The world is like a prison, my body is holy

Chapter 45: Knowing Shame and Then Becoming Courageous (Happy New Year)

When I heard Taoist Ji Liang say that he might have guessed the White Lotus Sect's plan in Yangzhou City...

Zhao Zhiling's expression quickly grew serious, and he extended his hand and made a "please" gesture: "Master, please speak!"

Taoist Ji Liang stroked his three-inch beard, his eyes flickering as he slowly scanned the area. He hesitantly bowed and said, "It's not the right time yet. Your Excellency, please allow me to verify this a little more."

Zhao Zhiling looked puzzled for a second, then subconsciously glanced at Wang Wen, who was sitting at the end of the table. He stroked his beard and nodded, understanding what he meant. "It's okay. It's better to be careful!"

He moved very quickly, barely glancing at Wang Wen before immediately looking away.

But Wang Wen, who was equally puzzled, noticed it, and his already bad mood suddenly became even worse. He wanted to be patient, but the more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He simply said, "What are you looking at? Are you suspecting that I'm secretly colluding with the White Lotus Sect and using a trick to deceive you?"

Everyone turned their heads and looked at Wang Wen in shock: "Fuck, are you so tough, brother?"

Zhao Zhiling was also shocked, but he was also a little embarrassed and hesitant to speak: "It was obviously Ji Liang who suspected you first. Why don't you confront him and why are you confronting me?"

To be fair, he actually did not doubt that Wang Wen would be involved with the White Lotus Sect. After all, Wang Wen's appearance did not seem like an act. However, Wang Wen was a local after all, so it was natural for him to be cautious.

Wang Wen: "You are the boss here, who else should I blame if not you?"

He faced everyone's gaze, his heart growing increasingly angry. He simply pulled out his token from his waist and slammed it on the tea table with a "snap": "Since you all suspect me, Wang Wen, I will suspend my duties and stay indoors until you can investigate and prove my innocence. If you're really worried, I'll send you a letter of resignation and you can just kick me out!"

After saying that, he stood up and strode out the door angrily.

Zhao Zhiling was so angry that his face turned blue. Looking at Wang Wen's back, who was obviously even angrier than him, he had to quickly signal Cheng Xian to come out and smooth things over, giving him a way out.

Cheng Xian understood and quickly stood up and took two steps at a time to catch up with Wang Wen. He grabbed his arm and said, "Erhu, don't be impulsive. That's not what the master meant..."

"Get off!"

Wang Wen swung his arm impatiently, and a huge force like a galloping horse directly threw Cheng Xian more than three meters away. After he stabilized his body, he was completely stunned.

The other four people in the hall were also shocked and confused when they saw this scene.

Li Heng glanced at Wang Wenyuan's retreating back, then smiled and said to Cheng Xian, who was looking at his hands and doubting his life, "Haha, Zhengyong, now you know what it means to be a weakling, don't you? How can you hold back against such a scoundrel?"

Cheng Xian turned around in a daze. When his throat was about to speak, his eyes met Zhao Zhiling's somewhat solemn gaze again. He had no choice but to change his words and force a smile: "I'm old now. I dare not compare my strength with such a reckless young man!"

Zhao Zhiling's expression relaxed, and he said with a nonchalant smile, "Forget it. This guy just lost one of his trusted men, and he's already feeling unhappy. Let's not bother with a scoundrel!"

Cheng Xian bowed and walked back to his seat with heavy steps.

At this time, the Taoist priest Ji Liang, who was sitting at the upper right, spoke up, "Your Excellency has indeed misunderstood. With Erhu's character, how could he possibly shoulder such a heavy responsibility? Furthermore, if he were in cahoots with the White Lotus, why would he have taken the initiative to mention this matter... My concern just now wasn't about Erhu, but about the Cao Gang."

Zhao Zhiling was speechless, thinking to himself, isn't it too late for you to say this now?
After a long time, everyone dispersed and walked out of the lobby in twos and threes.

Li Heng deliberately slowed down his pace, landed beside Cheng Xian, and asked in a low voice: "Did you really not hold back just now?"

Cheng Xian looked at him speechlessly: "What do you think?"

Li Heng was so shocked that he could barely hold back his voice. "How is this possible? Back in the northwest, among the more than 2,000 iron-clad men in the entire battalion, there weren't many with arm strength comparable to yours. How could that brat throw you a dozen feet with just a flick of his hand?"

Cheng Xian's face darkened even further: "Do you think I believe it?"

He lowered his head and looked at his hands blankly, then replied woodenly, "When I pulled his arm, I felt the force in his arm. I also wanted to wrestle with him and kill his prestige... and you saw the result!"

"It's not stable, it's not stable at all!"

"That arm of his has at least a thousand pounds of strength!"

"Let alone a person, even if it was a cow, I think he could pick it up and throw it away..."

"If he joined the army, wearing triple armor, he would be a peerless warrior like General Flying Tiger (Li Cunxiao, a fierce general in the late Tang Dynasty)!"

Li Heng looked him up and down suspiciously, and suddenly said, "I think you, old man, have been drained of your body by the women in the brothel, and you are trying to make up for it? Brother, listen to my advice, lust is a knife that scrapes your bones..."

Cheng didn't answer, but just grabbed his collar, picked him up with one hand, raised him above his head and shook him violently.

"Death, death, death!"

Li Heng's face flushed red from suffocation, and he desperately pried his big hands apart: "Let go, let go, let go..."

Cheng Xian casually let him go and asked in a muffled voice, "How is it?"

Li Heng tugged at his collar with lingering fear, the scene of Wang Wen throwing Cheng Xian over ten feet away with one arm reappearing in his mind...

……

After Wang Wen came out of the lobby angrily, he hesitated for a moment at the fork in the road leading to the training ground and the official residence, then turned around and went to the general's hall.

Before he reached the workshop, he heard the clanging sound of iron hammering.

As soon as you pass through the Moon Gate, you will see a group of burly, shiny craftsmen busy shuttling between furnaces.

"Master Wang?"

As he looked around, a blacksmith recognized him and came forward to greet him, saying, "I am Wu Dayou, the deputy blacksmith in the workshop. I am here to meet you, Lord Wang!"

Wang Wen waved his hand: "No need to be so polite. Is Master Lu here?"

Wu Dayou: "The master carpenter has gone to receive the iron materials. Lord Wang, are you here to get the weapons? The master carpenter has already given instructions."

Wang Wen was surprised and asked, "It's already been cast?"

Wu Dayou: "It was completed a few days ago, but when we sent it to the master's official residence, he couldn't find it... Old Liu, bring us the fine steel silver spear that Master Shao Qiuguan Wang had ordered!"

"Here!"

A blacksmith in the crowd responded loudly.

After a while, a blacksmith came out quickly holding a spear about a meter long covered with a leather holster. He bowed and handed the spear to Wang Wen with both hands.

Wang Wen took it with one hand, and felt the heavy weight of the gun as soon as he held it.

"clang!"

He stuck the gun handle on the ground, grabbed the holster with one hand and pulled it down, revealing a silver gun with a shiny silver tip and a black gun body with a golden hue. The gun was made entirely of fine steel, the gun body was as thick as a goose egg, and a snow-white tassel hung from the gun head.

He pulled out the gun and held it in his hand to examine it carefully.

Wu Dayou stood beside him, introducing him in a whisper, "Sir, this fine steel silver spear is forged entirely from wrought iron. It's seven feet and three-tenths long (one foot and three-tenths in Song Dynasty standards), weighs twenty-four pounds, six ounces, and four qian (one pound and sixteen ounces in Song Dynasty standards), and the spearhead is made of wrought iron mixed with meteorite iron, tempered ten times. And, as instructed by Sir Ji, the spear was sharpened with rooster comb blood on an auspicious day. It possesses the power to destroy evil..."

As Wang Wen listened to his introduction, his gun trembled.

Only a strong and low sound of gas explosion was heard, and the dark gun body shook like a giant python, causing the gun head and gun tassel to burst into a ball of gorgeous gun flowers. To the naked eye, it seemed as if several steel guns were stabbing at the same time!
Block, grab, and stab!

Block, grab, and stab!

Wang Wen kept putting away his gun and stabbing it, putting away his gun and stabbing it, and the speed of his gun gradually increased. The powerful sound of the gas explosion at the bottom, like the roar of a tiger, slowly turned into a sharp and crisp sound of birds singing.

While feeling the unruly force fed back from the gun body, he fine-tuned the strength of his shots. He soon got the hang of the hard yet soft nature of the iron gun body. His shots became smoother and his speed increased dramatically.

After getting a feel for the fine steel silver spear, he glanced at it, turned around, and stabbed it at the nearby chopping wood stake. As the dark spear moved, a flash of blood flashed...

"Oh!"

The silver spear head, which was no more than three fingers wide and seven inches long, pierced into a wooden stake as thick as a pot lid, tearing the stake into pieces and sending wood chips flying all over the sky. The craftsmen around were so frightened that they quickly protected their heads and retreated.

Wang Wen put away the gun and gently touched the tip of the gun. After feeling no burrs or cracks, he nodded happily and said, "Good gun, good gun!"

Ever since he was assassinated by the White Lotus Sect demon last time, he ordered his troops to forge a pure iron spear.

Compared with the battle spears that are often more than three meters long, this kind of flower spear that is just over two meters long has obvious weakening in both power and weapon advantages.

But the advantages of the flower spear are also obvious. It is more flexible in fighting, more convenient to carry, and more suitable for his current environment and work.

For example, if he had this fine steel silver spear in his hand yesterday, he wouldn't have had such a hard time fighting. The skin and flesh of those monsters were as tough as tires, and the damage he inflicted with a single slash of his sword was probably more serious than the external injuries. But if he had this fine steel silver spear in his hand, he could have stabbed one to death, two to death, and even if he stood still, he could have beaten those beasts so hard that they couldn't return home...

The reason he thought of this gun today was indeed because what happened last night served as a wake-up call for him.

He felt that he could no longer be as careless and spontaneous as before.

He needs to correct his attitude and face the current environment more seriously.

He remembered that a very angry boss once said: If you want to get involved in this business, you must admit your mistakes and stand at attention when you are beaten!

He acknowledged it, he stood at attention...

Wu Dayou, who was standing by, looked at the scattered wood in shock, then bowed even more respectfully and said, "As long as you like it, sir!"

Wang Wen reached out and pulled off the purse from his waist, stuffing it into his arms. "I won't say anything hypocritical. It's just a small amount of money. Please rinse your mouths, masters."

Wu Dayou quickly declined: "Sir, absolutely not..."

Wang Wen glared at the bull, then changed his tone immediately: "On behalf of all the other craftsmen, I would like to thank Master Wang for the reward."

Wang Wen then smiled and patted his hands: "Isn't that right? Why are you guys being so reserved with me...Okay, you guys are busy, I'll be back first!"

"Congratulations, sir!"

"Congratulations, sir!"

Wang Wen waved his hand and strode out of the workshop with his gun in hand.

……

Wang Wen did what he said and delivered a letter of resignation to Zhao Zhiling's desk that day.

He then locked himself in the official residence, never leaving the courtyard. Every day he either practiced boxing or spearmanship, sweating profusely.

During this period, the only person who could see him was Xu Ergou, who brought him food and drinks.

The rest of the people, whether it was Cheng Xian, the great monk Shou'an, or the old Taoist Ji Liang, were unable to step into his courtyard.

Even Xu Ergou would be immediately humiliated if he indirectly mentioned what Zhao Zhiling and Cheng Xian had told him to say...

It was not until the morning of the fourth day that Xu Ergou brought breakfast as usual. When he opened the door, he saw his elder brother standing in front of the house, dressed neatly, without a gun or a knife.

"Let's go!"

He said.

Xu Ergou was stunned: "Where are we going?"

Wang Wen strode out the door: "I'm going to see San Dao off for the last time."

Xu Ergou stared at his back for a long time, then suddenly grinned and quickly followed him: "Wait for me..."

The two of them walked straight out of the yamen and headed towards the Qinghe Gang's temple as if they were familiar with the route.

Chen Sandao was a famous gangster on the Qinghe Gang's roster, so his funeral was naturally funded by the Qinghe Gang.

Wang Wen: "How much money did you send?"

Xu Ergou: "I gave thirty taels, and you gave eighty taels."

Wang Wen slowed down.

Xu Ergou quickly whispered, "His brother and sister-in-law aren't kind people. Giving too much might not be a good thing. Anyway, with us here, they won't starve. It's better to keep it steady and make ends meet!"

Wang Wen continued walking forward until he could see the Qinghe Gang's nunnery in the distance. He then spoke again, "How are his parents?"

Xu Ergou curled his lips and said, "It's nothing. I'm more interested in money than in people..."

Wang Wen sighed silently.

Xu Ergou seemed to have heard his sigh and whispered, "Actually, he didn't suffer any loss. We've never treated him unfairly before or after his death... Who hasn't thought about this day when they eat our rice bowl? If they were really afraid, they would have gone to the docks to carry heavy bags long ago, and that rice bowl would be safe and sound."

Wang Wen responded indifferently, "Really?"

As the two of them were talking, they walked into the nunnery.

There was no fanfare or extravagance; even the spirit banners and offerings in the funeral hall were made by veteran actors who had practiced for countless years...

The gang members who came to offer their help all looked as if they were used to it and were chatting and joking in groups of three or four, with low laughter erupting from time to time.

Only the low sobbing sounds beside the mourning hall made the hall feel a bit sad.

When Wang Wen walked into the mourning hall, the Qinghe Gang members around him saw him and frowned. They greeted him in groups of three or four.

"Brother Tiger!"

"Master Tiger!"

Wang Wen walked through them expressionlessly, stepped up to the mourning hall, picked up three incense sticks, lit them, bowed solemnly three times, and then inserted them into the incense burner.

He watched as the smoke rose up, covering the pitch-black spirit tablet...

After a long while, he turned around and waved to the little kid who was nestled in his mother's arms and didn't understand what was happening: "Little guy, come here."

The little kid looked at him in fear and shrank into his mother's arms.

The simple little woman gently pushed the little kid and said with a suppressed sadness, "Don't be afraid, Xiaoshan. Go to Uncle Erhu!"

The little kid then staggered to Wang Wen.

Wang Wen supported him, forced him to kneel down in front of him, stroked his head gently and said softly: "Be good, kowtow to me three times, and from now on you are my godson."

The whole hall was silent.

(End of this chapter)