spring ice

"In short, my master, an old man, was very good to me until five years ago, and maybe one-third of his sons valued him so much. Until that day when he came back from going out, his temperament changed drastically, and he was locked in the room all day long. In the next five years, except for the senior brother and junior sister, the whole sect rarely saw his real face, and even more so in the last two years, almost only my junior sister took care of his food and daily life."

Feng Huanyuan said that he wanted to tell him a lot of things, because it was impossible to clarify them all at once, so this kind of conversation was intermittent, the time was out of order, and it was reversed. He only said what came to mind.On the road, waiting at the ferry, and at the dinner table, Feng Huanyuan is sometimes in a better mood. The life of the school he described is full of sunshine, the teacher is kind, the disciple is filial, and the same school is friendly. Sometimes the mood is not so good, and the words are inevitably not very polite. His one-sided words occasionally have to ebb and flow.

Gao Ya said: "What you said sounds like Zunshi is an old and faint emperor who is controlled by his concubine's servants."

Feng Huanyuan's chopsticks stopped for a moment, and the noodles hung in the air, as if he was reflecting on whether he should be taboo for the venerable, but in the end he just smiled and said: "I don't even bother to take revenge, I'm a white-eyed wolf in essence, these two bad words are just for the old man It shouldn't count."

His sarcastic self-destruction has always been measured, almost stopping at the borderline of hypocrisy.Gao Ya snorted softly: "I've never heard of anyone being too lazy to commit suicide."

Feng Huanyuan was exposed, and made a bitter face, and finally he was willing to recruit truthfully. "Brother called me to Master's room that night, saying that Master missed me. But when I entered, Master was dead. Of course, I was just saying this, and there was not even a single witness, so naturally no one would believe me."

"You didn't identify your senior brother?"

"It is said that when Master called me to go, nearly half of Huashan's disciples were in front of the bed, squeezing the room so that there was nowhere to go."

"Why aren't you here?"

"I'm facing the wall."

"There are always a lot of such things." Gao Ya commented in a tone that has read all kinds of life.

"Then Junior Sister rushed in and let out a scream." From Feng Huanyuan's expression when he described it, it can be seen that the scream had a greater impact on him than the discovery of Master's death. "Then she said: You killed Master! You killed Master! Almost fell on me, turned around and ran away. I just begged her not to shout, and grabbed her shoulder in desperation..."

Gao Ya: "...If your sect is very guarded, and you don't know each other well, this might not be considered a slander."

"It's very heavy! If it's too heavy, we won't accept female disciples!" Feng Huanyuan almost jumped up. "Besides, I've been with her since childhood..." He suddenly realized that he seemed to have missed something, and immediately blocked his mouth with a bun.It was already too late, Feng Huanyuan only got stuck for a moment when he looked at him elegantly and weirdly, and that weirdness turned into a kind of desperate tacit understanding.

The journey was not long, but because the two were not familiar with the terrain, and they had nothing to do to avoid people's eyes and ears, the route was even more chaotic. They stumbled and walked for four days in less than two hundred miles.Feng Huanyuan sold the horse he had brought from the three masters of the Sheng family and used it as travel expenses, so he still had enough money for the time being.The two walk at similar speeds, and their eating tastes do not conflict. They go back to their houses at night, and they can live in peace for the time being.It's just that the weather is getting colder, which is a little unpleasant.Gao Ya said: "You said you were too lazy to take revenge, so what are we doing now?"

Feng Huanyuan: "Run for your life."

Gao Ya: "...you touch your conscience."

It had been cloudy and misty since the morning, but it didn't rain until the afternoon.The two of them took shelter from the rain at the tea booth by the roadside, the rain had stopped, and they didn't even want to get up, so the tea was tasteless.

"Of course he was running for his life." Feng Huanyuan said briskly. "At the beginning, if it wasn't for the help of the second senior brother secretly, I wouldn't even be able to come down from Mount Hua. On the way to Huangquan, I was just like my master. If my senior brother wasn't so attached to me, I would have thought of quitting the rivers and lakes at this point. ——Speaking of quitting, it seems that I haven't entered much. ,——Go back to my hometown and find some relatives to take refuge in. No matter who is behind the scenes, the master is dead, and if no one is in charge of the overall situation, Huashan will inevitably fall into civil strife. There is no Huashan faction. Although I have been expelled from the sect, after all, I grew up here, and I have some feelings..."

He looked up at the rain slowly dripping off the edge of the tarp. "Forget everything else, I just want to be innocent, so that I can live in peace, and I don't have to hide like this."

Gao Ya didn't make a sound, but what she saw was the muddy road ahead. "Maybe Lantian really has beautiful jade."

Feng Huanyuan smiled and said, "I would like to borrow your auspicious words." He added: "Although my words are very convincing, there is no circumstantial evidence after all. Why do you believe me?"

Gao Ya pondered and said: "I don't believe you. There are many people who hire killers. But a friend of mine once said that most people who hire that kind of killers have some problems with their heads."

Feng Huanyuan laughed loudly and said, "If my senior brother has a brain problem, I'm afraid there will be no smart people in the world!"

It was getting late when they arrived in Lantian, so the two found an inn to stay.Although there was no rain at this time and here, it was a sign that it had just rained. The ground of the house was miserable from top to bottom, and a few pedestrians walked hurriedly with shoulders and necks shrugged.When I woke up the next day, it was sunny and bright, not dazzling, with a kind of clarity that is unique to late autumn.The streets are ten times more lively than yesterday, everyone feels that staying at home is wasteful, even if they have nothing to do, they have to go out and stand at the door to chat with the neighbors.Feng Huanyuan left for a while before breakfast, and came back to report to Gao Ya: "I asked around, but I couldn't find Mr. Langdang's whereabouts."

Gao Ya comforted him and said, "Lantian is so big, it's very difficult to find a person's whereabouts in a short while. Who did you ask?"

"We live here with the owner of the Fenglai Inn, who runs a silk shop and a raw medicine shop next to him, and the lady who sells vegetables on the street."

Gao Ya: "...it's strange that you can ask this."

"You mean it would be quicker for me to ask the Jianghu people? Forget it!" Feng Huanyuan shook his head violently. "In case I'm recognized, it's going to be another fight. But brother, you're so kind, maybe you can replace me..."

"I don't deal with strangers." Gao Ya said firmly, the tone made Feng Huanyuan reasonably suspect that he was an acquaintance. "...But Mr. Langdang's name, I've never heard of it before. Master really didn't leave any other clues?"

"Five years ago, he only told us to go to Lantian to visit old friends, and then drifted away."

Both of them were silent, each racking their brains.Then Gao Ya said: "It's just speculation, don't think I'm whimsical. Lantian has been a land of jade production since ancient times, and that senior's name has jade, maybe we can inquire in this direction."

Feng Huanyuan deeply agreed: "Exactly, a dead horse is a living horse doctor." Turning around this street, there are rows of jade shops.The two asked each family one by one, nine times out of ten it was Feng Huanyuan who spoke, and Gao Ya was only in charge of admiring the furnishings in the shop. When asked about the fourth shop, a shop owner actually replied: "You are talking about the Shui Lu nunnery at the foot of Yushan Mountain. Mr. Lang Dang who lives next to him? He used to be a jade maker. Although the things he made were few, they were very flavorful. In the past few years, he has gradually heard of them. Today, there happened to be a car in the shop to pick up the ordered goods from Shuiluan. I can take you with me."

Feng Huanyuan said: "Wonderful!" Gao Ya also said: "Thank you." So the two of them took the store's car, wandered out of the city for half a day, and came to the foot of Yushan Mountain.Shuilu nunnery is surrounded by mountains and rivers, surrounded by residential buildings, and the driver of the car couldn't tell where Mr. Langdang lived, so everyone reluctantly said goodbye, leaving the two of them wandering aimlessly in the countryside.

Yushan produces jade, and most of the folks here make a living from curing jade. Peeping into people's yards from the open gates, most of them are piled up with small hills of jade materials and various household items for curing jade.At the entrance of the village sat an old woman basking in the sun. Although she was dazzled and deaf, she was very enthusiastic. "You said that Mr. Dang! You just know that he lived in this area and moved away last month. You go west, go west."

The two had no choice but to continue walking and inquiring. They made mistakes twice, and finally found a family in the depths of the village alley.The gate of the courtyard is ajar, and jade materials and tools are generally piled in the courtyard. There is a clump of green bamboo in the corner of the courtyard. Although the green is strong, it is a bit old.Under the bamboo is a stone table with a chessboard scrawled on it, and a box of jade chess pieces placed on it.The dull sound of pounding sand in the courtyard mixed with the sound of metal and iron colliding made people puzzled.

Feng Huanyuan said: "This time it will be." He said loudly: "Senior Langdang, Huashan Feng Huanyuan is asking to see you."

He was not in a hurry to get rid of it at this time.The voice of this sentence is not high, but the charm is calm, it is obviously a bit of a show off, and it aims to arouse the curiosity of the people in the courtyard.However, there was no response after half a day, the pounding sound just continued blindly, and the two had no choice but to advance without waiting for invitation.There was a person standing beside the stone mortar in the courtyard, holding a pestle in both hands, and there were extremely thick iron chains on his hands and feet. Every time the pestle was lowered, the iron chain rattled.The voice sounded rough and dull outside the courtyard, but it seemed to be amplified several times inside the courtyard, almost unbearable to the ear.

Both of them thought: "Langdang Langdang, is this Langdang not the other Langdang!" Feng Huanyuan summoned up his breath and said again: "Junior Huashan Feng Huanyuan asks to see you."

This sentence is not just showing off, it is provocative.The man stopped his movements, raised his head, and glanced at them. His natural glaring eyebrows were dark, and there was a thick scar under the corner of his left eye. Zuo Keqin: "Are you from Huashan?"

Feng Huanyuan trembled: "It used to be."

The man's eyes turned to Gao Ya who was standing a little behind. "The same to you?"

Gao Ya said, "I am not."

The man frowned, as if he didn't hear what he said clearly, but he didn't pursue it anymore, and asked Feng Huanyuan again: "Who is Qiu Songyue to you?"

Feng Huanyuan said: "It's my teacher."

He only had time to say these three words, and his face suddenly turned cold.The iron chains with the strong wind almost smashed his whole face to pieces. Although this didn't happen, he didn't realize that it was because he responded in a timely manner. It seemed that the other party was a slouch man from Ying who deliberately wanted to shave his face. Get that bit of chalk on the tip of his nose.

Then he didn't have time to think so much.Mr. Lang Dang couldn't help but hit him with a punch, his hands were tied, the iron chain was as long as a foot, and his feet were dragging heavy shackles. He walked like flying, the small courtyard was cramped, and the terrain was uneven. Gap turned around and said angrily, "Why did he only hit me?"

Gao Ya replied immediately: "Because I am not from Huashan."

Naturally, he also noticed that Mr. Lang Dang was behaving strangely, as if he had lost his mind, and his behavior was inhumane, like a wild beast.Feng Huanyuan dodged from left to right, all with a slight difference. Mr. Lang Dang's beard and hair were all stretched out, his eyes were red, he let out a loud shout, poured his strength, and the iron chain, which was over an inch thick, broke, even though his hands were free, he didn't know what to do. The big fist at the mouth of the bowl fell like a hailstone.Feng Huanyuan grabbed the jade pestle in the stone mortar at the side and swung it horizontally to block it. Mr. Lang Dang grabbed it with one hand and snapped it into two pieces.But Gao Ya appeared behind him in this gap, and cut the back of his neck with a palm.

The feeling of this palm is like cutting a kitchen knife on an anvil, leaving only a white mark that bounces off.Mr. Lang Dang suddenly turned his head, raised the half of the jade pestle in his right hand high, and suddenly heard a sharp shout: "Stop!"

At the moment of life and death, Gao Ya might not be able to hold her hand, but Mr. Lang Dang seemed to hear some signal, his movements suddenly froze in mid-air, and he became a statue in an instant, Gao Ya was forced into his throat by the strength he forcibly withdrew old blood.The voice said again: "Xing Yu! Are you crazy!"

The two turned their heads to look, and there was a woman in white clothes standing at the door, dressed as an ordinary village woman, with a basket on her arm, despite her age, she still had a graceful demeanor, her voice was sharp, but her expression was not flustered, she floated to the side of the stunned Xing Yu , raised his left hand to press and push on his vest, several strings of green jade bracelets jingled on his wrist.

Xing Yu's stiff limbs were gradually able to move, half of the jade pestle let go and fell, his knees softened and he knelt on the ground. "gentlemen."

The woman stopped blaming her, and said gently: "You are tired too, rest first." She bent down and picked up the overturned chess box on the ground, led Feng Huanyuan and Gao Ya into the room, and said, "You two are laughing."

The two were still in shock, only Weiwei, the woman asked them to sit down and boil water to make tea.The furnishings in the house are simple and clean, the light is not insufficient, under the half-rolled bamboo curtain, it looks cool and gloomy, except for a teacup on the table that is probably for the owner's own use, there is no jade, and there is no movement in the courtyard.

Feng Huanyuan and Gaoya looked at each other, they both had a lot of feelings, but they didn't dare to communicate loudly, and because they didn't reach the level of tacit understanding, it was a bit embarrassing to look at each other a few more times, so they could only turn their heads away silently.After a while, the woman came in with a tea tray, looked at them, and asked, "Are you two injured?"

Feng Huanyuan hurriedly smiled and said: "No, no, sir, don't worry about it."

The woman sighed: "Xing Yu is born with great strength, temperament is unstable, sometimes crazy, and has violently hurt others. He used the law to punish him. By chance, he was rescued by me. He concealed his name and called him Xing Yu." , I have been following me for more than ten years. His hearing loss has gradually become serious in recent years, and he is afraid of repeating the same mistakes, so he is willing to put himself in handcuffs and shackles. Mr. Dang, but he hasn't had an attack for a long time, and today's fact is sudden, is it because you are from the Huashan sect?"

Feng Huanyuan said: "Sir already knows that this junior is from the Huashan School?"

Mr. Lang Dang said indifferently: "Isn't the sword on your back a tiger's tail?"

Feng Huanyuan was dumbfounded for a moment, and after half a day he asked tentatively: "Then, do you know who this junior is?"

Mr. Langdang said: "You are the one chosen by Songyue."

Gao Ya watched with cold eyes, Feng Huanyuan slightly shook the hand holding the cup, and then put down the teacup. "Does sir know that my master has passed away?"

There was a long silence in the hall.

"Now I know." Mr. Lang Dang said.

Feng Huanyuan was tongue-tied; he no longer knew where to start.On the contrary, Mr. Lang Dang turned to look at him, his eyes and tone of voice were very gentle, and it was conceivable that not even a single dangerous word would appear.

"I heard Songyue mention you." She said. "Your surname is Feng, right? Several of his proud disciples are like countless treasures. I am famous but not seen by others. The first disciple is deep, the second disciple is gentle, the seventh is well-read, and the ninth is clever. He carried forward Huashan martial arts in the martial arts, and I liked him after hearing it. Songyue and I knew each other when we were young, and we have been friends for many years. For various reasons, we didn’t get married, and I didn’t even have an apprentice. His disciples are just like mine. "

Feng Huanyuan heard her counting down one by one but didn't mention himself, knowing that it was a trap, he had no choice but to jump. "What did he say about the third child?"

"The third one is stubborn."

Gao Ya couldn't hold back her laughter, Feng Huanyuan said with a straight face, "Master still understands me."

Then he said abruptly: "Sir, Master died inexplicably. I was accused of being a murderer by my fellow disciples. I couldn't explain it, so I had to flee to Mount Hua. Sir, Feng Huanyuan will never lie. My life is worthless, but Let me explain. Whether you believe me or not, sir, I just want to ask a reason. ——The master came here to visit five years ago, what happened?"

Mr. Lang Dang said: "I understand everything you said."

She rubbed the jade cup in her hand, and there were a few light gray shadows in her smooth temples, like an illusion caused by weakened sunlight. "Have you ever heard of Yuzhizhi?"