Misty Rain of the Old Times

Chapter 169 Logically speaking...

They must have been communicating for a while, the atmosphere was a bit tense, and Chen Xuan could hear their conversation clearly.

Then the leader of the Wolf Fang Society said impatiently, "Zhuo Erniu, let me ask you again, are you going to come with us on your own, or are we going to ask you to leave? My patience is limited, so don't make everyone unhappy."

Zhuo Erniu smiled helplessly and said, "Gentlemen, please be kind and let me go. My cooking skills are crude, and I think you can do without me. I am willing to give you eighty taels for the wine and drinks. This is all I have. How about you just pretend you have never seen me?"

"Sorry, we don't mean to embarrass you, but our superiors have said that we must invite you. We dare not take your money, so keep it for yourself."

"Master Zhuo, please don't be so modest. Everyone knows that your Zhuo family's forging skills are famous. Our ancestors once forged a sword worth thousands of gold, which even caused a fight and snatching, and finally disappeared. With such skills, we have to ask you to come and see us."

"Yes, I'm not asking you to work for nothing. The promise of thirty taels of silver per month still stands. You can't earn that much even if you work hard all year round, right?"

A group of people from the Langya Society surrounded him and spoke earnestly.

Zhuo Erniu knew very well that these people were telling lies and deceiving people. It was hard to say whether the thirty taels of silver per month was real or not. Even if it was real, would it be so easy to get? And God knew where they would take him and what they would do. Nearly half of the blacksmiths in Mo City had been "invited" away by the three major gangs and their whereabouts were unknown. Would he, Zhuo Erniu, dare to go?

So many blacksmiths were "asked to leave", which actually affected the livelihood of the entire Mo City. If it continues, there will be chaos, and the government cannot ignore it. Zhuo Erniu also wanted to go to the academy first to avoid the limelight and wait for the government to intervene to calm the situation before going back.

But although his idea was good, it was blocked halfway.

Helplessly, he could only continue to smile and say: "Gentlemen, my craftsmanship is really not good enough. The story of my ancestors making swords is too long ago. I don't even know whether it is true or not. But by the time it comes to me, the skills have been lost. Now I can only make farm tools and kitchen knives. I am really not the person you need."

The leader of the Langya Society had a cold look in his eyes and exhaled, "I've said all the nice things, but please don't refuse my toast and drink the penalty!"

"Gentlemen, please be kind..."

Before Zhuo Erniu could finish his plea, the leader of the Langya Society waved his hand and said, "I don't have time to waste talking to you here. Take him away."

"Master Zhuo, come with us," two minions immediately came forward and drove Zhuo Erniu away by force.

He struggled hard and said angrily: "Don't go too far"

"Take him away, don't waste too much time and cause unnecessary trouble," the leader of the Wolf Fang Society said without question as he turned and walked towards the carriage.

They were under a lot of pressure to close the road. After all, the scholars could not stand this kind of thing, so they closed the road to avoid the scholars and forced them to hire people.

If they were seen by a scholar of a certain status, he would be unhappy and pass a note to the government, and the Langya Society would be in trouble.

Being forced into a desperate situation, Zhuo Erniu certainly didn't want to go with them. At first, he lowered his head and pretended to accept his fate. When they let their guard down, he suddenly broke free and ran towards the academy.

"Damn it, they actually chased him away!" The people from the Langya Society immediately went after him in anger.

It is still unknown how good Zhuo Erniu's forging skills are, but he has never practiced martial arts seriously. Even if he has a lot of strength, how can he outrun the few martial artists in the Langya Society?

So he was caught up before he ran four or five meters. Someone kicked him angrily, and he rolled out and fell into the dust.

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Zhuo Erniu immediately stood up, rolled up his sleeves, pointed at them and said with gritted teeth, "Don't move, or I'll be rude. These wind-chasing sleeve arrows are very sharp. One arrow is enough to penetrate an inch of iron plate. If you don't believe me, you can try it. I have five arrows here. If you push me again, I'll see how many you can catch!"

In the sunlight, one could see that he was wearing a black metal sleeve on his arm, which had an icy luster. Especially the five holes on the sleeve, which were as thick as five fingers, made one feel chilled.

Seeing this, the people from the Langya Society immediately dared not take any extreme actions.

Zhuo Erniu is a blacksmith after all, so it is reasonable for him to make some life-saving props for himself. He only showed them when he was forced into no other choice.

However, the members of the Wolf Fang Society were not deterred by this. The leader shielded his men in front of him without leaving any trace and said in a deep voice, "Zhuo Erniu, you said that the ancestral skills have been lost, but how do you explain these wind-chasing sleeve arrows? Please don't make a mistake and come with us. There are eight of us. Even if your sleeve arrows are a threat to us, it is impossible to kill us all. The higher-ups have already spoken. We must take you back. If we don't, we will suffer. Now you are making things difficult for us!"

In fact, as people working at the bottom of the gang, they have no idea where the blacksmiths were taken. They don’t know the truth. They have no choice but to do whatever they are told to do.

Shaking his head slightly, Zhuo Erniu said coldly, "There's no grudge between you and me, so why force me to do this? My Wind Chasing Sleeve Arrows can't kill all of you, but if I kill one of the eight of you, I'll be broke, and if I kill two, I'll be broke. Who wants to go to hell with me?"

"Brother Zhuo, Master Zhuo, it's not that serious. It hasn't reached that point yet. It's not necessary. It's a good thing that you come with us. Why make such a situation?" The Wolf Fang Society leader said earnestly, with cold sweat on his forehead, because Zhuo Erniu's sleeve arrow was aimed directly at him. Even though there were younger brothers in front of him to block him, he still broke out in sweat on his back.

They have some martial arts skills, but as the bottom of the gang, they haven't even developed internal strength, so how can they withstand that thing?

However, even so, with their lives threatened and under pressure from their superiors, they still refused to give up.

"I don't care. Who knows where you will take me? Anyway, if you don't let me go, I will drag some of you to be buried with me!" Zhuo Erniu said stubbornly.

So the two sides came to a stalemate, one refusing to let him leave, while the other was afraid to act rashly due to the threat of hidden arrows.

Chen Xuan and his companions were far away, so they weren't implicated. However, after more than two quarters of an hour, they were still deadlocked, and their tempers were getting a bit irritated. Seeing that they were still arguing endlessly, the wanderer who was traveling with them jumped off the carriage and strode towards them, cursing, "Are you done yet? You've waited until the flowers have wilted, wasting my time. Get out of my way and clear the way!"

His sudden intervention did ease the tense atmosphere a bit. The Wolf Fang leader turned around and shouted angrily, "Wolf Fang is in charge of the Wolf Fang. Get out of the way, or we'll take care of you too!"

"How the hell are you talking like that? Are wolf fangs scary? How did I become a bystander? You blocked the road and our car couldn't pass. You wasted my time and I haven't asked you to apologize yet." The Jianghu guest was not one to fear trouble. He retorted back immediately, his mouth as sweet as honey.

The Langya Society was a powerful force in the area, so he certainly didn't dare confront them head-on. However, he was alone, and there were only a few of them. If he offended them, it would be fine. Where would he find him if he went back? Therefore, he didn't give them face.

His eyes turned cold, and the little leader said in a deep voice: "Is this brother looking for trouble?"

"Damn it, I have such a bad temper, and I'm picking on you? Get out of here, or I'll chop you into pieces with one knife!" As he said that, his long knife came out of its sheath with a clang. Everyone saw a flash of cold light, and his figure swayed. A waist-thick willow tree on the side of the road broke and fell down, and the cut was as smooth as a mirror.

After showing off his skills, the Jianghu guest sneered, "Looking for trouble, huh? Grandpa doesn't want to cause any trouble, but you guys are getting excited. Who can take my sword? Stand up and dare to fight me!"

People in the martial arts world are so straightforward. Chen Xuan has seen this. Unlike scholars, they do not play tricks like that. Everything depends on strength.

Logically speaking, the people from the Langya Society would not be afraid of him, but now the truth is in their hands.

A hero never suffers a loss in front of him. Fear flashed in the eyes of the little leader, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Brother, you are meddling in other people's business, right? Fine, we will leave now. If you have the guts, leave your name behind!"

"Haha, who the hell are you trying to fool? Do you want to go back and say that it was my interference that made you not bring the person back? Do you think I'm stupid?" The Jianghu guest said with disdain.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that they were afraid of Zhuo Erniu's hidden arrows and were in a difficult situation. This was just an excuse, but he wasn't stupid either and exposed it directly.

But this way, they also had an excuse to get through, so the little leader immediately waved his hand and said: "Green mountains remain unchanged and green water flows forever, let's go"

"Hmph, you guys are smart. I'm not afraid to tell you, my name is Gu Xifeng, and people in the martial arts world gave me the Gale Blade. You'd better remember it, don't recognize the wrong person next time!" Gu Xifeng gave his name directly. He had already started a conflict with the Langya Society. There was no need to be timid. There were risks, but he could also take the opportunity to make a name for himself.

He was only in his twenties, full of vigor and vitality, so he didn't think too much. He just wanted to make himself happy. Anyway, the verbal conflict had not reached the point of physical violence.

No one present had ever heard of the name of Swift Blade. Chen Xuan in the carriage behind him even suspected that he had given it to himself. However, he was really good with the swift knife, and his strength was probably comparable to Zhao Qingluan.

"No problem," the man from the Langya Society said with a bow, then glanced at Zhuo Erniu and drove away in a dejected manner with his men.

Gu Xifeng looked at their backs heading towards Mocheng and said with a curled lip: "This will save me the trouble of kicking the carriage into the ditch by the roadside."

"Thank you for your help, I am very grateful," Zhuo Erniu immediately bowed to express his gratitude, with a look of relief on his face.

Gu Xifeng shook his head and said without giving him a good look: "Wait a minute, I'm not here because of you, it's really because you guys are chattering endlessly here and wasting my time, it's bad luck."

As he spoke, he waved to the carriage behind him and urged: "What are you doing? It's all over. Come over here quickly."

The gratitude in Zhuo Erniu's eyes became even stronger. He probably understood that the other party wanted to distance themselves from the matter and did not want to implicate him, but he had already been targeted by the Langya Society.

He was also grateful and said in a low voice: "Hero Gu is a swordsman. In Zhuoji Blacksmith Shop on Cuiyun Road in Mocheng, there is a family heirloom sword about ten feet deep under the furnace. I will give it to you, hero."

After saying that, he bowed, turned around and ran towards the academy.

"Hey, why are you running? Everyone has left. I guess they won't come to see you again in the short time. You have already paid for the car fare, so take the bus." Gu Xifeng reminded with a pout. He was probably moved by the other party's sincerity. The gift was too much. It was a family heirloom sword, which sounded like a good thing.

Zhuo Erniu paused and scratched his head, saying, "That's right."

However, at this moment, an old man in gray clothes suddenly jumped out from the roadside. He wore an armband on his arm, glared at Gu Xifeng and shouted, "What's this? You dare to cut down trees on the road leading to the academy? Fine, ten taels of silver, or you'll be sued. This is my secret investigation certificate, do you want to verify its authenticity?"

As he spoke, the old man took out a certificate with an official seal on it.

Gu Xifeng: “…”

Can this world ever get better?
He dared to argue with the Langya Society, but he didn't dare to argue with the government. Even if an old man who could be blown away by a gust of wind jumped out, he had to pinch his nose and pay the money. But when he touched his arms, he felt embarrassed.

Seeing this, Zhuo Erniu rushed to pay the fine, and the old man even gave him a receipt.

The old man who received the fine quickly hid in the bushes again, being very cunning.

As a result, the relationship between Gu Xifeng and Zhuo Erniu became much closer. Gu Xifeng had to soften his tone and said, "Brother, let's go. I'll protect you all the way."

Chen Xuan, who witnessed all this, almost laughed out loud. It was too funny. The dignified 'Swift Blade' was actually fined for cutting down trees indiscriminately. If anyone knew about this, it would be hilarious...

(End of this chapter)