Sword comes

Chen Ping'an and Ning Yao parted ways at the twelve-legged archway. Chen Ping'an went to Mud Bottle Alley, knocked on the door and shouted, "Song Jixin, are you at home?"

The girl who was using a gourd and a ladle to spoon a ladle of water in the kitchen room burped one after another. After drinking the water, she felt a lot more refreshed. She put down the spoon, walked out of the kitchen room, and ran to open the courtyard door, feeling a little strange. He still replied with a straight face: "My son is not here. Chen Ping'an, why are you knocking on the door? Didn't you always stand in your yard and chat with us?"

Across a courtyard gate, Chen Ping'an said, "There is something."

After Zhigui opened the door, he jokingly said, "Rare customer, rare customer."

She glanced at Chen Ping'an's face and asked, "What do you want to do with my son? If you are not in a hurry, I can help you with a message. If you are in a hurry, I guess you have to go to the Supervision and Construction Office to find someone. I also saw it with my own eyes, my son has a good relationship with the new inspector, Lord Song."

She found that Chen Ping'an was motionless as if his feet were rooted, and rolled her eyes, "Why do you come in, what are you doing there?! My house is a Longtan Tiger Den, or do I want to charge you a tael for a drink?"

Speaking of which, the girl covered her mouth and smiled, "For you, the latter must be more terrifying."

Chen Ping'an twitched the corners of his mouth with a far-fetched smile, and said softly, "Actually, I'm here to find you. I shouted that before because I was afraid of Song Jixin's misunderstanding."

Zhigui smiled knowingly and asked, "Then talk about it, what's the matter? The ugly words are in the front, neighbors are neighbors, friendship is friendship, but I'm just a little girl under the fence of the mud bottle alley. Yes, it can't help a lot. But if you, Chen Ping'an, borrow money, it's a problem that can be solved with money. If you're lucky, I have a little trick."

Chen Ping'an smiled bitterly and said, "It's not really about money, I'll tell you straight, Liu Xianyang was severely injured by someone on the covered bridge, and the old shopkeeper of the Yang family's shop went to see it, and there was nothing wrong."

Zhigui looked blank, "Why didn't I hear about this, who did Liu Xianyang mess with?"

Chen Pingan said helplessly: "I'm a foreigner, from a place called Zhengyang Mountain."

Zhigui asked tentatively: "Then you want to use the relationship to go out and find a feng shui treasure for Liu Xianyang to bury? It's not difficult, I can ask my son to talk to the inspector, and then let the government office. It's not difficult to think if someone like the steward's concierge will go to Taoye Lane and ask that old Wei to find a place, as long as you don't want to occupy a hill in a place banned by the imperial court."

Chen Ping'an's already dark face became darker.

Yue Mo Zhigui also realized that she was thinking wrong, she habitually bared her teeth, showing her sharp and straight teeth, she leaned back against the Spring Festival couplets on the wall, tilted her head, smiled playfully, and asked, "Chen Ping'an, do you want me? To repay your life-saving grace? But I'm just a maid, and the old shopkeeper of the Yang family can't do anything, what can I do?"

After the battle between heaven and man, Chen Ping'an said slowly: "Wang Zhu, I know you are not an ordinary person. When I saw you at the door of my house that snowy day, I knew that you were different from us. Later, you were the first to see you. People with unusual snake gallstones, looking back now, the way you looked at our neighbors back then was essentially the same as the way those outsiders looked at us today.”

The girl grinned, "Actually there are."

I not only look down on you ordinary people, but also look down on those immortal monks.

It's just that Chikyu didn't say this.

Some truths, on her side, are justified, but on the other side, they become defiant and unruly.

Chen Ping'an asked: "I came to you to ask you if it is possible to save Liu Xianyang. I used up a locust leaf, and at that time I could barely hold Liu Xianyang's last breath. Although it is not very useful, it is at least It is useful, so I want to ask, do you have locust leaves on your side, especially the extra locust leaves?"

The girl pointed to her nose and asked, "Are you asking my son, Song Jixin, if he has locust leaves, or is it me, a little maid without father and mother?"

Chen Ping'an stared at the girl and said bluntly: "Even if Song Jixin has it, he will not give it to me. I am asking you, Wang Zhu. If there is, are you willing to lend it to me, if not, do you know Don't know any other way to save Liu Xianyang?"

The girl who has always been called Wang Zhu, rubbed her chin with one hand and patted her abdomen lightly with the other, shook her head and said, "No, really no, I won't lie to you, if you had come earlier, there might be a few left. Zhang Huaiye. As for other methods, of course not, I am not a fairy, how can I know the means of bringing people back to life, right? Chen Ping'an, you can't force others to be difficult, alas, I really misread you, thinking that you are with you They are all different, they are not the kind of guys who take favors in return."

Chen Ping'an still didn't give up, "Really? Whether I can do it or not, you can talk about it."

Zhigui shook his head and said decisively, "I don't have it anyway!"

Chen Pingan smiled, "I see."

The teenager turned around and left, and the thin figure quickly disappeared in the mud bottle alley.

The girl stood in the alley at the door of the house, looking at the back of the young man who was walking away, her expression was complicated, with a hint of sadness and anger, and angrily said: "The locust leaf that I finally got, was just wasted by you. ? Then you can die with Liu Xianyang. Anyway, you will die sooner than later. If you are lucky, you can continue to be a troubled brother in your next life. It’s better than those poor bastards who don’t even have an afterlife.”

The girl walked back to the yard, and when she crossed the threshold, she accidentally hiccupped again, and sneered, "It's a bit of a stretch."

Suddenly, she quickened her pace and rushed forward, stomping on her foot heavily, then slowly squatted down, stared at the khaki four-legged snake with horns on its head, and reprimanded: "It's not difficult to borrow it again, you five. You little bastard, if you dare to default on credit in the future, I won't let you peel and cramp in a pot!"

The four-legged snake under the foot of the maid struggled hard, making a slight neigh, as if begging for mercy.

After Chen Ping'an left Mupin Alley, he ran all the way to the school, but was told by an old man who was in charge of cleaning the school that Mr. Qi went to the deep mountains outside the town with three foreign guests yesterday, saying that he wanted to explore the seclusion and wonder. , a trip back and forth takes at least three days.Chen Ping'an was full of loss, and when he turned to leave, the old man with the broom suddenly remembered something, stopped the young man, and said, "By the way, before Mr. Qi went, he explained to me that if anyone in Mud Ping Lane was looking for him, he would tell me. That boy, he has already said the truth, no matter whether he is in school today or not, it will not change the outcome."

The young man seemed to have known such a result for a long time, and his eyes were bleak.

The stagnant water is slightly stagnant, and it is lifeless.

But the boy still bent over to thank him and said, "Thank you old gentleman."

The old man quickly moved a few steps away, stood aside, waved his hands and smiled, "I can't afford the word 'sir'."

The old man saw the young man leave slowly, and after walking for a while, he seemed to raise his arm and wipe his eyes.

The old man shook his head lightly, thinking of his peers who were also about the same age, and the other two reading seeds, Song Jixin and Zhao Yao, look at this one again, the fate of life is completely different.

Some people are really proud, and some people are troubled.

Chen Ping'an went to the mud bottle alley, picked up the last bag of copper coins hidden in the clay pot, and took three bags of money, walked into Fulu Street, and found the kiln superintendent's office.

The concierge was a little confused after hearing the introduction. Song Jixin's neighbor in Niping Lane wanted to find Song Jixin and the supervisor Mr. Song?Chen Ping secretly handed him a gold and fine copper coin that had been prepared long ago, without saying a word, the concierge looked down, weighed it, and rubbed his fingers, understanding it, but he was not in a hurry to express his opinion.The boy quickly handed over another golden coin, the concierge smiled, but did not take it over, and said, "Since you are a sensible person, I will rest assured to introduce you, otherwise I will be taken for granted because you lost this job." That's it. Keep the copper coin in your hand first. If the steward of the house agrees to let you enter the government office, then give it to me. If you don't agree, there is nothing I can do to help you. Just treat this copper coin as nothing to me. What do you think? "

Chen Pingan nodded vigorously.

Not long after, the elderly steward and the porter came together, and the porter gave the young man a wink, implying that he must not take out a copper coin at this time and openly accept bribes, which is not a small crime.Fortunately, the young man didn't do that stupid thing, he just followed the steward to the back of the ya office.

The concierge sighed, a little strange, why the steward nodded in agreement when he heard that it was a young man named Chen from Mud Ping Lane.When was the threshold for government offices so low?

The concierge was a little guilty, but in fact he had just seen the steward. In his words, he persuaded the steward that it is better to do more than one thing. Don't let the young man enter the government office, but he didn't say it directly. After so many years of high and profound Taoism, I must be well aware of it.

The young concierge originally made a small calculation, of course, thinking of taking a copper coin for nothing, without taking the risk, and taking it with peace of mind.

Now he only hoped that the poor and sour boy would not be a troublemaker.

In the main hall at the back of the government office, the tall man in the white robe was sitting on the main seat and drinking tea.

Song Jixin sat on the guest chair on the left, played with a bamboo fan with one hand, kept opening and closing it, and smiled at the boy with straw sandals who was brought in.

The jet-black chair and the snow-white robe are in sharp contrast.

The steward retreated, and the man in the main seat put down the teacup and smiled at the young man: "Chen Ping'an, sit down as you like. We actually met in Mud Bottle Alley before, but I didn't recognize you at the time, otherwise I should have said hello long ago. of."

Song Jixin thought it was a little funny. Only he knew about this man. When he called himself "I", he was obviously a bit tongue-in-cheek.

The boy sat on the chair opposite Song Jixin.

The man asked straight to the point, "Chen Pingan, are you here because Liu Xianyang was injured?"

The boy stood up and said, "I hope Master Song can severely punish the murderer of Zhengyang Mountain, not just deport him."

The man smiled, "Actually, this side of the town is a 'land of nowhere', which means that there are no dynastic laws here. Originally, the superintendent was rather embarrassed and has no right to intervene in local affairs. On the other hand, it has always been the practice of people not to raise officials and not to be held accountable. Whether it is the killing of maids and servants in the big households, or the fights and injuries of the small households, there is no custom of coming to this supervisory government office to beat drums and complain about grievances. Ping An, you carried the pig's head to the wrong temple and worshipped the wrong Bodhisattva."

The man's words and deeds are pleasant and pleasant, and there is no arrogance in his body.

Chen Pingan took out three bags of copper coins, put them on the high stool beside the chair, and said to the calm-looking man, "Sir Song, I know you are very powerful, I want to know if you can save Liu Xianyang, even if you can't, Can you give him justice, stop the murderer from killing people, as long as he leaves the town as if nothing happened."

The man laughed and said: "I'm very good? Was that black-clothed girl in your family told you? Well, it can be seen that her martial arts talent is very good, even better than your friend named Liu Xianyang. Tell you the truth. , I can only kill people, and I'm really bad at saving people. Besides, why should I break the thousand-year-old rules here for a young man who has only one relationship?"

When the man said this, he pointed to the three bags of copper coins, "Liu Xian who lost his Baojiajianjing

Yang, his life is not worth so much money at all, and as for the favor he wants to buy me, the money is far from enough.I, Dali, broke up with Zhengyang Mountain just for three bags of money?Absolutely impossible, if it spreads out, it will be a joke in the entire East Aquarius Continent.Chen Pingan, you may not understand these words for the time being, but if you have the opportunity in the future, if you go out for a walk, you will understand that this is the truth. "

Chen Ping'an gritted his teeth and said, "Master Song, can you tell me how to take action? Even if you think I can't do it if I die, Master Song can talk about it."

The man didn't think he had any clues, the powerful prince showed a look of surprise in his eyes, smiled and said: "Chen Ping'an, I don't look down on you and deliberately make things difficult for you, on the contrary, I think you are an interesting person. Willing to take the time, calmly reason with you, do business, understand?"

Chen Pingan nodded.

Song Jixin sat in an indecent posture, sitting cross-legged on a chair, and gently patted his knees with a closed folding fan.

Watching the fire from the other side, it doesn't matter to you.

Song Changjing didn't care about Song Jixian's inconsistency. In the small town, this vassal king had so much information that he only lost to Qi Jingchun. He finally broke the secret in one sentence: "Chen Ping'an, you don't need to feel too guilty. Your friend died because of you, because Liu Xianyang was already in a dead end. As long as this young man refuses to hand over the sword scriptures, it can only be a dead end, because Zhengyang Mountain will definitely kill him. Whether it is Qi Jingchun or Ruan Master, no one can stop it, it's not that no one has beaten that old ape, but the price to be paid is too high, not worth it or worth it."

The man took a sip of tea and said leisurely: "Chen Ping'an, have you ever thought about why even you, who should be the least deserving of the blessings of the ancestors, has a locust leaf, but Liu Xianyang's talent is so good, he didn't get it. A locust leaf, have you ever thought about this?"

Chen Pingan said, "I'm disturbing Master Song."

The straw-shoe boy put away three bags of copper coins, and said goodbye to the supervisor in front of him and left.

Although Song Changjing didn't hold back, he actually got up to show him off in person. Song Jixin just wanted to stand up reluctantly, but when he saw the uncle shook his head slightly, he sat back and leaned comfortably on the back of the chair.

When he reached the threshold, Song Changjing said without warning: "There are two things I can do, but I can't do it, so as long as you do one of them, I can consider helping you teach that old ape a lesson."

The boy quickly stopped and turned around, his face solemn.

The man said indifferently: "One thing is to look for an opportunity to kidnap the little girl in Zhengyang Mountain next to Lao Yuan, and he will be disturbed, forcing Lao Yuan to stay in the town. , and then pull out the iron chain that locks the well. You can do both, or only one. When one thing is done, I will help you to seriously injure the murderer, and do both at the same time. Now, I will kill the Zhengyang Mountain old ape for you."

Song Changjing smiled and promised: "As soon as I say it, I will never break it!"

Then the powerful King Dali said an inexplicable sentence, "Chen Pingan, I believe you can sense the truth of the sentence."

The young man left silently.

Song Changjing didn't see the bullshit that he heard the boy pat his chest hard, but Song Changjing felt normal. Standing at the door, his back turned to Song Jixin in the house, and asked, "You are familiar with him, do you think he will do it?"

Song Jixin shook his head and said, "It's hard to say. Under normal circumstances, it would be very difficult to ask him to do something against his will, but for Liu Xianyang's sake, it's probably a bit of a hang-up."

The man stood with his hands behind his back, looked up at the sky, and asked, "Assuming that the young man really gives people unexpected joy, this king takes this opportunity to intervene, whether it is to befriend Zhengyang Mountain or to form an alliance with Fengleiyuan, it is natural to choose the other. One, it is inevitable to have a grudge with the other party. This is compared to this king sitting on the sidelines and letting Da Li and these two forces remain indifferent and never interact with each other. For my Da Li, which one do you think? Better results?"

Song Jixin stood up, patted the palm of the other hand with a folding fan, paced slowly, and after thinking, said: "The latter is chosen in a peaceful and prosperous world, and the former is chosen in a troubled time."

Then the young man smiled and said, "Whether the world outside the town is prosperous or troubled, it seems that at least you have made your own choice, uncle."

Song Changjing sneered: "My generation of warriors in the battlefield, what do I do in a peaceful and prosperous world? To be a peace dog that guards the home for scholars?"

Song Changjing turned his head to look at the boy with a stiff expression, "This king has already seen that this boy is the real knot in your heart, and it is very difficult for you to untie it in a short period of time. Once you leave this knot and leave the town, this It will be detrimental to the next practice. So you can see with your own eyes how a simple boy with a pure heart has become violent and vulgar. At that time, you will feel embarrassed with such a person. mean."

Song Jixin opened his mouth, but in the end he didn't refute anything, and finally fell into contemplation.

The man walked back to the room, sat on the main seat, raised his head and drank all the tea in the cup, "The most important thing is that this king is playing such a silly little trick, in addition to finding a lame reason to fish in troubled waters, he also wants to make You understand a truth, on the path of cultivation you are going to take next, anyone may be your enemy... For example, your uncle, I, Song Changjing."

The young man was stunned.

Song Changjing sneered and said, "Because my heart is stunned, if I don't remove it with my own hands, there will be endless troubles, like wild grass in the wild, which will grow again in the spring breeze."

Song Changjing sneered and said with contempt, "Aren't you full of grief and indignation, Song Jixin, who is about to become His Royal Highness Prince Dali, but what can you do now? So you think that you are better than Chen Ping'an, who was toyed with applause. where to go?"

Song Jixin stared at the man with a light face, the boy grabbed the five fingers of the folding fan, showing his bones and muscles.

The man sat on the chair, his eyes were deep, and he looked out of the house, as if he was talking to himself: "The more people you see in the future, the more interesting things you will find. Blood splattered three feet in anger, what kind of talented and beautiful women, and lovers who end up getting married, are all conjured up by the trash. So, your own fists must be hard, rely on this king? rely on your biological parents? I advise you To die as soon as possible, or to take you out of the town, is to take your corpse to the mass grave, the emperor's home, why not be conceited."

The young man was sweating profusely and sat down in the chair.

Although the young man hid his complacency deeply after learning his true identity, and treated people and things in the ya office was no different, but in the eyes of the feudal king Song Changjing, it was like holding a demon mirror and seeing a head that had just turned into a human form 's charm.Therefore, in the chat and laughter, the ashes disappear.

Song Changjing looked into the distance, and his line of sight seemed to reach the southernmost tip of East Treasure Pingzhou, to the distant old Dragon City.

For some reason, the feudal lord remembered a sentence, "The human heart is a mirror. The more clean it was originally, the more spotless it was, and the less able it was to withstand scrutiny."

Song Changjing felt that although the scholars in the temple babbled about gods and ghosts, but sometimes they said the truth, these warriors with knives really couldn't figure it out after living 1000 years.

Song Changjing put away his thoughts, stretched out his finger and pointed to the south, as if holding a spear and halberd, showing his sharp edge, "Song Jixin, if you think that what this king said today is wrong, yes, but bear with it, only the future will come to the old dragon city, let's change positions. Sit down, this king will consider whether to listen carefully!"

Prince Dali Song Jixin has returned to normal, and said with a smile, "We'll see."

At the gate of the official office, the straw-shoe boy handed the second copper coin to the porter as promised.

----

In the twelve-legged archway, Chen Ping'an saw the figure of the girl in black and ran quickly.

Ning Yao stood under the plaque of "Fighting Bull" and asked, "How is it?"

Chen Ping'an shook his head and said, "Three people have been looking for them, and two of them met each other. Mr. Qi couldn't see it, but I knew the answer at the beginning."

The gentleman does not save.

Mr. Qi did say it before.

Ning Yao frowned and said nothing.

Chen Pingan then said a word of caution to the girl, and started running away.

I went to the Yang family shop first, and bought a lot of medicine bottles, ointments and medicinal materials for the treatment of bruises and internal injuries with a gold and copper coin from an old man who knew the bottom line. How to use and suffer these things? Kiln-fired porcelain is a job that relies on the mountain to eat, and there are often various accidents. Although old man Yao is not pleasing to the eye, Chen Ping'an, who can only be regarded as half an apprentice, has to admit that this young man has sharp legs and no heart, so many Running errands and spending money are all for Chen Ping'an to do, such as buying medicines and decoctions for the wounded at the mouth of the kiln.

Chen Ping'an returned to his ancestral house in Muiping Lane. After closing the door, he first started to decoct the medicine. It was a prescription for treating internal injuries. While waiting for the heat, he spread out a white-washed but still clean clothes on the table. The boy in straw sandals, who was torn into straps and known for being stingy and stingy, didn't feel the slightest bit of distress at this time, and then in addition to tying the clothes-pressing knife that Ning Yao lent him to his arm, the boy was still between his calf and wrist. On top, they are bound with layers of thin cotton cloth.

Chen Ping'an took off the homemade wooden bow on the wall, hesitated for a while, and gave up carrying it for the time being. Instead, he retrieved the slingshot and a bag of stones from the windowsill.

The reason why he did it when he knew it couldn't be done, and did not regret it after hitting the wall three times in a row, was the stubbornness unique to the young man.

If you don't try it, the young man will not be reconciled, just like the young man at the blacksmith shop, the last time, begging the old shopkeeper to try again, it is the same reason.

Looking for Zhi Gui, who has an eccentric identity, is hoping to give Liu Xianyang a chance to regain his life.It was a fluke to find Mr. Qi again, hoping that he would be fair, and finally to find Ning Yao's so-called master of martial arts, the supervisor, Master Song, to make it clear that he would go bankrupt and do a business.

The boy thought very clearly from the beginning, so he was very disappointed at this time, but he didn't feel so heart-wrenching.

In fact, the feudal lord Song Changjing and his neighbor Song Jixin did not understand Chen Ping'an at all.

There are some things to do when you die.But there are some things that even death can't do.

The young man squatted in the corner, quietly waiting for the medicinal soup to come out. This pot of medicine is very strange. It has no other use, but it can relieve pain. For a long time, I didn’t say anything about being alive. The key was that the whole person was in so much pain that the whole face and limbs were twisted. Later, the Yang family shop gave such a prescription. In the end, the man died soon, but he didn’t walk very well. Painful, he even had the strength to sit up, and after explaining his last words, with the help of old man Yao, he took a last look at the kiln mouth.

Chen Pingan felt that he should also be able to use it.

Seeing that there were still some scraps of cloth on the table, the teenager took off the pair of dilapidated straw sandals on his feet, took out a pair of brand-new shoes that he was always reluctant to wear, moved to a clay pot, and took out the broken pieces of porcelain.

About half an hour later, the boy who had done everything opened the door and walked out of the Mud Bottle Alley without a sound.

As dusk approached, the sun was no longer dazzling, and there were layers of fiery clouds on the horizon, which were extremely gorgeous.

The straw-shoe boy walked to Fulu Street.

On the bluestone street, there are no passers-by, and the young man walks alone.