Picturesque Rivers and Mountains in the Red Chamber

Chapter 32 2.9

Volume Two

2.9 I heard about the beauty of the south of the Yangtze River

"Whoosh!" Amidst the noisy sounds of fighting, there was an inconspicuous sound of breaking through the air, but it was followed immediately by a scream. The "whoosh" sounds continued one after another, almost without missing a beat. Several of them were brought down, which greatly reduced the pressure on the Xue family.

"Who dares to make a sneak attack!" There is no fool who can sneak up to the top, and soon he heard the shrill male voice yelling, "How dare you offend the White Lotus Sect, I think you are tired of living - ah!"

"Interesting, I have never heard that people from the White Lotus Sect call themselves the 'White Lotus Sect'." After muttering in a low voice, Zhou Yang hid in the lobby of the tavern and continued to fire arrows, cooperating with the Xue family's nursing home. The killer who called himself the "White Lotus Sect" was quickly overwhelmed.

"Death!" Just as he was happily doing his output, a shout suddenly sounded around him. The three killers had already walked around the courtyard at some point and rushed into the lobby from the back door of the store. When they saw Zhou Yang, they slashed with steel knives. , obviously coming for his life.

"Huh——" After the dull sound that broke through the air, there was a scream. The three killers focused on dealing with Zhou Yang, but ignored Li Xiong standing next to him. After the six-foot steel mace was swung over, it was more than shaken. The steel knife flew away from the killer, and then hit him in the chest with the remaining force, sending him flying directly. He was dead before his eyes.

Zhou Yang didn't even bother to look back. The 1.9-meter strong men like the Li brothers would have been at the level of "killing the crowd" in any close combat in the cold weapon era. In the blink of an eye, two more screams rang out. Coupled with the hidden arrows on his side, the White Lotus Sect has completely fallen into a desperate situation.

"Hahaha, thank you Xianggong Zhou for your righteous action. Xue will never forget it!" After just a cup of tea, when the scene was completely quiet, Xue Tu's hearty laughter rang out again, "I have heard that Xianggong Zhou has superb shooting skills. Today, It turns out that it really lives up to its reputation!”

"Please have a seat outside, Mr. Xue!" Zhou Yang was actually a little surprised that he knew his name, but he didn't care too much. He arranged for Li Xiong to light the lamp, and he opened the door to welcome the guests simply. "It's a pity that the weather is too dark. Worse, there must be a few things that slipped through the net."

"It doesn't matter, Xue still has some backup plans for trivial matters." Xue Tu laughed and entered the tavern lobby, "Speaking of which, I can't even remember how many times I have traveled to and from the capital. I have been passing by here for more than ten years. On the contrary, I just walked in for the first time today.”

"In this case, should I say 'Pengpi Shenghui'?" Zhou Yang greeted him with a smile and motioned for Xue Tu to sit down. As for the rest of the Xue family, not to mention those who cleaned the battlefield, except for Zhang Dehui who was following behind Xue Tu. , no one else even entered.

"Hahahaha!" *2, actually Zhou Yang couldn't tell what he was laughing at, but just saw the other party smiling happily, so he followed suit
"Speaking of which, Xue knew Xianggong Zhou's name only because his servants mentioned it." Xue Tu waved his hand behind him, "I didn't expect that in just half a year, Xianggong Zhou has already achieved fame. It's great to be young!"

"Zhang Dehui paid a visit to Xianggong Zhou. I didn't expect that when we first met, he was really blind to the mountains!"

"Exceptor Xue, I wonder why you are here in the middle of the night today?" Zhou Yang secretly cursed "Old Fox", and the other party mentioned "I've seen it before", which was obviously a hint of the favor of the 30 taels of funding, "Of course, if it's not convenient to tell you, forget it. ”

"It's not that it's inconvenient." Xue Tu smiled faintly and waved his hand for Zhang Dehui to go out. "It's just a small matter at home and I wanted to rush back. I didn't expect that yesterday's annihilation of the White Lotus Sect in the south of the city would involve Xue."

"That's it." Zhou Yang smiled faintly, just think that I believe him. He is obviously the head of the Xue family, but he rushed in the middle of the night, and "just happened" to meet the killer. He said that there was nothing wrong with him, so he just lied to a fool, "Excuse me, Mr. Xue, I condescended to At this point, you must have some advice?”

"I don't dare to give advice. Zhou Xianggong also saw the situation just now." Xue Tu smiled, obviously seeing what Zhou Yang meant, but did not continue to explain, "The White Lotus Sect is currently the largest force in the Jianghu. Here, everyone with the name Xue paid Ping'an Silver, but for some reason today, they were intercepted and killed.

Therefore, Xue had an unkind request, hoping that Xianggong Zhou could go to Jinling for a walk. As the saying goes, "In late spring in March, grass grows in the south of the Yangtze River, there are mixed peanut trees, and flocks of orioles fly around." Xianggong Zhou was born overseas and has lived in the north for a long time. You must also want to see the scenery of Jiangnan, right? "

"Oh?" Zhou Yang smiled and said nothing. He just looked at him lightly. He wanted to find a bodyguard, but why are you talking nonsense?
"I heard that Mr. Zhou is interested in martial arts. This year is the provincial examination. I think that martial arts training is indispensable in daily life." It helps, a few days ago, Xue unexpectedly got a prescription for medicinal bath, which can effectively improve his strength."

"I've heard about the beautiful scenery in the south of the Yangtze River. I have a chance to take a walk today. I'd like to trouble Mr. Xue!" Zhou Yang smiled faintly and accepted.

At this time, he naturally wouldn't do it for travel. As Xue Tu said, these days of training have made him fully realize the meaning of "poor culture and rich martial arts". It has been decided, if there is no better means, besides riding and shooting, it will be difficult for him to make any obvious improvement in other aspects even in August when the martial arts is held.Therefore, after seeing Xue Tu enter the door, the two parties have actually entered a state of "each takes what he needs". The conversation just now was more about fighting for the initiative. Now that he has seen the benefits, it is acceptable to give in, so He was initially called "Xue Yuanwai", but eventually became "Xue Gong".

"Hahaha, little brother Zhou is so polite." Seeing Zhou Yang's concession, Xue Tu happily changed his title to "little brother" to show his closeness, "Xue is not talented, but he still has some kindness in Jiangnan. There are also a few servants who have practiced the Crop Hand Style for a few days. If little brother Zhou has time, he might as well give you some advice."

"Thank you Mr. Xue!" Zhou Yang smiled and stood up, cupped his fists and saluted, and agreed, "It just so happens that the juniors in the shop still have some stock here. It's getting late now, why don't we let everyone rest their stomachs first and have a night's rest before setting off tomorrow morning?"

"Just do it, little brother!" Seeing that the problem was solved, Xue Tu smiled and nodded in agreement. However, neither party raised the issue, so they were obviously still on guard.

Not mentioning the arrangements for the Xue family, Zhou Yang took Li Xiong back to the courtyard and quickly explained the agreement they had just made.

"Master, do you really want to follow me to the south of the Yangtze River?" Qingwen suddenly became anxious, "Do you want a servant to accompany you? The mountains are high and the roads are long. What if something goes wrong?"

"Don't worry, stupid girl!" Zhou Yang smiled and told his purpose of following the south. Finally, he added, "The most difficult part of the martial arts examination is actually the provincial examination. It's not just the martial arts examination, but also the imperial examination. Those literati are all There is a saying "Jin Juren, Silver Jinshi", which describes the difficulty of these two exams.

Although I performed well in the scholar examination, there was an additional subject of riding and archery in the provincial examination. Many children from big families have practiced martial arts since they were young. If I can't surpass them in other aspects, riding and archery is likely to be my subject. The absolute weakness is much worse than them. "

"Master, what are your plans for this trip south?" Li Xiong asked respectfully.

"When we set out tomorrow, you brothers will join me. We will take turns keeping vigil along the way and rest on the carriage during the day." Zhou Yang was not too worried about Xue Tu. He was not worried about being harmed by him, but worried about the strength of the Xue family's caravan. , if his bow and arrow hadn't suppressed the previous battle, it's hard to say what the final outcome would have been, "Qingwen, after I leave, you can go live in the Li family's old house.

I can’t tell you the exact time of my trip south this time. Just wait there. When I come back, I’ll arrange for someone to pick you up. That’s the palace judge’s yard, and it’s right in the middle of Hanlin Street. On weekdays, it’s not Who cares? If you go out less often, there should be no problem. "

"Don't worry, young master, this servant understands." Li Xiong took orders on behalf of the Li family brothers.

"Master, do you really don't want me to be a servant?" Although Qingwen is usually a little temperamental, she still knows how to advance and retreat at critical moments. "I think the master will be very hard on this journey."

"Okay, don't worry. How about I bring you delicious food when I come back?" Zhou Yang comforted with a smile, "You don't have to worry about it these days. Just leave the tavern to shopkeeper Yang. , I will make arrangements when I get back."

"Master, do you need to explain something?" Qingwen asked softly.

"No need, just let them know that I'm going south to relax." Zhou Yang waved his hand lightly. He didn't fully trust everyone in Shilipu yet. The Li brothers were an exception. These two people's IQs were worrying, that is, " "You said it, he did it" level, as long as you treat them well, you don't have to worry about betrayal.

"Since the young master has decided, I won't ask any more questions." Although Qingwen was still aggrieved, she could only endure it, "It's just that except for that member Xue."

"Don't worry!" Zhou Yang smiled faintly. He was actually worried about being used as cannon fodder, "Didn't I bring the Li brothers with me?"

Another point, since he saw that the so-called "White Lotus Sect" this time was fake, he basically didn't have to worry about being intercepted on the road, because the opponent only dared to hide his head and tail even in his base in the capital, so naturally he couldn't afford to chase them all the way.

However, he did not mention these things to Xue Tu, not even a word.

(End of this chapter)