Chapter 8 Hindsight

Chapter 8 Hindsight

Chapter 8 Hindsight
Xiao Xia shook his head. He had a vague guess in his heart that it might be related to his time travel.

Manager Zhang stared at him and said, "I thought about it all night last night, and there is only one possibility. You had already laid the foundation of internal strength before coming to Jiangdu, but it was sealed by your parents or someone else. This time you were attacked and seriously injured, and you accidentally tore a hole in the internal strength seal, allowing you to show superb speed and agility."

Xiao Xia lowered his head. He knew very well that it was not because of injury, but because of possession.

"Are speed and agility considered internal skills?"

Manager Zhang nodded, "Any physical performance that exceeds the limits of ordinary people is considered internal strength!"

"and then?"

"And now you have a choice. Once the seal on your body is released, you must practice hard to consolidate it. If you don't care, it will slowly fade away and never come back again."

"Manager Zhang wants me to practice martial arts?"

Manager Zhang nodded gently, "This is your chance. If you give up, you will meet countless Wu San and Liu Erhu in the future, and there will be countless humiliations waiting for you."

The head of the family, Xiao Cong, told Manager Zhang that the boy was not afraid of death and that it was useless to threaten him with death, but he could not tolerate humiliation and only by using humiliation to motivate him would he agree to practice martial arts.

Xiao Xia thought of the humiliation brought to him by Liu Erhu and Wu San, and a surge of blood rushed to his heart.

He slowly clenched his fists, was silent for a moment and asked, "How long do I need to practice?"

Manager Zhang finally breathed a sigh of relief. He smiled and said, "If you have a solid foundation, one year will be enough!"

Xiao Xia nodded, "When does it start?"

Manager Zhang took out a medicine box from his arms, opened it, took out a pill and handed it to Xiao Xia, "This pill, swallow it."

Xiao Xia's face was full of vigilance. "The steward hasn't told me yet. Why do you want me to take medicine?"

"This is not poison. Take the medicine first and I will tell you slowly."

Xiao Xia knew that the steward opposite him had a hundred ways to make him take the medicine, so it would be better for him to be single. He just put the medicine into his mouth, chewed it into pieces, and swallowed it.

When Manager Zhang saw that he had taken the medicine, a sly smile flashed in his eyes.

"Do you know that something big will happen in Jiangdu at the end of the year?"

"What's the big deal?"

"The Emperor of the Sui Dynasty will come to inspect Jiangdu at the end of the year. Jiangdu will be a gathering of heroes and heroes, and the imperial court will also bring huge resources to Jiangdu. Jiangdu County will become one of the most famous counties in the world."

"This is quite interesting!"

Xiao Xia laughed dryly and asked, "But what does it have to do with me?"

Manager Zhang smiled slightly, "It really has nothing to do with you, but your stomach should be reacting!"

Xiao Xia was startled. He suddenly felt something was wrong with his stomach, and it came on so quickly.

"ah!"

He jumped up, holding his stomach, rushed out of the room like a gust of wind, and ran towards a small woods in the distance, three points faster than when he caught the silver ingot just now.

Manager Zhang narrowed his eyes as he watched his back disappear like the wind, and thinking of his agility when he caught the silver, he laughed and said, "I wonder how fast this kid is at drawing his sword?"

A quarter of an hour later, Xiao Xia came back listlessly, and he felt almost weak.

He asked weakly, "Is that pill called Croton Pill?"

Manager Zhang smiled and said, "That green pill is used to test whether you have taken physical medicine before. If you don't have any reaction, it means you have taken medicine before, which will be a bit troublesome."

"you--"

Xiao Xia was so angry that he couldn't speak. If he had known it was a laxative, he would never have taken it.

Manager Zhang poured out two dark golden pills from Wu San's brocade bag. He said to Xiao Xia, "Martial arts training starts with taking medicine. There are two kinds of medicine, one is physical medicine and the other is internal medicine. These two golden pills are physical medicine, called Tiger and Leopard Pills. They are the secret recipe of the Xiao family and are a treasure for martial artists. Of course, each family has a different recipe, but the effects are the same. It can strengthen muscles and bones and make you taller. If you take one pill every day for three years, you can lift 250 kilograms easily."

Xiao Xia's attention was drawn to the medicine. He looked at it carefully and said, "This medicine is very expensive!"

Manager Zhang nodded and said, "They're selling for five coins each, and lots of people are scrambling to get them."

Xiao Xia quickly calculated in his mind that one pill was worth five strings of cash, and if he ate it for three years, his eyes widened. "Doesn't that mean five thousand four hundred strings of cash?"

In the Sui Dynasty, one penny was equivalent to one yuan in later generations, and 5,400 strings of cash was equivalent to 5.4 million yuan. Xiao Xia was a little scared, as it would take more than three years to master martial arts.

Zhang Zongguan smiled faintly and said, "When you are a soldier, you don't need to take medicine. You just need to practice boxing and weapons. But if you want to be a general, you must take medicine from a young age, so your family must have strong financial support." Zhang Zongguan handed him two pills and said, "Take one pill tonight, and you can sell the other pill as compensation for your diarrhea just now."

Xiao Xia was a little embarrassed, scratched his head and asked: "Who can I sell it to?"

"Go find Lao Liu, he has a solution!"

Xiao Xia stood up to say goodbye, but Manager Zhang called him back.

He hesitated for a moment and said to Xiao Xia, "Don't leave Jiangdu for the time being. County Magistrate Ma is Yuwen Shu's adopted son. Yuwen Shu will not let it go if County Magistrate Ma is killed. Without the Xiao family to protect you, you will surely die."

Xiao Xia's mind moved, and he suddenly understood that this Manager Zhang was the person arranged by the patriarch to protect him.

Then it is understandable that he helped me kill Wu San last night.

Xiao Xia was grateful and bowed, "Thank you, Chief Steward!"

Manager Zhang smiled and nodded, "Come to me tomorrow morning. I'll see how effective your medication is, and then we'll move on to the next step."

.........

When Xiao Xia walked out of Zhang Zongguan's room and the door closed with a click, a huge question suddenly arose in his mind: Did Wu San really die in his hands?
Xiao Xia walked back and the more he thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong.

He didn't hit hard, and there was a bag between them. How could half a brick possibly break the skull?

Manager Zhang knew that he wanted to take revenge on Wu San, but he did not try to stop him. Instead, he asked Lao Liu to tell him about the opportunity and helped him secretly.

Is this helping yourself? This is clearly digging a hole for yourself! You are being charged with murder.

No! There is something wrong here.

...........
Arriving at Erjia Lane, Xiao Xia saw Lao Liu standing at the entrance of the lane from afar.

This Lao Liu, ah! He was not careful with his mouth and actually told Zhang Zongguan that he wanted to deal with Wu San.

Lao Liu ran over and asked nervously, "I'm waiting for you. You didn't go last night, did you?"

"I overslept last night!" Xiao Xia said lightly.

Lao Liu heaved a sigh of relief, "I was scared to death. Fortunately, you didn't go. I heard that Wu San was killed last night. The head of the family is interrogating them one by one. I don't think it was you. You are no match for Wu San at all."

Xiao Xia laughed, "You are very smart!"

Lao Liu scratched his head embarrassedly, "There is one more thing, Xiao Qi, can you . . . "

"what?"

"Can you lend me some money?"

Xiao Xia only felt the ten taels of silver in his pocket sink heavily. This world is very strange. As soon as he has some money, someone will appear to lend him money.

"What do you want the money for?"

At this moment, shrill screams were heard faintly from the alley.

Lao Liu couldn't help crying, "My father's foot pain has come back, and it's very serious this time. The doctor said he needs to use opium to relieve the pain, but opium is too expensive, it costs three strings of coins, and my family really can't afford it. I have no choice."

"Ah!" Xiao Xia hurriedly wanted to take out the silver, but he suddenly hesitated. The ten taels of silver belonged to Wu San, and Lao Liu was not good at keeping his mouth shut. If Liu Erhu knew about it, he would be in big trouble.

He thought about it and took out a tiger and leopard pill, "Can you sell this tiger and leopard pill?"

"Sure! I can sell it to Brother Wei. He's asking for this medicine everywhere."

Lao Liu took the pill and bowed, "Thank you, Xiao Qilang!"

Xiao Xia patted his shoulder and said, "This pill is for you. Go and exchange it for money!"

"I--"

"Stop talking so much and go!"

Lao Liu was deeply touched. He worked two jobs and toiled for eight or nine hours a day to earn only a hundred coins. He had to support his family and buy medicine for his father. How could he afford it?

He turned and ran away.

(End of this chapter)