Inside the house

  The next morning, the Second Miss's train returned home under escort by a troop of Iron Guards cavalry. To guard against anyone who might not be willing to accept yesterday's defeat, even the carriages were filled with crossbowmen.

  All the way back to Tiechang, Liu Ziguo, a newly promoted Tiechang guard, was taken to the Tie Guard headquarters. After a swearing-in ceremony, he was assigned a brand new uniform: black tight-sleeved arrow jacket, thin-soled boots, a black martial arts headband, a sheepskin coat, a dark-colored armor suit, a helmet in the shape of an iron bowl, a waist knife, and a shield-shaped iron badge with two large characters "Tie Guard" followed by a five-pointed star. At the bottom were two small words "Nei Zhai" and a new serial number that was hammered on: 9527. Nei Zhai indicated that he belonged to the Imperial Guard responsible for guarding the inner courtyard, which differed from other departments such as factory defense, patrol, and transportation in terms of responsibilities. 9527 was the permanent serial number that Liu Ziguo had been branded with since he became a slave in the factory, and it remained unchanged even after becoming a Tie Guard.

  Liu Ziguang wore a new outfit and walked proudly in the inner courtyard, on his way to meet Hu Xianjue, the captain of the imperial guard. Along the way, he caught the eye of many maidservants who couldn't help but glance at him, and he responded with a smile, looking pleased with himself.

  Captain Hu Xianjue's temples were sunken, his eyes were sharp and piercing, and his whole body exuded a domineering aura that only a master could have. This made the young man feel an overwhelming sense of pressure. Liu Ziguang hastily composed himself and bowed: "Subordinate Liu Ziguang, reporting for duty to Captain Hu."

  Hu Xianjue walked around him a few times, nodded and said in a low voice: "Hmmm, the person recommended by Second Miss is indeed good, a great material for practicing martial arts. You can temporarily serve as Second Miss's bodyguard."

  At the same time, in the study of the inner house, a specially made giant red wood desk was piled up with files, account books, and several abacuses. A dignified young girl sat on a brocade-covered rosewood chair behind the desk, holding a delicate hardwood pen, dipping it in the inkstone to write something on paper. The number of cast iron radiators in the room was also more than in other rooms. The girl wore only a light yellow satin jacket, with a head of soft and shiny long hair, under which were a pair of bright eyes like morning stars, with clear and beautiful eyebrows and eyes, surprisingly similar to those of the second young lady, but lacking a bit of playfulness and coquettishness, while having more calmness and grandeur.

  The young lady looked at the second lady who was pacing back and forth in the room and said: "Xiao Wei, this time you took advantage of Father's seclusion to cause trouble in Xuzhou Prefecture, it's not a small matter. If it weren't for the help of Han Dazhanggui and Niu Canjiang, I'm afraid it wouldn't have ended so well. Huang Zhifu is from a wealthy salt merchant family in Haizhou, and he has the backing of Huang Gonggong in the capital, I'm afraid he's not someone to be trifled with. You bullied his nephew, and he can't just let it go. It's getting close to the end of the year, you'd better not go out, it's best to stay in the factory honestly. And that 100,000 taels from the eighteen households of Jiangnan Lianfeng Branch, you actually dared to use it to show off your wealth. The factory looks prosperous on the surface, but in reality, we're already struggling to make ends meet. Recently, the hundreds of thousands of taels of military equipment fees from the Ministry of War have been delayed for some reason. Now even the coal bill from the Peng family in Xuzhou Prefecture is difficult to pay. If we stop the coal supply, we can't smelt iron even with just the iron ore. Fortunately, we have this 100,000 taels, first use it to settle accounts with those rice and flour shop owners, otherwise, if outsiders know that our iron factory has no silver, they'll come swarming in to demand debt repayment. The Peng family is an old acquaintance, but it's just a business relationship, not a life-and-death friendship. If we cut off the coal supply, we really won't be able to keep going, and we won't be able to pay the workers' wages, I'm afraid there will be trouble. Fortunately, there are all of you uncles holding things down. Otherwise, how could I, a weak woman, have managed to get through this?"

  "Second Miss's pout is so deep it could hold an oil bottle! She jumped over and shook the arm of the girl in yellow: "Sister~~~~, didn't we already get 100,000 taels? I've been very good, you let me be lenient with the servants, yesterday I even promoted two slave workers to iron guards! You want me to cut expenses, yesterday I rewarded those iron guards and imperial guards, each only got one or two silver coins! How humiliating! Oh right, sister, if our family is having financial difficulties, I'll take out 30,000 taels from my private funds to help, no big deal, you can just pay me back later!"

  The girl in yellow, obviously the current acting owner of Liguo Iron Factory: Miss. She rubbed her temples and flipped through the account book randomly, muttering to herself: "I'm using this study as a temporary accounting room now, but the accounts are all mixed up, those accountants did a terrible job, it's giving me a headache, I still can't get a clear picture, I feel like there's something wrong somewhere. Looks like I'll have to invite some accountants from the Huishang Bankers' Guild to help me investigate."

  Upon hearing the second young lady's words, she finished speaking and raised her head to smile at the second young lady, saying: "Thirty thousand taels, oh my, Little Wei is really generous. Have someone send it over later, sister is busy here and dizzy from turning around, you go play elsewhere first."

  Inside the Imperial Guard's barracks, Liu Ziguo stood awkwardly, at a loss for what to do, with no place to sit, as everyone was busy with their own affairs, and no one paid attention to this newcomer. In the clusters of guards, there were occasional piercing glances, and words like "thief slave, lucky dog" rang out without restraint.

  Liu Ziguang endured in silence, but those guards didn't know the depth of the situation. A tall and thin guard walked over, his eyebrows and eyes full of disdain: "I heard that you, this newcomer, have impressive skills with fists, feet, swords, and spears, and even have a nickname like 'General' among the lower ranks. You're quite ambitious, aren't you? I'd like to learn from you, but I don't know if General will grant me an audience."

  Several people around them started making noise, all wanting to watch the martial arts competition. Liu Ziguang listened to Lu Gaozhi's sarcastic words and was also annoyed in his heart. He thought that if it was a martial arts competition, he couldn't be blamed for using his skills. So he cupped his hands: "Please instruct me."

  A group of people came to the empty space under the hall, sweeping away the snow on the ground and laying out green bricks. Lu Gaozhi said: "Swords have no eyes, let's try our hand at fist and footwork first." Liu Ziguo said: "As you wish."

  Before he could even finish speaking, Liu Ziguang saw a flurry of legs flying in front of him, all belonging to Lu Gaoshi. He had no choice but to defend his head and face like a boxer, and in an instant, he was kicked several times, forcing him to retreat several steps back.

  Lu Gaozhi suddenly jumped up, a beautiful airborne spin kick, the sole of his boot kicked Liu Ziguang's face, with enough force, Liu Ziguang was kicked to the ground, his mouth full of blood. Liu Ziguang swallowed the blood and quickly got up, wanting to fight again. But saw Lu Gaofeng already wearing a sheepskin coat under the escort of the guards, holding a teacup presented by others and drinking tea. The surrounding area was filled with cheers.

  "It's indeed a descendant of the divine leg road, without even moving his hands, he solved the problem with just a few kicks."

  "That's natural, Brother Lu's skills are not something that a trivial person like San Jiao Mao can match."

  "The old road used only 30% of its power today, otherwise that General's head would have been kicked off."

  Lu Gaozhi listened to the praise with great pleasure, and lightly cupped his hands in a salute to Liu Ziguang: "I concede, your boxing skills are indeed taught by prisoners of war from various countries, haha, they're quite fierce."

  A guard holding a long knife saw Lu Gaozhi's majesty and also came to join in the fun: "I, Yang Meng, will also come to discuss with Generalissimo about his attainments in military equipment. I wonder how many rounds I can last under Generalissimo's hands, haha."

  The surrounding crowd burst into laughter, and the people gathered in a circle again. Liu Ziguo took out his knife and stood facing Yang Meng. Yang Meng casually performed a beautiful spinning head wrap, first earning a round of applause, then lightly floated into what he thought was a suave pose, beckoning to Liu Ziguo with a crooked finger.

  Liu Ziguang swung his sword and rushed forward, using a straightforward and swift motion to continuously slash at Yang Meng. At first, Yang Meng was able to withstand several moves, but gradually became unable to cope with the increasingly fast attacks. Suddenly, Liu Ziguang's sword slashed onto Yang Meng's shoulder, causing him to fall to the ground in fright. After a moment of stunned silence, he realized that it was only the back of the sword that had struck him. Liu Ziguang also cupped his hands: "I concede." Yang Meng resentfully sheathed his sword and stood aside.

  The crowd cheered and clapped, and among the guards, a young man with white team flower embroidery on his sleeves jumped out. He had sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, and was tall and slender, truly a talented person. The young man bowed to Liu Ziguang and said: "I've long heard that General Hongyi has won six battles in the arena without ever losing, and even when he was seriously injured by the Fusang warrior at Tongren House in Xuzhou Prefecture, his single knife was still incredibly skilled. I'd like to learn from you, General, please don't decline."

  A gust of north wind blew by, sending the snowflakes on the roof swirling in the air. Liu Ziguang wore a black outfit, holding a single-handed knife, his eyes fixed intently on the white-clad youth Song Qingfeng before him.

  Song Qingfeng grasped a sword decision, and the three-foot green blade was held in his palm. The white satin arrow robe fluttered slightly with the north wind, and he looked handsome beyond words. Fortunately, there were no maids or servants present, otherwise they would have cheered loudly for Song Qingfeng. Liu Ziguang wore ordinary household martial attire, while Song Qingfeng wore the standard outfit of a young knight from the rivers and lakes. The two men's images already showed their differences in status.

  Liu Ziguang stared intently at Song Qingfeng's eyes, this was a trick taught by his knife skills instructor, the enemy's eyes would reveal their intentions. Song Qingfeng smiled and narrowed his eyes, revealing a mouthful of good-looking white teeth, looking very relaxed, but without any flaws, he was a difficult opponent to deal with.

  Delay is not allowed, the more dragging on, the more losing momentum to the opponent. Liu Ziguang shouted loudly and slashed his single knife towards his opponent like lightning. Song Qingfeng held up his sword to meet him, and the two exchanged blows for over a dozen rounds. Liu Ziguang didn't gain any advantage. Although they were both full-strength slashes, they were easily resolved by Song Qingfeng, and his moves clearly came from a famous school. Like clouds flowing like water, he was elegant and free-flowing, completely different from Liu Ziguang's simple battlefield killing moves. He held the sword in one hand, seemingly casually and lightly blocking Liu Ziguang's fierce attack, while his other hand was behind his back, looking leisurely and carefree.

  The guards around them kept cheering, someone said "How can Song Shaoxia exchange so many moves with that thief slave? In theory, it should be possible to see the outcome within three moves."

  Another person said, "Can't you see that Song Shaoxia is just toying with that thug? He's deliberately dragging out the fight to tease him. Look at Song Shaoxia, he's indeed a disciple of Wudang Sect - what's clearly a fight looks like a sword dance in his hands, this is skill! You can't help but admire it."

  Song Qingfeng had completely figured out Liu Ziguang's strength, so he put away the idea of teasing him and lightly said "offense" as the treasure sword in his hand suddenly turned into a ball of light shadow, enveloping Liu Ziguang.

  Liu Ziguang was overwhelmed, forced to retreat constantly, while Song Qingfeng shouted: "Too slow! You're too slow!" His footwork was mysterious and swift, with each step pressing in tightly. The sword in his hand moved like a storm, the rapid clashing of swords producing a continuous ringing sound that filled the air. Suddenly, a long whistling sound pierced the air as Liu Ziguang's steel knife flew out of his hand and lodged itself in a large tree trunk, still quivering with force. Liu Ziguang's feet had already become disordered, and he was forced to stumble backward by Song Qingfeng's swift sword attack, falling to the ground.

  A burst of applause, "Song Shaoxia won! Song Shaoxia won!"

  Song Qingfeng's treasured sword pointed at Liu Ziguang's throat, with a proud smile, smiling and accepting the flattering words of the guards, said: "This great general, your knife skills are impressive, truly, hearing about you is not as good as seeing you in person. I accidentally ruined the great general's new clothes, please forgive me."

  Everyone heard the words and went to see Liu Ziguang's black arrow clothes, but saw that on the brand new clothes, many strokes were drawn by the sword edge, and it was a "slave" character! The crowd cheered endlessly, "Indeed, good swordsmanship, it's amazing!"

  "It's better to carve it on your face than on your clothes." A thin guard viciously suggested.

  Song Qingfeng flashed his pearly whites again and said, "Then I'll make my move." Oblivious to Liu Ziguang's furious glare, he raised his sword and slashed at Liu Ziguang's face.