The drizzle fell on the houses and attics on the long street, turning into puddles that dripped down the eaves. Lu Liangsheng, dressed in a green and gray robe, with neatly combed white hair and an old and kind face, gave people a feeling of being an immortal, which attracted curious glances from passers-by.
He walked through the wet streets with steady steps, followed by a sickly young man who kept looking at the pedestrians and shops on both sides in the rain. After walking through several blocks, he finally arrived at Yiningfang. At this time, the place was crowded with people. No one was willing to leave in the drizzle. Some wealthy nobles and literati with spare money had already gone to the nearby restaurants and teahouses to reserve seats. Looking from a high place, he saw two martial artists fighting on the arena.
"These outlaws are like monkeys juggling on the street, and they are so serious about it, haha..."
"Brother, don't say that. Without them, there would be no place for us to join in the fun."
"Haha, that's true, but I don't know who can get the title of No. 1 in the world."
"People in the underworld are capable of all kinds of dirty tricks. Even if they can't win, they can cheat and win. They are nothing like scholars like me. We compete in literary talent. If we lose, we lose. Being magnanimous and humble can leave a good reputation."
"Yes, the current emperor has vigorously promoted the imperial examination, which has given motivation to many scholars who have no opportunities. If a great academic conference is held one day, it will be no worse than these warriors."
"Of course, hahahaha!"
…
When Lu Liangsheng brought Li Yuanba over, the third group of martial artists had already taken over the stage to fight. There were a few head-on collisions on the wooden platform in front. A woman with an ordinary face moved nimbly. She used the force of the wooden stake to jump over her opponent's shoulder and came behind her. She hit her on the back with one hand, causing her robe to shatter with a hissing sound. She was knocked off the stage, which attracted cheers from the people who were watching in the rain below.
"Next, who will challenge this Cangwu heroine?"
"Dongling Divine Leg, Liang Lingfu asks for your guidance!"
The tall man leaped up into the air, touched the wooden stake at the corner of the stage with his toes, and lightly landed in the center of the stage. The next moment, he kicked, swept, stabbed and picked with his feet, leaving a trail of afterimages that covered the vital points of the woman opposite him and swept her into the storm.
In the attic not far away, Yu Wenzhi was watching the two people fighting on the stage. He stood in the middle and turned his head to look at his son.
"Are the martial arts of these two inferior to those of Chengdu?"
"Even if they are both counted as one, I'm not interested in fighting with them." Yuwen Chengdu looked at the thunderous cheers from below. The woman who was kicked and knocked off the stage before was full of disdain in his tone.
As they were talking, Yuwen Tuo, who was sitting between the father and son, stood up suddenly while pressing his knees. Yuwen Huaji quickly followed suit: "Grandmaster, what are you doing? Is there anything important you want me to do? I'll have someone do it."
"hehe."
Yuwen Tuo smiled at him, grabbed the chair and moved forward a bit, facing outside the building, and said, "My master is here in person, how can a disciple take the first seat?"
He raised his hands and bowed towards the dark crowd of people outside in the rain. Yu Wenzhi kept his eyes open for a long time. Isn't Yuwen Tuo's master the imperial preceptor
Yu Wenzhi, who had not heard this title for a long time, came back to his senses from the shock and stammered: "The Imperial Master has returned to... Chang'an?"
In contrast to his father's horror, Yuwen Chengdu jumped up from his chair, his face showing excitement. He grabbed the back of the chair and glanced outside excitedly, with no intention of watching the fight below.
"Where is the Imperial Master?"
Among the crowd of people as his sight swept across, an old man in green and gray robe raised his face, heard the words from his disciple, and smiled helplessly. He originally came here just to take a few glances and let Li Yuanba see the world, but he didn't expect that his disciple would kill him first and report later.
"This Taku."
Smiling, Lu Liangsheng patted his young apprentice on the shoulder, squeezed past the others and arrived at the bottom of the restaurant in a few steps. Without the guards noticing, he went straight to the second floor.
"Uncle, where is the imperial teacher?" Yuwen Chengdu was still looking around while leaning against the fence. Yuwen Tuo, who was in the middle position, had already turned around, raised his sleeves and bowed towards the stairs.
"Disciple Yuwentuo, I pay my respects to the Master."
Hearing the voice, the father and son hurriedly turned around and saw the air twisting over there. Their eyes blurred and they saw two figures, one big and one small, appear there without them knowing.
Seeing that it was an old man with white hair and beard, Yu Wenzhi was about to say, "Who are you..." Suddenly he realized it, his eyes widened, "State Master?!"
"Hey, there you are."
Li Yuanba ignored the others, bowed to his master, and rushed to Yuwentuo's side. He raised his face and raised his chin: "Master said you are very powerful. There happens to be a fighting arena outside. I want to fight you."
"Yuan Ba."
Lu Liangsheng called out softly, which made the young man curl his lips and step back. At the invitation of Yu Wenhua and his son, as well as his apprentice, he took the first seat. The gangsters in the martial arts competition below and the common people who were watching the competition closely all saw the old man who suddenly appeared and sat in the seat of the Eastern Palace Grand Tutor. They immediately whispered to each other and talked secretly.
"Who is this old man?"
"Is he a high-ranking official in the palace?" "I don't think so. He doesn't have the aura of an official. Besides, who would want Grand Tutor Yuwen to stand next to him? Didn't you see that even Shaoqing Yuwen was standing beside him as a foil?"
"Yes, if we talk about the emperor, he shouldn't be this old."
"This old man has an otherworldly air, and looks like an immortal. Could he be a god from somewhere?"
Amid the whispers, Chen Jing, who was among the crowd of green forest people below the stage, was also looking over there with confusion in his eyes. At this moment, suddenly a thunder-like roar sounded on the stage.
"Let me learn from you!"
In an instant, as everyone turned their attention, a black shadow made a buzzing sound and flew towards the stage. The Dongling Divine Leg, who was deciding the outcome, kicked the black shadow directly. The shadow stumbled back and after regaining his balance, he rubbed his foot on the stage to soothe the pain.
In front, the black shadow was a copper stick. It flipped in the air and fell, and was steadily caught by a figure who leaped over. The falling figure landed on the stage with a bang. The figure had a thick beard and a purple face, and was sturdy and strong. When he slowly stood up with the stick in his hand, the arena was still shaking slightly from the noise of the fall.
Below, someone who knew the person shouted.
"It's the Purple-faced Heavenly King, Xiong Kuohai!!"
"Isn't he the bandit leader of Taihang Mountain? How dare he come to Chang'an? Isn't he afraid of being arrested by the government?"
"If he wins, why would the government arrest him? He will be one of ours then!"
"Hiss~~~This martial arts competition is quite interesting. I wonder what powerful people will come."
"Hey, why is it so cloudy today? I can hardly see the stage clearly."
The uproarious exclamations reached the second floor of the restaurant. Lu Liangsheng took the teacup and chatted with the fawning Yu Wenzhi beside him. He took a sip of tea and was not very interested in the fight between the martial arts world people below. In his eyes, the other party's fight for life and death with all their strength was just a matter of moving his fingers.
However, the little disciple beside him, Li Yuanba, became interested. He rubbed his fists and looked eager to try.
"Finally, you look a bit presentable. With such a strong body, you can definitely take a couple of punches from me."
This remark caused Yuwen Chengdu next to him to roll his eyes.
The fine drizzle swayed in the wind and fell. In the gloomy sky, the dark clouds became thicker and slowly moved over from the horizon.
Outside the prosperous and bustling city of Chang'an, stands the City God Temple in the mist. Several strings of wind chimes hanging on the eaves suddenly moved, and the quiet temple was filled with the sound of bells.
Ding ding ding ding~~~
The wind blew the raindrops onto the door of the main hall. A thin mist was swirling between the empty temple doors, and a few blurry figures were floating in the distance.