A leisurely life in the world of cultivation

Chapter 47 Treasure Pavilion, Divine Mechanism Valley

Inside the main hall of the Li family, the atmosphere grew increasingly pleasant.

Li Delong laughed along with Zhou Yunjun, and after laughing, he said to Li Weizhou, "The yamen has reached an agreement with them. They will buy the two hundred acres of rouge fields in Fu Family Village for ten thousand taels of silver."

Li Weizhou smiled and nodded.

Zhou Yunjun looked at Li Weizhou and said, "Third Brother is still too kind. The Fu family's son was rampant and reckless, almost putting Second Brother to death. Even if we directly confiscate the Fu family's property as compensation, no one can say anything wrong. Now, the Fu family's fortified village and those two hundred acres of rice fields should belong to Third Brother."

Li Chang'an: "..."

Li Weizhou, being eloquent, said, "The Li family cannot cause trouble for the government, much less for Lord Zhou."

Let alone the fact that two hundred acres of rouge fields are a rare commodity, the construction of the fortified village of Fujiazhuang alone probably cost about the same.

Such a high earthen wall, built with glutinous rice juice mixed with sand and loess, is incredibly sturdy, and naturally, it is also very expensive.

The ten thousand taels of silver were not meant to silence the people of Qingzhou, but to be displayed to outsiders, such as the Prince of Jin's residence and the Imperial Prison.

They get all the benefits and still want to maintain a good reputation.

Li Delong advised, "Speaking of which, Old Zhou is actually closer to your father. You were causing trouble all those years ago; if it weren't for Lord Zhou secretly mediating, you wouldn't have been able to cause so much trouble for so long." He then gave his nephew a look: "A toast to Lord Zhou!"

So Li Weizhou raised his cup to this second-in-command of Qingzhou Prefecture: "Thank you for your protection, Lord Zhou."

It's not that I want collusion between officials and businessmen, I don't need it, but if I want to make Qingzhou Prefecture the Li family's stronghold, I still need to maintain good relations with the government offices, which will save me a lot of trouble.

Zhou Yunjun showed no Confucian demeanor whatsoever, and burst into laughter again, saying, "Nephew, there's no need for such formalities!"

After the food and wine were laid out, the women and children withdrew.

The four men from the Li family sat down with Zhou Yunjun to drink, and it was clear that the county magistrate was very happy, even somewhat excited.

After several rounds of drinks, Li Weizhou asked again, "Lord Zhou, it is said that the imperial court strictly prohibits martial artists from making moves within the city, otherwise they will be severely punished. But if a martial artist is found to be masked and committing crimes at night, who in an ordinary county can stop him, and who will know who he is?"

Zhou Yunjun laughed and said, "Nephew, do you think that the Qingzhou Prefecture and County Government are weak and do not even have a single martial arts master? How can they control the situation if there is any chaos?"

Li Weizhou nodded frankly; he felt that the ban was somewhat unrealistic.

Zhou Yunjun then asked, "Do you know who the real masters are in Qingzhou City?"

Li Weizhou said, "The two heads of Zuixianglou and Qimengge seem to be quite extraordinary. As for the others, I don't know."

Zhou Yunjun nodded and smiled, "These two are indeed not simple; they are both experts. There is another person who is also not simple, the manager of Shenglong Money Shop. In recent years, there have been many troublemakers in Qingzhou Prefecture, especially merchants from the Eastern and Western Hu regions. There are always some who are unaware of their own mortality. But the end result for these people is always tragic."

Furthermore, don't underestimate the county magistrate. As a protégé of the emperor, he can mobilize these three men to suppress lawlessness in crucial moments. Therefore, even though there are several martial arts schools in Qingzhou City, whose martial prowess surpasses that of the county constables, none of them dare to disrespect the government; otherwise, they would face the annihilation of their entire families in an instant.

Nephew, you can rest assured. Because Qingzhou City is close to the horse market, both those two from the brothel and that one from Shenglong Money Shop are masters among masters. The wealthy merchants and江湖人士 (jianghu figures) entering the city or passing through know this, and they wouldn't dare to act recklessly.

Every action leaves a trace.

Although he didn't directly answer the assassin's question, Li Weizhou found it quite interesting and asked, "Outsiders, can they be trusted?"

Zhou Yunjun actually smiled coldly and said, "Outsiders? Nephew, the forces behind these people all depend on the court for their livelihood, and the sects behind them are even more so. We don't even need to supervise them. If they make a mistake, the sects behind them will not let them off easily. In this way, the court saves a lot of effort and can maintain the law very well."

Li Weizhou roughly understood this strategy, but he only dared to play it this way when the empire was powerful.

Once their power wanes and they start to decline, or the strongest Imperial Execution Division is wiped out, or the core of the Mountain Forest Guard is destroyed, these people will likely turn the tide in no time!

Of course, he knows very little at the moment, and even Zhou Yunjun, a mere seventh-rank county magistrate, knows very little.

The founding emperor was a man of great talent and vision, and the system he left behind even broke the vicious cycle of three hundred years of misfortune that Li Weizhou had always believed in. Naturally, he could have thought of things that Li Weizhou could have thought of.

So there's no need to worry unnecessarily; if the sky falls, Li Silang will be there to hold it up.

Li Weizhou should first establish a firm foothold in Qingzhou before gradually expanding outwards.

Nowadays, the path of martial arts is almost open. Being humble and focusing on hard work is better than worrying unnecessarily.

……

After eating and drinking to their hearts' content and having a pleasant chat, Zhou Yunjun took his leave.

The women of the Li family actually cleared away the mess on the table and served a new table of food and wine.

Don't overthink it; they want to eat too, and they also want to chat.

Guo was initially stunned by Li Weizhou's generous donation of ten thousand taels of silver, but after learning that it was left by Qi Erniang, she became less interested in the matter, and Luo's expression also turned somewhat unpleasant.

The couple usually boasted about their generous dowry, but even the most generous dowry was far from being worth tens of thousands of taels of silver.

Guo was shrewd enough to quickly spot a new advantage: "They've also got their hands on the Fu family's two hundred acres of rouge rice fields?!"

Li Weizhou glanced at her sideways: "Second sister-in-law wants to farm? If you want to farm, then take over and manage it."

Li Chang'an laughed and scolded, "She doesn't know anything about farming! She can't even tell the difference between the five grains!"

Li Weizhou smiled and said, "Then I'll have to find another estate manager." He then said to Guo Shi, "Later, I'll rummage through my family's coffers and send any left over for you to try, Aunt."

Cao said happily, "Is that a tribute to the Prince of Jin's residence?"

Li Weizhou shook his head and said, "The tribute rice was sent over a long time ago, and some was left over. We won't be sending any more." Li Changping asked worriedly, "Won't this displease the nobles in the Prince's mansion?"

Li Weizhou smiled and said, "The eight princes of the world guard the eight directions, which actually means they are guarding the eight clans. They wouldn't go against Silang over a little rice. It's not that we're unwilling to give it, but we're worried that the Director of the Imperial Punishment Office might violate taboos by sending gifts to the Prince's Mansion. The Prince of Jin's Mansion should have someone who understands this."

Li Chang'an laughed heartily, which aggravated his wound, and he groaned for a while.

Li Delong asked Li Weizhou, "Does that valley still need to be repaired? Now, Fu Family Village... can no longer be called Fu Family Village. Li Family Village is all yours."

Li Weizhou said, "Not only should we repair it, but we should do a major overhaul. We should build it into an impregnable fortress, and then erect a monument in the valley."

What kind of monument should be erected?

"The Treasure Pavilion, the Divine Mechanism Valley!"

……

After returning from the old house to Shiqiao Street, Li Weizhou once again entered the "sleep" state and opened his eyes again in the villa.

Compared to the many concerns on the Great Qian side, Earth was much quieter, giving Li Weizhou more time to contemplate the path of martial arts.

Now that it has been determined that practicing martial arts techniques will affect the order in which acupoints are opened, we need to carefully consider which martial arts techniques to practice next.

Li Weizhou left the room and strolled in the courtyard.

The weather is sunny today, but there's a gentle breeze, making it cool and comfortable.

The roses in the flower bed by the wall are in full bloom, their pink flowers contrasting beautifully with the dark tiles and green walls next to them.

Forget about swordsmanship for now. Although the Shangqing Crescent Moon Sword is not as good as the Shangqing Palace's ultimate technique, the Shangqing Purple Cloud Sword, it is still a top-tier swordsmanship in the martial arts world, but it is not the best choice at the moment.

The remaining options are either the movement technique "Seven Star Steps," which can be practiced by opening six acupoints, or by opening thirty-six acupoints to achieve mastery.

It's either the "Golden Bell Cover" technique, where you can cultivate by opening six acupoints in the first three levels, and then you can cultivate to the point of perfecting the third level by opening sixty-four acupoints.

Movement technique is very important; it not only increases speed but also makes shooting more effective.

However, the Seven Star Steps is, after all, the most basic movement technique in the martial arts world, and is only suitable for beginners.

Even if Li Weizhou mastered the Seven Star Steps, he would still be like an elementary school student when facing a master.

However, with the "Golden Bell Cover" technique, mastering all three levels greatly increases one's resistance to attacks, thus leaving more opportunities to fire.

Hey, isn't it perfect that people in the Great Qian Dynasty cultivate the Golden Bell Cover while people on Earth cultivate the Seven Star Steps?
The Seven Star Steps is a basic movement technique in the martial arts world of the Great Qian Dynasty, but on Earth it is an unpredictable and god-level movement technique!

Once the Great Qian side has mastered the "Golden Bell Cover" technique, learning the "Seven Star Steps" will be a much more natural progression.

Similarly, people on Earth can also cultivate the "Golden Bell Cover" technique later.

Tsk, this efficiency! What can those geniuses possibly compare to a sixteen-year-old mediocre martial artist like me?!
Without further ado, let's go collect some pig's blood.

This thing is still the foundation of martial arts training!
During his rest time traveling across provinces to a large slaughterhouse, Li Weizhou constantly studied and pondered the practice methods of the "Seven Star Steps," and often twisted and turned in the high-speed rail aisle...

Focus and concentrate.

This kind of life, where one is fully immersed in the pursuit of progress, is free from the pressures of survival, the pressure of living, and even the pressure of performance targets imposed by superiors; it is all about one's own will.

He can slow down the pace whenever he wants, or speed it up whenever he wants.

So it doesn't feel tiring, but rather a fulfilling leisure.

A day passes by in the blink of an eye.

……

Returning to Fujiazhuang, Li Weizhou felt like he was revisiting an old haunt.

The entire Fu family has disappeared without a trace. It is said that Fu Tianxing died of vomiting blood due to grief over the series of funerals in the Fu family.

After witnessing his closest uncle being beaten into pieces, Fu Qingshan, in despair, also vomited blood and fell into a coma, his fate unknown.

Although the villagers were somewhat annoyed at having to move away from their familiar villages to live among the new villagers who were also displaced, they were lucky that their masters had fallen from power and hadn't been resold. So they could only accept the resettlement with a sullen face.

Now, this huge estate, this excellent fortified village, has become Li's property.

Li Delong and Li Chang'an, who accompanied them, were also quite satisfied. Li Delong smiled meaningfully and said, "The Fu family has been operating here for generations. After a so-called 'true dragon' emerged from the Fu family, they became even more prosperous. At that time, with Fu Tianshou on the outside and Fu Tianxing and his son Fu Qingshan on the inside, who in Qingzhou Prefecture dared to underestimate the Fu family? It was also during those years that the Fu family built a new fortified village, spending a lot of their savings. It has been less than a year since it was completed. Who would have thought that it would benefit you!"

Li Chang'an laughed heartily, but he didn't hold back, saying, "I almost got beaten to death, but you, Sanlang, got a great deal. No way, I'm staying here tonight!"

Li Weizhou said with a strange expression, "You really want to stay here? The Heavenly Blade Sect probably won't give up so easily. They might come looking for trouble again. If you stay here any longer, Second Brother, you might really have to take a knife for me."

Li Chang'an suddenly became alert, and then chuckled dryly, "This... we can't do this kind of thing anymore, Li Rui is still young..." But then he looked at Li Weizhou suspiciously and asked, "Then are you staying here or not?"

Li Weizhou smiled and said, "I'm different from you. I have guards, which are very thorough."

……

(End of this chapter)