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Chapter 40: Success in literature and martial arts!

Xue Daoyong said such a heroic thing, but he didn't care. He just pointed at the chessboard, but his tone was obviously different from the past. He smiled and said, "Come on, watch. Let's finish this game of chess, and then you can go and practice archery with Shuang Tao."

Li Guan nodded, and the boy's expression softened:

"Well, listen to the old man."

An old man and a young man smiled at each other.

There is no need to mention the agreement just now, these two titles are enough to make the other party understand.

So they rearranged the chessboard, each holding black and white. The old man claimed that he had been invincible in the past thirty years, so he was calm and relaxed when playing chess. While playing chess, he talked about other things and said, "The military officer's work is not difficult. The ninth-rank military officer can only wear armor when carrying out [missions]."

"But your job is to patrol various places to find wanted criminals."

"You have more time, so you can wear armor as you like. It's just a pity that armor has strict grades. You can only wear light armor at your level, made of leather with gold in the vital parts. But, armor is still armor after all."

"With your martial arts skills, you are wearing armor and holding a heavy sword."

"Charging into a group of unarmored enemies, you can do whatever you want, without any taboos."

"Even if there are foreign warriors here, with their newly developed internal energy, it would be difficult for them to penetrate their armor and launch a fatal attack on your vital points. As for ordinary people, it would be useless for a dozen people to surround and kill you, unless you run out of energy or your legs are entangled, you fall to the ground, and a dagger pierces your throat."

"As for higher armor... it's different."

The old man sighed: "The inherited body armor of the Ying Kingdom can dissolve attacks of all forces. Even a heavy hammer cannot cause any harm to the person it protects. And the armor of the royal family of the Chen Kingdom can withstand the attack of the divine weapon."

"Legend has it that Duke Chen once sparred with my ancestor, and was hit by my ancestor's Cloud-Breaking Sky Bow but survived."

"Inferior to the emperor's armor is the armor of the generals who protect the country. It can be manifested on the Dharma image. When attacking, the Dharma image wears the armor and holds the divine weapon, looking down on everyone. After that, there are the armors of generals at all levels. The internal energy can flow through the armor just like it flows through the body."

"They can attack or defend, each with its own magic. Some are as light as paper but indestructible; some can use the power of a storm, while others can naturally absorb the energy of heaven and earth to ensure that their internal energy flows continuously and never stops."

"There are so many mysteries, they are worthy of being treasures; as for the armor of the border troops, it is also different from this kind of armor for single combat. Their internal energy can flow out of the armor, and the armor is connected. The border troops have the same momentum and are as hard as iron."

"This money is like armor. You may not be able to win without getting hurt."

Li Guanyi listened carefully.

Then play chess at will.

The old man looked at the chess piece he was playing with a serious expression on his face.

The old man was sitting sideways just now, looking quite casual and relaxed, but at this moment he couldn't help but sit up straighter.

Looking at the chessboard seriously, he said, "Unfortunately, military officers can only be used within one country. Do you know what is universal in the world?"

Li Guanyi thought for a moment and asked, "Force?"

The old man said: "Martial arts is one of them; in fact, there are three."

"Those who have martial arts, literary fame, and gold; those who have martial arts are knights and heroes; those who have literary fame are masters and great men; those who have money are wealthy merchants; and those who are famous throughout the world, have martial arts, and disdain thousands of gold are the great men of the ages."

"In prosperous times, the value of celebrities is not that great, but now in troubled times, countries are fighting each other frequently. From the big countries to the noble families, everyone is vying for celebrities and winning over great talents."

"So an official position is only useful in one place or one country, but a literary reputation can allow you to travel around the world without any obstacles. Even if you go out of the country, no one will stop you."

"If you have committed a serious crime in Chen State and have a great reputation in the world, Ying State, Tuyuhun, and Turkic will all use greater bargaining chips to keep you. This is like a 'deal' and 'suppression' between big countries. It is one of the ten strategies to win over talents in the world."

"I can use a wanted person from an enemy country and give him such generous treatment, let alone a talented person with a clean background?"

Li Guanyi said: "A thousand gold coins are worth a horse bone."

The old man was surprised, then he praised and said, "That makes sense."

He immediately stroked his beard and smiled:

"Don't worry. Since I've placed a bet on you, I will find you a teacher, spread your literary fame, and break the chains on your dragon body, so that you can soar into the sky."

Li Guanyi nodded in gratitude and said, "Thank you, Mr. Xue."

Then he made a move and withdrew his finger.

“You lose.”

The old man slowly lowered his head and looked at the chessboard, the smile on his face gradually fading.

"Ok?"

………………

Xue Shuangtao was waiting for the young guest to come to the martial arts arena today. She came early every day and had already shot two pots of practice arrows today. There was a light sweat on her forehead. Even Xue Changqing got up to practice archery, but there was still no sign of Li Guanyi.

She frowned slightly and asked the maid, only to find out that Li Guanyi had arrived early and went to Tingfeng Pavilion.

She wiped the sweat off her face with a handkerchief, put the bow in her hand on the shelf, and walked quickly towards Tingfeng Pavilion. She heard the sound of chess pieces falling on the chessboard from afar and frowned slightly. She knew that her grandfather was an experienced chess player. Although most of the national Go players became famous at a young age, her grandfather was old but serious and his style of play was steady.

It is said that Guanyi City has been undefeated for thirty years.

The reason why I like numerology but not chess is because I was bullied by my grandfather when playing chess.

Thinking about it now, Li Guanyi must have been dragged into playing chess. He pushed the door open and saw the young man turning around and seeing him, he wanted to stand up, but the old man opposite him had already reached out his hand and grabbed the young guest's sleeve, shouting, "No, play another game, play another game!"

Xue Shuangtao came over, grabbed Xue Daoyong's wrist with one hand, grabbed Li Guanyi's sleeve with the other, then pulled Grandpa's hand away with a little force, blocking in front of Li Guanyi, staring at the old man with wide eyes, and said coquettishly:
"Grandpa, how could you be like this? You always bully the weak and even after you win the game, you won't let anyone leave!"

The old man felt aggrieved and speechless.

I bullied him?

I bullied him?! It was this kid who bullied an old man like me.

But he could say that he had lost eighteen games in a row, and each time he died in a different posture, but he couldn't explain it.

The young man blinked his eyes, messed up the chessboard without saying anything, and said, "It's because the old man's chess skills are so good that I lost many times... The old man was very interested in playing chess and mistakenly thought it was still early, so he held me back and wouldn't let me leave."

Xue Daoyong was stunned for a moment, then he said as usual: "Haha...haha, Guanyi, you play chess pretty well, yeah, yeah, you are a teachable kid, you are a teachable kid."

Li Guanyi stood up and said, "Then, old man, I will leave first."

"I'll come play chess with you next time."

"Hahaha, good, good, your chess skills are pretty good, come often, come often."

Li Guanyi and Xue Shuangtao walked out of Tingfeng Pavilion. Xue Shuangtao asked curiously, "Why did your relationship with Grandpa become so good?" Li Guanyi said, "We played chess."

The girl was puzzled: "Playing chess, what kind of chess can be so useful?"

Li Guanyi smiled and did not answer her question. They went to the martial arts training ground to practice archery. During the break, Li Guanyi thought of the twenty arrows he had shot. While drawing the bow and shooting arrows, he said, "Miss, I have used up all the arrows. Can I change them?"

Xue Shuangtao shot through a target, raised his eyebrows and said, "Are you done?"

"Have you been out hunting?"

Li Guanyi said, “Yeah.”

The girl said, "Let me see."

Li Guanyi picked up his quiver and handed it over. Xue Shuangtao picked up the arrow and placed it on the tip of his index finger. Seeing that the arrow was not as balanced as before and the feathers at the tail of the arrow were damaged and twisted, he asked in surprise: "It looks like you shot a lot of prey. Did you get anything?"

Li Guanyi said quietly, "It was just a crow that was eating human flesh and carrion."

"It's ugly, I can't bring it back to you, young lady."

There was regret on Xue Shuangtao's face.

Xue Daoyong doted on his granddaughter very much, but he would not let her go out hunting alone.

She would only be allowed out of the city when ladies went for an outing, and then only to enjoy wine, poetry and songs.

No hunting.

Li Guanyi thought about it and remembered that he had picked up a few stones in the stream. He took them out from his arms. They were pebbles. Under the scouring of the water, they became round and smooth. Each one had a different color and was crystal clear. He said, "Those birds can't see it, but with these stones, they will look very beautiful in the water."

"For the young lady."

He loosened his hand, and the stones fell into the girl's palm, crystal clear like gems.

Xue Shuangtao blinked and said, "You want me to replenish your arrows?"

Li Guanyi's body stiffened.

The eldest daughter raised by Xue Daoyong is not stupid.

Because they were originally of the same age, and had been practicing and learning from each other for a while, their relationship had changed from the gentle young lady and the elegant and quiet guest gentleman at the beginning to more like friends of the same age. The girl tossed the stone in her hand and teased, "Your price is not enough."

"My great guest, sir."

"One ounce of silver per arrow is worth a month's hard work in Huichun Hall."

Xue Changqing was angry for his master and said, "What's the big deal, tigress!"

He waved his chubby little hands:

"I'll add money!"

Xue Shuangtao burst into laughter, bent down and touched his brother's head, and said comfortingly:

"Okay, okay, you are the best, okay."

Then he looked at Li Guanyi and said, "You are already a guest official. You can also use your salary to buy arrows. The price will be much cheaper. Have you spent all your money?"

Li Guanyi was short of money, and the old man increased his bet without asking for money.

Xue Shuangtao said: "Okay, okay, after all, Mr. Keqing still remembered to bring some gifts for me, so I must not hurt his feelings. Come on, come on..." She was joking at first, but at the end, she couldn't help laughing because of the tone of voice.

The chief blacksmith in the mansion looked at the handsome young man in surprise as he was brought here again by the eldest lady.

Come and get the arrows again.

The money was also spent in the name of the eldest daughter.

The big blacksmith looked at the handsome young man strangely and said, "Let me see the arrow. What could be broken like this?" Li Guanyi stood in front of Xue Shuangtao and handed the arrow in his hand to him. The blacksmith, who was full of suspicion and strange eyes, suddenly became sharp when he saw the arrow.

Killing arrows!
He looked up suddenly and looked at the thirteen-year-old boy.

The young man said in a low voice: "Kill some wild dogs, wolves, and crows that eat carrion and attack people."

"I just came out of Tingfeng Pavilion."

The blacksmith looked serious and said, "...Okay."

He turned around and took a new pot of arrows. Li Guanyi thanked him. He had killed people before, so he was like an experienced archer. When he picked up the arrow to try his hand, he was slightly startled when he touched the delicate blood groove on the arrow and felt the hook on the arrow.

The blacksmith said, "You should use arrows like this."

Li Guanyi thanked him.

…………

In Tingfeng Pavilion, the old man was looking at the chess game, but had someone bring some files, which stated that they were great scholars who would be near the capital of Chen State recently. Finally, the old man saw that among these great scholars, the one whose reputation was not the highest was the most special.

"Wang Tong, nicknamed Wen Zhongzi."

"There are more than a thousand disciples, but most of them are ordinary, and the three most outstanding ones are not famous."

"Fang Zi Qiao of the Qinghe Fang family."

"Du Keming of the Jingzhao Du family."

"Wei Xuancheng from Quyang."

"But these three are only 17 or 18 years old. They are just a little famous, not as talented as those on the list. But Wang Tong is very special. He is the first person to propose the integration of the three religions in this era of hundreds of schools of thought. He is quite insightful."

For some unknown reason, he suddenly came to Guanyi City, saying that he wanted to accept disciples... For such a great scholar, the Xue family naturally had a visiting card, on which were the names of Xue Shuangtao and Xue Changqing. He was silent for a long time, crossed out the name of his grandson Xue Changqing, and then wrote another name in that place.

Li Guanyi.

Xue Daoyong put down his pen.

"I am accomplished in both literature and martial arts. Let me turn my old bones into the wind that blows across the sky. Li Guanyi, how far you can fly? Let me wait and see." He finished writing the visiting card and closed his eyes. Although there were no ripples in the lotus pond outside Tingfeng Pavilion, he seemed to have heard -

I heard the sound of the strong wind.

(End of this chapter)