Sword of Coming

At Yefu Pass on the border of Dali, the city gates were wide open. The few light cavalry stationed in the city chose a rare night march. Although there were only a thousand cavalry, when the neat horses' iron hoofs stepped on the ground, the earth still shook. The intensive and rapid sound of drums makes people's blood boil.

Next to the post road, a military general on horseback reined in his horse and stopped beside it, his face solemn.

A young lieutenant with a hideous scar on his face arrived on horseback. After slowing down his horse, he stood side by side with the general and asked softly: "General Han, what is the purpose of this northward attack? I have a vast territory north of Dali Yefu Pass. How can there be a large group of horse thieves? And even if they appear, it won't be our cavalry's turn to take action, right?"

The stocky general said in a deep voice, "Don't ask what you shouldn't ask."

The young knight grinned and really stopped asking.

The commander of the Yefu Pass Cavalry Army hesitated for a moment, probably because he was feeling a little uncomfortable. After thinking about it, he whispered: "Not only our soldiers and horses at Yefu Pass, but also all the pass military towns on the southern border. Deploy nearly half of the main field light cavalry and deploy them all tonight."

The young cavalry commander was stunned for a moment, "The four-year cycle of spring hunting, summer seedlings, autumn and winter hunting? But the time is not right. We only participated in the spring hunting last year. Even if there is a large-scale martial arts performance this year, it should be put on the Summer is the right time.”

The general subconsciously touched the supple mane of the mount under his crotch and said: "After arriving at the temporary station, the imperial military department will issue the next order, so we don't have to think about it."

More than two hundred miles west of Hongzhu Town, in the upper reaches of the vast Xiuhua River, there is a small solitary mountain in the middle of the water, which is vulgarly called Mantou Mountain by the local people. There is a lonely earth temple on the mountain, which is full of incense and is said to be extremely efficacious. If you ask for a son, you will get a son, and if you ask for wealth, you will get wealth. It is famous far and wide. It is a beautiful place that literati and poets must visit by boat. However, local people almost never come here to worship and burn incense.

The night of late spring was chilly and cold. The river was rolling away, and the waves were splashing. You could vaguely see a three-foot-long green carp in the river. It swam quickly from the shore to Xiaogushan. What was surprising was that there was a man in red clothes sitting on his back. The boy, no more than the height of a hand, tightly grasped the two tentacles of the carp with both hands, like a knight holding the reins. The boy followed the carp and the river water ups and downs. He was soaked all over, his face was pale, and he was cursing, cursing heaven and earth.

The green carp swam to the shore, stopped suddenly, and threw the boy in Zhu Yi onto the shore. The little guy rolled a series of times, looking disgraced, and yelled at the big green carp that was wandering back to the other side in the river, "Go up the beam." Otherwise, your master is a slutty bitch..."

The carp suddenly turned around and stared at the boy in red clothes on the shore. The latter was so frightened that he peed his pants. He said that a good man will not fight with a woman and ran quickly to the Tutu Temple.

The small temple was not closed, and the little guy finally climbed over the threshold. After turning over and landing, he raised his head to face the funny clay statue with badly painted paint, put his hands on his hips and shouted angrily: "I almost drowned in the river, why don't you kneel down quickly?" Got the order?! Believe it or not, I will punish you with a crime of disrespect and give you a slap on the head?"

Bang.

The boy in Zhu Yi was kicked as a stone and kicked out of the Tutu Temple.

A short-built man sat down on the threshold and cursed: "You, a boy born in this ruined temple, dare to call yourself uncle to me?"

Not a family, don't enter the same door.

The boy in red clothes ran back panting all the way, climbed up the threshold with difficulty and sat there, grinning and looking sad.

The man frowned and asked, "What's the matter?"

The little guy muttered: "A little hungry."

The man raised his arms as if to strike. The boy in Zhu Yi hugged his head and shouted: "I just overheard the news from the Chenghuang Pavilion in the city, saying that the Imperial Court's Ministry of Rites and the Qintian Supervisor issued two secret decrees. All the gods of mountains and rivers thousands of miles around Hongzhu Town are required to be on standby. They are not allowed to leave their posts without permission, and are not allowed to retreat. They must be on call at any time. If they cannot show up on time when the Mao is clicked, behead them! Your uncle, you have to If I hadn’t delivered the news to you, with your lazy temper, you would have borrowed a knife to kill someone... Oh, I forgot that you are not a human being..."

This time the little guy was slapped and thrown into the Earth Temple.

The man stood up and looked in the direction of Hongzhu Town with a solemn expression. He did not forget to remind him: "There is some food left for you in the incense burner. Remember to eat sparingly."

"You have some conscience. I really don't know how you managed to get away with it. You are the pathetic guy who has served in the Earth Temple for the longest time in this state, and you have a bad relationship with your colleagues. Even those shrimp soldiers and crab generals in the Xiuhua River dare not do it. Putting you in my eyes, why am I so unlucky to be born in your furnace? Alas, I should find a better furnace to be reincarnated in my next life..." The boy in Zhu Yi kept complaining, but it didn't delay his maturity. I climbed up to the incense table with familiarity and jumped into the brass incense burner with seven or eight incense sticks scattered here and there.

On the way back to Pillow Post, Postmaster Cheng Sheng noticed that the child next to him was gritting his teeth and sighing, as if he was making a life-or-death decision.

Li Huai finally stopped and plucked up the courage to ask: "Lao Cheng, I have thirty cents on me. Can I go to the previous bookstore and buy a book? How much is the cheapest book there? Can I still give it to you? Do I have any leftover?”

The man called Lao Cheng was a little dumbfounded. After thinking about it, he replied seriously: "It's difficult. The books in that shop are recognized by our Hongzhu Town as not affordable. Unless they are scholars who like to collect rare and unique books, generally no one goes there. Buy books over there. If you really want to buy books, I know there are two big bookstores in the east. They have Confucian classics, anthologies of various scholars, and novels about ghosts and monsters. I can help you negotiate the price there."

The stubborn child shook his head and said: "No, it has to be the bookstore just now!"

This is all the surplus food that Li Huai secretly saved. Most of it was stolen from his uncle's house, and the other half was his sister Li Liu's private money.

In the bookstore before, that poor guy who wore straw sandals all year round didn't just try to make a fool of himself and buy a shabby book worth nearly ten taels of silver without saying a word, nor did he refuse on the spot, unwilling to spend so much money for him. .

Instead, ask him if he can read the book.

This surprised Li Huai. Although he said he would read it at the time, in fact after buying it, of course he would read it and just flip through it to pass the time. Li Huai actually didn't have much interest in "Broken Water Cliff".

But when someone is willing to pay ten taels of silver for himself, Li Huai feels very happy.

Li Huai is not stupid. The child knows clearly whether others are good or bad to him.

A pair of straw sandals, a bookcase that has not yet been built, plus this book "Broken Water Cliff", he owed so much to others, so Li Huai felt that if he didn't do something for Chen Pingan, he would feel sorry for himself and feel panicked.

In fact, Li Huai didn't like Zhu Lu, and even Lin Shouyi, who shared weal and woe, didn't like him very much. On the contrary, Li Baoping, who often bullied him in school, thought he was pretty good.

Li Huai likes the idle A-Liang the most.

As for the pauper from Mud Bottle Alley, Li Huai was a little afraid of him.

At this time, Cheng Sheng, the Yi Cheng, looked down at the child with a serious face, thinking that he was worthy of the so-called immortal qualifications of that guy. Some things were indeed blessings to the soul. He suppressed his laughter, thinking that he could just go with the flow and help the child. Maybe a huge love affair will be formed. Being kind to others, being kind to a thousand ordinary people, is far inferior to forming a good relationship with one immortal. This is what he has seen with his own eyes and heard with his own ears, and it is absolutely true.

Cheng Sheng took the child to the alley between the two streets. The young shopkeeper was sitting on the threshold looking at them with a smile on his face, as if he was waiting for their arrival.

At this moment, at the other end of the alley, a rickety old man carrying a lantern walked in, walking towards Li Huai.

The young master stood up slowly and waved his hand to Yi Cheng Sheng, "The bookstore is closed today. I will bring this kid here to buy books later."

Without saying a word, Cheng Sheng took Li Huai and turned around and left.

After confirming that the two of them had left the alley, the romantic and elegant young master no longer looked calm and relaxed as before. He looked a little respectful and awkward. He cupped his fists and whispered softly: "Chong Danjiang Li Jin, pay homage to the doctor."

The white-haired old man put one hand behind his back and held a lantern in the other. He nodded and walked straight across the threshold of the bookstore. The young man who stepped out of the way followed him. The old man casually inserted the handle of the lantern into the low end of the books high on the book wall. , turned to look at the young man with a beautiful face, and said with emotion: "You and I first met forty years ago, and you looked like this. Now that we meet again, you still look like this. You make others envious."

The young man held the folding fan tightly and smiled: "For us aliens, it is a great blessing to be born as a human being."

The old man nodded and did not refute.

The young man asked curiously: "Is it the adults' arrangement that those people can live in the Pillow Inn?"

The old man was silent.

The young man wisely stopped asking.

He opened this small bookstore a hundred years ago. He looked at the world with a cold eye and saw a lot of worldly affairs and political turmoil. He was no stranger to the officialdom of Da Li. If he wanted to free up so many A and B post houses in Pillow Station, he would have to do six books. The ability of a minister is great, except for the three ministers, of course. In the Dali imperial court, under the Minister of the Six Ministries, the Langzhong was the chief officer of each department, and the Yuanwailang was the adjutant, ranking fifth. The official positions of the doctor and the wailang are not obvious, but there are three doctors who have great power beyond imagination.

These are the Department of Merit Examination of the Ministry of Personnel, the Department of Martial Arts Selection of the Ministry of War, and the Department of Ceremony of the Qing Dynasty Officials of the Ministry of Rites. The chief officials of these three departments can be said to be low-ranking and powerful, attracting the attention of the government and the public. Once they are transferred to other places, they will inevitably become the official of the border.

A promotion inspection for all local officials below the fourth rank in the dynasty.

One is responsible for selecting and reviewing the promotion of military personnel for the dynasty's military, and especially has the power to recruit and install people in the Jianghu.

One person is specifically responsible for the sacrificial ceremony of a country. Many times the king will ask this person for advice. This civil servant of low rank is often from a Confucian school or academy.

The unspectacular old man in front of me is one of them.

Forty years ago, Li Jin, as the owner of this bookstore, once gave two classics to a poor scholar who came to Beijing to take the exam. Unexpectedly, the poor scholar later got promoted all the way and became a minister of the Qing Dynasty in the Dali Ministry of Rites Temple. The doctor of the company is noble and powerful. But for Li Jin, who is away from the temple and far away in the world, the ceremony of offering sacrifices to the officials of the Qing Dynasty in the Temple of Rites has another meaning. It is this small yamen. It is said that many officials in the capital can't even find the door, but secretly control the world's landscape affairs. Although God’s screening and evaluation does not have the final power of determination, it does have the crucial power of recommendation.

Li Jin learned from the officials and merchants who passed by Hongzhu Town that after the old man took this position, he sent several letters, but all of them were lost in the sea and no news was heard from him. Li Jin did not dare to make any mistakes, so he had to give up with regret.

The "young man" who goes by the pseudonym Li Jin has been working hard for a hundred years to seek the position of the god of water in the Chongdan River. He has tried many methods, but all failed.

The old man suddenly said: "You should know the reason why there is no river god in Chongdan River, so I just pretended that I didn't see the letter you secretly sent to my house. It's not that you don't want to help, but that you really want to help me." Weak-hearted.”

The young man smiled bitterly and nodded: "Understood. As long as His Majesty the Emperor doesn't nod, I'm afraid the words of the Minister of Rites will be useless."

The old man smiled and stared at the young man in front of him. Every twenty or thirty years, this man would change his face and appearance. The old man squinted and said: "But now there is an opportunity in front of you. It depends on whether you dare to fight for it." .”

The young man did not show any excitement and asked instead: "I heard that in Longquan County, which was once the Lizhu Cave, Emperor Da Li consecrated a Dragon Beard River God, an Iron Talisman River God, Peiyun Mountain, Dengdeng Mountain and Each of the Luopo Mountains consecrated a mountain god, giving three mountains and two rivers at once, a total of five seats. This has already used up a lot of His Majesty's wealth. How could he throw away another precious thing to Danjiang at this time when he is about to be stretched thin? Quota?"

The old man smiled and said: "Don't worry, it's not a conspiracy against you. To put it bluntly, you won't let me take action personally."

The young man became a little angry, and then he looked helpless and stopped talking.

The old man suppressed his smile and said: "With Hongzhu Town as the center, within a radius of a thousand miles, all the gods of mountains and rivers enshrined by the Great Li imperial court, as well as the candidates of land and rivers, must be on standby in the near future, ready to participate in an encirclement and suppression at any time. In addition, a large number of elite cavalry troops were dispatched to the southern border towns including Dali Yefu Pass, and countless scouts and reconnaissance cavalry were dispatched. As for you, Li Jin, if it weren't for the gift of the book back then, I will never tell you this news. With or without you, it makes no difference."

Li Jin was extremely shocked, "Why are you setting up such a huge battle array in the territory of Dali? What exactly are you trying to encircle and suppress?"

The old man said bluntly, "A person."

Li Jin looked into the old man's eyes and asked slowly, "Sir, what do you need me to do?"

The old man smiled and said: "It's a small thing that I can do. I just need to help keep an eye on a man who has just arrived in Hongzhu Town. Because I know that more than two hundred years after walking out of the Chongdan River, you have been running a good business in Hongzhu Town. The City God and the others are more familiar with waterways, and more familiar with the ups and downs of the town than the two River Gods. And if there are no errors in the records in the capital's files, you have a few rare green underworld fish, which come from ancient books, and are most suitable for small-scale detection and communication. information."

Li Jin's face didn't look good.

The old man sarcastically said: "Relax, the Green Underworld Fish is indeed a once-in-a-hundred-year encounter, but I'm not so despicable as to make money."

Li Jin laughed at himself and said: "I judge the gentleman's belly with the heart of a villain."

He immediately asked: "Who is that person?"

The old man replied slowly: "A man wearing a bamboo hat, with a small silver gourd on his waist, followed by a group of children. Those children came from the former Lizhu Cave, now Longquan County. As for the man's true identity, Dali Intelligence Not informed yet.”

Li Jin was stunned, "That man has been to my shop before."

The old man's eyes were electric.

Li Jin said carefully: "It's just a coincidence."

The old man waved his hand and warned: "It doesn't matter. From now on, remember not to show off your flaws. Even if you have no success, it is better than having a mistake. If you accidentally alert someone because of your mistakes, don't worry, because you will have already done it by then." If you die, if that person doesn’t kill you, I will do it myself.”

"But if this thing comes to pass, I can't guarantee that you will become the God of the Chongdan River, but I can let His Majesty the Emperor remember your name first."

Li Jin laughed at himself: "Does this count as Jane being in the emperor's heart?"

The old man stopped flipping through the book, turned around and asked, "What, you don't want to?"

Li Jin laughed and said: "Wealth can be obtained through risk, not to mention that there is no need for me to personally participate in the battle. The business of making sure profit without losing money is done!"

He snapped his fingers, and two small fishes with extremely long and slender tails appeared near his shoulders. They had the same intention as him, and what Li Jin could see was what Li Jin could see.

They swayed their long tails and disappeared in an instant.

Before the old man left, he smiled and sighed: "The books in your shop are still so expensive."

Only at this moment did Li Jin feel that the old man had some of the charm of the young and humble scholar back then.

The old man took back the lantern and left the shop.

The old man walked out of the alley, and at the corner stood a burly man with his arms folded across his chest. The two walked side by side. The latter asked, "Aren't you afraid of adding unnecessary extraneous information?"

The old man said casually: "Actually, this hunting has been closed to this extent. Even if Li Jin suddenly loses his mind and runs to the man named A Liang to tell the truth, it won't matter."

The man said angrily: "In the final analysis, we still have to repay him for the gift of the book?"

The old man smiled and narrowed his eyes, showing a bit of arrogance, and said softly: "The favor I owe is worth some money."

Zhu Lu said he wanted to eat candied haws. Although Zhu He was a little curious as to why his daughter suddenly fell in love with sweets, this request was nothing at all, so he took the girl to find a stall together.

Finally, the father and daughter found him. There was a vendor carrying a large bunch of candied haws, walking through the streets and shouting loudly.

Zhu He didn't like this thing, so Zhu Lu bought three skewers in one go. Zhu He was a little confused. The girl smiled and said she would eat one skewer, and the remaining two skewers could be given to the lady and Chen Ping'an.

The girl also said that she wanted to apologize to the boy tonight, so that she could feel at ease by saying sorry to him.

Zhu He was relieved and extremely happy.

The father and daughter returned to the inn and learned that Chen Pingan and Li Baoping had returned to the pillow inn.

Zhu Lu hadn't finished eating a bunch of candied haws, so he chose the yard behind the Class A post house and asked his father to send a message to Chen Pingan, saying that he and Chen Pingan would meet here.

Zhu He strode away, feeling a little funny in his heart. This girl was too thin-skinned. She just bowed her head and admitted her mistake. There was nothing embarrassing about it.

Not long after, the boy in straw sandals appeared at the other end of the painted corridor. After seeing Zhu Lu sitting on the bench at the other end, the boy quickened his pace slightly.

Fifteen or sixteen candied haws were scattered on the bench beside the girl.

The girl stood up with a smile and put her hands behind her back, her posture looking cute and naive.

She walked towards the boy.