Zhu Hongni's threat was very effective, and Shen Li immediately "succumbed".
"Miss Zhu, I have a question to ask you."
"Yeah, tell me." She held up the hem of her skirt, carefully avoiding the mud.
"Since a team of bodyguards is no match for Blind Bear in Black Bear Ridge, what if we are no match either? What if Blind Bear sees you as beautiful as a flower and takes you to be the wife of the stronghold, but it will be too late to regret it. " Shen Li reminded.
Zhu Hongni's face darkened: "You can't protect me?"
"My three-legged cat's kung fu is no match for the bandits who fell into a trap like Xiong Xiazi!"
"Then...then...ask those bodyguards for money and then make a long-term plan."
The two of them walked in the village avoiding the mud and water.
Zhu Hongni turned around and asked, "Where did you hear the horse braying from?"
"The house in front."
She took the lead, jumped over the mud pit, and raised her hand to knock on the door.
The heavy rain last night didn't open the door no matter how hard I knocked on the door. Now I just knocked a few times and the closed door opened.
The person who opened the door was a dark old man. He looked at Zhu Hongni standing outside the door and asked curiously: "Who are you looking for, girl?"
"Does the escort live in your house?"
"Are you looking for Master Lu? Master Lu has indeed stayed at my house for two days."
Zhu Hongni turned around and glanced at Shen Li, who seemed to have nothing to do with her: "Yes, I'm just looking for escort Lu."
The old man, tanned by the sun, shouted: "Master Lu! There is a girl looking for you."
"Who? Why would a girl look for me?"
Bodyguard Lu stuffed the steamed bun into his mouth, stepped out of the room, looked at Zhu Hongni with a bad look and Shen Li with an expressionless face, and asked, "Who are you? I don't know you."
Zhu Hongni got angry and came up: "Old man, let me ask you, is the person named Lu eating and drinking at your house for free?"
"This..." The old man who had been honest all his life was speechless.
Bodyguard Lu sneered: "It turns out that I am a chivalrous woman or young hero who travels around the world and takes action when she sees injustice. I, Lu Liang, have traveled far and wide and have seen a lot. I am most disgusted with your kind of people who don't care about the cause and effect of things and rely on your passion to stand out. Fool!"
"Oh, surnamed Lu, under such a bright world, your escort team is actually justified in eating and drinking for free in the village? Am I wrong?"
Before Lu Liang could refute, the old man sighed and said anxiously: "Girl, have you misunderstood something?"
"Misunderstanding? Uncle, please don't let others deceive you!"
Standing behind Zhu Hongni, Shen Li looked at the tidy yard, stacked firewood bundled under the eaves, and large handfuls of wild vegetables in carefully washed wooden basins, and knew that things might not be as simple as they sounded.
"Please come in, everyone. Sit down and say, Miss, you must have misunderstood. Let me explain, old man."
Zhu Hongni asked the young man: "What should I do?"
The young man did not reply to her, but clasped his fists at Lu Liang and said, "She is in Shenli. Her name is Zhu Hongni. The two of us went to the village to take shelter from the heavy rain last night. We heard some rumors and wanted to come and find out more about it."
Lu Liang's expression improved. Although he was still filled with anger, he avoided the situation and agreed to let them go into the old man's house to talk.
The old man and Lu Liang entered the room, brought the table, took a brand new matza and handed it to Shen Li and Zhu Hongni.
After pouring some water, the four of them sat down around the table.
Zhu Hongni later realized that things seemed to be different and that she had really misunderstood.
The old man said: "Girl, Master Lu is a great and good man! Don't accuse him unjustly!"
"Is he a good person? Did I wrong him? Uncle, were you deceived by his sweet words?"
"No! No! Look, the ground was leveled by Master Lu, the firewood was chopped by Master Lu the day before yesterday, and the weeds in the tub were picked by Master Lu for the old man, not to mention the two horses sitting under their buttocks, Lu In the past few days, the master has made four mazas for every household he knows."
"He...he eats and drinks for free! He stays at your house and won't leave!" Zhu Hongni said dissatisfied.
The old man was very anxious and stuttered for a while. Lu Liang couldn't say anything about this kind of thing.
The young man smiled and said: "Meal and simple food is only worth a few dollars. I even hope that Master Lu will stop leaving and stay here so that he can have a helper. Isn't that right, old man?"
"Yes! That's right! The young man is absolutely right!" All the wrinkles on the old man's face relaxed in an instant.
Zhu Hongni said angrily: "Shen Li! Who are you speaking for?"
"Speaking for justice, as the saying goes, seeing is better than hearing a hundred times. I saw it with my own eyes. Although Master Lu was eating and drinking at his old uncle's house for free, he did a lot of things within his ability. He went back and forth and paid for his meals and accommodation. .”
Lu Liang sighed deeply and said: "Girl! Lu's conversation was too extreme just now. I'm really sorry! What the young man said is indeed true. Our Integrity Escort Bureau escorted us through Black Bear Ridge. The bandit nicknamed Xiong Blind Man led nearly twenty people to escort us. All the goods and money they carried were stolen, and even five brothers died in their hands! Now, the seven of us brothers are penniless and have lost or lost money. With all kinds of helplessness, we can only temporarily lick thick food in the village. My face is living... If I think about it carefully, I have lived in Xiaoli Village for sixteen days."
Shen Li asked: "Master Lu, are the goods valuable?"
Lu Liang nodded and said: "The total value of the goods is about three hundred taels. The employer is an old customer of our Integrity Escort Bureau. He wanted to send the goods to Fengzhou, Nanwu. We didn't expect that we would end up at Heixiong Ridge. Alas! I regret it. If Lu had listened to Wang Brother, if you don’t mind taking a long detour to Black Bear Ridge, you won’t have the current disaster!”
"What happened to village head Li Dahu? You beat him until he couldn't get out of bed for three days!!" Zhu Hongni calmed down a little and mentioned another matter.
Before Lu Liang could say anything, the old man slapped his knee angrily: "The village head Li Dahu is the big villain of our Xiaoli Village, a bastard who bullies the weak and is afraid of the strong! He took away more than a kilogram of wheat seeds from me just because the old man was lonely and his wife left early. Three children are working in the county town! Well beaten! Master Lu didn't beat him to death, it's because Li Dahu accumulated bad virtues in his previous life!"
More than a kilogram of wheat seeds is already a large amount for the old man's family. You must know that it is not easy to store wheat seeds. Many people are hungry and have to save the seeds for next year's planting.
Li Dahu robbed the old man of more than a pound of wheat seeds. His three children were at home, so he had to fight hard. Talking to someone about other matters might be able to solve the problem. This kind of food problem that is related to survival is basically a dead end. Even if the old man beat Li Dahu to death at that time, the villagers could not say anything because he deserved it!
Lu Liang added: "Not only that, we brothers made inquiries and found out that Li Dahu is simply the village tyrant of Xiaoli Village. With several years of martial arts training, he went rampant in the village. This year, in addition to stealing more than a pound of wheat seeds from the uncle's house, , and also robbed more than 20 kilograms of seeds from more than a dozen other families. When our brothers encountered such evil things, we naturally took action to teach him a lesson."
Grain seeds are the life of the people who have their backs turned to the loess and their faces facing the sky. Li Dahu snatched more than 20 kilograms of seeds, which is tantamount to committing an evil deed that takes people's lives. He was beaten so hard that he couldn't get out of bed for three days. He was really lucky. , if Lu Liang had a bad temper, it would not be an exaggeration to kill him.
Zhu Hongni lowered her head. She had really wronged the wrong person. She thought she would draw her sword to help when the road was rough, but unexpectedly, she almost pointed at the good guy and called him a bad guy.
Shen Li smiled and clasped his fists and said, "It's our fault that the two of us rushed to accuse Master Lu without seeing the whole situation. I hope that Master Lu will forgive us for our ignorance."
On another day, Lu Liang would have waved his hand carelessly and said, sesame seeds and mung beans are a big deal, but he didn't take it to heart at all. There is no need to apologize. If we don't fight, we don't know each other. Let's go and treat you to a drink.
Now he is in no mood. Three hundred taels of goods were robbed. He has lived in Xiaoli Village for sixteen days without thinking of a solution. His whole person feels empty, as if he has lost his soul.
"Little brother, don't say that. We are all in the world, so be tolerant if you can. I don't take it to heart about small things." Lu Liang forced a smile.
Zhu Hongni whispered: "Brother Lu, I was too impulsive. I'm sorry."
"Girl, please don't talk about being sorry. It means we are the ones you met. If you really encounter a bad guy who is causing trouble, the girl's righteous deed can save the people from the fire and water. She can be called a heroine!" Lu Liang said with a smile.
The young man asked about Black Bear Ridge: "Brother Lu never thought of filing a complaint to the government?"
"We're gone! After we escaped from Blind Man Xiong, we went to the government to complain. Who would have thought that the government said that there were too few soldiers, most of them were taken away by the state, and they couldn't suppress the bandits!" Lu Liang suddenly sighed again.
The lack of soldiers is an excuse. The real situation is who knows what kind of contacts the local government has with Black Bear Ridge!
Zhu Hongni's eyes lit up: "Brother Lu, why don't we, the Black Bear Ridge on the Nine Mountains, take down this group of bandits and eliminate harm for the people!"
Lu Liang smiled bitterly and said: "Among the seven of us brothers, I have the highest martial arts, which is the eighth level. Blind Xiong is at the seventh level at least. He is proficient in martial arts, has decisive moves, and can flow all over the body with one breath. What can we brothers do to him?" No, with the nearly twenty people under our command, we are just going to die! Unless your martial arts skills are similar to those of Blind Xiong, or even better!"
Zhu Hongni's eyes brightened even more: "If you have a chance, I'm a seventh-level Qi practitioner!"
"Buddhism? Taoism or Confucianism?"
"Confucianism!"
A seventh-grade Confucian Qi practitioner...
Lu Liang shook his head: "I'm definitely not looking down on the girl. Confucian seventh-grade Qi practitioners only have better memories when they study, but they can't do it against the enemy."
Confucian Qi practitioners do not have combat strength until the sixth level.
Those below the sixth level are a little stronger than ordinary people, but not much stronger. They can't even hide when a sword is struck.
Zhu Hongni turned around and asked Shen Li: "What about you! Are you a practitioner? What level are you at?"
Shen Li smiled: "Brother Lu, maybe you can really give it a try."
"Huh? Little brother, never, never make fun of your own life!"
"To be honest, I am a sixth-grade martial artist."
"What? Are you a sixth-grade martial artist?" Lu Liang said in surprise.
Zhu Hongni was also surprised and said: "Don't lie to us! We will fight with real swords and guns later!"
Seeing that they didn't believe it.
The young man walked to the bundled firewood, took out a thicker one, stood it on the ground, made a knife-like shape with his right hand, and slashed towards the thick wood, immediately cutting it to the bottom. The thick wood was not divided into two pieces, but three pieces, with a fault. Extraordinarily smooth, as if it were cut into three pieces with a sharp knife.
This move is called the martial artist's one qi for three purposes, which is completely different from the Taoist method of converting qi into three uses. It is just a clever use of qi.
It is precisely one energy and three uses, but it is the standard of a sixth-grade martial artist.
