The splendor of the Red Chamber, the power that reigns supreme.

Chapter 46: More Protection

Zhou Tong's fingers, which were stroking his beard, stopped in mid-air, and two or three strands of his white beard were plucked out.

The old hero has roamed the martial world for over forty years, encountering countless heroes and valiant men, and even his enemies are treated with courtesy.

Offer three parts wine, return seven parts tea; yield a foot of road, retreat a foot of bridge.

It's about dignity, it's about saving face!
I've never seen anything like this before, and I'm terribly surprised by this person!

They had just shown kindness, but in the blink of an eye they were demanding it back like a creditor.

Young Master Yue's eyes widened, his lips slightly parted, clearly indicating that he had never seen such an unconventional hero before.

In his mind, this benevolent Ximen was already on the same level as his unseen senior brother, Yu Qilin.

Yet it is somewhat different.

However, he had a great fondness for Ximen, the benevolent man who saved him and called him Yueye, and did not resist him at all.

He then looked at his master and nodded slightly, revealing a hopeful expression.

Upon seeing this, Master Ximen laughed and said, "Master, you are wise! Although I am a merchant, I admire chivalry the most. I have long heard that Master's spear and staff skills are unparalleled in the world!"

Seeing Zhou Tong stroking his beard in silence, he spoke even more earnestly: "This disciple dares not ask to receive all the true teachings. I only wish that Master, during your stay in Qinghe, may I absorb some of your heroic spirit. That would be enough! Master is just waiting for a boat, so why don't you stay at my house for the night?"

Upon hearing these words, Zhou Tong felt as if his heart was being boiled in hot oil.

The old hero thought to himself, "I've already said 'I'll repay your kindness someday,' and a man of the martial world keeps his word. If I refuse now, wouldn't I be a faithless person? My reputation built up over the decades would be ruined in Qinghe County."

Seeing his apprentice Yue Fei looking at him with such expectation, he felt even more embarrassed.

The old hero finally sighed deeply, his voice booming like a bell: "Very well! Considering your sincerity, I will make an exception and accept you as a disciple. But let me make it clear beforehand—I will only stay in Qinghe for three days, and how much you learn depends entirely on your own destiny."

As he spoke, he extended his large, fan-like hand to help her up, saying, "I'll accept you as a disciple. Since you're already a registered disciple and have established your own business, there's no need for you to kowtow. Just offer me a cup of tea when we get to your residence."

Little did he know that at that moment, Ximen Qing was making a plan in his mind, which was like lighting a lamp.

The world is becoming increasingly unstable, with bandits running rampant and outlaws rising up everywhere. Even the seemingly impregnable Daming Prefecture has been breached three times over! Even the most cautious young ladies have been turned into dissolute courtesans in the brothels.

A place like Qinghe County, which is not heavily guarded and allows people to come and go freely, coupled with a wealthy family like myself with a large mansion, full of gold and silver, and beautiful wives and concubines, isn't that exactly the fat meat in the eyes of 'outlaws'?

Those outlaws were skilled at leaping over rooftops, scaling walls, throwing darts and hidden arrows, setting fires and poisoning people. They were always acting on behalf of Heaven and robbing the rich to help the poor!
Whose wealth will they rob? I don't know about other places, but in Qinghe County, they will definitely rob my wealth, Ximen Qing!
If you don't have some solid skills, how can you protect this vast fortune?
If I could memorize these three days with all my might, I could at least learn some real skills, which would be far better than my current superficial martial arts. Even if I only learn the basics, it would still be better than hiring ten guards! I could also use the title of "Zhou Tong's disciple" to recruit some well-known martial arts heroes as guards, which would be ten times better than ordinary thugs.
And there's one more thing that's most important!
If I were to truly climb to the top of the court in the future, and have a senior brother who is destined to be Yue Fei standing behind me, would he not lend me a hand if I were to face any difficulties in the future?
Another thought lingered in Ximen Qing's throat: if he could seize the opportunity to rescue Yue Fei at that time, his journey wouldn't have been in vain! Thinking of this, Ximen Qing felt that the eight hundred bushels of porridge he had given as a gesture of charity hadn't been wasted. Truly, what goes around comes around!
Ximen Qing led the horse and Zhou Tong to the city gate.

Lai Bao had already trotted out of the soup kitchen. With his sharp eyes, he noticed his master personally leading the fine horse without riding it, accompanying the old man and young man. He immediately sensed something was amiss. Before Ximen Qing could speak, Lai Bao had already knelt down with a thud: "Father, are you returning to the city now? These two... are they...?"

Ximen Qing raised his whip in a gesture of authority: "This is my steward; he's quite efficient. Come and pay your respects to my mentor, Master Zhou, and this is my senior brother, Master Yue."

Lai Bao is so clever. What is the most important thing for a servant? It is to ignore everything, pretend to be deaf and dumb, and just keep kowtowing.

He immediately turned around and kowtowed three times to the master and disciple, not even bothering to brush off the dust that was on his forehead.

Master Ximen nodded and looked Lai Bao up and down.

Seeing his disheveled appearance and messy face, it was clear that he had exerted all his strength to distribute the porridge, and his reprimand from the other day had been quite effective.

But while the man's scrutiny was effortless, Lai Bao felt as if a millstone was grinding down on his heart, crushing his internal organs. He secretly weighed his actions over and over again, the more he thought about it, the more panicked he became. His legs went weak, and he knelt down on the ground with a thud: "Father... have I somehow messed up again? Spare me!!"

"Remember this!" Ximen Qing said with a smile as he handed the horse to him. "You leave things to Laiwang and wait in my study. I have something important for you to do!"

With that, he turned around and led Zhou Dong and the other two into Qinghe County.

Not far away, in the dust, the ragged refugees queuing for porridge were being pushed and whipped by the city guards, which made Xiao Yueye furious again.

Upon seeing Ximen Qing arrive, the leading sergeant immediately changed his expression and hurried forward, bowing and saying, "Sir, are you out of the city for a stroll today?"

Ximen Qing took out a silver ingot and tossed it into the soldier's palm with a clang: "Please have some tea, brothers. After this eight hundred bushels of rice are distributed, we'll have a feast at Lichun Courtyard to help you relax."

After saying that, he laughed and said, "Those who drink porridge are all poor people. Why bother the brothers to exert their energy? We should save our energy for those pimps!"

Having received the silver coins from Master Ximen, and hearing that there was also wine and flowers at the Lichun Courtyard, the sergeant's face instantly became extremely obsequious. He bowed so low he looked like a shrimp, repeatedly replying, "Master, you are so kind! We understand!" He secretly gave a signal, and several soldiers withdrew their whips, instead using their spears to feign blocking the crowd.

When the sergeant shouted at the refugees, he also flicked the tip of his whip into the air, showing more restraint than before.

As the three men led their horses through the barbican, Zhou Tong suddenly remarked, "Qing Guan is certainly thorough in his dealings." Ximen Qing, who was just brushing away the dust in front of him, replied, "Master, you flatter me. What kind of thorough method is there in this world? It's nothing more than using silver to carve roads through mountains and copper coins to level ditches. Look at this city gate—"

As he spoke, he lightly traced the blue brick arch of the city gate with the tip of his whip: "For the poor, it's the Gate of Hell; for the rich, it's the Ford of Leisure. It's clearly the same threshold, yet they make two different sounds. This world, it's all about 'money'..."

Ximen Qing led Zhou Tong and his apprentice, and hired three small sedan chairs with blue silk along the street to carry them back to the mansion. The gate tower was tall, the courtyard walls were neat, and there were two side courtyards on the east and west sides, which was very impressive.

(End of this chapter)