Chapter 707: Yangzhou

The old man hadn't woken up yet. "He is exhausted, he will be fine after a rest. So, Saintess, you have already made preparations, right—after your father wakes up, just arrange for him to live in seclusion in some countryside. Although the superior martial arts are gone, this internal force can still be practiced back a little bit, not to mention that the moves and eyesight are not lost, right? Hide your name and enjoy your old age..." Bai Lang waved his hand and said.

Afterward, he waved his hand to signal that Ren Yingying could leave. Bai Lang also knew that this girl kept her word, and she would definitely come over after arranging Ren Woxing—if she didn't come, she shouldn't be a Jianghu person anymore. Of course, if Ren Yingying really reneged, Bai Lang wouldn't care. The problem with Ren Woxing could be very troublesome for the Shaolin Sect Leader, who would have to use the Yi Jin Jing, but it was nothing to an Innate expert—not to mention Bai Lang, who was known for his majestic internal force.

The Emperor habitually didn't see people, and several Cabinet Ministers specifically served him. After Bai Lang took his official appointment, he set off directly with his guards and mule cart—he took an official boat down the Grand Canal, and let someone drive the mule cart back; it was rented anyway. This journey would be very easy, as the places he passed were not the territories of the Five Mountains Sword Sects, Shaolin Temple, Wudang Sect, and the Demon Cult. The southeast coast had never been a place they could intervene in.

The real Jianghu giants and powerful factions were in the Southern Zhili, Zhejiang, and Guangdong and Fujian provinces, because this was where the real money was. Where there is money, there are experts; this is a golden rule. The Salt Gang and the Canal Gang here could be called the real world-class gangs, and the big shots in each city were powerful martial arts families or martial arts sects—they were all involved in smuggling, and they couldn't do it without high martial arts and broad connections.

Bai Lang was going to Zhejiang to be a Left Councilor. He met Ren Yingying again on the Shandong section of the Grand Canal. This girl actually kept her word and jumped onto Bai Lang's official boat without a word, acting as a maid. The Saintess also brought a Blue Phoenix. "Not the Sect Leader of the Five Poisons Sect anymore?" Bai Lang was quite curious. He had searched in the Ministry of Justice and Jin Yi Guard documents, and the Five Poisons Sect was a small sect in Yunnan, actually not even in the mainstream.

As a result, Blue Phoenix's expression was also quite awkward, but she immediately became nonchalant—"Who would still be the Sect Leader of the Five Poisons Sect if they could follow a high official of the Han people in the Central Plains." Once this was said, Bai Lang was speechless. Thinking about it carefully, it really made sense, and Bai Lang couldn't think of any argument. Thinking about it, the so-called Demon Cult Saintess was the same; Bai Lang was now a fourth-rank high official, and it was probably hard to find anyone who was promoted faster than him.

But it probably wouldn't be that fast later on. Various honorary titles and official positions could be taken slowly. This time, it might make Bai Lang serve as a Left Councilor for at least three years, then promote him to be the Prefect of Hangzhou or Ningbo for another three to six years, and then he could be promoted to Provincial Administration Commissioner... If he didn't take the administrative official path, he could take the judicial official path. He probably wouldn't go to the Censorate...

The official boat traveled steadily along the Grand Canal, and nothing happened—the route was the territory of the Canal Gang, and the only ones who could compete with them were the Salt Gang and the leaders of the thirteen routes of the Yangtze River. There were many people with deep auras on the canal boats, and the number of experts was much higher than on Black Wood Cliff. Ren Yingying and Blue Phoenix hadn't been to this southeast area much, and now that they were here, their expressions were quite cautious.

The other side didn't care about the two of them. The officials who came to visit Bai Lang wouldn't pay attention to them, and the experts of the Canal Gang didn't even have the qualifications to visit Bai Lang; they could only escort him from a distance and send gifts. "They are like this to high officials leaving the capital. It's already very ordinary to me. Another day, when you see me returning to the capital as a third-rank or second-rank official, that will be the real spectacle." Bai Lang was not surprised at all.

When he arrived in Yangzhou, Bai Lang got off the boat. He prepared to stay here for a few days—not because he coveted the prosperity of Yangzhou, but just because he prepared to customize a few official robes in Yangzhou. Actually, it would be best to customize them in Nanjing, but Bai Lang was too lazy to take another small detour. The salt merchants were also very polite. The Prefect of Yangzhou held a banquet to entertain Bai Lang, the Zhejiang Left Councilor. There were many salt merchants among the guests, and the whole banquet was held in the large garden of a certain salt merchant's house.

Many beauties from Yangzhou were invited, and almost all the local scholars and officials came—Bai Lang's official rank was fourth-rank, which was not very high, but his background as an Innate expert was very big. Although this master was a civil official, he had the demeanor of a military general at the banquet, with raised eyebrows, tiger whiskers, and a very fierce appearance, and his appearance could be called a dignified martial artist.

If it were an ordinary Commander-in-Chief or General, they would inevitably be ridiculed a little at such a banquet; this was out of the arrogance of civil officials. However, this person before them was a genuine Jinshi, so those scholars could only flatter him obediently—Bai Lang was their senior in the imperial examination, and there were many among them who were much older than Bai Lang but were still Juren, and there were even many Xiucai.

Those beauties from the Yangzhou brothels also smiled and persuaded him to drink like flowing water, and of course, they would play poetry and songs—it was just that after a few times, they knew that this master was not good at this, so these clever people immediately changed to other entertainment and never mentioned poetry again.

Bai Lang got drunk again. Of course, this time it was the Saintess who pulled him back—it was not a big deal for Great Ming officials to sleep with flowers and willow trees, but in public, it was actually prohibited by the Great Ming Law... In such a happy banquet, Bai Lang naturally wouldn't spoil the fun by using Innate true Qi to force out the wine, so he naturally got drunk.

This guy sang a song, "Where should my sword go? Love and hate are hard to be loyal to; my knife cuts through the sky, heaven and earth are surging..." The Saintess curled her lips, feeling that the tune was a bit off-key when sung by this person. "What song is this?" She was also a bit curious. When Bai Lang teased her last time, he was also singing various songs that sounded like slang tunes, and this time it was the same, so she asked.

"Sword and Knife are like a dream, hahahaha." Bai Lang also said with a smile. "Sigh, there is a song that is very suitable for you, ah no, not you, it is Sister Qingxia, ah no, that is Dongfang Bubai. The red dust is so ridiculous, infatuation is the most boring, it's fine to be empty..." As a result, the Saintess was so angry that she had nothing to say.

Bai Lang stayed in Yangzhou for six days. When the official robe was made and sent over, Bai Lang tried it on. Once the red robe was worn, it was truly full of official authority, worthy of being a person in the Great Ming officialdom. The rank badge on the chest was a cloud goose, embroidered with colored threads, and there were dark cloud patterns on the red robe. "Sooner or later, I will be granted a python robe." Bai Lang was complacent—in this era, people in the Great Ming had already started to wear clothes indiscriminately. If it weren't for Bai Lang wanting some face, he would have dared to wear a red robe when he was fifth-rank.

After a few days, Bai Lang arrived in Hangzhou and went to see the Provincial Administration Commissioner. He was the Defense Commissioner specifically responsible for the Japanese pirates... ===== CHAPTER 708 =====