Dream of the Red Chamber: Starting from Immortal Martial Arts

At the fifth quarter of the hour of Xu (7:45 PM), the evening drum sounded, and the main gates of the capital city slowly closed.

Jia Tang and his entourage set off from the West Office, passed through Faxiangfang and Rizhongfang, crossed the inner river, passed the Bell and Drum Tower, and traveled along the way, stopping frequently, until they arrived at Juxianfang in the south of the East City.

Xiangyu Garden is located at the intersection of Nanxiaojie Street and Songguniang Hutong in Nanjuxianfang. It covers a large area, with carved beams and painted rafters, and green tiles and red eaves in the courtyard, arranged in a well-organized manner. It is famous in the Beijing area for its "six fragrances and six jades" that are changed every five years.

The main building of Xiangyu Garden is located in the courtyard. It has six floors, each floor is 1.5 feet high, and is divided into east and west sections. The east half of the wing rooms is named after the six Xianghong officials, while the west half is named after the six Yuqing officials.

Jia Tang and his entourage, who had arrived on horseback, entered the courtyard and, led by their familiar guest Chen Chong, headed straight for the central "Purple Jade Room No. 1" on the sixth floor on the west side.

Upon entering the room, everyone noticed a sandalwood carved stand on the west side, displaying exquisite jade plates adorned with various purple flowers.

Cool moonlight streamed in through the openwork wooden window on the east side, scattering dappled light onto a propped-up guzheng. The half-purple, half-pink gauze curtains swayed in the courtyard breeze, bringing in some pink peach petals from May.

Although the No. 1 compartment was large, it still couldn't accommodate six personal guards, so they were placed in the No. 2 and No. 3 compartments on the left and right, leaving only family retainers to accompany them.

As everyone took their seats in order, Chen Chong impatiently shouted: "Someone come here!"

Upon hearing the sound, a voluptuous and beautiful woman wearing a pink tulle rose dress and a gold and jade hairpin walked over, her chest held high, followed by two burly maids.

The beautiful woman was named Xu Xinlian. She had a pair of captivating peach blossom eyes. She held an embroidered handkerchief in her jade hand, covered her mouth, and chuckled softly: "Oh, gentlemen, especially Master Jia Hu, it's been so long since you've come. I've been living in fear and trepidation every day. I'm afraid I've done something wrong and offended you gentlemen."

Before Chen Chong could reply, Niu Chengxian leaped up, stepped forward, embraced the beautiful woman with his right hand, and placed his left hand on her shapely buttocks, teasingly saying, "Sister Xu, you've worried for nothing. Putting aside others, just me, Old Niu, would never make you worry. I would only..."

As he spoke, he raised an eyebrow and patted the woman's round, pert buttocks.

Xu Xinlian pretended to lie down in Niu Chengxian's arms, her fingers tracing the old man's hard face, and said with a coquettish smile, "Then I can rest assured."

Hou Zunqi, standing behind him, said impatiently, "If you two are in a hurry to get things done, get out of the way. Don't get in my way. Hurry up and call someone out. I want to drink."

Jia Tang and the others were speechless. Damn, that old ox was really annoying. Chen Chong then shouted, "Quickly call Ziyu over. The gentlemen want to listen to music and have some wine."

Seeing that the two were getting impatient, Niu Chengxian smiled awkwardly, released the beautiful woman, and returned to his seat. Xu Xinlian giggled and said, "Alright, alright, gentlemen, don't be impatient. I'll have Ziyu come out right away."

With a wave of his hand, the maids behind him quickly stepped out, and soon, the servants carrying dishes appeared in an orderly fashion. After the table was full and the wine and dishes were prepared, a group of dancers wearing purple orchid wreaths and purple dresses came out to surround a beautiful young woman wearing a veil, a butterfly-patterned gauze dress, and a shawl hanging on her jade arms.

After Ziyu led the women in a curtsy, the pipa, guzheng, xylophone and other musical instruments began to play. Ziyu, accompanied by the women, began to dance gracefully. For a moment, the room was filled with the harmonious sounds of music and the women dancing, their figures graceful and elegant, like startled swans.

A moment later, the dance ended, and Xu Xinlian led Ziyu away to rest. The dancers scattered and nestled among the crowd.

Beside Jia Tang came a beautiful woman with an apricot-shaped face and peach-like cheeks, gentle and graceful as jade. Her slender fingers were full of wine, which she brought to his lips, waiting for him to drink.

Just as everyone finished their drinks, a commotion suddenly broke out outside, with faint sounds of smashing and insults.

"Whoosh~"

Jia He and his six retainers or commanders immediately stood up and opened the side room to investigate, but Jia Tang and the other six remained unmoved, continuing to drink and make merry with the somewhat panicked beauties, indulging in extravagance and debauchery.

After a few drinks, Niu Chengxian asked, "Brother Hu, when are you going to apply for another assignment to guard the border? We're counting on you!"

Jia Tang asked with a smile, "Still haven't given up?"

Niu Chengxian sighed and said with a sigh, "In such a time of great change, how can we, who have inherited the legacy of our ancestors, be confined to a cage?"

"Your application to go to Liaodong at the beginning of the year was rejected, so you left the capital for more than four months, where you quelled the bandits and established a great reputation."

"We watched and listened with great envy, so..."

The four men around him—Liu He, Hou Zunqi, Chen Chong, and Ma Yong—stared intently at Jia Tang, their eyes filled with anticipation.

Jia Tang glanced at the expressions of the others and said, "My fathers don't want me to go out and fight on the frontier."

Upon hearing this, everyone could not hide their disappointment.

Jia Tang suddenly changed the subject, smiling as he said, "But I suspect some wicked person will try to sabotage me and transfer me out of the capital. I expect to hear news soon."

"I have already instructed Uncle Qiu to inform all the prefectures that there is no need to obstruct them; they can simply go with the flow."

The group paused for a moment, then instantly understood what was meant.

Niu Chengxian's face turned cold, and he said in a deep voice, "There's no need to risk your life. Let's drop this matter and hold our ground in the capital!"

Liu He, his face grim, replied, "Once you reach the second tier, and once we reach the second tier, everything will be settled. Brother Tiger, don't be reckless!"

Hou Zunqi also said coldly, "In the capital, kill the little ones who cause trouble first, and wipe out the entire family of anyone who shows their face."

Chen Chong and Ma Yong echoed each other's sentiments.

"Initiate a war among cultivators, destroy families and clans to enhance our prestige."

"Find a family that your fathers will have to kill, and exterminate them all!"

Cold, menacing words echoed through the private room, causing the group of beauties to freeze in place, afraid of being struck by lightning!

Hearing the deep concern in their voices, Jia Tang smiled and waved his hand.

He will definitely be sent out. Firstly, he has a very strong foundation in martial arts and is not sure of his combat power limit. Secondly, he dares not show his face in the capital because the waters are too deep.

Secondly, the vital energy within the treasure, which had been used to help himself and his four generals break through, has been exhausted. Without vital energy, he cannot quickly advance in rank or cultivate his team.

The power of qi and blood is related to other races.

Speaking of the treasure, Jia Tang's eyes closed slightly, but his mind instantly shifted to a hazy, gray space. Jade pillars seemed to stand around him, and a golden jade tiger tally floated within.

This item was a family heirloom passed down from Jia Tang's previous life. He wore it around his neck with a tiger tally strung on a red string since childhood, supposedly to bring good fortune and ward off evil.

Unexpectedly, at the age of twelve in this life, guided by the Tiger Tally, he awakened and merged with his past life memories.

The tiger tally is entirely gold and jade in color, with the following inscription on the back: "This tally is for military use. The right side is for the ruler, and the left side is for the general. Whenever soldiers are mobilized and armor is donned, and more than fifty soldiers are engaged, the ruler's tally must be presented before any action can be taken. For matters of burning firewood, even without the tally, action can still be taken." The inscription, which resembles small seal script, shines brightly.

With a thought, it was as if a "snap" was made, and the tiger tally split in two. Then, with another thought, the tiger tally returned to one.

The consciousness shifted to the inscription on its back, and suddenly a bright glow appeared, revealing a booklet with gold on the front and jade on the back on the left, with two large characters engraved on it: "Flower Name".

As it slowly unfolds, individual names emerge, including their age, place of origin, and level of attainment—the very subordinates Jia Tang now commands and submits to.

Inside the golden book, personnel losses in battle are marked in black, while defections are marked in red.

With the changes in Jia Tang's position and the personnel under his command, it was quite normal for some people to switch sides and serve new masters.

Only those who are highly loyal to Jia Tang can be listed in the Jade Register, and their loyalty must remain constant.

The Tiger Tally can also absorb energy from alien races and refine it into pure qi and blood power to aid Jia Tang and those whose names are inscribed on the Jade Register in their cultivation.

Previously, in order to explore how to use the tiger tally, quite a commotion was caused.

Now that all conditions are in place, no one can stop this mission to defend the border.

"It's alright. When the time comes, we'll have a second-tier elder from the meridians make a patrol, and he'll surely protect me safely as I enter Liao."

The men's expressions softened slightly, and they asked again, "Is that really true?"

"really."

"Are you really confident?"

"Indeed!"

"good!"

Hou Zunqi roared excitedly, shouting, "Once Brother Hu joins the army, we'll all be sent out to work. Staying in Xianjing and dealing with petty theft all day long is driving me crazy!"

Liu He nodded slowly: "Outsiders think that we, the descendants of the founding military heroes, only care about indulging in pleasure. Little do they know the significance of our lineage. If no one in the Jia family joins the army in each generation, we, the legitimate sons of the family, can only guard the capital."

Chen Chong replied, enunciating each word clearly: "When Jia Zi joins the army, they are strong when they are united; when they are quiet and dispersed, they await their moment of glory."

Ma Yong echoed in a deep voice: "The Golden Fire Tigers, Earth Ox, Wood Willow, Water Ape, Fire Wolf, Wind Horse, and Thunder Stone are the lineage of the Eight Founding Dukes of our nation. It's a pity about the Shi family. The once grand Duke of Shan's mansion is now only occupied by Uncle Guangzhu and his ailing grandmother. It's all gone."

Jia Tang's expression was somewhat solemn. The longer he stayed in this world, the more secrets he learned. The connections between the founding lineage were much closer than in the original story of his previous life.

···

On the other side, half an hour earlier, in Room 3, Lanxiang, fourth floor of Xiangyu Garden.

Today, Jia Lian and Jia Rong brought Jia Baoyu, who was feeling down after being slapped, to the banquet to have a drink with Feng Ziying, Wei Ruolan, and Liu Xianglian.

Unexpectedly, when they arrived at the door, they ran into Wang Ren, Wang Ziteng's adopted son, and his younger brother, Wang De. They insisted on joining them for drinks, so the group reluctantly shared a table and drank and made merry together.

Wang Ren was in high spirits and planned to call the courtesan Lanxiang over to keep him company while he drank, but she had already been booked by room number five.

Upon learning that Room 5 was only occupied by some scholars, he led his servants in to break in without permission, intending to rob them. However, their attempt to rob them failed, and they were beaten up, leading to a conflict between the two sides.

After the full-blown fighting, both sides temporarily stopped and left with their respective groups.

Only rooms three and five remained, with spilled food and drink, broken tables and chairs, and a complete mess.

Unexpectedly, upon reaching the door of the attic, Wang Ren, unable to swallow his anger, hurled insults at them again, leading to another standoff between the two.

The person leading the group was a young scholar wearing a six-cornered hat, a cloud-blue soft silk robe with wide sleeves and a round collar with a fringed pattern, and a sable coat over it. Sun Che, the city patrol envoy of Xianjing East City, accompanied him to one side. There were also several people dressed in rich clothes and with extraordinary bearing around them, and many strong servants surrounded them.

With his face bruised and swollen, Wang Ren shouted, "You fucking bastards Xu Yuan and Xu Zhesong, tell the people behind you who attacked you to come out and die, or this isn't over yet!"