Chapter Ninety-One: Crimson Red

"And there is one more thing: you must pose as a member of our Three Flavors Pavilion at this time. Especially when you meet the others from the Three Flavors Pavilion later, you must not speak too much. This time, the Three Flavors Pavilion in Lecheng was destroyed by Deng Qing, and naturally, there were other voices within the Pavilion who were extremely dissatisfied with me. These people happen to be right here in this Lingzhou hub."

Linger hurriedly gave these instructions to Li Zisheng.

As the three of them entered the hub, the huge stone gate closed shut immediately, restoring the hub's interior to the exact appearance it had when Li Zisheng and his companions first arrived.

"Oh, if it isn't Lady Linger? What brings you here? Could it be that you can no longer survive in Lecheng, and were forced by Deng Qing to flee?"

A highly discordant voice rang out from the place where the three of them stood.

The newcomer was also a woman, but she was dressed in an extremely gaudy manner, with layers of rouge and powder so thick that the scent was almost pungent. Balian quickly covered his nose.

"Insolent servant!"

Suddenly, the heavily made-up woman standing before them lashed out with a whip, striking Balian directly. A red welt immediately appeared on his arm, and the skin beneath the blood mark quickly swelled up.

Li Zisheng stepped forward hurriedly to inspect Balian's arm. Right now, he dared not act rashly; after all, they were currently in territory controlled by the Three Flavors Pavilion's local faction, and he could not afford to blow his cover. He had no choice but to let Balian swallow this grievance.

"Heh, where did this little brat come from? Could he perhaps be Lady Linger's illegitimate son?"

"Yanhong, don't go too far! I have tolerated you time and again, but you must not push your luck, or I will not let you go!"

Linger was filled with burning rage, extremely furious at the woman's constant provocations. Yet, it was obvious that she did not want to make a scene and could only resort to verbal questioning against the woman named Yanhong.

Li Zisheng could also tell that within the Three Flavors Pavilion, Yanhong's status was certainly no lower than Linger's; otherwise, she would never have been so arrogant and domineering.

"Lady Linger, there's no need to be angry. It's just that you haven't been here in a long time, which is why I spoke thus. Is this little brat really your illegitimate son? Ah, hahaha, go ahead and admit it, big sister will definitely cover for you. I won't mention a word of this to the First Elder."

"Yanhong, I will give you one more chance. If you dare spout nonsense again, I will tear your mouth apart and make you learn what it means when misfortune stems from what you say."

Linger was furious, glaring at Yanhong with uncontrollable rage. Yet, her words still lacked any substantive action.

However, Li Zisheng noticed one detail: whenever Linger spoke, her gaze would invariably drift toward the leather-red whip in the hand of the woman named Yanhong.

The whip appeared to have some age to it, with scuff marks visible in places, yet this only made it look more resilient. Furthermore, the woman named Yanhong seemed extraordinarily adept at wielding it. With a casual flick, she had struck Balian's arm with pinpoint precision. Li Zisheng had just checked: fortunately, it hadn't damaged the bones or tendons, affecting only the surface layer of the skin. It hurt quite a bit, but thankfully it was merely a superficial wound that would recover in a day or two.

Yet this very detail caused Li Zisheng to view the woman named Yanhong with a deep sense of inscrutability. The woman's mastery over the force and trajectory of the whip was almost meticulous. That single casual display proved that she must have immersed herself in the study of the whip for a considerable length of time. Moreover, this woman definitely knew martial arts, and her attainments were by no means low. If that was the case, Linger undoubtedly knew martial arts as well, or she wouldn't have kept staring at Yanhong's whip, inwardly harboring a deep apprehension toward it.

Since arriving in this Great Tang dynasty, he had never truly witnessed what the martial arts masters of storybooks were like—whether they were truly so mystical as to leap across roofs and walls, or pluck leaves to injure people.

However, this was not the time for such thoughts. Seeing that Balian's injury was only superficial, Li Zisheng quietly stepped behind Linger and sealed his lips, remaining completely silent. At the same time, he chose a position directly opposite Yanhong, which was right behind Linger. From this angle, it would be extremely difficult for Yanhong to harm him, and he had no desire to suffer any physical pain, as the experience was certainly unpleasant.

"I wonder what trouble brought younger sister Linger here? Speak of it; if there is anything your elder sister can help with, I will surely lend a hand."

Yanhong looked at Linger with a mocking gaze. Although her words sounded extremely sincere, the tone behind them was enough to stir one's anger for no reason.

Linger did not flare up either, simply gazing back at Yanhong.

"Very well, Sister Yanhong. Younger sister has indeed run into a tiny bit of trouble. But with sister's boundless abilities, I'm sure it will be a mere trifle for you to effortlessly resolve it."

"Oh? Is there really something younger sister cannot solve?"

Yanhong's eyes flashed with a strange glint, though it vanished instantly.

"This is a younger brother of mine. He is actually a relative of the current Grand Secretariat and holds great utility, but he has been targeted by Deng Qing and is in grave danger. Therefore, I need sister's help to clear up my brother's background so that Deng Qing can no longer cause him trouble."

"A relative of Grand Secretariat Zhang? Oh, no wonder. No wonder he carries such an air of distinction."

Upon learning of the identity Linger had fabricated for him, Yanhong's attitude underwent a complete one-eighty turn.

This caught Li Zisheng completely off guard. He had never imagined that the Three Flavors Pavilion had such intricate ties with Zhang Shuo, and that the connection ran so deep. Otherwise, merely hearing the name of Zhang Shuo would not have been enough to instantly alter her attitude and make her so affable toward him. This alone demonstrated that Zhang Shuo's status within the Three Flavors Pavilion far exceeded his imagination.

"Little brother, I never imagined your background was so formidable. And this must be your servant? Please forgive the previous offense; let bygones be bygones. Here is some healing ointment, come, take it."

Although Yanhong's expression had changed dramatically, it was patently obvious that her eyes still held undisguised contempt and mockery, completely unchanged.

Taking the container of ointment handed over by Yanhong, Li Zisheng unsealed the red cloth covering and gave it a light sniff, his expression changing drastically.

"Hmph, Yanhong, this young master respects you as a heroine among women, but do you take me for a fool? This is no healing ointment at all; this is clearly a deadly poison!"

Li Zisheng let out a cold snort, gazing at Yanhong with displeasure. Since he had been assigned such an identity, he might as well play the part thoroughly. At the very least, his attitude had to mirror that of a high-ranking figure.