The person who came was a young military attache whom Tang Zhao had met once before. He was the one who had confronted Yuan Qing before. His expression was still so stern, his brows were furrowed, and he seemed to have some displeasure in his heart.
"Follow me." He greeted briefly, turned around and left.
Tang Zhao's heart tightened, thinking something big had happened.
The result was to go to the main hall for dinner.
At this time, the partition screen in the main hall was removed, and the three main rooms were opened up, making it spacious. The hall was brightly lit with candles and lights. There was a banquet table in the center. Although the banquet had not yet started, it was already filled with dried and fresh fruits.
.
Xing Ji changed into a brocade robe again, this one was more elegant and close-fitting, and he looked like a noble man. Black Widow was still dressed in white and accompanied him in the main position. The two of them talked and laughed, as if they were old friends for many years, and there was a weird thing hidden between them before.
The atmosphere was gone.
Tang Zhao was secretly surprised that Xing Ji had already seen him and waved, "Come, sit next to me." He made an empty seat.
Although Tang Zhao rarely attended such occasions, he also knew the etiquette of banquets. Especially the young military attache who brought him here only took the last seat, so he declined and said: "The villa here is the landlord, we are half landlords, you are
Guest from afar, it’s just right to sit here. I’ll wait for you to join the job later. Once you have a job, you can sit down in order.”
Tang Zhao sat down. Most of the people at the banquet were people from the Black Spider Villa, and the rest were probably people from the Land Prosecution Department. The people from the Villa were easy to recognize, they were all dressed in black. The others were dressed in casual clothes like Xing Ji, not official uniforms.
, there are both men and women, old and young, some are beautiful and some are ugly, the differences are huge, it seems that the Prosecution Department employs people in an eclectic way.
At this time, the banquet started, and all kinds of delicacies and wines were priced. The atmosphere was heated with people drinking and drinking. Everyone was chatting and laughing without any barriers, and the sound of toasts was endless. The light reflected on the fine porcelain wine vessel, reflecting the light of different angles, making it dazzling.
.
Tang Zhao didn't understand the world of adults, so he immersed himself in eating and drinking. The food was really good, including chicken, duck, and fish. Tang Zhao ate so much that he wished he could eat everything he had in this month.
"Tang Zhao——"
Tang Zhao raised his head and swallowed the food, and saw Xing Ji looking at him with squinted eyes, as if he was drunk.
"In the next month, I will hand you over to Master Yin." He raised his hand, pointing to the black widow.
Black Widow smiled slightly and said: "That's right. Black Spider Villa will be your home for this month. You can eat or drink as you like. If you have any requests, just ask."
"More than that." Xing Ji laughed in a drunken voice, "Zhuang Master Yin also hired a famous martial arts teacher for you. That teacher is very famous in the world, and you have students all over the world. It's really good for you to be enlightened by him.
You’re lucky. Why don’t you propose a toast to the owner?”
Tang Zhao made a decision in his mind and toasted to Black Widow. Black Widow drank with a smile and said: "In addition to the famous teachers, all the expenses for learning martial arts will also be counted on my villa. You just need to practice martial arts quietly."
Tang Zhao thanked him again and again, and Xing Ji said: "It's a pity that I'm too busy this month and really can't take care of you. But I also left you with a caregiver. You also met Si Liyu before."
Naturally, he was referring to the young man, the youngest person at the table besides Tang Zhao.
Tang Zhao hurriedly stood up and saluted, and Si Liyu also stood up, but his expression was cold and his brows were still furrowed.
Xing Ji said: "Xiao Si is a rising star here with outstanding talent. He can be good at anything. If it weren't for the special circumstances, he would have to bear more important responsibilities. Now I'm watching you, and there are some additional training items called
He teaches. And I also leave a resource for you and put it with him."
When he praised Si Liyu, the young man's brows were still furrowed and he showed no expression at all. Only then did Tang Zhao confirm that this man was really born like this.
This person...is not easy to get along with.
However, Tang Zhao had no choice and gave him a toast as well. Si Liyu raised his head and drank it, then sat down upright.
After a few more drinks, the food was already eaten. The sun was setting outside the window and the moon was rising. It was getting late.
Xing Ji picked up a glass of wine and loudly said: "Let's all drink together. From today on, everyone here is like a grasshopper on a rope. Don't distinguish between officials and civilians, the District Procuratorate, and the Five Poisons Association. Let's talk about Jianghukou.
, we share blessings and share hardships, we are not a family, but better than a family. The storm is coming, I hope everyone can stay together and help each other!"
Everyone responded with a roar, raising their glasses one after another and sipping the wine.
Tang Zhao drank a glass in a daze. Seeing that the table had become a gathering place for thieves, he just weighed the gold and silver on a big scale and kowtowed. A thought flashed in his mind:
really?
After drinking it all in one gulp, he met the eyes opposite him, as cold as three winter water, without any hint of alcohol, it was none other than Si Liyu.
The two looked at each other in silence.
Tang Zhao repeated it in his heart:
really?
After the banquet was over, Tang Zhao didn't drink much, but he was young and weak. He was already dizzy without the capacity to drink. He sat there and sobered up for a while. The maid serving the banquet wrapped up the remaining dishes and shook them with the smell of alcohol.
Wander back to the room.
There was someone waiting for him at the door of the room.
Si Liyu leaned in front of the door, with his arms folded and his eyes heavy.
The moonlight was dim, and his whole body looked like a blue-gray stone sculpture, cold and rough.
"Sir... are you waiting for me?"
Tang Zhao asked cautiously.
"This is for you -" Si Liyu took out a hand and handed him a bamboo tube. "This is given to you by the guardian envoy."
"Guardian..." Tang Zhao was startled.
Seeing Tang Zhao take it, Si Liyu turned and left. In the night, she seemed to hear him say:
"So weak. Why you..."
The sound gradually disappeared into the dark night.
Tang Zhao first went to see Wei Changle and brought him dinner to confirm that he was getting better. It seemed that the medicine for his injuries was effective.
Then when it came to his future plans, Tang Zhao didn't need to ask. He just obeyed An to practice martial arts and asked Wei Changle.
Wei Changle said: "I have nowhere to go, it would be great if I could follow you."
Tang Zhao said: "I'll give it a try. It's just that one month later it's hard to predict whether I'll live or die, and you're nowhere to be found again."
Wei Chang said happily: "It's good to have a stable life without worrying about food and clothing for a month. Do you want to think about things in a month? One day, count as one day."
Tang Zhao said: "In this way, I am invincible this month, and I can agree to any request. You practice martial arts with me first, and when the end of the month I beg him to let you out first, you can take the money and buy a shop for me.
If I escape unscathed, we will start a big business. If I can't escape, you will inherit my legacy..."
Wei Changle said hurriedly: "Stop talking nonsense. How can I take your money..."
Tang Zhao said: "Otherwise, who would I give it to? Is it confiscated?"
Wei Changle shook his head repeatedly, sighed again, and said, "Let's talk about it then."
When Tang Zhao came out of Wei Changle's place, the smell of alcohol gradually came back to him, and his mind became groggy again. He slowly walked back to his residence along the eaves, and when he opened the door, he felt a chill all over.
"Master Si? Why are you here?"
Si Liyu sat at the desk, glanced at him coldly, and said, "Where have you been?"
Tang Zhao was stunned and thought: What does where I go have to do with you?
But he still had a good temper. Even though he was still drunk, he still replied calmly: "Going to see a friend."
Si Liyu repeated: "Friend?" Just two words, but there was a sense of doubt, as if Tang Zhao was blatantly lying.
Tang Zhao was still dizzy. He wandered to the table and poured himself a cup of tea. He found that the teapot came with two teacups, so he poured him a cup and said: "Well, who doesn't have a friend? The adults come back again and again.
, any advice?”
Si Liyu said: "Did you read it?"
He spoke without any beginning or end, and Tang Zhao was stunned for a moment before he realized that he was talking about the bamboo tube.
"Not yet." Tang Zhao drank the tea in one gulp. Under the pressure of the wine, his IQ returned slightly, and he fell silent. He only felt weird in his heart, thinking: Good guy, could it be that you are chasing me to check? Inside and outside.
It didn’t take more than half an hour. Isn’t this too impatient? Would I have known earlier that you wouldn’t leave?
Si Liyu's brows furrowed even deeper, and wrinkles appeared on his forehead. He said, "I didn't look. Why do you still have time to visit your friends? Look."
Tang Zhao had no choice but to open the bamboo tube, and there was only a roll of brocade silk inside.
When I opened the brocade silk, there was actually a picture scroll, or in other words, a comic strip.
"This is……"
The first part of the painting shows a person lunging with his feet in a punching posture. The back is still a human figure, in various postures, and there are small text comments at the bottom.
"Is it a martial arts secret book?"
"Secret book?" Si Liyu obviously didn't understand the word "secret". He showed it to you. Could it be a "secret" book?
"Copy of the body-building chapter of the Inspector General."
Tang Zhao was very excited when he saw it. Compared with the mist-covered "Tung Blossoms to Attract the Phoenix", this one with pictures and texts is easy to understand at a glance, how good it is!
Of course, when it comes to being powerful, he can't see what's so great about it. He just feels that the front postures are still human movements, but the back ones are too weird, and don't seem like something the human body can do.
"The first one." Si Liyu didn't know when he was already standing upright in the middle of the field. His posture was clearly to supervise him to start exercising.
Now?
But it was already late at night, and the smell of alcohol at the banquet had not yet dissipated. Wasn't Si Liyu himself drinking a lot at the banquet?
Tang Zhao looked up and saw Si Liyu's eyes were deep and Yue Zhiyuan was not drunk at all.
Tang Zhao immediately understood that this was a man who acted vigorously and resolutely and spoke his truth.
"Seize the day? Okay."
After a moment, Tang Zhao thought clearly on his own. Learning martial arts is for himself first. Teaching by others is a sacrifice, and training by yourself is a gain. You can only ask for others, and no one else can ask for yourself. If others are willing to teach, no matter sooner or later, you should fully cooperate.
It's better than reading a book from heaven and having nowhere to start or even getting carried away.
Thinking of the Book of Heaven, he immediately thought of glasses. I wonder if there will be any annotations in this book while wearing glasses? Will there be fairies?
Unfortunately, the glasses are cracked and probably no longer useful.
The first movement was unremarkable, and Tang Zhao could easily follow it.
Si Liyu glanced at it, and used his hands to pull or press Tang Zhao's shoulders, knees, etc. to correct his posture until it was perfect.
"It needs to be maintained for half an hour." Although he said this, it was obvious that he put teaching first and did not really let Tang Zhao maintain it for that long. He quickly said: "The second one."
The next painting is a posture similar to that of a golden rooster, which is quite weird. Tang Zhao tried it and it seemed to work. It was a little wobbly, but after Si Liyu corrected it, it became less wobbly and seemed to have reached a stable balance.
"Next."
Each subsequent painting was weirder than the last, and each pose was more difficult than the last. Tang Zhao could only do it reluctantly in the end, and it was very uncomfortable.
Although Si Liyu spoke little, he was very patient. He guided Tang Zhao to make every move flawless without being too pushy.
When it came to the eighth painting, Tang Zhao couldn't do it no matter what, and said: "This is too difficult."
Si Liyu asked: "Continue."
So what does it mean to do your best?
Tang Zhaoyiyan tried his best, but his body refused to obey. The human body really has its limits. He doubted that anyone could do such a twisted movement, and said: "It's a bit difficult."
Si Liyu said, "I don't think so." He stepped on Tang Zhao's knees and pushed them all the way to the bottom.
Tang Zhao screamed, and tears filled his eyes under the severe pain. Si Liyu lifted his arm, put it in the position on the painting, and said: "Isn't this done? Hold ten breaths, and I will count for you.
Hold on." There seemed to be infinite power in his palms. Playing with Tang Zhao's body was like playing with a puppet. It didn't matter what position it was in, even if it was bent, it didn't take any effort.
Tang Zhao only felt a buzzing in his ears and the soft tendons in his body were torn. He just wanted to fall down, but somehow he managed to hold on for ten breaths.
Si Liyu nodded imperceptibly, raised his feet, and Tang Zhao fell completely to the ground.
He only felt that his joints were loose, his muscles were trembling, and he was sweating profusely. It took him a while to recover. After standing up, Tang Zhao raised his head and did not look at Si Liyu.
He needed some time to hold back the tears that had just spilled unconsciously.
Si Liyu rolled up the scroll by himself, put it on the table, and said, "Practice at Mao hour every day, and I'll come find you in the evening."
Tang Zhao said "hmm" and said, "What about during the day?"
Si Liyu said: "During the day, poisonous insects from the Five Poison Society will teach you." There was a hint of disgust in his tone, not at all like someone who had just drank the alliance wine an hour ago.
After leaving the room, Si Liyu walked out of the yard alone, his footsteps silent, as if he was born to be a part of the night.
He walked through the courtyard without anyone noticing.
Except for one person in the main hall.
Xingji sat in front of the window, holding a glass of wine and looking out the window quietly, as if admiring the scenery.
His clothes, his demeanor, and his posture all resembled a rich young man singing to the wind and moonlight in the courtyard.
It's just that the rewards are different.
Some people appreciate flowers, some appreciate snow, and others appreciate the night.
The night was getting dark, his eyes were clear, but he looked a little drunk.
"As expected of Xiao Si. Despite all kinds of dissatisfaction in his heart, he always fulfills his duties and is always worthy of trust."
"The little scholar won't be fooled by him, right?"
"That's fine, otherwise he would still be a person like me who is easy to talk to."
"I also hope he can gain some momentum and prove that I have good eyesight. He is more suitable than Xiao Si for this matter - more suitable than anyone else!"
New year, new atmosphere, full of energy and sincerity!