Chapter 63: The Guest at the Door

  They arrived at the great hall of the Wu Guan, where everyone sat separately. On both sides, there were twelve disciples standing, and Gao Yuan could see clearly that among them were the five disciples who had gone to Qingfeng Guild with Zhong Sunqi to rescue people that day.

  At this time, Ren Ye poured wine for Wu Lie, who raised his cup to Gao Yuan and said: "This time we were able to rescue Wen Qing's son, thanks to your efforts. If anything unexpected happens to Wen Qing, I really don't know how to explain it to General Lian, so I truly want to thank you, sir. Let me toast you first."

  Gao Yuan also raised his wine cup and smiled: "The host has said too much, this time being able to rescue Luo Huan is not the credit of one person alone. General and the host have also made a lot of effort. If there was no Brother Zhong Sun and other brothers from your esteemed inn helping to tie up others at that time, I would not have been able to rescue Luo Huan." As he spoke, he also raised his wine cup and said: "Let's drink this cup together then."

  Wu Lie laughed and said: "It's too humble for you, sir, but since you've said so, then let's all come together."

  Everyone also raised their glasses and drank them dry. Gao Yuan thought to himself that Wu Lie had invited him, so it shouldn't just be for a meal.

  As expected, after putting down the wine cup, Wu Lie lightly patted his palm, and a younger brother brought over a four-foot-long wooden box, handed it to Wu Lie's face. Wu Lie opened the wooden box, and inside was a scabbard with a precious sword.

  Wu Lie took out the treasured sword from the wooden box, drew it out halfway, and saw that its cold light was intimidating. At a glance, it was a good sword. In the eyes of Wu Zhanpeng, Zhong Sunqi and other brothers, there was a gleam of desire.

  Wu Lie returned the sword to its scabbard and handed it over to Gao Yuan, saying: "This sword was purchased by me eight years ago from Li's workshop. It is also the last of the nine-refined iron swords forged by Li Bo Ping. Today, I will give it to you, sir."

  Gao Yuan was taken aback, he really hadn't expected that Wu Lie would give him a nine-refined iron sword. At the same time, Wu Lie's ears and eyes were also very sharp in Handan, as expected of a top-notch Jianghu figure who had connections with both the black and white factions. He had already known that Gao Yuan had gone to find Li Bo Ping, probably thinking that he wanted to buy a high-quality iron sword, which was why he gave him this precious sword.

  However, Gaoyuan went to find Li Bo Ping, the main purpose was to cast a knife, not to buy a good sword, because his military knife could be said to be the first divine soldier of this era. Moreover, Wu Lie gave himself such a valuable gift, he must have something to ask for himself, and if he didn't understand his purpose, Gaoyuan would not easily accept this precious sword. Therefore, he said: "The host's gift is really too heavy, I really don't dare to accept it."

  Wu Lie smiled and said: "Your Excellency is too polite, this sword is indeed a good sword, but if it stays in my hands, there will be no place to use its might. My orphaned disciples are also difficult to become great talents, giving it to them would only waste this good sword. Therefore, I'd like to give it to Your Excellency, which can help you achieve merits on the battlefield and count as me contributing a bit of strength to Zhao State. Moreover, I have another matter that I'd like to ask for your assistance."

  Gao Yuan Dao: "Whatever it is, Master Innkeeper, just say it straight out. If it's something I can do, I'll definitely try my best to accomplish it."

  Wu Lie smiled and pointed to Wu Zhanpeng, Zhong Sunqi, and the twenty-four people standing on both sides, saying: "These people have been studying martial arts in my Wu Guan for at least ten years. Although they've also learned a few tricks of swordsmanship, it's not enough to make them great masters. However, I think it would be beneficial for them to follow you, sir, and learn from you. If they can learn even one or two things from you, it will be enough for them to benefit for the rest of their lives."

  Gao Yuan finally understood that Wu Lie wanted to have his sons and disciples rely on him as a guest, of course, if there was a war, they would certainly follow him into battle and make achievements on the battlefield. This was also a good thing for Gao Yuan, because now he could widely recruit guests and build his own private forces. He had seen Zhong Sun Qi's swordsmanship and wasn't sure if he could beat him, and those five people were all skilled fighters, while the others wouldn't be much weaker than them. With this group of people joining his side, his strength would certainly increase greatly. What Gao Yuan couldn't understand was why Wu Lie didn't directly send his sons and disciples to Li Mu's door instead.

  He had indeed thought of sending his sons and disciples to Li Mubai's door, but he didn't have a deep relationship with Li Mubai, and now Li Mubai's door was full of talented people. Even if Wu Zhanpeng and Zhong Sunqi went to Li Mubai's door, it would be difficult for them to stand out. Besides, Zhong Sunqi had fought side by side with Gao Yuan before, and this relationship was not shallow. In the past few days, he had also investigated Gao Yuan and found that apart from having a mysterious aura of being destined for greatness, Gao Yuan was now deeply favored by Li Mubai and had a close relationship with Li Xuanhong, and it was likely that they would get married in the future. This meant that Gao Yuan was essentially Li Mubai's successor, and he would definitely be able to soar even higher in the future. Therefore, letting his sons and disciples follow Gao Yuan was equivalent to choosing a stock with great potential.

  Gao Yuan didn't think that much, but he had a good impression of Wu Lie and Zhong Sun Qi, so he nodded and said: "Alright, since the master of the Wu family thinks highly of me, I won't decline. In the future, they will follow me, and I won't treat you unfairly."

  Wu Lie was overjoyed and said: "You few listen, from now on Gao Da Ren is your master, you must serve Gao Da Ren with all your heart, do you understand? Now pay respects to the master."

  Wu Zhanpeng, Zhong Sunqi and twenty-four other disciples also knelt down on the ground, saying in unison: "We have seen the master."

  This era attaches great importance to the relationship between masters and guests. The master and the guest are tied together in honor and dishonor, and once they form a master-guest relationship, although it is not said to be lifelong, during the time when the master-guest relationship has not been dissolved, the guest must be absolutely loyal to the master and cannot betray him. Otherwise, even if he is re-employed by others, it will be difficult for him to gain recognition again. Of course, the master must also respect and treat his guests with kindness. Among the four great families of the Warring States period, each had more than 3,000 guests, none of whom were lacking in talent and intelligence.

  In the 22nd year of Duke Jing of Jin (453 BCE), Zhao, Han and Wei jointly destroyed Zhi Bo. A retainer of the Zhi family, Yu Rang, sought to avenge his lord by hiding under a bridge with his body smeared with lacquer and charcoal. He attempted to assassinate Xiangzi of Zhao but was captured instead. Xiangzi questioned Yu Rang about why he had served the Fan and Zhonghang families in the past yet did not seek revenge when Zhi Bo destroyed them, but instead chose to serve as a retainer for Zhi Bo's family after his death. Yu Rang replied: "The Fans and Zhonghangs treated me like one of many people, so I repaid them with the efforts of many people. Zhi Bo treated me like an honored guest, so I repaid him with the efforts of an honored guest."

  Zhao Xiangzi was quite appreciative of Yu Rang's actions, so although he had to kill Yu Rang, Zhao Xiangzi still agreed to Yu Rang's request before killing him. He took off one of his garments and let Yu Rang strike it with a sword as a symbolic revenge for his master. Only then did Yu Rang commit suicide by the sword. The phrase "You treat me like a commoner, so I repay you like a commoner; you treat me like a noble, so I repay you like a noble" also became a classic example of the relationship between a lord and his retainer.

  Wu Zhanpeng, Zhong Sunqi and the other twenty-four disciples all kowtowed to Gao Yuan, thus formally establishing their master-apprentice relationship. From then on, Wu Zhanpeng, Zhong Sunqi and the others had to fulfill their obligations as Gao Yuan's apprentices.

  Gao Yuan nodded, helped them up and said: "Alright, from now on we'll share fortune and misfortune. As long as I, Gao Yuan, am around, you will never be treated unfairly."

  Wu Zhanpeng, Zhong Sunqi and others stood up, Wu Lie also burst out laughing and said: "Alright, High Official, now that everything has been settled, you must take this sword no matter what."

  Gaoyuan also knew that he couldn't decline anymore, and now he didn't know if Lai Bo Ping could forge a good sword. Even if the sword was forged well, it was unknown how useful it would be. This precious sword was very useful to himself. Therefore, Gaoyuan accepted the sword and said: "Since it's like this, then I won't be polite, thank you, Master of the Hall." Then he said again: "Master of the Martial Arts Hall, since they have already joined my side, I think it's better for all of them to move into my residence to live. This way, every day they can also follow the army to train together." Because according to custom, guests always lived in the host's house, even if they had their own place to stay, there was no exception.

  Wu Lie nodded and smiled: "Of course, let's go pack now, and tomorrow morning, we'll all move to Lord Gao's mansion." He looked at Wu Zhanpeng again and said: "Only Zhanpeng's arm injury hasn't healed yet. After he recovers, I'll have him move to the lord's mansion too. Fortunately, his injury is almost healed, and in half a month, it can be unwrapped."

  "This requirement is also very reasonable. After all, Wu Zhanpeng's injury has not healed yet. Therefore, Gao Yuan also said: 'This is natural, Brother Wu should first recover from his injuries and not rush for the time being.'"

  "Alright, all of you go down now, pack your things and get ready to move tomorrow." The disciples heard this and responded in unison before dispersing.

  At this time, Wu Hongxian said: "Dad, brother and Shixiong's affairs have all been settled, what about me?"

  "Don't worry, I won't forget about you," Wu Lie said with a hearty laugh. Turning his head to Li Yinghong, he continued, "Yinghong, I'll leave the red silk ribbon in your hands; you can take care of explaining things to General Li."

  Li Yinghong also nodded and said, "Don't worry, I'll take care of it." Turning his head to Wu Hongxian, he said, "You go pack up too, from now on you can move into my mansion to live with me, we two will live together."

  Wu Hongying glanced at Wu Lie, and Wu Lie smiled: "Go ahead, it's not far anyway, just come back home often to take a look."

  Wu Hongying listened and happily agreed, pulling Li Yinghong along, saying: "Come on, help me take a look at what I should bring."