Chapter 111 Martial Arts Competition
The rain washed over the blue-gray tiles, gathered between the ridges, rushed to the corners of the eaves, and dripped down.
"After the Waking of Insects, the weather warms up and the rainfall increases. It is best to use oil smoke instead of pine smoke for grinding."
"The air is humid on rainy days, and so is the paper. If beginners use pine soot, the ink will dry up easily or it will be difficult to control the water. Using lampblack is much easier to control."
There was a faint scent of ink wafting through the room, mixing with the smell of rain outside the window, as if the rain was washing away not the dusty roof tiles, but the human internal organs.
Liang Qu took a deep breath, picked up the brush, dipped it in ink, scraped the ink three times, and the fragrance spread on the rice paper.
Si Hengyi stood behind Liang Qu.
Compared to the dog crawling two months ago, the progress is very fast.
Liang Qu didn't expect that his martial arts talent doubled and it would also help him in calligraphy practice. He now had extremely precise control over the strength of his fingers and wrists. Although he had no personal style, he made rapid progress in imitating calligraphy.
Even those who are not calligraphy connoisseurs would think that Liang Qu has a very good hand in calligraphy.
After finishing a piece of calligraphy, Si Hengyi said, "I thought you wouldn't come today."
"Why do you say that, Mr. Si?"
Si Hengyi chuckled: "The whole Pingyang County is buzzing with excitement, and everyone knows about it. It seems that you have a plan in mind. Can I wait for good news tomorrow?"
Liang Qu immediately understood that Si Hengyi was talking about the martial arts competition, and said modestly: "It's not as exaggerated as saying that I have it all figured out, I just have a certain degree of confidence."
"Then I'll have to go over and take a look tomorrow."
"Welcome, Mr. Si."
Si Hengyi nodded and paced to check on other students.
Liang Qu twisted the wolf hair brush in confusion.
Did the news spread so widely in one day? Did everyone in the academy know about it?
The guy who sent the visiting card really spared no effort to promote it. He wanted to tell everyone in the county that he had arrived and was going to challenge the most powerful local martial arts school.
Are you sure you will win?
Liang Qu was looking forward to it.
When the rain stopped, he packed up his things and went to the stable. A group of students were walking around Chishan, marveling at the horse. They were all young men of about sixteen or seventeen, and they admired the rare and beautiful horses the most.
Some people wanted to touch it, but were forced back by Chishan's fierce gaze, and their hands were itching to touch it.
There is no doubt that anyone who dares to touch it will be kicked hard.
With Chishan's leg strength, the person won't fly, there will just be a big hole on his body.
"This must be a dragon blood horse, right? Two years ago, my father and I went to Huaiyin Prefecture and saw a dragon blood horse like this on the road, but that one was black and disappeared in the blink of an eye. Now I see that the red one is more beautiful, majestic and attractive."
A young man in brocade clothes opened his folding fan, and the chill of spring seemed to have no effect on him: "No, no, if you want to ride a horse, you have to ride a white horse. A white horse with a three-foot silver sword, that's elegant and graceful, enough to attract the attention of girls."
"You are so vain that you even have several sachets hanging on your body. They make me pick my nose. Isn't that disgusting?"
"Bullshit, I'll just hang one up today, you're just jealous of me."
"A horse this big should cost one thousand taels of silver, right?"
"One thousand taels? Come on, come on, where did you buy it? I'll ask my dad to give me two thousand taels and I'll double the price! We can eat as much as you want!"
"Hey, hey, stop making noise, someone is coming."
Liang Qu was five feet five centimeters tall, half a head taller than the other scholars, and his temperament was completely different.
People who practice martial arts have extremely developed core strength, and there is a significant difference between the way they walk and stand compared to ordinary people. They naturally exude confidence, high spirits, and full of masculinity.
They were not in the same class and did not know each other well, but they subconsciously felt that Liang Qu was the owner of the Dragon Blood Horse and that their temperaments matched, so they all made way for him.
Seeing such politeness, Liang Qu bowed, jumped onto the horse, and was about to pull the rope to leave when he was stopped by a young man in blue.
"Brother, please stay!" The young man in green stepped forward to block the horse and saluted. "Excuse me, brother, is this a dragon blood horse?"
"Yes, the fifth-grade dragon blood horse bestowed by the emperor."
hiss!
Everyone present took a breath.
Fifth grade!
Imperial gift!
Liang Qu's age is about the same as everyone else. Normally, he would either study or practice martial arts. He is usually not even a scholar or a martial artist. How come you are the only one who got the imperial dragon-blood horse?
Are all outsiders so powerful?
Isn't it because the title was inherited from ancestors?
Everyone admired him very much, but most of them had never seen Liang Qu before and thought he was a dragon that had come from other counties.
The young man in blue then asked, "May I ask your name, brother?"
"I am the ninth disciple of Master Yang from Liangqu, Yixing Town. If you want to learn martial arts, please come and join us! Yang's martial arts school welcomes every student. I have something else to do, so I won't stay any longer. Let's go!"
Liang Qu pulled the reins, Chishan turned around and jumped out, leaving everyone staring at the horse's butt.
"So you're a warrior, no wonder you feel different."
"Yang's Martial Arts School? I heard this morning that they seem to be having a martial arts competition today?"
"It's tomorrow at 15:00. It's lunch time, why don't you go and watch the fun?"
"Let's go together!"
Liang Qu was riding his horse down the street. After walking about half a mile, he loosened the reins with one hand and slowly touched the Fu Bo hanging on the side.
With his right leg lightly resting on the horse's belly, Chishan understood and turned into the alley, and the horse's tail disappeared behind the wall.
Liang Qu silently counted three breaths and reached out to grab the undulating waves.
The sound of the wind stopped abruptly, and the spear swept across a semicircle. The birds on the wall flew up in fright. The dark gold edge pierced the afternoon sunlight, and the air was split in two by the spear blade, and the spear tip pointed to the chest of the intruder.
The whistling sound of the hundred-pound spear frightened the opponent.
"Look up!" The tip of the gun was raised, forcing the visitor to raise his head in shock.
The medicine bag fell and Lan Tai raised his hands in surrender, the remaining astonishment on his face had not yet faded. He didn't expect that he would be discovered so easily.
Liang Qu leaned against the wall, shrouded in shadows. He said nothing, just stared coldly.
Lan Tai couldn't hold it in any longer and begged for mercy first: "Sorry, sorry, I really couldn't help myself. I saw you yesterday afternoon, riding this red horse, and I was very envious.
I went to buy medicine today and came back, only to find out that you are the ninth disciple of Master Yang, and the opponent of my junior brother's martial arts competition. I couldn't help but follow you. Please forgive me."
Lan Tai went to the clinic to get some medicine and passed by the academy. He just happened to hear Liang Qu say that he was the ninth disciple of Master Yang.
When the people came out, he discovered that the man riding the chestnut horse yesterday afternoon was the one his junior brother wanted to challenge.
Liang Qu raised his eyebrows: "You were the one who sent the visiting card yesterday?"
"My master wrote the visiting card, and I am the one who delivered it. My name is Lan Tai." Lan Tai smiled awkwardly, twisted his body, and showed a small cloth bag. "I did something unkind. There are more than ten taels of silver in this bag. I will give it all to you, young master, as an apology."
It's all because of my own curiosity.
If he told others about it, people who didn't know would think he was gathering information about the enemy for his junior fellow apprentice, and it would not be glorious even if he won.
Why can't I control my legs?
Lan Tai wanted to slap himself in the face.
Liang Qu looked up and down.
He was a skinny guy with strange behavior, just like the one the apprentices had described in the morning.
Looking at the dozen large medicine bags dropped by Lan Tai on the ground, with the word Changchun written on them, he reluctantly believed what the other party said and took back Fu Bo.
Lan Tai breathed a sigh of relief. It was not because he was afraid of Liang Qu, but because he didn't want the other party to misunderstand him.
He quickly took off his purse and handed it over: "Here are a dozen taels of silver."
"Keep it for yourself."
It would be embarrassing if Yang Dongxiong's ninth disciple even wanted such a small amount of money.
Liang Qu pulled the reins sideways, turned around, and left without looking back.
"That's great." Lan Tai happily put away the purse, picked up the medicine bag from the ground, dusted it off, and looked at Liang Qu's back with emotion, "After all, he was taught by the master. His temperament is different, and the horses he rides are all handsome."
Arrived at Changchun Medical Clinic.
Liang Qu led the horse into the backyard, found the shopkeeper Chen, raised his hand and gestured: "Just now, was there a tall man in gray clothes, like a skinny monkey, who came to buy medicine, and there were a lot of them."
Shopkeeper Chen recalled briefly and nodded, "Yes, there was one. Most of the things he bought were for strengthening the body. There were more than a dozen bags. He must be a martial artist."
Liang Qu nodded, that made sense.
"what happened?"
"Nothing, I encountered something on the road, so I came to ask, Shopkeeper Chen, don't worry." Liang Qu rolled up his sleeves, "Where's Doctor Zhang? Are you going to learn from him today?"
"Yes, a patient with a broken forearm just came in, and Doctor Zhang asked you to try your hand."
"Okay, I'll go first."
The martial arts competition did not disrupt Liang Qu's study plan.
In the morning, I went to the river to practice, search for treasures with the four beasts, and refine my bones once.
At noon, I went back to the martial arts gym to see Senior Brothers Hu and Xu to learn from each other, improve my martial arts, and strengthen my bones again.
I went to the academy in the afternoon. I had basically completed my literacy training. I mainly studied allusions in books. Many exercises used allusions, and it was difficult to understand without some cultural knowledge.
I went to the clinic in the evening. Liang Qu could easily handle simple fractures and injuries on his own, and was now reading some simple medical books.
Before going to bed at night, refine your bones for the third time and never leave any blood and energy until the next day.
Whenever Yang Dongxiong saw Liang Qu, he said that he was diligent and serious.
Early the next morning.
Liang Qu did some simple warm-up and then waited in the martial arts hall. He didn't even do any bone training to ensure that he was in peak condition.
The atmosphere in the entire martial arts hall was filled with irrepressible excitement.
It's rare to come across a challenge.
After Pingyang Town became Pingyang County, the population grew and the number of new apprentices in the martial arts school increased accordingly.
Now there are nearly a hundred people living there, and the entire backyard can no longer accommodate them, so they hired a dozen craftsmen to expand the building.
When Yang Dongxiong established the martial arts school, the entire Pingyang County was still a township, and he had already planned to build it on a large scale. Unexpectedly, after 20 years, it was still not enough.
Yang Dongxiong planned to make the martial arts arena bigger, preferably by dividing it into two parts.
One piece is for apprentices to use for communication, and the second piece is for warriors.
Noon.
The villagers gathered near Yang's martial arts hall, leaning on the wall to watch the fun, and the crooked tree next to it was crowded with people.
Some people even grabbed a good spot and sold it to others for three copper coins.
"It's so expensive, do you have any shame?"
"If you like it, buy it or not!"
"Hey, I have such a bad temper, I'm going to chop down your tree!"
"Stop arguing, people are coming!"
(End of this chapter)
