Orden des Roten Lotus

Kapitel 90

Stepping out of the inn and standing on the main street, she looked around at the bustling crowd. But where was the Second Young Master? Miss Ye was bumped into by the crowd and moved involuntarily with the flow of people. But looking around, there were groups of men and women in colorful clothes, vendors and villagers. Where was that figure in the green robe like a lotus? Where was that gentle and refined smile?

Where?

Where is the Second Young Master Ming?

Miss Ye walked along the long street, ran through the alley, passed through the crowds, and leaped over the walls and buildings...

But the Second Young Master Ming was nowhere to be seen.

She stood in the street, looking around at the strangers all around her. The sun was already high in the sky, noon had arrived, and the time for the Qi-pushing acupoints had long passed. So…

So he died a horrible death from a reversed blood flow?!

Upon thinking this, Ye Kongying felt a pang of pain in her heart and her eyes stung with tears.

Passersby on the street couldn't help but look at her curiously. Some, seeing this pretty young woman weeping in the street, looked so pitiful, and couldn't help but feel sorry for her. Some offered words of comfort, while others inquired with concern. But Ye Kongying had no time to care. She only thought that that person was dead, and her heart was filled with unbearable grief. Her mind was filled with that person's image.

Thinking back to that stunning first glimpse of her that night.

I was thinking about the first thing he said when he woke up: "Who is the girl?"

I recall his calm smile after being told he was in danger of dying from a reversed blood flow.

Thinking about the few words he and she exchanged along the way.

Thinking about his calm and elegant demeanor throughout the journey.

Thinking of those eyes that gazed silently yet seemed so distant.

She remembered how he had once praised her as beautiful as a flower.

Thinking of the leisurely and mysterious look he occasionally gave when he lowered his eyes.

She thought that he was the person she had spent the most time with besides her master.

…………

Just as Ye Kongying was overwhelmed with grief, someone suddenly tugged at her sleeve.

"Girl! Girl! You haven't paid your room bill at our inn yet! Why are you leaving already? This won't do! Pay up quickly! You know our inn's profits are meager; if you run away like this, what will we eat and drink? Girl, pay up quickly! I've been chasing you for almost half of Xiangcheng; I'm exhausted!"

As Ye Kongying lowered her hand to wipe away her tears, she saw the innkeeper tugging at her sleeve, spitting as he spoke.

"Miss, you've stayed in two of our rooms and had two meals included, for a total of five silver coins. Our place is the cheapest in the whole of Xiangcheng. It's a losing business, so you can't not pay me!" The waiter grabbed Ye Kongying's sleeve, afraid that she would disappear again in the blink of an eye, and he wouldn't be able to get his money back. If he didn't get his money back, the shopkeeper would scold him.

Ye Kongying blinked her red, tear-filled eyes and looked at the waiter pitifully without saying a word.

The waiter was somewhat softened by the pitiful look on the pretty girl's face, but as much as he felt sorry for her, he still needed to get his money: "Miss, I'll let you go if you pay me, otherwise I'll take you to the authorities."

Ye Kongying's eyes darted around, and she stopped crying. With a flick of her sleeve, she slipped her hand from the waiter's grasp, raised her hand, and pointed a slender finger at him, saying, "Go to court? Do you think I'm afraid? I'm the one who's going to take you to court! My husband and I were perfectly fine staying at your inn last night, and this morning he disappeared. I haven't even settled accounts with you yet, and you have the nerve to come and ask me for money!"

Upon hearing this, the crowd around looked at Xiao Er with surprise and suspicion, while the two people watching from a certain direction, the one in white chuckled and the one in purple snorted coldly.

“Young lady, you can’t wrong us. Your husband must have left on his own. It has nothing to do with our inn. We run our business honestly and have never done anything to rob or kill anyone!” the waiter immediately defended himself.

"Murder for money?" Ye Kongying's pretty eyes widened. "I haven't even said anything, and you've already confessed? You must have murdered my husband and stolen his money! Give me back my money! Give me back my husband!"

"Miss... how can you twist the truth like this! We never plotted to harm your husband! We..."

"Hmph! You're the ones who murdered my husband! Pay me back now, or I'll take you to the authorities!"

“We didn’t. How can you make such baseless accusations without any evidence? You…you…”

"My husband has gone missing at your inn. It must be related to your inn. You have to compensate him and pay him back!"

More and more people gathered on the street. Many people sympathized with Ye Kongying, while others were skeptical, pointing and whispering among themselves. Some even said they would call the government officials to make a ruling.

"Hehe..." Suddenly, a clear and charming laugh rang out, soft and faint, yet everyone on the street could hear it clearly.

Suddenly, the noisy crowd all turned to look in the direction of the sound, and upon seeing it, they were all momentarily stunned and bewildered.

On the opposite side of a tall building, there was a window with two young men, one dressed in white and the other in purple, standing side by side. Both were tall and elegant, their clothes fluttering in the wind. The one in white was refined and graceful, while the one in purple was alluring and beautiful. They were two completely different people, but it was precisely because they were completely different that their presence together made each other stand out even more. The one in white appeared even more elegant and graceful, while the one in purple appeared even more gorgeous and enchanting.

"Isn't that your husband!" the waiter suddenly shouted, pointing to the upper floor. "Now you have no excuse, pay the room fee!"

Ye Kongying ignored the waiter and stared at the two people on the high building, tears welling up in her eyes again.

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at the beautiful and pretty Ye Kongying, then at the two handsome young men upstairs, and couldn't help but sigh. Whichever one of them this young lady marries would be a blessing.

"Young Master, I'll pay the rent she owes you for her room." The young man in purple said with a smile.

Then a silver light streaked across the sky, and the waiter felt something fall into his hand. When he looked, he found a shimmering silver leaf.

One silver leaf is equal to one hundred silver coins, which is far more than the rent of five silver coins!

The waiter's eyes widened immediately as he stared at the silver leaf that had appeared out of thin air in his hand, muttering to himself, "Have I encountered a deity?" Looking up at the two people on the high building, he immediately regarded them as immortals descended to earth; otherwise, how could the silver leaf have automatically appeared in his hand?

"Thank you! Thank you!" The waiter thanked him repeatedly, then turned around to go back to the manager to report and ask for a reward.

"Wait a minute," Ye Kongying suddenly called out to him.

The waiter stopped and asked, "Is there anything else, miss?"

Ye Kongying moved swiftly, and before the waiter could react, his hand was empty. When he looked again, the silver leaf was already in her hand, which she casually tucked into her bosom.

"You..." The waiter was shocked and furious.

Ye Kongying ignored the waiter's anger, took out her money pouch from her bosom, reached in and pulled out a silver coin at a time, and after pulling it out five times in a row, she carefully counted it to confirm that there were five silver coins. Then she handed the five silver coins to the waiter and said, "This is your room fee. I haven't shortchanged you."

Not only did the waiter's eyes widen, but everyone watching also stared wide-eyed at the pretty girl, their gazes complex and their expressions varied.

"Keep it safe, I don't owe you anything." Ye Kongying stuffed the silver tassel into her little hands, then glanced around with her pretty eyes, raising her eyebrows. "What are you looking at? Go do what you shouldn't be doing! Otherwise, I'll have to use my precious sword!" With that, Ye Kongying lightly touched the ground and leaped onto the high building. In a flash, she entered through the window and disappeared from sight.

The people below were stunned and then amazed.

"Ugh, what kind of people are these!"

"The world is going to the dogs!"

"I can't believe such a young girl would do something like this!"

"This girl jumped so high, could she be one of those bandits who can scale walls and leap across rooftops, just like the storytellers say?"

"It seems this girl is quite skilled. Young man, just accept your bad luck; at least you've gotten your rent."

…………

The onlookers sighed, and seeing that the two young masters were no longer on the high building, they dispersed, having lost their excitement. The waiter, realizing he didn't possess the skills to scale walls and leap across rooftops, could only leave as well.

As soon as Miss Ye entered the building, she rushed towards Ming Er and hugged him tightly.

This time—

Ming Er was stunned.

Lan Qi grinds his teeth.

"So you didn't die!" Now that Miss Ye is seventeen, this is the first time she has experienced someone close to her "dying" and then "coming back to life," so she is very excited.

"Thank you for your concern, Miss." Ming Er said with a gentle smile, but seeing the thorns standing beside him, he quickly raised his hand and placed a slight pressure on Miss Ye's shoulder, causing her to turn away from his embrace. He then subtly helped her walk to the table. "Miss Ye, are you hungry? Why don't we have a meal together?"

The table was laden with delicacies, all of which were things that Miss Ye, who had come from the mountains, had never seen or heard of before. Suddenly, Miss Ye, who had been worried, flustered, sad, and hungry for most of the day, had her eyes light up and her mouth watering. All her excitement was left behind.

The three of them had lunch together. During the meal, the second young master took the initiative to explain why he had not died from blood loss.

"That's all thanks to Seventh Young Master. Seventh Young Master is a genius. She can learn and counter any martial art in the world as long as she sees it. So it was Seventh Young Master who unlocked your unique acupoint striking technique, and thus saved my life."

When the second young master spoke these words, his expression was frank and his tone sincere, completely ignoring the glare from Lan Qi beside him.

Looking at the Second Young Master's face, apart from Lan Qi, no one in this world would doubt a single word he said.

So Miss Ye believed it to be true. As for why the Second Young Master suddenly disappeared, the Second Young Master did not say. Miss Ye was stunned by the fact that "Seventh Young Master Lan untied her unique acupoint striking technique" at the time, so she did not think of asking. When Miss Ye thought of it again later, Ming Er and Lan Qi were no longer in front of her, and there was no way to ask.

Finally, after experiencing the defeat of Lan Qishao in breaking her unique martial arts and repeatedly losing the upper hand in treasure hunting, Miss Ye felt extremely frustrated and decided to return to her master to cultivate for a few more years until she had mastered her martial arts before descending the mountain. Moreover, Miss Ye vowed that when she descended the mountain again, she would definitely hide Ming Er and Lan Qishao in her treasure cave.

Ming and Lan naturally offered her endless encouragement.

As soon as Miss Ye left, Lan Qi kicked Ming Er, but of course, the second young master easily dodged it.

Having failed in one move, Seventh Young Master was too lazy to move again. In any case, they were evenly matched, and fighting would only be a waste of energy.

"Hey, let's go steal something too?" Lan Qishao suggested with great interest, sprawled on the couch. "Since we have nothing else to do right now, how about we have a treasure-stealing competition? And what we're going to steal can't be ordinary people's treasures, those are too easy to get and not fun. We're going to steal something more valuable, like the Fengwu Sect's treasured sword 'Phoenix Mark Sword,' the emperor's jade seal in the palace, or that chessboard in Yulong Pavilion..."

Lan Qishao, his blue eyes shining, listed the most precious treasures of all the major sects in the world, while Ming Er Gongzi remained silent as always.

But we all know that there is a word in this world called "default".

"Also, let's not use our names, let's just use..." Lan Qi's green eyes flashed with a strange light.

A glint also flashed in Ming Er's empty eyes.

So much so that when Ye Kongying reappeared, the moment he revealed his name as the "Shadow Thief," he was immediately pursued by all the major sects in the martial arts world for their most prized treasures—but that's another story.

(End of article)

Side Story 2: The Chess Game

The mountains were verdant and dark, and a red sun slowly rose from between the peaks. The thin mist quietly dissipated, and the crimson glow of the sunset gently fell, gradually brightening the world. On the high peak, two figures stood against the wind, gazing at the imperial capital city in the distance. Both of them had their robes fluttering in the wind, making them look like celestial beings with their beautiful faces.

The majestic capital city stands tall in the distance, with its crisscrossing streets, neat houses, and towering buildings. Even from above, one can still feel its grandeur and magnificence, proclaiming its status as the capital of a country. The most eye-catching, solemn, and magnificent building is the imperial palace, where the emperor resides.

"Speaking of which, this seems to be my first time in the capital." Lan Qi toyed with the jade fan in her hand, her purple robes fluttering and her blue eyes like water, like a mountain spirit, beautiful yet with a touch of wickedness. "Has the Second Young Master been here before?"

"I have never been here before either." Standing atop the mountain peak, the Second Young Master Ming, dressed in a simple blue robe like a bamboo grove in the mountains, swayed gently in the morning breeze, exuding an elegant and otherworldly air. "The presence of an emperor is indeed extraordinary."

Various martial arts sects and factions roam across the provinces of the dynasty, but there are no sects in the capital. This is where the emperor resides, the place where imperial power is paramount!

"Once I get my hands on the Emperor's jade seal, things will be even more extraordinary."

Ming Er turned his head to look at her, a faint smile in his eyes, "Shall we start now?"

“Of course. I’ve already thought of it. If the Second Young Master loses…” Lan Qi turned to look at him, her emerald eyes shimmering, her lips slightly curved, and then a soft laugh drifted down the mountainside. Immediately afterward, she moved like a wisp of purple smoke and flew down the mountain.

Ming Er raised an eyebrow and smiled, then lightly touched the ground with his foot and flew down the mountain after him.

After the incident of "the second young master being robbed", the two of them suddenly became interested in the most precious, valuable and rare treasures in the world and decided to steal all the most precious treasures in the world.

Who are they?

One is a monstrous genius who thrives on chaos, and the other is a fake immortal who finds the world more interesting the more chaotic it is. Their actions cannot be judged by the standards of ordinary people.

And so, their first location for stealing treasure was the awe-inspiring Imperial Palace in the capital.

Their first target in the theft was the Imperial Seal, the symbol of supreme power, and the ancient and magnificent chess game treasured in the Yulong Pavilion.