"Faceless men, black coffin..." Qin Yuesheng mused silently.
Although the things Du Beilun mentioned sounded a bit eerie, it was undoubtedly a considerable gain. At the very least, it helped Qin Yuesheng understand what the white face was all about.
"So during the time your brother returned to Cyan Yang City, did he see those faceless men again? Like sending someone to search for them specifically."
"Look at what you're saying, encountering something like this would make people hide as fast as they can. Who would have the leisure to go looking for trouble deliberately?"
Qin Yuesheng nodded: "That's true."
There were seven young men present, all from the five prestigious families. Over the years, they had naturally formed a small alliance around Qin Yuesheng as the core figure.
Living in Cyan Yang City, if one doesn't want to venture out in the future, whether it's the three great families or the five prominent clans, they definitely need to establish connections. Networking makes things easier, and through mutual help, each family will grow stronger.
Qin Yuesheng added some food to his belly before putting down his chopsticks and asking Lu Juncheng, who was sitting not far away playing fists with a girl, "Juncheng, how's the matter at your place being handled now? Is it true that not a single piece of clothing could be found?"
When Qin Yuesheng asked, how could Lu Juncheng dare ignore him? He immediately stopped his frolicking, turned around, and replied, "Isn't that the case? The whole Cyan Yang City has almost been turned upside down, but not even a hair was found. I was thinking, if there really are ghosts, their appetite must be incredibly excellent, not leaving the slightest scrap behind for people."
"Oh dear, gentlemen, please don't be impulsive. Everyone here is a distinguished guest. Everything can be discussed."
"Distinguished? If they are distinguished, then so is my father! Step aside. Who dares to snatch the woman I'm interested in? This won't end today."
Suddenly, a commotion erupted outside the private room, instantly drawing the eyes of everyone in the room toward the door. Du Beilun quickly commanded the two guards he brought with him, "Go check it out."
"Yes, Young Master."
When the door opened, they saw more than a dozen rough-looking men dressed in shabby attire marching along the corridor, swearing incessantly. Several voluptuous women, heavily made-up, clung to their waists firmly, unwilling to let them take another step forward.
Seeing that they hadn't even started banging on the door yet, and a door beside them had already opened on its own, the men immediately halted, glaring furiously at the people inside the room with an arrogant and domineering demeanor.
"What happened that you dare to come here and cause a ruckus? Do you all have a death wish?" Du Beilun, unlike his previous amicable attitude towards Qin Yuesheng, scolded coldly.
In reality, this was Du Beilun's true character. As Young Master Du in Cyan Yang City, apart from having to show some respect to the local authorities and the three great families, as well as the five prominent clans, everyone else was no different from roadside strays, requiring no polite words—just overwhelm them with power.
"You dog, are you trying to scare your old man?"
The men were already angry, and hearing Du Beilun's words was like adding fuel to the fire. They shrugged off the criers grasping them from behind and rushed into the room, intending to grab Du Beilun and give him a thorough lesson.
But they clearly overlooked the various family guards stationed in the corner of the room. Before these men could approach the dining table, several guards stepped forward, blocking their path with a human wall, preventing them from getting close to the young masters dining inside.
Although the guards from various families had been practicing martial arts for many years, they didn't expect that this group would also possess decent skills. In an instant, the two sides were entangled with each other, trading blows so quickly it dazzled the eyes.
"Stop fighting, stop fighting, oh dear gentlemen, the people you're looking for aren't in this room. You made a mistake." Those women, seeing the conflict erupt, were so anxious that they stamped their feet repeatedly.
But at this point, with tempers flaring, who would listen to what they were saying? The women's cries added yet more noise to the scene.
A man punched and knocked down a guard whose affiliation was unclear and rushed toward the dining table, intending to grab Du Beilun for a thrashing. Naturally, Qin Yuesheng couldn't just stand by and watch this happen. After all, a friend is a friend, even if just a drinking buddy, and he couldn't tolerate Du Beilun being bullied right in front of his eyes.
In that flash of a moment, Qin Yuesheng leaped up swiftly, intercepting the man without any unnecessary words, and launched a straight tiger punch.
Now Qin Yuesheng's five abilities were at the level of an average person, and his application of the Tiger Crane Double Form Fist also carried a certain might. That man, seeing this fair-skinned, beardless lad dare to make a move on him, sneered coldly and executed a sweeping leg kick.
Qin Yuesheng welcomed it gladly, drawing a knife with his left hand to the spot where the opponent's leg was advancing. If the move continued the same way, that man would definitely end up with a broken leg.
No one wouldn't care for their own body. The moment the man retracted his leg to push away Qin Yuesheng's assault with his hand, Qin Yuesheng shifted from the tiger to the crane stance, his speed suddenly surging, striking the man's throat before he could react.
Crack!
The essence of the crane stance lies in breaking the surface with one point. All the power in the five fingers gathers and explodes at a single point, so one can imagine its formidable might.
If Qin Yuesheng could further train in some hard finger techniques, this crane form strike could even pierce through stone slabs.
"Ugh!" The Great Han clutched his throat and staggered backward, his face turning ghastly pale, his expression twisted, and he couldn't help but bend over to retch on the ground. Although Qin Yuesheng's strength might only be 1, the delicate throat bone of an ordinary person would suffer greatly from such a crane form point.
"You son of a..." The Great Han roared with his throat.
"Damn it! Damn these vile creatures! They're bullying us now!" Upon realizing what happened, Du Beilun's anger surged. If Qin Yuesheng hadn't intervened, before his guards arrived, he might have actually been beaten severely by this person.
Can this be tolerated?
In an instant, the spoiled young masters stood up, grabbed their round stools, and rushed toward the Great Han with weapons. Du Beilun was even more ruthless, picking up an oval plate, dumping the sweet and sour fish, smashing it into two halves against the edge of the dining table, intending to draw blood from the Great Han.
Qin Yuesheng broke into a cold sweat and quickly held him back, "No, no, no, there's no need for that, Du Beilun. Just use a stool; there's no need to use this. You might get splattered with blood."
"Alright, then I'll switch to another one. Hey, that's a nice knife you have there, let me borrow it so I can kill that bastard."
Du Beilun took advantage of Qin Yuesheng's distraction, grabbed the simple knife in his hand, and was about to rush toward the Great Han, who was being beaten by many people. Qin Yuesheng swiftly wrapped his arms around Du Beilun's armpits, firmly stabilizing his shoulders.
Beating someone is a minor matter; killing is a major one.
Even for families like the Qin family and the Du family, wanting to kill a civilian requires choosing a secluded place. Some things can be done, and the authorities allow it for your prestige, which they grant you.
But killing someone publicly is disrespecting the authorities, and to maintain their dignity, some punishment is inevitable.
After all, even if the Qin family and the Du family are local aristocratic families, they are not the Great Tang royal family that rules the world today.
Gradually, the guards controlled the situation and subdued the disruptive Great Han, pinning him to the ground, unable to move.
At this moment, the shopkeeper behind the Celestial Immortal Pavilion hurriedly arrived, and as soon as he entered, he smiled at Qin Yuesheng and the others, "Young Master Qin, Young Master Du, Young Master Lu..."
Before he could finish his greetings, Du Beilun grabbed his collar and shouted, "Are you really intending to keep the Celestial Immortal Pavilion open in Cyan Yang City? What kind of people are allowed on the second floor? Do you see us as being on the same level as these people?"
The shopkeeper smiled bitterly, "Young Master Du, calm down, please, calm down."
"Calm down, my ass! I almost got beaten up by this guy." Du Beilun pointed at one of the men on the ground.
The shopkeeper looked down at the Great Han, who had been beaten into a pulp with a bleeding head, smiled apologetically, "You did well, such scum deserves to be taught a lesson, lest they forget their place and offend Young Master Du."
Qin Yuesheng stood silently on the side, his gaze continually roaming over the ten or so Great Han pinned to the ground.
Because of the recent fight, the clothes of these Great Han were torn and ragged during the scuffle, revealing a fierce tiger with an open mouth roaring in a cyan tattoo on the outer left arm of each man.
From what Qin Yuesheng understood, many gangs, bandit camps, and martial organizations would have their members tattoo a unified pattern in the same location to indicate their identity and foster a sense of belonging to the group.
"The roaring tiger, hmm, which force does this belong to?" Qin Yuesheng frowned in thought.
For some reason, this tattoo looked very familiar, as if he'd seen it somewhere before, but since the memory wasn't very clear, there weren't many relevant cues; he couldn't recall it at the moment.
If he couldn't recall, then he wouldn't try; this was Qin Yuesheng's usual approach, and soon he put the matter behind him.
"Young Master Du, please don't be angry anymore; we just received a batch of slim horses today, all fresh, top-quality goods. Would you like me to invite a few for you to choose from?"
"Slim horses?" Upon hearing this, Du Beilun's interest was piqued, and the shopkeeper saw his expression and knew the situation was under control. He quickly instructed a few accompanying procuresses, "What are you waiting for? Get on with it."
"Got it." The procuresses grinned indulgently and immediately ran out.
"Break the arms and legs of these guys and throw them out onto the street." Du Beilun casually decided the fate of the dozen Great Han. Such brutal things must not take place in front of the young masters to avoid tainting their eyes.
At Du Beilun's signal, all the guards forcefully dragged the Great Han out of the room, and soon, cries of pain and wailing came from outside.