"What do you think this is …"
The autumn wind blew. Dark clouds covered the outside of the inn, and the silver ingots on the square table dazzled the eyes. As Steward Wu sighed, Fan Heng and the others sitting on the other side were furious.
They were born in Jiangnan, and their families were well-off. In the past, they were well-read. Although the world was in chaos after the Jurchen moved south, some things only happened in the most extreme places. On the other hand, the Jurchen were barbaric and bloodthirsty. It was understandable that the people had no way to live wherever the vanguard of the Jurchen soldiers went. They were also mentally prepared to see some extreme situations when they went to the southwest. Who knew that such things did not happen in the southwest, nor in Dai Mengwei's territory. Here, in this shabby inn of a small county town, it suddenly hit them.
Over the past half a day, their emotions had been on a rollercoaster ride. At this moment, Steward Wu took out the taels of silver, and the five strong young men who followed behind him lined up in a row. Fan Heng and the others were furious, but no one stepped forward to say anything.
Steward Wu looked at the crowd, then pushed the stool away and stood up.
"Is this how you do things?"
"… Hmm?"
Steward Wu was about to turn around when he heard an indignant voice coming from behind the scholars. The speaker was a young man who had been sitting some distance away. The young man enunciated each word.
"Today, it was your Li family who bullied people. Sister Xiuniang and her father … were beaten to such a state by you. Her chastity was almost ruined. They … didn't provoke you, did they … "
Steward Wu's gaze was gloomy as he stared at the young man.
"You two quarreled, and the woman wanted to smash the man's courtyard. We only went over to rescue Sister Xiuniang, who didn't cause any trouble. Does your son-in-law want to remember us because of this? Is he a constable of Tongshan County or a bandit who occupies the mountains? "
"Hmm?"
Steward Wu's gaze was fierce, but the other party did not seem to see it.
"Bullies blame the victim for resisting? We didn't say anything in the past, but you want to remember us? You two quarreled and Sister Xiuniang was almost beaten to death. You think they're an eyesore? We only said a few words about the law, and you say we were talking nonsense? You didn't even apologize. Is this how the Li family of Tongshan County does things? "
The young man stood up and asked, enunciating every word clearly. Steward Wu was so angry that he laughed. He revealed his sinister teeth as he looked at the group of scholars. One of the scholars was afraid that these people would start a fight, so he stood up to stop the angry young man and said, "Xiaolong …"
Along the way, the young man in front of them, as a doctor, had always been good-natured. However, after interacting with him for a long time, they knew that he liked martial arts and was keen on inquiring about Jianghu matters. He even wanted to go to Jiangning to watch the upcoming Hero Conference. Of course, this kind of temperament was not surprising. Which young man did not have a bit of drive in his heart? But in this kind of situation, a gentleman was standing on a dangerous wall. If he allowed the young man to display his abilities, it would be difficult for his side to have a good ending.
"Which of you is this child's?" Steward Wu scanned the crowd. "Looks like I didn't make myself clear. That's fine too."
As he spoke, he turned around and took a long saber from the young man behind him. He placed the saber on the table with its sheath and pointed at it. "Choose." He looked at Fan Heng and the others, then at the young man who was a little further away. He bared his teeth and said, "Little friend, choose one."
The young man looked at him and frowned slightly. He tilted his head and moved his lips as if he wanted to say something, but he could not speak for a moment. Chen Junsheng, who was the most insightful among the scholars, had already stepped forward to protect the young man. "Alright, Xiaolong, don't think too much about this."
"I …"
Ning Ji's tone was complicated, but in the end, he did not continue speaking.
"Xiaolong is young and hot-tempered, but what he said is not without reason." Fan Heng, who was sitting at the table, stood up and said slowly, "The Li family of Tongshan County is a noble family, not a group of bandits in the mountains. Naturally, we have to follow etiquette and honor. What you did today is not reasonable. In the future, when people talk about the Li family, they will also say that you are unreasonable. Since ancient times, no one's family business has grown this way. "
His words were neither servile nor overbearing, and he also had a sense of propriety. It could be said that it was quite appropriate. Steward Wu, who was sitting opposite him, smiled. "So, are you reminding me not to let you go?"
Fan Heng's lips moved, but he could not answer.
"Etiquette and honor." Steward Wu sneered. "After a few words of praise, you don't know who you are anymore. What about etiquette and honor? What did you do to the golden dog? What about etiquette and honor? How did our county town get burned down? Scholars … You have the usual exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes, but you are the first to kneel when there is a war. The one in the southwest said that he wanted to destroy the Confucian school. Do you have the guts to fight him? When the golden dog attacked, who was the one who evacuated the villagers to the mountains? I was the one who followed our Master Li to do it! "
"You have read a few lousy books and talked about some nonsense. What's the use of all of you? Let me make things clear today. You, Steward Wu, have always looked down on you people who read lousy books. You only know how to talk nonsense, but you are useless when it comes to doing things. You want to be reasonable, right? I see that you have all been outside. Our son-in-law has already remembered what happened today. It is obvious that he wants to deal with you. Is our young mistress bullying you by asking you to get lost? You don't know what's good for you … That's because our young mistress is kind! "
"Our young mistress is kind, but I, Steward Wu, am not. Talk nonsense and provoke me. Let's see if you will be able to walk out of Tongshan! I know that you are not convinced, but don't be. Let me tell you brainless people, times have changed. Our Master Li once said that in order to rule the world, one should read the books of the sages. In times of chaos, one should only look at the sword and the spear. Now that the emperor is gone, the world is divided. If you want to be reasonable, then this is reasonable! "
His voice was loud and clear. It sounded even more sonorous because he was "reasonable." At this point, he lifted the hem of his long robe and kicked the long bench in front of him up. Then, his body whistled and spun. With a loud bang, the hard bench was broken into two by his leg. The broken pieces of the bench flew out and smashed some bottles and jars in the store.
Fan Heng, who was at the front, was so frightened that he fell on the bench.
Steward Wu was wearing a long robe earlier, so everyone thought that he was also a scholar. Only when the effect of his kick was beautiful did they realize that he was also a martial arts expert with great skills. Seeing that the faces of the scholars in the lobby had turned pale, he was quite pleased with himself. He swept his sleeves and slowly put down his long leg.
"If you want to be reasonable, then this is reasonable too …" He said slowly, "The few inns in Tongshan County are all related to the Li family. If the Li family doesn't allow you to stay, then you won't be able to stay tonight … I've said everything I can, it's up to you whether you want to listen or not. After tonight, there's no way you can go tomorrow. "
With that said, he flicked his sleeves and led the crowd out of the inn. After leaving the door, they could vaguely hear the compliments of a strong young man, "Steward Wu's kick is really powerful."
"Amazing …"
"Hehe, you're flattering me …"
…
When the scholars in the inn saw the amazing effect of the kick, their faces turned red and white, and they fell silent for a long time. Only Ning Ji watched as the other party swaggered away in satisfaction after the stool was broken. His shoulders drooped, and he let out a long sigh.
At this time, the innkeeper who was hiding inside came out to take a look at the situation. Seeing that the things in the lobby had been smashed, he also felt somewhat embarrassed. He looked around at the crowd and said, "We can't afford to offend them. Let's go. If you want to stay again, this humble inn won't dare to take you in. "He sighed as he said this, shook his head, and returned.
"What should we do?" One of them asked.
Lu Wenke said in a hoarse voice, "Is there really no law here?!"
"Everyone, you've seen it."
"Perhaps … the county magistrate's side isn't like this?" Lu Wenke said, "Even if … the Li family is powerful, as an official, how can they let a martial artist have the final say here? After all, we haven't tried … "
He seemed to have thought through some things. At this time, he was speaking unwillingly. Chen Junsheng walked over, patted his shoulder, and sighed.
"I … I still think …" Lu Wenke's red eyes looked at the crowd, and looked at Fan Heng, who was the oldest among them, as if he wanted some support or approval. Before he finished speaking, movement came from the door leading to the backyard, and a woman's weak voice sounded.
"Everyone …" The crowd turned around and saw that the person who appeared at the door was actually Wang Xiuniang, who had been injured earlier. At this time, her face was patched up, and tears flowed out of her eyes. She leaned on the door frame and came over, "Everyone … Everyone, let's … go …"
"Xiuniang, you …"
Before Fan Heng's voice faded, Wang Xiuniang entered the door and knelt there, "My father and daughter … Thank you all for taking care of me along the way, so I really don't dare to burden you all anymore …" She pretended to kowtow, but Ning Ji had already walked over to support her. He heard her cry, "Xiuniang … Since young … Xiuniang has traveled the jianghu with my father. I originally knew that a strong dragon cannot suppress a snake in its territory … This Tongshan Li family is powerful, even if you all want to help Xiuniang, you really shouldn't fight him head-on at this time …"
"Xiuniang wants to leave this place … Everyone, let's go … I'm afraid …"
She was supported by Ning Ji, and her words were choked with sobs. Tears welled up in her eyes as she pleaded with the people in the hall. Her eyes seemed to be looking at everyone, but most of them were still on Lu Wenke. Lu Wenke sat in the distance, his eyes red, but at this moment, he could not say a word.
Someone banged his fist on the pillar to show his pain. Some people sighed, while others remained silent. Lu Wenke said a few times, "Perhaps it's useful to report to the authorities …" but in the end, he did not finish his sentence.
The sky darkened.
Everyone packed their luggage, hired a carriage, and dragged Wang Jiang and Wang Xiuniang out of the inn before evening and out of the city gate.
Along the way, no one said much. They all knew in their hearts that they had escaped from this place with their tails between their legs. Although it was not a problem for them to escape, there was still more or less humiliation. Before they escaped, Wang Xiuniang even used "I'm afraid" to give everyone an excuse to push the boat along with the current.
Ning Ji did not say much along the way. Among everyone, he looked the calmest, and he was the most natural when packing his luggage. Everyone thought that a child of his age would keep his anger to himself, but under such circumstances, they did not know how to enlighten him. In the end, only Fan Heng said half a sentence to him on the way, "Scholars have their own uses, and learning martial arts has its own uses … It's just that this world … sigh …"
Ning Ji nodded. "Yes, I know."
Fan Heng did not know if he was telling the truth, but he could not say anything more to enlighten the child.
When night fell, they settled down at a small market about five kilometers away from Tongshan County. After a simple dinner, it was already late. Ning Ji checked Wang Jiang's body, who was still unconscious. He did not know if the middle-aged man could recover for the time being. When he looked at Wang Xiuniang's injuries, Wang Xiuniang was only washing her face with tears in her room.
Her relationship with Lu Wenke was not confirmed. Along the way, Lu Wenke looked angry, but he did not take the initiative to care about her. In fact, she knew in her heart that this marriage, which was supposed to be out of her league, was probably over. Lu Wenke was in the prime of his youth, and he always said that he was "promising", but in a small place like Tongshan, he had suffered great humiliation. Even if he was still willing to marry her, every time he saw her in the future, he would inevitably be reminded of his helplessness today. This was the most intolerable humiliation for a man.
"… It would be a good thing if Uncle Wang can wake up tomorrow morning. However, he has suffered such a serious injury that he won't be able to travel for the next few days. I've prepared a few prescriptions here … Two of them are for Uncle Wang to nurse his body for a long time. There's a problem with the Hard Qigong he cultivates, and his body will hurt everywhere when he gets old. These two prescriptions can help him …"
"Thank you, Xiaolong."
"Okay."
Ning Ji nodded and accepted her thanks.
After leaving the room, Lu Wenke, whose eyes were red, came over to ask him about Wang Xiuniang's physical condition. Ning Ji gave a rough answer. He felt that the adulterous couple still cared about each other. His mind was no longer on this matter.
It was past midnight, and it was Ning Ji's fifteenth birthday. In fact, no one present knew about it. All the things that had happened earlier had weighed on everyone's minds. They stayed in a large room for a long time before falling asleep one after another. In the early hours of the morning, when Fan Heng got up to go to the toilet, he found that one person was missing from the room. He lit the oil lamp and searched with the others. "Where did Xiaolong go?"
At this time, the young doctor, Long Aotian, had disappeared.
Then, he understood. "A young man like him probably … doesn't want to travel with us anymore …"
*****
Ning Ji left the inn and walked in the direction of Tongshan County with his luggage. It was night, but for him, it was not much different from the day. Walking was similar to sightseeing.
He would eventually have to part ways with this group of scholars. This was also good, especially since it happened on his birthday, which made him feel very interesting.
Unlike what Fan Heng and the others thought, he did not feel that leaving Tongshan County was a humiliating decision. When people encountered problems, the most important thing was to have the ability to solve them. When a scholar encountered a hooligan, of course, he had to leave first. In the future, he could call for help and get back at them. People who practiced martial arts would have other ways to solve the problem. This was called case-by-case analysis. In the training of the Huaxia Army, bravery was emphasized, but it was also taboo to act blindly without a plan.
After sending these people away, he would go back and have a good talk with Steward Wu. This was a very reasonable way of doing things.
That fool foolishly kicked a stool and broke it …
He was almost shocked by the other party's skills …
If a group of Huaxia Army comrades were here, they might look at him in shock, applaud, and then praise him for being amazing …
He should go back and praise him …
As he was thinking about this, he met a few night walkers not far from the small market …
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