Miao Youfang followed the burly man to the stairs on the right side of the gambling hall and went up to the second floor.
The bouncer stopped at the door of a private room and knocked.
“Come in!”
A deep, robust voice unique to middle-aged men came from inside.
The bouncer pushed open the door but stayed where he was, making a “please” gesture to signal Miao Youfang to enter.
Inside, the room was elegantly decorated. In the east, there was an antique display shelf holding porcelain vases, jade, and rare artefacts. The south wall was covered with calligraphy and paintings by famous artists.
On the east side stood a soft couch, with a tea table in the middle. A well-built middle-aged man sat beside it. He wore an azure robe embroidered with cloud patterns, dressed in scholarly and affluent style, but his aura was sharp and powerful, and the figure of a martial artist filled out his clothes.
This made his appearance seem rather incongruous.
He was holding a purple clay teapot, pouring steaming tea into a cup. Picking up the cup, he took a sip, then looked at Miao Youfang at a leisurely pace.
“Your esteemed name?”
“Miao Youfang.”
The middle-aged man nodded. “You may call me Second Master. Friends on the road all address me as such.”
He paused for a moment, then asked, “Which part of Yongzhou are you from?”
Miao Youfang did not answer, and said bluntly, “Why did Second Master seek me out?”
The middle-aged man did not get angry, and replied calmly,
“You’ve won quite a bit already, it’s best to quit while you’re ahead. Leave my gambling house from now on. If you agree, we can be friends. When you’re making your way in Yongzhou city, if you run into trouble you can use my name.
“That little face, I still have.”
In truth, it was just talk to placate him. For an ordinary person, someone like Second Master was indeed impressive, but in the eyes of real gangs or clans, he was just a big bully.
He had a bit of money, kept a dozen or so men under him, and had some dealings of interest with officials from the government.
A real major power like Longshen Castle could wipe out Liubo Gambling House with a single yawn. Not to mention, right now Yongzhou was hosting the Martial Assembly, with heroes from all over gathering here.
Most of the wanderers of the jianghu killed without batting an eye and disappeared without a trace.
Such people were not ones a gambling house owner could provoke.
Miao Youfang smiled and said, “There’s no need to be friends, but if you want me gone that’s fine. However, there is something I’d like to ask Second Master.”
The middle-aged man gazed at him coolly.
Miao Youfang rubbed his tanned face and said,
“I’m new to Yongzhou. Yesterday, I passed the government constabulary and saw a woman burning paper offerings and weeping out front. The constabulary bailiffs drove her away and beat her.
“I couldn’t stand by and asked what happened. The woman said her husband was called Zhang Hei and liked to gamble. Not long ago, Zhang Hei was murdered on his way back from a gambling house, and all the money on him vanished without a trace.”
The middle-aged man’s expression turned cold, and his gaze slowly became frosty. “What are you trying to say?”
Miao Youfang stared at him. “The woman said that the night watchman saw the face of the killer, it was someone from Liubo Gambling House. The night watchman was originally going to testify, but for some reason, changed his mind.”
Miao Youfang leaned forward, looking into the middle-aged man’s eyes:
“Today I dug up some information. For example, Zhang Hei was skilled at gambling and often won at Liubo Gambling House. On the day in question, he won over two hundred taels of silver there. Also, the night watchman changed his mind about testifying because you paid him hush money.”
The middle-aged man slowly got to his feet. He was a head taller than Miao Youfang, and looked down at him with disdain:
“Boy, what are you trying to do? Stand up for Zhang Hei? Go to the authorities to accuse me?”
Miao Youfang shook his head. “The authorities won’t handle this. You’ve already bought them off.”
The middle-aged man burst out laughing, his face full of contempt and sarcasm. “So you know…”
A cold gleam flashed in his pupils, then he saw the spray of blood from his own throat.
Clutching his neck, the middle-aged man staggered towards the door but fell after only a few steps. His limbs thrashed wildly for a few moments before going still.
Miao Youfang put away his dagger, picked up the purple clay teapot, poured scalding tea over his hands, then wiped the blood from his face with his wet hands, and said calmly,
“A debt is repaid with money, a life with a life, it’s only right and proper. Since the authorities won’t do it, I will.”
…
Qingxing Garden.
Two servant girls were stripping the bedding and sheets, taking advantage while that stunningly beautiful woman was sunbathing in the yard.
They chatted quietly.
“Aiya, last night was even wilder.”
“Yes, yes, the sheets are soaked through.”
“I’m telling you, they spent the whole day in the room yesterday, didn’t eat breakfast, lunch, or dinner.”
“That gentleman is really something. But if I were a man, I too would be willing to die in that young lady’s arms. I’ve never seen anyone so beautiful in all my life.”
“Isn’t the really impressive one the madam herself? If it were you, you wouldn’t even be able to walk—no, you wouldn’t even be able to get out of bed.”
Sitting cross-legged in the courtyard, Luo Yuheng’s beautiful face flushed but soon turned to worry.
Why hasn’t Xu Qi’an come back yet? If he isn’t back by midnight, won’t I be burned to death by karmic fire…? At this thought, Luo Yuheng felt a surge of dread.
Of the seven emotions, this was “fear”.
…
In the inn.
Li Lingsu sat cross-legged on the bed, refining Qi, nourishing his soul, and then using his soul to nourish his body in return.
He did not know how much time had passed before he opened his eyes, ending that day’s meditation.
“How nice, my waist is gradually hurting less…”
He massaged his lower back, able to feel that the slight swelling pain had eased considerably.
“Once my cultivation is restored, as long as I control my bedroom activities, with my fourth rank cultivation, I’ll never be kidney deficient again.”
For the past half year, his cultivation had been sealed, making it impossible to nourish his body, and every night he had been drained by the Dongfang sisters in turns, not even an immortal could stand that.
“That damned Xu Qian, not only does he have an affair with Luo Yuheng, even the Zhenbei King’s princess consort is his woman… So the number one beauty in the Great Feng is called Mu Nanzhi… Who else among his beauties in the capital? What kind of people are they? Damn it, I can’t think about this, the more I do, the more unequal I feel.”
Li Lingsu forcibly banished the stunning images of Luo Yuheng and Mu Nanzhi from his mind.
He got off the bed, put on his boots, and planned to visit Qingxing Garden to pass on Gongsun Xiangyang’s report to Xu Qian.
At that moment, he heard footsteps stop outside his door, followed by two knocks.
Li Lingsu opened the door, only to find that the visitor was Xu Qian.
“Senior, I was just about to look for you!”
Li Lingsu gave him a complex look and led him into the room.
Xu Qi’an stepped over the threshold, sat by the table, took the tea Li Lingsu poured for him, and took a sip.
Eh? This lad actually didn’t poison the tea? He thought, feeling a bit disappointed.
“Have you found the whereabouts of the Buddhist monks I asked you to investigate?” Xu Qi’an put down his teacup.
Li Lingsu regretfully shook his head. “I haven’t found where the Buddhist monks are staying, but strangely, the Gongsun clan also haven’t found the monks. I suspect they’re not living in the inn at all. The Buddhist sect has no shortage of magical artefacts for holding people, such as the Stupa tower.
“After all, you said an Arhat came to Yongzhou this time.”
“That’s possible,” Xu Qi’an nodded, not particularly disappointed. Of course, finding their whereabouts would be best for drawing out the monks.
But if they couldn’t be found, it did not matter.
After all, as long as he appeared in public, the Buddhist monks would gather like sharks smelling blood. Mm, and the subordinates of that unfilial son.
Letting Li Lingsu and the Gongsun family help search for the Buddhist monks was simply to gain a little more initiative, it was not the core of the plan.
“However, Gongsun Xiangyang said that they’ve gotten a lead on the fellow those Qingzhou people are after.” Li Lingsu said.
They’d found the Dragon Qi host? Xu Qi’an’s eyes brightened slightly. “Tell me.”
“Gongsun Xiangyang said that this afternoon, there was a murder at the Liubo gambling house. The gambling house owner, Chen Er, was killed. The murderer was the young man the Qingzhou group wanted to kill. A gambler even saw him being taken upstairs by some gambling house thugs.
“Less than a quarter of an hour later, he came back down, and then the owner’s corpse was discovered.”
Hearing this, Xu Qi’an frowned and almost pinched his brow.
The Dragon Qi hosts, one after another, were all unsavoury folk.
It wasn’t that Dragon Qi couldn’t take root in bad people. Since ancient times, those destined for great things could not be judged by simple notions of good and evil.
But every Dragon Qi host he’d come across was either a ruffian or a lunatic, and now there was a wandering jianghu hero who killed without hesitation.
“Interestingly, that gambling house owner had been involved in a murder not long ago. Still, we can’t say for sure if Chen Er’s death is related to that case.”
Li Lingsu glanced at Xu Qian. His expression was as calm and steady as ever, not at all smug about the exposure of his relationships with Luo Yuheng and the princess consort.
Sigh, Senior Xu has never shown off about anything. Am I just too sensitive and jealous… But really, any man would be jealous if they knew he was with Luo Yuheng and the great Feng’s number one beauty… Li Lingsu sighed silently, feeling conflicted.
Only then did he notice Xu Qian looked rather haggard.
Such exhaustion was strange to see on a beyond-mortal martial artist.
Li Lingsu did not dwell on it and continued, “But that fellow is very sharp. Gongsun Xiangyang’s men lost him, he slipped away on the road. This means he’s at least Refining Spirit. Also, Gongsun Xiangyang wanted me to ask if he should share this news with those Qingzhou people.”
The Holy Son still did not know Ji Xuan and company’s true identities.
Xu Qi’an considered for a moment. “Even if we don’t tell them, the Qingzhou crowd will search for him in Yongzhou city anyway. We might as well do them a favour and gain some trust. After all, we don’t know where he’s gone either.”
But as long as they had confirmed his appearance in Yongzhou and at the Liubo gambling house, they could roughly pinpoint this Dragon Qi host’s location.
Xu Qi’an planned to go and wander around in person and use his own feeling for Dragon Qi to find him, aiming to get there before the Buddhist sect or Tianjigong.
After their conversation, Xu Qi’an left.
When he reached the door, he paused, turned back, and asked, “By the way, do you still have any medicine for the kidney and boosting yang?”
He thumped his lower back and sighed, “My waist just can’t take it!”
… Li Lingsu’s face instantly stiffened.
What did you do with Luo Yuheng?
What did you do with the princess consort?
Go kill yourself go kill yourself!!!
With a blank expression, Li Lingsu said, “Senior, is there anything else? I am about to comprehend the Supreme Forgetting of Emotion, please do not disturb me.”
Let’s not provoke this young man further, or soon enough, he’ll go and swear brotherhood with Yang Qianhuan… Xu Qi’an smiled, opened the door, and left.
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