Twin Osmanthus Alley lay silent. A luxurious carriage stood at its entrance, its driver dozing outside the cabin.
In the courtyard, Xiuhe bustled around the kitchen, diligently washing bowls and putting away utensils, all while asking slyly:
"House Mistress, what do we do now?"
Pei Xiangjun sat gracefully at the table in the main room, smoothing Niao Niao's feathers as she gazed thoughtfully at the double bed nearby.
"What do you mean?"
"What the madam mentioned. Um... arranging for a beauty to serve Young Master Ye..."
"Didn't you see that Jingtang already has someone he loves?"
"Young Master Ye is so kind, he surely couldn't bear to make his sweetheart wash clothes, cook, and do rough chores. I think we could arrange for a fresh, pretty maid to pour his tea and feed Niao Niao..."
"Chirp!"
Niao Niao thoroughly approved of this proposal and nodded like a pestle pounding garlic.
Pei Xiangjun rubbed Niao Niao. "Do you want to shoulder this great responsibility?"
"Uh..."
Xiuhe blinked. She felt that if she took the first bite of a dish the House Mistress hadn't even touched, she might get expelled from the Red Flower House, so she shook her head.
"I'm only offering suggestions. You're older than Young Master Ye, but so am I. When you marry someday, I'm supposed to go with you and serve your future husband."
Pei Xiangjun gave a quiet "Hmph," then looked back at the bed. "Judging by Jingtang's temperament, does he look like a man who can't move his feet once he sees a beauty?"
"That's hard to say. Your looks are one in ten thousand, yet didn't a little deer start bouncing around in your heart when you saw Young Master Ye..."
As they chatted, a sound came from the alley.
Pei Xiangjun signaled for Xiuhe to be quiet, then sat demurely and gracefully, like any ordinary female elder.
Creak-
The courtyard gate opened, and Ye Jingtang walked in, looking a little distracted. As soon as he entered, he smiled.
"Third Madam, sorry for the wait. Xiuhe, stop fussing. I'll clean up myself later."
"No need to be polite, Young Master. It's what I should do."
Only after Ye Jingtang entered the room and sat down did Pei Xiangjun ask softly:
"Jingtang, who was that young lady just now?"
Ye Jingtang noticed that Third Madam's manner was dignified and gentle, quite unlike her previous habit of wheedling like a little wife at the drop of a hat. He more or less understood why and wasn't surprised as he replied:
"A wandering swordswoman I met before. Um... hehe..."
Pei Xiangjun assumed Ye Jingtang was too embarrassed to explain, so she asked no further questions and stood up.
"I had nothing to do, so I thought I'd come teach you spear techniques. We're going to West King Town at the end of the month, and afterward we'll have to visit the Watercloud Sword Pool for Old Master Zhou's birthday banquet. The round trip will take over half a month, all by boat. You can use that time aboard to work on them."
"Sure."
Ye Jingtang promptly got up and went into the courtyard, intending to pull two bamboo poles from the melon trellis.
But Pei Xiangjun had already made arrangements before coming. She told Xiuhe to keep tidying the house, then led Ye Jingtang out to a workshop near Dyeing Street.
The workshop had once made rattan mats. Like most businesses on the street, it had been abandoned years ago. The green bamboo originally planted along the courtyard wall as decoration had taken root and broken through the soil, growing into a small bamboo grove in the spacious courtyard. A thick layer of dead leaves covered the ground.
Pei Xiangjun surveyed the bamboo grove, drew the saber at Ye Jingtang's waist, and cut down two suitably sized stalks. After trimming off their branches, she tossed one to Ye Jingtang and stood straight.
"Jingtang, from today onward, I am your master."
Ye Jingtang had just caught the bamboo pole. At those words, he raised his eyes.
"My master?"
Pei Xiangjun lifted her chin and puffed out her chest, holding the bamboo diagonally toward the ground.
"I'm a disciple of the Pei Family, and you're an adopted son with a different surname. You and I have no relation. If you're going to learn the family spear techniques, how can I teach you unless you formally become my disciple?"
Ye Jingtang looked helpless. "A teacher for a day is a mother for life. This is no joking matter. Why don't you teach me a few basic moves first, Third Madam? I'll try learning them, and we can discuss the rest later."
Pei Xiangjun didn't want to take Ye Jingtang as her disciple either. But meeting his sweetheart today had severed any possibility of marriage between them. If she wanted to keep his heart, it seemed she could only become a devoted, attentive master... or his adoptive mother...
Pah, pah!
Whatever had crossed Pei Xiangjun's mind left her feeling strange. After a little consideration, she changed her tune.
"Very well. We'll discuss it later. Whether you formally become my disciple or not, once you learn the spear techniques, I'll treat you as one. I'll be strict when necessary and punish you when you deserve it. Don't take it personally."
Holding the bamboo pole, Ye Jingtang cupped his hands and bowed. "If my skills fall short anywhere, having you correct me would be a blessing, Third Madam."
Seeing this, Pei Xiangjun said no more. She wanted to begin with the snapping spear stance, but her skirt made large movements inconvenient. She planted the bamboo pole in the ground, removed her shawl, then undid her sash...
Rustle, rustle...
She loosened her clothes and untied her sash.
?!
Ye Jingtang straightened slightly. He wanted to avert his gaze, but felt that would seem inattentive, so he didn't.
Fortunately, Third Madam had no intention of testing him with a naked body. Beneath her skirt, she wore a lightweight, close-fitting martial outfit made of water-cloud brocade.
The clothes fit snugly and wouldn't hamper her movements, but unlike her loose skirt and blouse, they could no longer conceal her magnificent figure.
With the front drawn tight, her chest naturally rose high, its ample fullness imposing at a glance. Her waist was perfectly proportioned, and below it, the curves of her hips and legs brimmed with tension, giving her an overall hourglass shape.
Truthfully, this physique wasn't particularly suited to wielding a great spear, but it was certainly eye-catching.
Out of respect for his teacher, Ye Jingtang forced his expression to remain unchanged and his eyes not to wander, looking only at the bamboo pole in Third Madam's hand.
Crack-
Pei Xiangjun slid her feet apart and raised her hand in a snapping spear strike. A sharp report instantly rang out, and her entire bearing transformed.
Ye Jingtang retreated three steps. All stray thoughts vanished from his mind, leaving only complete concentration.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh-
Holding the green bamboo pole, Pei Xiangjun spun it around her body in time with her footwork, her movements flowing like drifting clouds and running water. Then she twisted and leaped, raising the pole high before bringing it crashing toward the ground in a cleaving spear strike.
An ordinary cleaving spear strike rose no higher than the top of the head, keeping the centerline guarded.
But Pei Xiangjun's strike was entirely unlike those found in commonplace martial arts. The pole swept almost behind her head before she brought it down with both hands, as though cleaving Mount Hua with sheer force.
"Hah-"
A sharp feminine cry!
In Pei Xiangjun's hands, the light bamboo pole resembled a steel whip charged with power to its utmost limit.
Boom-
When it struck the soft fallen leaves, the inch-thick layer of dead foliage was instantly blasted away in every direction, leaving a bare patch more than ten feet across.
The light bamboo pole landed with an extremely heavy thud, like an immense weight falling to earth. It wasn't loud, yet Ye Jingtang felt even the soles of his feet tremble.
Rustle, rustle, rustle-
After that single strike, quite a few bamboo leaves drifted down from high in the nearby grove.
Ye Jingtang nodded slightly, his gaze solemn.
"Excellent spear technique."
After delivering the strike, Pei Xiangjun smoothly drew back the green bamboo and stood upright. With one hand behind her back, she adopted the air of a martial-world master.
"The 'red flower' in the Red Flower House's name refers to the red tassel on a spearhead. This move is Yellow Dragon Lies Across the Road, from the Pei Family's Overlord Spear. It resembles a cleaving spear strike, but its underlying principles are entirely different. Try practicing it first."
Holding the bamboo pole, Ye Jingtang was just about to take his stance when he remembered something.
"Third Madam, I learn pretty quickly. In a moment, you..."
"Learn it first, then talk."
Seeing Ye Jingtang begin singing his own praises before he had even started, Pei Xiangjun grew a little displeased.
"A spear technique that once fought its way to Seventh Under Heaven isn't so easy to get started with."
Ye Jingtang's eye for martial arts wasn't bad. This spear technique was formidable, but like his saber technique, it was an external martial art that emphasized moves and demanded considerable physical ability. In terms of difficulty getting started, though, it really didn't compare to Qiu Tianhe's esoteric reverse-grip saber technique.
"Third Madam, I've counted on my fingers and divined that in a moment, you'll definitely say, 'How do you know the Overlord Spear?' Then I'll say you just taught-"
"Get practicing!"
Pei Xiangjun frowned. Like a stern teacher, she stood with her hands behind her back and stared fiercely at Ye Jingtang, signaling for him to take this seriously...
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