sinking into sand

In early summer, the peach blossoms on the Lijiang River came to an end, and the streets were full of petals.

This year, the peach blossoms have encountered heavy rains for several days, but they have never grown into momentum. Only a sweet smell of flowers washed by the rain permeates the air. There is only a little bit of spring left, and the residual red that is all over the Lijiang River is shattered.

The old people in the streets and alleys are saying that it is because the owner of the Jinzhan Pavilion died, and God has pity on him.

Jinzhan Pavilion has been in the Lijiang River for many years. Although it is a Jianghu sect, it is related to Li Wangfu by marriage, so it is not completely from the Jianghu.To be a pavilion master of such a sect, logically, one should not say that he is pitiful.

But the old people like to say that, after tea and dinner, they even sprinkle half a glass of wine at the door of their house, just as a toast to him.

But it doesn't matter anymore, after all, everyone is dead.

The only thing that matters is probably that his funeral has not been done yet.

Although the change of seasons is not controlled by people's ideas, people's funerals can.

When Yu Sha woke up, he could smell the fragrance of peach blossoms after the rain on the tip of his nose.He broke into the house through the closed window on the second floor, fought against the smell of incense and alcohol that had been burning in the room all night, and dispelled the smell of decadence and waste in the air.

He rubbed his eyes, got up and pushed open the narrow window on the second floor.The peach tree in the courtyard grows to a height of three stories. When you open the window, you can see the branches with only stamens left after being washed by the rain.He looked at it for a while, and heard the sound of a pipa being tuned from the courtyard downstairs. Looking down, it turned out that he got up early in the second day of the lunar new year and started practicing piano in the courtyard.

Yu Sha hastily closed the window, and the quick movement caused quite a commotion.Xiang Feibai was still asleep on the bed at the moment, awakened by the sound, and was about to curse with his eyes closed.But before he could swear at Yu Sha for disturbing his dream, he heard a penetrating pipa, which was extremely ear-piercing and unpleasant.The sound passed through the thin walls of the second floor, and exploded in his ears like a thunderstorm, so startled that even half of his sleepiness flew away.His temples were bulging and painful, and his heart beat a little faster.

"...How can you play the pipa with such skill? Why don't you go to Dongshi to find a shop that sells cotton quilts and sells bullet cotton!"

Xiang Feibai let out a roar, the sound of the music seemed to be unaffected at all, and he continued to play all the way in his own way.Ambush from all sides, the three tones are in two tones, and the fingers are shattered like pieces of broken porcelain that have fallen on the ground. The whole piece seems to be scratched carefully with fingernails, which makes people feel uncomfortable all over the body. .

Xiang Feibai woke up unbearably disturbed. Yu Sha had already divided two bowls of hangover tea, pushed one bowl in front of Xiang Feibai, and said, "Go back if you can't stand it, and run to me if you have time."

Xiang Feibai was squeezed out before he woke up, feeling that he had been wronged a lot, and exclaimed, "I'm not worried about you, why are you so unreasonable now?"

Yu Sha rolled his eyes: "I'm fine, don't bother you to remember, you are a doorman of Jinzhan Pavilion, how can you run to Pingchunfang when you see the sky?"

"You also know that you can't get on the stage here." Xiang Feibai took his words and questioned him, "You should go to other places to buy a house earlier, even the streets are full of prostitution restaurants, and the noise last night lasted until the fourth watch. , you can live too!"

"Okay." Yu Sha interrupted his chatter, "If you have time to talk to me here, you'd better go back and ask questions. I heard that you have been very strict recently."

This is true.

Xiang Feibai got a headache when he heard this, and woke up with only three points of confusion left. He yawned and sat up, followed by a series of complaints: "The sick man hasn't had a good day for half a day since he took office. Earlier, he cleaned up the disciples. After that, everyone was in danger. Then there was the funeral, huh, a funeral that dragged on for more than a month. Needless to say, the local people in the Lijiang River also said that they would invite distinguished guests from the north. The young master is so used to it that he doesn’t know how difficult it is. This From south to north, who is easy to get along with? Maybe there is some kind of enmity between the ancestors! It is troublesome to compete with each other."

Yu Sha thought he was long-winded: "I heard you rambling all night last night, why haven't I got tired of it yet?"

Xiang Feibai had been talking about it all night earlier, and not even the movement of the benefactor and the kiln sister in the next room did not stop Xiang Feibai's desire to confide.

Now that Jinzhan Pavilion has changed masters, life is indeed different from before.

Xiang Feibai also knew that it would be annoying to continue talking, so he waved his hands and casually gathered up his clothes.After drinking the hangover tea poured by Yu Sha, Shi Shi ran out of the room.

Going out from the second floor is a corridor with stairs on both sides, and there are some old long benches and long tables in the lobby downstairs.Under the porch is a wooden counter and only a few pots of Bambage.

The furniture is fairly well preserved, but it has been used for a long time, contaminated by oily smoke, and met with months of heavy rain, it looks not only greasy, but also damp.Xiang Feibai passed by and took a look, feeling really bad.

"You don't hire a few buddies." Xiang Feibai said: "It's better to pick it up anyway, otherwise you won't be able to open your face." jun

When he woke up, he had said this over and over again, but inside and outside the words, he still hated Pingchunfang.It's no wonder that there are a total of [-] squares in the Lijiang River, and Ping'en Square, where Jinzhan Pavilion is located, is the most prestigious.

"Don't make trouble, just go and hurry up." Yu Sha urged him, "I won't be able to eat in the future, and I won't go to your house to play the autumn breeze."

Xiang Feibai wanted to argue with him for a while, but the sun was just rising, and if he didn't leave, he really couldn't catch up with Dianmao, so he had to leave in a hurry.

Yu Sha saw him off and yawned. In the early morning, the alleys of the Lijiang River were sparsely populated.At this moment, except for the faint sound of magic coming from the backyard, it can be said that it is quiet and clear.

Regardless of whether the land price is expensive or cheap, this moment of comfort in the early morning is the same wherever you go.

Yu Sha stayed at the entrance of the inn for a while, and when the pipa in the backyard came to an end, he wanted to go back to the second floor to catch up on half a day's sleep.

This was an ordinary morning, but just a moment before Yu Sha turned around, a clay figurine suddenly emerged from somewhere in the deserted alleyway.

This person suddenly appeared, covered in mud, as if he had been fished out of the mud, he looked like some kind of savage.Even Yu Sha, who had seen some of the world, was taken aback.It took half a beat to realize that this person did not appear out of thin air, and should have walked from the narrow alleyway between the two houses on the opposite corner.

The alleys on the side of the Lijiang River extend in all directions and twist in all directions. It is not unusual for a person to suddenly appear from some alley.

Looking again, the person in front of him was extremely dirty, his body was covered in mud, his clothes were all in a ball, and they were half dry.Wearing a bamboo hat on his head, it was also splashed with mud.

Since Yu Shaomiao's death, a lot of strange people have come to the Lijiang River.

Yu Sha sized the man up for a moment, not wanting to get involved in this lawsuit.Then he turned and went back to the hall, ready to close the door to avoid it.Unexpectedly, the door hadn't closed yet, but the man walked straight towards him, blocked the side of the wooden door with one hand, looked down at him and spoke.

"Stay at the hotel."

The man spoke upright, but his tone was a bit cold.Yu Sha looked up at him, his face was dirty and he couldn't see his features clearly, but his stature was indeed tall.Yu Sha himself was not considered short, but this man was half a head taller than him, and he could only see his chin.

"My family is not doing business today, the guest officer should go elsewhere." Yu Sha made up his mind to avoid customers, and he spoke directly.Now there are only two living people in his small temple, he and Xun Er, and they can't stand the tossing and tossing of these Jianghu people.

The man didn't expect to be rejected, he seemed to be stunned for a moment, and his strength loosened.

Yu Sha felt that he had spoken clearly, so he took the opportunity to close the door, but as soon as he tried hard, the other party seemed to wake up from a dream, and the door was blocked with his hand.

This is fresh.Yu Sha thought, could this person still want to force his way in?

He raised his eyebrows and looked over, his tone was already a bit unfriendly: "Guest officer? Let go?"

The man pursed his lips tightly, and said after a while: "...I don't know the way. From last night to now, there are only brothels and gambling houses everywhere, and I only found your open inn."

When he spoke like this, half of his earlier cold and hard temperament disappeared, and he appeared a little embarrassed.

Seeing Yu Sha hesitate, he looked at his clothes again, thought for a moment, thought that he was too dirty, Yu Sha was afraid that he would spoil the facade by letting himself in, so he said, "I don't have to go in, just ask for a few steamed buns. "

When he said this, Yu Sha found himself in trouble.

Yu Sha, in the words of his sister Xun Er, is the number one person in the world who eats soft but not hard.If this person insisted on coming in today, he could slap the door panel on the other person's face.But without saying a few words, the other party gave in first, but he somehow refused.

Yu Sha looked at the sun, it was not bad at the moment, few households in the streets and alleys were awake.This side is the boundary of Pingchunfang, a place where three religions and nine schools mingle, either casinos and restaurants, or Qinlou Chuguan.This person is wandering around in this area, and when the gang of demons and ghosts wake up and move around, he may not be able to be deceived where to go.

To help him is to do good deeds.

Thinking in this way, Yu Sha opened half of his body sideways, let the door out, motioned for the person to come in, and said, "Since that's the case, let's come in, the guest room is upstairs, and I can't afford people for small business, and the guest officer is also invited for cleaning." Take care of yourself. Where do you want to use the food? The hall or the guest room?"

The man didn't expect Yu Sha to change his attitude suddenly. It was a little strange, but he was also pleasantly surprised.Nodding slightly, he said thank you.He also said that it is good to eat in the lobby.

Yu Sha took the man to the counter to register his name and get the key. After not using it for a long time, the pages of the book were damp, and the writing was seriously stained. After writing, he could only vaguely make out the name.

Yu Sha looked at it for a long time, and recognized that the other party wrote the word Guan Lan. It was a little funny, this man looked so dirty, and he was a man, but his name was Juanxiu.

He cleared a table for Guan Lan and came out, pointing to a place in the kitchen where he could wash his hands.He came out of the cold tea that he had just picked up overnight.

"The stove hasn't burned yet, the steamed buns will have to wait for a while, please wait for it." Yu Sha said, but he wasn't worried that this person thought he was neglectful.

Guan Lan was not picky either, so she took off her bamboo hat, washed her hands a bit, and sat down at the table.

After such a short time, it started to rain outside again.

Yu Sha heard the sound of rain and looked up, frowned and said, "It's been sunny for two days, and it's raining again."

Guan Lan also looked at the rain that was getting heavier outside the door, and said, "It has been falling since the Grain Rain."

After hearing this, Yu Sha gave him a sideways look and said, "Guest officer remembers clearly."

Guan Lan didn't answer, but took a teacup to drink water.

Yu Sha knew that he seemed unwilling to talk more, so he gave up and went to the kitchen to heat steamed buns.

At the moment, only one door of the shop is open, the sky is white outside, and the view is limited, you can only see the houses across the street, but if you look over the building, you can see the Jinting Mountain on the back of the Jinzhan Pavilion from a distance.

Guan Lan looked at the world outside the door, and felt the cold air that had been blocked by internal force slowly seep into his body.

He only found out that Yu Shaomiao was dead a few days ago.

One month ago, during Gu Yu, he traveled to the vicinity of the Yangtze Slope, spending more than half of his time coiling, and due to heavy rain, the road was washed away by floods in several places.So I didn't rush to go to the direction of the Lijiang River, and stayed in Yangzipo to help the farmers get rid of the raging wild boars.I didn't want to linger for nearly a month, and the eagle from Guan's family arrived.

There was a note sealed with red wax tied to the eagle's foot, Guan Lan took it apart and read, there were only five words.

Yu Shaomiao died.

Ever since he learned the news of his death, his body seemed to be on fire, and he couldn't wait to rush to the Lijiang River.

Now that he finally arrived, he became dazed again, not knowing what he was here for.

Yu Sha came out with steamed buns, the steam from the steamed buns seemed to blow away the coldness of the rainstorm.

Guan Lan turned his head to look at the steamed bun in a daze. Seeing his slow response, Yu Sha became puzzled again and asked, "Guest officer? Don't you want to use it while it's hot?"

"You..." Guan Lan moved his mouth, hesitated at first, and then opened his mouth again: "I heard that Yu Shaomiao from Jinzhan Pavilion died, is it true?" five nine zero {

Yu Sha's heart skipped a beat, and he looked at Guan Lan's face.I found that this person was just asking questions, and his eyes were still looking at the steamed buns on the table.

The person who had feelings came to attend Yu Shaomiao's funeral after receiving the news from Jinzhan Pavilion.

Knowing his purpose, Yu Sha relaxed a little: "It should be true, Jinzhan Pavilion released the obituary, it's been a month, everyone on the street knows about it."

Guan Lan frowned: "It's not that if the obituary is released, the person must be dead."

"...Yes." Yu Sha was stunned for a moment, then amused by the man's stubbornness, and echoed, "Maybe he's still alive somewhere."

What he said was perfunctory, Guan Lan didn't care, reached out to take a steamed bun, broke it, and continued to be dazed.

He had already taken off the bamboo hat at this time, his face was still dirty, and he still couldn't see his face clearly.But he could feel the air pressure around this person was extremely low, and a pair of extremely beautiful eyes stared at the steamed bun in his hand, with an indescribable sadness.

Originally, he was just accumulating virtue, but at this moment Yu Sha suddenly became curious, not knowing what the origin of this person was, and what relationship he had with Yu Shaomiao.His emotions at the moment don't seem to be fake, but he doesn't know where they come from, which makes people confused.

"The guest officer is old with that Yu Shaomiao?" Yu Sha asked.

Guan Lan was in a daze, but was awakened by this sentence, looked up at Yu Sha, then lowered his head, lowered his eyes slightly, closed for a while, then raised his head and continued to look in the direction of Jinzhan Pavilion outside the door.

Suddenly there was a kind of solemnity in him that was not exposed, which was shallow, but it was a bit unbearable.

After a while, Guan Lan said slowly, "He is kind to me."

After speaking, he seemed to be awakened, took the steamed bun, and gnawed on it numbly.He hasn't eaten anything for the past few days, and he has been using lightness kung fu to rush on his way.In fact, it is almost at the end of the battle.

Even though he was exhausted to the extreme, he was still thinking clearly about what to do next.

If Yu Shaomiao is not dead, it is natural to find him and make sure he is fine.If he is really dead, we must know why he died, and we can't let him go in such a daze.

As Guan Lan thought about it, her head became heavier and heavier.When Yu Sha heard a thud and looked back, he collapsed on the table.

Yu Sha was really frightened at this moment, thinking that he took the steamed buns that were used to poison mice by mistake and killed a person.Hastily ran over to check Guan Lan's breath.

Fortunately, he found that Guan Lan was still panting, so Yu Sha was relieved and slowly checked Guan Lan's situation.

Guan Lan was lying on the table, taking a long breath, as if she was just asleep.

Yu Sha glanced at him, and then at him again.

The man hasn't paid yet.

Yu Sha felt a headache when he saw this man, so tired that he could fall asleep while sitting and eating.It is conceivable how he got his dignified appearance from the mud now.He must have been traveling all night in the rainstorm, wearing the stars and the moon, but now he couldn't hold on anymore and passed out.

Yu Sha sighed, and resigned himself to his fate, stepped forward to support Guan Lan, helped him up, and put his back half on his body.

Guan Lan is tall and naturally heavy. Yu Sha looked at the stairs on the second floor, thought for a second, and turned to the backyard.

The man's long breath fell on his neck, which felt warm and itchy.Yu Sha looked at him so tired, and didn't have time to worry about whether his clothes were dirty.Carefully helped the person to walk to the backyard, while cursing in his mouth.

"What kind of bullshit is the Lord of the Jinzhan Pavilion, who is still so capable of humiliating others after death."