Chapter 103 Branching Out

  Wusheng Mountain, with an elevation of over 2,100 meters, is shrouded in mist and cloud all year round, mysterious and unfathomable.

  The imperial capital of Baiyue State was built with mountains and waters. With the support of Wusheng Mountain, the imperial capital's prestige and majesty were further enhanced.

  Before long, these one hundred and twenty martial youths who had made it through the selection arrived at the imperial capital of the Baiyue Kingdom.

  Meeting the Martial Saint is not an ordinary matter. Nor is it something that anyone can qualify for.

  Therefore, all the Wu Tong who came out of the line, after arriving at the Imperial Capital, the person in charge of the Zhenwu Sacred Place handed over: "Young men, you will be temporarily staying in the Imperial Capital. Each of you can use your trial results certificate to check-in. You can stay in any inn, and all food and lodging are free."

  "How many days will we be staying, sir?"

  "Free food and lodging, what more could you possibly be dissatisfied with?" The envoy's eyes widened.

  "Haha, of course not. We... we just really want to meet the great martial saint, haha." The young boy hastily said with a smile.

  "Pay respects to the Martial Saint. It's not like you can just go see him whenever you want!" The envoy spoke in a serious tone, "The only thing I can say is one word - wait! Maybe it'll be three days, maybe five days, or maybe tomorrow. During this time, if you have connections in the imperial capital, you can visit relatives and friends. But the premise is that you must wait for the summons from Martial Saint Mountain at all times!"

  "Yes!" The martial arts boys all smiled with joy.

  These martial youths are the elite of the elite. Most of them come from large families from all over, with nearly half being young masters from royal and noble families. The remaining ones are also mostly young masters from aristocratic families, all of whom are high-quality nobles.

  Like Qin Wushuang, there are only a few low-ranking aristocrats. Except for Qin Wushuang, the remaining ones have the lowest scores among the qualified candidates.

  And even lower-ranking clans and humble families didn't have a single one.

  That's the difference...

  Qin Wushuang was deeply moved, the difference in family background in this world is so straightforward. The gap between different families can be seen from the cultivation of talents alone.

  Donglin Qin's family, if they had always been struggling in a humble door, let alone such high-end gatherings, it would be hard to even keep a seat at the bottom of the noble class.

  As for ordinary families, they are even more completely cut off from such grand gatherings.

  After the disbandment, Qin Wusuo had no relatives or friends to visit, and was considering whether to take a stroll alone in the imperial capital. Suddenly, he heard the sound of clothes fluttering behind him, indicating that someone was approaching.

  Qin Wushuang didn't turn around, but he could tell that the footsteps came from Tong Yao's younger brother, Tong Yan.

  "Qin brother, why are you wandering around here all alone?"

  "Hehe, Brother Tong didn't go visit relatives and friends?"

  "I'm from a distant state and county, even in the imperial capital I have some relatives, but they're not very close. Visiting them would be pointless and just add to their troubles. Moreover, I've always admired Brother Qin's unique talent, now that he has some free time, why don't I host him instead, let's find a place to drink a few cups?"

  Qin Wushuang knew that Tong Yan was trying to thank him and also wanted to befriend the champion of the trial, so he didn't decline.

  As for Tong's siblings, Qin Wushuang did not reject them. Especially Tong's intelligence and public relations abilities, which could actually reach the True Martial Sacred Grounds, made Qin Wushuang very surprised.

  "Please." Qin Wushuang had already waved his hand and agreed.

  Tong Yan took advantage of the situation to fully exercise his social skills, and after asking a few passersby who were dressed in luxurious clothes, he got the names of several famous wine houses in the imperial capital.

  "Little brother, since it's a small gathering, there's no need for such a big show. Just find a quiet place casually."

  "Qin brother, this time you must listen to little brother's arrangement."

  Don't forget, you're now the champion of the trial and a future prince. It's absolutely impossible for you to be so careless about your appearance. From now on, every word and action of yours should be setting the tone for your upcoming coronation as king."

  Qin Wushuang smiled faintly, admitting that Tongyan's words made sense, but he was not used to deliberately putting on a show of royal dignity and pretending to be something he wasn't.

  The royal identity must ultimately rely on strength to support it - this is Qin Wusuo's logic.

  As they spoke, the two of them had already turned several big streets.

  "This should be Zhuque Avenue. Qifeng Building, haha, the name sounds very pleasant to hear. It matches Qin brother's identity perfectly, it's settled!"

  Qin Wushuang saw him like this, and didn't object. He raised his head to look far away at the front of the long street. There were rows and rows of tall Chinese parasol trees, which were very majestic, elegant and refined, with a high tone.

  The phoenix perches on the wutong tree.

  The so-called planting a paulownia tree to attract the phoenix. This paulownia tree has always had a great connection with the phoenix, a divine creature. The Zhi Feng Building planted many paulownias at its gate, which should be for this auspicious omen.

  Not yet close, but heard from the front wailing and crying out loud came a mournful shout.

  Then came another rebuke: "You want to appeal for justice, you want to file a complaint, go to the foot of the imperial city. Even if you kneel to death here, no one will pay attention. Are you still allowed to do business?"

  "Are you leaving or not? If not, don't blame us for being rude and chasing you away."

  Severe scolding, ferocious and menacing, extremely impatient in tone.

  "A few seniors, we are also helpless. I heard that your wine house often has royal relatives coming and going. We want to try our luck here, beg the heavens to open their eyes, and have a noble person come to hear our grievances..."

  "Scram, scram! This isn't a government office, we don't have time to listen to your trivial matters."

  "It's useless even if you listen; if there's a grievance, you still have to go to the authorities."

  "A few old men..."

  "Are you going to drag them away? Brothers, take them away!" A green-robed burly man shouted angrily, waving his hand, and several sturdy men rushed up behind him, grabbing three tattered old women and dragging them out. They were carried by one arm, just like carrying livestock, and taken to the outer street.

  "Wooo..."

  "Oh, heavens, can't you see?!"

  "The wailing voices shook the heavens and moved the earth, those who heard them were heartbroken, and those who listened shed tears. The onlookers wanted to intervene, but upon seeing these fierce and intimidating men, the words that had reached their lips were instantly swallowed back down."

  A few big strides, they intended to throw these old men out of Zhuque Avenue. Without walking a few steps, they suddenly raised their heads and saw two young people standing in the middle of the street, just blocking their way.

  "Scram!" He took a glance and found that they weren't any of the famous young masters from the capital, these big men were just yelling at him.

  The child's face was expressionless, and he didn't walk away, but he also didn't respond. Seeing this scene, his heart was also very angry. No matter what these old women did, at such an advanced age, being treated like this was unbearable to watch.

  "What's wrong? Do you two gentlemen have some opinion?"

  The green-robed man, who seemed to be the leader, walked over with a swagger and took a look at Qin Wushuang and Tong Yan's noble attire. He judged that they were young nobles, but not high-ranking ones, nor were they famous young masters from the capital city.

  In other words, such a person can afford to offend someone in a high position.

  Of course, they have their own theories of harmony and wealth creation. If the other party does not intentionally cause trouble, everyone will laugh it off, and the reception will continue as usual.

  Qin Wushuang glanced at the green-robed man indifferently and suddenly asked: "Do you have ancestors?"

  "Nonsense! Don't you have any ancestors?" The burly man in the green robe glared, realizing that the newcomer was indeed looking for trouble, and scolded him bluntly.

  "Do you have parents?"

  "Are you born from stone? Youngster, if you know what's good for you, get out of the way immediately. Don't think that just because you're wearing a noble's attire, you can put on airs. Don't forget, this is the Imperial Capital, not some rural backwater!"

  The man in the green robe had a bad temper and didn't hide his sarcastic intentions at all.

  The rural rich may have a lot of money, but in the imperial capital, they are used to being superior to others. For the nobles who come from below, as long as they don't have too much power, they generally don't buy into it either.

  Qin Wushuang nodded: "So you're not born from a stone. Then their age, is enough to give birth to you guys, right?"

  A big man in a green robe rolled up his sleeves, glared with both eyes: "So the two of you want to play heroes? The imperial capital is not lacking in anything. This year, it's just missing this kind of fresh excitement from playing heroes."

  "Let them go." Qin Wushuang also didn't bother to argue, "I'll only say it once, no matter what they've done, let them go first."

  "Hahahaha……" The big man burst into a loud, skyward laugh. "If I didn't mishear, then you're out of your mind! What makes you think you can? Is it because of this low-quality noble's skin on your body? Ridiculous! This is the Imperial Capital! You little devil, go back to your countryside and farm properly! The Imperial Capital is very dangerous!"

  These words deeply hurt Tongyan's self-esteem, and he shouted: "What's wrong with the countryside? The nobles in the countryside are a hundred times better than you, who rely on power to bully others. Let him go!"

  "What if I don't let go?" The green-robed burly man hummed and said.

  "Unyielding? Qin Wushuang's mouth curled up in a cold smile, and suddenly his body moved, his arm slightly raised, sweeping over like a fierce wind."

  Only the sound of "pa pa" more than a dozen crisp slaps were heard. The next moment, those big men let go of their hands one by one, covering their cheeks and looking at Qin Wushuang in disbelief.

  Including that green-robed big man, he was also stunned like a wooden chicken.

  He took a deep breath, his throat tightened and relaxed, and he let out a loud shout: "Someone's been beaten! Someone's been beaten!"

  A moment after the voice fell, a group of fully armed thugs rushed out from inside the Qiufeng Building, led by a middle-aged man in brocade clothes.

  "Who? Who hit him?" The middle-aged man asked coldly.

  "Jiudangjia, these two rural hooligans, sons of a wealthy family, they beat people."

  Qin Wushuang ignored the group of rough-looking men and helped up the three old women, telling them to leave first. The three old women were overjoyed as if they had seen a savior, hugging Qin Wushuang's leg tightly: "Young master, you are a kind-hearted person. You must help us. We are ordinary people from the Redwood King's territory. In recent years, several girls from our village have gone missing without any reason. When we went to report to the authorities, they didn't even bother to investigate... We had nowhere else to turn, so we came to the capital..."

  "Chi Mu Wang Ling?" Qin Wu Xiang was taken aback. "How many people are there in your household?"

  "There are too many of us, we don't know each other, and we all met when we were reporting to the Akagi Castle, at least 70 or 80 households."

  "So many? What about the others?" Qin Wushuang sucked in a breath of cold air. If it were just one or two families, it might have been an accident. But seventy or eighty families... that couldn't be described as an accident anymore.

  "Others are scattered all over the place, shouting injustices. But these aristocratic masters won't let us stay, saying we're affecting their business... Waaahhhh..."

  Qin Wushuang remained silent. This was also no surprise, as it was difficult for a commoner family to seek justice in this world.

  Just as he was about to comfort him with a word, a stern voice came from behind: "You little scoundrel, you've hit someone, and yet you don't dare to stand up?"

  Qin Wushuang had a faint feeling that this matter was not trivial, and he instructed them: "You all leave first and wait for me under the archway up ahead."

  Turning back, he said slowly: "I hit them because they deserved it. If you don't want to make a fuss about this, then let's just drop the matter."

  Qin Wushuang's attitude was to avoid trouble, not because he was afraid of it. Rather, he was more concerned about what those few old men had said, vaguely feeling that this matter seemed to be related to himself. He couldn't say why he had such a feeling, but the intuition and subconsciousness of a strong person kept giving him such hints.

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