"Good!"
Xu Yang didn't hesitate. He was just about to follow the woman when Bao Gang's voice rang out. "Wait!"
Everyone turned toward Bao Gang in confusion. He continued in a low voice, "I'm a disciple of Tiger Roar Martial Hall. Xu Yang only came from Wei Yuan Hall. I'd be a safer choice to escort the Fifth Miss."
The implication was clear: he was stronger than Xu Yang.
And to outsiders, that did seem to be the case.
After all, Tiger Roar Martial Hall ranked far above Wei Yuan Hall among Qingyuan County's many martial arts halls.
Wei Yuan Hall charged just two taels of silver a month in tuition, while Tiger Roar Martial Hall dared to charge three. It also had more disciples than Wei Yuan Hall.
Xu Yang said nothing and looked toward Zhang Bo instead.
He could more or less guess what Bao Gang was thinking. He wanted to use this chance to get close to the Fifth Miss of the Liu Family, and walk away with both the woman and the wealth.
It was common in Qingyuan County's martial world for great families to arrange marriages with Qi-Gathering Martial Artists. But not every newly emerged Qi-Gathering Martial Artist could earn the favor of a great family. Many won the daughters' affections through opportunities that came with serving as an Attendant.
"No need. Let Attendant Xu go."
Just then, the maid's voice rang out.
Zhang Bo nodded. "Xu Yang, go with Miss Cuier. Remember to protect the Fifth Miss and follow her instructions."
"Good!"
Xu Yang nodded and quickly followed the woman named Cuier out of the Retainer Courtyard.
"Brother Zhang Bo, I'm clearly stronger than Xu Yang. Why didn't you assign me to go?"
After Xu Yang left, Bao Gang was still somewhat dissatisfied.
"I'm stronger than you. Why don't I go instead?" Zhang Bo said mockingly.
He had served the Liu Family for over ten years and had seen countless young people just out of martial arts halls. Naturally, he knew exactly what Bao Gang was scheming.
But Bao Gang had challenged his authority on the very first task he'd assigned. Even if Bao Gang had a point, Zhang Bo couldn't possibly agree. Besides, he hadn't chosen Xu Yang at random.
Bao Gang's face flushed red. "I... I didn't mean it that way."
Zhang Bo snorted. "Keep those little schemes of yours to yourself. The Fifth Miss may not be born of the main wife, but the family head dotes on her. Even if she's to be used in a marriage alliance, it certainly won't be with someone like you."
Anger flashed in Bao Gang's eyes, but he said nothing more.
"Greetings, Fifth Miss!"
Xu Yang soon followed Cuier to meet the Fifth Miss of the Liu Family, a woman who looked as if she'd stepped out of a painting—the very picture of a refined young lady from an ancient noble family.
Though she wore a martial arts uniform and held a precious sword, she still couldn't hide her gentle grace.
Cuier stepped forward. "Miss, this is Xu Yang, the new Attendant of the residence. He's a promising young talent from Wei Yuan Hall."
Xu Yang noticed that when the Fifth Miss heard his name, her calm, still eyes seemed to ripple.
She first looked him up and down curiously, then said politely, "Sorry for the trouble, Attendant Xu. Please escort me to Plain Maiden Hall."
"It's my duty."
Xu Yang shook his head and followed behind the Fifth Miss with Cuier. Before long, they had left the Liu Family residence.
He'd heard of Plain Maiden Hall, a martial arts hall for the nobility in Qingyuan County. It only accepted women, and tuition alone cost ten taels of silver a month. Anyone without a decent fortune couldn't afford to study there.
Xu Yang kept to his place along the way, simply following behind them. Nothing went wrong, and they soon arrived at Plain Maiden Hall.
"Plain Maiden Hall doesn't allow outsiders inside. Attendant Xu, you don't need to wait here. It's perfectly safe. Just have the Retainer Courtyard send someone to fetch me this afternoon."
"Yes!"
Xu Yang cupped his hands, then turned and left.
"Earlier, someone in the Retainer Courtyard even tried to snatch the escort duty from him. I thought Xu Yang looked quite handsome, so I chose him. Miss, what do you think of my eye for men?"
As soon as Xu Yang left, the usually solemn Cuier became lively.
The Fifth Miss also dropped her earlier decorum and smiled. "He is quite handsome. You should spend more time with him. If things work out, I'll ask Father to set you free."
Cuier shook her head. "He even turned down a marriage alliance arranged by the residence. He wouldn't be interested in me."
The Fifth Miss's expression turned stern. "If you know that, why are you still mooning over him? Hurry up and go."
Cuier stuck out her tongue and hurried after her into Plain Maiden Hall.
When Xu Yang returned to the Liu Family residence, everyone from the Retainer Courtyard had gone out. Even Zhang Bo was nowhere to be seen.
He followed Zhang Bo's instructions and didn't train, instead resting in the Retainer Courtyard to conserve his strength.
As lunchtime approached, the people who'd gone out began returning one after another.
"So, was the Fifth Miss pretty?" Wang Yun sidled up with a lecherous grin.
Xu Yang thought for a moment. "Like someone out of a painting."
Wu Yongfeng chuckled. "The Sixth Miss I escorted was a heavenly beauty too."
Wang Yun looked astonished. "How come I never get these nice assignments? I spent the whole morning patrolling the outer grounds of the Liu residence."
Bao Gang's expression was rather gloomy. He hadn't been assigned to escort one of the Liu Family's young ladies either, and had been patrolling the residence until now.
After they ate at the Liu residence, another shift arrived to relieve them. Xu Yang told Zhang Bo that someone would need to be sent to fetch the Fifth Miss that afternoon, then returned to Wei Yuan Hall with Wu Yongfeng.
The inner courtyard, usually quite lively, now held only two people. Sun Tao, Lu Ren, Jiang Ping, and the others seemed to have arranged it among themselves; not a single one had come to Wei Yuan Hall that day.
The two people there were none other than Zhang Yong and Zhang Hong.
"What happened? Why are there only the two of you?" Wu Yongfeng asked curiously.
Zhang Hong finished his stance practice and said, "It's all because of that Jade Butterfly. The senior brothers were all summoned back by their respective factions to protect the women in their households."
The day passed quickly, and Xu Yang heard no more news about the Jade Butterfly.
The next day, he went to the Liu residence and heard the latest news about the Jade Butterfly. Another wealthy household's daughter in the outer city had fallen victim to the Jade Butterfly the previous day. It was the Huang Family, and supposedly the attack had happened inside their home.
The Liu Family adjusted their plans accordingly. Until the Jade Butterfly was caught, none of the young ladies were allowed to leave the residence.
So that day, Xu Yang didn't escort the Fifth Miss to Plain Maiden Hall. Zhang Bo assigned him to patrol a corner of the Liu residence instead. The other shift of Attendants responsible for daytime duty was called in too, so the two shifts could patrol together and prevent the Jade Butterfly from sneaking inside.
He didn't get to go to Wei Yuan Hall that day. It wasn't until nightfall, when the Attendants responsible for the Liu residence's nighttime security came to take over, that his patrol ended.
Beneath the moonlight, Xu Yang left the inner city and hurried home.
As he neared White Stone Ward, he spotted someone lying in the roadside grass.
The person was half prone with his head facing down, so Xu Yang couldn't make out his appearance. Thinking one of the locals from White Stone Ward had met with an accident and collapsed there, he hurried over to see who it was.
As he drew closer, he caught the smell of blood. Looking carefully, he saw a pool of blood beside the person, splattered as if it had been spat out.
The blood hadn't dried yet. It looked as though it had been spat out only moments ago.
"Brother, wake up!" Xu Yang stopped three paces away, not daring to approach carelessly.
He called out several times, but the person lying there still didn't respond. Xu Yang quietly gathered his true energy and continued forward.
He had only taken two steps when the person on the ground suddenly sprang up, fingers curling like an eagle's talons as they lunged for his throat.
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