Sword of Coming

Thank you. Back to the bonfire, Lin Shouyi and Qing Niangniang were finishing the game. The girl glanced at the chess game and was not interested, so she stretched her hand closer to the bonfire.

Chen Pingan chopped off branches and built three simple tents. When he came to Li Baoping, the little girl yawned and ran to sleep. In addition, Li Huai and Lin Shou shared a tent, and the girl Xie Xie also had her own tent. Yu Lu often slept in the carriage driver's position, half-spread and half-wrapped with a blanket, which could last the whole night.

Of course, most of the time, the team can always find a place to stay, whether it's an inn or a Taoist temple among the mountains and forests.

Once on a stormy night, with the help of dim lights, they finally found a wealthy family. The owner turned out to be Huang Tingguo's former minister of household affairs. He was a very hospitable old man who lived in seclusion in the mountains. The old man was very happy to see the little scholars who were studying abroad. Even though he knew that they came from Dali, which was half an enemy country, the old minister still treated him warmly. Regarding food, the old man even more strictly abided by the saint's teachings of "never tired of fine food and fine food", which made him It was an eye-opener for Chen Pingan, a bunch of local bumpkins.

After that, the old man got along well with each other and seemed to have a special rapport with the little girl Li Baoping and the young boy Yu Lu. Knowing that the little girl liked to read travel notes, he not only gave them a few books for his private collection of travel notes, but also made sure to take them to a place in person. The scenic spot is a very famous riverside cliff in the local area. The cliff surface is as flat as a mirror. There are ancient mosaic carvings on it that have survived for unknown years. The characters engraved on it have never been seen in scriptures. They are obscure and difficult to understand. Countless literati and poets have used them in history. Come here to admire the wonders. The stone rubbings were widely circulated in the Huangting Kingdom and the Sui Dynasty, but no one has studied the true meaning of those words. There are different opinions, and there is no conclusion that can convince everyone.

At that time, the young Cui Chan just glanced at the stone cliff from a distance and said that it was "carved by Heavenly Lord Lei Bu with his own hands, and the Emperor of Heaven commanded the dragon."

The old man laughed, obviously not believing it. The sages and sages of the past dynasties did not dare to make any judgments even after studying so carefully. It is reasonable for Huang Tingguo's old minister not to take seriously the casual remarks of a fourteen-year-old or fifteen-year-old boy.

After leaving the old minister's villa, every time Chen Ping'an ate food cooked in an earthen stove in the wilderness, he would find that something was wrong with everyone's eyes, especially the little girl in the red cotton jacket, who wanted to return this place without three hundred taels of silver. Here comes a sentence: Uncle Master, the food you cook is delicious, really, it’s no worse than the food at the Ma Shilang’s house!

Li Huai was also a little sleepy. He said hello to Lin Shou and went to sleep in the tent first. Lin Shouyi was not sleepy and continued to compete with the young lady on the chessboard.

Lin Shouyi told Chen Pingan that he would accompany Qing Niangniang to the small temple on the top of the mountain to retrieve the precious chess book hidden in the wall of the small temple. Probably because he was afraid that Chen Pingan would worry, the young man smiled and explained that Qing Niangniang wanted to Going there and back alone, he took the initiative to ask to go together.

Chen Ping'an didn't say much, he just asked Lin Shouyi to pay attention to the road at night.

The young man climbed the mountain with the ghost who offered incense and sacrifice in the small temple. Chen Pingan looked at the backs of one person and one ghost. This was probably a unique rule on the mountain. The Qing Empress did not touch the ground with her feet, floating slowly, and a little green light appeared in front of her. The will-o'-the-wisp fluorescence lit up the surroundings, and with the green-shirted scholar beside them, the two chatted happily. Therefore, this scene, not only did not make people feel frightened, but also had a bit of the so-called "holding candles" in Li Baoping's landscape travel notes. The romantic and poetic feeling of "night tour, enjoying the pleasure of traveling".

After the girl thanked her and left, the young Cui Chan stood alone on a high branch. Occasionally, the sound of a night owl suddenly sounded in the mountains, and it was shrill and scary. This bird was called a "wandering bird" by the people of Huangting Kingdom, and it was an ominous sign. It is often associated with "announcement of funeral" and "bad news".

A line of black smoke billowed through the woods, flew past the boy in white, and hung still in the air.

The young man recovered his confused thoughts and said, "Are you leaving?"

The Yin God from the small town nodded and said: "Those amulets gifted by Old Man Yang can indeed protect against soul damage caused by Yang Qi Gangfeng and the city pass. However, with Dali Yefu Pass as the end point, a round trip will It just happened to be used up. I privately escorted him to the Hengshan Mountain of Huangting Kingdom. It was actually very reluctant. Maybe it will start to be difficult when we get to the Xiuhua River and Wanping County."

Yin Shen's face was like ripples on a lake, like a swaying light, constantly changing and blurry. He sighed with emotion: "Although I don't know what business Old Man Yang did with you, I hope that before arriving at the academy in Sui Dynasty, the Imperial Master Your Excellency, you can start and end well with Chen Ping'an and the others."

The boy in white was quite polite on Yin Shen's side, "I'll do my best."

Yin Shen suddenly smiled and asked: "Master National Preceptor, do you believe that good and evil will be rewarded?"

The young Cui Yi shook his head and said: "I never believe it. If you want to persuade me to accumulate virtue and do good deeds, then I would also advise you in turn, don't work together if you have different beliefs. Instead of worrying about whether I will protect your family benefactor Chen Ping'an, It would be better to worry about whether your wife and children, who are far away from your sight, will not be manipulated as two chess pieces by Liu Zhimao, the Lord of Shujian Lake."

The Yin God sighed and said helplessly: "There is still time for human power to be exhausted, let alone a Yin creature like me that is hated by heaven and earth?"

Cui Han said with a smile: "There is no dead end in the road, but there is a difference between difficulty and difficulty. Gathering yin becomes a ghost, and gathering yang becomes a god. It has nothing to do with whether you are a human or not. It's not like you don't have the opportunity to become a god now. Just imagine those mountain and swamp spirits, Their path to spiritual practice is truly bumpy.”

Yin Shen laughed hoarsely and said, "That's true."

Yin Shen was silent for a long time, but still had no intention of returning to Dali.

The young man Cui Yi asked: "Why, do you have anything else to say? I know that in addition to repaying your kindness, you yourself are optimistic about Chen Pingan, but you must not know clearly. I have been optimistic about this young man from the beginning, earlier than anyone else, but it involves the Dao Dao I can’t tell you the inside story in detail. You just need to know that even though I was in Lijing City, I paid no less attention and attention to Chen Ping’an than Old Man Yang, nor less than him.”

Yin Shen shook his head and smiled: "It has nothing to do with it."

The young man frowned and said, "I'm not in a good mood right now. If you fart, hurry up."

Yin Shen did not take it seriously and said slowly: "I admire Mr. Sir's theory of meritorious deeds, which benefits the country and the people. Although there are criticisms within Confucianism, there are more derogations than praises, but I firmly believed that no matter what happens thousands of years later, what will happen in the future? Things that can only be done by future generations to seek happiness for themselves are not as important as benefiting the common people with knowledge and achieving a peaceful and prosperous age."

The young man in white was a little surprised, raised his eyebrows, couldn't help but turned around and asked, "Didn't you think you would still support my knowledge?"

Yin Shen made an unexpected move. He actually imitated the younger Confucian disciples who bowed respectfully when facing the sage master. He lowered his head and said loudly: "Gu, this time I bow, I don't bow to the Great Li State Master. I respect Mr. Cui Chan." Don’t just write moral articles that are shelved on the shelf.”

It wasn't until the Yin God had wandered hundreds of miles away that the young man in white slowly came back to his senses, with a mixture of sadness and joy on his face.

Finally, the boy in white took a step forward. The branches under his feet curved even more, and his hands suddenly shook his sleeves, falling behind him, without any sign of dejection.

The young man has the awe-inspiring aura of a thousand-year-old man.

When Lin Shouyi returned, his face was ashen, he was sitting by the campfire with a yellowed ancient book clenched in his hands.

Chen Pingan asked: "What's wrong?"

Lin Shouyi gritted his teeth and said: "A bunch of polite scum! These scholars who come from the noble clan of Huang Ting Kingdom, they just party and drink in a small temple, but they actually do such rude behavior! Shameless and polite! If it were me, Qing Niangniang, We should have driven these disgusting guys out of the mountains long ago."

Chen Pingan asked: "No matter what happened, did Qing Niangniang herself do nothing?"

Lin Shou nodded.

Chen Pingan said: "Then you just do as the Romans do."

Lin Shouyi raised his head, feeling a little puzzled. When the young man, who had lost his mind, saw that familiar darkened face, Lin Shouyi calmed down for no reason. He sighed and said softly: "I understand."