Chapter 16 Chapter Three

Xiang Shaolong sat down next to Wu Tingfang, and she hurriedly approached and said with concern: "Shaolong, are you okay! I'm so worried, you went to that slut last night." He squeezed his thigh hard at the bottom of the table a handful. Xiang Shaolong looked at the exquisite food and drink on the long table, reached out and touched her thigh and said with a low smile, "Don't worry! Just trust your future husband!" Wu Tingfang felt weak all over from his touch, she wanted him to be more presumptuous, but she was afraid that she would not be able to bear it and others would see through, so she sat down in fright, fortunately Xiang Shaolong's five-fingered army finally retreated.

Sitting in the second seat next to him was a tall and thin young man with a pale face. He turned his head away and stared at Xiang Shaolong who was sitting in the back row of the third seat. Tao who was next to him said to Xiang Shaolong, "That is Shaoyuan Lord Zhao De." Xiang Shaolong responded coldly, his eyes shot out cold lightning, Zhao De did not back down and confronted him, the warriors in the two seats behind him all turned their heads and glared at him, the air was filled with the smell of gunpowder. "when!" The bell rang again. When the sound of silk and bamboo sounds, a group of ceremony bands walk lightly and play and blow, leading in, and then spread to both sides to stand still and continue to play music.

Only then did Mr. Shaoyuan withdraw his gaze and head towards the main entrance. Surrounded by his concubines, King Xiaocheng of the Zhao Kingdom, who was about thirty years old, stepped into the hall boldly, followed by more than a hundred personal guards, half of them went around to stand guard in the space behind the banquet, and only the other half went with King Zhao The chairman at the end of the hall stepped forward. This King Zhao's face was pale with wine, he was handsome, his eyes were sharp, his forehead was broad, and his appearance was dignified, but he was a little too thin, and his lips were not thick enough, he looked like a miserable green boy.

On the top of his head is a long crown plate with a round front and rear, with dozens of beaded jade hanging down from the top, threaded with red and green colored threads, endowing him with the majesty of a monarch. The upper part of the dragon robe on the body is painted, and the lower part is embroidered. It is full of sun, moon, stars, dragons and other patterns, which are very gorgeous. He walked to the chairman's office alone, and the concubines sat in the three seats at the back, while the guards guarded the two sides and the rear respectively, and he really had the power of the lord of the country.

Everyone knelt down on the ground and waited for him to be seated. After Zhao Wang sat down, he said softly: "All the gentlemen are at peace, please sit down." After everyone chanted their congratulations, they sat back at the table. There are ladies in the palace who pour wine for everyone. Zhao Wang raised his glass and said: "The king of Yan was overjoyed. He sent Li Fu and Qing Qin to attack and defeated our country. Now General Lian Po has ordered his troops to encircle Yan. An Mian, drink a cup for my great Zhao Mieyan." Everyone cheered together, drank with a bang, and the atmosphere was warm.

Zhao Wang suddenly stood up, and when everyone stood up in fright, he laughed and said: "The success of this attack on swallows is definitely due to the contribution of all the ministers, but if Mr. Wu did not provide food for the horses, Mr. Guo The supply of weapons and ships may not be able to accomplish anything, so let us, the monarchs and ministers, toast to the two gentlemen." Everyone has another drink. Both Wu Shiji and Guo Zong were very happy. Xiang Shaolong, who didn't think much of him at first, was also heartbroken, thinking to himself that a person who is used to being a king has a different bearing.

After Zhao Wang invited everyone to sit down and eat the dishes, he clapped his palms together and made a crisp sound. The musicians who retreated to both sides of the gate immediately started playing vigorously again. A group of nearly 200 beautiful singing and dancing girls with dovetail-shaped buns hanging down and various long gowns made of translucent light materials danced into the hall as gracefully as flying birds, singing and dancing.The breasts and jade legs are hidden, making all kinds of graceful postures, making people and gods win them. Everyone clapped their hands and applauded loudly.

Xiang Shaolong watched all the singing and dancing girls spit out fairy songs, their dancing postures were light and soft, erratic like dragons, he couldn't help but think of Tingfang who was sent away, and thought that if he defeated Lian Jin, he could get her back, he couldn't help but become ambitious. Wu Tingfang leaned into his ear and proudly said: "Fang'er's singing and dancing are much better than theirs, if you have the opportunity, you will surely feast your eyes and ears." Xiang Shaolong replied: "You are not allowed to have any clothes on your body."

After Wu Tingfang rolled his eyes at him, he gave him another sweet smile. Zhao Mu and Lian Jin, who were watching Wu Tingfang attentively, were all enthralled, and luckily Xiang Shaolong would know the taste after a while. ◇◇◇◇◇◇ The singing and dancing girl danced and retreated, leaving behind a hall of fragrance. All eyes were on King Zhao, holding their breath and waiting for him to speak. The huge palace was so quiet that a needle could be heard falling. The king of Zhao occupied the dragon seat alone, looked around the officials, and said with a long smile: "My great Zhao started with martial arts, and there are many famous generals. A person who is not a nobleman is not allowed to be honored, if there is no such spirit of martial arts, our country will soon be wiped out."

Everyone said yes together. Zhao Wang Gu Pan was proud, his eyes fell on Lian Jin, and he said happily: "I never thought that there would be an invincible swordsman in the little Weiguo." Lian Jin hurriedly walked to the table, knelt down and kowtowed: "I only have Da Zhao in my heart now, as long as the king gives an order, I will never frown." Wu Shiji snorted secretly, obviously disdainful of his behavior of switching to Zhao Mu's flag. Zhao Wang didn't know if he was influenced by Zhao Mu, so his attitude towards him changed drastically, and he said happily: "Employ people on their merits, as long as you are loyal to me, Lian Jin, I will never treat you poorly."

Lian Jin was overjoyed and quickly agreed loudly. King Zhao shouted again: "Where is Xiang Shaolong?" Xiang Shaolong smiled slightly, agreed abruptly, walked out, knelt down opposite Lian Jin, and said loudly: "Xiang Shaolong sees my king." King Zhao's eyes lit up, and he said: "With the power of one person, you managed to retreat 800 horse thieves. You are also loyal and courageous. For the sake of your colleagues, you disregarded staying behind to fight against the enemy. You made my great Zhao famous. I appreciate you very much. .” Xiang Shaolong hastily expressed his humility and gratitude, but secretly laughed in his heart that things were getting bigger and bigger. King Zhao said with a satisfied smile: "Both of you are dragons among men. This time I want you to come to the court to compete swords, just to set an example for our country, to carry forward the spirit of martial arts, so that we can effectively kill the enemy and serve the country." Xiang Lian and the two agreed in unison. Zhao Wang laughed and said: "The widow and all the ministers here are impatient, waiting for the two peerless swordsmanship, but you must bear in mind that this is the nature of a competition, you can only click and stop, and the victor, the widow, will be named the imperial swordsman immediately , can lead the army." Zhao Mu raised his voice and said, "Your Majesty, I have a proposal." Zhao Wang was startled and said, "Juluhou, please tell me." Zhao Mu stood up and said respectfully: "If Your Majesty stipulates that the competition point will be closed at the end, they will not dare to violate His Majesty's order, and they will tie their hands and feet and find it difficult to use their swordsmanship. Please think twice, Your Majesty." Madam Ya's whole body trembled when she heard this, she stood up and said in a trembling voice: "Swords are ruthless, if someone is killed, wouldn't a happy event turn into a sad one." Zhao Wang looked at Mrs. Ya strangely, and said: "Sister Wang, Zhao Qing, please sit down, I have my own discretion." Zhao Mu gave her a cold look before going back to the seat, secretly happy in his heart, Zhao Ya's reaction showed that Xiang Shaolong really got the point, who knew better than her. At this moment, everyone in the hall knew something was wrong with Xiang Shaolong. Zhao Wang's eyes fell on Wu Shiji's face, and said indifferently: "What's Mr. Wu's opinion on this?" Wu Shiji thought to himself that if Xiang Shaolong lost the battle due to female sex, he would have no one to complain about, and it would be fine if he died, but if he could kill Lian Jin, he would be able to show his anger for himself, nodded and said: "Shaolong I once told my humble servant that he is only good at killing people, but he is not good at performing with swords, so if you want to experience his abilities, you should not place any restrictions on him." In this way, waiting for Ruo means that the two will fight to the death. Mrs. Ya's delicate body trembled, and finally shed hot tears for her own stupidity. Xiang Shaolong saw it in his eyes, and his hatred for her decreased a little. Everyone in the hall was very excited, and there were many discussions. "when!" When the wine glass shattered, he immediately became solemn. Zhao Wang threw his cup to the ground and said coldly: "Killing the enemy is fighting with life. The way of war is also the way of life and death. Good! I don't impose any restrictions. The winner is my swordsman. " The two couples in front of the dragon banquet agreed together. Zhao Wangdao: "The contest begins." The whole hall was silent, silently waiting for the show to begin. Mrs. Ya fell into the arms of Mrs. An, the king's sister beside her, and couldn't bear to witness the tragic situation of Xiang Shaolong being killed. Wu Tingfang also turned pale, leaned on Naifu, and said in a trembling voice: "He won't lose!" "Clang!" Lian Jin drew out his famous golden lightsaber, came to the center of the hall and stood still, holding the sword and bowing with a smile on his face. Xiang Shaolong stood up, took off his coat with one hand, and casually threw it aside, revealing the warrior uniform specially designed for him by Shu'er and the four servants, making him look even more magnificent with broad shoulders and thin waist. Originally, everyone thought that Lian Jin was mighty and mighty, but in comparison, Xiang Shaolong had an upright and awe-inspiring heroism, which won the praise of men and the love of women. When Xiang Shaolong pulled out the wooden sword, everyone let out another sound of surprise. He stood on the other side of Lian Jin and saluted with his sword. Zhao Wang was surprised: "Shaolong competes with wooden swords, isn't he afraid of losing money?" Xiang Shaolong smiled faintly, and said in an indescribably chic way: "Your Majesty, don't worry, this wooden sword is specially made by my minister, so I'm not afraid of sharp weapons." Lian Jin laughed secretly in his heart, I just want to see how good you are, a person who has been hollowed out. Madam Ya couldn't help raising her head to take a peek at him, seeing him so mighty, she felt even more remorseful, and fell into Madam An's arms again, she couldn't bear to watch him any longer. If you want to find the most painful person in the audience, it must be her. Before Xiang Shaolong, Zhao Mu was the one who had always controlled her heart. Since Zhao Kuo died in Changping, Zhao Mu took advantage of the situation and conquered her. At the beginning Zhao Mu was very infatuated with her attractive body, but within a year he was attracted by young handsome men and women from other countries. Over the years, she has been indifferent to her, and under the feeling of loneliness and revenge, she started a debauched life of hunting men, until she met Xiang Shaolong, and gradually replaced Zhao Mu. This time she was tricked by Zhao Mu into dealing with Xiang Shaolong. On the one hand, she was intimidated by his power, fearing that he would hurt Xiang Shaolong and ruin their good deeds; more importantly, she was subconsciously accustomed to accepting his orders, so she became confused for a while. Cast into hate. After Zhao Mu snatched her from Xiang Shaolong's hands yesterday morning, he tried his best to play with her for a long time, using drugs and clever provocative methods, combined with coercion and temptation, and finally succeeded in driving her to carry out his poisonous plan. The condition is that Xiang Shaolong will not be hurt, and the good things between her and Xiang Shaolong will be fulfilled afterwards, and they will not harass her in the future. Now of course she realized that Zhao Mu was lying to her. At this threatening moment, Zhao Mu said with a long smile: "Since ancient times, heroes have been paired with beauties. In order to increase the value and make our soldiers and civilians understand your king's intention to promote swordsmanship, I have another proposal." Zhao Wang was very different about this "love man", he didn't think so, and said: "Juluhou's proposal is always very useful, please tell me!" Zhao Mu's sharp eyes swept across the audience, and he said slowly: "What I propose is: the winner of this sword competition can choose any beautiful woman in this hall to be his wife. Such a beauty can get all the official positions, isn't it a great beauty Please allow your Majesty the matter." Everyone booed together. Xiang Shaolong couldn't help secretly praising Zhao Mu for being great, and also saw through his plot. It goes without saying that if Lian Jin defeated him, he could take Wu Tingfang as his own, then he could give it to Zhao Mu as a gift. Mu can get what he wants. Wu Zhiji's face immediately changed, he also saw through the other party's tricks, but it was difficult to speak out against it.Because if it means that the winner will definitely choose his granddaughter, it also indirectly shows that Wu Tingfang is the most beautiful, and other beauties are not eligible. King Zhao was slightly startled when he heard this, and thought of Wu Tingfang, thinking to himself that if he dared not issue this order, he would tell all the officials in the palace that he was afraid of Wu Tingfang, he pondered for a long time and looked up to the sky with a smile: "The sword wins the beauty and returns." In this way, tonight's palace battle will surely be passed down through the ages, and the widow is just like Juluhou invited, and the winner can choose any unmarried woman as his wife in the arena." Once the dragon's mouth is opened, the matter is a foregone conclusion. ◇◇◇◇◇◇ Everyone's attention returned to the two Xiang Lian in the arena. Lian Jin couldn't hide his joy. He and Zhao Mu secretly agreed that Zhao Mu would own Wu Tingfang for the first three days, and then this stunning beauty would belong to him. Seeing her, it is the difference between heaven and hell. Xiang Shaolong is calm to almost cold, entering the state of Mozi's swordsmanship to cultivate the mind and guard. "when!" The sword fight begins. Lian Jin turned to Xiang Shaolong, opened his posture, stood with both feet in a lunge, sat on the horse with his waist down, his upper body slightly leaned back, and the golden lightsaber gleaming under the light pointed at Xiang Shaolong twenty steps away. Clinging to his chest, it makes people feel his powerful strength, ready to go. Xiang Shaolong's eyes were lowered, the wooden sword touched the ground, like an old monk in meditation, facing King Zhao, still facing Lian Jin with his shoulder sideways. Although the two didn't make a move, everyone felt the contrast between movement and stillness strongly, forming a breathless tension. Lian Jin didn't know that this kind of stillness is the essence of Mozi's swordsmanship, he thought that the opponent was timid due to his physical loss, so he laughed and said, "Brother Xiang is not timid, is he?" Madam Ya sat up straight and looked into the field, hiding a dagger in her sleeve, she cried in her heart: "Don't be afraid, Xiang Lang, Zhao Ya will go with you." When everyone said this to Lian Jin, they all felt that Shaolong was timid and talked a lot, Zhao Wang and Wu Shijian also showed displeasure, Zhao Mu even sneered disdainfully. This is not to say that their foresight is not good enough, but that Mozi's spirit of focusing on defense and not on offense is quite different from the swordsmanship and mentality of the time.Let me ask if the two enemies are facing each other, who is not attacking with all their strength, so as to kill the enemy in one fell swoop. A smile appeared on the corner of Xiang Shaolong's mouth, and he said calmly: "Brother Lian can't know the best swordsmanship, let's do it! Don't let others misunderstand that Brother Lian is a man who only knows how to talk." Lian Jin was so angry that his eyes shot out with murderous intent, he straightened his waist, and pushed forward with his hands, the golden light sword shot away, stabbing the flank point under the opponent's shoulder, accurately and ruthlessly. The two seats of Zhao Mu and Shao Yuanjun burst into applause immediately. Xiang Shaolong remained calm, unaffected by the sound of cheering for the other party. He already knew that once he got started, it would be difficult to pretend to be weak, otherwise he would definitely be killed by Lian Jin, whose swordsmanship was never inferior to his own, but he could use his strategy to lure him into the trap. Lian Jin deceived him that he was weak and weak, so he must attack with all his strength, and Lian Jin hated him deeply, and wanted to consume his physical strength, so he was relentless in his strikes, and did not leave any room for reckless moves. He was counted. Comparing physical strength, how can Lian Jin be his opponent who has received the most rigorous physical training. So when Lian Jin thought that his physical strength was being consumed, it was actually the opposite. It was Lian Jin himself who was being consumed. What's more, he also took advantage of the three or four times the weight of the wooden sword, and Lian Jin was the one who suffered when fighting recklessly. The golden lightsaber has arrived, shooting towards the left flank. Xiang Shaolong didn't say a word, he took a step back to the right side, turned around, and lifted the heavy wooden sword diagonally from the ground, hitting the golden light sword's tip, which was the weakest point of the opponent. The golden lightsaber couldn't stand it, it swung away immediately. This time it was everyone's turn to applaud, the one who shouted the loudest was of course the Wu family, Wu Tingfang almost smashed his palms. Even Jin didn't expect that the opponent's swordsmanship was better than the last time he struck, and he was afraid that the opponent would take advantage of the momentum to pursue him. He was about to attack, but he took a step back in fright. At this moment, the sword in Xiang Shaolong's hand trembled slightly, and fell a little, revealing the flaws in his face. Lian Jin was overjoyed, he thought to himself that the boy showed fatigue after the second sword strike, how could he hesitate, with a sound of "嗖", he raised his sword and struck straight, as if about to strike at the opponent's wooden sword, when it was parallel to his shoulder, he rushed forward, With a sinking and stretching of the wrist, he changed from a straight strike to a flat thrust, obliquely marking the opponent's door, and at the same time kicked the opponent's wooden sword quickly, vowing to kill the enemy with one move. His movements are as smooth as a swimming dragon, and he is done in one go, full of murderous aura, everyone is stunned and worried about Xiang Shaolong. Madam Ya just let out a groan, and when the people around her were all focused on the field, she pressed the dagger against her lower abdomen. Xiang Shaolong stared coldly at the golden lightsaber that was as mad as a poisonous dragon, quickly moved sideways, swung the wooden sword backhand, and hit the golden lightsaber hard. With a sound of "Du", the golden lightsaber swung away again. The crowd was mesmerized and applauded loudly. Although Lian Jin's wrists were numb from the shock, but because Xiang Shaolong had put away 50% of his strength, Lian Jin thought he was at the end of his strength, but relying on his exquisite swordsmanship and the weight of the wooden sword itself to block the golden lightsaber, Then he let out a long laugh, and swiped ten swords in a row, each sword opened and closed, forcing the enemy to fight recklessly. Xiang Shaolong secretly laughed in his heart, the opponent gave up his exquisite and meticulous swordsmanship, it was his weakness that attacked my strength. So he fought and retreated, defending impeccably, whether picking or chopping, he always resolved Lian Jin's offensive of sweeping fallen leaves with the slightest chance. On the surface, Lian Jin had the upper hand, forcing Xiang Shaolong to keep retreating, completely powerless to fight back, but Lian Jin knew that although the opponent seemed dangerous, he still couldn't break through his last attack. line of defense. Why is this person's resilience still so strong after last night's exhaustion. The crowd had never seen such an astonishing swordsmanship before, and they screamed like crazy. Zhao Wang was also moved by it and clapped his hands frequently. Zhao Mu originally thought that Lian Jin could kill the enemy quickly, but now he frowned and looked at Mrs. Ya, seeing her sad face, he was relieved a little. Lord Shaoyuan screamed the loudest, wishing that Lian Jin's sword would chop Xiang Shaolong's head off. Xiang Shaolong took another three steps back, let out a long laugh, and stood still.The heavy wooden sword slashed obliquely with all its strength, and before hitting the golden light sword, it changed twice. Lian Jin, who was so tired and slightly exhausted, had to change his moves twice before blocking the heavy wooden sword. "Dang!" The sound that came out this time was similar to the clear sound when two iron swords collided. Lian Jin was shocked, and found that the opponent's strength had at least doubled. Even though he was unwilling, he still had to take two steps back, giving up attack for defense, and the violent and endless offensive finally collapsed. Xiang Shaolong's eyes widened, and he shot a sharp light. The whole figure straightened up, exuding an incomparable heroic spirit, and said coldly, "You've been tricked!" Taking half a step forward, with a loud shout, he raised his sword and slashed at the other side's door. The sound of the wind howled, harsh and ear-piercing, and what was even more astonishing was the sweeping sword, which had a tragic effect like thousands of horses and thousands of troops fighting on the battlefield. The tide of shouting and cheering suddenly stopped. This change is too surprising. Many people stood up unconsciously, and Zhao Mu was one of them. Mrs. Ya also stood up with a scream of "ah", the dagger in her hand slipped to the ground, and she looked at the mighty lover on the court with a happy face. Lian Jin was frightened out of his wits when the other party said "You have been tricked", but he is a master in the end, he tried his best to fight the inevitable sword with a "dang" . Lian Jin's tiger's mouth burst, his arm strength was not as strong as Xiang Shaolong's, and he was exhausted from fighting for a long time, and the opponent's wooden sword weighed more than a hundred catties, so Xiang Shaolong even took three steps back when he was hacked by Xiang Shaolong. Only then did the audience burst into deafening applause. Xiang Shaolong's eyes showed no expression at all, he was as still as still water, the heavy wooden sword rested on his shoulder, and he pressed towards Lian Jin step by step, making the footsteps of "噗噗噗", forming a murderous symphony. The powerful momentum rushed away, not giving Lian Jin any chance to breathe. Lian Jin knew that he must not allow the enemy to gain momentum, so he shouted, and the golden lightsaber turned into blossoming sword lights, and changed from wide opening and closing back to delicate and exquisite housekeeping swordsmanship. Xiang Shaolong's heavy wooden sword bounced from his shoulder, came into the air, and said coldly: "It's too late!" The heavy wooden sword accelerated violently, as if clumsy and ingenious, it slashed wildly at the center of the sword light. The sword flower dispersed, and Lian Jin staggered back, with blood oozing from the corner of his mouth. Xiang Shaolong knew that he wanted to avenge blood and blood, and at this moment, thinking of the names of Shu'er and Su Nu in his heart, he rushed forward and rushed towards Lian Jin with his sword. The two figures merged and parted at once. Everything stopped, as if time and space were frozen at this moment. The audience was so quiet that a needle could be heard, except for a few sharp-sighted swordsmen like Zhao Mu, the rest could not see clearly what happened. The two exchanged positions, one step apart, their backs facing each other. Xiang Shaolong raised his head to the top of the hall, shouldered the wooden sword back on his shoulder, and there was endless sadness and resentment in his eyes. With an expression of disbelief on Lian Jin's face, he looked down at the sword in his chest, feeling the broken breastbone and the gradually spreading pain. Everyone was dumbfounded, looking at the two people standing still in the arena. Lian Jin groaned and knelt down on his knees. Xiang Shaolong looked up to the sky and smiled, knelt down to King Zhao, tapped his sword on the ground, and said respectfully: "Fortunately, I did not disgrace my life, and I am willing to marry Miss Wu's family Ting Fang." He said these two sentences on purpose to Lian Jin . Hearing this, Lian Jin was furious, spurted a mouthful of blood, fell to the ground, and died on the spot as if kowtowing. Zhao Mu's face turned pale with anger, his hands clenched into fists, and he stared fiercely at Mrs. Ya who was sitting at the table. Mrs. Ya's pretty face showed heart-stopping ecstasy, her delicate body trembled, and she just turned her head and glanced at him, with a disdainful expression on the corner of her mouth. Zhao Mu suddenly knew that Mrs. Ya was completely out of his control. Everyone in the Wu family was extremely excited. Wu Tingfang covered her pretty face with both hands, tears rolling down uncontrollably, God!She is his little wife. Everyone in the hall still hadn't recovered from the emotion of witnessing the fierce battle just now, they watched dumbly, only Xiang Shaolong's voice echoed in the hall in their ears. Zhao Wang personally filled a glass of wine, left the table, walked towards Xiang Shaolong, and sighed: "Such sword skills are truly unprecedented. From today onwards, Shaolong is not only Wu Tingfang's son-in-law, but also the chief imperial escort of my Great Zhao." Lieutenant, I give you a glass of fine wine." Xiang Shaolong put down his wooden sword, kowtowed to thank him, then knelt down to receive the wine, and drank it all in one gulp. The cheers rang out. No one was interested in casting a glance at Lian Jin's corpse.