Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 15 Roots

Chapter 15 Roots
During this journey, Lu Qubing was very quiet and they did not encounter any accidents.

But the original city gate was closed and the road leading here was blocked, so they needed to enter through another gate.

When we returned to the county school, the sky had become even darker.

The already gloomy sky was filled with a few more deep blacks, and the world beneath the sky became colder and more dignified under this tone.

The two sat in the house, Taozi leaning against the wall, holding a book in one hand and a water bag in the other.

Lu Qubing sat opposite him, his expression constantly changing.

“It’s all the fault of the Xianbei people.”

Taozi slowly raised her head and looked at Lu Qubing.

Lu Qubing said to himself:
"The Xianbei people only know how to ride in carriages and on horses. How can they know how to govern a country?"

"They ignore human ethics and have lost their morals, yet they still want to deceive Your Majesty. Your Majesty is clearly a Han man, and the Mandate of Heaven is upon him. Yet these people say that he is of Xianbei descent, and even gave him a lowly Xianbei name."

"Like the fake Zhou, the real Xianbei, incompetent in governing the country, a monkey in human form, claiming to have teachings imitating the Han, but they are definitely not the real thing!!"

"The Great Qi will surely unify the world. Your Highness the Crown Prince is intelligent, generous, kind, gentle, cheerful, and well-read. He will surely be the Holy King of the Han Dynasty!"

"There is also a great sage like Yang Linggong in the court."

As Lu Qubing spoke, his eyes lit up again, and he said to Taozi firmly: "When that time comes, it will be time for us to assist the Holy King and help the world."

"Creak~~"

Someone pushed open the door.

Lu Qubing felt terrified, his whole body stiffened, and he couldn't move.

The one who opened the door was an old official. He looked at Lu Qubing dimly.

"I called you several times, why don't you come out? There's a new person here."

"it is good."

The old official turned and left.

Lu Qubing sat where he was and began to breathe heavily to calm himself. He stood up, staggered again, steadied himself, and walked out the door.

A young man was standing outside the gate.

This young man was about the same age as Lu Qubing. He was wearing washed-out clothes. His beard was very short and light, but his mustache was very thick. He had no beard, which made his face look very strange.

He raised his head slightly and looked around the law studio.

The old official handed his school badge to Lu Qubing and left.

Lu Qubing glanced at his school badge and said, "Kou Liu."

"It's Mr. Kou. I'm the county schoolmaster. My surname is Lu and my given name is Qubing."

"rrgn."

The other party saluted and said.

Lu Qubing was stunned and the smile on his face stiffened slightly.

This guy corrected him: "My surname is not Kou. If my surname is pronounced orally, it means I am a Chinese."

Lu Qubing said, "A-krirg?"

At this moment, the other party was sweating profusely, so he pretended not to hear and asked, "Are we going to study here?"

Lu Qubing saw the other party's embarrassment, nodded, and replied: "ir arγaar."

Kou Liu's expression became even uglier.

"In fact, I haven't spoken Xianbei for a long time, and I have forgotten it a little bit."

"Ah, that's it."

"Then Mr. Kou, please follow me. I will arrange a place for you to stay."

The next day.

"My last name is not Kou, my last name is Ruo Kou Yin~~~"

"Brother Taozi didn't hear that person's tone!"

"You don't even know a few Xianbei words, but you love to show off your identity as a Xianbei!"

"Every day they clamor to restore the Xianbei surname!"

"The world is in turmoil because of these people!"

Lu Qubing exaggeratedly imitated Kou Liu's words, put on a stern face, and began to criticize in a serious manner.

Taozi sat in front of him expressionlessly, holding a book in her hand and glanced at him.

Lu Qubing seems to have found the root cause of all current problems: the Xianbei people.

But this time Lu Qubing didn't dare to speak loudly. He lowered his voice to make sure that only Taozi could hear his voice.

There were footsteps outside.

Lu Qubing stood up quickly and said, "Ah, the meal is here, Brother Taozi."

Liu Taozi put away the book, and the two of them walked out of the inner room. The old people had left, and the new people had arrived.

Everyone gathered in the courtyard and nodded to Taozi and Lu Qubing frequently.

That bandit was also mixed in with the crowd, looking around.

Lu Qubing looked at him with some displeasure.

He whispered to Taozi, "Then you guys eat first. I'm leaving now. Don't argue with that person."

The old official carried the wooden barrel into the courtyard with difficulty. His steps were unsteady and several pieces of vegetables on the barrel fell to the ground. The old official asked someone to bring water, washed them, and then threw them back into the barrel.

Everyone had already lined up and was staring at the wooden barrel, and no one seemed dissatisfied when they saw this scene.

Kou Liu did not choose to line up with the others. He stood not far away, with his hands on his back, sticking out his nonexistent belly. He looked more like a doctor than a student. No one paid attention to him. Everyone just stared at the glutton.

After scooping the food, he squatted aside and began to wolf it down.

Looking at everyone eating frantically, Kou Liu couldn't help swallowing his saliva, but he still didn't move.

After everyone had finished their meal, he finally walked forward.

"rrgn!"

He spoke loudly in Xianbei language.

The old official glared at him unhappily, scooped some juice from the bottom of the bucket roughly, stuffed the bowl into the other person's hand, then turned his head away and stopped looking at him.

Kou Liu watched him leave awkwardly, and couldn't help but look at the rest of the people.

Everyone ate quickly, wolfed down the food, returned the bowl to the old official, and turned to leave.

When almost everyone had left, Kou Liu squatted on the ground.

The two rows of teeth collided violently, chewing the food in the mouth randomly.

He squatted in the corner of the yard and stuffed the food in the bowl into his mouth with great speed. Before he had finished chewing the food in his mouth, he put another piece in.

After finishing the dish, he picked up a finger-sized bone and began to suck it carefully, from top to bottom, from left to right, sucking continuously, his teeth constantly pressing the bone, hoping to squeeze something out of it.

He scooped up some water again and poured it into the rice bowl. He swirled his hand around the bowl a few times to make sure nothing remained on the edge of the bowl. He then lifted the bowl and drank it all in one gulp.

He stood in front of the old official and rubbed his stomach, "Father, I'm really not full. Can I have another bowl? I see there's still some left in the bucket."

The old official ignored him and snatched the bowl from his hand, "Finish your meal earlier next time!"

He picked up his things and left the yard.

Kouliu watched him leave, stroking his shrunken belly again.

Lu Qubing walked out of the courtyard and headed south. After walking nearly half a mile, he came to a clean courtyard.

There are six tables here, and people are already sitting at three of them.

Lu Qubing smiled, bowed to them, and then sat aside.

Immediately, a servant ran up to him with a smile, "Why is Lu Lingshi late today?"

"I went on a long journey yesterday."

"So what do you want to eat today?"

"Just like usual, don't order too much, just a simple meal."

"it is good!"

The servant ran away.

Lu Qubing started chatting with a few people opposite him, and his mouth was never idle.

"Rong Zu, I heard that a foreigner came to your school?"

A fat and big-eared scribe asked curiously.

"Replying to Mr. Lu, it is like this."

The man frowned when he heard the name.

"It's more appropriate to call him Bu Liugugong."

"Only Bu Liugugong."

"What's his last name?"

"My last name is Kou."

"If it's oral? Oh, no wonder these villains..."

The man sneered and stopped asking questions.

The servant first brought some fruits, which were picked early in the morning. They were extremely fresh and still covered with dew.

Lu Qubing ate a few fruits carefully, but before he could taste them, the servant brought him the steaming mutton soup.

Lu Qubing picked up a piece of mutton, dipped it in the small bowls in front of him which contained different seasonings, then put it into his mouth and savored it slowly.

After eating a few bites of meat, perhaps feeling sick of it, he took a few sips of tea.

Someone toasted him with a smile, and he picked up the wine cup beside him, stood up and returned the greetings to a few people, and took a sip of the wine to moisten his mouth and get rid of the fishy smell.

"Then Brother Lu, continue eating. The meat today is too tough. It's not that the lamb is not tasty!"

Someone stood up, complained a few words unhappily, left a bowl full of leftovers, and turned away.

Lu Qubing was eating when suddenly someone sat down in front of him.

He raised his head and looked at the stranger in front of him in surprise.

This is a burly man with a handsome face, thick eyebrows and big eyes.

"Lu Lingshi?"

"Dr. Fatty wants to invite you to dinner to discuss the affairs of the school."

Lu Qubing's hand paused and he subconsciously looked around.

"What does Dr. Fat want from me?"

The man looked a little unhappy, "Are you unwilling to go?"

"I'll go right away."

"Well, you can't eat these rotten things. Please get in the car. The owner has already prepared delicious food!"