Sword of Coming

In the end, Chen Ping'an only asked about the old site of the City God's Temple. No one had heard of the inn that Cui Han talked about. This county was a large city in the north of Huangting Kingdom. To get to the old site of the City God, one had to walk through almost half of the county. Following the directions of the last pedestrian, it was almost dusk, and I only found a high vermilion wall. It took me a long time to finally find an alley with an inconspicuous entrance, and I could barely pass two carriages.

The further you walk in, the more you feel like you are in a cave. From time to time, a light mist is emitted from the gaps in the blue brick road under your feet. It drifts into the high walls on both sides and slowly gathers, like a clear spring slowly flowing on the wall. Flowing, there is a faint sound of running water.

Seeing that Chen Ping'an and the others were suspicious, young Cui Chan explained: "This alley is one of the signboards of this inn. It's called Xingyunliushui Alley. After entering the gate of the mansion, you should immediately see a bright moon shadow wall, because There are spirits of unknown origin inhabiting the shadow wall. Their shapes are indefinite and generally correspond to the phases of the moon. The waxing and waning phases are all revealed on the shadow wall. However, the truly valuable shadow wall must be the combination of the sun and the moon. If it can be added If you look at the astrology, I am afraid that the mansion of the Immortal Family with the prefix Zong will sacrifice their dignity and rush to rob it."

At the end of the alley, there is a door. On the door are carved two tall painted door gods. They are taller than young men, majestic and burly. They are both wearing golden armor. One is riding a tiger and holding a sword, and the other is riding a dragon sword. The two door gods glared at the alley. Because they were carved wood carvings instead of ordinary people's paper, they gave people a strong sense of oppression.

Li Huai secretly swallowed, feeling that he would be more comfortable sleeping on the mountain.

The door slowly opened, and a beautiful woman with peach blossom eyes twisted her waist and crossed the threshold, and walked out slowly. Behind her were two young women with hair in their hair, each with a green sheath hanging on her waist. Sword, they did not follow the woman to the group of guests, but stood at the door.

The beautiful woman gave a graceful blessing, "My slave Liu Jiahui, Jiaqing's Jia, Flowers' Hui, the name is really not elegant, all distinguished guests can call me Jiahui. I dare to ask distinguished guests, but it must be before us Are you staying at Qiulu Inn? Can you make a reservation beforehand?"

When the woman was speaking, her gaze was directed towards the young man in white who was eye-catching.

But the handsome boy was indifferent and very rude. The beautiful woman and the handsome boy looked at each other. Although the former was a little unhappy inside, the smile on his face remained unchanged.

The two maids at the door were obviously angry.

Who in the county dares to be so disrespectful to his wife? Even the county governor, who is a high-ranking official in a border area, always treats his wife politely if he meets his wife on an outing or while burning incense. He politely calls out to Mrs. Liu or the second master. If he needs help, he Qiulu Inn helps with matchmaking, and even addresses him as Master Liu Xian in person.

From the corner of her eye, the beautiful woman quickly glanced at Lin Shouyi, who had an indifferent expression. She did not notice anything strange, and continued to look at the young man in white attentively, and asked softly: "This young master, do you think there is any relationship between the Nu family and Qiulu Inn?" Why is it wrong? When we get here, we feel that we are disappointed and unworthy of our reputation?"

The young man Cui Han was a little impatient and pointed at the straw-shoe boy next to him, "You worshiped the wrong Bodhisattva. This is the real master in charge of money."

The woman was surprised and quickly gave Chen Pingan a blessing alone as an apology. Before the woman could say anything, Chen Pingan glanced at the door, looked away, took a deep breath, and made up his mind, "There are more of us. Is there enough room?”

The woman smiled sweetly and said, "Enough, why is it not enough? Although the county's triennial Water Temple Sacrifice Ceremony will be held soon, and immortal masters from all over the world are coming to support the county governor, the business of Qiulu Inn is not bad, but dear guests, thank you Your visit will make your humble house shine. Even if the slave family frees up their own small yard and temporarily moves to an inn elsewhere, they will never dare to let the distinguished guests return disappointed."

In the end, Chen Ping'an asked for a large courtyard called Qinglu. The old well located closest to the old city god is considered the Tianzi courtyard of Qiulu Inn. The reason why it has been vacant until now is that the price is too high and it is not priced per person. Counting money, anyway, it’s two thousand taels of silver a day. The people staying at Qiulu Inn are many Taoist practitioners who have obtained the status of Qi Practitioner. However, if you don’t know how to calculate carefully and have a strong family and backing, you won’t be able to do anything. Or if you don't have the means to make money every day, you will be extremely short of money. It is completely different from the immortal master who is as wealthy as the people in the market imagine.

The old well in Qiulu Inn is indeed a spring where spiritual energy overflows, but for a Qi practitioner, paying two thousand taels of silver a day for it is definitely not a cost-effective and loss-making business. Therefore, this courtyard is more of a wealthy local dignitary's use to entertain bigwigs in the officialdom and heroes of the world.

Mrs. Liu personally led this group of foreign guests through the corridors, and finally came to a quiet courtyard. In the corner of the courtyard, there was a large bush of plantains, a half-person-high stone water tank, and a group of colorful carps. There were water lotuses on the water. Only when there is a small lotus can the sharp corners be revealed.

Mrs. Liu smiled and pointed to a copper bell on the stone table and said: "If something happens, you only need to shake the bell gently, and a maid with nimble hands and feet will come to the yard. And there is the back door of this yard. Open the bamboo door and walk more than thirty steps to the north. You can see a pavilion called Zhibu Pavilion. There are three futons placed there. The immortal master can breathe out spiritual energy in the pavilion. The well is not open to the public. I hope you can understanding."

Chen Ping'an nodded and said: "We have made a note and will not cross the Zhibu Pavilion and go to Laojing without authorization."

Mrs. Liu narrowed her natural spring-like peach blossom eyes, smiled sincerely, and said softly: "Comparing one's heart to one's heart is the Buddha's heart."

Li Baoping asked curiously: "Mrs. Liu, shouldn't there be a screen wall over your gate?"

Mrs. Liu sighed and did not want to elaborate on the inside story, so she vaguely said, "Something happened before and the screen wall lost the moon phase phenomenon, so we simply demolished it."

There are four rooms, one for Li Baoping and Xie Xie, one for Li Huai and Chen Ping'an, one for Cui Chan and Yu Lu, and the last one is reserved for Lin Shouyi, who is already a Qi practitioner.

After entering this place, Lin Shouyi really felt refreshed. That mysterious feeling was like driving in heavy rain and mud before, and he had to pull his feet out of the mud at every step. Now that the weather has cleared, the road Not only dry, but also put on clean clothes, you will naturally feel comfortable and relaxed when walking on the road, as if your whole person has been reborn.

Lin Shouyi was a little puzzled. Hidden in the busy city, there was such a blessed land that was conducive to spiritual practice?

However, they did not encounter any other guests along the way. According to Mrs. Liu, the business of Qiulu Inn was not bad. It was noisy and lively compared to the town inns where they had stayed several times before. same.

After Mrs. Liu left, Chen Pingan first put the basket in the house and took out a dark wooden box from the basket. Inside, there were four jade hairpins of the simplest style placed side by side. Two of the hairpins were mutton-fat jade, which was warm and delicate. , as well as jasper and black jade, including the box, which cost Chen Pingan one hundred taels of silver.

On the way to find the Qiulu Inn, they passed by a jade shop. Chen Ping'an originally planned to just go in and take a look at it, gain insights and broaden his horizons, but he fell in love with them at a glance, and the four hairpins were An Jingjing. Lying quietly in the open wooden box, it is amiable and cute, making people happy.

When Chen Pingan heard the staggering price from the shop owner, he made up his mind and didn't think much about it. However, Cui Chan hinted several times that he must buy the box of hostas. In the end, he simply threatened that if Chen Pingan didn't take action, he would Cui Dongshan was about to buy it. Chen Pingan gritted his teeth and agreed with the guy that it would be recorded in the account first like the accommodation fee.

So Chen Ping'an owed the boy in white his first payment, one hundred taels of silver, not much, but definitely not too little.

The shop owner presented Chen Pingan with a small carving knife specially designed for jade craftsmen. At the same time, he explained to the boy the similarities and differences in the softness and hardness of the three types of jade materials. He also explained to the boy the differences between the softness and hardness of the three types of jade. Chen Pingan silently remembered every word of the difference in the severity of the knife.

Chen Ping'an was on the Xiuhua River ferry when the jasper hairpin presented by Mr. Qi disappeared. He told Li Baoping at that time that if he had the chance in the future, he would buy a hairpin and engrave those eight characters on it.

Now it has just changed from one hairpin to four.

Li Huai put the small bookcase behind the foot of the wall, leaned back on the bed, and said with a face full of intoxication: "It's really a place where gods live. My parents and sister are not so lucky."

The child remembered something and quickly got up. He squatted in the corner and opened the book box. After a while, he fumbled around and took out all the objects, including the painted puppets and clay figurines, and placed them at his feet. Li Huai put his head into the empty book box. Then he suddenly turned his head and looked at Chen Pingan's back, and said aggrievedly: "Cui Dongshan is really not a good guy. The silver ingot is missing! Chen Pingan, what should I do? Can I ask for it back?"

Chen Ping'an put the wooden box and carving knife on the table, and then began to be lost in thought. The young man's face was serious, as if facing a formidable enemy.

After hearing Li Huai's complaint, Chen Pingan turned around and said with a smile: "Chongyin is yours now. If it is really with him, of course you can get it back."

Li Huai hurriedly ran out of the house, "I'm going to settle the score with Cui Dongshan."

Chen Ping'an reminded: "Remember to talk to people properly."

Chen Ping'an went to close the door, sat back at the table, twisted the small and delicate jade carving knife between his fingers, and silently felt its weight.

What should be engraved on his own hairpin? It's very simple. It's the eight small characters engraved on the hairpin he lost before: A gentleman's speech is as warm as jade.

But for the remaining three hostas, he planned to give them to Li Baoping and the others as parting gifts when they came to Sui Academy in the future.

Aquarius. Keep one. Sophora yin.

In the end, Chen Pingan, who scratched his head vigorously, could only come up with three ideas. Although they were not elegant at all, they could guarantee that they would not go wrong.

Lin Shouyi suddenly opened the door and stood outside the door angrily, "Chen Ping'an, have you lost your mind and gone crazy?! A whole two thousand taels of silver just to stay here for one night?!"

Chen Pingan turned his head blankly and looked at the extremely strange young man.

Next to Lin Shouyi, a young man in white clothes appeared with his hands folded, his sleeves folded and a smile that didn't look like a slap in the face.

Lin Shou's lips trembled with anger, and he pointed at Chen Pingan, "Two thousand taels of silver! Are you, Chen Pingan, the son of the county governor, or a more remarkable relative of the emperor?"

Chen Pingan frowned, gently put down the carving knife, stood up, and was about to speak, but Lin Shouyi had already turned around and strode away.

Li Huai tiptoed into the room, holding the silver ingot in his hand. The child did not dare to mix in the muddy water, and sat on the edge of the bed, his face a little pale.

Chen Ping'an glanced at the boy in white and turned back into a stool.

Cui Chan leaned against the door. The culprit still fanned the flames, "How does it feel to treat good intentions like a donkey's liver and lungs? Isn't it uncomfortable?"

Chen Pingan ignored him.

Cui Zhang thought for a moment, walked into the room, sat across from Chen Pingan's table, propped up his cheek with one hand, looked at Chen Pingan with a smile, and continued to add fuel to the fire, "Do you think Lin Shouyi will take your private pocket?" , regarded as the common property of your team, so the money you spent this time was obviously for his practice. However, Lin Shouyi, who has a precocious temperament and has a long-standing concept of property, still feels that he has lost money after weighing the pros and cons. , that’s why I’m angry at you? I think this possibility is possible.”

Chen Ping'an's expression didn't change much.

Cui Chan said with a smile: "Do you think I'm just a troublemaker?"

Cui Chan said to himself: "Then you have wrongly blamed me. For example, I paid for the silver ingot to buy the package of rags. However, if the insect silver falls into the hands of a stranger, it will wait for an opportunity to turn into Grasshoppers, dragonflies and the like have returned to their masters, so you would think that I was using magic to deceive others, right? Wrong, totally wrong. That person is just a gambler who puts all his money on the line. Judging from his luck, he doesn’t know how to cherish his blessings. A short-lived guy, if I gave him real money for gambling, I would be harming him. Maybe he will suffer misfortune in the next few days. Now that I have no money to gamble, this prodigal son will have to steal things from home. Selling it will allow him to live a few more days."

Chen Ping'an finally said, "From the time you got off the bus, introduced the Chenghuang Temple, and then casually mentioned the Qiulu Inn, you were actually trying to set me up, right? But I can't figure it out, what's the point of doing something that harms others but does not benefit oneself?" "

The young man in white with his head tilted took turns tapping the table with two fingers, "There was once a man slightly older than you who had a seal hidden in his hand, engraved with the words 'The world welcomes spring'."

The boy in white was lost in thought.

Chen Pingan asked: "Then?"

The young man in white came back to his senses and rubbed the red mole between his eyebrows. Thinking of the strange weather along the way, he became more and more sure of one thing. It should be as he guessed. The seal Qi Jingchun gave to the young Zhao Yao was of great significance. It was a pity that he appeared. Once the young man was tempted, he chose to protect himself wisely. Whether it was for his own future or the safety of his family, the young man finally gave the seal with both hands. , then the things contained in the seal will naturally return to heaven and earth. No wonder the late spring weather this year is so long.

But Cui Chen felt that things shouldn't be so simple.

Regardless of whether Qi Jingchun has a backup plan or not, under the arrangement of the old scholar, his "Cui Chan" has been tied to the fate of the boy in Mubo Alley. Although he was dragged down by Chen Ping'an and his future was dim, but Cui Zhang still didn't want to break the pot, but aroused a strong desire to win, hoping to lead Chen Ping'an to his own Yangguan road step by step, instead of being beaten by this little mud-legged guy who had never read a book. , brought to his broken road to drink the northwest wind.

It's like two people are in a tug of war. The strength is not the strength of the waist and arms, but the strength of the heart.

The mood of the young man in white gradually improved. How could he compete with the guy in front of him in determination and resilience? After all, I, Cui Han, was once a top monk who successfully reached the twelfth realm, and I was also a chess master who was famous in the Middle Earth Divine Continent. Playing chess with a child, it would be difficult to lose, right?

The boy in straw sandals opposite had completely ignored the boy in white.

Because Chen Pingan started to pick up the carving knife and the jade hairpin and began to carve the first character.