Chapter 21: One Man's Poison, Another Man's Honey

By the Clear Water River.

In a large mansion with vermilion gates and green tiles, a middle-aged man with a hooked nose and a cold expression was sitting in a pavilion watching the water.

From time to time, a few bright red koi floated to the surface.

The middle-aged man played with a small stone the size of a fingernail in his hand, curling his finger slightly.

Whoosh!

The stone flew out like a sharp arrow, accurately hitting a koi in the water. The water in the pond churned, and soon, the koi stopped moving.

Injuring someone from a distance!

"Fish it out; we'll eat it tonight."

Hearing the middle-aged man's words, the maid standing to the side was long accustomed to it.

"Yes."

Just then, on the path leading through the pavilion, a Tiandi Alliance disciple wearing black clothes walked over hurriedly, holding a list in both hands.

"Helmsman, this is the recommendation list for this month."

The middle-aged man picked up the list and looked at it for a few moments.

"Those who have entered the rank will be deacons; as for the rest, throw them into the venues for a few years, and we'll see after the assessment."

The black-clothed disciple said: "Helmsman, yesterday Wu Zhishi Wu recommended a Rank-Entered martial artist; his martial arts are good, and he understands the rules of the Jianghu, but he is a bit old... his name is Li Rui."

"How old?"

"Seventy."

"..."

The middle-aged man flipped through it for a while and indeed found Li Rui's name on the list.

"We are short of people now; let him go to the Hun Tian Yi Hall. Perhaps he can still be of some use."

"Yes."

At the other end.

"The saber follows the body, man and saber as one!"

Li Rui's wooden stick danced, sweeping down leaves of green, covering the entire courtyard.

The small house he rented from the agency was small, but it had a rare small courtyard, and the willow trees on both sides were growing quite pleasantly in the spring.

After leaving the Zhu household.

Without worldly troubles, his saber technique improved rapidly.

I'm afraid those instructors in the city who specialize in teaching saber techniques wouldn't dare to say they could beat him.

"One lives in the world, one must fight..."

Martial artists never stop fighting; fighting for techniques, fighting for reputation, fighting for money...

If you don't fight, you will be left behind and eventually become a stepping stone for others.

Fortunately, Li Rui has a cheat...

With a Martial Bone and the Bai Yuan Saber Art, he had the capital to be indifferent to fame and fortune. As long as he could find a decent job, most of his herbal medicine problems would be solved.

After finishing his saber practice, he just entered the house.

At this moment—

Dong, dong, dong!

There was a knock on the door outside the courtyard.

When he opened the door, he thought it was Wang Zhao or Yang Yong again, but it was Wu Tu.

An uninvited guest!

Wu Tu still smiled heartily: "Old brother, your body is still so sturdy. You redeemed your freedom without telling me, making me search for you."

Li Rui: "A small matter, no need to trouble Boss Wu."

A flash of surprise crossed Wu Tu's eyes.

"Stronger again?!!"

In just one month, this old man felt much stronger to him, even making him feel wary.

"Does Boss Wu have business?"

Wu Tu laughed: "As soon as I heard you redeemed your freedom, old brother, I brought good news."

"Good news?"

"I wonder if you've heard of the Tiandi Alliance?"

Tiandi Alliance!

Li Rui's pupils contracted slightly when he heard these three words.

Seeing Li Rui's reaction, Wu Tu continued: "The Qinghe Jianghu has always had the saying of 'One Alliance, Two Gangs, Three Families.' A while ago, several bosses of the Dark Eight Sects joined the Tiandi Alliance. I thought, how could such a good thing be missing you, old brother, so I came to tell you."

Li Rui naturally knew what the "One Alliance, Two Gangs, Three Families" in Wu Tu's mouth meant.

These were the strongest forces in the nearby counties.

Even the County Magistrate would have to give way to them.

This "One Alliance" refers to the Tiandi Alliance, the "Two Gangs" are the Blood Tiger Gang and the Broken Saber Gang, and the "Three Families" are the Zhang, Wang, and Zhao families.

Yes, there is no Zhu family; compared to those three, the Zhu family is not qualified.

The word "Alliance" in Tiandi Alliance already highlights its nature.

It is said to have been founded by three martial arts experts, and then it grew rapidly by absorbing Jianghu experts from several counties south of Anning Prefecture. The momentum is strong; he had only heard of it in neighboring counties before.

He didn't expect the Tiandi Alliance to reach Qinghe so quickly.

Since they are recruiting people.

Besides martial arts halls and escort agencies, where else would there be more brave and fierce martial artists than the Dark Eight Sects?

And coincidentally, one of the three founders of the Tiandi Alliance came from the Dark Eight Sects, so as long as one is willing to wash their hands of the past, the Tiandi Alliance will accept them.

Wu Tu joining the Tiandi Alliance made sense.

Unlike the Dark Eight Sects, which cannot see the light, the Tiandi Alliance is a sect properly registered with the imperial court.

It is true that the Yu Kingdom was founded on martial arts.

But the territory is too vast, with tens of thousands of miles of mountains and rivers; the imperial court cannot manage it alone.

With no other choice.

Local governments often rely on local forces to help manage things.

Like Wu Tu, once he joins the Tiandi Alliance, it is equivalent to being washed clean, and in the future, he can enter and leave the county government gate openly without anyone bothering him.

Hearing Wu Tu say this, Li Rui was tempted.

Originally, he wanted to participate in the Martial Examination to obtain a title.

But the provincial examination is once every three years, and it just ended last year; he would have to wait another three years. He certainly couldn't sit and eat away at his savings for three years, so joining the Tiandi Alliance was a good path.

The Tiandi Alliance had just infiltrated Qinghe and was short of people.

Joining now, he might even be able to get a good job.

And the Tiandi Alliance isn't something anyone can join; one must either already be somewhat famous locally or have someone to recommend them.

Wu Tu belongs to the former.

As someone who just redeemed his freedom, he must have someone to recommend him to join the Tiandi Alliance.

Li Rui had already made a decision in his heart and cupped his hands:

"I can't let Brother Wu do the 'three visits to the thatched cottage' thing; I will respectfully comply."

Hearing Li Rui agree.

Wu Tu was overjoyed.

Just as Li Rui thought, the Tiandi Alliance had just arrived in Qinghe and was short of people.

Li Rui was a Rank-Entered expert.

Pulling Li Rui into the Tiandi Alliance, Wu Tu would not only be able to record a merit but also receive rewards; otherwise, why would he be so active?

"Old brother, rest assured, I will definitely get you a good job."

Wu Tu patted his chest loudly.

Now that the Qinghe branch of the Tiandi Alliance was newly built, the other bosses of the Dark Eight Sects were all working hard in secret, trying their best to stuff people into the Tiandi Alliance.

The principle of strength in numbers works everywhere.

The more of one's own people, the greater the say in the Tiandi Alliance.

The imperial examination has the saying of teacher-student ties, and the Jianghu is actually about the same.

The people he introduces are half his own people.

If his own people can hold important positions, things will be much more convenient in the future.

Wu Tu was determined to find Li Rui an important position, so he could use this to climb higher.