Chapter 70: A Glimpse in Early Spring
Late winter, early spring.
It was the season when winter was receding and spring was in sight. A lone green shoot, half-timid and half-shy, stood by the roadside, its new life emerging from its withered brown branches. Although the snow had not yet completely melted, it accepted its arrival with equanimity, willingly letting the melting snow and rising waters nurture a scene of wild clarity and radiant sunlight. Looking further, the lake was no longer the jade-like surface of winter; its surface shimmered with light, and mist quietly emerged from the hazy clouds—truly the best time of spring.
Unfortunately, those who pass through here have no interest in appreciating the scenery; they only care about the outline of the city gate that is slowly approaching at the end of the road not far away.
This refers to Xie Huailing. It was the first few days of early spring, and she had been away from Bianjing for ten days.
Ten days ago, she arranged all the special instructions needed during her absence, left a letter for Su Mengzhen, and made some other arrangements before officially setting off. Thankfully, Li Garden wasn't too far from Bianjing City, so Xie Huailing, whose health was poor and who couldn't travel day and night, was able to arrive in the city before her excuse expired, by traveling half a day and resting half a day.
As for the excuse, it was naturally a pretext to cover up her true purpose. The Beggars' Sect, which has always kept to itself amidst the storms of the martial world, has recently revealed its desire to have a detailed discussion with the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion. Coincidentally, the Beggars' Sect leader, Ren Ci, is about to celebrate her forty-fifth birthday, so it is perfectly reasonable for her to go there in person. No one can interfere in this matter.
Although today is Ren Ci's birthday, she almost missed it, but since the city gates are almost here, there's no need to mention it anymore.
Xie Huailing kept his eyes closed, listening to Shaman say "We've entered the city," without opening them.
She flickered in and out of the window in the spring light streaming in, yet she had no intention of cheering up for the season.
.
However, this spring has already become lively. Just as there is extreme stillness in one place, there is also movement in another. What is presented in the Beggars' Sect leader's mansion at this moment is exactly the kind of bustling activity that makes passersby crane their necks to look and then shake their heads in amazement.
First, let's look at the carriages parked at the gate. As the saying goes, to judge a person, first look at their clothes; to judge wealth, first look at their demeanor. This one is made of pear wood, truly unparalleled in its grandeur; that one is made of old mahogany... like carriages of gold, a testament to the wealth of those who come and go. Looking further in, the courtyard behind the corridor is brightly lit and filled with guests, a bustling scene with laughter and compliments hanging on the red silk banners, the aroma of wine wafting through the air.
The scene made one feel that the cold and desolation were long gone. Once the gongs and drums sounded inside the mansion, ordinary people would not think that there was a more lively and extraordinary place in the world.
A wine glass sat on the table. At a table not far from the main entrance, a man with four eyebrows patted his friend.
No one has four eyebrows, and there is no one in the world with four eyebrows, but there is a Lu Xiaofeng in this world, who just happens to make up for this deficiency. He is a man with an extremely dashing appearance, and the martial arts world has left him with many kinds of aura, including elegance, unrestrainedness, and a cynical attitude like the wind passing through the forest. Fortunately, he has his third and fourth eyebrows—his two really cute mustaches—which dilute these auras and make him look a little humorous and cute.
Humor and cuteness are two extremely rare qualities in the world, which is why Lu Xiaofeng is a very likable person. He has many friends and loves making friends; he is also attractive to women and is a carefree wanderer who never gets involved with anyone.
The young man who was being patted on the shoulder, who was also his friend, had a very nice name: Hua Manlou.
As his name suggests, unlike Lu Xiaofeng, Hua Manlou appears to be a refined gentleman in a turbulent world. "Exquisitely crafted" or "exquisitely gentle" are all words that can be used to describe Hua Manlou. He hardly seems like a wanderer from the martial world. Between his brows and eyes, a compassionate and gentle quality seems like a spring that will never easily end, and as spring flowers bloom everywhere, so too will flowers bloom throughout Hua Manlou.
Hua Manlou stopped drinking tea when Lu Xiaofeng patted him, and asked with a smile, "What, are you going to drink some tea instead of wine?"
Lu Xiaofeng shook his finger, feigning profundity, and said, "I have a better idea. I'll use this jar next to you to replace the wine in my hand."
Hua Manlou couldn't help but chuckle. He knew that Lu Xiaofeng had finished his drink and was eyeing his, so he pushed his own jar to Lu Xiaofeng, sighing as he said, "Now I know why you asked me for the invitation. It turns out you've been reincarnated as a glutton. But even a glutton should drink less. It's not very polite of me to drink everything at someone's birthday banquet."
Lu Xiaofeng, however, did not quite agree with Hua Manlou's view. He said slyly, "That's not right. The more I drink, the more I drink, the better it shows that the Beggars' Sect's birthday banquet is well-organized, and it also shows that you are sincerely here to wish Chief Ren a happy birthday."
Hua Manlou said, "In that case, I should thank you."
Lu Xiaofeng boasted shamelessly, "That's right, that's right, there's no more that can be right."
Knowing he couldn't win an argument with him, Hua Manlou shook his head: "What a sharp-tongued Lu Xiaofeng. I'd like to see how much you can drink."
Lu Xiaofeng laughed heartily and clinked his wine against the tea from Hua Manlou.
He chatted with Hua Manlou about his recent experiences in the martial arts world, something Lu Xiaofeng had no shortage of. The storytellers of the martial arts world loved to tell his stories, to put his voice into words, but little did they know that it was Lu Xiaofeng himself who told them, and that was the most interesting part.
Lu Xiaofeng said it, and Hua Manlou wanted to say it too. Such good friends always wanted to tell each other everything that happened when the other was away. However, Hua Manlou was blind and rarely went out, so all he could say was how many new flowers and plants he had planted, or what news he had heard in the martial arts world.
"I heard that there are many guests at Chief Ren's birthday banquet recently, and there's another reason for that," Hua Manlou said after recounting a couple of minor matters at home.
Lu Xiaofeng neither knew much about nor cared much about these things. After Hua Manlou mentioned it, he asked, "Could it be that the Beggars' Sect is hiding some kind of treasure?"
“It’s not that,” Hua Manlou replied. “It’s just that someone is coming to celebrate Chief Ren’s birthday, and perhaps everyone wants to see him.”
Then he must be a big shot in the martial arts world. Lu Xiaofeng, who was never interested in power, was unimpressed. He had made quite a few friends among the big shots. To him, everyone in the world was the same, regardless of their status. Therefore, his curiosity came from a very pure source: "What kind of big shot is he? If he is really powerful enough to be worth meeting, then my trip today will definitely not have been in vain."
Hua Manlou laughed and said, "You've drunk so much, so your trip wasn't in vain—you should have heard of her name. There's only one woman in the martial arts world who's so famous right now, and most people who've heard of her will remember her."
This is practically plain language; without even guessing, Lu Xiaofeng knew who was coming today.
This important figure seemed indeed a bit too powerful. He glanced around and saw that all the guests, ostensibly there to celebrate Ren Ci's birthday, were occasionally glancing towards the door, their minds elsewhere, only their bodies still seated. Unexpectedly, Lu Xiaofeng sighed dramatically and said, "Having such an important figure here actually makes things less pleasant."
Hua Manlou understood his personality perfectly and said, "But if all the rumors about her are true, then she's definitely not unattractive, right?"
Lu Xiaofeng laughed again: "Speaking of which, I really want to see for myself the appearance and character of the legendary number one hero in the world."
Hua Manlou asked again, "What if we remove this?"
“Remove this…” Lu Xiaofeng was about to say something more when the commotion outside the door abruptly cut off their engaging conversation. The words he was about to utter fell to the ground, drowned out by the unusually unanimous silence that followed the noise.
The silence foreshadowed something to come; at the end of the silence, the Beggar Clan elder, who was in charge of the accounting, raised his voice:
"On behalf of Master Su, Miss Xie of Jinfeng Xiyu Tower presents Zhao Mengfu with a snow scene painting!"
Silence turned into stillness, and every head turned toward the courtyard gate, filled with anticipation, trepidation, and eagerness... In the midst of these unusual gazes, the servants and beggars who were usually bustling about had long since retreated to the side, and the place that should have been teeming with people was now empty.
At this point, Lu Xiaofeng couldn't help but hold his breath and concentrate. In the deep silence, a wisp of fragrance entered through the main entrance, followed by a pair of maids, both extremely beautiful.
Their delicate hands held flower baskets in unison, the source of a lingering, fragrant aroma, like two blooming hibiscus or orchids, their beauty setting them apart from the other guests. Looking further behind the maids, one could see an oil-paper umbrella, its plain white surface unadorned. Beneath it, a stunningly beautiful woman, aloof and detached, floated in the air, her cat-like eyes slowly lifting from beneath the umbrella.
However, she didn't hold the umbrella for herself; there was someone else beside her.
And the person beside her, but the person beside her—
Without sound, all the chaos faded away, losing all meaning. If this were happening in a teahouse or on a pleasure boat, then nothing else would need to continue.
Only when the fragrance dissipated and the last four maids stepped into the hall did Lu Xiaofeng finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Hua Manlou couldn't see what had just happened, but he could guess. He smiled and said to Lu Xiaofeng, "It must be Miss Xie."
Lu Xiaofeng sighed and said, "That's right."
Hua Manlou pressed further, "Why are you reacting this way? Is she not as beautiful as the rumors say?"
“No,” Lu Xiaofeng replied, “Seeing is believing. But I’ve thought of that question I haven’t answered yet. I can only give you three words now; I can’t lie about anything else.”
Hua Manlou understood immediately and asked again, "What do you think about removing this?"
Lu Xiaofeng answered honestly without hesitation: "It can't be removed."
Hearing his answer, Hua Manlou shook his head and smiled. By this time, the noise around them had long since subsided, and they started talking about other things. When they got into the conversation, Lu Xiaofeng glanced at the corridor on one side.
A young man stood in the corridor, still bearing the air of a youth, and quite handsome, though his expression was lost and bewildered, clearly not having recovered his senses for a long time. He was Nangong Ling, the young leader of the Beggars' Sect.
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As is customary, this is a warning: a warning about personal settings within a martial arts setting, and a warning about personal understanding and speculation about the characters!
And in this volume, Su Louzhu is far from the emperor's reach, and without his supervision, Ms. Xie will let herself go and lower her moral standards. Warning: warning of direct exploitation of the villain's feelings and warning of pressure. Warning: bad woman (?) and good woman (?)!
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