The First Sage of Military Strategists

Chapter 29 Yang Wu's Reward

"Little Han, do you want this Ronghua fish? I'm lucky today, this one fish is worth a day's income. I'll give you fifteen coins per catty," Aunt Wu said with a smile.

Han Qing nodded slightly, picked up the Ronghua fish, tossed forty copper coins into the plate beside him, and turned to leave without paying any attention to the old woman's calls.

Twenty coins per catty—that's the fairest price Ronghua Fish currently offers. He wouldn't take advantage of a lame old lady, no matter who he's after.

After leaving the market, he passed by the Happy Forest Restaurant and went in to buy two catties of peach blossom wine, spending a total of eighty coins.

With everything prepared, Han Qing, basking in the sunlight, was in a pleasant mood and walked briskly back to her doorstep.

At this time, both his parents were taking care of Xinglintang. He unlocked the door and went in, and as usual, cooked a pot of delicious fish soup.

However, as is customary, the two elders would return at noon, but they did not return today.

Han Qingxin asked, "Could something have happened at Xinglin Hall?"
So he went out and headed straight for Xinglin Hall. When he got to the door, he saw two constables coming out of the hall, wearing the standard long robes of the constables.

"What's the meaning of making us two brothers investigate a small pharmacy every day? Are we not allowed to do business?" muttered one of the men on the left.

"Who knows? That's how the foreman arranged it. Let's mind our own business." Another person glared.

After the two left, Han Qing felt a surge of killing intent. Luo Sheng was going too far. However, this matter needed to be considered carefully. At present, he was no match for him in terms of either status or strength.

Han Qing stepped into the shop and saw the two elders sitting in chairs, both with worried expressions on their faces.

However, the worry on the two elders' faces immediately disappeared when they saw Han Qing return.

"Hey, Qing'er's back. How did the assessment go?" Zhang Cuilian asked with a smile.

"Passed." Han Qing took out the token of the constable from his pocket.

The two elders were overjoyed.

"Qing'er is indeed very promising."

"That's great! There's hope for the Han family!" Han Cheng exclaimed.

Neither of the two elders mentioned the matter of the constables coming to inspect the shop, and Han Qing did not ask any further questions, but silently kept the matter in mind.

The three of them then went home and drank several large bowls of delicious fish soup. Han Qing did not stay long and returned to the yamen with the peach blossom wine.

The next day.

noon.

Soap Factory Courtyard.

Yang Wu arranged for more than thirty people to set up a table of fine wine and food in a spacious room on the west side.

Han Qing presented two catties of peach blossom wine with both hands.

Yang Wu took the wine jar, poured two large bowls of wine onto the table next to him, picked up one bowl for himself, and handed the other bowl to Han Qing.

"Han Qing, I don't like too much formality. A martial artist should be bold and forthright. Come on! Drink this bowl of wine, and from now on we are master and disciple!" Yang Wu said loudly.

Han Qing took the large bowl of wine and, together with Yang Wu, looked up and drank it down in an instant.

"it is good!"

"Congratulations, foreman!"

"Han Qing, you're in luck."

...

After finishing their drinks, Yang Wu invited everyone to eat. The thirty-odd martial artists were all strong and robust, and had huge appetites. They quickly devoured all the food on the table.

After the meal, Yang Wu waved his hand, and the many constables left one by one, as everyone still had work to do in the afternoon.

After everyone left, Yang Wu glanced around and said in a deep voice, "I heard that the Luo family has been targeting your Xinglin Hall recently?"

"Yes." Han Qing nodded. "You don't need to worry about this matter. I will report it to Magistrate Qi and will definitely not let the Luo family succeed," Yang Wu said.

"Thank you very much, Master." Han Qing was extremely grateful.

"However, in the end, you still have to rely on yourself. In the coming period, you must intensify your martial arts training and strive to break through the third realm within six months to become General Qi's personal guard."

"With General Qi as your backer, even if Luo Sheng had ten times the courage, he wouldn't dare to do anything to you," Yang Wu said.

Han Qing nodded, secretly resolving to practice martial arts diligently and become a strong person as soon as possible.

"Go and practice that Hundred-Crack Blade technique diligently. Things haven't been peaceful in Baiyun County lately, so it's important to learn a good sword technique for self-defense. Don't let anything go wrong along the way, or a genius will die young," Yang Wu instructed again.

"Okay." Han Qing nodded slightly.

"Here's what we'll do. If you can master it within a week, I'll give you five Qi and Blood Pills. If you master it in half a month, I'll give you three. If you master it in a month, I'll give you one. After that, there won't be any more rewards. With your talent, if you haven't mastered it in a month, you must have been slacking off." Yang Wu said with a faint smile.

He was always generous to his own people, especially Han Qing, whom he was extremely satisfied with, so he wanted to cultivate him even more. A few Qi and Blood Pills were nothing to him.

After saying that, Yang Wu waved his hand again: "Alright, I've told you everything I need to. Go practice your martial arts."

"Yes."

Han Qing bowed slightly, then turned and left the room.

...

As night fell, Han Qing returned to the courtyard.

A night wind rose from the horizon, rustling the leaves.

As expected, Mr. Fang started having headaches again and was calling out in his room.

"Dumb man, your head's been chopped off with an axe again, it hurts terribly!"

Han Qing immediately got up and went to Master Fang's room, where he focused on performing acupuncture on Master Fang.

In no time, sixteen silver needles appeared on Master Fang's head, and the headache subsided like a receding tide.

"That's right, you mute. If it weren't for you, I would have been in excruciating pain again in the middle of the night," Master Fang laughed.

Han Qing silently packed up the acupuncture tools and placed them in a drawer to the side.

He took out the sword technique book from his pocket and, as usual, squatted in the corner to study it carefully.

Upon seeing this, Master Fang's goodwill towards him increased significantly.

Han Qing, who had been promoted to a full-fledged executioner, was no longer in a superior-subordinate relationship with him, but Han Qing still treated him with the same respect as always. This was out of gratitude, which made Han Qing very satisfied.

“Dumb boy, you have to work hard and not slack off. It’s a bit of a waste for a martial arts prodigy like you to be stuck in a small Baiyun County government office as an axeman. You need a broader stage to showcase your talents. General Qi is the best springboard. One day you will be famous throughout the world.” Master Fang took out a copper pipe from the drawer, lit it, took a big drag, and said to himself with a smile as he exhaled smoke.

Han Qing nodded. He hadn't thought that far ahead. Although he had the Seven Killings Stele to help him, the world was a deep and complex place, full of experts. Reaching the top? He didn't even know how high the sky was. It was better to be down-to-earth, take one step at a time, and see if he could first make a name for himself in Shu.

"Dumb guy, you can't be arrogant. The assessment standards for General Qi's personal guards are very high. You need to have excellent physical constitution, temperament, and comprehension. You also need to have the strength to defeat veteran soldiers in the Three Realms Army before the age of eighteen. Just this one requirement alone has eliminated countless people."

"However, if you succeed, it will be a meteoric rise. You will receive General Qi's dedicated training, and qi-boosting medicines, top-notch martial arts skills, and even important military positions will be within your grasp," Master Fang instructed.

Han Qing felt a strong sense of anticipation. He felt he had to practice martial arts diligently and strive to become General Qi's personal guard.

"By the way, mute, I heard from Yang Wu today that you've become his apprentice? Then you'd better be careful of Luo Sheng and Cao Yongliang from now on."

Wherever there are people, there is a world of intrigue. Our yamen is also divided into two factions: Luo Sheng and Cao Yongliang's faction, which is related to the interests of the Luo family; Magistrate Qi and Yang Wu's faction; and Huang Heng, who is old and basically doesn't get involved, so we can consider him a neutral party.

"You're riding high right now. Based on my understanding of Cao Yongliang, he'll definitely try to coerce or entice you to join him. If you don't comply, be careful he doesn't use underhanded methods to harm you. That old devil is very shady." Master Fang said in a low voice.

Han Qing listened and silently kept it in mind. He was even more grateful to Master Fang. If Master Fang hadn't treated him as one of his own from the bottom of his heart, why would he have said such things that could easily cause trouble?

(End of this chapter)