Jiang Buran...
In the private room, Su Jinfeng sat poised in the master seat, a layer of lukewarm tea froth floating on the surface of the cup before her.
Her mind was clearly not on the tea.
Her gaze fell on the spot where Jiang Moran had just departed, and she spoke slowly, her words tinged with a hard-to-fathom thoughtfulness.
“Ah Liang, before you joined me, you often roamed the jianghu. Have you ever heard of this name?”
The short-haired man standing by her side replied, “He is slightly younger than me. If his strength truly surpasses mine, then he is absolutely not some nobody in the jianghu.”
“However, during my years of roaming the jianghu back then, I never heard of this person either.”
Hearing this, Su Jinfeng furrowed her brows a little tighter. An expert who had never appeared in the jianghu... She knew that such people were often the most terrifying.
He was like an abyss with no fathomable bottom, leaving people unable to gauge his depths.
A strand of hair slipped down from her ear, brushing gently against her cheek. Combined with her furrowed brows, the beautiful woman looked deeply endearing.
She let out a soft sigh. No matter what, he was now a Martial Director of the Heavenly Pavilion, which made him one of her own.
Ah Liang, standing behind her, could not hold back the confusion in his heart any longer and asked, “Pavilion Master, is he truly worth you paying such a price?”
Su Jinfeng closed her eyes and raised her hand to rub her temples.
“I trust my judgment. Although I have only heard of his deeds from others, indecisiveness is not my style.”
“I cannot afford to lose a potentially peerless expert just because of my doubts.”
...
On the street, a scene played out: a man tossed a money pouch up and down in his hand as he walked.
The constant clinking of broken silver echoed from the pouch, sounding crisp and pleasant to the ear.
“The finest sound in the world is none other than this.” Jiang Moran grinned, looking to be in an exceptionally good mood. He had chosen not to carry that chest of silver ingots with him, opting instead to leave it stored in the Heavenly Pavilion.
In any case, branches of the Heavenly Pavilion were located in almost every city of the Tianwu Kingdom, making it convenient for him to withdraw it whenever he went elsewhere.
The pouch of broken silver in his hand was an extra gift from Su Jinfeng. He had to admit that the benefits at the Heavenly Pavilion were truly excellent. If he couldn't get by in the future, he might as well bring Little Qing along to bum around and live a leisurely life of doing nothing.
“Senior!”
Hmm? Why did that voice sound so familiar? Jiang Moran turned his head and saw Fengqingzi standing not far away, accompanied by a scarred man.
“I asked you to find me a carriage, so what on earth did you bring back?”
Choking on his words, Fengqingzi turned awkwardly to the scarred man and said, “Wait here for a moment. I’ll go speak a few words with Senior.”
The scarred man nodded in silence...
“My apologies, Senior. Some unexpected events and other matters came up,” Fengqingzi explained in a low voice once they had stepped aside.
“The merchants aren't renting out any carriages lately. I was planning to meet up with you first, but I was ambushed halfway. I suspect it was an old enemy of mine.”
“However, they couldn't beat me and fled. Fortunately, that man helped me take down one of them, and then...”
Hearing Fengqingzi finish recounting the events, Jiang Moran knit his brows slightly and spoke in a deep voice.
“Why aren't the merchants renting out carriages? Did their damn horses drop dead?”
Fengqingzi: ...
Senior’s words were a bit too crude, but was that really the focus...?
He had been ambushed midway and then invited for tea by officials, yet Senior’s primary concern was whether the merchants’ horses had died.
“Senior... the Emperor is terminally ill.”
“I know.”
“That's why... wait, what?!”
Fengqingzi's eyes widened. He had only just learned this news from the Second Prince. How did Senior know?
“I just found out a moment ago too. I went to gather some information,” Jiang Moran said casually, even giving the money pouch in his hand a boastful shake.
Unfortunately, Fengqingzi was not paying attention to that, his heart filled with nothing but deep admiration.
As expected of Senior!
The two continued to chat idly for a bit longer until Fengqingzi noticed the growing impatience on the scarred man's face in the distance, which finally reminded him of his actual business.
“Senior, the Second Prince wants your parchment scroll,” Fengqingzi said solemnly.
“No,” Jiang Moran replied flatly. For so many years, no one had ever managed to take anything from his hands. “He thinks he can have it just because he wants it? Well, I want to eat dragon meat.”
“?! Senior, please watch your words!”
Cold sweat beaded on Fengqingzi's forehead. He felt that the past few days spent with Senior were far more thrilling than the decades he had lived so far.
With the reigning Emperor gravely ill, only Senior would dare make a remark about eating dragon meat. Thankfully, nobody else had heard them...
However, if they refused, they would indeed be slighting the Second Prince, which put him in a highly difficult spot.
Jiang Moran seemed to perceive his dilemma. Although he did not know how Fengqingzi had gotten involved with the Second Prince, judging by the situation, he had likely received the other party's help.
People of the jianghu were not bound by rules, yet they were often shackled by loyalty and gratitude.
“Since you can't find any carriages in the city, have the Second Prince prepare a carriage in exchange for this parchment scroll.”
Fengqingzi whipped his head up to look at him, a trace of awkward emotion shimmering in his eyes. He knew this was a concession Senior was making for his sake.
He pursed his lips and stood straight, solemnly cupping his fists to bow to him. “Thank you, Senior!”
“You can save your thanks. I'm going to find an inn to sleep first. I've been sleeping on a bullock cart's haystack these past few days, and my back is about to break.”
Jiang Moran waved his hand. He truly did not want to bother with these troublesome matters anymore; he only wanted to lie down comfortably on a proper bed.
Seeing the trace of exhaustion in Senior's eyes, Fengqingzi quickly said, “Then rest at an inn first, Senior. I will go speak with that man.”
The scarred man in the distance was showing clear signs of impatience by now. Fortunately, Fengqingzi seemed to have finished speaking and was walking back toward him.
However, seeing that the other party did not have the parchment scroll in hand, his brows furrowed.
“You didn't get the parchment scroll from him?” he asked coldly, with clear displeasure in his tone.
“The parchment scroll belongs to Senior; it is not for me to decide,” Fengqingzi replied calmly. He continued speaking as the scarred man's expression grew increasingly sour, “However, Senior did say he is willing to give the parchment scroll to your Second Prince, on the condition that the Second Prince prepares a carriage for him.”
“Heh,” the scarred man sneered. “Your very life was saved by the Second Prince, yet you dare make demands now?”
The air seemed to freeze at this moment.
The expression on Fengqingzi's face finally changed, a cold glint surfacing in his calm eyes. “My life was saved by Senior. If you people hadn't lent me a hand, I would never have even brought this up with Senior in the first place.”
These words made the scarred man realize the other party's stance.
This was a non-negotiable condition.
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