Eight-Steps Frenzied Blade (2)

Zhe Yunli took the oil paper bag and opened it. There were a few roasted sweet potatoes inside. She nodded slightly. "Mm~ You're quite—"

Her words came to an abrupt halt.

This was because Ye Jingtang carried the earthen pot into the house and placed it on the bed. He opened the earthen pot, and inside was steaming hot black-bone chicken soup. He also had a bowl and utensils. In the other oil paper bag were freshly baked hot steamed buns.

??

Zhe Yunli was stunned. She looked at the roasted sweet potatoes in her hand. "Hey? Why are you treating us differently when you buy food?"

"Don't you have long legs? Or do you have no money? Do you really think you're a precious young lady?"

Zhe Yunli opened her mouth but had nothing to say.

Luo Ning was already sitting on the bed. Seeing Ye Jingtang return, she couldn't help thinking of the humiliation she had just suffered. But it wasn't appropriate for her to show it in front of Zhe Yunli. She greeted him with a gentle expression. "Yunli, and you, come and eat together."

"Martial Mistress, you can eat. Don't worry about us."

Zhe Yunli stood at the door. After glaring at Ye Jingtang for a moment, she took a big bite of a roasted sweet potato. "You're sensible and know how to take care of others. Seeing that you're so sensible, I'll help you. If you follow me and Martial Mistress in the future, I guarantee that you'll be able to do whatever you want in Jianghu."

Ye Jingtang handed a steamed bun to Luo Ning, came to the door, placed his hands on the door frame, and looked down at Zhe Yunli. "You're just a little girl, yet you're learning how to wander Jianghu. I had to save your master's wife, and I had to buy food for you two. If I follow you, won't I starve nine times every three days?"

Holding the sweet potato, Zhe Yunli took a step back and stood on the threshold. She met Ye Jingtang's eyes. "Do you know who I am?"

There were no chairs in the room, so Ye Jingtang directly sat down on the threshold. "A thief who trespasses on private property and freeloads. Am I right, bird?"

The bird squatted in front of him with a small box of dried meat in front of it. Burying its head in its food, it chirped twice, but it didn't sound like it agreed.

After all, Ye Jingtang had touched Sister Little Watermelons for so long and didn't even care about its meal. What was the difference between him and this lascivious bird?

"Don't worry. I'll pay you." Zhe Yunli sat down at the side, picked up a piece of dried meat from the bird's box, and threw it into her mouth.

"Chirp?!"

Ye Jingtang waited for Zhe Yunli to chew slowly before frowning. "The two of you seem to be having a hard time. You can even eat rat meat…"

The bird nodded cooperatively.

Zhe Yunli's expression froze, and her delicate face turned green. She wanted to vomit, but she felt embarrassed, so she gripped the hilt of her saber. "You little thief, I'm going to…"

Luo Ning, who was drinking soup on the bed, finally couldn't stand it anymore and said with a frown, "Yunli, he's teasing you. This bird is very smart. How could it be willing to eat rat meat? No vendor is so free as to turn rats into dried meat and put it in a box."

Zhe Yunli didn't believe it. She picked up another piece of dried meat and fiercely fed it to Ye Jingtang. "Eat!"

Ye Jingtang was quite surprised. He opened his mouth to catch it. Before Zhe Yunli could feel relieved, he nodded and praised, "I didn't expect you to be so good at serving people."

These words angered the two women in the room.

Luo Ningshang could ignore the teasing. But he had just taken liberties with her, and now he was being frivolous with Yunli. How could she tolerate it?

"Little thief! Try spouting nonsense again!" Luo Ning straightened her back with a spoon in her hand, fully displaying her cold and elegant temperament.

With her master's wife backing her up, Zhe Yunli raised her chin slightly and glared.

Ye Jingtang knew that his joke had gone overboard. He raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Alright, I won't talk anymore. Let's eat."

Only then was Zhe Yunli satisfied. She revealed her two canine teeth as she ate a mouthful of dried meat and a mouthful of sweet potatoes. She completely ignored the bird that was swinging her sleeve with its beak. "You're young, yet you're so glib… What's your name? Where are you from?"

"Ye Jingtang, from Liang Province." Ye Jingtang carried the angry bird over and placed it on his leg. He asked, "Who did you two come to the capital to save?"

"A senior who taught me saber techniques was captured by the Black Office. His name is Qiu Tianhe. Have you heard of him? Last year, I studied under Hero Qiu. A spy betrayed him, and the Black Office's ghost messengers surrounded the mountain. In order to let us juniors escape, Hero Qiu guarded the mountain gate alone and didn't escape. Then he was captured…"

Qiu Tianhe…

Ye Jingtang recalled that he had heard of this name before. When he used to practice martial arts with his foster father, when his foster father was drunk, he had liked to talk about Jianghu. He had mentioned Qiu Tianhe a few times, and the evaluation was quite positive. "It's said that he's a hero of Jianghu. He's righteous, but I don't know much about him. Is he very powerful?"

Zhe Yunli broke the remaining sweet potato in half and handed half to Ye Jingtang. "You're ignorant and inexperienced~ You should have heard of the 'Three Heroes of Cloud Lake' from thirty years ago, right?"

Ye Jingtang took a bite of the sweet potato. "The three outstanding youths of Yun (Cloud) Province and Ze (Lake) Province?"

Zhe Yunli was slightly stunned, but she still nodded. "The description is quite strange, but it's similar. 'Cloud Lake' refers to the large lake near Jun Mountain Terrace. Because of the reputation of 'Saber Chief' Xuanyuan Chao, all the young saber wielders in the world like to travel around Ze Province. The three most outstanding young saber wielders thirty years ago were: 'Heaven Equaling Saber' Qiu Tianhe, 'Dragon Slaying Decree' Xuanyuan Tiangang, and 'Eight-Steps Frenzied Blade' Zheng Feng. The three of them were both enemies and friends, and they often fought each other. They are called the Three Heroes of Cloud Lake."

Ye Jingtang knew that Zheng Feng was most likely his foster father. He didn't expect his foster father to have such a reputation when he was young. He asked curiously, "Who is the strongest among the three?"

Zhe Yunli said proudly, "It must be Hero Qiu. Zheng Feng's saber skills are the worst. He could be ranked among the three heroes purely because the Eight-Steps Frenzied Blade is too famous. He was crippled a few years after he appeared. Xuanyuan Tiangang was the strongest back then, but because of Zheng Feng's matter, he fell out with his father. He withdrew from Jianghu and fishes and farms all day long."

Ye Jingtang frowned slightly. The enemy mentioned in his foster father's letter was none other than 'Saber Chief' Old Man Xuanyuan. But he didn't write why there was a grudge back then. From what Zhe Yunli said, the matter back then seemed to be quite complicated. He asked, "What happened to Zheng Feng back then?"

Zhe Yunli shook her head. "If Hero Qiu doesn't want to say it, how would I know? My hometown is in the Heavenly South. About the old matters of Ze Province's Jianghu, you have to ask the people there."

Seeing that Zhe Yunli didn't know the details, Ye Jingtang didn't ask further and changed the topic. "Heroine Zhe, your territory is the Heavenly South. Whose territory is Yun Province?"

"In the past, it was the Red Flower Pavilion's territory. The land and water transportation businesses had the Red Flower Pavilion's shadows behind them. But this time, I came on a ship from the Water Cloud Sword Pool. I guess things have already changed."

"Oh? Isn't the Red Flower Pavilion a wealthy and powerful sect? Its prestige in Jianghu seems to be higher than the Water Cloud Sword Pool's."

"That was before." Zhe Yunli sat closer and put on the expression of an expert who was familiar with the past and present. She explained seriously, "The previous pavilion lord of the Red Flower Pavilion was the Spear Chief, who ranked seventh in the world, so his prestige was naturally high. But Spear Chief died of old age, and his son took over. But in the end, he was beaten to death by the current Spear Chief and replaced by a woman."

"Woman?" Ye Jingtang blinked and recalled the Red God of Wealth's height and words. He became even more suspicious of the Red God of Wealth's identity.

But the Pei family didn't seem to be in the dock business. Just based on this, it was still impossible to determine if it was related to Third Lady. He thought for a moment and continued to ask, "And then?"

"Once the Spear Chief title was lost, the Red Flower Pavilion's reputation plummeted. And the Water Cloud Sword Pool is the family of the current Sword Saint, ranking tenth in the world alongside Yan Province's Cutting Cloud Palace's palace lord. If the Red Flower Pavilion doesn't have a new leader who appears and makes rules for the people of Jianghu, it will be devoured in a few years at most and become a second-rate sect…"

"Oh?"

After chatting for a while, they finished their meal, and it was late at night.

Ye Jingtang stood up and went to the well to get water to wash up.

Zhe Yunli was sleepy. She stretched at the door and looked around the barren house. "Where are you sleeping tonight?"

Ye Jingtang wiped his face with a towel and walked into the house. He said in a puzzled tone, "On the bed. This is my house. Where do you think I'm sleeping?"

?

Zhe Yunli frowned and turned to look at the double bed. If three people squeezed together, they would be able to sleep on it…

But was this possible?

Zhe Yunli coughed lightly. "Martial Mistress is injured and needs to recuperate. Let her sleep on the bed… I will sleep against the wall with you. Do you have any objections?"

Seeing that Zhe Yunli was quite sensible, Ye Jingtang didn't make things difficult for her. "Sure."

He went to a corner of the room that wasn't leaking rain, found a piece of cloth to spread on the floor, and sat on it against the wall with his saber in his arms.

Zhe Yunli placed her raincoat under her butt and sat beside Ye Jingtang. She waved her hand. "Big stupid bird, come here."

"Chirp?" The bird didn't like this girl who had snatched its food and wanted to make soup with it. It flew up to the roof beam, pushed the raincoat a little open, and stuck its head out.

Zhe Yunli looked up, a little puzzled. "What is it doing?"

"Keeping watch."

"Oh! This bird isn't stupid. I couldn't tell…"