Chapter 30: Changing Faces

  Luoyang City has two most famous buildings.

  Cheng Xi, Bai Hua Lou!

  Chengnan, Hero's Tower!

  The Hundred Flowers Pavilion, as its name suggests, is a place where many songstresses gather, surrounded by beautiful women and elegant ladies. As the political, economic, and cultural center of Luoyang City, there are countless high-ranking officials, refined scholars, and wealthy travelers. The high-ranking officials seek excitement, the refined scholars want to show off in front of the beauties, and the wealthy travelers hope to spend a romantic night with them. With the songstresses of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion being stunningly beautiful, charming, and alluring, they naturally attract countless men, making every night at the pavilion a lively and joyful occasion filled with laughter and music.

  The Hero's Tower is actually an entrance and exit for warriors.

  The Grand Historian says: Heroes use force to violate prohibitions!

  But that was a peaceful and prosperous era, the emperor could not tolerate those who killed people at odds with him, so he suppressed the martial artists.

  Now the Han dynasty is in decline, and the social norms are chaotic. Many people are practicing martial arts for self-protection, especially since the entire Han Empire has already shown signs of chaos. The thoughts of warriors have also begun to change. As the saying goes, "When one's literary and military skills are accomplished, they sell their goods to the imperial family. If the emperor does not recognize them, they sell to those who appreciate their value." Since the Emperor is no longer in power, capable individuals naturally want to find someone who appreciates their worth. Warriors from all over gather at the Hero Building, seeking to make known their abilities and gain fame and fortune.

  Therefore, there were mostly two kinds of people who frequently came and went in Hero Tower.

  Noble figures and heroic commoners.

  Nobles want to find talented people in the Hero Building, while talented people hope to attract the attention of high-ranking officials and rise to prominence.

  Both parties are willing, and a virtuous circle is naturally formed.

  More and more people come and go, Hero Building is getting hotter and hotter.

  However, with more people, it's natural that there are more mouths to feed, and all sorts of things happen at the same time. News from all over the world converges on Hero Tower, where Wang Can and Bae Won-seo live. They chose Hero Tower because of its bustling atmosphere, which makes it easy to gather information from all over. Not only can they keep an eye on the heroes who come and go, but they can also hear news from all corners of the world.

  Wang Can sat in the house, sipping tea, carefree and at ease, with a elegant and handsome demeanor.

  The door creaked open and Pei Yuanshao walked in after pushing it open.

  Wang Cai's expression changed to one of delight, and he asked: "Old Pei, have you found out about the Hero Tower?"

  "According to what I've heard, the owner of Hero's Tower is named Shi Ah, a master swordsman. On the surface, Hero's Tower provides a venue for martial artists to compete against each other, catering to the entertainment of high-ranking officials and nobles. However, behind the scenes, they also accept various commissions, such as assassinations, escorting valuable goods, and so on - anything that can bring in profit. But Shi Ah is just a figurehead; the real person in charge of Hero's Tower is actually his teacher, Wang Yue. All major decisions require Wang Yue's approval before they can be carried out."

  "King Yue?" King Can's fingers lightly tapped on the table, his face showing a thoughtful expression.

  Pei Yuanshao continued: "Wang Yue was known as the number one sword in the world, with a long sword in his hand that was invincible. It is said that when Wang Yue was 18 years old, he entered Helan Mountain alone on horseback and killed the leader of the Qiang tribe single-handedly, taking the head of the Qiang tribe's leader back with him, and no one dared to block his way; at the age of 30, Wang Yue traveled through various states, almost fighting against all the undefeated heroes in the world. Moreover, Wang Yue was incredibly powerful and had an overwhelming aura, it is said that even Lü Bu was not a match for him."

  Wang Can's hand trembled slightly as he thought for a moment before saying, "Lu Bu couldn't even defeat Wang Yue? Don't be ridiculous."

  Wang Can shook his head and said, "Wang Yue is a sword master, skilled in infantry battles; while Lü Bu is a war general, skilled in cavalry battles. The two sides were never comparable to begin with. It's impossible for Lü Bu to give up his own advantages and engage in an infantry battle with Wang Yue, nor could Wang Can ride a horse and fight against Lü Bu. In this situation, how can it be said that Wang Yue defeated Lü Bu? If we say that Wang Yue and Lü Bu didn't have a cavalry battle, then Wang Yue would have had a good chance of winning. However, if they were to engage in a cavalry battle, Wang Yue was absolutely no match for Lü Bu."

  "Master, how did you know? I spent a long time gathering this information."

  Wang Can smiled and didn't say anything.

  He knew history, naturally aware of Lü Bu's **thousand-mile red hare, with the halberd in hand, invincible and unparalleled. He also knew that Wang Yue's swordsmanship was extremely fierce, but Wang Yue was an official fanatic, with a heart set on becoming an official. Although he became Emperor Xian's swordsmanship teacher, it was merely teaching swordsmanship, without any opportunity to use his skills.

  After a pause, Wang Can changed the subject and asked: "Has Cai Yong's case been cleared up?"

  Pei Yuanshao nodded, a strange look in his eyes, and said: "Young master, this Cai Yong is really lucky, as soon as he returned to Luoyang, he was reused by Dong Zhuo, and the reward is simply unbelievable. On the first day of Cai Yong's return to Luoyang, Dong Zhuo appointed Cai Yong as Jiu Shi, showing great respect for him. The next day, he let Cai Yong serve as Shi Yu Shi, and on the third day, he was transferred to Shu Yu Shi, and then promoted to Shang Shu. Within three days, his official rank continued to rise. Dong Zhuo must have gone mad, why is he so fond of Cai Yong? He's just an old man, isn't he?"

  Wang Can smiled slightly, Pei Yuan Shao didn't understand, but he understood Dong Zhuo's intention.

  Dong Zhuo led his soldiers to forcibly occupy Luoyang, but he did not have a stable foundation. To stand firm in Luoyang, he naturally had to use both kindness and intimidation, suppressing the officials in the imperial court who opposed him, while continuously promoting Cai Yong, a renowned scholar of the time, to show Dong Zhuo's desire for talented individuals. In essence, it was an example of "buying a horse's bones with a thousand pieces of gold", using this to win over scholars and party members.

  Wang Can touched the letter in his bosom and thought that after so many days, Cai Yong's family had also calmed down. It was time to visit Cai Yong. Wang Can raised his head and ordered: "Old Pei, prepare the carriage, today we will go to visit Cai Yong."

  "Yes!" Pei Yuanshao responded with a single word, then turned around and prepared his horse carriage to leave...

  Cai Yong's mansion had two gatekeepers standing at the entrance of Cai's mansion, guarding the gate.

  "Lao Pei, take this letter of introduction and go ahead to announce our arrival."

  Wang Can was wearing a white robe, with a decorative sword hanging from his waist, and a black jade hairpin on his hair knot. He looked confident, especially in his Confucian robes, which made him look elegant and refined. He pulled out an exquisite invitation card from his sleeve and handed it to Pei Yuanshao.

  Pei Yuanshao's eyes flashed with surprise, he thought that Wang Can's visit to Cai Yong was just a temporary move and might not even be able to enter the Cai residence. But Wang Can suddenly pulled out an invitation card from his hand, Pei Yuanshao's mind turned rapidly, and suddenly thought of the old man he met at the city gate a few days ago, who was likely to be Cai Yong. Thinking of this, Pei Yuanshao looked back at Wang Can, this young master really had an eye for talent, making it impossible to guess that in the dilapidated Taoist temple, he would meet several big shots, and then meet Cai Yong at the gate of Luoyang City, his luck was really good.

  Pei Yuanshao took the letter of introduction and went to the entrance of the Cai residence, where he handed it over to the gatekeeper.

  Before long, someone came to welcome Wang Can.

  "Master, the old master is waiting for you in the living room, please come in." The newcomer was a fifty-year-old man, dressed in a hemp robe, with a humble expression. When he saw Wang Can, his eyes flashed with surprise, not expecting Wang Can to be so outstanding.

  Wang Can's expression was calm and composed, and he gestured with his hand: "Lead the way, old sir."

  Entering Cai's residence, making three turns and passing through the corridors, I finally walked into the living room.

  The old man took Wang Can to the living room and left, Wang Can stood outside the living room, smoothed out his clothes, and flattened the wrinkles on his body before taking big strides into the living room. Wang Can walked into the middle of the living room, bowed his hands to Cai Yong and said: "Wang Can from Junan comes first, pays respects to Mr. Cai."

  Cai Yong stroked his beard and smiled, waving his hand: "Sit!"

  After finishing speaking, Cai Yong shouted towards the outside of the door: "Look at the tea!"

  Wang Can lifted his robe and sat down, bowing to Cai Yong: "I'm disturbing Mr. Cai's place, please forgive me." Wang Can didn't care about the relationship between him and Cai Yong, he first pulled their relationship closer before speaking, besides, Cai Yong didn't oppose Wang Can addressing him as "Mr.".

  Cai Yong smiled and said, "To begin with, I handed you the visiting card when I first entered Luoyang. Why did you come to visit me only today? Was it because you looked down on me when you saw that Dong Zhuo had won me over? Or was it because you saw that Dong Zhuo valued me highly and thought my position was too high and powerful, so you came to visit me?"

  Wang Can's face changed instantly upon hearing this.

  In an instant, Wang Can's mind was racing with thoughts, thinking of a countermeasure. He didn't understand why Cai Yong had suddenly turned against him when he was fine just a moment ago.