Lu Xiaofeng is talking to his friend Li Yanbei.
With the Mid-Autumn Festival approaching, he came to the capital for the duel between Ximen Chuixue and Ye Gucheng. He happened to run into Li Yanbei, who was being ambushed, and rescued him.
They talked about the person who had launched the sneak attack, who was none other than Li Yanbei's mortal enemy, Du Tongxuan from the south of the city. The two of them had made a bet on the battle on the fifteenth of September.
On a night of full moon, atop the Purple Gold Peak, a sword comes from the west, a celestial being descends from the heavens.
The full moon night is still the full moon night, but the Purple Gold Peak has been transformed into an unknown location.
Li Yanbei slowly explained why Du Tongxuan, knowing he was not easily ambushed, still went to great lengths—centered around the battle between Ximen Chuixue and Ye Gucheng, everyone placed bets, and until yesterday morning, Du Tongxuan thought he had it all figured out.
Lu Xiaofeng asked, "Until yesterday morning?"
Li Yanbei said, "Because the situation suddenly changed yesterday afternoon!"
Lu Xiaofeng said, "Oh?"
Li Yanbei stared at him and said, "Haven't you heard that Ye Gucheng has been injured?"
Lu Xiaofeng shook his head, looking very surprised: "How could he be injured? Who could possibly hurt him?"
Li Yanbei said, "Tang Tianyi."
Lu Xiaofeng frowned and asked, "The eldest son of the Tang Clan in Sichuan?"
Li Yanbei said, "That's right!"
Lu Xiaofeng said, "Ye Gucheng has lived overseas for a long time, how could he have a grudge against the Tang Clan of Shu?"
Li Yanbei said, "It is said that they met near Zhangjiakou. I don't know why they had a conflict, and Ye Gucheng was poisoned by Tang Tianyi's sand."
Lu Xiaofeng sensed something was wrong: "What about Tang Tianyi?"
Li Yanbei said, "Tang Tianyi was also seriously injured, but his companion was injured even more severely. He was an ordinary person who did not know martial arts."
Lu Xiaofeng asked, "Who is that person?"
Li Yanbei said, "The one who spread this news was the honest monk. He said it was a young man with a weak body."
Since the news came from the honest monk, no one can doubt its authenticity.
Li Yanbei added, "The three Tang brothers are currently at the Quanfu Inn on Gulou East Street. The injured young man seems to be dying; the smell of medicine can be smelled throughout the entire street."
Lu Xiaofeng stared at the gradually cooling pig's head meat and suddenly felt nauseous.
What Li Yanbei said next made him feel like vomiting.
Ximen Chuixue and Ye Gucheng were not monkeys in a circus, but these people seemed to regard the sacred and inviolable duel between the two swordsmen as a monkey show, and they rushed to the capital one after another, which made Lu Xiaofeng extremely angry.
He was clearly not the one about to engage in the final battle, nor was he the one being watched like a monkey, yet Lu Xiaofeng felt indignant on behalf of his two friends.
That's precisely what makes Lu Xiaofeng so endearing.
Li Yanbei and Lu Xiaofeng went for a hot bath together, but the person who was scrubbing Li Yanbei's back had already been bribed by Old Du from the south of the city. The situation changed rapidly, and Li Yanbei was reminded by an unknown person that he was still poisoned.
The unknown person only told him to go to Chunhua Tower outside the front gate, and Lu Xiaofeng, as Li Yanbei's friend, naturally went along.
It was Du Tongxuan who bribed someone close to Li Yanbei to poison him, and it was also Du Tongxuan who reminded Li Yanbei to give him the antidote.
This is truly baffling.
Du Tongxuan knew that Ye Gucheng was injured, and that was why he plotted against Li Yanbei. So why was he so confident this time?
The answer to this question was quickly found.
Ye Gucheng, accompanied by the fragrance of flowers and walking on a floral carpet, slowly descended the stairs, his demeanor dignified and unapproachable.
Six girls with black hair reaching their shoulders and dressed in white as snow stood behind him, their expressions respectful.
His eyes shone like cold stars, his black hair was adorned with a pearl crown on a sandalwood base, and his clothes were as white as snow.
He approached slowly, *like a king entering his palace, or like a celestial being descending to earth.*
None of the people present had ever seen this person before, but the moment they saw him, everyone knew who he was.
"A sword comes from the west, a celestial being descends from the heavens."
The boy's mocking voice rang out from the left corner, and everyone looked in that direction.
Two young men sat there, both handsome and elegantly dressed. They sat quietly in the corner, not even noticing Lu Xiaofeng when he came up.
“If all immortals are like you, I’d rather be a mortal,” the young man said coldly. “My friend didn’t provoke you, yet you could still do that to him.”
The three Tang brothers were renowned. Ye Gucheng had already met Tang Tianyi, and upon seeing the two of them, he guessed their identities.
Ye Gucheng said, "I didn't attack him; he came to me on his own."
Tang Tianzong said, "So what? His life is hanging by a thread now, and you are to blame."
Ye Gucheng suddenly said, "Aren't you wondering why I'm still alive?"
Tang Tianzong said coldly, "Even if someone helps you detoxify, I can still poison you again. This time, I will make you wish you were dead."
Tang Tianzong was furious, only wanting to avenge his elder brother and Yan Liang, but Tang Tianrong keenly noticed that Ye Gucheng's poison had been cured. Tang Clan poisons kill silently, and antidotes are hard to find. If someone cured him, that person must be either a medical expert or a member of the Tang Clan.
As a reliable disciple of the Tang Clan, Tang Tianrong felt it necessary to ask the other party how they had been cured of the poison.
Tang Tianrong then asked, "Who cured you of the poison?"
Tang Tianzong was taken aback and looked at Tang Tianrong, a hint of confusion in his expression. He was thinking that since the other party was still alive and kicking, he should make sure that person could no longer cause trouble, and he never considered who the person who cured Ye Gucheng of the poison was.
He was young after all, and unlike his older brother, he wasn't as meticulous.
Ye Gucheng didn't answer but asked a question in return, his expression indifferent: "There was no poison to begin with, so why bother with antidote?"
Tang Tianrong said, "It was originally non-toxic?"
Ye Gucheng said, "What poison could a speck of dust possibly have?"
The brothers' eyes changed. Ye Gucheng's words were an insult to the Tang Clan's century-old heritage, and a resounding slap in the face to the Tang Clan's reputation as "experts in poison and hidden weapons."
This is a blatant provocation!
"Would you like to test the mere dust of my Tang Clan?" Tang Tianzong said coldly. "If you've got the guts, don't try to hide!"
Tang Tianrong paused for a moment, wondering when his younger brother had learned such a shameless way of speaking... He thought about it again and figured it was probably Yan Liang who taught him.
But it felt incredibly satisfying to say it out loud.
Ye Gucheng said, "Of course I won't dodge, because I guarantee you won't have a chance to make a move."
The two brothers were even angrier.
The power of Tang Clan's poisonous hidden weapons lies not only in the poison itself, but also in the speed at which Tang Clan disciples can strike.
Ye Gucheng's words clearly showed that he did not take the two brothers seriously.
"Truly a lofty immortal being," Tang Tianzong retorted sarcastically.
"Make your move." Ye Gucheng ignored him and simply said, "I won't dodge."
Tang Tianzong recalled what Yan Liang had told him, and the more he thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed. He said, "You think I'll just do it because you tell me to? You wish. Ha."
Tang Tianrong never expected that her silly younger brother could actually say such things to Ye Gucheng, perfectly mimicking Yan Liang's shamelessness.
Ye Gucheng was clearly a little confused, but not obviously so.
Everyone present was a little confused, including Lu Xiaofeng.
The more he thought about it, the more familiar this infuriating method seemed.
The fight ultimately did not take place, as neither Ye Gucheng nor the two brothers from the Tang Clan made a move.
However, the news that Ye Gucheng was unharmed still spread. Those who bet on Ye Gucheng to win were overjoyed, while those who bet on Ximen Chuixue to win were frowning.
Ye Gucheng has arrived, but Ximen Chuixue is still nowhere to be seen.
Ye Gucheng asked, "Where is Ximen Chuixue?"
Lu Xiaofeng said, "I am not Ximen Chuixue."
Their eyes met, and both of them smiled.
Ye Gucheng said softly, "It's a good thing you're not Ximen Chuixue."
This celestial figure departed slowly, just as he had arrived. As Lu Xiaofeng watched his retreating figure, a sense of sorrow suddenly welled up in his heart.
After saying goodbye to Li Yanbei, Lu Xiaofeng went to the Quanfu Inn on Gulou East Street. The inn was quite large and looked rather magnificent.
Lu Xiaofeng slowly entered and smelled the familiar scent of medicine. The scent was mixed with other medicinal aromas, filling the entire inn with a pungent yet invigorating and strange odor.
Lu Xiaofeng rubbed his nose and suddenly felt like sneezing.
He did indeed do that.
After finding out which room Tang Tianyi was staying in, Lu Xiaofeng went upstairs and knocked on the door. As the door opened, Lu Xiaofeng sneezed loudly.
The one who opened the door was the younger of the two young men from Chunhua Tower. He hadn't expected to be greeted by a loud sneeze, and his expression towards Lu Xiaofeng was far from pleasant.
"Lu Xiaofeng?"
The young man with bandages around his neck also looked towards the door, and asked a question after recognizing who it was.
Lu Xiaofeng is most famous not for his "Lingxi Finger," but for his "four eyebrows." No one but Lu Xiaofeng has a beard that resembles eyebrows.
Therefore, Lu Xiaofeng was not surprised that Tang Tianyi, whom he had never met, could recognize him.
Lu Xiaofeng smiled slightly: "It's me."
"What are you doing here?" Tang Tianyi raised an eyebrow.
Lu Xiaofeng: "I'm looking for someone."
Tang Tianyi: "Who?"
Lu Xiaofeng looked into the room, which was filled with the strong smell of medicine, but there were only three people inside.
"I think I was wrong, he's not here," Lu Xiaofeng said regretfully. "Does anyone here know Yan Liang?"
"You're not wrong, you've come to the wrong place."
Yan Liang said quietly.
Lu Xiaofeng: "..."
Yan Liang emerged from behind him, looking even weaker than he had been months ago, with a pale face and unsteady steps. Most striking was his right arm hanging unnaturally at his side.
Lu Xiaofeng remained silent for a long time before saying, "If Hua Manlou knew that you had made yourself look like this, he would probably be very angry."
Yan Liang subconsciously reached up to touch the back of his head, forgetting his injured right arm, which aggravated the wound, and managed to give Lu Xiaofeng a forced smile.
"If you don't tell him, he won't be angry."
Running into Ye Gucheng was an accident. Yan Liang hadn't expected that he would run into Ye Gucheng, who was also in the same shop, while accompanying Tang Tianyi to Zhangjiakou to find special seasonings.
That afternoon, the sun was shining brightly, the breeze was cool, and the sky was clear. After Tang Tianrong and Tang Tianzong both declined the invitation to go to Zhangjiakou together, Tang Tianyi went to find Yan Liang.
Yan Liang: "Wait, what are you going there for?"
Tang Tianyi said confidently, "I made an appointment with the restaurant owner there a few days ago to try their new dishes today."
Yan Liang asked curiously, "Can't you go by yourself?"
Tang Tianyi: "I need to bring a few things; it's a bit inconvenient for one person."
Tang Tianrong and Tang Tianzong winked at Yan Liang from behind Tang Tianyi, and Yan Liang suddenly understood.
"Does the shopkeeper have the same taste as you?" Yan Liang asked him.
"How did you know?" Tang Tianyi asked in surprise. "He developed new dishes, and I was thinking of bringing a few for my second and third brothers to try."
Yan Liang: "..."
He met the gaze of the two brothers behind Tang Tianyi. The two men's expressions revealed a hint of helplessness. Yan Liang thought for a moment and smiled slightly.
"Since I'm free anyway, I might as well go with you."
Tang Tianrong & Tang Tianzong: ...!
Yan Liang: Hehehe.
The two then went to Zhangjiakou together. Unexpectedly, after they had tasted the food and taken what they needed to take, they encountered a man in white coming in from outside.
The man in white was naturally Ye Gucheng. Tang Tianyi didn't recognize him, but Yan Liang still remembered this celestial-like figure.
At that moment, Ye Gucheng was pale and holding his sword. He stopped when he saw the two people in the shop getting up to leave.
Tang Tianyi secretly praised the man's extraordinary demeanor, but Yan Liang found it very strange.
He was spoiled by the system and knew that this person was Ye Gucheng, but he didn't understand why the other party was here.
Tang Tianyi brushed past him, carrying a bowl in her hand. The soup in the bowl dripped onto Ye Gucheng's clothes as she passed by. Tang Tianyi wanted to apologize, but Ye Gucheng attacked her without saying a word.
Seeing that things were not going well, Yan Liang pushed Tang Tianyi away. Both of them were injured to varying degrees. Ye Gucheng was probably also injured, and both of them saw the bloodstains seeping through his white clothes.
"I thought that to be called a celestial being, Ye Gucheng must be a celestial being, but he's so narrow-minded!" Tang Tianzong said indignantly. "It's just a few drops of soup!"
Yan Liang pondered for a moment: "Perhaps the clothes are too exquisite."
As for how the rumor that "the young master of the Tang Clan in Sichuan is in critical condition" spread, Yan Liang thought for a moment and then said, "It's probably because the medicine smell in this inn is too strong? I've already said that I don't need to take any medicine. The usual medicine is enough for me."
Tang Tianyi said, "That's right!"
Tang Tianrong said, "Good medicine tastes bitter but is good for the disease. You have to drink it whether you want to or not."
The four of them got along so well that Lu Xiaofeng, thinking about Ye Gucheng, also found them quite amusing.
However, he was relieved that Yan Liang was unharmed.
The decisive battle on September 15th drew countless martial arts practitioners to the capital; the more people there were, the more trouble they would cause.
Lu Xiaofeng had a premonition that before the decisive battle on September 15th, the capital city would be turbulent and full of undercurrents.
Author's Note: The text in "*" is the original text, which I marked before but forgot to mention in the author's notes.
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