Eternal Sword

Chapter 76 Li Family
"This is the commander of Wu'an County, Lord Han Langhan."

Mei Nianzhi looked at the people around him and whispered, "If you perform well and are favored by Lord Han, you will have the opportunity to enter the government office or become a city garrison commander. These are positions recognized by the court and are better than those of ordinary wealthy families."

After Han Lang entered, he went to the high platform in the training ground and sat down.

There are also several chairs placed on this high platform, which allows one to have a panoramic view of the crowd in the parade ground and detect any disturbance at the first moment.

The officers under his command entered the parade ground, some maintained order, while others began to register, all in an orderly manner.

Anyone who wants to sign up for the quality test must pay ten taels of silver.

Then you will be given a bronze token two fingers wide and four inches long with your name written on it as a temporary mark.

If the rank is determined successfully, the bronze token will be collected, and the government will use a special tool to brand the name on the front and print the rank on the back. It will then be reissued to the successful warrior at the dinner.

If he failed, the ten taels of silver would be wasted and the bronze token would not be returned after being taken away.

Not long after, it was the turn of the people from Changze County.

Mei Yingxue, Mei Jixian and other disciples of the Plum Blossom Martial Arts School all came forward and lined up.

Chen Tang straightened his black clothes, held the long sword, and followed.

First set the ninth rank, so that one can be exempted from trivial matters such as corvée labor and military service, and also avoid some minor troubles.

If the people in Changze County knew that he was a ninth-rank official, even someone like Gou Dai would probably not dare to provoke him.

"Hey, look at that man, his clothes are pitch black."

Qing Mu pretended to be a passerby and exclaimed.

Chen Tang smiled.

Qing Mu understood him and was attentive. He had just casually mentioned this Jianghu suit before, and he had taken note of it.

"Wow, his scabbard is black too!"

Zhiwei's voice also came over.

Taking advantage of the fact that there were many people around, the two sisters started discussing the matter seriously.

Chen Tang suppressed his smile, put on a stern face, and pretended to be a dejected master. He gripped the scabbard so tightly that the back of his hand looked a little pale.

Qing Mu was wearing a hat and a veil, so others couldn't see her face clearly.

It’s just that the sisters both have very nice voices, and many people around them followed their gaze.

Qing Mu said: "The handle of his sword is also black."

Zhiwei was about to say something, but his hand holding the knife was pale. A passerby came over and said, "His eye sockets are also dark. Didn't he sleep well last night?"

Qing Mu: “…”

Zhiwei: “…”

Chen Tang: “???”

"Look, his face has also turned a little darker."

Chen Tang clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.

Finally I finished queuing and got the bronze token.

When Mei Yingxue saw that Chen Tang had also signed up, a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes.

She knew that Chen Tang was very good at archery, after all, he was a hunter, and she had also seen it with her own eyes on the road.

But being good at archery does not mean that one can pass the quality test.

One of the entrance tests is the bow test, which tests strength but not archery skills.

"It's good to try it. It's considered as an experience."

Mei Yingxue thought so in her heart, and kindly reminded him: "You should know that the first level is to open the bow. In fact, there is a second level test for entering the rank, which is to train your skin to be like armor. You need to stand in a fixed position, and then there will be an archer standing a hundred steps away, shooting an arrow at you with a half-stoned bow."

"During this process, if your feet move or your body dodges, you will be judged as a violation and failed. If you are hit by an arrow and bleed, you will also be judged as a failure."

"Only by practicing to the level of having skin as hard as armor can one block this arrow intact from a hundred steps away."

"Oh?" Chen Tang raised his eyebrows slightly.

This testing method is somewhat novel.

The killing power of a half-crossbow is very small at a distance of a hundred steps, and it cannot cause fatal injuries even to ordinary people.

But if one has not cultivated to the ninth level, it is inevitable that there will be some superficial injuries after the test.

Mei Nianzhi added: "In fact, this level is only a test of one's ability to be as tough as armor. Another aspect is to test the courage of the warrior. A normal person would inevitably shrink back in fear when seeing an arrow coming towards him. This action means failure."

"In every round of the finals, some people fail at this stage."

"Don't underestimate this test. Both the government and the big families will take it very seriously. After all, no matter how high your cultivation is or how strong your talent is, if you are as timid as a mouse and run away when encountering trouble, no forces will want you."

Zhiwei blinked and asked, "What if the opponent shoots an arrow at the eyes? After all, no matter how powerful you are, you can't cultivate your eyes."

Mei Nianzhi smiled and said, "Stand still and don't dodge, but you can stretch out your hands to block. If you see an arrow shot towards your vital points, you can just stretch out your arms and block it in front of you."

"In fact, the effect is the same. If you haven't practiced to the point where your skin is as tough as armor, your arm will still be injured and you will be judged as a failure."

At this moment, there was another commotion among the crowd.

I saw more than a dozen people walking in from outside the training ground, led by two men and one woman.

The man in the middle is eight feet tall, walking like a dragon or a tiger, with quite an imposing manner.

The other man on the left is wearing a scholar’s ​​robe, with his hair tied up and a crown on his head. He has a fair face and no beard, delicate features, and a smile on his face.

The woman on the right has a graceful figure, skin as white as snow, and a beautiful face, but there is a hint of indifference between her brows, giving people a sense of awe-inspiring and inviolable distance.

"Hey, both young masters of the Li family are here for this parade!"

"Yes, only the second son of the Li family came before. The one next to him seems to be the daughter of the Li family. Is she here too?"

"That's her. It's said that she killed her husband. Now she's in her early twenties and still unmarried. She rarely goes out."

"Keep your voice down. His father is our county governor after all."

Listening to the discussions around him, Chen Tang was a little surprised.

He had seen all three siblings.

The one in the middle is Li Boxiong, next to him is Li Zhongmou, and on the other side is Li Junqing.

Chen Tang originally thought that the Li family was just a relatively ordinary large family in Wu'an County.

Unexpectedly, the father of these three people was the prefect of Wu'an County!
He suddenly remembered that Meng Liangyu once said that the prefect of Wu'an seemed to have suffered some kind of injury, and his realm had fallen to less than the sixth rank.

Li Junqing also said at the time that her father had been ill for a long time and had not recovered.

No wonder.

Afterwards, Chen Tang felt a little confused again.

Even if the Wu'an County Magistrate has lost his military power, he is still the highest-ranking official in Wu'an County. Who would dare to cancel their marriage and be so heartless?

When Mei Yingxue saw one of them, she was moved and said quickly: "Dad, look, isn't that..."

"it's him!"

Mei Nianzhi nodded.

The three leaders of the group that had just entered the training ground, the one in the middle was none other than Li Boxiong who had rescued them!

"Ah, it's that hero!"

"Look, that hero is coming towards us. He still remembers us."

People in Changze County also recognized the man.

After the Li family members entered the venue, they immediately attracted countless gazes.

The Li Mansion is nominally a private mansion, but it has the Wu'an County Magistrate behind it, so the Li family can be regarded as one of the major forces in Wu'an County.

(End of this chapter)