"Oh?" He slowly opened his palm, looked at the jade leaf, and asked, "Then what is this?"
"Please send the invitation."
What's written on it?
"You can't read?" Gong Feicui raised an eyebrow.
The boy smiled without answering, seemingly agreeing. So Gong Feicui said, "It says on it, 'With silver leaves and emerald leaves, I extend my invitation to Mr. Xiao. Spring day in Luoyang, the seventh day of the month, a grand gathering. We await you with flowers swept.'"
The boy smiled and said, "Very good." Then he stepped inside again.
Gong Feicui said, "Please send the invitation."
The boy said, "Isn't this it?"
Gong Feicui narrowed her eyes and drawled, "Is this... true?"
The young man laughed loudly, "That's right! You invited Mr. Xiao, and my surname is Xiao. Ye Zi is currently in my hands, so isn't this my invitation?"
"You!" Gong Feicui was speechless with anger, gritting her teeth as she said, "Your surname is Xiao?"
"My name is Xiao Zuo."
Gong Feicui sneered: "Xiao Zuo? Hmph, I'm Gong You!"
Xiao Zuo laughed and said, "If Miss is willing to change my name, I would be more than happy to do so. Wouldn't that make a perfect pair, one on the left and one on the right?"
"You!" Speechless for the second time, Miss Gong stamped her foot and turned to ask me, "Sister Qiansu, what's this guy's background?"
I answered respectfully, “Xiao Zuo is the son of the Third Master Xiao of Daming Prefecture. He was spoiled and lawless from a young age, and the neighbors and servants all called him the ‘Devil King’ behind his back. When he was fifteen, his father passed away, leaving all the family’s wealth to this only child. Who knew that he would eat, drink, gamble, and whore and was idle, and squander the family fortune in just three years, thus earning him the title of ‘the number one spendthrift in the world’.”
Xiao Zuo turned to me with a grin and said, "Chief Steward Feng is indeed Chief Steward Feng; he knows me better than I know myself."
Gong Feicui never expected that the person who came would actually be surnamed Xiao. She looked Xiao Zuo up and down with a bit of frustration, then suddenly bit her lip and said, "You really are lucky! You're in, so be it. I doubt you can pull any tricks!"
To everyone's surprise, Xiao Zuo shook his head and said slowly, "I'm not in a hurry, I'm waiting for someone."
"who?"
“Him.” Xiao Zuo turned his head to the west.
No sooner had he finished speaking than the sound of horses' hooves approached from afar.
At the other end of the long street appeared a fast horse. Its body was jet black and its coat was like brocade, shimmering like satin in the sunlight. The rider was dressed in black clothes and wore a bamboo hat, not revealing an inch of his skin.
The man on horseback arrived very quickly, and was close in no time. Judging from his momentum, he seemed to have no intention of stopping and was preparing to rush in. Gong Feicui narrowed her eyes and did not move. Zhong Ruo and the servants behind her also did not move. Just as the man was about to step into the threshold, the black horse suddenly twitched and fell to the ground with a "bang"!
The man on horseback flew backward, his cloak billowing in the wind, and he spun in the air like a roc before landing lightly.
It landed right in front of me.
Through the black veil of the conical hat, I could feel a pair of sharp, razor-sharp eyes staring at me intently.
"The fragrance of purple dogwood wafts gently in the breeze?" The voice was deep and slightly hoarse, carrying a rhythm that made one's heart pound, like an allure from hell.
"yes."
"You killed my horse." Judging from the tone, it wasn't a question, but a statement.
I replied expressionlessly, "No one can barge into the Gong family's gate."
Do you know what kind of horse that is?
"That's the Sun Chaser, a top-quality steed that can travel a thousand miles a day, and is worth more than ten thousand pieces of gold."
"Is that so?" The words were still lingering on my lips when a cold light suddenly flashed by, stopping at my brow in a flash.
What a sharp knife!
I could even feel the coldness of the blade against my skin, yet I wasn't injured. To maintain such perfect control at such speed—this person is an absolute master.
“You killed my horse.” He said it a second time, the message being, “Maybe I should kill you?”
I smiled slightly, looking him straight in the eye without flinching: "It's not dead, it's just unconscious. It will wake up in three hours."
He paused for a moment, then slowly said, "With so many people around, and me on horseback, you managed to drug my horse in an instant without making a sound. It's truly remarkable that you could control the poison to this extent."
I smiled and said, "No problem."
He sheathed his sword, and with a flick of his wrist, the blade retracted from between his eyebrows, returning to its scabbard with a "whoosh." His other hand didn't stop there; he ripped off his straw hat, revealing a very distinctive, masculine, and arrogant face.
"I am Baili Chenfeng, it's a pleasure to meet you." As she spoke, a jade leaf flew over and landed in the brocade box that Zhong Ruo was holding.
Baili Chenfeng! He is Baili Chenfeng!
I couldn't help but turn to look at Gong Feicui, and I saw a hint of surprise in her bright, star-like eyes.
The reason is simple: this is the first subordinate sent by Baili City to attend the meeting in ten years, and also the number one swordsman in Baili City.
Volume 1, Chapter 1: The Grand Gathering in Luoyang (4)