A leisurely life in the world of cultivation

Chapter 62 The Assassins (Please subscribe and vote!)
Qingzhou City.

It snowed all night again last night, and the snow on the ground was even ankle-deep, crunching underfoot.

Perhaps the drought will be alleviated next year.

People making a living on the streets had already gotten up early. Next month would be the largest annual trade fair between Qingzhou and Donghu, so there were many more unfamiliar faces in Qingzhou Prefecture than usual.

There are still many cavalry units stationed outside the city.

They traded with the Donghu Horse Market using everyday items such as farm tools, cloth, grain, and iron pots to exchange for horses, cattle, sheep, furs, and gold and silver from the grasslands.

Of course, the most important thing is ginseng.

Although the vast majority of these transactions are directly handled by Jirentang, which is directly under the imperial family, there are always some that slip through the net and are traded in secret...

Water that is too clear has no fish, and it's impossible to manage things so strictly.

Therefore, almost all the major merchant groups in the world would come to trade.

Although the number of strangers has increased, Qingzhou City remains very peaceful, which Li Weizhou likes quite a bit.

It's completely different from the martial arts novels I've read in the past. At least within the city, there aren't many scenes of heroes breaking the law with their martial arts; it's so harmonious that it feels unreal.

It is said that at this time, anyone who dares to cause trouble in the city will be disqualified from participating in the horse market, so all the aristocratic families, sects and gangs are extremely strict in their discipline.

Therefore, as long as it is managed seriously, public security is not really a problem.

Of course, they can fight to the death outside the city as they please. As long as they don't claim to be from a demonic sect, they generally won't bully weak farmers.

That would be despised by the martial arts world and would ruin its reputation.

There seems to be some reason why the Great Qian Dynasty lasted for five hundred years.

West Market Street, Qimeng Pavilion.

Annoying knocking on the door makes many people curse.

Brothels, places of extravagance and decadence, are mostly used for sleeping in the morning.

Even Miss Mengjun was still lying on her bed, her eyes still sleepy. If she weren't naturally beautiful, she would definitely be quite ugly.

She stared at Li Weizhou with a somewhat unfriendly gaze. The maid Yanxue, probably bribed by the bracelet from last time, smiled sweetly and said, "If people outside knew that the young master could freely enter and leave my young lady's boudoir, it would surely attract a lot of hatred!"

Li Weizhou nodded and said, "They definitely don't know how lazy your daughter is. I've been waiting for a quarter of an hour... Hmm!"

A fragrant handkerchief flew over and covered her face.

Li Weizhou held it in his hand suspiciously and asked, "Where did this wipe off?"

"Oops~"

Even Yanxue couldn't stand it anymore, blushing and scolding Li Weizhou, "Young master~"

Li Weizhou explained with a smile, "I'm afraid she'll wipe her feet, that's disgusting."

Yanxue giggled and said, "Miss's feet are not disgusting!" Realizing what she had said, she quickly added, "They're not for wiping feet. Who uses a fragrant towel to wipe their feet? What are you saying, young master!" With that, she turned around and returned the fragrant towel.

Chu Mengjun waved her hand and said, "Throw it away..." Then she asked in a cold tone, "What brings Master Li here so early in the morning?"

Li Weizhou briefly mentioned the cooperation between Baibaolou and Shenglong Money Shop, and then said, "Jiangyou Merchants have a good reputation, and I would also like to cooperate with you."

Chu Mengjun's expression darkened further. She said, "You're already allied with Shenglong Money House, so why are you still cooperating with us?"

Li Weizhou smiled and said, "I'll sell to them, but I'm willing to buy from you. Jiangnan is so charming and elegant, so the gold jewelry here is naturally more refined. Bring over more; as long as the quality is good, I'll accept any purchase."

Chu Mengjun narrowed her eyes slightly, scrutinizing Li Weizhou, and said, "You're selling and buying at the same time... but where will you sell the gold jewelry you buy?"

Li Weizhou waved his hand and said, "You don't need to worry about that. In short, I will hand over the silver, and you will hand over the jewelry and headwear."

Chu Mengjun remembered something: "You only accept gold, not silver."

Li Weizhou said impatiently, "Are you in business or sitting in the yamen investigating cases? Besides, is doing this illegal? Take it or leave it. If you don't want to do it, then I'll go find Zuixianglou to do this business with."

Seeing his temper, Chu Mengjun giggled instead. She had been lying on her side on the couch, but now she sat up, her fragrant shoulder half-exposed, and said, "Why is my lord angry? How could I not love doing business with such an extraordinary person as you? I was just asking a few more questions to learn more. Baibaolou is indeed amazing. Alright, we'll take this business. Judging by the days, the Jiangyou Merchants will arrive in a couple of days, and we can discuss the details then."

Li Weizhou showed no interest and said, "I only want to talk to you in detail; I don't need to talk to anyone else. Also, I have another request."

Chu Mengjun asked in surprise, "You're begging me?"

Li Weizhou didn't care and said, "Yes, yes, I'm begging you!"

"Giggle!"

Yanxue watched Li Weizhou beam with joy, and she truly felt that this young man was quite extraordinary.

Don't men all advocate "I will never need to ask anyone for anything in this life"...?

Chu Mengjun's expression darkened, and she stared at Li Weizhou with increasingly hostile eyes.

The reason is simple: for proud people, bowing down to those in positions of power is the hardest thing to accept.

He would only bow his head to those he looked down upon, completely unconcerned, as if he were fooling a fool. Li Weizhou glanced at Chu Mengjun, noticing her odd expression, and after a moment's thought, understood something. He chuckled and said, "You're joking, so I'm joking too. You can't take a joke, can you?"

"..."

Chu Mengjun twitched the corners of her mouth and said irritably, "Speak, what is it?"

Li Weizhou explained Ximei's desire to learn martial arts, and concluded by saying, "We need a female master, someone with a good personality, to play with the child. The monthly salary is twenty taels, and we can discuss it further if you feel it's not enough."

Chu Mengjun was speechless for a moment upon hearing this. Seeing Yanxue blinking her big eyes at her, she glared at her irritably and said, "No way! These days will only get busier and busier. You wish!" She then added angrily, "You little hussy!"

Yanxue blushed, covered her face, and denied it, saying, "I didn't! I'm not!"

She was wearing a silver bracelet on her wrist, a gift from Li Weizhou.

Chu Mengjun said to Li Weizhou, "Don't rush, I'll choose a good one later. Hey, aren't you afraid people will say you're hiring someone from a brothel?"

Li Weizhou chuckled and said, "I used to work as a waiter in a brothel!"

In a typical feudal society, he would not have been so reckless.

But in this world of extraordinary power, martial arts are enough to offset the darkness of brothels. Besides, learning martial arts requires close guidance, so who cares about anything else?

As for why he chose Qimeng Pavilion instead of Zuixiang Tower, it's because the former couldn't be manipulated by personal relationships; it was purely a business transaction...

Hearing Li Weizhou say this, Chu Mengjun laughed, and Yanxue laughed too.

With everything settled, Li Weizhou got up and left, giving Yanxue a pair of beautiful four-leaf clover silver earrings before he left.

Although it only sells for 89 yuan on JD.com, it looks exceptionally exquisite here, not to mention it's made of 99% sterling silver.

Yanxue was only seventeen or eighteen years old, in the prime of her youth and beauty. She tilted her head and smiled, looking playful and cute. Li Weizhou also grinned from ear to ear in a good mood.

"..."

For a moment, Chu Mengjun had the illusion that she was too old and her beauty had faded to attract men, and that she was no match for the young maid she raised...

……

"Why don't you stay home and rest for a few more days?"

At the entrance of Lijiazhuang Fortress in the south of the city, Li Weizhou met Li Chang'an, whom he hadn't seen for some time.

Hearing this, Li Chang'an was so angry that his liver hurt. He cursed, "Which bastard made me supervise the clearing of the valley? We need to build more houses before the big freeze. Where are you going to house all these people you keep buying?"

Li Weizhou blinked and said, "It's such a big fortified village."

Li Chang'an laughed angrily, "Do you even know how many people you actually bought?"

Li Weizhou asked in bewilderment, "Isn't the majority of the problem just three hundred refugees?"

"fart!"

Li Chang'an counted on his fingers, "The three major brokerage firms in Qingzhou City are practically worshipping you like a god. They've gone all the way from Jingzhou to Jinzhou Prefecture to recruit people, and they're all just greenhorns. You've got it easy, but this old man and I are almost exhausted. We can't just abandon these kids like adults, we can't let them freeze or starve to death, can we?"

Li Weizhou wasn't stupid either, and laughed, "I could believe you if you said it was my uncle who was worrying about these things, but you... there's a big market in the horse market next month, all sorts of people will flock there, you must be very busy."

Li Chang'an stared for a while, then said dejectedly, "How can you be so shrewd... The old man has been going to the jail less lately, and he's running around here all the time. He's using his methods on these kids, and with that guy surnamed Gu under your command, the two of them have put their heads together... I say, Sanlang, why are you raising so many assassins?"

Li Weizhou laughed and said, "Come on, I've never even seen the person. Do you think you can raise assassins like this? Where's Uncle?"

As he spoke, he glanced inside the gate and saw a group of boys standing neatly in rows, reciting some kind of brainwashing oath that sent chills down his spine: "From the moment you enter the gate, your bodies and souls belong to the master. In life, you are blades in the mansion; in death, you are tombstones before his grave." And "The master's command is like a mountain collapsing, as powerful as thunder, unstoppable. The master's words are like destiny, every word etched in our hearts. Even if we face mountains of knives and seas of fire, we must not flinch or hesitate a step. If the master grants us death, we will accept the punishment with a smile, thanking the master for his great grace."

On the other hand, General Sun might be using the same approach. If you have to memorize like this every day, it's indeed a bit terrifying.

Li Chang'an chuckled and said to Li Weizhou, "The old man and that Mr. Gu discussed it for several days before coming up with it. Mr. Gu's version is a bit too literary; I can't understand it at all. The old man came up with it in the prison with a bunch of old-timers from the martial arts world. Don't be fooled by how jarring it sounds; this is the kind of thing that young boys need, and they memorize it with great enthusiasm."

Actually, it goes without saying that most of these children were originally from migrant families; they had experienced hunger and witnessed what it was like to starve to death. Anyway, they were all shouting and yelling as they memorized, as if the more they knew it, the more they felt like they had a family, like they were part of a family… The old man had been watching them for many days, and only now that he saw them on their way did he go back to rest for a bit. Hey, do you know, the fourth son might be back soon.”

Li Weizhou asked in bewilderment, "I, the Imperial Censor and the Chief of the Iron Division, have never heard of him. How do you know? Don't tell me he's coming back to visit his family again."

Li Chang'an said disdainfully, "You call yourself the Iron-Holding Sili? Fine, I'll give you some credit. Then may I ask, Lord Sili, do you know what day it is next month?"

Li Weizhou vaguely realized, it was the horse market...

Li Chang'an's expression turned serious again, and he lowered his voice, saying, "Sanlang, do you know that every year at the horse market fair, a large number of newly recruited Copper-Handling Officers from the Imperial Execution Bureau are sent here to hone their skills? They not only fight against people from the Donghu Shaman Temple, but also against people from various martial arts sects, royal palaces, and merchant guilds. Every year, some are injured or killed..."

Li Weizhou understood, but he was still relatively relieved, because which real male protagonist didn't grow and break through all the way through narrow victories and pyrrhic victories?

He believed that Li Laosi could do it!

Of course, giving Li Silang some more support wouldn't be a bad idea; how about getting him a better stab-proof suit...?

Li Weizhou put his mind to work.

……

(End of this chapter)