wait a minute

Chapter 72

Going out from the back door of the inn, you will come to an old alley. On the other side of the alleyway is a wall, and inside is a rather large round building.

The round building was produced in Jiangzhou, which is actually quite rare in Yunzhou. The overall shape is circular, with two-story houses on the outside, and a bluestone square with a diameter of twenty feet inside.

The round building has a bit of history, and the interior decoration is quite gorgeous. It is regarded as a scenic spot in Xiwang Town on weekdays, and wealthy businessmen often entertain guests here.

At this moment, there was no sound in the circular building, and in the main hall in the east, there were several high-ranking chairs, and the hall masters were among them, waiting for the arrival of the master.

More than a hundred incense masters stood outside along the eaves of the round building, and they could see familiar faces such as Li Sanwen and Mrs. Huang Zhu; then there were core disciples, such as Li Jian and other incense masters' children.

Under the entire round building, there are estimated to be no less than two hundred people standing neatly, but compared to the size of the round building, it is not crowded.

Yejingtang and Sanniang appeared outside the round building, and the disciples of Honghualou who stood silently bowed their hands together, and the eleven hall masters sitting in the hall also stood up.

Honghualou is low-key. Although the surrounding area of ​​the round building has been emptied, but in front of Xiwang Town, no one shouted loudly in case someone passing by noticed it. There is a sense of oppression.

When Pei Xiangjun entered the round building, the temperament of a charming lady disappeared, and his face was neither happy nor angry. He walked slowly through the circular corridor under the attention of his disciples.

Ye Jingtang followed behind, and he could see that the eyes of the surrounding people were respectful; while the hall master sitting in the hall had different expressions.

The twelve halls of the Honghualou are equivalent to twelve masters, with different statuses, and the specific order can be seen from the seats.

The landlord is located under the middle hall of the hall, and the tall middle-aged man in a white brocade robe on the right is Song Chi, the second head of the Honghua Building, Chen Yuanqing of the Zhuque Hall on the left, and the head of the Xuanwu Hall on the right, and the rest is The small hall master named after the place.

The four hall entrances were formerly the ship gangs of various states, and the other hall masters are rising stars, joining one after another.

When Honghualou was at its peak, the three generations of old, middle-aged and young people could gather seven masters and one martial arts leader, almost dominating the world.

But in recent years, the fortunes have been bad. Wuzhou’s Xuanwu Hall was the first to fall behind, and the head of the family didn’t even enter the master; then the Pei family also failed to take over, so they had to let Pei Xiangjun take over, and there were only three masters left in the entire Honghualou.

Although Baihutang and Zhuquetang are also facing the dilemma of being outnumbered, but the hall masters are in the prime of life, the situation is better.

The second master, Song Chi, has just passed fifty, and his martial arts can be ranked in the middle among the masters. It is not impossible to become a top-ranking master in the future, and even hit the top eight.

As for the third master, Chen Yuanqing, who single-handedly dealt with a strong enemy of the Jiangzhou Cao Gang back then, he is a master of the inner family with record support. Although he is not as good as Song Chi, he is only in his early forties, and his future is limitless.

Pei Xiangjun is also an entry-level master, and he is younger, but after he succeeded to the throne, he was limited by his strength and Honghualou's situation, so he didn't go out to make peace at all, and there was no actual record to support him, which led to a lot of moisture.
The situation where the master is weak and the minister is strong has led to the weight of the second and third masters, which is heavier than the chief master Pei Xiangjun.

Just like now, even though the burly Song Chi and the elegant Chen Yuanqing stood up to greet the head of the family, their expressions were completely focused on their children and nephews.

Pei Xiangjun is not as powerful as the two hall masters, and he is indeed a junior, so he has nothing to do about this situation, so he walked to the chair in the middle of the hall and sat down, slightly raising his hand:

"All hall masters, sit down."

In fact, there are not too many rules in the internal meeting of Honghualou.

The second master, Song Chi, sat down beside him, and raised his hand to ask the younger generation who came for the first time to offer tea to Pei Xiangjun, while looking at Ye Jingtang standing behind him:

"Who is this?"

Ye Jingtang stood behind Pei Xiangjun's chair and bowed his hands:
"Junior Ye Jingtang, father Pei Yuanfeng."

"Oh?"

Hearing this, the eleven hall masters all turned their heads and looked at Ye Jingtang.

The previous host, Pei Yuanming, was a genuine top-ranking master. He even served as a "gun leader" for a while, and had a high prestige in Honghualou. Unfortunately, he died at the hands of Duan Shengji, the contemporary gun leader.

Pei Yuanfeng is Pei Yuanming's younger brother, who is known to many hall masters. He even fought with Song Chi back then, and his talent is only weaker than his brother's. If he grows up smoothly to this day, there is a high probability that he can become a top-level master.

Song Chi looked a little more solemn, and asked:
"Yuanfeng is back?"

"Second brother passed away at the beginning of the year, so he sent his adoptive son to Pei's house and asked me to take care of him."

"..."

When the hall masters heard this, they all showed loss and sadness.

The Pei family is the founder of Honghualou. The old patriarch and two sons are both dead. The only seedling Pei Luo can't enter the Jianghu, which is equivalent to cutting off the incense in the Jianghu.

As the third head of the family, Chen Yuanqing called Pei Yuanfeng his elder brother when he was seven or eight years old. When he saw his deceased adopted son, he was quite friendly:

"When we arrive at Honghualou, it's me waiting for my nephew. If something happens, feel free to talk to us. Although my Honghualou is not as good as it used to be, but Song Erge, me, and the landlord have some weight in the Jianghu."

Putting the "landlord" behind the two of them shows the status of San Niang as the headmistress.

Song Chi sighed and gestured to the young master behind him:

"This is my son Song Changqing. You two are not much different in age. Let's talk more."

After Ye Jingtang saluted one by one, he bowed his hands to the rather muscular Song Changqing.

Song Changqing was 25 and six, and he didn't regard Ye Jingtang as an opponent, and he returned the salute like a brother.

After Song Chi finished speaking, he began to talk about business:
"I'm in Chongzhou, and I heard that Shuiyun Jiantan has robbed the business of Qingjiang Wharf. Qinglongtang started from Qingjiang Wharf, and the ancestral property was robbed. What's the owner's plan? Do you want Yuan Qing and me to go there?" ?”

The question seems to be concerned, but the meaning is very clear - the ancestral property has been robbed, and the landlord can't handle it, so don't be brave, let go of power, and leave the matter to us.

In the past, it would be difficult for Pei Xiangjun to answer this kind of question, because she really couldn't settle things down.

But today is different. Pei Xiangjun sat on the chair generously and said with a smile:

"I will resolve this matter as soon as possible. All the hall masters are here today, so I will announce one thing first."

"Oh?"

Song Chi's eyes were quite surprised. He thought that Pei Xiangjun had figured it out and was about to step aside, but seeing Pei Xiangjun's expression, he didn't quite like it.

Chen Yuanqing asked: "What are the landlord's arrangements?"

Many hall masters looked over.

Pei Xiangjun raised his hand slightly, making Ye Jingtang take a step forward:
"From now on, Jingtang will be the young master of Honghualou..."

"Om..."

"This……"

Before he could finish speaking, the whole hall went straight to the frying pan, and all the hall masters and even the old Xiang master who was listening outside were all stunned.

After Song Chi made sure that Pei Xiangjun was not joking, he frowned and patted the handrail:

"Mr. Xiang, do you know how important the 'Shao Master' is in the sect?"

Pei Xiangjun responded calmly: "Young master is my designated successor. If I die, he will take over Honghualou directly; if I lose contact, he can order the disciples by himself, and all hall masters must obey orders."

Although Chen Yuanqing, the third master, has no intention of being the master and has always supported Pei Xiangjun, he shook his head lightly at this time and reminded:
"Mr. Xiang, being at the helm is not just about a name. You can convince the people yourself to make the people below obey orders. You were in charge back then, and I have no disagreement with the other hall masters, but your performance over the years... Sigh."

The hosts of the main halls thought the same thing - Mr. Pei Xiang didn't care about it himself, and even the Baoyuanmen started to ride wildly on his head, how dare he arrange for a young master to ride on the heads of all the hall masters?
No matter how loyal they are, with such a big family business, they can't follow the fatuous helm, can't they?

Song Chi's face was really not very good. After thinking about it, he didn't get angry, and directly raised his hand and said:
"People in Jianghu speak with their fists. If Nephew Ye Xian has the ability to take over, the hall masters sitting here will naturally not question the decision of the landlord. Changqing, go outside and have a fight with Nephew Ye Xian, and let all the elders take a look at Nephew Ye Xian two catties."

Song Changqing is the successor of Baihutang, and when his father becomes the landlord, he will be the young master. This kind of opportunity to show his talents in front of the hall masters naturally needs to be treated with full energy.

Song Changqing took a step forward, first saluted the hall masters, and then raised his hand to signal the rain curtain outside the hall:

"Brother Ye, please."

Ye Jingtang came here just for this, so he didn't say much at the moment, after saluting to the hall master, he walked out of the gate with Song Changqing, and came to the Qingshi Square under the rain.

The hall masters and incense masters present all looked serious, wanting to see why the host made such outrageous arrangements.

But just as the two of them walked into the rain curtain, and before they even took up their posture, a shout suddenly came from above the ridge of the round building facing the river:
"who?"

Then came a sharp whistle:

"call out--"

As soon as the sound came out, the round building became silent.

All the senior executives of Honghualou held a meeting in Xiwang Town, no matter how serious they are, they had to be prepared to avoid being taken over by other Jianghu forces.

The whistle is to remind the powerful enemy to attack, and everyone is ready for battle.

The faces of Chen Yuanqing and Song Chi who were sitting there changed slightly, and they rushed out of the hall immediately, broke through the rain curtain, and landed on the top of the round building.

sough--

At the same time, the disciples of Xiangzhu, who were watching around Qingshi Square, also flew up as if they were facing a big enemy.

On the Linhe Long Street outside the round building, there was also a piercing 'shua shua' sound, and no fewer than a hundred people heard the sound!

Ye Jingtang and Song Changqing both showed doubts, and when they saw this, they also touched the pillars of the corridor, landed on the eaves of the round building, and looked outside.

Under the heavy rain, the roof of Linhe Street was densely packed with people, all looking around as if they were facing an enemy, armed with weapons:
"what happened?"

"Who killed it?"

"I don't know, it seems to be just these three."

"The hall master Xiangzhu is all inside, how could there be only three people who knocked on the door, beware of thieves lurking in the dark..."

And directly below the round building, under the back wall of the inn, are three besieged bamboo hat guests, back to back, looking at the roof in horror, and talking in a low voice:

"What's going on? Is there an ambush?"

"Is it necessary to ambush so many people?!"

"..."

The two sides faced each other blankly, and the entire river bank fell into a strange silence at this moment...

(End of this chapter)