The Demon-Slaying Grandmaster

Chapter 89 Poaching
When Li Jingxiao and his party went to Wangjiang Tower to drink, what happened in the Jinyiwei was unsurprisingly heard by the emperor and the emperor emeritus.

The father and son had basically the same attitude. After hearing the secret report, they asked again and again with an incredible look on their faces.

Only then did he become convinced that Li Jingxiao could truly control thunder.

Then the emperor began to curse Zhou Boyi and Zhou Xu, uncle and nephew.

In order to save the life of the boy from the Zhou family, he secretly brought Zhou Gongzhi, who was under the influence of evil magic, and two other Jinyiwei back to the capital.

If an evil spirit breaks out and causes chaos, for the emperor and the emperor emeritus, the death of people is a small matter. The occurrence of evil spirits causing chaos in the capital is what they cannot tolerate the most.

Fortunately, Li Jingxiao cracked the evil magic. Although the emperor and his son were very dissatisfied with Zhou Boyi, they were not so anxious to punish him immediately.

But Zhou Boyi's status in the hearts of the emperor and his son did indeed drop several levels.

Then he frowned and thought about how to treat Li Jingxiao.

After a long sigh of confusion, envy, and struggle, the Emperor said regretfully, "It would have been great if we could have let that girl return to her roots sooner."

The emperor showed an expression of disapproval on his face, but he knew in his heart that his father's words were just a test of him.

The emperor actually knew that Qin Keqing was the posthumous child of the former crown prince.

Moreover, the emperor asked himself if he was so despicable as to kill his niece, not to mention that she was just a girl and could not pose any threat to his throne.

Instead, it is those brothers who are the threats that need to be worried about.

Besides, winning over Li Jingxiao does not necessarily mean recruiting him as a son-in-law.

And he doesn't necessarily want to be a prince consort.

However, Li Jingxiao had just rescued three Jinyiwei, and the emperor and his son immediately issued an edict to reward him. Their purpose was too obvious.

Moreover, if he is rewarded heavily just for saving three people, he will inevitably face the problem of no more rewards in the future.

But if the reward is too light, it is better not to give it at all.

The emperor thought for a moment, bowed, and said, "Father, why not reward me with some land? As the saying goes, promotion and wealth are the joys of life.

To be promoted just for such a small matter, it is a bit of a joke to hold an official position in our Great Zhou.

But if you reward money, there is no problem."

After hearing what the emperor said, the retired emperor thought for a moment and finally nodded, "Your Highness is right. A promotion too quickly can easily breed arrogance."

The emperor nodded in agreement, but he was thinking in his heart, first it was women, then money.

It is better to be lost in money, sex and wine than to be obsessed with power.

Moreover, Li Jingxiao had just dealt with the evil spirits when he received a reward from the palace. He should be able to understand it himself.

His future duties will be related to dealing with demons and evil spirits.

But what the father and son didn’t know was that Li Jingxiao had never had anything to do with power in his two lives.

His desire for power is actually very low.

In his eyes, a fourth-rank official is equivalent to a bureau-level official, which is enough to make him happy for a long time.

Only when he has truly tasted how wonderful power is, will he be reluctant to let go and continue to climb up.

As for women, Li Jingxiao is not necessarily interested in them. He just likes beautiful women.

In his eyes, the best choice is someone who is pretty and can help him gain experience.
-
In the evening, Li Jingxiao returned home drunk again.

Because he drank alcohol today, he did not go to Zhenwu Temple for consultation, but three cat-faced people and a few weird ones allowed him to gain 330 experience points.

早上还是8级（177/800），晚上回家变成了（507/800）。

It only takes three days to reach the next level.

When he returned home, not only Qin Keqing, Baozhu and Ruizhu were waiting for him, but the three Jingxi sisters and Qin Zhong were also waiting in the hall.

As soon as they saw him coming back, everyone stood up to greet him.

Smelling the alcohol on Li Jingxiao, Qin Keqing not only did not blame him at all, but also helped him sit down.

My man comes home after get off work every day and doesn't have any social engagements, which means he's not popular.

Qin Keqing was actually quite worried that her husband would become an old-fashioned person in the future, just like her father Qin Ye.

She took the hangover soup brought by Ruizhu, and saw her man drink it all in one gulp, then sat next to him and said.

"My husband, this afternoon the Zhou family sent over a dozen carts of gifts to your door, and I really can't refuse.

I can only order everyone to store all these gifts in a separate warehouse and wait for you to come back and make a decision."

After saying that, he took out a gift list and handed it to Li Jingxiao.

Li Jingxiao took it and took a look. It turned out that Zhou Boyi and Zhou Xu were really generous, uncle and nephew.

There were eight thousand taels of silver, and twelve carts of silk, satin, jade, jewelry, and various precious utensils were also given.

The Lin family gave a lot of silk fabrics last time, and with this amount, it will be enough for the family to use for many years.

Moreover, these exquisite silk fabrics are difficult to buy even with money. Only a Jinyiwei commander like Zhou Boyi can easily get good things that are one level lower than tribute.

Qin Keqing saw Li Jingxiao smiling after reading the gift list, and she felt a little relieved and said, "My husband, I roughly estimated that in addition to 8,000 taels of silver, there are also some things in the gift list.

These gifts are worth at least more than 10,000 taels of silver.

Is it really okay to accept it?"

Li Jingxiao waved his hand. "Today I saved the Zhou family's legitimate heir. It was only less than 20,000 taels. The Emperor personally inquired about it, so I have no regrets."

Qin Keqing, Jing Xi and others finally felt relieved.

Then Li Jingxiao said, "It's almost the end of the year. Since you've given me so many silks and satins, Madam, please make some new clothes for yourself, Jingxi, Zhongdi, and your father-in-law."

After saying that, he looked at Baozhu and Ruizhu. Seeing their expectant faces, he smiled and continued, "Make two sets for Baozhu and Ruizhu as well."

Qin Keqing naturally had no objection to the arrangement for her man.

In this family, Li Jingxiao is the head of the family.

Not to mention that Li Jingxiao not only remembered his sister and brother-in-law, but also remembered to make new clothes for his father-in-law.

For Qin Keqing, her man is the best husband in the world.

Jing Xi, Jing Yue and Jing Rong couldn't help but stand up to express their gratitude, and Qin Zhong also bowed with a silly smile.

As for his second uncle and second aunt, even Jingxi felt embarrassed now and repeatedly begged his eldest brother to get close to them.

Moreover, the little girl is very smart. If she talks too much and upsets her eldest brother, it will not be good for her three sisters and her parents.

In fact, my parents have no shortage of food, clothing and other necessities. The little affection that my eldest brother has left in his heart has to be used at this critical moment when his father's condition worsens.

Although Qin Keqing also thought of her second uncle, it had long been no secret that her husband and her second uncle were not close.

He even ignored Second Aunt.

I heard that in addition to taking care of my second uncle, my second aunt has become a vegetarian and chants Buddhist scriptures, and she doesn't even go back to her parents' home often.

Qin Keqing doesn't believe that her husband has no intention of doing this.

Besides, there is no shortage of food and clothing in the Earl's Mansion, so there is really no need to make my husband unhappy.

After chatting about family matters, at around 9 o'clock in the evening, Qin Keqing hurriedly ordered the maids to take Jing Xi and Qin Zhong back to bed.

She took Baozhu and Ruizhu with her and helped him take a bath.

But Li Jingxiao was not going to be obedient. There were two braziers lit in the bathhouse, making it very warm.

Not only did he pull Qin Keqing into the bathtub to wash together.

He also put Baozhu and Ruizhu on the soft couch in the bath room and gave them a full body massage.

Looking at the 100 experience points he had earned, Li Jingxiao almost wanted to play two more games. Fortunately, Li Jingxiao did not let his desires get the better of him. He dressed with his wife and two maids, and then, wrapped in thick cloaks, returned to the bedroom.

He hugged his wife, nourishing the power of thunder in his body while closing his eyes to rest.

Before, Li Jingxiao was worried that he would unintentionally hurt Qin Keqing while accumulating thunder while sleeping.

But after trying it for a few days, it seemed as if the hang-up program had been set up, and he didn't have to worry about this at all.

The next day, Li Jingxiao rarely got up early to practice martial arts, and slept until almost 9 o'clock.

I suddenly felt energetic again and thought to myself that it’s good to be young.

Just get enough sleep and you will recover.

By the time he arrived at the yamen, it was almost 11 o'clock.

As soon as I walked in, I saw Zhao Junming sitting under the eaves chatting with Zhou Gongzhi and six Jinyiwei in Feiyu uniforms.

Seeing Li Jingxiao and his men walk in, Zhao Junming, Zhou Gongzhi and others hurriedly stood up and saluted.

Li Jingxiao smiled and asked everyone to stand up. "It's freezing cold, why are you sitting under the eaves?"

Before Zhao Junming could speak, Zhou Gongzhi spoke first, "Don't blame me, sir. I've been working in the Northern Pacification Division for a long time and I'm used to it."

Li Jingxiao nodded. In those days, people had to get up and go out at two or three in the morning to attend court.

At around four o'clock, even the cabinet ministers had to wait in the cold wind outside Zhonghe Hall or Baohe Hall.

Fortunately, Li Jingxiao did not have to attend the morning court for the time being. Even if the emperor wanted to see him for something, he would not call him to the morning court.

Li Jingxiao was also happy that he didn't have to get up so early.

After entering the lobby, Li Jingxiao sat in the main hall and ordered someone to serve tea.

While drinking tea, he asked about the health of Zhou Gongzhi and the other two people who were rescued yesterday.

The three of them naturally bowed deeply again to express their gratitude.

After chatting for a while, when Zhou Gongzhi mentioned his martial arts, Li Jingxiao understood immediately that he wanted him to teach him a few moves.

If it were two or three months ago, Li Jingxiao would definitely have ignored it.

But he is now considered a true master who has entered the realm of cultivation. As long as he doesn't pose a threat to him, it will be easy for him to give him some pointers.

In later generations, when leaders went to new government offices, they all knew to strive for some benefits for their subordinates so that they would be obedient and work more seriously.

There are many children of powerful and wealthy people like Zhou Gongzhi in the Jinyiwei.

I just taught them a few moves, and from now on, when these people see me, they will naturally feel inferior to me because they have learned the skills.

There are so many low-level martial arts that I can find in the Novice Village that I don’t even have the desire to learn any of them.

I took a few glances at the sword techniques I had obtained from killing monsters in the past few months.

I definitely won’t teach you the powerful ones, but it can’t be much worse than the Five Tigers Breaking Door Sword.

After much deliberation, I finally chose the Hu family swordsmanship.

In Jin Dynasty novels, the later the dynasty, the more declining the martial arts.

By the time of Snow Mountain Flying Fox, the Hu family's sword and the Miao family's sword had become the two most powerful martial arts in the world.

But Li Jingxiao believed that the real powerful ones were not the knife and sword skills, but Hu Yidao and Miao Renfeng.

After all, there are indeed levels of martial arts.

But her talent, knowledge and accumulation were not enough, and even the Nine Yin Scriptures were turned into an evil skill in Mei Chaofeng's hands.

After imparting the Hu family's sword techniques to Zhou Gong and seven others, Li Jingxiao, as always, never thought of imparting to them the corresponding internal skills.

But the seven people from Duke Zhou to Duke Yu were extremely grateful, especially the six Jinyiwei who had no backing or prominent family background.

In their minds, this sword technique alone is enough to make a living and serve as a family martial art.

Then Li Jingxiao asked about the archer who injured the cat demon with one arrow.

This man's name is Han Mengzhuo. He looks to be in his forties, but he is actually only 29 years old.

His family was a hunter family, and when he was young he learned some spells and methods to control evil spirits from an old hunter in the town.

Talismans carved on arrowheads and shafts can indeed harm evil spirits.

Since he was seventeen or eighteen years old, this man has been considered a well-known archer in the capital.

Especially five or six years ago, he became even more famous after he shot and killed a yellow fox wearing tattered clothes and a straw hat with one arrow.

When Zhou Gongzhi sent someone to call Han Mengzhuo over, Li Jingxiao saw that this man was already a small flag of the Jinyiwei.

Although it was unexpected, he guessed that it must be because the Zhou family was grateful to him for injuring the cat demon and saving Zhou Gongzhi.

Li Jingxiao asked without disguising anything, "Would Han Xiaoqi be willing to serve me?"

Han Mengzhuo was stunned. Yesterday, the Zhou family tried their best to win him over. Not only did they promise to promote him to a small flag first, but they would also promote him to the general flag in a few months or at most half a year.

The monthly salary also increased from 2 taels to 10 taels.

And he gave five hundred taels of silver.

But as soon as they met, Li Jingxiao asked if he was willing to switch jobs.

Han Mengzhuo couldn't help but look at Zhou Gongzhi.

Zhou Gongzhi actually wanted to work under Li Jingxiao. Not to mention anything else, just by following Li Jingxiao all the time, he would definitely learn more skills in the future.

Even if he couldn't learn Taoism or magical powers, the swordsmanship that Li Jingxiao taught him casually looked much more powerful than the swordsmanship taught by the Jinyiwei for fighting on the battlefield.

Moreover, these ambitious people are not afraid of fighting, but are afraid of encountering monsters that they cannot defeat.

As long as you are under Li Jingxiao's command, you don't have to worry about this problem at all.

Moreover, the life-and-death struggle has basically nothing to do with Li Jingxiao.

He had been the pacification commissioner for more than a month, but he had never been involved in arresting thieves, hanging bandits, or arresting criminals.

You can tell at a glance that they clearly don't want to bother with mundane matters and are only interested in the weird.

So working for him, I usually have a lot of free time.

Zhou Gongzhi wanted to give it a try, but when he thought about what his uncle and cousin had repeatedly told him last night, he couldn't help but sigh in frustration.

As for Han Mengzhuo, Zhou Gongzhi didn't want to hinder his future.

Nodded at Han Mengzhuo.

Han Mengzhuo no longer hesitated, knelt on one knee and clasped his fists, saying, "It is my honor that Your Excellency has taken a liking to me.

I am willing to obey your orders."

Li Jingxiao was overjoyed and personally helped Han Mengzhuo up, "From today on, you will be the general flag under my command, with a monthly salary of 5 taels.

If you make merit in the future, becoming a centurion is not a luxury."

Li Jingxiao didn't know that the conditions he offered were slightly worse than the treatment the Zhou family offered to win over Han Mengzhuo.

But if Han Mengzhuo really had to choose for himself, he would still prefer to stay with Li Jingxiao.

For hunters in the mountains, being an official is certainly good, but only by following someone with real ability can they live longer.

Not to mention that Li Jingxiao also agreed to teach him a sword technique.

For an archer like Han Mengzhuo, this can make up for his weakness in close combat.

(End of this chapter)