianhe looked at Yejing Hall, who was young, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart:
What a huge and well-planned sleeper move!
At such a young age, he had already infiltrated the enemy's lair, secretly making plans, and waiting for the right time to compete for the world. His ambition and courage were truly something to be feared in the younger generation...