Chapter 27 Xuzhou Xiang Family
[Congratulations, artist. The opera "Liu Hai Cuts Wood" you created has spread throughout Yueyang City. Reputation points +5.]

[Congratulations, artist. The opera "Liu Hai Cuts Wood" you created has spread throughout Changde City. Reputation points +5.]

[Congratulations, artist. The tanci "The Legend of White Snake" you created has spread throughout Hangzhou City. Reputation points +5.]

Ou Zanghua, who was practicing the piano, was startled by the message that suddenly popped up in his mind. The plug-in had not been online for so long that he almost forgot about its existence.

After thinking for a while, Ou Zanghua asked the plug-in to play the process of editing his information form again:

Name: Ou Zanghua, courtesy name Jingyu

Physical age: 18 years old
Height: 186cm
Skills: "Hengshan Heart Method" 10th level, "Hengshan Sword Method" 10th level, "Returning Wind and Falling Wild Goose Sword Method" 10th level, "Light Body Controlling the Wind·Flying Horse Stepping on Swallow" 10th level, "Hundred Changes and Thousands of Illusions of Clouds and Mist Thirteen Styles" 3rd level, proficient in flute playing, proficient in calligraphy, master of eight-part essay
Reputation Points: 15
Achievement Points: 0
Representative works: Opera "Liu Hai Cuts Wood·Ouyang Version", Tanci "The Legend of White Snake·Ouyang Version"

Looking at the "13 Styles of Clouds and Mists" which was not fully upgraded, Ou Zanghua's obsessive-compulsive disorder came to his mind, and he directly spent seven points to upgrade it to the tenth level. The remaining eight points had nowhere to add, so he kept them.

The next moment, a scene appeared in Ou Zanghua's mind: an old man performing street arts was performing dazzling acrobatics on an empty street.

Looking more closely, I found that the old man was actually holding a long sword in his hand, but the angle of his sword was too tricky to be easily overlooked.

What surprised Ou Zanghua even more was yet to come. The old man could control the sword with his armpits, elbows and knees. His unpredictable attack trajectory and fast sword-drawing method made it hard to defend against.

Finally, he stood still and clasped his hands together, and the sword disappeared.

In the blink of an eye, he descended from the sky and stabbed the enemy in front of him on the crown of his head.

Ou Zanghua opened his eyes and couldn't help but reach to the side, suddenly remembering that he had kicked his sword out as a flying sword in the previous battle.

Ou Zanghua withdrew his hand with some melancholy and couldn't help but sigh. He would have to buy a long sword next time he got off the boat, otherwise he would not be able to display his swordsmanship at all.

The sand ship sped along, and after passing Huai'an, it arrived at Xuzhou. The sailors finally breathed a sigh of relief. They had already traveled so far, and they thought that the pirates would not be able to catch up with them.

Xuzhou is a thousand-year-old ancient city located in the transition zone between the north and the south. It has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times, and has the reputation of "Chu charm and Han style, southern beauty and northern majesty".

Yaowan Wharf is surrounded by water on three sides, with the Grand Canal to the west and Luoma Lake to the east. It is a north-south water transportation hub and an important commodity distribution center, so it is called the First Bay of the Thousand-Mile Canal.

When Ou Zanghua took Qu Feiyan and Qu Yang off the boat and walked on the bluestone road, looking at the guild halls, ancient temples, ancient bridges, ancient locust trees, and celebrity pavilions on both sides of the street, he unconsciously relaxed in his heart.

At this time, there was a noise coming from the front, followed by festive congratulations.

Two servants came out, and when they saw the imposing Ou Zanghua, their eyes lit up and they immediately came over: "Sir, today is the day when my young master is getting married, and the master has invited all the elders in the town to a banquet. You may not be able to find a restaurant to eat this time. If you don't mind, you can go to the Xiang family compound in front to have a drink and share in the good fortune."

"Congratulations," Ou Zanghua said with a smile, "Then we'll bother you."

No wonder I didn’t see many shops open along the way, it turned out they were all invited to banquets.

The three followed the crowd and soon arrived at the Xiang family compound. There was a stone drum on each side of the vermilion gate, and the four characters "Yijie Xiang Mansion" were clearly written on the plaque.

When Qu Yang saw these four words, he said with a look of sudden enlightenment: "So this is the residence of Xiang Xun, who is known as the 'Eight-Armed Flying Knight' in the martial arts world."

"Does Qu Bo know this person?" Ou Zanghua asked with some confusion.

"I don't know him, but I've heard of him. Xiang Xun became famous a long time ago, and he is well-known in Jiangnan for his ancestral flying knife skills." Qu Yang stroked his beard and continued, "There are rumors in the martial arts world that Xiang Xun is the descendant of the Liangshan hero, Eight-armed Nezha, Xiang Chong."

"It's very likely that Xiang Chong is from Xuzhou." Ou Zanghua nodded and followed others into the yard.

At this moment there is a small stage in the yard where Xuzhou Bangzi is being performed.

The opera got its name because it uses jujube wood bangzi as percussion instrument and the fast and slow rhythm of the tune is directed by a pair of drum boards and bangzi. The people of Xuzhou also call it "big drama".

Xuzhou Bangzi originated in the Ming Dynasty. As immigrants from Shanxi and Shaanxi moved south, they brought folk songs from their hometowns to Xuzhou, which gradually merged with local ballads and tunes, and also merged with the Yuyao dialect from the south, forming a local opera vocal style. Therefore, the singing style of Xuzhou Bangzi has both the hard and powerful characteristics of northern opera and the gentle and soft charm of southern opera.

It is a rare art form that achieves perfect fusion through the combination of the north and the south.

Under the guidance of a servant, Ou Zanghua and others sat at the table close to the central axis.

Looking at the person sitting at the same table, he is obviously dressed more elegantly than the person sitting behind him.

While listening to Xuzhou Bangzi, Ou Zanghua chatted with everyone with a smile. He knew that some of them opened shops in the town, some were young knights who had just started out in the world, and some were passing through while studying. Anyway, everyone had nothing to do, so if someone invited them, they would come over to join in the fun.

Through the stories told by the shop owners, Ou Zanghua had a rough idea of ​​what kind of person Xiang Xun was.

To sum up, he is a young man who relies on his martial arts to show off when he is young and has his own set of moral standards in his heart.

As he got older, he controlled his temper and became more charitable. In this small Yaowan Wharf, he can be said to be a man of high moral character and respect.

Not long after, the sound of gongs and drums came from the street. Ou Zanghua turned his head and saw a young man riding a tall horse, wearing a red robe and approaching with a smile on his face.

At this moment, a beggar with patched clothes and emitting a damp, cold and foul smell suddenly fell down at the gate of the Xiang family.

Ou Zanghua was slightly stunned. This skill was not that of an ordinary beggar. Could he be a master of the Beggars' Sect?

The Xiang family servant obviously didn't see anything different about this beggar. Seeing that the wedding procession was about to arrive, he rushed over and tried to pull up the beggar.

Unexpectedly, the next second, the two servants retreated with a scream, and then fell to the ground with foam at the mouth.

"This is..." Ou Zanghua narrowed his eyes. He just saw two green snakes crawling out from the beggar's armpits and biting two servants.

Qu Yang's expression froze, and he approached Ou Zanghua and whispered, "Sir, it's the Twin Snakes Evil Beggar Yan Sanxing. He has a perverse personality and is good at using poison, so you must be on guard."

Ou Zanghua glanced at Qu Yang silently, and said as if you don't know how to use poison.
The movement at the door quickly attracted the attention of the Xiang family. Xiang Xun walked out of the inner courtyard with the gait of a tiger. The old man had a white beard and a round shield on his left arm. He looked majestic without being angry:
"May I ask which sect you are from? Today is a big day for my Xiang family. Why don't you come in and have a drink?"

"Humph!"

Yan Sanxing snorted coldly and lay on the ground. He tilted his head and looked at Xiang Xun with a sneer, "I just fell down at your doorstep, and your servants want to chase me away. Is this how you, the Eight-Armed Flying Knight Xiang Xun, treat guests?"

Xiang Xun glanced at the two servants who were already dead, and slowly said, "The servants don't know etiquette, you have already taught them a lesson."

"As the saying goes, 'If the upper beam is crooked, the lower beams will be crooked'. Your servant doesn't know etiquette, wasn't it you who taught him? Today, I, Yan Sanxing, will teach you what etiquette is!" After saying this, the two snakes suddenly jumped up and used a series of mountain-splitting moves to attack Xiang Xun.

Xiang Xun's face turned cold. He raised his hand to block and was about to fight back, but Yan Sanxing used the "Holding the Moon in His Arms" move to pull him closer, and followed up with a "Heart-Protecting Hammer" move, hitting the old Xiang Xun in the chest and knocking the old Xiang Xun away.

Yan Sanxing looked at the blood spitting out of his mouth and sneered, "This is called 'complaining'!"

"Dad!" When Xiang Cheng, the son of Xiang Xun, saw this scene, he became very anxious. He jumped off his horse and rushed over to help his old father up.

Yan Sanxing bent his hand and a green snake flew out from his sleeve and bit Xiang Cheng's neck.

"do not want!"

Xiang Xun was horrified when he saw this scene. This was the only child he had with his first wife. If he died unexpectedly, how would he explain to his deceased wife? !

At the critical moment, a silver bean flew over, knocked off the green snake's head and saved Xiang Cheng.

"Who?" Yan Sanxing's expression turned cold, and his eyes swept across everyone like ice.
(End of this chapter)