Still pity the grass and trees

Ji Tanyin jumped lightly, her body stretched like a white crane, and landed safely on the roof of the shop by the roadside, then tapped her toes, and chased after the pockmarked face.

A few passers-by on the street saw it, and they exclaimed in admiration, their pockmarked faces looked back, their legs limp in fright, they staggered a few steps, grabbed the little girl's wrist and ran wildly.

The girl couldn't run fast, and was roughly dragged by him, staggering forward, with the ambiguous cry of a beast being injured from her throat.

Seeing that the pockmarked face was about to lead her into the criss-cross alleys extending in all directions, Ji Tanyin hurriedly shouted: "Hey! Stop!"

The pock-marked face gasped for breath, and ran wildly.In front is the fort of the Zan family, a local prominent family. Hundreds of people live in one place, with many houses and winding roads. He hopes to use this to get rid of Ji Tanyin who is not familiar with the terrain.

Ji Tanyin couldn't see his plan, and said angrily: "If you don't stop, I will do it!"

Hearing the sound of Yingxue sword being unsheathed, the pockmarked face shivered involuntarily.He remembered the lightning speed of the sword, gritted his teeth and stopped, turned around calmly, and put out a greasy smile: "Young Xia, what's the matter?"

Ji Tanyin looked at the little girl carefully, and saw that she shrank her thin body, her eyes were red from crying, and a thin wrist was firmly held in the dark palm of the pockmarked man, which was really pitiful.

He already had a judgment in his heart, and said sharply to the pockmarked face: "I have something to ask you, why are you running?"

The pockmarked face cowardly bowed to Ji Tanyin: "Young Xia was calling me, but I didn't hear it just now, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"This is your daughter? Why doesn't it look like it?" Ji Tanyin raised her chin, "Could it be that she was kidnapped?"

The pockmarked face swallowed, looked at Ji Tanyin ignorantly for a while, then raised his eyebrows high, beat his chest and said, "Young hero, why can't you trust me so much! Last month you showed mercy, I swore an oath! Okay, Why do you doubt people indiscriminately?"

Seeing his swearing, his black skin was flushed, and he looked excitedly offended, Ji Tanyin was unavoidably shaken, so he leaned over to the little girl and asked softly, "Sister, is he your father?"

The little girl was not only dumb, but also not very bright, she stared at Ji Tanyin for a long time without speaking.The pockmarked face secretly heaved a sigh of relief, his waist stiffened, and his attitude became even more arrogant.When she was about to chase after Bai Ji Tanyin for a few words, the foolish girl suddenly burst into tears, shaking her head while crying, and tried her best to break her little hand out of the shackles of her pock-marked face.

This girl took over from the previous trafficker, because she was dumb and stupid, it only cost five renminbi.The pockmarked face saw that she was beautiful, so he wanted to sell her into a brothel. Although she was a dumb girl, dignitaries and nobles had unique tastes. If she was trained well, she might be more popular.Because of this plan, Pockmarked didn't beat her too much, lest the scars on her skin would be unsightly and affect the price.

Unexpectedly, the girl who was as docile as a lamb a few days ago would suddenly go crazy, staring at her blood-red eyes, opening her mouth wide and letting out an outrageous howl.

"This is not your daughter at all!" Ji Tanyin was angry, and stabbed with his sword, his face turned pale with horror, subconsciously pushed the girl forward, and ran away rolling and crawling.

The girl didn't have time to dodge, she slammed straight into the tip of the sword.Ji Tanyin let out an "ah" and turned his wrist in a flash. The Yingxue Sword flashed a sharp silver light and brushed against the girl's ear, cutting off a strand of black hair on the temples.

Ji Tanyin squatted down, gently held the girl's shoulders with both hands, and apologized with lingering fear: "Sister, I'm sorry, I scared you."

The little girl stood in a daze, without showing any fear, and the crazy appearance just now faded away, and she looked like a peaceful little sheep again.

She looked at Ji Tanyin with deep eyes, as if she was hiding a lot of things. The turbulent emotion almost made Ji Tanyin get goosebumps, and she even wanted to cry for no reason, as if they had had a deep bond.

This look should not belong to a one-year-old girl.Only then did Ji Tanyin feel weird, the girl squatted down, picked up her basket, and put back the jewelry that had been overturned just now.She moved in an orderly manner, her little head shook from side to side, and there was a rhythmic whimpering sound in her throat, as if she was singing.

Ji Tanyin didn't have time to study it carefully, so she ordered "wait for me here", and then chased after the direction where the pockmarked face left.

After such a delay, the hateful kidnapper was nowhere to be found. Like a nimble mouse, he got into the stinky ditch connected in all directions, and he didn't know where he swam.

Ji Tanyin jumped onto the roof, stepped on the blue tiles and flew past the houses, the row upon row of houses and the criss-crossing alleys dazzled his eyes, and he inspected a stick of incense, but he didn't see any pockmarked face. Indignantly, he raised his hand and cut off a few thick branches of an apricot tree that had come out of the wall.

Because she was thinking about the little girl who was left alone, Ji Tanyin didn't dare to delay for too long and turned back in a hurry.

When he was approaching the street corner, he saw two figures, one tall and one short, the short one was petite and thin, standing neatly with a basket on his shoulders, the tall one lazily waving a fan, with a bag of top crust cakes hooked on his little finger , shaking in the air boredly, it is Xie Wufeng.

"You're here." Ji Tanyin greeted in a low voice.

"What's the matter? Pulling your face. Didn't you catch up?"

Ji Tanyin shook his head.

Xie Wufeng sighed inaudibly, and pouted at the little girl: "What should we do next?"

It was also the first time Ji Tanyin had encountered such a thing, and scratched her hair in a daze.He knelt down and continued to communicate with the girl, asking where she was from and where her parents were.

The weird feeling before had disappeared, and the girl was still the silent, clumsy mute, looking at Ji Tanyin with confusion, until she heard the word "mother" before she reacted—she opened her mouth roundly, The sound of "liang, ang" is made intermittently.

"Yes, mother!" Ji Tanyin paused, "Where is mother?"

Unexpectedly, the little girl couldn't understand it again, and just kept repeating "Long, high, high", the child's voice was soft, and it didn't feel noisy, it only made people feel more sad the more they listened.

Ji Tanyin was at a loss, and discussed with Xie Wufeng: "Why don't you take it back to the inn first."

Xie Wufeng glanced at the girl for a long time, and said indifferently: "Take it back and then what? Find a relative for her? If you can't find it, keep it by your side? It's not my mouth, A Yin, you have such a oil bottle, you can use it in the future." It's hard to find a wife."

Ji Tanyin was stunned by his question for a moment, and after regaining her senses, she retorted aggressively: "You are used to calculating! How can you get so much now? You can't leave her on the street."

His voice is crisp and crisp, full of the vigor of a young man, and his eyes are bright, reflecting Xie Wu's small and gloomy appearance.

Xie Wufeng suppressed his displeasure, and said lightly: "Then let's go."

They walked along Niujiao Street in the direction of the inn, and no one spoke on the way.Ji Tanyin held the little girl's hand, feeling her warm skin, beating pulse, and the small movements of relying on her lapel, a burst of warmth surged in her chest.

There is no wind today, the sun is ruthlessly scorching the cracked land, and the dead black cicadas are falling under the trees.The vermilion gate of the Helin Inn was lightly closed, the porter leaned against the gate pier and dozed off, and squatting on the left and right was a stone lion that had been eroded by wind and frost and was no longer mighty.

In a daze, he heard the muffled sound of fists and feet landing on the flesh, and heard cries for mercy, so he opened his eyelids with difficulty and took a look, and saw a few country bumpkins who usually gathered around the entrance of the inn to beg for work, beating them A thin boy like a mud monkey.

"And what are you doing?" the man yawned.

One made an apologetic smile and said, "Brother Wang, this kid suddenly got a piece of silver. He said it was rewarded by the master just now. Who would believe him! It must have come from somewhere. The few of us can't see it, so teach us a lesson."

The thin child couldn't bear the beating, wriggling on the ground, shrinking into a small shrimp, tightly protecting the right hand holding the silver to his heart.

Mr. Wang said: "Hurry up, don't bother the distinguished guests who are resting inside, the people staying for the past two days are all knights of the rivers and lakes, and a few lives are not enough for you to die."

The men heard this, and kicked the boy who fell on the ground even harder.After a while, one of them whispered "I got it", and each of them mended a few more feet before giving up.

The man who broke the boy's fist and got the silver gave the silver ingot to Liang Chun. Liang Chun was the leader of the group, with a sallow face, short nose, thick eyebrows, and a vicious look.He took the silver, and several lackeys gathered around him, staring at the silver ingot, making the sound of swallowing saliva in unison.Liang Chun nodded in satisfaction, called Wang's man for a thousand, and said in high spirits: "Brother Wang, let's go to Fuxiang Tower for a drink, and I will bring you a pot of beauty sorrow, and honor you in silk and satin clothes! These days Thank you for taking care of me!"

Mr. Wang folded his hands, half-closed his eyes and smiled: "Old Liang has a heart."

A few Hanako walked away shoulder to shoulder, and silence returned to the front of the inn.The tall and thin boy was lying on the ground, staring blankly at the dazzling blue sky through his blood-stained eyelashes.

When Ji Tanyin and Xie Wufeng came back with the little girl, they saw such a scene.

"What's going on?" Ji Tanyin pushed the little girl to Xie Wufeng, and rushed to help the beaten boy up, "What's your name?"

The young man flinched, as if he was scared of being beaten, and he was extremely sensitive to outsiders' contact.Recognizing that it was Ji Tanyin, he stood up obediently, endured the great pain, and bowed his head: "Akun."

Ji Tanyin asked who beat him and why, Ah Kun's eyes fluttered, and he muttered and did not speak.Ji Tanyin turned to ask Gong Li's buddy Wang: "Can you see what's going on?"

Mr. Wang said: "It's a few local hooligans. They must say that this kid stole money. They are so many and vicious that I can't stop them."

Ji Tanyin said angrily: "What stealing money, we will reward him!"

Xie Wufeng stood aside and interjected casually: "I told you a long time ago that you are not the savior."

Ji Tanyin didn't catch up with the pockmarked face, and seeing the boy he rescued earlier was in distress, he didn't feel good at all, Xie Wufeng's words instantly ignited his depressed mood.

"I'm not the savior, what about you? You can only speak sarcastic words! You selfish ghost! You shouldn't have saved you in the first place, and let you taste what it's like to be bullied!" He was full of grievances, puzzles, and anger. The opportunity came out, the tongue moved faster than the brain, said a series of crackling words, and when he got excited, he pulled out the hairpin on his head with his backhand and threw it at Xie Wufeng.

"Is that Xiao Ji outside?" Hua Yueying's voice sounded from the yard.

"I..." Ji Tanyin was suddenly freed from that frantic state as if he had been slapped in the face, and he froze on the spot, at a loss for what to do.

The little girl was terrified by the battle in front of her, she flattened her mouth, turned her head and ran away with a whimper. "Hello." Xie Wufeng called lightly, and seeing the little girl running farther and farther, he raised his foot and chased after her.

Ji Tanyin turned his head slightly, and his eyes fell on Xie Wufeng's back, as if touching a piece of red-hot iron, it turned into a wisp of hot steam with a snort, making his eyes sore.

He coughed and said to Akun, "You can stay in the shop and have someone look at the wound for you."

Akun looked at him timidly, his lips moved, as if thinking.At this moment, Hua Yueying stepped out of the inn door and said with a smile, "I'll just say it's you!" She looked around and asked, "Have you had a fight with your cousin?"

Ji Tanyin replied vaguely twice.Is this a quarrel?He tried to recall Xie Wufeng's reaction just now, but found that he couldn't remember.Needless to say, it must be the usual indifference and ridicule.

Hua Yueying said: "What is so angry, tell me."

Ji Tanyin first talked about Akun being bullied by others, and Hua Yueying said: "This is easy to handle. I heard that there is a beggar gang in Shangqiu, occupying the south of the city. I asked the disciples in the pavilion to take this kid to see the sub-ruler. He joined the association. Presumably, the Beggar Sect should give Zhu Yuege a face."

"This is very good," Ji Tanyin tugged at the boy's tattered sleeve, "Thank you soon, Lord Huage!"

The child had never practiced martial arts, so he didn't know how high an official the Flower Pavilion Master was, but he had heard of the name of the Beggar Gang, so he knelt down and kowtowed excitedly.

Hua Yueying took advantage of it in her heart, and said on the face of resignation: "How can I do such a great gift?"

Ji Tanyin said: "He should."

Hua Yueying joked and said a few words: "You have joined the beggar gang, you still have to rely on your own ability, and it will be useless to mention my name then."

Akun obediently agreed, and then a disciple of Zhuyue Pavilion stepped forward and led him away.

Hua Yueying joked: "Is it because of this?"

Ji Tanyin shook his head solemnly: "There is one more important matter."

"Go in and talk."

The two returned to the inn, and the waiter quickly brought two cups of tea with nuts.Ji Tanyin didn't care to drink tea, and told Hua Yueying about the pockmarked kidnapping and selling of dumb girls.

"There is such a thing?" Hua Yueying frowned and thought for a moment, and said: "This kind of evil deed must not be tolerated. I will send my disciples to search in the city."

Just as he was talking, a deep voice came in: "What evil deed?"

Ji Tanyin stood up and bowed to Zhai Yu, saying, "Just now, I met a kidnapper and told him to run away."

Zhai Yu had been separated from his daughter for many years, and he hated such things, so he immediately sent out the disciples of Xuandaomen.

Suddenly there was a bang at the door of the inn, as if someone had hit the wall.A voice said: "Pockmarked face? The monk hates pockmarked face the most! I will go too!"

Ji Tanyin looked around and saw a shaky figure in cassock gradually walking away, and asked, "Is it Monk Jinlian? When did he arrive in Shangqiu?"

Hua Yueying curled her lips in disgust: "Last night, she smelled of alcohol."

After sitting for a while, Hua Yueying asked about the little girl Ji Tanyin had rescued, and said that if it was not convenient for him to take care of her, she could ask her maid to help.Ji Tanyin's face flushed slightly: "Just now I lost my temper and scared her away. This girl is timid and a little stupid, Xie Wufeng—my cousin, go after her."

Speaking of this, he suddenly remembered the hairpin that he had thrown on the ground, couldn't sit still anymore, said goodbye to Hua Yueying and Zhai Yu, and hurried out of the inn.