"Second Brother is not here, and Big Brother is busy with all sorts of things. When I sought him out that time, he advised me that although Li Danxun is somewhat arrogant, it is merely youthful impetuosity, not really a problem. Since he possesses good martial arts skills, he wouldn't make a bad match..." Xiahou Jie frowned and said: "That's only because Huangfu Xiong is not here. If he were, your Big Brother would never say such things, relying on his status as the eldest son to recruit that Li Danxun. Such matters are common, but the method is rather disgraceful." As she spoke, she noticed her friend's brows seemed slightly clouded and changed her tone, saying: "Today, since we finally reunited, let's not talk about that unpleasant person. By the way, you mentioned Zhao Kuo, what happened to him? I remember his blade techniques focus on variations, although he cannot match Li Danxun, still, among this generation, his martial arts are quite outstanding. Did he defeat some formidable enemy again?" Huangfu Qiuyang's face showed a slight smile, shaking her head, she said: "No, he was defeated." "Defeated openly by another knife master." Xiahou Jie couldn't help but sit up straight, her right hand touching the red knife placed horizontally on the table, and asked: "Who was the expert in Xiong City?" Huangfu Qiuyang said, "It was a young knife master whom we've never seen before." Xiahou Jie's eyes sparkled with eagerness, "A young knife master? Does that mean he's much younger than Zhao Kuo? How many moves did he use to defeat Zhao Kuo? What's his appearance like? Where is he living now?" Huangfu Qiuyang smiled helplessly to calm her friend, "How would I know? He has a somewhat cold appearance, dressed in black, and even his weapon was pitch-black, with no color." "As for how many moves?" She paused her voice and subconsciously thought, not of the domineering and scornful strike, but of the youth sitting quietly eating simple food on the streets. Then she thought of Li Yinxiang playing with a jade plaque in his hand, and a notion suddenly arose in her mind. If she told Li Yinxiang about this, the expression on the one who 'embezzled' a thousand taels of silver would surely be amusing. Google seaʀᴄh novelꞁire.net A poor one who could only eat plain wheat cakes. While the other one played with that as a jade pendant... If the two were to meet again, the scene... Huangfu Qiuyang's lips curled into a slight smile. Xiahou Jie couldn't help but urge, "How many moves? Tell me, was it thirty moves? Or fifty?" "Zhao Kuo's blade technique thrives on complex variations to achieve victory. The longer the fight, once his moves are exhausted, the weaker he becomes. Yet at the start, every move is fierce, like perilous peaks emerging, but after thirty moves, it becomes flat." "But since you said it was quite a scene and involved experts, I think it must have been within thirty moves." She said with a determined expression, having reached a conclusion. Huangfu Qiuyang came back to her senses, seeing Xiahou Jie with such confidence, she felt an inexplicable pride and adjusted her posture to look at her childhood friend. Smiling, she delicately extended one finger and said in her most nonchalant voice: "Mr. Zhao Kuo went all out, his blade skills pushed to the peak, yet was defeated head-on in one move." After speaking, she lowered her eyes, leisurely drinking tea, waiting to see the shocked expression on her friend's face. Yet, after a while, there was no sound. She peeked up to find the fire kindling within the eyes of the woman in front. The flames crackled softly in the firewood. In the brass pot, large slices of lamb rolled in the boiling white soup. The person in front of the pot tugged at their sleeves, squatted down to stoke the fire, paused, then stood up again to carefully toss the cumbersome cloak behind, to avoid catching the edge on fire. Only then did they continue to squat back down to build the fire. As the aroma gradually intensified, they tossed something into the pot, grabbed a handful of red chili powder from the medicine bag, and threw it in. The fragrance, spiked with the chili, became increasingly vivid and aggressive. The person inside the house reached out with chopsticks to stir the pot, then picked up two large pieces of lamb, tossed them into their mouth while still hot. The northwestern lamb had a very mild gamey smell, subdued by the chili, leaving just the tender freshness. Teeth crushed the thinly sliced lamb, and the broth seeped, mixed with spice and heat, down the throat together. Wang Anfeng squinted his eyes, exhaling leisurely, displaying a cheerful smile on the otherwise indifferent and silent face Huangfu Qiuyang was describing to Xiahou Jie. In his heart, he felt that the joy of life was none other than this, and after patting his belly, his heart was again filled with melancholy. A mere three plain cakes, even soaked and expanded, were still not enough. It's still important to eat meat to feel full... He immediately ate several more pieces of meat, and then casually pondered the matters ahead. Now that he's here, he must attend that Jianghu gathering or whatever big event it is. But before that, he needs to wander around the city, familiarizing himself with its layout in advance. When things turn unmanageable, it might have miraculous effects. This was something he learned in Liangzhou. Of course, if he could disrupt the arrangements of White Tiger Hall in advance, that would be even better. But he needs to be careful... Wang Anfeng slightly furrowed his brow. If he remembered correctly, Great Qin's Governor Sima Cuo had some adversarial relationship with his father and Uncle Li back in the day, not getting along. This Great Qin's first military man resides here. Moreover, since this is a major event held once every ten years, the Four Great Families should all appear. That's nothing to worry about; he never causes trouble in the Jianghu... Wang Anfeng's thoughts leisurely glanced over, his action suddenly froze, realizing something, he fell into deep thought, holding a bowl in his right hand and counting on his left fingers. Hmm, the Four Great Noble Families of Great Qin's Jianghu. In Jiangnan Road, there's Xiahou, in the Northwest there's Huangfu, overseas there's Dongfang, and at Zixiao there's Xuanyuan. Xiahou Xuan could detect his disguise technique, that's not good. Although he felt sorry for Brother Xiahou, he had to avoid him... The Dongfang Clan, not good, they have abilities from their bloodline, can't get too close, otherwise, his cover would definitely be blown. Even though they belong to the branch not caring about parental matters, the direct bloodline of Dongfang Clan stranded outside only seems to be himself. Not good, revealing his identity. Xuan Yuan, hmm, the Xuanyuan Family excels in the Royal Sword. Since he never passed by the vicinity of Zixiao Mountain Villa, there hasn't been any friendship or conflict... Except that Uncle Li once severed the hand of a young elder from Xuanyuan using a sword. Wang Anfeng fell into deep thought. Military Family, Xiahou Family, Dongfang Clan, Xuanyuan Family, White Tiger Hall. The meat in the bowl he was holding suddenly didn't smell good anymore... Just then, a series of high-pitched horse whinnies, like a dragon's roar, pulled him out of his contemplation. He instinctively turned his head and saw that thin horse sticking its head through the window, its eyes fixedly staring at the steaming copper pot in front of Wang Anfeng. Seeing him look over, it whinnied again. Wang Anfeng chuckled, pointed at the pot, and said: "You little beast, you want to eat this too?" The answer was another long whinny. Wang Anfeng, resigned, got up and said: "Alright, alright, I'll send some out for you..." Saying this, he bent over, ready to take something out, his body slightly froze, realizing the meat in the pot had already been eaten by him while thinking unconsciously, leaving the carrots and cabbage untouched. Wang Anfeng's mouth twitched, he glanced at the extremely excited thin horse, and could only cough twice, scooped out a generous amount of green vegetables and carrots, and placed it into a bucket to take out for the thin horse. The thin horse continually tapped its front hooves on the ground, evidently highly excited. But when it saw the contents in the bucket, it suddenly calmed down, raising its head to look at Wang Anfeng, then lowered it to look at the food in the wooden bucket, the man and horse fell into silence. Wang Anfeng coughed twice, spoke righteously: "Listen to me, you're a horse, horses should eat vegetables..." "Eating vegetables is good for your health." The thin horse looked at him, just as Wang Anfeng thought it was being obedient and his face broke into a relieved smile, the horse stood on three legs, lifting its right front hoof diagonally forward, straightened like a long stick, suddenly sweeping all before it. The wooden bucket was directly sent flying, crashing against the wall. Then came a series of mournful whins resonating through the night sky. Wang Anfeng already heard the unknown source of people cursing words like "disturbing the peace," his mouth twitched slightly, raised his hands, and said: "Alright, alright... I'll do it for you right away, okay?" "I'll add soybeans... Okay, okay, add eggs, add eggs... Is it okay to add eggs?" PS: Here's the first update for today... Thanks to Alos_Yui for the ten thousand reward, thank you very much.