Chapter 148 Thief, Inner Armor (Two in One)
Liang Qu closed the album and put it in his arms, and then took the three cockscomb fruits.
"Okay, if you want to take it, I'll make a note of it."
"Remember it."
Li Shoufu licked the brush and wrote down Liang Qu's name, time, place and task content in the booklet.
Liang Qu leaned on the table and asked: "Is there any subsidy for this kind of work in other counties?"
"What are you thinking? We are not going to another prefecture. The entire Huaiyin Prefecture is under the jurisdiction of our Hebo Prefecture. There is no extra subsidy. There is a pension for those who died in battle.
By the way, this is your first time taking an outing mission, and I haven’t told you about this, so don’t blame me for saying something unlucky next, the process is the same for everyone.”
[Water Essence +]
Liang Qu chewed on the cockscomb fruit and wiped the juice from his mouth: "Brother, you talk, I'm listening."
"Starting from the day you set out, if you don't receive any news within a day, you'll be considered missing. If you don't receive any news within ten days, you'll be considered dead. The mission difficulty will be raised from level 5 to level 6.
In addition, as long as you have not been punished by the Ministry of Personnel and have not made any mistakes while in office, the Hebo Office will provide compensation to your family three months later.
Brother Liang’s official position will be rewarded with 128 taels of silver, ten acres of good farmland, and an additional ten years of tax exemption.
If you have a son, he can get an official position, but he will be demoted to a lower rank, and can be a ninth-rank river chief. Let me see..." Li Shoufu flipped through the book, "Hmm? Didn't Brother Liang leave anyone to receive the pension? If not, then it will be given to the closest relatives by default."
"Hey, don't." Liang Qu hurriedly stopped him, "Please write my master as the recipient, Yang Dongxiong from Pingyang County, Huaiyin Prefecture."
He is an orphan, and his closest relative is his bad uncle Liang Guangtian.
Too dirty.
"Okay, I'll write it down for you."
Liang Qu always felt something was not right when they were discussing seriously about the allocation of his compensation.
"Why, do you find it strange?" Li Shoufu laughed, "There's nothing strange about it, we are all the same, it's good to practice in the government, but there is no such thing as perfection.
If you want to live better than others, you have to take risks. Look at the fishermen. They go out to fish in the middle of the night every day. If they encounter a rainstorm one day, they may be eaten by fish.
Besides, every household has a fire jar, and there is no real fire in any house, so it is better to be prepared."
This is the truth.
"Okay, is everything alright now? If not, I'll go back and get ready, take a nap, and leave at noon tomorrow."
"It's okay, go to bed early today."
puff.
Liang Qu threw down the sinking stone, pulled out the boat rope, wrapped it around the berth pile several times, tied a knot, and jumped ashore.
The wine flag in front of the tavern fluttered in the night wind.
A passing fisherman shouted, and a waiter came over with a bowl of warm wine. He picked up the bowl and drank it down, then threw down three copper coins and let the waiter grab them.
"Uncle, I haven't had a drink in a while, and I don't have enough money!"
"How come it's not enough? Three coppers for a bowl of wine, are you trying to cheat me?!" the fisherman roared with his neck thick.
"It has gone up a long time ago. The price of food outside is so high. Are you still thinking about drinking cheap wine? Now a pound of wine is 20 cents, and a bowl of wine is 10 cents!"
"You want ten coins for half a pound of wine? Why don't you go and rob me? Grandpa only has six copper coins on him, do you want my mother's love?"
"Hey, you are not kidding, come here, come here, someone is here to eat"
Suddenly, a very shrill scream came from a house on the street, piercing people's hearts.
The screams stopped halfway, and dogs barked in every household, followed by chaotic voices, as if the sleeping villagers had gotten up, and some people were talking loudly, causing a commotion.
As a warrior, Liang Qu has sharp ears and eyes, and can hear more clearly than ordinary people.
"Hey! You bastard, you came to steal my food, but you didn't even notice how many eyes the Horse King has! Fugui, go and catch him for me."
"Master, no breath, dead."
"Dead? You can't stand being beaten?"
"Master, you are a martial arts master. How can this cripple stand up to your attack? Just throw a stick and he will be killed."
"Tsk, dying in my yard, what a damn bad luck, carry it away, Fugui, remember to tell the government tomorrow morning, don't let anyone frame me."
"Yes, sir."
Liang Qu walked forward a few steps and stood in front of the alley, where he saw two people carrying a thin man out.
Strings of blood beads slid down from the ends of the wet hair on the back of the thin man's head, rolled onto the stone slabs, and were stained with dust but remained intact, like red beans.
The steward who was carrying the corpse saw someone standing at the entrance of the alley and was about to yell at the person to get out, but suddenly he saw Liang Qu's dark blue official uniform with auspicious clouds on in the moonlight. He stopped talking immediately and smiled apologetically.
"Master, don't get me wrong. You saw Yin Ye break into someone's house. He was not only a rapist but also a thief. We are in the right in this matter."
Liang Qu didn't say anything, but just left from the alley.
The butler wiped the cold sweat from his temples and breathed a sigh of relief. He almost thought that an official was going to blackmail him.
The barking of dogs gradually subsided, and the candles in the windows went out one by one.
The tavern waiter looked around and slapped his thigh in regret.
"Hey, where's that ugly guy? He hasn't paid for the wine yet!"
one two three.
The third one this month.
Liang Qu walked on the road and counted silently.
It was April 8th, only eight days into the entire month, but this was already the third thief he had seen beaten to death.
This is what we have seen, there is much more that we have not seen.
This is the situation at the beginning of the year.
It is possible that a man with hands and feet cannot find a job to make a living.
People can’t eat and won’t starve to death, so more and more people start to make money by illegal means.
The Dashun laws do not respect human rights. In an era without electricity, if you really encountered a vicious person, you would be chopped into eight pieces in the time it takes to light a candle, so killing was not prohibited at all.
Even if the thief is caught, the owner of the house will most likely not report to the police, but will just let the servants beat the thief to death by pressing his head to make an example of him.
The arrival of the disaster victims was just the beginning. The crime rate in the entire Pingyang County was rising sharply.
Unfortunately, Liang Qu could do nothing.
Not to mention that he is not a county magistrate, even if he is, he does not have the ability to govern the place.
You can’t create food out of thin air.
"We need a dog at home. Blackfang's cubs are good."
There are many valuable things in the house, and the clothes in the closet are all worth a lot of money.
Usually, there is a young groom at home looking after the family. At the age of thirteen, it is enough for him to feed the horses, but he will not be able to handle it when something happens.
It just so happened that the black teeth in Master Yang's home were in heat in early March. The last time I went to see them, several of the female dogs had bulging bellies.
According to the calculation, she will be able to give birth to a cub in early May, and then he will pick out a strong cub.
early morning.
The pond in the yard stirred up ripples.
A fat catfish popped its head out from a pile of duckweed, its big eyes rolling around.
"Ah Fei?"
Liang Qu put Fu Bo down, wiped the sweat from his morning exercise, and was curious about why the fat catfish came to see him so early in the morning.
The fat catfish shook its whiskers, raised its head, and spat out half of a dark blue broken knife at the edge of the pool.
"Did you find anything good again?"
The fat catfish shook its head and spit out a series of bubbles in the water.
"Oh? Your big brother Toad gave it to you?"
Ever since he discovered the undercurrent tunnel that allowed him to come and go freely, and having worshipped the toad as his big brother, the fat catfish would visit him every now and then.
Last night, Fat Catfish was wandering around in a large treasure ship that Toad had collected, and unexpectedly found a small piece of a broken knife.
After being soaked in water for so long, the blade shows no signs of rust, which is quite extraordinary.
The toad was not interested in the ugly broken sword, so the fat catfish took it back with him.
Liang Qu walked to the edge of the pool and picked up the half-broken knife.
"What a heavy knife!"
The broken knife is as wide as a palm, half a finger thick, and only half a foot long. It is more like a blade than a broken knife, but it weighs at least thirty kilograms.
The fracture was extremely neat, like a wooden pole that had been cut by someone, with only a small piece of the blade left.
When I gently press with my fingertips, a small crack quickly appears on the skin, and there is a faint bleed. It is very sharp.
Liang Qu pointed the broken knife's blade towards the sunlight. In the morning light, the blade glowed with an inky blue light, and faint white dots could be seen on the blade. He then looked down at the light and shadow reflected on the wall, which looked like blue water waves.
"Gold sinks in water!?"
Liang Qu's eyes flickered.
Gold that sinks in water is of equal value to gold!
If there is demand, it is more expensive than gold!
I don’t know how much water-soluble gold is contained in this 30-jin broken sword, but it can be conservatively estimated that the content is more than 70%.
If it can be refined further, at least two hundred taels of gold and two thousand taels of silver!
The palm-sized blade was worth two thousand taels of silver.
Oh my god, which general's knife is so expensive?
Liang Qu felt that the thing was hot, so he hurried into the house, wrapped it in black cloth, and found a wooden box to put it in.
"Good job, Fatty!"
Liang Qu crossed the courtyard without forgetting to praise the fat catfish, then rode up Chishan Mountain to Pingyang County.
Inside Lu's residence, Lu Gang was scolding the new apprentice.
Liang Qu turned his head to take a look and saw a new face he had never seen before. He was not very old and was very thin.
Seeing his junior fellow apprentice coming over, Lu Gang waved his hand, and the new apprentice was pardoned.
"The new apprentice is called Li Yuan. He is very talented and was able to use the hammer well the first time he used it, but he is also very impatient."
Lu Gang explained.
Liang Qu nodded. Senior Brother Lu didn't say much, most likely because he was disappointed in his friend.
"Brother Liang, why are you in such a hurry? Is there something important?"
Liang Qu shook the wooden box in his hand.
Lu Gang understood, and tacitly took his fellow apprentice to the quiet room, closed the door, and the noisy outside was pushed out like a tide.
"Brother, take a look at this."
Liang Qu stepped forward and opened the wooden box on the table.
Half of the knife tip lay in the black cloth, emitting an inky blue light.
Lu Gang held the small fragment and looked at it in the sunlight.
"What a nice piece of water-sinking gold! Where did you get it, Junior Brother?"
"Found it in the water."
In the water again!
Lu Gang clicked his tongue. Why did he feel that all the good things in the water had been taken away by his own junior fellow apprentice?
In all the years that he had lived in Pingyang County, Lu Gang had never seen anyone get rich by fishing in the water, but Liang Qu was fishing back one thing after another.
"Brother, take a look. Is this thing still worth the money?"
"It's worth it. The content of water-sinking gold is over 80%. Just smelting the material will cost two thousand taels of silver. Junior brother, do you want to continue to add to the mold? Water-sinking gold is very adaptable and can be integrated with most materials. It can be added..."
"No need to add plastic." Liang Qu waved his hand, "Brother, if you think it is useful, give it to me. Brother Lu has helped me so much, and I haven't even repaid you for making Fu Bo."
Lu Gang held the blade and turned it repeatedly between his fingers.
"Are you really going to send me off?"
"really!"
Tungsten gold is not as valuable as water-immersed gold, but it is not cheap either.
There is also ivory white wood, which is also very valuable.
The materials for the entire Fu Bo sword alone cost several thousand taels, and Liang Qu was not the kind of person who would never get enough of taking advantage.
He would have to sell the blade for money if he kept it, so it would be better to give it to Senior Brother Lu.
The Shuichenjin blade turned between Lu Gang's fingers. The thirty-pound blade was no different from a leaf in his hand.
Water-immersed gold has very good integration properties and is very useful for both plasticization and repair.
Thinking of his broken spiritual weapon, he realized that if he delayed any further, his spiritual power would be damaged.
After thinking for a long time, Lu Gang nodded.
"Then I'll accept it."
The material properties of his spiritual weapon are very special. He has been unable to find the raw material to repair it for half a year. Water-sinking gold is the best solution among materials of different types.
Seeing Lu Gang accept it, Liang Qu's face showed a slight joy.
Senior Brother Xu had mentioned to him before that Senior Brother Lu’s spiritual weapon had broken and had never been repaired due to material problems.
The biggest feature of Shuichenjin is its strong inclusiveness and it is very good at repairing weapons, so it was sent over without delay.
Lu Gang put away the blade and was in a good mood.
"Last time when I hunted the sturgeon monster, my master asked me to make each of you an inner armor using monster skin. It was only finished two days ago. I was planning to send it to you sometime. Now it's a good opportunity for you to come over. Try it on and see if it fits you."
After a while, Liang Qu had a matte black carapace on his body. The inner armor felt good to the touch, soft and breathable, and did not affect his movements at all.
This is a genuine monster skin! It is suitable for hunting tigers!
If it were a Wolf Smoke Martial Artist of a lower level, the weapons he used would barely be able to cut through it!
With a set of magical clothes, top-notch martial arts, and the martial bones and Yinglong patterns on his body, Liang Qu felt that no one in the ordinary horse-riding realm could beat him.
After putting away the inner armor, Liang Qu bid farewell to Lu Gang who was repairing the spiritual weapon, went home to pack his things, and prepared to go to the neighboring Fengbu County.
This time, the water beast caused trouble in Wushui Town under the jurisdiction of Fengbu County. Six fishermen have gone missing and eight have been confirmed dead. All of these happened in the past half month.
According to rumors, it is a water monster that looks like a human.
Arm guards, inner armor, and then a layer of official uniform, with a cowhide belt tied on the outside and cloud boots on the feet.
Fubo, Qinglang, Xuanshuicha.
Liang Qu grabbed a black cloak. The cloak given to him by his second senior brother was very useful, but it was a pity that he could not wear it anymore. The weather was getting warmer in April and it was too hot to wear the cloak.
He stuffed the cloak back into the closet and took off a badge and hung it around his waist.
A badge from the River and Bohai Police Station is essential as it serves as proof of identity when you go out and deters thugs.
noon.
"Donor, are you going on a long journey?"
In the kitchen, the old monk saw Liang Qu and was quite surprised by his attire.
"I have to go out for the next three or four days. If there is anything wrong at home, please help me take care of it."
The old monk put his hands together.
"That's as it should be."
At Shangrao Wharf, Liang Qu put away his things and untied the boat ropes.
The area of a county is not standard. Most of them are divided according to the distance a galloping horse warrior travels in a fixed direction in one day and one night. They are very huge.
Taking the water route to Liangqu is a shortcut, but it still takes a day and a half. Then you can look for traces of the water monster in Fengbu County, which will take about three or four days, or half a day.
As for the five water beasts.
Liang Qu thought for a long time and decided to let Yuantou stay and take the remaining four beasts away.
On the one hand, Yuantou has to take care of the little finless porpoises, on the other hand, keeping Yuantou in the local area can serve as a senior liaison officer.
It is smarter than the four beasts.
Through the mental connection, Liang Qu can know the situation in Pingyang County at any time, and at the same time let Yuantou take over the work of fat catfish and other beasts, so that the fish gang will not be idle.
In this way, Liang Qu could be said to be fully armed.
In the lotus root waters, except for Awei on the wrist, the remaining four animals including the little porpoise all surfaced.
The fat catfish was very excited. It was its first time to travel far away.
He clamped a few pieces of lotus root in his fist and put them into the boat. Those pieces of lotus root contained the most water essence.
"Roundhead, the family is relying on you. When it comes to fishing, learn from the fat catfish. When you encounter danger, don't try to hold on. Protecting yourself and Jiang Xiaotun is the most important thing."
Yuantou called out a few times, all to reassure Liang Qu.
Liang Qu had confidence in Yuantou's wisdom. He put two sets of "fish saddles" on the immobile and fat catfish, and then put a piece of rope on his fist.
The fat catfish, with its long tail that cannot move, pushes away the waves and uses the force to move forward.
The wind grew stronger and stronger, leaving no trace on the water.
The whole ship was moving forward rapidly under the drive of the two water beasts, with a big crab hanging at the back.
Fengbu County, let’s go!
(End of this chapter)
