Chapter 1: The Whip of the People

  In the third month of spring

  Last night's light rain just moistened the ground, bringing fresh air in the morning. The whole Qinghe County was shrouded in bright spring light. Coinciding with the local market, people pushing carts to do business, running errands selling medicinal paste, and going out for a stroll to watch the excitement. Two or three main streets were crowded with people coming and going, almost unable to move freely. The shops along the street also opened their doors wide, doing a thriving business, what a lively scene.

  "Preserve the tiger bone and tiger whip, take it back to soak in wine, the effect is just right to ensure you are invincible! I'm telling you, no dishonesty allowed, don't touch if you're not buying!" A middle-aged man with a hunter's attire and a goatee spread out a piece of coarse cloth on the ground, arranging his goods while loudly hawking them.

  "Ah, don't miss out on this great deal! Take a look at this high-quality silk fabric from the south. Just look at the color and texture - it's truly top-notch. Men who wear it will be even more dashing, and young ladies who wear it will be even more charming!" The owner of the silk shop personally took to the stage today, bringing his apprentices along as he unfolded a piece of silk fabric and began shouting at the top of his lungs.

  On that side, a circle was formed with three layers inside and out. A tall, dark-skinned man in the middle wielded his staff with all his might. Suddenly, a ball of yellow light rolled back and forth on the ground. Another man picked up a plate and said: "We two brothers are far away from home, we have no money to return to our hometown, we only have this family's martial arts and ointment. Today, we will show off for a while. If you enjoy watching, please give us some copper coins or silver fragments. My big brother has strength in his performance, and there is also a secret recipe for tendon and bone ointment as a gift."

  "A genuine descendant of Guiguzi, skilled in physiognomy and fortune-telling. If the calculations are inaccurate, the signboard will be smashed." A gray-robed old man with a blind eye sat upright, his back straight, behind him a flag reading "Orthodox Guiguzi Divine Calculation" fluttered gently, exuding an air of a divine being.

  Suddenly a loud shout came from the street: "You dare to use this kind of stuff to impersonate Tiger Whip, get it righted immediately, I'm going to cut off someone's whip today!"

  The middle-aged stall owner, dressed as a hunter, was so frightened that his face changed color, and he turned around to flee in panic. However, before he could run out a few steps, two idlers from behind grabbed him, one holding his head and the other his feet, and instantly threw him to the ground on the street, causing a commotion among the crowd.

  "The whip cracked loudly" The owner of the silk fabric store was afraid to miss a good show, and didn't have time to attend to business, so he rushed out of the door and squeezed into the crowd. By accident, he bumped into an artist holding a tray, and the copper coins in the tray spilled all over the ground, bouncing on the bluestone pavement, causing everyone to bend down to pick them up.

  One of the copper coins rolled towards a fortune-telling stall, and the blind old man suddenly flipped his white eyes to reveal his black pupils, stretching out his foot with incredible agility to trample on the coin, scaring the customer who was having his fortune told half to death.

  "Great officer, taken down smoothly!" Amidst the chaos, two idle men, one on each side, pressed down the middle-aged stall owner's hands and feet firmly, with one of them boasting.

  "Where can you run to?" The big official walked up, his face slightly pale with a hint of drunkenness, looking no more than twenty-five or six years old. He was wearing an embroidered brocade robe, with a jade pendant hanging from his waist. He looked like the head courtesan of the Baifang Building: "Sir, you don't know that this Baifang Building has twelve head courtesans, all named after flowers, each one skilled in music and song, without exception. Among them, the most famous are Taohua Xianzi and Juhua Xianzi."

  "What a Chrysanthemum Fairy" Wang Tianxing didn't know what he was thinking of, with a hint of evil smile: "It's really interesting to be called Chrysanthemum Fairy."

  That bunch of idle people didn't listen to the meaning in his words, and continued to introduce enthusiastically: "The young master has a good eye for liking Chrysanthemum Fairy, although she ranks second, her skill 'Ice Fire Nine Heavens' is truly exceptional, even the noble guests from the capital can't help but praise her."

  "Ice and fire, the nine heavens... it turns out that this ultimate move has been around since ancient times, tsk tsk." Wang Tianxing heard these words and his mind was filled with scenes from action movies he had seen before. As he walked, he nodded slightly, but didn't notice something hitting him hard on the top of his head.

  "Which blind fool is throwing things around? Don't you know that high-altitude dumping is a criminal offense?! If a flower pot falls down, it'll smash me to death!" Wang Tianxing saw a short bamboo stick on the ground and suddenly became furious, cursing as he looked up. He just happened to catch a glimpse of a woman who was leaning against the window with one hand, half her body sticking out.

  "What a beautiful beauty" Wang Tianxing saw that the woman, although only bare-faced, had already surpassed all the stars he had seen, and suddenly swallowed some scolding words.

  The ancient beauty had a thick sense of apology on her face, and she lightly opened her vermilion lips: "I am Pan Jinlian, I didn't know that this official was passing by, and for a moment I accidentally dropped the hairpin, I hope the official will forgive me."