Volume 1: A Stranger in a Foreign Land Chapter 3: Little People
"It's the second watch, close the doors and windows to prevent theft..."
Yang Ge sat at the table, guarding a solitary lamp, with the martial arts secret book given to him by the bearded swordsman placed neatly in front of him.
On the cover of the book, there are six big characters "Eighteen Styles of Luanfeng Legs", flowing like clouds and running water, as graceful as a startled swan!
Behind him, Wang Dali deftly installed the last door panel, then turned around and excitedly rushed to Yang Ge's side, hugged his shoulders and said repeatedly: "Little brother, little brother, open my eyes, open my eyes..."
Yang Ge glanced at him, silently stretched out his hand, and handed the secret book to Wang Dali.
Wang Dali's eyes lit up as he reached out to flip through the secret book.
“Pah.”
A slap hit Wang Dali on the head, knocking his head crooked.
"Straight girl..."
Wang Dali turned around and stood up, furious. He saw Shopkeeper Liu standing behind him with a sullen face. He swallowed the last word in haste, covered his head, and sat back on the bench in embarrassment. "Hey, Shopkeeper, I'm just messing around with this little guy, aren't I?"
Shopkeeper Liu looked down at Wang Dali with an expressionless face and said sarcastically, "Master Li, what are you talking about? You are a great man who wants to practice martial arts and become a hero. How can we, a young man, play tricks on you?"
Wang Dali blushed and stammered, "I was wrong, I was really wrong. Please don't scold me, boss."
Manager Liu wanted to say something, but he was too angry. He raised his hand and slapped Wang Dali on the other half of his head, knocking his head crooked again.
"Why don't you take a slap in the face and look at yourself? You still want to learn martial arts and become a hero? With your brains, you'll be killed by someone when you go out, and then you'll think others are nice when you go to the King of Hell!"
Wang Dali covered his head and dared not say a word, but his constant glances towards the secret book betrayed his restless heart.
Seeing this, Shopkeeper Liu raised his hand again in anger, but finally slowly put it down and said to Yang Ge earnestly, "Brother, throw this thing into the stove and burn it. Keeping it will only bring disaster!"
Although the old man is not a big shot, he has been welcoming and seeing off guests for half his life, so naturally he has his own philosophy of life.
In his eyes, the people working at Yuelai Inn were just small people who were busy all day just to have three meals a day and a place to stay.
Since you are a small person, don't talk about those who rise to prominence and become a noble or prime minister!
He had lived for most of his life, and most of the people he had met whose appetites were bigger than their food intake had died a miserable death...
"Don't burn it!"
Yang Ge, who had been silent for a long time, uttered a few words softly.
Shopkeeper Liu was anxious, thinking that Yang Ge had also been overwhelmed by this martial arts secret book. Just as he was about to persuade him again, he heard Yang Ge say, "Burning it will cause more trouble!"
Shopkeeper Liu was stunned for a moment and asked in confusion, "What do you mean?"
Yang Ge pointed at the martial arts manual on the table and said slowly, "If there's no trouble, then this thing is just a few pieces of waste paper. If there is trouble, then this thing is the solution... who knows, it's also our only way to survive!"
Jiang Kui, the "unlucky star", had such a loud voice that I was afraid the sound of him giving tips could be heard from several streets away.
If someone really came to Yang Ge and asked him for this thing, but Yang Ge said he had already burned it... Who would believe that?
Not everyone has the awareness of Manager Liu.
Wang Dali is the best example.
Shopkeeper Liu suddenly came to his senses and patted his chest in fear, saying, "Young man, you are really thoughtful!"
He looked at the martial arts secret book on the table worriedly, feeling that it was a difficult situation and not knowing how to deal with it.
Yang Ge was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "Boss, let's stay in the inn for a while!"
Manager Liu and Wang Dali looked at Yang Ge together.
Yang Ge said slowly, "The martial arts exam is approaching, and I'm afraid that incidents like today's will only increase. We're just doing a small business to make a few pennies, so there's no need to take such a big risk of ruining our family."
Luting County is close to the sacred capital Luoyang and is one of the gateways to Beijing.
So what happened today, at first glance, seems to be just an accident of bad luck.
But at this critical juncture, this kind of trouble is actually inevitable.
After all, people who practice martial arts have been exposed to swords and blood for a long time. Most of them have bad tempers and more or less have some paranoia and PTSD.
As a gathering place for migrant workers, the inn was also one of the places where the most interactions took place with those martial artists heading to Beijing for the imperial examinations...
The best proof of this is that Yuelai Inn encountered guests practicing martial arts and causing trouble for two consecutive days.
In addition, Yang Ge was certain that when Jiang Kui grabbed his scapula, he really had the intention to kill him!
Shopkeeper Liu pondered for a long time, feeling torn. He finally sighed deeply and said with a lost smile, "Young man, if you hadn't told me, I would have almost forgotten that this is a military examination by grace... Thanks to the government, I've been running the inn for thirty-five years and can finally take a break."
Wang Dali was drawn to Liu's words and said with a wry smile, "Boss, what is the Grace Martial Arts Examination?"
Shopkeeper Liu glanced at Wang Dali with disdain, too lazy to explain. Seeing Yang Ge staring at him intently, he reluctantly said, "The official military and civil examinations are the same, held every three years. Most of the candidates selected are clean-cut military elites and sons of generals."
"The Grace Martial Arts Examination is similar to the Imperial Examination, a test specially established by the sage to show mercy to the world and select talented people... I heard that those who pass this Grace Martial Arts Examination will have all their past sins forgiven !"
Wang Dali suddenly realized: "No wonder so many officials followed that evil guest to stay here!"
Shopkeeper Liu, however, grew increasingly worried. "I've lived for most of my life, and this is only the second time I've encountered the government treating the military examination this way. The last time was when His Majesty Taizong personally led the expedition to the desert... It seems the world is destined to be uneasy!"
This may be the case of ducks knowing first when the river water warms in spring.
Although the old man didn't understand any major national affairs and didn't have any reliable first-hand information channels, he could always find similarities in his past life experiences and judge some not-so-obvious major events.
Yang Ge did not answer, but he felt in his heart that the court's move was very courageous. If they could really integrate those unruly people in the martial arts world, it would not only reduce internal friction in China, but also enhance the combat effectiveness of the army. It could be said to kill two birds with one stone!
Of course, the premise is that it can be integrated well...
He pondered for a moment, then said, "Boss, don't you often say that you want to go back to your hometown to see the old house? Now is a good opportunity."
Shopkeeper Liu glanced at him and slowly frowned: "You mean..."
Yang Ge nodded: "The store is not safe, just leave me alone!"
Shopkeeper Liu stroked his beard vigorously. "If trouble really comes, you won't be able to be at peace alone... How about we find you a place to hide?"
Yang Ge knocked the secret book on the table and shook his head slightly, saying, "The trouble is looking for me and this thing. If you can't find me, then it's time to find trouble with you!"
Wang Dali stiffened his neck and said indignantly, "It's just a tattered book anyway. Whoever wants it can just give it to him. Are you really going to force him to death?"
Shopkeeper Liu looked at Yang Ge and wondered if Yang Ge was making a big deal out of nothing.
"I've already taken a rough look at this thing. From what I've seen, it shouldn't be some advanced martial art. It's not worth it for a strong man to kill people and steal the treasure."
Yang Ge said quietly, "But the key to the problem is not how rare this martial arts manual is, but how famous and how many enemies the hero Jiang has in the martial arts world!"
"If everyone believed that what the hero Jiang gave me was a manual of divine skills, then even if it was just a children's picture book, countless people would come here to kill, rob, and dig deep into the ground."
"If that hero Jiang had enemies everywhere, all of whom were ruthless and would kill without blinking an eye, then even if a stray dog on the street wagged its tail at him, I'm afraid someone would kill it."
"And we know nothing about that hero Jiang now, right?"
"Of course, things may not be as bad as I said."
"But when it comes to our lives, we have to prepare for the worst, right?"
When Jiang Kui threw this martial arts secret book to him, he knew it would be a trouble.
Later, when he had some free time to think about it carefully, he found that this thing was more troublesome than he had expected!
From this, it can be seen that Jiang Kui's loud voice in throwing this thing to him was not necessarily out of good intentions.
Perhaps this is the way big people think of small people: I have given you the opportunity, but whether you can seize it or not depends on your own ability!
Manager Liu and Wang Dali had previously thought that Yang Ge was making a big deal out of nothing, but after listening to Yang Ge's analysis, they both felt a chill in their backs, as if there was a pair of lustful eyes in the darkness, secretly watching them.
"hehe……"
Wang Dali swallowed hard and forced a smile, "If I go home now, is it too late?"
“Bang!”
Shopkeeper Liu, enraged, slapped Wang Dali on the back of the head, knocking it hard against the table like a chicken pecking at rice. "What a jerk! If I hadn't taken the blame for you, would he have gotten into this trouble ? Have you lost your conscience?"
Wang Dali rubbed the back of his head and raised his head, his eyes dodging Yang Ge and he didn't dare to look at him again. He whispered, "Didn't the little brother ask us to go home..."
Shopkeeper Liu raised his hand angrily, ready to challenge the fellow to another fight. However, Yang Ge shook his head and said softly, "Everyone who should know about what happened tonight must have known about it. Besides, it's curfew now, so you can't leave even if you want to..."
"I will sit here with a lamp tonight and wait. If anyone comes, I will deal with it myself. You must leave the inn early tomorrow morning."
"If I can get through this, we'll open the door and welcome guests after the martial arts exam."
"If I'm unlucky... I'll have to ask the shopkeeper to pay for a mat, wrap me up, and throw me into the Bian River."
As he spoke, he actually laughed, and his eyes lit up with a light they had never seen before.
Looking at Yang Ge like this, Shopkeeper Liu couldn't help but think of that winter last year, when Yang Ge, dressed in tattered clothes, walked back and forth along the long snow-covered street. No one knew where he was going, nor where he was going back...
"Don't think like that!"
Shopkeeper Liu pressed Yang Ge's shoulder and said with a forced smile, "You better live well. We are still waiting for you to repay us!"
Yang Ge smiled and nodded: "Who doesn't want to live..."
