Chapter 173: The Martial Master's Demise (Two chapters in one)

Since Pingyang Town was changed to Pingyang County, it is even more likely to replace Huaiyin Prefecture in the future. The whole atmosphere is completely different.

Except for the eldest brother who has never been seen in the Western Army, several brothers who do not live nearby have moved to Pingyang County one after another.

Liang Qu visited all of them along the road, and it took less than an hour.

After bidding farewell to the last brother Yu, Liang Qu walked along the street and entered a shop. The lacquerware on the shelves was dazzling.

"Shopkeeper Wang, have the big items I want been delivered?"

"Hey, Lord Liang!"

The shopkeeper walked out from behind the counter, told the servants, and personally served tea and greeted, "Lord Liang came at the right time. The Huanghuali Lanqi I told you about last night was just delivered this morning. Take a look and see if you are satisfied?"

As he was talking, two clerks came in from the backyard carrying a vermilion wooden frame and placed it on the ground.

A wooden carved square board with a double-sided frame underneath. Both sides of the board are painted with lacquer, with a black background and vermilion edges, outlining dark red cloud dragon patterns.

The front of the square board has three rows of curved wooden hooks, one in the middle of the top row, and two in the middle and bottom rows.

Yang Dongxiong is a great tiger hunter, so Liang Qu can't give him anything really useful, so he can only choose big items from the small category.

The so-called Lanqi is a horizontal weapon rack, a sword, a knife or even a spear will do, and it can be placed horizontally or vertically on it.

Ordinary warriors have vertical display racks at home, the wood is just so-so, and it is impossible to paint it. Only nobles will use lacquerware Lanqi.

There are many nobles, and Lanqi is seen everywhere. Among them, Lanqi refers to a prominent family.

The last time he went to Yang's house, he saw that Yang Dongxiong's Lanqi was a little old, and he remembered it in his heart.

The color is shiny, generous and beautiful. Liang Qu touched the Lanqi and nodded constantly. It is much better than the one in his home.

"How much?"

The shopkeeper laughed: "If it were someone else, this Lanqi would cost at least 100 taels, but a good horse needs a good saddle, and a good boat needs a good sail. Since it's Lord Liang who wants it, I'll reduce the price to 88 taels! How about it?"

Eighty-eight taels, in normal times, can buy nearly 100 dan of grain, not counting other things, enough for a family of six to eat for three years.

Liang Qu grinned.

Lacquerware is expensive, and a good lacquer plate is worth several taels of silver. If the pattern is better, it can easily exceed two digits.

The materials used in the Lanqi in front of him are excellent, the lacquer is not bad, the pattern can be called exquisite, and the piece is large, 88 taels.

The shopkeeper was right, he really gave him a cheap price.

"Okay, I want it!"

"Okay, I'll pack it for you and send it to your house?"

The shopkeeper took the silver note, didn't even look at it, and put it in his arms.

"Shopkeeper, don't you want to check whether it's real or not?"

"No need! Lord Liang is a famous young hero in Pingyang County. He challenged the martial arts hall in March and became famous in Pingyang County. I went to see him the other day. He is clean, neat, and handsome. I don't know how many young women he has fascinated."

The shopkeeper tied Lan Qi with a red rope and pulled out a rope end that could be lifted.

"My son also learned martial arts from Master Yang's martial arts hall for two or three years. Now he is a second-level martial artist.

Although he is not as good as the adults, he is a little accomplished compared to the neighbors. He can gain some face when he goes out...

Take it. Come often in the future. Leave a message for what you want. I will keep the good ones for you. It doesn't matter if you don't like them. We know a lot of people in business. I will go to other places to buy them for you."

"Shopkeeper Wang, you are polite."

Liang Qu bowed.

Yang Mansion.

The doorman saw that it was Master Jiu and opened the door to let Liang Qu in. Hearing the purpose of the visit, he ran to report.

Two servants came up to take Lan Qi and followed Liang Qu.

When Liang Qu walked to the hall, Yang Dongxiong and Xu were already sitting on his left and right.

He stepped over the threshold and bowed.

"Disciple Liang Qu greets Master and Master's Wife!"

"Sit down."

Yang Dongxiong stretched out his hand, and a maid came forward to make tea.

"Why did you think of coming here today? What difficulties did you encounter?"

"Just a happy event to share with Master and Master's Wife."

Liang Qu looked back and saw two servants carrying Lan Qi into the hall.

"Lanqi?" Yang Dongxiong stood up, knocked and picked it up, "Huanghuali?"

"Master has a keen eye!" Liang Qu said with a smile, "I saw that Master's Lanqi was a little old a few days ago, so I took the initiative to bring Master a new one."

Xu smiled and said, "What kind of happy event is such a precious gift? You are being so attentive for no reason. Are you attracted to a girl and want us to be your matchmaker?"

Liang Qu blushed slightly: "What the master's wife said, it is natural for a disciple to respect the master."

Don't you see that there is a rule in the carpentry business that after becoming an apprentice, you have to serve the master and his wife to eat, drink, defecate and urinate, and teach them to make benches for five years and tables for ten years.

How many decades are there in a person's life?

Ten years of serving shit and urine, and you learned to make a table?

Yang Dongxiong really treated him as a disciple, and he was really filial to his master.

If Yang Dongxiong hadn't given him a platform, Liang Qu would still be hanging around in Yixing City, and could only sing lotus falls everywhere. Oh, to sing lotus falls, you have to worship a master.

Yang Dongxiong was very relieved and sat back on the armchair.

"What's the good news?"

"Master knows that I work at the Hebo Office. At the beginning of the month, I was ordered to go to Fengbu County to solve the problem of a water monster injuring people. Unexpectedly, there was another story. It turned out that the monster was not a real monster, but a person pretending to be one."

Liang Qu briefly introduced the history of the two brothers Liu Jie and Liu Yi.

Including their evil deeds of sending people to pretend to be monsters to kill people, sink ships, and use fishing pens to control the livelihoods of tens of thousands of fishermen in the entire county.

"I killed all the brothers of the Liu family. The entire Fengbu County is being thoroughly investigated by the three judicial departments.

Brother Xu took care of me. He divided the investigation and the suppression of thieves separately. He gave me two great achievements, a chance to be promoted, some money, and a black iron bow.

In addition, there is another thing. The disciple has broken through the blood test and has become a martial arts master! "

A martial arts master, a martial arts master, can be a master of martial arts.

It is definitely a great joy to be able to become a martial arts master in the fourth level.

"According to what you said, this whale gang has done many evil things, and they will be killed unjustly!"

Yang Dongxiong is not a person who can't bear to rub sand in his eyes, but the Whale Gang is no longer sand, but pebbles!

"If it can reach this level, there will probably be a nest of snakes and rats in the county government."

"Disciple thinks so too."

Yang Dongxiong looked at Liang Qu and said with a smile: "The fate calculation that day was indeed correct. It was just a dragon in the water. If he traveled to another county, the world would be turned upside down!"

Liang Qu chuckled.

"This disciple has gained a lot from this trip. Not only the master, but also the senior brothers and sisters have prepared gifts."

After saying that, he took out a wooden box as big as his palm from his arms.

The small wooden box is ordinary and made of the most common poplar wood, which is not at the same level as huanghuali.

Mrs. Xu took the box and joked: "You gave your master a huge piece of huanghuali lacquerware, but you gave me a small wooden box? Did you buy some jewelry on the way to pass me by?"

Liang Qu complained: "Master, you have really wronged me. If this thing is sold, it will be more expensive than master's orchids!"

As soon as these words came out, Yang Dongxiong was quite curious: "What's inside?"

"Master Wife, you will know after you open it and take a look."

Xu opened the wooden box.

Inside the square wooden box, there was a round pearl the size of a fist stuffed!

No wonder he was so careless.

Xu glanced at Liang Qu in surprise, and then observed carefully.

The surface of the pearl is covered with a layer of dazzling silver luster. If you look closely, you can see the delicate texture hidden under the luster, and the flame-like texture will appear when facing the sun.

No matter in terms of appearance or color, this pearl is excellent and belongs to the priceless category.

Nan Di, who was waiting on the side, was all eyes widened.

Yang Dongxiong straightened up: "Such a big pearl? No, there is no iridescence, is it an ivory ball?"

Xu obviously knows more about jewelry than Yang Dongxiong: "It is a clam pearl. It does not have the iridescence of pearls but has fire color. Only a small amount of high-quality clam pearls can form flame patterns.

What's more, it's so round and carved, which is more precious than fire. Did you buy it? "

"I can't afford it." Liang Qu shook his head, "The disciple accidentally picked it up in the water for nothing. He didn't spend a penny."

Ordinary clams have no intelligence, and the pearls they produce are all weird.

The old clam is different. Intelligent creatures have their own aesthetics, just like toads like big ships.

The pearl plate was not round, which made the old clam feel uncomfortable. Every pearl looked like it was carved, and the proportions were perfect.

Yang Dongxiong opened his eyes: "It's weird, can ordinary clams really give birth to such round beads? Could it be an intelligent monster?"

ωωω ♦тTk дn 〇

Liang Qu smiled and said nothing.

Yang Dongxiong understands that everyone has opportunities, no need to ask more.

"What do you think, Master? Is it better than Master's Lan Qi?"

Mrs. Xu couldn't put it down, playing with the pearls and waving her hand for Liang Qu to come over.

Liang Qu stepped forward and was immediately poked in the forehead by a finger. He cooperated and covered his forehead and fell backwards.

"Why did you poke me in the forehead? It hurts me so much."

"I don't see that you are a person who pleases people. Are you going to give me such a treasure in a broken wooden box to an old woman?

If you marry a wife in the future, these beads will be the best betrothal gift. Who wouldn't be frightened into confusion? Look at Nan Di and her eyes won't turn around. "

Nan Di, who was on the side, covered her red face and poked Xu on the shoulder with her finger.

"lady……"

"It's really a random gift. I'll keep it for you first. I'll return it to you after you get a wife."

"It doesn't have to be like this, it doesn't have to be like this, I'm not the only one..."

Xu's eyes narrowed slightly: "Is there something better?"

Liang Qu coughed and did not deny it.

There are several beads of the same size as the old clam. When you get more familiar with them in the future, it won’t be a problem to get two more.

Yang Dongxiong was shocked.

"You kid, are you really born in water and grown in water? All kinds of treasures fall into your hands?"

"Master is full of praise, full of praise."

Yang Dongxiong shook his head. He couldn't quite see through the ninth disciple he had accidentally accepted.

He turned to give some instructions to the maid and looked at Liang Qu.

"I killed a sturgeon earlier and asked someone to make elixirs out of all the sturgeon bones. I made a total of 142 elixirs.

Leaving aside the cost of refining the elixir, the auxiliary medicines used by the emperor, ministers, and envoys will yield seventy-eight elixirs, and I will give you eighteen elixirs in proportion. I will make the decision myself and give you a total of twenty elixirs. "

The maid came forward with a tray. On the tray were two palm-sized pill bottles with ten pills in each bottle.

Liang Qu took it with both hands and bowed again.

"Thank you, Master."

"Needless to say, you deserve it."

"Master, actually I have one more thing to say."

Liang Qu looked around, the meaning was self-evident.

"Come on, let's go to the yard and talk."

In April, the courtyard is lush with vegetation. There are green shoots everywhere, and there is a fresh air from the vegetation, and there is a faint fragrance of plums in it. I am afraid it will be ripe in a few days.

"What do you have to avoid talking about?"

Yang Dongxiong walked in the courtyard with his hands behind his back and picked an old branch from the top so that the new shoots could grow more lushly.

For some reason, if the old branches at the top are not cut off, the new buds will not grow out.

Liang Qu knew what was going on, but he didn't explain: "Disciple learned a new technique yesterday."

"New technique?" Yang Dongxiong turned around, "Is it better than "Wansheng Baoyuan"? "

"Yes and no, the technique is quite unique, more in line with the disciple's martial bones, and can complement "Wansheng Baoyuan"."

"What's there to say? This is a good thing. You don't have to tell me specifically. It's your personal ability to go far."

Yang Dongxiong didn't care. He believed that Liang Qu was not the kind of person who would turn around and worship others as his master. It was just a technique.

"Disciple didn't mean that. It's just that the person who taught me the technique was a little special. It happened at the beginning of the month. Due to the strength and identity of that person, he didn't tell me..."

Liang Qu roughly talked about the origin of the old monk.

He didn't know whether the old monk was the Zhenxiang Grandmaster, but he was definitely very strong.

Whether it was true or not, it was irrational to disclose other people's information without permission and provoke a strong man, so he never said it.

To this day, Liang Qu feels that the two have a good relationship. This morning, he asked the old monk if he could tell others about his story. The old monk just said not to publicize it.

"Zhen Xiang? Evil monk?"

Yang Dongxiong didn't expect that Pingyang County would have a master-level figure without him noticing.

"I have been with him for half a month and I feel that he is not a bad person. What he said should be true. Master should be careful of the evil monk hiding in the dark."

Yang Dongxiong nodded: "You have suffered a lot since you were a child, so you are very good at martial arts. You should have your own way of identification. I believe in your judgment.

Since the other party is a master, I'd better not contact him rashly, otherwise it will make you unhappy. It's just a matter of martial arts, I can't help you.

If it is really favored by the master, it is your opportunity. Don't ruin this friendship. Whether it is good or evil, you should pay more attention to yourself and don't be too greedy and lose your mind."

"Disciple will remember."

"Have you changed your martial arts registration?"

"I came back in a hurry."

"Then change it immediately. You are an official and don't care about the benefits, but you have to abide by the rules."

The fourth-level martial arts master can go to the county government to change his household registration. From then on, he doesn't have to pay taxes, and he can also get a little silver subsidy every month.

Liang Qu is now an official and doesn't care whether he pays taxes or not, but this registration itself is a management method.

The impact of the evil deeds of the four-level martial arts masters is much greater than that of ordinary people, and a certain degree of control is required.

"Yes, Master, I will take my leave."

"Go."

It was one quarter of an hour before noon.

Liang Qu stood in front of the county government office, and several strong men pushed the door open and bowed in two rows.

"Please come in, sir."

It would be good if ordinary people came here without being beaten and driven out.

But Liang Qu had a waist badge hanging around his waist. Although it was not an official uniform, the clothes were not something that ordinary people could afford.

Having been an official for generations, they would not be so blind.

Liang Qu stepped in. The front and back buildings of the county government office were all newly built, and a hint of paint could still be smelled in the air.

Passing the screen wall engraved with greedy beasts, there was a pavilion, and in the distance there was a three-story wooden house with eaves standing up. There were all kinds of patterns on the walls on both sides.

The setting sun shone on the wall, casting a half yellow light.

It was said to be newly built, and the county magistrate's office, the chief clerk's office, the registrar's office, the east and west flower halls, the Yin Hotel, and the dining hall were all complete.

It faced south, with civil affairs on the left and military affairs on the right, the front court and the back bedroom, and the prison room was in the south.

Liang Qu's study was not in vain. Following this set of "rhymes", he easily found the main room called "Hufang" in the east.

There was only a black robe clerk in the main room lying on the table, writing official documents with a wolf hair brush. Seeing Liang Qu coming, he hurriedly stood up to greet him.

"I wonder what this gentleman is here for?"

"Four-pass martial arts master, come to register."

"Can you leave your name?"

"Liang Qu, originally from Yixing City, a fisherman in the civilian registration."

The clerk hurriedly flipped out a large book "Civil Registration" and found the corresponding file according to Liang Qu's words.

"Sixteen?"

The clerk looked up in surprise.

Liang Qu was over five feet five inches tall, with a handsome appearance. In addition, his official position was from the eighth rank. He thought he was a young man, but he never thought he was so young.

Sixteen-year-old, from the eighth rank, a fourth-level martial arts master...

"Your Excellency can sit aside and rest for a while."

The clerk dared not neglect it any more. He brought a chair, drew a red circle behind Liang Qu's column with a cinnabar pen, and took out another thinner booklet to copy Liang Qu's information.

No need to prove anything.

With Liang Qu's words, he became a fourth-level martial arts master and was listed as a martial artist.

Although he did not conceal his own aura, aura can be faked.

Taking some special pills, it is easy to create an aura that exceeds one's own strength.

Just because of the eighth-rank He Bo waist badge on Liang Qu's body, all checks and proofreading were tacitly omitted by the clerk.

When Liang Qu finished and went out, it was less than three quarters past noon.