23, The Plot of Jin Ping Mei Begins, A Chance Encounter With Xi Men Qing
Bidding farewell to Zuo Qian Hu,
After reporting to the Northern Town Guard that he was leaving the capital,
Ye Xuan assumed the identity of a wealthy merchant,
and headed towards Qing He County.
Just as he was about to reach Qing He County,
Ye Xuan realized he was being followed.
It should be a group of bandits,
the leader of whom possesses Grandmaster strength.
The bandits trailed Ye Xuan’s carriage,
from day to dusk.
Ye Xuan understood,
that at midnight, when the moon was high and the wind howled, this was when the bandits would strike.
Ye Xuan did not give them any cause to alert them,
but instead, deliberately chose a secluded path.
For Ye Xuan wanted to test his own strength,
though he had plundered Zuo Qian Hu’s data,
all of Zuo Qian Hu’s combat experience flooded his mind, as if it were his own.
But,
only by personally engaging could he experience the joy of martial arts at its peak.
Ye Xuan wanted to use these bandits as practice.
Just as Ye Xuan felt the time was right,
a bonfire suddenly flared up in front of him.
Looking up,
he saw two men dressed as young masters gathered around the bonfire, discussing something.
Ye Xuan didn’t know if they were part of the bandits,
so he initiated a conversation to probe their true nature.
“Gentlemen, my name is Ye Xuan. I’m heading to Qing He County to do business and I’m passing through here. Could I borrow some fire?” Ye Xuan stopped his carriage and asked.
“Of course!”
One of them made room for Ye Xuan by the fire.
Ye Xuan smiled faintly and sat down by the bonfire.
The other young master tore off a rabbit leg and handed it to Ye Xuan. “Brother Ye, care for a taste?”
“Certainly!”
Ye Xuan took the rabbit leg, took a bite, and gave a thumbs up. “Delicious!”
“Such delicious food deserves good wine!”
So Ye Xuan returned to his carriage,
brought out a jar of fine wine and offered it to the two young masters.
“Gentlemen, care for a sip?”
Ye Xuan’s wine was from the Absolute World Tavern,
with a fragrant aroma.
Despite their reservations about Ye Xuan,
the two couldn’t resist the allure of such fine wine and took the jar, gulping it down eagerly.
Building friendship between men is simple:
all you need is wine, food, and beautiful women.
After a jar of wine,
the three men warmed up to each other,
lowering their guard.
“My name is Xi Men Qing!”
“My name is Hua Zi Xu!”
Hearing their names,
Ye Xuan was startled!
What a coincidence!
He hadn’t even reached Qing He County and he had already met his target.
“So you are Brother Xi Men, I’ve heard so much about you!”
“The Xi Men family’s reputation in Qing He County is thunderous. Master Xi Men…”
You can’t pierce through flattery, no matter how hard you try.
Since he had met the real deal, he’d better butter him up, there’s no harm in that.
Sure enough,
Xi Men Qing enjoyed Ye Xuan’s praise, and so he began with a reminder, “Brother Ye, I’m not saying this to be critical, but you’re really brave, travelling alone in these wild mountains and remote forests!”
Clearly,
with his Grandmaster strength, Xi Men Qing had also sensed the bandits following Ye Xuan.
However, with his Grandmaster status, Xi Men Qing couldn’t see through Ye Xuan’s Wulin Myth status,
only seeing Ye Xuan dressed as a merchant, mistaking him for a common businessman.
Ye Xuan understood that Xi Men Qing had noticed the bandits, but pretended not to know, and questioned him in confusion. “What do you mean, Brother Xi Men? Are there any ghosts or goblins in these mountains?”
“Whether there are ghosts or goblins I don’t know, but there is a band of bandits!”
After Xi Men Qing finished speaking, he turned towards the direction where the bandits were hiding and shouted, “Brothers on the road, no need to hide, I’m Xi Men Qing, and I’ve just met this Brother Ye and we’ve hit it off. I hope you’ll give me some face and leave…”
With Xi Men Qing’s voice falling,
the group of bandits who had been following Ye Xuan for a day all emerged,
surrounding the three men.
The Grandmaster bandit leader, Gao Da Qiang, looked at Xi Men Qing and said with a smile, “So it’s the newly appointed Master Xi Men, my little brother Gao Da Qiang and your father were also old acquaintances. Since Master Xi Men has spoken, then little brother will definitely give you face. You can leave, but the goods must stay…”
Hearing this, Xi Men Qing’s face darkened. “So you’re saying you won’t give me face!?”
“If your father was still alive, I, Gao Da Qiang, wouldn’t say a word, I would turn around and leave. But now, calling you Master is already giving you enough face. Don’t push your luck!”
Gao Da Qiang coldly snorted.
All the bandits drew their machetes.
“You’re looking for death!”
Xi Men Qing coldly snorted and abruptly stood up,
heading towards Gao Da Qiang.
Although Gao Da Qiang was also a Grandmaster,
it was clear that he was still a notch below Xi Men Qing.
He was directly kicked away by Xi Men Qing,
and the remaining bandit underlings saw their leader make a move.
They raised their machetes and slashed at Hua Zi Xu and Ye Xuan.
“Young Master Xi Men, save me!”
Hua Zi Xu, who couldn’t fight, cried for help.
Xi Men Qing was a skilled fighter,
he turned around and came to Hua Zi Xu’s side,
dealing with the two bandits in front of Hua Zi Xu,
and then consecutively dealt with the few bandits around Ye Xuan.
In a blink of an eye,
most of the bandits had been dealt with by Xi Men Qing.
Seeing that Xi Men Qing was skilled in martial arts, the bandit leader Gao Da Qiang quickly pretended to be weak and apologized, “Master Xi Men, I have eyes but cannot see Mount Tai, I have offended you greatly, I will take my little brothers and leave!”
“Scram!”
Xi Men Qing scoffed.
“Yes!”
Gao Da Qiang clasped his fists, bowed and saluted.
As he bowed,
two hidden weapons flew towards Xi Men Qing.
“Be careful!”
At the same time as the hidden weapons were released, Ye Xuan reminded him,
while launching two pieces of bone towards the two hidden weapons.
Swoosh swoosh swoosh~~
Three breaking wind sounds echoed,
the two hidden weapons fired by Gao Da Qiang were knocked down by the bones,
and one of the bones directly pierced the bandit leader Gao Da Qiang’s forehead.
The remaining bandits saw their leader die, and immediately scattered in all directions, fleeing.
Ye Xuan had no intention of chasing them.
Seeing Ye Xuan make such a move, Xi Men Qing was stunned,
“So Brother Ye is actually a master! It seems that Brother Ye is truly motivated to rid the world of evil, it’s this little brother who has been a bit too showy!”
Thinking of how he almost fell for it, Xi Men Qing felt embarrassed.
“Brother Xi Men has a righteous heart, I admire you. Here, let’s drink!”
Ye Xuan took another jar of wine from his carriage,
and drank with them.
“By the way, Brother Xi Men, Brother Zi Xu, what are you two doing in these wild mountains and remote forests in the middle of the night?”
Ye Xuan asked curiously.
Seeing Ye Xuan’s curiosity,
Hua Zi Xu was immediately interested, with a lewd look on his face, “Brother Ye, are you interested in watching a battle?”
“What battle!?”
Ye Xuan saw Hua Zi Xu’s lecherous expression and was immediately interested.
“Brother Ye, have you heard of the Cloud Rain Hero, Cloud Dragon?” Hua Zi Xu was incredibly lewd.
Ye Xuan’s knowledge of this world,
naturally, he had never heard of such a person,
but Ye Xuan, who had read countless learning materials,
was quite familiar with the name Yun Zhong Long.
…
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