Chapter 78: The Heroes of the Red Flower Pavilion
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
After exiting the back door of the inn, they arrived at an old alley. On the other side of the alley was a wall, and inside was a large round building.
The round building was in the architecture style of Jiang Province. Such buildings were actually quite rare in Yun Province. It was completely circular, with two-story houses on the outside and a bluestone square with a diater of 200 feet in the middle inside.
The round building had so history, and the interior decoration was beautiful. It was a scenic spot in West King Town, and rich rchants often held banquets here.
At this mont, the round building was silent. In the east hall, there were several chairs. The various hall masters were here, waiting for the pavilion lord to arrive.
More than a hundred helm masters stood outside along the corridors of the round building. Familiar faces such as Li Sanwen and Madam Huang Zhu could be seen. Then there were core disciples, such as the grandchildren and children of the helm masters like Li Jian.
There were probably more than two hundred people standing neatly in the round building. But compared to the size of the round building, it wasn’t crowded.
Ye Jingtang and Third Lady appeared outside the round building. The silent and solemn disciples of the Red Flower Pavilion cupped their hands and bowed. The eleven hall masters sitting in rhe hall also stood up.
The Red Flower Pavilion was low-key. Although they had already cleared the surrounding area of the round building, it was right in front of West King Town. In order to prevent any experts from passing by and discovering them, no one shouted loudly. The grave aura, coupled with the stifling rainy night, made the atmosphere quite oppressive.
Pei Xiang]un entered the round building. Her originally charming aristocratic temperant had disappeared, and her expression was neither happy nor angry. Under rhe gazes of the disciples, she slowly walked through the circular corridor.
Ye Jingtang followed behind and found that the people around him were all looking at Third Lady respectfully, while the hall masters sitting in the hall had different expressions.
The 12 hall masters of the Red Flower Pavilion were equivalent to 12 family heads. There was a difference in status, and the exact ranking could be seen from the seating arrangent.
The pavilion lord’s position was in the center of the hall. On the right was a tall middle-aged man in a white brocade robe. He was the second-in-command of the Red Flower Pavilion, Song Chi. On the left was Chen Yuanqing of the Vermillion Bird Hall, and to his right was the hall master of the Black Tortoise Hall. The remaining were the hall masters of the smaller halls nad after the provinces where they were located.
The four large halls were forrly all ship gangs from the various provinces. The other hall masters were new talents who had joined one after another.
At the peak of the Red Flower Pavilion, the three generations of the old, middle-aged, and young could gather seven Grandmasters and one Martial Arts Chief. They had almost dominated Jianghu.
But in recent years, their luck hadn’t been good. The Black Tortoise Hall in Wu Province was the first to fall behind. The hall master had not even broken through to the Grandmaster level. After that, the Pei family beca deficient in people, and they could only let Pei Xiangjun take over the position of pavilion lord. There were only three Grandmasters left in the entire Red Flower Pavilion.
Although the White Tiger Hall and the Vermillion Bird Hall were also facing the dilemma of a shortage of talents, the hall masters were in their pri. Their situations were still better.
The second-in-command, Song Chi, was just over 50 years old. His martial arts skills ranked in rhe middle among Grandmasters. It wasn’t impossible for him to beco a top Grandmaster in the future or even beco one of the Eight Chiefs.
As for the third-in-command, Chen Yuanqing, he had single-handedly dealt with a powerful enemy, a ship gang of Jiang Province, back then. He was an internal Grandmaster supported by his battle results. Although he wasn’t as strong as Song Chi, he was only in his early forties and had a limitless future.
Pei Xiangjun was an early-stage Grandmaster and even younger. But after succeeding the position of pavilion lord, she was limited by her strength and the situation of the Red Flower Pavilion, so she had never gone out to settle matters. She didn’t have rhe support of actual battle results, which led to a lot of trouble.
This situation where rhe lord was weak but the ministers were strong led to the second and third-in-command being more important than the pavilion lord, Pei Xiangjun.
For example, just like now, even though the burly Song Chi and the elegant Chen Yuanqing had stood up to welco the pavilion lord, they were looking at her like they were looking at a later generation.
Pei Xiangjun’s strength was inferior to the two hall masters, and she was indeed a junior, so there was nothing she could do about this situation. She walked unhurriedly to the chair in the middle of the hall, sat down, and raised her hand slightly. ’Please take a seat, Hall Masters.”
There were actually not many rules for the internal eting of the Red Flower Pavilion.
Song Chi sat down beside her and raised his hand to get a junior who had co for the first ti to serve Pei Xiangjun tea. At the sa ti, he looked at Ye Jingtang, who was standing behind Third Lady. “And this is?”
Ye Jingtang cupped his hands. “1 am Ye Jingtang. My father is Pei Yuanfeng.”
Oh?
Upon hearing this, the eleven hall masters all turned their heads and sized up Ye J ingtang.
The previous pavilion lord, Pei Yuanming, had been a genuine top Grandmaster. He had even been the Spear Chief for a period of ti and had high prestige in the Red Flower Pavilion. Unfortunately, he had died at the hands of the current Spear Chief.
Pei Yuanfeng was Pei Yuanming’s younger brother. Many hall masters knew him. Back then, he had even fought with Song Chi. His talent was only a little weaker than his elder brother’s. If he had grown up smoothly to this day, there was a high chance that he would have beco a top Grandmaster.
Song Chi’s expression turned solemn as he asked, “Is Yuanfeng back?
Second Brother passed away at the beginning of the year. He sent his foster son to the Pei family and asked to take care of him on his behalf.”
When rhe hall masters heard this, they all revealed disappointed and sad expressions.
The Pei family was the founder of the Red Flower Pavilion. The old head and his two sons had passed away, and the only descendent, Pei Luo, couldn’t enter Jianghu. This was equivalent to ending the family line in Jianghu.
As the third-in-command, Chen Yuanqing had even called Pei Yuanfeng elder brother when he was seven or eight years old. When he saw his deceased old friend’s foster son, he was quite amiable. “Since you’ve co to the Red Flower Pavilion, you’re our nephew. If anything happens, feel free to tell us. Although the Red Flower Pavilion isn’t as good as before, Second Brother Song, pavilion lord have so weight in Jianghu.”
I, and the
Putting the pavilion lord behind rhe two of them was enough to show Third Lady’s status in Jianghu as the sect master.
Song Chi sighed and gestured to the young master behind him. “This is my son
Song Changqing. The two of you are about the sa age. You should get to know each other.”
After Ye Jingtang greeted them one by one, he cupped his hands at the muscular Song Changqing.
Song Changqing was 25 or 26 years old. He didn’t regard Ye Jingtang as an opponent and returned the greeting like a fellow disciple.
After Song Chi finished speaking, he began to talk about serious matters. “1 am in Chong Province. I heard that the Water Cloud Sword Pool robbed all the business at rhe Clear River Wharf. The Azure Dragon Hall started at the Clear River Wharf, and its ancestral property was robbed. Pavilion Lord, what is your plan? Do you want to make a trip with Yuanqing?”
The question seed to be full of concern, but the aning behind it was very clear: The ancestral property has been snatched. Pavilion Lord, if you can’t handle it, don’t force yourself. Let go of your power and leave rhe matter to us.
In the past, Pei Xiangjun wouldn’t have been able to answer such a question because she really couldn’t settle things.
But today was different. Pei Xiangjun sat in her seat confidently and said with a smile, “I will resolve this matter as soon as possible. All the hall masters are here today, so I’ll announce sothing first.”
“Oh?” Song Chi was quite surprised. He thought that Pei Xiangjun had thought things through and was preparing to give up her position. But as he looked at her expression, it didn’t seem like it.
Chen Yuanqing asked, “Pavilion Lord, what arrangents do you have?
The hall masters looked over.
Pei Xiangjun raised her hand slightly and got Ye Jingtang to take a step forward. “From now on, Jingtang will be rhe young master of the Red Flower Pavilion…”
Buzz!
“This…”
Before she could finish speaking, the entire hall exploded. All the hall masters and even the old helm masters listening outside were stunned.
After Song Chi confird that Pei Xiangjun was not joking, he frowned and patted the armrest of his chair. “Xiangjun, do you knowhow important the young master is in a sect?”
Pei Xiangjun replied calmly, “The young master is my designated successor, if I die, he will directly take over the Red Flower Pavilion. If I lose contact, he can mobilize the pavilion mbers himself, and all the hall masters must obey his orders.”
Although Chen Yuanqing, the third-in-command, had no intention of becoming the pavilion lord and had always supported Pei Xiangjun, he shook his head gently and reminded, “Xiangjun, being at the helm isn’t just a title. Only by being able to convince the masses can you make the people below listen to your orders. Back then, you took the position legitimately, and the hall masters and I had no objections. But your performance over the years… Sigh/’
The helm masters of the various halls had the sa thought. Pei Xiangjun herself couldn’t do anything, and even a trash force like the Baoyuan School had started to act atrociously. How could she dare to arrange for a young master to ride on top of all the hall masters?
No matter how loyal they were, they couldn’t follow a muddle-headed leader and ss around with such a large family business!
Song Chi’s expression didn’t look too good. After so thought, he didn’t ger angry. He raised his hand and said, “The people of Jianghu speak with their fists. If Nephew Ye has the ability to take over, the hall masters naturally won’t question the pavilion lord’s decision. Changqing, go outside and spar with Nephew Ye. Let the elders see Nephew Ye’s capabilities.”
Song Changqing was the successor of rhe White Tiger Hall. In the future, when his father beca the pavilion lord, he would be the young master. This was an opportunity to showcase his talents in front of the hall masters, so he naturally had to treat it with 120% focus.
Song Changqing took a step forward and cupped his hands at the hall masters. Then he raised his hand and gestured to the curtain of rain outside the hall. “Brother Ye, please.”
Ye Jingtang had co here for this matter, so he didn’t say anything. After cupping his hands to the hall master, he walked out the door with Song Changqing and went to the bluestone square under the rain.
The hall masters and helm masters present all beca serious. They wanted to see why the pavilion lord made such a ridiculous arrangent.
But just as the two of them walked into the rain and before they could get into position, a shout suddenly ca from above the roof of the round building. “Who is there?!”
Then a sharp whistle sounded.
Swish!
As soon as the sound ca, the round building fell silent.
All rhe higher-ups of the Red Flower Pavilion were having a eting in West King Town. No matter how broad-minded they were, they had to be prepared to avoid being wiped out by the other Jianghu forces.
The whistle was to warn that powerful enemies were attacking. Everyone was ready for battle.
Chen Yuanqing’s and Song Chi’s expressions changed slightly. They imdiately flew out of the hall, broke through the curtain of rain, and landed at the roof of the round building.
Whoosh!
At the sa ti, the helm masters and the disciples, who were watching around the bluestone square, also flew up, looking as if they were facing a formidable enemy.
On the riverside street outside the round building, whooshing sounds tore through the air. From the sound, no fewer than a hundred people were moving!
Ye Jingtang and Song Changqing looked puzzled. Seeing this, they tapped their feet on rhe pillars of the corridor, landed on the eaves of the round building, and looked outside.
Under the heavy rain, the roofs of the riverside were densely packed with people. They looked around with sabers in their hands, prepared to face an enemy.
What’s going on?”
Who’s here?
I don’t know. There seem to be only three of them.”
The hall masters and the helm masters are all inside. How can there only be three people attacking? Be careful of the thieves hiding in the dark…”
Directly below the round building, under the back wall of the inn, were three people with bamboo hats who had been surrounded. They were back to back and looked at the roof in horror. They started whispering.
What’s going on? Were we ambushed?
Is there a need to ambush us with so many people?!
The two sides faced each other blankly.. The entire riverbank fell into a strange silence…
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