Chapter 70: Another Transaction

Chapter 70: Another Transaction

Chapter 70: Another Transaction
As the night deepened, Xiao Xia sat cross-legged on the bed in meditation as usual. He suddenly understood the mantra that Taoist Yuan Shoucheng had told him. It was not a control mantra but a rhythm. He had to live according to this rhythm, eating, drinking, sleeping, and even going to the toilet.

Just like the seven short and one long breathing method that Li Ping told him, it is also a rhythm.

There is no need to meditate specifically to practice it. Just living according to this rhythm is practicing, or this is the simplicity of the great way.

Taoist priests with profound Taoist practices have integrated the methods of cultivating inner strength into their daily lives.

But it is not easy to master this rhythm. One must adapt to it in everything from eating, drinking, sleeping, etc. In other words, he has to think about this rhythm all the time in his daily life.

Xiao Xia sighed. He wanted to give up the Taoist practice method. It was too difficult. The key was that his understanding might not be correct. After struggling for several months, he met the Taoist Yuan Shoucheng again. He suddenly realized that he was wrong. Weren't these months of practice in vain?
But...what if I understood it correctly?
After hesitating for a long time, Xiao Xia decided to wait a while and ask Yuan Shoucheng clearly before making any decision. There was no need to rush for one or two months.

At this moment, with a sound of "whoosh!", a flying knife shot in from the window and landed directly on the ground. There was a piece of paper on the flying knife.

Xiao Xia went forward and picked up the note. There was only one sentence on it: "See you in the carriage at the back door." It was signed by Xiao Lin.

Xiao Xia put on his shoes, picked up his sword, jumped out of the back window, and ran straight to the back door.

He climbed over the courtyard wall and saw a small street at the back door. Sure enough, there was a carriage parked not far ahead. Xiao Xia ran towards it and the door opened. Xiao Xia recognized the people in the carriage at a glance. It was Xiao Lin, and Xiao Huan was in front of him.

Xiao Xia got on the carriage, the door closed, and the carriage started slowly.

"I asked you to come out because I want to make a deal with you!" Xiao Lin said with a smile.

"Does it have anything to do with the ring match?" Xiao Xia asked.

Xiao Lin nodded, "If you can lose to Xiao Ai in the second fight, we will give you 10,000 strings of cash!"

Xiao Xia smiled and said, "You are really willing to spend so much money. Is this competition worth 10,000 strings of cash?"

Xiao Lin pondered for a moment and said, "The emperor will be inspecting Jiangdu at the end of the year and will most likely meet with the descendants of the Qi and Liang royal families. I hope that the person the emperor will meet is me."

"Does this have anything to do with the Qi and Liang genealogy table?"

Xiao Lin nodded slowly, "News has come from Chang'an that the emperor wants to see the Qi and Liang genealogy table."

Xiao Xia hesitated for a moment and said, "I can help the Jinling Xiao family, but I will use my own way, and I don't need ten thousand strings of money."

Xiao Lin smiled and said, "Everyone needs money urgently sometimes. You can't understand it now, but you will know it when you go to Chang'an next year!"

Xiao Xia suddenly remembered that he still owed the old Taoist priest 2,500 strings of cash, so he nodded and said, "It's a deal!"

Xiao Lin breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile: "Also, I have another piece of news for you, it's about the Yu brothers!"

"Master, please speak!"

"Yu Hai has already fled back to Chang'an. Someone in our mansion recognized the brothers. They were bounty killers in the Xiangyang area ten years ago. Their original surname was Huang. Later, they were spotted by Yuwen Shu, who took them into his mansion and changed their names to Xiang Hai and Xiang Chuan. One is Yuwen Shu's eleventh and twelfth guardian. By the way, Jiangdu County Lieutenant Ma Xun is Yuwen Shu's seventh guardian. It was the King of Han who placed him in Jiangdu. Yuwen Shu is actually the King of Han's man!"

Xiao Xia nodded: "So that's how it is, then it makes sense!"

"What makes sense?"

"Yuwen Shu is the King of Han's man, and Xiao Hu is also on the King of Han's side, so Xiao Hu arranged for Yu Chuan and Yu Hai to join the Xiao family. This must have been the King of Han's order. In addition, Ma Xun wanted to kill me in prison. On the surface, it was Yuwen Shu's arrangement, but in fact it was the King of Han's instigation."

Xiao Lin smiled in appreciation and said, "Right! If you figure out the node of King Han, the whole loop will be closed."

"Who killed Mason?"

Xiao Lin smiled faintly, "Prince!"

"Why?" Xiao Xia was a little confused.

"Because Yuwen Shu was a slave of three families, he was originally loyal to the King of Jin. After the King of Jin fell, he switched his allegiance to the Crown Prince. Last year, he was bribed by the King of Han. The Crown Prince hated him to the core, and killing Ma Xun was a warning to him."

Xiao Xia nodded and fell silent.

Xiao Lin handed him another box and said with a smile: "This little gadget is for you. Maybe it can save your life at a critical moment."

Xiao Xia opened the box and found a ring inside.

Xiao Lin said slowly: "This thing is called a finger knife. It was made by Emperor Wu of Liang when he was bored. It is the only one in the world."

Xiao Xia left. Looking at Xiao Xia's disappearing back, Xiao Huan asked in confusion, "Didn't the master say he would give 2,000 guan? How did it become 10,000 guan?"

Xiao Lin glanced at him and said calmly, "Two thousand guan is the current transaction, and eight thousand guan is the future investment, totaling ten thousand guan. Do you understand?"

…………Just as Xiao Xia entered Xiao Lin's carriage, two miles away, another dark shadow hurriedly ran across the street. From the back, it was Zhang Huayao, a guest warrior of the Jinling Xiao family.

Zhang Huayao looked around and suddenly got on a carriage parked on the side of the road. As soon as he got in, he gritted his teeth and said, "How did you know my secret?"

"Now that we are here, let's make the best of it. Why are you so anxious, Brother Zhang?"

A cold voice came from the darkness.

...........
It was very late at night, and Xiao Xia still couldn't sleep. He lay on the bed fiddling with the ring. There was an envelope next to his head, containing 10,000 strings of cash from Jiangdu Baocheng Counter.

In his previous life, Xiao Xia never believed in moving people with emotions. Maybe this was the case, but it would only happen temporarily. It was impossible to use it every time.

Xiao Xia believes more in transactions, and favors are also a form of transaction.

That's why he used the jade pendant to exchange information with the old prisoner on death row.

Xiao Xia prefers the Jinling Xiao family. She likes their pragmatism. They also focus on transactions rather than friendship, which is very much to Xiao Xia's liking.

The material of the ring should be an alloy with extremely high density and is very strong. Xiao Xia suspected that it was tungsten steel, but how could tungsten steel be produced in the Northern and Southern Dynasties?

Unable to understand the material, Xiao Xia put the ring on the middle finger of his left hand. When it was a little tight, he took it off and put it on his ring finger. Now it fit perfectly.

He clenched his fist and instantly entered the barrier breaking state, circulating the Dan Qi to the ring finger of his left hand. He exerted his strength on the ring finger, and with a "click!" sound, three extremely sturdy small blades jumped out. They were very thin and sharp, but also very sturdy, and each was only half a matchstick long.

Xiao Xia felt that if he used his strength skillfully, he might be able to just jump out a small blade, but unfortunately he couldn't do it yet.

Xiao Xia withdrew from the barrier again and slowly opened his left hand. He saw that the three small blades disappeared again, leaving only a ring.

"That's a little tricky. I wonder where Xiao Ren is hiding?"

He soon discovered the clue. The width of the ring was exactly half a match, and there were three extremely hard-to-find cracks on the thick ring surface, which were much thinner than a hair.

The three small blades should have jumped out from this gap.

Xiao Xia suddenly burst into laughter. Aren’t these the three life-saving hairs of Sun Wukong?

..........
In a blink of an eye, it was the third day of the competition.

There are three ring matches in total. All three have submitted warriors to compete, but the specific arrangements are unknown. This is a secret of each company and will not be revealed until the last moment.

The warriors who appeared in the Jiangning Xiao family were Sima Qing and Chen Pan. Both of them were guest warriors and had the fifth rank in martial arts.

The warriors who appeared in the Jiangdu Xiao family are Xiao Hongye and Xiao Xia. Both of them are family members. Xiao Hongye is a fourth-level martial artist, and Xiao Xia is a third-level warrior.

The warriors who appeared in the Jinling Xiao family were Zhang Huayao and Xiao Ai. Both of them were at the fifth level of martial arts and had considerable strength.

Once the appearance list was announced, everyone was shocked. It would have been fine if the Xiao family of Jiangdu had sent a fourth-rank warrior, but they actually sent a third-rank warrior.

Everyone thought that Xiao Xia was lucky to capture the flag, as he happened to be in front of the east flagpole, and it had nothing to do with strength. This was indeed the case, as the few warriors who survived in the end were all third-level warriors, so capturing the flag had nothing to do with strength.

"Could it be that the Jiangdu Xiao family wants to continue Xiao Xia's luck?"

All the warriors were talking about it.

Xiao Zhurong whispered to Xiao Xia, "It's strange. It was Second Master who strongly recommended you to play. Fourth Master's firm opposition was useless. Do you know why?"

Xiao Xia smiled faintly and said, "This is not Second Master's idea. This is the tactic of Jiangning Xiao Family. They want me to defeat Xiao Ai, then Chen Pan defeats Xiao Hongye, and Sima Qing defeats Zhang Huayao. In this way, Jiangning Xiao Family and Jiangdu Xiao Family will both have 20 points and enter the play-offs. In the end, Jiangning Xiao Family must win!"

Xiao Zhurong sighed, "What a careful plan! Will you lose?"

Xiao Xia sneered, "Why should I lose?"

At this time, the martial arts competition master held the rules and read aloud: "After consultation between the three parties, the order of the martial arts competition is decided as follows: the first match is the Xiao family of Jiangning against the Xiao family of Jinling, the second match is the Xiao family of Jinling against the Xiao family of Jiangdu, and the third match is the Xiao family of Jiangning against the Xiao family of Jiangdu.
According to the rules, no deaths are allowed in fighting, but injuries are allowed; according to the rules, the one who does not come on stage after the bell rings three times is considered to have admitted defeat; according to the rules, after one party admits defeat, the other party cannot chase and kill; according to the rules, the ring competition only involves sword fighting…”

At this time, Xiao Hu quickly walked to Xiao Xia and whispered, "You will participate in the second competition later!"

Xiao Xia nodded slowly, "I understand!"

"Dang!" With a crisp bell, the competition in the ring began.

(End of this chapter)