Chapter 124

Liang Qu stopped rowing and waited for the newcomer.

After he approached, he realized the newcomer was standing on an extremely long and narrow dugout canoe, somewhat like a single-person racing shell, only slightly wider, with all sorts of gear like fishing rods hanging on the side.

But these were not the point; the point was that the other party could approach him quickly without rowing!

He's an expert!

Liang Qu felt a sense of awe in his heart and became vigilant.

Ordinary people don't have his water-control methods; being able to move without wind must be some kind of peculiar force.

Come to think of it, he should have noticed when he was called—the sound an ordinary person can make in an open area is at most a hundred meters, but the other party was at least a li away, yet the sound was extremely clear.

With Liang Qu's current strength, his methods are a bit lacking, but fortunately, his foundation is solid enough. He could probably fight a draw with a martial artist who has just entered the Galloping Horse Realm, but on the river, he might even be able to try his hand against a Galloping Horse Great Completion.

The newcomer was around thirty years old, between youth and middle age, dressed in gray with golden floral patterns embroidered on his clothes.

But one cannot simply judge a martial artist's age by appearance; some who look like youths might already be over fifty.

Arriving in front of Liang Qu, Xu Yuelong cupped his hands: "Little brother, do you know in which direction Pingyang County is? And how far away is it?"

"That way, about twelve li."

Liang Qu pointed.

"Many thanks, little brother, for pointing the way." Xu Yuelong cupped his hands and was about to leave when he inadvertently took two more looks at Liang Qu, his eyes revealing surprise.

Then he looked him up and down carefully, seeing that his boat was fully equipped with fishing gear, and was quite curious: "Little brother, are you a fisherman by trade? Your martial arts are practiced quite well. You're a martial artist, yet you're still out fishing? You should be able to find other, better jobs, right?"

Liang Qu became increasingly vigilant.

The other party could actually tell at a glance that he had practiced martial arts.

He considered his level of aura concealment to be decent; unless the other party was in the Wolf Smoke Realm, they shouldn't be able to easily see through his background.

A great expert!

Unexpectedly, the other party's subsequent behavior left Liang Qu baffled.

Xu Yuelong nodded continuously after analyzing it to himself, maneuvering his small boat around Liang Qu's boat: "A martial artist who is a fisherman by trade, not bad, not bad."

He had gotten off the tower ship to fish alone in a flat boat, and while fishing, he had become so absorbed that when he came to his senses, the fleet had already disappeared.

Xu Yuelong didn't have a map on him and could only steer the boat alone in the direction he remembered. It took a long time before he saw a person, and thinking of asking for directions, it was such a coincidence that he ran into a good seedling.

So young, and a fisherman, with decent blood-energy strength—a natural good material for being a River Official!

He was just worrying about not having enough manpower, and the person in front of him was a local, which couldn't be more suitable.

Xu Yuelong extended an invitation: "Are you interested in coming to the River Patrol Office? Start as a minor official, and after working for a few more years, you might be able to land a position as a River Chief. That would be a proper official status."

The River Patrol Office?!

Is it that much of a coincidence?

Liang Qu was quite surprised: "May I ask, my lord, who you are..."

"The newly appointed Deputy Commander of the Pingyang County River Patrol Office, Xu Yuelong." Xu Yuelong lifted a corner of his clothes, revealing a waist token with a large 'Xu' character drawn on it.

My superior?

Liang Qu was very confused.

Counting the days, the officials of the River Patrol Office should indeed have arrived in the last two days.

But he didn't know why it was such a coincidence that he ran into them the moment he came out!

Are the people from the River Patrol Office all so stylish, drifting on the river in a small boat?

Liang Qu hurriedly performed a salute and took out a River Uncle waist token of similar design: "Newly appointed River Uncle of the River Patrol Office, Liang Qu, greets Lord Xu."

Xu Yuelong glanced at the waist token: "Liang Qu, a disciple of Uncle Yang Dongxiong?"

The other party's way of addressing Master Yang was very strange, but Liang Qu still nodded: "Exactly."

Xu Yuelong was very surprised.

He had come out today on a whim, and meeting Liang Qu was a coincidence among coincidences.

Trying to fake an identity to stage a chance encounter was simply impossible!

The fisherman in front of him was truly a disciple of Yang Dongxiong!

Associating this with the official gazette he had read earlier, Xu Yuelong was overjoyed: "So you're the kid who invented Pinyin. I was wondering why a martial artist would be out fishing for no reason; it turns out you're one of our own."

Liang Qu didn't quite understand; what "one of our own"?

Seeing Liang Qu's confusion, Xu Yuelong explained: "My father is Duke Guanying Xu Wenzhu, and my grandfather is Duke of Wei Xu Youguang. Back then, Uncle Yang risked his life to save my father on the battlefield. Ever since I can remember, my father told me to call him Uncle Yang.

Later, when Uncle Yang's second son sacrificed himself on the battlefield and he wanted to retire to his hometown, it was my father who gave the final approval. Otherwise, given Uncle Yang's strength at the time, it would have been very difficult for him to retire."

So that's how it is!

Liang Qu suddenly understood.

He knew that Master Yang had worked under General Xu Wenzhu before, but he hadn't expected Master Yang to have such a glorious past, and even less did he expect his superior to have such a connection with him.

A good thing!

A great thing!

His superior calls his master 'Uncle'; if Liang Qu had had such a solid connection in his previous life, he would have risen to the top long ago and wouldn't have become an overtime-working dog, summoned and dismissed at will.

Xu Yuelong sighed: "What a pity."

Liang Qu felt a sense of foreboding; why was there a twist?

"I should have been the main Commander, but who would have thought someone would cut in halfway and I became the deputy."

"Should have been?"

Liang Qu smelled the scent of gunpowder.

Xu Yuelong sat on his small boat, took out a fishing rod from the side, skillfully baited it, cast it into the river, and patted the side of the boat, signaling Liang Qu to sit down and chat together.

Liang Qu sat at the bow of his covered boat and listened to Xu Yuelong speak.

"Do you think the Ghost Mother Sect can defeat the Great Shun?"

"Of course not. The Ghost Mother Sect is just a spent force, only able to survive by hiding in the marshes."

"So this is a battle that must be won, is that it?"

Liang Qu nodded, then shook his head.

"Oh? What do you mean by nodding and then shaking your head?"

"From the general trend, it is indeed a battle that must be won, but from specific matters, it's not necessarily so. Back then, the Duke of Wei didn't achieve complete success. The marshes are hard to attack, and the Ghost Mother Sect has its own deep-rooted foundations. If it were really that easy to deal with, the imperial court wouldn't have specifically established Pingyang County, and even the future Pingyang Prefecture."

Xu Yuelong laughed loudly: "You kid actually have some insight. Have you read books?"

"I've read for half a year."

"Hmm, that's indeed the case, but in the final analysis, the only one who can win this battle is the Great Shun. But who gets to claim the credit for this victory?"

Liang Qu's thoughts were like lightning: "Everyone treats suppressing bandits as a lucrative job?"

Xu Yuelong nodded: "Exactly. My father had me come to be the Commander of the River Patrol Office just to claim a share of the credit. It was supposed to be settled, but who knew the Duke of Liang would cut in halfway and send his grandson to be the main Commander, so I could only be the second-in-command."

Liang Qu was a bit confused. He had studied at the academy and had some understanding of the Great Shun's court relationships.

If he remembered correctly, the Duke of Liang shouldn't be as powerful as the Duke of Wei, right?

The Duke of Wei was a Duke enfeoffed at the founding of the country, while the Duke of Liang was later compensated for meritorious service; the value was completely different. Was it that easy for Xu Yuelong to be pushed down?

"I guess you're wondering why it was so easy for me to be pushed down, right?"

Liang Qu nodded.

"The reason is very simple: my grandfather is more powerful than the Duke of Liang, and my grandfather's sons are also more powerful than the Duke of Liang's sons. So, on the contrary, I couldn't compete with the Duke of Liang. You understand, right?"

Liang Qu pondered for a moment and gained some understanding.

So that's how it is.

Being too powerful, on the contrary, makes it impossible to compete with those who are not so powerful.

After all, the one who makes the decisions is that Son of Heaven.

"If I were the Commander, you kid would be comfortable. Unfortunately, the Duke of Liang's grandson is not easy to deal with!"