Embrace the blade

As the sun sets, the sky glows with a magnificent glow, and the afterglow slantly falls on the plaque hanging above the main entrance, reflecting the three characters "Juyizhuang" gilded on the black background.

A pretty girl stood in the sunset, staring at the plaque silently for a while, then turned and walked towards the side door.

At this time, the front door was empty, and there were almost no visitors. The servants who were in charge of escorting gathered together to chat, and the people waiting in line outside the side door were gone, only the old man who registered the visitors behind a small table was there.The old man put the pen aside, closed the roster, and obviously got up to enter the door.

"Wait, wait!"

With the sound of soft and bright voice, the girl stood behind the table and said quickly: "There is also me, I also want to enter the village."

The old man shook his head and pointed at the setting sun: "Little girl, it's already this hour, where is there any other arrangement?"

"I just arrived, and I didn't mean to be late." The girl felt aggrieved, "It's been such a long journey, so please let me in."

The old man felt embarrassed, turned his head and looked in the village for a while, but didn't answer for a while.

"The inns in the city are all full, so you have to pity me, otherwise I can only live on the streets!"

The old man thought for a while, and could only say: "Well, I will let you in, and you can see if there is still room, or you can ask the housekeeper for mercy."

The girl smiled and thanked her repeatedly.The old man spread out the roster, picked up a pen and dipped in ink: "Name."

"Zhaoyue."

The old man nodded: "Zhao..."

Zhaoyue stopped the old man's pen, "It's not Zhao," she said with a slight movement in her eyes, "Zhaoyue who shines coldly on the moon."

The old man was startled, and raised his head to look her up and down. This little girl was only fifteen or sixteen years old. Apart from her smart appearance, there was nothing special about her accessories.In the end, the old man's gaze stopped on her pair of eyes, and he shook his head meaningfully, but didn't say much.

After registration, Zhaoyue took a paper sign with her name on it, and followed the old man's instructions into a small hall in the village.The small hall was almost full, most of them were young people who had just entered the rivers and lakes and had no reputation yet. They were full of ambitions and wanted to show their skills in the famous sword competition, and they talked eagerly as soon as they met.Zhaoyue glanced roughly, and was pleasantly surprised to find that there was an empty seat in the corner.

To be precise, there was a boy sitting there alone, with his head bowed and flipping the pages of a book. There was no one beside him, and no one talked to him. The chatter and noise in the room seemed to be separated from him, and there was a quiet silence in the corner.

Zhaoyue walked over lightly and asked, "Can I sit down?"

The boy looked up at her and nodded.

She looks quite good-looking, Zhao Yuexin said.She turned her head and saw the paper sign in the page, revealing the boy's name, and said again: "Is your name Jiang Li?" She handed her name, "Zhaoyue."

Jiang Li nodded again, with no emotion on his face.

Zhaoyue was a little surprised, it could be seen that he did not respond and did not speak, she thought for a while, and asked tentatively: "You...are you dumb?"

These words really worked, Jiang Li turned to look at her, and shook his head seriously.

Zhaoyue understood why no one paid attention to him.

At this moment, it suddenly fell silent, the housekeeper opened the door and entered, stood in front of the hall and gave a wink, and the servants who followed came over and issued copper locks to everyone in the room one by one.The butler said that he would lead them to their residence later, and after choosing a room, they would padlock the door and they could live there.Then he talked about the rules of the village, where you can move freely, and which ones you shouldn't go. When he spoke, he folded his hands, and he glanced at everyone from the corner of his eye, with undisguised disdain, as if he was taking in a group of beggars.

Everyone in the seat felt humiliated immediately, and some people almost couldn't help getting up in anger, but they were held down by the people beside them.

Juyi Village provides residences for people in the Jianghu, but after all, it is divided into three, six, and nine grades.Those who are well-known or famous are directly welcomed into the main entrance, and those who come in through the side entrance will inevitably appear inferior.

"A dog's eyes look down on people." Zhaoyue snorted coldly, and said in a low voice, "That Wei Min, to put it bluntly, is a businessman who is greedy for money and profit. Do you know how much money he made by relying on this famous sword competition?"

Jiang Li waited intently for her to continue.

"The inns, pawnshops, taverns, and silk shops in this city are all his profitable businesses. Aren't these people who came for the famous sword meeting become money givers for him? And tell me, if he Sincerely give people a place to live, why bother to limit the number of places, isn't it just to let people know that the opportunity is rare, and we should be grateful to him? The rich and powerful have already booked the inn, and we are left without family background, money bag You came to live in the manor empty-handed, so you deserve to be looked down upon?"

"Look over there, across the bridge is the East Courtyard, which is for the famous martial arts masters. Go south after crossing the bridge, and there is a small three-story building." Zhaoyue said angrily, "What are you doing with us?" Comparable?"

Jiang Li followed the direction she pointed, and looked out through the window. The sky was dim, and he could only vaguely see a standing black figure.

"You know this place well?" Jiang Li asked.

"I, I didn't..." He was caught off guard by the question, Zhaoyue was tongue-tied, but then she changed the topic, "Hey, you obviously know how to talk, did you just ignore me on purpose?"

Before Jiang Li could answer, everyone in the hall stood up together.The butler left without raising his eyelids after explaining the rules, and the remaining servants led everyone to the residence, and walked through the winding path to the depths of the west courtyard, where there were several rows of houses, white walls and black tiles. No difference, really no choice.The bed, table and chairs in the house are fairly neat, but if you think about this clear arrangement, you can't mess it up.

Jiang Li looked around, then pushed open the window in front of the table, and the evening breeze slowly flowed in.

"Hey, Jiang Li!" Zhaoyue also stood behind the window and waved to him across a long and narrow road. The two houses were actually facing each other. She laughed, "What a coincidence!"

Jiang Li also waved his hand in response.Zhaoyue lit the lamp, and a ball of warm light filled the whole room, against which the night could almost clearly see the movements of the figures under the window.Jiang Li withdrew his gaze and sat quietly on the chair. He only had a few sets of clothes and a few books in his luggage, so he had nothing to clean up. The long sword in his hand was also an ordinary one that could be bought at any blacksmith.

When registering at the door, people heard that his surname was Jiang, and they all looked sideways, but seeing his poor and simple appearance, they shook their heads and lost interest.

"What are you getting so excited about? Not everyone with the surname Jiang belongs to Guiyun Mountain Villa, and you don't even look at him..." Someone whispered.

When Jiang Li turned his head, those people instantly turned their attention away, as if they hadn't noticed him at all.

Jiang Li leaned back in his chair, thinking silently.At this time, there are still two days before the Famous Sword Conference, and there will be a rookie competition specially set up by Wei Min the next day. Most of the young people here are rushing to this competition.

Famous sword competition is a matter between senior masters. These young people know how much they are, and they may not even be able to touch the edge of the ring. , as the name suggests, it is prepared for the unknown people who have just stepped into the rivers and lakes. How many times will there be opportunities to show their skills in front of many famous masters?Being able to get guidance and appreciation is enough to be exciting. If you are lucky, you may even be favored and included in the family.

But these were not what Jiang Li wanted.

The night was getting deeper, the moonlight was shining through, and the shadows of the trees brushed against the window, he sighed softly.

There was a clanging sound when the swords collided, and the sword holder and the sword holder retreated at the same time, staring at each other vigilantly, and slowly moved a few steps on the ring.After a brief confrontation, the sword-wielder stepped forward, and the sword move quickly followed. The sword wielder had to take a few steps back.

Immediately, someone applauded under the ring.

The sun was still half hidden behind the clouds, and the martial arts arena in Juyi Village was already very lively.Tomorrow is the rookie competition. The arena has already been set up in the middle of the venue. Early in the morning, these young people made an appointment to come and try their hands. The two young men in the arena are both in their early twenties. Gearing up, eager to try.

Jiang Li was also standing not far away watching, when suddenly someone patted his shoulder from behind.

"It's so early." Zhaoyue appeared beside him, stretched, "Would you like to wait for the two of us to go up and do a few tricks?"

Jiang Li let out a "hmm", and his eyes fell back to the stage.

In the blink of an eye, the two had already decided the winner, the long sword flew out suddenly, and the sword holder also fell to the ground, but he was not annoyed, and waved his hand with a smile: "The elder brother is amazing, but the younger brother can't hold on, I will bow down!" !"

"You were distracted just now, otherwise you will be able to take it." The gray-robed young man with the knife also smiled, reaching out to pull him up.

The sword-wielder smiled and held each other's hand. Just as he was about to get up, the screaming sound suddenly approached his ears. He subconsciously let go and fell back, only to see a feathered arrow piercing through the air, almost brushing the palms of the two of them. , straight into the side wall.

"Who?!" The gray-robed youth pulled up the sword-wielding man, turned his head and asked.Suddenly, everyone in the arena was also shocked, and they all looked at where Yu Jian came from.

"Everyone is gathering here to make noise. Do you think the martial arts arena is a vegetable market?" A young man threw his bow to the people behind him and strode into the arena.He was full of displeasure, dressed in luxurious clothes, behind him were a dozen big guards, and the housekeeper nodded and bowed beside him.

Zhaoyue curled her lips and introduced Jiang Li: "This is Wei Min's son, and it's not a good thing."

"Aren't young masters afraid of hurting people when they suddenly shoot arrows?" The gray-robed youth lowered his face.

"Aren't you injured?" Wei Ke asked without any shame, "Who asked you to compete here?"

Someone dissatisfied: "What's the matter, isn't the Martial Arts Field just for competitions?"

"Didn't the butler next to you say that you can go to the martial arts field yesterday, so you turned your back on it?"

Wei Ke glared at the butler, and the butler quickly explained: "This was originally ordered by the master..."

"No matter what anyone said, I'm going to use it right now to clean up these people." Wei Ke interrupted impatiently, seeing the butler sweating profusely, and added, "Father asked me to here."

The butler immediately breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the words, straightened his back, gave an order, and the guards scattered and stepped forward, each holding a long stick in their hands, half forcing and half politely inviting these people out.There was a sound of weapons, and everyone drew out their weapons one after another, waiting on guard.

The gray-robed youth was still standing on the ring, and said sharply: "Young Villa Master is driving people away like this, isn't it unreasonable?"

"That's right, why do you drive people away?" Everyone angrily echoed.

"Why?" Wei Ke said, "It's true that the arena is for competitions, but it's not like anyone can go up there and mess around."

"Who are you calling fooling around?" The gray-robed youth clenched the knife in his hand.

"You are not allowed to say it? With your street juggling skills, why don't you wait for people to laugh?"

Someone said angrily: "So what if you don't let me go?"

The weapons rattled and rattled, and it looked like they were going to fight a big fight with the Nursing Academy.

"Why, eat and live, and plan to occupy the ring. I'm not allowed to use it. Could it be that this villa belongs to you?" Wei Ke sneered, "The door is open, and those who don't accept it can leave without anyone stopping!"

These strong words were unreasonable, but they turned into knives and pierced everyone's pain.The so-called people have to bow their heads under the eaves, not to mention that they have no family background, and their martial arts are not so superb that they can amaze everyone. Angry and unwilling, so what?

The gray-robed youth gritted his teeth and walked off the ring without saying a word.When the others saw it, they swallowed back their resentment, but they were choked in their throats. Some of them were stuck in their necks and refused to bow their heads, and their clothes were ripped off by the people around them, and they sighed softly, "Forget it".

The huge martial arts arena was suddenly silent and depressing, watching them pass by, Jiang Li was a little dazed, a nurse saw that he hadn't left, so he stretched out his hand to grab his shoulder and arm, but Jiang Li didn't see any movement, the guard actually Caught empty.

Zhaoyue noticed that the nurse's expression was suddenly fierce, so she quickly dragged Jiang Li and walked out with the others.

Wei Ke stepped onto the ring, looked down at the backs of those leaving sadly, and suddenly said again: "Hey, the one with the knife, stop!"

He yelled twice, and the gray-robed young man with the knife reluctantly stopped, and said in a cold voice, "Is there anything else to do, Young Master?"

Wei Ke looked him up and down: "You stay, I just saw that your martial arts are not bad, stay and try with me."

The gray-robed youth sneered, "Why should I listen to you?"

"You don't want to compete, I will help you. Let me be your opponent, not much better than them?"

"How can I dare to be the opponent of the young master with my martial arts like juggling in the market?" the gray-robed youth said.

Wei Ke smiled and said, "What benefits do you want? I can give you money and famous knives."

The gray-robed youth turned around slowly, frowning: "What do you mean?"

"Let me think about it," Wei Ke said slowly, "Are you living in the broken house in the west courtyard now? If you promise me, I will move you to the east courtyard and ask someone to take good care of you."

The East Courtyard is the residence of famous masters, whether there is someone to wait on them is the second priority. If you are in the East Courtyard, you will naturally have many opportunities to get in touch with the heroes of the world.

The people who hadn't left stared at him intently to see how he would react.

The young man in gray robe loosened his brows, and suddenly laughed loudly: "Okay, okay!"

He said 'yes' several times, and the previous sword holder turned pale with shock: "Brother, you..."

But he saw him swinging the knife violently, the light of the knife flashed from bottom to top, and the guards were about to rush up, only to hear a 'ding' sound, and the copper-yellow key fell on the stone floor and broke in two.

Yesterday, everyone distributed the brass locks used to lock the door of the house, and this is the corresponding key.

"Yes, I am poor, mediocre and unknown, but I am not to be humiliated!" The gray-robed youth said sharply, "It's just a famous sword competition. Apart from it, is there no place for me to stand out in the world?"

After saying that, without looking at him again, he raised his knife and turned around to leave.There were a lot of angry people beside him, and they couldn't bear it anymore when they saw this. They took out the key, broke it and threw it away, and then strode away.The sun shone behind them, a great opportunity was lost, but their backs were extraordinarily straight.Young and energetic, the most unbearable humiliation, the world is so big, where can't you use your sword?

Wei Ke watched coldly from a distance, neither opening nor blocking.

"Happy, you should smash the key in his face!" Zhaoyue gritted her teeth, looked at Jiang Li who was walking beside her thoughtfully, "Where are you going next?"

"The library." Jiang Li said.

Zhaoyue was taken aback for a moment, probably Wei Min had to do his best to save face, many places in the villa were said to be open to them, such as the martial arts arena, and the library. But that's not the point.Zhaoyue asked in surprise, "Aren't you leaving?"

Jiang Li shook his head.

"Aren't you angry?"

Jiang Li was silent for a moment, then said in a low voice: "...I have a reason to stay."

Then Zhaoyue met his questioning eyes, "Why are you looking at me," she hurriedly looked away, "I also have a reason to stay."