Chapter 71: Flowers all the way!
One day, when the boat was not far from Kaifeng, Xin Zhen opened his eyes from his practice, and a flash of purple light appeared in his eyes.

He nodded with satisfaction. He had been concentrating on practicing his internal strength these days, and his progress was much faster than when he was operating it independently, especially the purple color in his internal strength had become deeper.

Not only that, his attainments in swordsmanship have also deepened. The Dugu Nine Swords requires him to read through hundreds of swordsmanship.

In today's martial arts world, the Five Mountains Sword School can be ranked among the top sword-wielding schools. With the Five Mountains sword techniques as nourishment, the Dugu Nine Swords will naturally progress rapidly.

However, Xin Zhen's progress in the Dugu Nine Swords has almost reached its peak so far. Unless he fights with a more powerful opponent, he will not be able to push his sword skills to a higher level.

When the boatman saw Xin Zhen open his eyes, he smiled and said, "Kaifeng is just ahead. Mr. Xin, why don't you have dinner on the boat before getting off?"

Xin Zhen smiled and nodded, "That's the best. Your fish soup is really unique. I'm afraid I will never be able to drink other fish soups again."

The boatman immediately smiled and said, "Sir, you are so polite. I am just a commoner. The fish is fresh, but I don't have such good skills."

Xin Zhen smiled and was about to eat when someone on the shore suddenly said, "Excuse me, is the person on the boat Xin Zhen, the top scholar of Huashan Sword Sect?"

Xin Zhen raised his eyebrows and said in a loud voice: "I am Xin Zhen. Which hero called me?"

The man said happily: "That's good, we have been waiting here for a day and a night, come on, bring it over!"

More than ten big men divided into two lines and walked out of a thatched hut on the shore, each holding a vermilion lacquered box in his hands.

An empty-handed man in a blue shirt walked to the front of the boat, bowed and said, "I learned that Young Master Xin passed by here, and I missed you very much. I wanted to come and see you in person, but I really couldn't make it back in time, so I sent a pigeon to ask you to bring some small gifts. Please accept them, Young Master Xin."

The men wanted to board the boat, but the boatman said anxiously, "No, no, the boat is small and could easily capsize!"

Xin Zhen smiled and said, "Please thank the Lord for his kindness on my behalf. I don't know who the Lord is. I will thank him in person when I return."

The man in blue shirt took the boxes and placed them on the bow. Seeing Xin Zhen asking questions, he quickly said, "I wish you a safe journey, young hero Xin, and good health."

Having said this, he bowed and left with a group of men.

Xin Zhen smiled knowingly.

The boatman said, "Xin Shaoxia, who gave you this gift? Don't you want to open it and take a look?"

Xin Zhen smiled and said, "Maybe there are some concerns, but I don't know who sent it. It's nothing more than some expensive food, gold and silver and other things."

Xin Zhen opened them and took a look. Sure enough, some of the boxes contained exquisite snacks, some contained smoked chicken and ham as snacks for drinking, and some contained precious medicinal materials such as ginseng, deer antlers, and bird's nests. The last two boxes were filled with small gold and silver ingots, which were obviously for Xin Zhen to use on the road.

The boatman could not help but exclaim: "Xin Shaoxia, you are really willing to give up your friend."

Xin Zhen smiled and pointed at the smoked chicken and ham snack and said, "Keep these for yourself."

Then Xin Zhen closed the box containing ginseng, deer antlers and other medicinal herbs, wrapped them in cloth, and prepared to disembark to have the porters carry them, thus saving the trouble of buying gifts for his master's wife.

Just as they were about to go ashore, they heard the sound of horse hooves. Eight horses came galloping along the river, and someone on the horse called out, "Is Young Master Xin, the top scholar of the Huashan Sword Sect, here?"

Xin Zhen raised his voice and said, "I am Xin Zhen. Who is the hero who called me?" The man shouted, "The leader of our gang learned that Young Master Xin came to Kaifeng and that he loves reading. He ordered me to collect a lot of ancient books for you. I have specially sent them to you for your appreciation."

The eight horses galloped closer and saw two boxes hanging on the sides of the horses. The eight knights dismounted together, took down the boxes hanging on both sides, and opened them to show Xin Zhen.

Xin Zhen took a quick look and saw Long Shu's version of "Collected Works of Wang Wengong", 179 rare ancient books in Guoyun Tower, detailed excerpts of Tang books with phonetic notes in Shibi Jingshe, etc. Although they might not be very precious, they were still worth collecting.

Xin Zhen found it funny. How could these heroes know anything about rare ancient books? They might have gone to some scholar's house to rob them. It was really a sin for them.

The leading man saw Xin Zhen's expression and said quickly, "Young Master Xin, please rest assured. These rare ancient books were purchased by the gang members. They were never obtained by force or robbery. After all, Kaifeng was a capital city for seven dynasties, and there is no shortage of rare ancient books."

Xin Zhen smiled and said, "I received some gold and silver food before. I asked who sent it, but he was unwilling to reveal the origin. I guess you are the same, right?"

The man smiled and said, "The leader of our gang has indeed repeatedly told me not to mention the name of our gang to Young Master Xin. He said that this small gift is really too meager, and it would be embarrassing to mention the name of our gang again."

He waved his left hand, and the knight immediately lowered the box gently onto the bow of the ship.

Each of the eight men was very agile. Holding the box in their hands, they jumped lightly onto the bow of the boat. After putting the box down, they bowed to Xin Zhen and immediately mounted their horses and left.

Xin Zhen chuckled and shook his head, saying, "I think Senior Brother will like these rare ancient books. That's good, I'll save the money on gifts for Senior Brother."

I only heard someone on the shore loudly praising: "Good book, good book!"

Xin Zhen looked up and saw a ragged and down-and-out scholar standing under a willow tree on the bank. He was waving a broken fan in his right hand and holding a small wine bottle in his left hand. He smiled and said, "Xin Shaoxia, can you let me go up and take a look?"

Xin Zhen smiled and said, "We are all scholars, so why not? Please come up, brother."

The unruly scholar walked over slowly, then lightly jumped to the bow, glanced at the ancient rare books and said with a smile: "They are all good books worth collecting, and the content is good. It is also good to read them from time to time. However, it is a pity to have books but no wine. Young Master Xin, would you like to taste this bottle of good wine that I have collected for a long time?"

The shabby scholar was in his fifties, thin, with a sallow complexion, a red nose, dull eyes, a few sparse beards, and a greasy spot on his collar.

Xin Zhen smiled and said, "I feel so sorry to taste your good wine for nothing. Since you like books, you can pick a few at will."

The scholar laughed and said, "How can I feel embarrassed about that?"

Xin Zhen smiled and said, "There's nothing to be embarrassed about. This is a gift from a friend. If a friend can give it to me, I can naturally give it to a friend as well."

The unruly scholar was overjoyed and asked, "Xin Shaoxia, do you actually consider me a friend?"

Xin Zhen smiled and said, "If we can sit together and drink, what else can we be but friends?"

The unruly scholar said happily: "Of course they are friends, they must be friends!"

Xin Zhen smiled and said, "Then what should I call you, my friend?"

The unruly scholar said solemnly: "My name is Zu Qianqiu. Zu is Zu Ti's ancestor. Qianqiu means a hundred years old."

(End of this chapter)