Chapter 137

A middle-aged scholar-like man in green clothes, dashing and handsome, walked out with long strides.

While walking, he cupped his hands to offer congratulations.

"Lord Li has just taken office, and I haven't even had time to go and offer my congratulations."

He Nian smiled elegantly and amiably.

"Brother He, you are too polite."

Li Rui also stood up, cupped his hands, and laughed.

It is said that one does not hit a smiling face.

The Great Elder of the Qingfeng Shanzhuang before him is very good at fighting.

Why did He Nian want to hit him... wasn't it because Tan Hu beat up the people of Qingfeng Shanzhuang, and it was an elder with a not-low status at that.

"Lord Li, coming to my Qingfeng Shanzhuang today, do you have any instructions?"

He Nian sat down.

He looked Li Rui up and down, thinking he was here with ill intent.

Everyone has witnessed the overbearing style of the Anning Guard these days; on the surface, Qingfeng Shanzhuang naturally has to yield three points, but behind the scenes...

Li Rui smiled and waved his hand: "What instructions? I'm just an old man out for a stroll, here to beg for a cup of tea."

He Nian's eyes narrowed slightly.

This Lord Patrol Guard seems very different from the previous Company Commander Tan.

Qingfeng Shanzhuang has its own channels in the Anning Guard.

He had long heard of this seventy-year-old Patrol Guard; as it seems now, at least his actions aren't extreme?

"Who can say for sure."

He Nian remained the same on the surface, still flattering: "Lord Li is a late bloomer; you must come to my Qingfeng Shanzhuang often in the future."

Liang He stood to one side.

He just listened to Li Rui and He Nian flattering each other, chattering for an hour.

Not a mouthful of tea was drunk, and they didn't find it dry.

Finally.

Li Rui stretched: "Brother He, my old body is tired and can't sit anymore; let's stop here for today. Next time, I'll drag Brother Tan to find you and drink together."

He Nian was overjoyed.

The 'Brother Tan' in Li Rui's mouth is naturally that Tan Hu who beat up a whole group of Qingfeng Shanzhuang disciples and elders.

No matter how powerful Qingfeng Shanzhuang is, it is still a Jianghu sect.

Forming a blood feud with the Anning Guard is a great lack of wisdom.

Now that Li Rui is mediating, turning hostility into friendship, he is naturally more than willing.

"Alright, Brother He, stay here; I'll just go out myself."

Seeing He Nian wanting to see him off, Li Rui waved his hand.

He Nian had to say: "Brother Li, you must come often in the future."

After some conversation, the address changed from 'Lord Li' to 'Brother Li'.

Walking out of Qingfeng Shanzhuang.

Liang He then asked: "Hall Master, is that all?"

He originally thought Li Rui would either use overbearing pressure or gentle apologies.

He didn't expect.

They stayed for an hour and just didn't talk about business.

Li Rui glanced at Liang He sideways: "Of course, otherwise, does this old man really have to bow to them?"

Not worth it.

He represents the Anning Guard, which is to say, the imperial court.

If people were beaten, they were beaten; no one died, so there is no need to lower one's status to apologize to a Jianghu sect.

He chose Qingfeng Shanzhuang precisely because Tan Hu only caused them to lose face, without any substantial loss.

They are all old turtles in the Jianghu.

Some things cannot be made explicit; just now it seemed like idle chatter, but actually, they were probing each other.

They are all tricks of pretense.

But they are indispensable.

Otherwise, one would show weakness, making the other party think you are a novice, and they would definitely make moves behind your back.

He Nian couldn't probe Li Rui's bottom line.

Li Rui was the one to take the initiative to state his position—saying he would bring Tan Hu to drink was giving Qingfeng Shanzhuang a step to step down from.

If they come, the grudge is wiped clean.

If they don't, it won't be so simple for Qingfeng Shanzhuang to get things done in the Anning Guard in the future.

"Being old still has quite a few benefits."

If he were just a young man today, or of the same age as He Nian, wanting to get away would have taken at least a day and a night.

By using the advantage of being old, he was able to turn the tables.

Come if you want, leave if you want.

A dignified Qingfeng Shanzhuang wouldn't do something like 'wearing out an old man'.

Before face is completely lost, no one will tear things apart.

Liang He said 'oh' obediently, thinking in his heart:

"The Hall Master must have deep meaning; I still have to learn!"

He tentatively asked: "Hall Master, where are we going next? Mingguang Sect, or Blood Tiger Gang?"

Li Rui's mouth curled up slightly:

"This old man is tired; let's go home and sleep."

"Oh."

Liang He followed Li Rui with small steps: "Everything the Hall Master does must have its deep meaning."

The current Liang He belongs to the 'brainless follower' type; as long as the Hall Master does it, it's right. Isn't the fact clearly placed before his eyes? In just three short years, he went from a Hall Master who reads books to a Patrol Guard.

Li Rui returned to the military camp.

He didn't even go to the Galloping Tiger Cavalry and went straight back to the residence.

That is the benefit of being a Patrol Guard.

It is different from Tan Hu's Company Commander position; there are no specific tasks, and there is no need to train soldiers. He is just responsible for monitoring the major forces within his jurisdiction and going ahead to scout when demon disasters occur.

The degree of freedom is quite high.

Of course, for such a nominal position, it is not easy to achieve things.

Most of the time, it is the role of a staff officer.

Li Rui returned home.

"Old Yang went out again?"

In the residence, he saw Wang Zhao cleaning inside and out alone.

When Wang Zhao saw it was Li Rui, he said happily: "Master, why are you back so early today?"

Li Rui smiled faintly: "Just an idle person, so I might as well come home and stay."

"Master is not an idle person."

Wang Zhao said seriously.

Li Rui is now a Seventh-Rank Patrol Guard, as big as a County Magistrate; that is amazing, how could he be an idle person? He stopped teasing Wang Zhao.

"Alright, sweeping the courtyard once every half month is enough; there's no need to sweep it every day."

With Wang Zhao there.

It was hard for him to even see fallen leaves.

Wang Zhao was shy: "It's just that I have nothing to do..."

Li Rui emphasized his tone: "Didn't I give you techniques and sage books? Go practice martial arts, go read books; if you can become a martial artist or pass the imperial examination, that would be useful to me."

"Yes, Master."

Wang Zhao said, shrinking his neck.

It's not that he hasn't tried, but for a rough man who hasn't read books, doing these things is too difficult.

Li Rui sighed lightly.

=9+Shu_ba

He also knew the difficulties involved; otherwise, he would have done it years ago, so why wait until now?

"Alright, go get busy."

He waved his hand.

Li Rui returned to his room.

After finishing thirty-six cycles and pushing open the door, the daylight was still bright.

He chuckled: "It's the first time I've felt time is so abundant."

This is partly because the Patrol Guard has no official business, and partly because the merging of the two charts has greatly saved time for practicing.

Li Rui pondered: "Let's go to the blacksmith shop."

Going to Qingfeng Shanzhuang today, he carried the standard long saber.

Although it was enough to use, it was inevitably not handy, unable to use his combat power to the extreme.

With the improvement of his status, continuing to carry a big saber is truly too maverick.

The thought arose.

Li Rui hurried to the blacksmith shop while the hour was still early.

The Yu Kingdom implements the separation of the power to lead troops and the power to cast weapons to prevent the military power from being too great.

A general who has troops under his command and can also forge weapons can rebel with ease.

The blacksmith shop was still in the original place.

At most, it was expanded.

Li Rui came to the blacksmith shop and found the burly blacksmith from before.

The burly man saw Li Rui and was somewhat surprised: "It's you again?"

Li Rui raised an eyebrow: "Little brother remembers me?"

The burly man nodded: "An old man forged a seventy-jin heavy saber; it's hard not to remember."

A year later, his memory was still fresh.

"Is the saber not heavy enough, so you've come to forge another?"

After the previous transaction, they were considered familiar, and the little old man before him had a good temper, so he teased him.

Li Rui chuckled and shook his head:

"Not so; this time I want to change to a lighter one, with a simpler style, a saber enough for a Seventh-Ranker to use."

The previous request was still very normal.

But when he heard 'Seventh-Rank', the burly man gasped and asked in disbelief: "Old... old man, are you a Seventh-Rank martial artist?"

He widened his eyes.

He could never have imagined that the ordinary-looking old man before him was actually a Seventh-Rank martial artist.

You must know that if it weren't for Qinghe establishing a Guard, there wouldn't be a single Seventh-Ranker in all of Qinghe.

"I didn't recognize Mount Tai."

The burly man's attitude instantly became obedient: "Old gentleman, the saber you want is of too high a rank; I need to report it to the foreman, and the price might... not be low."

Li Rui nodded: "No matter, just forge it according to my requirements; put the account on the head of Anning Guard Patrol Guard Li Rui."

"You... you are Lord Li?!"

A thunderbolt flashed through the burly man's mind.

It matched.

Everything matched.

Anning Guard's new Patrol Guard Li Rui, breaking through to Seventh-Rank at seventy, entering Willow Sinew—this matter had long spread throughout Qinghe and became an important segment in the mouths of storytellers.

Old man, Seventh-Rank—isn't it exactly the same as the rumors?

The burly man suddenly felt it was unreal.

He didn't expect that he had had contact with this Qinghe legend as early as a year ago.

"Don't worry, Lord Li, I will definitely handle this matter well for you."

The burly man patted his chest and said.

This is an official shop, and no credit is given.

But there is one exception, and that is the people of the Annan Army.

The official blacksmith shop was originally configured specifically for the Annan Army; selling to the outside is just a sideline.

As an official of the Anning Guard, Li Rui naturally has no problem with credit.

Leaving the blacksmith shop.

Li Rui returned to the military camp.

For a period of time after that, the days became ordinary.

Besides going to the Galloping Tiger Battalion every morning to supervise morning exercises, he spent the rest of the time at home practicing and flipping through books.

These are major matters of settling down and establishing one's life, and they cannot be sloppy.

No one who becomes a martial arts expert is a lazy person; otherwise, no matter how high the talent, not practicing is useless.

In the blink of an eye.

Ten days passed.

On this day.

Li Rui had just returned home from the Galloping Tiger Battalion and saw someone standing in front of the door from afar.

When he walked closer.

Only then did he recognize that the person standing at the door was actually the Vice Helper of the Blood Tiger Gang—Peng Hu!

"Vice Helper Peng?"

Li Rui walked two steps quickly to Peng Hu's side.

"I was on official business, please forgive me, please forgive me."

When Peng Hu turned his head and saw it was Li Rui, he also grinned and said politely: "So it is Lord Li; I heard you were promoted, so I came to visit specially."

Li Rui glanced at him.

Peng Hu didn't come empty-handed; he was carrying a huge, exquisite wooden box.

One look and you could see it contained quite a few things.

"Li Lao-tou has also made something of himself; not only did he let a Vice Helper stand at the door eating cold wind, but he can also have people come to his door to give gifts."

These are all the benefits brought to him by the status of Patrol Guard.

If he were still a Vice Helmsman of the Tiandi Alliance's Qinghe branch, or the grain manager of the Anning Guard, why would a dignified Vice Helper be so humble?

(End of chapter)