Martial Arts: Starting from a Seemingly Real System

In the study, Qiao Rui checked the books, paintings and desks on the bookshelf one by one, but he couldn't find the secret book for a while and couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

The secret book was obtained from a small merchant ship, so it was easy to carry and not easily noticed. Otherwise, how could such an important thing fall into the hands of the five brothers? Looking at the things in the study that meet the requirements, they are books, paintings, and small objects on the desk. However, whether it is books or paintings, there are indeed no signs of being turned over before, so there are only objects on the desk. However, Qiao Rui has carefully examined these objects and can't find anything strange. At most, they are made of high-quality materials. For example, the jade pen holder he picked up casually is in the shape of a round arch mountain, with hollow carved pine, cypress and children on it. The color is crystal clear and round, and the patina is...

Pao?

Qiao Rui suddenly realized what he had overlooked. Most of the objects on the desk were brightly colored, novel and valuable, but had no patina, and were obviously not played with often. Only the wooden carved pen holder looked light yellow, but actually had a layer of oily gloss on the surface, with obvious patina.

What is patina?

The patina is the bright red layer on the rocking chair that grandpa has sat on for decades, the oily sheen on the wooden handle of the hatchet used for years by Uncle Zhong and Uncle Erfa, and the shiny and smooth surface gradually formed by dust, sweat, and hand stains from years of play and use by those who play with and use it.

How come the pen holder is so shiny and glossy? How come there is a patina? Obviously, it is often held in the hands of people to play with and inspect, but it is not a plaything, so the answer is obvious.

Qiao Rui took the pen holder, poured out the brushes inside, and looked at it carefully. The outer wall of the pen holder was engraved with mountains surrounded by clouds and mist. The surface was shiny, deep, quiet, implicit and warm. The inner wall of the pen holder was smooth and had a light yellow wood texture. The texture was very fine. It didn't feel very heavy when I weighed it in my hand, and I didn't know what wood it was made of.

Qiao Rui looked left and right, and tapped the barrel and the bottom with his fingers. The echo was solid and not hollow, so there might not be any clever interlayer.

Should we try flooding or burning? Burning is not realistic. What if it gets burned? Let's try flooding first.

There happened to be water in the lotus colored porcelain pen washer. Qiao Rui carefully sprinkled some water on the outer wall and spread it evenly. Then he looked at it carefully and saw that there was no reaction. He simply put the entire pen holder into the water and slowly turned it. He stopped when the entire pen holder was soaked and carefully checked the reaction.

"Huh? It turns out to be true!" Qiao Rui was secretly happy.

Just then, there was a chaotic sound of footsteps and voices outside, and someone shouted loudly: "Qiao Rui, where are you? I'm back!" It was Liu Xinyue's voice.

Qiao Rui carefully took out the pen holder, shook off the water, wiped it again with the corner of his clothes, put it in his arms, and then left the study.

"Xinyue, here!" Qiao Rui walked to the main hall and responded when he saw Liu Xinyue leading a group of constables and runners in.

Liu Xinyue saw him and brought the gang over to greet him. One of the big men said, "Sanshuihe Town Guard Miao Hong greets you, sir. This time, it is all thanks to you that you wiped out this gang of water bandits in one fell swoop. These people have been entrenched in Sanshuihe for many years, killing people, seizing boats, raping and plundering. I led several people to encircle and suppress them many times but failed to achieve any success. It turns out that their lair is this Feiyun Manor!"

"No need to be polite, quickly have someone count the supplies and seal up the property. I have other important matters to attend to and don't want to delay for too long!"

"Yes, yes!" Bao Zheng Miao Hong saluted to Qiao Rui, turned around and gave orders to the constables and runners.

Seeing Miao Hong taking people away to do business, Liu Xinyue walked to Qiao Rui's side and asked with a low smile: "How is it, did you find anything good?"

Qiao Rui suppressed his excitement and whispered, "Good harvest!" He pointed to the stone platform in the middle of the courtyard and said, "Go sit over there and I'll tell you slowly."

Amidst the clamor of people rummaging through boxes and cabinets, the two of them sat quietly on the stone terrace, side by side, whispering. Qiao Rui whispered about what happened after Liu Xinyue left, the cellar, the treasure chest, the land deed, the little treasure, the secret book, the pen holder... Liu Xinyue sometimes exclaimed in a low voice, sometimes smiled softly with her hands covering her mouth, and her beautiful big eyes looked at Qiao Rui from time to time, just like the bright moon in the sky, tender and affectionate!

"Sir, all materials and properties have been registered, classified and sealed, and the prisoners' families have also been locked up. This is your receipt, and the receipt has been written!" Bao Zheng Miao Hong held the receipt given to him by Liu Xinyue in both hands and bowed to Qiao Rui.

Qiao Rui put away the receipt, glanced at the woman and child who were locked up, and sighed, "You guys should behave yourself and escort these people to the county government office for punishment as soon as possible. Don't be too harsh on them on the way."

"Yes, my lord!"

Qiao Rui nodded, and suddenly remembered that the village where Juan'er's husband lived seemed to be under the jurisdiction of Sanshuihe Town, so he specifically explained what happened after Juan'er's husband's death, and then he and Liu Xinyue both led their horses and walked out of Feiyun Manor.

"Farewell, sir!" Miao Hong bowed and shouted in the manor.

Qiao Rui waved his hand behind him, walked a few steps to the place where he had stabbed the knife before, pulled out the goose-feather knife on the ground, jumped on his horse and rushed out.

When they reached the corner of the road, Qiao Rui jumped off his horse, found the big tree, and carried Xiaobao back.

"Should we go back now or stay in town for a night?" Liu Xinyue rode over and asked.

"Go back directly, I'm afraid grandpa will worry!"

"Will it disturb your grandfather so late at night?"

"No, old people don't sleep much." Qiao Rui looked at the sky. It wasn't too late, so he guessed that his grandfather was still awake.

"Is this Xiaobao? He's so cute. Let me hold him!" Liu Xinyue came over and carefully took the baby from Qiao Rui's hands. She teased him for a while, and when she saw that he was sleeping soundly, she retracted her claws and smiled softly, "Qiao Rui, what do you want to do with such a cute little guy? How about we raise him ourselves?"

"How is that possible! Finding him a good family is the most righteous thing to do, and keeping him by your side, so should you teach him martial arts? Should you let him study? What if he finds out about my past and wants to seek revenge when he grows up? It's okay for him to seek revenge on me, but what if he secretly harms my family?"

Liu Xinyue was a little dumbfounded. She just asked casually because the baby was cute, and didn't think too much about it. Qiao Rui's questioning made her speechless and she stammered, "No, no way?"

"Whether it will happen or not, I don't want to take the risk. I'm not a saint. Before I show mercy to others, I must first protect my family."

"Well, where are you going to send him?"

"When you return to the city to hand in the mission, ask Shopkeeper Chen to find a good family for him to stay in, and let him grow up in an ordinary family."

The two men could not ride fast on their horses for fear of waking the child, so they rode slowly and leisurely, chatting all the way. It was midnight when they returned to the village.