Hearing that person mocking Yan Liqiang, Gu Zexuan glanced at Yan Liqiang. The two exchanged glances, and Gu Zexuan almost immediately knew that this person was the one Yan Liqiang mentioned who didn't get along well with him.
“Hahahaha…” Before Yan Liqiang could say anything, Gu Zexuan burst into laughter. He winked at Yan Liqiang and deliberately asked loudly, “Senior Brother Yan, could this be the outer disciple named Niu or Ma who recommended you to work as a handyman at Tianqiao Peak?”
"Yeah, that's good!" Yan Liqiang nodded.
"What did you say? You just called him Senior Brother Yan?" Ma Liang stared at the double act between Gu Zexuan and Yan Liqiang in amazement, with an expression of disbelief on his face, thinking that he had heard it wrong. Gu Zexuan was obviously older than Yan Liqiang, and they were both outer disciples. Didn't Gu Zexuan know the rules of the Sword God Sect? How dare he call him Senior Brother here
Gu Zexuan ignored Ma Liang and looked at him with disdain. Then he turned his head and looked at Yan Liqiang with an exaggerated and somewhat artificial smile. "Brother Yan, please don't bother with this idiot. If it weren't for this idiot's recommendation, how could Brother Yan be appreciated by Master Su at Tianqiao Peak and become the youngest gray-robed officer of the Sword God Sect? Idiots always try to be clever, but they don't know that man proposes, God disposes. Brother Yan, you have a bright future in the Sword God Sect. You can slowly deal with this idiot later. See if you can't kill him..."
Unexpectedly, Gu Zexuan’s acting skills were so good. Yan Liqiang held back his laughter and watched how Gu Zexuan slapped Ma Liang in the face in front of him.
“Who are you scolding…” Ma Liang next to him was furious. Seeing Gu Zexuan calling him an idiot in front of him, he rushed over and punched Gu Zexuan.
But before Ma Liang could rush over, someone on Yan Liqiang's side was even faster. He rushed out without saying a word and, like a cannonball, directly punched Ma Liang.
“Bang… Bang… Bang…”
There were three muffled sounds, and Ma Liang groaned and took three steps back. His face changed instantly. However, Zhao Huipeng stood still and just looked at Ma Liang coldly. His short and strong body now looked as solid as a rock.
Yan Liqiang was also a little surprised. He was just about to take action, but he didn't expect Zhao Huipeng to rush out first. He didn't expect that Zhao Huipeng, who was usually taciturn and introverted, had such a hot and strong side in his temper. Looking at the way Zhao Huipeng rushed out just now, it was not a temporary reaction at all, but he had been prepared to rush forward for a long time.
Yan Liqiang glanced at Ma Liang, who was standing there with a changing expression, as if he was looking at a transparent man. Without saying anything, he walked straight into the Gray Hall. Gu Zexuan sneered at Ma Liang, cursed, "Idiot", and followed Yan Liqiang in. Zhao Huipeng then turned around and followed Yan Liqiang in.
"Huipeng, what kind of boxing do you practice? Those moves just now were too powerful..." Yan Liqiang asked in a low voice when he saw Zhao Huipeng coming up.
Zhao Huipeng scratched his head, looking embarrassed, "I practiced Cannon Fist..."
"Oh, no wonder..."
"Hehe, even though Huipeng is usually silent, he has a very hot temper..." Gu Zexuan laughed.
…
Ma Liang stood at the door of the Gray Hall for a few seconds. After watching Yan Liqiang and the others walk in, he gritted his teeth, shook his aching hands, and followed them in. Until this moment, he couldn't believe that what Gu Zexuan had just said was true. When he was in the Discipline Institute, he was fooled by Yan Liqiang and was frightened by Yan Liqiang's casual words. So he always felt that Yan Liqiang was cunning and didn't dare to believe what Yan Liqiang said easily.
Even if Yan Liqiang was just acting with someone, the two helpers that suddenly appeared beside Yan Liqiang made his heart skip a beat. He didn't know how strong Gu Zexuan was, but the young man who rushed out without saying a word just now made Ma Liang a little afraid.
…
The Gray Hall is located in the Silent Valley of the Sword God Sect. The entire Gray Hall is a large courtyard with a circle of tall attics in the middle. Each attic has its own function, surrounding the courtyard. Outer disciples in gray are coming and going in the Gray Hall. Occasionally, one or two people in black appear. The outer disciples in gray respectfully make way and stand aside, waiting for the black-clothed disciple to pass by before resuming their actions. This shows that the Sword God Sect has a strict hierarchy and extremely strict rules.
Ma Liang came to the Gray Hall today because his senior brother Huo had asked him to come. He didn't know what the matter was. When he entered the Gray Hall, Yan Liqiang and three others walked in front of him. Not long after they walked, Ma Liang saw his senior brother Huo coming out of an attic over there, going down the stairs, and walking towards him with a warm smile on his face.
Ma Liang was flattered by Brother Huo's enthusiasm. Just when Ma Liang was about to walk forward quickly, he saw that Brother Huo had stopped in front of Yan Liqiang and the other two, and excitedly shook Yan Liqiang's hand.
"Hahaha, Junior Brother Yan, I've been waiting for you to come. This morning, the Gray Robe Hall received an official document from Tianqiao Peak. Hall Master Su personally appointed Junior Brother Yan as a servant in Tianqiao Hall. This is really cause for celebration. Our Steward An heard about it and specifically instructed me to wait here this afternoon for Junior Brother Yan to come and handle the formalities..."
Although he was not standing in front of Senior Brother Huo, the smile on Senior Brother Huo's face and the words he said were like a bolt from the blue to Ma Liang. It made his head buzz and his eyes see stars. He almost couldn't stand. Ma Liang screamed in his heart - how could it be possible, how could it be possible, how could it be possible, how could a toilet cleaner be favored by the head of Tianqiao Hall and be promoted to a servant of Tianqiao Hall...
"Brother Huo, you are too polite. It's just a small matter. Why should I trouble you to come out and greet me in person? Brother Huo, you are embarrassing me..."
"Go, go, go, talk inside, talk inside..."
"Brother Huo, please go first..."
In Ma Liang's eyes, Yan Liqiang and his senior brother Huo, both with bright smiles on their faces, were more polite than the other, just like brothers who had not seen each other for many years. They held each other's hands and walked into the attic.
When walking up the stairs, Senior Brother Huo turned around and glanced at Ma Liang. That look made Ma Liang's heart sink to the bottom, feeling cold and desolate...
…
Inside the attic, Huo Zhiyi helped Yan Liqiang complete the formalities at the fastest speed. Finally, Huo Zhiyi brought a tray to Yan Liqiang with a smile on his face. In the tray, there was a black belt and a beautiful copper waist plate with a pattern of Tianqiao Peak in the middle. Under the waist plate, there were wisps of bright red silk tassels, which looked very beautiful.
The outer disciples of the Sword God Sect all wore grey clothes, and the three levels of upper, middle and lower were represented by different belt colors - those wearing grey belts represented lower-level disciples, those wearing brown belts represented middle-level disciples, and those wearing black belts represented upper-level outer disciples.
The bronze waist badge is the symbol of authority and identity of the serving disciples of Tianqiao Peak.
Yan Liqiang put on a black belt and tied the badge to the side of the belt. The bright red tassels on the badge fluttered, and he looked different all of a sudden. At least in the eyes of Huo Zhiyi, Gu Zexuan and the others, Yan Liqiang looked different all of a sudden.
“Good, good, good, Junior Brother Yan looks even more outstanding after wearing this belt. From today on, Junior Brother Yan is the youngest gray-robed officer in our Sword God Sect. Congratulations, congratulations…” Officer Huo praised loudly and nonstop, as if he didn’t notice the strange looks that Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng were giving him.
"Thank you, Senior Brother Huo!" Yan Liqiang politely bowed to Huo Zhiyi without any pride on his face, as if he had completely forgotten the unpleasantness when he first met Huo Zhiyi.
"No way, isn't this my job?" Huo Zhiyi said with a serious face, and suddenly paused, then changed the subject, squinting his eyes, looking at Yan Liqiang, "Today Junior Brother Yan becomes the Tianqiao Peak's Officer, it's time to celebrate. It's also rare that Junior Brother Yan and I got to know each other right after entering the Sword God Sect. If Junior Brother Yan doesn't mind, I will set up a banquet in Feixing Tower in Dihui Valley tonight to celebrate for Junior Brother Yan and introduce a few friends to Junior Brother Yan. What do you think?"
"If Senior Brother Huo hosts a banquet, I will definitely go..." Yan Liqiang said with a smile.
Huo Zhiyi's narrowed eyes suddenly opened, and he became happy and laughed, "Then it's settled, I will meet with Junior Brother Yan tonight..."
"Okay, there is one more thing I need to trouble Senior Brother Huo!"
"Please say!"
Yan Liqiang looked at Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng, "I am still short of two helpers for my duties at Tianqiao Peak. I would like to trouble Senior Brother Gu to help them with the formalities and transfer their chores to Tianqiao Peak..."
"It's just a small matter, it's just a small matter..."
…
After finishing all the formalities for himself and Gu Zhao, when Yan Liqiang walked out of the attic, Huo Zhiyi politely escorted the three of them out. Ma Liang, who had been in the yard just now, had already hidden somewhere and didn't even dare to show his face.
"Brother Huo, please stay!"
"Okay, okay, then we'll see you in the evening, see you in the evening..." Executive Huo said with a smile.
…
Walking in the Gray Hall, countless people were secretly looking at the black belt and the badge on the officer's waist that Yan Liqiang was wearing. They all looked at him in amazement and envy. Yan Liqiang received a lot of attention as he walked along.
Arriving outside the Gray Hall, seeing that there were few people on the road, Zhao Huipeng, who had been silent all this time, could no longer hold back and finally asked, "Yan... Senior Brother Yan... That Huo guy is so abominable, why are you still so polite to him and accept his invitation to dinner tonight?"
"Is it hateful? That was only in the past. Huipeng, look how cute Huo Zhiyi is today. Besides, the more polite I am to him today, the less he will dare to look down on me and the more he will be afraid of me. If I act arrogantly today, he will be relieved instead... "Yan Liqiang smiled slightly and looked at Zhao Huipeng. Seeing that Zhao Huipeng was still a little puzzled, he patiently explained, "Tonight is Huo Bin's apology banquet. If I don't go, I will have to fight him to the death in the Sword God Sect in the future. We are irreconcilable. We don't have a stable foundation in the Sword God Sect now, we haven't learned any skills, and we don't have much backing. It's not a good choice to make enemies with several inner disciples at this time. Besides, the grudge between Huo Zhiyi and us is not the hatred of killing my father or stealing my wife. In the final analysis, it's just a small matter. We have suffered a little grievance. There is no hurdle in this world that cannot be overcome. He is willing to humble himself, so we might as well give him a face and see how he apologizes tonight. In the future, we will be polite and peaceful, and it will be easy to talk when we meet. Maybe we can still use each other. There is no need to do things to the extreme..."
"Isn't he the only inner disciple? How come there are several more?" Zhao Huipeng scratched his head and said in confusion.
"Just now, Huo Zhiyi has revealed his trump card. Didn't you, Huipeng, hear it?"
"What's the trump card?"
Yan Liqiang had no choice but to continue explaining it patiently.
"Ah, that Huo guy is so roundabout, his words have so many hidden meanings..."
"What else do you think..."
"Brother Yan, are you really only fourteen years old?" Gu Zexuan sighed, "You are so knowledgeable about the ways of the world that you are like a seasoned veteran. I am convinced..."
Yan Liqiang smiled. Gu Zexuan's call of "Senior Brother" now sounded much more serious than before...
(End of this chapter)