Yue Yiping shook his head: "That is no ordinary cup. I heard that the Thousand-Year Warm Jade Cup can cure all poisons. Our Thousand Hands Sect is most skilled in using poison. If such a treasure falls into the hands of others, wouldn't it become our nemesis? That's why the sect leader decided to take it back."
Qiu Lingling said, "But I heard that the Tianshui Sword Technique is very powerful, and Shui Fengqing also has eight water gods and many experts under his command."
Yue Yiping didn't care much: "Why should Miss Lingling boost the morale of others and diminish our own prestige? Although the Tianshui Sword Technique is famous throughout the martial arts world, our leader is also very powerful. Besides, we have Protector Yin and the others with us. What's there to be afraid of?"
Qiu Lingling was anxious and turned to leave, saying, "No, I have to go and see!"
Yue Yiping was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening and broke out in a cold sweat. He had only come to flatter the girl and deliver the message, but if the girl really went with him and something happened, he wouldn't be able to afford to pay for it even with a thousand heads!
.
In the study in the south building, the curtains were drawn back, and someone was already waiting inside.
The young master was not surprised: "Master Jin, your presence is an honor. I have failed to greet you properly."
“She is my junior sister,” Jin Huanlai said, getting straight to the point. “If anyone bullies her, they are going against my Thousand Hands Sect, and I, Jin Huanlai, will be the first to not let them get away with it.”
The young master said calmly, "She seems to be completely unharmed."
Jin Huanlai said, "The Yi family is powerful and wealthy, and is also a martial arts family. She is just a little girl who doesn't know the rules. I'm afraid she is not good enough for him and will make a fool of herself in the future."
The young master smiled and asked, "Is this her idea, or is it Jin Jiaozhu's own idea?"
Jin sneered, "That's so important?"
The young master said, "Of course, I want her, so there's no need to pay attention to Master Jin's intentions, unless Master Jin intends to keep her by his side."
Jin Huanlai said coldly, "If you weren't a member of the Yi family, you would already be mute by now."
The young master smiled and said, "In that case, I should thank Master Jin for showing mercy."
Jin turned to the side and asked, "If you really want to marry her, are you willing to not take a concubine?"
“This is not a question that Master Jin should be asking,” the young master said, sitting down in a chair. “People’s words are the most unreliable. Do you think you would believe me if I agreed? Besides, even if I agree now, what can you do if I break my promise in the future?”
Jin Huanlai was silent for a moment, then said, "Your identity is too complicated. She is my junior sister, and I always hope that she can live a better life."
The young master looked at him calmly: "There are some things that she can ask me herself. Since Master Jin is worried that she was bullied in the past, why not give her a good identity?"
Jin snorted coldly and fled.
.
The Thousand-Year Warm Jade Cup is a rare treasure. To avoid any accidents, the group from Tianshui City did not stay in Qingjiang City and hurriedly returned. It wasn't until dark, when everyone was tired and the wind was gentle, that they ordered the group to stop outside the grove, light a fire, and rest, and arranged for people to take turns on night watch.
A dozen or so carriages and a dozen or so fine horses were scattered around, but only three carriages were parked in the middle. The middle one was particularly exquisitely decorated, with silver walls and long white tassels hanging from the four corners, adorned with pearls and jade. The identity of the person inside was obvious. The other two carriages seemed to emanate a precious light, clearly the treasures that had been transported back from beyond the Great Wall.
The night watchmen patrolled back and forth with swords in hand, while the rest were either in carriages or sitting in groups of three or five around the fire, most of them with white ribbons tied around their waists. With the famous Lord of Tianshui City, Shui Fengqing, present, everyone felt very at ease.
A dark shadow silently swept overhead, paused briefly beside the two carriages carrying the treasures, and then vanished in the blink of an eye.
The guard, with sharp eyes, shouted, "Thief!"
Before he finished speaking, two men drew their swords and gave chase.
Such superb lightness skill was beyond the reach of ordinary people. A blue-clad man carrying a knife frowned, walked to the silver carriage in the middle, and the white jade hairpin in his hair revealed his identity as one of the Eight Water Gods: "City Lord..."
"No need to chase after them." A deep, cold voice interrupted him.
"Yes." The man in blue withdrew.
A moment later, two men in blue robes approached, each carrying a cup of tea and a snack. They stopped in front of the carriage, and one of them respectfully asked, "Would the city lord like some tea first?"
The carriage curtain was lifted slightly, and a hand reached out to take the tea.
Suddenly, a cold laugh rang out from inside the carriage. Then, a clean, slender finger flicked lightly, and the teacup flew straight out, heading straight for the man in blue who was serving the tea. The man in blue reacted quickly, swiftly throwing away the tray. His figure flashed, and in the blink of an eye, he was already standing three zhang away, clearly displaying an extremely superb lightness skill that had never been seen before.
A wisp of white smoke hissed as the tea dripped down.
"Poison!" Everyone gasped. Before they could react, a white figure rushed out of the carriage, accompanied by a flash of silver light, as if lightning had struck the sky. Without any fancy moves, it was ruthless, steady, and precise—a downward slash. No one had ever used such a sword technique, nor had any swordsman ever exerted such force. The light sword felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, its imposing presence terrifying.
The power of that single sword strike left everyone stunned.
The moves were so perfect they were practically an art form. The person under the sword had nowhere to dodge. However, swords are meant to be nimble and skillful, primarily for thrusting and slashing. Now, the power was excessive, and a chopping move was used. Everything in excess is as bad as deficiency, and the whole process became less natural and more awkward.
Seeing this, the man in blue sneered and was about to leave when suddenly a delicate cry rang out from the side. Almost simultaneously, a dark figure pounced on him and shoved him aside, actually trying to block the sword for him.
A chill ran through him, and without thinking, he immediately moved two steps to the side while still holding the person.
"Swoosh!" The sleeve was ripped by the sword energy.
Jin Huanlai was terrified by the sheer power of the sword strike. If this person hadn't used the Gathering Water Sword and hadn't gone all out, the person in his arms would probably have been cleaved in two!
Not daring to delay any longer, he carried the person away as fast as he could.
"Stand guard!" The white figure followed closely behind.
The man in blue with the knife reacted and was about to give the order when he heard a cry of surprise.
"Something terrible has happened!" The man in blue who had been carrying the snacks had somehow lifted the curtain of the carriage, peeked inside, and then quickly turned around, shouting in alarm, "The warm jade cup is gone!"
The man in blue was shocked and shouted, "Bring everyone here!"
"Yes." The man in blue robes, his eyes gleaming, agreed and left. In the instant he lowered his head, no one saw the slight smile on his lips.
Not an old acquaintance
First, Hua Yunfeng, who had the best lightness skill, went to test the waters. Although two people chased after him, Shui Fengqing was not in a hurry at all and did not check the lost items. It was clear that the warm jade cup was not on the two carriages. So Jin Huanlai went out in person. Everyone thought that he was pretending to be a man in green to serve tea in order to poison Shui Fengqing. He was discovered by accident, which led Shui Fengqing to chase after him. Who would have thought that there was also the silver protector Zheng Jiaojiao, who was best at disguise, behind him? It seems that she had already succeeded.
The design was flawless, but unexpectedly Qiu Lingling arrived, almost causing a major incident. Now, carrying someone, he used his lightness skill to run wildly. After an unknown amount of time, the moon set in the sky, and Jin Huanlai finally stopped at the crossroads outside the city. He dropped the person in his arms and leaned against a tree trunk, panting heavily.
"What are you doing here!" I exclaimed angrily.
Seeing his anger, Qiu Lingling lowered her eyes, feeling uneasy: "Brother Xiaohu said that the City Lord of Tianshui is an enemy of the Thousand Hands Sect. I'm afraid something might happen to you..."
"Would I be okay if you didn't come? What were you trying to do just now? Did you want to die?"
"I thought... I just wanted to save you."
"Save me?" Jin ripped off his mask, furious. "Do I need your help? When have you ever saved me? Mind your own business, you always cause trouble!"
Qiu Lingling rubbed her eyes and remained silent.
Jin Huanlai quickly tore off his blue robe and threw it away, putting on his black robe again. A beautiful little crane made of pearls fell to the ground. He bent down, picked it up, put it in his pocket, and turned to leave: "Go back by yourself. Don't tell Jiang Xiaohu about the pearl crane."
Qiu Lingling disregarded everything else, rushed over and hugged him from behind, crying, "Are you going to see her again? Please don't go!"
Jin tried to pry her hand away, impatiently saying, "I promised to give her a gift, don't be ridiculous."
“You don’t have to look for her,” Qiu Lingling said, her small hands wrapped around his waist as if afraid he would leave. She turned to face him, her eyes filled with tears. “If you want a woman, I can…” she said, while tugging at his clothes.
A resounding slap sent her sprawling to the ground.
The slap felt like a blow to his heart, making him tremble with pain, but his voice was as cold as ice: "Who do you think you are, comparing yourself to them? A shameless girl like you, get back home!"
Qiu Lingling covered her face, but did not cry. She just lay on the ground, her large eyes deep and unfathomable, with a hint of sadness overflowing from them.
Jin turned around and said, "Go back yourself."
Qiu Lingling jumped up, rushed over and slapped him across the face: "You're coming back with me!"
Jin remained motionless.
Another slap, harder and louder.
Jin remained unmoved.
After a while, she murmured, "Go, go."
Jin didn't even look at her and walked straight away.
.
Thanks to the top courtesan, Qing Si, Xin Qing Lou's reputation grew, and unlike other brothels, its furnishings and decorations were quite exquisite.
A maid stood outside the door, her round face clearly very cute, but she deliberately put on a serious and solemn look, and bowed: "There are rules for seeing our young lady, please roll up your sleeves a little, young master."
The young master was in a dilemma: "I don't want to show it to you, what should I do?"
The maid glared at him: "Why?"
The young master turned to the side: "I'm a businessman. If I show this to you, little girl, for free and don't even pay you, wouldn't I be at a huge loss?"
The maid was both annoyed and amused: "So, you want money after I've seen your face?"
The young master remained unfazed: "Of course, so I've already checked back."
The maid suppressed a laugh: "Why is the young master making things difficult for me?"
The young master shook his head: "It's not that I'm being difficult, it's just that this rule of judging by hand reminds me of vegetable vendors, who pick out the sweetest radish and the best piece of meat."
The maid chuckled.
The young master smiled and said, "I don't like being forced to do things by a woman."
The maid rolled her eyes and smiled, "Miss said, if you don't want to see, don't even think about going in."
The young master raised an eyebrow: "That's not necessarily true."
The maid asked curiously, "You have a way?"
The young master smiled and leaned down to whisper a few words in her ear: "If you just repeat what I said to your young lady, she will definitely let me in."
The maid looked at him with some skepticism for a moment, then went inside.
.
There was no incense, the air in the room was very fresh, the color scheme was soft and simple, refreshing and bright, and the summer heat felt much less as soon as you entered.
Qing Si wasn't as stunningly beautiful as he'd imagined. However, upon seeing her eyes, the young master understood why she was more noticeable and different from other women—this woman had kind and understanding eyes, gentle and open, yet with a touch of reserve and shyness, unlike the eyes of a courtesan.
The young master looked at her approvingly and without any hesitation. Those eyes were so easy to dispel one's guard. Since ancient times, women's weapons have always been so gentle and simple, yet many people still fall for them one after another.
Qing Si wasn't annoyed and smiled, "Young Master Yi, have you seen enough? I am Qing Si, there's no mistake."
The young master walked to the chair and said, "If I didn't know who you are, I would believe you if you said the sun rises in the west."
Qing Si asked calmly, "How did Young Master Yi find out about this?"
With a half-smile playing on his lips, the young master sighed and asked, "You think you've done everything perfectly?"
Qing Si's expression changed slightly.
The young master sat down unhurriedly: "Don't worry, no one will find out anymore."