Volume 1 Chushan Bandits Chapter 27: Hiding
When Xu Huai saw Xu Wuliang's expression, he knew that he was right. He threw away his sheathed knife, hit Xu Wuliang's left ear with his right fist, and then jumped up slightly as if he was pulling himself up. He stepped forward with his left foot and kicked Xu Wuliang in the face while he was squatting.
Xu Wuliang had already recognized Xu Huailai at this time, so how could he fight him again? He stretched out his hand to block Xu Huailai's left kick, but was kicked back a step before he could stand still.
"You little rascal, your boxing skills have improved a lot! Why did you think of playing this on me, Uncle Wuliang today, and you're hiding here to scare me?" Xu Wuliang laughed and returned to his appearance in the blacksmith shop, but in his heart he was happy for Xu Huai's skills at this time.
"Uncle Wu Liang was worried that Ge Laizi was a vengeful person and would do something bad to me, so he killed him overnight?" Xu Huai asked.
"What are you talking about, boy?" Xu Wuliang asked pretending to be stupid.
"Uncle Wu Liang, take my whip and hammer again!"
Xu Huai rushed forward and forced Xu Wuliang into the corner of the corridor of the ear room. He then swung his right arm horizontally with his elbow like an iron whip. When Xu Wuliang raised his hands to block, he used his spine as the root to swing his body slightly, and drove his elbow like a sledgehammer to continue to hit the door formed by Xu Wuliang's hands under his throat. He forced Xu Wuliang to lean his back against the wall behind him and he had no way to retreat. His hands were knocked away by the huge force. The next moment, Xu Huai's right fist turned into a claw and bit towards his throat like a hungry beast.
The Fu Mang Fist is a military fist that absorbs the strengths of various schools and incorporates the offensive techniques of swords and spears on the battlefield. It is the most ferocious and courageous.
However, Xu Huai was very strong and had abundant energy, so the Fu Mang Fist was most powerful in his hands. He could perform three moves in one punch without any gap, as powerful as a meteorite hitting the ground. Xu Wuliang only managed to avoid Xu Huai's fierce grab by relying on his experience.
Whether one has mastered the Fu Mang Fist or not can be easily seen by looking at the Whip Hammer Stance. Previously, when Lu Xiong was teaching Xu Huai, he could see where Xu Huai's previous martial arts training was lacking by looking at this stance. Only then did Xu Wuliang determine that Xu Huai's skills had not simply improved, and he asked with joy and disbelief:
"When you use this whip hammer, the power is not much worse than that of Xu Wujiang. How can he say that you are still stupid? This is impossible. Your father has such a good foundation. He followed General Wang and practiced hard for two or three months before he could use this punch at the critical moment!"
"Uncle Wu Liang, can you tell me the truth now?" Xu Huai asked.
Liu Qiong'er came over at this time and said, "I have sent Madam Zhou and Madam Xu out to buy things..."
Xu Wuliang couldn't figure out the situation at the moment. He stared at Liu Qiong'er in shock and suspicion and asked Xu Huai: "Did something happen to you? Are you being threatened by this woman?"
"Master Xu, you are trying to frame me to death. I am the unlucky one who was dragged into the fire pit by Xu Huai. How dare I dare to threaten him?" Liu Qiong'er complained, "I say you guys should not stand in the yard. If you have anything to say, please go inside..."
"The old Chief Censor Wang who was recently demoted to Tangzhou and his attendant Master Lu Xiong have been staying in the military camp of the Inspection Office these days. Uncle Wu Liang, have you heard about them?" After walking into the house and sitting down, Xu Huai started talking.
"Wang Bing was the military commander of the Jingsheng Army back then, and he always hindered General Wang in everything. Lu Xiong was very arrogant and looked down on us of low birth. Your father was just an acquaintance with them in the Jingsheng Army, and we, the lower-ranking soldiers, have nothing to do with them. I heard that they went to Huaiyuan some time ago, but even if your father were still alive, they might not really know each other, so why should I care about them?" Xu Wuliang didn't have a good impression of Wang Bing and Lu Xiong, and said, "Why did they stay in the military camp and try to establish a relationship with you? I met Xu Wujiang some time ago, and Xu Wujiang said that Wang Bing was exiled to Tangzhou, and the matter is a bit complicated. You'd better stay away from them and don't get involved with him..."
The Imperial Guards had complex origins. Xu Huai thought that if his father and Uncle Wu Liang were really recruited as bandits, they would inevitably fall to the bottom of the contempt chain within the Imperial Guards system.
Wang Bing's position in the Jingsheng Army was that of a military judge, but in fact it was a role similar to that of a military supervisor. His role was to restrain Wang Xiaocheng, the then commander-in-chief of the Jingsheng Army. Given Wang Bing's strong character, Wu Liangshu and others probably would not like him.
"I'm afraid it's impossible to avoid getting involved now," Xu Huai said with a bitter smile, "When Mr. Wang hadn't entered Huaiyuan Town yet, I happened to meet them at Yingzizui, and helped them scare off the assassins who were chasing them. The assassin didn't recognize me, but I practiced the Fumang Fist and Fumang Knife passed down by the Jingsheng Army, Lu Xiong is an old member of the Jingsheng Army, and Wang Bing once served in the Jingsheng Army. The assassin now suspects that the old soldiers of the Jingsheng Army who returned to Tongbai Mountain have joined forces with Lu Xiong to secretly protect Mr. Wang - Miss Liu and I went to see Uncle Wu Liang yesterday, and we originally wanted to discuss this matter!"
"How do you know that the assassin suspects us?" Xu Wuliang asked.
"When the assassin arrived in Huaiyuan, he stayed in Yuehonglou. Miss Liu heard it." Xu Huai said.
Seeing Xu Wuliang looking at her suspiciously, Liu Qiong'er said unhappily:
"I overheard all this, but of course I wouldn't be so kind as to go out of my way to tip off Mr. Wang and that butcher. Don't doubt me. It was that butcher who came to Yuehonglou with a knife to force me to tell the truth. It was also that butcher who forced me to redeem myself from Yuehonglou yesterday. Otherwise, I'd be tired of living and would I want to get involved in this mess? If you don't believe me, go out and ask around. Has the news about that butcher asking butcher Zheng to borrow money to go to Yuehonglou spread to Huaiyuan Town the day before yesterday? But Liutiao Lane is isolated from the news and hasn't heard of it yet!"
There are at least tens of thousands of people in the streets of Huaiyuan Town, and most of the people living in Willow Lane are poor families. There is indeed an invisible barrier to the spread of what happened .
"In addition to the assassin's suspicion that the old soldiers of the Jingsheng Army who returned to Tongbai Mountain were secretly working together with Lu Xiong, Miss Liu also heard that one of them knew the second in command of Hutouzhai and intended to be introduced to Hutouzhai through this person. Hutouzhai has committed two major crimes in Zoumadao this month. I suspect that it was the assassin hiding behind the scenes who facilitated this..." Xu Huai told Xu Wuliang many more details.
Xu Wuliang has always had a prejudice against Wang Bin and Lu Xiong, so Xu Huai did not tell Wang Bin and Lu Xiong everything. He was more receptive than Liu Qiong'er.
"Since the assassins have stayed in Yuehonglou, when they heard that Miss Liu's redemption from Yuehonglou was related to Wang Bing, they would most likely think of coming here to kill you and silence you. But how old are you, how can you rashly use such a risky plan? I will go to discuss with Xu Wujiang..." Xu Wuliang said.
Xu Huai looked at Liu Qiong'er, indicating that this was why he was unwilling to be honest about it.
Xu Wuliang and Di Niang both genuinely care about him, but even so, in their eyes, he is only a sixteen-year-old boy. How could they let him do many dangerous things?
"Uncle Seventeen must not know about this..." Xu Huai said.
"Why?" Xu Wuliang asked.
Although Xu Huai was not sure how Xu Wujiang would react after knowing all this, there was one thing he was sure of.
That is, Xu Wuliang and Xu Wujiang still treat him as a teenager. He may be able to make some suggestions on some small matters, but if there are different opinions on some extremely critical decisions, he will definitely be the first to be ignored.
As for Wang Bing and Lu Xiong, their personalities and their support meant that the two sides were bound to have differences on some issues.
Of course, Xu Huai couldn't tell Xu Wuliang directly, as it wouldn't convince him. He thought for a moment and said, "Deng Gui, the prefect Chen Shi, the county magistrate Cheng Lunying and others all know what happened when Mr. Wang met the bandits. From the many details of Mr. Wang's stay in the military camp for more than a month, we can see that they hope that Mr. Wang will die unexpectedly and they can bear as little responsibility as possible. Uncle Seventeen actually doesn't want to be involved in this matter..."
"That's right. If Su Di hadn't insisted, Xu Wujiang might not have been willing to keep you by his side. And he was in the Inspection Office, and everything was controlled by Deng Gui. He himself might not be involved in this matter..." Xu Wuliang said.
He did not completely trust Xu Wujiang to begin with, especially now that he saw that everything was fine with Xu Huai, and that he was even more resourceful than his father Xu Wuxuan. However, Xu Wujiang had repeatedly said in front of him that Xu Huai was stupid and clumsy, and his prejudice against Xu Wujiang became even greater.
Seeing that Xu Wuliang no longer insisted on going to Xu Wujiang to talk about everything, Xu Huai breathed a sigh of relief. However, seeing that Xu Wuliang still looked a little hesitant, he probably didn't want to see himself in danger.
Xu Huai didn't want to waste any more words, so he said decisively:
"There are only eight assassins coming from Bian Jing, and even if they control Hutou Village, it is impossible for ordinary bandits to know the assassination secrets. Therefore, I forcibly pulled Miss Liu out of Yuehonglou this time to lure the snake out of its hole. And the assassins will come to kill and silence them after knowing the news, and it is impossible for a few people to sneak into Huaiyuan Town. As long as Uncle Wu Liang helps me, if two or three assassins come over, I am confident that I can eliminate them quietly, just like you, Uncle Wu Liang, secretly eliminated !"
Liu Qiong'er said: "How much money does Uncle Wu Liang still owe the Tang family? I still have some silver here, you can take it first..."
"How can this be possible?" Xu Wuliang declined.
"Ge Laitou's death was suspicious, the Tang family won't let him go easily. In addition to offering a reward for anyone who knows the truth, they also sent someone to report to the county government," Liu Qiong'er said, "I'm writing a contract today to hire you to help out and help pay off the debts. Only in this way can I clear the suspicion on you and avoid being harassed by the Tang family and the county government's criminal department. Besides, this bastard dragged me into this fire pit. Whether I can save my life depends on Uncle Wu Liang. Money is just a thing outside of my body!"
"I borrowed 20 taels of silver from the Tang family at first, and I have paid back a lot of it over the years. But somehow, I still owe the Tang family nearly 200 taels of silver today," Xu Wuliang also felt that this was a huge sum of money, and said bitterly, "There is really no need to rush to pay off this debt. It is more important to deal with it now."
"If you don't pay back the silver, it will become four hundred taels next year, there's no guarantee," Xu Huai said. "Uncle Wu Liang, tell the outside world that you signed a contract with Miss Liu yesterday, and that you have to work in this Qinzhai for ten years to pay off the debt. This will stop the Tang family's suspicion. After you pay off the debt, it's best to settle Xiaohuan and Auntie in Lutai Village to prevent the bandits from getting desperate!"
"I think Miss Liu is short of help here, so I'll ask Xiaohuan and her mother to come live here as well." Xu Wuliang has been struggling at the bottom of society all his life. If he can't pay off the Tang family's debts, the blacksmith shop and his residence will be taken away, and their displacement will only get worse. He has no right to think about whether Xiaohuan's future reputation will be affected if she gets involved with Liu Qiong'er. "Zhou Jianxiong and the others haven't found a way to make a living yet, so I'll leave the blacksmith shop to them in the future!"
Although Xu Wuliang, Zhou Jianxiong and other younger generations, had taught them blacksmithing and boxing skills, he would not easily involve them in this dangerous whirlpool. He just wanted to leave the blacksmith shop to them to take care of and make a living——
