The night rain makes autumn, just right for my heart.
In the autumn of the 19th year of Yongtai's reign, there was such a rain.
It was during this rainy night that two young swordsmen came to a place called "Yomeng Tower".
This place is one of the most well-known brothels in the capital. It can be said that business is booming and there is music and entertainment every night.
Of course, the young man came here not for fun, but because he had something to do. Tonight, Lin Yuancheng and Linghu Xiang made an agreement with a broker to come here to negotiate a deal.
"Hey! What kind of wind brought these two such handsome young men here today! Come on, come on, girls, come and say hello!" Let's talk about the Madam of Yaomeng Tower. When she saw Xiao Lin and Linghu walking in, , he came forward and praised him with a charming smile.
Before she finished speaking, four girls nearby surrounded the two young heroes like lightning.
These four are all professionals. During a period of arm-in-arms operations that seemed to be "offering tofu to others," they had already conducted a quick "exploration" of the visitor.
After just a few seconds, they had figured it out and informed the madam with their eyes: "These two guys don't have much money on them, but I don't know if they have any banknotes."
After receiving such feedback, the madam naturally began to murmur in her heart...
When it comes to judging whether others are rich or poor, this old madam's eyesight is comparable to that of a deduction expert at 221 Baker Street, Block B. Having read countless people, she only looks at other people's eyes, stance, demeanor, and... The words and tone used when speaking can roughly tell the social level of the other party, so she could tell at a glance that these two boys were not rich and powerful people.
However, the poor may not have any money, so what if they just made a fortune in a casino or somewhere else today?
However, after a "body search" by the girls, it was proved that they probably did not have any money with them.
In addition, Xiao Lin and Linghu in front of them were all dressed in ordinary clothes. At a glance, there was not a single item on their bodies that could be calculated in terms of "liang"... In this case, the madam wanted to I doubt their purpose of coming here.
After all, there are all kinds of people in this world. The kind of people who think "nothing is better", come to this brothel to eat and drink for free all night, and then spread their hands to show that it doesn't matter if they are beaten to death. The old madam has never seen it. .
There are also those scum from the martial arts or green forest who come to have fun for one night and run away the next day without paying the bill based on their martial arts skills.
Even if everyone knows that the upper class in the capital have power and backing, you can't guard against the real scoundrels and desperadoes.
Therefore, it is very important to screen out such people as soon as they enter the door to avoid unnecessary losses.
"You two..." Although the old bustard had doubts in his heart, he remained calm on the surface. He soon asked again, "Is there a girl you know well? Do you want me to call her for you?"
"No need." Linghu Xiang replied, "We have made an appointment to meet here."
"Oh?" After hearing this answer, the madam's anxious heart calmed down a lot, because that was another situation.
If these two guys were not here to spend money, but to talk to someone about something, then it would make sense if they didn't have much money.
"But I don't know that the people you are meeting with have different surnames?" the madam asked again.
"This man's surname is Fa, and his last name is Ning. I wonder if he is here?" Lin Yuancheng responded at this time.
When the madam heard this, she remembered that there was indeed such an old man named Fa. He had come to book a room this afternoon, ordered food and drinks, and said he had made an appointment with someone, asking her to take him over when he saw him.
"Oh..." At this moment, the madam hesitated for another two seconds, thinking about whether to pretend to be stupid first and try to squeeze some benefits from the two young men in front of him before answering them.
But then she thought again: These two are young and may not be so knowledgeable about the world. What if they can't read my cues? Furthermore, they don’t seem to have much money. Even if they understand that I’m asking for benefits, they probably won’t be able to give much, or maybe even not at all… The situation will definitely be embarrassing, and everyone will look bad; and there’s another person. If, by chance, these two people become confused and turn around and leave, then Uncle Fa will blame them afterwards, and I will have no reason to make trouble for myself.
After all, the old madam decided to forget it. She was doing such a big business, and there was no need to spend more time on two poor boys just for the sake of a few melons and two jujubes.
"Yes, yes...Chunju, take the two of you to the 'Xinglin Pavilion' to meet an uncle." At this time, the tone of the old bustard's words was not as enthusiastic as at the beginning, and she did not personally lead the two of them. The person's plan in the past was just to send the girl under him for a run.
After receiving the order, Chunju didn't say much, because she could understand the Madam's thoughts, so she just sent these two people away quickly.
After a while, Lin Yuancheng and Linghu Xiang arrived at the door of a room on the top floor of Yaomeng Building.
When they arrived, the door was closed. Chun Ju lightly knocked on the door and said into the room: "Uncle Fa, the person you were waiting for is here."
"Come in." A man's response soon came from inside the room.
"You two, I'll leave first." Seeing that the two sides were connected, Chun Ju didn't bother to care anymore. Before Lin Yuancheng and Ling Huxiang entered the room, she bowed and left.
Xiao Lin and Linghu didn't care about this, they just came to the door and opened the door on their own.
However, the scene in the house surprised them.
At this time, there were more than ten people sitting around a large round table in the "Xinglin Pavilion", and these ten people had already eaten almost all the food and wine on the table, leaving only a few leftovers.
This is quite different from what Faning had promised them in advance, "I will go to the banquet alone and chat with you two while eating."
"Are you Lin Yuancheng?" Before Xiao Lin and the others could express their doubts, a man at the table spoke first.
Xiao Lin and Linghu looked at this person and saw that he was wearing a black outfit and holding a sword. His appearance was rough and majestic, and he looked like a veteran in the world.
Therefore, Xiao Lin also replied in a quack tone: "I am exactly the same, but I don't know that your Excellency..."
"What? The famous 'Fuhu Sword' Jia Shabai... you don't know him?" Before Lin Yuancheng could finish his sentence, another person at the table interrupted.
"Your Excellency again?" Lin Yuancheng was already a little unhappy with the other party's attitude at this moment, but he still calmed down and said something to the person who interrupted him.
"Me? Humph..." The man sneered, "I am Zheng Ziqi, the Luokou Sword."
"Oh~" Hearing this, Linghu Xiang seemed to have thought of something. He quickly touched Lin Yuancheng with his shoulder, indicating to the latter to stay calm, and immediately said, "Since 'Fuhu' and 'Luokou' "The second sword is here, so the rest of you are probably the seniors among the 'Top Ten Swordsmen of Hebei', right? I have admired you for a long time."
It turned out that when Linghu Xiang was traveling alone in the world not long ago, he had heard the names of these ten people in a teahouse or on the street. Although he did not remember them all at the time, they left some impression.
At this moment, he listened to the other party calling out two familiar nicknames in succession, and then counted silently, and found that there were exactly eleven people sitting at the table in front of him. If Fanning, whom they had arranged to meet, was excluded, there would be ten. It impressed him, so he guessed it.
"Are you Linghuxiang?" Jia Shabai obviously also knew Linghuxiang's name and identity, because that time was shortly after the Hunyuan Star Gate became famous in the Seven Heroes Association, and there were rumors about them. It is a hot search level information in the world. "Now that you know who we are, it will be easy to handle."
As Jia Shabai spoke, he raised his hand and pointed at a young man who looked a little fat and wore glasses at the other end of the table: "Brother Fa, the business that I was going to do with you today has now been done with us. I did it..." At this point, he glanced at the faces of Linghu Xiang and Lin Yuancheng with contempt, and said in a very casual tone, "So, I hope the two young heroes from the Hunyuan Star Gate will give Jia I have the same face as my brothers...please go back."
Ladies and gentlemen, this scene is when you make an appointment with someone to buy something, but when you arrive at the place, you find that someone else has cut off your hair, and the person who cut you off did not apologize for your wasted trip, and just let you go. You get out.
No matter how you say this, the other party is being unreasonable.
But right now, Jia Shabai was speaking so righteously and naturally.
Why?
Because this is Jianghu.
Jianghu is composed of countless such things, such as strength, reputation, face, trickery, robbery, fighting... It is precisely these "unreasonable" people and things that make Jianghu so exciting.
If everyone behaved themselves, why would there be so many stories of love and hatred?
"Mr. Fa, what do you mean?" Lin Yuancheng no longer paid attention to Jia Shabai, but looked at Faning.
This Mr. Faninfa can be regarded as a well-known broker in both the black and white industries.
His age, origin, martial arts... are all unknown. People only know that he is about 20 to 30 years old, looks older, usually looks like a businessman, and has great business abilities.
It was also by chance that Lin Yuancheng and Linghuxiang were able to connect with Faning...
Just because the two sides met by chance at the Baoyuan Inn a few days ago, Lin Yuancheng and Linghu Xiang were chatting about finding weapons. Faning was eating at the table next to him and happened to overhear. He immediately joined their conversation and offered to help Xiao Lin. Think of a way. As for the "price", it's easy to negotiate. He doesn't necessarily need money. You can pay for it by doing things for him or owing him favors... it's all fine.
Therefore, the two parties agreed to meet at Yaomeng Tower in a few days to discuss. At that time, Faning would bring a few more weapons to Lin Yuancheng to see if any of them were satisfactory.
But I didn't expect that things would turn into this situation...
"Cuna, don't look at me. I didn't know it would be like this." When Lin Yuancheng asked Fan Ning, he was quite frank. He looked like a dead pig who is not afraid of boiling water. It was quite interesting to copy him. He replied with an accent, "I came here early to open the room and waited for you two with the door open. Who knew that Uncle Jia and the others just happened to catch a glimpse of some weapons in my room when they passed by the door, and then they rushed in and insisted on buying them. I They said that someone has ordered these goods, and you can wait until I finish the business with them, but they don’t want to, so what should I do? It’s impossible for me to beat out ten of them by myself, right? As a result, they He just sat down, talked to himself, ate and drank, and said they would talk to you when you come, and it was not difficult for me to do, so I had no choice but to do it."
Mr. Fa is undoubtedly a smart man. With his words, he has basically told Xiao Lin and Linghu about his experience.
While expressing his helplessness, he didn't say anything too serious to the "Ten Swordsmen of Hebei". Anyway, he just spread his hands, meaning that you two can solve this matter on your own, and I am powerless.
"Oh, that means these ten people... came up with the idea temporarily and wanted to be strong, right?" After hearing this, Lin Yuancheng said in a summary tone.
As soon as he said this, everyone present naturally understood it. This was a provocative and "no face" response.
Of course, this was also expected by Jia Shabai and the others.
Think about it, if these "Ten Swordsmen of Hebei" are simply motivated by the treasure and want to take it by force, then they can just take the weapon they want and leave, and throw a little money to Faning as a token, and wait for Lin Yuancheng When Linghuxiang and Linghuxiang arrived at the scene, they could only suffer the loss of being dumb together with Mr. Fa.
Even if they go out in the arena to criticize Jia Shabai and others, no one will care about this trivial matter. After all, "taking by force" is not a big deal in the arena, so what does "buying by force" mean?
Moreover, there is no third-party witness to this matter. The reputation of these ten swordsmen is quite loud. When the time comes, people will bite back and say that the man named Fa is a profiteer who sold us low-quality weapons. After being exposed, he will We have dirty water... In this way, both sides insist on their own opinions. Who does everyone believe?
In other words, who cares?
This kind of thing, which is not a big deal in the first place, will soon go to nothing.
Jia Shabai and the other ten people are just ten old men who know very well where the boundaries of bullying in the world are, so they have made up their mind today... but they just won't leave.
After they heard Fan Ning say that the people who came to buy weapons were Lin Yuancheng and Linghu Xiang, they thought together: What kind of bird sect is this Hunyuan Star Sect? I’ve never heard of it before, why is it ranked among the four gates and the third gang? That Lin Yuancheng is somewhat famous, and is the leader of the Young Heroes Association, but now he calls Ling Huxiang, who appeared out of nowhere, his senior brother. I guess the guy surnamed Lin doesn't have much ability. Maybe he just got lucky and won the championship. chant? To take a step back, even if he has some ability, he is just a young brat. There are ten of us here, everyone is at least ten years older than him, and we are all famous swordsmen in the world. Can you still lose to him?
Thinking of this, they felt that this was a good opportunity...
What Jia Shabai and the others did here today is equivalent to jumping in the faces of Lin Yuancheng and Linghu Xiang. If the latter can bear it, then they can brag everywhere. The senior brother of Hunyuan Star Gate and Lin Shaoxia meet The Ten Swordsmen of Hebei have to avoid them by three points; if they can't bear it anymore and take action, that's fine. Anyway, if they fight two out of ten, they will definitely win. If they win, they can brag as much as they want.
To sum up, when he heard what Lin Yuancheng said at this moment, Jia Shabai immediately sneered: "Ha... Mr. Lin, please don't slander me... We are 'buying' weapons from Mr. Fa, how can we force them?" 'What do you mean? We brothers are all well-known figures in the world, and you are not just saying it and forgetting it when you accuse us of being innocent out of thin air."
The next second, Zheng Ziqi also joined in and said: "Linghu Xiang, it's in vain that your Hunyuan Star Sect has just joined the four sects and three gangs, but the sect only accepts such people? How did you become a senior brother? ?" As he said that, he looked at Lin Yuancheng again, "I think this 'Cangzhou Xiaoxia' is just a wasted reputation. No wonder he became the leader of the Young Heroes Association but was kicked out by his previous division."
锔——
Before Zheng Ziqi finished speaking, a sword was already unsheathed.
But that's not Lin Yuancheng's sword, it's Linghu Xiang's.
Although Jia Shabai and the others were mainly targeting Xiao Lin in their words, and it was Xiao Lin who had just declared that he would not compromise, but now it was Linghu Xiang who took action first.
In fact, if the other party said this to Linghu Xiang, he might still be able to hold back and not do anything. At most, he would just yell back, "You're full of shit, aren't you?"
But Linghu Xiang couldn't bear it when he heard that these people were treating his brother so maliciously.
And his sword, not surprisingly, triggered a fierce fight.
