My family has been wielding knives for generations, but now it's my turn to wield a pen!

Just as the discussion at Lanting Tower was becoming increasingly lively...

On the lakeside street, a horse-drawn carriage was slowly traveling along the long street.

It was already quite dark outside.

Inside the carriage, Jiang Xiaobai leaned there, completely drained, as if he had been drained of all his energy.

Glug glug!

Just then, Jiang Xiaobai's stomach growled again.

"Why!"

Jiang Xiaobai raised her hand to touch her stomach, her face filled with utter despair: "Finally out! If we hadn't left, I would have starved to death!"

Yes, this was the first time Jiang Xiaobai had ever felt so hungry since he transmigrated here.

Besides being hungry, I was also exhausted!

Of course... he wasn't physically tired, but verbally tired.

I talked for a whole day!

If he had known it would turn out like this, he shouldn't have mentioned Sun Wukong.

Once this starts, it's impossible to stop.

Thinking of this, Jiang Xiaobai couldn't help but sigh again.

Tang Ningshuang, sitting opposite him, remained silent, only staring longingly at Jiang Xiaobai.

"Hey, Miss Tang, you...you shouldn't look at me like that."

Jiang Xiaobai noticed Tang Ningshuang's gaze and waved his hand, saying, "I don't want to continue!"

"oh."

Tang Ningshuang responded calmly, then raised her hand to lift the carriage curtain and looked outside.

After watching for a moment, Tang Ningshuang was about to lower the carriage curtain when her expression suddenly changed and her gaze sharpened.

Yes, she clearly saw a figure rushing towards her from the rooftop behind her.

That lightness skill looked extremely impressive.

"There's a powerful expert coming this way."

As soon as she finished speaking, Tang Ningshuang's hand was already on the hilt of her sword, her eyes filled with coldness.

Immediately afterwards, she pulled the longsword out a few inches, and its cold light flashed inside the carriage.

Jiang Xiaobai sat up straighter and put his hands inside his clothes.

Soon, as the carriage came to a stop, Tang Ningshuang was almost about to draw her sword when a familiar voice suddenly rang out from outside.

"Young Master Jiang, do you have time to visit my Guanlan Tower?"

The voice carried a hint of laughter: "Hehe, good wine and good food, of course we'll treat you to everything!"

Ok?

Jiang Xiaobai was slightly taken aback.

That sound...

Jiang Xiaobai raised his hand to lift the carriage curtain, peeked out, and saw a middle-aged man standing in front of the carriage.

The man was tall and slender with a smile on his face. Who else could it be but Liu Guanlan?

"Huh!"

Jiang Xiaobai's expression flashed with surprise: "Master Liu?"

It was rather strange that Liu Guanlan suddenly blocked their carriage.

"Yes!"

Liu Guanlan smiled and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to Jiang Xiaobai: "Young Master Jiang, would you be interested in visiting me?"

Jiang Xiaobai looked at Liu Guanlan and pondered for a moment.

That's right, Liu Guanlan appeared at this moment, and the first thing he said was that he wanted good wine and good food.

Needless to say, he knew that this Master Liu must also be inside the Orchid Pavilion.

"Your Highness, the Guanlan Tower tonight... is not a safe place."

Zhang Xinnian, who was sitting outside, lowered his voice after hearing Liu Guanlan's words and said, "Why don't we go back to the Marquis's residence first?"

Because of what happened yesterday, he was scolded by Jiang Jingcheng and hit twice with a stick.

Therefore, he even made a special effort to learn about Guanlan Tower.

During the day, Guanlan Tower is a teahouse, but at night, it becomes a gathering place for martial arts practitioners and is also known as Wendao Tower.

It includes all sorts of people from all walks of life.

For safety's sake, it's better to go back home so late at night.

Tang Ningshuang's gaze also turned to Jiang Xiaobai.

Yes, she was in the inner room when Jiang Jingcheng said those things yesterday, but she also heard about Guanlan Tower.

Zhang Xinnian is right. It's already dark, so it's really not a good time to go to Guanlan Tower.

What if... we encounter danger again, just like yesterday?

Yesterday was an accident.

Liu Guanlan seemed to sense the three men's concerns and smiled slightly: "It's evening now, so no one will dare to act recklessly."

You could hear the confidence in Liu Guanlan's voice.

"..."

Jiang Xiaobai listened, his expression becoming even stranger.

However, the fact that Liu Guanlan dared to come alone to invite him shows that he at least outwardly showed no hostility.

Otherwise, there would be no need to stand so openly in front of the carriage.

After a moment of contemplation, Jiang Xiaobai finally spoke: "Alright, it's not far, let's take a walk around. And... my stomach's growling, I need to eat something first!"

"Young Master Jiang, please!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Guanlan's smile deepened, and he took the lead in guiding the way.

Seeing that Jiang Xiaobai agreed, Zhang Xinnian sighed and said nothing more, then drove his carriage and followed.

Inside the carriage, Tang Ningshuang had sheathed her sword, but her expression remained wary.

Indeed, Jiang Xiaobai's performance today was outstanding.

But the greater his fame, the more people will likely want to kill Jiang Xiaobai.

Be careful, that's right.

However, Jiang Xiaobai remained calm.

He could tell that Liu Guanlan harbored no hostility.

At least not now, otherwise... given Liu Guanlan's abilities, if he really wanted to take action, he wouldn't need to say so much.

The carriage stopped quickly.

Jiang Xiaobai lifted the carriage curtain and peeked out, just in time to discover that they had arrived outside Guanlan Tower.

The Guanlan Tower at night is completely different from the one during the day.

During the day, this place looks like an elegant teahouse.

But at this moment, Guanlan Tower seems to have changed its appearance.

The lights in front of the door were not very bright, and the lanterns hanging on both sides swayed gently in the night breeze.

The light falling on the doorstep steps gave off an inexplicable chill.

Liu Guanlan was already standing at the door waiting. When he saw Jiang Xiaobai peek out, he smiled slightly and said, "Young Master Jiang, we've arrived."

"Walk!"

Jiang Xiaobai took a deep breath and jumped off the carriage.

Zhang Xinnian and Tang Ningshuang also got off the car.

Jiang Xiaobai glanced at the two of them, then followed Liu Guanlan inside.

As soon as Jiang Xiaobai entered Guanlan Tower, he could clearly sense that something was wrong.

That's right, during the day, most of the people sitting here are scholars and students.

It exudes a refined literary air, and the aroma of tea is also strong.

But this time when he entered, the first thing Jiang Xiaobai felt was a chilling atmosphere, and the aroma of tea inside turned into the aroma of wine.

The first floor was now quite crowded with people.

Some of these people carried knives on their backs, some held swords horizontally, and others had iron hooks and short axes hanging from their waists.

In short, they were all different kinds of people, clearly all from the martial arts world.

As soon as they entered, many eyes swept over them.

Jiang Xiaobai felt a little uneasy being stared at by so many people.

However, when he touched the cold desert eagle in his arms, Jiang Xiaobai's expression calmed down.

Yes, so what if it's a martial arts world, or a master?

If someone dares to have feelings for him, he wouldn't mind letting them experience what it's like to become a "silly fool".

Fortunately, these people were just watching them.

Liu Guanlan walked ahead, a smile still on his face.

It was as if they were already used to these gazes.

Jiang Xiaobai followed behind him, with Zhang Xinnian and Tang Ningshuang on his left and right.

Tang Ningshuang's hand never left the sword hilt.

Although Zhang Xinnian looks carefree, his steps are much heavier than usual.

Soon, the group went up to the second floor. There were clearly half as many people on the second floor, but the atmosphere there was even more subdued than on the first floor.

No one spoke; everyone sat quietly.

Some people drink tea, while others close their eyes.

Jiang Xiaobai glanced at it and then looked away.

He now understood that Guanlan Tower was indeed not a place for ordinary people to come to at night.

Going up to the third floor, the number of people had halved again.

But those who could sit here had a deeper aura, and several of them closed their eyes to rest, as if they were waiting for something.

A few people glanced at Jiang Xiaobai briefly before closing their eyes again.

Finally, led by Liu Guanlan, they arrived at the fourth floor.

At this moment, Jiang Xiaobai looked up first and found that the roof had been repaired.

As he looked away, Jiang Xiaobai glanced towards the fourth floor.

Jiang Xiaobai had assumed that there was no one left on the fourth floor, but then he realized that there were actually people there.

There were only a few people, and most of them were elderly.

As soon as Jiang Xiaobai came up, everyone's eyes fell on him at the same time.

In that instant, Jiang Xiaobai felt as if several knives had swept across his body.

Although it wasn't murderous intent, it still made Jiang Xiaobai feel a tightness in his chest.

Tang Ningshuang's expression hardened slightly, and Zhang Xinnian also slowed down his pace.

Just then, an aged voice rang out, tinged with a slightly hoarse, cold laugh: "Heh, Master Liu... it's rare for you to bring unfamiliar guests, come up!"

The speaker was an elderly man sitting by the window.

The old man had white hair that reached his shoulders, and a long sword with a black sheath lay before him.

Jiang Xiaobai only glanced at him before realizing that this old man was not someone to be trifled with.

"Hehe, this is no stranger."

Liu Guanlan smiled slightly: "This is a distinguished guest I invited."

As she spoke, Liu Guanlan glanced at Jiang Xiaobai and slowly said, "He is the young master of the Zhenbei Marquis's mansion."

"Jiang Xiaobai..."