Chapter 107 He is a good official and needs more money
Chapter 107 He is a good official... he needs more money
"I heard that you held a sword baptism ceremony yesterday."
"Um."
"I heard that the alchemist who calls herself the 'Jade Fairy' came down the mountain yesterday and was with you."
"That's what happened, brother."
"I also heard from my servants that a female sword worker was lost in the sword and ear workshop yesterday."
The Liu Family Mansion is a viewing pavilion facing the water, surrounded by rockery piles of gray and white rocks.
At this moment, there were three people standing or standing in the pavilion, and the conversation of two of them stopped in time.
The air became quiet.
Liu Zian didn't reply again.
Liu Zilin remained silent and did not interrupt.
Liu Ziwen turned around, looked at Liu Zian and asked, "Is this the idea of the Jade Fairy?"
"Brother, it's like this. Yuxi came to me yesterday and asked me for a favor. It just happened that the swords of the Jiasan Sword Furnace were trained. I thought that she had helped us a lot before, so it was not convenient to refuse, so I agreed.
Yes, I will only help her this time."
Liu Zian looked up at his expressionless elder brother, sighed, and lowered his head slightly:
"I used to think it was a trivial matter, just a female worker 'missing', so I didn't come to disturb my brother's purity."
"What did you think before? What about now?"
"Now I realize that I was wrong. There seemed to be a lot of noise. I don't know how I managed to alert the enemy. Brother, I was careless this time. I am willing to accept the punishment."
Liu Ziwen stared at his second brother who bowed his head humbly for a while, then looked away:
"In the past, I just turned a blind eye and turned a blind eye. But don't you know what the situation is at this juncture?
"Any disturbance may provide a starting point for Ouyang Lianghan to intervene in the sword shop. Our Liu family cannot let the county government find a reason and become the target of public criticism.
"Have you forgotten about the audit of the East Treasury last time? It's only been a few days, and you are taking it lightly and despising the enemy again!"
Liu Zian said nothing, bowed his head and knelt down: "Brother, I didn't think carefully."
Liu Ziwen looked coldly at the strange rockery outside the pavilion: "It's okay now. Ouyang Lianghan is alert and has removed the idle chess piece from the sword shop."
He frowned and turned back: "When you choose the sacrifice, are you doing something to the ear worker named A Qing?"
"No, I didn't even touch her."
Liu Zian shook his head and looked confused:
"Ouyang Lianghan didn't know where he got the early warning. He found an excuse to take the person away at noon. He didn't know what he was afraid of."
Liu Ziwen rolled up his sleeves: "If you do that kind of thing blatantly, how can they not run away?"
Liu Zian was about to speak but stopped.
He wanted to say that this ceremony was very hidden, and it should not have been discovered by Ouyang Lianghan, otherwise there would be no peace now.
But Liu Zian knew that this was his eldest brother's tone and should not be repeated.
So he chose to shut up.
Liu Zilin has been standing aside without saying a word, and has not sat down. His butt is not healed yet, and he is limping when walking, let alone sitting. These days, he sleeps on his stomach, and occasionally turns over accidentally at night.
A sad story.
Liu Zilin couldn't help but interjected and asked: "Brother, now I accidentally alerted the enemy, what should I do?"
Liu Ziwen was silent for a while, then turned away and said:
"I'll handle it. I've already sent someone over. The top priority is to stabilize Ouyang Lianghan. We might as well show some sincerity and let him relax his vigilance first, so that the subsequent beheading can be clean and tidy."
"Brother is awesome."
"That's awesome." Liu Ziwen snorted coldly, turned around and asked the silent Liu Zian again:
"You haven't said yet, what did the Jade Fairy do during this sword-cleansing ceremony?"
Liu Zian stared at the ground under his feet and replied:
"Same as last time, she improved her spiritual energy cultivation. Her magical skills are weird and weird, and they seem to be a little different from the orthodox magical alchemist's path. I don't know much about it either."
Liu Ziwen had no doubts and sneered: "Returning the Immortal Technique. She swore by the Dragon Head Bridge last time and she has seen the result."
Liu Zian nodded: "Brother is right, but she said that she is going to retreat in the past few days. After she comes out, she will prove it to us. By the way, she also needs us to provide some precious materials related to Qi training."
"What do you want these for?"
"She said she needed to make another mask. The bronze mask from last time was intercepted by the Xie family girl."
"Look for Liu Fu later and go to the treasure house to get it."
Although he was dissatisfied with the Jade Immortal who resembled the one worshiped by the Liu family, Liu Ziwen did not refuse and replied casually.
The accumulation of the Liu family over the years, coupled with the support of the Wei family from outside, has resulted in a lot of good things hidden in the Liu family's treasure house over the years, and there is no shortage of this.
In the pavilion, the young head of the Liu family raised his head and glanced at the sky, then stretched his hand behind him without looking back.
"Where's the new sword that came out yesterday? There's also that guy's portrait."
Liu Zian took out a golden nanmu sword box, and Liu Zilin held a scroll in his hand.
Liu Ziwen did not pick him up personally, but took the lead and left the pavilion.
"Let's go. At this point, the young hero should have sobered up."
The three brothers of the Liu family headed to the Nanxuan courtyard not far away.
Admission.
The white stone floor was covered with wine jars.
Empty, full, overflowing.
Rolled to the ground.
The three Liu brothers avoided the wine jar and walked toward a pavilion on the west side of the yard.
There is no one in the pavilion.
There is only one table of cold dishes.
There is someone on the top of the pavilion.
Because from time to time a wine jar rolled down from the eaves of the pavilion.
Liu Ziwen put his hands behind his back and led his two younger brothers to stop appropriately under the pavilion. He suddenly stretched out his hand to catch a falling black and red paper wine jar, weighed it in his hand, raised his head and asked with a smile:
"Ajie, young hero, have you had enough wine and food?"
Someone at the booth burped, but there was no reply.
Liu Ziwen said loudly:
"As the saying goes, a sword is given to a hero. Young hero Ajie is young and promising. He has everything. Unfortunately, he only lacks a good sword."
Suddenly a drunken voice came from the pavilion: "Fart, I'm still missing an arm."
Liu Ziwen choked and laughed:
"It doesn't matter, Young Hero Ajie is letting all the heroes in the world take advantage of him. They can't defeat Young Hero. Yun Mengze just lost that time. The great lady is relying on the sword to pass on... Young Hero only needs to take
With this new sword, which is no worse than theirs, I will definitely be able to climb back to the top of the mountain..."
"Don't let your mother fuck you."
Liu Ziwen's words were interrupted by the man at the top of the pavilion, and he heard a drunken curse:
"The bully hires a killer, it's such a simple matter, you provide the sword, and I will draw the sword, it's a deal, don't worry about it."
Liu Ziwen was speechless. He nodded, said "yes", and turned to look at the two younger brothers behind him.
Liu Zian, who was holding a golden nanmu sword box, and Liu Zilin, who was holding a scroll, were about to step forward, but before they took two steps, they found that the objects in their hands had disappeared.
The two brothers couldn't help but look at each other in surprise.
On top of the pavilion, a one-armed young man stepped on a golden nanmu sword box and took the lead in opening the scroll.
Liu Ziwen narrowed his eyes and said, "Young hero Ajie, this is him."
The one-armed young man looked at the person on the scroll, was silent for a moment, and suddenly asked:
"he is?"
"County magistrate."
The one-armed young man was not surprised and just asked: "Is there a slight scar on his right forehead?"
Liu Ziwen looked surprised:
"There is indeed a very light scar on the right forehead. This was left by his serious injury when he fell into the water last time. It is not completely healed, but you can't see it unless you look carefully."
After a pause, Liu Ziwen couldn't help but ask:
"Young hero, don't you know him?"
The one-armed young man was quiet for a while and then said:
"This is a good official."
"Maybe." Liu Ziwen nodded.
"He bought me a drink for twelve copper coins."
"oh?"
Liu Ziwen's eyes showed some surprise, and he looked at each other with his two younger brothers. The three of them suddenly became nervous.
Because they are standing within ten steps of a middle-grade Qi sword cultivator and cannot run away.
There was a moment of dead silence in the pavilion.
Liu Ziwen narrowed his eyes and whispered:
"Young Xia means... Well, if it doesn't work, we won't force it. Our Liu family will pay for the drinks and accommodation for Young Xia these days, just treat it as a friend..."
The one-armed young man suddenly said: "The price has to be increased."
The three Liu brothers were stunned.
The one-armed young man took a sip of wine and repeated drunkenly:
"Killing him will cost you more. You can't buy his life with an ordinary sword. His life is precious."
Liu Ziwen said calmly: "The young hero might as well take a moment to take a look at the sword in the box."
The one-armed young man didn't reply.
But when he leaned a little, there was a click from above the eaves of the pavilion, which was the sound of the sword box being opened.
Then there was a long, long silence.
At this moment, if someone on the top of the mountain in the distance looks towards the Nanxuan courtyard here, they will be surprised to find:
During the day, there is a full moonlight.
Under the pavilion, the expressions of Liu Ziwen and the others changed from their original confidence to hesitation.
"Correction."
Along with the sound of a sharp sword entering the box, the voice of the person on the pavilion came down:
"Don't call me young master, young knight. I am a swordsman, not a knight."
"Okay." Liu Ziwen breathed a sigh of relief, heard the implication, and smiled again: "But please don't do anything for now. We will inform you again when we are ready."
"Okay, but you have to remember that this sword is only enough to buy his life. I don't care about other things. You can deal with it, otherwise you will be responsible for the consequences."
"no problem!"
Just when the three brothers of the Liu family turned around and were about to leave, the swordsman lying on his back in the pavilion suddenly asked:
"Who forged this sword?"
Liu Ziwen stopped and asked, "Does the swordsman in Chang'an have to ask this question when he picks up a sword and kills someone?"
As soon as he said this, no one spoke again.
Liu Ziwen and the other three left the yard.
Nanxuan courtyard regained its tranquility.
On top of the pavilion, a one-armed young man stands on a sword box, holds cinnamon wine in his arms, and tilts his head to look north.
When I raise my eyes to see the sun, I cannot see Chang'an.
…
It is rare for the three brothers Liu Ziwen, Liu Zian and Liu Zilin to gather together.
After leaving the Nanxuan courtyard, they did not separate immediately. Instead, they walked out of the Liu family's mansion and headed to Guyue Sword Shop on the other side of Xiaogu Mountain with a tacit understanding.
On the mountain road.
Liu Zian, who looked sick, was the first to ask: "Brother, is this swordsman reliable? Could he have softened his mind and changed his mind before the battle?"
Liu Ziwen, who was dressed like a wealthy idler, shook his head:
"If you knew the environment in which this person grew up and his deeds and reputation among the Jianghu gangs in Chang'an, you wouldn't ask this question."
He sighed: "He is indeed a swordsman. He does not care about emotions when he draws a sword, and his business is fair, as long as you can afford his price... He does not have those boring chivalrous and courageous things to do for the country and the people."
After listening to this, Liu Zilin couldn't help but ask: "But brother, isn't it a bit uneconomical to accept such a precious sword and end up killing a weak scholar?"
He is also a lover of swords, and he covets the new sword just now, and his face still looks a little painful.
Neither Liu Ziwen nor Liu Zian answered this stupid question, while Liu Zilin smiled coquettishly.
Not long after.
Liu Ziwen and the others arrived at the halfway point of Xiaogu Mountain.
At this time, it happened to be just after morning, close to the morning, the early sunshine was shining on the green lawn, and the sun was just right.
The three brothers of the Liu family waited for a while in the open space in front of Jia Yijian stove. Not long after, they met the old man Mai who was returning from breakfast and buying wine.
He looked a little bad, or rather, he didn't look good this morning.
Liu Ziwen, Liu Zi'an, and Liu Zilin respectfully greeted the old man who only wore ordinary craftsman clothes.
The old man passed by the three people without even looking at them.
Liu Ziwen took the initiative and said with a smile:
"Old sir, I came here this time to tell you about the little girl who often buys drinks for you."
Liu Zian on the side quietly watched the old man's face. In fact, they first paid attention to the little female worker named Ah Qing, not because of her brother Liu Ashan's affairs, but because of this old gentleman, who often frequented the breakfast stall.
I only have a few interactions with the female worker who buys wine every day.
Although the Liu family usually doesn't care about the old man's affairs other than making swords, they can't take it lightly and pay attention to the people around him.
The old swordsmith stopped when he heard this, but did not look back.
In his hand, besides holding a bottle of wine, he also held a blue paper butterfly flower.
It seems that he was originally going down the mountain to return it to a certain girl, but returned in vain.
Liu Ziwen briefly explained the matter of Ah Qing being picked up by the young county magistrate. The main purpose was to clear away the relationship between the Liu family and this was not a matter of the Liu family making arbitrary decisions and deliberately breaching the contract to interfere with the old man's affairs.
Let's make this clear.
After saying this, Liu Ziwen followed up with some warm greetings that were somewhat cold.
Finally, Liu Ziwen said in a broad voice: "Old sir, our previous agreement remains the same, you can just forge the sword with peace of mind. The water level of Butterfly Creek will not rise in the short term, and we have already developed strategies to deal with those who dare to disturb the situation. In addition... the sword
When it comes time, we have plans."
The old swordsmith didn't reply the whole time. He listened silently and glanced back at the three brothers.
He nodded imperceptibly and walked into the sword furnace alone. With a "bang", the door was closed again.
It seemed that Liu Ziwen, Liu Zian, and Liu Zilin were not frustrated by this. They seemed to have been accustomed to the old man's withdrawn character. They even felt that he could be considered an old man if he could patiently listen to their explanation this time.
I feel very good.
The three brothers sighed, turned and left.
And in the armored sword furnace behind them.
The old swordsmith was standing next to a quiet sword-making furnace, looking down at the paper blue butterfly flower left behind in his hand, with a slightly regretful look on his face, and he sighed softly:
"He's a good seedling, and he's also been a big help to me... I'll see you if you have the chance."
The old man turned around and faced a huge sword furnace room. He raised his head and took a sip of rice wine and murmured to himself:
"What a great Liu family in Longcheng. The three sons are all interesting...Liu Ziwen Feiwen, Liu Zian Feian, Liu Zilin Feilin..."
Suddenly I learned a hot fact: women are all women over the age of fourteen! (Ah Qing, Wei Lai: You should have told me earlier!)