I was forced to cultivate immortality when I just wanted to lie down

Chapter 102 A Cup of Wine

"Brother Xu really wants to kill me!"

Zhu Huaian, who had been waiting for a long time, had red eyes. It was not known whether it was because he had not slept all night or because he was too excited to see him.

Zhu Huaian reached out and grabbed Xu Qing's wrist, while holding his palm tightly with his other hand, fearing that he would run away again.

"Let go!"

Xu Qing pushed the fat boy away in disgust. It was not proper for two grown men to be pulling each other in broad daylight.

"You're not in Jinmen City, why are you looking for me? There's nothing fun here."

In the coroner's shop, Zhu Huaian was sighing: "To be honest with you, Brother Xu, I'm really depressed!"

"You are a rich and noble prince, and you are still worried? How many people want to live the life you live, with everything provided for them, but they still can't even live it!" Xu Qing looked at the familiar Prince Zhu with a bad temper.

Zhu Huaian was thirsty at the moment, so he saw a water tank in the shop and took a ladle to scoop up the red water in the tank to drink.

After taking a sip, the little fat boy's eyes immediately lit up.

"Good wine!"

Xu Qing thought that was not the case. The water tank was soaked with the wine bugs he threw in. A tank of fake wine without any seasoning was not much healthier than the real wine sold outside.

Zhu Huaian took a sip and felt that he had finally found a way to vent the depression in his heart.

"The poor have their own worries, the rich have their own worries. Brother Xu, why do you still ask when you already know the answer?"

Xu Qing's heart moved slightly.

"My father has his revenge? Are you trying to avenge your father?"

Zhu Huaian's eyelids twitched and he silently put down the watering can.

Seeing that he remained silent, Xu Qing knew that his guess was correct.

"That's fine. But the road ahead is long and arduous, so I hope Your Highness will take good care of himself."

Xu Qing took a step back unnoticeably and bowed to Zhu Huaian.

The revenge of Prince Changting is not an ordinary family feud, it must be a great feud that is tied to the fate of the country.

He was just a small corpse driver, a little zombie in a coroner's shop, and he didn't want to get involved in this deep and muddy pool.

The struggle for dynasties has always been a matter of advance and no retreat, just like a rolling wheel rolling over an ant nest. Not to mention human power, even a martial arts master may not be able to escape unscathed from under the wheel.

When Zhu Huaian saw Xu Qing's reaction, he felt even more depressed.

"I really envy Brother Xu for being able to live a peaceful and tranquil life."

Xu Qing shook his head in denial upon hearing this.

"I can't call myself a free and easy person. At best, I'm just a commoner trying to make a living."

Seeing that the other party was unmoved, Zhu Huaian knew that he had to find another way to open his heart.

If friendship is not enough, then sadness will make up for it.

Zhu Huaian's eyes turned red and tears began to fall.

"."

Xu Qing's eyelids twitched as he watched, thinking to himself, we can chat just fine, but why are we arguing over something when we disagree?

"As far back as I can remember, my father has been fighting in the North. He might not come back for three to five years."

Xu Qing thought Zhu Huaian was going to talk about the deep hatred he carried, but he never expected that the little fat boy would talk about his childhood instead.

"My mother often said that it was because of people like my father who protected the country that the people could live a prosperous life."

"If it weren't for the soldiers who bravely stood up to resist the foreign enemies, once those barbarians began to invade our land, countless people would have been torn apart from their families."

The more Xu Qing listened, the more he felt something was wrong. The little fat man was obviously saying something else and was hinting at him in a roundabout way.

"The current emperor has no regard for the people's livelihood and state affairs, but instead only wants to wipe out my Zhu family. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the emperor's request for the Zhu family to relocate is fake, and his real intention is to eradicate the hidden dangers."

Zhu Huaian talked about the incident in which Emperor Yongxing Zhao Rong issued an oral order asking him to go to the northern border.

Xu Qing was silent. Prince Changting was quite prestigious among the armies in the northern border. Zhu Huaian was Prince Changting's only son. If he went to the northern border, there would be military support and protection for him.

It is impossible that Emperor Yongxing did not think of this.

After a little thought, Xu Qing understood the mystery hidden in it.

Prince Changting worked hard and made great contributions. Even if someone spread rumors and slandered him behind his back, it would not be possible to erase the Zhu family's contribution to the Dayong Dynasty.

If Emperor Yongxing wanted to eliminate the Zhu family, he would definitely not dare to do it openly.

This was too high a price to pay for Zhao Rong, who valued his reputation.

Xu Qing looked at Zhu Huaian and said calmly, "Since the situation is so urgent, you should have thought of a solution as soon as possible. Why do you still have the time to come to visit me?"

"Brother Xu, why do you still ask when you already know the answer? Others may not know this, but I know that Brother Xu is definitely not an ordinary person."

"."

Seeing Xu Qing remained silent, Zhu Huaian lowered his voice and continued, "A few months ago at the banquet at the palace, I knew it was Brother Xu who came to my rescue, and I've always kept this in mind."

"Brother Xu is a man of both literary and martial talents, a rare gem in the world. If you are willing to step out of the mountains and into the world, I would gladly help you, even if it means holding your horse and reinforcing its stirrups."

You are not helping me by pulling the stirrups of my horse, you are clearly repaying kindness with enmity!

Xu Qing shook his head after hearing this.

He lived a good life in the coroner's shop, playing with cats and raising ghosts. He only went crazy and ran to the north to make a living.

Zhu Huaian was still talking there.

He appealed to Xu Qing's emotions and reason. This was the first time that Prince Zhu was so eager to recruit talented people.

It can be said that Xu Qing is his first experimental field in recruiting soldiers. If he cannot lure the other party onto his warship this time, he feels that he will never have confidence again in the future.

If he can't even win over an old acquaintance, how can he use his personal charm to recruit other talented people?
"Huaian, I'm not interested in this. It's useless to say more."

"How about just asking Brother Xu to accompany us all the way, and then letting him stay or go as he pleases when we reach the northern border?

Xu Qing still shook his head and refused.

"I treat Mr. Hu, the old man from the street coffin shop, as an elder. He is old and in poor health. I have promised to take care of him until his death, so I really can't get away."

"Is this really the case? I am being rude."

Seeing Zhu Huaian's embarrassed expression, Xu Qing eased the atmosphere and said:
"These are all minor matters. The main thing is that my cousin still relies on me to make money. You don't know how much she eats in one meal. A fish this big is not enough for her to eat in one bite."

"Patta!" Just as Xu Qing was talking about how greedy his cousin was, a shuttlecock suddenly flew over from a distance.

Xu Qing slapped it down casually.

Zhu Huaian glanced sideways, but did not see Sun Erniang. He only saw a black cat jump down from the counter and then walk out of the store without looking back.

Xu Qing bent down and picked up the shuttlecock Xuan Yu had tossed to him, saying, "Every family has its own problems. Let's not talk about this one." He brushed off the unnecessary dust on the shuttlecock and placed it on the table beside him. He smiled and said, "I know you've had a difficult journey, and as a friend, I don't have much to offer you. Here are a few talismans. Take them for now, just to put your mind at ease."

As he spoke, Xu Qing took out several talismans, among which were the peace talismans he had drawn, as well as the talismans for exorcism and soul-soothing that he had obtained when he was resurrecting the corpse.

Zhu Huaian straightened his expression and took the talisman with great care.

"Thank you, Brother Xu."

Xu Qing smiled slightly.

To be honest, he has always had some good feelings towards His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

The other party never looked down upon others just because of his status as a prince.

Like the Wu brothers and him, they all came from the lower class after all, but the fat guy never cared about their backgrounds and was always willing to make friends with them sincerely.

Looking at the entire circle of children of the powerful and wealthy, it is probably hard to find another person with such a mentality.

It's just that talented people are envied and virtuous people suffer misfortune. If Zhu Huaian's father hadn't been too dazzling, he might have lived a carefree life as a second-generation.

Zhu Huaian did not mention the matter of letting Xu Qing come out of retirement again, but instead talked about the past pranks he had done with the Wu brothers with a smile.

"If I hadn't come here this time, I wouldn't have known that Brother Zhiyuan had already married and had a family. Why didn't you send me an invitation?"

Xu Qing shook his head and said, "It's not that I didn't think of giving it to you. Wencai thought of you first. But Zhiyuan felt bad that he had to prepare a wedding while the palace was still in mourning."

Zhu Huaian was suddenly speechless.

"Next time I see him, I'll make him drink three cups as punishment."

Zhu Huaian smiled in a relaxed manner, seeming to be as carefree as usual.

"Brother Xu, I have to go."

Xu Qing nodded when he heard that.

"It's hard to leave a poor home, and it's hard to leave a warm home. You, who were born in a wealthy family, must find it even harder to leave. This cup of muddy wine will serve as a token of your practice."

Zhu Huaian took the wine gourd, took only a sip, and poured the rest onto the ground at the door.

"I'll just take a sip, and I'll dedicate the rest to this warm land. If there's a day in the future, I'll definitely come here again."

Xu Qing looked at Zhu Huaian getting on the carriage and suddenly said, "Wait a minute, Brother Zhu. I have something here that might be useful to you."

At the Linhe Port, a large crowd of people gathered around a fish pen.

Everyone stood on end, stretching their necks just to catch a glimpse of the legendary "spiritual fish".

"This new kid from the Wang family is really capable. He can actually catch a spirit fish."

"That's not a spirit fish, that's pure silver. A spirit fish this big must weigh seven or eight catties. If we calculate it at twenty taels of silver per catty, that should be around one or two hundred taels."

"Even if we fish for a lifetime, we may not be able to make this much money."

In front of the fish pen, a dark-skinned boy was guarding his fish basket, waiting for the fish pen manager to calculate the price.

"There are seven stars on the fish's head and a crescent pattern on its body. It is undoubtedly the Star Fish."

"You're really lucky, kid. This fish only appears at night, and its teeth are so sharp that it can even bite through iron nets. How did you catch it?"

The young man surnamed Wang seemed not good at talking. He just asked, "How much do you want to offer?"

The fish pound manager said with a smile, "It's not a question of how much you offer. The origin of your fish is unknown. If it came from someone else's fish basket, and they come to me to ask for it, do you think I should give it to them or not?"

"You have to tell me where this fish came from, only then will I feel comfortable accepting it."

Spirit fish are not ordinary fish. In the entire port, the only people who can collect spirit fish are the martial artists or people from the martial arts world who come here occasionally, and the people who manage the fish pen.

"When the Fourth Master collected fish in the past, he never asked these questions." The young man surnamed Wang frowned.

"Fourth Master? Are you talking about Li Si from the Linhe Yahang? Well, I'm sorry, but the port is now under the control of the Jinmen Gang, and the rules that Li Si set before are no longer applicable."

The young man surnamed Wang had no choice but to make up an excuse to dispel the other party's doubts.

If he fails to sell the fish today, it will surely be coveted by someone with ulterior motives. The only way to be safe is to exchange it for money as soon as possible and go to the market to apply for a property store, or to leave the port overnight and hide for a while.

"Are you saying this fish was chased by a river monster and stranded on the shore, allowing you to snatch it up?"

"Do you think everyone will believe this reason?"

The young man surnamed Wang said angrily, "Everything I said is true. If you don't want it, I'll go to the martial arts gym and find someone to sell it to you."

"Wait a minute, young man, why are you so impatient? Well, I'll take the risk and take your fish."

The manager of the fish pen was not afraid that the other party would go to the martial arts hall. During the time he deliberately delayed, the members of the Jinmen Gang had already surrounded him.

The young man surnamed Wang noticed that the crowd had suddenly quieted down. He looked back and saw that a dozen unfamiliar faces with aggressive looks had squeezed into the inner circle of the crowd at some point.

The manager of the fish pen became more fearless and acted even more recklessly.

He bargained down the price several times, and finally managed to reduce the price of the spirit fish, which was worth nearly two hundred taels, to fifty taels.

The young man surnamed Wang thought he was unlucky, so after taking the silver, he exchanged it for five taels of hanging money. Then he began to distribute the money in front of the fish stall owner and asked a group of fishermen to act as witnesses and protect him from leaving the port.

As long as he left the port and reached the area under the control of Mr. Li Si, he would not be afraid that the money on him would be taken away by the Jinmen Gang.

The fish pen manager watched with a smile, allowing the fishermen to escort the young man away.

A gang member came forward and asked: "Brother Cai, do you want to..."

The fish stall owner, known as Brother Cai, shook his head and said, "You have to leave some room for maneuver and not push people too hard."

"We've already made quite a bit of money from this fish today. Young Master Yao has practiced martial arts for many years and is about to start his inner cultivation. He urgently needs a spirit fish to replenish his energy and blood. Young Master Yao has always been generous with his money. This star fish can be sold for at least two hundred taels of silver."

The manager of the fish pen was twirling his mustache, feeling proud of himself, when one of the gang members suddenly shouted, "There's a wild cat! Manager, be careful, don't let that cat steal your fish!"

Upon hearing this, the manager hurriedly lowered his head, and saw a pitch-black cat opening its mouth and taking away his fish basket.

The fish basket was dragging on the ground, shaking all the way, splashing water.

Everyone reacted immediately and wanted to block the black cat's way, but unexpectedly the cat had great agility. It swam like a snake and leaped like a fish, and found a gap in the crowd and slipped out.

The black cat leaped onto the roof of the fish pen, then it deliberately stopped and turned its head to look at the crowd, as if waiting for them to catch up.

There are many martial arts masters in the Tianjin Gang. Seven or eight warriors followed closely behind and jumped onto the roof in a surrounding manner.

The black cat blinked, then jumped off the roof in front of everyone.

At the moment of landing, an inexplicable gust of wind blew up a cloud of dust. The members of the Jinmen Gang felt blinded by the wind and sand. When the wind died down, they looked around but could not find any trace of the cat.

The fish pen manager cursed after searching in vain.

"This thief cat is truly despicable. If you catch it, you will definitely skin it alive and crush its bones!"

At this time, in the coroner's shop, Xu Qing looked at the huge space created by the mountain and river totem, and felt happy.

That damn imperial purple aura was finally thrown out.

(End of this chapter)