Chapter Two, The Three Ladies

When this young man turned sixteen, a martial arts training hall opened in the town. Li, who aspired for his son to succeed, sent Li Rui to this training hall for cultivation. The Wind and Moon Continent is home to many powerful nations, and wars occasionally break out, making it a martial-oriented land. In the Wind and Moon Continent, martial arts and magic are the prevailing practices, both of which rely on innate talent for cultivation. The Temple of the Wind is popular in the Dast Empire, with branches established across the nation. The high-ranking figures in the Temple of the Wind are primarily from divine clans, possessing inherent advantages. Their main focus is on the cultivation of magic, often representing the empire in search of individuals with magical talent for training. Once magic is cultivated to a certain level, one can become a magician, classified into nine ranks. It is said that even in the entire Dast Empire, there are no more than three ninth-level magicians. Even becoming a first-level magician is quite challenging, attainable only by those with exceptional talent. As long as you are a magician, even if you do not work for the rest of your life, you can still receive considerable wealth from the temples each month. Therefore, becoming a magician is the dream of many people on this continent, but it requires talent; many spend their entire lives cultivating and still remain only apprentice magicians.

In the warehouse of the Li Family Pawnshop, Yun Feiyang placed the prepared magic crystals on the table, while Madam San bent over to carefully examine the quality of these magic crystals. In the ancient continent of Fengyue, in order for a magician to cast spells, they must rely not only on their own training but also on magic crystals, which are rare minerals hidden deep underground. A good magic crystal can maximize the power of the spells cast by a magician. Therefore, these magic crystals have become highly sought-after commodities. Although the magic crystal in Madam San's hand is only of medium quality, it is still quite valuable. This particular crystal was pawned by a wealthy merchant from the Kingdom of Baiyue.

Madam San smiled as she reached out and pinched Yun Feiyang's cheek, saying, "In my sister's eyes, you are just a little fat lamb. Hurry and take your sister to see the magic crystal you mentioned." Madam San's delicate little hand was right in front of him, and a wave of fragrant air rushed towards him, causing Yun Feiyang to blush furiously. Madam San was quite pleased with Yun Feiyang's embarrassment; this handsome pawnshop assistant was usually quite clever, yet at this moment, he resembled a shy little bride.

In comparison, the threshold for martial arts training is much lower; however, as one progresses, the advantage of talent becomes increasingly important. The Fast Empire has established martial arts assessment centers in various locations, and as long as one passes the assessment, they can become a martial artist. Martial artists are divided into three tiers: "Human," "Earth," and "Heaven," with each tier further divided into nine levels. Becoming a martial artist is not an easy task. It is said that the owner of a training hall in Seven Heroes Town is merely an apprentice martial artist, yet he is already the top expert in the town.

Yun Feiyang felt a surge of excitement; since this item was hidden so deeply, it must be something extraordinary. He then began to examine it closely. There were dozens of characters on it, but Yun Feiyang did not recognize a single one. The Wind and Moon Continent is a land with a long history, filled with numerous nations, so it is quite normal for Yun Feiyang not to recognize many of the characters. As he continued to look down, Yun Feiyang couldn't help but exclaim: "Goodness, this old lecher! Now, spending three silver coins on this *book* doesn't seem like a waste at all."

Boss Li said with a face full of flattery: "Madam San, do not be anxious. Let us have a cup of tea first. This is high-quality tea that I specially brought back from Baihua City."

At that moment, a bright red mark unexpectedly appeared on the piece of lining. Yun Feiyang was anxious and clearly remembered that when he held the lining, it was black; how could it have turned red now? Yun Feiyang unfolded the lining, and in the areas soaked with sweat, some red patterns and characters seemed to emerge. Could it be that this lining reveals hidden patterns when it comes into contact with sweat? Yun Feiyang unbuttoned the collar of his shirt and began to wipe his body with the lining. Indeed, more patterns emerged on it. Could it be that this lining reveals hidden patterns when it comes into contact with sweat? Yun Feiyang unbuttoned the collar of his shirt and began to wipe his body with the lining. Indeed, more patterns emerged on it.

Yun Feiyang carefully tore down the piece of lining and hid it in his bosom. At that moment, he heard Boss Li's voice from outside: "Feiyang, Feiyang, come out quickly. The third madam has arrived; attend to her well."

This third lady is the most prominent figure in Qixia Town. She is the third wife of Suo En, the guardian of Qixia Town. Her father was a down-and-out merchant from the southern Ba Yue Kingdom, who, for the sake of money, married off his beautiful daughter in her twenties to the over-forty Suo En. Suo En is a thoroughly despicable man. Relying on his status as a guardian, he commits all sorts of atrocities in the town. He is a notorious womanizer, the kind of person who cannot move his feet when he sees a beautiful woman. Several women in the town with even a hint of beauty have had affairs with him. Despite his dominance in Qixia Town, Suo En is terrified of the third lady, to the point that he engages in his escapades only behind her back, fearing that she might find out. This third lady is not only beautiful but also a shrewd individual. After marrying into the Suo family, she quickly seized control of the family's power, even making the first and second wives wary of her. This woman inherited her father's merchant traits and soon doubled the Suo family's wealth. In recent years, she noticed a large number of Fast people returning from the Ba Yue Kingdom, who pawned their belongings from Ba Yue at low prices in the pawn shops. Leveraging her identity as a Ba Yue national, she connected with merchants from Ba Yue to buy back these items, earning a considerable profit in the process. Boss Li was also pleased to have someone to help him offload the pawned goods, naturally flattering her in every way possible.

Every half month, Lady San will come to the store to select goods and then contact the merchants from Baiyue Kingdom for transactions. During this time, Yun Feiyang is responsible for receiving Lady San. Yun Feiyang has a keen eye and is also a clever individual, which earns him Lady San's appreciation. After each transaction, he is rewarded with a tip from her.

"Oh, Little Fat Sheep, where have you run off to? Hurry and take me to see it," said Madam San as she noticed Yun Feiyang approaching.

Boss Li turned and said: "Feiyang, why aren't you quickly taking the third madam to the storeroom to have a look"

The cost of learning martial arts is extremely high, and a poor boy like Yun Feiyang cannot afford to practice. Although Young Master Rui is someone who only puts in effort sporadically, his fighting ability has significantly improved since he began studying martial arts. Even Yun Feiyang, whose body has fully developed, cannot defeat him, which demonstrates the power of martial arts. Furthermore, Yun Feiyang's close friend, Fatty, and his entire family have moved away, making Young Master Rui even more arrogant and gradually dismissive of Yun Feiyang.

Yun Feiyang heard the boss's shout from outside and immediately responded to the librarian before walking out to the main hall. Boss Li was respectfully preparing high-quality tea leaves he had brought back from the capital of the Fast Empire, Baihua City, for Madam San, who was sitting beside him in a white dress

It turned out that there were more than a dozen erotic paintings below. The images depicted various forms of sexual intercourse between men and women, making a novice like Yun Feiyang blush furiously. Although Yun Feiyang had not yet experienced such matters, last year, before the Fatty moved away, he had secretly taken him to the rooftop of Old Liu's house across the square, where they lay in wait to spy on Liu's daughter-in-law taking a bath. On another occasion, they even saw Old Liu enter and engage in a couple's bath with his daughter-in-law, which was quite a visual feast for them. Thus, when he saw the images above, he immediately understood what was going on.

Yun Feiyang respectfully said: "Third Madam, knowing that you were coming, I prepared in advance. This time, I have several outstanding magic crystals, which are definitely good goods"

Madam San smiled and said, "Boss Li, don't work too hard. I have other matters to attend to; I still need to discuss business with someone this afternoon. You can go ahead and take care of your own affairs, having Little Fat Sheep here is sufficient."

Yun Feiyang watched as Young Master Rui walked away, spat fiercely, and said: "If it weren't for Boss Li's reputation, I would have found someone to beat you to a pulp, damn it"

The origin of this long robe can be traced back to six months ago. On that day, he went to the Ermazi Casino on the street for some leisure, and surprisingly, he had an exceptionally good luck, winning three imperial gold coins and five silver coins. While he was substituting for Wang Quezi, an old man in his fifties came in, bringing this tattered long robe to pawn, insisting on getting three silver coins for it. Yun Feiyang took one look at the robe and knew it wasn't worth even a single silver coin, but since he was having good luck that day and the old man looked pitiful, he generously gave him the coins. The outcome was predictable; the old man never returned. Later, somehow this incident came to the attention of Young Master Rui, who was always looking for trouble, and he started shouting that Yun Feiyang had caused a loss to the pawnshop. Normally, it is quite common for the head clerk to make mistakes occasionally, but Yun Feiyang was too lazy to listen to Young Master Rui's incessant complaints, so he took out three silver coins himself to redeem the pawned item, and thus the long robe became his personal property.

Yun Feiyang walked into the back storage room, grumbling all the way. A considerable amount of items had been collected today, and by the time Yun Feiyang finished organizing, he was drenched in sweat. As he straightened up, his eyes caught sight of a tattered black robe in a corner of the warehouse. Upon seeing this robe, a bitter smile appeared on Yun Feiyang's face.

Yun Feiyang followed behind the Third Madam into the warehouse. Once they were alone, Yun Feiyang said, "Third Madam, I have told you before. My name is Feiyang, not Fat Lamb." Yun Feiyang and the Third Madam were already quite familiar with each other, so their conversation became more casual in the absence of others

This robe had been casually thrown here by him for over six months; had it not been for a chance sighting today, even he would have forgotten about it. Yun Feiyang walked over to pick up the long robe from the ground; although it was no longer useful, it could still serve to wipe away sweat. The robe had been left here for half a year, and its surface was already covered in dust. Yun Feiyang admired the robe and turned it over; the lining inside was still clean, so he decided to use it to wipe his sweat. After wiping away the sweat, Yun Feiyang was about to toss it aside, but his hand paused in mid-air.