Soft Targets

After Wang Jingyuan had stayed at the Fuwei Escort Agency for nearly half a month, the escort who had been ordered to keep watch finally brought back some news. A group of outsiders with Sichuan accents had entered Fuzhou. They were all young men, each carrying a sword, so they were likely disciples of the Qingcheng Sect.

Lin Zhennan saw that things were just as Wang Jingyuan had predicted: people from the Qingcheng Sect had arrived in Fuzhou. He immediately went to find Wang Jingyuan. "The Qingcheng Sect has arrived in Fuzhou. Young Hero Wang, do you have any plans?"

Wang Jingyuan replied casually, "Just do what you need to do. They've come all this way to Fuzhou, presumably to find out whether the Bixie Swordplay is the real deal. If they discover yours is all show and no substance, they'll probably make their next move.

"But no matter what, they'll have to find a way to pick a fight with you. If it's just some ordinary disciple, even a conflict won't mean much. So the person who came this time is probably Yu Canghai's son."

Wang Jingyuan already knew the script, so all he had to do was recite his lines. With the Fuwei Escort Agency on their guard, its escorts spent some time confirming that Wang Jingyuan's guess was correct.

Well, actually, it hadn't taken much effort. As soon as Yu Renyan entered Fuzhou with the Qingcheng disciples accompanying him, he went straight to the city's biggest brothel. Whenever he sat in the main hall drinking, he made sure to loudly boast about his father Yu Canghai's name.

By now, all the veteran escorts in Fuzhou knew that some young master from the Qingcheng Sect had arrived in town.

Another night, Yu Renyan took the travel money his father had given him and went to the brothel again. He was on the second-floor balcony, groping a prostitute in his arms, while his right-hand man, Jia Renda, stood nearby, looking rather distracted.

Jia Renda knew exactly how much travel money Yu Canghai had given them. By any reasonable measure, it had been more than enough. Even with the long journey between Qingcheng Mountain and Fuzhou, Yu Renyan should have been able to travel in comfort.

Along the way, Yu Renyan had been extremely frugal, sparing every coin he could. Jia Renda had even thought his young master had changed his ways and learned to save the sect leader some money.

Who could have guessed that the moment they entered Fuzhou, Yu Renyan would head straight for the biggest brothel and indulge himself without restraint? So this was what you called spending money where it mattered!

This sort of thing was common even in later generations. People would rent a yacht for a seaside trip, then make do with an old, cramped boat, discounted supermarket booze, and a box of instant noodles for food. But the models on board had to be the very best.

They'd saved a fair bit along the way, but brothels were money pits. If they kept this up, they'd soon be unable to afford food. What's more, they'd already been here for days, spending every one of them carousing in the brothel without making any progress on the task Master had assigned.

Jia Renda was worried that Master would punish them when he found out. Yu Renyan would be fine, but a nobody like him would probably be in for a world of hurt.

If Jia Renda could see that, how could Yu Renyan not? But he had a plan: once he'd nearly spent all the money, he'd go pick a fight with the Fuwei Escort Agency. There'd be no shortage of money after that, would there?

Suddenly, the brothel grew quieter. Even the prostitute beside Jia Renda was peering down into the main hall. Puzzled, Jia Renda looked down as well.

Jingling jade ornaments announced Wang Jingyuan's entrance. He emerged from behind the screen by the door, carrying a gold-flecked folding fan. The white moon-colored sleeves of his snug jacket were fastened with Hetian jade buttons, and the silver-edged hem of his robe swept across the Persian carpet, stirring up the scent of jasmine.

The din throughout the brothel abruptly fell still. With a smile in his eyes, he winked at the maidservant beside him, who had frozen in surprise. Her cheeks flushed, and she was instantly lost in a daze.

Yu Renyan's face fell. The prostitute in his arms was also staring at Wang Jingyuan, spellbound. After all, Yu Renyan was Yu Canghai's son; he wasn't exactly broad-minded. Seeing this, jealousy welled up in him. He immediately wrapped an arm around the prostitute's waist and turned into the private room behind him.

Wang Jingyuan loosened his belt and glanced at Lin Pingzhi, who had come with him. "Junior Disciple Brother, your clothes are a little tight on me. You're much too skinny. A man needs to build up some muscle. If he's too scrawny, he looks like a sissy."

Looking at his senior brother, who was even more pretty-faced than he was, Lin Pingzhi could only smile awkwardly. "You're right, Senior Brother."

Wang Jingyuan glanced around. He spotted Yu Renyan and Jia Renda heading into a private room, so he sauntered over without a care in the world. At the door, he kicked it open and strolled inside, taking a seat at Yu Renyan's table.

Everyone in the room froze, unsure what was going on. Yu Renyan still had both hands tucked into the prostitute's clothes.

"Hand her over!" Wang Jingyuan reached out and pulled the prostitute into his arms. Then he picked up the wine on the table and splashed it in Jia Renda's face.

"Damn you—" Before Yu Renyan could finish cursing, Wang Jingyuan spun around and slapped him across the face.

Wang Jingyuan would never wait for the Qingcheng Sect to come looking for him. When he played games, he always put his charge skill on the easiest key to reach. Now that he'd confirmed the Qingcheng Sect had arrived, of course he'd charge straight at them.

Wang Jingyuan was from Chengdu, and his first words were pure Sichuanese. "Well, I heard all that racket from way up here. Thought some idiot was dancing the cha-cha upstairs, but it turns out it's you, you dimwit? Does Qingcheng Mountain serve lousy food or something? You're as skinny as a monkey stealing corn on Mount Emei."

With a sharp ring, Yu Renyan drew his sword. "Damn it, do you know who I am—" Ah!

Wang Jingyuan struck Yu Renyan's wrist with his folding fan. The treasured sword dropped from his hand, and Wang Jingyuan followed up with another slap. Only then did Jia Renda react and try to help, but Lin Pingzhi easily restrained him.

In the original story, Yu Renyan was killed by Lin Pingzhi right at the beginning, and Jia Renda wasn't in the same league as the Qingcheng Four. Running into the two of them was like Wang Jingyuan finding a pair of soft targets.

"I know who you are. You're Yu Renyan, Yu Canghai's youngest son. Did your old man teach you lightness kung fu so you could cling to women? You think I won't touch you just because you're Yu Canghai's son? Then do you know who I am?!"

Yu Renyan looked at Wang Jingyuan fearfully. "Who are you?"

"You don't even know who I am? Take that!"

Ah!

Although Jia Renda had been carousing with Yu Renyan these past few days, he'd still been keeping an eye on the Fuwei Escort Agency. Seeing how brazenly Wang Jingyuan acted, he suddenly realized who he was and hurriedly said, "You're a disciple of the Mount Hua Sect?"

"Good eye. Your Mount Hua grandpa is right here." Wang Jingyuan tapped Jia Renda's cheek with his folding fan, then called for a servant to bring them a fresh table of food and wine.

Once Yu Renyan learned where his opponent came from, he puffed himself up again. At first, he'd thought an enemy of the Qingcheng Sect had come after him, or perhaps some nobody had suddenly gone crazy and decided to kill him.

But if the other man belonged to the Mount Hua Sect, one of the great orthodox schools, there was nothing to fear. "You Mount Hua disciples dare bully me like this? Do you really think the Qingcheng Sect is easy to push around?!"

Wang Jingyuan spread his hands. "What else?"