In the evening, Yan Liqiang brought Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng to the Dihui Valley of the Sword God Sect.
The market town in the Sword God Sect is located in the Dihui Valley. The entire Dihui Valley is as prosperous as the most bustling markets and streets in those big cities, except that those who come and go here are basically the disciples of the Sword God Sect. Standing at the entrance of the Dihui Valley, looking around, you can see people wearing various colors and costumes walking back and forth on the street in the entire Dihui Valley, each busy with their own things. The different kinds of clothes are clearly distinguished and easy to see at a glance, which complement each other.
Those wearing grey robes are outer disciples, those wearing black robes are inner disciples, those wearing purple robes are elite disciples, and those wearing blue robes are direct disciples. People on the street can basically tell someone's status in the Sword God Sect just by looking at the clothes they wear. Disciples of different levels are divided into three levels: upper, middle and lower, with belts of different colors. One can tell each other's status just by looking at each other.
The snow stopped for a while from morning to noon, and started falling again in the evening.
The last time Yan Liqiang came to Dihui Valley was more than three months ago. The weather was good at that time. There were many small stalls on both sides of the market in Dihui Valley. The stalls were set up by disciples of the Sword God Sect. The things on those stalls were dazzling and varied, which opened people's eyes. Among them, there were various kinds of elixirs, various weapons, various medicinal materials, and various handicrafts. But today, due to the weather, those small stalls basically disappeared, and only the various shops and restaurants on both sides of the market were still open.
These restaurants, shops and buildings in the market town of Dihui Valley are all the properties of the Sword God Sect. These properties are managed by the Sihai Court, one of the ten courts of the Sword God Sect, while these restaurants and shops are operated by the disciples of the Sword God Sect. As long as one can pay a high price, one can obtain the operating rights of these restaurants and shops. As for whether one makes a profit or a loss, it depends on one's ability.
The Sword God Sect had strict hierarchy everywhere, but only in the Dihui Valley, hierarchy was no longer so important, everything was done according to business rules, and money was the undisputed boss. As long as you had money, even if you were an outer sect disciple, you could call the shots in the Dihui Valley, live in a high-rise building, eat delicacies from the mountains and the sea, hug beautiful girls, listen to songs, and live a life like a god.
That's right, there are brothels run by the Sword God Sect in Dihui Valley, and there are more than one. The girls in those brothels are both beautiful and talented. Whatever you can do in brothels outside, you can do it in the brothels in Dihui Valley. Among the many rules of the Sword God Sect, there has never been a rule that prohibits disciples from visiting brothels. As long as you pay and the girl is willing, it's fine.
There are dozens of restaurants of various kinds in Dihui Valley, and Feixing Tower is one of them. When Yan Liqiang and his two companions arrived at the entrance of Feixing Tower, the waiter of Feixing Tower was using a ladder to light up the string of lanterns at the entrance of Feixing Tower.
As soon as Yan Liqiang and the other two walked into Feixing Tower, before they could ask the waiter Huo Bin where the room they had booked was, they saw Huo Bin walking towards them with a smile on his face, "Hahaha, brother Liqiang is really a trustworthy person..."
As the host, Huo Bin of course arrived earlier, but Yan Liqiang was not late either. He arrived a moment earlier than the time agreed by both parties, which was considered polite.
"Brother Huo, you are too polite. Why should I ask you to wait here? You can just tell the waiter to take us there, hahaha..."
Yan Liqiang and Huo Bin exchanged a few polite words, and then Huo Bin took the three of them and walked towards the corridor inside Feixing Tower.
"Brother Li Qiang, what do you think of Feixing Tower?"
Yan Liqiang looked around. Feixing Building had pavilions, terraces, rockeries and streams. Although it was a place for eating, it was also thoughtful. He nodded, "The place chosen by Senior Brother Huo is naturally good!"
“This Feixing Tower is the property of Brother Luo Tianyu, one of the Seven Heroes of the Sword God Sect. Brother Luo’s nickname is Feixing Sword, and this Feixing Tower is named after Brother Luo. During my years in the Sword God Sect, I happened to know Brother Luo and was taken care of by him. So whenever we have something to do, we like to gather in this Feixing Tower…” Huo Bin seemed to be introducing the Feixing Tower, but in fact, he was still showing off his connections.
Yan Liqiang just laughed after hearing this. It was not strange at all that Huo Bin knew Luo Tianyu, the Flying Star Sword, one of the Seven Heroes of the Sword God Sect. But to say that the two had a very good relationship, that was not necessarily the case. When he was working in the customer relationship field in his previous life, he had heard too many such boasting. Many people would always say that they knew some secretary or mayor, and that they had such and such a relationship with a certain boss. These words were just for listening. If the relationship between the two parties was really that close, few people would show it off. Those who like to show off are not very good, but many people love this.
Under the leadership of Huo Bin, the three of them quickly arrived at the door of a private room on the second floor of Feixing Tower. Yan Liqiang followed Huo Bin and pushed open the door and walked in. He saw that there were already three people in the box. Ma Liang was one of the three, and the other two were all wearing black robes. It seemed that, like Huo Bin, they were inner disciples of the Sword God Sect.
When Yan Liqiang and the other two came in, three people including Ma Liang stood up.
"Brother Li Qiang, let me introduce you. This is Brother Hu Tiande, who works at the Tiger Wing Hall. This is Brother Li Kaihe, who works at the Discipline Court. Brothers Hu and Li are both from Cangzhou..."
Hu Tiande and Li Kaihe were both in their twenties. They had advanced to the Dragon and Tiger Warrior at this age, which made them elites no matter where they were. Hu Tiande was strong and sturdy, and his figure looked very intimidating, while Li Kaihe had a round face and narrow eyes, and looked kind with a smile, but he seemed to be more scheming.
"Hello, Senior Brother Hu, Senior Brother Li!"
"Hahaha, brother Li Qiang is indeed a handsome man. No wonder he can become a gray-robed officer at such a young age. It's really enviable!" Li Kaihe said with a smile.
"No, no, I hope you two brothers will give me more guidance in the future!"
After exchanging polite words with Hu Tiande and Li Kaihe, Yan Liqiang solemnly introduced Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng who came with him to the two of them. After some greetings, Huo Bin finally found the opportunity to speak.
"This is Junior Brother Ma Liang, also our Junior Brother from Cangzhou. Li Qiang, you and Junior Brother Ma have known each other for a long time, so I don't need to introduce them!"
When Huo Bin introduced Ma Liang, Ma Liang smiled at Yan Liqiang with a stiff and awkward expression.
"Junior Brother Ma and I met when we were studying in the Discipline Academy. Junior Brother Ma was very polite to me at that time. How could I forget him?"
When Huo Bin, Hu Tiande and Li Kaihe heard what Yan Liqiang said, they looked at each other, exchanged glances, and then sat down together.
At this time, the table was empty and no food had been served yet.
"Ahem... Ahem..." Huo Bin cleared his throat, then reached out and took out a square box from under the table. He placed it on the table, took a deep breath, and pushed it towards Yan Liqiang. "This is five hundred taels of silver. It's a small token of my appreciation and gift from Junior Brother Ma and me. Congratulations on becoming a member of Tianqiao Hall, and I wish you a bright future in the Sword God Sect..."
Huo Bin's words sounded nice, but the meaning behind them was that he and Ma Liang would use the 500 taels of silver to apologize to Yan Liqiang.
500 taels of silver is not a small amount of money. If it is put into the city, it can buy a yard. When Huo Bin pushed the box over, Yan Liqiang seemed to feel the pain in Huo Bin's eyes. He didn't know how much of the silver he had paid.
The room suddenly became quiet.
Everyone's eyes were fixed on Yan Liqiang's face. Yan Liqiang did not take the money, but smiled faintly and looked at Ma Liang calmly. "I have never offended Junior Brother Ma since I entered the Sword God Sect. I didn't know Junior Brother Ma before and had no dealings with him. I don't know why Junior Brother Ma is targeting me everywhere and has to make things difficult for me? Do I owe you money, or did I steal your woman in my previous life?"
Under the calm gaze of Yan Liqiang and the cold stare of Huo Bin, Ma Liang, with a pale and stiff face, stood up and slapped himself twice. "It is me, Ma Liang, who was blind and petty and offended Senior Brother Yan. Today, I, Ma Liang, will apologize to Senior Brother Yan!"
"How do you compensate?"
“Senior Brother Yan, please wait a moment…” Ma Liang gritted his teeth and walked out.
After a while, Ma Liang came back, followed by two shop assistants. One of them was holding a large jar of unopened liquor, and the other was holding a large basin of wine glasses.
The one holding the wine glasses quickly placed all the glasses neatly on the table, while the other one opened the soju and filled all the glasses on the table.
After the two waiters left, the table in the private room was suddenly filled with wine glasses filled with wine, and the large jar of liquor was half empty.
"There are a hundred cups of wine on the table. I will use these hundred cups of wine to make amends to Senior Brother Yan!" Ma Liang said, picking up a cup and drinking all the wine in the cup in one gulp, not a drop left. Then he put the cup down, picked up the second cup, and drank it all in one gulp...
Under the gaze of everyone in the room, Ma Liang tilted his head back and poured cup after cup of strong liquor into his stomach as if he were drinking water.
That soju was real soju. When the jar was opened, the whole room was filled with the smell of liquor. Although the cups on the table were bull's-eye cups and not very big, the total amount of soju in these one hundred cups was quite terrifying, at least three kilograms.
Ma Liang drank the first thirty cups of wine in one go. After the fortieth cup, Ma Liang's face burned like a branding iron, but he kept drinking. When he drank the fifty cups, Ma Liang's eyes were bloodshot and he was fuming like a bull. When he drank the sixtieth cup, Ma Liang was sweating profusely and couldn't even stand at the table. When he drank the seventieth cup, veins popped out on Ma Liang's forehead and his face turned from red to white without a trace of blood. When he drank the eightieth cup, Ma Liang was soaked all over and couldn't hold the wine glass. He had to hold the table with one hand to stand. His eyes were burning as if they were about to bleed...
After drinking more than ninety cups and only having three cups left, Ma Liang couldn't drink any more. At this time, his face had turned completely green. He covered his mouth tightly with one hand and swallowed back the food that was pouring into his mouth from his stomach and throat. This action made Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng next to him feel sick. Ma Liang's eyes had lost their luster and he couldn't even see the wine glasses on the table. He could only grope for the remaining wine glasses on the table with a trembling hand.
At this moment, Yan Liqiang suddenly stood up, held Ma Liang's hand, and then reached out his own hand, picked up the wine cups on the table, and drank them all. He drank three cups in a row, smashed the last cup to pieces on the ground, and then said to Ma Liang, "From today on, the grudges between you and me are written off..."
“Thank you so much, Senior Brother Yan…” Ma Liang gave Yan Liqiang a silly smile, and then he collapsed under the table…
(End of this chapter)