Jianming Chaos

"Do ordinary people not have to pay taxes? Why do they need to charge extra protection fees?" Zhiming didn't quite understand.

"This is the rule of the feudal mansion, and we are just following orders." Zuo Mu said perfunctorily with one sentence.

"If money is tight and you hand in a day late, what will be the consequences?" Zhiming asked, looking into the pupils of the other party.

"This... will not have any serious consequences, but our people will come forward to educate them a little bit, so that they can make up for it as soon as possible." Dark clouds appeared on Zuo Mu's face, as if it was about to rain heavily.

"Is it education or a lesson? Are you training warriors just to bully the people?" Zhiming continued to question, and he didn't know where he got such courage.

Zuo Mu got a little impatient when asked, and said solemnly: "This is our internal affairs, and outsiders don't need to interfere. Samurai are a representative symbol of the power of our vassals, and they are also a powerful means to maintain social order. The samurai has dignity, it is definitely not a tool used to oppress the people as you said!"

"But the scene I saw just now is indeed so. All the people on this street can testify." Zhiming could see that the other party was making unreasonable words. Although he knew that a strong dragon could not overwhelm a local snake, he couldn't help but speak out.

"You..." Zuo Mu clenched his fists, but when he thought of certain things, he held back and squeezed out a smile and said, "The chivalrous man is right, there are indeed some scum in our samurai regiment. I will tell you The feudal lord proposes to eliminate these unhealthy tendencies; but please also recognize the current situation and try not to interfere in our country's internal affairs."

"Returning the internal affairs...well, I understand. Then what do you want?" Zhiming wanted to continue the confrontation, but seeing that the other party was a little crazy, he stopped this bad communication just right.

Zuo Mu's face immediately dissipated, and he said: "Lei Xiashi, I was a little excited just now, and I have offended you. In Chinese, we can be regarded as 'no fight, no acquaintance'? If so, can you go back to the feudal mansion with me?" Come on, I want to host a banquet. How about it?"

"You don't get rewarded for nothing, let alone the person I hurt you, how can I get the banquet in turn?" Zhiming suspected that the other party wanted to use the Hongmen Banquet to deal with him.

"Lei Xiashi is worrying too much. We Yidu people are naturally warm and hospitable, I believe you also have a deep understanding of it?" Zuo Mu's face was clear at the moment.

"That's right, I have a lot of experience in other places, but here... Actually, I still don't understand why you want to entertain me? I am obviously your enemy." Zhiming didn't want to rush into the tiger's den.

"Let's think of it as... making friends with martial arts. A big man should have this saying, right?" Zuo Mu said "sincerity".

"...If that's the case, then it's better to be respectful than obedient. I have offended you with your words just now, and I hope you will forgive me." Zhiming didn't want to let the other party down, and thought that he was going to investigate. Since the other party invited him on his own initiative, why not agree to it? , and see if we can spot some new clues.

Zuo Mu immediately assigned a horse to Zhi Ming, and all the warriors escorted him to the feudal mansion together.

This feudal mansion is not big, not even as big as the county government in Xinye.Zhiming felt that this place was too stingy, and there might not be any information he wanted to know, so he planned to leave as soon as possible.

However, Zuo Mu's "full sincerity" made him unable to give up his hospitality, and he couldn't leave for a while.

Zuo Mu led him to a small room and said: "Lei Xiashi, please rest here for a while, I will inform the feudal lord."

"Notify the feudal lord? No need, I'll leave after eating." Zhiming didn't want to see too many people.

"It's still required in etiquette. Knight, please sit down for a while, I'll be right back." Without waiting for his consent, Zuo Mu gently closed the sliding door and left.

"Sit? There aren't even any chairs here. Where do you sit?" Zhiming found that the layout of the room was very simple. There were only a few kneeling mats and an empty coffee table. There was a coat rack in the corner. to describe.But one thing he had to admit was that the room was neat, almost spotless.

After standing for a while, he felt a little tired, so he simply lay down on the wooden floor and took a nap.Of course, his vigilance is still very high, he will not enter a state of deep sleep, and his facial features and limbs are still in the mode of preparing for battle.

After closing his eyes, Zhiming suddenly thought of his master and his sister, wondering when that shadow assassin would appear, and was a little worried.He was not worried that Zhao Yun and his master would not be able to defeat the assassin, but that he was worried that the enemy would be out of the dark, that he could not predict when the opponent would appear, and there were always times when he was not well prepared.

Thinking of this, he wanted to use black hole magic to go back and check the situation first.However, this room is too small. If you use magic, it is estimated that the coffee table and wooden floor will be sucked in by the black hole.

At this moment, the door was pulled open.Zhiming saw that it was an older man and Zuo Mu, probably the feudal lord, so he had to give up.

Sure enough, the older man introduced himself politely in broken Chinese: "Hello Lei Xiashi, I am Gao Ze, the feudal lord here, please give me your advice!"

After all, the feudal lord knelt down to salute the guests, with a very humble attitude, without any feeling of superiority.

"Didn't you say 'a man has gold under his knees'? Why did he kneel when he disagreed with him? Should I also kneel and answer?" Zhiming was confused by the strange customs of this country and couldn't adapt for a while. .

Seeing that Zuo Mu kept winking at him, Zhiming hurriedly knelt down on one knee, clasped his fists and responded, "Lei Zhiming, a man from Jingzhou, came to Yidu Kingdom this time for an important matter. I'm so sorry."

The feudal lord grinned and stood up.Zhiming also stood up.

"It's a trivial matter, why worry about it?" The feudal lord smiled innocently, and then he was stunned for a moment after speaking, and asked, "It seems to be said in Chinese, right?"

"Yes, that's right, it seems that the feudal lord has learned the essence of Chinese!" Zhiming exaggerated unconsciously.

"I don't dare to be. My ancestors are Han Chinese, so I have half Han blood." The feudal lord's attitude is very easy-going, like an uncle next door.

Zhiming nodded and said, "Actually, I came to your country this time to find someone."

"Looking for someone?" The feudal lord glanced sideways at Zuo Mu, then turned his gaze back, and asked, "Who is the chivalrous man looking for?"

"A Han, female, her name is Cai Yan, or Cai Wenji." Zhiming didn't intend to hide anything.

When the feudal lord heard the name, a trace of fear and uneasiness flashed in his eyes. Although it was only for a moment, he was caught by Zhiming's keen eyes.

Zhiming pretended not to notice, and said, "It's okay, I'm just talking casually, it's impossible for her to happen to be in your residence, right?"

The feudal lord was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "Lei Xiashi was joking, of course not. My temple is too small to accommodate her big Buddha!"

These words undoubtedly provided Zhiming with useful information, he thought: "I haven't described Cai Yan's characteristics, he has already characterized her as a 'big Buddha', it seems that the feudal lord must know her whereabouts, at least he has seen her !"

Zhiming thought that if he asked the other party directly, the other party might not be willing to answer quickly; in order to slowly get out the other party's words, he decided to stay here for one night.

It happened to be evening, and the feudal lord looked at the sky and said, "If you don't mind Lei Xia, you can stay in my mansion for a light meal. If you don't mind tonight, please stay overnight in our mansion and make a decision tomorrow morning." ,how?"

Zhiming felt strange and thought: "I will definitely stay, but what is the purpose of them keeping me? Zuo Mu's attitude changed drastically before, which was already suspicious; now the feudal lord must have heard some words from Zuo Mu. That's why I decided to stay here overnight. Okay, I'll stay and see what kind of medicine they sell in the gourd!"

Thinking of this, Zhiming deliberately declined and stayed.

The dinner was very simple. In addition to the three of them, there was also a retainer named Takenouchi, who was also a descendant of Qi people.The four of them formed a table and knelt on cushions to eat.Zhiming was not used to it at first, but for the sake of investigation, he could only go to the countryside and do as the Romans do.

The dishes are fairly rich, mainly cooked food, and some seafood that can be eaten raw. Zhiming is not used to it, but overall he is satisfied.The wine here is also good, mellow and delicious, with endless aftertaste. If it wasn't for serious business, Zhiming would probably drink it to the brim.

During the dinner, the feudal lord asked some questions with great interest about how the Han Dynasty and Zhiming came from the other side. Zhiming answered him with some reservations, and finally got to the point with the help of alcohol: "Actually, I came to Yidu this time. Just to find Cai Wenji. I have to bring her back to Dahan to save one of my friends."

Zuo Mu raised his glass and made a gesture of toasting, and said: "A chivalrous man really values ​​love and righteousness. I can feel it from the first time I saw you in the market. If you can become a samurai in the Yidu country, you are really in this country. An honor!"

"Forget about being a warrior, I don't want to be a warrior." Zhiming raised his glass and responded, "I am a martial arts practitioner, but my master taught me that martial arts is for physical fitness, not for fighting for power, let alone bullying. people."

Hearing this, the faces of the three of them sank, but they recovered immediately, let's just think that the other party made a slip of the tongue after drinking.

The feudal lord said with a smirk: "What the chivalrous man said is very true! It seems that I must rectify the style of the samurai regiment, and I will never allow similar situations to happen again!"

After speaking, he glanced at Zuo Mu.Zuo Mu said reassuringly: "Yes, Lord, I will immediately formulate a new plan tomorrow to ensure that my subordinates will not enforce the law violently again!"

"By the way, chivalrous man, you are a warrior. I have a suggestion. Can you compete with our warriors later? I believe the feudal lord also wants to see the martial arts of a big man, right?" Takenouchi also asked through his drunkenness.

"Contest? I've drank so much wine, how do I fight? Are you drunk?" Zhiming felt that his eyes were hazy, and everyone had double images.

"There is a saying in our country: real martial arts are all fermented after drinking." Takenouchi said while pouring wine for Zhiming, squinting his half-drunk and half-awake eyelids.

"Fermentation after wine? What nonsense theory! Is this person drunk?" Zhiming thought to himself, and responded with a smile, "No, this lord is wrong. Real martial arts come from life; life is stressful, Created a generation of martial arts geniuses..."

The three of them looked at each other, unable to keep up with his thinking.

"Oops, what am I talking about? It looks like I'm too drunk..." To avoid embarrassment, Zhiming patted the table and said, "Okay, come on! Where will the fight start?"

Upon hearing that he had agreed to the martial arts competition, the faces of the three of them burst into relieved smiles at the same time.

Takenouchi stood up first, opened a door, and said, "It's in the courtyard behind. Chevaliers, please!"

Zhiming was taken aback for a moment, he didn't expect to hit the opponent's arms, but the words had already been spoken and could not be taken back, so he had to give in.

The four of them walked through a small corridor and came outside the house.There was already a row of warriors standing here, majestic and serious, they seemed to have come prepared.

Although this courtyard is not big, it is quite stylish, and it has the feeling of "singing wine as a song".It's a pity that now is not the best time to appreciate the moon, because Zhiming is going to compete with the samurai of Yidu Kingdom.

Zhiming counted a total of ten people, and casually said: "I want to fight ten."

"What?" The feudal lord didn't respond.

"Oh, sorry, I drank too much. I mean, there are ten samurai here." Zhiming said awkwardly.

The other party could hear that the implication of his words was: I am only one person, so many of you are here?

"Don't worry, these are only intermediate warriors of our clan, I believe it will not be very difficult for you." Zuo Mu whispered in his ear.

Only then did Zhiming realize that these warriors were all wearing blue belts, so he said to Zuo Mu: "So you are distinguishing strengths by the color of the belts. You have a red belt, so you should be a high-ranking warrior, right? Are there any black belts?" brought?"

The feudal lord coughed deliberately.Zuo Mu hurriedly said: "Chevaliers, please, the preparations have begun."

"So straightforward? I'm not sober yet. Okay, come on." Zhiming thought to himself, it's time for these island warriors to experience the essence of Chinese martial arts.

Zuo Mu pointed to one of the heavy-backed warriors, and said, "Akasaka, you go first!"

Akasaka took the order and stepped out, his eyes were like a sharp knife, piercing the opponent's heart.

Zhiming wandered to the opposite side of Akasaka.The two were five meters apart, each took off their wooden clogs, and stood facing each other.The moonlight and the light from the stone lamp made the expressions on the faces of the two of them clearly visible.

After the two sides set up their positions, Akasaka drew out his saber deftly, set up his horse stance, and stared at the front with his eyes of beasts, keeping his eyes on the opponent for a moment. He looked like a professional master.

Zhiming drew out the steel soul sword, threw the scabbard aside, and waved it in the air a few times at random, not bothering to stand on horseback, and said with a calm tone: "Come on!"

Akasaka didn't dare to act rashly, he held the handle of the knife tightly with both hands, and moved the soles of his feet forward with a very small range, like a wolf waiting for an opportunity to take down its prey.

"Why? Want to stop with silence?" Zhiming's drunkenness was still there, but he wasn't afraid at all, because he couldn't feel the opponent's murderous intent.

Akasaka waved the knife tentatively, and Zhiming shrank back suddenly, avoiding the blade perfectly.

Zhiming also tried to make some aggressive moves, Akasaka adjusted his posture instinctively, and used the blade to push his knife away.Both sides are very cautious, testing each other's strength.