36: One glance tells you that a sword is coming from the west, like a fairy from the sky!

"Estate Master, Old Fu committed suicide in the kitchen!" A guard rushed over and reported in a low voice.

"Old Fu..." Li Yanbei clenched his fists. Old Fu had been with him for thirty-two years; he had practically watched him grow up! He was the closest person to him.

Indeed, if he wasn't the closest, Li Yanbei wouldn't have entrusted his food and drink to him.

"Du Tongxuan! That scoundrel! Despicable! Shameless!"

Whoosh!

A dart shot in from outside and was caught between Lu Xiaofeng's two fingers. A note was attached to the dart.

He unfolded it and read: "If you want the antidote, bring him to Chunfeng Yixiao Pavilion!"

The purplish-blue on Li Yanbei's face eased slightly, but he was still weak. He clutched Lu Xiaofeng's arm tightly, his voice hoarse:

"Chunfeng Yixiao Pavilion... it's that old dog Du Tongxuan! He not only wants my life, but he also wants to see me make a fool of myself!"

Lu Xiaofeng's face was so grim that water could drip from it.

Although Li Yanbei's poison was temporarily suppressed, it was incredibly potent and could only be cured by a unique antidote.

Du Tongxuan setting up this situation and then inviting him over was definitely not just to see him make a fool of himself.

Going there would likely be like entering a Dragon's Den, a near-certain death.

"Don't go... Lu Xiaofeng..." Li Yanbei struggled and roared, "That place must be a trap! Old Dog Du... he's not alone; there must be a power behind him..."

"If you don't go, you're dead for sure," Lu Xiaofeng said with a grim face. "Call Old Nine, and let's go together!"

"Sword Devil, he's injured..."

"An injured tiger is still a tiger, not something a jackal can provoke. I've never liked killing, but since someone wants to die, then they might as well try Old Nine's Sword."

Chunfeng Yixiao Pavilion was filled with women, and as dusk approached, it was the perfect time to open for business.

However, at some point, many people had gathered in the main hall. If one looked closely, these people were quite famous throughout the land.

Lu Xiaofeng supported Li Yanbei, and Shangguan Xueer stood close to the pale-faced Lu Jiuyuan, who was wrapped in a cloak.

The four of them stepped into this pleasure-seeking den, filled with singing and dancing.

The sounds of music and flutes continued, and the dance moves were as graceful as ever, but the air seemed to have solidified.

All the guests seeking pleasure and the smiling girls involuntarily focused their gaze on the four people who had just entered.

In the center of the hall, at a round table covered with brocade, a thin, middle-aged man dressed as a scholar was pouring and drinking by himself.

A thin man stood behind him with his hands clasped behind his back.

This scholar-like man was none other than Old Du from the South of the City, Du Tongxuan, a well-known figure in the underworld.

Seeing Li Yanbei's disheveled appearance, with the purplish-blue still on his face and him trying to suppress the pain, Du Tongxuan's smile instantly widened.

"General Li, how have you been?"

His words were full of mockery.

"Scholar Du, thanks to you, I'm not dead yet!"

Calling a scholar who repeatedly failed his exams a 'scholar' also carried a strong mocking tone from Li Yanbei.

"Did you bribe Old Fu to poison and kill me?"

"That's right! Everyone has a weakness, even an old man who has followed you for thirty-two years can be bribed," Du Tongxuan nodded in admission.

"So you called me here just to see me in this sorry state?" Li Yanbei asked.

"No, I invited you here to give you the antidote and help you detoxify."

Du Tongxuan took out a porcelain bottle from his in my arms and handed it directly over.

"You went to such great lengths to poison me, and now you're giving me the antidote?"

"That's right, exactly so!" Du Tongxuan nodded. "When I poisoned you, I wished you would die immediately, but now, I don't want you to die anymore."

"Why?"

"I want to renew our bet with you."

"How do we renew it?"

"Let's bet bigger!" Du Tongxuan leaned forward slightly:

"I'm still betting on Ye Gucheng to win, and I'm putting all my assets on it. Do you dare to accept?

I know you still have eight hundred thousand taels of silver in your account at Si Da Heng Bank."

"You're just doing this to renew the bet with me?"

"That's right, because dead people can't pay! So you have to live, you can't die."

"Since you found out about that money, you should know that it can't really be considered mine," Li Yanbei said slowly.

"I know, that's why I'm asking if you dare?

I won't take advantage of you. It's still a three-to-two bet. I'll deposit 1.2 million taels of silver into Si Da Heng Bank before tonight."

"Bet!" Li Yanbei's eyes lit up, without the slightest hesitation. "Is it a deal?"

"Shake hands to swear!" Du Tongxuan extended his hand.

Clap!

The contract was made.

Li Yanbei slowly lowered his hand, looking into Du Tongxuan's eyes: "You are not a foolish person."

"Of course, I'm not a foolish person!" Du Tongxuan smiled. "It's just that I found out a piece of news beforehand."

"What news?"

"Just watch, and you'll know!"

Lu Jiuyuan turned his head and walked a few steps towards the window at this moment, then looked out the window.

The moment for showing off was coming.

As he expected, the timing was perfect. Six white-clad women with long hair reaching their waists held flower baskets filled with chrysanthemum petals.

They scattered the petals as they floated down, like Immortal maidens.

They wove a carpet of petals on the ground.

A middle-aged man in white, with skin as white as jade, stepped onto the petals and walked over.

His skin was as clear as jade, his demeanor like an Immortal descending to the mortal world, coupled with the white-clad maidens and the ground covered in petals.

This scene of showing off was even more beautiful than when Shangguan Feiyan showed off when she met Lu Xiaofeng back then.

Lu Jiuyuan compared them in his mind. After all, he had been a flower boy back then and had a lot of experience in how to scatter petals evenly and beautifully.

"A Sword comes from the west, Celestial Flight!"

Although Li Yanbei didn't recognize this person, seeing his appearance, this thought naturally surfaced in his mind.

A person with such an aura in this world must be the legendary Sword Immortal—Lord of Baiyun City, Ye Gucheng.

The petals scattered by the six white-clad maidens extended all the way to Lu Jiuyuan's feet.

Lu Jiuyuan held Solitary Swan in one hand and placed the other behind his back, watching Ye Gucheng slowly approach.

"After a few days, your demeanor has become even more stunning!"

"You don't look well," Ye Gucheng said calmly.

"I took a Sword from you. Although the Sword's edge didn't wound me, the Sword Intent invaded my body.

To be in this state now is already after more than ten days of good rest," Lu Jiuyuan said with a smile.

"Your complexion, however, looks very good! Looking at it this way, that battle back then seems like I lost."

Ye Gucheng shook his head: "That battle can only be described as evenly matched. You took a Sword from me, and I was hit by half a needle from you.

The reason my complexion is better than yours is because I took the Shaolin healing elixir, the Great Rejuvenation Pill.

Not only did it restore me to my peak condition, but I also advanced further.

I saw some more beautiful scenery."

Ye Gucheng's words were calm and unruffled, yet they were like stones thrown into a deep pool, stirring up stormy waves in everyone's hearts.

Shaolin Great Rejuvenation Pill! Restored to peak condition! Advanced further!

Each word was like a heavy hammer striking Li Yanbei's heart. The spirit that had just been rekindled by renewing the bet was instantly largely extinguished.

His already purplish-blue face became even more unsightly.

Du Tongxuan's eyes, however, gleamed with brilliance, and the corners of his mouth uncontrollably curled upwards; he almost burst out laughing.

He bent down and gently patted Li Yanbei's shoulder: "General Li, remember to keep my money safe! Thank you for helping me earn so much."

Just then, a very discordant scoff broke the silence.

"Heh! Lord of Baiyun City? Celestial Flight? What grand titles! Bah, what the hell are you putting on a show for?!"

A rough voice came from a corner, carrying a strong smell of alcohol and deliberate provocation.

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice, only to see a burly man with a scarred face staggering to his feet, a thick-backed nine-ringed saber hanging at his waist.

He was clearly drunk, or perhaps he was deliberately feigning drunkenness.