Chapter 197: Autumn Sounds and Autumn Glory
A line of light geese touches the clouds, evoking endless poetic and picturesque imagery, soaring straight into the azure sky. Truly, autumn is infinitely beautiful; anyone who sees it will sigh in admiration. Needless to say, the distant, rolling mountains, a uniform yellow hue, adorn the sky and clouds, their grandeur matching the heavens. Even the falling leaves only enhance the autumnal splendor, reminding us that this is not only a season of passing away, but also a season of burgeoning harvest. Autumn, after autumn, is not without its differences.
Sitting in the carriage on its way to the capital, Wang Xiaoshi occasionally lifted the curtain to glimpse the banners embroidered with the Hua family's name fluttering in the distance. He pondered the experiences of the journey, sighing repeatedly, and wondered what to do once they arrived in Bianjing, but he couldn't come up with a solution. Just then, he heard a loud noise; it turned out that Lu Xiaofeng had slammed his hand on the table.
Hua Manlou, who had been lost in thought, suddenly looked over when Lu Xiaofeng patted him and asked, "What are you doing?"
Lu Xiaofeng pretended to be profound, touched his two small mustaches, and replied, "I'm thinking about something."
Now that they're almost in Bianjing, what else could be going on? Lu Xiaofeng doesn't have any female confidantes in Bianjing, so Hua Manlou understood and said with a smile, "Let me guess, you're thinking about what you're going to extort from Huailing this time."
Indeed, that's exactly it. Ever since visiting Bianjing twice last year and being treated as an honored guest at the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion, Lu Xiaofeng's heart has been completely captivated by her. No wonder the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion is known as the number one brothel in the righteous world. If Xie Huailing wants to entertain someone at the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion, she can make that person feel like they're floating on air and wish they had come sooner. Not to mention Lu Xiaofeng, this drunkard.
But Lu Xiaofeng would never admit it. He wasn't such a shallow person. He said seriously, "More than that. Am I the kind of person who only remembers these things? Could it be that I simply want to catch up with her?"
Hua Manlou smiled without refuting; he didn't need to expose him, as long as Lu Xiaofeng believed it himself.
Turning his head, Hua Manlou looked at Wang Xiaoshi. Sensing Hua Manlou's gaze, Wang Xiaoshi also looked over. Hua Manlou then kindly suggested, "Didn't Young Hero Wang say that he wanted to find a job and make a name for himself in Bianjing City? Why don't you come with us to the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion? This is an opportunity, after all, and besides, with your superb martial arts skills, there will surely be someone in the pavilion who appreciates you."
Wang Xiaoshi was stunned when he heard this. Sometimes, when you want to make a name for yourself, the most important thing is not your own ability, but whether you have the opportunity. Hua Manlou was genuinely considering his needs, and it was only out of the friendship they had shared along the way. This moved Wang Xiaoshi deeply.
They had met about two weeks prior. At that time, Wang Xiaoshi was embroiled in a case and, unable to bear seeing children being abducted, stepped in to help. He happened to run into Lu Xiaofeng, the unfortunate fellow who had been falsely accused of being the culprit. After the two worked together to solve the case, they immediately became friends. Hearing that Wang Xiaoshi was also going to Bianjing, Lu Xiaofeng simply took him along to see Hua Manlou, asking him for a favor. Hua Manlou, kind and gentle, didn't care about money or trouble, and naturally readily agreed, taking Wang Xiaoshi in for a while before bringing him to the capital.
In this way, the three of them became quite familiar with each other within half a month, but Wang Xiaoshi still often admired Hua Manlou's character, for example, right now.
He was about to express his gratitude when Hua Manlou stopped him. Hua Manlou didn't think friends should be so particular about such things, and then gestured for him to go see Lu Xiaofeng.
Lu Xiaofeng had no objection to Hua Manlou's suggestion. As someone who had fought alongside Wang Xiaoshi, he knew Wang Xiaoshi's martial arts skills and character all too well. Moreover, he was someone who easily trusted his friends. He smiled and told Wang Xiaoshi about it: "Hua Manlou is right. Just come with us. Xie Huailing has been writing to me these past few months, saying every time that the tower is short of people. Going to Jin Feng Xi Yu Tower would be perfect."
This is still a beautified version. Xie Huailing's words were far from so euphemistic. Her original words were that 99% of the people in the building were idiots, and that they were annoying to look at. They were a bunch of people who treated their brains as decorations. If they used their brains even a little bit, they would get slapped in the face.
Since things had come to this point, Wang Xiaoshi readily accepted and continued the conversation, saying, "Is this Miss Xie the one known as 'the one who can cut the sky with her bare hands'?"
"It's her." Hearing Xie Huailing's name for the first time was quite impressive. Lu Xiaofeng said to Wang Xiaoshi, "She's much more interesting than the rumors say. If you can get along with her and have fun, you won't be too bored in the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion. If you ask me, she's truly a wonderful person in the world. It's a blessing that there's such a person in Bianjing. I just don't know if it's a blessing or a curse for Pavilion Master Su."
Then Lu Xiaofeng introduced Xie Huailing to Wang Xiaoshi. This had nothing to do with martial arts factions; he was simply introducing one of his friends to another.
As Wang Xiaoshi listened to Lu Xiaofeng lamenting his past judgment of people by their appearance, they arrived in Bianjing. Undistracted, he continued chatting with Lu Xiaofeng, finding the conversation quite pleasant. They then changed the subject, during which Hua Manlou listened with a smile, remaining silent.
After some time, the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion came into view, towering majestically and standing tall above the world. It was truly the epitome of the martial arts world, inspiring awe in all who beheld it.
The three of them got off the carriage and walked further in. The person who came to greet them was not Shaman, whom they had seen last year or the year before, but a girl with a veil covering her face, dressed in white, with a graceful figure. However, Lu Xiaofeng had seen her before and greeted her, saying, "Miss Qu, it's you. Where is Miss Shaman?"
This person was Qu Wurong. She gave a slight bow as a greeting and said, "Miss Shaman is no longer Miss's assistant. Now she should be called Sword God of the West."
It turns out that at the beginning of this year, Xue Xishen's behavior caused some trouble, and Xie Huailing happened to be the one to handle the matter. She has always been intolerant of her subordinates and does not approve of the idea of making amends for mistakes, let alone in the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion, which is known for its "loyalty and righteousness." Even Bai Feifei has not committed the problem of being too ruthless, so how could he be any different? He ran into Xie Huailing, so how could Xie Huailing let it go so easily?
Therefore, Xue Xishen was demoted and transferred back to Bianjing to work with Lin Shiyin, thus leaving the position of Xishen vacant.
With vacancies arising, they naturally needed to be filled. Xie Huailing knew that Shaman had wanted a promotion for a long time, and since her achievements were not far behind, he gave Shaman another boost and promoted her. He also found the names Shaman Goddess or Fang Goddess too unpleasant to hear, so he simply changed them, replacing her surname with Shaman's weapon, and called her Sword Goddess.
With Shaman gone, Xie Huailing's deputy position became vacant again. Qu Wurong, who was Yang Wuxie's deputy, was temporarily transferred to fill in for two days until Xie Huailing found a suitable replacement. Of course, it was impossible for her to stay in that position long-term. Yang Wuxie was very satisfied with Qu Wurong, and Xie Huailing would not offend Yang Wuxie.
After hearing this, Lu Xiaofeng was also happy for Shaman's promotion. He sighed to himself that so much had happened in the past year. Then he thought about it and realized that two or three years had passed since he first met Xie Huailing.
The three followed behind Qu Wurong, who led them towards the Yellow Tower. Qu Wurong was not a talkative person, but she was not a dull one either. She would respond whenever Lu Xiaofeng spoke to her, so the journey was not boring.
Upon arriving at the location, Xie Huailing was not inside. Qu Wurong explained that Xie Huailing had other matters to attend to and would arrive later, so she went outside to wait and closed the door.
Wang Xiaoshi secretly surveyed the furnishings, thinking that the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion was indeed magnificent. Listening to Qu Wurong's words, he began to think about even more things. Since leaving his master's sect, he had heard many things among the common people. He knew that the people were now full of grievances, and they were all angry with the court and the emperor. He had also heard that a travelogue had recently been circulating among the people, describing the misery of various places over the past ten years. The author's writing was so natural that it brought tears to the eyes of the reader. All of these were signs of an unstable country.
Even so, there was no movement in Bianjing. Surely the emperor couldn't be unaware? Wang Xiaoshi felt that couldn't be the case.
In short, the fact that Jin Feng Xi Yu Lou could remain a force to be reckoned with at such a time must mean something. Therefore, even though Wang Xiaoshi had listened to Lu Xiaofeng's rambling, ambiguous remarks about Xie Huailing the whole way, he still held a glimmer of hope.
But as the saying goes, expectations are meant to be shattered.
What appeared before Wang Xiaoshi was indeed a beauty as legendary as a celestial being, her radiance surpassing all he had ever seen before. Her clothes fluttered in the sunlight, truly a divine fairy, captivating him and inspiring him to gaze upon her in awe. But soon, Wang Xiaoshi noticed behind her a maid holding a fishing rod in one hand and a wooden bucket in the other, and her own wet skirt.
Lu Xiaofeng couldn't help but ask, "Did you fall into the river?"
"You're the one who fell into the river! Your whole family fell into the river!" The moment Tianxian spoke, Wang Xiaoshi's umpteenth unrequited love ended. "I went fishing. Do you even know what fishing is?"
Lu Xiaofeng glanced at Xie Huailing's skirt, then at the wooden bucket the maid was carrying. His eyesight was excellent; he could clearly see that the bucket contained only water. "Alright, alright, fishing. But Miss Xie, where are your fish? You have to catch fish to fish, right? You've gotten yourself into this state, and you haven't caught a single one?"
Xie Huailing defended himself: "It's not that I didn't catch anything, it's just that my hands were shaking, my fingers slipped, the rod was bad today, I caught some fish the day before yesterday but there are none today, I used the wrong bait, the line broke halfway, and heaven was kind enough to let them go, and my cousin's work in the brothel affected me..."
Lu Xiaofeng ignored him and directly mocked, "Stop making excuses, just admit it. Miss Xie, it's been so long since you said you wanted to go fishing two years ago, where are your fish? You haven't actually caught a single one, have you?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Xie Huailing's expression change drastically. That's how easily the fisherman lost his temper. Sometimes you have to admire this person. He can skillfully switch between no expression, indifferent expression, and even more indifferent expression.
Hua Manlou sighed, but sighing was useless. Xie Huailing said to Lu Xiaofeng indifferently, "Yes, I didn't catch any. Go into the water immediately and catch twenty for me in half an hour. Otherwise, I will call out my cousin and Bai Feifei's names right now, and then you can go down directly from the top floor of Jinfeng Xiyu Tower without taking the stairs or using your lightness skill."
Lu Xiaofeng: "..."
A silence filled the room as Hua Manlou sighed repeatedly and covered his forehead.
Someone spoke up hopefully: "Actually, I was just joking, and so were you, right?"
"Yes, I was just kidding."
"That's good, haha..."
"Am I joking?"
The sad silence has returned.
Three seconds later, Wang Xiaoshi saw a small chicken run out of the door.
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