Chapter 048 He Still Pretended
The time goes back to half a day ago. Zhan Zhao has been searching Hangzhou with the detectives for the past three days, but he has not found any clues for a long time.
Be it the black-clad masked master who assassinated Sima Guang and then was stabbed by him; or those masked strongmen who attacked the government warehouse, they all disappeared without a trace.
It was like a shrimp entering the sea, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
On the contrary, because of the three days of searching, he had a lot of minor conflicts with some gangsters.
Then the news of the theft of the "prize" spread like wildfire in Hangzhou, and people in the underworld were surprised, but also gloated over it.
They were extremely happy to see the government embarrassed.
The Southern Hero Zhan Zhao also lost face, even though he was such a master in charge, the government was still fooled by us reckless men several times!
The happiest among them are the Five Rats.
They appeared openly on the street, looking at Zhan Zhao with a smile and mocking attitude.
But Zhan Zhao had no way to deal with them, he could only pretend not to see them and walk past them.
When promoting the Wushu Alliance Leader Election Conference, the government made a promise that those who were willing to participate in the Wushu Conference, even if they had committed bad deeds in the past, would be forgiven as long as they came to participate in the conference, provided that they were not allowed to commit the same crime again. Otherwise, they would be sentenced to the same sentence for both the new and old crimes, and their crimes would be even more severe.
To put it simply, it is the martial arts version of amnesty.
The Five Rats didn't seem to be doing anything bad these past few days, and Zhan Zhao had no choice but to turn a blind eye to them.
In addition, it is widely circulated in the martial arts world that the government can only use money to settle the matter after losing the Seven-Star Dragon Abyss Sword.
But knights always consider themselves indifferent to money. If some gold and silver were really put into the martial arts leader conference, then even if a leader was elected at this martial arts leader election conference, he would be a failure in their eyes and not qualified. It would feel more like they took money given by the court and were recruited.
If it was a sword, that would be another matter, at least it would be more legitimate.
Lu Sen had heard these news from the people around him while visiting brothels and eating in taverns, and his ears were almost callused from hearing them.
"It seems that the government did a really bad job this time." Heizhu muttered softly.
"It's obvious that someone is secretly manipulating public opinion and leading the trend." Lu Sen shook his head helplessly.
In fact, those who would kill people at the slightest disagreement would not think so much. Whether it is a sword or money, as long as there is profit to be made, they are willing to do it.
But it is very interesting that some people deliberately draw their attention to the fact that "using money as a prize is not in line with the identity of a Jianghu person", "the government does not understand the minds of us Jianghu people", etc., creating opposing emotions between the two sides and deliberately forming conflicting positions.
"This method is quite skillful. Could it be that the generals are really playing tricks?" Lu Sen felt that something was strange.
Normally, ordinary people in the martial arts world cannot think so deeply. Those who understand public opinion warfare are usually from aristocratic families.
Now is an era where the literati and officials share the world. The literati from aristocratic families will not rebel against themselves, so the possibility that the military families are behind this seems very high.
After finishing his meal, Lu Sen planned to take a nap in the cabin, but he saw Zhan Zhao standing at the door waiting for him.
The two men clasped their fists and saluted each other. Lu Sen invited Zhan Zhao into the house. After he sat down, he asked, "Captain Zhan, you are a very busy man. How come you have time to come to my place now?"
Zhan Zhao smiled bitterly: "The prize for the martial arts conference was snatched away. You should be aware of this, Lu Xiaolang."
"It's being talked about everywhere, of course I heard about it."
While Lu Sen was talking, Hei Zhu brought both of them a glass of honey water.
After thanking him, Zhan Zhao continued, "I know that you, Lu Xiaolang, have great magical powers. Could you please give me some treasures related to the people of the martial arts world, so that at least this martial arts conference can be held perfectly as scheduled?"
"Actually, you don't have to pay attention to the public opinions. If you care too much about them, you will be led by the nose." Lu Sen took a sip of honey water.
Zhan Zhao nodded in agreement: "That's what Sima Zhongcheng said, but this is the first time the court has held such a grand event, and they have put a lot of thought into it. They want to recruit martial artists like me and set rules for them. With rules, they won't kill people at will in the future, and the civilians will naturally live better. If not, the court and the martial artists will hate each other and fight each other. I don't know how many people will die tragically in the fight between the two sides."
When saying this, Zhan Zhao's expression was very calm. He wasn't excited or indignant. He just had a matter-of-fact expression throughout.
Because he really thought so.
On the contrary, those who usually speak with passion and full of justice, if they are not acting, are just short-lived.
Only when you integrate an idea into your bones and speak such righteous words, will you be able to remain calm.
Without waiting for Lu Sen to speak, Zhan Zhao took out a booklet from his clothes. The ink on the cover was very new and there was a faint smell of ink.
"This is the essence of the Zhan family's internal energy circulation, and I'm giving it to Lu Xiaolang."
As he spoke, Zhan Zhao pushed the booklet in front of Lu Sen.
"Family martial arts are generally not passed on to outsiders." Lu Sen remembered that the last time he asked Zhan Zhao about this, Zhan Zhao said something similar: "I guess you should have sworn an oath in front of your ancestors."
Zhan Zhao clasped his hands together and said dignifiedly, "My father once taught me that I should do things according to my conscience. I think he will not blame me after knowing the reason."
Lu Sen chuckled, took out a bottle of honey from his system backpack, and said, "As a friend, how could I not give it to you as long as you ask? You can take back the essence of the mind method. But there is a condition, you can't tell anyone that I am the provider, at least not while I am still in Hangzhou."
There are a lot of gangsters here. They have the habit of stealing treasures. Knowing that Lu Sen can make such a magical elixir, it would be strange if these people didn't try to kidnap Lu Sen.
One or two would be fine, but as the martial arts conference is approaching, there are an unusually large number of martial artists here.
Two fists can't beat four hands!
Seeing the bottle of honey, Zhan Zhao breathed a sigh of relief and nodded to agree to Lu Sen's conditions.
He was watching when Cao You was cured. Even the bloody and horrible mark on his neck was healed in just a few tens of seconds. In his eyes, this bottle of honey was an elixir and a miracle medicine.
"Thank you, Lu Xiaolang." Zhan Zhao stood up, clasped his hands together and saluted, his face full of gratitude: "Zhan knows very well that a bottle of essence cannot match this bottle of magic medicine. From now on, if Lu Xiaolang has any orders, Zhan will never refuse."
After finishing his words, Zhan Zhao picked up the honey bottle, carefully placed it inside his clothes, then turned and left.
"Take your book."
Zhan Zhao turned around and smiled mischievously: "What book? I don't know."
Then the figure disappeared outside the house.
Lu Sen had no choice but to pick up the booklet on the table and take a few glances at it. The words inside were also newly written, and there was a simple diagram of the human meridians on each page. It was obvious that Zhan Zhao had put a lot of thought into writing this thing.
Lu Sen flipped through the pages one by one, his mind sinking. Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye it was evening.
Because I am too lazy to put out the "torch" and don't want to light candles, the candles available on the market are all made of beeswax, which is still very expensive.
Lu Sen vaguely remembered that there were two wealthy families in the Northern Song Dynasty who were competing to see who had more money. The method was to see who lit more beeswax at night.
After Lu Sen slept until dawn, he took Hei Zhu outside to eat a bowl of wontons, and then slowly walked towards Wulin Mountain.
Even from a long distance away, one could see the makeshift high platform, which was covered with red cloth and had four large characters "Wulin Conference" embroidered on it in the distance.
As Lu Sen was walking on the road, many people from the martial arts world walked by quickly and all rushed towards the high platform.
Among them were also ordinary people like Lu Sen who went there purely to watch the show.
When we arrived at the venue of the martial arts conference, we saw that it was surrounded by a temporary wooden wall on the outside, and there were dozens of police officers with knives at the entrance to maintain law and order.
The gangsters entered through the main gate, and the people who came to watch the show went through the side door.
There is actually a fee at the side door... Each person has to pay three copper coins to enter.
After entering, there is a staircase that leads to the high observation deck.
After Lu Sen brought Hei Zhu to the platform, he looked around and found that the platform was divided into five levels. The entire venue looked more like a training ground... That's not quite right, it was a bit like an open-air opera house.
The very big kind.
Lu Sen came to the front and sat down.
In the front and lower part, a large number of martial arts people were crowded together, forming a U shape, looking at the arena in the east.
Behind the arena, there was a high platform heavily guarded. Sima Guang sat on it, looking down at the crowd of people below. After a moment of trance, he said to those around him, "This scene reminds me of the days when I was inspecting soldiers in the parade ground."
The local officials who came with him naturally flattered him.
However, the literati at that time still had some pride, so they were more tactful and less explicit in their flattery.
Not long after, an official nearby bowed and said, "Zhongcheng, the auspicious time has arrived!"
"Then beat the drum." Sima Guang took a sip of the tea on the small table on his right hand: "It depends on Captain Zhan."
Although this Wulin election was hosted by Sima Guang, he would not stand up to speak.
What is his identity, and what is the identity of this Jianghu person!
The fact that he could come here and watch the competition was in itself a sign of great goodwill from the imperial court to the entire martial arts world.
The ultimate goal of a martial artist is to pass an imperial examination, go to the border to kill enemies and make merit, and finally become a general. However, generals have no status at all in front of civil officials.
As the drums sounded, Zhan Zhao, dressed in a bright red official uniform, stood on the temporary arena.
A large crowd of gangsters gathered together, there were at least two thousand of them, and with so many people, they became noisy.
After Zhan Zhao appeared, the noisy noise stopped for a while, and then became even louder.
Zhan Zhao didn't say anything either. He just quietly and slowly looked around at all the people below the arena with a serious expression.
Gradually, the noise died down.
A man's reputation is like the shadow of a tree.
Before Zhan Zhao followed Bao Zheng, he was already the Hero of the South.
But not many people acknowledge his title, and not many are willing to regard him as the second among young masters.
Only after he followed Bao Zheng did this title truly belong to him.
One man, a sword, and the police suppressed the gangsters in the entire capital city. This is a feat in itself.
Anyone with a little knowledge will be convinced.
Seeing that Zhan Zhao had a strange expression, anyone with a bit of common sense wouldn't want to be targeted by him over such a small matter.
There is no one in the underworld who doesn't have a criminal record. If someone really annoys Zhan Zhao and issues a warrant for his arrest in the name of justice, he will simply be asking for trouble.
Seeing that the voice had become quieter, Zhan Zhao clasped his hands together and said with his inner strength: "Thank you all for participating in this Wulin Alliance Conference. The person on the high platform behind me is Sima Zhongcheng, an important official in the court. His presence here means that the court values us, the poor people in the martial arts world..."
Next, Zhan Zhao spoke well of the imperial court, and talked about the rules and precautions of the martial arts competition, as well as the official position and benefits that the leader of the martial arts world should have.
After this introduction, Zhan Zhao was just about to invite all the sects and schools to come up and draw lots to decide the order of opponents.
But at this moment, someone in the crowd shouted, "Stinky...Zhan Zhao, we heard that you took the prize of the martial arts competition, is that true or not?"
Who would take the initiative to provoke Zhan Zhao at this time?
The people in the martial arts world all looked at the young man in white who also used his inner strength to speak. Seeing that he was handsome and had the charm of a woman, they knew that this man was the famous Golden-Haired Rat Bai Yutang.
Then everyone suddenly realized and felt it was natural.
Cat and mouse, how can they not be enemies?
Once someone starts something, others will follow suit, no matter how big the event.
No one knew if there were any bad guys mixed in with the group, but in no time, more than 2,000 people from the martial arts world had already started making noise, and they seemed to be filled with righteous indignation. From the way they looked, it was as if Zhan Zhao had really swallowed the sword .
They also shouted at Zhan Zhao to give them an explanation.
"quiet!"
A roar filled with inner strength emanated from Zhan Zhao's mouth.
Below the arena, many martial artists of average strength were stunned by the roar, but at least 30% of them were not affected.
But at least the scene calmed down.
"It's just a sword, what's so great about it. There are so many treasures in the palace, it's just a change of color now." Zhan Zhao explained.
"It's easy to say, but if you have the guts, show us the prize." The Golden-Haired Rat held the sword across his chest with an arrogant look on his face.
Next to them, the other four mice were also supporting the Golden-Haired Rat.
Zhan Zhao laughed, looking very happy.
Jinmaoshu's heart skipped a beat. He knew Zhan Zhao's character very well. Zhan Zhao would not smile like that unless he was fully confident.
At this time, Zhan Zhao turned around and walked to the red podium in the center of the arena, and took out honey wrapped in crystal glass from a very delicate red box.
He walked around with the honey and said, "This is the magical medicine sent urgently from the palace. It can cure bones, cure all kinds of poisons, and even clear hidden diseases in the body and dredge blocked meridians. It is rare to see it in a thousand years."
More than two thousand people in the martial arts world were skeptical. If it was really such a good thing, would the palace send it out?
Bai Yutang shouted from below: "Everyone can brag, but words are not enough, how prove it?"
Yeah!
The people in the underworld raised their hands and shouted together.
"Then obeying your orders is worse than being respectful. Zhan will prove it to you now."
As he said this, all the people in the martial arts world fell silent.
Especially Bai Yuting, his pretty face was so gloomy that it looked like charcoal.
He had a feeling that Zhan Zhao was about to become the center of attention, and he hated to see Zhan Zhao in the spotlight the most.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Zhan Zhao first picked up the small cup that he had prepared earlier, a very small one, opened the honey bottle, and poured some honey into it.
Then he faced the gangsters, drew out the standard sword from his waist, pressed it on the palm of his left hand, and then slashed it with force.
There were traces of blood on the blade.
Zhan Zhao threw down his sword, held his left hand flat, walked to the left corner of the stage, and then slowly walked to the right.
On the palm of his left hand, there was a neat knife wound that was deep enough to see the bone and ran across the entire palm.
Flesh and blood were tumbling, but Zhan Zhao didn't even frown.
Wherever he walked, little drops of blood would drip down.
The people in the martial arts world have very good eyesight, and almost everyone saw the knife wound in the palm of his hand.
It’s true, there is no fakery.
Even some people who were close to the arena walked forward, picked up a few drops of blood that had fallen on the arena with their fingers, and put them into their mouths .
"It's warm. It's real blood."
Because he walked slowly, it took Zhan Zhao nearly half an incense stick of time to walk from left to right. Even at this time, his wound was still bleeding.
Then he put his hand down, returned to the center of the arena, and said with a smile: "I'm sure all of you have seen the wound on Zhan's hand. Under normal circumstances, such a wound, even if it is sewn up by a famous doctor and treated with top-grade golden medicine, will take a month to heal."
Everyone here is from the martial arts world, and they all know that Zhan Zhao is telling the truth.
"And what follows is what Zhan is going to show you."
He turned around, picked up the small cup containing a small amount of honey, walked to the edge of the arena, and raised his left hand again, allowing everyone to once again see the horrific knife wound on his hand.
Amid the half-doubted, half-expectant looks of the crowd, Zhan Zhao drank up the honey in the cup in one gulp.
At first, the people in the martial arts world were a little confused. Shouldn’t it be used to apply on wounds?
But after about three breaths, everyone's eyes widened.
Some people even rubbed their eyes in disbelief, thinking they had fallen into the legendary illusion.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the wound on Zhan Zhao's left hand healed at a remarkably fast speed.
In less than twenty seconds, the wound on his left hand disappeared, and his skin became clear.
Zhan Zhao twisted his left hand gently and then shook off the blood stains on it.
Seeing this, even the most calm and self-cultivating martial arts masters could not hold back.
Many masters crowded to the front, including Ouyang Chun, the leader of the world's number one gang with green eyes and purple beard.
He clasped his hands together, stared at Zhan Zhao intently, and asked, "Captain Zhan, I want to ask, does this medicine have a name?"
"Jade bee jelly!"
All the people in the world remembered this name instantly.
Then Ouyang Chun asked again: "Can it cure the disease of congenital meridian blockage?"
“I cannot guarantee it, but this magical medicine can cure all diseases and detoxify all poisons. Brother Ouyang, you can try to win it back.” Zhan Zhao smiled.
"Thank you for clearing up my doubts!" Ouyang Chun clasped his fists again and returned to the crowd.
Zhan Zhao looked around, and saw that the people in the martial arts world were looking past him and at the prize stand behind him. He smiled and said, "Now we can start the lottery. Please send your masters to the stage to draw your own numbers for the competition."
Soon a group of people jumped onto the arena.
Bai Yutang stood below, looking at Zhan Zhao on the stage with high spirits, and his handsome face became more and more unhappy.
