Outside the guest room of Qingfeng Edge.
Wang Anfeng thanked the disciple who had shown them in and entered the room.
The entire Sect of Qingfeng Edge seemed to favor a minimalist style; the guest room was quite simple. Wang Anfeng took flint from his bag and lit the red candle. Although it was getting late, he felt no fatigue and thus sat at the table, idly pushing at the softened part of the candle with his fingers, while he reflected on his recent experiences in his mind.
Master and Mr. Ying wanted him to find the ancient texts that recorded the old spherical beads.
What concerned him more, though, was the Jianghu organization called 'White Tiger Hall.'
According to those martial artists' confessions, since leaving Fufeng County City, they had been following him, Baili Feng, and Xue Qinshuang, with their targets being them.
This made him suspect something about the Master Ni incident, the original source of the tragedy.
In this vast land of Great Qin, it was unbelievable that someone could slaughter a family twenty years ago and still live long and prosper, undoubtedly having the nod of some real big shot in the Imperial Court.
And White Tiger Hall must have inextricable ties with this big shot.
The flame of the red candle flickered and burned the pad of Wang Anfeng's finger. The youth withdrew his hand sharply in pain, and a smear of red wax, like slow-flowing blood, solidified quickly on his finger. Wang Anfeng shook his head with a wry smile, stopping his wandering thoughts and etching the words 'White Tiger Hall' into his mind.
Peeling off the solid wax, he casually tossed it into the flame.
The candlelight shook for a moment, and shadows danced in the room as if standing there was some dark and massive creature.
A knock at the door sounded as the disciple brought in hot water for washing. The youth responded, stood up to open the door, his body blocking the candlelight and casting a dim layer over the room. Unintentionally, he had shaped the softened area around the flame into a cone, like a cage trapping the wick inside, obscuring the flame and cutting off the light.
The flame slowly melted its airtight cage.
A night of good sleep, calm and dreamless.
Because of the rumored presence of an Upper Third Rank Grandmaster, for safety's sake, Wang Anfeng did not enter Shaolin Temple, although no one told him so, he had already keenly sensed that the Buddha Beads seemed to be an extraordinary treasure.
Of course, more importantly, only with these beads would he be able to meet with his masters and Mr. Ying.
Just this point alone was of great significance to the youth.
After washing up with cold water to dispel the drowsiness, Wang Anfeng, with sword in tow, stepped out of the guest room. Looking ahead, he saw clouds tumbling and the day's first light, which invigorated his spirit. The wind fluttered through the pine trees, and he faintly heard the sharp sound of longswords cutting through the air and the light shouts of a young girl.
Wang Anfeng had an epiphany, realizing that these must be the disciples of Qingfeng Edge practicing their martial arts at dawn.
Spying on others practicing their martial arts was a great taboo in Jianghu.
Especially for a Hidden Sword Sect.
The youth originally intended to take a casual stroll, but this thought made him abandon the idea. He remembered what Gong Yu had said the night before about taking them to meet the Sect Leader of Qingfeng Edge today. He simply returned to the room to wait for Gong Yu's arrangement.
A short while later, as expected, a disciple of Qingfeng Edge came looking for him.
Wang Anfeng followed the girl, passing by the training ground and several grand halls until they entered a side room. Baili Feng and the others were already there, but Gong Yu was nowhere to be seen until after they had breakfast and tea. Dressed in a white skirt, Gong Yu finally entered, sword in tow.
Her expression was as aloof as always, but her face seemed to have a touch of makeup, and her white dress changed in style—almost the same overall, yet more exquisite in detail.
After a slight parting of her lips, Gong Yu led everyone to follow her. After about a ten-minute walk, not toward any of the halls where official business was conducted, but to a side room.
Wang Anfeng was slightly puzzled, then he understood.
This was an action reserved for treating the four visitors from Fufeng as one's own close juniors.
Gong Yu stopped at the door, inhaled softly, and then gently knocked, saying,
"Master, your disciple Gong Yu seeks an audience."
Then a gentle female voice responded.
Gong Yu steeled her composure, pushed the door open, and led Wang Anfeng and the others inside. A woman in elaborate dress sat in the main seat, her manner dignified and graceful. Her black hair was pinned up with a phoenix jade hairpin, with a mild smile on her face and an aura not inferior to the most heroic figures.
Without needing an introduction, Wang Anfeng and the others understood her identity.
Yet in another seat, there sat another woman with jet-black hair and three points of resemblance to Gong Yu but even higher in elegance. Her mere presence was impossible to ignore as she held a teacup, her eyes clear, calmly watching the tea leaves float in the brew.
On a table beside her lay a wooden sword.
Gong Yu stepped forward to pay her respects to the Sect Leader and then turned to the woman, her expression rarely showing nervousness and admiration, in a low voice saying,
Wang Anfeng was momentarily stunned, hardly believing his ears.
He awkwardly gazed at the seated woman, observing as she lifted her gaze with what seemed like a gentle smile, as she looked up and down at the somewhat uneasy Gong Yu, her features refined. Nodding slightly, she said,
"It has been a long time since we last met."
"Yu'er has grown even more graceful."