MM Racing Chapter 125 Weaving Straw Sandals: Our Family is a Professional!
Chapter 125 Weaving Straw Sandals: Our Family is a Professional!
Chapter 125 Weaving Straw Sandals: Our Family is a Professional!
"Help me—help me, please—"
Braising water to set tofu is a classic example of one thing subduing another.
Legend has it that Lu Xiaofeng is most afraid of water. If he falls into the water, he can only thrash around and cannot maintain his rationality. The first part of this statement is true, but the second part is nonsense.
Lu Xiaofeng does get seasick and is afraid of water, but not to this extent. With his martial arts skills, he can hold his breath underwater for a quarter of an hour and even use the water to his advantage.
With a few quick thrashings of the hands and feet, one can leap dozens of feet, or by carrying a large rock and walking step by step along the riverbed, one can reach the bank.
The only "water" that could make Lu Xiaofeng lose his mind and fall into a coma is the vast ocean. Faced with a devastating tsunami, survival depends solely on luck.
Even so, Xu Qingya had no choice but to obediently jump into the water and pull Lu Xiaofeng out, lest the guy overact and actually turn himself into a drowned rat.
On the shore of Taihu Lake, Song Wencao, a legendary healer from the martial arts world, carrying a medicine chest and a large medicine bag, watched the frolicking crowd with a smile, but a strong killing intent flashed in his eyes.
What is meant by "quack doctor"?
"Miracle doctor" is a profession that allows you to work from home!
Most of these legendary doctors own their own pharmacies and rarely leave their homes; it is outsiders who come to them seeking treatment.
Ping Yizhi, Hu Qingniu, Xue Muhua, and Cheng Lingsu all had fixed residences. Outsiders who wanted to seek medical treatment could go to their secluded places, which was both convenient and quick.
Song Wencao was the only exception.
Song Wencao loved to travel the world, healing people wherever he went. He had a good reputation in the martial arts world and had excellent relationships with many powerful figures. He was a mysterious figure who was rarely seen.
Such an eccentric doctor must either be hiding an unspeakable secret or be wearing a different guise.
Song Wencao possesses both qualities.
His brother was murdered!
It was Hua Ruling who killed his brother!
He and his brother were both notorious thieves!
The person who blinded Hua Manlou was Song Wencao. He wanted Hua Manlou to fall into darkness forever, but in the end, it was Song Wencao who struggled and succumbed to darkness.
Every time Song Wencao saw Hua Manlou's smiling face, she felt her heart breaking. Countless times she wanted to reclaim her identity as the Iron Shoe Thief and pretend to be a ghost to scare Hua Manlou, but her martial arts skills were too poor, and she was afraid of being beaten to death by Hua Manlou.
However, Song Wencao had painstakingly planned for many years and devised a deadly scheme for Hua Manlou. Hua Ruling's sixtieth birthday banquet was going to cause the Hua family to fall apart!
Song Wencao clenched her fists fiercely!
At another dock, Jin Jiuling looked at the luxurious and comfortable pleasure boat and the beautiful women on it. His jealousy soared to the heavens. He wished he could put on a bandit's disguise, kill Xu Qingya, and snatch all the beauties away.
Money, wealth, power, and beauty were Jin Jiuling's lifelong pursuits, but Xu Qingya had mastered them all within three months of her debut, as easily as eating and drinking.
What's even more humiliating is that, theoretically, Xu Qingya is Jin Jiuling's superior. If Jin Jiuling wants to get promoted, he has to force a smile and flatter Xu Qingya.
Jin Jiuling's eyes were so intense, his jealousy almost tangible. Liu Qingci, an archer, sensed the spying and quickly looked in Jin Jiuling's direction. Jin Jiuling hurriedly lowered his head, not daring to look up and peek.
Liu Qingci pointed to the dock and said, "I feel like someone is spying on us, on both sides. This spying is highly malicious. Bring me bows and arrows; I'll use this as a warning to show them what I'm capable of!"
As she spoke, Liu Qingci nocked an arrow and fired it at Jin Jiuling's location. She didn't know the exact location of the spy's gaze, so she could only make a rough estimate. Jin Jiuling was unlucky; Liu Qingci guessed the right spot.
Jin Jiuling took out his folding fan and shot the fan ribs at the arrow that was flying through the air. He knew how powerful Liu Qingci's bow and arrow were, and dared not be negligent in the slightest.
"Clang clang clang clang clang!"
The arrow struck down six fan ribs, its speed only slightly reduced, but it still shot straight toward Jin Jiuling. Jin Jiuling used the fan ribs to slightly obstruct the arrow, reached into his robes, pulled out a large bag of loose silver, and fired it toward the pleasure boat.
The Supreme Stabilizing Pearl Demon-Subduing Technique!
One of the 72 Shaolin Arts, it uses the Buddhist prayer beads worn by monks as weapons. It can launch up to 108 beads, which shoot out and collide with each other, constantly changing their position, and can seal off the entire space.
"Jingle bells!"
More than a dozen pieces of silver flew from all directions toward the arrow shaft, deflecting its trajectory. Jin Jiuling ducked and rolled a few times before plunging into the lake. With a few splashes, Jin Jiuling disappeared into the distance.
Liu Qingci paid no attention to Jin Jiuling, casually fired an arrow at him, and then aimed at Song Wencao.
Song Wencao was horrified and jumped into the lake without hesitation. She quickly put on her iron shoes and used their weight to sink to the bottom of the lake. Relying on the turtle breathing technique she had practiced in the ocean waves, she walked step by step along the water veins.
It is said that Song Wencao has no fixed abode and likes to travel the world to study medicine. In reality, Song Wencao is extremely insecure. He always wears a disguise mask, worried that his identity will be discovered. Whenever he arrives at a place, he first looks for a river to confirm his escape route.
In terms of escaping, Jin Jiuling was far less experienced than Song Wencao. He had been a constable for thirty years and had always been the one chasing others. He had never had any experience of escaping.
Liu Qingci frowned, feeling that the malice emanating from Jin Jiuling's direction was stronger, and the splashes of water were more obvious. He nocked an arrow, circulated his true energy, and released the "Flood Arrow" with a faint aura of water around his fingertips!
This method did not originate from Huang Zhong, but from Niu Fu, Dong Zhuo's son-in-law. Niu Fu used the five elements as arrows, and his archery skills were extreme; each type of arrow could only be used once.
After Niu Fu died on the battlefield, his archery skills were not lost. Instead, as they were passed down from generation to generation, the Five Elements Archery Technique became more and more versatile. It can pursue the extreme and unleash the ultimate power, and it can also generate the five elements. The power of the arrows is slightly weaker, but the five elements arrows can be circulated.
"Whoosh!"
The arrow skipped across the water like a stone skipping across a stream, leaving a clear trail on the surface. It carried a surging current of water towards the spray. Jin Jiuling was horrified and unleashed a powerful Vajra Palm strike. With a deafening roar, a three-zhang-high spray of water erupted, and blood stained the lake red.
Liu Qingci didn't continue his attack, and casually handed the bow and arrow to Xu Qingya: "These two are quite interesting. One is maliciously targeting you, and the other is maliciously targeting Hua Manlou. The one targeting Hua Manlou is most likely the Iron Shoe Bandit."
Lu Xiaofeng asked, "Your Majesty—cough cough! May I ask, Snow Maiden, how did you arrive at your judgment?"
Liu Qingci said casually, "Hua Manlou never makes enemies and has no rivals. The only one who harbors ill will towards him is the Iron-Shoe Bandit!"
Lu Xiaofeng pointed at Xu Qingya: "What about the malice directed at Xu Qingya? Who do you think it is?"
Liu Qingci scoffed, "It's hard to judge! Xu Qingya's enemies are basically all dead. The opponent used the Seventy-Two Shaolin Arts. Xu Qingya, when did you offend a monk? Do you have a grudge against Shaolin?"
Xu Qingya smiled wryly: "There are at least eight or ten thousand martial artists who know the Seventy-Two Shaolin Arts. Finding the murderer through martial arts is most likely not going to work."
Yang Yan analyzed, "Husband! The other party may be jealous of your young age and the beautiful women around you, and this jealousy has materialized, which was detected by the Snow Maiden."
Lu Xiaofeng added, "That's absolutely true. Every time I see Xu Qingya, I want to kill him! Even if I can't kill him, I'll at least scratch his pretty boy face!"
Xu Qingya chuckled twice: "Lu Xiaofeng and Hua Manlou are also very handsome! Their temperament is even more outstanding!"
Lu Xiaofeng glanced at Xu Qingya on the left, then at Hua Manlou on the right: "I can't bring myself to do it—Hua Manlou's gentle demeanor makes it hard for anyone to harbor ill will towards him!"
"You mean, I'm asking for a beating?"
"I didn't say anything! I didn't say anything!"
"Go to hell, Lu Xiaoji!"
"No! No! I can't swim!"
"I'm going to turn you into poached chicken, stir-fried chicken, stewed chicken, roasted chicken, fried chicken, and braised chicken—"
"I'm soaked to the bone!"
"Old hen soup is the best!"
"I'm very young—"
"The way to eat chicken is the most unique. I've heard of a luxurious dish that involves taking the tongue tips of fifteen chickens, and they must be alive. After marinating them, they're stir-fried with elm seeds. Only the fifteen tongue tips are eaten; the rest are thrown away!"
"That cook really knows how to deceive people!"
Lu Xiaofeng was so shocked that he forgot to struggle.
Lu Xiaofeng grew up among the common people and witnessed all sorts of strange methods. Many dishes that sounded bizarre or even illogical could be attributed to the cook's wife needing to replenish her nutrition after giving birth.
Dishes like eggplant made with dozens of chickens, chicks with only the tip of their tongues, and mandarin fish with only the skin under the eighth scale on the tail—besides showing off wealth, the only value of these dishes is to make the cook's family rich.
Here we should try to salvage the Jia family's reputation a little!
The "eggplant dish" that the Jia family ate was already considered a relatively frugal dish, roughly equivalent to "Lao Gan Ma" (a popular chili sauce brand)!
The most famous dish in "Dream of the Red Chamber" is described in great detail, but it's actually Lao Gan Ma plus!
Eggplant, a high-oil, high-salt, and easy-to-carry vegetable, was not a banquet dish but a food eaten on the road. When the Jia family ancestors went to war, they carried a jar of eggplant and would wrap it in flatbread when they were hungry, which could quickly replenish their nutrition.
The original intention of the old master Jia in leaving this dish was to remind the younger generation of the bitter past and how the Jia family's wealth came about. However, after decades of peace and no war, the younger generation only remembered to make eggplant and did not know the specific reason. As a result, the way to make eggplant dish became more and more extravagant.
The cook was also helpless. When cooking, he would try to add more chicken broth for seasoning and some dried fruit to make it taste better. As for the scraps, the masters didn't care about them at all. The cook couldn't waste the ingredients!
Lu Xiaofeng found these dishes hard to understand, thinking they were just wealthy families showing off their riches. Liu Qingci, on the other hand, who came from the royal family, could understand them. She had been to the military camp, and the dishes prepared for her by the imperial chefs were similar in preparation to eggplant.
Liu Qingci could understand eggplant, but she absolutely could not understand the idea of eating only the tip of a chicken's tongue.
Liu Qingci asked, "Xu Qingya, do you really have such extravagant dishes? Who would dare to be so wasteful?"
Xu Qingya laughed and said, "I also know a famous dish that only exists in legends: stir-fried dragon whiskers. You only eat two whiskers from a fish. The specific recipe is as follows: ————"
Liu Qingci quickly stopped him: "Stop talking! If the imperial kitchen dared to cook like this, I'd personally chop them up! Even the richest man in the world wouldn't dare to eat like this, would he?"
Lu Xiaofeng stroked his mustache: "The most well-known richest man in the martial arts world is Huo Xiu. As far as I know, Huo Xiu lives a very simple life. Apart from drinking, he is reluctant to spend money on anything else. He usually wears straw sandals!"
Speaking of straw sandals —
Liu Qingci shrugged: "In the past, when my family offered incense to our ancestors to remember the bitterness of the past and appreciate the sweetness of today, we had to wear straw sandals. We even had to weave them ourselves. My family had a pair, and we almost pricked our feet!"
Xu Qingya asked in surprise, "That's not right! Why didn't I see you wearing straw sandals when we went to the ancestral temple to worship last time?"
Liu Qingci's face darkened: "Going to the Imperial Ancestral Temple is to burn incense for the three ancestors. If we go wearing straw sandals, one ancestor will be satisfied, but what about the other two? Only for individual sacrifices are wearing straw sandals for half a day!"
"Should we offer mung beans and pork?"
"That won't be necessary!"
"Your family rules are really bizarre!"
"Ancestral precepts! What can I do? A bunch of eighty-year-old old fogies do nothing but watch my every word and action. If I do anything slightly wrong, I'll either be punished by copying books or confined to my home for three days."
When this matter was mentioned, Liu Qingci was furious. He went to the imperial kitchen and was confined to his quarters for more than half a month.
I've even slept in the emperor's bed. In the middle of the night, I snatched the emperor's blanket, kicked her off the bed, and went to the imperial kitchen. You think I wanted to poison the emperor?
You can't nitpick like that!
Upon hearing Liu Qingci's complaints, Lu Xiaofeng felt as if a hundred thousand alpacas were running through his mind, shouting "Idiot!" as he ran. His romanticized view of the royal family was not exactly shattered, but rather—Lu Xiaofeng couldn't describe it—and he was so anxious that he scratched his head in frustration.
How to describe it?
The late emperor's reckless actions shattered Lu Xiaofeng's idealized view of the royal family. Liu Dinghuan's three and a half years of hard work earned him some respect for the royal family, but hearing Liu Qingci's complaints shattered that idealized view once again.
It's like smashing a huge mirror to the ground with all your might, breaking it into pieces, and then piecing it back together like a jigsaw puzzle. Just when you've finished two sides, a slap sweeps across and a few more puzzle pieces appear.
With Xu Qingya and Lu Xiaofeng performing crosstalk and Liu Qingci adding his own witty remarks, the pleasure boat was filled with a joyful atmosphere.
Happy times always pass quickly.
Before we knew it, the birthday banquet was approaching.
The Hua family sent a carriage to pick them up.
Everyone went to the Hua family's house by horse-drawn carriage.
Xu Qingya is the only exception.
Lao Jiu stared intently at Xu Qingya.
Xu Qingya flipped over and mounted Lao Jiu's back.
Liu Qingci disliked riding in carriages, so she rode her jade lion alongside Xu Qingya.
Although it was said to be a journey, it was actually only a few dozen miles.
Except for a short stretch of mountain road, the entire route was filled with beautiful scenery of birdsong and fragrant flowers. Inside the carriage, there was a brocade box as a gift for the guests.
Lu Xiaofeng and Hua Manlou rode in a carriage. Looking at the brocade box inside, Lu Xiaofeng chuckled, "Uncle Hua, you're too kind. I came empty-handed to eat for free, and not only did you not blame me, you even prepared a surprise for me. It's truly touching!"
As he spoke, Lu Xiaofeng opened the brocade box.
A large amount of sleeping smoke billowed out of the brocade box.
Besides being afraid of water, Lu Xiaofeng has another very special weakness: he has relatively weak resistance to poisons, especially to sleeping pills. He almost collapses at the slightest touch, and upon smelling the sleeping pill smoke, Lu Xiaofeng collapses with a silly grin.
Hua Manlou then fainted as well.
The same applies to other carriages!
Liu Qingci heard the sound of someone falling and was about to arrest and interrogate them when Xu Qingya grabbed him and pointed to a tea stall by the roadside, where Hua Ruling had been waiting for a long time.