Qiu Yizi followed his sworn brother Yuchi Lianghong into the "Nuanxiang Pavilion". He looked up and down, but found that the furnishings inside were very different from the brothel he had imagined in his mind.
This Nuanxiang Pavilion is a three-story building. After entering the entrance hall, there is a skylight that runs through the three floors. The ground of the skylight is paved with top-grade bluestone. There is a circle of exquisitely designed tables, chairs and benches by the window, which is no different from an ordinary restaurant. Because it was just after noon and the business had not yet opened, and after the turmoil just now, the skylight was deserted, and there was no man or woman in sight. In the middle of the skylight, facing the main door, there was a stage that was neither too big nor too small. It should be used for performing operas and crosstalk to entertain customers on weekdays. Behind the stage was a wide and imposing wooden staircase leading to the upper two floors of Nuanxiang Pavilion. The second and third floors of the pavilion were not much more fancy. There was only a circle of rooms built, but the doors were all closed, and it was hard to see the exquisiteness. It was where people seeking pleasure made love with prostitutes.
Qiu Yizi originally thought that the decoration of a brothel should be extremely vulgar and glamorous, but the curtains and curtains used in this Nuanxiang Pavilion were all in pure colors such as sky blue and sea blue, and the hanging banners and paintings were all from famous artists. Qiu Yizi really couldn't imagine how such men and women could do such thieves and prostitutes and indulge in promiscuity in this very simple and elegant Nuanxiang Pavilion.
While Qiu Yizi was still observing carefully, Yuchi Lianghong had already thrown the eunuch to the ground and shouted, "Don't hide anymore. Show up quickly. I have something to ask you." Although his shout was not hoarse, it was very penetrating and everyone in the brothel could hear it clearly. Many prostitutes poked their heads out of the rooms and looked down at the two people in the patio, but no one dared to talk to them.
The Nuanxiang Pavilion fell into silence again, with only the women whispering to each other.
Seeing that there was no response and a half-dead eunuch lying at his feet, Yuchi Lianghong was already a little anxious. He stretched out his palm and placed it on a solid wooden table, trying hard. He only heard the table groaning and creaking, and soon it broke into a pile of useless firewood on the ground.
It was not a great feat for a man in the martial arts world to smash a table with his fists, but it was really shocking that Yuchi Lianghong could exert such power with just his hidden power. Then he heard a woman's faint voice coming from the pavilion: "Master Yuchi just came to ask for punishment, so he was naturally very powerful. But now he needs help, why are you not polite and actually damaging my things?"
Qiu Yizi seemed to have heard this voice somewhere before, but the distance was quite far, so she could only barely hear what was being said but couldn't distinguish it clearly.
Yuchi Lianghong had the ability to identify the woman's location by listening to the sound. As soon as the woman opened her mouth, he caught her whereabouts. He gathered his strength with his feet, leaped into the air with all his might, and went straight up to the third floor.
Yuchi Lianghong was suspended in mid-air, and said towards a house: "Miss, hiding your head and showing your tail is not the behavior of a hero, why don't you..." Halfway through his words, he suddenly somersaulted in mid-air, and finally could no longer stay in the air, and fell back to where he was.
He leaped with such grace and elegance that Qiu Yizhi, who was watching from the side, was extremely impressed and praised him, "Brother, your Qinggong is indeed amazing. I finally got to see it today!"
Yuchi Lianghong did not answer, but spread out his right hand, holding two iron pieces the size of melon seeds in his palm, and cursed: "What a trifle! How can such hidden weapon skills hurt me in the slightest?" As he said that, he threw the two light hidden weapons casually, and they were deeply embedded in the wall tiles.
But the woman seemed to raise her voice and said, "Master Yuchi is the best martial artist in the world. We are just showing off our skills. Wait for me to dress up and change clothes, and then come to see you, okay?"
After hearing this, Yuchi Lianghong thought that there were differences between men and women, and he was proud of his status, so he couldn't force them anymore, so he found a clean table and sat down with Qiu Yizi. However, a tortoise in the brothel bravely brewed tea for the two uninvited guests.
Qiu Yizi was already confused, so he asked in a low voice: "Excuse me, brother, who is this woman just now? She kept saying that brother came to question her, what's going on?"
After hearing this, Yuchi Lianghong subconsciously picked up the tea bowl, but then put it down and said, "Brother, have you ever heard of the 'Tianzun Sect'?"
"I've heard a little bit about it." Two months ago, Qiu Yi led the army to Henan to quell the rebellion. He also came up with a clever plan to plagiarize the cult's headquarters and seized a large number of books and classics. He was very familiar with the ins and outs of the Tianzun Sect, so he lowered his voice and said, "Please forgive me, brother. I am the adopted son of the King of Youyan. I was forced to reveal my identity because of the situation in Anhe Town at that time... A few months ago, I followed the army to Henan to quell the rebellion, and I had some dealings with the Tianzun Sect."
Yuchi Lianghong was shocked, but he was a great master in the martial arts world, so he immediately regained his composure and said, "My Yuchi family has always had an ancestral precept of not making friends with the government. Your status is really embarrassing for me."
Qiu Yizi hurriedly bowed slightly in his seat and said, "I have no choice but to hide my identity. However, although I am loved by my adoptive father, I do not hold any official position, and you are not friends with government officials. If you really have such taboos, I can swear that I will never enter the officialdom in my life."
"People in the martial arts world always keep their promises, so there is no reason to regret after becoming sworn brothers. The current situation is unclear, so we can discuss this matter calmly in the future." Yuchi Lianghong sighed, and then said, "As for the matter of the Tianzun Sect, it is because of this..."
Before Yuchi Lianghong could finish his words, he saw a woman walking down the stairs with the help of a maid. The woman was about eighteen or nineteen years old, with long black hair cascading down like a waterfall, light makeup on her face, a pair of beautiful almond eyes that exuded a heroic spirit, and she was wearing a light green Suzhou embroidery dress, and except for a gold hairpin in her hair, she did not wear any gold jewelry.
Qiu Yizi knew this person, and she was none other than Wen Lingjiao, the Saint Maiden of the Tianzun Sect who had slipped away from her fingers a few months ago, and the woman accompanying her was her very fierce personal maid He'er.
Qiu Yizi saw this and stood up from his chair, his mind was filled with thoughts. Since the day they parted in the camp, Qiu Yizi had been trying to find out where Wen Lingjiao was. He originally thought that she was at the main altar of the Tianzun Sect at Yuhuang Peak, but he came up empty-handed and had no news since then. Unexpectedly, fate played a trick on him and they met again at this time and place. Qiu Yizi thought again, thinking that the Tianzun Sect never despised prostitutes and whores, and Wen Lingjiao had also pretended to be a military prostitute, so it was not surprising that she was in a brothel in the capital city of Luoyang. He thought a lot in his mind, but he didn't have time to speak. He just stared at the beautiful Wen Lingjiao.
Yuchi Lianghong, who was standing beside him, thought Qiu Yizhi was frightened by the woman, so he said to him, "This person is the Saint of the Tianzun Sect. With my brother here, you can't be hurt at all. Don't be afraid, brother." He then said to Wen Lingjiao, "My brother and I were forced to be the lackeys of the Persuasion Department. I'm sure you know that. Considering that you and I are both people of the underworld, can you please give me a favor and let my brother and I borrow your precious land to avoid the limelight?"
Wen Lingjiao seemed not to have seen Qiu Yizi, and only replied to Yuchi Lianghong: "What if I don't help?"
Yuchi Lianghong snorted and said, "The Persuasion Department has many eyes and ears. I'm afraid many people saw my two brothers entering the building. If we are captured in your building, according to the Persuasion Department's style and methods, they will dig deep into the ground, and your religion will be uprooted here."
Wen Lingjiao smiled and said, "Master Yuchi is threatening me. I am just a woman, not like you, the leader of the martial arts world. I will not help you. What's the harm in destroying myself together with you?"
Yuchi Lianghong was stunned by Wen Lingjiao's almost shameless words, but he couldn't get angry and was speechless for a while.
Qiu Yizi saw that his brother was extremely embarrassed, and saw that the eunuch lying on the ground was breathing slowly and evenly, as if he was about to wake up. He was afraid that if he delayed too long, the people from the Persuasion Department would come to the door, and they would really die together. Thinking of this, Qiu Yizi was anxious and said hurriedly: "It was I who helped Miss Wen escape from Guangyang. There is a saying that courtesy should be reciprocated, and it is not courtesy to reciprocate. Miss, why don't you help me here, and we will be even."
After hearing this, Wen Lingjiao covered her mouth with a handkerchief and laughed several times, saying, "Mr. Qiu, what you said is correct. I am also afraid that Yuchi will get angry and tear down my Nuanxiang Pavilion."
As she spoke, Wen Lingjiao turned around and walked to an inconspicuous seat in the corner of the patio. She activated some mechanism and a secret door appeared on the ground. She smiled at the two people standing there and said, "My two gentlemen, please follow me."
Yuchi Lianghong heard this and looked at Qiu Yizhi. He didn't know when this sworn brother had a relationship with the Saint of Tianzun Sect, and from what he said, it seemed that they had a close relationship. He felt that he was unfathomable. However, the situation was urgent at the moment, and he couldn't think about it any more. Seeing Qiu Yizhi looked at him with a very calm look and nodded very firmly, he finally made up his mind, picked up the eunuch lying on the ground with one hand, and went into the secret passage.
The secret passage was not spacious, but it was wide enough for two people to pass side by side. It was made of stone slabs on the top, bottom, left and right sides, and there were eternal lamps lit every ten steps, so it was not very dark inside the passage.
As Qiu Yizhi walked, he said to Yuchi Lianghong: "The Tianzun Sect originated from the Western Regions and learned a lot of techniques from the Western Regions. Tunnel digging is one of them. This is the third time I have learned it."
"I didn't expect that you are so knowledgeable and even know the details of the Tianzun Sect."
Qiu Yizhi heard some doubt in Yuchi Lianghong's words, and hurriedly explained: "I have just told you that I am the adopted son of Prince Youyan. A few months ago, I went south to suppress the rebellion, destroyed the headquarters of the evil cult, and checked a large number of books and materials. Only then did I know something about it." He said with a self-deprecating smile, "Speaking of which, I also bear the blood feud of Tianzun Sect, and I shouldn't ask them for help. I'm afraid that if the city gate catches fire, innocent people will be affected. It's a great sin for you to be embarrassed by them because of me."
After hearing this, Yuchi Lianghong was relieved and said, "Brother, don't say that. Wasn't it me who first proposed to escape to Nuanxiang Pavilion? The Tianzun Sect has always been an enemy of the imperial court and has killed many corrupt officials. It has a good reputation in the martial arts world. Therefore, I thought that they might be able to give in and save us for the sake of martial arts ethics."
Qiu Yizhi let out a long sigh, and a smile appeared on his face: "Since you said so, I feel a little relieved. But I was thinking that when people in the martial arts world swear to be brothers, they often say 'I don't want to be born on the same day, but I hope to die on the same day'. Maybe it will come true for you and me. In my opinion, it is better to be chopped by the Tianzun Sect than to die under the torture of the Persuasion Department. It is also a quick death."
He'er, the little girl following behind Wen Lingjiao, turned her head and said, "How come you know the torture methods of my Holy Church, but you are not as good as those lackeys of the Persuasion Department? If you don't believe me, you can try it yourself."
Wen Lingjiao half-jokingly said, "He'er, don't be rude. The hero Yuchi behind us is extremely skilled in martial arts. There are only four of us in the passage now. If he wants to kill us, he can just blow on us. Aren't you afraid?" She then said to Qiu Yizi, "I said in the Henan camp that you and I will meet again someday... We in the Tianzun Sect have always been clear about gratitude and grudges. You saved my life, so I will repay you today." (To be continued)