Afternoon.
The alley and courtyard were quiet and still, but through the window, one could faintly hear the chirping of cicadas by the stone bridge outside the alley.
After returning home in the morning, Ye Xingge bought pots, pans, seasonings, ingredients, and so on on the street. Since she hadn't slept all night and Great Beauty Luo and Great Beauty hadn't returned yet, she took a nap in her bedroom. After days of running around, she finally had a moment of peace, which was probably the most comfortable sleep she had had in the past few days.
And just as he was drifting off into his own world, the door to the main room suddenly moved slightly.
Whew~
The house doors were of extremely high quality; the hinges were even coated with tung oil, so that they opened without making a sound.
Then, the furtive Hongyu quietly entered the room, placed the two wine jars she was carrying on the table, and silently entered the bedroom, arriving at the canopy bed.
Upon discovering that Ye Xingge was fast asleep, Hongyu frowned slightly, made a disgusted face, and raised her hand to slap his cheek.
"Eh... oh?!"
Whoosh~
thump--
Ye Xingge was fast asleep, but he was still alert. Before the hand could even reach out, he was already awake. He grabbed the wrist and twisted it, pinning the person who had silently approached him to the bed.
But he soon discovered that what lay beneath him was a soft, elastic peach, so firm that it felt as if it would bounce back on its own even with minimal effort...
Ye Xingge was taken aback, and looked down to examine him carefully:
" Yu'er?"
Seeing that the boy was sleeping too soundly, Hongyu originally wanted to remind him to be careful, but she was pressed down on the bed by the man, so she naturally panicked and turned around to say:
"Aren't you going to let go?!"
Ye Xingge was genuinely surprised and helped the stingy boy up:
"Excuse me, why did you come in so quietly? I thought you were an assassin..."
"Do you think I can just yell and bang on doors here?"
Hongyu quickly sat up, straightened her clothes, reached into her bulging collar and pulled out a piece of paper, handing it to Ye Xingge:
"Well, I just met with the Mountains and Rivers Association and brought you some good news!"
"Oh? Is that so..."
Ye Xingge took the briefing and examined it. The paper contained intelligence gathered by the Mountains and Rivers Association, with two messages:
The first piece of paper was about a minor case that had just happened in the city; he could easily kill the culprit to level up.
The second piece of paper was a "Hunter Order," with a reward of five million coins. The objective was to have his body float down the Cang River within seven days. Although it was an anonymous bounty, Black Dragon Island was located downstream of the Cang River...
?
Ye Xingge was inexplicable upon seeing this:
"I possess divine weapons and treasures; why would I need to spend extra money to hire assassins? Is Black Dragon Island just throwing money away?"
Hongyu, sweating profusely from the heat of her journey, had already gotten up and run to the courtyard to fetch water. Hearing the call, she responded:
" Black Dragon Island is on the side of the imperial court, so it can't openly kill officials and rebel. But since their plans have been disrupted, they can't remain silent. This five million coins is purely for show. However, a large wave of assassins is definitely coming soon."
Ye Xingge thought it was a good thing that assassins were coming.
The Fate-Robbing Saber, which sustains itself through battle, is destined to roam the land, licking blood from its blade.
People sent by hostile forces are killers if you can't defeat them, but if you can, they're just free experience points!
Ye Xingge was already a martial arts graduate. After defeating Yang Tuyan and gaining two years of internal energy, he was very close to being among the Third Rank. If he could just farm another wave of minions, he should definitely be on the Gold List.
However, the Gold List successful candidates is usually released at the beginning or middle of the month. Today is May 14th, and tomorrow is the day the list will be released. If the Heaven-Observing Pavilion does not notify us privately, we will have to wait until June 1st.
Ye Xingge for nearly twenty years and was quite looking forward to passing the Gold List, but assassins didn't care about martial ethics. He thought it over and asked:
Who might come?
Hongyu went to the bathroom and saw that the landlady had thoughtfully prepared flower petals, so she sprinkled some into the bathtub herself.
"It's not clear yet, but powerful figures all have names and identities, and the Mountains and Rivers Association can track them down. Even if they can't, I'll protect you and ensure that no one can easily get close."
Having learned about the incident at Black Dragon Island, Ye Xingge still trusted Great Beauty Liang's judgment. He put away the intelligence and went outside, where he noticed the wine jar on the table. He realized that Great Beauty wanted to eat hot pot but was afraid of having to pay with meat.
Ye Xingge was determined to grant this wish, so he went to the kitchen to examine the utensils and asked:
When will the assassin arrive?
Hongyu closed the door, making sure her blind date wasn't peeking, before unbuttoning her red skirt to reveal her voluptuous figure, resembling a large white lamb. She lifted her long legs and stepped into the bathtub, her ample curves like plum blossoms in the snow.
"The bounty has just been issued; it won't arrive until tomorrow or the day after at the earliest. Let's deal with the people in the city first today."
Upon seeing this, Ye Xingge took out a brief report, which revealed that the target was a retainer of General Cao Xiong named Dong Baoquan.
A few days ago, this person got drunk and beat someone to death. Afterwards, the county government charged the deceased with "defaming the royal family," clearing his name and escaping any punishment.
General Cao Xiong carried the Emperor of Yan to the throne, and the Empress was also Cao Clan. With such immense power, it was certain that going to uphold justice would offend people.
But if he were to Gold List and have to kill half of those who passed the imperial examination, he should be grateful that he didn't indiscriminately kill innocent people; he wouldn't have time to be picky.
"I'll go check on things first, then we'll come back for hot pot when I'm done."
Okay~
Before we knew it, the sun had set.
More than thirty flying horses filed in through the main gate of the Heaven-Observing Pavilion.
The cavalry was led by the four commanders, followed by high-ranking military officers such as the Assistant Commander and the Night-Walking Lieutenant, while the remaining embroidered-robed men were still on their way back.
After dismounting in the courtyard, Luo Xuanqing led his entourage quickly toward the main building in the center, where Mei Wuchang and the others were naturally nearby.
Having been worried sick for two days and unsure of Ye Xingge's current situation, Luo Xuanqing inquired with the clerks on duty along the way:
Where is Ye Xingge?
The minor official only heard about Ye Xingge's heroic deeds when he came to his post this morning, and immediately replied:
"Lord Ye returned before dawn, and Duke Zhang personally received him. At that time..."
Luo Xuanqing thought this clerk was really long-winded, so he went straight to the point:
How badly injured is he? Where is he recuperating now?
"Ah?"
The minor official looked at Flower Judge, whose eyes were full of worry, opened his mouth, and seemed somewhat bewildered:
"Is Lord Ye injured?"
"Um?"
Mei Wuchang, who was pondering how to report back, stopped abruptly upon hearing the sound. Gongsun Yanwu and Ruan Jinyu also stopped and turned around.
Luo Xuanqing was stunned. "He turned the Forgetful River Mouth upside down, killed Gold-Chasing Gentleman Fate-Robbing Saber, and came back unharmed?!"
The minor official also felt that after finishing this task, he should crawl back covered in blood and barely alive, lean against Duke Zhang, and give his last words.
Duke Zhang, his hair standing on end in fury, leaned against the railing and roared to the sky!
But the person is indeed fine, hence the awkward response:
"I don't know the specifics, but Lord Ye was just jumping around like a madman. He even went to the yamen to collect some military equipment, saying he had nothing to do at home and wanted to go out and familiarize himself with the streets of the capital. Duke Zhang and Duke Yan have been praising him all morning, and the Emperor was delighted to hear the news..."
Silent silence~~
The four commanders remained silent.
Ruan Jinyu's expression was quite peculiar; after a moment of silence, she looked at Commander Mei:
"At this rate, he'll probably have to replace one of us in the future."
This was clearly a veiled rebuttal to the three people's comments that morning about Ye Xingge replacing him.
After all, Mei Wuchang is the heir apparent of the Heaven-Observing Pavilion and its future successor.
Ye Xingge's momentum clearly indicates that he is aiming for the Heaven-Observing Decree.
Mei Wuchang is ranked ninth in the Second Rank, so it's not that urgent. Let's think about the response:
" The Heaven-Observing Decree bears the responsibility of protecting the monarch and upholding the nation; it should rightfully be held by the strong. If this person has the ambition and ability, it would be a blessing for the Great Yan."
After saying that, they continued towards the main building.
Hearing that the brat was safe and sound and had such a positive work attitude, Luo Xuanqing was truly pleased and wanted to rush over and reward him.
However, given his official duties, Luo Xuanqing couldn't leave early. He simply turned to Chen Xuance and gave him instructions:
"Everyone knows the Return to Origin Cult's ways. He's got a valuable treasure; they're bound to scheme against him. Go find it and get it back; don't let anything go wrong."
"Yes!"
Chen Xuance was so eager to find Ye Xiaozi to celebrate their victory that he immediately obeyed the order and left upon hearing the news.
The four commanders continued on their way and soon arrived at the main hall, where they could see Wu Yi sitting in the main seat.
Beside him were Eunuch Fan from the Directorate of Directorate of Ceremonial, as well as figures sent by the powerful Duke of Duke of Cao and others.
Meanwhile, Lady of Anyang pulled Shen Yueyao along and sat politely at the table, listening to what was happening.
Seeing the four commanders return, Wu Yi raised his hand to greet them:
"Please take your seats, everyone. You can also offer your opinions."
When Luo Xuanqing saw that the chief eunuch beside the Emperor of Yan had arrived, he didn't say much. He sat down in front of An Yurou and Little Rabbit, looking at them questioningly.
Lady of Anyang was inquiring about how Great Yan should deal with the Fate-Robbing Saber, and at this moment he explained in a low voice:
" Ye Xingge has achieved a remarkable feat, greatly pleasing the Emperor, who is currently discussing how to cultivate him..."
Luo Xuanqing listened carefully and quickly understood the meaning:
Wu Chenglie of the Later Zhou, wielding divine weapons, commanded "thousands of troops and horses to avoid the white-robed general," meaning that the Great Yan could not advance south without dealing with him.
If Ye Xingge can overtake them, it will be a case of one side gaining and the other losing a pillar, Later Zhou will lose a key player and the Great Yan will gain a strong one.
Therefore, the sage meant to ask how long it would take to accomplish this task and how to do it.
Luo Xuanqing pondered for a moment, "With Ye Xingge's talent and ability, he has a chance to enter the First Rank even without a divine weapon, and with a divine weapon, it will take him a maximum of three years."
An Yurou thought the same thing.
But Eunuch Fan, who was present, held his teacup and sighed softly:
"The major exam only happens once every ten years. If you miss it before the end of the year, you have to wait another ten years. We came here to ask if it's possible for the Heaven-Observing Pavilion before the end of the year..."
"Of course, my family doesn't know anything about cultivation; we just wanted to please the sage. If that doesn't work, then just pretend we never said anything..."