Chapter 54: Eve Of The Storm
Hong Yuan thought for a moment and immediately understood who he was referring to. He smiled and said, “My speed is faster. Teacher, please wait a moment. I’ll go invite Martial Uncle.”
“However, Teacher, you must give me a token.”
“Very well!” Yang Erhu gave a wry smile. “This time, this old man has caused such a huge disaster and disturbed his life of wealth and leisure. If I go, I’m afraid I’ll be scolded bloody.”
In Yang Erhu’s view, Hong Yuan’s killing spree this time was all to save him.
“I’ll go and come right back. Teacher, please hold this for me first.”
Shortly after, having learned the exact location, Hong Yuan did not delay and tossed the Life-Snatching Throat-Locking Spear into Yang Erhu’s hands.
Whoosh!
His figure leaped up, stepping on the trunk of a large tree nearby. As the bark burst apart, he shot out like a gale, sending large swathes of fallen leaves on the ground swirling up vigorously.
Yang Erhu suddenly caught the spear, feeling it sink in his hand. His body staggered, but he quickly steadied himself, gripping the silver spear tightly and sensing its heavy weight. He could not help but be moved once more.
In the blink of an eye, Hong Yuan had dashed out of the dense forest, still able to hear sounds coming from the direction of Moon Embracing Garden.
He paid it no mind, stomped his foot, and burst forth with even greater speed. He did not head to the prefecture city first but plunged straight into Jade Belt River.
In a few breaths, he had washed the blood off his body. His figure flickered, and he sped straight toward Linjiang Prefecture City.
His speed was so fast that he became a blurry indistinct shadow, stirring up branches, leaves, and gravel, kicking up clouds of dust. If he had taken the official road and been seen by someone, they would likely mistake him for some ghostly figure.
In no time at all, he had run more than twenty li. His clothes were no longer dripping water, though they remained damp.
When still a few li from the prefecture city, Hong Yuan slowed down, gradually recovering his spent strength.
Even so, he soon caught sight of the city wall.
Hong Yuan did not go through the city gate. He circled to a section with fewer guards and, light as a swallow in flight, tapped his toes successively on the city wall, easily leaping onto the nearly three-zhang-high wall.
He brought a gust of clear wind with him as he entered the prefecture city.
The drastic change at Moon Embracing Garden had not yet reached the city. The major streets of the prefecture city were bustling with activity, thronged with people and carriages flowing like dragons.
Numerous traveling merchants and guests, jianghu people wearing knives and swords, and nobles’ young masters in fine brocade clothes striding arrogantly wove through the crowd, some hurrying along, others strolling leisurely.
Once inside the city, in broad daylight, it was naturally not suitable to dash about at full speed.
Hong Yuan simply walked at a leisurely pace, heading straight toward West Market.
His nominal martial uncle’s courtyard house was located in a bustling area of West Market.
Passing by a noisy restaurant, Hong Yuan caught a whiff of wine aroma and immediately turned and walked inside.
He tossed out a silver ingot and told the shopkeeper to fetch a pot of wine, then turned his gaze to the restaurant hall.
The hall was quite lively. A storyteller with a goatee stood on a high platform set up in the center, recounting the tale of Flying Sky Yaksha causing a commotion in the prefecture city.
Of course, being a dramatized tale, it was full of fabrications, portraying that Flying Sky Yaksha as a villain who committed atrocities, murdered, and robbed wealth, like some great bandit.
Hong Yuan was not angry and listened with great interest for a while.
When the shopkeeper brought a pot of wine, he casually tossed some silver shavings onto the platform.
The storyteller beamed with smiles, stood and bowed in thanks. Hong Yuan laughed heartily, took a swig of wine, and left the restaurant.
On the official road leading from Moon Embracing Garden to the prefecture city.
Groups of people and horses fled in panic, exerting all their strength.
Many were already gasping for breath but still dared not stop, as if evil ghosts were chasing them from behind.
These people were scattered about, many being distinguished guests with fair skin and fine clothes. Now, however, they were all pale-faced, being supported by their attendant guards as they fled.
Twenty or thirty bloodstained, dejected armored soldiers carried Guo Zhen’s corpse on horseback, hurrying toward the prefecture city.
These were the soldiers who had scattered earlier, with dozens more nowhere to be found.
At this moment, these reassembled armored soldiers looked as if they were bereaved of their closest kin.
No!
It was ten times, a hundred times worse than losing their own father or mother!
They had all begun to regret it, lamenting their cowardice back then. If only they had died in battle!
At least they would not have implicated their wives, children, and elders.
Everyone knew full well that with their commanding officer Guo Zhen dead, they runaway personal guards and even their families would meet a grim fate.
Fear, terror, remorse… all sorts of negative emotions spread, yet they dared not not return. Not returning would be even worse.
If time could be turned back, they certainly, certainly…
Yet, when they thought of that silver gleam leaping like a flood dragon and that man as powerful as a demon, an even deeper chill surged in their hearts.
Their courage utterly shattered, if it happened again, they probably would not even have the guts to face him directly.
The skies over Linjiang Prefecture could change in an instant.
Hong Yuan had just walked down a long street when massive dark clouds drifted in from the sky, rolling and piling up like ink.
Soon, the thick, dim hue spread out, and raindrops began to patter down, striking the green stone slabs with a dense sound like frying beans.
Howling winds blew in, making the rain even more frenzied.
The area around was full of people running to take shelter from the rain. Hong Yuan bought an oil-paper umbrella, opened it, and by the time he was walking, he had already reached West Market.
During those days as Flying Sky Yaksha, Hong Yuan had roamed various places and was quite familiar with the prefecture city, though finding the exact location still took some effort.
He immediately grabbed a passing pedestrian and asked about Yang Jinbao’s residence.
His martial uncle’s original name was not this; after his martial arts were crippled, he became a wealthy man and changed it to this, implying “wealth, nobility, auspiciousness, and halls full of gold and jade.”
The pedestrian, pulled to a stop, was about to get angry, but when Hong Yuan flipped his hand to reveal a silver ingot, he immediately beamed with joy and pointed to a place in the rain curtain not far away where lights still shone through: “There, the courtyard house diagonally across from Wei Cui Tower is Treasure Master’s.”
“You know him?”
“Haha, who on this street doesn’t know Treasure Master? Who doesn’t know he loves taking courtesans as concubines? He’s taken no fewer than three beauties from Wei Cui Tower alone. Tsk!”
The pedestrian winked suggestively. Even soaked to the skin with water streaming down his face, he still clicked his tongue in admiration and envy.
“Many thanks!”
Hong Yuan thanked him, then flipped his hand and pocketed the silver.
“Hey! The silver, why didn’t you give me the silver?” the pedestrian hurriedly called out.
“What silver? Silver is for looking at, not for spending!”
Hong Yuan turned and left. Soon he arrived in front of a mansion, seeing the signboard above reading “Jinbao Residence,” and immediately knocked on the gate.
Perhaps due to the loud rain, the gatekeeper did not hear. Hong Yuan immediately reverted to his old trade and leaped over the courtyard wall.
He quickly entered the back courtyard, where a burst of chattering and giggling from women immediately sounded, quite lively.
Hong Yuan looked up and saw that in this heavy rain, on the covered walkway, seven or eight women in red and green were laughing coquettishly, darting back and forth along the corridor, dodging a portly middle-aged man trying to catch them.
The middle-aged man had black cloth over his eyes. Though fat, he was extremely agile, even somersaulting from time to time, lunging at a woman to startle her, then deliberately slowing his grab with his chubby hand to let her escape.
“Don’t run! If I catch you, tonight you’ll accompany me… heh heh heh!”
The portly middle-aged man chuckled oddly, nimbly shifting positions and lunging about.
Hong Yuan walked over unhurriedly. Seeing this uninvited guest, the women were not afraid at all. Instead, finding him handsome, they kept throwing coquettish glances.
The portly middle-aged man lunged again and grabbed Hong Yuan’s clothing. He immediately laughed heartily: “Is this Little Dragonfly, right?”
Hong Yuan did not reply. He laughed again: “Could it be Jin Suo’er?”
“It’s your big brother…”
Hong Yuan said slowly.
