Mysterious Martial Arts: The Record of the Swordsman

Chapter 172

On February [-], the dragon looked up.

Although it is written in the almanac on this day that it is advisable to visit relatives and friends, and avoid fasting and offering sacrifices, the yang energy does not rise all day long, only the never-ending heavy rain and thunder.

The stronger the rain, the passers-by could only look at the sky melancholy under the eaves. The heavy rain started five days ago, and the rain has continued until now, with no intention of clearing up.

The city of Guangzhou is originally a place with excellent geomantic omens. Suzaku is the Pearl River in the south, Xuanwu is Yuexiu Mountain in the north, and Qinglong Baihu is the two waterways of Xijiang and Dongjiang.As such, the boundaries of southeast and northwest are divided into four regions, and within the four regions are the main cities. From Chuting City, Renxiao City, Zhaotuo City to Panyu Nanhai, this has been an unshakable rule for thousands of years.

However, today’s Guangzhou is suffering from the dense water network in the city. The torrential rain has flooded the inner city for several days. There are already reports of flooding in many low-lying areas. Several water gates entering and leaving the city are being widened day and night. If the stagnant water is discharged, the city of Guangzhou will be flooded if this continues.

For this sudden heavy rain...

Oh no, it should be said that it was the heavy rain that was accurately predicted by the natural monk. Jiang Wen could only lament the miraculousness of the phrase "heavy rain is coming".If it rains like this again, the city of Guangzhou will float into the sea one day, and the whole city will be eaten by fish and turtles.

At this time, Jiang Wen was leading his apprentices to hold umbrellas, stepping on the long and muddy street under his feet, waving away the misty rising water vapor in front of him, and walking towards the center of the city with one foot deep and one foot shallow.

No matter how bad the weather was unexpectedly, the Luo Lao Hero Jinpen Washing Hands Conference, which is well-known in Guangdong and Guangxi, will definitely not hold another date. I am used to wind and frost swords day by day, so I don't necessarily fear this kind of ghost weather.

"Hurry up, disciples, if you go late, you won't be able to catch up with the excitement."

Standing at the corner of the street, Jiang Wen finally saw the Golden Knife Luo's Mansion, a rich family in a deep house.

In front of the gate there is already a [-]-foot-high ceiling. Twelve teams of lion dancers with tall and narrow foreheads and big eyes that can move are accompanied by the beating of gongs and drums. Move, dodge, and pounce, the lion phase is vivid and eye-catching.

Since ancient times, Guangdong lion dance has been regarded as an auspicious object to exorcise evil and avoid harm. It has the meaning of exorcising ghosts in Nuo opera. Whenever there are festivals or major events, there must be lion dance to add to the fun. This tradition has been passed down from generation to generation.

I saw the lions refusing to give in to each other, and they were scrambling to climb up the "stacked Arhats" of dozens of people, stepping up the bottom of the "Human Mountain" on the fifth and sixth floors, and began to compete for the water green in the basin.

As the battle intensified, outsiders naturally burst into applause. After hearing the news, the residents of the city gathered around the gate of the mansion to watch the excitement despite the heavy rain. They all commented on which lion could win the first prize, and who could let it go. splendor.Although the heavy rain was icy cold, it couldn't dampen the enthusiasm of the onlookers. Luo's mansion cleverly used this method to avoid the crisis of being neglected in front of the door and entertaining itself today.

At the same time, for people in the Jianghu, the "opening eyes", "washing beard", "licking body" and "shaking hair" in the lion's movements seem to be naive and funny, but they are actually mighty and vigorous. The playfulness vaguely reveals the essence of southern martial arts heritage.With these disciples of the Luo family, the dancing lions showed their talents, which was enough to frighten Xiao Xiao who wanted to make trouble. It was indeed a good idea to show his prestige while keeping it secret.

"Master, let's go in after watching for a while."

Fu Ningdie couldn't help being attracted by the lion dance performance. At this time, holding an umbrella, she was careful not to stain the new clothes with rain, and said while holding Jiang Wen's clothes.

"Okay, I just want to wait for someone."

Jiang Wen stopped at the corner of the street, and took his disciples into the restaurant under the veranda to watch from a distance, "Just here to see who is here today, don't let them steal our limelight."

"Ok!"

Fu Ningdie was very appreciative of being in the limelight, and immediately forgot to complain about the rain, and lovingly wrung out the rainwater from the corner of her clothes.

Today, not only Fu Ningdie, but Hong Wending and Xiao Shitou, who usually wear plain clothes, are also wearing Jiang Wen's custom-made chivalrous uniform today.

Contrary to the usual images of people in short jackets and top hats, the three apprentices look a little nondescript with leather wrist guards and narrow boots, but they look neat and tidy, full of heroic spirit.This set of clothes is all dressed up with a tight girdle and black and narrow sleeves. The silk material that can be seen at a glance not only has the style of a warrior, but also has the temperament of a famous family-these are the elements that Jiang Wen has absorbed from the costumes of later Peking Opera Just to look different.

People rely on clothes and horses rely on saddles, and the Luo family worked so hard to maintain their dignity, Jiang Wen naturally would not come unprepared.

The good reputation that has been publicized for a long time in the early stage, coupled with the distinctive aura and appearance now, is to ensure that the Wuyi faction, which is appearing in the grand event of the rivers and lakes for the first time, can undoubtedly steal the limelight and give these three apprentices Pave the way.

But when and how to get the limelight is itself a profound knowledge.In Jiang Wen's eyes, this was not much different from walking the red carpet.

As today's carpet star who aspires to become famous, if Jiang Wen and the others rushed to the venue early, the publicity effect would not be much better—the martial arts people have never heard of the "Wuyi faction", and they would be regarded as third-rate gangs and ignored.

In this way, there is only one chance to appear on the stage, and it must be grasped well, otherwise the Wuyi faction with few people and power is more likely to be reduced to a background board, and in the later stage, they can only mix with the crowd and applaud.

Therefore, if Jiang Wen and the others want to be in the limelight, they must arrive at a time that is late enough, but not rude.At that time, there will be more people, and old friends will also enter the arena, so that we can make good use of the martial arts people we met before and make a big hit.

"Xiao Er is watching tea, four."

Jiang Wen yelled, and then quietly watched the excitement in the distance.

At this time, there were people coming and going in the Luo residence, and the roll callers had changed three batches, their voices were almost smoking, but there was still an endless stream of guests coming and going, every time a heavyweight guest arrived, it would cause a sensation.

The opportunity lies in waiting. After waiting and hesitating at the entrance of the restaurant for a while, Jiang Wen finally heard a familiar name.

"Report! Head Fan of the Xinghan Gang and the four Gaotu disciples came to congratulate!"

Fan Xinghan, with disheveled beard and hair, clasped his hands to the surroundings, his hulking back was very majestic, and he quickly led four disciples of the same build across the threshold.

The Xinghan Beggars' Gang was well-known in Hubei, and Fan Xinghan, the leader of the gang at the time, was also one of the best players in the world.Even though there is no second martial artist in the Jianghu, not everyone admires his martial arts character, but just because of the fact that the gang leader came from afar in person, the martial arts people have to secretly marvel.

In Jianghu, there are inevitably places where the left foot is the right foot. The greater the background of the guests present, the greater the sympathy they represent, the greater the sympathy they present, and the greater the protagonist's party that day, so Luo No matter how hard it is for the disciples of the government to roll their names, they have to shout at the top of their voices to spread the spirit of today's host.

"Report! Tiedan Zhuangzhou old hero, and 32 disciples from Zhuangzhong to congratulate!"

As a tall and majestic old man opened the way, there was another low cry among the martial arts people in the field.

Tie Dan Zhuang is well-known in the knife factory in the northwest, and the owner Zhou Zhongying is an old man who has been in the world for a long time. In his early years, he was invincible in swordsmanship and stick skills. household name.

What's more important is that things are rare and expensive, and most of them are from the southern sect, but what does it mean that Zhou Zhongying, who is in the northwest, came here in person?This means that since returning home to Ma Shouying, who died of illness, this powerful martial arts faction that even the Qing court in the northwest respected a little bit, actually sincerely wanted to come to celebrate the grand event.

The atmosphere of the scene immediately became more enthusiastic.

"Report! Qingqi gang leader Yang, and 36 disciples came to congratulate!"

The crowd in the Luo Mansion began to whisper, but there was no exclamation for a long time, obviously because the Qingqi Gang was not as powerful as the previous two sects, and there were even some inexplicable conflicts.

Compared with the previous two factions, the Qingqi Gang has only risen for more than ten years. Relying on the benefits of inland river water transportation to recruit disciples, it has spread all over the Yangtze River and the Yellow River in a short period of time. There are always some unscrupulous actions, and it is not very popular to appear on the stage at this time.

Some people secretly sighed in the field, after all, those who dare to speak up and behave in the Tao are old-fashioned and gain the upper hand, and these sects with a long history are facing this kind of rising star who is coming, even if they are in the self-proclaimed generations. The rivers and lakes where the waves of the back push the waves of the front, it is inevitable to cast eyes and repel them.

Therefore, this Jianghu event is also a great opportunity for the Qingqi Gang to further integrate into the martial arts, and they are also determined to win today's limelight.

I saw that as the sound of roll call fell, a flag of more than ten feet suddenly appeared in the pouring rain. The narrow and long green flag was fluttering against the strong wind like flying, standing in the mid-air with hazy vision, and making the sound of copper bells from time to time. .

It is said that such a high flag is easily exposed to the wind, and it is even heavier when it gets wet. Usually, it takes four or five men to hold the rope and pull it from all sides to fix it. Difficult.

But at this time, the astonishingly heavy flag was carried by the arms of a strong man like a steel tower, and it came steadily in the rain.Behind him, a group of 36 members of the Qingqi Gang were all shirtless, dark-skinned, and piercing-eyed. They were obviously masters of foreign martial arts.

"What a grand style! What a great face!"

Jiang Wen hid aside and took a deep breath. There are indeed a lot of talents in the world, and they can come up with such a shocking way of appearing on the stage, which not only shows off their military strength but also presents them with a grandeur.

"Master, I can try too."

Little Stone stared intently at the tower-like dark man passing by - based on his consistent rough aesthetics, Little Stone obviously showed a rare interest in this kind of naked power.

"Try what? Be a little whirlwind moving bricks?"

Jiang Wen pretended to sneer, but in fact he felt regretful——If he had known, he would have ordered an iron rhino first, and brought it to the door today as a gift.

Regarding the Qingqi Gang, Jiang Wen actually entrusted the beggars of the Guandi Association to inquire about the news. Knowing that the iron tower-like gang leader in front of him, Jianghu nicknamed him "Iron Tower", and a standard person lived up to his name.

Jiang Wen has always believed that there are only wrong names in the world, and there is no wrong nickname. The Qingqi Gang rose from the humble beginnings. It was founded more than ten years ago by a group of trackers from the Three Gorges to Hubei. The so-called Qingqi, It also refers to the flag that directs the direction when sailing on a dangerous shoal.

The old gang leader of the Qingqi Gang has long since retired and neglected mundane affairs, while Gang Leader Yang is in charge of power without a real name.The old gang leader officially handed over the position to this reckless man in front of him two months ago. This time, the new official took office with the idea of ​​making a name for himself and not being angry, and his behavior style is really different.

There were exclamations one after another, and many sects took turns to appear on the stage, but they didn't go too far. Fortunately, another heavyweight guest arrived soon.

"Report! The head of the Songyang faction, Bai, and 39 disciples congratulate him!"

Before the figure arrived, there was already a voice of greetings in Luo's mansion in advance, obviously the popularity of the Songyang faction was better than before.

It's a pity that there are people from the Qingqi Gang in front of them. Obviously, such a response of human affection can't stir up too much trouble. It seems that because the limelight is not enough, it will disappear from everyone.

Jiang Wen couldn't help hesitating a bit, even Xiao Shitou had learned how to be remorseful, and if he went on like this, if the people he was waiting for didn't come on time, he couldn't win the Qingqi Gang in the end, and the long-planned limelight could be lost. up.

Just as he was hesitating between the two, there were bursts of uncontrollable whispers suddenly sounded in the Luo residence, and everyone seemed to be frightened by something unexpected.

Jiang Wen followed the prestige, and saw a majestic old man with gray beard and hair strutting among the disciples of the Songyang School, a string of court beads in his neck jingled with his steps, and the patch on his chest resembled an embroidered pattern , it can be deduced immediately that he is a sixth-rank military officer.

We must know that among the local officials set up by the Qing government, the magistrates are generally fifth-rank officials, and the Taoist platforms everywhere are only fourth-rank. Even if the sixth-rank military officers like this are not high, they are still important figures in the local area.

"Isn't this the head of Bai? Why did he suddenly get an official position?!"

The same question arises in the minds of countless people and spreads out from countless people.

Jiang Wen frowned and Hong Wending glanced at each other, confirming the identity of the other party.

"It's the sixth-rank Lanling bodyguards of the Qing court. They hunted down me and my father back then."

"Well, it's the same as Master Lu who besieged the Ma family back then. It's really amazing that the Songyang faction has such connections..."

There were more than 1000 guards in the palace of the Qing Dynasty. These guards had different grades and jobs. The most common one was the Lanling guards. There were more than 900 guards at this level. They were in charge of the outermost guards of the palace, and they could not enter inner palace.

However, don't underestimate the lowest Lanling bodyguards. These are sixth-rank officials, one level higher than the local magistrates. Once the Qing court is sent to a local area, it often represents the direct arrival of imperial power, which is of great significance.

It is true that people in the Jianghu are disobedient and rebellious, but when everyone looks at the old head of the Songyang School, there is a hint of envy in their eyes. Obviously, the official status will not bury the name in the Jianghu , most of the time it can even add a bit of color.

Jiang Wen didn't think that the Luo family would not care about the government, otherwise why would they have sent the invitation to Wu Liuqi, the leader of the Guandi Society and the general officer in charge of the seal?
"Wending, I must remember that your name is Hong Wei today." Jiang Wen hurriedly ordered.

"Understood, Master."

Hong Wending understood Jiang Wen's meaning without further words, and replied without hesitation while standing under the porch.

Jiang Wen didn't know much about it before, let alone asked Hong Xi why he named his son this name. "Wending" was an elegant name for engagement in ancient times. Could it be that the cold-hearted Daxia Hong is actually a marriage urge who wants his son to get married and have children?

But Jiang Wen later chatted with Yuan Huazi and found out that the allusion of "wending" is equal to "engagement" comes from the "Book of Songs Daya", Zhou Wenwang's auspicious omen. There is only a record of the poem "Wen Ding Jue Xiang, personally greeted Wei".

——What's more interesting is the name of this elegant poem in "The Book of Songs", which is called "Da Ming".

Bai Zhen, the old head of the Songyang School, walked through the door, harvested countless envy and hatred, and also took away the obvious limelight on the field at this time. It must be able to overwhelm the shock brought by the real rank and status.

But soon, Jiang Wen found out that he was wrong, and it was very wrong.The rivers and lakes are full of wonders, and there are always people who can find a new way to break out of the new world.

"Report! Chen Biaotou of Fuwei Escort Bureau Guangdong Branch, and [-] elite Escorts came to congratulate him!"

Fuwei Escort!

These four words seem to have some kind of magical power, firmly locking the voices of martial arts inside and outside Luo's mansion. Except for the sound of rain day and night, and the lion's steps fighting for the hydrangea, the scene fell into an incomprehensible silence. , the faces of the members of the Luo family in the organizer were as dark as the bottom of a pot.

Let's put it this way, compared with their faces, the rainy and dark sky can be regarded as sunny.

"Good guy... Black and red are also red..."

Jiang Wen held back his laughter and said in a low voice, he almost stood up and applauded Fuwei Escort.

Disputes in the rivers and lakes are nothing more than fame and fortune, and the Fuwei Escort Bureau has undoubtedly taken over.Originally opening escort agencies in various places to make money had already offended the local martial arts people more or less, and the plaque of "Nanlvlin Chief Alliance Leader" sealed by the imperial pen of Shunzhi violated the taboos of the northern and southern martial arts. Not too much.

Jiang Wen could also tell that, compared with Lin Zhennan, the general leader of parallel importers and a master of three-legged cats, whether it is the degree of acquaintance, reputation, martial arts background, or today's grand celebrations from all over the world, it all represents that the master is on the rivers and lakes. Luo Yuan Tongcai in Guangzhou City should have this plaque even more.

The sect of Lingnan martial arts is not too important now, and martial arts exchanges are also common. Luo Yuantong only accepts disciples from the beginning to the end, regardless of the sect, and has a wide range of martial arts schools from all sides, and there has been no sect dispute yet.However, the matter of the sect is unavoidable, the disciples of the Luo family have long been one in essence, and many things have to be viewed according to the rules of the world.

Therefore, Luo Yuantong, who was a lone thief in his early years, should have won this kind of honor in the green forest. Even if he has a broad mind and doesn't care, the disciples in the mansion may not be indifferent at this time.

He is old, treacherous and slippery. Wang Weiyang, who is powerful in Heluo, is obviously not fooled by this. He kicked the ball to his big apprentice. Dogs - with such vicious thoughts, Shunzhi can be said to have taken great pains.

The people of Fuwei Escort were also very helpless.

Now everyone knows that he is a subordinate force of Jingnan Prince's Mansion, and he is naturally at odds with Guangzhou's Pingnan King. On such an occasion, they will easily cause public anger if they come, and they will be stabbed in the back if they don't come. Under the dilemma, they can only bite the bullet Come here, at worst, find a corner and sit down later, just don't deal with people.

After a while of hustle and bustle, several small sects appeared on the stage to congratulate, but with the excitement just now, all methods of fame and fortune have been taken up now, and even the road of black and red has been taken away by Fuwei Escort Bureau, as the saying goes Fifty days of the Great Dao, four to nine, it is so hard to see the escaped one, how can ordinary people have a way to surprise?

But at this moment, Jiang Wen caught a glimpse of several figures appearing at the corner of the street, finally stood up with a smile on his face, and said to his disciples.

"Disciples, it's time for our Wuyi faction to step out!"

Fu Ningdie was watching the fun, but before she understood what Jiang Wen was talking about, she was dragged out by him, and they walked towards Luo's mansion together.

…………

The disciple of the Luo family, who was hoarse and almost breathless, had just leaned against the wall and took a rest for a while, when he suddenly looked up and saw a group of people walking towards him, his eyes went dark.

However, this group of people paid no attention to him, they just walked past him one by one in a gentle and polite manner, raised their hands to show the gold-plated invitations, and walked straight to Luo's mansion.

"Hey, hero, please stop, I haven't..."

The Luo family disciples just wanted to catch up, but the martial arts people waiting in the Luo mansion had already heard some strange voices, looked at each other full of doubts, and couldn't help whispering.

"Brother, have you heard the sound of silk and bamboo?"

"Oh, did you hear that too? I seem to have heard the sound of the suona. Could it be that the family invited a troupe?"

"How can this make sense? It's not a temple fair."

"What the younger brother said is also... quick, look!"

The martial arts people in Luo's mansion gathered together. At this time, there was a kind of emotion like a virus. They reminded each other and looked towards the gate of the mansion, pricking up their ears in unison.

Everyone only heard the sound of an impassioned piece of music getting closer and clearer. The tune is weird and fast but full of sonorous air. At first hearing it, it makes people feel broad-minded and passionate. Xiao, relieve the pride in my heart.

It was in the voice of generosity that a high-spirited Taoist came with his sword on his back, and walked into the hall with three apprentices who were described as young.

The neat and elegant dresses of the apprentices made people look sideways, and what was even more amazing was that behind these few four people, there was actually a group of more than ten troupe musicians, who were gathering their strength at the moment, beating, playing, playing and singing. Give them a soundtrack, and make their name known to the whole government with the sound of inspiring Qingyue.

"Jiang Wen, head of the Wuyi faction, and three disciples came to congratulate Old Hero Luo!"

(End of this chapter)