Chapter 16: Failure
"good!"
Yan Xiaowu seemed to like his behavior very much. His face turned slightly red with excitement. He looked at the table and seemed to think pouring tea was too slow and troublesome, so he simply picked up the teapot and started to pour it.
"ah--"
"happy!"
“…”
Jiang Zhou looked at him and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.
It's like you drank some strong liquor...
Yan Xiaowu wiped the tea from his chin, looked at Jiang Zhou and said, "Brother, I don't think you look like a refugee at all. You talk like a scholar. You speak with level of skill. But, you speak more pleasantly than those pedantic scholars!"
He said this with some sincerity.
The word "brothers" is easy to say but as heavy as a mountain to do.
Especially his brother Yan Xiaowu.
He called him Brother Jiang before, but it was just his personality, and because he liked Jiang Zhou, he didn't mind being a brother with whom he could drink tea and eat melon seeds.
In the matter of Hong Ni, I also helped him out.
But now, Yan Xiaowu felt that Jiang Zhou was quite to his liking.
It doesn’t matter even if this brother really admits it.
Jiang Zhou and he are the same type of people, at least when it comes to making friends.
Even though the other party called him Brother Jiang before, he didn't take it seriously.
Now the other party can be said to have saved his life.
When one dies and the other lives, the true friendship is known. When one is noble and the other is humble, the true friendship is revealed.
Jiang Zhou took this feeling to heart, and after hearing his words, he couldn't help but think of his own experience.
He showed some helplessness: "Oh, life is easy to end, the world is unpredictable, even if you have royal power and wealth, it will be gone one day, let alone a person like me who is in trouble?"
As he said this, he suddenly smiled and looked at Yan Xiaowu: "I think although Brother Yan often behaves in a vulgar way, he doesn't look like a vulgar person, but rather has a bit of nobility."
Yan Xiaowu spat out half a mouthful of tea, and patted his collar in a panic: "Ahem! Drink tea, drink tea, drink tea!"
"The farewell banquet has ended, there is no way to linger any longer... The one who is worried is the dragon girl, and the one who is suffering is the little Xiao Lang..."
The bell-like singing voice of a teahouse singer came from the side. Yan Xiaowu half closed his eyes, tapped the rhythm with his fingers, and sang along:
"I fill the cup and let out a long breath... In the cup of wine, there are white drops of tears, tears... cough cough!"
After singing half a sentence, his face turned red from holding it in, and he quickly drank a sip of water to calm down.
"No, no, this old-fashioned song is really not fun to sing. Excuse me."
Jiang Zhou smiled and said, "I didn't expect you to have this skill."
"What's that? I'm not bragging. I don't like women, nor do I like meat and wine. I just like to sit in this teahouse and sing. I'm proficient in playing all kinds of instruments. I also listen to books. I can recite "The Stubborn Husband", "The City God", and "A Cave of Ghosts in the East Mountain" by heart!"
Jiang Zhou didn't understand what he was talking about, probably something like the vernacular novels popular in Wu County.
"You still like this? That's easy. If I have time, I'll write some books for you. I guarantee you'll love it."
He doesn't have the ability to repay Yan Xiaowu now, but he is very good at making up stories, so putting some thought into it can be considered as a token of his appreciation.
Yan Xiaowu was delighted: "Oh? You can also write storybooks!"
Then he waved his hand and said, "Forget it. I have a very picky taste and I cannot tolerate ordinary food."
"What I just mentioned were all written by several old gentlemen from Nanzhou. Although they are not as good as the great scholars of the time, their talent and learning have also been praised by the great scholars."
Jiang Zhou smiled and did not refute.
When it comes to his knowledge, he doesn't dare to brag.
When it comes to story-telling, I'm not afraid of you no matter how great a scholar you are.
Yan Xiaowu suddenly said, "Hey, the song "Dragon Girl Bids Goodbye to Xiao Lang" that I just sang also tells the story of the Dragon King of Jing River. Isn't that a coincidence?"
"oh?"
"In fact, this is also a scandal for that person."
Yan Xiaowu whispered, "There are two dragon kings in this world, both of whom have been canonized by our Great Ji Emperor. In addition to this one, there is also a Dongting Dragon King. However, this Dragon King is a legitimate dragon, unlike the lewd dragon in Jinghe, who leaves offspring everywhere."
"The Seventh Dragon Girl of the Dragon King of Dongting was married to the King of Jingyang, the son of the Dragon King of Jinghe."
"They were originally a perfect match, but who would have thought that King Jingyang was also a ridiculous person. He was just like his dragon father , extremely licentious and violent. He treated the Seventh Dragon Girl like a servant and either beat or scolded her."
Yan Xiaowu smiled mockingly: "It was what he deserved. Later, the Seventh Dragon Girl met a human scholar, fell in love with him, and even agreed to elope with him."
"It's a pity that a mere human scholar could not escape the clutches of the two Dragon Kings. He was captured. If the Seventh Dragon Girl had not threatened to kill him, he would have definitely died. Later, the song "Dragon Girl Bids Goodbye to Xiao Lang" was created, and many stories were circulated. In short, from then on, the King of Jingyang was completely disgraced."
There was a hint of gloating in Yan Xiaowu's words.
Jiang Zhou felt as if he knew the King of Jingyang.
It seems that this guy's identity is more important than he imagined.
Half a day passed by while I was drinking tea with Yan Xiaowu and listening to other people's gossip.
He said he was going to handle a case, but ended up doing nothing.
When the time came, Jiang Zhou bid farewell to Yan Xiaowu, returned to Sujingsi, and returned the demon-slaying sword.
This time he was suddenly transferred to "assist in the investigation" without any job review.
After returning to the Sword Prison Grotto, he walked towards the public kitchen where the knife-wielding men ate.
I've been drinking a lot of tea all day, and I'll feel hot if I don't eat something.
As soon as he arrived at the place, pairs of eyes were looking at him.
Jiang Zhou took some food with a tingling scalp.
The other conditions for the surgeon were not very good, but the food was very sufficient, with both rice and meat.
After all, without sufficient qi and blood, it is difficult to resist the blood evil attack of the demon-slaying sword.
I found a table and sat down, and the knifemen from the nearby tables came over and asked questions.
"Ding Wuyi, how did you do it?"
"You can change the knife-carrying assignment at the last minute. Do you have someone above you?"
"You went to the Ministry of Justice yesterday, and were temporarily called up again today. Do you have someone above you in the Ministry of Justice?"
"We were blind in the past. Now that we know each other, can you take care of me in the future?"
"The Bing Sijiu who took your place is in a miserable state. I heard that Captain Miao returned in defeat again today. Not only were the knife-wielding men and the demon patrolling guards wiped out, but only two of the five captains returned, and they were both seriously injured!"
The knifemen were talking at the same time, which made Jiang Zhou feel helpless.
His surgical assignment was temporarily changed today, causing many people to misunderstand something.
I was just trying to get by with it, but when I heard one of the sentences, I couldn't help but ask, "Is it the evil temple in Liujia Village? What's there? Why is it so powerful?"
A knife-wielding man said, "Isn't it? I heard that even General Jing Yao was alarmed and furious. Not long before you came back, he came to the headquarters and summoned all the captains and school lieutenants to give him a good scolding."
"As for what kind of powerful demon there is, we don't know, and we don't dare to ask."
