Chapter 13: Jade Flute Blows Through Dragon Cave Slumber (Part 1)

  Xiao Shouren didn't ask anything, pretending that nothing had happened, and quietly waited for the arrival of the patrol team. Yuwen Shu and Yizhi Wende were the same, their eyes fixed on each other's noses, not making a sound.

  The three of them had a great tacit understanding. The patrolling squad was shocked when they surrounded and saw the three of them, but they didn't say anything either. These three were not people they could interrogate.

  After a while, a message was passed down from above, ordering Yuwen Shu and Xiao Shouren to return to their respective residences first and pay homage to the emperor tomorrow.

  Xiao Shouren knew that he couldn't avoid this matter, so he had to obey and withdraw. He prepared to return to the small courtyard in the city, and by now the sky was almost bright. Originally, the clothes he had ordered at a small shop in the city wouldn't be ready until tomorrow, but there was no way around it. He could only go and rush them, or else he would have to wear this tattered cloak to meet the emperor tomorrow?

  Everything went smoothly, and with the receipt for the clothes in hand, he mentioned that he needed to meet someone today. The shopkeeper and his assistants quickly agreed and dispatched more people to work on it. Within an hour, the clothes were ready. Xiaorong tried them on and they fit perfectly. He paid the remaining silver and even gave extra money for another set of clothes, asking them to make one more and he would pick it up in a few days.

  Xiao Shouren, wearing new clothes, had nothing to do anyway, so he strolled around the streets. After a while, he found a small wine house and went upstairs to order a few dishes and a pot of wine. He sat by the window, drinking alone, watching the people and scenery of the big city.

  Yuwen Shu felt that Xiao Shouren was indeed a talented individual after this incident. Not to mention anything else, just the calmness and quick thinking he showed earlier were not something ordinary people could match. He had a deep understanding of being bold, meticulous, and having a thick skin.

  Yuwen Shu was still thinking about when to find an opportunity to invite Xiao Shouren over for a chat, but now Xiao Shouren's backer Xue Shiying had passed away and he no longer had anyone to rely on. Although he was about to be promoted, once he entered the imperial court, if he didn't have any connections, it would be difficult to get by. If this kid could be pulled over, he would make a great helper in the future.

  In fact, inside the tent, there were only Xiao Shouren, Yuwen Shu, the black-clad man, the female assassin, and Yizhi Wende, a total of five people. However, outside the tent from start to finish, there was one more person, that is, the shadow in Yang Guang's palace!

  At this moment, the shadow is reporting to Yang Guang with a calm and composed voice about everything that happened tonight, from start to finish, without missing anything, neither exaggerating nor omitting a single detail, completely impartial. After finishing the report, he fell silent, waiting for Yang Guang's instructions.

  "Are you saying that all this was stirred up by that little soldier who captured Yizheng Wen De?" Yang Guang finally spoke after half a day of contemplation.

  "I didn't say anything, I'm just saying what I saw. As for how this happened, only Your Majesty can judge." The shadowy figure replied in a low voice, it's really unknown how Yang Guang could tolerate such a wooden person who even dared to call himself "my" in front of him.

  "I get it, so all these are just coincidences and not a play directed by the heavens. From what you said earlier, that young man who caught Bao Zheng's descendant is quite resourceful. I was thinking of assigning him an official position yesterday, now I know how to arrange for him." Yang Guang said with a smile.

  Xiao Shouren's path to becoming a temple master began like this.

  Xiao Shouren was unaware of Yuwen Shu and Yang Guang's little secret at this moment, he was leisurely watching the play.

  The scenery outside the window is just right, the food upstairs is fragrant, the wine in the pot is mellow, and the drinker's mood is excellent.

  When the sound of footsteps 'clop, clop, clop' arose, Xiao Shouren did not realize anything, he just gazed at the scenery outside the wine shop, lost in thought.

  It wasn't until he caught a whiff of the faint scent accompanying the footsteps that Xiao Shouren finally turned his head around. When he saw the two people in front of him, Xiao Shouren was taken aback, but remained silent.

  In front of him stood two men dressed like young masters, but Xiao Shouren knew they were absolutely not what they seemed. The two wore scholars' hats and robes, with high-soled boots on their feet, and from their attire, they looked like literary rascals, but in Xiao Shouren's seasoned eyes, the two people before him were just fledglings.

  The young one, on the one hand, refers to the fact that she has no experience in traveling the world, and on the other hand, it also means that she is just a woman. The one on the right can be ignored, generally tall, with big eyes and mouth, slightly yellow skin tone. However, the one on the left has smooth and lustrous skin, so tender that pinching it would make water come out, no beard under the chin, no Adam's apple in the throat, and is around 20 years old. But women in this era get married early and develop early, so even if she's a bit younger, it can't be ruled out.

  The person on the left had a face like a painting, with delicate and refined features, but somehow managed to look mature and steady. When he saw Xiao Shouren turn his head, he cupped his hands and said, "Please, this gentleman." His voice was deliberately rough, but still couldn't hide its sharpness and clarity, which made Xiao Shouren laugh.

  Disguising oneself doesn't seem like a simple matter, blending in with a group of men without being detected is the real art of disguise. This person in front of me seems to be afraid that others won't know she's not a woman. Not even willing to put on a fake beard, that's a huge failure.

  Seeing that person's gaze staring at himself, Xiao Shouren coughed and looked around before saying: "Are you talking to me?"

  A person with a beautiful face and eyes asked curiously, "There's only you and a table here, am I supposed to talk to the table?" After saying this, the person seemed to find it funny and couldn't stop laughing. Her voice was crisp and tender. The person next to her nudged her, and she finally stopped laughing, but the smile lingered on her face, leaving several true literary men upstairs swallowing their saliva.

  Xiao Shouren smiled and said: "I don't know that person, what business does he have with me?"

  "Although we didn't know each other before, aren't we acquainted now?" The person covered their mouth and whispered to the person next to them: "I told you this country bumpkin couldn't tell that our girl is dressed as a boy."

  The man on the right also lowered his voice and said, "Miss is absolutely right."

  "Someone should call the young master. Foolish girl, asking for a beating." The handsome man bowed again, "I don't know if we've taken up too much space here, would you mind?"

  She thought she was speaking in a low and unclear voice, but Xiang Shouren couldn't hear clearly, yet he didn't expect that Xiang Shouren's intuition was strong. After cultivating, his hearing and eyesight became even stronger, now not only did he hear what she said, but also noticed that although she had removed her earrings, there were holes in her earlobes, and he couldn't help but smile.

  I thought these two were imitating some woman dressing up as a man, coming over to test themselves with me, and would leave after saying a couple of words. Xiao Shouren looked around again, pointing to an empty table on the side: "Sir, there's also an empty seat there."

  "How dare you." The woman with the hairpin took a step forward, her right hand on her waist. "My family is humble, young master is giving you face, don't be ungrateful."

  With a "crack" sound, the person in front covered his head and turned back to say: "Young master, why did you hit me?"

  "Ignorant fool," the man with the painted eyebrows raised an eyebrow, looking rather cute, "Young master still has a distinction between high and low? Don't think that just because your family has some stinky money you can look down on others. This gentleman, to be honest, only because I'm not talented and new to the business city, there's only this table by the window with a view, so I had the idea of coming here to take a seat."