Zhang San, please behave yourself!
Chapter 181 - 175: You Guys Are Discriminating Against Women!

Chapter 181: Chapter 175: You Guys Are Discriminating Against Women!

Lu Qingquan felt like he had been duped, and immediately left his room to go to the Town Martial Office’s accounting room to inquire.

Sure enough, upon asking, he discovered that although these blacksmiths were of low social class identity, because every martial artist was a skilled forger, they were quite valuable.

Yet, not a single copper coin had he earned from this; it was all pocketed by Zhang San.

At this moment, Lu Qingquan’s heart ached immensely.

After returning to his room, Lu Qingquan picked up a fruit and bit into it fiercely.

It was still sour.

His heart ached even more!

People don’t have bad luck all the time, as the saying goes, things will turn around when they reach an extreme.

Although things might have been unsatisfactory before, as long as you adopt an open mind, it could influence the next opportunity.

Lu Qingquan tried hard not to get angry and to relax.

It took a whole day, but he finally calmed his agitated heart.

Watching the sunset, he felt that although the day was wasted, at least his mood had improved.

After all, he didn’t have much hair left, and couldn’t let his irritable emotions continue any longer.

"Dinner’s ready——"

As the martial artists of the Town Martial Office finally welcomed the time for a splendid dinner, Lu Qingquan also left his room and cheerfully headed towards the canteen.

At that moment, loud laughter echoed from not too far away.

A huge Qiongqi flew in front of Lu Qingquan, and he immediately knew that this was certainly not a Qiongqi that belonged to the Chuan-Yu Road; it was obviously one that could only be raised from the Capital Region Road.

After all, its size alone indicated it was well-fed.

Unfolding the paper note taken from the Qiongqi, Lu Qingquan’s face darkened as he read it.

It turned out to be a scathing rebuke from Principal Officer Sun in the Capital, who had received a complaint from Governor Shi.

What was worse, the complaint leading to the scolding had nothing to do with Lu Qingquan himself; it was all because of Zhang San.

Third Miss Gan wasn’t even mentioned in it; it was all directed at him.

Lu Qingquan felt like crying!

In the past, he was able to bully others, skim some money and cultivation resources, and take advantage of the Town Martial Office.

Now, though, not only was he constantly being taken advantage of by Zhang San, but he was also being scolded because of Zhang San.

Glancing at the wisps of smoke rising from the direction of the canteen, he thought, "Screw eating!"

Out for a drink!

After all, for such a long time, he was the one spending money on alcohol while Zhang San got to drink; why shouldn’t he enjoy himself for once?

And so, Lu Qingquan found himself alone in a tavern in Qianlie County, sitting near a window, drinking by himself.

Meanwhile, sitting under the wall outside the tavern window, was a beggar in tattered clothing, cradling a bamboo staff and listening intently to Lu Qingquan’s monologue.

The drunken words were of dissatisfaction with the Town Martial Office, defiance towards Third Miss Gan, fury towards Zhang San, even making Xia, who was outside, feel that this person, if developed properly, might have the potential to join the Heavenly Punishment Sect.

However, the Heavenly Punishment Sect was well aware of what sort of person Lu Qingquan was.

Greedy—having frequently tampered with the accounts of the Town Martial Office, otherwise, he certainly wouldn’t have reached his current level of power.

Cunning—flattering and deceiving, a demeanor befitting a scoundrel.

But as for truly heinous deeds, he hadn’t really done any.

Put plainly, he was just a typical example of many officials in the Great Sui Dynasty.

And so, as the sky darkened, the inebriated Lu Qingquan headed back, and Xia went to find Cui Jiu, reporting all the intelligence he had gathered.

Upon hearing Xia’s report, Cui Jiu carefully analyzed the situation for a moment.

"So, it seems that the relationship between Zhang San and Lu Qingquan isn’t very good."

Xia nodded, then added, "But I think Zhang San’s situation at the Town Martial Office shouldn’t be as bad as Han described it before."

Cui Jiu let out a cold laugh and said, "Of course, if Zhang San himself can’t even secure his own place at the Town Martial Office, what help could such a person be to our Heavenly Punishment Sect?"

Xia continued to probe, "What does Han think of this Zhang San?"

"Han said that Zhang San is not a bad person, but sometimes his demeanor doesn’t seem like that of a good person."

Xia’s brows furrowed slightly as he looked towards Cui Jiu.

"If he doesn’t seem like a good person, why do you still agree to let Zhang San undergo the trial, even planning to let him join our Heavenly Punishment Sect? What if we bring a wolf into our midst?"

Cui Jiu laughed heartily before shaking his head and saying, "Where in this world can one find someone so purely good? Some think Zhang San is good, others don’t think so highly of him, that’s reality. If everyone we meet was like Bai Yucheng back in the day, do you think he would truly be a good person?"

Xia found himself in great agreement upon hearing this.

They had once attempted to draw Bai Yucheng to their side, for he had once come to the Capital, but he was never given any important role, and in the end, he had no choice but to join the Town Martial Office to find a way out.

However, as the Heavenly Punishment Sect investigated Bai Yucheng, the more they did, the better he seemed, flawless in every aspect, seemingly perfect.

But the question was, does a perfect person truly exist in this world?

"Alright, since that’s the case, I’m relieved. We’ve just received some information regarding the Dragon Serpent Gang, so I’ll contact Zhang San right away and have him come over to get the information."

Contacting Zhang San was Cui Jiu’s job, so Xia left.

Soon after receiving the message, Zhang San stealthily left Xiongfeng Manor and made his way covertly to Cui Jiu’s residence.

"My humble home is poor; I hope it isn’t too laughable for Mr. Zhang."

Cui Jiu had been waiting in the courtyard for a while, and upon seeing Zhang San arrive, he quickly poured him a cup of hot wine.

Zhang San glanced at Cui Jiu’s courtyard and coldly said, "Humble home? With this scale, calling it a manor wouldn’t be too much, would it?"[注61]

Cui Jiu smiled and remained silent.

"Tell me, calling me over so late, is there something important?"

"Of course," Cui Jiu replied with a smile, yet his expression showed no urgency.

Zhang San sat opposite Cui Jiu, drank a cup of wine, savored it, and then asked, "Does our Heavenly Punishment Sect have any women?"

"Ah!?"

With that one question, Zhang San completely stunned Cui Jiu.

"What I mean is, for these late-night contacts, can’t you find a young and beautiful woman to come instead? How come it’s always you, an old wreck, dealing with me, aren’t you discriminating against women!"

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[注61]A bit of knowledge about ancient architecture

In ancient times, there were different terms for residences of different scales.

Nest: The den for animals or other creatures.

Shed: A temporarily constructed simple hut.

House: A modest little house.

Room: A space with a single function.

Hall: Public area in residential buildings.

Manor: A large dwelling formed by many houses combined.

Mansion: Residences of ancient aristocrats.

Residence: Homes of ancient literati.

Looking at it this way, I’m probably not a hermit; from now on, please call me a houseman!