My exclusive card pool

Chapter 171 The Amazing Class

a few days later.

The morning mist had not yet dissipated.

Wang Xi began his stance in the courtyard, his body as sturdy as a pine tree. The force of his fist suddenly pierced the air like thunder, then flowed like water in an instant. As his clothes fluttered, he even stirred up fallen leaves on the ground, creating a whirlwind around him.

Senior brother Yu Ruiyang, junior sister Huo Qiao'er, and senior sister Huo Siling watched quietly from the side, their eyes filled with astonishment.

whoosh-

Wang Xi swung his right arm twice, then flipped and thrashed it before landing two palms as if writing the character "开" (open). The whirlwind of falling leaves surrounding him immediately dispersed.

After finishing his set of punches, Wang Xi stopped and stood still, letting out a long breath. Within ten steps of him, not a speck of dust could be seen, and even the fallen leaves that had been stirred up by the wind from his punches were neatly arranged in circles, as if they were separated from the outside by an invisible barrier.

Qiao'er clapped excitedly, her cheeks flushed, and shouted:
"Senior brother! Did you subdue Qingfeng and incorporate him into your moves with this set of fist techniques? It's truly beautiful!"

"What's the use of looking good? You need to be able to fight."

Wang Xi walked over with a light laugh.

"Junior sister, I am not an immortal, how could I subdue Qingfeng? It is only by incorporating calligraphy into our Huo family boxing and using Qi that it appears miraculous."

"Qi?" Huo Qiao'er asked, puzzled. She stepped forward with a towel to wipe her senior brother's sweat. "Senior brother, what is Qi?"

Wang Xi didn't break a sweat, but he accepted his junior sister's offer to wipe his brow and casually explained, "It's an invisible force that condenses within the body after the Five Qi Converge and the Three Flowers Gather at the Top."

Huo Qiao'er responded with an "oh," and although she didn't understand, she felt it was very impressive.

"Where is Fuyun?" Wang Xi asked.

"Ugh, just thinking about him is so annoying."

Huo Qiao'er, puffed up with anger, began to complain like beans spilling from a bamboo tube.

"That good-for-nothing has been nowhere to be seen for two whole days. I went to the Zhang family this morning to ask, and guess what, Senior Brother?" She tiptoed closer and snorted, "He's been bewitched by a theatrical troupe!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Xi's eyebrows twitched slightly:
"A theatrical troupe has come to town?"

"Yes, they just arrived yesterday. They're called the 'Amazing Swan Troupe,' and I heard they sing really well... My junior brother's uncles are very generous; they booked out two shows and gave him ten or twenty yuan each time."

As they were talking, Huo Qiao'er suddenly grabbed her senior brother's sleeve and gently shook it: "Senior brother, um... Father always says there's a balance between work and rest, actually..."

She hesitated, seemingly a little embarrassed to speak.

After all, he had just complained that his junior brother was wasting his time on frivolous pursuits.

Looking at the embarrassed girl, Wang Xi's eyes lit up with a smile: "Want to go?"

"Okay!" Huo Qiao'er nodded hurriedly. "Just... just watch half the game... is that alright, senior brother?"

“Okay,” Wang Xi said with a smile. “I’ll go with Qiao’er to see it.”

Huo Qiao'er's face lit up with surprise: "Senior brother is so kind!"

Wang Xi then looked at his senior brothers and sisters, as if asking them if they wanted to go.

"Junior brother, you and junior sister go."

Yu Ruiyang smiled and waved.

"My senior brother is now far behind you, he needs to practice more to catch up!"

"..."

Huo Siling turned and left without saying a word.

He seemed to have absolutely no interest in watching the play.

Seeing this, Wang Xi called to his junior sister, and the two left the martial arts school.

After a while.

After asking around along the way, Wang Xi led Qiao'er to the opera troupe in front of an abandoned city god temple in the town.

This place was originally a gathering place for merchants, but now a temporary colorful silk tent has been set up.

It's a bit rudimentary, but at least it's a decent stage.

Several deaf and blind musicians sat on one side, banging gongs and clappers, surrounding an elderly man with white hair who was playing a violin.

On stage, a man and a woman were performing, playing a martial arts actor and a female lead. Another short man, playing a clown, was brandishing two swords and making a lot of noise.

In the fast-paced aria of Xipi Liushui, the martial arts actor's voice was filled with grief and indignation as he looked up to the sky and sighed:
"Black eels churn the waves, obscuring the moon's light; fishing lights flicker dimly, unable to illuminate the scene! Forced collection of boat taxes fills private coffers; starving corpses litter the land, their cries echoing in silence—"

He held a long pole and twirled it with it:

"How hateful! Foreign flags fly high in the government office—yet they treat foreigners as honored guests!"

The musician immediately changed the tempo to a slower Erhuang tempo.

The young actress, carrying a fishing basket, covered her face and wept:
"Yesterday, my father and brothers locked me in a cage just to refuse to offer my virgin daughter—what 'trade and friendship' they talked about, it was clearly just... a black eel opening its mouth to swallow the bright moon!"

Sudden turn into fast tempo.

The audience immediately clapped enthusiastically.

"it is good!"

"You sang well!"

A hundred or so people were packed below the stage. The local gentry in the front row waved their folding fans and occasionally tossed a few copper coins onto the stage. The porters in the back squatted on benches, drinking coarse tea with peanuts.

Several teenagers, who were just there for the fun, climbed up the tree, bending the branches under their weight.

"Brother, this..."

Huo Qiao'er gasped softly, her eyes filled with astonishment.

"Hmm." Wang Xi nodded slightly, his gaze falling on the stage with interest. "To dare to subtly mock Master Han's Black Eel Army, this 'Jinghong Troupe' is quite bold."

When he first arrived in Qingwei Town, he personally witnessed the Sanhe Gang, backed by the Black Eel Army Captain, causing trouble at the Huo Family Martial Arts School.

If it weren't for his extraordinary strength, the martial arts school would probably have already suffered a terrible fate, with no one to even seek justice.

A glimpse of the leopard in the tube can be seen.

If even this small town of Qingwei is so rampant, one can only imagine the oppression that the powerless people in other villages and towns under Master Han's rule must suffer.
The rise and fall of dynasties are always accompanied by the suffering of the common people.

Chaotic times are especially difficult to endure.

At this moment, the short, clown-like figure on stage, dressed in a black and white striped costume, wielded two swords and hopped about, seemingly playing the role of a squad leader in the Black Eel Army, cracking jokes and making light of the situation.
"Hehe! Grandpa cleaved the Dragon King's Palace in the North Sea with his sword and kicked the Earth God of the South Mountain! This is a porcelain shard from a foreign gentleman's dream—"

He suddenly changed his expression, pointed his knife at the audience, and looked arrogant and fierce.

"How dare you lowly commoners understand? Quickly offer silver and beauties, or else..." The clown clapped his hands with the back of his knife and said with a sinister smile, "Send them all to the barracks to be forced laborers!"

"That corrupt official deserves to die!"

"Give me back my hard-earned money!"

The audience members were outraged and threw rotten vegetable leaves and rotten eggs at the stage.

That clown was no ordinary person either. Wang Xi clearly saw that his entry was "The Clown of the Jinghong Class - Zhao Hama (Neutral/Four-Star)," but he did not dodge or avoid it. He was hit and covered in filth, pretending to run away with his head in his hands, shouting.

Wang Xi looked at the other man and woman.

"The Martial Arts Performer of the Amazing Swan Class - Luo Qu (Neutral/Four-Star)"

"Jiang Xiaolan (Neutral/Four-Star), the leading lady of the Jinghong Class," is a master of external martial arts.

At this moment, the musicians beat gongs and drums, and the white-haired old man also began to play intense music on his zither.

"The Amazing Musician - The Mute Uncle (Neutral/Four-Star/Elite)"

Four stars in a bronze frame, a master of external martial arts.

Wang Xi's eyes narrowed.

No wonder he dared to sing like that; if he didn't have some talent, wouldn't he be courting death?
On the stage, the drumbeats suddenly quickened, and a female warrior in a red dress made a dashing entrance to the beat of the drums.

Behind them stood two young men, one in black and one in white, on either side. The young man in black held shackles, while the young man in white held a white banner.

The female warrior's armor fluttered in the wind, her red-tasseled spear twirling in her hand with sharp flourishes, her singing high-pitched:

"On a dark and windy night, eels stir up waves, bullying men and women with utter depravity! You wear the skin of officials, your pockets overflowing with the people's blood and sweat, feeding wolves and jackals!"

At the same time, the spear tip stabbed at the clown with two swords, who dodged in a sorry state, his movements comical, and he cried out strangely.

The female warrior, spear in hand, stood on her horse, her eyes blazing with fury.

"Today, a fleeting glimpse of nature raises a question on behalf of Heaven—are you soldiers, bandits, or the King of Hell?!"

The boy in black chimed in, "An investigation revealed that they embezzled disaster relief grain!"

The young man in white robes quickly chimed in: "Secondly, investigate treason and the sale of the city walls!"

Both shouted in unison: "Investigate the countless blood debts—"

The female warrior roared, "The spear will reveal the truth by tearing through the ledger, the red tassel will bind the evil dragon, and the stage will be the—decapitation stake!"

He spun around and kicked the gun, piercing the clown's chest with a single thrust.

The martial arts actors and actresses shouted in unison, scattering white paper money inscribed with accusations of crimes into the sky.

"it is good!"

"it is good!!"

The audience erupted in applause and cheers.

"Great!" Huo Qiao'er, standing at the back of the crowd, couldn't help but clap and cheer. Soon after, she tugged at Wang Xi's sleeve with some concern and whispered, "Senior brother, you sang so well, it's just..."

She was kind and intelligent, and naturally understood that the way the opera troupe sang would inevitably arouse the dissatisfaction of the Black Eel Army, and even bring trouble upon them.

"no need to worry."

Wang Xi gently patted his junior sister's shoulder to comfort her.

"If a theatrical troupe travels all over the country without any backing, how dare they criticize current affairs so harshly?"

His gaze fell on the red-clad female warrior on the stage; the performer was actually a man in his early thirties.

"Master Mei Yanxi (Neutral/5-Star/Elite)"

Five-pointed star with copper frame.

Wang Xi's primordial spirit was touched, and he could clearly sense the surging blood energy and flowing innate qi within the other party's body.

This Master Mei was not only physically strong, but his internal organs were also full of vitality, and his eyes shone with a deep, inner light.

Both inner and outer cultivation have been perfected!
Mei Yanxi, also a Grandmaster, was very perceptive. She suddenly turned her head and swept her sharp gaze across the crowd below the stage, where her eyes met those of the young man in the long black robe at the back of the crowd.

A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

How could such a young Grandmaster exist in this remote town?!

Despite her surprise and doubt, Mei Yanxi remained calm and nodded to Wang Xi across the crowd, giving him a friendly smile.

Wang Xi stood upright and nodded in response.

The unspoken understanding between the two grandmasters went unnoticed by others.

The troupe members lined up in a single file, with the martial arts performers clasping their hands in greeting, the female lead offering a deep bow, and the troupe leader, Mei Lanfang, bowing to the audience.
"Thank you all for coming! I hope you will forgive any shortcomings in our service today!"

"The play may be rough, but the people are real. We are grateful for the audience's patronage. Our performance of 'The Black Eel Swallows the Moon' is entirely due to your kindness. If you enjoy it, we would like to ask for a lucky draw prize: a pack of tea for the children to soothe their throats!"

As he spoke, Master Mei shouted:
"Qu'er, give everyone a toast!"

"Yes, Master!"

With a whoosh, the martial arts performer executed three consecutive backflips, astonishing the audience who applauded and cheered.

Just as they were asking for their blessings, two young men dressed in black shirts and white robes went down to the stage with a red silk tray.

The audience was quite enthusiastic and quick to respond.

A wealthy gentryman might give a few silver dollars; even a poor peasant in short clothes could still manage to pull out three or five copper coins.

As for the peddlers and laborers carrying baskets and loads, they had originally intended to join the performance, but now, stimulated by the excitement, they felt embarrassed to go empty-handed.

Some pulled out a few polished copper coins, while others tossed warm salted duck eggs from their pockets onto the stage, prompting the short man playing the clown to leap up, catch them, peel them, take a bite, and wink:
"Thank you for the reward, sir! This egg is even more valuable than the Black Eel Army's pay!"

The audience burst into laughter.

But at this moment.

Suddenly, everyone heard a gasp, followed by a thunderous shout: "Black Eel Army is on duty! All bystanders, get out of the way!"

Looking in the direction of the sound, they saw about twenty men dressed in black and carrying guns, led by a burly captain, pushing through the crowd.

The local gentry quickly stood up and made way, and several children were pulled behind the woman. The large group of men scattered, afraid of being caught in the crossfire.

Finish the calf!
It really attracted the dark-skinned guy!
"What a fine 'Black Eel Swallowing the Moon' story..." the burly captain grinned coldly. "Is the name of Master Han something that you lowlifes can fabricate?"

On stage, Master Mei and his entourage remained unfazed, each giving the audience a cold stare.

Suddenly, the captain felt someone tap him on the shoulder.

He turned his head and saw a young man in a black coat standing next to him. He was about to start cursing when his expression changed.

The burly man recognized the young man.

Wasn't it the distinguished guest that Commander Dong personally escorted out of the barracks that night?

"Sir, you're watching the show here too..."

He forced a smile.

"Take your men back. Don't disturb everyone's fun." Wang Xi waved his hand dismissively. "If your Commander Dong asks, just say it was Mr. Wang's idea."

"But this..."

Wang Xi said nothing more, only glancing at him casually. A sweep of his spiritual energy sent the man into a frenzy, as if he were being stared at by a tiger, his heart skipping a beat.

"Okay, okay!"

The army of black eels came and went as fast as they could.

Everyone was astonished.

Who is this young man? Even the Black Eel Army has to be careful around him.

(End of this chapter)