Du Changkong did not know why Ren Baqian was looking for him. With this thought in mind, he went downstairs and saw Ren Baqian standing there with a circle of guards surrounding him.
Compared to when they first met, Ren Baqian was indeed a lot darker, but he was also a lot more well-dressed. The most important change was that he was full of vigor.
Back then, Ren Baqian was still somewhat listless and less courageous. He gave off a much more reserved vibe.
Now, with the changes in his status, strength, and outlook, he was no longer the same as he was in the past.
"Deputy Prefect Ren!" Du Changkong cupped his hands.
"Brother Du!" Ren Baqian carefully sized up Du Changkong. He looked mature and mature. Although he was 17 or 18 years old, he looked like he was in his thirties or forties. He gave off the impression that he was a steady and reliable person.
However, after dealing with Du Changkong once, he knew that this was just a facade. Du Changkong was a fraud and a typical pig-like teammate.
But who asked him to be short of manpower now?
"I haven't seen you for a long time. Previously, I said that I would look for Brother Du after I came back. In the end, one thing led to another, and I haven't been able to get away." Ren Baqian hooked his arm around Du Changkong's shoulder. However, Du Changkong was taller than him by a head and had a strong physique. This made Ren Baqian rather uncomfortable and he put his arm down.
"It's good that Deputy Prefect Ren remembers me." Du Changkong grinned.
"Why is Deputy Prefect Du looking for me?" Du Changkong hesitated for a while before asking. With Ren Baqian's current status, he was definitely not here to reminisce about the past.
"You know about the lantern-grabbing contest during the New Year, right? Do you have a team? I'm still short of one person, so I immediately thought of you. After all, we are acquaintances, and I'm confident in your abilities." Ren Baqian patted him on the shoulder.
"My brother and I formed a team. We have four people!" Du Changkong felt a little awkward. In fact, he was well aware of Ren Baqian's strength. He could tell at a glance. However, he didn't really care about winning or losing. Friendship came first, competition came second, and participation was the most important.
Furthermore, everyone knew that the empress thought highly of Ren Baqian. Since they had interacted with each other before, it would be a good thing to use this opportunity to build a good relationship with him.
Even though the aboriginals were known to be straightforward, they were still capable of such calculations.
"How's his strength?" Ren Baqian asked.
"Slightly worse than me," Du Changkong said after thinking for a while.
"That's easy. All four of you come in. It's settled then." Ren Baqian laughed heartily. This was a good thing. Four people could come in directly, and one of the palace guards could be removed later.
Otherwise, if the weakest one was eliminated based on strength, it would be him without a doubt. Other than himself or the palace guards, excluding the Tong Clan, Du Changkong and the rest, it would not be good.
"How should we divide the work?" Du Changkong asked. The lantern-grabbing team was usually made up of ten people, and there were all kinds of roles. For example, the one in charge of opening the way was called Tooth Gate, the one in charge of snatching the lanterns was called Lantern Head, and the one in charge of preventing others from interfering with their own team and interfering with other teams was called Broom Pole.
Of course, this was only a rough division. In reality, it was possible that the lamp holder had been killed, and Fang Men or Broom had come forward to snatch the lamp.
Just like on the football field, a goalkeeper could also run into the opponent's penalty area to shoot.
"Let's meet the day after tomorrow," Ren Baqian said.
"Who else is there besides us?" Du Changkong asked.
"Do you know Tong Lan? The granddaughter of the Minister of Works, Sir Tong! " When Ren Baqian mentioned this name, Du Changkong's expression immediately became weird. It was as if he had a toothache or constipation.
"Why don't I introduce a few people to you?" Du Changkong's face twitched, and he seemed to want to retreat.
"Why?" Ren Baqian became curious. Du Changkong had such an expression when he heard Tong Lan's name. Was Tong Lan so powerful?
"That lass's mouth is too smelly. Furthermore, she is so young, and it would be a joke to be in a team with her. "
Ren Baqian agreed with the first sentence. That lass's mouth was indeed smelly.
Ren Baqian patted Du Changkong's shoulder and said, "It doesn't matter if her mouth is smelly or if she is young, but you have to take a long-term view. With your current mentality, you deserve to be single. "
Du Changkong was dumbfounded. What was Deputy Prefect Ren talking about?
"It's decided. Let's do it the day after tomorrow morning. The location will be at the training field beside the palace." Ren Baqian decided on this matter. Without waiting for Du Changkong to speak, he immediately got on the fork-horned cow and brought everyone back to the palace.
Du Changkong rubbed his head. Other things were fine, but that lass Tong Lan was really too annoying.
When they went upstairs, a few people looked at them and asked, "You have dealings with that person!"
"I borrowed a crossbow from him in the past. She knows about it." Du Changkong pointed at Sparrow Hawk. Her face immediately turned black.
He was touching a sore spot.
Because of that crossbow, she was reprimanded by Ren Baqian, lost face in front of the empress, and was eventually punished.
On the other hand, that person had a meteoric rise. He was even chosen as the empress's husband.
Du Changkong's words were simply a slap to her face.
"Why did he look for you?" someone asked curiously.
"Lantern-Grabbing!" Du Changkong sat at the side of the table and said in a muffled voice.
"He wants to participate in the lantern-grabbing?" Everyone was surprised.
That person's strength was similar to that of an ant to them. He could be killed with a light punch. Yet, he actually wanted to participate in the lantern-grabbing?
Was he going to participate in the lantern-grabbing or blackmail?
Who would dare to touch him? He would probably be sent flying if he was squeezed.
Du Changkong nodded his head and did not mention that Ren Baqian's strength had improved tremendously.
His strength was equivalent to that of a Man Wheel expert in Great Xia. To everyone, he was still very weak.
"You agreed?" someone asked.
"I agreed!" Du Changkong spread out his hands.
"Hmph!" A cold snort was heard. Without looking, everyone knew it was Liu Ruoyao.
"I'm afraid that you won't even be able to get close to him." Liu Ruoyao sneered.
"That's none of your business." Du Changkong wasn't a kind person. He was only afraid of Hong Xian. He didn't really care about Liu Ruoyao.
Liu Ruoyao was so angry that she gritted her teeth. She was prepared to look for Hong Xian in a while. Originally, Hong Xian said that she wouldn't participate this year. However, since that person dared to participate, Hong Xian might be interested.
She wouldn't be able to touch him during normal times. However, since he dared to participate in the lantern-grabbing contest, he couldn't be blamed if he got seriously injured with just a light touch.
In fact, she wasn't the only one who had this thought. After all, the empress was the idol of many people in Dayao. Ren Baqian was still hated by many people. When they heard this news, several of them wondered if they would accidentally "lightly" touch him when the time came.
Even though the others had this thought in their minds, they didn't show it.
…
Two days later, Ren Baqian left the palace early in the morning and went straight to the training field. At this time, it was time to change shifts and there weren't many people there.
When he arrived, Du Changkong was already there with three other people beside him. Four of them were squatting by the wall, eating a super large burrito in their hands.
"Deputy Prefect Ren!" Du Changkong stood up and greeted Ren Baqian when he saw him.
"Brother Du!" Ren Baqian got off his fork-horned cow and sized up the other three people. They looked a little like Du Changkong, but they weren't as old as Du Changkong.
Those who didn't know would think that it was a father bringing his three sons out.
"Du Changyue, Du Changqing, and Du Changjiang are all my brothers. Deputy Prefect Ren, call me by my name. Otherwise, I'll feel awkward. "Du Changkong introduced them in a low and muffled voice.
"Nice to meet you." Ren Baqian cupped his fists. The few of them quickly returned the greeting and sized up this legendary figure curiously.
"That girl isn't here yet?" Ren Baqian turned his head to look.
The few of them waited for more than an hour before they finally saw the few of them. Tong Lan was standing on the back of a fork-horned cow. When she got closer, she flipped over and jumped down. She stretched out her finger and pointed at Ren Baqian. With a face full of displeasure, she said, "You are such a good-for-nothing, yet you still dare to participate in the lantern-grabbing contest? You even persuaded grandpa to let me team up with you. I might as well watch the show while eating fruits at the side since I can't win anyway. "
"And these few, even though they are slightly better than you, they are still good-for-nothings. If I team up with all of you, others will easily think that I'm the same kind of trash as you. I'm still so young, how am I going to face others in the future?"
Tong Lan pointed at Ren Baqian, the Du brothers, and the two young men who were smiling bitterly behind her.
"Can you beat her?" Ren Baqian turned his head and asked Du Changkong.
Du Changkong looked like he was in pain, but he couldn't flare up. In the end, he shook his head sullenly. If Ren Baqian hadn't been staring at him, he wouldn't have noticed it.
Ren Baqian widened his eyes. Du Changkong actually couldn't beat this girl?
I still thought that she was only slightly more talented than ordinary children. In addition, she had been nurtured since young, so her martial arts were slightly better than ordinary children. That was why the empress allowed her to be his sparring partner.
It turned out that she wasn't a little girl, but a demoness. He had actually been tricked by the empress for so long?
To think that he had always felt that he couldn't even beat a ten-year-old child … It turned out that he wasn't alone.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
