The moon was already hanging high up in the sky when Qian Shuhua woke up.
Only Ye Que remained on the table opposite her.
Qian Shuhua shook her head and felt a splitting headache coming. She took a long while to gather herself before finally asking, "Where's my brother?"
Ye Que opened his eyes to look at her and replied, "He went out to do some errands. He was afraid of waking you up and thus he didn't send you back. He told me to wait here for you."
"Rascal. How dare he leave his sister behind. Is he not afraid that I'll be taken advantage of?" Qian Shuhua said as she re-arranged her clothing and glared at Ye Que.
"Stop looking, no one touched you. Doesn't this tavern belong to your house?" Ye Que said, rolling his eyes.
"It's good that you know that," Qian Shuhua replied before grunting. She got up and wanted to walk, but began to stagger after only taking two steps.
Not only did Ye Que not help to support her, he even took a step backward. "If you can't walk on your own, quickly hail a carriage to get you back. I don't know how to pamper women, and you'll be responsible for yourself if you fall."
"I'll walk the way I please. What is it to you? Don't make your stance so clear immediately. I still remembered what you said in the afternoon, so who are you trying to kid?"
"How did my brother get to know a ruffian such as yourself," Qian Shuhua said as she pouted angrily.
The 'Humans Leave Drunk' tavern was situated in the northern district of Luoyang City, and they had to walk across four streets to get back to the Qian manor. If one strolled, the journey could take up to two hours.
Ye Que and Qian Shuhua left the tavern and took a turn into Yongle Street. It connected the northern and southern districts of the city, and night market vendors lined both of its sides. Hawkers and various passers-by filled the street from morning till night, and it often seemed that there could never be a moment of peace here. As such, it was named 'Yongle', which meant 'Eternal Joy' in Mandarin.
The sounds of bustling, arguments, giggling, shouting and fighting filled their ears.
Qian Shuhua walked unsteadily, obviously still not completely sober. There were many people who greeted her as she walked past, and from this one could see that the city was filled with businesses related to the Qian family.
Naturally, no one would dare lay a hand on her, unless he or she was looking to die.
There was a saying that went 'It's the right time to kill when the skies are dark and the wind is strong, and there are always potential assailants lurking in a crowded market', however.
A group of people stood silently under a row of broken down shop-houses. They wore their felt caps very low, nearly obscuring their faces with them. Only their mouths and noses could be seen.
Their gaze never left Ye Que's throat since they appeared in his sight. As for the man himself, he looked straight ahead as usual with his hands behind his back.
The moon moved away from the dark clouds and illuminated the night sky even more.
There was no wind or rain tonight, and the skies were filled with stars.
The group with the felt caps seemed to have tagged silently behind Ye Que and Qian Shuhua for a long while to make sure that they were alone. Soon, their figures appeared on the street, falling into sync with the continuous footsteps of the other passers-by. They drew out sharp blades from the sheaths on their waists which were covered with black cloth.
Not far away, on a stone bridge, three youths in white robes were gazing far ahead with swords in hand.
The person standing at one side was Zhuo Bufan of Shushan.
"Junior Zhuo, was this the person that managed to seal your divine acupuncture points before retreating in one piece?" asked the youth who stood before the group in a low voice.
"I underestimated him. He's far below my level of cultivation," replied Zhuo Bufan coldly, his tone a little worried and indignant. He was the genius of Shushan and ranked within the top 30 young disciples of his sect, but yet an unknown martial artist had managed to surprise him.
Zhuo Bufan kept telling himself that Ye Que managed to seal off his divine power that day on the dragon ship because he had underestimated his opponent, and because Ye Que had launched a sneak attack.
"The fact is you lost. You should know when to admit defeat," the leader of the group admonished Zhuo Bufan without raising or lowering his voice.
"Thanks for your advice, senior," Zhuo Bufan replied humbly. He may have been able to be impudent with other people, but not to this particular person. He was ranked ninth out of all the young disciples of Shushan and known as Chen Qing.
Zhuo Bufan thought for a while before giving more information about Ye Que. "He's called Ye Que, an illegitimate son of the general. He came to Luoyang a few days ago, and I noticed on the dragon ship that he's good at close combat and swordplay. He even knows some unorthodox Spirit Sealing Techniques, and even though he's not of a higher realm, he's very hard to deal with."
Chen Qing replied coldly as he looked at Zhuo Bufan, "Why did he retreat immediately after sealing your seven divine acupuncture points that night on the dragon ship?"
Zhuo Bufan paused before replying, "Perhaps he was afraid. I had 36 other juniors with me that day, and he would not have been able to retreat if he killed me."
"Wrong!"
Chen Qing replied, sounding a little disappointed. "You're wrong. It's not because he was afraid of not being able to retreat. It's because he ran out of True Energy."
Chen Qing paused before continuing, "I asked some witnesses on the dragon ship. Ye Que made three moves in total, and they were all extraordinary strikes. He attacked viciously, aiming for vital points each time."
"Would such a person be merciful?" Chen Qing asked as he squinted. His hands touched his sword subconsciously as he continued, "There's another possibility. He could have a lack of True Energy, and most likely he just entered the Pre-celestial Realm. When his qi transformed into True Energy, he had enough of it to make explosive attacks, but he could not sustain them."
"You were fooled by his act."
Zhuo Bufan frowned and considered his senior's theory. "You're really observant, senior. I'm wrong," he said, suddenly enlightened.
At this moment, Ye Que and Qian Shuhua had arrived at the busiest section of the night market. Qian Shuhua walked in front of Ye Que, and she bent over suddenly, most likely in expectation of vomiting. Ye Que stopped behind her.
Zhou Bufan gazed ahead before looking at Chen Qing. "Senior, why did you choose him?"
"Fate. Our sect is determined to obtain that item, and we have to get ready, no matter in the Cultivation or mortal world. Now, the Extinctive Sword Manor House already belongs to us, and the General's family also shows signs of wanting to join us. There are still many people observing from the sides, however."
"It's too troublesome trying to negotiate with all the families. We have to shed some blood in Luoyang City. The Shushan of today is different from what it was. If our swords can slay demons, we can slay humans without mercy as well."
"It just happens that the Second Lady of the General's family doesn't want to see Ye Que again. We'll do her a favor and send him to her. Also, wouldn't it be great if we can have some fodder acting as our vanguard," Chen Qing continued, his sword arm twitching again.
The water under the bridge that the three of them stood on rippled, even though there was no wind that night. A layer of dead fish surfaced the first time Chen Qing struck, and when he moved again, the oars of a boat parked 100 meters away split right down the middle.
Ye Que stood still in the center of the night market, only lifting his head slightly to observe the moon. "Qian Shuxiao, your grandfather is really accurate. We've just come out today, but already people are here to do us harm. What luck," he said.
"Urgh!"
Qian Shuhua puked her guts out immediately after bending down, and even her tears and mucous can flying out.
The group with the felt hats came slashing at Ye Que with their sabers at this moment, and their leader roared.
"Return our senior Dao Shisi back to us!"
"Kill!"
They were the relatives and close friends of Dao Shisi from the Extinctive Sword Manor House. They could not find his body, and in the eyes of many, Ye Que was responsible for his death.
"Qian Shuhua."
"Urgh!"
"Have you seen people get killed?"
"Urgh!"
Ye Que turned around slowly. His shirt shook as his calm and serene expression turned into one filled with killing intent.