The rain was pouring down, and the stone pavilion was rattling.

The man who was standing in the corner of the stone pavilion and watching the rain seemed to be aware of it, and he also turned his head to look.

When he saw Meng Li, he nodded awkwardly and politely.

Meng Li responded with a smile and asked, "Friend, I see that you are in a hurry, do you need help?"

The man smiled bitterly: "Don't hide it from the young man, I did encounter some trouble in Xia." ”

Southern Tang Dynasty heavy ceremony, young strangers meet for the first time, almost all of them are commensurate with sons.

He is not called a son, but a young man, obviously because he sees Meng Li's martial arts dress.

Somehow, Meng Li had some good feelings for this man who was suffering from the same wind and rain.

I saw him smile heartily and said: "You and I are trapped in one place, and there is fate." If you have any difficulties, please speak up, maybe I can help you. ”

"This ......"

The man hesitated, his situation at this time was indeed a little bad, but he had never known each other, so he dared to ask the other party, I am afraid that something was wrong.

Without further hesitation, he shook his head.

"Thank you Shaoxia, I think, no need!"

"Are you sure?"

Meng Li raised his eyebrows and asked again. Although the other party had already refused, judging from his still heavy face, he was indeed in trouble.

"I ......"

Just as the man was about to refuse, there was a sudden noise outside the rain curtain.

It was accompanied by the sound of hurried footsteps.

The appearance of footsteps interrupted the man's words and made his expression change greatly.

Meng Li, who noticed the abnormality, frowned, and looked outside the pavilion, through the dense string of rain curtains, he could see three majestic figures at the end of the street.

At this time, these three figures were running towards the stone pavilion at an extremely fast speed.

"Xue Baiqi is sheltering from the rain under the stone pavilion, everyone follow me, don't let him run away!"

Suddenly, one of the three figures raised his hand and pointed at the stone pavilion.

When Meng Li saw this scene, how could he not understand what was happening. The gaze that looked at the man was also a little more sympathetic.

Dare to be hunted down by the enemy!

The three big men were all first-class martial artists with five forging true qi, and the slippery street did not hinder them in the slightest.

Without waiting for the man with the scroll in his arms to escape from the stone pavilion, he blocked it.

The big man who shouted before stared at the man with a frightened expression, and sneered: "Xue Baiqi, my son-in-law kindly invited you to be a guest, but I didn't expect you to have evil thoughts and become a thief! ”

"You are talking nonsense, this painting is obviously painted by me for Miss Fan, Yuan Yuting wants to take it by force, it is unreasonable. ”

The man's face flushed.

He has been familiar with the scriptures since he was a child, and his cultivation is very high, and he has never experienced such things as quarrels and quarrels, and he can only say one sentence "How can this be reasonable" after being killed for a long time.

"Toast and don't eat and drink, since you are obsessed, then don't blame us for being polite!"

After the big man sneered, he stepped forward and directly knocked the helpless man to the ground.

After the man fell to the ground, the scroll in his hand also flew out, fell to the ground and rolled a few times, presenting the contents of the painting.

Meng Li couldn't help but be curious and looked at the scroll.

I saw that the white paper was thick and the ink and oil colors were clear, and it was actually a slim girl.

The middle-class and upper-class talents of the girl are not beautiful, but they are sweet in appearance, giving people a sense of docility of a small jasper.

Hum!

The big man who knocked down the man with one shoulder snorted coldly, bent down, and was about to pick up the portrait.

"Don't touch my paintings!"

When the man saw this scene, he went crazy and pounced on the big man.

But his small body ......

Bang!

The big man raised his foot, and the next moment the man flew out of the stone pavilion.

"Xue Baiqi, don't be embarrassed, if you dare to be presumptuous, I will kick you to death!"

The big man looked at the man with a look of disdain, just such a stinky painter, dare to shout at him?

If it weren't for their son-in-law telling them not to cause trouble, the kick just now would have made him unable to stand up again.

Xue Baiqi lay in the puddle, looking at the painting on the ground, looking desperate.

Why is there so much injustice in the world, he just wants to get his paintings back, why is it so difficult?

The big man had picked up the portrait, but he did not put it away, and took out a fire fold.

With a stabbing sound, the fire fold was ignited by the big man, and the faint light of the fire was already aimed at the bottom of the portrait.

"My son-in-law said that this portrait is not rare for him, but even if he is not rare, it is not something you can ask for. ”

The bottom corner of the portrait has been yellowed by smoke and fire, and if it had not been wet by the rain before, it would have been ignited by the flames.

Xue Baiqi's eyes were blood-red and he shouted.

"Don't!"

This portrait condenses his painstaking efforts and entrusts his emotions, which he painted for his lover.

Seeing that his hard work was destroyed, how could he accept it.

Xue Baiqi was extremely remorseful in his heart, if he had known this result, he would rather not have this painting.

The yellow smoke circle, always a cloud of shadows, constantly swallowed the portrait.

The smoky smell is getting stronger and stronger, and even the humid air can't wear it out.

Just as the portrait was about to be ignited, a sigh was heard.

"Well, why bother?"

Hearing a sigh in his ears, the big man only felt a flower in front of him, and when he fixed his eyes, a dark and thin young man had appeared in front of him.

The young man stretched out his hand, and when he was in a trance, he gently snuffed out the flames on the fire.

This black and thin boy who suddenly appeared was naturally Meng Li, he looked at the portrait of the girl in the hand of the big man, and said regretfully: "Isn't it a pity that such a good painting is burned?"

The big man glared at Meng Li, and said viciously: "Where did you come from, stinky boy, you dare to take care of Lao Tzu's idle affairs?"

Meng Li didn't care, and said with a smile on his face: "You have to be forgiving and forgiving, it's a bit too much for you to do!"

Meng Li is not a person who likes to be rude, and he will never do anything to solve problems that can be solved with his mouth.

But there are some things that can't be solved by mouths.

"It's not too much, Lao Tzu has the final say!"

The big man who forges the strength of the five forges is like electricity.

As soon as the words fell, a slap was drawn.

Meng Li leaned back, easily dodging this palm, and when he looked at Dahan again, his gaze was as cold as ice.

Toast without eating and eating penalty wine!

The young man snorted coldly, and the next moment his palm reached out, from the bottom to the top, and pushed the other party's chin with one palm.

The strong man, who weighed 200 catties, flew up in an instant and smashed heavily on the ground.

Rumble!

The stone pavilion shook, like a boulder falling.

"Why bother!"

Meng Li lowered his body, retrieved the portrait from the unconscious big man, and rolled it up little by little.

During this process, his gaze was always fixed on the opposite side.

The two strong men who came with the big man were frightened when they saw Meng Li's cold gaze, like two docile kittens, and they didn't dare to move.

The warrior knows the situation.

Some things are even more recognizable at a glance.

Meng Li's hand that stunned their leader just now was incredibly fast, just seeing this hand, they already knew that even if they were tied together, it would not be the opponent of this thin black and thin young man.

Meng Li looked at the two of them and said coldly: "If you two want to avenge him, I can give you a chance." ”

The two strong men were busy shouting, and they didn't dare to shout.

Meng Li raised his eyebrows and shouted, "Since you don't dare, why don't you hurry up and get out of me!"

With an order, the two set up the big man and fled.

Inside the stone pavilion, there was silence again.

Meng Li sat on the edge of the pavilion and looked at Xue Baiqi outside the pavilion.

The latter lay in the puddle and looked up at Meng Li with an indescribable look of astonishment.

"Is the rain cool?

Hearing Meng Li's reminder, Xue Baiqi reacted, hurriedly got up from the ground, and said gratefully: "Xue Baiqi, thank you Shaoxia for helping." ”

"It's not enough to raise your hands. ”

Meng Li waved his hand and handed the scrolled portrait back to Xue Baiqi.

"You drew this?"

"Yes, I'm a painter!" Xue Baiqi took the portrait, carefully opened the painting scroll, and when he saw the yellowed marks on the corner of the portrait, his face showed regret.

Meng Li looked at the woman in the portrait and was once again amazed by this expressive work.

"Well drawn!"

"Thank you, this painting is my brainchild, I really don't know what to do if it is burned!"

Xue Baiqi put away the portrait and thanked Meng Li again, but at the same time worried: "Just involving you, I'm afraid it will have a bad impact on you." ”

"Are you afraid that the young master of the Yuan family will trouble me?" Meng Li seemed to be smiling, with a playful face, the account between him and the Yuan family has not yet been calculated, if the other party really dares to find it, it will save him a lot of trouble.

However, did the Yuan family really dare to clash with him head-on?

If you dare, there would be no Earth Dragon Gang to intervene.

"You really know Yuan Yuting!" Xue Baiqi sighed and said worriedly: "Yuan Yuting will be revenged, this time you ruined his business, he will definitely not let you go." It's good that those three people don't know you, but just in case, you'd better be careful in the future, and it's better not to let them find you. ”

Meng Li couldn't help but laugh and said, "Then do I want to leave Jieshui City?"

Xue Baiqi agreed: "If you are willing, it will naturally be better." You don't have to think about it, I'll be responsible for you, after all, this matter is caused by me. ”

Meng Li was laughed at by Xue Baiqi's innocent appearance, and at the same time he was a little moved.

There are not many people like this who are dedicated to the sake of others these days.

When he asked the other party if he needed help just now, Meng Li saw it. The other party hesitated for fear of implicating him, and now that he is saved, he is still thinking about him, and this thought alone is commendable.

Meng Li patted the wooden knife on his waist and said with a smile: "Don't worry, Yuan Yuting doesn't dare to trouble me." After speaking, I was afraid that the other party would not be at ease enough, so I added. "The Yuan family didn't dare to trouble me. ”

The Yuan family doesn't dare to trouble you?

Xue Baiqi's eyes were weird, and he never thought that this chivalrous and courageous young man would have a problem of talking big.

The Yuan family is the first family in Jieshui City, backed by the Seven Star Sect. In this realm water city, there is no one who the Seven Star Sect does not dare to provoke.

However, after all, the other party saved him once, and he naturally wouldn't be stupid enough to say this kind of thing.

If you don't see through it, you can still be friends.

He is still very willing to be friends with the young man in front of him.

"Oh, by the way, I don't know your name Shaoxia. ”

Meng Li said briskly: "My surname is Meng, and my single name is Li." ”

"Meng Li Shaoxia, look up for a long time, oh no, I'm glad I will!"

Xue Baiqi originally wanted to learn from the martial artist and perform a fist salute, but as soon as he was halfway through this, he suddenly realized that he had not heard of the name Meng Li, and after smiling awkwardly, he hurriedly changed his words.

Looking at the other party's fists with both hands, and his nondescript appearance, Meng Li couldn't help but laugh and said: "Brother Bai Qi, don't call me Shaoxia, you and I are almost the same age, just call me Meng Li." ”

"Okay, Brother Meng Li!"

Xue Baiqi clenched his fists again, and this time he learned an eight-point resemblance.

Meng Li had nothing to do, so he simply chatted with Xue Baiqi. After this chat, I found out that the other party was actually a very famous painter in Jieshui City, and he had a painting gallery under his hand, and like his martial arts hall, it was in Bei'anfang.

Rainstorms are short.

Come fast and often go fast!

The clouds and rain broke down, the sun pierced through the clouds, and the sky gradually cleared.

After the last few drops of rain fell to the ground, the rainstorm officially stopped.

The dust on the streets, washed by the rain, was refreshed.

The air was filled with the scent of moist earth, and the gray birds jumped and chirped happily in the branches.

After the rain stopped, Meng Li did not return to Bei'anfang with Xue Baiqi, but took the first step and returned to the Wooden Sword Martial Arts Hall alone.

Everything in the Wooden Sword Martial Arts Hall is the same as before.

Liu Fengliu and Wang Ergou were cleaning up the rainwater, and to Meng Li's surprise, in addition to the two of them, there was also a boy about ten years old in the yard.

The boy is slightly taller than his peers, and his delicate face has a pair of bright eyes, revealing an elite look.

At this time, he was holding a broom and accompanying Wang and Liu to clean together.

"Who are you?"

Finding a man in the courtyard, the boy raised his head and looked at the visitor.

Seeing the little boy with this vice-master's posture, Meng Li couldn't help but laugh and said, "Who are you?"

"Who am I? Hmph, I'm the big disciple of the Wooden Sword Martial Arts Gym!"

The little boy raised his head with his chest straight, especially when he said the words "Wooden Sword Martial Arts Gym", his nostrils had to reach the sky, as if he was a member of the Wooden Sword Martial Arts Gym, what a proud thing.

"Hey, no! Didn't I ask you, how did the person who answered the question become me?"

After the words were spoken, the anomaly was discovered.

"Are you the eldest disciple of the Wooden Sword Martial Pavilion?" Meng Li pretended to be shocked and said, "So, your master is the owner of the Wooden Sword Martial Pavilion?"

"That can't be!" the boy got carried away again.

"Hahahaha......"

Meng Li let out a burst of laughter and asked, "You said you were my apprentice, so why didn't I know?"

The boy threw the broom and snorted angrily: "Who is your apprentice, my master is Meng Li, the owner of the Wooden Sword Martial Arts Pavilion, what kind of thing are you!"

At this time, Wang Ergou happened to come over, and when he heard this, he almost laughed.

"Let you tease the children, let's eat deflated!"

Meng Li touched his nose and said, "How do I know that today's children's mouths are so poisonous." ”

Liu Fengliu walked over with a gloomy face, and said with a look of resentment: "This kid's name is Xie Xiaoming, he is not an ordinary child. ”

Looking at him like this, Meng Li could guess that this Liu Dashao must have suffered a loss from the boy before.

"Xie Xiaoming?" Meng Li glanced at the boy whose expression was gradually becoming confused, and said with a smile: "This kid is now from our martial arts hall?"

Wang Ergou explained: "Xie Xiaoming is the initiator of the wooden knife reserve. He was the first person to sign up after I sent out the recruitment notice today. ”

Wooden knife reserves?

Could it be that the thief captures the king first?

Meng Li seemed to understand something, and his eyes changed a little when he looked at Wang Ergou.

Wang Ergou said righteously: "Recruiting Xie Xiaoming is a decision made by me and Liu Fengliu after passing various assessments, and there is absolutely no other idea. ”

Meng Li was slightly taken aback, looked Xie Xiaoming up and down, and asked, "It seems that this kid has a good talent." ”

Liu Fengliu tasted it: "What's the big deal, isn't it just relying on being young!"

But have you considered how young people feel at this time?

Hearing the conversation between the three of them, Xie Xiaoming's heart was almost cold.

Could it be that this person is really his master?

Xie Xiaoming looked at Meng Li, and his bright eyes gradually became flustered.

It's over, it's over, it's going to die this time!

As soon as he joined the martial arts hall, he scolded his martial arts master, and there was no more fierce apprentice than him in the entire Jieshui City.

It's not against the sky, it's death!

Liu Fengliu patted the child's shoulder, pointed at Meng Li, and said earnestly: "Xiao Ming! This is Meng Li, the owner of our Wooden Sword Martial Arts Gym, that is, your master." Do you see the wooden knife on his body? That's the origin of the name of our martial arts hall. ”

It seems to be serious, but in fact it is gloating.

Xie Xiaoming saw the wooden knife on Meng Li's waist, his eyelids jumped, and he had the heart to pump a big mouth.

Why hadn't he seen such an obvious sign before?

"Master, I'm sorry. ”

As soon as Xie Xiaoming's nose twitched, tears fell, and the speed made everyone breathtaking.

"This kid has good acting skills, and he cries when he says it, and he is much better than Yan Dilong. ”

Xie Xiaoming's performance made Meng Li dumbfounded.

If this is cultivated a little, won't he be a little devil in the future?

Stretched out a hand and patted the child on the shoulder, the young man cried and laughed: "It's okay, work hard to cultivate in the future and return to the martial arts hall." ”

Xie Xiaoming's addition is only the first step in the growth of the Wooden Sword Martial Arts Gym, and it is also the hope of the rise of the Martial Arts Gym.

Wang Ergou swore that he had no other thoughts when recruiting Xie Xiaoming. But this kind of talk can only deceive Liu Fengliu, a naïve young man.

Meng Li would never believe it.

Xie Xiaoming is just the beginning, through his joining, he will be able to absorb more young apprentices, and these people will also be the foundation of the future of the Wooden Sword Martial Arts Gym.

If you want to cultivate your own fire, this is a process that takes place.

Judging by Meng Li's experience, it will take at least two years. And before that, he can still rely on himself.

Handing over Xie Xiaoming to Wang Ergou to cultivate the foundation, Meng Li returned to the room alone to consider the next task.

At this stage, if you want to develop the martial arts hall, the only way is still the imperial court mission.

Pouring himself a cup of hot water and placing the task scroll he got from Bai Ye on the table, Meng Li's expression became serious.

This mission is different from the past, and it is a mandatory task issued by the imperial court.

After completion, there will be different levels of rewards depending on performance.

And Temuling is just one of them.

The old martial arts hall that has been operating in Jieshui City for many years knows that among the many tasks that can be carried out in the martial arts hall, the most operable is actually the most daunting and mandatory mission.

Mandatory tasks, based on performance completed, can be divided into three levels: Excellent, Medium, and Inferior.

Inferior, the worst rating of the mandatory task, low task completion, only bounty rewards.

Medium, not only with bounty rewards, but also with a large amount of passing value, generally three to five times that of second-class missions.

Compulsory tasks with a medium degree of completion are one of the important ways for the martial arts hall to obtain the transfer of martial arts.

But compared to the excellent degree of completion, it is much worse.

For the mandatory task of excellent evaluation, the starting point of the martial arts value is 1,000, and there is no cap on the performance according to the completion performance.

Of course, in addition to the bounty and the value of the martial arts, the most valuable reward for the excellent evaluation is the Temu Ling.

The Iron Wood Order is the core of the martial arts mission system, and it has many uses, in addition to avoiding tasks and self-created tasks, it is also a stepping stone to reclamation tasks.

The so-called reclamation task is to develop an unknown place, and this unknown place is a secret realm.

Every year, each town of the imperial court will open the local secret realm, organize the martial arts hall to enter it, and carry out reclamation tasks.

It is important to know that the secret land is full of opportunities, and if you are lucky, it is not impossible to reach the sky in one step.

When the reclamation mission starts, all qualified martial arts halls will rush to it.

This also led to the rise of Tiemuling's status.

In fact, this is exactly the case, the mandatory task is assigned according to the strength of the martial arts, and the difficulty is similar to the strength of the martial arts, and it is already very difficult to complete it normally, not to mention the excellent completion?

Most martial arts halls have never seen Temuling at all.

The mandatory task is both an opportunity and a challenge for the current Wooden Sword Martial Arts Gym.

As Hakuya said before, there is no harm in taking a look.

The quest scroll was small, delicate, made of satin, the size of a palm, and rested on the table in front of him.

The table is his usual desk, on which are placed the four treasures of the study in ordinary condition.

It works, but it doesn't pay attention to it.

Meng Li swallowed the ink with his pen, and only after everything was properly prepared did he slowly open the scroll.

Small and delicate satin, with black ink written all over the letter, the pen and ink are handsome, and they are as small and delicate as silk.

The dense font, at first glance, makes people feel dazzled.

Meng Li glanced at it and was slightly surprised. Then calm your mind and recite it word by word, line by line.

Mission: Escort the Xizhou Chenggong team across the border

When: Mid-May

Requirements: Xizhou Gongma enters Beijing, passes through Jieshui City, and Jieshui City executes escort personnel, and it is necessary to detect the situation along the way in advance to ensure the smooth passage of the tribute team.

The next step is information about the task. Including the situation of the tribute team, the passage route, and the possible hidden dangers on the path.

Because of the reason that he had matched the martial arts hall in advance, the mandatory tasks had been investigated by the imperial court in advance, and the information was relatively bright, so he didn't need to investigate it again.

Meng Li picked up the pen and paper prepared in advance, copied down the noteworthy information on the task scroll, and analyzed it one by one.

Soon, a clear mission line appeared in his mind.

"Why do I think this is a mission to clean up the bandits?"

Meng Li held the task scroll with a wry smile on his face.

This mandatory task, ostensibly to escort the tribute team.

Actually, it's not that simple.

There is only one official road between Xizhou City and Jieshui City, and this road must pass through the Kaolan Mountains.