Volume 2: Forbidden City, Jianghu and Imperial Court Chapter 4 General Chang Gong, Luoyang Conference
"Waiter, bring me ten jugs of wine, no, twenty jugs of wine. I want the strongest you have."
Lu Xiaofeng sat across from Fang Yunhan's table in a familiar manner, looking worried.
The wine came up quickly and Lu Xiaofeng started drinking one glass after another. It was easy to get drunk like this, and after each glass he would sigh, and every time he sighed he would look at Yun Han.
Finally, when he sighed for the sixth time, Fang Yunhan spoke.
"You like to sigh, can you sit further away? I'm afraid the taste of the strong liquor in your mouth will disturb the aroma of my wine?"
Lu Xiaofeng's expression suddenly became more bitter, and he said, "I thought you would comfort me."
Fang Yunhan said: "Why can't I remember when we became so close?"
"Aren't we working together? I was investigating the case of the Embroidery Thief, and you caught the Embroidery Thief."
Lu Xiaofeng put down the wine glass and hooked his fingers around the wine pot, looking like he was going to drink directly from the pot. "Well, even if we're not working together, aren't you curious about why I'm like this?"
Fang Yunhan slowly drank his glass of wine which was more like rice wine, and said, "It's obvious that it's because of your confidante."
"Yes, Xue Bing said she didn't want to see me." Lu Xiaofeng swung the half-empty wine jug between his fingers and said, "I went to find her, but she said that if I continued to pester her, she would chop off my hand."
Fang Yunhan nodded and said, "Because you missed the best opportunity. However, girls often say one thing and mean another."
"I can see that she is serious this time. So I had to come and thank you first." Lu Xiaofeng really started to pour wine into the spout of the kettle.
Fang Yunhan gently turned the wine glass in his hand and said, "Actually, compared to this matter, I'm more curious about how you found me."
Speaking of this, Lu Xiaofeng finally smiled a little more and said, "If you have as many friends as I do, it won't be too difficult for you to find someone."
Fang Yunhan praised sincerely, "Yes, after all, even Huo Xiu, the leader behind the Qingyi Building, Jin Jiuling, the top detective of the Six Gates, and even the Snake King, can be your good friends."
The smile on Lu Xiaofeng's face was wiped out in an instant. He began to think that it might be a mistake for him to come to Fang Yunhan.
Fang Yunhan added: "So you discovered Jin Jiuling's abnormality so quickly and were able to find his secret residence because you have enough friends?"
He remembered that in the original novel, Lu Xiaofeng didn't seem to suspect Jin Jiuling so quickly, let alone find Jin Jiuling's secret residence.
"That's not the case." Lu Xiaofeng's face was slightly solemn. "I was able to find that place because of the people from the East Factory."
"East Factory?" Fang Yunhan was slightly surprised.
"Yes." Lu Xiaofeng explained, "Jin Jiuling has actually been building up a good reputation in the underworld. For those in the government, the fastest way to have a good reputation is to show a different stance from the East Factory. So Jin Jiuling had some friction with the East Factory, and this major case also alarmed the East Factory, so they sent people to find some evidence and suppress Jin Jiuling at the same time."
Lu Xiaofeng put down the wine pot and sighed deeply. "I met them on the road and heard some rumors. I was going to tease them, but I did n't expect that there were real goods among the information they were searching for. It was those real goods that gave me inspiration."
"Hmm~" Fang Yunhan held the cup and pondered.
There is not much of a role for the East Factory in the original novel of The Legend of Lu Xiaofeng. It seems that his "foreknowledge" of the original novel's plot will be useless again.
Fang Yunhan asked, "Is the power of the East Factory very strong?"
"certainly."
Lu Xiaofeng did not find this question strange. He had long seen that Fang Yunhan did not have much experience in the martial arts world.
The martial arts world is so vast that there are always some masters who like to hide in the mountains and forests, staying there for decades, and they often teach some apprentices to travel the martial arts world. There are a few young people like this who know nothing but have unique skills appear in the martial arts world every year, but they often end up in a miserable way.
Lu Xiaofeng didn't want Fang Yunhan to be like those people, so he introduced him in detail.
The East Factory is recognized by both the government and the public as one of the forces that should not be provoked.
Cao Zhongxian, the head of the Eastern Depot, was a veteran of two dynasties. He was a man of great martial arts and strategies. He controlled twelve prisons, four departments, and eight bureaus, a total of twenty-four yamen. Although he did not have the title of prime minister, he was a prime minister in reality. He formed cliques for personal gain and had great power in the court and the country.
Even the young emperor now has to respect him, be wary of him, and be afraid of him.
Just the big boss Jia Fugui and the Jinyiwei chief of punishment Cao Fei, who were under his command, were enough to terrify all the civil and military officials and major sects in the martial arts world.
However, there is also the God of Killing General Lei Zhentian in the court. He was born in a martial arts family and fought in the battlefields. He was victorious in every battle and had a high prestige in both the court and the opposition. Many officials who were unwilling to go along with the East Factory came close to him, and he was considered the other half of the court.
If Lu Xiaofeng became a storyteller, he would definitely make a lot of money.
When he introduced these things, Fang Yunhan listened attentively. After he finished speaking, he asked, "So this is the situation in the court, what about the martial arts world?"
"There are so many forces in the Jianghu. All kinds of people are mixed together, good and evil are fighting each other, and there are countless gangs and small sects that rise and fall. Even some masters with ambitions and skills will always encounter opponents who are better than them, and they will die and their sects will be destroyed. In less than two years, no one will remember them anymore."
Lu Xiaofeng seemed to suddenly think of something, and stopped drinking. He snapped his fingers and said, "However, in recent years, there has been a martial arts leader who has been elected by all the righteous sects, and the martial arts world has generally been relatively peaceful. However, this martial arts leader feels that he is old, and will soon hold a martial arts conference in Luoyang to hand over the position of martial arts leader."
"Oh, can the leader of the martial arts world appoint the next one? Is the handover of this position so smooth?" Fang Yunhan said.
Lu Xiaofeng shook his head and said, "We don't know who will take over yet. Maybe there will be another competition, and someone with both high reputation and strong power will take over."
"Luoyang." Fang Yunhan put down his wine glass, looked at the sky, and said, "It's getting dark. I'll leave now."
Fang Yunhan left the inn and Lu Xiaofeng did not stop him. He knew that Fang Yunhan had booked a room here and would probably come back.
Sure enough, about half an hour later, Fang Yunhan came back.
He went out empty-handed and came back with a sword.
The scabbard of this sword is made of two pieces of dark yellow bamboo. The material is very rough, but the maker must have been very careful and polished it very smoothly. The hilt is made of wood, painted black, and the guard is round.
The whole sword looks like the lowest-quality goods in a sword shop, which can usually be bought for only one or two taels of silver. But when it is really used, it is likely to be chipped if it is chopped against a kitchen knife.
Lu Xiaofeng had drunk a lot of wine and looked a little drunk, but when he saw the sword, he suddenly sobered up and asked, "What are you doing with this thing?"
"I am a swordsman, of course I need a sword." Fang Yunhan replied.
"No, how can a sword like this be worthy of your martial arts?"
Lu Xiaofeng had many friends who used swords. He knew that for a swordsman, even if he could kill people with an inferior sword or even a wooden sword, he would still pursue a better, durable sword that could match his own. So he said, "If you don't know a swordsmith with real skills, you can draw a blueprint for me."
Lu Xiaofeng held up three fingers and said, "As long as you wait for me here for three days, I will give you a good sword that can cut hair. This will be my true thanks for the Embroidered Thief's crime."
"Fighting Jin Jiuling is my own business, and there is no need to change my sword." Fang Yunhan held the sword horizontally in front of him, looking at it with a respectful and sincere look, and said, "This is the number one sword in the world."
Lu Xiaofeng was suspicious and asked, "Can you show it to me?"
"Of course."
Fang Yunhan handed the sword to Lu Xiaofeng.
Lu Xiaofeng pulled it out halfway and looked at it carefully.
This sword is quite thick, but it looks like the back of a hatchet, and it doesn't even have a blade. There is no texture of refined steel on the sword, and it is not a rare material.
Lu Xiaofeng was sure that this was an inferior sword, but the look on his face became solemn. He slowly sheathed the sword and solemnly returned it to Fang Yunhan, saying, "I understand."
Fang Yunhan smiled and said, "By the way, you said before that Luoyang would hold a martial arts conference. When was it?"
Lu Xiaofeng stretched out and laid on the wine table, looking like he was going to sleep here, saying.
"Twelve days later, the martial arts conference will be held, which will coincide with the Luoyang Flower Fair."
