"But none of our Qingshan County and Lineage have the surname Xu!"
"Indeed."
Xu Feng put down his wine glass and said slowly, "The carriage has the word 'Xu' carved on its shaft. We Qingshan County don't have any big family named Xu at all."
Ma Ping put the half-eaten chicken legs on the plate, as if he remembered something, and said with a suspicious look on his face, "Xu Xiaomeng! The surname is Xu, could it be the Xu family?"
"Which Xu family?" Zhao Chuan asked quickly.
Ma Ping showed a solemn expression and lowered his voice and said, "I also heard what Qian Huyuan from the Liu Mansion said."
"Qingyang Prefecture There are three major Lineages, the Liu family, the Xu family, and the Meng family. They are all martial arts families that have been inherited for hundreds of years. There are many masters in the family. It is said that there are several Transforming Force peaks alone. Our ancestors have even produced martial arts masters above Transforming Force. The foundation of Qingyang Prefecture is frighteningly deep."
He paused and looked at Xu Feng: "You said the two people who picked her up were very respectful to her?"
Xu Feng nodded. "At first I thought those two people were her elders, but when the man lifted the car curtain for her, he bent very low, like a servant being cautious towards his master."
"That's right."
Zhao Chuan slapped his thigh with a look of realization on his face,
"I just said there was something wrong with her! Think about it, during the few months that Xu Xiaomeng was in the martial arts school, when did she ever lack money? She didn't take up a job or pick up escorts. She should buy medicine every month and eat. I have never seen her worry about money. And the sword she used and the bead inlaid on the scabbard, I have long felt that it doesn't look like a bargain."
Ma Ping scratched his head. "But what she usually wears is no different from us. She lives in an ordinary wing and eats from the big pot in the dining room."
"That's why it's strange."
Xu Feng seemed to have woken up from the wine and wiped his mouth.
"The eldest daughter of the Qingyang Prefecture Xu family went to a martial arts gym in a small place like Qingshan County to become an ordinary disciple and stay there for several months. What is the purpose?"
This question was like a stone dropped into water, and the atmosphere on the table suddenly became quiet.
"It doesn't matter what her identity is," Jiang Fa suddenly said,
"She has never done anything harmful to anyone in all the years she has been in the martial arts school. Since she chose to leave quietly, she doesn't want people to know. It's boring for us to guess here."
Xu Feng was silent for a moment and nodded.
Zhao Chuan smiled coquettishly, picked up the wine glass and shook it. "Jiang Fa is right, drink and drink."
But having said that, Xu Xiaomeng's departure still left an indescribable feeling in the hearts of several people.
The night is getting darker, but the excitement in Chunfeng Tower has just begun.
From the lobby downstairs came bursts of melodious music from silk and bamboo orchestras, mixed with the sound of punches from the drinkers and the coquettish laughter of the girls. The whole building was permeated by this aura of drunkenness and wealth.
Xu Feng's face turned red after drinking, and he started to talk loudly. Zhao Chuan was also a little tipsy. Only Ma Ping took the glass and sipped it in small sips.
"Right Jiang Fa,"
Xu Feng suddenly put down his wine glass and looked at him with drunken eyes.
"I was worried about you when you brought your ghost-headed sword back. That thing weighs at least eighty or ninety pounds. It's hard for an ordinary warrior to get used to it. It's like you are playing with a kitchen knife."
Xu Feng picked up the wine glass and took another sip, and suddenly sighed, "Speaking of which, you are the best among us who have entered the inner courtyard. I have been in Weiyuan Escort Agency for almost a year, and I am just a follower, and my cultivation has just reached the threshold of Peak Ming Jin."
There was no jealousy in his tone, only a kind of emotion from the heart.
Jiang Fa glanced at him. "Peak Ming Jin to An Jin, there is only one final step left. Your foundation is not bad. You lack the courage and foundation to break through."
Xu Feng was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly and said, "I know it myself, but it is not that easy to break through the bottleneck. I have tried many times, but I can't cross the threshold from Peak Ming Jin to An Jin."
Zhao Chuan suddenly picked up the wine glass and touched Xu Feng's glass. "Drink, drink, don't talk about this today."
The four of them drank another round, and Xu Feng gradually recovered from the depression just now, and started talking nonsense again.
He said that there have been more and more caravans on the official road recently, and that several large merchant houses from Qingyang Prefecture have also begun to go to Qingshan County.
He also said that Xing Lieshan's injury has healed a long time ago. A few days ago, he was wrestling with others in the escort agency and won seven in a row.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, the guests in Chunfeng Tower gradually dispersed, and the sound of silk and bamboo downstairs also stopped.
Xu Feng was lying on the table, fast asleep, and Zhao Chuan couldn't hold on any longer, and his eyelids were twitching.
Jiang Fa and Ma Ping stood side by side and dragged Xu Feng out of Chunfeng Building.
Ma Ping suddenly said, "Jiang Fa."
Jiang Fa paused slightly in his steps and turned his head to look at him.
Ma Ping supported Xu Feng, but his eyes drifted into the distance.
A rare look of longing appeared on that dull and honest face.
"I want to go outside and have a look. I can't keep being a nursing home for the rest of my life."
Jiang Fa looked at him and was silent for a moment, then raised his fist and lightly punched his shoulder without saying anything.
Xu Feng was lying on Jiang Fa's back, snoring loudly and mumbling a few vague words in his sleep from time to time.
Zhao Chuan walked in front, his steps still a little wandering, but the cold wind stirred him up, and he had already sobered up.
Ma Ping walked at the end, his steps lighter than when he came.
The four of them turned out of West Street and walked along the main street towards the martial arts school.
The shops on the street have long been closed, with only a few lanterns flickering on under the eaves, casting blurry light and shadows on the stone road.
Occasionally, one or two wild cats would come out of the alley and quickly disappear into the darkness.
When we walked near the market entrance, a loud noise came from the front.
It's not the noise of fist-fighting and drinking, nor the sound of the watchman banging his clapper,
Instead, it was mixed with men's scoldings, women's cries, and the muffled sound of wooden sticks hitting something.
Jiang Fa paused in his steps.
Zhao Chuan also stopped and looked back at Jiang Fa, feeling sober again.
Ma Ping came up from behind, frowning.
"Let's go and take a look." He lowered his voice and took the lead towards the entrance of the alley.