Chapter 69
Originally Liu Hong wasn’t very convinced inside his heart after losing to Li Qingshan. He knew weapon techniques as well, and he felt Li Qingshan had bullied him because he wasn’t using any weapon. He’d only been genuinely convinced in his heart and on his mouth when Li Qingshan had single-handedly destroyed the Black Wind Camp, but he’d still perceived him as a figure endowed with surprising talent standing a little higher than himself. After all, Li Qingshan had still another master helping him.
But he had a kind of feeling that Li Qingshan could take his life within the space of one move as long as he wished to at present. Don’t mention fighting back, he wouldn’t even have the opportunity to run away. This was the intuition of an old hand of the martial world, an intuition that had helped him avoid many disasters. It would definitely not be wrong.
Could he be a first grade master already?! This was impossible, it had only been one day. But the reality in front of his eyes wouldn’t let him refute it. He was deeply doubtful whether it had been the right thing to do when he’d reported the matter of the spirit ginseng back to the Iron Fist Gate headquarters in the Clear River capital. The master of the headquarters would surely send men over. There was no one who wasn’t aware of the spirit ginseng’s value.
But the Clear River capital would have obtained the news very fast thanks to Yang Anzhi’s deliberate actions anyway even if he hadn’t done so. This place was very quickly going to become a place where men of the martial world swarmed to.
Dragon Li also took part in the celebration feast. He watched the reverent appearance of the crowd of nobles toward the high spirit of the young man who’d walked out of Crouching Bull Village together with him. He couldn’t tell whether it was admiration or envy that was in his heart, and his mood was likewise in a complete mess.
But he’d keenly noticed the changes in Liu Hong’s expression, and asked, “Master, are you still alright!”
Li Qingshan also heard those words and offered a toast: “Old Hero Liu, I left too hurriedly earlier and disturbed the mood for wine. This cup will be my apology.”
Liu Hong hurriedly stood up and said: “Cough, Qingshan, you shame me if you call me this way. What hero, only the old part is true. Those rivers and lakes belong to young people like you. Little Dragon, quickly stand up. You’re people of the same village, you should drink a few more cups together. I have to trouble Qingshan to take care of this unworthy disciple in the future.”
Everyone exposed some curiosity. The Iron Fist Gate had influence over the whole of the Clear River prefecture. They were truly a great family with great industries, why would they need an outsider to take care of their own disciples.
Li Qingshan also froze a moment, then he smiled: “With pleasure!” He drained the cup of wine in one gulp. It was clearly but an extremely ordinary thing, but it attracted a burst of boisterous cheers from the crowd nonetheless.
Li Qingshan had barely coped with them that his belly once again cried out “Gu Gu.” Quite a few people exposed a smile, but then quickly took their smile back.
Ye Dachuan said: “Quickly make some things to eat, go, tell the kitchen to bring some more wines and dishes.” He liked Li Qingshan more the more he looked at him. As long as this “constable Li” was here, he could easy oppress both righteous sects and criminals of Suncheer City, and he could be truly worthy of this title of county magistrate. Moreover, apart from being bold and powerful, he still understood etiquette and knew appropriate behavior. He wasn’t the kind of frivolous young person who disregarded everyone else but themselves. Sometimes he had a mature experience that belied his young age.
Li Qingshan didn’t know what Ye Dachuan was thinking. His eyes were presently only filled with the table full of wines and dishes, and he was indeed disregarding everyone else. At first he maintained basic table manners, but he couldn’t care about much else after a few mouthfuls of rice and dishes went down his belly, and he simply spread his mouth wide open, eating and drinking free and unrestrained, truly swallowing like a wolf and devouring like a tiger.
A plate of dish was emptied with a wave of the chopsticks. That was still due to his ingenuous control of his movements, ordinary people couldn’t even do that. At the same time he was eating very meticulously. Any dish that went inside his mouth was crushed to pieces with one bite and one grind, it was even more efficient than others’ slow chewing and meticulous swallowing.
He bit down a small half off a roasted chicken in one mouthful. He didn’t even spit out the bones and likewise ground them to pieces before swallowing them down his belly. In not much effort the roasted chicken had been cleanly eaten with nothing left.
Everyone watched dumbstruck with open mouth and round eyes. When had they ever seen in all of their lives someone eat like this.
In not long of a time, Li Qingshan had swallowed half the dishes and wines on the table, but he still didn’t have the slightest sensation of fullness. His stomach was like a great furnace that couldn’t be fully filled as it digested and absorbed the food at extreme speed, transforming it into energy, and transporting it to every part of his body.
Cheers even gradually echoed upstairs the restaurant. “Young hero Li is indeed heroic!” “What young hero, it’s constable. With a hero like constable Li protecting us, what mountain bandits and brigands will we still need to fear.”
One man ate while a group of men cheered around. Even Li Qingshan himself felt that a little weird. He knew the appearance of his eating could definitely not be said to be graceful. For this group of nobles who lived like princes and paid much attention to outward manners, he could definitely be stuck with “Country Bumpkin” and “Hungry Ghost” tags.
But those exaggerated praises were actually sincere for the most part. An ordinary man eating like this would have been drowned in contemptuous gazes long ago. He wasn’t an ordinary man however, but a mighty man who’d leveled two great influences of Suncheer City, so everyone’s evaluation of this thing immediately made a one-eighty, and it’d immediately become heroic and domineering.
Li Qingshan ate and drank free and unrestrained while the wine and dishes were sent up as if they flowed like water. He only gave up after eating three tables worth of wine and dishes.
Time was late and everyone dispersed. There was naturally someone who arranged living quarters for him, a courtyard inside Suncheer City whose area wasn’t small.
He had no idea how many cups of wine he’d drunk. There was some intoxication even with his body’s capacity for alcohol. He fell on the bed as soon as he came into the room and muttered, “Little An.” Then he immediately fell deeply asleep, feeling very much at ease in his mind. Without Little An there, he would absolutely not dare to become drunk and then fall asleep so carelessly, he’d have to stay vigilantly on his guards at all time instead.
That was the frightfulness of falling target to the public eye. No matter how high your martial arts, your focus and energy would still tire and weaken if things went on this way, and you would have even less the inclination to practice supernatural skills and martial studies.
Little An carefully helped him take off his clothes and shoes, positioned him on the bed and carefully covered him with a quilt, just like he were completing a sacred ritual. Then like a bodyguard, he put his hand on his treasured sword and stood guard at the head of the bed.
No one could know if it was because Li Qingshan had shocked too many people last night, or if those gazes in the darkness wanted to continue their observation, but Li Qingshan passed the night in peace without suffering disturbance from anyone lacking discretion.
He slept all the way until the sky shone with bright light. The continuous fighting and slaughter brought the exhaustion of spirit and mind with it. Only now did he truly find relief as he stayed blankly on the bed for a while, thinking back to last night’s dream. It hadn’t been a dream that went back to his former life anymore, but a new dream. What was it concretely however? He couldn’t remember one bit.
Little An carried a basin full of water in front of him while he lay blankly on the bed. Li Qingshan uttered a thanks and lowered his head, watching the basin: “Eh, why does it look like I’ve become thinner!” He touched his face. It seemed indeed like it had thinned a bit. He’d continuously eaten meat every day in the mountains, and his physique had clearly become stronger and more muscular after cultivating to the strength of one bull. His face had also become fleshier, not as thin as in the past. The spirited appearance of his whole person had seemed to be extremely well-fed and healthy like a bull.
Was it because he’d worked two hard those past two days? He muttered to himself inside his mind and stuck his head in the water all at once, then pulled it back out, his whole person already completely awake: “Let’s go, time to train!”
The courtyard’s location was somewhat remote and it was very quiet, while the area was also vast. It was suitable to train martial arts and it suited Li Qingshan’s tastes. But when he went outside, he found out the great snow had already stopped who knew when. The light of the winter sun fell on the snowy ground, bright enough to bedazzle the eyes.
Li Qingshan stepped on the snow and came under the sunlight. He stretched his waist. When he turned his head back he saw Little An still standing inside the shadows, not daring to come out of the doors.
Li Qingshan smiled faintly and stretched his hand out: “Come!”