Xu Qing received the blood letter from King Lin Tian and learned the ins and outs of the matter from Su Lianqing.
"So, he’s a good fellow?"
"Indeed, I arranged for him to temporarily stay at Qingyun Temple and secretly investigated his identity and deeds thoroughly. Everything is correct."
Xu Qing said: "The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Since this person harbors deep hatred against Duke Wei Mansion, it’s only natural to meet him."
He called for his Fire Cloud Horse, rode out of the city with Su Lianqing.
Xu Fu’s Body Purifying Pill and Calming Incense, formulated by Xu Qing, were used on the Fire Cloud Horse. After taking the Body Purifying Pill, impurities were expelled from the horse’s body, increasing its stamina, and with daily use of Calming Incense to calm and concentrate its mind, its temper improved a lot, becoming even more intelligible than before.
Xu Qing even thought that, if he could teach the Visualization Method to the horse, he might be able to cultivate a Three-tailed Black Fox.
However, he was unfamiliar with demons and did not hastily attempt it.
"Han Tai pays respect to Brother Gongming," Han Tai said, bowing to Xu Qing.
Even though Xu Qing was much younger, according to the rules of the worldly society, it was more appropriate to call him brother since he came to seek refuge. Calling him young master would lack a touch of that societal flavor.
Xu Qing reached out to help him up.
The green stone slabs beneath their feet cracked.
It turned out that Xu Qing’s helping hand was sophisticated, applying Dark Strength.
Han Tai subconsciously countered.
As their Strength Force collided and scattered beneath their feet, the green stone slabs splintered.
Xu Qing’s face remained composed, whereas Han Tai’s body seemed as if he had just soaked in a hot spring, with large beads of sweat emerging from his forehead.
Although his Dark Strength was released passively, he had nevertheless exerted his full power.
"What formidable Kung Fu, I fear that his Dark Strength is nearly permeating his whole body, and he is about to transition to Refining Internal," Han Tai inwardly appraised.
He had been shocked to see King Lin Tian Refining Internal, but he did not expect the youth before him to be nearly at that level. It truly was unimaginable.
Given this person’s age, he may well have the potential to become a Martial Saint in the future.
If he becomes a Martial Saint, then his hope for revenge is more than just a sliver.
Xu Qing burst into hearty laughter: "Brother Han truly has remarkable Kung Fu."
He was genuinely pleased.
For he had gained a high-level Dark Strength expert in his ranks unexpectedly. Such a person was worth more than a fortune.
"Such minor skills of mine, how could they possibly catch Brother Gongming’s Dharma Eye."
Xu Qing patted his shoulder, "Please, take a seat."
Then they began talking. Xu Qing’s social grace was such that it made people feel warmed as if by a spring breeze. Han Tai, who had been a crude Military Man all his life, had never received such favor and felt as if he were crossing a social class barrier.
Ordinarily, such scholars wouldn’t even spare them a glance.
This kind of emotion was truly indescribable.
He had previously been indifferent to the tales of worldly society: noble benefactors like Mengchang and Xinling fostering thousands of men, Great Heroes like Guo Jie and Zhu Family earning people’s loyalty unto death. But now, he was beginning to comprehend.
These people truly offered dignity.
Martial Artists cannot be humiliated; if someone genuinely respects them from the bottom of their heart, they would willingly repay with their lives.
Through interacting with Han Tai, Xu Qing gained a deeper understanding of the mindset of the lower-class warriors of this era.
The scholars study literature and martial arts to serve in the court.
But in the present Great Yu Dynasty, Military Generals mainly come from military garrisons and families, fostering a group of General families. Even with the opening of military examinations, the upward mobility for lower-class Military Men is extremely limited.
However, the Southeastern Land boasts more than one-third of the nation’s wealth and considerable affluence.
The civilian culture of practicing martial arts and scholarship is flourishing.
Thereby, many Martial Men and scholars have emerged without many avenues for advancement, leaving them frustrated or compelled to serve in the houses of nobles.
Their frustration, coupled with the Court’s heavy taxation in the Southeast, has only increased their dissatisfaction with the court.
In Xu Qing’s mind, perhaps he could recruit a group of capable warriors through Han Tai.
He did not demand that each of them be of Han Tai’s quality; being serviceable was sufficient.
After all, if he didn’t recruit them, they would be either recruited or suppressed by the native factions like Duke Wei Mansion.
And suppression was more common.
After all, the meals of the affluent classes are limited and could not possibly satisfy the needs of so many lower-class warriors and scholars.
This was also why Xu Qing’s Recovery Society was able to grow so rapidly.
Xu Qing had conquered the students of the Recovery Society with his top-level Eight-Legged Essay skills, creating a powerful word-of-mouth effect. Who wouldn’t want to improve their essay skills if they were aiming for a career in the Imperial Examination?
However, Xu Qing had yet to be successful in the examinations, and when he becomes a Top Scorer, it would certainly cause a huge surge in reputation.
Being a Top Scorer, indeed, is no simple matter.
Right now, Xu Qing did not have much confidence in becoming the Top Scorer of the South Zhili provincial exam. He could only say that his Yi Jing insights gave him a chance to achieve that.
But because he had now offended Duke Wei and overcome crises with Eunuch Zhao and Marquis Wuding, his prospects were not very bright,
Something even Academician Zhou could not have anticipated when he advised him previously.
"At least I need the support of a powerful figure from South Zhili," Xu Qing was not worried about his own abilities, but the quality of an article is too subjective.
If they didn’t want you to rank first, they could always find a reason.
If worse comes to worst, he would thoroughly investigate the other examiners from the Yi Jing Room; if gentle persuasion did not work, he would resort to more forceful means.
Xu Qing looked in the bronze mirror at his life valuation.
Faced with hopeless prospects, one can only resort to desperate measures!
He settled Han Tai temporarily and ordered Su Lianqing to make an Iron Mask for Han Tai. From then on, Han Tai could follow him as a guard, taking care of the dirty work.
The more talented the person, the more he should be utilized.
After making arrangements, Xu Qing returned to the city.
Su Lianqing sent over the gift that Han Tai had offered.
Xu Qing did not refuse; after all, not accepting it would seem like looking down upon someone.
Besides, Mr. Xu never let his people incur losses.
After accepting it, he felt no guilt.
And hearing that it included antiquity artworks, Xu Qing was naturally a bit interested.
Antiquity artworks have always been solid assets in officialdom.
He opened the box, quickly glanced through it, and finally, his gaze settled on a painting, after which he was taken aback.
"Could this really be fate?"
Xu Qing murmured to himself.