Becoming a literary master starting from the story of Minglan

Chapter 297 Cold Halberd and Soft Sword
"Brother Sheng, what you said is truly amusing!"

Upon hearing this, Brother Wang, whom Sheng Changquan had mentioned, immediately grinned and laughed heartily.

"Hey!"

"Brother Sheng, I, Old Wang, have no great skills in this life. I'm neither good at literature nor martial arts. I'm just a nobody, and all I can do is muddle through in this bustling world."

He said things that belittled himself, but his actions were quite dashing.

"but!"

"Even so, I, Old Wang, am not without anything I can't offer!"

He patted his large belly with great gusto, a hint of arrogance on his face.

"Putting everything else aside, let's talk about my belly!"

"It really made me proud!"

Brother Wang stood tall with his chest puffed out and his belly protruding. His face was rosy, and he looked radiant and full of energy.

However, Minglan, who was standing nearby, found this scene quite comical. This Brother Wang seemed to be a rooster that only wanted to display its tail feathers!
They're so proud they're almost ready to break racial barriers, transforming from a rooster into a peacock, and then soaring to the top of a tree to become a phoenix.

"hey-hey!"

"I wouldn't dare say my stomach is too big, but I can definitely handle ten jin of liquor!"

Brother Wang was unaware that someone on the other side had already mistaken him for a rooster. He just smiled slyly, and a rare hint of憨厚 (honest and simple) charm appeared on his rough face.

Brother Wang's original surname was Wang, and his given name was Feng. He was a true man from Yanbei.

His appearance was quite rugged, with the wildness typical of northerners. He had a square mouth, a wide nose, and dark skin. Moreover, he was not only physically imposing, but he also always sat, lay down, and walked with his back straight and his whole body tense, as if he might strike at any moment, which was truly intimidating.

Wang Feng is like a lion in the wilderness, giving people a sense of threat at all times, which is obviously different from his previous self-introduction.

Old Wang, he's not like what he said at all, he's not some ordinary person!

"Uh... Brother Sheng, who is this?"

Just as this burly and imposing man was about to continue talking to Sheng Changquan, he suddenly noticed Minglan behind him.

Faced with this, Minglan could only lower her head, secretly rolling her eyes at the careless old man, Wang, and then muttering to herself resentfully, "What's wrong with my eyes? Are they not working properly? I'm such a grown woman, and I only just noticed..."

"Ha ha!"

"Brother Wang, this is my elder sister!"

Sheng Changquan took two steps forward, subtly blocking Minglan's path. Then, he cupped his hands in greeting to the burly man, Wang Feng, and introduced him, "Brother Wang, as you know, I entrusted your Tiger Might Escort Agency with transporting a large amount of goods this time!"

"Although those things aren't worth much, they are still my harvest over the past six years. So I rushed here in a hurry and didn't mean to bring my older sister along. I hope you won't mind, Brother Wang."

"Hey, what are you saying, Brother Sheng?"

Wang Feng shook his large, bear-paw-like hand and patted Sheng Changquan's shoulder with a hearty gesture, saying, "Sister Sheng is here, so what's there to hide!"

"Our Tiger Might Escort Agency isn't like those effeminate guys outside. We're fearless and don't care about these things!"

There was a superstitious belief in this era that women should not walk around in places like passenger ships, military camps, or even slaughterhouses, which are considered masculine and violent. Otherwise, the yin energy on their bodies would offend the gods in heaven, causing the owners of those places to suffer curses and misfortunes.

The same applies to escort agencies. Although each agency may have different rules, they have always maintained that women should not be allowed to enter the premises on the first day after a delivery, in order to prevent any bad things from being brought in on the next delivery.

Although these rumors are mostly false, most people adopt a "better safe than sorry" mentality, and regardless of whether they are true or not, they still uphold the rules here.

However, it is clear that Tiger Might Escort Agency is not among them.

"Oh, thank you very much, Brother Wang!"

Sheng Changquan smiled and clasped his hands in a gesture of gratitude, indicating that he was thankful for the favor.

In fact, Sheng Changquan had long known that Tiger Might Escort Agency didn't care about these things.

After all, there are quite a few female bodyguards among their escorts, and even their leader, the big boss of Lüliang Mountain, is a girl!
Of course, apart from her appearance being that of a young woman, her actions, personality, and abilities did not conform to the current world's definition of a woman at all.

Therefore, the other party... can only be considered a special case.

"Alright, that's enough!"

"Brother Sheng, please come in with me!"

Wang Feng shook his head and invited Minglan and her brother into the room. At the same time, he sincerely said, "Brother Sheng, let's not stand on ceremony with each other!"

“I know you’re in a hurry to retrieve your things, and you also know that our escort agency is inevitably quite busy on our first day back, so…”

"Hey, Brother Wang, don't say anymore, I understand!"

Sheng Changquan, with Minglan in tow, followed behind Wang Feng. Hearing his words, she naturally understood his underlying meaning.

"In that case, Brother Wang, you can go ahead and get back to work!"

"You only need to assign one of your younger brothers to lead us here!"

To be honest, despite the seemingly close relationship between Sheng Changquan and Wang Feng, it's not that simple. Their relationship is nothing more than a dirty money transaction.

You provide the money, I provide the goods; the details of the transaction are clear to both parties.

"Then...okay then!"

Wang Feng reluctantly agreed to Sheng Changquan's request.

Sheng Changquan was ultimately just a guest, and what Wang Feng said to him was nothing more than worldly politeness. Since he didn't know Sheng Changquan's true identity, how could Wang Feng really treat him as his own brother?

However, it was just some polite talk to curry favor with major clients.

Therefore, seeing that Sheng Changquan had agreed with his opinion, Wang Feng naturally wouldn't dawdle and say anything more insincere or polite.

"Brother Sheng, then I, Old Wang, will apologize in advance!"

Wang Feng clasped his hands in a fist salute to Sheng Changquan, then raised his hand and called over a little guy in the distance.

"Erdaozi, come here!"

"Ah? Oh!"

The little guy who was called over immediately ran over from a distance with nimble hands and feet.

"Chief镖王, did you call me?"

Judging from his appearance, Erdaozi was only twelve or thirteen years old, the same age as Sheng Changquan. However, if you only looked at their height, you would never guess that they were the same age.

After all, six years ago, Sheng Changquan was already much taller than his peers, and now he is even taller.

Even compared to Wang Feng, who is as big as a bear, Sheng Changquan is not much worse.

Although his height and thickness are not as good as Wang Feng's, his overall visual effect is stronger!
Because Sheng Changquan's physique is absolutely perfect, practically the legendary golden ratio.

Adding even a fraction would make it too long, subtracting even a fraction would make it too short; it's just right!

“Brother Sheng, this kid’s name is Erdaozi. He came here from the headquarters in Lüliang Mountain last month. He’s the one among us roughnecks who knows this place best!”

"If there's anything you don't understand, just ask him!"

After explaining a few words to Sheng Changquan, Wang Feng turned to Erdaozi and instructed him, "Erdaozi, listen carefully!"

"This young master and lady Sheng are honored guests of our escort agency!"

When facing the young men in the escort agency, Wang Feng spoke harshly, showing none of the politeness he had shown Sheng Changquan before.

"They've come only to retrieve their goods. You should take these two distinguished guests to the warehouse and hand them over to Old Hu. Have him retrieve Young Master Sheng's goods, understand?" "Remember, be quick, and don't delay Young Master Sheng and his party!"

Wang Feng glared at Er Daozi and gave him an order.

"Yes, Chief Escort Wang!"

After hearing Wang Feng's order, Erdaozi stood tall and tried his best to show his best side to everyone.

However, it's unclear what his purpose is in putting on such a show.
Was it to stand up for himself in front of Wang Feng, the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort), or did he want to...?

To "spread one's tail like a peacock" in front of Minglan?
Sheng Changquan noticed that this damned rascal seemed to be acting strangely, because the guy was constantly using his peripheral vision to peek at Minglan.

Although Minglan wore a veiled hat, her figure and temperament were enough to make Erdaozi, who came down from the mountain, completely infatuated.

Sheng Changquan noticed that whenever Erdaozi saw Minglan, the blush on his face became more pronounced, and his eyes blinked very quickly, as if he were very nervous!
However, since Erdaozi used to live in the mountains where the air pressure was low, his face was always covered with a high-altitude red, so no one noticed anything unusual about him for a while.

However, Sheng Changquan was different. After six years of traveling and studying abroad, he had developed a broad perspective and keen observation skills, which was why he was able to discover this.

So, Sheng Changquan immediately narrowed his eyes, staring at the guy with considerable tension, and began to be wary of him.

"Ok!"

Wang Feng, standing to the side, didn't notice anything amiss. He simply nodded at Erdaozi, seemingly quite pleased with Erdaozi's spirit and admiring his high morale.

"Brother Sheng!"

After Erdaozi's "outstanding" performance impressed Chief Escort Wang, he immediately turned to Sheng Changquan and spoke.

"I've already given the instructions. If you need anything, just tell Erdaozi to do it!"

"hehe!"

Sheng Changquan understood the other party's subtext. He smiled and nodded, saying, "Thank you for your trouble, Brother Wang!"

"In that case, Brother Wang, you can go ahead and take care of your business if you have something to do."

Sheng Changquan glanced meaningfully at Erdaozi beside him and smiled strangely: "With Erdaozi here, it's enough for my little brother!"

"I'm sure he won't disappoint!"

"Well, then..."

"Well... I'll be going now!"

It seemed that Wang Feng did indeed have something important to attend to. He clasped his hands in a fist salute to Minglan and her brother, and said apologetically, "Brother Sheng, I'm truly sorry this time!"

"If we have time in the future, let's get together properly again, you two brothers!"

"This time, I'll take the blame for my rudeness!"

Sheng Changquan smiled and nodded at Wang Feng, his face full of understanding.

……

"Young Master Sheng, shall we... go?"

Once Wang Feng had walked a distance, Erdaozi jogged up to Sheng Changquan and his sister, suggesting, "Actually, there are still some things to do on the way to the warehouse at the escort agency, so... it might take some time..."

The subtext of Erdaozi's words was that he hoped Sheng Changquan and his team could hurry up, as the subsequent procedures would likely take a lot of time.

"Oh, that's how it is!"

Sheng Changquan turned around, seemingly casually but with perfect precision, blocking Erdaozi's gaze from sneaking glances at Minglan, and said, "In that case, let's hurry over!"

"Yes, Young Master Sheng!"

Although his view was blocked, Erdaozi felt somewhat disappointed, but he dared not speak, nor even show the slightest sign of anything unusual.

After all, Minglan and her siblings were distinguished guests of the escort agency, which was different from his status.

One is in the heavens, the other on the earth; how could a pheasant be worthy of a phoenix?

However, no matter how upset Erdaozi was, his goddess Minglan was completely unaware of this.

Minglan, who always stayed by Sheng Changquan's side and wore a veiled hat, never uttered a word. She simply followed Sheng Changquan obediently, acting as a quiet and beautiful young girl.

It seems that Minglan is still unwilling to contact those people from Lüliang Mountain unless absolutely necessary.

"By the way, Erdaozi, where is my brother now?"

Looking at Erdaozi leading the way, Sheng Changquan suddenly asked, "His name is Xu Changqing. He should have arrived at your escort agency by now, right?"

"Ah? Young Master Sheng, are you talking about... Brother Changqing?"

Erdaozi didn't dare to delay and quickly stopped, replying, "If it's Brother Changqing, then he caught up with our escort team yesterday."

"Right now, he should be with Old Hu, guarding his... no, your goods, Young Master Sheng."

Upon hearing Sheng Changquan ask about Xu Changqing, Erdaozi suddenly remembered something—"It seems that Young Master Sheng won't have too much trouble retrieving the goods this time!"

Since Xu Changqing had been guarding the Sheng family's shipment, it was much easier for Sheng Changquan to retrieve it now.

……

really.

When Erdaozi took Minglan and her siblings to see the old Hu that Wang Feng had mentioned, the first thing they saw was Xu Changqing.

but!

"Ah? Brother, then..."

"Is...it really Changqing?"

When Minglan saw Xu Changqing's clumsy and rough appearance, she was completely stunned!

She gaped in astonishment, her face filled with disbelief: "This...this...Changqing, how did you get so dark?"

Xu Changqing, who looked like a piece of charcoal, truly astonished Minglan.

"Young master! Young lady!"

However, before Sheng Changquan could reply, Xu Changqing, who had already spotted Minglan and her brother not far away, ran over excitedly.

"Master!"

"Master..."

"I've been keeping an eye on those two things of yours for you!"

Xu Changqing was unaware of the immense impact his appearance had had on Minglan. Right now, he was simply carrying the sandalwood box, which was about two meters in size, and happily ran over.

"Young Master, look!"

Xu Changqing ran up to Sheng Changquan like he was showing off a treasure, and with a push, opened the wooden box.

"They're still in here!"

"Hmm, what is that?"

Standing next to Sheng Changquan, Minglan no longer cared about Xu Changqing's strange appearance. She was also quite curious, so she took the opportunity to look inside!
"Qiang~"

Minglan seemed to hear the sounds of war!
Inside the wooden box were a gleaming halberd and a longsword that glowed with a faint purple light.

I just got back, so you can check back tomorrow morning. I'll continue to finish it! (Also, one more thing: although I know my writing isn't very good, if you guys are leaving, could you please not say goodbye? What's the point of leaving those comments? It wastes your typing time and makes me unhappy. Why make things difficult for a handsome guy...?)
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(End of this chapter)