Most of the northern and northwest parts of Chenzhou are bordered by the Liang people, and a small part in the west is bordered by the Fan people. It has been an important military area since ancient times, and the people's customs are strong.
As Xu's national power has been declining in recent years, Chenzhou's border defense is really not that strong.
The only good thing is that the Liang people in the north have been in civil strife in the past few years and have no time to look south.
There were also constant tribal wars among the Fan people in the west, and only some defeated tribes fled to Chenzhou for their lives.
In the middle of October in Chenzhou, it had already started to snow quite a bit. In a small tavern in the south, a group of men from all over the world were gathering, each enjoying drinks and food.
The wine and food in the tavern are very average. The only advantage is that the quantity is sufficient, but this alone makes it the most famous tavern in Shili and Baxiang.
It's snowing a lot outside today, and the guests all like to have some warm soju.
A group of people were eating. The closed door of the store was pushed open again. A gust of cold wind brought some snowflakes flying into the house. A blind man in ragged clothes and holding a bamboo stick appeared at the door followed by a donkey.
The blind man and the donkey entered the tavern together.
When the waiter in the store saw a man who looked like a beggar, he wanted to drive him away, but seeing that there was a donkey with him and not sure whether he was a real beggar, he stepped forward and stopped him in front of the blind man.
"Hey, blind man, the rule here is to pay first and then eat and drink."
The waiter, who originally thought that as long as the other party couldn't get the money, could take the opportunity to chase him away, saw the person in front of him take out a piece of silver from a purse with obvious patches on his waist.
Generally speaking, most people in Xu State use copper coins, as opposed to silver coins. Except for those in luxurious places, they are only used for larger transactions.
In this remote and remote area, it is rare to see anyone using silver.
The waiter's expression instantly became flattering and respectful:
"Master, if you want anything, I'll give it to you."
The blind man smiled and said: "A roast chicken, a jar of wine, and then feed my donkey."
The waiter agreed with a smile on his face and went down to get ready.
The blind man did not use the bamboo stick in his hand to find his way, but walked straight to an empty space, which made people wonder whether he was blind or not.
The other diners around also looked at the blind man intentionally or unintentionally. To be precise, they looked at the bulging patched money bag around the blind man's waist.
It seems that there are dozens of taels of silver at least.
A table of tough-looking guests looked at each other, and one of them, a man with a fierce look on his face, touched the saber at his waist.
Several other people also reached out to the weapons they carried.
The leader was a one-eyed man who was blind in one eye and covered it with a simple blindfold. He shook his head slightly at the brothers, stood up, took a bowl of wine, walked to the blind man, sat down in a swaggering manner, and held the wine bowl in his hand. It was placed on the table with a bang, and the wine spilled all over the table.
"Which path does this brother belong to?"
The one-eyed dragon asked politely or not.
"A wandering fortune teller."
The blind man said, drinking the bowl of wine that the one-eyed dragon had placed on the table.
"Fortune telling? How about you tell me your fortune?"
The one-eyed dragon put one hand on the table,
"I want a palm reading."
The blind man smiled and reached out to touch the one-eyed dragon's hand.
But the one-eyed dragon took his hand back, stared at the blind man and said:
"I'm talking about palm reading, not palm reading."
"Your palmistry is nothing to look at, but it's just a sign of fate."
The blind man placed the empty bowl on the table, took off the gourd from his waist, and was about to pour wine into it.
The one-eyed dragon stretched out his hand and grabbed the blind man's wrist, trying to stop the blind man from pouring the wine.
But this time, the blind man grabbed his wrist and pressed his palm on the table.
The one-eyed dragon was startled and used force in his hands to pull out his suppressed hand.
But no matter how hard he tried, it was of no use. Instead, the blind man leisurely poured the wine from the gourd into the wine bowl.
The other people who had been paying attention here saw that the one-eyed dragon seemed to be attacked. Without hesitation, they drew their swords and surrounded the blind man.
The blind man was not afraid of this and just picked up the wine bowl and tasted the wine.
The one-eyed dragon's hand was still firmly pressed on the table, and the brother next to him was about to chop the blind man with a knife.
At the critical moment, the one-eyed dragon shouted:
"Stop, everyone, stop!"
After signaling the brothers to step back, One-Eyed Dragon looked at the hand that was so pressed that it was difficult to break free, and his tone became much softer:
"I have unintentionally offended the master, please forgive me."
The blind man smiled softly and released his hand holding down the one-eyed dragon.
Withdrawing his hand, the one-eyed dragon asked respectfully:
"Master, you said just now that I don't have a long life. How do you explain it?"
"That's what it means."
The blind man said casually.
At this time, the waiter came from the back kitchen with roast chicken and a jar of wine, and placed them in front of the blind man.
The blind man smelled it, nodded, and snapped his fingers. A beautiful and dexterous cat jumped down from the roof and landed on the table.
The one-eyed dragon saw the man and the cat eating roast chicken and did not dare to disturb him. Although he was confused about what the other person said, when he realized that he could not offend the other person, he did not dare to ask any questions.
Just as he was about to return to his group's table, a short child wrapped in a coarse cotton-padded coat rushed in from the door. The child's face was dirty and his hair was messy. It was unclear whether he was a boy or a girl.
Because he rushed too fast, he directly collided with the one-eyed dragon.
The child was short and bumped into the one-eyed dragon's waist. He was also holding a wooden stick in his hand, and the wooden stick hit the one-eyed dragon somewhere between the legs.
Such a man was unprepared for a moment and was hit in the crotch by a wooden stick. He screamed and squatted on the ground with his hands covering his legs.
The child was also knocked down. The child who fell to the ground ignored the wooden stick in his hand and rolled and crawled past the one-eyed dragon. He rushed to the second floor of the tavern and disappeared without a trace.
The one-eyed dragon's brothers were shocked when they saw that he had been hit by a child. They hurried forward to ask, and some of them had a bad temper. They pulled out their knives and threatened to kill the child.
At this moment, another group of people appeared at the door of the tavern, which had been pushed open by the child.
There were seven men and two women in this group. They all wore thick clothes to keep them warm, and the weapons they were equipped with were all made of fine iron.
The diners in the store were frightened when they saw this group of people, wondering who these people were.
However, one of the people outside saw the one-eyed dragon squatting on the ground, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes:
"One-eyed scorpion!?"
Others were also surprised when they heard the title "One-eyed Scorpion".
The next moment, these people were seen unsheathing their weapons and rushing directly towards the "One-Eyed Scorpion" and others.
The "One-Eyed Scorpion" group was already at a disadvantage in terms of numbers, weapons and martial arts. Facing this group of ignorant people, even though they fought back, it was of no use.
After a while, he was killed in the store.
Quite a few of the tables, chairs and benches in the store were broken.
The "One-Eyed Scorpion", whose vital parts were injured, was no match for this group of people. In the end, he was kicked by a man who looked like the leader of the opponent and fell down in front of the blind man's desk, with a sword piercing his chest.
At the last moment, the "One-eyed Scorpion" struggled and glanced at the blind man with his only remaining eye.
It turns out that what he said was right, his life is really numbered...
After killing the one-eyed scorpion, the man pulled out the sword, and blood was still flowing out of the one-eyed scorpion's chest.
As for the fight between this group of people and the one-eyed scorpion, the blind man remained unmoved and continued to eat the roast chicken.
Even the one-eyed scorpion died in front of him without any trouble.
Even the beautiful cat didn't take a second glance at the bloody scene around her.
When the leading man saw that the "One-Eyed Scorpion" group had all been killed, he handed over to the blind man and said:
"This brother, I have offended many people just now, but this 'one-eyed scorpion' is notorious. If he is allowed to escape, I am afraid it will cause endless harm. I apologize for disturbing you."
The blind man waved his hands and said:
"I'm blind. I can't see anything. It's nothing to disturb me."
When the man saw that the blind man could face the situation without changing his expression, he guessed that this man must be an expert. Seeing that the blind man didn't seem to care about anything, he immediately wanted to make friends.
At this time, the waiter walked out of the kitchen. After seeing the corpses and blood all over the floor in the store, as well as the other customers who had fled, he cupped his hands and said with a smile:
"You have broken many tables and chairs in the shop and killed people. It is really unlucky. If the shop has to dispose of the bodies, it will take a lot of effort. How do you plan to compensate?"
Before the leading man could speak, the only woman in the group spoke. She was a young girl who looked to be fifteen or sixteen years old. After hearing the waiter’s words asking for compensation, she became very angry:
"You little boy, you have no eyesight. We killed all the notorious villains in the world to eliminate harm for the people!"
The waiter shook his head and said with a smile:
"These are your affairs in the world, and the shop has nothing to do with them. But they are here, and they are the customers of the shop. When you kill people, the shop will be light-hearted and won't say anything, but compensation is absolutely necessary. , otherwise if the shopkeeper asks me back, I won’t be able to explain.”
The girl wanted to say something more, but was interrupted by the leading man:
"Little sister, that's enough."
With that said, he threw a piece of silver to the waiter.
The waiter caught the money steadily and immediately smiled:
"Gentlemen, there are many. Would you like some food and wine to take a short rest?"
The leading man asked:
"A child ran in earlier, could you see it?"
When the waiter heard this, he smiled and said:
"I'm afraid the guest officer needs to find it himself. The shop is not involved in this Jianghu matter."
Hearing this, the leading man winked at the others.
Seeing this, everyone dispersed and searched the tavern.
The waiter was not surprised. He took the money and skillfully picked up the bodies of "One-Eyed Scorpion" and others, as well as the blood stains on the ground.
When the leading man saw the waiter's humble martial arts, his pupils shrank slightly, but he didn't show any sign of feeling like he was facing a formidable enemy.
There are so many hidden dragons and crouching tigers in this world. He has traveled around the world for many years and never dares to underestimate anyone, so he is willing to pay for it.
Of course, his first target now is not the waiter, but the blind man who has already eaten a roast chicken.
Arriving in front of the blind man, the leading man cupped his fists and said:
"My entire sect, Zhuang Jinghao, may I ask your surname?"
"The blind fortune teller Yang Luming."
Seeing that the other party had a good attitude, Jing Hao felt that this was a person he could befriend, so he took the initiative to chat.
Through conversation, the blind man learned that this group of people were all members of the "Quan Zongzhuang", a well-known force in the world.
"Quan Zongzhuang" is not in Chenzhou. As for the purpose of their coming to Chenzhou, they did not reveal it, and the blind man did not ask.
The conversation between the two parties was quite harmonious. Jing Hao seemed to like cats a little bit. He would take a look at the beautiful cat next to the blind man from time to time.
But after all, it was Lao Jianghu who restrained his love for cats.
At this time, there was a sound of smashing on the second floor, and a person from the entire clan screamed in agony as if he had been bitten.
After another sound, a man with an angry look on his face came down carrying a child whose hands and feet were tied.
Followed by the girl whom Jing Hao had previously called "little sister", she held two money bags in her hands, one of which belonged to the dead "One-Eyed Scorpion".
"Brother, this little brat is really dirty. Not only did he steal our money, but he even went into a tavern and stole money from the 'One-Eyed Scorpion'. He was caught just now and he dared to bite Xuan Weiwei. We must give him a severe lesson." Hit him!"
The girl was very angry with the child,
"If you don't learn well at a young age, let's see how I deal with you later!"
Seeing that the child was caught, Jing Hao said:
"Just get the money back. As for the person, find a more reliable person to sell it to and give him a way to survive."
...
