What a lucky world!

Chapter 53: The County School Discusses Gentlemen!
Qiu Yingdong was assassinated on a rainy night.

At four o'clock in the morning, the night watchman on patrol found Qiu Yingdong's body.

At five o'clock in the morning, Captain Li, who had received the news, had to crawl out of his warm bed and came to the scene cursing.

"Captain Li, Old Qiu was shot dead." After examining the body, the coroner walked over to Captain Li and bowed. "The man must have been stronger than Old Qiu. The bullet pierced his heart and passed through his body. Old Qiu had no chance to fight back."

"Gun?" Captain Li frowned slightly. "There's no one in Wan'an County who's good at using guns..."

The coroner shook his head: "I don't know about that."

At this time, a small detective beside Captain Li said, "Perhaps his identity was exposed, and he was killed by a passing expert."

"What identity?" Captain Li glanced at the young constable, who quickly said with a smile, "I made a mistake, I made a mistake."

Captain Li looked at Qiu Yingdong's body and sighed in his heart.

Pity……

It’s a pity for this kid’s monthly offerings, and it’s a pity for the four hundred taels of filial piety he collected yesterday.

However, we cannot dig too deep into his death. If the matter of the demon servant is really uncovered, I will not be able to escape the responsibility of negligence.

"Collect the body and report it as a death in action," Captain Li said. "He's busy dealing with Chief Qian's case lately, so he doesn't have time to deal with this."

"Just say he died fighting with criminals and find a good feng shui site for his burial. That would be a fulfillment of our friendship as comrades."

The other constables present all bowed and said, "Captain, be righteous!"

Captain Li waved his hand, tightened his collar, and said, "Let's take care of it. Don't let the county magistrate worry about it anymore."

"Damn it, it's almost autumn, and it's so cold."

With that, Captain Li stepped away from the scene.

……

The next day.

Zhang Mu came to the escort hall early in the morning to report for duty. In fact, he wanted to know what people were saying about Qiu Yingdong's murder.

But after listening for a while, no one mentioned this incident, as if it had never happened.

Zhang Mu became suspicious, wondering if there were some changes that he was not aware of.

But the more this happens, the more cautious you should be.

Zhang Mu planned to ask Zhou Yuanguang to help him find out more.

However, as soon as Zhang Mu walked out of the escort hall, he was stopped by the maid Chunxi.

"Brother Mu, Madam asks you to go to the flower hall."

Zhang Mu was stunned. He had been living in the escort agency's guest house for over half a month, and during this time, he had actually been in more contact with Song Yuanqing. Why did Madam Zhuang suddenly remember him today?
But without having time to think about it, Zhang Mu followed Chunxi to the escort agency's flower hall.

……

As soon as he entered the flower hall, Zhang Mu smelled a faint fragrance. Turning the screen, he saw Zhuang Xiaomeng sitting at a table by the window. As the weather was getting cooler, Zhuang Xiaomeng had put on a light green jacket, which only highlighted her delicate skin.

"Come... take a seat." Seeing Zhang Mu come in, Zhuang Xiaomeng put down the brush in her hand, first looked at Zhang Mu carefully, then nodded with satisfaction, "Well, you look much more energetic than the last time I saw you."

"Are you used to being a dart carrier these days?"

Zhang Mu smiled somewhat ashamedly, "Captain Song didn't assign me any tasks, just told me to focus on my cultivation. Even so, I still get a monthly salary. How could I not be used to it?"

Zhuang Xiaomeng chuckled and said, "As a bodyguard, I can still support you even if you don't work for three to five months."

"The county has been in turmoil lately. I was the one who told them not to assign you any tasks."

"Your ability to cultivate well is your greatest contribution to the escort agency."

After saying that, Zhuang Xiaomeng paused and asked, "How is the progress now?"

Zhang Mu hesitated for a moment. Originally, he wanted to hide his cultivation level first and announce it after Qiu Yingdong’s scandal had passed. However, facing Zhuang Xiaomeng’s question, he didn’t want to hide it.

"I have broken through to the second level of Tongmai realm." Zhang Mu said.

"What?" Zhuang Xiaomeng, who was always well-mannered, showed surprise for the first time in front of Zhang Mu. She confirmed, "You have already reached the second level of Tongmai Realm?"

Zhang Mu nodded.

Zhuang Xiaomeng paused for a moment, adjusting her composure before regaining her composure. She leaned back in her chair and once again examined Zhang Mu, examining him several times before saying, "It's only been less than twenty days since you entered the rank, right?"

"That should be the case." Zhang Mu replied, "I haven't calculated the exact time."

"No wonder..." Zhuang Xiaomeng seemed to have figured something out.

Zhang Mu asked curiously, "What's so strange?"

"No wonder Teacher Song sent me a letter saying that you are extremely talented..." Zhuang Xiaomeng said.

Zhang Mu: Uh...

The talent that Master Song was referring to was probably not my talent in martial arts.

Never mind, it's always a good thing to have someone endorse you.

"Break through to the third rank as soon as possible!" Zhuang Xiaomeng said, "I'll tell the kitchen staff, and your blood food will be provided free of charge from now on..."

"Thank you, ma'am." Zhang Mu quickly stood up and thanked her.

With his current progress in cultivation, he has to eat two meals a day. If one tael of silver is spent on one meal, that would be sixty taels of silver a month.

This naturally requires expressing gratitude.

"Okay, let's get down to business. I called you here to ask you to help me go to the county school." Zhuang Xiaomeng took out a wax envelope and handed it to Zhang Mu. "This letter is a piece of courier stuff. The escort leader asked us to pass it on to Instructor Song."

"Please don't let anyone find out."

"You happen to be familiar with Teacher Song, so I'll take the trouble to go and give this to him without attracting attention."

Zhang Mu reached out to take the envelope. He felt that it was very light and the lacquer seal on it was intact, so he put it directly into his arms.

"Go..." Zhuang Xiaomeng said, "After you deliver the letter, go to the escort hall and tell them. You'll have completed your mission."

"Yes!" Zhang Mu bowed and said goodbye. ...

After leaving the escort agency, Zhang Mu called a carriage and headed directly to the county school.

When he arrived at the county school, Zhang Mu showed his pass and walked in, but found that the county school classroom was empty, with no one in sight.

Zhang Mu listened carefully and heard the sound of an argument in the distance. He followed the sound and saw two groups of people discussing something fiercely in the lecture square of the county school.

From a distance, he also saw Song Haowen and several other gentlemen in Confucian robes sitting not far away, chatting and laughing as they watched the students' debate.

"My dear, wake up, Instructor Song is here to see you..." Zhang Mu approached a fat scholar who was dozing off and patted him gently.

The scholar suddenly opened his eyes and glanced in the direction of Teacher Song in panic before bowing to Zhang Mu. "Thank you for the reminder. Hey, this guy looks unfamiliar..."

"Well, I'm Teacher Song's new disciple." Zhang Mu said in a low voice.

To be honest, Teacher Song asked me to come and listen to his lectures, so how can I not be considered his disciple?

Hearing Zhang Mu's words, the fat scholar immediately showed a look of reverence on his face. He bowed again and said, "So you are the master's direct disciple. I am so sorry for the disrespect."

Zhang Mu waved his hand and asked, "What's going on?"

The fat scholar took a look and explained, "Those people over there are students from the neighboring Huaiqing County School. Every year before the Autumn Examination, the county schools in various places would organize students to go to various county schools to show off. On the surface, they were discussing academic matters, but in reality, it was a pre-exam competition, a demonstration and pressure."

"After all, each prefecture has a limited number of admissions."

Zhang Mu suddenly understood after hearing this.

"What are they discussing?" Zhang Mu asked curiously.

The fat scholar yawned and said, "It seems to be 'How to Describe a Gentleman'..."

"After all the fighting, isn't it all about plum, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum?"

"Then you pick someone you think is, and then write a poem praising their character to see who writes better. It's very boring."

"It's ostensibly written on the spot, but in reality, each one was prepared long ago. Look at that guy, he's still thinking hard, biting his brush, he's just pretending..."

"Not only them, but also several talented students in our county school were given the topic in advance. Look, the one who is currently mulling over the words, he's in the same dormitory as me, and he finished the poem last night, and it was Master Wang who helped him revise it."

Zhang Mu was also at a loss whether to laugh or cry when he heard this.

This can be said to be the result of ten years of hard work off stage for one minute on stage.

"Hey?" The fat scholar suddenly realized, "Brother, you are Teacher Song's direct disciple, you should be here to help... Just pretend you didn't hear what I said just now..."

"I'm not here to help." Zhang Mu shook his head. "I'm here to see Master Song."

To be honest, he remembered a lot of poems about plum, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum.

However, he just felt uninterested in the pretentious plots that were a must in time-travel novels, and they had nothing to do with him.

After all, he has already decided to pursue the path of martial arts, so why bother making waves in the literary world?

Forget it, wait.

However, some people are born to be the protagonist.

Teacher Song just took a glance and unexpectedly saw Zhang Mu yawning in the crowd.

To be honest, he was tired of the students' repetitive answers and suddenly wanted to see how this child with a somewhat evil mind would answer this question.

"Zhang Mu!" Teacher Song shouted.

When Teacher Song spoke, the stage suddenly became quiet, and everyone looked in the direction Teacher Song was looking.

Zhang Mu: (ˇˇ)

No, Mr. Song, do you know what you are doing?

Forget it, I still have to give him face.

Zhang Mu bowed to Teacher Song and said, "Greetings, Master Song."

Master Song smiled and said, "Zhang Mu, I know you haven't studied the classics, nor have you read the teachings of the sages. Come, tell me, in your mind, what does it mean to be a gentleman?"

Zhang Mu looked at Master Song, who had a kind smile on his face. Zhang Mu then looked at the other people's eyes looking at him, curious and disdainful.

Yes, he was wearing a warrior's tight-sleeved military uniform at this time.

"Master Song, you must be joking. What does a warrior know about a gentleman?"

"Yes, plum, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum, which one has anything to do with warriors?"

"I think Master Song wants to use him as a valve, so that the other side can have a way out if they lose."

"That should be it."

The students' whispers reached Zhang Mu's ears.

Zhang Mu let out a sigh, slowly walked to the center of the lecture square, and bowed to Teacher Song.

"I am a warrior, and I do not understand the principles of the sages, so I dare not speak nonsense. But since the Master has asked, I dare not refuse to answer."

"How can we describe a gentleman?"

"Everyone talks about plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum. In my opinion, most of them are just vulgar people following the trend and parroting what others say."

"The poems I just heard don't capture even a fraction of their essence."

"But if you ask me, my answer is not among them."

"Everyone loves plum, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum, but I only love lotus."

"It emerges from the mud without being stained, washes in the clear water without being coquettish, is straight inside and outside, has no vines or branches, and its fragrance becomes clearer as it travels further. It stands tall and clean, and can be admired from afar but not touched."

"He can be called the gentleman among flowers."

After Zhang Mu finished speaking, he bowed again, revealing a kind and honest look.

The entire lecture square fell into silence...

(End of this chapter)