Chapter 290 Three Paths
Chapter 290 Two Paths
A lone wild goose flew over the Xinghua Tower, crying in the sky. A few moments later, it flew through the morning glow in the sky. On the shore of East Lake, a pleasure boat was moored in front of the willow bank, and the melodious sound of a piano brushed across thousands of green willows.
Inside the room, a young man was lying on the embroidered couch with his eyes closed.
Two sword maids in black stood guard in front of the bed, their eyes fixed on the man's face.
"It's been a day and a night. When will he wake up?"
"It should be soon."
"The wound on the chest is half a finger deep. It's so serious that a normal person would be crippled if not dead."
"The Saint Aunt said that the inner strength he cultivated is very mysterious. As long as his breath is not extinguished, he can keep his spirit from dissipating. With the Eight Flavors Heavenly Red Pill, he should be able to recover faster. Look, his face is beginning to have color, and his fingers are moving..."
"I will go and report to the Saint Aunt. You stay here and watch him."
The only person left in the room was a young sword-maid with two buns on her head.
She walked to the embroidered couch, looked back at the swaying bead curtain, stretched out her hand, and gently placed it on the man's face, but retracted her hand as if she had been electrocuted. She took four or five steps back guiltily and looked at the bead curtain again. The sound of the piano outside had stopped.
There is a round table and two seats on the deck.
"It's all because of the sorrow of separation that I sit alone and play the zither endlessly."
Xiang Wentian drank a few cups of tea to relieve his hangover. He looked at the woman standing in front of the piano table and sighed silently in his heart. After the disappearance of Master Ren, the eldest lady had experienced several turmoil. The young lady had long lost the heart of a child that her peers had.
Ren Yingying turned around and walked to the round table and sat down, and saw a smile on Xiang Wentian's face.
"Uncle Xiang looks very happy. Did you get anything out of the apricot blossom party held by Prince Ning last night?"
"The Suzaku Hall is entrenched in western Jiangxi, and the Ning Wang Mansion has also governed Jiangxi for generations. But more than a decade ago, the Ning Wang was just a prince, and he didn't pay attention to the affairs of the martial arts world. Yang Fengming is a meticulous character, and he won't leave any obvious traces."
Ren Yingying was not surprised and poured Xiang Wentian a cup of tea.
Over the years, she has become accustomed to news, no news, true news, and false news.
"Thank you, miss."
Xiang Wentian picked up the teacup and said with a smile, "As the saying goes, if the west is dark, the east will be bright. There is no news about King Ning. I met a man at the apricot blossom banquet. He told me something that should be of some value."
"Who did Uncle Xiang know?"
"Paint a million."
"The God of Wealth from Eastern Zhejiang?"
Xiang Wentian nodded and said, "That's the man. Miss, have you heard of him too?"
"There are many wealthy people in the world, but he seems to be the only one who can be called the God of Wealth."
The God of Wealth, the focus is not on the money, but on the ability to communicate with the gods through money.
Ren Yingying thought for a moment and asked, "Tu Baiwan can barely be considered a half-way person in the underworld. How did he have any connection with Yang Fengming?"
Xiang Wentian put down his teacup and said, "In the year when Master Ren disappeared and Dongfang Bubai succeeded to the throne, Yang Fengming went to Jiangxi to become the head of the Suzaku Hall. He contacted Tu Baiwan and hired two merchant ships under his name, saying that he wanted to transport a batch of refined iron to Longquan, Zhejiang."
"This is not surprising. Jiangxi is rich in metal deposits and has high-quality refined iron, while Longquan, Zhejiang has many weapon foundries. The two places have traded since ancient times, and Suzaku Hall has been involved in this business for a long time."
Xiang Wentian smiled and said, "Miss is right, but Tu Baiwan also mentioned a detail. Yang Fengming only hired his boat but not his people, so I want to go to Zhejiang to investigate."
"When will Uncle Xiang leave?"
"Let's follow Tu Baiwan's ship today." Ren Yingying looked towards the east, where a half arc of red sun was visible.
Over the years, Xiang Wentian spent most of his time on the road, traveling all over the world, looking for traces of people. In the first few years, every time he went out, Ren Yingying was full of expectations, but after being disappointed so many times, she no longer dared to hold on to hope easily.
The goal of both of them is to overthrow Dongfang Bubai and regain control of the Sun and Moon Sect.
The path Ren Yingying chose to take was different from Xiang Wentian's.
At this time, the sword-wielding maid in black came out of the cabin and reported.
"Master, he is showing signs of waking up."
"It's about the same time as I estimated. Feed him another Eight Flavors Heavenly Red Pill. He should be able to fully wake up in two hours. Report back then."
Xiang Wentian was slightly surprised: "That was the life-saving pill that Doctor Ping gave to the young lady. I remember that the saffron I got from the old lama that year was only enough to refine three pills."
The Eight-Ingredient Tianhong Pill was made by a famous doctor who killed people based on a secret recipe from the Tang Dynasty. Its effectiveness in treating internal injuries is no less than the Baiyun Bear Bile Pills of the Hengshan School. It also has a miraculous effect on healing external injuries.
However, he is not well-known in the world.
Those eight medicinal herbs, such as blood scorpion, Paris polyphylla, cordyceps, and gentian ginseng, are very rare for ordinary people, but the influence of the Sun and Moon Sect is spread all over the world, so it is not difficult to provide a stable supply.
What is truly rare is the main ingredient, the finest saffron produced in the Snow Mountain.
In the U-Tsang area, only the most skilled herdsmen can climb the cliffs and pick the flowers during the seven-day flowering period in November every year. Most of them are donated to local temples, and very little flows into the Central Plains.
Ren Yingying said softly: "It's best if you don't need to use the life-saving pill."
After Xiang Wentian saw the black-clothed sword maid take the porcelain bottle and leave, he asked, "Miss, are you going to give that thing to him?"
Ren Yingying asked, "My martial arts skills are not originally in the way of swordsmanship, so they are useless in my hands. Do you think it is inappropriate, Uncle Xiang?"
Xiang Wentian looked hesitant, as he had known Zhang Yu before.
Before the Battle of Damaoling, he was just an unknown person.
After escaping from Hengshan, he established a relationship with Fenglei Hall and rose rapidly. Although he behaved a little fawningly in front of Dongfang Bubai and Tong Baixiong, his subsequent promotions were all achieved through hard fighting.
From a personal perspective, Xiang Wentian also admires young people who are both talented in literature and martial arts.
But Tong Baixiong is Dongfang Bubai's close confidant, and Zhang Yu was promoted to deputy head of the Dharma Protector Hall on the order of Dongfang Bubai himself. In comparison, the mark of Wu Lianjiang's disciple on him has faded a lot.
"I admire the young lady's ability to judge people. Although this person does not get along with Yang Lianting, he is promoted and respected by Dongfang Bubai after all. If there is a day when order is restored... will he stand on our side?"
Ren Yingying chuckled and said, "I haven't thought that far. Qu Yang is also my teacher. This time, Lord Chengde has issued a hunting order, so it is not convenient for me to show up. If Zhang Yu wants to repay his kindness and save people, giving that thing to him can also be considered as indirectly helping Qu Yang."
Xiang Wentian pondered for a moment and understood Ren Yingying's plan.
He asked again: "What if he doesn't save Qu Yang?"
Ren Yingying glanced at the cabin hidden by the pearl curtain and smiled slightly.
"That's perfect! It shows that he is a heartless person who only seeks profit and avoids harm."
"This is the case for Qu Yang and Dongfang Bubai, so we don't have to worry about it."
"When that day comes, I just need to prepare enough benefits to lure him, and enough threats to force him. I won't be afraid that he won't be of use to me!"
(End of this chapter)