Chapter Thirty-Nine Receiving

  In the early morning, in the southwest corner of Xuzhou City's market, the atmosphere seemed not quite right. In fact, this market, which was called "Mule's trough" by the locals, had an unpleasant atmosphere every day. Although it was named after mules, it had nothing to do with those large livestock, especially in the past twenty years or so, when it had almost been completely taken over by gambling dens and wine shops. Many honest villagers had moved away from here, and their original houses had been occupied by some shady characters, turning this place into another den of thieves.

  With such a landscape, it's impossible for this place to be peaceful. Every now and then, someone will stir up trouble, and fights are a common occurrence. In fact, every two or three months, there will even be one or two lives lost, making it one of the most lawless areas in Xuzhou.

  However, the atmosphere today is strange, but it's not because someone made trouble. On the contrary, it's very quiet here, so quiet that it's eerie and makes people feel a little panicked. The several shops that have been closed for days all opened their doors today, but they don't seem to be doing any business either. They just stood at the door, dressed neatly, as if waiting for someone to come over. Other shops are open as usual, but there will always be a few apprentices standing at the door looking into the distance.

  Everything can be proved, today this side is indeed something big coming over, and it should be related to those few shops. Thinking about the other side before because there was no backing, leading to always not being able to open for business, today's momentum is afraid that a backer has already been found.

  It was said that these places were originally going to be taken over by Su Xiao Yi, but judging from today's situation, it seems that this is not the case. I wonder which hero will be able to take down all seven shops in one go under Su Xiao Yi's nose in this chaotic place. Could it be that our Xuzhou has produced another extraordinary figure?

  The wait was long, but also relaxing and enjoyable. Countless people gathered around various breakfast stalls, eating their breakfast while looking up at the sky, all wanting to be the first to know the news so they could go tell their friends and family. As a result, the large horse stable, which normally had thousands of people coming and going, became eerily quiet that morning when everyone was opening for business. Those who were in the know didn't think it was strange, but those who weren't knew something was off and panicked, asking around to get wind of what was happening, only feeling at ease once they got confirmation.

  After nearly half a time, a man suddenly ran over from the west. The man was in a hurry, with oil sweat on his head, and rushed to the front of the seven shops in the center. He said to Lin Yong, who was leading: "Brother, it's here! It's here!"

  Lin Yong naturally knew it was Song Qing who had come. He didn't ask who it was, but just slightly nodded his head. Someone beside him asked, "How many people have they brought?"

  "Didn't count carefully, roughly around fifty."

  "Fifty or so people?" Lin Yong furrowed his brow, feeling a bit uneasy in his heart. This time, he had decided to follow Song Qing, thinking that as an official, Song's personal strength wasn't weak either, and should be able to handle Su Xiao Yi. That's why he had risked offending the City South Yan Wang Ye, handing over the shop to Song Qing.

  Now Song Qing only brought fifty or so people, if Su Xiao Yi comes to attack in full force, how can we resist? Fifty people are still no match for three hundred, right? Our side had clearly stated that they would not help each other until the outcome was decided, how could Song Qing be so confident, thinking that his fifty or so people could defeat the people from the south of the city? If I had known he was so arrogant, I shouldn't have spoken so confidently yesterday, it would have been better to let both sides see who wins first and then decide which side to belong to.

  It's just that now it's too late to say this, since Song Qing's people have arrived, they can only be received first. If Su Xiao Yi calls over there, he can only honestly lead the people out first and wait for the outcome of the battle before doing anything else. If Song Qing loses the war at that time, these people will also have no choice but to let Su Xiao Yi deal with them.

  Lin Yong, after all, was an old hand, and although he had some dissatisfaction in his heart, it didn't show on his face. Seeing Song Qing lead a group of dozens of people over, he immediately led several trusted followers to welcome them, but when one of his subordinates was about to shout something, he slapped him back with a loud slap, lowering his voice and saying: "What are you shouting for? Are you afraid that Su Xiao Yi doesn't know that Song Qing is the one we're welcoming in? If this Song Qing loses in the future, our being friendly to him today will add to our guilt in front of Su Xiao Yi. Do you understand?"

  "Alright, big brother, we won't make a sound." The several subordinates also understood and followed quietly behind, slowly walking towards Song Qing's direction.

  Not far away, Song Qing had already led the group to a big step, and this team was all his subordinates, usually training with him, so the team walked quite neatly, and because they were military households on the move, carrying knives and guns was also normal behavior, shouting slogans along the way, looking quite majestic.

  Many onlookers were puzzled, unable to recall who this was. The Wei family had little interaction with them, even if they knew their reputation. Now in their thirties and forties, the leader looked only sixteen or seventeen years old, making it truly impossible to guess which young hero this was.

  Those who were slightly familiar with the guards guessed that it might be Wang Jian, the son of Wang Chang, the young master of the guards, but soon someone who had seen Wang Jian came out to refute them. The crowd guessed again until someone said that this was Song Qing, the son of Song Lao Hu, a good man with nine lives on his back, and for a moment everyone was shocked.

  Xuzhou is a place where the people are bold and fierce, with a strong tradition of martial arts. Even in an era that values literature over martial prowess, the most admired figures are not those who have achieved great success in the imperial examinations, but rather the skilled warriors. Song Qingnian was only sixteen years old when he single-handedly killed nine bandits, instantly changing people's perceptions.

  Someone in the crowd coldly said: "Xuzhou Wei Song Qing, south of the city Su Xiao Yi, now you can see Lezi."

  Song Qing had made thorough preparations for this trip, and had his soldiers dress up neatly, marching in formation with their heads held high to give the people of Lü Ma Chuan a strong impression of military power. Now it seemed that the effect was not bad, as Lin Yong led his men approaching, he was about to quicken his pace to greet them, but Luo Xiao Bei suddenly came over and said: "Sir, our brothers have returned, Su Xiao Yi's side should have received the news by now, and they are gathering their men to rush over here. There are probably around 70 or 80 people, all of whom are Su Xiao Yi's most skilled fighters. Su Xiao Yi himself is leading the team, saying that he wants to let the people of Lü Ma Chuan know who is the top hero in Xuzhou."

  "It's all set, we'll meet this top-notch hero from Xuzhou today." Song Qing had a sly smile on his face and whispered to Luo Xiaobei: "Let that brother go through the trouble again, tell Ding Kui and Wang Jian, when Su Xiao Yi leads her people out of the south city gate, they can take action."

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