Chapter 198: Seeking Talented Individuals Like a Greedy Person
"Ouch! It's freezing... I'm freezing to death..."
"Stop talking nonsense. People like you who know martial arts can stay in the water for several nights without any problem. What are you talking about?"
"You're just talking nonsense. One night is enough."
Even after being exposed for feigning helplessness, Lu Xiaofeng didn't feel ashamed. He wrapped himself tightly in his newly changed clothes and started arguing with Xie Huailing again, saying, "Those who know martial arts aren't gods. How can they stand the cold for several nights in a row? Even the Heavenly King himself would get sick. This pool of yours is really cold."
Xie Huailing glanced at him, too lazy to care: "What does this have to do with me? It's not like I'm the one going to catch fish. Have you caught enough?"
Lu Xiaofeng was fine until he heard it, and then he was furious. He pointed at the two wooden buckets full of fish and shouted, "How dare you say that? There aren't even twenty fish in the pond, at most eighteen! Doesn't your conscience hurt? Aren't you ashamed?"
"No, I don't have that kind of thing, and I never guaranteed you there were twenty fish in there," Xie Huailing said calmly. "In the world of martial arts, there are too many things to give up. Only those who abandon their conscience amidst sword fights and conspiracies can achieve great things. Those without conscience will succeed."
Hesitant to speak, yet still wanting to speak, Lu Xiaofeng asked, "Do you dare say this to Master Su?"
Xie Huailing replied frankly, "I wouldn't dare."
Hua Manlou, on one side, couldn't bear to watch anymore. Although he couldn't see it anyway, he turned his face away, wondering to himself, "What is he so open about?" Wang Xiaoshi, on the other side, could only awkwardly laugh, unsure of what to do, so he moved closer to Hua Manlou.
The two people over there were still arguing. Xie Huailing was clearly shameless and said, "Anyway, you didn't catch twenty fish. But how about this, since I admit that I was partly to blame, you can choose one of my cousins or Bai Feifei. Choose one to keep you company and stretch your muscles."
Lu Xiaofeng shook his head and said, "No, why fight someone you can't beat? I won't choose that option, what can you do about it?"
Xie Huailing looked at Lu Xiaofeng, and Lu Xiaofeng looked at Xie Huailing.
Xie Huailing turned to leave and called for Qu Wurong outside the door. Lu Xiaofeng immediately jumped up and made his choice: "Master Su, I choose Master Su!"
He was practically shouting, afraid that if he was even a second late, Xie Huailing would have brought Bai Feifei over. Bai Feifei's reputation was still quite intimidating; she was the only person in the righteous path who could stop a child from crying at night. Lu Xiaofeng was absolutely unwilling to fight her.
Xie Huailing stopped and gave Lu Xiaofeng a cold laugh. She said, "Good choice."
Lu Xiaofeng's heart jumped into his throat, fearing that he had made the wrong choice again. Just as he was feeling uneasy, he heard Xie Huailing's next sentence: "He is not in the building today. Congratulations, you don't need to fight."
Letting out a long breath, Lu Xiaofeng finally realized that Xie Huailing had probably only meant to scare him from the start, but her acting was so convincing that it had genuinely frightened him. Relieved, Lu Xiaofeng returned to his seat and settled in comfortably.
"You really gave me a fright. Miss Xie of the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion, you have quite the air about you." He stroked his beard. "I won't mention your fishing incident next time. Who knows, I can't even say a word about it."
Seeing that the two of them had finished arguing, Hua Manlou, who had realized from the beginning that Xie Huailing wasn't really angry, said, "You shouldn't have said that in the first place. It was like rubbing salt into a wound. Did you catch a cold?"
But Lu Xiaofeng was not happy. Thinking about his experience of catching fish, he looked at Hua Manlou and then at Xie Huailing. At this moment, Xie Huailing added, "Actually, I didn't really want you to go, but you ran too fast. You know, I can't catch up with you, and neither can Hua Manlou and Wu Rong."
The more he listened, the angrier he became, but he could only glare at them helplessly. Lu Xiaofeng said angrily, "I may not have caught a cold, but I'm going to eat all eighteen fish tonight! I want them steamed, braised, stir-fried..." He just listed the dishes like that.
But the commotion didn't last long; Lu Xiaofeng remembered he had brought a friend. After Xie Huailing was seated, he formally introduced Wang Xiaoshi.
“This is the friend I met when I was involved in the case last time. I remember telling you about him in the letter. His name is Wang Xiaoshi. He’s also coming to Bianjing, so Hua Manlou and I gave him a ride.” Lu Xiaofeng patted Wang Xiaoshi on the shoulder and laughed.
There was no need to say more; Xie Huailing could see what she meant. Her gaze drifted to Wang Xiaoshi, scrutinizing him thoroughly in just a few glances. Her gaze was like a veil, enveloping Wang Xiaoshi, who felt as if he were being completely seen through, with nothing left to hide.
He sighed inwardly, and it seemed that Xie Huailing's gaze lingered for a few more seconds before turning away.
She said, "I know. And I know not only these things, but also other things."
Even before receiving Lu Xiaofeng's letter, Xie Huailing had been on the lookout for news, so information about Wang Xiaoshi kept coming to her from Yang Wuxie. She added, "Wang Xiaoshi, a disciple of Tianyi Jushi, has suffered heartbreak since he was a teenager—"
"Stop!" Wang Xiaoshi cried out in distress, feeling uneasy all over. His smile had a hint of "please let me go" in it as he said, "There's no need to say that. Please give me some face."
A strange smile had already appeared on Lu Xiaofeng's face. Even though Xie Huailing was stopped before he could finish speaking, with his flirtatious nature, he could tell what the second half of the sentence was. His gaze towards Wang Xiaoshi became one of sympathy and pity, which was quite subtle.
Wang Xiaoshi really wanted to cover his face, but he had to sit up straight because Xie Huailing still had something to say.
It was just a brief interruption, nothing serious. Xie Huailing nodded and skipped that part. When she spoke to him again, she extended an olive branch directly: "Then let's not beat around the bush. I have something to say: Young Master Wang, Jin Feng Xi Yu Lou greatly admires your talent. I also know that someone like you came to Bianjing hoping to make a name for yourself. So, what do you think of Jin Feng Xi Yu Lou?"
Before Lu Xiaofeng and Hua Manlou could even speak, and before Wang Xiaoshi could even finish thinking, Xie Huailing had already said everything. From the day she received Wang Xiaoshi's information, she had already been planning this, and now it was simply a matter of time before she took the opportunity to ask.
In this respect, she could even be described as considerate, having prepared all the steps for Wang Xiaoshi and addressed his concerns with utmost sincerity: "Of course, I know that Young Master Wang is new to Bianjing and has no understanding of the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion. It is only natural for him to have doubts or distrust. If Young Master Wang is willing, he can stay at the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion for a few days. After a few days, I will come to ask Young Master Wang for an answer."
Having come this far, how could Wang Xiaoshi possibly utter a word of reluctance? He was deep in thought. Sure enough, no matter how much fun he had had with Lu Xiaofeng earlier, Xie Huailing was still the legendary woman of unparalleled wisdom in the martial arts world, a fact he could not afford to ignore.
"Then I'll have to trouble Miss Xie for a few days," he said.
After finishing their business, the two began to joke around. Lu Xiaofeng counted on his fingers but couldn't come up with enough recipes for eighteen fish, so he dragged Wang Xiaoshi over and asked him to come up with a few as well.
Wang Xiaoshi hesitated, wondering if he could actually do this. Eating all the fish in the pond at Jinfeng Xiyu Pavilion didn't seem like a good idea. Looking back, Xie Huailing showed absolutely no reaction, completely letting Lu Xiaofeng do as he pleased. When Wang Xiaoshi looked over, she tilted her head slightly, as if puzzled as to why he wasn't ordering food.
Since things had come to this, and Xie Huailing was there to hold the sky up even if it fell, Wang Xiaoshi started discussing things with Lu Xiaofeng. The two chatted happily, and Lu Xiaofeng even said he would introduce Wang Xiaoshi to Master Bitter Gourd's vegetarian cuisine, saying that it was the real, unparalleled delicacy in the world.
Just listening to them chat was lively enough for Xie Huailing. She leaned back in her chair, slowly let out a sigh of relief, and felt a bit of comfort as the cool breeze from outside blew in. She slowly closed her eyes.
Hua Manlou sat down beside her. Being around him was always as warm as spring, for he was spring himself, and everyone who came had to acknowledge it. Hua Manlou asked her, "Has everything gone smoothly this year? The martial world is rather unstable; things in Bianjing are only getting worse, aren't they?"
"It's alright." With Hua Manlou's comfort, many things didn't seem so heavy. The person who had single-handedly created this unstable situation closed his eyes to rest. "Anyway, it's not like we can touch Jin Feng Xi Yu Lou. It's only Jin Feng Xi Yu Lou that can touch others."
Besides, the instability won't last long.
.
As soon as he said he'd kill the fish, he killed them all. Eighteen fish, none of them escaped Lu Xiaofeng's torment. He was truly ruthless. He ordered eighteen dishes, but Qu Wurong asked if it would be wasteful. Then he suddenly had a change of heart, counted the number of people, and changed it to four dishes. He spared the fish in the other dishes, but killed two of them, Wang Xiaoshi in one, Hua Manlou in another (who didn't eat much), and Xie Huailing in yet another (who could pretend not to eat at all). Together, they only had one dish.
Xie Huailing then spoke again, without explaining why, and asked Lu Xiaofeng to add another grilled fish. Since the fish's lives were a matter of fate, Lu Xiaofeng hastily decided that the head instructor, with a wave of his hand, would kill five fish and make five dishes out of them.
After a few more jars of wine were brought up, and they had a good meal, Lu Xiaofeng and Xie Huailing started planning their card game.
"I won't go; I need to rest early today," Hua Manlou said. Wang Xiaoshi was also a bit tired, so he went back to the guest room with Hua Manlou, leaving the two of them to play cards. They looked at each other on the way back.
One person asked, "What if we can't even gather three people?"
One replied, "There's always a way. Give me the grilled fish."
Another person asked, "What are you going to do with the grilled fish?"
Another one replied, "Shh, don't ask, this is a wonderful tool we'll be using later."
Lu Xiaofeng was completely bewildered and couldn't understand what Xie Huailing was saying at all. He followed her to the foot of the brothel, and only when he saw the figure returning did he realize what Xie Huailing was up to.
"Hello, cousin." Xie Huailing handed the grilled fish to Su Mengzhen. "Cousin, would you like some fish?"
Su Mengzhen paused for a second. No longer plagued by illness, he now possessed an extraordinary air and striking appearance, almost unrecognizable to Lu Xiaofeng. Knowing Xie Huailing's true nature, he first asked, "Where did this fish come from?"
Xie Huailing replied, "Tianquan Pond, that's the batch of fish you personally ordered last time."
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This volume won't be too long. After a few chapters of calm before the storm, some comforting everyday moments, it will get to the main topic.
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