Socializing

Two days passed quickly, and it drizzled on this morning.

Liu Yuanzhou stood under the eaves, watching the continuous drizzle, lost in thought.

One was his own martial arts. He had been in the city for five or six days, and his Stance Training had made almost no progress. Although his Plum Blossom Fist had improved greatly after two actual combats, he was still a little impatient.

Today, he encountered rainy weather again, and his Stance Training was forced to stop. After all, this was the city, his uncle's house, which was different from the village, where he could easily find an abandoned Cave Dwelling to practice his skills even on rainy days.

Secondly, he suddenly missed home a little, missed his parents, older brother, sister-in-law, as well as Liu Chuang and Zhang He. He didn't know if Fatty Wang's case had implicated them.

"You're up so early." Liu Jiali came out from the backyard, standing shoulder to shoulder with him, watching the rain outside.

"I'm used to getting up early at home. Once it's time, I can't sleep anymore," Liu Yuanzhou replied.

"I heard you had a fight with that kid from the Gao family?" Liu Jiali suddenly asked, the Gao family kid naturally referring to Gao Fei.

"Uh, yes, we had a fight that day because of some things. I didn't cause you any trouble, did I, Uncle?" Liu Yuanzhou was a little nervous.

"Hehe, just kids fighting." Liu Jiali laughed.

Liu Yuanzhou secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He was really worried about causing trouble for his uncle.

"It's nothing, I'm just asking casually, but you should be careful when you encounter that kid in the future. The Gao family kid isn't very magnanimous," Liu Jiali reminded.

Liu Yuanzhou nodded to show he understood.

"Oh, right, I'm inviting some friends from the Yan Province Academy for dinner tonight. You should come too. It's good to get to know more people," Liu Jiali added.

"Okay, where and when should I go?" Liu Yuanzhou agreed readily, understanding that his uncle was expanding his network.

"Gathering of Immortals Pavilion on East Main Street, around dinner time," Liu Jiali said.

Adverse Wind Escort Agency, training ground.

Gao Fei stood on the steps, watching seven or eight shirtless young men practicing boxing in the rain below, scolding them from time to time.

Xiao Peng walked quickly through the moon gate and came to Gao Fei's side, whispering, "Brother, I've found the person."

The two walked to a stone bench beside them. Gao Fei sat down and picked up the teapot on the stone table, taking a few sips of water.

"On the fifth day of the lunar month, Old Master Liu brought a young man from the countryside named Liu Yuanzhou, who is the son of Steward Guan's cousin. The person you want to investigate is this Liu Yuanzhou," Xiao Peng stood aside and reported in a low voice.

Gao Fei hummed softly, his face expressionless.

"Also, it is said that he is also a newcomer to the Yan Province Academy this year," Xiao Peng added.

Gao Fei's eyes narrowed, and his brow furrowed slightly. He put down the teapot, lost in thought.

Xiao Peng continued, "There's one more thing. Young Master Long's follower, Xiao Shi, just came over and said that Young Master Long has booked a private room at the Gathering of Immortals Pavilion and wants you to go there for a drink tonight."

"Okay, I understand. Go and do your work," Gao Fei nodded.

Watching Xiao Peng leave, Gao Fei's face darkened, and he sneered in his heart, "Just a country bumpkin, so what if he entered the sect? See how I teach you a lesson next time."

Liu Yuanzhou didn't know that someone was thinking about him.

On rainy days, he went nowhere, just staying in his room to read or play a few games of chess with Third Master.

After noon, the rain finally stopped. After lunch, he accompanied Third Master out of the gate and took a short walk in the alley.

Seeing that the time was approaching seven o'clock, Liu Yuanzhou told Third Master and went out towards the Gathering of Immortals Pavilion.

Before going out, he specially washed up, took off his short coat, put on a navy blue new garment, and took out a pair of new cloth shoes from his package to put on.

Stepping on the muddy street, Liu Yuanzhou stepped into the gate of the Gathering of Immortals Pavilion.

Looking at the mud spots on his shoes and trouser legs, Liu Yuanzhou regretted not taking a mule cart to save those few copper coins. Now his clothes and shoes were all dirty.

It was already dinner time, and people were coming in and out of the restaurant in twos and threes. He walked into the lobby on the first floor and saw that only one or two of the seven or eight tables inside were still empty, and several waiters were shuttling back and forth.

He caught a waiter and asked for a wet towel. After a while, the waiter brought it over. Liu Yuanzhou wiped the mud off his clothes while asking about the private room his uncle had reserved.

The waiter didn't know and asked him to ask the shopkeeper.

After returning the towel to the waiter and expressing his thanks, Liu Yuanzhou walked to the counter.

Behind the counter, a man in his forties was looking down at something. Liu Yuanzhou asked, "Shopkeeper, do you know which private room the people from the Tai Xuan Sect Yan Province Branch are in?"

The man looked up, glanced at Liu Yuanzhou, and said politely, "There are quite a few people from the Yan Province Academy who come here to eat. Who are you looking for?"

Liu Yuanzhou realized that his question was problematic and quickly said, "I'm looking for Liu Jiali, I'm his nephew."

"Oh, so you are a junior of Steward Liu. Wait a moment, I'll have someone take you up." After the shopkeeper finished speaking, he called a waiter and ordered him to take Liu Yuanzhou to the private room.

Following the waiter, Liu Yuanzhou went up to the second floor and came to the innermost private room. The waiter opened the door and said, "Please come in, sir."

Liu Yuanzhou thanked him and walked in.

There were already two people in the room talking in low voices. Seeing someone coming in, the two stopped talking and looked towards the door.

One of them, an old man in his fifties, had a white beard hanging down to his chest. His face was stunned at first, then he suddenly realized, and he stood up and smiled, "Hehe, this little brother must be Liu Yuanzhou."

Liu Yuanzhou hurried forward and bowed, saying, "That's right, how should I address you, sir?"

The old man smiled and said, "My surname is Guan, you can call me Steward Guan or Old Guan, hehe."

At this time, the person next to Steward Guan also stood up, walked to Liu Yuanzhou's side, pulled Liu Yuanzhou's arm to sit down next to him, and said with a smile, "Haha, come and sit down quickly, I am Niu Baoyuan, and I am now running errands with Old Guan."

Seeing that Niu Baoyuan was tall and burly with a face full of acne, very much like his friend Liu Chuang from the village, Liu Yuanzhou couldn't help but feel close to him.

The three of them sat down, Niu Baoyuan poured tea for Liu Yuanzhou, and also added some for Steward Guan.

"When will my uncle and the others arrive?" Liu Yuanzhou asked.

"There is an urgent matter in the academy, they are holding a meeting to deal with it, Steward Liu asked Little Niu and me to come over first to prepare." Steward Guan replied.

Because the protagonist had not yet arrived, the three drank tea and chatted about some things.

Liu Yuanzhou learned that Steward Guan's name was Guan Zhong, and he was the steward in charge of the warehouse in the Miscellaneous Division. Liu Jiali was his direct superior, and Niu Baoyuan worked under Steward Guan.

Unknowingly, it was already seven o'clock, and Liu Jiali and others had not yet arrived. The three of them had already finished their third pot of tea, and Steward Guan stood up and said, "Why haven't they come yet? I'll go downstairs and take a look, you guys sit here first."

Liu Yuanzhou and Niu Baoyuan were already quite familiar with each other, so he asked in a low voice, "Brother Niu, I heard that after entering the academy, you will be taught martial arts, is that true?"

"That's for sure." Niu Baoyuan said.

"Then you must have learned it too. Your kung fu must be pretty good. Show your brother a few tricks when you have time," Liu Yuanzhou said with excitement.

Niu Baoyuan gave a wry smile and said, "Alas, don't make fun of your brother." Seeing Liu Yuanzhou's stunned expression, he explained, "Kung fu is not so easy to master. When I first learned the technique, I was so excited that I practiced hard every day. But after practicing for a year or two, I didn't achieve anything, so I slowly gave up. Now I just occasionally practice Stance Training and Plum Blossom Fist."

Liu Yuanzhou felt the same way. If it weren't for Miss Qin, he would still be struggling with Stance Training, worrying about Entering Samadhi, and he didn't know how long he could persevere.

Liu Yuanzhou said with some regret, "It's a pity to give up."

Niu Baoyuan rolled his eyes at Liu Yuanzhou, thinking, "It seems that he doesn't agree with what I said, and he may still be laughing at me in his heart. Hehe, you'll know when you practice, and then we'll see how you can still laugh at me."

At this moment, the sound of talking came from outside the door, and then the door was pushed open, and several people walked in laughing and talking.

Liu Yuanzhou stood up and turned to look, and saw Liu Jiali and an old man walking in front, followed by four or five people, thinking, "The main character has finally arrived."