deltrittennovels #140 - Imperial Court Letter
#140 - Imperial Court Letter
This monk, who called himself Xiongxiang, had a voice as loud as a bronze bell.
His words startled the entire county office.
Many constables rushed over, looking at Xiongxiang with suspicion.
Gao Hongzhe stood up and said to the constables:
"With Brother Meng here, no one can hurt me. You may withdraw."
This Xiongxiang was skilled in lightness techniques, obviously a master of martial arts, and not someone these ordinary constables could deal with.
Upon hearing this, the constables had no choice but to retreat from the small courtyard of the study.
Xiongxiang glared at Gao Hongzhe with both eyes:
"You pansy-looking pretty boy, are you the one in charge here?"
"I'm here today to have a good talk with you!"
As he spoke, he carried his large blade and strode towards Gao Hongzhe.
Liang Jin tapped the table:
"Great monk, why not have a cup of tea first?"
As he spoke, Liang Jin's aura was also unreservedly released.
Xiongxiang felt Liang Jin's martial artist aura and couldn't help but pause slightly.
Xiongxiang himself was also a fifth-rank martial artist, and he could naturally judge from Liang Jin's aura that Liang Jin was also a fifth-rank martial artist.
This made Xiongxiang stop in his tracks, and he gripped the large blade on his shoulder tightly in his hand:
"Did you kill my sect's useless disciple, Qin Shuanglu?"
Liang Jin and Gao Hongzhe exchanged glances.
This Xiongxiang had indeed come for Qin Shuanglu.
Immediately, Liang Jin said:
"Qin Shuanglu died at the hands of the Great Wanderer, Mo Dao Kuang. This is known throughout the city."
"You can ask around outside and you'll know."
Xiongxiang was slightly silent upon hearing this.
He had naturally inquired about it, and it was indeed as Liang Jin said.
But Xiongxiang couldn't help but ask:
"Is that Great Wanderer, Mo Dao Kuang, really as powerful as the legends say?"
Liang Jin smiled:
"My name is Meng Xinghun, and you must have felt my realm, great monk."
"When I was at the straw shop, I had a brief encounter with the Great Wanderer, and he even commented on my martial arts."
Shifting the blame to the Great Wanderer, Mo Dao Kuang.
This was Liang Jin's original plan, and why he spared Mo Dao Kuang's life.
Xiongxiang pressed:
"How did he comment on you?"
Liang Jin replied:
Even a fifth-rank martial artist was only considered somewhat decent in the eyes of the Great Wanderer?!
Then the Great Wanderer's martial arts must have reached a terrifying level.
In that case, where would Xiongxiang dare to continue investigating the Great Wanderer?
With his mere fifth-rank strength, he wouldn't be enough.
This matter could only be resolved by returning to the sect and asking the real experts to handle it.
It's just…
Would those real experts travel all the way to chase after Mo Dao Kuang for a insignificant Qin Shuanglu?
Xiongxiang didn't know, but he felt very discouraged.
Qin Shuanglu had a good personal relationship with him when he was in the Boundless Bright King Sect.
Later, when Qin Shuanglu came to Dingfeng City, he often paid respects to Xiongxiang with silver.
So when Xiongxiang heard that Qin Shuanglu had died, he came specifically to avenge him.
But now it seemed that this revenge would be difficult to achieve.
This was a small matter.
Especially since he had made a wasted trip!
He had traveled thousands of miles from the Boundless Bright King Sect to this Dingfeng City, without gaining any benefits.
That was the big deal!
"Damn it!"
Xiongxiang was so angry that he slashed his blade onto the floor.
"Bang!"
His blade was already heavy, and this slash was even more powerful, splitting the stone slab on the ground and creating a large pit.
Liang Jin shook his head helplessly when he saw Xiongxiang sulking:
"Come, have a cup of tea."
Xiongxiang roared:
"I want to drink wine!"
So Gao Hongzhe had to send a constable to bring over several jars of wine.
Xiongxiang didn't refuse, sat down at the table, and began to drink from the wine jar.
Although the Boundless Bright King Sect was Buddhist, they never abstained from meat or fish, so it wasn't strange for Xiongxiang to drink heavily.
Liang Jin and Gao Hongzhe saw him drinking on his own, so they didn't bother with him and chatted separately.
Gao Hongzhe asked:
"By the way, Brother Meng, I heard that you've recently started a killer business?"
"Especially your Green Robe Tower, it has a great reputation among the Jianghu underworld."
Liang Jin smiled:
"What, is Tanhualang going to dissuade me?"
According to Gao Hongzhe's previous personality, he would probably lecture him again.
But Gao Hongzhe said:
"Brother Meng, don't misunderstand."
"If it were the former me, I would definitely stop you from doing the business of hiring assassins."
"But now I understand very well that the laws of the Western Desert are not enforced, and etiquette is difficult to display. With a chivalrous person like Brother Meng eliminating harm for the people, I have no reason to stop you."
"I just want to say, if Brother Liang has enough manpower, can you send some people to help the yamen?"
"The yamen constables are currently missing a captain, and the militia I'm preparing also lacks an instructor."
Who had the biggest fist in Dingfeng City now? Who had the most martial artists?
Naturally, it was Liang Jin.
Although there were still some martial artists in Dingfeng City, such as those in the teaching halls and the knife factory, they all had a certain amount of strength.
But Gao Hongzhe didn't trust those people.
Although he was generous, he wasn't stupid.
He could forgive and forget when selecting civil officials.
But when it came to selecting armed forces, he only trusted Liang Jin now.
Liang Jin smiled and said:
"No problem, and the executioner must also be from my people."
Gao Hongzhe nodded:
"It's a deal."
Suddenly.
They saw Xiongxiang suddenly pick up the empty wine jar and smash it on the ground.
"Clang!"
The wine jar was shattered to pieces.
Xiongxiang wiped the wine stains from his beard with his large hand, pointed at the two of them, and cursed angrily:
"Pretty boy, thieving bastard, how dare you ignore me?"
Liang Jin frowned:
"Great monk, what do you want?"
Xiongxiang drank on his own, Liang Jin and Gao Hongzhe chatted on their own, wouldn't it have been good if they had left each other alone?
Moreover, the two sides didn't have any common topics, so ignoring him was normal.
Did this Xiongxiang want to flip the table?
Xiongxiang suddenly stood up, and said fiercely:
"I want a woman to vent my anger!"
"Find a woman for me!"
Liang Jin stretched out his hand and pointed outside the county office:
"This is the yamen, there are no women here."
"If you want to find a woman, turn left and walk half a mile along the street, and there will be a brothel."
Xiongxiang raised his big hand and slammed it on the table.
The wine jars and teacups on the table were shaken.
"But I didn't bring any money!"
Xiongxiang roared loudly.
Liang Jin picked at his ears, couldn't this guy speak properly, did he have to roar every sentence?
Didn't he know that it was very deafening?
Especially since this guy directly said that he didn't bring any money, what did that mean?
Begging for alms?
Monks begging for alms, begging for the brothel's patronage?
However, this guy still knew that he needed to bring money to find a woman, which was really new.
As far as Liang Jin knew, the Boundless Bright King Sect could simply be said to be a sect full of villains, without a single kind person.
Their actions were euphemistically called forcibly begging for alms, but bluntly called blatant robbery.
It seemed that there might still be some exceptions among them.
But more likely, this guy was afraid of Liang Jin's strength, and felt that it wasn't worth it to confront Liang Jin for some silver.
Immediately, Liang Jin said:
"Go to the brothel and report Gao Hongzhe's name for credit, you can have fun."
Gao Hongzhe hurriedly said:
"No! I am a new Jinshi and a dignified prefect, how can I leave my name on credit in a brothel? This is simply an insult to the scholar!"
"Master, you should still report Meng Xinghun's name, and enjoy yourself as much as you want."
"Meng Xinghun has a lot of money, and the brothel likes to put it on his tab the most."
Liang Jin was unhappy when he heard this.
Is it an insult to the scholar to have your name on credit in a brothel, but my name can be put on it casually?
He was about to refute.
Xiongxiang was already furious:
"Stop talking nonsense! Stop dawdling."
"Anyway, I'll just put it on you pretty boy and thieving bastard's names!"
"If others don't give credit, I'll come back and kill you!"
After saying that, Xiongxiang carried his large blade out of the study, and flew up and left the county office.
Gao Hongzhe looked at Xiongxiang's departing figure, and couldn't help but frown slightly:
"People from the Boundless Bright King Sect have actually come to this Dingfeng City."
"I don't know how long he will stay, and whether he will bring disaster here."
The previous disciple of the Boundless Bright King Sect, Qin Shuanglu, harmed Dingfeng City for many years, causing the people to live in poverty.
Liang Jin poured himself a cup of tea and said:
"Don't worry, with me here, he can't cause any trouble."
"If necessary, I will kill him."
That Xiongxiang was only a fifth-rank martial artist, and Liang Jin himself could deal with him.
Even if Xiongxiang had the Boundless Bright King Sect behind him, Liang Jin also had the intermediate battle puppet, Tie Kuangtu, behind him.
Unless a rare first-rank expert personally came, Liang Jin wouldn't fear anyone.
Liang Jin glanced at the wine jar that Xiongxiang had left behind, and immediately picked it up:
"Come, Tanhualang, we haven't had a good drink together yet."
"Today is just right, let's take this opportunity."
Gao Hongzhe repeatedly refused:
"It's still early, and it's still office hours, I can't…"
Before he could finish speaking, Liang Jin had already poured him a bowl.
Liang Jin said:
"Stop talking nonsense, you're so busy usually, it's rare to have a chance to drink a bowl."
"It's not like I'm asking you to drink a lot, just this one bowl won't affect your work."
Gao Hongzhe shook his head helplessly, and could only accompany Liang Jin for a few sips.
Just then.
Accompanied by a burst of footsteps, a person walked in quickly.
It was an old acquaintance, Sun Daming.
He used to be a Registrar, but now Gao Hongzhe directly promoted him to County Assistant, responsible for assisting Gao Hongzhe in handling affairs, and could be regarded as the second-in-command in this Dingfeng City Yamen.
Sun Daming came to the study and bowed to the two of them:
"Greetings, Prefect, Master Meng."
"This humble servant has something to report."
Gao Hongzhe said:
"Speak frankly, there are no outsiders here."
Sun Daming took out an object from his arms and said:
"Today, the constables arrested a pickpocket in the city market, and this thing was found on him."
"This humble servant thinks that this matter is important, so I came specifically to ask you to take a look."
Pickpocket, commonly known as a three-handed thief, is a type of thief, later known as a pickpocket.
What Sun Daming handed to Gao Hongzhe looked like an official document.
Gao Hongzhe was greatly surprised after opening it and taking a look.
Then, he handed the official document to Liang Jin.
Liang Jin also looked strange after taking a look:
"This is… a court warrant!"
"And it's from the Great Qian Dynasty."