Xue Qingsong quickly discovered that this Tan Jiu was a decent person. No matter what he said, Tan Jiu would agree with him, and sometimes Tan Jiu would join him in cursing those Liao dogs.
This made Xue Qingsong feel quite pleased.
After finishing a pot of wine, Tan Jiu stood up and smiled at Xue Qingsong. "Brother Xue, do you want a promotion?"
"No kidding. Who wouldn't? But you don't know, brother—these Liao people don't treat us Zhou folks like human beings!"
"What if I have a way?"
Xue Qingsong, his eyes hazy from drink, glanced at Tan Jiu and took it as a joke. "Forget it, let's drink, let's drink!"
Tan Jiu didn't argue. He simply pulled out a slip of paper and pressed it into Xue Qingsong's hand. "Brother Xue, if you're interested, just follow the instructions on this. I swear I won't lead you astray."
Xue Qingsong didn't even look at it. He just stuffed the paper into his chest and continued drinking in silence, not even noticing when Tan Jiu left.
It wasn't until the next morning, rubbing his aching head, that Xue Qingsong recalled the events of the previous day.
"A promotion? I thought I was good at boasting, but I didn't expect to meet someone even better at it." Xue Qingsong snorted, then fumbled in his chest pocket. The crumpled slip of paper fell out. He stared at it for a while before finally opening it.
"The Huang family in town sells rice openly but uses their grain transport carts to smuggle salt on the side."
Xue Qingsong was stunned.
After a long moment, he frowned. "What nonsense is this?"
Even as he said this, the matter gnawed at his mind all morning. By afternoon, he happened to pass by the Huang family rice shop. Normally, he'd glance at it and move on without a second thought, but today, because of that note, he couldn't help but look more closely.
"Idiot. Why would I believe a stranger?" Xue Qingsong watched for a while, saw nothing unusual, and laughed self-deprecatingly as he walked away.
Yet, a little while later, he found himself back there, almost against his will.
Just then, the Huang family's grain cart arrived.
Glancing around, Xue Qingsong pretended to stroll over casually and placed a hand on one of the grain sacks, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Bringing in more grain?"
The foreman in charge turned to curse but paused when he saw Xue Qingsong, his expression softening slightly. "Oh, it's Lord Xue."
"Don't call me that," Xue Qingsong said with a smile. "You're selling so much grain—make sure you pay enough tax, or I'll have trouble reporting it."
The foreman stepped forward and quickly pressed a few copper coins into Xue Qingsong's hand. "Of course, of course." Clearly, he took Xue Qingsong for a corrupt official looking for a bribe and decided to play along to avoid trouble.
Xue Qingsong frowned. "What are you doing? Take it back."
The foreman turned away with a laugh, barking at his workers, "Move faster! Don't dawdle like lazy donkeys always thinking about stuffing their faces!"
That jab felt pointed.
Normally, Xue Qingsong would have stormed off in anger, but this time he didn't. As the foreman turned his back, Xue Qingsong squeezed the sack beneath the top layer. Instantly, he understood.
Salt was made crudely back then, often coming in chunks, clearly not the shape of grain.
The foreman turned back. "Lord Xue, are you going to get back to your business?"
Xue Qingsong clicked his tongue. "Fine, I'll get to it. Lucky you lot..."
As Xue Qingsong walked away, the foreman spat at his retreating back.
That very evening, a squadron of fierce officers and soldiers stormed the Huang family rice shop, throwing it into chaos. Before long, the shopkeeper and all the workers were dragged away in chains.
Standing at the street corner, Xue Qingsong smiled.
He didn't notice that not far away, a pair of eyes were watching him, also smiling.
That night, Xue Qingsong didn't go to the tavern. Instead, he went to the yamen. His boss, who usually berated him, treated him kindly this time and even gave him a few verbal compliments.
But Xue Qingsong never received any other reward.
Not until he heard that his boss had been commended for cracking the salt-smuggling case. Xue Qingsong was so furious he nearly ground his teeth to dust.
As always, he headed to the little tavern on the corner.
The same table was there, but someone was already sitting at it—Tan Jiu.
"Well, well, Lord Xue has arrived? Have a seat, have a seat." As if mocking him, Tan Jiu smiled. "Congratulations on your achievement."
"Achievement my foot!" Xue Qingsong cursed, but remembering the intelligence this man had given him, he held back from lashing out.
"Seems Brother Xue isn't satisfied?"
Xue Qingsong explained what had happened, and Tan Jiu nodded in understanding.
"Brother Xue, do you want to take your boss's position?" Tan Jiu's words were startling.
Xue Qingsong panicked. "Don't say that! Don't say that!" He looked around nervously, as if afraid someone might hear.
Tan Jiu just laughed. "Ah, Brother Xue, you're too cautious." With that, he pulled out another slip of paper and handed it over. Then he stood up. "I've already paid for the wine. Help yourself."
This time, Xue Qingsong wasn't drunk. He nervously scanned his surroundings, then carefully opened the slip.
"Tomorrow at noon, south bank, by the willow tree."
Xue Qingsong was baffled.
The next day, confused, he went to the south embankment. He wandered around until he finally spotted a willow tree.
Was there something secret about this spot? Hesitating, he stepped forward to inspect it but found nothing. He loitered nearby, waiting through the time, until almost noon had passed. Then he noticed a young lady, accompanied by two maids, passing by with laughter.
A few months ago, if he had dared to stare at a Liao nobleman's daughter like that, he'd be lucky if his eyes weren't gouged out.
Just as he was reflecting on this, a sudden scream erupted nearby.
"A horse has bolted!"
He spun around and saw a wild horse charging down the road. Pedestrians scattered in panic, and the young lady in question turned pale with terror. In an instant, the horse was almost upon her. One of the maids shoved her mistress aside and threw herself out of the way, but the force was a bit strong. Though the lady dodged the horse, she lost her balance and tumbled into the water.
"Help!" the other maid screamed in panic.
Xue Qingsong started, then saw the maid who had scrambled up pointing at him. "What are you staring at! Save my lady!"
Xue Qingsong pursed his lips. Oh well, no good deed goes unpunished. He'd have to get wet.
Fortunately, he could swim. He sprinted over, jumped into the water, and pulled the drowning lady to safety.
He didn't realize until he was dragged into the Sima Mansion that the person he had saved was none other than the Sima family's daughter!
Fortunately for him, the Liao people didn't have customs about lost virtue from a soaking—otherwise, he might have been executed on the spot.
Dripping wet, he watched the household servants bustling about, bringing medicinal broth and warming stoves for the young lady. He felt a flicker of envy. Half an hour later, a steward-like figure came to lead him into the reception room.
tions: attribute allocation, analysis, proficiency, and simulation. Specializing in mechanical alchemy, from crafting sorcerous battle armor to handcrafting mechanical maidens, his mechanical legion conquers endless realms... Relying on his wits, he begins with a student-teacher romance, wins over a female director, enslaves a female assassin and a underworld queen, becoming the husband of a Grand Duchess... He enslaves the Goddess of Magic from the divine realm, developing his power simultaneously in both the Wizard World and the Realm of Gods...
agon king storylines. At the start, I obtained the "Ultimate Lackey System" - the more I act as a lackey, the stronger I become. What else could I do? I chose to become the personal henchman of the ultimate villain, Su Muwan. I provoke all sorts of chosen ones, snatch away their opportunities, and commit every evil deed imaginable. You ask who's behind me? Hmph! You're not worthy of knowing my lady's name! ...... ....... I am Su Muwan, the eldest daughter of the Su family. Since childhood, I've possessed extraordinary talent in martial arts, which led to my arrogant and domineering personality in my past life. I was even foolish enough to repeatedly challenge those favored by heaven, ultimately resulting in a tragic death. In this life, I must behave and absolutely cannot walk the same path again!! However... SLAP!! "So you're the Dragon King, huh?!" When I saw my little lackey swagger over and viciously slap the Dragon King who was hiding his identity, I felt my heart sink. Su Muwan's suspended heart finally died as she watched Qin Luo, her utterly loyal lackey, standing before her. She fainted on the spot from shock. Heaven is determined to destroy me!! (Pure love 1v1, light-hearted, no angst, single female lead, villain, reincarnation, lackey)
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
