There was an uproar. Liu Nerong turned her head and saw a swordsman in snow-white clothes with a sword stepping on the shoulders of the crowd. His demeanor was otherworldly. This swordsman who showed off his skills was heading towards Liu Nerong. How could Liu Nerong bear the humiliation of being stepped on by someone else? She silently unsheathed the famed sword at her waist. Her eyes were sharp. The handsome swordsman with a face like a peach blossom narrowed his eyes. He seemed to have sensed the sharpness of Liu Nerong's aura. He made a slight turn and stepped on the shoulders of the spectators nearby to reach the base of the stage. After floating down, he could be said to be handsome.
If one didn't have some real skills, one wouldn't dare to appear like him. There were crouching tigers and hidden dragons in Jianghu. If one stepped on a big pit and was pulled to the ground by a master, one would fall flat on his face. How could one still fight? Next, the two sides had to announce their names in a loud voice. They could either splash dirty water on each other or flatter each other. Next, they couldn't fight to their heart's content immediately. Instead, they had to say that the sword had no eyes and that they were responsible for their own life and death. If it was a life and death battle, there had to be respected seniors in Jianghu as witnesses. Both sides had to sign a life and death contract. Don't think that everything was fine at this time. If it wasn't a master who was indifferent to fame and fortune, he had to look around and wait until the big and small gambling houses below the stage had collected enough bets. After all, in many fights, when real masters fought, the outcome was often decided within the time it took to brew a cup of tea. It wasn't exciting to watch, so the gambling house had to spend some copper coins to hire people to cheer. If it was an ordinary fight, they needed to cheer even more. This was good for both sides. The most unlucky thing was that the audience who didn't buy it booed together. This was simply the greatest shame of all martial artists in Jianghu. Today, there was a powerful gang boss in Beiliang, but many of his enemies still treated the scene of his fight as a joke and disgusting.
Many people around Liu Nerong excitedly brought long benches and sat down with their families to wait for the show. There were even hawkers with dozens of sticks of sugar-coated haws shuttling back and forth. The greedy children were clamoring for their parents to pay a few copper coins. The crowd below the stage was noisy and lively. Liu Nerong looked around and didn't let her guard down. In the past two years, the Fish-dragon Gang had not been treated kindly by other gangs in Lingzhou. Moreover, their master, Xiao Qiang, who won the title of Double Revolving Swallow by killing people, had made countless enemies. This time, without the protection of the Fish-dragon Gang's leader, Liu Nerong, there might be people who would come to seek revenge. No matter how big the business in Lingzhou was, there was a limit. There were dozens of sects and factions standing in this small area. Everyone wanted to take the jobs of others into their own hands. The Fish-dragon Gang was now at the critical moment of "resurgence". Not to mention the gangs with similar power, who were afraid that the Fish-dragon Gang would become stronger, even some big gangs wanted to trick the Fish-dragon Gang. Liu Nerong knew that she didn't have the confidence to ignore everyone like before, so she could only be very careful.
The few strangers around her made Liu Nerong very afraid. One of them was the merchants who had submitted the official documents together with her outside the city gate. For example, the Fish-dragon Gang was selling expensive products like rouge and face powder, which was already considered a big deal. However, everyone knew that the real deal was the most powerful ones. Once this kind of thing was discovered, the family would be ruined. No matter how powerful the officials behind you were, once it was found out by the Beiliang army, even if you were a fourth-rank or third-rank feudal official, you would be beheaded in public. Next was the horse business. Buying horses from Beimang, as for whether you would sell them to the Beiliang army or to private individuals, it depended on your own ability. In short, this business was dangerous. Not only did you need to have a good relationship in Beiliang, you also needed a reliable person with real power to help pave the way in Beimang. At this time, there was a group of horse sellers around Liu Nerong. They seemed to be dressed as merchants, but they were all strong and strong. Another group of people were openly pointing at her, not showing any signs of concealing their intentions.
Liu Nerong whispered, "Be careful. Don't just watch the competition on the platform."
The young men around her nodded silently.
Somehow, when Liu Nerong saw a young man squatting on a pile of mud bricks connected to the mountain in the distance, holding a stick of sugar-coated haws in one hand, he lowered his head and nibbled on it, but he was not watching the competition on the platform like them. Instead, he was looking at the city wall of the Fallen Horse Pass. She was stunned for a moment, and then she wanted to cry and laugh. This guy was in a leisurely mood, not at all like a reckless warrior. Why did the General's Mansion send such a person to "escort" the escort? Liu Nerong was not in the mood to think deeply about the identity of this young man with a saber, so she continued to look at the platform. She had to admit that the man with the Zhanmadao had amazing strength. He wielded a saber that weighed more than 40 kilograms. The swordsman in snow-white clothes had excellent swordsmanship. Under the Zhanmadao, he walked leisurely, and the sword in his hand was raised slowly. He was very relaxed, obviously holding back his strength. His swordsmanship was at least equal to her master Xiao Qiang's, which made Liu Nerong want to recruit him.
On the top of the mud brick wall, of course, was His Royal Highness, Hsu Fengnian.
The candied hawthorn was sweet and tasty, and the syrup was thick and light yellow. Although it was the stingy low-quality syrup of the hawthorn, it had its own unique flavor. The candied fruit was crunchy but not greasy. With each bite, a hawthorn was crunchy. After a few bites, there was only one hawthorn left on the stick. Just as he was about to bite down, he saw a little kid squatting beside him, staring at him without blinking. It was the naughty child who competed with the black-faced swordsman on the platform. The child's family background was probably not good, but he was dressed neatly, unlike the sloppy poor children. Seeing His Royal Highness turn his head, the child hurriedly pretended to look at the fight on the platform. Hsu Fengnian smiled, gritted his teeth, and threw away the remaining candied hawthorn on the stick. He then stretched out his hand and handed over the other stick of candied hawthorn that he had not eaten yet. The child tilted his head and looked at the tempting candied hawthorn from the corner of his eyes. He swallowed his saliva. It seemed that his family background was very good, and he did not have the habit of asking for things from strangers. He revealed his two canine teeth and shook his head shyly with a red face.
The child hesitated for a moment, then finally gathered his courage and made up his mind. He turned his head and looked at His Royal Highness with his eyes wide open.
Hsu Fengnian turned his head with a puzzled expression.
The child pointed at the Spring Thunder Saber hanging from Hsu Fengnian's waist.
Obviously, in the child's eyes, no matter how greedy he was, a stick of candied hawthorn could not compare to touching the real saber.
Which child did not have a Jianghu in their heart?
Hsu Fengnian smiled and generously took off his saber and handed it to the child.
The child's eyes were filled with joy and surprise. He hugged the Spring Thunder Saber that was not heavy at all.
It was as if he had embraced the Jianghu in such a simple manner.
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(Author's Note: If the first volume's Jianghu was about Vajra Finger and Mysterious Heavenly Phenomenon lining up to reveal themselves, then the second volume would be more about Jianghu's lower class. I have to praise myself. Putting aside whether Xue Zhong's writing is good or bad, it is definitely true that he is not in a hurry to write.
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