Desheng Prefecture has always been one of the top prefectures in Jizhou, and the development of its capital has also been relatively good.
In addition to the good economic and people's livelihood situation, Desheng Prefecture is also not an insignificant figure in the world. It has always enjoyed a long-standing reputation in the world, and its reputation is even much greater than Desheng Prefecture's official ranking in Jizhou.
This is because there is a Luoxia Villa outside the city of Desheng Prefecture, and Luoxia Villa enjoys a high reputation in the martial arts world. The Luo family of Desheng Prefecture has gradually become a well-known existence in the entire Dazhen martial arts world.
As the saying goes, the poor are good at literature and the rich are good at martial arts. The fresh blood of Luoxia Villa needs a lot of medicinal materials and various tonics to practice martial arts, which cannot be guaranteed without sufficient financial resources.
Thanks to the cooperation with the wealthy Wei family, the Luo family has been thriving economically in recent years and has not lagged behind in its status in the martial arts world.
Luoxia Villa’s businesses are also located on some of the most prosperous streets in Desheng Prefecture.
March and April are the best time for fresh flowers, and it is also the season when merchants from all walks of life who have been silent for a long time in winter begin to become active again.
On this day, the streets of Desheng Prefecture were extremely busy. The weather was good and several famous caravans had arrived, so many people in the city came out to visit.
Newly arrived rouge and powder, various silk fabrics from Wanzhou, medicinal materials from Jinzhou, and even leather collected from surrounding counties and towns...
All kinds of novel and interesting goods are in sufficient supply and are placed in the most conspicuous positions in street shops and stalls.
The sun is shining brightly today and the city is so lively that some people in Luoxia Villa can't help but come to the city for a stroll. Among them, Luo Ningshuang, who is nearly 40 years old, likes this kind of street market the most.
As the closest of the nine young heroes back then, Lu Shanjun was of course the first one to look for Luo Ningshuang.
A carriage slowly drove into Desheng Mansion. Two children stood on the left and right of the curtain, occupying the opening of the curtain, looking at the lively scene outside with curiosity.
"Mom, mom, that person over there is still wearing such a thick animal skin. Is he particularly afraid of the cold?"
"Mom, look over there, there's a bald guy..."
"Mom, here, here, there's a guy over there stabbing himself in the neck with a spear. He's so awesome that he's still fine even after the spear bent his neck. He must be very good at martial arts!"
"Hey, it would be nice if my brother could come along..."
A child suddenly said something with some loss.
Luo Ningshuang in the car also smiled and explained.
"During the martial arts test a few days ago, your brother was reprimanded by your uncle and was punished not to leave Luoxia Mountain for a month. However, we can bring some delicious food back for him."
"Yeah!" "Yes, I want to bring a roast chicken for my brother, hahaha..."
Luo Ningshuang smiled and shook her head, gently stroking her belly which was slightly bulging again. She had been pregnant twice over the years. Her eldest son was already old enough to study martial arts, and her two twin children were only seven years old, playing together in the car. However, she still wanted a daughter very much.
"Oh..."
As the driver tightened the reins, the carriage slowed down and soon stopped in front of a large shop.
"Miss, we're here!"
"Okay, you two stop messing around, we're getting off the bus."
"Oh~~" "Get off the bus, get off the bus, and ask daddy for pocket money to buy candied haws!"
The two children got off the car playfully, and the driver was waiting on the side. Only when he saw Luo Ningshuang coming out did he reach out and help her get off the car.
Although she is nearly 40 years old, Luo Ningshuang has a solid foundation in martial arts and takes good care of herself, so she still has fair skin and graceful figure.
The shop is a large grocery store that sells oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, rice, grains and tools. It is also a property of Luoxia Villa and is managed by Luo Ningshuang's husband.
"Madam, why are you here? Just stay at home and take care of your baby!"
A man with a beautiful beard came out quickly with two shop assistants. Judging from his pace, he was also a martial artist.
"father!"
"Husband."
The two children spoke almost at the same time as their mother, which made the man smile. Although he was marrying into the wife's family, he was living happily in Luoxia Villa. With a lovely wife and children, he lived a comfortable life. There was nothing more to ask for.
Luo Ningshuang held her husband's hand and was about to speak, but suddenly she had a strange feeling and turned to look inside the store.
There were a few people inside buying rice, a woman was choosing bamboo baskets, and a gentleman in a blue shirt and white hairpin was looking at some crispy cakes and pastries. The strange feeling disappeared again.
"Ma'am, what are you looking at?"
Luo Ningshuang shook her head, thinking that it might have been an illusion.
"Nothing, I heard the city is busy today, we want to go into the city for a walk, can you leave?"
The man frowned and looked inside the store, finally shaking his head.
"No, a large caravan from the Wei family will be back soon, and they have a lot of important goods that I need to look after in person. How about this, I'll send someone to go with you, and call for a sedan chair."
Luo Ningshuang was not the kind of person who would go around making trouble. She refused the sedan chair and just said that she would go with the children.
After leaving the shop, the two children became more active, and the two servants who followed them seemed to have a hard time taking care of them. Luo Ningshuang also looked left and right, at rouge and powder, and at silk fabrics. She passed by the blacksmith shop and other places but did not look at any weapons at all.
Lu Shanjun followed for a long time, neither too far nor too close, squinting his eyes at the beautiful and charming woman with a plump and full figure in front of him.
"I've been living a life of taking care of my husband and children, but I originally aspired to be a knight. Haha, to some extent, this is also a breach of contract, right?"
Lu Shanjun smiled. In his mind, this was at most a self-deprecating joke, but he was not so cruel as to be dissatisfied with a woman getting married and having children.
However, the agreement made that year was of great significance to Lu Shanjun, and he would not leave so easily. He walked closer to Luo Ningshuang, restrained his evil spirit, and operated his eyes with a faint magic power.
In a trance, it seemed as if a pair of narrow, bright eyes were scanning Luo Ningshuang.
Apart from the anger and fetal energy in the body, there was no evil spirit, but some necessary tests were still unavoidable. Lu Shanjun didn't want to end up with the first person he found so easily.
Thinking of this, Lu Shanjun glanced around and soon found his target. A little further away, there was a seemingly ordinary man. Every time he passed by someone he took a fancy to, he would take out a purse or other valuables from the person.
Moreover, this man was obviously skilled in martial arts. After succeeding once, he could move several steps away with just a few steps, seemingly effortlessly.
'Haha, it's you!'
Lu Shanjun smiled and turned to walk towards the man. Because of his exquisite clothes, the outstanding white hairpin on his head, and his frivolous steps, he was noticed by the man at once.
The man saw Lu Shanjun, a gentleman in blue, in the crowd and smiled in his heart, thinking that he was a fat sheep, so he approached him in a few steps.
Seemingly passing by casually, while passing by, a hand quickly reached for a brocade-like bag on Lu Shanjun's waist.
The moment his hand touched it, the bag turned into smoke and disappeared. The man was stunned for a moment, then he was met with a pair of narrow amber eyes.
"Gudong..."
His heart skipped a beat, and he became confused for a moment, then clear-headed the next moment. However, Lu Shanjun had already passed by him.
The man shook his head, not remembering what had just happened.
He continued to walk quickly forward, and suddenly, as if possessed by a ghost, he rushed straight towards an old man with a sallow face, snatched a purse from his arms and walked forward. Many people around saw this scene.
The old man was also stunned for a moment, then realized that he had been robbed of his money in the street, and immediately rushed forward to grab the man.
"You! You are stealing money! Give it back to me, give it back to me! This is my son's life-saving money, give it back to me!"
"What? When did I rob you of your money?"
The man shook his head and pushed the old man away angrily.
The latter was pushed against the side of the stall and let out a cry of "ouch". Many people around came over and pointed at the man.
"It was him. I saw it just now!" "Yes, he clearly robbed it."
"Call the police, call the police, we can't let this guy get away!"
The governance in Desheng Prefecture is relatively good, and the people are not indifferent. Some people helped the old man up, while others spontaneously wanted to surround the man.
'Oops, what the hell did I do? No, get out of here!'
"Get out of the way, if anyone tries to fool me I'll kill him with one punch!"
The man gestured with his fist and slapped the man in front of him away. The man was knocked back several steps and fell to the ground, coughing continuously.
"This guy knows martial arts!" "Everyone be careful."
"Where is the officer? Where is the officer?" "He beat someone up and is about to run away!"
A little further away, Luo Ningshuang also saw this scene. She clenched her hands, but hesitated as she touched her belly and did not take action.
"Hey... We are just ordinary people. It seems that the old man's hard-earned money was robbed and is nowhere to be found. This man knows martial arts, so it must be difficult to catch him after he escapes. It's a pity that those heroes in the martial arts world only perform heroic deeds in rumors, but we can't see them now!"
There was a sigh from the side.
"Mother..."
The boy looked at Luo Ningshuang and called out weakly. Luo Ningshuang looked at the two children and then looked not far away. She narrowed her eyes and instructed the two servants who were just ordinary people.
"Take good care of them!"
After saying that, he took the Luoying Step and dodged the pedestrians around him. He leaped into the crowd over there and grabbed the shoulder of the man who was about to escape.
"stop!"
"court death!"
The man thought that it was that ungrateful man who was meddling in his business, so he turned around and hit him with his elbow, but Luo Ningshuang blocked it and punched the man in the back.
"boom… "
Feeling the pain, the man knew that the person coming was skilled in martial arts. Although he saw clearly that it was a woman, he did not dare to hold back and attacked Luo Ningshuang fiercely.
"Snap", "Snap", "Bang", "Snap", "Boom"...
A stall collapsed, a wooden stool was kicked to pieces, and the onlookers nearby dodged in panic.
"Ouch!" "Get out of the way..."
"Be careful!"
…
The two men fought extremely quickly. To ordinary people, they just kept their hands and feet switching quickly. They fought many times, and their attacks became more and more heavy-handed in their anxiety, and their bodies changed and leaped.
But after all, Luo Ningshuang had a better foundation. Although her martial arts skills had deteriorated greatly, she still managed to trip the opponent after more than thirty moves and hit the opponent's neck with a hand knife.
"Cough, cough, cough, uh... cough, cough..."
The man was on the ground, holding his neck and coughing, looking extremely uncomfortable.
"Get out of the way, get out of the way. Where is the thief? Where is the thief?"
A patrolling officer arrived, pushed the crowd aside, and under the instructions of others, put the knife to the neck of the man on the ground.
"Great!" "We caught the thief."
"Great, tie this guy up!"
"Hey, where's that heroine just now?"
"Yes, it was here just now, and then it disappeared..."
At this moment, Luo Ningshuang had a cold face and had left the crowd with a slight breath. When she reached a sparsely populated area outside, she covered her stomach with her hands and sweat all over her face.
Several people from the Luo family who squeezed through the crowd and saw this scene were shocked and hurried over to help.
"Miss! Are you okay?"
"Mom!" "Mom, what's wrong with you?"
"Miss, let's go back quickly!"
Luo Ningshuang calmed down her breathing and waved her hand.
"No, no more big movements, find a place and sit down!"
"There's a teahouse over there. Help the young lady over there and sit for a while." "Come on, come on!"
The group walked slowly in front, carefully supporting Luo Ningshuang, who seemed exhausted in just a short while, and walked to the teahouse.
Lu Shanjun looked at the crowd that was still surrounded over there, and continued to slowly follow Luo Ningshuang and her group.
In the teahouse in front, the storyteller had just finished telling a story, drank a sip of tea and went to the toilet in the back.
At this moment, Ji Yuan, who had already returned to Dazhen, was standing in the aisle behind the teahouse and reached out to stop the storyteller who was returning from the toilet.
"Uh, who are you?"
Seeing this well-mannered man in white shirt stopping him, the storyteller asked in confusion.
Ji Yuan bowed and asked with a smile.
"I wonder if you know a passage in a book about nine heroes who went to Ning'an County to kill a tiger about twenty years ago?"
"Oh, you mean the Legend of the Nine Tiger-Slaying Heroes, which was written 20 years ago? Of course I know that."
"That's great. I'd like to ask you to tell me this story later. Please accept it!"
As he spoke, Ji Yuan took out two five-yuan coins from his sleeve and handed them to the storyteller, who took them with a smile.
"Sure, sure!"
Anyway, the previous story has been told, so I have to tell a new one. If someone orders it, I can make more money and do a favor, which is of course a good thing. However, when I looked up, the gentleman in white shirt who gave the money was gone.