When Qin Wushuang arrived at the Windy Pool Restaurant, he drank a few rounds for his father and paid back with some rounds. During the banquet, a lot of his former classmates from the Martial Arts Academy came with their parents. They appeared awkward and uncomfortable in front of Qin Wushuang,but with the help of alcohol, they all stammered out an apology.
Maybe the former Qin Wushuang would have gotten into some small conflicts with these people, but the truth was, Qin Wushuang did not remember most of them. Instead, he just laughed it away.
However, his attitude, in the eyes of those martial arts students and their parents, was viewed as an act of generosity. Inwardly, they were complimenting him on being a generous offspring of the Wealthy class.
“Young Master Qin.”
A call came from behind just as Qin Wushuang was preparing to leave after he’d shared several rounds of drinks,.
"Hm?" He turned his head and saw that mysterious girl who had always accompanied sisters of the Yun family. When they were on the streets, the strange gaze Qin Wushuang had felt definitely came from this girl.
“Can I talk to you privately?”
As if she was afraid that Qin Wushuang would refuse, she added confidently: “I promise, I have something that Young Master Qin would care about very much.”
Qin Wushuang looked at this girl meaningfully, and made a gesture toward the door: “Please.”
When they walked out the door, two or three drunk people were still wandering around on the street. Singing the local tunes with a bawdy lyrics, they were drunk out of their minds.
The girl stopped when they had arrived at a quiet place. Suddenly, she said: "Does Young Master Qin know that an invisible danger is gathering around the Qin?"
These words were very sudden, and Qin Wushuang had not expected it. He raised his head and stared at this strange girl. Inwardly, he pondered the hidden meaning beneath her words.
The girl smiled lightly: “Is Young Master trying to guess the meaning of my words?”
Qin Wushuang did not deny her guess: “Forgive me for being slow, truthfully, I don’t understand what you mean.”
"Ok, then let us help one another. I only need Young Master to give me his promise, and I will tell everything immediately."
Qin Wushuang knew she was keeping him in suspense and he would not get anything out of her.
“What kind of promise?”
"Don't be nervous, Young Master Qin. This pledge is not asking you to murder or commit arson. Anyways, it won’t involve harming anyone. For now, I cannot say. If I ask you one day in the future, Young Master Qin cannot refuse. How about it?"
When she finished, that girl looked at Qin Wushuang with an expectant gaze and waited for his answer.
“Are you done?” Qin Wushuang asked lightly.
“I am done.”
“Good, then excuse me.” Qin Wushuang turned around and started walking away.
"Hey!" That girl hadn’t expected Qin Wushuang would ignore her offer and immediately walk away. While hurried to catch up, she yelled out: "Seriously, you are not going to listen?"
"I am not interested in a bargain with a stranger, nor do I want to make a promise to do anything for a stranger."
"Oh." That girl revealed a proud smile and said leisurely: "I understand, you are scared of me."
Qin Wushuang suddenly stopped and sneered: “So how are you compared to Xi Men Feudal Lords?”
“Xi Men Feudal Lords, such a famous name.”
“Yes, I am not even scared of Xi Men Feudal Lords, do you think you have something that I should be scared of?”
That girl laughed: “Right, I don’t have anything you should be scared of. Then, why are you not going to allow me to finish me talking?”
"I’m not interested." Qin Wushuang left these three words. Qin Wushuang believed in the saying of judging one by the company they keep. Since this girl had a close relationship with the Yun sisters, then she was definitely the arrogant princess type. He was not interested in serving her.
"Qin Wushuang, stop." That girl suddenly clenched her teeth and yelled angrily, "If you leave now, I would vouch with my lady's innocent reputation, that you will definitely regret for the rest of your life!"
Qin Wushuang's tiger-like body trembled slightly. Since a girl was vouching with her reputation, then this matter would not be simple.
"Girl, if you have some secret information, please tell me. I, Qin Wushuang, am clear on the distinction between grudges and gratitude, and I will never go back on my word. As for promises, do you think you can trust the promise of someone you have never met before?"
"I believe; since it's your promise, I will believe it." That girl lightly bit her lips, "Ok, I don't need your pledges. I only want you to know that this is an important matter."
“Please,,” Qin Wushuang said seriously.
That girl nodded: "Ok, from my sources, the Xu will soon be making big moves. They are undoubtedly targeting your Qin family. They will most likely leave tonight. Although I don't know the details of the plan, I am confident that they will act soon."
“Where did you get your information?”
"I have a good friend who is a close friend with Xu Sanli's eldest son, Xu Zhou. And this Xu Zhou was behaving very strangely recently. From the details, the Xu have a motivation to act against your family."
Qin Wushuang thoughts quickly raced and was already considering which path the Xu would take if they wanted revenge?
Assassination? The Xu should have already recognized the difference between them since their failure on the battle stage. Besides, the mighty warrior of the Xi Men Feudal Lords surely would have warned the Xu since their last visit.
Then?
The color on Qin Wushuang’s face slightly changed. He cupped his hands in a salute: “Thank you for your information. Your help today, someday I will definitely repay you.”
That girl finally nodded with satisfaction: “Sure, sure…”
Just as she was considering keeping him in waiting, Qin Wushuang had already left quickly. Her pink face blushed as she stomp on the ground and said in frustration: "Wow, you are not even asking my name, how can you talk about repaying me!"
Quickly thinking, she yelled: “Qin Wushuang, if you wanted to pay me back, come find me at the Redwood Martial Arts Academy!”
…
"Big Brother Da Xi, I want to ask a favor from you." Qin Wushuang found Da Xi Ming by himself and said straightforwardly.
"Why are you being so polite?" Da Xi Ming said with some surprise.
“Ok, for tonight, Big Brother Da Xi, please look after my sister. Tomorrow, I will invite you to come with your grandmother and my sister to the Qin house. Would Big Brother Da Xi have any problem with it?”
“No,” Da Xi Ming immediately answered and asked: “Did something happen?”
“No time for explanation. I will thank Big Brother when I return.
Following that, he returned to Windy Pool Restaurant and whispered a few words next to his father’s ear. Qin Lianshan’s expression instantly froze. He stood up quickly and cupped his hands: “Everyone, today, I am getting rather drunk. Some other day, I will set up a feast in my house. In that time, i hope you will all come.”
“Sure, sure, we will surely come.”
“Brother Lianshan, Wushuang, come to visit at my place if you have time?”
While Qin Lianshan interacted with them, he also walked over to where the officials of the Zhen Wu Holy Place sat. Elder Zhou immediately stood up and came over when he saw the nasty color on Qin Lianshan and Qin Wushuang’s face. He whispered: “What happened?”
"Elder Zhou, I heard that the Xu will be making big moves soon. They are plotting to deal with my family. It’s easy to dodge the spears in the open, but hard to avoid a stab in the dark. Us three have left a while ago from Eastwood Town, I am afraid the Xu will cause trouble for our town in secret.”
Elder Zhou slightly frowned and nodded: “Indeed, you must guard it. What is your plan?”
Qin Lianshan said anxiously: “We will ride back to the Qin house right now. Any delay and we will be too late.”
“Ok, you can go and grab two of my best horses. Hurry.”
The father and son of the Qin family did not show any courtesy and borrowed the two best-quality horses. Then, they rushed toward their home in Eastwood Town.
Although the Xu could not deal with them, they still had the capability to cause trouble at the Qin house. The rest was easy to take care of, but the Qin's ancestor house was at their home. If the Xu attacked and destroyed the ancestor's home, Qin Lianshan would most likely not be able to feel at peace for the rest of his life since generations of his ancestor's souls would be disturbed.
"Hurry, Wushuang, quicker." Qin Lianshan rushed him, "I have a terrible feeling."
Along the road, Qin Wushuang stopped a few times. Each time when he climbed down from the horse, he grabbed some dirt. He checked the dirt marks and the plants on the side.
His expression became even sterner as he muttered: "A large group of people indeed went toward the direction of the Qin house. Fortunately, it has not been too long. If we travel as fast as possible, maybe we can make it."
Both father and the son were very impatient. They rode as fast as possible and only wished to the horse would grow wings to fly back to their home.
With the tyrannical characters of the Xu, once they decided to take revenge, they would definitely use ruthless methods worse than gnawing your heart.
…
Right now, the Qin house was brightly lit. All the servants of the house had received the good news that the Qin had won. Under the direction of manager Qin Sixi, they were bustling with activity as they decorated the house with lights and lanterns.
Although there was few members in the direct line of descent in the Qin family, they had a lot of servants. Plus, the Qin treated the servants very well despite being aristocrats. Thus, the servants followed the family with their whole heart.
The whole Qin manor was bathed in a harmonious atmosphere.
"Nine, why is one side of these two large lanterns higher than the other? The left one, pull it higher a little. Yes, it must be balanced…" Qin Sixi proudly directed and organized the decorations and felt very satisfied as he watched everyone being busy.
He wanted to prepare everything before the patriarch returned. So when the patriarch returned, the first thing he would see would be a scene of celebration.
“Little Seven, grab a long ladder to here. Be careful, don’t touch the lanterns.”
"Monkey-Six, tomorrow morning, go buy some hanging firecrackers. Buy those that emits a bright and loud sound. When the Patriarch and the family returns, we will welcome them along the way with firecrackers."
"Alright, Master Four, in the future, we are all servants of the Wealthy Class! Haha."
“Idiot, already, you are acting like one?”
"Haha, Master Four, don't blame me for doing this. The world is such a cold place. Do you still remember Little Li from the west side tofu shop?”
"I do, you have liked her for quite a while. But her mother didn't like your lower background where you had no future! What, something is going well?"
Monkey-Six chirped: "Master Four, it's more than going well! This afternoon, Little Li came to tell me that her mother is no longer against us seeing each other. Today, it was her mother that told her to come to find me."
With a Pa sound, Qin Sixi said: "Such an opportunist, you will suffer from having such a mother-in-law.”
Monkey-Six laughed happily: "Master Four, Little Li is not like that, it's her mother. And I am not going to spend my days with her mother, right?"
"Stupid reason," Qin Sixi replied with a smile for he was also happy for him. He reminded him: "It's okay to be happy, but you must take care of these things first. Don't delay the celebration for the masters."
"Of course, without the brave performance from the Patriarch and young Master, we would not have our happy life. For the family, I will go through water and dive into the fire without a second to think."
Just when they were lively chatting away, from afar, the sounds of numerous horse hooves came thundering down the limestone street.
This sound of the hooves seemed rushed as it quickly raced toward the direction of the Qin house.
"The Patriarch came back during the night?" Monkey-Six was triumphant; then he turned worried: "I still haven't brought the firecrackers, what should I do?"
Qin Sixi was, after all, very experienced. After he had listened the sounds fora bit, he shook his head: "This should not be the Patriarch and his people. The hooves did not seem to be returning in victory."
“Then, is…”
Suddenly, Qin Sixi's face changed, and he hurriedly called out to everyone: "Everyone, get inside the manor and close the door tightly. Gear up and ready the defenses; the entire house will soon be in an emergency! Quick…Quick!"
When he said these words, people around him immediately fell into a panic.
Fortunately, the Qin had trained the servants well. And since they also had guards, they immediately followed the order.
Bang Bang Bang!
The gates immediately closed, one after another.
The defensive measures and traps were quickly readied. And the entire squadron of the family’s guards were instantly assembled.
The sound of the hooves stopped just outside the gates of the Qin house. Xu Sanli had led this team himself. Besides the direct line of descent of the Xu, dozens of core family guards also followed them.
Xu Sanli, Elder Yue, Xu Zhou and his two brothers were the main force in this group.
“Elder Yue, it seems that the Qin had already received the good news! They lit up the lanterns and decided to celebrate early. We will let them experience the so-called turning extreme joy into sorrow!”
Xu Sanli reined in the horse’s bridle and stared at the Qin house with a malevolent expression. His eyes were bright with hatred.