Inside and outside the guest room, all was silent.
The black cat glanced at Chen Xuance outside the door, then at her mistress, who had turned into a great lump of ice. She quietly crept under the table, evidently afraid blood would splatter all over her.
Luo Xuanqing's face was truly covered in frost. Her fox-like eyes flashed with sharp hostility. If looks could kill, Chen Xuance would probably have died eight times already:
"What happened?"
Chen Xuance's forehead was drenched in cold sweat. He cupped his hands and lowered his head, not daring to look at either person in the room as he spoke in a low voice:
"The people from the Inspection Bureau were probably watching outside yesterday. When we went to Dahe Town, they went back to report it. They also sent people when we searched the pawnshop, but I kept them out..."
Luo Xuanqing drew a soft breath, making the front of her robe swell a little more:
"And then you finished searching without finding a clue, and they ran over to pick through the leftovers and found something?"
Sweat streamed down Chen Xuance's back.
"I found no clues when I finished searching, and I didn't let them interfere. I only came back to report. But after I left, Commander Ruan arrived in person. The men under me thought there was nothing there, so naturally they wouldn't have dared stop him.
"Then Commander Ruan somehow found some information and hurried off with his team. He also told my men to pass a message to you and Brother Ye."
Luo Xuanqing narrowed her eyes slightly. "What message?"
Chen Xuance hardly dared say it, but after holding it in for a long moment, he finally answered:
"Thanks!"
Smack-
Luo Xuanqing's delicate brows shot upright, and her face instantly turned green. She slammed the table, sending the bowls and chopsticks bouncing half a foot into the air. The cat also shuddered in fright.
Chen Xuance was no less frightened, his back bent almost to the ground:
"Please calm your anger, my lady. This subordinate failed in his duty..."
"Are you all good-for-nothing rice buckets? You couldn't find Mantanghong. Ye Xingge risked his life to bring her back and handed you the clue on a platter, and you still let Ruan Jinyu snatch the prize?"
"This subordinate's crime is unforgivable..."
Hearing this, Ye Xingge was actually so angry he was nearly dazed, but this was clearly no time for anger.
However careless Chen Xuance might have been, he couldn't possibly have missed a Heaven-Watching Gazette that big. If he said it was gone, then it was gone.
That meant the information Ruan Jinyu had discovered certainly wasn't what Ye Xingge had left, but some other trace...
That clue might not point accurately to Linyang...
At that thought, Ye Xingge felt there was still a chance and cut in:
"Please calm down first, Lord Luo. Lord Chen, do you know which direction Commander Ruan took his team?"
Chen Xuance looked deeply ashamed:
"The men knew they'd made a grave mistake and secretly followed them. We can be certain Commander Ruan took his team toward Linyang..."
"..."
This time, Ye Xingge's face turned green too!
With information that accurate, and with Ruan Jinyu's skills as an intelligence chief, catching Yang Tuyan would probably be as easy as a game...
If Ruan Jinyu got the bracer, Ye Xingge wouldn't be able to get his hands on it even if he sold his hook...
The Eight Pillars Hall was a regional warlord power, after all. How could they really have left clues at the scene?
Sensing that things were going badly, Ye Xingge thought quickly and turned to ask:
"Lord Luo, is the imperial uncle's residence in Linyang?"
Recalling Ye Xingge's earlier deduction, Luo Xuanqing immediately slapped the table again:
"A bunch of rice buckets! You even let someone carry off a cooked duck. Pass down my orders: everyone is to hurry to Linyang at once..."
Chen Xuance went pale and hurriedly tried to stop her:
"You mustn't, my lady. Duke Zhang ordered you to pursue Mantanghong. If you abandon your post without permission and the criminal escapes as a result, you won't be able to escape blame. Besides, Commander Ruan was in the wrong yesterday, but if we go over there and steal his credit today, we'll be the ones in the wrong..."
Luo Xuanqing knew she had no legitimate grounds to act, but Ye Xingge had risked his life yesterday to bring her some information, and today he had been too anxious to eat, helping her think of a way to track Mantanghong down.
Yet in the end, that damned eunuch had snatched the prize!
If she simply let it go, how could she ever hold her head up in front of the newcomer again?
Seeing Chen Xuance try to stop her, Luo Xuanqing said coldly:
"You mean we should just let it go?"
"That isn't what I mean, but if you lead a team to Linyang, it really won't end well..."
"Then what do you suggest?!"
"I..."
Ye Xingge only wanted a legitimate reason to go to Linyang. Hearing this, he proposed:
"Since it's inconvenient for you, my lady, how about I go look for myself?"
Luo Xuanqing immediately shook her head:
"What good would that do? Ruan Jinyu has already taken his men there. No matter how fast you investigate, can you be faster than him? Even if you find him first, catching Yang Tuyan, the bandit chief, closes the case. Would Ruan Jinyu let you bring him back?"
"..."
Ye Xingge thought she had a point and added:
"Then how about Lord Chen and I disguise ourselves and secretly take a dozen or so men over? In any case, we can't let someone else snatch this prize..."
Luo Xuanqing frowned again. "What good would he do? Do you think he'd dare draw his saber and stand in Ruan Jinyu's way?"
Ye Xingge spread his hands. "Then what do we do?"
"I'll go myself!"
"Huh?"
Ye Xingge was taken aback.
Chen Xuance, meanwhile, tried to stop her. "Lord Luo, you were injured by Mantanghong, and your power hasn't recovered yet..."
Luo Xuanqing stood and glared at Chen the Great Rice Bucket:
"Even with half a tenth of my power, I'm more useful than the lot of you put together. Guard Qingxi with your lives. If you dare let Mantanghong escape again, bring me your heads!"
"Yes." Chen Xuance nodded hastily, then tried again. "But if you abandon your post without permission and Commander Ruan finds out..."
Luo Xuanqing thought for a moment and looked at Ye Xingge:
"Go find me an outfit like a woman of the jianghu would wear. If I catch him, Ruan Jinyu won't be able to snatch him away, and my achievement will make up for my fault. If I don't, no one will know I went."
Ye Xingge naturally had no objection. After all, he had racked up so many merits that asking for a bracer once they found Yang Tuyan wouldn't be difficult. He immediately turned around:
"All right, I'll go to the cloth shop and buy you a suitable outfit. I'll go with you later..."
To make it up to Ye Xingge, Luo Xuanqing would certainly keep the newcomer at her side to share the credit. She said nothing about it and simply chased Chen the Great Rice Bucket out...
A short while later.
Ye Xingge ran along the old flagstone street outside the inn to the largest cloth shop in the county town.
The shopkeeper was a friend of his mother's. When she saw him hurrying over, she leaned against the inside of the counter with a radiant smile, fanning herself with a small round fan:
"Well, Xingge, what made you willing to come see Auntie today? The capital's greatest beauty hasn't dazzled you so much you can't walk?"
"Come on, Auntie Liu, you're joking. I don't even dare raise my head, much less stare at her."
After greeting her, Ye Xingge looked at the ready-made clothes of various colors hanging behind the counter:
"The lady from the capital is about to go out and needs a dress she can work in. Sorry for the trouble, Auntie Liu, but please get me a set of the best clothes in the shop."
Seeing that it was urgent, Auntie Liu stopped teasing the boy. She picked up a clothes pole and asked:
"Did you take Lord Luo's measurements?"
"Huh?"
Ye Xingge had had no chance to measure her. He had been about to say something close enough would do, but fortunately, Great Beauty was capable and whispered directly into his ear:
"Height, five feet, two and a half inches; bust, two feet, nine point six inches; waist, one foot, nine point eight inches; hips, three feet, one inch..."
??
Ye Xingge was taken aback. To save time, he didn't think too much about it and immediately repeated the measurements.
Auntie Liu was naturally taken aback too. She glanced outside:
"Did you take her clothes off to measure her, boy? How else could you be so precise?"
Ye Xingge waved a hand. "Lord Luo gave me the measurements. Please find something that fits as closely as possible, Auntie Liu."
Auntie Liu gave him an odd look and even raised a hand to indicate the measurement at her waist:
"A one-foot-nine waist with a three-foot-one backside-that'd be the death of you, boy..."
Wasn't that the truth...
Ye Xingge knew that figure was excessive, but it would have been strange if a woman among the top thirty in the world didn't have an extraordinary physique and natural talent. He couldn't very well flirt with Auntie Liu, so he simply asked:
"Do you have anything suitable?"
"That figure is one in ten thousand. It's hard to find ready-made clothes that fit, but don't worry. I'll make a couple of alterations for you..."
As she spoke, Auntie Liu took out a black dress for a heroine made from the finest fabric and began altering it with a snip, snip, snip.
Ye Xingge knew Auntie Liu had forty years of experience and worked very quickly, so he waited at the counter. After a little thought, he secretly picked up the yellow strip and asked in a low voice:
"Yu'er, how about I order a set for you too? That way you can walk around as well. Hiding in the room all the time is bound to arouse suspicion."
Hongyu replied:
"All right."
"Then..."
"Just buy whatever you like. Something close enough will do. I'm not fussy."
Was that a question of being fussy?
Ye Xingge thought Great Beauty was anything but generous, but there was no time to discuss her measurements now. Once Auntie Liu had finished the alterations, he ordered another outfit based on her approximate size and ran back to the inn...
Half an hour later.
"Hyah-!"
Clop-clop-clop, clop-clop-clop...
Amid the rapid pounding of hooves, two swift horses galloped out through the city gates and headed toward Linyang.
It was the height of summer in the fifth month, and midday besides. The sun blazed over the countryside, and the air held a dry heat.
Ye Xingge wore a gray robe and a bamboo hat to shield him from the sun. The white horse beneath him ran as swiftly as the wind, leaving a trail of dust along the main road.
Beside him, Luo Xuanqing sat sidesaddle, wearing a veiled hat. The thin gauze brushed her cheeks in the wind, outlining her strikingly sculpted features. Through the haze, her graceful bearing was on full display. She wore a brand-new, long black dress fit for a heroine.
Auntie Liu's craftsmanship never disappointed.
The black fabric over Luo Xuanqing's upper body showed scarcely a wrinkle. Her lovely shoulders looked as though they had been carved with a blade, while her heavy melons were perfectly wrapped in the front of the dress, tracing a juicy curve before her.
Below them was a slender waist bound by a belt, supple as a willow and slim enough to encircle with both hands, leading down to a perfectly proportioned full moon.
Although the loose skirt didn't outline the curves of her hips and legs, it fluttered in the wind, revealing hints of those curves and lending her an even more alluring charm.
But sometimes, clothes that fit too well weren't entirely a good thing.
As Ye Xingge galloped along, he noticed halfway there that "Lord Three Feet One" seemed to be glancing at him. Her gaze made him squirm, and he couldn't help turning his head:
"Sister Luo, what's wrong?"
Luo Xuanqing's gaze was hostile, naturally because the outfit fit a little too well.
After receiving the dress, she had quickly changed in her room and hadn't paid much attention at first.
But once she put it on, she found that the bust, shoulder width, and hips were all an exact fit. Even the belt was just the right length. It felt as though the finest tailor had made it to her measurements.
Luo Xuanqing had never told the boy her measurements. Now she asked suspiciously:
"You've got a good eye, don't you? It fits perfectly. Tell me, how long did you secretly stare while I wasn't looking?"
Ye Xingge hadn't stared for all that long. Seeing that the great beauty Luo had misunderstood, he explained:
"I only estimated by eye. It's mainly because the tailor is skilled. Maybe she caught a glimpse of you from a distance when you got out of the carriage, Sister Luo."
Luo Xuanqing didn't believe him in the slightest, but she hadn't caught him in the act. As a judge, she couldn't very well presume him guilty on suspicion alone. After thinking it over, she said no more and rode ahead.
Clip-clop, clip-clop...
Ye Xingge naturally couldn't stare at the great beauty Luo's back. With nothing else to do on the road, he took the cultivation manual from his robes and studied it.
Martial arts manuals were actually quite simple: external techniques consisted of martial moves, while internal techniques covered cultivation methods and ways to circulate Qi. The two complemented each other. The greater their efficiency and power, the higher the quality of the technique.
In previous years, Ye Xingge had learned the methods taught in martial arts schools. The Qi-circulation methods in the booklet involving the twelve primary meridians and the eight extraordinary meridians truly opened his eyes.
But as an outer-school cultivation technique, its quality really wasn't all that high. It could only be called a beginner's textbook.
Besides, when martial artists were evenly matched in moves and cultivation techniques, what they naturally compared was their power.
Power wasn't merely internal strength. It was overall fighting strength calculated from the strength of one's flesh, sinews and bones, dantian, and so on.
Even if Big Beauty temporarily lost her internal strength and her vital Qi was damaged, or the great beauty Luo had her meridians sealed, they would merely enter a weakened state. Their basic stats remained, and they could recover.
A genuine complete loss of power, however, meant everything was gone. There was no possibility of recovery; one could only start cultivating again from scratch.
And cultivation, like fitness training, was hard work that wore through stone one drop at a time.
With a naturally gifted physique, good food and care, and a scientific training regimen, the results of one year's training could certainly equal another person's two or three, but they wouldn't exceed physiological limits.
To make one's power soar in a short time, one could only take the beast drug "Strength of Nine Dragons." But the side effects of the power gained from that stuff far outweighed the benefits, and no normal person would use it.
To cultivate quickly without suffering side effects, the only option was to seek out divine weapons.
Ye Xingge pondered all this with the booklet in hand, gradually becoming somewhat absorbed.
But Great Beauty perhaps had nothing to do. Halfway along, she suddenly muttered a complaint in his ear:
"This is all jianghu scrap, not much use. You'd be better off looking at Three Feet One."
"?"
Hearing that, Ye Xingge instinctively raised his eyes and glanced at the great black peach ahead. That heavy look...
But unexpectedly, the great beauty Luo, who hadn't spoken for some time, turned her head at that moment:
"Aha~ caught you! I knew you weren't behaving yourself..."
"Huh? Sister Luo, I didn't mean to look where I shouldn't..."
"Caught red-handed, and you still dare argue?!"
"Uh..."
Ye Xingge opened his mouth, unable to defend himself. He felt that neither of these two sisters was easy to deal with, and being caught between them was practically suffocating him...
I've been staying up so late lately that I'm in a daze, so here's another shout-out to bring some good luck or2:
I recommend a book called "Who Says I'm Not a Righteous Young Hero?" It's a wuxia harem story. If you're interested, give it a look~