Insufficient balance

  Light rain, people without umbrellas got wet. Seeing two men competing in martial arts and betting on gold, more people were attracted to watch, so the strong man's stall was surrounded by a growing crowd, much livelier than when he was performing alone earlier. Some idle onlookers also seized the opportunity to set up their own gambling stalls nearby.

  Xue Chongxun handed the umbrella in his hand to San Niang, picked up the wooden stick and walked into the arena, clasped his fists and said: "My surname is Xue. Since we are going to exchange blows, please tell me your name, strong warrior."

  The robust man also made a fist and said: "I'm a humble commoner, surnamed Bao, with a single given name Cheng."

  Xue Chongxun lifted his long gown, raised the wooden stick with both hands and said: "Let's do it." His posture was that of a horizontal knife. The horizontal knife is a double-handed knife, emphasizing a fierce attack but not being too tight on defense.

  Bao Cheng saw the situation and didn't hesitate, shouting "You're asking for it!" as he raised his wooden staff. His strong and tall body charged towards Xue Chongxun like a raging bull.

  "Bang!" Xue Chongxun was struck, and suddenly felt his tiger's mouth numb from the shock, both hands aching in pain, the wooden stick almost slipping out of his grasp. This sturdy man's strength was indeed impressive.

  Bao Cheng let out a loud "Hah!" and, without stopping for a moment, swung his axe down at Xue Chongxun with a fierce chop, the force of which was like splitting open a mountain.

  Xue Chong's original training was also a big and bold knife method, but looking at his momentum, he didn't have the confidence to fight back hard, so he had to jump back and dodge his attack. Bao Cheng immediately followed up, his footsteps not very elegant, but every move and gesture was concise and efficient, which was actually a practical method on the battlefield.

  His height indeed gave people a kind of psychological pressure, Xue Chongxun faced Bao Cheng, a nine-foot-tall strong man, and felt like there was a big mountain in front of him, making it very difficult to attack.

  Two men, one attacking and the other defending, Xue Chongxun was forced to retreat step by step. The onlookers cheered loudly! The situation seemed like a one-sided affair, but among the people present, at least Bao Cheng himself and San Niang, who was watching from the side, knew that it was at most a draw. Because Bao Cheng didn't even touch Xue Chongxun's sleeve.

  Xue Chongxun was always retreating, but he retreated with ease and composure. His footsteps were also steady and measured, without any flaws. Every time Bao Cheng's wooden stick came at him, it missed by an inch or two. From a young age, Xue had learned archery, horse riding, sword fighting, and other martial arts from famous masters who not only emphasized practicality but also etiquette. At this moment, as he faced his opponent, his long robe fluttered, his sleeves danced, and compared to the robust man's fierce attack, Xue exuded a clear air of elegance.

  After circling around twice, Bao Cheng was panting slightly, and for a long time he couldn't touch Xue Chongxun's hem. His face showed anxiety and irritation. When he rushed to Xue Chongxun again, without saying a word, he swung his stick horizontally at Xue Chongxun's head.

  "Good!" Xue Chongxun shouted, ducking down to avoid a blow, taking a horse step forward, and thrusting his staff at Bao Cheng's waist. "Ah!" Bao Cheng cried out in pain, simultaneously swinging his staff down at Xue Chongxun's shoulder, but by then Xue Chongxun had already spun around, brushing past his shoulder to the side, and chopping down at his neck, though since they were fighting with "point-to-stop", Xue Chongxun didn't use too much force.

  Bao Cheng immediately pushed hard, and when he turned around, he saw Xue Chongxun had already jumped sideways into the air, his hands raised high with a wooden stick, chopping down from above.

  "Break!" Xue Chongxun shouted loudly, with a momentum like thunder and lightning. With a loud "bang", the wooden stick that Bao Cheng had brought was split into two segments from the middle. Bao Cheng retreated three steps in a row before stabilizing himself, almost falling to the ground on his butt.

  "Alright, alright." Xue Chongxun smiled and clasped his fists. At this time, the people around also cheered loudly, Bao Cheng saw the situation and had to admit defeat, saying: "Xue Ming Gong's martial arts skills are impressive, I admire you."

  At this time, Bao Cheng's wife with a birthmark on her face ran up and handed over the gold, smiling all over her face: "Return it to you, shouldn't have gotten it, we don't covet it."

  Xue Chongxun saw the little woman's delighted expression and felt a bit strange. Don't all women want their husbands to make a lot of money? Why was Bao Cheng happy when he lost?

  Bao Cheng said dejectedly: "I paid the price for underestimating you, next time I'll have the chance to learn from you again."

  Xue Chongxun burst out laughing, "Victory and defeat are common in the military, no need to be attached. However, Zhuang Shi indeed has skills, regardless of winning or losing, this reward is still yours, but I want to hire you as a recruiting officer, with horses, food, and military pay, better than running around Jianghu, are you willing?"

  Bao Cheng's face lit up with joy, but before he could respond, the little woman beside him rudely interrupted and said: "We like to run wild and free!"

  The status of women in the Tang Dynasty was higher than that of other dynasties, but it was still a dynasty with Confucianism as its core, where men were superior to women and women's words were considered impolite. When Xue Chongxun heard her speak like this, he also felt a little displeased in his heart.

  As expected, Bao Cheng was extremely annoyed and glared at the woman, saying: "I treated you as a sister-in-law out of consideration for our shared hometown. When have I ever been impolite? What right do you have to interfere in my affairs?"

  The woman was extremely wronged, and her anger shifted to Xue Chongxun's head. She glared at Xue Chongxun and said, "Didn't we agree that the money would be given only if Bao Lang won? How can you not keep your word?"

  Xue Chongxun: "......"

  Suddenly seeing that the woman's eyes were filled with tears, she said loudly: "What's the big deal about having money? We don't care, get out!"

  "How dare you!" Bao Cheng was furious, pulling the woman back and bowing his fist to Xue Chongxun, saying: "Country bumpkin, no manners, please don't mind. Let's find a place to talk in detail? You can rest assured, I understand military training and can control my subordinates. If there's an opportunity to serve the country, I'm more than willing. Don't mind her, she's not my wife, just pretending to be one for food."

  "Ah..." Xue Chongxun glanced at the woman crying behind him and thought to himself, "I originally thought Bao Cheng was a man of great loyalty and righteousness, willing to perform on the streets to cure his mother's illness. It seems that things in this world are not as simple and pure as people see them."

  At this time, the woman said with hatred: "You people, none of you are good! For wealth and glory, can you really do anything?"

  Bao Cheng's face turned iron-green, and he shouted: "Shut up! Can't you just keep quiet and pretend to be mute? What wealth and honor, I am serving the country, which is better than performing on the streets! You're a jinx, uncomfortable with others' good fortune!"

  "Alright, I'm a broom star, I won't hold you back. You go your wealthy way, and I'll cross my lonely bridge. It's better that way, so people won't despise me." The woman said as she ran away in tears, her conical hat falling off, running into the rain with her head exposed.

  Xue Chongxun looked at her back and said to Bao Cheng: "You go catch up with her first, settle her down, then come find me at the Ministry of Revenue, my surname is Xue, I'll instruct someone to give you a heads up."

  Bao Cheng said: "Don't bother with her, I don't have much of a relationship with her anyway. In the past, it was just because we were from the same place that I took care of her and gave her face, but now she doesn't want to give me any face, so why should I care about her?"

  Xue Chongxun didn't know if he was saying this just to save face, but he said: "Everyone's family affairs are none of my business. I'll go back first, and you come to the yamen tomorrow morning." He thought for a moment, then handed the gold in his hand over to Bao Cheng.

  Bao Cheng hastily declined: "I won't accept a salary for no achievement, I absolutely cannot accept this."

  "Stop being stubborn, the government's resettlement allowance is what you deserve, take care of your family." Xue Chongxun said and bid him farewell, not wanting to delay things... He guessed that Bao Cheng would immediately go and bring back his little wife, after all they had been together for so long, Bao Cheng's initial attitude was just a show, for the sake of face.

  Farewell to Bao Cheng, Xue Chongxun looked up at the approaching night and walked back with San Niang and several guards. At this time, San Niang suddenly said: "That woman is really pitiful."

  Xue Chongxun casually said, "I'm also curious, why did she make things difficult for Bao Cheng for no reason? Men have a good job, and in the future, she won't have to suffer from wind and rain."

  The third daughter said coldly: "Can't you see it clearly, sir?"

  "What's going on?" Xue Chongxun asked with some curiosity.

  Third Sister sneered, "A husband can share hardships with you, but not wealth and honor. That woman is perceptive; if that Bao fellow had money and a legitimate government job, who knows whether he would have abandoned her or not, let alone spend all day accompanying her like before."

  Xue Chongxun couldn't help but stop in his tracks, turn around and look at San Niang: "You said that, I suddenly remembered Bao Cheng explaining several times that Xiao Qiang wasn't his wife..."

  "Lang Jun now understands why that woman was so rude, right?" San Niang said calmly. "It's human nature, such things are common in the world, Lang Jun doesn't need to mind... If it were someone else, they would probably be like Bao Cheng, with a big bruise on their face and possibly even a problem with their hand. The gold piece you gave can buy several young and healthy servant girls back in the village."

  "Is that so?" Xue Chongxun said dazedly, he silently turned around and walked a few steps, suddenly turning his head back to say: "Third Sister, you take two people back now to search for her. The sky is raining, that woman shouldn't have run too far away. If Bao Cheng hasn't found her, you bring her back, otherwise how can she be left alone and helpless in Luoyang?"

  The third daughter quietly clenched her fists and said: "I'll go now. You two, follow me."

  Xue Chongxun returned to his residence and found that the maid in the house was Jiang Cainiang, who had been on duty in the study during the day. He couldn't help but ask in surprise: "Aren't you supposed to be on duty during the day? What are you doing here?"

  Cai Niang bowed her head and said: "The housekeeper said it's rare for me to be familiar with Lang Jun, so let me come over and serve him, also good for Lang Jun to put his mind at ease."

  Xue Chongxun hesitated for a moment, looked around and saw no one else, then suddenly walked up to Cai Niang's face, stretched out his hand to touch her chin. Cai Niang was shocked, hastily dodged away, and said with a loss of color: "Lang Jun, I'm just a servant girl, can't serve in the bed..."

  Xue Chongxun smiled, "You don't want to?"

  "I don't deserve this..." The bride's face turned pale as she said, "Let me go, sir. Otherwise, others will gossip behind our backs."

  Xue Chongxun didn't make things difficult for her, took a few steps and said: "It's like this, because of my position, it's impossible to want someone like you... You know there's no benefit, so naturally you're not willing."

  The little girl lowered her head and didn't speak.

  Xue Chongxun suddenly sighed and said, "What if I had nothing now, and you followed me. But one day I rose to power, would I still want you?"

  The little girl said in a mosquito-like voice: "This young man should ask himself, I don't know."