Jianghu chaos

"This gang of bandits has been entrenched for a long time, and the government and the people who come and go are unbearable. Thanks to the two heroes who acted out of righteousness today. This is a reward of 20 taels of silver. I hope you will accept it."

Ruan Xi waved his hands again and again, with his head held high and his chest upright: "We acted chivalrously, not..."

Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by another voice: "The government has clear rewards and punishments. It's better to obey orders than to be respectful."

Ruan Xi rubbed his head, watching Mei Qian calmly accepting the reward, with doubts lingering on his lips, he went straight out of the gate of the government office and asked: "I heard that people in the world treat money like dung, brother Mei..."

Mei Qian glanced at him leisurely, and said, "I see you are also a scholar, but have you ever read a book to believe it?"

Ruan Xi was still puzzled: "Brother Mei, I understand that if the government wants to win the trust of the people and encourage righteous people to help catch thieves, it must reward them with silver, but...if we take the silver, wouldn't it be against the principle of chivalry? Got it?"

"Oh?" Mei Qian raised his eyebrows, crossed his arms, clasped his arms with his slender index finger, "Mr. Ruan's chivalrous way, I would like to hear more about it."

Ruan Xi blushed slightly, frantically flipping through the bag a few times, and found another thin booklet, which seemed to be a folk tabloid that was circulated all over the place. "That's what it says in the 'List of Heroes'... A chivalrous man does not seek a name for the country, does not seek rewards for the people, stands up to the sky, protects one side, is righteous, and shakes the world! The so-called chivalrous way is loyalty first. , Punish the evil and promote the good, eradicate the strong and help the weak. When things are done, take off your clothes and hide your achievements and fame..."

Mei Qian tilted her face, and read out the big ink characters on the newspaper word by word: "Chao-wen-yue-bao?"

Ruan Xi was very excited: "The so-called 'learn the affairs of the rivers and lakes in the morning, read the books of sages and sages at night'!"

Mei Qian let out an "ah", cleared her throat, and said solemnly: "You also said that a great chivalrous man is to protect the people. It is a good thing for the government to be trustworthy. Is there any reason for us not to support it? This time you will not Accept it, next time someone else changes, will they accept it? If everyone refuses to accept it, how can the government be trusted? Besides, there are never enough small thieves in the mountains, and the government is short of manpower. How many people are willing to help out in a thankless and loss-making business? One thing more is worse than one thing less, who knows how to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages, if everyone sweeps their own door, wouldn’t it further fuel the arrogance of these bandits?"

Ruan Xi was stunned for a moment, nodded in admiration and said, "Brother Mei is still thinking about the long-term, it is Ruan Xi who is short-sighted!"

Mei Qian didn't blush and his heart didn't beat, and his expression didn't change, he said confidently: "Master said, a gentleman loves money, and when he hates it, he throws it on the ground. Your clothes and hats are also exchanged for that dung-like gold and silver. I owe you the grace of covering your body." , but hates the world, it's a bit..." Mei Qian stopped talking, just looked at him and smiled without saying a word.

Ruan Xi was extremely ashamed: "Brother Mei is right."

Mei Qian nodded in relief, looking like a teachable child, collected the money and Shi Shiran left.

Ruan Xi hurriedly followed, thinking that his own ignorance annoyed him, racked his brains and brainstormed how to remedy it, just after a few steps, he saw a few stalls and horse dealers beside the road, a few shiny horses Liangju raised his head and neighed, and the sound of groaning sounded full of energy, resounding through the north and south of the street.

Ruan Xi was agitated, remembering that although he already had a bay red horse, Mei Qian still relied on his legs to travel around the world lightly. Although it was comfortable and convenient, it was really labor-intensive, and it was better to have a good horse for transportation.

Mei Qian paused, raised his eyebrows to see Young Master Ruan rushing up excitedly, pointed at the big white horse with gilt saddle in the middle and said: "Does this horse have an owner?"

The horse dealer's eyes lit up when he saw him dressed up: "No, no, this horse is the best horse raised by the villain!"

Ruan Xi suddenly became interested, and reached out for a bank note: "Is 100 taels enough?"

Mei Qian's eyebrows twitched, and she subconsciously looked at the bay red horse tied behind her.

After turning his head around, Ruan Xi happily led the horse over, and handed him the rein blushingly: "I don't know where Brother Mei is going, if, if he goes along the way, I don't know... would you like to go with Ruan Xi?"

Mei Qian looked at him quietly, noncommittal.

Ruan Xi was even more nervous: "Ruan Xi was new to the rivers and lakes, and he didn't understand many things. I couldn't be more lucky to have Brother Mei give me some advice! It's just that I don't have anything in return, so I can only buy a horse for Brother Mei. Ma Daibu, Brother Mei... don't be disgusted..."

Mei Qian bent his lips and took the reins: "Young Master Ruan has spent a lot of money. I happen to be going to Huainan to watch the excitement of the Tofu Conference. Since we met by fate, it's okay to go together."

Brother Mei didn't seem to be able to speak Mandarin very well, and he read the opening ceremony of the Doufubao Martial Arts Conference as a tofu conference, and his accent sounded a bit more informal and unrestrained.Ruan Xi was overjoyed, took his own bay red horse, jumped on the horse like him, and was secretly happy.

Mei Qian looked sideways, and the young master in the sun was full of anger and high spirits.

He has various martial arts, but he is not proficient in any of them; he is barely a good fighter, but he has no experience in dealing with enemies;

"Interesting..." Mei Qian chuckled, clamped his horse's belly, and galloped in the direction of Bagong Mountain in Huainan.

As expected of a BMW steed worth 100 taels of silver, it only took a few days to travel thousands of miles from Hangzhou to Huainan. Counting the delay on the way, it arrived at Bagong Mountain in Huainan on January 28, faster than Mei Qian expected for a few days.

This martial arts conference is divided into three sessions. The first session is hosted by the Huainan Doufu Fort. The winners who stand out from the crowd will have the opportunity to enter the final martial arts alliance meeting and participate in the election of the martial arts leader.

The opening ceremony is scheduled for the second day of February, which is not only the flower festival, but also a "dragon raising its head". The opportunity to become famous is absolutely not to be missed.Therefore, although the meeting was four days early, heroes from all walks of life gathered around Bagong Mountain, the inns near and far were overcrowded, and the supply of weapons and armor was even more in short supply.

Right now, Ruan Xi was struggling to squeeze into the crowd, pointing to a bag of plum blossom darts and asked the stall owner, "How much is this plum blossom dart?"

The stall owner sat upright behind the stall, with a bamboo hat lowered to cover his brows and eyes, and he didn't lift his head when facing the wolf-like customers, as if an old monk was in meditation, he just answered casually: "Eight Liang."

Others were in an uproar: "It's so expensive!"

"Expensive?" The stall owner sneered, pointing to the side, "It's cheaper over there."

As the saying goes, what you get for what you pay for is definitely true, Ruan Xi took out the money and handed it over without thinking, "I want it!"

Behind him, Mei Qian couldn't help stroking his forehead.

"Old man, how do you sell this horizontal knife?"

Why would you buy a weapon when you see it... Mei Qian groaned to herself, brushed off her clothes and moved forward, just as the young man put down the horizontal knife and started playing with a breast shield.

The bamboo hat moved slightly, but the stall owner still didn't raise his head: "The horizontal knife is 20 taels, and the heart mirror is 30 taels."

Mei Qian's eyes flashed, and he suddenly looked at the stall owner.

The ordinary clothed cloak, the ordinary bamboo hat, and the simple attire seem to wrap the man completely, quietly hiding and watching in this bustling street.

The only exposed finger was white and slender, with well-defined knuckles, and the slightly bent posture seemed familiar.

Mei Qian was thoughtful, and the words that made fun of the young master's waste of money rolled on his lips, and the direction of the exit changed: "This sword is not bad, I wonder how much it costs?"

Ruan Xi followed his gaze, and saw that the stall owner really had a sword in his hand, with a simple and simple style, hidden among Linlang weapons. If it weren't for Mei Qian's sharp eyes, he really didn't notice: "It is said that real people don't show their faces. Could it be that this magical weapon is also Not showing off?"

"Tsk." The stall owner seemed to be in high spirits, and his tone of voice changed a bit, unknowingly, there was a bit of lightness, "Your Excellency has good eyesight, this sword is passed down from family to family, and the price is no less, two thousand 500 taels."

Mei Qian raised the corners of her lips, and tapped on the table casually with one hand: "Business pays attention to the word of faith, and the price of such crude goods is 500 taels. I really don't know where the letter of the stall owner went?"

The stall owner didn't take it seriously, and muttered in a rough voice: "There are old and young, and the wind and the sun can only earn a few living money. This young man doesn't look like a person who is short of money, why is he so fussy? This mind is so small."

With a half-smile, Mei Qian stretched out her hand to snatch the sword, refusing to give in: "I'm very poor, and I can't afford a big heart."

Seeing that the two of them seemed to be arguing, Ruan Xi carefully smoothed things over: "Brother Mei doesn't need to worry about Ruan Xi so much, this small amount of money is nothing, I can afford it..."

The stall owner quickly picked up: "At first glance, this brother is a man of knowledge! A good bird chooses a tree to live in, and a sword is expensive when it meets a predestined person. What is a mere 2000 taels, and a thousand gold is just a smile, let alone a magic weapon?"

Mei Qian said coolly: "The family heirloom sword is sold as soon as it is sold. If I were your father, I would break your legs."

The stall owner laughed and lifted his bamboo hat: "Then he must catch me too!"

Ruan Xi was greatly surprised, and looked left and right between the two of them, before saying a word after a while: "So... are we all friends?"

"Who is his friend?" Mei Qian snorted coldly, and threw the sword back to him with a flick of his hand. "Young Master Xie Qi really has a lot of free time!"

Xie Qi took off the cloak with one hand and threw it aside, innocently said: "I'm not going to organize the opening ceremony, why can't I be free?"

Mei Qian didn't bother to talk to him: "Go away, I'm busy."

Xie Qi said "ah", and laughed so hard that he didn't want to be beaten: "I'm busy slaughtering fat sheep and picking up money bags."

Mei Qian paused, turned her head and squinted her eyes, and suddenly tilted her head to greet him behind her: "Miss Hua, long time no see."

Xie Qi's face changed drastically, and he copied the sword and disappeared without a trace in the blink of an eye.

Ruan Xi was surprised: "He...this...Brother Mei, that son..."

Mei Qian raised her chin in that direction, and said concisely: "Debt avoidance."

Ruan Xi was inexplicable, before he had time to ask in detail, he felt a gust of wind howling in front of him, two shadows passed by quickly, and disappeared in an instant.

All that was left behind was a deafening yell: "You, surnamed Xie, stop for grandma!"