7 Iron Chain Bridge
Su Chen passed by a breakfast stall near the South City Gate and used the copper coins to buy three large coarse grain steamed buns with a lot of money, but he couldn't bear to eat them, so he put them in his arms and waited until he was hungry before talking.
He left the gate of Gusu County and rushed along the official road.
The official road was quite busy, with rich people riding tall horses, rich people riding various luxury horse carriages, farm ox carts, and woodcutters carrying firewood to the market.
Su Chen was eager to walk, and after three or four miles of road, he saw a big mountain from afar, surrounded by streams and lakes at the foot of the mountain.
There are blue brick walls stretching halfway up the mountain, which separates the villa from the outside world. On the mountain, the attic courtyards with blue bricks and gray tiles are stacked, occupying half of the mountain.
This should be what A Chou mentioned about Yaowang Villa.
Su Chen couldn't help but be amazed that this Yaowang Villa is indeed so grand that it almost caught up with half of the Zhouzhuang. It is worthy of being one of the five major gangs in Wujun.
The houses of the gentry and landlords in Zhouzhuang are not as good as those in this villa. If you join such a big gang, your future will definitely be great.
Su Chen could see that there seemed to be hundreds of noisy people around the foot of the villa.
Isn't it that they all come to the Medicine King Gang early in the morning and want to become a gang apprentice? There are so many people, but I don't know how many apprentices the Medicine King Gang is preparing to recruit.
Su Chen became anxious and rushed over quickly.
...
Shortly after Su Chen and A Chou left the backyard of Tianying Inn, another donkey cart hurried out from the backyard and headed south of the city.
"Go, get it~!"
The donkey broke the car and ran very fast on the official road outside the south of the city.
The one who was eager to drive the donkey cart in the car seat was Zhang butcher Zhang. The one sitting on the wooden cart behind was his fat son Zhang Tieniu.
After killing a pig, butcher Zhang asked the shopkeeper Wang of the inn for one day off, saying that he would take his wife and son back to his mother Zhouzhuang's house to visit his relatives.
"Dad, why are we leaving the city? Aren't we going to Tianying Gate?"
Zhang Tieniu held a hot big meat bun in both hands and chewed it with big mouths, biting it all over the mouth. He finally found something was wrong after leaving the city gate. He was a little stunned and confused.
"You are stupid! The son of the shopkeeper Wang Dazhao will definitely be able to enter the Tianying Sect, at least he is an outer disciple. If his son sees you, he will not bully you to death! Do you have a future in the Tianying Sect? There are several big gangs in Wujun, so we have to enter the Tianying Sect."
"That's right, my dad is thinking carefully!"
"Dad had long figured out that this Medicine King Gang is no worse than Tianying Gate. In the medicine shop in the county, the manors and fields outside the city, which one is less than Tianying Gate?
If you can join the Medicine King to help you become an outer disciple and stay for decades, you might as well become a big shopkeeper in a medicine shop, with dozens of people under your command! You don’t have to be a lowly butcher like your father, and be pointed at the nose and shouted. Although I am a butcher, my son can still become a master."
Butcher Zhang thought of the face of Manager Wang's shouting at him, and he was angry and spat fiercely.
Back then, Manager Wang was just a young man at Tianying Inn, no matter how tall he is than Butcher Zhang, or what he is proud of.
The reason why the shopkeeper Wang Da is able to have the status of the shopkeeper of Tianying Inn is entirely because he later became an outer disciple of Tianying Sect and gradually became more developed, otherwise he would be the fate of a friend for the rest of his life.
He, butcher Zhang, also wants his son Zhang Tieniu to become a disciple of the Wujun gang and become the best man, and to be proud in the future.
"Hey, dad! Who is that person? Is that little fisherman from the countryside? Why did this kid come to the south of the city too!"
After eating the big meat-filled bun, Zhang Tieniu suddenly saw a young man wearing straw sandals on the road ahead and screamed.
Zhang Tieniu is from the county town. He often bullies A Chou in the inn and looks down on Su Chen, a young fisherman from Zhouzhuang.
Butcher Zhang also saw Su Chen, and couldn't help but slow down the reins and catch up with the thin figure.
Su Chen heard the sound of a donkey cart from behind and hurriedly avoided it. When he turned around, he saw Butcher Zhang and his fat son driving a donkey cart, he couldn't help but be surprised.
He and Butcher Zhang had known each other for a long time, because Butcher Zhang's wife was from Zhouzhuang and was from the villager and often met in Zhouzhuang.
"Uncle Zhang, aren't you going back to Zhouzhuang to see your relatives? Why are you here?!"
Su Chen was surprised. Seeing Butcher Zhang's embarrassing expression, he looked at the Yaowang Villa not far away, and immediately woke up. Butcher Zhang told Manager Wang that he wanted to go home to visit his relatives, but in fact he wanted to bring his son to the Medicine King Gang.
It seems that the common people in Gusu County have the idea of joining the gangs and making a name for themselves. There are many people here, and he is not the only one.
"Oh, Brother Chen! Haha, what a coincidence. The weather is good today. I am going to go back to Zhouzhuang. I heard that the Medicine King Gang is recruiting people, so I will come and see the fun. Haha! Brother Chen, you also want to go to the Medicine King Gang as an apprentice. What a coincidence!"
Butcher Zhang laughed and covered up his embarrassment.
Originally, he didn't want to pay much attention to Su Chen, the little fisherman. But thinking about his son and the little fisherman, if they all joined the Medicine King Gang and became brothers, they might be able to take care of each other, so they chatted a few more.
The distance was not far. Su Chen, butcher Zhang and the fat boy were chatting, and soon arrived outside Yaowang Villa together.
...
There is a river surrounded by mountains outside Yaowang Villa, and there is only a iron chain bridge that is more than 20 meters long.
The river water under the bridge is not deep, but it is particularly cold and biting.
This iron chain bridge was originally covered with hundreds of large wooden boards, which were dull and easy to pass.
But now the wooden boards have been emptied, leaving only a few bare iron chains of dozens of feet connecting the two sides, and suddenly become steep. The iron chains are frozen on the night, extremely smooth.
This is a natural barrier at Yaowang Villa.
On the iron cable cold bridge, one man can guard the mountain gate.
Four Qingyi swordsmen from the Medicine King Gang were guarding the entrance of the Iron Corridor Bridge with a arrogant expression, crossing their hands on their chests, looking at the many civilians gathered outside the villa.
The Medicine King Gang is one of the few powerful forces in the thirteen counties of Wu County. Naturally, it is not an ordinary small gang, and it is comparable to small forces. Even the guardians of the villas are invisibly superior to others.
The yamen runners who are arrogant in the county town on weekdays must respectfully call themselves masters in front of the swordsmen of the Medicine King's Swordsman, and dare not act like an official.
Ordinary people in the world, small gangs and sects, dare not act wild in front of the disciples of the Medicine King Gang.
Every year, there are many newcomers who want to join the Medicine King Gang.
But those who are just scattered are rejected, and it is not someone who wants to surrender. Practicing martial arts requires young age and certain qualifications and talents.
The Medicine King Gang has strict rules for recruiting disciples. It only recruits a group of potential teenagers between the ages of eight or nine and thirteen during the twelfth lunar month every year, and carefully trains them to become effective disciples of the gang.
Next to this iron chain bridge, there are gentry and tyrants from nearby towns, farmers and tenants carrying hoes, poor scholars shaking fans, and even several eager yamen runners who want their children to come to the King of Medicine Gang, but they are stopped by this cold iron chain bridge and cannot pass through. They are extremely anxious next to the bridge.
Su Chen hurriedly squeezed into the crowd, wanting to see what the generals were talking about.
A young swordsman saw that there were some newcomers one after another and didn't understand how to pass the assessment, so he sang to the crowd: "Dear fellow villagers, this iron chain bridge is the assessment test for the Yaowang Gang to recruit external disciples. If you want to become an outer disciple of the Yaowang Gang, you must climb over this iron chain bridge with your bare hands before you can join the gang!
Adults are not allowed to cross the bridge. Only children under thirteen years old can climb this iron chain bridge. As long as they climb this iron chain bridge, they will be the outer disciple of our gang."
After hearing this, the crowd of people gathered around him became obviously excited and crowded, hoping that their children could cross the iron chain bridge.
However, it is not that easy to pass through the iron chain bridge.
These iron chains are smooth, cold, have no strength, and are twenty feet long, which consumes a lot of energy.
This also means that children who are too young and weak will definitely not be able to get over it. The upper age limit is thirteen years old, which eliminates those older and older children.
"This man! It's cold and the iron ropes are frozen, and they can't even step on them. A teenager is weak and can't catch them. If he accidentally falls into the river, he will get sick even if he doesn't freeze to death. This is too dangerous. Is there no other way to join the gang?"
Butcher Zhang was worried that his son would fall into the river, so he squeezed into the crowd, nodded and bowed to the arrogant young swordsman, and asked with a favor.
"That's right! Even adults dare not go to this iron cable bridge, let alone children!"
The people shouted excitedly.
"Hmph, if you don't have the courage to take risks, why should you join the Medicine King Gang?! My Medicine King Gang's disciples have traveled through the world, with their heads hanging on their belts, which is a hundred times more dangerous than this iron chain cold bridge! Those who are afraid of death do not have to come to my Medicine King Gang. Besides, if they fall into the river, there will be fishermen under the bridge that will be salvaged and rescued. At most, they will be frozen. They will definitely not die."
The young swordsman looked around the crowd, put his hands on his chest, and sneered disdainfully: "Okay! Don't waste time around here. This gang recruits new apprentices in the twelfth month of this year, only three days. Today is the last day. Those who can't move into the village in the evening, just wait for next year. Those who dare not go home on the bridge, don't gather here to join in the fun!"
Only then did Su Chen understand that if he wanted to become an outer disciple of the Medicine King Gang, he had to climb over the iron cable cold bridge, otherwise he would not be able to enter the mountain gate.
And there is not much time left, this is the last day.
These iron chains, which are thicker than the arms, are bare and unstable, and are icy, cold and smooth. They can only use hands and feet to climb over.
Su Chen looked at the iron chain bridge hanging with ice and cold air, and was so shocked that he felt cold. He didn't dare to go up rashly. He wanted to see how other children got there first, so that they could learn some experience.
Many adults and children in the crowd arrived early in the morning and were blocked here and could not enter Yaowang Villa, which was obviously quite anxious.
The fate of many years here in the second half of their lives is to become a disciple of the Medicine King Gang that everyone envies in the county, or to be eliminated and returned to the county to be a small civilian. Everything depends on whether this iron chain bridge can climb over.
"Iron cow, crawl over! Go back and cook a big pig's feet for you!"
Butcher Zhang gritted his teeth and turned around and urged his fat son to climb the iron chain.
"Okay, dad!"
When Zhang Tieniu heard a pork trotter eating, he drooled in greed and nodded excitedly.
Soon, under the inspiration of many parents, more than a dozen children aged eight or nine to eleven or twelve came out. With a hint of timidity, they began to pluck up the courage to climb this iron chain bridge.
A nine-year-old child climbed halfway through the way, as if his hands were frozen. He couldn't grasp the cold chain of iron chains firmly. He suddenly screamed and fell to the river valley several feet deep below.
"Oh, be careful!"
"Not good! It fell down, save him!"
The crowd of onlookers suddenly burst into a burst of exclamations.
Seeing this, the four young swordsmen shook their heads indifferently and ignored them.
The iron cable cold bridge of Yaowang Villa can't be easily accessible. It must be agile and flexible, with strong hands, feet, and strong will, and can withstand the pain of cold and freezing, so there is a little chance to pass the test.
Chapter completed!