Sword comes

Liu Xianyang quickly ran back with a basket on his back. Chen Ping'an was watching the scene of drilling and hauling soil next to the well. Liu Xianyang kicked Chen Ping's ass, kicking the straw-shoe boy so much that a dog almost ate shit. Don't care.Liu Xianyang said carelessly: "It's done, Master Ruan told me to be honest, don't run around here these days, dig wells during the day, and strike iron at night, after a decade and a half, I'll count him as the first in the town. Apprentice, what is the name of the disciple of Kaishan. I brought you a basket, and I will help you to find the stones, from the blacksmith shop to the covered bridge. It was agreed in advance that the place where Qingniubei is located. Shuikeng, I can't help you anymore, Master Ruan said that I dared to cross two places north and west of the covered bridge for half a step these days, and I broke my legs."

Liu Xianyang put his arms around the straw-shoe boy's neck, and whispered, "Master Ruan said that the town will not throw things away, and he also said that those outsiders obey a very strange rule, and the merchants who have done fair trade also do it. A liar who cheats and cheats, even a beggar who picks up junk It's not scary, I'm panicking anyway."

Liu Xianyang suddenly threatened: "Chen, you can continue to live in my house, but don't wait for me to go back, you have already sold my treasure armor!"

Chen Ping'an punched Liu Xianyang's chest, and the tall boy quickly let go of his hand, rubbed it hard for a few times before he could breathe, and scolded: "The little monkey with thin bamboo poles, how can you get so much strength! Chawu walking a hundred miles of mountain road, or chopping wood and burning charcoal in the deep mountains for a few months, will you be able to gain strength to death?"

Chen Ping'an smiled and said, "Anyway, with a basket of stones on my back, I can run back to the town before you."

Liu Xianyang squinted and said, "Then who do we compare to holding our breath underwater for longer?"

Approaching the stream, Chen Ping'an bent over and rolled up his trousers, and said casually, "I won't do anything that's only a breath of life."

Before going into the water, Chen Ping pulled out a lot of spring grass by the stream and put them in the basket, and said that every time he picked up 20 yuan of stones, he had to put more grass.Liu Xianyang was so annoyed that he wanted to throw the basket behind his back to Chen Pingan, but the latter refused, saying that if he carried the basket instead, according to Liu Xianyang's impetuous temper, he would definitely throw stones into the basket directly, and he would feel distressed.Liu Xianyang almost gave up on the spot. These colorful stones have been worthless for thousands of years. How come you, Chen Pingan, are so precious and coquettish?How dare you dislike Uncle Liu for not being gentle enough?

But in the end, the tall boy was still reluctant to touch the groundwater.The streams here are still mostly knee-level, and some are slightly higher so that the water level reaches the waist. Occasionally, there are small puddles that are as tall as people. Most of them are places where huge rocks gather. When they reach these places, it is time for Liu Xianyang to show his skills. He first took off the basket and handed it to the straw-shoe boy who was squatting on the boulder. He dived to the bottom of the water in one breath, and took out the snake gallstone he wanted from the gap between the boulders and even the stacked stones.

Of course, Chen Ping'an can do it too, but it will be very hard, time-consuming and labor-intensive far more than Liu Xianyang.

Before he could touch the covered bridge, the basket was full of seven or eight points. Among them was a dark green snake gallstone. Liu Xianyang touched the bottom of a deep pit three times before he could finally figure it out. The stars are dotted, with wavy lines, the stone is firm and fine, and it is very heavy to start. When Chen Ping'an rubbed it with his hand, there was a feeling of shimmering sharp edges.

As long as you are not blind, you will know that this stone is very unusual.

The last two teenagers sat side by side on a boulder in a stream. Liu Xianyang rested his hands on the stone surface, looked at the slowly flowing stream, and asked, "Chen Pingan, have you thought about leaving the town in the future?"

Chen Ping'an replied: "I haven't thought about it for a while, you have to be rich when you travel far, and after you leave, no one will help you clean up the house. What if it collapses one day? Besides, my parents' graves are over there. , also requires me to pull weeds often."

Liu Xianyang said helplessly: "Why do you always think about so many useless things, it's boring, no wonder Song Jixin said that you are a ghost who beat the wall, and you can't get out of such a big place for a lifetime."

Chen Ping'an turned his head and asked with a smile, "Do you remember what I told you last time, it was that tree."

Liu Xianyang said angrily: "There is a tree growing on the tomb, and it is worth making a fuss? Besides, it is also the tomb of another ancestor of the Chen family, and it has nothing to do with you, Chen Ping'an!"

Chen Pingan sat cross-legged and said softly, "I don't know how many people have the surname Chen outside the town."

Liu Xianyang dismantled the platform and said, "I don't know about the outside of the town, I only know that in the town, there are only three or two cats and dogs surnamed Chen, and besides you, it seems that all of them are from the families of four surnames and ten families. The status of slaves for generations, the funny thing is that these people are like cows and horses in the house, bowing their heads and bowing, but as soon as they get out of those big houses, they immediately change their faces when they see everyone. You are right, if you, Chen Ping'an, go to give them a present one day, then your Chen family who didn't move out of the town will be wiped out."

According to the old man Yao, there were two branches of people surnamed Chen in the town at first, but one of them moved out very early, and the branch of Chen Ping'an had flourished before, but the "before" was too long Oh, even old man Yao couldn't tell if it was hundreds of years, 500 years, 800 years?Or is it 1000 years?Later, it was divided into several rooms, and the number of people became less and less. The luck was probably taken away by the branch that moved out. The incense was often cut off, so that many graves were gradually left unattended, and most of the graves were located on the hills. , successively ordered by the supervisors sent by the imperial court to become forbidden mountains one after another.

The last time old man Yao took Chen Ping'an into the mountains, when he passed one of the hills, he pointed to a place to show him, saying that it was the burial place of the ancestors of another branch of the Chen family.As for the family of Chen Ping'an, old man Yao said that the immortals were nowhere to be found. In the past few hundred years, the descendants of this family surnamed Chen have been useless. Being a maid is useless.

Chen Ping'an secretly went to the tomb of the ancestor of the Chen family once, but when he arrived there, it was just weeds. He also saw many foxes and rabbits, but he didn't see the tomb. Among them was a tree that the straw-shoe boy could not recognize. It was not tall. , much shorter than the old locust tree in the town.

Weeds are overgrown, foxes and rabbits are haunted, and there is a lonely tree.

Chen Ping'an shook his head and said, "Before my mother left, she asked me to swear that she could be a beggar, and even if she died of starvation, I would not be allowed to serve those big families."

Liu Xianyang blurted out, "Then before your mother died, didn't you make an oath that you would never be an apprentice at the Dragon Kiln?"

The straw-shoe boy's face was gloomy, he didn't refute, and he didn't turn into anger after being exposed.

Liu Xianyang felt a little guilty, but he wasn't the kind of temper who was willing to say "I'm sorry" after doing something wrong, so he pretended that nothing happened, got up and said, "Let's go, dig the well, by the way, I'll talk to Master Ruan again. Grind and try to let you come here to be a part-time apprentice, and it will be easy to feel the stones at that time."

Chen Ping'an said: "No hurry, wait for the two groups of people to give up and leave the town. I will help you watch the house during this time."

Liu Xianyang asked curiously, "Why do you think I could escape the disaster by apprenticing with Master Ruan to learn art?"

Chen Ping'an thought for a while, and said uncertainly: "It's like it rains suddenly, you have to find a roof to hide, right?"

Liu Xianyang turned his head to look at the Sword Furnace Iron Shop, "Who the hell do you think Master Ruan is, doesn't he look like a very powerful person, can he hold down those two groups of people?"

Chen Ping'an comforted: "You can't look like a person."

Liu Xianyang turned his head and said, "You Chen Ping'an looks like a poor man, so are you poor?"

Chen Pingan grinned, speechless.

Liu Xianyang stood up and asked, "Would you like to help you carry it to the covered bridge?"

Chen Ping'an shook his head and said, "No, it's not heavy."

"Remember to return the basket to me next time."

After Liu Xianyang finished saying this, he jumped off the boulder and walked quickly in the stream, splashing countless water.

Chen Pingan picked up the basket on his back and carefully lowered the giant basket.

Shi, after landing on the shore, slowly walked towards the covered bridge.

After Chen Ping'an walked for a while, he heard footsteps behind him, turned his head and looked at Liu Xianyang.

In the warm sunshine of early spring, the tall boy snatched the straw-shoe boy's basket, carried it on his own, turned his head and sneered: "From a distance, you are carrying the basket, just like a little grasshopper carrying a big rock, it's really pitiful, and it's so pitiful. Kindness, help you carry it over to the covered bridge."

In the spring breeze, the two teenagers walked together.

"Chen, if I succeed in my studies in the future, I must go out and see, marry a better-looking wife than Zhigui, drink the most expensive wine, live in the biggest house, and ride the fastest horse. !"

"I want to see mountains as high as the sky, and see countless rivers bigger than our creeks."

"Anyway, I, Liu Xianyang, will never stay here and wait to die for the rest of my life."

In the spring breeze, the tall young man is looking forward to the future, and the young man in straw sandals is chewing the grass roots, one talking, the other listening.

----

Chen Ping'an carried the baskets of stones back to Liu Xianyang's yard, still picking out a few stones that he liked the most and taking them to the side room, while the rest remained in the kitchen.After locking the door of the house and the courtyard, he ran to the mud bottle alley and arrived at his yard. He saw the girl in black sitting in the yard basking in the sun. After Chen Ping'an greeted him, he began to decoct.

The sound of hacking and slashing was constantly heard from the yard next door. Although Song Jixin talked about the days when he had no father or mother in the eyes of outsiders, he had been well-fed and well-off for so many years. Living well, compared to the direct descendants of the ten clans, it is not bad. The four treasures of the study, the elegant play of the desk, the clearance of the study, and many luxury items that Chen Ping'an has never seen or heard of, go to Song Ji's house every other way. move in.In fact, Song Jixin has never had real dirty work and physical work. Pickles are too smelly. Song Jixin does not allow his maid Zhigui to do it. Chopping wood is too tiring. Song Jixin buys bundles directly every year. Burning firewood, bags of fine charcoal.

When Chen Ping'an brought the medicine soup to the black-clothed girl, the yard next door was still chopping firewood intermittently. When Ning was drinking the medicine, Chen Ping'an couldn't help but walk to the courtyard wall, looked over on tiptoe, and found that Zhi Gui was carrying the medicine. The kitchen knife is cutting "a person", it is an embryo made of wood. Chen Ping'an has been burning porcelain for many years, and he has seen a lot of good things, and he has cut down countless trees, so he can see the roughness at a glance. The color of the wood was like jade, it must be a very old object, and the puppet was covered with dense red and black spots.

The girl suddenly turned her head and found Chen Ping'an, with sweat and stains all over her face, she raised her arms, wiped her face, and forced a smile: "You're back, I wanted to borrow a hatchet from you earlier, but The guest in your house is unwilling to open the door for me."

Chen Ping'an was stunned for a moment, "I'll get you a hatchet. Don't use too much force at the beginning. The hatchet is no better than a kitchen knife, it is easy to slip, so don't hurt yourself."

The girl sat on the small bench, exhausted, and waved, "I know, hurry up and get it."

Chen Pingan retrieved the hatchet. The girl was already standing by the courtyard wall and asked with a smile, "Do you know what that is?"

Chen Pingan shook his head and said, "I don't know."

Zhigui didn't give an answer, turned around and continued to sit on the small bench, slashing hard.

Her unfamiliar and stagnant movements, as well as various thankless wrong postures, made Chen Ping'an anxious, but since they didn't ask for help, Chen Ping'an stopped being affectionate, and turned to look and found that Miss Ning was no longer in the yard , Chen Pingan remembered something, walked quickly to the room, put something on the table, and put it opposite the girl in black.

It was a snake gallstone, just enough to hold in one hand, like a piece of frozen and solidified honey, with fine texture and extremely positive color.

Ning Yao is a little strange.

Chen Ping'an smiled and said, "Miss Ning, it's for you."

The girl in black, who did not leave her body, suddenly asked, "Do you like this piece the most?"

Chen Ping'an was a little embarrassed, "This piece... probably ranks fourth. The best three pieces, I have already hidden them."

Only then did she accept the stone, twist her fingers, and raise it above her head. The light entered the room through the window and reflected on the stone.

She raised her head, narrowed her eyes, and carefully observed the subtle texture of the stone.

She looked at the stone.

The boy looked at her.

----

In the middle of the night, a young man sneaked into Niping Lane, like a wild cat walking at night, silently, and quietly came to the courtyard of Gu Can's house. He found the large water tank placed in the corner of the courtyard. The neatly arranged snake gallstones have been picked up to pieces by someone, as if this person knew the value of the stones earlier than Chen Ping'an.Gu Can is the only freak in the town who likes to collect snake gallstones, and no matter how many he finds in the creek, he only takes one piece home at a time, and the child only chooses the most pleasing stone. Over time, he only saved five or sixty yuan Stones were used by him to cover the gap at the bottom of the tank.

After Chen Ping'an removed many snake gallstones that had dried up in color, he was relieved to see that there were no traces of excavation at the bottom of the water tank.

He started digging the soil bit by bit with his right hand, and when he finally hit the butter paper, his heart skipped a beat and he slowed down.

Finally, he took out the object wrapped in butter paper, which looked like a book.

After hiding in his arms, Chen Ping'an filled the soil back in again, and then looked at the snake gallstones carefully. The remaining stones were all "dead", compared to the two newly picked up stones from the stream by Chen Ping'an. , whether it is color, texture or weight, they are completely different. The stones in front of them are like lifeless old people, while those picked up by Chen Ping'an are like newborn babies, full of vigor.

Chen Pingan thought for a while, and planned to leave Mud Bottle Alley in the direction of his house.

When he walked to the door of Song Jixin's house, he heard a creaking sound and the door opened. Chen Ping'an had to pretend to knock on his door and shouted, "Miss Ning, are you asleep? I'll come back and get something."

The lights in the house soon came on, and the girl in black opened the courtyard door for Chen Ping'an.

Next door, the maid Zhigui walked out of the house slowly, and when she got to the yard, she saw Yingyingchaochuo over Chen Ping'an, holding a large yellowed book in her arms, she shook her head, tsk tsk tsk in her mouth, as if she happened to catch it. A dog and a man.

She was walking alone in Mud Bottle Alley, bouncing around.

Her golden yellow eyes looked particularly cold and sacred in the dark alley.

Let the slender and graceful girl be like a dragon wandering in a narrow stone crevice, as if she will go to Jiang Hualong as long as she walks out of the alley.

----

Although Ning Yao let Chen Ping'an into the yard, or even into the house, but her face was very ugly, she sat at the table with one arm against the scabbard, and tapped the hilt lightly with her fingers.

After Chen Pingan made sure that Zhigui walked into the alley, he explained embarrassingly: "I went to Gu Can's house to get something, but she just happened to be going out, so I had to come here to hide, Miss Ning, please don't Think about it."

She asked, "What?"

Chen Pingan hesitated for a moment, then took out the butter paper bag, "I don't know now."

She turned around and said, "Open it for yourself first, and then decide if you want to let me know."

Chen Ping'an nodded, sat across from her desk, opened layers of butter paper, and crumbs kept rolling on the table, finally revealing an ancient book.

There are only two words on the cover of the ancient book, and Chen Ping'an only knows one of them, mountain.

He put the ancient book on the table, turned the direction, pushed it towards the girl in black, and asked curiously, "Miss Ning, what does this word read?"

The girl turned around again, glanced down, and said, "Shake."

The title of the book is Shaking the Mountain.