Recently, the city of Cangzhou has been really busy.
There were rumors just yesterday that Dugu and his son from East Harmony, West Poison and Sword Prince's Mansion went to the temple to hold a large water and land ceremony for some unknown reason. Today, we also heard about the "Hundred Turns and Thousand Knife Gate" in the south of the city.
Lord Gao Shengyue suddenly wants to hold a martial arts contest to recruit a bride... It's true that strange things happen every year, especially this year.
As for the martial arts competition to recruit a bride, I think all the judges are familiar with it.
There are very few records related to this in official history, and generally it is not in the form of "open fighting", but in the form of friendly competitions such as archery and pairing among a limited number of people.
But in folklore, miscellaneous talks and storytelling, especially martial arts novels... as long as "competition to recruit a bride" is mentioned, it must be a scene of public display with great fanfare.
However, if we think about it for a moment, we will find that the rules of this kind of competition mentioned in most stories are not very reasonable.
Do you think... there is a ring where anyone can enter, and there is no time limit, until a certain person stands there and no one else dares to go up and fight with him?
Then there is too much unfairness and room for maneuver.
Even if no one has any evil intentions and everyone just goes up and beats them, the one who goes first will suffer a lot more than the one who goes last.
And if there is someone who "knows how to use tactics", let alone...
You can fight, right? Being able to fight is of no use! I hire dozens of thugs and let them come up one by one to fight with you. They are the best at winning. If you can't win, give up the fighting style and use attrition instead.
The method of fighting... this one will hurt your arm, that one will hurt your leg. It's not that good to use up more of your strength, but in the end you will have to lie down sooner or later. Then I will go up to pick peaches, what can you do?
How about that?
In addition, there is an extreme situation. If you happen to meet a strong martial arts thief passing by and he defeats the ring, what will you do?
Therefore, in our book...or to be more specific, there are certain thresholds and rules set for the competition held by the boss today to recruit a bride.
For example: The first rule is that only people with a clean background or a decent family can take the stage. Those with unknown origins or pretending to be others cannot participate.
Another example: If the family already has a wife, it will not be accepted.
Others include "People who have been on the stage cannot fight a second time", "If the same person has played three games and still doesn't lose, he can ask for a period of rest and let the other two fight first" and so on.
It's a no brainer.
Seeing this, some people may say that this daughter of the old Gao family... is already twenty-seven or eighty years old, and she is known to be a fierce woman with strong martial arts skills. Ordinarily, at that time, even matchmakers would give up on such conditions.
If Gao had set so many clauses, wouldn’t it mean that no one would come?
Damn, isn’t this because I don’t want others to come?
To put it bluntly, all these thresholds and rules were set up for Dugu Yong alone. If they were not afraid that the restrictions would be too strict and the trap would be too obvious, Lao Gao and Dugu Sheng would probably have to limit their age, height, weight, etc. to Dugu Yong.
Yong's standards have gone up and down.
As for whether this will result in no one taking the stage except Dugu Yong, making it look fake?
Then don't worry, as we said before, the two Lao Deng did this with the energy of "launching a martial arts conspiracy" and prepared meticulously.
Lao Gao also has some connections in the world, not to mention Dugu Sheng's face this time. The two of them have already arranged a number of skilled "actors" among the crowd watching, so there is no need to worry about no one coming on stage.
Someone else will come to disrupt the situation.
If there is anyone other than Dugu Yong who dares to go up today, then I will give you a word - "You can do nothing! I have hired dozens of actors, and I am the organizer and referee."
, when the time comes…” That’s pretty much what it means, anyway, as long as everyone understands it.
Let's say that this morning, just after the Mao hour, a notice was hung in front of the Hundred Turns Thousand Swords Gate to recruit a bride. The rules were all written in black and white. It was also said that the contest would officially start at the Chen o'clock, and all villagers and elders were welcome.
Come and be a witness.
Okay, once this news comes out, can the people still sit still?
Cangzhou is a place with many sects and martial arts. If they want to fight, how many people will come to watch the excitement?
In less than an hour, the news had almost spread throughout the city, and the threshold of the Hundred Turns Thousand Swords Gate was almost broken.
Let me mention a little here. In Cangzhou, basically all sects and martial arts schools have open spaces for disciples to practice martial arts, but the sizes vary. As for Lao Gao's challenge this time, the arena is exactly
Set up on the martial arts field within his own sect.
Seeing this, some people may ask, why didn't he put it on the street? Wasn't the "Hundred-Day Beater" placed by the bully Song Xiang in Runan City just on the street? There were more than three of them placed on the street.
Where is the moon?
Then we can only say... one party has its own rules. So the Song family can be the king and hegemon in Runan, but you want them to come to Cangzhou and try this? Let alone a showdown, you have to set up a stall.
You need to understand the pier first, otherwise you won't be able to sail there for a whole day.
In this regard, Gao Shengyue, as the local leader here, must have a clear background, so he would not make that kind of mistake when handling this matter.
At this time, the competition for marriage officially began.
From the ground to the walls, the martial arts performance hall of Baizhuan Qiandaomen is packed with people. However, 99% of these people are here to watch the fun, and the other 1% are having fun with Lao Gao.
Come here to watch jokes or take advantage of the opportunity to cause trouble.
There are really no people, at least among the locals, who really want to compete in this arena.
Because most people in the city have heard about Lao Gao’s daughter...
This girl's surname is Gao Yadian. The word "dian" in her name is not pronounced as "sweet" but pronounced as "electricity"... When I chose the name, the fortune teller hired by Lao Gao said, "Your old name"
There are mountains, which belong to the earth, so the name of your next generation must have "gold" in it, because the earth is born with gold; and then you are already "sheng", or high, things must be reversed when they are extreme, so the next generation has to do the opposite, suppress it...
…So, the father’s name was Gao Shengyue, and the daughter’s name was Gao Gaodian.
Since the ancients didn't have the concept of "high-voltage electricity", they didn't think there was any homophonic problem. Of course, the name wasn't very nice, so the elders usually didn't call her by her full name, just "Tian'er".
", and other disciples, handymen, etc. naturally call her senior sister or miss.
Let's talk about this high-voltage young lady. She has really good martial arts talent. She learned all his father's "Thousand Turns and Thousands of Sword Techniques" before she was twenty-five years old. The only difference between her and his father's martial arts skills is internal strength.
Just practical experience.
As for her appearance, to be honest, she is not bad; although she is not the kind of person who can be called beautiful at first glance, she is very attractive. Besides, she practices martial arts all year round and doesn’t dress up much. If she really has to tidy up, she still looks good.
Can look better.
It's a pity, as the saying goes - no one is perfect.
Generally speaking, if a person is excellent in one or two aspects, he will definitely be lacking in other aspects, or even have big problems.
For example, if you are a born academic, you don’t know how painful learning is for ordinary people. You may not have the ability to withstand stress that ordinary people have when you encounter difficulties that are similar but different from learning in the future.
Another example is that you are born extremely good-looking, and before the age of thirty-five, you have no chance to experience the various indifferences and difficulties that most ordinary-looking people face in various social activities such as job hunting, making friends, and relationships. In fact, this is
It will subtly limit or bias your understanding of the world, thus affecting your character and judgment.
This is almost the case with the high-voltage mother. When she was a teenager, people came to her door to propose marriage, but she really looked down on these people. After all, she did have the arrogance and the ability to be picky.
So the family members let her have her own way.
As a result, five or ten years passed in the blink of an eye, and she was basically offended by all the people in the city who were similar in age to Miss Gao and proposed marriage.
And as Gao Gaodian gets older year by year, the conditions of the people who come to propose marriage are getting worse every year, one by one... At this time, it is even less likely for her to agree. She has come before with better conditions.
I didn’t agree either. It would be unfair to agree to the poor conditions now.
Therefore, with today's high-pressure marriage, coupled with the series of competitions and thresholds established by Lao Haoding, there are really no locals who can meet the conditions and are willing to compete in this arena.
But fortunately, there are a lot of outsiders in the city recently, and "the actors are already in place", so there is no need to worry about no one coming.
No, there was a young man from another country, in his twenties, dumbfounded, who was deceived by a few enthusiastic citizens nearby who wanted to watch the fun... Let's just say that this Miss Gao's family is in her twenties and seventies this year.
Yes, but you're even prettier than that eighteen-year-old, and your martial arts skills are even higher. If you can really win in this arena, you won't be at a loss if you become your wife.
Then on impulse, the young man ran to sign up with several Bai Zhuan Qian Dao Sect disciples sitting by the stage, and then entered the ring.
"I'm not talented, but I'm here to win the jackpot. I hope you heroes will show mercy." When he got on stage, the young man also cupped his fists and raised his hands, and said a few words.
Although this person is not very capable and does not come from a high-ranking family, he is indeed upright and has a good appearance. As the first one to take the stage, it is a good start for this competition to recruit a bride.
Lao Gao was not in a hurry. He waited for a moment to see if there were any real passers-by who were willing to come on stage. If not, he would send an actor up to keep the scene from getting cold.
The result is really...
That's the thing. When no one is on the board, no one wants to be the first, but as long as one person is on the board, there will be a group of people who want to fight for it.
For a while, several people ran to the stage to sign up, and then they began to "please", "please", "brother, please come first" in the audience... They all wanted to come in later.
It’s obvious – “the game starts before the game starts”.
In this way, this competition to recruit a bride was just a matter of time. The event was in full swing. At the beginning, it was "novices pecking each other", but after a few rounds of people changed, the level really improved. Those who were watching the excitement in the audience were eating.
The crowd was also in a lively atmosphere and high spirits.
Lao Gao was also very happy when he saw it, and said to himself that if he had known this, I would not have colluded with Brother Dugu. I would have just held a real martial arts contest myself to recruit a satisfactory son-in-law.
Of course, his idea ignored one issue: Cangzhou does not have as many martial arts people from other places walking around every day as it has recently.
If Lao Gao really wants to get rid of Dugu Sheng and go it alone, the most reasonable way is actually to take advantage of the Young Heroes Association to hold a competition to recruit a bride. That way the chance of recruiting a good son-in-law will indeed be greater.
However, Lao Gao just thought about it casually. Since he agreed to Dugu Sheng, he will not regret it. Besides... being able to get married to Jinling Sword Prince's Mansion, and being able to become in-laws with friends, it is definitely better than recruiting a random passerby.
Son-in-law is better.
Unknowingly, the arena went from Chen Shi to Si Shi.
The two people fighting on the stage now are already at the second-rate level. There are many martial arts practitioners from other sects who come to watch the fun. Their state has also changed from watching the show and cheering at the beginning to watching the fight attentively and applauding.
.
It was at this time that Dugu Sheng and Dugu Yong walked into the courtyard...
Some people asked why they didn’t come until now?
In fact, this is the right time to come, and this is where Dugu Sheng and Gao Shengyue are so cunning.
At their age, they have seen many competitions to recruit brides, and they both know that it is useless to come early, as the people in front of them are just "bricks"; not to mention that this competition to recruit brides was planned by themselves.
There is also the "actor" guarantee they arranged, and the two of them already know how long it will be suitable for Duguyong to appear.
To take a step back, when the fight starts at Chenshi, you, Dugu Shengchen, drag your son to the spot on time, and directly encourage your son to come on stage as soon as the fight starts. What should Duguyong do if he notices something is wrong?
Therefore, when Dugu Sheng first heard someone gossiping about this matter in the teahouse, he just pretended to be relaxed and surprised in front of his son, and half-jokingly said something... "This man who holds a competition to recruit a bride"
The owner of the Hundred Turns Thousand Knife Gate, Lao Gao, is an old friend of mine. He hugged you when you were a child. My father has been here for two days and I haven’t had time to visit him yet. I didn’t expect to hear here today that their family has such a thing.
The place was lively.
Just using this kind of casual conversation that seemed to be uninformed, I first chatted with Dugu Yong for a few words, but he didn't talk much, and he didn't take the initiative to go.
After a while, after drinking tea and snacks, he slowly walked out of the teahouse. When talking about where to go next, Duguyong asked himself: "Should we also go and see the excitement?"
In this case, the two of them just happened to be there, and they arrived at the scene at the beginning of the month.
I didn't expect that...
"Hey! Brother Yong! Uncle Sheng, you are here too! Come on, come on, we have a place here!"
As soon as Dugu and his son entered the courtyard, they heard a distinctive voice calling them amidst the noise.
The two of them looked at the sound and saw if it wasn't Sun Yixie who called them, who could it be?
At this moment, Sun Yixie, Huang Donglai, and the abbot, a total of five people, all sitting in the first row under the ring; not only did they occupy a large area, but they also had
Wine bottles, melon seeds, snacks and other odds and ends, the crumbs they had eaten and the dripping wine had already been scattered all over the floor.
Obviously, these people are the kind of people who are so idle that when they hear there is something going on, they have already come here to grab a seat before Chen Shi arrives.
Dugu Sheng took a look and thought to himself: Hey, I bumped into these two boys again, they are really destined... Eh? No, isn't that the abbot sitting next to them?
He was a little confused now, because he knew that the abbot had a weird temperament and it was hard to say what he would do. If this guy went on stage to compete on a whim, Dugu Yong would be in trouble, and even Dugu Sheng himself would be in trouble.
I am not completely sure that I will win against the abbot.
After thinking about it, he had better go over with his son first and then talk.
The courtyard was now crowded and noisy, and everyone was paying attention to the stage, so few people noticed that the two "big shots" had arrived, and no one gave way to them.
Dugu and his son could only squeeze through the crowd, "borrow" and say hello repeatedly before reaching the front.
I won’t go into detail here about how the two parties exchanged greetings. Anyway, the abbot’s attitude toward Dugu Sheng was relatively normal, similar to when he met Murong Shu.
From this point of view, as long as the other party does not clearly want to ask him to do something, or is really familiar with him, or has offended him... the abbot can actually speak politely most of the time.
The greetings between several people were finished, and the scene on stage was also just finished.
The winner was so high-spirited that he was a little carried away with himself. After sending his opponent off the stage, he came to the edge of the stage without waiting for the organizer, Mr. Gao, to speak. He clasped his fists and said loudly: "Heroes, is there anyone else willing to come up and give me advice?
?”
This was nothing serious, but the tone was slightly provocative.
It was a coincidence that at this moment, there was another person coming in from the door of the courtyard. When he heard this, he looked towards the stage again. At that time, he used Qinggong, stepped on the wall and walked sideways. After wandering for a few feet, under his feet
With another effort, he bounced off the wall and entered the ring.
As soon as he stood firm, he burst into laughter: "Hahahaha...who am I asking? Isn't this Brother Lou?" The title seemed quite polite, but his tone was full of contempt, "Why, just these two times, you...
Can you actually stand on this stage?"
Who is this person on stage? You must have guessed it, it is Shao Shanhu, the son of Shao Dejin, the leader of Cangzhou Xingyi Gate.
He and the "Brother Lou" who was standing on the stage at the moment were old acquaintances. They were originally close friends, but later they got into disputes over some trivial matters related to drinking and sex, and both felt that the other party was not giving him face. From then on
Then there was a festival.
When it comes to martial arts, Shao Shanhu is better than Brother Lou, otherwise he wouldn't immediately come on stage to ridicule him as soon as he sees him showing off.
"Nephew Shao Shi, there are rules in my arena. If you want to go on stage, you have to sign up first. It's not appropriate for you to rush in like this." At this time, Gao Shengyue couldn't stand it any longer. Standing at the edge of the stage, he stood up and called the organizer
I spoke in my identity and wanted Shao Shanhu to go down.
However, he didn't dare to say anything too harshly. After all, Xingyi Sect was quite powerful in the local area. It was at least stronger than his Hundred Turns and Thousand Swords Sect. He still had to give the other side some face.
"Ha... Master Gao, you're polite." Shao Shanhu also knew that the other party would not dare to offend him casually, so he responded confidently, "I saw your registration rules outside the door. With all due respect... this
Isn’t it a bit funny? At my young lady’s age, you still ask the person who is beating me to have no wife in his family. Isn’t it a bit too much?”
This guy can't spit out ivory from a dog's mouth. Everyone in the local area knows what he said, but they won't say such ugly words clearly. What's more, the situation of Miss Gao's family, those who signed up
Everyone who has been on stage knows that even if you take a step back, this is a fight or a fight.
"In my opinion, why don't you give me this and let me show off my skills? If in the end I, Shao Shanhu, am lucky enough to outsmart the others and win... I will suffer a little loss and marry a better man.
It’s okay for my concubine who is one year older to marry me. It’s better than marrying your daughter to some unknown person..."
As Shao Shanhu spoke, he used his words to cast a sidelong glance at his brother Lou.
Actually, in Shao Shanhu's opinion, what he said was directed at the person named Lou... and he didn't mean to target the Gao family, because in his perception, there was nothing wrong with what he said.
I felt that I was really at a disadvantage by marrying a high-voltage mother-in-law as my concubine.
So if this person is used to being a jerk, sometimes he won’t even know what he said or what he did will offend someone... In his logic, he has no malicious intent, and afterwards he will feel that others will hold grudges for it.
He is someone else's fault.
At this moment, not to mention that the old man with high blood pressure was about to explode, Dugu Yong in the audience could not sit still.
First of all, before Duguyong came here, he had just heard from his father that Lao Gao was an old friend of their family. He had hugged him when he was a child, so he already had a good impression of Lao Gao.
Secondly, Dugu had just heard about what Shao Shanhu had done before and was already very unhappy. When he saw this guy's face today, he realized that the description of the Peng family's three ghosts seemed to be an understatement.
Thirdly, even if you put aside your favorable impressions and prejudices, Shao Shanhu, you are a man who makes irresponsible remarks to a woman on stage. What kind of hero do you think you are?
"Shut up!" Duguyong jumped up at that moment and went on stage before he finished speaking.
"Shut up!" Unexpectedly, almost at the same second, the high-voltage girl also rushed out of a room next to the courtyard and jumped onto the stage.
The two of them shouted at Shao Shanhu in unison, and then they both looked at each other, stunned by each other's actions.
At this time, look at Lao Gao and Dugu Sheng beside the stage. Both Lao Deng are crazy with joy.
Lao Gao just wanted to go up and scold someone, but now he didn't say anything and withdrew. Dugu Sheng, on the other hand, could hardly hold back his smile and said to himself: Come on, I don't need to trick my son into going up, let him do his best.
Nephew Shao Xian, thank you.
Looking at the stage again, it was Dugu Yong who took the lead and took the lead: "Shao, you are a grown man. If you want to scold anyone, just scold someone. On this stage, you use the age of praising a woman to scold another person."
, what kind of a hero are you? With your virtue, you still dare to speak so brazenly that it’s your fault that someone marries you as a concubine, how shameless!”
"Huh?" Shao Shanhu didn't know Dugu Yong. When he saw someone shouting and swearing, he sneered and asked a question that he would immediately regret asking, "Humph... who are you?