At night, Dyefang Street, Shuanggui Lane.

Ye Jingtang led the old horse and walked through the dark alley, looking around.

After wandering around for a day, he was in a good mood. He lay on the horse's luggage and looked at the stars with his claws in the sky, humming a little tune:

"Chi chi chi~..."

As you can tell from the name, Dyefang Street is a slum area with many handicraft workshops. It has not yet been destroyed. There are only a few small workshops in the surrounding area. It is difficult to see people once it gets dark.

This is especially true for Shuanggui Alley. It has been neglected all year round. Even the road has a lot of leaves accumulated on it, which makes a soft sound when stepped on.

I just walked around the job market, there are a lot of errands, but those with a monthly salary of three thousand yuan are in demand.

As the saying goes, "the poor in literature and the rich in martial arts", as a martial arts practitioner in Ye Jingtang, it would cost a lot of money just to pay for all the martial arts practitioners, not to mention the martial arts' exaggerated appetite, so it was obviously impossible for him to do this work.

Although he didn't find a job, he found a place to stay. Ye Jingtang originally thought that with only two taels of silver, he wouldn't be able to settle down in the capital. However, after some inquiring, he discovered the treasure of Shuanggui Alley - there are more than a dozen courtyards in the entire alley. They are all the property of a landlady, and with twenty taels of silver a year, you can live in whichever building you want.

Night Terror Hall paid half a year's rent, but the landlord didn't even give me the keys. When I came over to take a look, it was in line with expectations - there were about a dozen old courtyards in disrepair, with almost no walls without cracks, and only two or three with intact doors. It felt like Not many people would be willing to live there without paying.

One person and one bird in the Night Terror Hall were full and the whole family was not hungry, so they didn't care about these things. They found a decent-looking courtyard and pushed in the door.

The courtyard was covered with fallen leaves, the doors and windows were open, and there was only a bed frame inside, not even a table or chair.

"grumble……"

Niaoniao jumped off the horse, walked around the house, and looked at the Night Terror Hall with his big black eyes. He probably meant--why don't we go back to the big-breasted sister's place.

Ye Jingtang ignored the birds, tied the horse in the corner of the yard, fed some fodder, and then took off the bedding on the horse's back.

Da da--

The fire sickle collided with sparks, and then the dim candlelight filled the family's humble home.

Ye Jingtang leaned the knife against the wall and looked around the empty room. Suddenly he found that the floor was quite clean and the dry thatch that made the bed was slightly dented. He lowered his head and looked carefully and found a long hair.

"Um?"

Ye Jingtang picked up his long hair and looked at it - the hair quality was very good, and he could be sure that it wasn't too long ago, and someone had lived here recently.

But in this era, both men and women had long hair, and the gender of the owner could not be identified.

Could it be that it was left behind by the previous tenant...

Ye Jingtang was a little confused, but he didn't pay much attention. After throwing his hair out the door, he took the sheets and quilts to make the bed.

Birdie was very naughty and pecked at the small package, trying to get the dried meat from it.

"You're still eating, but you're living in this wretched place? If I can't get any more money, I'll have to sell you for money next month."

"Ji~"

The bird jumped twice, indicating that he was too fat and couldn't sell it for a lot of money.

Ye Jingtang had just smoothed out the sheets when he suddenly heard a slight noise coming from outside:

call--

It was like a breeze blowing into the yard and lifting up the fallen leaves on the ground.

Ye Jingtang frowned, held the handle of the knife beside him, and looked out of the decorative window.

There is an extra figure in the yard!

The black lamp blinded the fire, and the silver moon was like frost. The moonlight that peaked over the wall only illuminated half of the yard.

The human figure stands between light and darkness, wrapped in a cloak and a bamboo hat on his head. The fat and thin man and woman cannot be seen clearly. He is holding a long spear wrapped in black cloth at an angle.

The figure remained motionless and silent, and it was clear that the visitor was not a good person.

Ye Jingtang secretly raised his finger and asked Niao Niao to quietly find the escort leader. At the same time, he stuck the knife across his waist and came to the door:

"Who are you? Is this your residence?"

The guest in the hat is naturally the big-breasted sister who came to visit the young man in the middle of the night.

However, Pei Xiangjun didn't say anything. He slipped out the spear in his hand, held the tail of the spear with one hand, raised the spear horizontally, and drew a semicircle in the old courtyard, pointing at the Night Terror Hall. At the same time, he also raised his bamboo hat, showing a grimace on his face. mask.

Holding the tail of the gun with one hand and raising the nine-foot spear is impossible without solid skills.

Seeing this, Ye Jingtang calmly stepped back half a step, holding the handle of the knife with his left hand, ready for battle. However, the opponent did not attack directly. Instead, he raised his spear and shook his wrist lightly.

Snapped--

Under the moonlight, deep in the alley, there was a sound of whips.

The black cloth wrapped around the gun's body instantly fell apart, revealing the body of the black lacquered spear.

The silver gun blade gave off a ghostly cold light under the moonlight. After the black cloth cracked, you could hear the gun blade's trembling sound like a dragon's roar:

Buzz~~~

Ye Jingtang's eyes were slightly frightened. He could easily hold the gun with one hand, but it was beyond his ability to directly shatter the wrapping cloth.

Knowing that he was outmatched, Ye Jingtang's expression was "joyful" and he raised his eyes to look at the courtyard gate:

"Master Wang?!"

Pei Xiangjun quickly turned his head to check.

Bang——

Ye Jingtang suddenly stepped on the ground, jumped up from the ground, jumped onto the roof, and ran towards the bustling street.

It's a pity that this trick may be useful for ordinary warriors, but this time it's not an ordinary person!

Ye Jingtang jumped up to the roof. He didn't hear any sound of jumping behind him, but there was a violent sound of wind breaking from above.

Sa——

Ye Jingtang's blade was unsheathed. Looking out of the corner of his eye, he was shocked to find that the man in the bamboo hat who had been motionless just a moment ago had arrived first and reached a height of three feet in the air. He held the gun with both hands and smashed it towards his head with the force of splitting the Huashan Mountain. .

The house is only one foot high, and this jump is equivalent to about three floors. This is the first time in Ye Jingtang's life that he has seen someone jump so high, and he can't help but feel horrified!

Faced with Taishan's crushing offensive, Ye Jingtang quickly raised his sword horizontally and placed his right hand against the back of the sword.

when--

Wow——

Amidst the clash of gold and iron, the old roof collapsed instantly.

Ye Jingtang was shot into the house. He felt that the spear contained such brutal force that he could not handle it. After landing, it still caused pain in the soles of his feet.

"Hold on, hero..."

Ye Jingtang wanted to open his mouth and escape, but the gunman who suddenly arrived did not give him a chance. He penetrated through the hole in the roof and shot directly to the front door.

clang--

Ye Jingtang slashed across the room with his sword. Amidst the loud noise, a few sparks exploded in the room, and the remaining crumbling candles were also blown out.

The spear that penetrated from the roof was like a heavy iron pillar, and it was moved sideways a little.

Ye Jingtang seized the opportunity and flew up. He held the knife in both hands and slashed the fingers of the man in the hat along the barrel of the gun, hoping to fight back.

But after the intruder's spear point hit the ground, he flew out of the roof upside down and landed lightly on the roof. The tip of the spear pointed diagonally at the courtyard and did not attack again.

Seeing this, Ye Jingtang stopped in a hurry and stood with the sword in front of him in both hands, maintaining a posture of responding to the enemy.

Dong dong dong...

The courtyard fell into dead silence under the moonlight, and one could clearly hear a heartbeat that was about to explode.

Ye Jingtang had beads of sweat on his forehead, holding the knife motionless, staring at the figure on the roof.

After a moment of confrontation, the person on the roof raised his bamboo hat slightly and uttered a hoarse voice that was neither male nor female:

“You don’t know how to ‘Eight-Step Crazy Sword’?”

Ye Jingtang frowned. He had practiced martial arts with his adoptive father since he was a child. He had learned normal sword and gun skills and had never heard of the Eight-Step Crazy Sword.

As for the relevant secret books, he has never encountered them. The books that can describe the Jianghu in the border town are all miscellaneous books such as "The Tears of the Chivalrous Girl", "The Romance of the Martial Arts", "The Legend of the Gorgeous Heroes", etc. He has read a lot, but he has not learned the moves, but the postures are... Learned a lot...

"I'm just an escort. I've never heard of the Eight-Step Crazy Sword, and I know a few tricks. You may have found the wrong person."

"The 'Eight-Step Crazy Sword' was created by the swordsman of the previous dynasty and was passed down to the master of swordsmanship 'Zheng Feng'. Today you are wielding the sword in Mingyu Tower. Your starting position is similar to the Eight-Step Crazy Sword. I'm afraid the court will come to you soon." . But you really don’t know how to do it, so don’t worry, I’ll just give you another beating to test the depth.”

?

One more meal?

Ye Jingtang can roughly infer that 'Zheng Feng' is the pseudonym of his adoptive father Pei Yuanfeng, but he did not expect that his adoptive father was also the true master.

But you have such great swordsmanship and you don’t want to learn it early?

If you don’t teach, you won’t teach. What’s your starting point? What to do if someone recognizes you...

It seems that I can’t burn paper for you this year...

Ye Jingtang's mind was spinning a thousand times, but his expression was natural. Seeing that the other party seemed to be a kind reminder, he asked:

"I have never heard of these things. Who are you?"

"Red God of Wealth."

Ye Jingtang recalled a little, and was secretly shocked - he had heard of the 'Red God of Wealth', which was the title of the owner of the wealthy family 'Honghua Mansion', also known as the 'Chief of Guns', ranking seventh in the world, and even more powerful than his adoptive father's enemy. The ranking of Jianghu is still high.

Although there are rumors in the world, it seems that the 'gun leader' has been replaced, but the skinny camel is bigger than the horse, no wonder it is so powerful...

"It turns out that he is the owner of Honghua Building. I have admired his name for a long time. I don't know what the senior person's intention is when he comes to visit me and gives advice to a junior like me?"

"I see you are a good material, Xicai. Do you want to learn marksmanship?"

Ye Jingtang was stunned: "Senior, do you want to accept me as your disciple?"

Pei Xiangjun pointed his spear at the ground, and the master said in an angry tone:

"The Overlord Spear can only be passed down to one person in a generation, and he must be the helmsman of Honghua Mansion. You and I are strangers when we meet for the first time. It is too early to propose apprenticeship. Show your ability and conduct first. If you are qualified, we will consider passing on your kung fu and bring Honghua Mansion to you." I’ll tell you the details.”

Unlike the Green Bandits, Pingtian Sect and other forces, Honghualou is a very low-key Jianghu force. It concentrates on managing its own one-third of an acre of land and is not included in the government's purge list.

He was born in the Ye Jingtang Escort Bureau, and he was originally a person who ran around in the world. Being able to enter such a "decent" family and be groomed as the heir by a giant in the world is to reach the sky in one step.

Ye Jingtang had no intention of becoming a disciple, but there was no place for him to settle down. With such a big road ahead of him, he could not find a reason to refuse for a while. He thought for a while and asked first:

"I have admired the name of my senior for a long time. If I have the opportunity to learn good marksmanship, I would be honored. I wonder what my senior thinks of me?"

"Honghualou is a businessman. Martial arts is very important when you are in charge, but what is more important is your knowledge of the world. You went to the Pei family today. It seems that you have some connections. You used to help the Pei family. I will secretly observe your ability and conduct. .”

?

Ye Jingtang blinked, feeling something was wrong, and carefully looked at the figure of the man in the hat, but unfortunately he didn't see anything...

"My father asked me to give the property to the Pei family, and we will have nothing to do with each other anymore..."

Pei Xiangjun said seriously: "I asked you to help. We don't owe each other money to do things. We don't ask you to become a young master of a rich family. You are so embarrassed. At worst, you don't need to be paid, and you are not happy to do a favor for your relatives?"

His words are hoarse, and he is full of master's temperament, but his words don't sound like a gangster...like he is coquettishly interacting with a woman...

Ye Jingtang had some guesses in his heart, but it was difficult to confirm. After thinking about it, he nodded:

"Forget it, just follow the senior's wishes. But I am a straight-tempered person, and kung fu is 'shoes' to me. It doesn't matter whether the shoes are good or bad. I only see how the person who wears the shoes is. If I feel that senior is not suitable in the future, I can still Please forgive me, senior."

"This is how people in the world should be. I came here rashly just to waste your time. I can't do anything about it afterwards, and I won't let your happiness be in vain."

After saying that, Pei Xiangjun disappeared from the roof and disappeared into the night...