Jiangnan Gaiden

Chapitre 19

Just as Luo Qingcheng was feeling smug, he was insulted again, which almost made him furious. He glared at Ye Xiao without saying a word, and even forgot to speak.

Looking back, sure enough, while they were entangled, several ships had already sailed ahead.

Frustrated, he walked to the bow of the boat and sat down without moving. Only Xiao Xun was still diligently rowing with a single oar. The small boat, like a dying worm, struggled and crawled forward with each stroke.

Ye Xiao wasn't in a hurry and turned to look at Huang Tingfeng's dragon boat.

With so many people on board, the dragon boat quickly recovered and sped forward like an arrow.

After the dragon boat had passed several feet past his bow, Ye Xiao grinned wickedly, pulled out something, and shot it at the dragon boat.

Luo Qingcheng had sharper senses than most people and saw clearly that a tiny nail with a thin rope attached suddenly disappeared into the hull of the dragon boat.

"What?" He couldn't help but turn around and look at Ye Xiao.

Ye Xiao chuckled mischievously as he tied the thin rope to the bow of his boat, then sat down with an air of nonchalance, watching with delight as the small boat followed the dragon boat like an arrow, quickly overtaking several other boats.

"The Sky-Piercing Rope. A gift from 'A Heart-Schipping Arrow' of Tiangong Valley." Ye Xiao hesitated for a moment, knowing that Luo Qingcheng would laugh at him, but still whispered it out.

Sure enough, Luo Qingcheng's hissing voice, filled with regret for the waste of such a precious weapon, rang out: "A single arrow can chill the heart, a rain of needles that no one in the world can dodge, yet you insist on having something like this..."

Ye chuckled awkwardly: "It's fun..."

Luo Qingcheng remained silent and finally gave up on Ye Xiao, this hopeless case.

A burly man emerged from the dragon boat, grinning maliciously as he slashed at the thin rope at the stern with his knife.

With a clang, sparks flew, but there wasn't even a trace left on the thin cord.

Ye Xiao grinned maliciously at the man: "The Black Gold Rope can't be cut by ordinary weapons... Your Young Master Huang's Chasing Sun Sword might be useful, but it's a pity it was given away..."

The dragon boat was indeed superior to the other boats and quickly took the lead.

This time, Huang Tingfeng went even further, knocking the people on board into the water every time he passed a boat.

To ensure that no one threatens their position again.

The finish line is almost here, and the tall bamboo pole carrying the colorful ball is in sight. Countless people are cheering and jumping for joy on the sidelines, waiting for the final exciting moment!

Luo Qingcheng stood at the bow of the boat, poised to leap onto the bamboo pole at the last moment.

Suddenly, the sound of arrows piercing the air was heard, and countless sparks lit up like fireworks before my eyes...

The two ships were extremely close, and by the time he could see them clearly, countless rockets were already beside him.

Ye Xiao screamed and rushed over to retract the Thousand Miles Wind Wing, but before he could react, a rocket grazed his chest.

With a hiss, a long scorch mark appeared on the front of the shirt.

Before you could take a closer look, countless rockets had already been planted on the ship's side.

The small boat finally began to slowly burn in the water...

The cheering crowd at the finish line fell silent, staring in disbelief at the unexpected scene.

A theatergoer asked someone next to him, somewhat puzzled, "What opera is this?"

The man pondered for a moment and said, "It should be the Three Kingdoms period. Borrowing arrows with straw boats."

After a long pause, the opera fan shook his head: "Hmm, it should be the Battle of Red Cliffs."

After the victory

On a small floating island in the water, a bamboo pole as thick as a bowl stands tall, with a bright red ball hanging from it, swaying violently in the wind.

Huang Tingfeng's dragon boat, towing Ye Xiao's grasshopper boat, had already approached the floating island.

The grasshopper boat was already engulfed in flames.

A ruthless glint flashed in Huang Tingfeng's eyes, and he decisively chopped with his right palm.

The burly man on the dragon boat understood his gesture, and the rockets continued to fly in like locusts.

Xiao Xun swung the giant paddle in his hand like a spinning wheel, blocking Ye Xiao's path.

Ye Xiao couldn't help but curse, "You scoundrel! You actually want to kill us!"

Amidst the billowing smoke, a snow-white figure flew straight towards the colorful ball suspended high in the air.

Luo Qingcheng casually grabbed a flying rocket and flung it at the Taoist figure.

Just as Huang Tingfeng was about to reach the colorful ball that was swinging wildly in the wind, he suddenly felt a gust of wind coming from behind his head, which was both fast and fierce.

With a clumsy somersault in mid-air, he barely dodged the still-burning rocket, exhaled a breath of stale air, and fell headfirst onto the floating island in an awkward, sprawling position.

Luo Qingcheng shouted, "Third brother, grab the colored ball!" and leaped forward.

Xiao Xun understood and leaped forward, but suddenly felt a chill on his upper body and realized with a start that his robe had been taken off.

In the midst of her busy schedule, she turned around and saw her clothes fluttering in Luo Qingcheng's hands, like a blue cloud.

Embarrassed and ashamed, he continued to rush towards the colorful ball, but two figures, like large birds, floated past and forced him off the floating island.

Luo Qingcheng raised his hand, and the green-clad snake coiled around Ye Xiao, covering her body.

Before Ye Xiao could protest, he scooped her up from behind and shouted, "Rise!" With a flick of his toe, the burning grasshopper boat roared out of the water and crashed into the dragon boat with the force of a thunderbolt.

At the same time, lightly touch the water with your toes and leap towards the floating island.

People on the dragon boat screamed and dodged the fire boats that were coming sideways, some jumping into the water and others leaping onto the floating islands.

Amidst gasps from the audience, the small boat crashed into the long, narrow dragon boat. After a loud crash, both boats shattered into pieces of wood, scattered across the water, some of which still had small flames burning on them.

Luo Qingcheng carried Ye Xiao aboard the floating island and shouted, "Third brother! Get out of the way!" His steps were elusive, and he moved across the floating island like a ghost, sweeping everyone on it except Xiao Xun into the water.

Xiao Xun exclaimed in admiration, "What kind of skill is this? It's incredibly impressive!"

Luo Qingcheng smiled softly beneath his mask, lightly touched the ground with his toes, and flew up holding Ye Xiao, reaching out to pluck the colorful ball. Then, stabilizing himself, he slowly drifted down like a leaf.

Besides the people around Langjing Manor, most of those who came to watch the ceremony were from martial arts families. They all knew that Luo Qingcheng not only had profound internal strength, but also unpredictable lightness skills and strange movements. After a moment of silence, thunderous applause suddenly broke out from the crowd, mixed with cheers, which was deafening.

Ye Xiao was held tightly by Luo Qingcheng, making it difficult for her to breathe. She turned around angrily, and unintentionally, her forehead touched Luo Qingcheng's lips.

It was as if a small hand had pressed on the softest spot in his heart. Luo Qingcheng's heart skipped a beat, his face, hidden behind his mask, suddenly flushed, his mind went blank, and he almost collapsed, unable to catch his breath.

Quickly regaining his senses, Ye Xiao tightened his grip on her arm in an extremely annoyed manner. Finally, unable to bear the pain any longer, Ye Xiao cried out, "You're suffocating me! Let me go! Why are you tying me up with clothes?"

Luo Qingcheng whispered behind her, "Your clothes were just ripped by a rocket... Do you want to show it to everyone?"

Ye Xiao froze for a moment, then screamed, "Did you see everything?"

Hearing Luo Qingcheng chuckle softly, "No," he finally felt a sense of relief, as if he had been deceiving himself.

Then he heard him say, "There's nothing there, so of course you can't see it..." He was furious and swung his elbow at someone behind him.

Luo Qingcheng had nowhere to avoid it and it hit him right in the chest. He screamed, threw the colorful ball into Xiao Xun's hand, leaped ashore, ran back to his residence, and threw Ye Xiao into the house.

Xiao Xun held the colored ball, lost in thought for a moment, when a servant from Langjing Manor came to greet him, saying that Miss Yuan wanted to personally present him with the prize.

Xiao Xun looked at his bare upper body with annoyance, sighed, threw the colorful ball to the servant, and ran back, full of murderous intent, to settle accounts with Luo Qingcheng.

Not far away, Huang Tingfeng, soaked to the bone, stared at Xiao Xun with a gloomy expression and murderous eyes.

Far off on the horizon, a bolt of lightning tore through the dark clouds like a knife and axe. The wind picked up, and another summer thunderstorm, after being held back for most of the day, finally arrived.

Biluo Pavilion.

The air was exceptionally fresh after the thunderstorm, and a half-rainbow appeared on the horizon, reflecting the setting sun, like a middle-aged woman seizing the last moments before her twilight years to indulge in her beauty.

Yuan Ruxuan squinted at the rainbow on the horizon: "Luo Qingcheng won."

Yuan Peixin snorted coldly: "That stingy guy!"

Yuan Ruxuan looked at his daughter affectionately: "Pei'er, how many people in the world have a family like ours? Frugality is a virtue. If you end up with a spendthrift, even mountains of gold and silver will be squandered in no time. Besides, being stingy doesn't necessarily mean being poor. Lord Long Aotian of Guyun Fortress has a very strange personality. Sometimes he spends money like water, and other times he tries to stretch every penny to its limit..."

Yuan Peixin turned her head away in dissatisfaction: "Father! I don't understand why you always take his side!"

Yuan Ruxuan sighed deeply: "Pei'er. The Martial Alliance has sent its best this time, and their intentions are sinister. I'm truly afraid something might go wrong. Lately, the Martial Alliance has been very ambitious, and they've already used both soft and hard tactics to subdue several sects. Looking across the entire martial world, there aren't many who can stand against them. This Luo Qingcheng was able to withstand the onslaught of so many masters from the Martial Alliance, outshine everyone else, and emerge victorious. He's truly formidable..."

Yuan Peixin interrupted her father playfully, "Why fight against the Martial Arts Alliance? Can't we form an alliance? In terms of looks and family background, Huang Tingfeng is several times better than that Luo guy. Why is Father so confused, turning down a treasure trove and insisting on clinging to a pile of dog shit..."

Yuan Ruxuan was taken aback but smiled: "Pei'er, are you bewitched by that kid surnamed Huang? This Luo Qingcheng may not be an ordinary person. Pei'er, Qingyun Tower has collapsed."

Yuan Peixin was taken aback: "What? It was running perfectly fine just a few days ago."

Yuan Ruxuan smiled: "These past two days have been a disaster. The boss made a huge blunder and had to pay a lot of money..."

"What's going on?" Yuan Peixin asked suspiciously.

Yuan Ruxuan said, "This matter is quite intriguing. Someone came and booked ten tables of banquet, all with delicacies from land and sea. They even ordered a hundred servings of Qingyunlou's signature dish, bird's nest soup, and paid a deposit on the spot. Because the store didn't have enough bird's nest in stock, the owner went to other places to get more, only to find that all the bird's nest within a radius of dozens of miles had been bought up. As a result, the banquet couldn't be held, and they lost a lot of money... went bankrupt... and had no choice but to sell Qingyunlou."

Yuan Pei was stunned: "Bird's nest soup?"

Yuan Ruxuan laughed and said, "Didn't you and Luo Qingcheng have a falling out last time over a bowl of bird's nest soup?"

Yuan Peixin was stunned again: "Father, you mean..."

"There's something even more intriguing: after Qingyunlou was taken over, it changed its name to Jianghu Xiaotan Pavilion. It specializes in all kinds of fish, shrimp, and river delicacies. No wonder, given its proximity to Biluo Lake... the ingredients are certainly fresh."

"Jianghu Xiaotan Pavilion? Is it related to that Ye Xiao?"

Yuan Ruxuan remained silent, his face slowly darkening as he watched the setting sun gradually disappear into the sky.

“I heard they didn’t come to collect the prize money… In a few days, my daughter will send the prize money over… By the way…” Yuan Peixin smiled as she looked at Biluo Lake in front of her.

Under the setting sun, the boundless Biluo Lake is cleansed of all dust and smoke, the water and sky are dyed in color, and even the Biluo flowers, which have the appearance of ice and snow, are covered with a layer of faint rouge.

"Specializing in river delicacies? Haha, I want to go eat there!" Ye Xiao was overjoyed, so happy she wanted to roll on the ground.

Luo Qingcheng, who was sitting quietly at the table, turned around expressionlessly and looked at her childlike joy. His eyes suddenly softened: "Greedy cat."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Xun remained silent, then leaped into the courtyard like lightning and began running in circles.

"Third brother, what are you doing?" Ye Xiao asked in surprise, sticking his head out.

"To aid digestion, you can eat a little more later," Xiao Xun replied earnestly.

We did it right away.

A moment later, the three appeared at Jianghu Xiaotan Pavilion.

"These dish names are interesting. Laughing Fish, Laughing Shrimp, even the wine is called Laughing Forgets Worries... Boss, if we hadn't tasted your cooking, we would have thought you were the master chef here..." Xiao Xun shouted as soon as he arrived.

The friendly waiter explained, "Our restaurant is called Jianghu Xiaotan Pavilion. Because it's called Jianghu, we serve river and lake delicacies. And because it's called Xiaotan, the dishes all have the word 'laugh' in them."