Marriage

Ten days later.

The sun is setting in the west; it is dusk.

Congratulations! Congratulations!

Congratulations, Master Fang!

"Master Fang is so lucky!"

"..."

The brightly lit courtyard was flooded with dozens of hooligans who came to offer their congratulations. Forget about gifts; they were just cheap, trivial items.

However, Fang Yu didn't expect to receive much money. He was just going through the motions to let people in the circle know that he was married, so that he would have an excuse to fade out of the limelight later.

My husband is very strict and won't let me go out!

His wedding was very simple, without any complicated ceremonies; none of his family members came.

My mother is a homebody and rarely goes out. My sister sends people to deliver her daily groceries and other necessities to our home regularly.

His father, Xu Bao, has yet to be seen, and as for his sister, she is too busy to attend his wedding.

Before we knew it, it was getting dark and the banquet was half over when, unexpectedly, several more people walked in from outside.

"Congratulations on Master Fang's wedding! I hope I'm not too late!"

When everyone saw the newcomer, they were all startled and stood up one after another. In an instant, shouts of "Master Ning!" rang out.

"Master Ning, what brings you here!" Fang Yu strode forward to greet him, his gaze sweeping over the group of people following behind him, including Sun Laizi and his entourage.

Xu Ning sized Fang Yu up and down, his tone somewhat unfriendly, "I heard you broke through to the ' Village Brave ' rank, so I was thinking of giving you a sinecure, but I waited and waited and you didn't show up, only to receive an invitation. So, having finished my official business today, I've come to congratulate you!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Sun Laizi handed him a packet of silver and announced loudly, "Master Ning presents a congratulatory gift: ten taels of silver!"

"Master Ning is so generous!"

"Master Ning is truly a loyal friend!"

"..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the surrounding thugs and hooligans started shouting and envious.

Ten taels of silver is no small sum. These hangers-on, despite their usual swagger on the streets, can only bully small, powerless business owners like those running teahouses and restaurants.

Shops with some connections wouldn't dare utter a sound. Even if they took on a shady job, like dismembering someone's arm or breaking a leg, they'd only pay one or two taels of silver, or ten taels, which was enough to buy the life of an ordinary person.

"Thank you, Master Ning!"

Fang Yu Master Ning, please forgive me. I just broke through to the next level and wanted to ask Master Ning for a leisurely job, but I was caught up in too many unpleasant matters. I haven't been able to get away until now. I was thinking of bothering Master Ning after the wedding, but I didn't expect Master Ning to come in person tonight. It's truly an honor to my humble abode."

At this point, Fang Yu stretched out his left hand and suddenly raised his voice. "Bring the wine!"

Immediately, someone carried over a freshly opened jar of wine from behind.

Fang Yu glanced at Daqing, who was holding the wine jar, and his lips twitched. He grabbed the rim of the jar and lifted it into the air. "Master Ning, I have offended you before. Please forgive me, I'll take this jar of wine as my apology."

Fang Yu spoke, he picked up the wine jar and began gulping it down.

The wine dripped down Fang Yu's lips; he had only drunk half a jar, and the rest had all been drunk up.

As soon as the wine jar was set down, cheers and applause erupted from the surrounding area.

"Good..."

"Master Fang has a good capacity for alcohol!"

"..."

Xu Ning laughed at this moment, patting Fang Yu on the shoulder, "Good brother, good drinking capacity, why don't you invite your brother to take a seat!"

Seeing this, Fang Yu knew that Xu Ning's dissatisfaction had disappeared, and immediately invited him to take a seat.

That's how simple things are in the streets and alleys. Many things can be overlooked as long as you give them enough face, let alone something as trivial as him not visiting Xu Ning immediately.

Although the meal was already halfway through, Xu Ning wasn't one to stand on ceremony. He sat down and started eating, then drank several rounds of wine with the group of ruffians before patting Sun Laizi on the shoulder next to him, looking at Fang Yu, and smiling as he said:

"We're all brothers, and misunderstandings are common. Now that you're a martial artist, why don't you just let it go?"

Fang Yu glanced at Sun Laizi and said, "Master Ning is right, we're all brothers!"

"Hahaha!" Xu Ning laughed, looking at Sun Laizi, "Hurry up and apologize!"

Sun Laizi immediately raised a bowl of wine, looked at Fang Yu, and said, "Master Fang, I was drunk earlier and said the wrong thing. I apologize to you now!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he downed a cup of wine, and someone immediately refilled it for him. He drank three cups in a row, and by then, Sun Laizi's face was as red as a lantern.

Having resolved the minor misunderstanding between his subordinates, Xu Ning approached Fang Yu and said:

"I wasn't joking with you earlier; I really do have a free job for you."

"Please give the order, Master Ning. As long as it's within my power, I'll go through fire and water for you!"

"Haha! I don't need you to go through fire and water, just keep an eye on things on the streets for me."

"May I ask for details, Master Ning?"

Xu Ning immediately pulled Fang Yu to a corner of the courtyard and explained the Fang Yu in detail.

"A while ago, two officials from the Embroidered Robe Bureau came to our Bei'an Prefecture on official business and needed the cooperation of the local government."

And so, my brother was fortunate enough to be assigned to serve under two superiors.

My current task is to keep an eye on the merchants coming and going on the street, looking for any suspicious individuals.

I'm currently short of a deputy, and since you've just broken through to the ' Village Brave ' rank, I recommended you. The higher-ups agreed on the spot, and here I am, even bringing you the token."

He flipped his hand and handed a dark gold token to Fang Yu.

"The Embroidered Robe Bureau!"

Fang Yu frowned and looked at the token in his hand. It was cold to the touch and quite heavy. It was neither gold nor jade. The edges were engraved with intricate patterns, and the words "Embroidered Robe" were engraved in the center. Below were two smaller characters: "Scarlet Robe".

Fang Yu slowly turned to look at Xu Ning, and said in a somewhat unfriendly tone, "Master Ning, you've really given me a good job!"

Xu Ning naturally sensed the hostility in Fang Yu's tone, but he didn't pay it any mind. When he was first assigned to the Embroidered Robe Bureau as a ' Yellow Robe ' officer, he too had murderous thoughts, but they were just thoughts in name only.

It's normal for Xu Fang to be dissatisfied and even hate him at this moment. After all, the job in the Embroidered Robe Bureau has always been deadly, and all he can do now is drag more people down with him to strengthen his own forces.

"Don't worry, brother. You only need to gather information on what's happening on the streets. There's no risk involved. Don't be misled by the rumors circulating in the martial arts world. The Embroidered Robe Bureau isn't as scary as it seems. On the contrary, if you handle the job well, you'll be on your way to great success."

Fang Yu could hardly be at ease. If Xu Ning in front of him wasn't Seventh Grade ' Battle Soldier ' in martial arts, several times stronger than his sister's Eighth Grade ' Martial Foot Soldier ', he would have already turned on him and killed this son of a bitch.

The Embroidered Robe Bureau was the most notorious secret service organization in the Great Long Dynasty, reporting directly to the Emperor. Since its establishment, it had stirred up countless bloody storms and solved countless major cases. Even two princes of the Xiao royal family had been killed by them.

He has now been forcibly conscripted into the outer ' Robe Agent Embroidered Robe Bureau, supposedly to investigate matters on the streets, but who knows when he might be confronted by Master or even Grandmaster.

After all, the Embroidered Robe Bureau deals with either high-ranking officials of the imperial court or renowned figures in the martial arts world. Encountering top-tier masters of the Third Grade or Third Grade higher is perfectly normal for them.

The mortality rate for these peripheral personnel, who were likely to be the first to come into contact with the target, was predictably high.