After the brief turmoil ended, the entire town remained deathly silent for a long time before sounds gradually returned.
At the entrance of the alley, the thugs who originally worked in the gambling house were conscripted by Ye Jingtang on the spot and called to clean up the streets and houses that had been affected.
The damage to the streets wasn't too severe. It was just that a lot of street bricks were broken. However, dealing with Lord Fan the Eighth's body was not easy. His chest had been kicked open, and blood and flesh had splattered all over the wall. The two rascals carrying buckets to wash the wall had green faces. If they weren't afraid of being casually eliminated by the "King of Hell" from the Black Yamen, they would probably have thrown down their work on the spot.
As for the others, it was much better. The bodies of Xuan Yuan Hongzhi and the other two were carried to the side of the street and covered with white cloth. Several people were beside them, sewing the heads back and cleaning up the bloodstains.
Yao Wenzhong indeed had a solid foundation. His whole body was almost beaten to pieces, yet he still didn't die. He fainted due to his severe injuries.
Ye Jingtang didn't want to leave any survivors, but it would be difficult to report the situation to the court. Therefore, he left Yao Wenzhong alive and waited for the constables from the Black Yamen to come and hand him over to the government for disposal.
In addition, since more than a dozen houses had been damaged, Ye Jingtang found the town officials and asked them to calculate the losses of each household one by one and compensated them with a sum of silver.
By the time he finished all these things, it was completely dark, and a bright moon hung on the branches.
Ye Jingtang carried the "Spiritual Opportunity Sword" and returned to the vicinity of the gambling house alley. The young man in yellow clothes who had been waiting on the street quickly walked over:
"Sir, are you not injured?"
"It's fine. I've already sent someone to notify the government. I estimate that someone will come tomorrow morning. You stay in the vicinity for one night and don't run around..."
After giving a few words of advice, Ye Jingtang came to an inn not far away.
On the roof of the inn, the bird was dutifully keeping watch. On the window below, the silhouette of a woman was reflected.
Ye Jingtang went up the stairs to the second floor and came outside the room. He could hear soft conversations coming from inside:
"We agreed to hold them off and wait for Ye Jingtang to come. Why did you charge in?"
"I'm a spearman. If I'm not going to charge in and suppress them, am I supposed to jump around on the wall like you?"
"Even if you charged in, what was the meaning of using the 'Wind Pool Reverse Blood' move as soon as you met them? You had a great time just now, but now you know it hurts?"
"The key to a battle is that if you don't fight, then don't. But once you fight, you must go all out..."
...
Ye Jingtang pushed open the door and looked at the two people who were bickering.
In the spotless room, a candle was lit. Luo Ning had taken off her face veil and wide-brimmed hat. She was sitting sideways in front of the bed. There was a basin of hot water in front of her, and she was holding a towel in her hand, gently wiping and applying medicine.
Pei Xiangjun had taken off her clothes and was lying on the bed with a pillow in her arms, revealing her snow-white back and shoulders. From the side, a large, white mass could be seen pressed under her chest.
Because she had used the "Wind Pool Reverse Blood" move, a red mark appeared along the spine line from Pei Xiangjun's back of the neck to her lower back. At the end of the red mark was a plump and fleshy buttocks.
Since the deed had already been done, Pei Xiangjun was a bit more relaxed. She wasn't wearing thin pants. When Ye Jingtang came in, she moved a little, wanting to pull up the thin quilt to cover herself. But then she blushed and just stopped talking.
Ye Jingtang closed the door. There was mostly concern in his eyes. He came closer and examined her carefully:
"Does it hurt?"
"It doesn't hurt. It's just a minor injury..."
"You don't hurt? Who was it just now yelling 'Be gentle, be gentle'?"
Seeing Pei Xiangjun trying to be brave, Luo Ning showed displeasure in her eyes. She raised her hand and gently slapped the snow-white and unblemished buttocks, making a soft "slap" sound:
"If it doesn't hurt, why don't you apply the medicine yourself?"
Ye Jingtang sat down beside them, held Luo Ning's hand that was "enforcing the family law", and rubbed the painful spot on Pei Xiangjun:
"Just say it, why do you have to hit her?"
Seeing that Ye Jingtang was taking Pei Xiangjun's side again, Luo Ning pulled back Ye Jingtang's hand that was wandering around:
"She hit me this morning. Why didn't you stop her?"
"It's because you were being disobedient, right, Jingtang?"
Pei Xiangjun was doted on by Ye Jingtang. A hint of smugness flashed in her eyes. Seeing that Ye Jingtang couldn't touch her anymore, she even slightly twisted her waist and hips towards Ye Jingtang as a kind of "reward"...
!
By the dim candlelight, Ye Jingtang saw the soft flesh between the "white moon", and his eyes clearly widened a bit. He tried to maintain the demeanor of a husband who wasn't lecherous, but his eyes wouldn't listen to him, and he couldn't move them away.
Luo Ning was sitting in the middle. Seeing Ye Jingtang staring straight at Pei Xiangjun's lower back, a look of shyness and annoyance flashed in her eyes. She pressed the "flirtatious" Pei Xiangjun back and then turned Ye Jingtang's face away:
"What are you looking at? Go take a bath quickly. The water is ready for you. You used so much force when you fought Lord Fan the Eighth. Really..."
Ye Jingtang had kicked with all his strength, shattering his trouser leg and boot. He still hadn't had time to change. He looked down and found that it was indeed not presentable. He leaned over and kissed Luo Ning's cold cheek, then got up and went behind the screen to wash.
Pei Xiangjun raised her foot and gently swayed it in the air, secretly looking at Ye Jingtang behind the screen who was undressing. It was unclear what she was admiring.
Luo Ning was actually secretly looking with her peripheral vision too, but her purpose wasn't to feast her eyes. Instead, she wanted to see if the little rascal was getting "excited" again.
Finding that it was indeed the case, Luo Ning quickly turned her gaze away and slapped Pei Xiangjun's lower back again:
"Ye Jingtang's body hasn't been fully recuperated yet. If you make yourself like this, how can you help with the recuperation at night?"
Pei Xiangjun blinked her almond-shaped eyes: "I charged ahead in the fight during the day, and I have to charge ahead in the 'fight' at night too. Then what are you for? That kind of thing isn't like stabbing you with a knife. As long as you're willing to go all out, I don't believe it can really kill you."
Luo Ning thought that Pei Xiangjun was like a newborn calf that wasn't afraid of anything and didn't know what it meant to be in a difficult situation. She said coldly:
"Fine. When your injury is healed, let Ye Jingtang teach you a lesson for a whole day and night and see. If you can still say these words then, I'll admit that you're amazing."
Pei Xiangjun was actually a bit scared in her heart, but at worst, she could ask Jingtang to go easy on her then. What was she afraid of by being tough verbally? She snorted softly:
"Fine, let's give it a try..."
...
Behind the screen, Ye Jingtang was taking a bath in the bathtub. Hearing these words that were trying to "reward" him in various ways, he couldn't help but find it a bit funny. He didn't interrupt. It was only when the two girls stopped talking that he opened his mouth and asked:
"What should we do with this 'Spiritual Opportunity Sword'?"
The "Spiritual Opportunity Sword" was among the top ten famous swords. Since the previous dynasty, it had been the family heirloom of the Thousand Crane Villa in Tuozhou. The successive sword masters were either Sword Saints or Grand Masters. Not to mention its indestructible texture, just its origin made it a legendary collectible that was hard to obtain even with a fortune.
Ye Jingtang wanted to give this sword to Benben in his heart. However, the Thousand Crane Villa had an extremely good reputation in the martial arts world. It was not an exaggeration to describe it as a family full of chivalrous swordsmen. Keeping the sword of their late young master for himself after finding it felt like a violation of chivalry.
Luo Ning looked at the precious sword and pondered for a moment: "I've been to the Thousand Crane Villa before. I was warmly received by the villa, and they even gave me some guidance on swordsmanship. Hmm... This sword is an heirloom of the Thousand Crane Villa. How about returning it to them? If we ask them to teach you the Dragon Qi Swordsmanship, you should be able to learn the true teachings."
Pei Xiangjun also held this view. However, when she heard about learning swordsmanship, she still interjected:
"Swords, besides being good-looking and light, have no real combat advantage compared to sabers. You have to put in twelve parts of effort to achieve only eight parts of the combat power of a saber. Those swordsmen in the martial arts world call themselves 'Sword Fanatics', 'Sword Immortals', or 'Sword Demons' externally. But when they really encounter trouble, the weapons in their hands are all longer and longer..."
Pei Xiangjun's words were actually a bit inaccurate. It wasn't just the swordsmen in the martial arts world who were like this. Other martial arts sects were the same. Even Ye Jingtang, when faced with a situation where he wasn't sure of victory, would definitely choose a long weapon instead of a saber to seek excitement if he could.
Luo Ning knew that Pei Xiangjun was secretly belittling her low combat power. She said unhappily:
"Do I need you to teach me the principle that 'an inch longer, an inch stronger'? The spear is powerful, but I can wrap the sword around my waist. Can Ye Jingtang wrap the spear around his waist?"
"I haven't seen you use the sword even though you wrap it around your waist..."
"You!"
...
Ye Jingtang listened to their idle chat. Instinctively, he looked down. He originally wanted to make a flirtatious comment, but then he thought better of it. After all, if he said certain words, Luo Ning would definitely come over with her sword.
After finishing his bath, Ye Jingtang stood up and leaped out of the bathtub. He wiped his body with a towel and picked up the change of clothes.
Seeing this, Pei Xiangjun said understandingly:
"Why bother putting on clothes? You'll just have to take them off later anyway. Let the 'fox spirit' help you with the recuperation directly."
"Are you crazy? Since you care about him so much, then you come first..."
As she spoke, Luo Ning directly moved a bit towards the head of the bed. She spread open the "big moon" with her hands, revealing the plump part...
"Little rascal, come here!"
"Heh..."
Ye Jingtang blinked his eyes, put on his outer robe, and came closer. Since Pei Xiangjun had injured the qi veins on her back, he didn't directly "get to the point". Instead, he just teased her with his hands a few times.
"Ah~"
Pei Xiangjun was blocked from view by Luo Ning's back. Before she could figure out the situation, she was made to tremble slightly with an indescribable touch. Her face also turned red, but she didn't struggle. She just bit her lower lip lightly while holding the pillow.
Seeing that Luo Ning's eyes were slightly cold, Ye Jingtang stopped while he was ahead and smiled:
"Alright, let's rest. We have to rush back tomorrow morning. As soon as the people from the Black Yamen come, we'll probably have to leave."
Seeing that Ye Jingtang knew his limits, Luo Ning slapped the "moon" again with her hand, then pulled Ye Jingtang away and started the daily recuperation...