Chapter 342: Father and Son (2)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Four years later, at the end of the year…
In a small escort agency in Red River Town, because of the addition of a smart little child, the originally lifeless atmosphere became much livelier.
Raising a child was a delicate job that burned money. For this reason, Pei Yuanfeng, who had been traveling outside all year round, settled down, focused all his attention on the business of the escort agency, and recruited eight more escorts.
At the end of the year, more than ten people gathered in the escort agency for New Year’s Eve dinner. Aunt Lin, who lived next door, was carrying Little Six, who had just turned one year old, and cooking in the kitchen. The four-year-old young master was standing behind her, holding a candied hawthorn in his hand and playing with the fat boy on Aunt Lin’s back.
“Tangtang, firecrackers are being set off outside. Aren’t you going out to take a look?”
“Only children set off firecrackers…”
“Hehe, you’re so young, yet you’re talking like a little adult…”
Compared to the escort agency that was gradually progressing, Pei Yuangfeng, the big boss, because he focused all his energy on his foster son, he gave up on what he wanted in his heart. His anger dissipated, and he became increasingly depressed.
Before the New Year’s Eve dinner ended, Pei Yuanfeng returned to the backyard alone. He sat alone under the eaves and stared blankly at the Hornless Dragon Saber on his knees. After a moment of silence, drunkenness came over him, and he fell asleep.
In the middle of the night, when all the escorts had dispersed and the entire escort agency fell silent, a soft rustling sound suddenly woke the drunk and dreaming Pei Yuanfeng up.
He opened his eyes and looked around. The lanterns under the eaves were giving off a faint light.
A little child with bright eyes was standing on a stool and holding a sheepskin jacket in his hands. He placed it over him.
When he realized that he had woken up, he even scolded him in a childish voice, “Go to bed to sleep. What if you get sick from the cold?”
Pei Yuanfeng blinked. He had never felt the ‘kindness of a father’ before, but at this moment, he suddenly understood what ‘filial piety’ was.
After a moment of silence, he grinned and rubbed the child’s head. “Jingtang, do you want to be an expert?”
“It’s not good to fight and kill. The son of that family at the entrance of the town was stabbed to death because he fought with someone…”
“The purpose of practicing martial arts is to protect the family, not to fight and kill. It’s better to have a saber in your hand than to be unable to protect your family when you encounter trouble. I’ve been through this before. You must remember this.”
“Oh…”
“Moreover, in this day and age, weak men who don’t even have the strength to restrain a chicken live aggrieved lives. You are so good-looking. If you don’t practice martial arts, when you grow up, you will definitely be snatched away by the daughters of the mountain kings outside the town. Each of them has arms thicker than your thighs…”
“Heh! You even know to dislike them and prefer beautiful girls? There are no beautiful girls in Red River Town. The most beautiful girls in the world are all in the capital. They have had no worries about food and clothing since they were babies. They all have big butts good for giving birth and big breasts with plenty of milk…”
“Where is the capital?”
“It’s in the southeast. You reach it after crossing the Clear River. How about it? Do you want to practice martial arts? I’ll teach you saber skills.”
“Um… okay.”
“Hmph! Practicing martial arts is not child’s play. Go do the horse stance for two hours!”
“Uhh?”
In the blink of an eye, another four years passed.
It was early summer in Red River Town, located in the Gobi Desert in the northwest. The ground was earthly yellow, and there were not many green trees or pedestrians.
Ye Jingtang, who had been beaten three times a day for four years, was standing alone on the knee-deep stone beach of the small river outside the town. He was using a sledgehammer to smash the stones in the small river. Then he opened them and picked up finger-long fish from under the stones.
On the stone beach not far away, a few women from the town were washing clothes and chatting casually.
“I heard from my man that the current emperor is a woman. She just took over a few days ago…”
“A woman can be an emperor?”
“Why can’t a woman do it? Look at the oil workshop. The wife is so fierce that half the street can hear her scolding, and her man is as thin as a chicken. Doesn’t this mean that the woman is in charge…”
On the riverside, there was a small bamboo basket with hay inside. An ugly bird covered in gray fluff was lying lazily in the bamboo basket. From afar, it looked like a hemp ball. It was staring eagerly at the small fish skewered on a foxtail in Ye Jingtang’s hand.
“Chirp chirp!”
“You only know how to chirp all day. If you continue to gain weight, be careful that someone will steal you and stew you during New Year’s…”
“Coo?!”
“Oh?” Ye Jingtang found that the little chick he had picked up actually responded. He turned around, his eyes filled with surprise.
Before he could figure out why, the sound of horse hooves came from afar.
Ba-da- dum! Ba-da- dum!
Ye Jingtang looked over and saw that at the end of the official road, a horse was running from afar toward the north. The horse was very majestic and mighty, completely different from the ordinary horses in the escort agency.
Red River Town was located in a desolate place at the border. Usually, there were very few outsiders coming and going. When Ye Jingtang saw this scene, he carried the small fish and the bird and quickly ran to a small mound beside the official road to look.
The speeding figure looked like she had been on a long journey, but she wasn’t travel-worn. She was wearing clean black and white clothes and a veiled hat. She looked like a woman from a good family. She looked out of place with the small earthly yellow border town in the background.
The heroine in white was galloping toward Ye Jingtang. Just as she was about to brush past him, the horse slowly stopped. The woman in white on the horse looked around and then looked at him. “Kid, which way is it to Heavenly Carnelian Lake? How far is it?”
Her voice was very light and carried an otherworldly feeling.
After sizing her up, Ye Jingtang didn’t run down the mound. Fie only pointed into the distance. “Go right at the fork ten kilometers ahead. When you come out of the pass, go northeast. I’ve never been there, so I don’t know how far it is. It’s outside the pass. Ordinary people are not allowed to enter or exit. Why are you going there?”
“You speak quite orderly… I’m going to find an herb. Thanks.” The heroine in white took out a silver ingot and threw it to Ye Jingtang on the mound. Then she rode her horse and continued to gallop into the distance.
Ye Jingtang moved away from the bird, who had taken advantage of his distraction to eat the small fish secretly. He looked at the back of the heroine in white and was a little puzzled. Before he could think much, his leg was knocked by the hilt of the saber.
“Hiss!”
Pei Yuanfeng, who had appeared behind him at some point, had an ugly expression on his face. He reprimanded seriously, “The world isn’t peaceful. When you encounter strangers of unknown origins, remember not to look at them casually and come into contact with them. If you encounter a ruthless person, you will die with a casual dart.”
“It’s a woman…”
“How can a clean woman walk alone at the border without true ability? In Jianghu, such people are far more terrifying than bandits who look like bandits…”
Ye Jingtang felt that it made sense and seriously memorized these words. He asked, “Who is that woman?”
“Judging from her appearance, she should be from Void Jade Mountain.”
“Void Jade Mountain… Is it that very powerful Daoist temple?”
“You know quite a lot. What’s the matter? Do you want to marry a wife like her?”
“I’m just curious…”
“A father knows his son best. Do you think I don’t understand what you’re thinking? Without the ability of a Grandmaster, there’s no chance of marrying a woman like her. Don’t even think about it. When you grow up and become a Grandmaster, she’ll have married long ago…”
“I’ve already defeated everyone under the age of fifteen in Red River Town. How can I be considered a Grandmaster?”
“You’re far from it. Martial arts Grandmasters are all deity-like figures. Be down-to-earth, study hard, and practice hard. You shouldn’t bite off more than you can chew. You’ll probably be able to step into the threshold of the Grandmaster realm by the time you’re thirty.. But if you play with fish and walk with the bird all day long like you’re doing now, you’ll be snatched away by the daughters of the mountain kings outside the town to be the madam of the fortress…”
