"Sir." Yu Shuang saw Shen Qingfeng coming from afar. He quickly opened the door of the villa and stepped aside to welcome Shen Qingfeng in.
This was not the Shen Mansion but a house that Shen Qingfeng had bought separately. It was located on the edge of the city gate, a rather secluded place that Shen Qingfeng had specifically chosen. It was used as a secret venue for the Listening Wind Pavilion.
In his previous life, Shen Qingfeng had been the leader of the Listening Wind Pavilion. Even now, he clearly remembered the personalities and experiences of each of the ten people who had fought side - by - side with him. Thanks to this, the establishment of the Listening Wind Pavilion had been very smooth. So far, almost all the members had been recruited, and under Yu Shuang's leadership, it had started to operate normally.
"Um." As soon as the voice fell, Shen Qingfeng noticed that Yu Shuang's face looked a bit strange. He looked up at him and asked, "Yu Shuang? What's wrong?"
Yu Shuang looked back into the courtyard with a pained look on his face. "Sir... Xiang Cheng followed me secretly today. Since he didn't have your password, I told him to go back quickly. But I didn't expect that as soon as he came, he started fighting with Yuan Yang. They just stopped a while ago..."
Shen Qingfeng was stunned. "What? This is sheer nonsense! Why did you let him in?"
Yu Shuang slapped his thigh and sighed. "Sir, he said he was here to find you, so I didn't stop him. But I didn't expect that as soon as he entered the house, Yuan Yang took notice of him."
Yuan Yang had a hot temper. He was agile and open - minded. In his previous life, he had never got along well with Xiang Cheng. Whenever they met, they would quarrel. Usually, it was because Yuan Yang disliked Xiang Cheng and insisted on having a sparring match. In his previous life, Xiang Cheng had been the second commander of the Listening Wind Pavilion. Although Yuan Yang was always unreasonable in words, he still had some concerns during the actual sparring. Now, Xiang Cheng had no official position, and this was their first meeting. Shen Qingfeng was a bit worried about what might happen if they sparred.
So he quickly followed Yu Shuang into the courtyard. As soon as he stepped through the courtyard gate, a powerful internal force whizzed past his cheek. Shen Qingfeng dodged in shock.
Yu Shuang was also very frightened. He didn't know why the two who had just stopped fighting had started again. Afraid that they would get too carried away, Yu Shuang quickly pulled Shen Qingfeng behind him to protect him. Then he stepped forward and separated the two who were wrestling. "Stop fighting. The sir is here."
Yuan Yang was the youngest among them. His character was straightforward and he had the toughness unique to a young man. When he heard that Shen Qingfeng had come, his temper subsided a bit, but he still couldn't help shouting, "It's just right that the sir is here. Let the sir judge for me. We've just met for the first time. Why does he look so arrogant?"
Xiang Cheng said stiffly, "I don't."
Yuan Yang pointed at his nose and said in a sarcastic tone, "Bullshit. You do!"
Xiang Cheng snorted and turned his head away, ignoring him.
Yuan Yang shouted again, "What do you mean by not saying a word? Can't refute me, right?!"
Shen Qingfeng rubbed his temples. He actually knew why Yuan Yang always quarreled with Xiang Cheng in his previous life. Most of the time, it was simply because... they disliked each other.
Once, after they had a fight, Shen Qingfeng grabbed Yuan Yang and asked him, but he couldn't give a clear reason after talking for a long time. After that, Shen Qingfeng understood that in this world, some people were just incompatible, like two same magnetic poles. As soon as they met, they couldn't get along.
So Shen Qingfeng was too lazy to listen to their explanations. After a symbolic comfort, he told Yu Shuang to take Yuan Yang away first, and he himself took Xiang Cheng into the house.
"Have a seat." Shen Qingfeng said straightforwardly, "Why did you come to find me?"
Xiang Cheng looked at him and said, "There are some things... I'd like to talk to you about."
Shen Qingfeng said, "What things? Just say it."
Xiang Cheng paused and said, "About why you saved me and my future."
Shen Qingfeng straightened his expression.
Anyway, Shen Qingfeng of course hoped that he would stay and become the second commander of the Listening Wind Pavilion. But after all, this life was different from the previous one. Also, because of Xiang Cheng's blind loyalty to him in his previous life, Shen Qingfeng's attitude towards him was very different from his attitude towards others. So he didn't want him to leave even more.
Although Shen Qingfeng thought so, he still decided to give Xiang Cheng a chance to make his own choice.
Xiang Cheng lowered his head. The words A Man had said to him that day flashed through his mind. After that, he had thought about it for a long time.
He wasn't a very smart person. Regarding the fact that Shen Qingfeng had saved him, on a grand scale, it was to repay a debt of gratitude. On a small scale, it was just a simple act. But he didn't want to think about things so complicated. Just as A Man had said, he had lost his memory and didn't know anyone. He also had an enemy with no clues so far. He had nowhere to go. Since Shen Qingfeng was kind to him, why not stay here?
So he agreed to Shen Qingfeng. When he raised his head again, he saw a trace of relief in Shen Qingfeng's eyes.
"Xiang Cheng, do you want to be the second commander of the Listening Wind Pavilion?" Shen Qingfeng said with a smile.
Maybe this was not bad. Xiang Cheng thought. Putting everything aside, in this world where he knew no one, Shen Qingfeng's place had become his only foothold, a place that he might later be willing to call home.
-
Three days later, the python - patterned robe that Liu Mei had mentioned was found by the people of the Listening Wind Pavilion.
When Yu Shuang told Shen Qingfeng about this, Shen Qingfeng slapped the table and immediately went to the palace.
If this matter was handled well, it could directly bring down the King Cheng's faction, and there would be no need for the final forced palace rebellion. In the past few days, he had already made a preliminary plan. This time he went to the East Palace to tell Xia Chuli about this plan.
But when Shen Qingfeng rushed to the East Palace, the scene in front of him shocked him.
The entire East Palace was in a complete mess. The maids were coming and going, carrying wooden basins and moving something out of the house. Shen Qingfeng quickly grabbed a maid and looked into the basin she was carrying. He saw that the water in the basin was tinged with a faint red color. Shen Qingfeng was shocked and shouted sharply, "What's going on?!"
The maid was startled by Shen Qingfeng's appearance. She lost her grip on the wooden basin, and it fell to the ground with a splash. The blood - stained water spilled all over the place. She knelt on the ground, shivering.
Seeing that she was too frightened to speak, Shen Qingfeng was extremely anxious. He didn't have the heart to care about her anymore. He directly strode into the courtyard. As he ran, he pushed aside the busy maids and rushed into the house.
The red - painted door was suddenly pushed open. Shen Qingfeng rushed in. The moment he saw the scene inside the door, he was instantly stunned on the spot.