The young master nodded and asked no further questions: "Those people outside the Jiang family compound are not easy to deal with."
Liu Bai shook his head: "When the Second Young Master came last time, he captured one, but he didn't get anything out of him. He was silenced the next day. This person is really meticulous in his actions. In my opinion, they didn't get what they wanted back then, so they had to keep an eye on the useless Jiang Xiaohu."
The young master remained silent.
Liu Bai said, "Could it be that the Jiang family's treasure is really as powerful as they say? If you could get your hands on it, young master..."
The young master suddenly stopped, turned his head slightly to look at him, and sighed: "This kind of thing is more of a curse than a blessing. The Yi family's wealth and power have already made many people wary. What would I do with it?"
Liu Bai asked, puzzled, "Then why does the young master still want it...?"
The young master smiled and said, "Hand it over to the imperial court."
.
After passing the main building, there is another annex with more than twenty rooms in total, all with glazed tiles. Walking along the covered walkway into the depths of the garden, you will see another unique house with about five or six rooms. The low eaves are hidden in the shade of the trees. Two men in brocade robes with knives are guarding the door, and there are three or five servants going in and out, carrying incense burners, fruit plates and other things. When they see the young master return, they all bow their heads and pay their respects.
"how?"
"As you instructed, everything has been arranged."
Seeing that the young master did not express his opinion, Liu Bai waved his hand, signaling the servants to leave.
Upon entering, there was a simple little flower hall, complete with a tea table and chairs, spotless, with only a few antique jade vases on display. Turning past the screen, there was a door on the west wall, with a black lacquered bamboo curtain hanging above it. When the servants saw the two of them arrive, they immediately lifted the curtain and let them in.
A girl of about sixteen or seventeen, dressed in a silk robe and embroidered skirt, was sitting at the table flipping through a book. When she saw the young master enter, she immediately stood up and said, "Third cousin!"
The young master frowned slightly: "Xiaolin?"
The woman scolded, "You didn't even tell me you were coming! Your parents were just discussing having a welcome feast for you."
The young master smiled and said, "How are you, Uncle and Aunt? I was just thinking of paying my respects to you first thing tomorrow morning, but you've come first." As he spoke, he walked over and sat down, ordering tea to be served.
The woman looked at Liu Bai beside her.
Liu Bai knew her identity. The Cheng family in the east of the city was a famous martial arts family in Jiangnan. This girl was Cheng Xiaolin, the daughter of Master Cheng. Her mother and Madam Yi were sisters. They had four sons. Two of them were martial arts practitioners and are now first-rank imperial guards. The other two switched to literature. One of them was selected as the prefect of Songjiang last year. Madam Cheng only had this one daughter and doted on her. Madam Yi also wanted to strengthen their kinship, but her son never expressed his opinion. Even Master Yi was helpless and just let it go.
"I'll go out and take a look..." he said sensibly, preparing to leave.
"Don't rush off, I still have something to ask you," the young master said, turning his head to stop him, then looking at Cheng Xiaolin, "How long have you been here?"
Disappointment flashed across her face. Cheng Xiaolin looked around, raised her eyebrows and smiled, "I've only been here a short while. Cousin, are you planning to stay here? Dad said you should move to our side. The garden there is bigger. Don't you like Wenzhu Pavilion? I had someone clean it up the day before yesterday."
The young master remained calm: "I came to Jiangnan this time for some business matters. I have a lot of social engagements, so it would be inconvenient for me to stay there. I don't want to disturb my aunt and uncle's peace and quiet. Please go back and thank him for me."
Cheng Xiaolin said unhappily, "But I already..."
The young master interrupted her: "Liu Bai, have you found my Peco?"
Liu Bai, standing beside him, was somewhat puzzled by his question, but remained expressionless: "This..."
Cheng Xiaolin asked in confusion, "What 'pei'?"
“The jade pendant that my grandmother gave me must have been lost on the way,” the young master explained, glancing sideways at Liu Bai. “Well, why don’t we have them post a notice with a reward of 100,000 taels of silver?”
Upon hearing this, Liu Bai's expression changed drastically.
Cheng Xiaolin exclaimed in surprise, "Your jade dragon pendant is gone?"
The young master sighed, "I lost my jade pendant as soon as I arrived in Jiangnan. I haven't had time to pay my respects to my uncle and aunt yet. I would like to trouble you to go back and give my regards. Please tell them that I was impolite and that I will come to apologize to them tomorrow."
Seeing him address her as "sister," Cheng Xiaolin blushed and said, "Cousin, how could you be so careless? You lost something so important! I'll tell Auntie later, and she'll give you a good scolding!"
The young master smiled and said, "It's precisely because I'm afraid she'll be angry that I insist on helping you, sister."
Cheng Xiaolin knew the matter was serious, so she stopped joking and stood up: "I'll go back and tell my parents to help with the search. Cousin, don't worry, check the servants first, maybe we'll find it."
The young master nodded and instructed Liu Bai, "Tell them to use my carriage to take my sister back to the manor."
Cheng Xiaolin pursed her lips: "I wouldn't dare ride in my cousin's car."
.
Not long after he left, Liu Bai hurriedly returned, looking nervous: "It must have been that kid in black who stole it!"
The young master smiled but said nothing.
Liu Bai had no choice but to speak up himself: "Such sophisticated techniques are very likely from the Thousand Hands Sect." Then he asked doubtfully, "If it really is from the Thousand Hands Sect, how dare they disregard the sect's rules and steal from the Yi family?"
The young master said, "I find that strange too."
Liu Bai thought for a moment: "Should we inform Master Jin?"
These words reminded the young master: "The Thousand Hands Sect has a long history with our Yi family. When the new sect leader took office two years ago, my master also sent a congratulatory gift. Now that you are here, you should say hello and prepare a generous gift for me."
Liu Bai agreed, then asked, "What about the jade pendant..."
The young master said decisively, "There's no need to mention it; just post a reward notice."
Liu Bai hesitated: "This..." The jade dragon pendant is priceless. If the thief intended to steal it, why would he risk returning it for a mere 100,000 taels of silver? Young Master's actions are always so unpredictable.
Seeing his doubt, the young master smiled and said, "Just do as I say, and maybe it will happen tonight."
Liu Bai didn't dare to ask any more questions and agreed to leave.
The young master suddenly called out to him, "Who are those two outside?"
Having followed him for so long, Liu Bai understood his meaning. After instructing his servants to post a notice offering a reward, he called in the two men in brocade robes with knives who had been guarding the door.
The young master glanced at the two of them: "Newcomers?"
The two were completely baffled.
Liu Bai sneered, "Don't you know the rules? Does anyone think they can just walk into the young master's room like that?!"
The two men were so frightened that they immediately knelt down. One of them replied, "We were not supposed to let them in, but Miss Cheng said she was..."
The young master said, "She's my cousin, so I can order you around?"
The man lowered his head.
"You certainly know what's good for you," the young master said, turning slightly to the side, puzzled. "I'm not sure, are you working for the Yi family or the Cheng family?"
The other man hurriedly explained, "I was going to stop her, but Miss Cheng got angry and even attacked me..."
"I hit you," the young master nodded, "It turns out that raising you all is not as good as raising a woman."
Upon hearing this, Liu Bai, who was standing nearby, wanted to laugh but dared not.
The young master said calmly, "Liu Bai."
Liu Bai understood, looked at the two men on the ground, and vaguely felt a little reluctant: "Go down and each of them will receive one hundred strokes of the cane, and be demoted to the second class. Tell Zhang Ling to select two more to come up."
The two men turned pale and thanked the emperor before leaving.
.
Under the bright sun, a warm breeze blew, orioles flitted about, butterflies frolicked on the path, and countless petals drifted down from the high branches, like a pink rain.
The two walked through the fallen petals to the shade of the tree.
"I couldn't find you earlier. Your garden is very beautiful."
“If you like, you can come every day.” The beautiful protector smiled and subtly raised her hand to wipe her sweat.
Qiu Lingling didn't see anything wrong with it. She blinked and reached into her pocket for something: "Look, what I did today..."
Just then, Master Fu walked over, holding a note in his hand: "The Yi family has sent a generous gift. This is the gift list. The sect leader and Protector Cai are not here at the moment. Protector Hua may take a look first."
Hua Yunfeng reached out and took it, puzzled: "The Yi family has always kept to themselves and we're not particularly close. They only sent someone when the sect leader took over. Why would they send a gift for no reason now?"
Master Fu said, "It is his third young master, Yi Qinghan. He came to Jiangnan on business this time. I had heard that he was a meticulous and thorough person. I suppose he was thinking of the friendship between his ancestors and our sect's founder, Jin Sihai. In any case, it was a good intention of his, so I decided to accept it first."
“I see,” Hua Yunfeng opened the invitation and smiled. “The Yi family is indeed generous. It’s fine to accept it. Let’s decide what to do when the sect leader returns.” He handed the invitation back to him.
Master Fu took it and put it away carefully.
Qiu Lingling, who was standing nearby, felt uneasy upon hearing the familiar name. She tentatively asked in a low voice, "Is the Yi family very close to us?"
Recently, Qiu Lingling has been frequently seen with Hua Yunfeng within the sect. Master Fu has met her a few times and, thinking she is the old sect leader's youngest disciple, dared not slight her. He smiled and explained, "Miss, you may not know, but the Yi family has a deep connection with our Thousand Hands Sect. Our founding ancestor, Jin Sihai, and the Yi family's ancestor, Yi Nanshan, were bosom friends. You see, our Thousand Hands Sect steals from all over the world, but we never touch the Yi family. This is a rule personally established by our founding ancestor, Jin Sihai, but few people in the martial arts world know about it."
Qiu Lingling hesitated: "The rules of the church?"
Hua Yunfeng nodded: "My sister is unaware of the sect's rules. If any member of our sect steals anything from the Yi family, they will have one of their hands cut off."
Qiu Lingling was startled and quietly hid her left hand behind her back, stammering, "Really, really..."
The two assumed she was just surprised and didn't suspect anything. Master Fu then remembered: "That's right, just now the subordinates reported that the third young master of the Yi family accidentally lost his jade dragon pendant and they are posting a notice to find it, offering a reward of 100,000 taels of silver."
Hua Yunfeng exclaimed in surprise: "Could it be that he suspects our Thousand Hands Sect?"
“It is indeed not easy to steal something from Young Master Yi. Only our Thousand Hands Sect has such ability,” Master Fu laughed. “But the sect rules are in place. Who would be so bold? The list only says that it was lost by accident, or that he lost it himself.”
Hua Yunfeng still frowned and shook his head: "Tell each branch to conduct a thorough investigation. If they are indeed members of our sect, we will deal with them and then come to apologize in person. It is best not to let the sect leader know, otherwise it will be difficult for you and me to bear the consequences if things get out of hand."
Master Fu agreed and left.
.
"younger sister?"
"Ah," Qiu Lingling became even more nervous, her palms sweating, "I...I have something to do, I have to go now."
Hua Yunfeng looked puzzled and took her hand: "What's wrong?"
Qiu Lingling bit her lip.
Hua Yunfeng sensed something was amiss and said softly with a smile, "Sister, if you have something to say, feel free to tell me, and your brother Hua will help you."
Qiu Lingling was hesitating when a cough suddenly came from the side.
A person was standing on a small stone bridge about ten feet away. Although it was only his back and his face could not be seen, Hua Yunfeng recognized the black cloak and the Thousand Hands Token in his hand.
He immediately released Qiu Lingling and bowed, saying, "Master."
Jin sneered, "Hero Hua, have you ever heard the saying, 'A rabbit doesn't eat the grass near its burrow'?"
"Tch, so what if he's the cult leader? Meddling in my affairs and meddling in my finding women," Hua Yunfeng cursed inwardly, but smiled on the surface, playing with his jade flute: "I've only ever heard the saying, 'Pluck the flower while it's in bloom, and those near the water get the moon first.'"
"You brat!" Jin gritted his teeth and said, "Wife, come here!"
Like a bolt from the blue, Hua Yunfeng was dumbfounded.
Hearing him call her that, Qiu Lingling was overjoyed. Forgetting about the jade pendant, she ran over and hugged his arm, saying, "I've been waiting for you for so long. When did you come back?"
Jin still didn't answer: "Does Protector Hua still want the moon?"
He never expected the little girl to have such a powerful background, and that he had actually dared to flirt with the sect leader's wife! Hua Yunfeng stood there stunned, not knowing what to feel, and cold sweat gradually broke out on his forehead.