Thunderclap on Level Ground!

Outside the window, the rain poured down, while inside, the air was filled with the fragrance of peach blossoms.

On the long table, white silk was spread out, and dyeing brushes, coloring brushes, flat brushes, crab claw brushes, and mustache brushes were arranged in order on the five-peak brush rest.

The palette contains four soft colors: ochre, Guanghua, gamboge, and carmine.

A beautiful woman sits gracefully holding a silk handkerchief, while Du Wenchang sketches her with a brush.

"After the Great Qian, everyone liked literati painting and used Thick Xuan Paper. Even the Danqing Hand stopped using silk."

But if you ask me, this silk is still the best material for painting; the colors adhere well and the ink doesn't bleed easily. Springtime brings warmth and rain, so if you use Xuan paper, you can't even paint a single picture."

"Lord Du is not only good at writing poetry, but I never imagined he was also such a skilled painter."

"Ah, young lady, you don't know this. When I Imperial Examination, I was a poor scholar. I was good at painting, especially beautiful women. I often went to sell my paintings. The more beautiful the woman, the better I painted. What a pity, what a pity."

Xiao Chun'er blinked. "What is it that you regret, sir?"

Du Wenchang shook his head and said, "It's a pity that today's painting is probably the best I've ever done in my life. I'll never find a more beautiful woman than Chun'er to paint a better picture!"

"Pfft... Your Excellency is quite the joker."

Du Wenchang was delighted by the beauty's smile.

When two people are in a relationship, they must be deeply in love and affection; if there is desire but no affection, the relationship cannot last.

Although he was fat, he was a scholar who had read books all his life.

"I'm not..."

"Lord Du!"

The urgent shouts from the Master Secretary outside the door brought an end to the ambiguous atmosphere inside.

Du Wenchang put down his pen without anger. His Master Secretary had been with him for a long time and knew that he wouldn't bother him unless it was something important.

"Hold on."

He quickly walked out of the room and gently closed the door.

"What's wrong? Why are you in such a panic?"

The Master Secretary exclaimed in panic, "The Whale Gang's headquarters has been taken over!"

Lightning flashed across the sky with a loud bang, and Rain Water washed over the roof tiles, forming a curtain of water from the eaves.

Du Wenchang's expression changed drastically.

"What happened? Tell me quickly!"

"A messenger from below said that a young man of seventeen or eighteen years old overpowered the Whale Gang members, carrying a gun, and stormed up to the Whale Gang headquarters. None of them could withstand a single blow..."

The Master Secretary, his mouth dry from running all the way, swallowed hard and recounted the events that had occurred at the Whale Gang's headquarters.

Du Wenchang became increasingly alarmed as he listened, his heart filled with panic, and he grabbed the Master Secretary by the collar.

"What about Liu Jie and Liu Yi? Did they just watch their own people die?"

"They're dead! They're all dead!"

"Dead?"

Du Wenchang cried out in surprise.

"That man was carrying a door over a person's head! Only Zheng Tianfu was still alive, but all four limbs were broken, and he looked like a dead dog!"

Du Wenchang felt dizzy and staggered backward, but his Master Secretary quickly stepped forward to support him.

The Whale Gang was a large organization with hundreds of members, including hundreds of Martial Artist.

Someone picked it!?

"Did you see it clearly?"

Du Wenchang's voice was slightly distorted and hoarse.

The Master Secretary smiled bitterly, "I don't believe it either, but the person who brought the news is my nephew. He swore a solemn oath that it is Liu Jie's head and Liu Yi's corpse. If I am wrong, he will cut off his head and give it to me."

"What's that young man's name?"

"I don't know. I only know that he was wearing the official robes of the River Conservancy Office, and half of his body was decorated with auspicious cloud patterns. He must be a River Earl of the Subordinate Eighth Rank."

From the Subordinate Eighth Rank River Earl...

Du Wenchang's head felt like it was about to explode, and he forced himself to think.

Those noble families and generals would not serve as lowly eighth-rank officials, let alone those of the Subordinate Eighth Rank, which is only half a rank higher than the ninth rank.

Could it be a local recruitment? Liu Jie is from the Galloping Horse Extreme Realm!

In the entire Feng Bu County, there was only one Wolf Smoke Expert, namely the County Commandant. Apart from him, Liu Jie was undoubtedly the best! How could the River Conservancy Office recruit such a talent in Ping Yang County when he was not even seventeen or eighteen years old?

Du Changwen felt a tightness in his chest, as if it were blocked by blood.

How could things have turned out this way? He knew the whole story all too well; a small Spirit Monster causing trouble wouldn't attract the attention of a major River Earl god.

There are only two possible outcomes to this whole affair: either the River Earl official returns with a full load, or the next River Earl official who comes along returns with a full load. In any case, a settlement can be reached.

He never expected that Liu Jie and Liu Yi would lose their lives because of this!

Are there really cats that don't steal fish?

Can we continue to attack that young man?

no.

Du Wenchang immediately denied it.

The purpose and intention of doing it themselves are too obvious.

And it's obvious to anyone with a brain that such a talented young person would be in high demand anywhere; who wouldn't pick up gold they see on the street?

Killing one will only cause bigger trouble.

He even had to worry that someone would deliberately frame him, causing him to end up in a mess.

After pondering for a long time, Du Wenchang could only pray that the Whale Gang hadn't left any evidence in the accounts of the large sums of money he received from Whale Gang every year...

"I only have two years left in office. If I had any leverage over this, I should have used it to demand a promotion earlier. But I don't have any, I don't have any..."

The Master Secretary's eyes widened in surprise.

"Lord Du, what... what should we do if this happens?"

Du Wenchang has a headache.

"If it really happened... then it could only have been done by a clerk, yes, a clerk!"

"Empty?"

The Master Secretary quickly began to think.

The clerk seems to be someone who can be shifted blame?

The Dashun County was skilled in horsemanship, while the clerks and runners were officials for generations, and it was common for them to be powerless in their positions.

The Du Wenchang thought about it, the brighter his eyes became.

"Yes, they've sidelined me! I have no real power; I'm just a pleasure-seeking County Magistrate. The Whale Gang has nothing to do with me! It's the clerks who deceive their superiors and collude with foreign enemies!"

"Help! Someone come quick! Bring me a raincoat! I need to pay my respects to this Little Hero! He's the one who helped me rid Feng Bu County of its biggest scourge!"

In the courtyard of the Whale Gang's headquarters, gang members lay scattered on the ground, some obediently surrendering and prostrating themselves to the side.

Liang Qu came to the courtyard and strung the Black Iron Great Bow to practice on the target.

The process of taking down the entire Whale Gang headquarters was very simple.

The gang members who could remain at the headquarters were at most at the Second Barrier. Liang Qu didn't even need to defend against them; they simply couldn't break through the protection of the Sturgeon Fish Demon's inner armor, Tungsten Gold Arm Guard, and Mountain Ox Hide belt.

Bang! Another target was shot and exploded into a shower of sawdust.

"Change targets!"

The Whale Gang members, each carrying a wooden target, tremblingly stepped forward, planted the target, and quickly fled the courtyard.

The person is so fierce, I'm really worried that they might start practicing on a live target at any moment.

Liang Qu rubbed his shoulder.

His compatibility with the bow was greater than I had imagined.

As the saying goes, "A hundred crossbows, a thousand bows, and ten thousand bullets."

It takes shooting a crossbow 100 times, a bow 1000 times, and a slingshot 10,000 times to develop a certain level of accuracy.

The difficulty of the three levels increases progressively, which means they decrease progressively.

The River Master Emperor is a slingshot master, so using a bow is actually a simple task for him.

Where are the young heroes who rid us of this great scourge?

A commotion arose outside the main courtyard.

Liang Qu kept an eye on several of his gang members.

The group shuddered at the stares and quickly went out to check.

No wonder so many people like to recruit followers; they have someone to run errands for them and do everything for them.

While they were pondering, several people returned to report the news.

"The County Magistrate?" Liang Qu raised an eyebrow. "Let him in."

The gate was wide open, and a "mountain of flesh," draped in a wet raincoat, rushed toward the courtyard with a sorrowful expression.

Liang Qu's eyes widened.

The mountain of flesh was covered in fat and weighed at least 300 pounds!

Is this the County Magistrate of Feng Bu County?

"Young hero, young hero! You have rid Feng Bu County of a great scourge!" Du Wenchang grabbed Liang Qu's hands and shook them vigorously. "I have been County Magistrate for more than ten years, but I have been sidelined and have accomplished nothing! I have failed the people and have failed as their official!"

His words were filled with regret, and hearing them brought tears to my eyes.