socalfunplaces Chapter 129 The most romantic thing I can think of is releasing river lanterns with the ladies!
Chapter 129 The most romantic thing I can think of is releasing river lanterns with the ladies!
Chapter 129 The most romantic thing I can think of is releasing river lanterns with the ladies!
"I, Hua Ruling, am a winner in life!"
"You, Iron-Shoeed Thief, have suffered a humiliating defeat!"
Hua Ruling coldly announced the outcome of the incident!
Lu Xiaofeng laughed, "Song Wencao, you don't even dare to show your face, how can you control others?"
Xu Qingya mocked, "Song Wencao, you hide your head and tail, cowering and shrinking, just trying to make a living. You run away at the slightest sound. You won't be able to eat a peaceful meal for ten years!"
Hua Manlou is upright, gentle and refined, and can hold his head high wherever he goes. He has the love of his parents, the care of his elder brother, and the heartfelt help of his good friends.
What do you have?
Poison Dragon Island is no longer yours! The beachcombers don't need you; they can rise up on their own.
Your brother died a gruesome death, his bones crushed and scattered to the winds!
Perhaps there's also a powerful figure in the Han Hai Kingdom whom you've served for over a decade. With the old king of Han Hai Kingdom dead, a new emperor brings a new court. Can he still remain a powerful figure?
Your meticulously designed, decade-long, ridiculous internal injury plan was easily cracked by Cheng Lingsu!
Even your iron shoes were taken away by Lu Xiaofeng!
What do you have left?
What's the point of you jumping out like this?
If I were you, I'd find a crack in the ground, bury my head in it, and never bring it out again!
As he spoke, Xu Qingya tossed over a snail shell cleaned of its meat: "If you can't find a crack in the ground, just crawl inside a shell. A snail shell suits you better!"
Song Wencao shouted hysterically, "What nonsense are you talking about? No one can beat me! Even if you cut me into a thousand pieces, so what?"
There is one thing that will never change!
Hua Manlou was blind his whole life!
All that Hua Manlou could see was darkness!
Kill me!
Come and kill me!
"Hua Manlou, come and kill me!"
Looking at Song Wencao, who was as frantic as a mad dog, Hua Manlou felt a sense of cruel fate. The psychological shadow that had plagued him for ten years turned out to be a mad dog.
People can hold a grudge against the "big devil".
However, even the angrier and most eager to kill Song Wencao, Eagle Eye Seventh, would not stoop to the level of a mad dog; he couldn't bear the shame!
Hua Manlou said gently, "Tiexie! Tell me your secrets! A man should have some manners! Do you want to be remembered as a madman?"
Upon hearing this, Song Wencao roared, "I have one last trump card! Lu Xiaofeng! Zhu Ting's wife is in my hands! If you kill me, no one will be able to find the landlady, and she will starve to death in the dungeon!"
A few days ago, Zhu Ting and Lu Xiaofeng went to investigate the case of counterfeit banknotes at the Paradise Tower. Song Wencao, under the pretense of seeing a doctor, kidnapped the proprietress and threatened Zhu Ting to hand over the secret diagram of the Hua family's secret room, or she would kill the proprietress!
What illness does the proprietress have that requires a doctor's visit?
Zhu Ting and the landlady had been married for many years but had no children. The landlady was so anxious that she couldn't eat. She had prayed at the nearby Guanyin Temple, which is known for granting children, hundreds of times!
Lu Xiaofeng looked at Xu Qingya.
Xu Qingya put his thumb and forefinger in his mouth, whistled, and Doubao ran over with his tongue lolling out, a silk scarf in his mouth, rubbing against Xu Qingya's trouser leg.
Xu Qingya chuckled and rubbed the dog's head: "Song Wencao, from today onwards, the history of the martial arts world will record that the notorious Iron Shoe Bandit was ultimately defeated by a dog."
Lu Xiaofeng coldly explained, "How could you kidnap a woman who likes to wear makeup? As long as Zhu Ting brings the proprietress's clothes, even if you hide her a hundred miles away, Doubao'er will find her!"
"I—I haven't lost yet! The wine—I poisoned the wine, you're all poisoned!"
"This is the personal disciple of the Poison Hand Medicine King. Ling Su can easily neutralize such a minor poison!"
"Xu Qingya, I—I'm coming out!"
Song Wencao revealed her last card.
Dozens of bearded men appeared around, each holding a crossbow. They were guards of the Han Hai Kingdom. Song Wencao had pledged allegiance to the young prince of the Han Hai Kingdom and offered his daughter to him. If he could find the Han Hai Jade Buddha and help the young prince ascend the throne, he could become the father-in-law of the Han Hai Kingdom.
The murder of Wang Cefeng, which Jin Jiuling was investigating, was committed by Song Wencao. Over the years, Wang Cefeng had been using his position to sell weapons. He disguised himself as a black market merchant selling weapons and would sell anything for money!
Song Wencao was the last buyer.
Through a mysterious merchant who sells secret manuals on the black market, Song Wencao offered 100,000 taels of silver to buy three thousand crossbows. Wang Cefeng thought about it for a long time and finally decided to agree. During the weapon transaction, Song Wencao betrayed him by poisoning Wang Cefeng.
Given Wang Cefeng's keen insight, he wouldn't have agreed to such an absurd deal. However, the mysterious merchant selling the manuals was his biggest client, having sold him weapons and provisions worth tens of thousands of taels of silver over the years.
With a major client bringing in another major client, Wang Cefeng's guard was lowered considerably. What he didn't expect was that Song Wencao was a one-off deal; his plan was to find the jade Buddha and run away immediately, without any regard for the consequences.
Thus, Wang Cefeng was drugged by Song Wencao, who then used a sword technique to kill Wang Cefeng and his entourage, disguising it as a murder with a sword. The drug residue remaining in the victims' bodies was undetectable to anyone except professionals, enough to deceive the investigating officers.
Song Wenyuan's original plan was to put one kind of toxin in the wine and another kind in the food. The two toxins would combine and not explode directly, but as long as one activated their true energy, they would feel dizzy. In this case, these crossbows would be the most powerful killing weapons.
To everyone's surprise, Cheng Lingsu came to celebrate her birthday, and both the ten-year internal injury plan and the newly planned crossbow plan were easily thwarted by her.
Thirty crossbows are a great threat to ordinary martial arts practitioners, but to grandmasters like Xu Qingya and Lu Xiaofeng, they are not much different from toys, not to mention Liu Qingci, a super archer.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Thirty crossbow bolts were fired at the same time.
Liu Qingci waved his hand, throwing out fish bones and chicken bones, knocking away more than a dozen arrows. He then grabbed them with both hands, catching three arrows in each hand, aiming at the target, and reflecting them back.
"Damn it, I've been holding back! Finally, I can have a proper fight! Let Master Feng have a go!"
Feng Bo'e swung his palm and struck at the two guards!
"No, no! The one holding it in the most isn't Feng Lao Si, it's Bao San Ye! Damn it! If I don't get a chance to shout 'No, no, no!', I'll dig those four words out of the ground with my toes!"
Bao Butong also stopped the two guards!
Murong Fu formed a sword with his fingers and, with a wave of his hand, used the sword techniques of six different schools, knocking down six guards.
There were simply too many experts present; thirty guards were far from enough. In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, all of Song Wencao's subordinates had been captured. Xu Qingya laughed and said, "Now you have to explain one thing: where did you get the crossbow? You must be the one who assassinated Wang Cefeng!"
Song Wencao sneered disdainfully, "If I can buy crossbows from Wang Cefeng, then many more people can buy them from even higher-ranking officials. Xu Qingya, from the moment I uttered those words, you were doomed!"
"I'd love for them to come forward on their own!"
Xu Qingya waved his hand to seal Song Wencao's acupoints and punctured his dantian. Cheng Lingsu stepped forward to examine him and searched his body for all the medicine, preventing him from committing suicide.
Thirty crossbows—such a big case is enough to make the old fogies in the capital gossip. The only question is, who is the big shot standing behind Wang Cefeng?
Yang Yan whispered, "Husband, Wang Cefeng is an important official in the Ministry of War, but his backer—I remember that it was Yuan Lianqin, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, who promoted Wang Cefeng!"
Xu Qingya sneered, "Just wait and see! Yuan Lianqin won't live more than a few days. The river embankment has been in disrepair for years; others might escape responsibility, but Yuan Lianqin has absolutely no chance!"
With the capture of the Iron-Shoe Thief, the Hua family's birthday banquet ended in a noisy manner. Although there were many ups and downs, it was fortunate that the psychological shadows of the father and son were lifted.
Everyone who attends the birthday banquet benefits!
First, you get to enjoy a grand feast; second, you receive gifts from the Hua family; third, you make friends with fellow martial arts practitioners; and fourth, you witness a spectacular and lively event.
Even Murong Fu managed to salvage some of his reputation and reap considerable benefits from this battle.
The most unfortunate one was Jin Jiuling.
He was first blindly shot by Liu Qingci and seriously injured!
To avoid being recognized, he had to drag his seriously injured body to investigate the case. He originally thought he would handle the case perfectly, but unexpectedly, the murderer appeared at the Hua family's birthday banquet and even took the initiative to expose himself.
After several days of back-and-forth work, I not only didn't gain any benefit, but I also ended up with a lot of injuries.
What Jin Jiuling found most unbearable was that Xu Qingya took the credit. Given Xu Qingya's status, he didn't need any credit at all. What use was credit?
A world where only Kim Gu-ryong is injured, achieved!
"Ah~~ Xu Qingya! I will kill you!"
Jin Jiuling screamed hysterically, but dared not make a sound. He just opened his mouth wide, his expression ferocious and distorted, even more insane than Tiexie.
As a complete bystander, to be fair, this matter is indeed not Xu Qingya's fault; Xu Qingya is innocent!
There is a small river next to the Hua family's house called the Meng River. Hua Ruling's birthday happens to coincide with the Meng River Lantern Festival. Young men and women write their thoughts on river lanterns and let them float downstream to distant places, hoping that their wishes will come true.
Hua Manlou could not see the lanterns, but he could hear the lively and cheerful atmosphere of the lantern festival, which he enjoyed very much.
"Lu Xiaofeng, thank you. Without your and Brother Xu's help, I could not have overcome my inner demons."
Hua Manlou and Lu Xiaofeng were childhood friends.
When Hua Manlou had just been blinded and was in despair, Lu Xiaofeng appeared. At that time, Lu Xiaofeng was poor and down on his luck, spending his days in teahouses and taverns, but he had no resentment. Every moment, every second, Lu Xiaofeng was enjoying life.
Lu Xiaofeng did not regard Hua Manlou as a wealthy young master, nor as a disabled person who could not take care of himself. Lu Xiaofeng leaned on the wall, eating apples he had just stolen from the Hua family's orchard, and encouraged Hua Manlou to grope his way out of the house, step by step.
He told jokes and gossiped to Hua Manlou, imitating the tone of storytelling and recounting folk tales.
In Hua Manlou's darkest years, if Hua Ruling was an unyielding mountain, then Lu Xiaofeng was the first ray of light to illuminate the darkness in Hua Manlou's heart.
Encouraged by Lu Xiaofeng, Hua Manlou gradually emerged from the shadows, learned to use his ears instead of his eyes, relied on his memory to memorize, studied poetry and songs, went to Wudang Mountain to cultivate in peace, and comprehended the profound truth of the unity of man and nature.
Lu Xiaofeng said generously, "Friends should help each other. We are friends, so why say such polite things?"
"Hua Manlou, Xu Qingya went upstream to release river lanterns. Guess how many lanterns there are?"
Hua Manlou shook his head: "I can't guess!"
Lu Xiaofeng chuckled, "Since that's the case, I'll take pity on you and help you count the river lanterns!"
The upper reaches of the Meng River.
Xu Qingya released river lanterns with his female confidantes.
Of course, river lanterns should be made by hand, with your own dreams written down, such as being surrounded by beautiful women!
Making river lanterns isn't difficult, especially for Xu Qingya. The first origami skill she learned was folding boats; she could quickly fold paper boats, paper airplanes, and paper frogs from any scrap paper she could find.
Paper boats and paper toads are understandable.
The paper airplane was truly beyond the girls' imagination.
Liu Qingci rubbed her chin and said, "I think this is a dart, a very sharp dart! These kinds of darts are useless; they're only good for kids to play with!"
Yang Yan waved her hand: "No! I think this is a folding kite, a kite thrown by hand!"
Beitang Xin'er rolled her eyes: "Are you two out of your minds? Your senior brother is right here, just ask him directly, why are you making wild guesses here!"
Yin Susu didn't speak; she was clinging to Xu Qingya, not wanting to say a word.
Cheng Lingsu dripped the herbal juice into the lamp oil, and as the flame flickered, she whispered, "I've added some calming incense; the river lantern will drift farther, and sweet dreams will come sooner."
Qin Nanqin and Hua Baifeng were folding paper nearby.
Qin Nanqin was a dowry brought by Yang Yan.
Hua Baifeng is a maid who deliberately tries to extort money from someone.
The two occupy the same "ecological niche," but they are definitely not enemies; rather, they should work together.
To prevent Xu Qingya from causing a huge uproar!
Xu Qingya suddenly asked, "Come on! I'll give you a riddle as a prize. Tell me, what's sweet and bouncy?"
Yin Susu said, "My lord's tongue!"
Beitang Xin'er grabbed Yin Susu: "This answer doesn't count. Everyone has to try it. If it's not sweet, I'll throw you in the water!"
Yang Yan said softly, "Stop fooling around! Does my husband mean some kind of candy? How about this? Let's collect all the candies on the market and try them together!"
Liu Qingci scoffed, "I bet the answer is definitely something very unconventional. Try to guess in all sorts of wild directions; maybe you'll get the answer!"
Hua Baifeng said softly, "How can we guess? Is it a toad dipped in sugar? How strange!"
Qin Nanqin was playing with a paper toad with the words "Stepping on Xu Qingya" written by Yin Susu on it. A mechanism was folded out of paper on the back, and when pressed, it would jump.
Xu Qingya exclaimed, "That's right! It's just a toad dipped in sugar! Bai Feng is so clever!"
The women were shocked and then enraged. They each raised their jade feet and stomped down with all seven feet at the same time.
"Thump!"
Xu Qingya thrashed about frantically in the water.
Standing on the bridge counting the river lanterns, Lu Xiaofeng pointed at Xu Qingya and said, "This river lantern is the biggest!"
Before he finished speaking, Xu Qingya leaped up from the water, leaving a trail of waves, and embraced two women on his left and right, having a great time. The joyful noise carried far along the Meng River.
Beijing.
Upon receiving the memorial, Liu Dinghuan looked at Zhuge Zhengwo with a headache. Before Xu Qingya appeared, Liu Dinghuan dreamed of having someone skilled at causing trouble to help her stir up trouble everywhere, sweep away treacherous officials, and punish evil!
When this person actually appeared, Liu Dinghuan felt a splitting headache. Xu Qingya's ability to cause trouble was too strong; wherever he went, trouble followed.
Of course, no matter what happened, Xu Qingya could resolve it quickly and with near-perfect solutions, earning high praise from the surrounding people—
They even sent a "Ten Thousand People's Umbrella" (a traditional Chinese umbrella).
Guo Bujing, the "God of Catchers," was quite relaxed. He couldn't wait for Xu Qingya to solve more cases so he could petition to retire and return to his hometown, allowing Xu Qingya to become the God of Catchers.
The Six Doors are now in Xu Qingya's hands!
Zhuge Zhengwo's face fell. He'd been working too much overtime lately and hadn't had time to clean up Xu Qingya's mess. His eyes darted around, and he pointed to the contents of the memorial, saying, "The Heavenly Mandate Sect is plotting against Dali. Dali is a vassal state of the Han Dynasty; we should send envoys to aid the Duan family of Dali!"
Liu Dinghuan quickly said, "The envoy's status must be sufficiently noble, his appearance must be handsome, and he cannot hold an important position. Among all the civil and military officials, it seems that only the Marquis of Jing'an meets the requirements. Let the Marquis of Jing'an go!"
Zhuge Zhengwo added, "Your Majesty, I recommend Hua Mancong, the Vice Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial, as the deputy envoy. The delegation doesn't need to be large; one or two hundred people will suffice!"
"Granted!"
With a flourish of his pen, Liu Dinghuan wrote the appointment letter!
"Achoo!"
Xu Qingya sneezed loudly!
Is someone plotting against me?