?
Luo Xuanqing was also puzzled by the bite mark. Noticing that her subordinates wanted to speak but hesitated, she widened her eyes slightly and thought:
What nonsense are you imagining?
Don't you know me by now?
If it were me, either I would have beaten this lad to death on the spot, or he would have been overcome with shame and anger. How could he have half-resisted, half-consented...
But saying that would damage her dignity as their commanding officer, so Luo Xuanqing kept it to herself and asked instead:
"Could that unidentified thief have bitten you? That thief was quite skilled, and from the look of it, you were even holding her in your arms..."
Ye Xingge knew the bite mark was a little strange and explained truthfully:
"When you went into the escort agency to search it, Lady Luo, I was afraid of beating the grass and startling the snake, so I hid between two stacks of baskets in the alley. I never expected that group to arrive right on your heels. From the sound of it, there were five of them, led by a female thief about five feet two inches tall. Her breasts... she had a fiercely menacing look!"
?
Seeing the little rascal abruptly change his words, Luo Xuanqing frowned. She sent the military officers who were listening intently to the case outside first, then leaned closer.
"You need to be specific when reporting a case. What distinguishing features did the female thief have?"
Seeing how serious Great Beauty Luo looked, Ye Xingge could only tell the truth:
"Her bust was about three feet around. The rest was hidden beneath a cloak, so I couldn't see clearly, and she disguised her voice somewhat too..."
Five people, a female thief, shorter than me, with a slightly bigger bust than mine...
Luo Xuanqing pondered it privately. A female thief like that seemed quite rare, but recalling that the woman had come looking for Yang Tuyan, she offered her analysis:
"It might have been South-Flying Swallow, a spy from Later Zhou. She has operated in Yongzhou Prefecture for years, and her true identity has never been uncovered. Apart from Later Zhou, there shouldn't be any other power in Yongzhou Prefecture with eyes and ears so well informed. What happened next?"
South-Flying Swallow...
Ye Xingge had never heard of her and continued:
"After giving her orders, she walked in my direction. I didn't dare breathe, and I thought she was going into the escort agency, but someone else passed by on the street. Then I saw a dark shape flash in front of me, and she hid there too, crashing right into me..."
"Huh?"
Luo Xuanqing stared blankly.
"South-Flying Swallow is at least in the Third Rank. How did you survive that?"
To prove his account, Ye Xingge had no choice but to lean close to Great Beauty Luo's ear and describe the method he had used.
After hearing exactly how he had done it, Luo Xuanqing straightened a little and eyed him suspiciously.
"That method could indeed block her Qi channels, but could you hit her acupoint?"
The old military physician treating his injuries nearby had probably overheard the method. Now he once again confirmed it:
"With the enemy exposed and you hidden, attacking from behind, that method would indeed work, and it fits the bite too. An ordinary woman might have been just as furious, but she wouldn't have had that much strength."
Luo Xuanqing gave a slight nod and asked no more questions.
"You were lucky to escape that thief with your life, and then you dared turn around, chase three men and kill Yang Tuyan? Honestly... don't be so reckless again!"
"I just happened to run into them. I definitely won't dare do it again..."
"Hmph~"
Before long, the old military physician finished treating his injuries and left the room.
Luo Xuanqing opened the wardrobe, took out a clean set of clothes and placed it beside the pillow. Then, with great care, she pulled out the thin quilt from the inside of the bed and tucked it over the bare-chested Ye Xingge.
"It's a flesh wound, nothing serious. Rest here for now; I'm going to take a bath. If you need anything, call an embroidered-clothes officer or a worker to help. Someone is waiting outside."
Ye Xingge lay on the pillow, watching the three-foot-one lady bend over to tuck him in. Candlelight shone on her gentle profile, and the concern in her eyes was entirely genuine. He couldn't help sighing inwardly:
She really is such a gentle, caring girl...
But after he had watched her for a moment, Great Beauty Luo blinked, turned her gaze to him and said:
"Good boy~ Sleep easy."
Her soothing tone and affectionate gaze were just like those of a mother coaxing her beloved son.
"Huh?"
Ye Xingge was taken aback. Thinking Great Beauty Luo might be a little mischievous too, he smiled helplessly and closed his eyes.
Tap, tap, tap...
Click~
Soon, the door closed, the footsteps receded, and the room fell quiet.
Through the door and windows, he could faintly hear the embroidered-clothes officers all talking at once in the distance, as well as a worker drawing water in the kitchen, but there was no other unusual activity.
At that moment, Ye Xingge's heart, which had been on edge for two days, finally relaxed completely.
"Phew..."
After making sure no one was outside the door, Ye Xingge got up, changed into a clean pair of trousers, and picked up the wristguard beside the pillow to examine it.
The wristguard looked to be made of black cowhide. Its workmanship was excellent, but it was inconspicuous, and it had a cord fastening on the inside so it could be adjusted to fit the arm.
From past experience, Ye Xingge knew that Great Yan's Heaven-Observing Decree could use the divine weapon Observing the Stars at Night to sense famous weapons throughout the land. The stronger the holder's cultivation, the clearer the observation, but the upper limit was 511.
Its origin was said to be the 328 principal stars of the central Three Enclosures, plus the 183 principal and auxiliary stars of the Four Symbols and Twenty-Eight Mansions, for a total of 511.
The Gold List published by the Heaven-Observing Pavilion used this as the basis for its rankings. Each person on the list represented one of those stars, ranked according to cultivation.
The process went something like this: the Heaven-Observing Decree observed that the famous weapon whose holder ranked twenty-sixth in cultivation was the Returning Flow Pendant.
Ruan Jinyu subsequently investigated and learned that its owner was Luo Xuanqing, giving her her current ranking.
If the owner's identity could not be discovered, the weapon's name or a nickname was put on the list instead. The Gold-Chasing Gentleman, for example, had made the list that way, but to this day no one knew his true identity.
The person ranked 511th marked the limit of what the Heaven-Observing Decree could observe.
It could not see anyone whose cultivation was lower.
Furthermore, without a divine or famous weapon on one's person, no matter how high one's cultivation, the Heaven-Observing Decree could not see them, so naturally they were not included on the Gold List.
Most of these people were sect masters and clan heads who had retired behind the scenes, great figures of the mountains and marshes who had sealed their swords away, or old demons of the previous dynasty cultivating in seclusion. They no longer concerned themselves with the affairs of the martial world, but that did not mean they lacked strength.
Thus, the heroes of the Gold List were those active on the stage; there were more than five hundred experts in the world.
Ye Xingge was not on the Gold List, yet he still needed the Heaven-Shrouding Arm to conceal himself because his cultivation itself was not low.
If a relatively large number of experts retired or died suddenly in a short time, he might accidentally slip onto the list.
As for how the Heaven-Shrouding Arm concealed heavenly secrets, he wasn't quite sure.
After studying it for a while, Ye Xingge figured Great Beauty Luo should be bathing by now. He quietly took out the little yellow strip, covered his head with the quilt and whispered:
"Great Yu'er? Are you there?"
Rustle, rustle~
As soon as he spoke, the Filth-Severing Whip stirred.
Then the thin quilt swelled, outlining the curves of a waist...
?
Ye Xingge lay on his side on the pillow. Sensing movement in front of him, he lifted the quilt slightly to look, only to meet a pair of peach-blossom eyes.
Hongyu had lifted herself almost into Ye Xingge's face. She too froze for a moment, then quickly leaned back.
"What are you doing under the quilt?"
Ye Xingge gestured toward the window. "There's someone outside. It's safer under the quilt. I thought you'd transmit your voice. Why did you manifest yourself?"
"I wanted to see how badly you were hurt, and I couldn't very well come down."
Once she was sure there was nothing seriously wrong with Ye Xingge, Hongyu wanted to leave.
Ye Xingge raised a hand to stop her and indicated the wristguard on his arm.
"How do I use this wristguard? What exactly does it do?"
Hongyu felt it was improper to huddle under a quilt with a man, but as his guardian, answering his questions was also her duty, so she responded seriously:
"If someone carries several famous weapons, there must be a primary one and secondary ones. You can think of the primary weapon as a 'lifebound weapon.' It's usually the most important one, and a divine weapon will normally take the primary position.
"The Heaven-Observing Decree can only observe that one weapon. It can't see the other, secondary weapons.
"This wristguard's divine effect is [The Guest Usurps the Host]. What it does is this: even if you're carrying twelve divine weapons, it still thinks it's the boss and always takes the primary position.
"That way, whether it's the Heaven-Observing Decree or some other detection treasure, all they can see is this damn thing, indirectly concealing heavenly secrets!"
"Uh..."
After listening carefully, Ye Xingge's gaze changed from one that regarded it as a priceless treasure to one at a loss for words. He thought:
What kind of Jiahao wristguard is this?
Such a divine effect is overbearing, yet it gives off an utterly washed-up feeling. It might as well be called the Heaven-Fucking Arm...
Still, for someone who needed to hide information about their equipment, this divine effect truly was irreplaceable.
For example, the emperors and important ministers of Western Shu and Later Zhou could hardly let Great Yan spy on their most important life-saving talismans whenever it pleased, so famous weapons with [The Guest Usurps the Host] were standard equipment. They could also keep assassins from learning their secrets.
Once Ye Xingge understood the wristguard's workings, he picked up the White Tiger dagger.
"Then this..."
Hongyu already found it rather strange to be chatting while huddled under the quilt. At this, a look of disdain appeared on her face.
"How could you not know what that thing is? I'm hanging up!"
Rustle, rustle~
With that, the thin quilt collapsed, and the whip turned back into a little yellow strip.
?
Seeing that Great Beauty had run off, Ye Xingge was deeply disappointed. He rolled onto his back and examined the dagger in his hand.
It was one of the River-Spanning Pavilion's ten famous weapons, and its utility alone made it immensely valuable. But in terms of grade, the dagger could currently only be considered a fine piece; it had not reached the top tier.
The River-Spanning Pavilion had another weapon, the Cloud-Cutting Spike, nicknamed A Thread of Sky, which could kill in an instant within seven paces. That was truly top-tier.
As for the really awesome ones, they were all famous weapons that could serve as golden fingers. Either their stats defied the heavens, or their mechanics rivaled immortal arts, like a little bottle that could rapidly mature medicinal herbs...
Although the Ravine-Leaping Tiger was a little lower in quality, it counted as a "sword embryo." Its divine effect could be improved through nurturing, up to the point of killing in an instant within seven paces. That was how it had become one of the River-Spanning Pavilion's signature famous weapons.
Speaking of White Tiger, Wandering Butterfly, A Thread of Sky... those nicknames people in the martial world made up for the River-Spanning Pavilion's famous weapons are really rather interesting...
Ye Xingge thought back for a moment and felt that his feud with South-Flying Swallow seemed to qualify as "a bloody case sparked by a steamed bun."
I wonder what the three-foot-one lady and Great Beauty are...
"What are you thinking about now?"
The moment the image of red-clad Great Beauty flashed through his mind, a mature woman's voice sounded in his ear.
?
Ye Xingge felt that being able to call a divine weapon at will wasn't entirely a good thing. He casually replied:
"I was wondering when I could be as powerful as Sister Yu'er. I'm going to sleep now. Good night."
With that, he put his things away and closed his eyes.
A voice sounded beside his ear:
"Hmph..."