Chapter 61: The Poor Man

Chapter 61: The Poor Man

Chapter 61: The Poor Man
The fifth day of the first lunar month in the tenth year of Yousheng in the Ming Dynasty.

This year's New Year in Bailuo County is three times more lively than usual.

Many martial arts men armed with swords and knives flocked into this small town southwest of Pingyang Prefecture.

The two upper floors of Datong Teahouse were booked, and several groups of ferocious-looking men were standing at the stairs. Except for the waiters who served tea and snacks, no one else was allowed to go up.

"Young Escort Commander, there is nothing else to do in Bailuo County, but you must drink this Yunwu Xian Tea."

At the wooden table by the window on the first floor, the two men put down their swords and packages and sat down.

They wore ordinary cloth, but ordered the most expensive tea.

Wu Sihai said with a smile: "If Shi Biaotou doesn't come, I won't have a good time."

The young man glanced at the stairs and the gangsters, shook his head and said, "Old Shi loves wine. Asking him to drink tea is like a cow drinking water. It's better not to come."

Wu Sihai smiled and said, "The chief escort is a tea lover. I have prepared two jars of Yunwu Xian Tea. When the young escort goes south, please bring them to Fuzhou as a token of my appreciation."

The young man sighed slightly, at this time of year in previous years, Fuzhou Prefecture was the most lively, with the Fuwei Escort Agency packed with guests and friends, and the room was filled with laughter. But this year, he was wandering in the north with Wu Sihai and other escort leaders. His mother must be complaining about his father.

"I thank Uncle Wu on behalf of my father."

"That's not true. Without the Chief Escort, there would be no Hebei Branch, and there would be no Wu today."

Wu Sihai shook his head slightly, with a look of reminiscence in his eyes. That was the story of their generation.

The tea doctor brought a purple clay teapot, two simple small cups, and two cups of hot tea. The fragrance overflowed, making people feel refreshed.

Wu Sihai stretched out his hand and said, "Young Escort Captain, please!"

The young man held up the teacup with both hands and asked in a low voice: "Uncle Wu, now that the gifts are ready, when are we going to——"

Wu Sihai quickly reached out his hand to stop the boy from speaking: "Not for now!"

"Ah, why?"

Wu Sihai glanced around. Apart from the groups of people at the stairs, there were many other martial arts masters like them sitting in Datong Teahouse, who never let go of their swords and had tough temperaments. From their conversation, it was not difficult to tell that most of them were experts from the Longlin Society and the Shennong Gang.

He whispered, "I received news that Qingfeng Village is in big trouble."

The boy asked curiously, "Big trouble?"

Wu Sihai smiled lightly, not wanting to say more, and only said: "If you survive this disaster, there will be a new leader in the Pingyang martial arts world. If you can't survive, you will die."

The young man thought for a moment and asked, "Didn't Uncle Wu say that we should start a new project?"

Wu Sihai laughed and said, "This is not just a cold stove, it's a powder keg. If it keeps burning, it will burn itself."

He shook his head slightly. From the information he had obtained, the young man named Zhang Yu was still anxious.

First, he seized Black Wind Mountain and offended the Wan family in Bailuo County.

Later, he destroyed Dongliu Village and became enemies with the Shennong Gang.

Add to that the Dragon Scale Society, the most powerful underworld force in Pingyang, and they have really reached a dead end!
If it were me, I would never act so rashly.

To establish a flag in a place, you must first pay your respects to the people in it, find out the personal connections, and know which people you can offend and which people you must respect.

The right way is to proceed step by step and do things silently.

It feels good to be strong and aggressive, but you don’t know that there is always someone stronger than you!
"Young people are still too impetuous!"

At this moment, a man in black clothes and a bamboo hat came in from outside, found a small table in the corner and sat down, ordered a pot of the cheapest scented tea and a small dish of fennel beans. He placed the long sword across his legs, took off his bamboo hat, revealing a black face with a big beard.

He drank tea for half an hour and ate all the fennel beans. After hesitating for a moment, he asked the waiter to add half a pot of boiling water and ordered another plate of fennel beans. The waiter shook his head slightly. This was a typical poor man in the underworld. He had low martial arts skills and was not well-known. He wore a bamboo hat and pretended to be profound. He wandered around with a rusty sword. He could not take out a few big coins from his pocket, but he was unwilling to give up the fantasy of becoming famous in the underworld.

Like a vulture, he looks for opportunities everywhere, but most of the time he can't even get the leftovers.

"Sir, your fennel beans are here. Please enjoy them."

At this time, someone said, "The Wan family is finally here."

The man in black put away his chopsticks and looked out the door curiously.

I saw a short middle-aged man coming in, followed by eight men with bows on their backs and swords in their hands. They had a temperament completely different from that of the people in the martial arts world. They walked in an orderly manner, and even had the posture of an army.

"It's Wan Tietang! The Wan family's militia coach."

Someone recognized the middle-aged man's identity.

"Old Master Wan is truly extraordinary. Such a man is actually willing to serve as the head guard of his family."

"You speak so mysteriously, who is Wan Tietang?"

"What's his background? He was born as a lieutenant of the frontier army, and he is also the most elite northern ranger. He has traveled hundreds of miles to the border and fought against the Tatars on the grassland. He is a real man. To be a lieutenant in the frontier rangers, one must not only be highly skilled in martial arts, but also be good at arranging troops and perceiving opportunities..."

"Is this true? How could someone so talented give up his bright future to become a training instructor for the Wan family?"

"How can outsiders know the reason? However, Qingfeng Village is finished this time. I heard that the Wan family's militia is extraordinary. They are all trained by Wan Tietang with military law. They are very strict and disciplined."

The group went straight upstairs without stopping.

At this time, two burly men walked in from outside the door, one holding a steel fork and the other holding an iron bar. They looked around and found that there were no seats left. They looked around again and saw a man with a dark face sitting alone in the corner.

The two men looked at each other, walked over, and stood one in front and one behind the black man's table, standing with their legs apart and their crotches facing the teacup, which was very insulting.

They didn't say anything, just looked down at the man in black with a strange smile, and their meaning was obvious: they wanted this table.

This little episode here attracted the attention of many people, and they all wanted to see how the man in black would respond.

"Waiter, check the bill."

"Sir, the total is seven copper coins."

"Oh, thank you, sir."

The two men succeeded, and seeing many people from the martial arts world looking at them, they felt proud and bowed to the people around them, as if they had won a great battle.

"My name is Jie Biao, and I am known as the Bear Fighting General in Jianghu..."

"My name is Jie Xiong, and I'm known as..."

The two brothers seized every opportunity to introduce themselves and did not miss any chance to become famous.

The man in black put on his bamboo hat and walked out of the main entrance of Datong Teahouse. He deliberately went around two streets and when he returned to the back wall of the teahouse, the long sword on his waist was gone. There was no one around and there were no windows upstairs, so he turned over and jumped in without making any noise.

A guy was carrying a teapot to the backyard sink to wash it, when he suddenly saw a man in black flying in from outside the wall. He was immediately surprised.

"You, you... there is a thief."

The man in black moved very quickly. In a few breaths, he was in front of him and hit him on the back of the head with a palm knife. He then took the wooden tray and teapot that were about to be overturned, stretched out his leg and hooked the waiter, slowly dragging him to the pile of firewood.

"Let me borrow your clothes."

The man in black walked into the pile of firewood, and when he came out, he changed into coarse cloth clothes, filled a teapot with water, dragged a wooden tray, bent down and walked quickly from the kitchen to the lobby, then slowed down his pace and went up to the second floor under the gazes of several groups of martial artists holding knives and swords.

(End of this chapter)